Fanatics of the Magic Academy

A fervent smile crept across Rose's face as the currents of the ancient dragon surged and churned within him.

In an instant, Rose activated the Glimmer-level Ancient Dragon Believer Prayer [Inner Vitality Flow] and the Shining-level Ancient Dragon Believer Prayer [Dragon Thunder Protection].

The ancient dragon current originating from within his body surged through his muscles, instantly boosting Rose's strength and agility to 27 and 22 points respectively.

Then, under the influence of [Dragon Thunder Protection], electric arcs wrapped around the body surface and seeped into the skin in strands.

Amidst the ceaseless flow of lightning, Rose felt he had absolute control over every muscle, his physical strength being pushed to its current limit in that instant.

A sense of control over the world welled up inside me.

What caught his attention even more was that the lightning coiling around him was like the wind generated by releasing [Transform into Cloud Form],

It can be manipulated and interfered with at will, and can even enhance the release of prayers from other ancient dragon believers.

With a flick of his wrist, Rose activated [Lightning Guidance].

A fierce bolt of white lightning coiled around his palm, rapidly compressing under the immense control granted by [Dragon Lightning Protection] and the blessing of prayer, unleashing a dazzling light.

The magician hadn't even recovered from the shock yet.

It's not that he's slow to react or has poor mental fortitude.

Rather, Rose's ancient dragon faith-based prayers started too quickly, and he offered three prayers in an instant.

The zero-frame start technique unique to Gu Long believers.

The magician, his face showing shock, finally recovered and pointed at Rose, his voice trembling:

"Cults...cultists...?!"

Before she finished speaking, Rose's figure had already disappeared from the spot.

The next instant, he appeared before the magician.

Although the high level of reason and perception magic allowed the mage to detect the movement, the body had no time to react.

A fist crackling with electricity slammed into the mage's face.

However, the sensation of brains splattering that Rose had anticipated did not come.

Instead, a tremendous resistance deflected the fist at an extremely subtle angle for a moment.

Under the influence of this force, the blow that was originally enough to blow off the entire skull...

Ultimately, only the right half of the opponent's face was shattered by the lightning.

At the same time, the mage's body suddenly sprang up like a deflated balloon, escaping into the air at an extremely fast speed.

That speed was even faster than the speed at which Rossai had thrown his punch.

The magician steadied himself in mid-air, half of his face completely paralyzed.

The magician then realized that Rose was actually a believer who could use magic.

Based on the abnormal physical characteristics, he knew that Rose was very likely the one who had escaped from the nearest "observation point".

In an instant, he determined Rose's value.

If this method of concealing the physical alienation of a believer is thoroughly researched and published, it would be enough to allow him to regain his previous social status. Then, through the restoration of his social status, he could slowly restore his sanity to its peak.

Even if they can't produce any results from the research, simply handing the other party over in exchange for the bounty can earn them a large sum of money.

However, the opponent is also extremely troublesome. Their speed and near-zero frame attack speed make them a nemesis for mages in a one-on-one situation.

However, this was not a problem for him; he was confident that he could capture Rosey successfully if he was well prepared.

He hovered in mid-air, feeling the complete paralysis of half his face. If it weren't for the "trigger-type" defensive magic he had cast on his body,

And the "trigger" escape spell when "defensive" magic fails—his head might have just been blown off.

Trigger-based escape magic is a common method used by magicians to protect themselves.

When certain conditions are triggered, such as being severely injured or when defensive magic fails,

This would allow the magician to leave the original location at an extremely fast speed.

This kind of magic almost recklessly takes the magician away from the original location. In fact, it is quite common for some unlucky magicians to die in mid-air while using "escape" magic.

But its advantage is that it is extremely fast.

As Kenneth said, for a magician, the cost of defense is extremely high compared to simple destruction.

The strategy for high-level mages is primarily based on offense, movement, and interception.

Purely defensive tactics are rarely used in battles between mages.

Therefore, assassination is a very useful method against magicians.

By suddenly launching an attack at close range and unleashing an attack that is almost impossible to defend against, this method is extremely efficient at killing mages.

Of course, magicians are not entirely without options. Their greatest strengths are their high potential for growth, adaptability, and the immense power of their knowledge.

Therefore, most second-circle and above mages will cast two types of magic on themselves: "trigger defense" and "trigger escape" to counter assassinations and close-range attacks.

Once the distance is increased, then launch a long-range attack.

Unless they are extremely unlucky or their opponent is very well prepared, most magicians are able to escape successfully.

However, this does not seem to apply to the ancient dragon believer in front of us.

The premise of the trigger-based escape is that this is a world dominated by magicians.

Most attacks that burst forth in an instant are difficult to quickly follow up with a second time after being released once.

By the time the attackers launched their second attack, the magician had already fled.

However, Gu Long's followers are different.

Rose had long ago discovered that the followers of the Ancient Dragon were known for their powerful and fast attacks, with bricks flying everywhere.

Most spells cast by mages require chanting, and even with high sanity correction and proficiency, the chanting time can only be compressed to a very short period.

Gu Long's followers prayed that their prayers would come true as soon as they raised their hands, and they would throw out whatever move they dreamed of.

In the instant the magician fled, without needing to chant, Rose simply raised her hand and released the next prayer:

A Shining-level Ancient Dragon Cultist's Prayer: [Thunder Spear]

Lightning bolts converged rapidly into his palm, and under the blessing of [Dragon Thunder Protection], they coalesced into a straight lightning spear.

It bursts forth with dazzling light, tearing the darkness apart.

Rose twisted her body into a rope-like shape, assuming a throwing posture.

Despite having never practiced throwing in either his past or present life, and lacking any sensory magic, his opponent was still escaping at an extremely high speed.

But under the combined influence of the powerful control and intuition that come with high faith, only one thought surfaced in Rose's mind:

"It will hit the target."

The lightning spear flew out of his hand with lightning speed, rapidly enlarging in the mage's horrified gaze before piercing his skull with pinpoint accuracy.

The entire lightning spear was embedded in the mage's head, flying away with his fleeing body.

"boom!"

In mid-air, the lightning spear exploded!

A blinding flash of lightning instantly engulfed the mage's head and half his torso.

Flesh and bone fragments scattered and disintegrated in the shockwave of the explosion, the remains were violently thrown far away and plunged into darkness.