Above the mage

Chapter 322 I really am a genius (Part 1)

As the staff called out names, a mage who was noticeably older than Bourne Mack stepped forward from the crowd.

He is Pao Lok.

To be honest, he was very nervous.

But on second thought, this battle was neither life-threatening nor did it require victory, so the psychological pressure was actually manageable.

Go all out and fight for a better future!

This was what Pao was thinking at that moment, and it was also the thought of most people present.

However, the outcome of the battle did not change because of his unwavering belief.

Pao's fate was no different from that of Boone Mack.

Their durations should differ by only a few seconds, and even their opening scenes are the same—when leaving the deck, he also failed to dodge Paul's thick but agile tentacles and was directly slapped into the sea.

Naturally, when Pao was thrown back onto the deck by the giant octopus and struggled to his feet, soaking wet and disheveled, Lieutenant Sirin had already put a big X next to his name without any hesitation.

Bourne Mack, who witnessed this scene, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and even felt a little secretly fortunate.

—The staff and the sea sentinel mages did not ask him to leave, so after a moment's hesitation, Born Mack decided to stay and observe the other people's retest performance.

He had no grudge against Pao, or rather, they were complete strangers.

While his own failure was certainly terrible, the success of others was even more heartbreaking. So, after seeing Pao's failure, he subconsciously felt a sense of relief.

And this feeling of comfort continued endlessly.

The mages who were selected next performed much better than the others.

However, two older mid-stage first-level mages, relying on their deeper magical foundation and more spells, managed to stay in the water for another ten seconds or so.

However, it was clear that those ten seconds were not enough for them to pass the second round of the sea sentry test.

In this way, the ten mages who passed the initial test were re-examined, and the total time spent was less than half an hour.

This made Warrant Officer Xilin shake his head repeatedly.

He didn't even focus on the transparent panel on the alchemy machine as he had before; instead, he turned and started chatting with the young sea sentinel mage beside him.

"We need to make the people in the preliminary selection process stricter in the future. Sending these people over is just a waste of our time, isn't it?" he said, frowning.

"We can't blame Lieutenant Xilin, after all, the preliminary test only examines magical and mental strength, and then combines it with basic information to screen applicants. It's normal that they can't see the overall quality of the applicants," one of the sea sentinel mages said with a smile.

Lieutenant Xilin naturally understood this principle; it was just a casual remark made out of boredom.

"I don't even know if we can recruit anyone this time," Warrant Officer Xilin sighed.

"It's alright, even if we can't recruit anyone this round, it's not a big problem. We've already had four new members join this year," another person quickly reassured them.

"Although there are quite a few people, they only barely meet the standard. It's better than nothing. Our Sea Sentinels haven't produced any truly outstanding geniuses in a long time."

Lieutenant Xilin added, "If this continues, our influence among the Sentinels of Light will only weaken."

Hearing this, the other three sea sentinel mages also felt rather helpless, "These kinds of things are ultimately a matter of chance, alas."

"These Light Sentinels are clearly derived from our Sea Sentinels, how come?" One of them seemed to have been touched on a sore spot and became somewhat indignant.

"Harry, watch your words!" But before he could finish speaking, Warrant Officer Sirin interrupted him in time.

The sea sentinel mage named Harry, after being pointed at by Lieutenant Sirin, realized he had spoken out of turn and quickly shut his mouth.

"Next up, Gaode."

At this point, the staff had already called out the new name.

"Hmm, this Gaode Map seems to be more than just a simple tool."

At the same time, another sea sentinel mage glanced down at the introduction and then spoke in surprise.

"How so?" His words immediately drew the attention of the other three.

Upon hearing his name called, Gao De calmly and silently stepped out of the crowd.

He was the eleventh mage to be drawn today. Unlike in TV dramas, he didn't make a grand entrance to surprise the examiners who had been disappointed all day.

However, this ranking is already a good one. There are people ahead of him testing the waters, which is enough for him to understand the situation and prepare himself mentally, without getting anxious because of waiting too long.

However, to Gao De's surprise, after he stepped forward and stood on the edge of the deck, the four examiners who had remained expressionless throughout, only staring at the transparent panel of the alchemy machine, suddenly looked up and stared directly at him, as if they had agreed beforehand.

Including the most indifferent Warrant Officer Xilin.

The reason is actually quite simple.

On the parchment bearing the names of the monks participating in the second round of examinations, there are always comments left by the examiners from the first round.

Following Gao De's name is his information, including his mage level, magical power, mental strength, background, and origin.

Following the information presentation came the evaluation from the preliminary examiners, a brief six-word statement that carried immense weight:

"Top-tier mage talent".

Finally, an additional note was added: the scoring criteria for the re-examination can be appropriately relaxed.

This is a preferential treatment for "top-tier mage talent" and also reflects optimism about the potential of high-level mage.

"What do you think?" Warrant Officer Xilin raised an eyebrow slightly, shifting his gaze from the parchment to the young sea sentinel mages beside him, posing the question.

"He is indeed a genius. Born into a homeless beggar family and never having enjoyed any cultivation resources, he was able to become a first-ring mage at the age of fifteen. That's not all; he even has a mental strength of 186 at the early stage of the first ring."

"With proper training, he could very well become a Limit Breaker mage in the future."

"It's a pity about his background. Without the nourishment of resources from a young age, even if he has high talent, nine times out of ten his first-level specialty won't be outstanding," another sea sentinel mage lamented.

Specialization depends on a mage's knowledge base, spell library, and a bit of luck.

All three of these are weaknesses of the poor.

"Indeed, and I suspect magic is also a weakness."

"That's why we were allowed to relax the scoring criteria appropriately," the mage who spoke first shrugged and said matter-of-factly.

"That's fine. He's weak in magic, but he can make up for that after joining our Sea Sentinels. He's still young anyway; it's just a bit of a shame about that specialty."

"It's just one area of ​​expertise. Although it has an impact, it's not fatal. There's still a chance to catch up later."

The three young sea sentinel mages began to discuss among themselves.

"However, he is not a native subject of the dynasty, but a naturalized citizen of another country. You should think about this more carefully. We, the Sea Sentinels, are the face of Dorne. We cannot be ambiguous about the background of our members, and we cannot allow any problems to occur."

Lieutenant Xilin crossed his arms but offered a different perspective: "My opinion is that we should neither raise nor lower the scoring standards."

"That's true." The others seemed to be thinking about this.

"Furthermore, just having high mental strength doesn't definitively prove someone has top-tier mage talent; at most, it's considered a rare talent."

Lieutenant Xilin continued, "A mage's talent includes both spellcasting and combat skills. If one only has strong mental strength, but cannot cast spells smoothly in actual combat, has terrible combat skills, and lacks mental fortitude, then one is just all show and no substance."

"Warrant Officer Xilin is right!" *3.

"He was arguably the most outstanding among this group of mages, but that's about it. Aren't there plenty of geniuses among our Sea Sentinels? But how many of them actually make a name for themselves in the end?"

"Resources are limited, but geniuses are endless."

Standing on the edge of the deck.

Gao De was unaware of Warrant Officer Xilin's evaluation of him and his opinion of genius.

He had only one thing on his mind right now: not to beat Paul, but at least not to be tossed around on the deck like a ball.

While waiting to go on stage, Gao De had already mentally prepared his "script" and had a preliminary spell strategy.

With a thought, the magical power within him instantly became active, flowing and changing rapidly, flashing across the spell models in the sea of ​​spells.

[Mage Armor+], [Increased Resistance+], [Shield Spell+].

A faint light appeared on the surface of his body.

All three protective spells have been cast.

Next up is [Wolf Speed+].

As the spell took effect, Gao De could clearly feel his legs trembling slightly, and a surge of power continuously welling up from the soles of his feet.

Seawater is not a terrain but an environment, so the [Light Feather Step] cannot be used, and he did not waste any more mana.

After making the necessary preparations for casting the spell, Gao De took a deep breath, exerted force with his legs, and leaped high off the deck like an arrow.

Almost at the same moment, Paul used his familiar "old trick," his thick tentacles whipping towards Gao De with incredible speed and force, accompanied by a whooshing sound.

This is considered an open secret.

The problem is that Paul knows the "King" card, so even if you know his hand, you can't deal with it.

The tentacles were moving so fast that they left only a blurry black shadow in the air, leaving no time for anyone to dodge.

However, this time Paul's usually invincible tentacles finally failed.

With the addition of 【Wolf Speed+】, Gaode now possesses both the speed and leap of a wolf.

So, as Paul's tentacles lashed out, Gao De had already nimbly stepped onto one of its tentacles, using the momentum to spring upwards once more.

The next instant, two intense beams of energy shot out from Gao De's fingertips.

【Magic Burst+】.

The only first-level attack spell he currently possesses is [Frozen Blade], which is his trump card, so Gao De is not prepared to cast it lightly.

This meant that in this second round of the competition, he could only attack using magic tricks.

Paul's skin, with its dark sheen, clearly possesses exceptional resilience and resistance.

Please bookmark 6.9 books!

In this situation, [Magic Blast+], which deals damage with the Noble Force Field effect, is undoubtedly the best choice.

More importantly, his [Magic Blast+] has an automatic target acquisition function.

The ability to cast spells quickly while moving at high speed is already thanks to the [Spell Ninja Body].

To achieve precise target acquisition would be even more difficult, at least for Gaode Maps at present.

So let's leave it to automatic target acquisition.

Two beams of energy struck Paul precisely.

It possesses penetrating force field damage, directly ignoring the skin and causing force field damage to it.

However, the magical energy burst that was enough to instantly kill the Ice Wolf landed on Paul, but it failed to have even the slightest substantial effect on it.

Paul merely trembled slightly, as if he had been bitten by a mosquito, feeling no pain or itch whatsoever.

—A creature that is huge in size is not necessarily very powerful, but it usually has a very high health bar.

Paul was the same.

As a mutant creature, it was able to easily defeat all the elite sea sentinels and mages of the same level, so it naturally had many skills.

thump!

After casting [Magic Blast+], Gao De didn't even look at the results and jumped straight into the azure sea.

He is the only person so far in the second round of interviews to enter the water on his own, rather than being pulled into the water by Paul.

Although the water is Paul's home court, this is a choice made out of necessity.

After all, once you leave the deck, there's nowhere to put your feet. How can you float in the air without going into the water?

As soon as we entered the water, sunlight pierced through the layers of water curtain, scattering into countless fine bright lines, illuminating the underwater world in a dreamlike way, and providing a fairly good view.

Of course, even without this light, it's not a big problem, as Gaode's dark vision capability has already been improved to over 40%.

He held his breath and looked ahead.

Paul had half his body above water and the other half underwater.

It was at this time that Gao De realized how apt the name "giant octopus" was for Paul.

Paul's underwater portion features his whiskers, which stretch out wildly, resembling a twisting, shadowy forest.

The thickest parts of the tentacles are as wide as an adult man's waist, covered with densely packed suckers, each about the size of a bowl, with a ring of small but sharp serrations around the edge.

The tentacles were sticky and covered with a layer of slippery, transparent mucus, shimmering eerily in the dim light as they swayed gently with the flow of water.

Every now and then, a few tiny bubbles would emerge and slowly rise upwards.

call!

The next moment, Gao De realized something, and before he could think about it, his body instinctively twisted to the other side.

Moving your body in water is not as easy as on land, because there is resistance everywhere in the water, and you have to fight against this force every inch you move.

However, Gaode's movements were exceptionally smooth and fluid, as if it were aided by something.

That is indeed the case.

[Sensitivity to water flow increased by 36%, and oxygen uptake increased by 61%].

The adaptive feature greatly enhances Gaode's swimming ability and breath-holding time in water.

You could even say that the water area is half of his home ground.

Thanks to its enhanced ability to sense water flow, Gaode can keenly detect the subtle movements of countless fine, silk-like water currents, thus cleverly using them for movement.

Just as he completed his sideways maneuver, one of Paul's whiskers, like a swift harpoon, tore through the water, carrying countless glistening bubbles.

Its whiskers broke through the water, creating a series of whirlpools with overwhelming force.

Fortunately, Gaode acted in advance, narrowly avoiding the edge of the tentacle's attack range.

This also relies on the ability to sense water flow.

In water, even the slightest movement can trigger a chain reaction in the water flow, creating new water flow directions.

Even the slightest movement of a finger can disrupt the originally calm water flow, creating entirely new and intricate ripples.

These movements, whether rapid or gentle, intertwine to form an invisible information network, conveying all the potential information in the surrounding environment.

Of course, a mere 36% improvement in water flow sensing is not enough for Gaode Maps to capture such subtle and delicate information.

However, the changes in water flow caused by Paul's rapid whisker movement were still very obvious and easy to capture.

It was through this ability that Gao De was able to promptly realize Paul's intention to launch a surprise attack.

After dodging Paul's playful probing, God has already activated a new spell model.

A tiny glimmer of light flickered on Paul's deeply furrowed skin.

The light was initially small, but then quickly spread outwards, outlining a unique, mysterious, and complex totem shape on its skin.

A rare first-level spell, [Hunter's Mark+]!

As the spell took effect, a secret connection seemed to be established between God and Paul.

Paul's every move seemed to be locked onto by Gao De's perception.

In addition, his subsequent attack spells on Paul will receive an extra damage bonus.

Immediately afterwards, Gaode's right hand emitted a faint light once again.

Magic trick, [Frostbite].

This is a spell, like the Hunter's Mark, that has no casting trajectory whatsoever.

Once activated, the magic will silently traverse space and act directly on the target.

The temperature of the mucus on Paul's body dropped sharply, and a layer of frost began to form.

Boom!

However, Paul merely twisted his body, and the frost that was about to solidify shattered and disappeared in an instant.

Frostbite was easily countered.

Gao De was not discouraged; he already knew that a magic trick was basically impossible to work on Paul.

This is just to buy some time.

The moment he left the deck, his third-order Mandora Eye had already quietly unfolded.

In Gao De's left eye, golden lines, like agile swimming fish, were constantly moving and changing.

The [Insight] ability is operating at high speed, rapidly building a model of Paul and discerning the intricate energy flows on its body surface.

Gaode pointed forward.

【Overcoming the Enemy's Opportunity】 has been cast, helping Mandora's Eye to find weaknesses and build the basic model faster and more completely.

(End of this chapter)