My physics masters couldn't possibly be grand mages.

We were blindfolded and led down by the teachers.

Each student starts from a different point, presumably to prevent some students from forming cliques from the beginning, which would be unfair to students with poor interpersonal relationships.

Once the teacher takes you to the designated location, you can take off your blindfold.

All I could see was pitch black.

A lantern was placed nearby, but it only illuminated three or four steps before being swallowed by darkness.

The cave walls gleamed with a damp, dark light, as if something was slowly seeping water. The air was stuffy and heavy.

The smell of sulfur mixed with the metallic odor of rust seeped into my nostrils. My feet sank into the soft ash, making a soft "shh" sound.

Char took the flashlight out of his storage space.

Technology from 2072 easily tore through this unsettling darkness.

The blinding beam of light startled whatever was in the tunnel, and a chilling hiss echoed through the empty corridor as it drew nearer.

Char came to the wall and carefully examined the rock face. The rock was very solid, so there was no need to worry about the tunnel collapsing due to an explosion when he used the compressed hydrogen-oxygen ball.

The magical families would likely reinforce the mines when they were mining.

"Squeak—"

Char reacted quickly and shone his flashlight toward the source of the sound.

Crimson eyes emerged rapidly from the darkness.

The bright white light quickly outlined the shape of the thing.

It was a huge mutated rat, about the size of a wild boar.

Long, fine hair draped over his body like steel wire, his eyes were fixed on Xia, his lips were turned outwards, and thick saliva dripped onto the ground, making a sizzling sound—it seemed to have a certain corrosiveness.

The next moment, it charged towards Xia Ya.

"Sizzle—sizzle—"

The lightning hand shot out almost instantly, flying five meters away and striking it.

The electric current spread throughout its entire body at a speed invisible to the naked eye, and its running momentum paused for a moment.

It collapsed to the ground, twitching slightly.

Before it could recover, Char quickly reattached the burning hand.

The terrifyingly high blue-white temperature seeped into its damp fur, spreading rapidly as if it had come into contact with oil.

"squeak!!!"

A sharp, piercing scream echoed throughout the tunnel, causing excruciating pain to the eardrums.

The rat's body writhed violently in the blue-white flames. It tried to roll over, but its body was beyond its control. The smell of burning fur mixed with the stench of burning flesh exploded in the narrow tunnel, choking Char and causing him to take a step back.

It quickly stopped moving.

The flames are still burning.

The air was filled with the stench of burning protein, making one feel nauseous.

Char's face was somewhat pale. He raised his hand to cover his nose and quickly walked past the corpse into the depths of the tunnel.

Fortunately, the wind was blowing outwards, so the stench gradually subsided as you went further in.

Next time, he thought, "I'll try to increase the power of Lightning Hand a bit and just shut down the heart."

Although the combination of the two spells is very efficient at killing, fire will still cause additional damage when used in such a confined space.

For example, the squealing of a rat before it died, or the smell after it was burned.

Char continued deeper into the tunnel.

The beam of light swept across the cave wall, drawing a white fan shape in the darkness.

There was no second pair of scarlet eyes.

"hiss--"

A deep, hissing sound came from behind.

Char suddenly turned around, and the beam of light shone on him.

A pair of dark yellow vertical pupils.

It was a lizard over two meters long, clinging to the rat's carcass, its head facing him.

Char's hair stood on end.

The lizard moved. Like a streak of gray-white lightning, it shot forward. Its speed was unexpected for its bulky body.

Xia had no time to think. He pulled a hydrogen-oxygen bomb from his storage space, threw it towards the lizard, and simultaneously lunged to his right.

The hydrogen-oxygen bomb struck the lizard's head—

"boom!!"

The blue-white fireball was almost within reach. The heatwave knocked him to the ground, his back slamming against the cave wall, causing him to gasp in pain.

His ears were ringing. He looked up.

The lizard's head was gone. Its body lay limp on the ground, the severed end charred and still smoking. Its grayish-white tail twitched twice, then remained completely still.

Char leaned against the cave wall, panting heavily.

My hands are still shaking.

He leaned against the cave wall to stand up and picked up the flashlight that had fallen to the ground.

The beam of light swept across the lizard's corpse.

The creature's color was almost identical to the rock face, so it must have been nearby just now, and might even have been trying to hunt this rat.

If Char had reacted even a fraction of a second slower, he might have actually been killed by this thing.

This lizard is smaller than this mouse, but it might be poisonous or something. If it bites you, it's basically the end of your exam.

That was a close call.

He is currently missing a detection-type spell.

Since sound also belongs to the wind, he felt that after returning, he should study some kind of ultrasonic magic with the two old men.

In addition, there are stealth-type and defensive-type items.

However, the defensive magic in the second tier is actually relatively useless.

The earth elementals have a spell that can cover the body with a layer of rough stone armor two or three centimeters thick, which can protect against knife cuts, axe blows, and arrows.

However, the problem is that it will reduce movement speed by 30% to 40%.

This is why Char chose the air cannon; at least by modifying the casting method, it can be used as a defensive magic.

Thinking about it carefully, it would actually be better to go to 2072 and find a bulletproof vest and stab-proof suit.

If you're lucky enough to find a full-body exoskeleton, its defensive capabilities can rival those of a Tier 3 exoskeleton.

This is a fairly cost-effective solution. You don't need to waste magic power worrying about your own protection, and the exoskeleton itself can also increase your combat options.

It also has built-in radar and AI to help process information.

In other words, he only needs to think about offensive magic.

There are some issues with the repair and maintenance of the exoskeleton.

Wait, maybe the Tesla can be repaired.

Go to 2072 to find some relevant information and let Tesla learn it himself; that shouldn't be difficult for him.

He had heard Tesla mention it.

He can experiment with various ideas in his mind until they are perfected. Without any models, blueprints, or experiments, it's practically like realizing virtual reality (VR) in the human brain.

This talent makes one a chosen mechanic.

As for materials and parts.

Alchemy should be achievable; it can turn lead into gold. This kind of operation at the atomic nucleus level can be done with virtually zero tolerance.

He glanced at the lizard again, then turned and continued deeper into the tunnel.

The boots crunched and clattered on the gravel.

He's new here and they're already putting him on a high-intensity level; who knows what else might be in the tunnel?

Fortunately, the thousands of hydrogen-oxygen bombs in his storage space gave him a slight sense of security.