Grinding EXP From Fireball Skill-Chapter 39: Nightmare

Li Wei returned to his room, grabbed his Magic Staff, and headed out of the Mage Tower.

He arrived on a street in the western district.

As soon as he got there, he spotted a few familiar faces.

"Mage Allen, what are you doing here?" Li Wei asked, a little surprised.

Hearing this, Allen looked at Li Wei and said, "Lair went with people from the Professional Association to hunt down a Black Cultist yesterday, and he still hasn’t returned."

"Lair went too?" Li Wei was surprised.

"The Mage Tower sent three Apprentice Mages, and with Lair and the team from the Professional Association, that should be more than enough to handle even a Tier Two Magical Beast. Is the Black Cultist really that powerful?" Li Wei said with a frown.

Allen shook his head and said, "Not necessarily. The Black Cultists of the Yubis Sect specialize in Dream Magic. Even an Official Mage could fall for it."

"Their lives probably aren’t in danger. They might just be trapped in the sewers right now."

Li Wei looked at him and asked, "Does Mage Allen plan to intervene?"

Allen shook his head. "I won’t be getting involved. Vince, you go rescue Lair."

He took out a white stone covered in runes and handed it to Mage Vince.

Allen didn’t explain the white stone’s purpose.

Mage Vince put the white stone away, nodded, and said, "Alright."

Seeing this, Li Wei quickly walked over and said, "Mage Vince, I’ll go with you."

Vince glanced at him and advised, "You’re too weak. Don’t go down there and risk it."

Li Wei said, "I can help you find Lair."

Seeing this, Allen said, "Vince, take him with you. Be careful."

Vince said no more and turned towards the open sewer entrance.

Li Wei and Vince entered the sewer. Sunlight shone in from the opening above, illuminating only a few meters around them. Farther in, it was pitch-black.

Vince asked, "Do you know the Lighting Technique?"

Li Wei shook his head. He raised his Magic Staff, and a tiny fireball appeared on it.

"Will this do?"

The Magic Staff had become a torch.

With Li Wei’s mastery over the Small Fireball Technique, a single casting could maintain the torch for over ten minutes.

Vince glanced with surprise at the small fireball on Li Wei’s Magic Staff.

He was a Ring Mage, able to produce only the fixed effects of Magic. He couldn’t control a spell’s power level like Li Wei.

He couldn’t use the Small Fireball Technique as a torch for illumination.

Furthermore, limited by his number of Spell Slots, he could only store four Tier Zero Magic Models and three Tier One Magic Models.

He hadn’t stored the useless Lighting Technique, which was why he had asked Li Wei if he knew it.

Although Li Wei didn’t know the Lighting Technique, using the Small Fireball Technique as a torch could light up their surroundings. It would have to do.

Vince raised a hand and cast a Tier One Magic Shield.

After putting the shield on himself, he cast another Magic Shield on Li Wei.

"Let’s go."

The two of them followed the footprints on the ground, heading into the darkness.

WHOOSH!

The small fireball from Li Wei’s Magic Staff flew more than ten meters, exploding in mid-air to illuminate a fork in the path.

A new small fireball immediately appeared at the tip of his Magic Staff.

Vince glanced at Li Wei, noticing his Casting speed was a bit fast.

"They went to the right."

Li Wei said, looking at the footprints on the ground.

"Mm."

The two continued forward. After a while, Li Wei felt a stir in his mind and turned to look to his left.

He sensed the Invisibility Armor Spell on Gu Ze.

The Invisible Armor was formed from his own Mana, and his Mana carried his unique spiritual fluctuations. As long as they weren’t too far apart, he could sense it.

"Over there! They’re over there!"

Hearing this, Vince grew more alert.

The two of them advanced in the direction Li Wei pointed.

After walking for a bit and rounding a corner, they saw a figure lying on the ground, half-submerged in water.

"Someone’s here!"

Vince exclaimed in a low voice.

Li Wei understood. He raised his Magic Staff, and a tiny fireball shot out dozens of meters, flying through the sewer ahead.

The flare of light illuminated the darkness ahead.

The ground was littered with the unconscious figures of Professionals.

Li Wei saw Gu Ze sitting slumped against a wall, his Magic Staff lying on the ground. The other two Apprentice Mages were near him as well.

"Lair!"

Vince shouted upon seeing Lair lying prone on the ground.

The sound echoed through the sewer, but Lair didn’t react.

Vince stared grimly at the passage ahead. "They’ve been trapped in a dreamscape by the Black Cultist. We need to get them out of here first."

As he spoke, he waved his Magic Staff, and several vines sprouted beside him.

"Vine Skill!"

Under his control, the vines rapidly extended into the distance, wrapped around Lair on the ground, and began dragging him back.

The vines also started dragging back several other Professionals from the surrounding area.

TZZZT!

A strange sound filled the air.

Li Wei saw a translucent blue figure emerge from the water.

The blue figure drilled into the body of an unconscious Warrior.

WHOOSH!

The Warrior stood up, swung his Longsword at the vines, and severed the ones entangling Lair.

"What the hell is that?" Li Wei exclaimed in shock.

Vince’s eyes narrowed. "It’s a Nightmare! A Nightmare summoned by the Black Cultist."

"The Nightmare has no physical body; it can only attack by controlling the bodies of the living who have lost consciousness." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"I’ll trap this Nightmare. You find a way to locate the Black Cultist. Since the Nightmare he controls is here, he must be nearby!"

Vince slammed the butt of his Magic Staff onto the ground.

"Vine Entanglement!"

A moment later, the Warrior charging at them was ensnared by vines erupting from the ground, rendered immobile.

The Nightmare abandoned the Warrior’s body and drilled into a Knight.

The Knight scrambled to his feet and charged at Vince.

Vince pointed at the ground. Several vines grew out and wrapped around the Knight’s legs. After snapping one or two, the Knight’s charge was broken.

The Nightmare transferred again, this time into an Assassin.

The Assassin activated stealth and vanished into the darkness.

Vince scanned his surroundings warily.

Li Wei spoke quickly, "If we can’t find the Black Cultist, can Magic kill the Nightmare?"

Vince said, "It can, but can you do it without harming the others?"

’If the situation were urgent, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill. But things weren’t that dire yet. A mere Low Level Nightmare wasn’t worth the life of a Professional.’

Li Wei said in a low voice, "You trap the person the Nightmare is possessing. I’ll kill it while it’s transferring!"

Vince, thinking of Li Wei’s astonishing Casting speed, whispered, "Are you sure?"

"I am."

A cold gleam of light flashed from Vince’s side. The stealthed Assassin had appeared beside him without him noticing.

BANG!

The dagger was blocked by the Magic Shield. Vince released the spell he already had ready.

"Vine Entanglement!"

The ground shattered, and a mass of vines surged out to bind the Assassin’s body, suspending it in mid-air, unable to move.

The Nightmare flew out and slammed headfirst into Vince’s Magic Shield, where it was blocked.

Having failed, the Nightmare flew toward Li Wei.

The small fireball in front of Li Wei had already swelled to three times its size.

"Explode!"

BANG!

The Fireball detonated between Li Wei, the Nightmare, and Vince.

The fiery light instantly engulfed the Nightmare’s form.

Li Wei and Vince were also sent stumbling back a few steps by the Fireball’s shockwave.

Vince twisted to look behind him. The pale blue Nightmare had already dissipated into the air.

He looked at Li Wei, his mouth twitching. He’d never seen a Mage throw a Fireball right in front of himself.

’Is this a suicide-bomber Mage?’

Li Wei grinned. "Problem solved."