Gaode, who had broken out in a cold sweat from the scare by Mage Seda, took a quick shower before returning to his workshop.
"Fortunately, this old geezer only made his move today," Gaode rejoiced inwardly after calming down, actually feeling that his luck wasn't too bad. At least he had already spent all his savings and learned new Magic. It was also fortunate that he had made good use of his time, preparing many things over the past dozen days.
Mage Seda's decision to ground him had completely extinguished Gaode's desire to flee. Since that was the case, there was only one path left.
"Fuck him!" Gaode cursed viciously. He refused to believe that an "Otherworld top student" like himself would lose to an indigenous old man with one foot in the grave.
While pumping himself up, Gaode took out the Hidden Mist Fang he had bought today for 4 Sean Gold Coins from his pocket. Due to his limited knowledge of Magic, there was no information about the Hidden Mist Skill, so by Nature, he did not know the specific effects of the Hidden Mist Skill. However, the Hidden Mist Skill was a First-Ring Spell. This alone was enough to fill Gaode with infinite anticipation for it.
"It doesn't sound like Attack Magic from the name, but that might not be the case..." Gaode guessed. Regardless, as long as he repaired the Hidden Mist Fang, he would know exactly what kind of Magic the Hidden Mist Skill was.
Gaode gripped the Hidden Mist Fang, concentrated fully, and cast [Repair Skill+]. His Mana began to overflow, a faint radiance flowing from his fingertips. The heavily worn Runes on the surface of the Hidden Mist Fang began to flicker with a faint light, extending and healing as if an invisible pen was sketching over them.
After this process lasted for about five minutes, a layer of fine sweat broke out on Gaode's forehead again. With a heavy pant, the radiance at Gaode's fingertips dissipated. However, the Hidden Mist Fang in his hand had not been completely repaired. Only a small portion of the worn Runes on its surface had healed; the vast majority remained incomplete, waiting for more Mana to be injected. It wasn't that Gaode didn't want to continue, but the Mana in his body had been completely depleted.
"With my current Mana, repairing a First Ring Extraordinary Item is indeed not something that can be accomplished in a day or two," Gaode had long anticipated. The repair of the Divine Guidance Ring had cost him a great deal of effort, so as a First Ring Extraordinary Item, the Hidden Mist Fang would inevitably be even harder to repair. Compared to this, he was more worried that the [Repair Skill+] wouldn't take effect. After all, this was merely a Trick, while the Hidden Mist Fang was a First Ring Extraordinary Item. It crossed the tier.
"Although the Repair Skill enhanced by the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow is powerful, it must have a limit. It is impossible for a mere Trick to repair a High Tier Magic Alchemy Creation.
"Fortunately, at least a First Ring Magic Alchemy Creation is not the limit of the Repair Skill," Gaode rejoiced inwardly.
"It will take about ten days." He estimated the progress and arrived at an answer. "There's no use rushing, but ten days will still be in time." He didn't think about it anymore, carefully put away the Hidden Mist Fang, sat cross-legged, and began today's cultivation!
***
After finishing his daily cultivation, Gaode returned to his bedroom and had just lain down to rest. Before falling asleep, he heard an unusual sound.
SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!
SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!
It sounded like the squeaking of a mouse, yet it was far too piercing. Contrasted against the overly quiet environment of the Medicinal Garden, it appeared exceptionally Tuwu.
Gaode immediately got up on alert. Accompanied by this strange sound, a faint, rotten, and fishy stench wafted through the air.
"What is that?" Gaode's heart tightened.
The next moment, an extremely sharp, agonized wail came from an apprentice's room not far next door.
"AH!!!"
This was closely followed by another scream mixed with horror and fear. The piercing sounds instantly awakened everyone in the Medicinal Garden, including the fast-asleep Amy. He woke up in a panic, immediately lit the oil lamp in the room, and subconsciously looked at Gaode. "What's going on?"
"It seems something has happened." Gaode's voice turned serious as he rapidly cast [Mage's Hand]. A Ghost Hand emerged, silently extinguishing the oil lamp Amy had just lit. Having done this, Gaode got up, approached the door, and carefully opened a crack. Through the gap, he looked toward the direction of the sound by the dim candlelight in the corridor.
That was the room of two other apprentices. The door was still tightly shut, making it impossible to know exactly what had happened inside to cause someone to let out such an agonizing sound. Right then, the continuous wailing coming from the room quietly ceased.
The Medicinal Garden instantly fell quiet again. But it was only for an instant.
BOOM!
Accompanied by a violent boom, that tightly shut door shattered directly into pieces and wood chips. Immediately after, a ferocious shadow squeezed out from the ruined doorway. By the not-so-bright candlelight in the corridor, Gaode roughly made out a silhouette.
It looked like a wolf and like a rat. It looked like a rat because its appearance was extremely similar, with distinct head features. A pair of brown eyes flickered with a fierce glint, and its ears were massive. Sharp, curved fangs protruded from its wide mouth, and its fur was the dark green of a murky swamp, shimmering with a cold and tough luster. Beneath the fur, its muscle lines were sharply defined, revealing formidable strength and Agility.
It resembled a wolf because its size far exceeded that of a normal rat; it was two meters long and nearly a meter high at the shoulder, looking more like a wild wolf.
"An Earth Vein Creature!" Gaode was horrified inwardly. This was not his first time seeing an Earth Vein Creature. But the ones he had seen before were all things like the Gray-eyed Mouse or the Dark Swamp Crawler, which only possessed the bloodline of Earth Vein Creatures but were practically devoid of combat power—true "disgraces among Earth Vein Creatures." This was indeed his first time seeing an Earth Vein Creature with such an intense, oppressive presence.
The giant rat's brown eyes glanced around. Abruptly, its gaze focused, and it found a new target. The adjacent door had already been opened by this time, and two apprentices were peering out. Gaode and Amy were not the only ones awakened by the wails; the surrounding apprentices had all been roused without exception. It was just that not everyone was as cautious as Gaode.
"SQUEAK SQUEAK!" Without hesitation, the giant rat lunged straight at the two apprentices who were poking their heads out to look.
Witnessing this scene with his own eyes, Gaode was even more appalled. The giant rat moved so incredibly fast, while those two apprentices seemed as if they had wet themselves in fear. Watching the giant rat pounce, they actually stood frozen in place, utterly stunned. One could well imagine that taking such a heavy blow would likely leave them half-crippled, if not dead.
"Beast!"
Gao Degang had just started mourning for those two apprentices when a hoarse yet ruthless voice rang out from the end of the corridor. The air was suddenly filled with searing Energy fluctuations.
An arrow formed from pure flames carved a brilliant trajectory through the air, as if igniting the very atmosphere, and shot straight toward the giant rat that was lunging at the apprentices. The giant rat sensed the aura of danger and immediately made the most correct choice, abandoning the "prey" within its reach and opting to dodge instead.
However, having failed to spot this Flaming Arrow at the first moment, the giant rat could no longer escape the judgment of the flames. The Flaming Arrow struck its waist with unerring accuracy, and the raging fire instantly spread, engulfing the giant rat's body.
"SQUEAK!"
The giant rat let out a shriek of agony, but its fur was exceptionally tough. It prevented the fire from expanding further, temporarily stabilizing its injuries. The continuous, searing heat radiating from its body kept it in ceaseless pain, which completely aroused the giant rat's ferocity.
It shrieked once more and lunged ferociously toward the direction from which the Flaming Arrow had struck. There, a not-so-tall figure emerged.
Mage Seda! In the Medicinal Garden, only Mage Seda could cast such powerful Magic!