Lin Yue gazed at the weapon he had used countless times in the game, and for the first time in this place, he felt the security brought by a high-grade weapon.
The ample protective coating, the exquisite and compact design like that of mechanical parts from the steam era, and the lingering magic power all made him feel that this battle might not be entirely unwinnable.
The sword and shield recharged by absorbing magical kinetic energy, so their defensive power was absolutely top-notch.
Taking a big stride forward, Lin Yue unexpectedly launched the first attack.
Allen, reacting instinctively, swung straight at Lin Yue.
Clang!
The clash of Law Force and the magitek weapon created a shower of sparks.
Lin Yue steadied himself using the force from both impacts, then struck Allen hard with the back of his blade.
A dull thud sounded as Allen was sent flying several meters, rolling twice on the ground before raising his head again.
If Lin Yue hadn’t deliberately used the back of the blade to strike, Allen would have been cleaved in two by now.
After all, this mindless version of Allen had no concept of defense.
“Low sweep, then a rising diagonal slash, then a vertical cleave—just as I thought, he instinctively uses this combo.”
In the game, this was the basic combo Allen would use after mastering Law Force.
Lin Yue was completely familiar with all of Allen’s moves at this stage, and had easily defeated the heart demon’s mirage of Allen more than a dozen times without taking a single hit.
The heart demon’s Allen had tricks far beyond what the current Allen possessed.
However, that was under the premise that Lin Yue also had all of Allen’s skills.
Right now, he couldn’t even use magic—this was honestly a bit much to handle.
His left hand hurt terribly.
If he’d known, he wouldn’t have stabbed so deep.
He had to grit his teeth and fight through the pain.
It was really unpleasant.
Allen, apparently unconvinced, took the initiative to attack again, only to be sent flying by Lin Yue’s kick in almost the exact same way as before.
“If things drag on like this, I should be able to hold out until help arrives…”
Watching Allen repeat the basic combo endlessly, Lin Yue’s confidence in victory increased significantly.
However, he’d probably owe a lot in damages once this was all over…
Looking at the nearly graffiti-like scratches on Gus’s magitek weapon, Lin Yue felt deeply apologetic.
That magitek weapon, which had remained spotless even under Isabella’s magical bombardment, now looked like this.
Gus was bound to be dumbfounded.
It was coming.
Lin Yue watched as Allen recovered, ready to fend off the next round of attacks.
But Allen stood frozen, his head tilting left and right, as if he’d found a new target.
Whoosh!
Another Law Force shot out—but this time, it didn’t seem aimed at Lin Yue.
No!
Lin Yue’s heart leapt.
He hadn’t anticipated this turn of events.
He’s after Isabella!
…
“Haa… haa…”
The two who had run out didn’t waste a single moment.
First, they confirmed the plan to find the other students still taking the test and pass on information, then raced to open the barrier as quickly as possible.
Isabella went to the far western crystal, while Airella, being better at finding people, was tasked with locating classmates still inside and disabling the other two crystals.
Airella clutched the jade pendant at her chest tightly, nerves on edge.
Could Lin Yue really withstand that eerie power?
Every second counted.
She had already arranged for Riel to hide in the forest in advance.
If she called Riel over to carry her, she could save half the time.
But…
The thought of exposing her ability to control magical beasts made Airella hesitate.
“No… When Lin Yue saved me before, I’m sure he didn’t think so much about it!”
She didn’t want to expose herself, but more than that, she didn’t want Lin Yue to be in danger.
Suddenly, she caught a whiff of human scent.
“This is… ah!”
Her worry for Lin Yue made her forget to watch her step.
Thunk!
She suddenly tripped and fell to the ground.
“Ow, ow, ow…”
She brushed the leaves out of her hair, only to discover her foot was tangled in vines.
“This is… a trap?”
Looking closely at the vine, she saw it looked more like a rope that had been deliberately fashioned.
“That’s as far as you go, classmate.”
Suddenly, a wind spell charged up in the trees above.
The caster wore a black hood, their face obscured.
“Mapele?”
Airella’s sharp nose instantly recognized the true identity of the black-clad figure before her.
“?”
Mapele stopped her magic, removed her hood, and revealed her pink hair.
How did she figure it out?
Mapele wasn’t particularly strong and didn’t know any special magic.
Her teammates had been caught due to carelessness, leaving her alone.
Wearing a hood and setting traps was supposed to let her keep a low profile and avoid offending anyone, but apparently it was useless against Airella.
Coming down from the tree, Mapele suddenly felt a sense of helplessness at being so easily exposed.
“Airella, you’ve already lost…”
With no other choice, she could only stick to her original persona, putting on an innocent, harmless smile as she spoke to Airella.
“So it really was you, Mapele! Listen to me—Lin Yue’s in trouble! We have to hurry and save him!”
Mapele raised her brows, surprised that Airella would use this kind of trick to stall for time and wait for her teammates.
“Alright, Airella, stop trying to cheat. Hand over your token.”
Mapele slowly approached, only to see Airella suddenly clench the jade pendant in her hand.
What was that?
Even Mapele, who had seen much in her travels, couldn’t identify this object’s purpose.
Awoo!
The instant the jade pendant glowed, a wolf’s howl sounded from deep within the forest.
That was…
A magical beast’s voice!
Mapele spun around and saw a massive silver wolf charging straight at her from behind.
Why would there be a magical beast in Avelina’s testing grounds?
And such a huge one!
Mapele had already started mentally picking out her own grave—no, she’d probably end up as nothing but bones inside that silver wolf’s stomach.
Whoosh!
Unexpectedly, the silver wolf didn’t attack the trembling, half-paralyzed Mapele in front of it, but instead bit through the vine around Airella’s foot and then nudged her hand with its head.
“Riel, stop being clingy, we have important business… Oh right, Mapele…”
Airella stood up, patted the dust off her skirt, and suddenly remembered there was someone present who didn’t know about her ability.
“I-It’s your pet…?”
Though Mapele couldn’t help feeling afraid, her mental fortitude was strong.
She forced herself to take two steps forward, trying to get answers.
“Uh… something like that. Anyway, that’s not important right now.”
Airella gave a brief explanation for why she was rushing frantically through the forest and Lin Yue’s current situation.
“I see…”
After hearing the serious matter, Mapele no longer bothered hiding her expressions, focusing on how to solve the problem.
So Airella really hadn’t lied to her just now.
But with something this big happening, why hadn’t Professor Lia, the sixth-tier Archmage, intervened…?
Could something have happened at the Academy?
Before Mapele could think further, something furry suddenly hoisted her into the air.
“Huh… ahhh, yaaa!”
Without her even noticing, the giant silver wolf had scooped her up, swaying its head before bowing to receive Airella’s orders.
“Mapele, we’re going to shut down the magic crystal right now. The aftermath of the battle should draw the Academy’s senior magicians.”
“The eastern crystal is farther from here, so you and Riel will take care of it. I have a speed-enhancing spell, so it’s better for me to run north. Isabella is at the western one… Let’s go!”
With that, before Mapele could mentally prepare, Riel shot forward like an arrow from a bow.
“Yaa!”
Mapele screamed, clutching tightly to Riel’s mane, hoping desperately not to be thrown off.
“Lin Yue, please be alright…”
Airella turned and dashed deeper into the forest, leaving behind the triggered trap and the leaves scattered by Riel.
…
Isabella felt as if she were in a long dream.
She dreamed she’d become a sixth-tier mage, mastering the ancestral Law of Fusion in her family, standing at the pinnacle of the continent’s mages alongside her sister, no longer bound by any force, free to do as she pleased.
No longer constrained by responsibility, she could become a one-of-a-kind person, rather than a substitute for someone else.
Even better, she found someone who truly moved her heart—a remarkable and ideal man.
Together, they lived happily, witnessing the splendor of the world.
Her magic had finally recovered enough for her body to awaken on its own.
It had been a long time since she’d been this depleted.
Isabella groggily opened her eyes, stretched, and slowly sat up.
“Bella, time for class…”
She knew her younger sister liked to sleep in, so she always said this out of habit when she woke.
“Ahem, finally awake, Young Miss. You really do sleep well…”
With that, Lin Yue blocked another round of attacks that came down like a raging storm.
“You… Lin Yue? Why…”
Just woken from a dream, Isabella still hadn’t gathered her senses.
She was about to bicker with Lin Yue by reflex, but then realized she had forgotten something.
Something… wasn’t right?
In her memory, she had been taken by Lin Yue, then…
A ringing in her ears flared as Isabella grew dizzy, and she suddenly recalled what had happened when she cast her high-level spell.
I knocked myself out with my own spell backlash.
Isabella finally realized she was still in Avelina’s wilds.
I… wronged him?
Looking at Lin Yue before her, smiling wryly, she suddenly understood what he was doing.
He… is protecting me?
Isabella was already weak—both in body and spirit, she lacked a sense of security.
Watching Lin Yue stand before her, shielding her from endless waves of harm, she was utterly shaken.
Why…
Even though I nearly got them all killed, he still wants to protect me…
She remembered that hateful look in his eyes at their engagement.
Now, she saw before her the man protecting her, blood gushing from his lips like a spring, refusing to abandon her in this crisis.
The turmoil in Isabella’s heart was no less than an earthquake.
She realized that the man before her might not be the villain she had always imagined.
“Valianna… no, Miss Bena…”
Suddenly, Lin Yue simplified her name again—the kind of nickname she only allowed those close to her to use.
“You, you say…”
For some reason, when Isabella heard him call her like that, the feelings surging inside were no longer disgust, but an indescribable anticipation.
“Run… quick…”
Just as she thought Lin Yue was about to say something tactless to lighten the mood.
Lin Yue collapsed to the ground from blood loss.
Looking closely, his abdomen was bleeding profusely, the ghastly wound revealed before Isabella just as she’d finally begun to relax.
Not even magitek weapons could withstand the concentrated Law Force—let alone Lin Yue’s abdomen, which had been run clean through.
As Lin Yue fell, Isabella finally saw the true source of danger.
It was Allen—whose every attack carried the threat of death.
Allen… why, no, Lin Yue!
“Lin Yue… Lin Yue!”
Isabella stared in disbelief at Lin Yue, unconscious on the ground, frantically crawling over and kneeling before him in panic.
“Lin Yue! Don’t scare me… Lin Yue Hawk!”
Watching Lin Yue’s life ebb away, Isabella called his name with the loudest voice she had ever used in her life.
She instinctively tried to use her magic, attempting to cast a healing spell to stop his bleeding.
“Ah…”
But the moment she summoned her magic, her head felt like it would split open.
She couldn’t form any spell at all.
She could only watch helplessly as Lin Yue bled out, unable to do a thing.
She had only just experienced this feeling of despair in the illusion, and now, in reality, the piercing pain and helplessness returned.
This feeling was a hundred times more painful than being forced to marry away her freedom!
She lay over Lin Yue, pressing her palm desperately against his wound, as if wishing this hateful man could live a little longer.
Drip…
A tear slipped from her eyes, falling into Lin Yue’s blood.
So useless—tears can’t do anything!
She hadn’t cried for a long time.
When she was small, she’d cried and wanted her parents to protect and comfort her.
But her parents always preferred the calm, sensible Bella.
In their eyes, she was like a chess piece to be discarded at any moment, living in her sister’s shadow.
She loved Isabella, but she couldn’t understand why everyone favored Bella—even the elite class teachers gave her more attention.
Until just now, when Lin Yue, despite risking everyone’s lives, still refused to sacrifice her—that was the first time she ever felt she was the one who wouldn’t be abandoned.
In the person she hated most, she had found a sense of “absolute” she’d never had in her life.
And now, he was going to die.
No… after all this, after finally.
[I won’t let you die.]
Lin Yue’s resolute voice echoed in her mind, stunning Isabella.
She bit down hard, as if she had finally made up her mind.
“I… won’t let you die, either!”
With that, she began to burn her last wisp of magic—the magic that kept her body functioning at its most basic level.
If the body shut down without magic, she might never wake up again, becoming a vegetable.
Magic was a cycle.
If the body could not convert the world’s source power into magic, it would stop entirely; no matter how much magic was injected or how much outside interference there was, it would do no good.
What Isabella was doing was incredibly risky, but it could temporarily save Lin Yue’s life.
“Great Spirit of the Wind… please bestow your dew, soothe the pain, save him…”
Her nearly pleading tone and the unending tears seemed to move the world itself.
Lin Yue’s wound began to heal rapidly, and the bleeding almost stopped.
Her heart… seemed to stop beating.
Feeling her magic circuits, once running wild, slow down, Isabella knew her last drop of magic was about to be spent.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, another Law Blade shot from Allen’s direction, flying straight at them.
She had no strength left to resist.
That was fine.
At least, before dying, she’d experienced what it was like to be truly irreplaceable…
Watching the blade approach, Isabella slowly closed her eyes.
Just as the spatial slash was about to cleave them in two, a rift appeared in front of them, blocking the fatal blow.
Isabella’s eyelids were heavy; she could barely stay awake.
“It’s… Professor Lia… right?”
Just before she collapsed, a gentle magic caught her body and slowly began to restore her magic.
“Leave the rest to me.”
Raging fury, the likes of which she had never shown before, burned in Lia’s amethyst eyes.
This was the first time since arriving at the Academy that she had ever been so angry.
Isabella, vision blurring, gazed at the girl—so much smaller than herself, yet so inexplicably reassuring.
Looking at her back, Isabella smiled softly and finally drifted into peaceful sleep.