Chapter 44: Lynn, will you be that old friend of mine?

Ten odd minutes later.

“So…”

Ayan leaned against Lynn, who had collapsed onto the ground from exhaustion.

She crossed her legs high, a lollipop from an unknown source dangling from her mouth.

“Is this the method you mentioned, Mr. Scrub?”

Ayan took the lollipop out of her mouth and pointed it at Lynn.

The pink candy glistened with a trace of moisture, sparkling under the sunlight.

The way she looked at Lynn gradually shifted from her initial confusion and admiration to the disdain one might show a piece of trash.

She had originally thought Lynn possessed some kind of treasure that could secure a miraculous victory.

As it turned out…

Even Ayan couldn’t help but shake her head.

Fortunately, this was only a trial.

Under the protection mechanism of the trial, Lynn wouldn’t suffer any fatal injuries.

She had worried for nothing.

She was still counting on Lynn to lead her back to her peak.

If something actually happened to him, she would definitely have to show a little bit of concern.

However, since Lynn was fine now, she had to seize the opportunity to mock him mercilessly, getting revenge for the flick he had given her forehead earlier.

Lynn gazed at the azure sky and let out a long sigh.

He was actually too embarrassed to tell Ayan that the moment he came into contact with the Sage’s projection, things had already spiraled beyond his expectations.

Spatial distortions, multiple clones, mirror images, fire tornadoes…

Recalling the Sage in the trial, it seemed the projection had been strengthened to some degree.

Various flashy skills were thrown at Lynn as if they cost nothing, each move meant to be lethal.

Lynn swore he had never seen so many special effects in a single scene in his entire life.

It was as if the asset library had become free for a limited time.

Fortunately, thanks to [Last Will], Lynn was able to temporarily call upon the lightning from the high heavens.

He used it to constantly wear down the Sage from outside his attack range, avoiding the impact of the strikes to a certain extent.

Under that unavoidable purple lightning, even the enhanced Sage truly found it difficult to cope.

Coupled with Ayan’s [Scorching Sun] acting as the finisher to a cycle of attacks, they managed to push the Sage’s HP down to 30% at one point.

But that was where it ended.

At his current stage, the mana within Lynn’s body couldn’t support long-term combat.

Although he could theoretically defeat the projection if he continued, his mana completely bottomed out after just two skill cycles, giving the Sage an opening to exploit.

This also made Lynn realize that if Livia and Felica hadn’t provided crowd control back then, he might not have been able to secure enough of an advantage in a fight where both sides were glass cannons with high attack and paper-thin defense.

Still, even if the Sage’s defense was as fragile as paper, it was still a fight between a Tier 2 and a Tier 4. Lynn was already very satisfied with such a result.

‘I need to find a way to get a control-type Chess Piece.’

Lynn thought to himself.

These few battles had already proven just how overpowered control-type Chess Pieces were.

As long as he could keep his opponent pinned down, then with Lynn’s glass cannon nature—high attack and paper-thin defense—a normal Tier 3 Mage would no longer be his match.

He might even be able to trade blows with a Tier 4 Mage who hadn’t specialized in high-level defensive magic.

[Current Recall Clearance Progress: 70%]

[Rank Increased: Tier 2 Mage (Late Stage)]

Looking at the notifications appearing before his eyes, Lynn let out a sigh of relief.

At least this trip wasn’t a total loss.

Anyway, even if he failed the challenge, he could still settle for experience.

In other words, as long as he stacked up his challenge attempts later, he could eventually grind his strength up to the level of a Tier 3 Mage.

Thinking of this, Lynn couldn’t help but feel a bit eager.

He wanted to strike while the iron was hot and try the challenge one more time, but considering his mana was exhausted, he had to give up on the idea.

It was at this moment that the petite dragon girl seemed to suddenly remember something.

She turned around and lightly punched Lynn’s chest with some dissatisfaction, interrupting his thoughts.

“By the way, Lynn, don’t go off and die again. If you really die, I’ll be very troubled.”

Although her tone was still aggressive, Lynn could sense a rare trace of worry in Ayan’s words.

“Next time for sure,” Lynn said as he slowly stood up.

After all, with the ability of “Death Regression” as his trump card, Lynn wasn’t too panicked.

“You guy!”

Ayan watched Lynn’s nonchalant attitude and put her hands on her hips, looking a bit angry.

“Stop treating your life like a joke!”

Upon hearing this, Lynn couldn’t help but tease, “Oh? So the tyrannical Dragon Race can actually show such a caring side?”

Ayan froze slightly for a moment.

“I… I-I wasn’t caring about you! Don’t go flatter yourself!”

Ayan turned her head away in a panic.

“I just think you’re very similar to an old friend of mine, that’s all!”

“That guy was just like you—an arrogant, idiotic human.”

“Except…”

At this point, a hint of sadness gradually crept into Ayan’s tone.

“He died.”

“He was the only human friend I made in tens of thousands of years…”

“I’m sorry for bringing up bad memories.”

Lynn gently patted Ayan’s head.

“Hey, if you touch my head again, watch out or I’ll bite you!”

Ayan revealed her cute little canines and threatened him in a high-pitched, child-like voice.

She wanted to get angry, but feeling the warm sensation on her head and looking at Lynn’s tall figure, Ayan seemed to see his shadow for a fleeting moment.

‘That guy… also liked to rub my head like that.’

“Sigh.”

Ayan finally let out a helpless sigh.

“Whatever. Ignorance is no sin. You can go; I won’t blame you.”

Lynn nodded.

“Then I’ll be going first.”

Before Ayan could even react, Lynn had already disappeared from her sight.

“You bastard, how can you just leave when I say so!”

Ayan stomped her foot in anger.

“Hmph, I’m going to ignore you from now on!”

Ayan crossed her arms, puffed out her cheeks, and turned her head to the side.

However, despite her words…

Ayan couldn’t help but look back at the spot where Lynn had last appeared.

He really was so similar to that idiot.

‘Could it be him?’

…

As Lynn’s consciousness gradually returned to reality, he slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Feeling the emptiness of mana in his body, a strong sense of dizziness and fatigue surged into his mind in the next moment.

Lynn shook his head, forcing himself to stay awake.

‘No, I can’t sleep yet. I need to go to the library to find some advanced magic books and find a way to make a few low-tier, single-use control Chess Pieces.’

He had to be fully prepared to face the crisis that was about to arrive.

He had to save Livia and Sophie from that danger.

And save his own life in the process.

Thinking of this, Lynn stood up unsteadily, preparing to head out to the library.

But before he could even get off the bed, a strange noise suddenly came from the locked wooden door.

Then, with a crisp click, the lock was opened.

“Strange, when did I lock the door?”

Sophie’s confused voice grew louder as the wooden door was pushed open.

The door swung all the way back.

Looking at Lynn in the room, Sophie froze for a moment.

She tilted her head, her eyes filled with total confusion.

“Why… are you lying in my bed?”