Chapter 50: Skill Derivation, the Evolution of Ember
The next morning, during the break between classes.
Tianlin came rushing over excitedly from the second-grade side. He pushed open the door of the first-grade classroom, swept his gaze left and right, and quickly locked onto Lin Mo, who was sitting by the back window.
"Lin Mo!"
His voice was loud and booming, instantly drawing the attention of many students who had been chatting quietly or resting in the classroom.
"Come on, come on! Spar with me again before the holiday starts! This time, I can definitely hold out for a few more moves!"
Lin Mo had been staring blankly out the window. Hearing that, he slowly turned his head back, looking rather helpless.
He had already known Tianlin would not stay quiet for long.
A boy sitting in front of him also turned around at the commotion, his eyes full of excitement as if he were about to watch a good show.
Lin Mo looked at him and said, "Could you help me tell the teacher for the next class that I need to take leave for one period because I have something to do?"
The boy nodded readily and patted his chest. "No problem, leave it to me. Just go."
As he spoke, the way he looked at Tianlin carried obvious sympathy.
In the lower grades of the academy, Tianlin's reputation, or rather his notoriety, was already known to everyone.
This reputation did not come from bullying others, but from the fact that he was a famous battle maniac who challenged people to spar every chance he got, and never seemed to get tired of it.
Among the newly enrolled first-year students, aside from a monster like Lin Mo, no one could last more than a few moves against him.
Still, what gave the first-grade students some comfort was that Tianlin rarely looked for them specifically. Even if he did, he would not force them. He always asked first.
His usual targets were students from his own grade or higher grades.
As for why he had come looking for Lin Mo again this time, it was because he felt his spirit power bottleneck had started to loosen. He estimated that he was not far from breaking through to rank 17.
Because of that, he had once again thought of Lin Mo.
Among everyone he knew, only Lin Mo could give him enough pressure while still being on good terms with him, and only Lin Mo was willing to spar with him.
Lin Mo looked at Tianlin's eyes, which were burning with battle intent, and did not refuse.
The reason was simple. Charmander had recently made some new gains in skill control, and it just happened to need a suitable opponent to test the results.
Tianlin, a durable attack-type Spirit Master with thick skin and strong endurance, was a very fitting test subject.
The two soon arrived at an open-air sparring field one after the other.
Tianlin looked around the arena, scratched his head, and asked in confusion, "Why did you choose a place with such high resistance to fire? Wouldn't that be bad for Charmander?"
Lin Mo merely smiled and gave no further explanation. "It's fine. We'll do it here."
Soon enough, Tianlin would understand why.
The two stood in the center of the field, about 10 meters apart.
"Ready?" Tianlin took a deep breath, his gaze sharpening.
Lin Mo nodded.
Almost at the same moment, both sides gave a low shout.
"Demon Wolf, Possession!"
Tianlin's body changed at once. Gray-black fur spread over him, his hands turned into sharp claws, and a yellow Spirit Ring rose beneath his feet. A fierce aura spread from his body.
On the other side, Lin Mo's thoughts shifted slightly. A flash of red light appeared, and Charmander landed in front of him.
The little fellow had only just appeared when it saw its old acquaintance standing opposite it. The flame on its tail flared up with a whoosh.
Its eyes locked firmly onto Tianlin, and a low growl full of battle intent came from its throat.
That look made Tianlin's heart skip a beat, and he could not help muttering, "Why do I suddenly feel like something's wrong? This little guy looks even more excited than last time."
Lin Mo stood calmly at the back with his arms folded, watching in silence.
He knew very well that even if their spirit power ranks were the same, Tianlin would still have a hard time lasting more than a few moves against Charmander, so there was no need for extra instructions.
Besides, although Tianlin's spirit power had already reached the peak of rank 16 and showed signs of breaking through, he still had not truly advanced.
Meanwhile, Lin Mo's spirit power had already steadily reached rank 19.
The gap between them was not small at all.
"Begin!" Lin Mo said.
Tianlin instantly focused himself and gave a low roar.
"First Spirit Ability, Wolf Transformation!"
Gray light once again covered his body, and both his speed and strength rose sharply.
With a push of his legs, he lunged forward. But instead of charging directly at Charmander, he tried to circle from the side and target Lin Mo behind it.
He knew very well that facing Charmander head-on would put him at a disadvantage. Only by trying to strike Lin Mo directly would he have even the slightest chance.
But Charmander reacted even faster.
It opened its mouth, and with a whoosh, a string of blazing fireballs shot out like rapid fire, instantly sealing off Tianlin's path of advance and movement.
Ember.
Tianlin had already expected this. Gritting his teeth, he steeled himself to endure the burns. Relying on the defense and speed increase from Wolf Transformation, he intended to forcibly swat aside several Embers and break through.
His claws swung repeatedly, leaving streaks of gray shadows as he knocked aside several fireballs. At once, a familiar burning sensation spread from his hands.
But just as he thought he had found an opening and was about to accelerate again, Charmander suddenly took a deep breath, its chest swelling slightly.
This time, what it spat out was no longer scattered fireballs, but a much denser and more violent mass of flames.
The fire rapidly spun and expanded in midair. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a violently burning Flame Vortex that engulfed Tianlin, just as he tried to force his way through.
"What?!"
Tianlin felt his vision instantly turn red. His whole body was wrapped in scorching, spinning flames.
The constricting force from the rotating fire was astonishingly strong, and his movements became sluggish the moment he was caught.
The high temperature roasted both his fur and skin, bringing bursts of stinging pain. He desperately pushed his spirit power to resist, but it felt as if he had been locked inside a cage made of flames.
Tianlin was completely stunned.
He was absolutely certain that the yellow hundred-year Spirit Ring beneath Charmander's feet had not lit up at all.
And it was not as if he had never seen Charmander's first Spirit Ability before. Flame Strike was clearly a dash-type Spirit Ability. It was completely different from this Flame Vortex trapping him now.
This mass of blazing fire possessed terrifying binding power and continuous consumption.
Tianlin lunged and dodged within it again and again, but no matter what he did, he could not break free. Instead, his spirit power was being consumed at an alarming speed.
Lin Mo watched quietly from behind.
Seeing Tianlin struggling inside the Flame Vortex, he knew that was enough.
The basic effects of the skill had already been tested. If it continued, Tianlin would likely end up with real injuries.
.....
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