"Damn it! It's a magic beast Fire Wolf! This is trouble!"
Captain Hades sliced the incoming fireball in half with a single swing of his sword and shouted, "The rest of you handle the other beasts! This Fire Wolf is mine!"
With that, he gripped his longsword and charged forward!
Magic beasts were completely different from ordinary wild animals. Not only were their physical abilities far superior, but they could also use magic—their destructive power was terrifying!
Whenever a beast tide included magic beasts, it meant the danger level of the entire tide had skyrocketed!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
This Fire Wolf was no ordinary creature. Every time Captain Hades's massive sword clashed with its sharp claws, sparks flew everywhere, yet the blade could not inflict any real damage!
Meanwhile, the Fire Wolf fought fiercely while also spitting out human-head-sized fireballs for sneak attacks.
Hades didn't dare take them head-on. He swung his giant sword to shatter each fireball, but every strike made the earthy-yellow glow on his blade grow noticeably dimmer.
At this rate, the glow would disappear after just a few more swings!
"Captain! You got this!"
"Take down that Fire Wolf!"
The guards had not noticed the problem. While desperately fending off the other beasts, they cheered their captain on!
Although the Fire Wolf was a magic beast, it was only the weakest kind—a first-tier one!
Their captain was a second-tier warrior. Dealing with a mere Fire Wolf should have been easy!
"Damn it!"
"This isn't an ordinary Fire Wolf!"
Hades was both shocked and furious!
This was no ordinary Fire Wolf—it was clearly a second-tier evolved Fire Wolf King!
Though it looked no different on the outside, its real combat strength was on another level.
The Fire Wolf King's speed, power, and agility were far beyond what a normal Fire Wolf could match!
Moreover, magic beasts of the same tier were usually stronger than humans. Hades was only a second-tier warrior who practiced ordinary, common-grade battle qi techniques. How could he possibly be a match for the Fire Wolf King?
Cold sweat broke out on Hades's forehead. He realized today was looking extremely grim!
"So… so powerful!"
Meng Lei stared at the fierce battle between Captain Hades and the Fire Wolf, his eyes filled with awe!
In his eyes, both the Fire Wolf King and Captain Hades were like superhumans!
Leaping five or six meters high in a single bound!
Slashing the ground open with one sword strike!
A single fireball as destructive as a bomb!
Was this even human?!
"Ding! Drop detected. Would you like to pick it up?"
A cold system notification sounded in his ear. A red light orb had dropped from the Fire Wolf King's body!
"It dropped from the Fire Wolf?"
"Magic beasts drop loot too?"
Meng Lei was stunned. "This is a magic beast… I wonder what it dropped?"
"Pick it up!"
"Ding! Fusion successful. Acquired first-tier magic: Fireball Spell!"
The system's voice in his mind left Meng Lei utterly shocked. "Fireball Spell? The drop this time was actually magic? Even magic can be picked up?!"
Meng Lei was overjoyed!
Humans had neither the dragons' powerful bodies, the titans' immense strength, the elves' natural magic talent, nor the unique gifts of other races!
It was no exaggeration to say that humans were one of the weakest intelligent races on the Sky Dome Continent. If they wanted to grow stronger, battle qi and magic were their only paths!
Sadly, as a subordinate race, 90% of humans would never even come into contact with battle qi or magic in their entire lives, let alone cultivate them!
Magic Beast Village was relatively fortunate. With Captain Hades—a second-tier warrior—to guide them, the villagers' overall strength was the highest among the villages within ten kilometers. Even so, the only person who had actually cultivated battle qi was still just Hades himself!
Of course Meng Lei dreamed of cultivating battle qi and magic. He wanted to become strong and survive better!
But cruel reality told him:
It was just a daydream!
His physique was far too weak; he wasn't suited for battle qi at all!
As for magic… did he even have the talent? And where would he learn it?
Battle qi cultivation—impossible!
No place to learn magic!
Meng Lei had almost given up hope!
But he never imagined that this overpowered system could even pick up magic!
"First-tier magic—Fireball Spell!"
Meng Lei immediately checked it and instantly understood everything about the spell: its casting principle, destructive power…
"Should I try it?"
Meng Lei took a deep breath and raised his right hand!
Nothing happened!
"(⊙o⊙)…"
Meng Lei froze. "What's going on? Is the Fireball Spell I picked up a fake?"
"Ding! Friendly reminder: Casting magic requires both mana and mental power!" the system reminded him. "Neither can be missing!"
"Mana? Mental power?"
Meng Lei fell silent. Only then did he notice that the [Mana] stat on his attribute panel was completely empty—zero. He didn't have a single drop of mana in his body!
"No wonder I couldn't cast it!"
Meng Lei actually felt relieved. "At least the Fireball Spell I picked up isn't fake! But… where am I supposed to get mana?"
"Ding! Drop detected. Would you like to pick it up?"
Another red light orb dropped from the Fire Wolf King!
"Pick it up!"
"Ding! Fusion successful. Host's mana +1!"
"M… mana +1?"
"This time it gave me mana?"
A warm, cozy feeling spread through his dantian, like drinking strong liquor. Meng Lei knew this must be the mana he had just absorbed!
He raised his right hand again.
This time, there was a reaction!
A tiny spark appeared out of thin air in his palm, then rapidly expanded. In just a few breaths, it grew to the size of a grapefruit!
The fireball wasn't huge and flickered unsteadily, but it radiated terrifying heat that left no doubt about the destructive power contained within!
Magic!!!
This was real magic!!!
Meng Lei's blood boiled with excitement. The feeling was impossible to describe!
Thrilling!
Exhilarating!
It was an entirely new experience!
Unfortunately, the fireball didn't last long. It turned into a wisp of green smoke and vanished into the air.
A wave of weakness washed over Meng Lei, as if his body had been completely drained…
"Damn! I used up all my mana!"