Chapter 240 - 15: A Dominant Performance, a Mob Drops Golden Equipment, and a Treasure Chest

Chapter 240: Chapter 15: A Dominant Performance, a Mob Drops Golden Equipment, and a Treasure Chest

Trial Maze of the 9th Underground Mine.

The sudden flash of golden light was easily deflected by the [Magic Deflection Shield], burying itself deep into the stone wall.

Mo Ning’s gaze followed its path. He saw that the object, now glowing with a faint golden light, had penetrated a full meter into the solid rock, a testament to its terrifying power.

He expected to feel a lingering fear, but in reality, he didn’t.

He was surprised to find that his heart remained completely calm. After a moment of thought, he attributed this to the tempering he’d received from countless difficult challenges in the Simulation Space.

A thought, completely unrelated to the battle, even popped into Mo Ning’s head:

’When the Deflection Shield sent the object flying, the flow of Magic Power seemed a bit sluggish. When I learn this Level Zero Witchcraft in the future, I can focus on optimizing that.’

He had a habit of polishing every Witchcraft to perfection and couldn’t tolerate even the slightest delay.

By the standards of most ordinary Apprentices, however, this so-called "sluggishness" wasn’t a problem at all.

In fact, there were two main reasons Mo Ning was able to cast the [Magic Deflection Shield], a feat that had nearly made the three Third Level Apprentices’ jaws drop.

First, a fortuitous mutation had occurred in the divine statue, allowing him to modify a Soul Witchcraft to include an Affiliated Magic Pool.

Initially, this pool contained only 3.2 points of Magic Power, but with his continuous optimization, it had now expanded to 6.8 points—more than double its original capacity.

The Affiliated Magic Pool could also supply power to other Witchcraft, but its transmission efficiency was halved.

Second, he had painstakingly improved the [High Mountain Magic Breath Technique], creating a truly revolutionary innovation: a Secondary Magic Pool.

The Secondary Magic Pool was different from the Affiliated Magic Pool. The latter was embedded within a specific Witchcraft Model, while the former was an independent, simplified version of a Magic Pool.

In terms of transmission efficiency, the standard Magic Pool formed by a Spirit Ring was naturally the highest, followed by the Secondary Magic Pool, with the Affiliated Magic Pool being the worst.

The Secondary Magic Pool he created currently held 9.4 points of Magic Power, which, when added to the capacity of his Affiliated Magic Pool, totaled 16.2 points.

The Golden Pen Badge only required a Magic Pool of 10 points, which was enough to support the consumption of the [Magic Deflection Shield].

Note that this didn’t mean the Witchcraft itself consumed 10 points of Magic Power. Rather, a Magic Pool needed to have at least 10 points to achieve the output efficiency required to successfully cast a Level Zero Witchcraft.

At that moment, the deflected flash of golden light finally caused a stir within the legion’s ranks.

Mo Ning barked, "Quiet!"

The commotion instantly subsided.

Many of the new recruits glanced furtively at their Legion Commander, their eyes filled with shock and awe.

Anyone who had noticed the golden light understood that if they had faced that attack, they would have been utterly obliterated—with the exception of "Divine Armor" Strong Persons like Princess Phoebe, of course.

Yet their Legion Commander had casually blocked it with a mere wave of his hand.

With a thought, Mo Ning sent the phantom of the Thunder Shadow Leopard surging forward at maximum speed, covering over a hundred meters per second as it dashed toward the direction the golden light had come from.

「One second later.」

Through the Leopard Shadow’s eyes, he discovered the traces left by the Dark Lizardman Caster. Faint, blurry ripples were spreading out beside a section of the stone wall, undulating much slower than waves in water.

These were magical ripples.

The Leopard Shadow’s greatest strength was its ability to directly observe magical fluctuations to a certain extent.

Without a doubt, an extremely well-hidden door was concealed behind this section of wall.

After its surprise attack, the Dark Lizardman Caster had quickly fled through the Secret Gate to hide.

Mo Ning gave a timely order, "Leave half the personnel here to check the walls for a hidden entrance. The other half, continue forward!"

Anya and Reina quickly split their respective subordinates into two groups.

Reina stayed behind with one half, directing the legion to search for the entrance.

Meanwhile, Mo Ning led the other half to the stone wall where the residual magical fluctuations lingered.

"Strike the wall!"

he commanded.

Anya took two steps forward and smashed a Qi and Blood Fist heavily against the wall.

THUD—

The dull sound, carrying a distinct hollowness, echoed through the passage.

Anyone with a bit of experience could tell that a sizable passage was hidden behind the stone wall.

Anya listened for a moment, then said in a low voice, "It’s highly likely there are quite a few traps inside."

Without hesitation, she volunteered a plan, "I can take three Black Iron Knights and clear this passage."

Mo Ning’s reply was concise. "Do it."

Soon, Anya had gathered the three strongest Black Iron Knights in the team.

They also showed no hesitation, all of them willing to risk danger to clear the way for Mo Ning.

A leader who was powerful enough, brilliant enough, and also willing to look out for his subordinates could indeed win people’s hearts easily.

Anya let out a great shout, her skin flushing crimson as she shattered the heavy Secret Gate with a single, full-power punch. It revealed a pitch-black opening about two meters wide.

The Secret Gate had originally been fitted with traps, but disarming them would have been too time-consuming. The Noble Lady chose the simplest, most brutal method.

A plume of sickly green poison gas immediately billowed from the opening.

Several legion members skilled in Witchcraft demonstrated superb tactical discipline. They quickly cast the Trick [Rain Mist], and countless droplets within the mist absorbed the poison.

They then directed the poisoned water to the ground. With a SIZZLING sound, the already uneven floor became even more pitted.

Next, they worked together to cast the Trick [Gale], channeling a violent airflow into the passage. With a WHOOSHING roar, the last of the poison gas was blown away completely.

"Go!"

Anya shouted, raising her heavy shield as she stepped into the passage.

For a qualified Black Iron Knight in a narrow passage, a heavy shield was both a sturdy piece of armor and a powerful heavy weapon.