Chapter 107: The Mark of Decline
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Moron! What else do you know apart from fleeing from a small cat?” Macklin was so furious that his goat-like beard trembled. He continued ruthlessly, “Did you just use the Delaying and the Hastening Spell? Look at what a blockhead you are. Is this the limit of a level-nine mage? I can easily find any apprentice who can surpass you! Forget it… With the intelligence level you have, I recommend that you switch over to be a Blacksmith instead!”
“But—” Mason wanted to defend himself. That was a level-12 beast! How could he, a level-nine Mage, defeat it?
Yet, he was interrupted by Macklin, who stared at him in disdain.
“Did you want to rebut that that was an unfair battle? Did you want to defend yourself that the Fantama Panthera had a higher level as compared to you? Pfff… Excuses are for the weak. Now I know: you are not only a fool, but also a weakling!”
“I’m not!” cried Mason in agitation as his face flushed.
“You dare to rebut it? Then let me ask you. Why did you choose to recite the Power of Repulse when it was a great opportunity to make an attack?”
“I wanted to create some distance first…”
“What the hell, you are a Mage, not an Archer!” cried out the agitated Macklin as he nearly spat his saliva on Mason’s face. “Who taught you that mages need to battle at a specific distance? With the powerful magical elements of mages, you’re really dumb to have done so! If you had the time to create distance, why didn’t you use it to aim a Fireball at your enemy? You could have defeated it!”
“I…”
“You’d better make sure whom you are battling next time. How would the Delaying and the Hastening Spell be effective against the Fantama Pantheras, which are experts in the field of Dark Magic? To adopt such a technique, you are really an incurable fool…”
“What did you want me to do, then?” asked Mason indignantly. “I’m just a level-nine Mage; if I don’t distance myself from that leopard, do I wait for it to eat me up?”
“Moron, moron, moron, moron…” After snarling at Mason, the old man reached out with his finger.
Macklin’s casual act seemed to have a great underlying force. The leopard that was previously lying calmly on the ground flew up uncontrollably.
After which, Mason witnessed how that short and skinny old man raised the leopard up by its neck single-handedly.
“Do you see this now?” Macklin lifted the Fantama Panthera up as he pointed at its exposed belly.
It was then that Mason realized it.
On the belly of the leopard, there was a dark-red light, which was flashing weakly.
Being a level-nine mage trained by the Guild of Magic, although Mason was not that skillful, he instantaneously understood what that speck of red meant.
That was the level-18 Dark Magic—the Mark of Decline!
At once, Mason’s face grew crimson with shame…
The Mark of Decline would degrade any living being by at least three levels.
This means that the majestic Fantama Panthera he’d dealt with was just a level-nine beast. Being a level-nine Mage himself, it was definite that he would defeat the animal. With beasts being beasts, they not only lacked rationality as well as intelligence, but also depended solely on their natural instincts.
Yet in such an easy battle, Mason lost to the beast without a doubt. The mere thought of it made him very ashamed and embarrassed of himself.
The old man was right; Mason had been terrified.
If not for his fear towards the level-12 beast, how would he have attempted to escape from the start of the encounter, and not have any confidence to defeat it? The place where the Mark of Decline was was not concealed. If he had spared time to calm himself down, how could he not realize it?
“Do you acknowledge your stupidity now?” asked the old man. Although these words were indeed caustic, a glimpse of admiration flashed across his gaze.
Making a mistake was not scary. What made it terrifying was committing it repeatedly. Once a person realized his faults, it indicated that there was still hope for the person to grow.
“Yes, I do…” answered Mason with guilt. He nodded humbly as he got himself up from the ground.
“Very good, you can scram now.” The old man waved at him, gesturing him to leave. Then, his gaze fell on Orrin. In a demeaning tone, he instructed, “That sly fella over there, it’s your turn now!”
Orrin remained quiet as he walked towards Macklin.
“Wait a minute…”
Just when Orrin wanted to unleash his first attack, the old man stopped him.
“Compared to that moron, you are more astute. I can’t let you do it so easily…” Macklin continued.
Orrin felt a wave of mana. After that, he saw the red glow on the belly of the Fantama Panthera dim.
Having escaped from the restraint of the Mark of Decline, the Fantama Panthera gave a deep growl of freedom. It had finally recovered its identity as the great and terrorizing level-12 magical beast again!
Orrin did not say anything. He just gave the beast a deadly stare, and started reciting his complicated spell. This created brilliant and dazzling magical runes around everyone. The surging mana mirrored the massive currents generated by a seething ocean.
“Magnificent…” Lin Li gasped from a far. Orrin’s abilities were higher than what he’d previously imagined. It seemed that Orrin was at either the peak of level-10, or even level-11—just a little bit away from Lin Li.
“Grrrr!” At this moment, Macklin had also just loosened the restraint on the Fantama Panthera. A black shadow bolted out like a sharp arrow from the dark.
The distance of 10 meters was covered by it immediately.
Orrin’s recital was a hastened one. As he raised his magic staff, a huge tremble was created in the ground, and what followed was an ear-shattering eruption.
“BOOM!”
Soil particles flew up into the air, and a thick stone spear pierced the ground from below.
Thereafter, everyone witnessed how critically the stone spear had struck at the Fantama Panthera.
Lin Li could not help but gape at that instance. When the Fantama Panthera was running at full speed, it could be said that it was as quick as a lightning bolt. At that moment, it would be almost impossible to attack it with the Ground-Piercing Spell.
Once the Ground-Piercing Spell was cast, a shrill cry from the leopard could be heard.
That arrow that emerged from the darkness seemed to hit a wall of copper. Everyone could hear the sound of bones breaking, and see blood splattering all over. After that, the Fantama Panthera escaped at top speed as though it was whipped.
The ear-splitting shriek echoed in the wilderness, while fresh red blood spilled on the soft ground…
Seeing how his enemy suffered massively from his Ground-Piercing Spell, Orrin did not spare it any time to recover. Without hesitation, he threw a few wind blades towards it from different directions. Although he was not as skillful as Lin Li when it came to the lower-grade magic, there were no faults in terms of his accuracy and impact generated.
Although it had the strength of a level-12 magical beast, the cruel force of the Ground-Piercing Spell was so ruthless that it crushed multiple bones with just one strike. Those bones not only tore through its soft and vulnerable abdomen, but also penetrated its viscera. With such grave injuries, the Fantama Panthera could only succumb to the lower-grade magic.
Each of the two consecutive shots of wind blades struck at the two front paws of the Fantama Panthera.
At that instance, what followed was another splatter of fresh blood.
“Arwooooo…” The Fantama Panthera howled in rage. The cry was so piercing that it felt like needles to the ears.
Subsequently, a wave of repressed magical elements rose up, and the surroundings darkened at once. The blackness cast by the Fantama Panthera’s Obscurus Spell covered a distance of at least 10 meters.
“SH*T!” Lin Li was startled when he realized the leopard’s ability to cast the Obscurus Spell. It was a considerably powerful spell in the field of Dark Magic.
Beasts like the Fantama Panthera were born with a certain amount of Dark Magic. The exact amount of Dark Magic, however, would be decided by nature. Taking the beast in front of Orrin for example, it could well be deemed a prodigy of the Fantama Panthera species.
Being surrounded by the Obscurus Spell, Orrin’s recital started to become intermittent. His previously almighty magical wave also started to weaken greatly.
The Fantama Panthera that was still in dire straits not long ago started to recover under the Obscurus Spell. In the blink of an eye, its ribs that were crushed by the Stone Spear grew back, and the torn abdomen also healed gradually.
At that moment, everyone could see a shadow moving swiftly in the dark. Just like a wandering ghost of the night, its body carried a stench of blood.
Orrin did not cease his recital. There was no hint of fear on his ashen face, and the glow of determination and concentration remained in his eyes.
The distance between both of them pulled closer. Then, the Fantama Panthera leapt towards him with its bright and blue poisonous claws…
…