Chapter 17 : Chapter 17
Chapter 17: Want It? Call Me Dad
Inside the dungeon.
The Skeletal Knight was currently embedded in the ruins of the Bone Throne. With its shield broken, it was in a weakened state.
“Listen to Young Master Lin! While it’s down, finish it! I’ll shoot you to death!”
Zhang Kai roared as he drew his bow, sending arrows raining down on the Skeletal Knight one after another.
Wang Meng also charged forward with his shield raised and smashed it viciously into the Skeletal Knight’s kneecap. The damage was not high, but the humiliation was immense.
As for Xia Qingyue, the team’s A-grade water mage, she took a deep breath and swung her staff.
Streams of azure water condensed into sharp arrows in midair and shot toward the Boss in an unending barrage.
As for Lin Mo, he was still eating snacks and watching the show.
Little Fireball had already entered full automatic slaughter mode, bombarding the Boss like mad.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!
The massive firelight produced by the explosions instantly swallowed the Boss whole.
That unbroken chain of damage made Zhang Kai and the others’ eyelids twitch.
This was what real damage output looked like!
Compared with Young Master Lin, they were practically just scratching an itch!
Under the group’s storm-like siege, the long health bar above the Skeletal Knight’s head began dropping at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Very soon, its HP fell below 70%.
“ROAR—!!!”
A furious howl came from within the ruins.
The Skeletal Knight suddenly swung its greatsword, and a terrifying shockwave sent Wang Meng, who was closest to it, flying away.
Then—
That pale purple translucent shield of despair once again enveloped its entire body!
“Damn it! It’s back again!”
At once, Zhang Kai twisted around and looked toward the relaxed Lin Mo in the rear of the team.
Lin Mo did not waste any words. He simply raised his hand and fired another shot.
HUM—!
A dark red point of light rapidly condensed, compressed, and spun at Lin Mo’s fingertip.
“Off you go.”
Lin Mo flicked his finger.
BOOM—!!!
There was no suspense whatsoever.
That spiraling dark red streak of fire pierced straight through the purple shield once again.
The shield that had only just re-formed exploded into a sky full of starlight all over again!
The Skeletal Knight let out a pained howl, and its massive body was blasted away once more, smashing hard into the wall.
“Young Master Lin is amazing! Young Master Lin is invincible!”
Zhang Kai was so excited that he jumped up on the spot. Drawing his bow, he resumed firing at once.
Even though Xia Qingyue had already witnessed this strike before, she still could not help glancing at the unhurried Lin Mo.
Bathed in the firelight, Lin Mo’s figure looked tall and slender.
His black hair stirred slightly in the heat waves, and the contours of his profile appeared especially sharp amid the interweaving firelight and shadows, with sword-like brows and star-bright eyes.
That composure in the face of catastrophe, paired with that extraordinarily handsome face, made even Xia Qingyue—a campus belle who had always held herself above others—miss a heartbeat.
So this was... the bearing of a true powerhouse?
Xia Qingyue’s gaze settled on Lin Mo’s fingertip, which was still trailing wisps of smoke.
As a top student, she understood better than anyone just how extraordinary that move was.
Fire element... was universally acknowledged as the most violent of all elements.
To compress fire element to the absolute limit while also maintaining high-speed rotation...
That move, the “Explosive Flame Spiral,” might only be a Beginner skill, but the difficulty of comprehending it was absolutely comparable to an Advanced skill!
And its damage output fully lived up to that difficulty.
Among all classes—even hidden classes—it was the highest single-target Beginner skill. No exceptions.
Lin Mo... Young Master Lin of the Lin family, what kind of monster are you?
...
The battle that followed became utterly without suspense.
Every time the Skeletal Knight finally managed to force out its shield again, before it could even show off, Lin Mo would mercilessly blast it apart with another “Fingertip Explosive Flame Spiral Cannon.”
After that happened three times—
The Skeletal Knight’s massive body collapsed with a crash, turning into a pile of withered bones wreathed in black mist.
【Congratulations! You have successfully slain “Abyss · Skeletal Knight (Lv.5)”!】
【Experience gained +20000!】
【Congratulations! Your level has risen to Lv.7 (45%)!】
Golden leveling light shone from Lin Mo’s body.
“We won... we really won...” Liu Weiwei collapsed onto the ground, looking at that pile of dry bones as tears of joy streamed down her face.
“Hahaha! I didn’t die! I cleared an Abyssalized dungeon!”
Zhang Kai went nearly mad with excitement, rushing over to grab Wang Meng as the two of them jumped up and down.
Even Xia Qingyue, who was always aloof, could not suppress the upward curve of her lips at this moment.
This had been an Abyssalized dungeon!
Even if it was only Hard Difficulty, its significance was enough to leave a bold and brilliant mark on their records!
“Quick, see what dropped.”
Wang Meng pointed at several floating orbs of light above the Skeletal Knight’s corpse and shouted.
Lin Mo casually glanced over the dropped equipment and materials. The most valuable among them was a piece of Gold-grade equipment.
But it was warrior equipment, and Lin Mo truly had no interest in Gold-grade gear.
“You can divide those among yourselves.”
Lin Mo pointed at the light orbs and waved his hand casually.
The moment he finished speaking, Xia Qingyue’s voice rang out.
“No!”
She looked at Lin Mo, her face full of seriousness.
“Young Master Lin, that would not be proper.”
“First, you are the employer, so the dungeon’s loot should rightfully belong to you. Second, without you, let alone clearing the dungeon, we would not even have survived.”
“So by both reason and fairness, all of this should be yours.”
At that point, Xia Qingyue drew a deep breath and made her decision.
“Not only can we not take these spoils, but once we get out, we will also return the full employment fee Uncle Lin paid us.”
“Being able to tag along with you in this dungeon, gain so much experience, and level up twice is already an enormous advantage for us.”
“A person cannot be too greedy, or Heaven will punish them for it.”
After hearing that, Zhang Kai, Wang Meng, and the others were all briefly stunned.
That was Gold-grade equipment...
It would be a lie to say they were not tempted.
But Zhang Kai quickly came back to his senses.
“The captain’s right! Young Master Lin, these are all yours!”
The others also voiced their agreement one after another.
Lin Mo glanced at them, somewhat helpless.
These scraps of broken metal were honestly useless to him.
What was this? Were people refusing free money now?
But since they insisted so strongly, Lin Mo could not be bothered to argue any further.
“All right, all right. Do as you like.”
With a wave of his hand, Lin Mo swept all the loot on the ground into the backpack within his panel.
Only after seeing Lin Mo accept it did Xia Qingyue finally let out a sigh of relief.
She looked at him and said casually, “Young Master Lin, the grand exam is the day after tomorrow. With your current strength, you will probably be able to get into Tianlong Academy in Kyoto.”
As she said that, a trace of envy flashed through Xia Qingyue’s eyes.
That was the sacred land of every Class Holder in Dragon Nation, a supreme academy...
It gathered the most monstrous geniuses from across the entire country. Even the guards watching the gate there might be retired high-level Class Holders.
Students who graduated from that place would, at the very least, begin their future careers at the level of a city legion commander. They were the true backbone of humanity.
Tianlong Academy?
Lin Mo raised an eyebrow.
Whatever. What mattered most was whether the dorms were decent and whether the cafeteria food was good.
For a supreme academy, they should all be pretty good, right?
Just then, Zhang Kai suddenly cut in from the side.
“Hey, I heard Jianghai City is really going all out this time. They’ve prepared a complete heart of a Lava Behemoth as the reward for the city’s top scorer!”
“A complete heart of a Lava Behemoth?!”
Hearing that, Wang Meng’s hand jerked, and he sucked in a cold breath.
“Hiss... that really is going all out. Lava Behemoths are already rare to begin with. On the market, even a single slice of their meat gets driven up to an astronomical price... and even then, it’s the kind of thing money often cannot buy.”
【“Fireball”: !!!】
【“Fireball” is drooling like a waterfall: I want it! I want that! A Lava Behemoth already sounds like something I’d love to eat, and it’s something money can’t even buy!】
Lin Mo rubbed his chin.
Although his family was wealthy, in this world, some things were not something you could buy with money alone.
After all, his family was hardly the only rich one around.
【“Fireball” is consumed by greed: Did you hear that? I want this! I want it! If I eat it, I’ll definitely be one step closer to becoming a Forbidden Spell!】
Lin Mo chuckled softly and deliberately began teasing the irritable skill.
“You want it?”
“Then call me Dad, and I might just make the effort to win that top scorer title for you.”
【“Fireball” instantly bristles: Outrageous! Insolent! I am a noble existence destined to become a Forbidden Spell! And you want me to call you Dad?】
“Oh, I see.”
Lin Mo shrugged inwardly, unconcerned.
“Fine, then. I was too lazy to bother anyway. We’ll just coast through the grand exam this time. It does not really matter which academy I go to.”
“What a pity about that heart, though. I heard it’s full of pure fire-element essence. One bite, and it even bursts with juice. Tsk, tsk, tsk...”
【“Fireball” falls silent.】
【“Fireball” swallows a mouthful of nonexistent saliva. In the face of delicacies, its dignity is beginning to waver violently.】
A few seconds later.
An extremely awkward voice came from inside Lin Mo’s mind:
【“Fireball,” overwhelmed with reluctance and shame: ...D...Dad.】
“Louder. Did you skip your meal? I can’t hear you.”
Lin Mo pressed his advantage.
【“Fireball,” furious from humiliation: That’s enough already! I called you Dad, didn’t I?!】
“All right.”
Lin Mo could not be bothered to keep teasing Little Fireball. He waved at the others.
“Let’s go, everyone. Sister Ye is probably getting sleepy from waiting. We’re heading out.”