42: A guy whose aesthetic sense is as bad as his height

Ronan marveled at the deep heritage of the Arcane Arts Society.

With just a single Zero-Circle Magic spell, "Fireball," he had already seen two completely different directions of modification within the same team.

The pair, including Annual Ring, clearly focused their modification on casting speed and coordination.

Through precise cooperation, they could achieve a 1+1>2 leap in Fireball power with the fastest casting speed and perfectly synchronized strikes.

Red Star's modification, on the other hand, focused on increasing power.

By maintaining the energy balance within the Fireball through exquisite control and then recklessly stacking energy,

he ensured the power of a single Fireball far exceeded that of multiple Fireballs, achieving a 1>n breakthrough.

Strictly speaking,

not just magic, but the skills of all classes also have the potential for modification.

According to Evil Axe, his enhanced version of "Spinning Throwing Axe" was a modified skill based on his own physical conditions.

After gaining a basic grasp of certain magical knowledge, Ronan also had a certain understanding of magic modification.

In his mind, the book of magical knowledge contained entries such as:

"Twenty-four Strengthening Schemes for Healing Spells" and "Optimization of the Mage Hand magic construct."

These were all precious legacies left behind by the original owner.

Although Ronan didn't know why the original owner would research strengthening schemes for the Healing Spell without having learned it himself,

overall, he could still understand most of the underlying rules.

Like this modified giant Fireball in Red Star's hand.

The core lay not only in the fine control of Spiritual Power but also in some adaptive adjustments to the "Fireball" magic construct, allowing a single Fireball to contain several times the energy.

However, blindly increasing power easily breaks the balance of the magic construct, inevitably sacrificing some other performance.

Just like right now.

Red Star shot the massive Fireball in his hand at a group of Polluters.

Although the Fireball had partial homing, its flight speed was far slower than the Fireballs launched by Annual Ring.

This was the shortcoming faced by Red Star's modified "Fireball."

However, in this relatively narrow passage, the shortcoming of insufficient projectile speed was almost negligible.

The Polluters were standing in a neat row, with no extra space to dodge at all.

"Boom."

The crimson Fireball exploded among the crowd of Polluters.

The violent energy impact and extreme heat instantly eliminated several Polluters.

A fierce heatwave surged back, blowing everyone off balance.

"Kid, using a big explosion in such a small space, if you want to die, don't fucking drag me with you!"

The Vice Commander leaned on his spear, barely stabilizing himself against the heatwave's impact.

"Well done, Red Star," Annual Ring encouraged, then taught earnestly,

"Next time, remember to observe your surroundings and be careful not to involve yourself."

Ronan helped Evil Axe stand up.

Hearing this, he couldn't help but feel envious.

This kind of teaching and care from an elder to a junior could almost never exist between members who were merely part of the same organization.

They definitely had some other relationship.

I'd like to call you, Annual Ring, Red Star's number one Dao Protector.

Red Star's single modified Fireball had taken out most of the Polluters; not many survived in the front, leaving only those at the back of the team.

"Evil Axe, let's go deal with the ones at the back."

Ronan led Evil Axe and turned to the back of the team.

Drill Mouse had stuck his torch into a crack in the stone wall; relying on his small stature, he jumped back and forth among the Polluters, dodging the black liquid attacks from their mouths.

"Captain, if you guys didn't come soon, the Polluters would have one more member!" Drill Mouse screamed, his voice tinged with grievance.

There were more Polluters coming from behind than from the front.

"Why the hell are you standing so close to them? Get back here!" Evil Axe shouted.

Drill Mouse pulled away and vanished.

A moment later, he was standing behind Ronan and Evil Axe.

"Drill Mouse, well done, but you don't have to hold them off alone."

Ronan patted Drill Mouse on the shoulder. "Next, leave it to us. Evil Axe!"

"Captain, with so many of them, I have to let them taste my specialty."

Evil Axe didn't plan on hacking the Polluters to death one by one; he was already charging up his skill.

"They're so densely packed, finishing them off one by one is indeed too slow." Ronan agreed with his plan.

Then, he pressed his palms together and pulled them apart, and an "Elemental Ice Arrow" condensed between them.

He observed the passage's terrain and aimed the ice arrow at the ceiling.

With a thought, the ice arrow shot rapidly toward the ceiling, then scattered into a rain of ice falling from the sky, completely enveloping the group of Polluters below.

The cold air spread quickly, and the Polluters within the range of the ice rain all paused in their movements.

The next second,

thick ice formed on all the Polluters, freezing them firmly in place.

"Take this, 'Spinning Throwing Axe'!"

Evil Axe seized the opportunity and threw both axes with all his might.

Bang, bang, bang, bang... The familiar sound of ice shattering rang out.

The two axes galloped through the pile of ice sculptures, and after shattering all the Polluter ice sculptures, they fell back into Evil Axe's hands.

"This combo is so cool!" Drill Mouse exclaimed.

"Cool, right? I've got an even cooler ultimate move, the 'Super Powerful Invincible Spinning Flying Axe.' I'll let you see it next time."

Evil Axe lifted his head, his nose held high.

"What kind of name is that... is it even a proper ultimate move?"

Drill Mouse instinctively complained, only to receive a frustrated punch to the head from Evil Axe.

"What the hell do you know!"

"You guy whose aesthetic is as terrible as your height, get lost!"

"Eh?..."

"Drill Mouse, continue to keep watch at the back," Ronan instructed.

"Next time, you don't have to hold them off yourself; just let them in slowly."

"I understand, Captain."

Drill Mouse nodded and instantly entered a state of invisibility; when he reappeared, he was back at the very rear.

The three from the Arcane Arts Society noticed that the Polluters at the back had been dealt with, and the tense atmosphere of being attacked from both sides was relieved.

"White-haired kid, it seems you guys are of some use." The Vice Commander said, whether in praise or mockery.

He stood his spear upright on the ground and slowly unfastened the weights on his limbs.

Those were four unique iron plates that blended with his black armor.

Now, as he took them off and threw them onto the ground, they immediately smashed four large pits into the floor.

Immediately after, a faint light appeared on his body, lifting him up and suspending him in mid-air.

"Physical attacks are ineffective?"

The Vice Commander stuck out his tongue and licked his lips.

"It just so happens that I'm least skilled at physical attacks."

He flicked his wrist, and a Black Flame suddenly ignited on his spear.

Then, he casually stabbed toward where two Polluters were.

The Black Flame transformed into a dog's head and flew in front of the Polluters in an instant.

The dog's head then opened its large mouth and swallowed the two Polluters in one gulp.

The Black Flame surged, incinerating everything into nothingness.

The two Polluters left no trace of their existence.

Ronan was shocked by the strength of this Mercenary Vice Commander.

If the Vice Commanders of the three major Mercenaries were all at the same level, then his enemy Russell's combat power would have to be re-evaluated.

He sighed softly; it seemed he hadn't prepared sufficiently.

Speaking of which, he didn't know who these Vice Commanders of the mercenary groups were, and their surnames were also quite strange.

Maybe I should consider buying some intelligence from Alice... A certain figure wearing glasses couldn't help but appear in Ronan's mind.

After the Vice Commander's strike, only one Polluter remained on the field.

At this moment, as if terrified by the horrific Black Flame beside it, the black liquid all over its body boiled incessantly.

Before anyone could react, it suddenly turned around and fled rapidly toward the depths of the passage.

"Chase it!"

The Vice Commander took the lead and, before even landing, headed straight for the depths of the passage.