Lord of Smoke and Dust"

Chapter 7 The Outbreak

The battle erupted suddenly, with Sain and Lena being the initiators. Lena was known as the "crazy woman" among the other apprentices, and it was for good reason; she didn't hesitate to take action on Black Street!

A massive fireball, radiating deep blue flames, far surpassed Sain's secondary fireball not only in size but also in power.

The fireball was heading straight for the scar-faced Jock's face. Since Lena acted swiftly and Jock was utterly unprepared, it seemed that the next moment would bring a scene of exploding brains and shattered faces.

Magicians had frail constitutions, and without magical shields, the defensive abilities of apprentices were not significantly better than those of ordinary adults.

The main reason for the unexpected turn of events was that nobody expected Lena to attack.

A pale light suddenly appeared between Jock and his group. Sain had magical equipment, and it was obvious that someone in Jock's group had something similar.

This was an emergency warning device, and the pale light emanated from a small silver wand which resembled Sain's Acidic Cane.

The owner of this wand was a male intermediate apprentice with a pale complexion. He seemed reluctant to intervene in this battle and was even more unwilling to use his precious magical item.

The magical shield formed from the pale magical light did not last more than two seconds, crumbling under the impact of Lena's powerful fireball. However, those two seconds took everyone within the radius of the fireball some time to react.

As the pale magical shield disintegrated, so did Lena's large fireball. But instead of vanishing, the deep blue fireball split into nearly twenty smaller fiery yellow ones.

This was an unexpected turn of events. Each piece of magic was unique, and even if it was a fireball spell, there could be variations due to the caster.

Lena's deep blue fireball was the result of her unique modifications and enhancements, and the division of her fireball into twenty smaller secondary fireballs was not a typical feature of Fireball spells found in the library of the Magic Academy.

This showed the formidable power of high-level apprentices. Despite being recently promoted, Lena was far from being an ordinary high-level apprentice.

The bursting secondary fireballs inflicted significant damage on Jock's group, particularly the low-level apprentices who were ill-prepared to face this kind of magic from high-level apprentices.

In addition, two lower-level apprentices who reacted too slowly were affected by the secondary fireball and sustained significant burns.

In a split second, nearly half of Jock's group had been taken out. It was at this moment that Jock and his group finally launched their counterattack.

The first to act was a female apprentice with medium-level strength, her distinctive feature being her short reddish hair. She was displeased with Lena's sudden attack.

For years, the Magic Academy had maintained a high ratio of male apprentices due to its competitive environment. The women who managed to become medium-level or higher apprentices in this environment were not to be underestimated. At times, they could be even more ruthless than their male counterparts.

Accompanied by a sharp scream, a sonic wave was emitted from the mouth of this female apprentice. This was Sain's first encounter with Sonic Magic, and the speed of the spell surpassed his understanding of regular magic.

The Black Magic Academy was indeed a place full of hidden talents.

The high-speed Sonic Magic quickly enveloped Sain and Lena, causing Sain, who was only a low-level apprentice, to stumble slightly due to its impact. Fortunately, his Acidic Cane provided a slight mental recovery mechanism, which prevented the magic's influence from being too substantial.

The primary target of the Sonic Magic, the "Siren's Screech," was actually Lena. While she lacked a device like Sain's Acidic Cane to mitigate the effects, Lena, as a high-level apprentice, had high enough mental strength to withstand it.

As a middle-level spell, the "Siren's Screech" carried a considerable cost, and it was unlikely the intermediate apprentice would be able to cast a second one in such a short time.

So, the initiative was back with Lena. Lena retrieved a pitch-black bracelet from her wrist, which was a magical item that Sain had rarely seen her use.

Lena chanted a rapid incantation, and the pitch-black bracelet emitted a dim black light, indicating that the next magical attack was imminent.

This was when Jock and his group launched their counterattack. This was the result of being ganged up on. Although Lena's abilities far surpassed those present, she was still only one person, while Jock and his group consisted of eleven apprentices, including four intermediate apprentices.

The one to act immediately after Lena was Jock. He didn't choose the traditional chanting method for spellcasting but drew a short sword from his chest and charged directly toward Sain and Lena.

This was Jock's unique combat style. The pale red flame patterns spread from the base of his short sword, not because the sword was a magical item, but because he had infused his own fire elemental power into the fine steel short sword.

In the magical world, there was a professional term for this: Fire Elemental Enchantment.

Jock's movements were swift, thanks to his years of training in the dark underground world of the Dark Region. The scars on his body were proof of his strength.

Sain's close combat and reflex abilities were not bad, but they were slightly inferior to Jock. Their respective specialties were different, with Sain focusing on magic while Jock prioritized physical prowess.

However, Jock's swift movement was still not enough to outpace Sain.

His enchanted longsword was already aimed at Lena, as she had initiated the attack. Jock now had the intention of severely injuring or even killing her. In a one-on-one fight, Jock would undoubtedly be no match for Lena.

But don't forget, he had over a dozen companions here. In particular, Lena's almost indiscriminate attack on the fireball angered everyone.

Lena had recently been promoted to a high-level apprentice, which was the only opportunity Jock had to severely injure or even kill her.

"Only I can become Master Andis's apprentice!"

"This year's academy rewards will be mine!"

"You ignorant crazy woman, go and die!" Jock's inner anger was expressed as he prepared to attack Lena. This highlighted the source of the conflict between him and Lena.

However, Jock's surprise attack had not yet succeeded when three streams of corrosive acid suddenly appeared right in front of him. His face turned pale, and a chill ran down his spine.