Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

Ian's eyes narrowed; he knew he couldn't take it head-on.

"Kagerou!" A bright white ray shot out from the index finger of his left hand.

The [Focus] effect makes the rays as sharp as needles, and the [Sunfire] effect adds a touch of sacred golden-red to the white light!

"laugh--!"

The ray precisely hit the intersection of the three tentacles directly in front, unleashing both high temperature and purification properties simultaneously!

"Awooo—!"

The tentacles emitted a scream similar to that of a living creature, and the parts that were hit instantly carbonized and shattered.

The remaining Yang energy spread upwards along the tentacles, turning the blood-red color of everything it passed through into charred and withered areas.

But other tentacles have already arrived.

"freeze!"

A burst of icy blue rays erupted from the right index finger, and the [Deep Freeze] effect allowed the chill to penetrate the tentacles' internal structure rather than remain on the surface.

"Snap!"

Seven or eight tentacles were frozen into ice sculptures less than three feet from Ian, and then shattered due to the inertia of the forward thrust.

But there's more! More!

"Energy Barrier - Fully Open!"

Ian shouted, and his main crystal barrier instantly expanded to his entire body, while the six floating crystal guardians on all sides spun wildly to block.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—!"

The dense pounding sounds were like a torrential downpour striking iron.

The crystal barrier trembled violently, cracks spread at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the floating crystal guardians shattered one after another.

The difference is too big!

Even a casual strike from a formal wizard requires Ian to deal with with all his might.

Such attacks seem to be effortless for the leeches, requiring no preparation whatsoever.

"Gah—!"

Suddenly, Gaga screamed from her breast pocket.

Not through a soul connection, but through the actual cawing of crows!

The sound was sharp and piercing, with a penetrating power that struck straight to the soul.

At the same time, it flew out of the pocket, its body instantly expanding to a wingspan of three meters in mid-air.

Its eyes emitted a dense gray light, shooting straight at the blood leech.

The Eye of Calamity!

The leech paused slightly.

It wasn't that I was frozen in place, but rather that I suddenly fell into some kind of slowed-down state, and the mental connection controlling the tentacles experienced a momentary disruption.

Just this one moment!

A cold glint flashed in Ian's eyes.

"Bipolar Ice-Fire Spiral!"

With ice-blue in his left hand and bright white in his right, three rays were instantly generated.

It spiraled and intertwined three feet away from the body, transforming into a beam of light interwoven with ice and fire, tearing through the air and shooting straight at the blood leech's chest!

This time, he poured in his completely atomized spiritual energy without holding back!

[Focus], [Blazing], [Deep Binding], all special effects activated!

Wherever the laser passes, the air is ionized, releasing a pungent ozone smell.

Frost formed on the left and flames ignited on the right, creating a bizarre scene of ice and fire that slightly distorted the space itself!

The leech's pupils suddenly contracted.

This attack... completely reached the power of a first-level sorcery.

How could this possibly be an apprentice?!

"Leech - Molting!"

He roared and his black robe suddenly ripped apart, revealing his pale body covered in blood-stained veins.

Just before the laser beam struck, his skin peeled off on its own, as if it were alive, and he flew backward.

"Pfft—BOOM!!!"

The light drill struck the shed "skin," causing a frenzied explosion of ice and fire energy.

The human skin was instantly blasted into a cloud of blood mist, half of it charred and carbonized, and the other half frozen into ice shards!

However, the true form of the blood leech had retreated ten feet away, and the blood patterns on its naked upper body were writhing even faster, while its face was so gloomy that it could drip water.

He looked down at his chest. Although he had used the Substitution Jutsu to dodge the fatal blow, the aftershock of the light drill still grazed him.

The wound on his left chest was a mixture of charred black and frost, a bloody mess, and you could even see the slightly blackened ribs.

What horrified and enraged him even more was that the golden-red Yang Flame energy remaining at the wound was like a bone-deep affliction, burning his flesh and magic.

The purification effect of [Yangyan] made the circulation of blood energy in his body sluggish by three points.

"Purification ability... Who exactly are you?!"

The leech's voice finally stopped mocking and was filled with surprise and rage.

This power that restrains blood and darkness is something that ordinary apprentices cannot master.

Ian did not answer.

His breathing became slightly rapid; that attack had consumed nearly 20% of his mental energy.

But the effect was remarkable—it broke through the opponent's energy field and caused real damage.

More importantly, he discovered the true nature of the blood leech.

"Not a fully-fledged first-level wizard..."

Instead, he is the "worst wizard" who forcibly condensed an energy field by some secret method. He is still an apprentice in essence, but his combat power has just reached the threshold of a wizard.

Thoughts raced through Ian's mind, but his actions never ceased.

"Hehe, distract him, don't fight him head-on!"

"Understood, ga!"

Gaga shrank again, transforming into a black lightning bolt that flew swiftly through the swamp.

Every now and then, a wind blade or a gray beam of light would shoot out. Although it could not cause any real damage, it forced the blood leech to be distracted and deal with it.

The stun effect of that gray light, though brief for a formal wizard, can be fatal in a life-or-death battle, even a moment's delay!

"court death!"

The blood leech flew into a rage and grabbed at the air with its right hand!

"Blood Curse: Rotting Heart!"

An invisible curse instantly enveloped Gaga.

This is a vicious curse that directly targets the source of life. Once you are hit, your heart will rot and fester within three breaths!

But Gaga's senses were extremely sharp, and it suddenly surged forward just before the fluctuations hit.

At the same time, a dark red glow appeared on the tip of Ian's left finger, and the [Soul Devouring] rune was activated.

A streak of blood-red light shot out and blocked Gaga's path.

Most of the curse's energy was forcibly swallowed and transformed. The remaining portion touched Gaga, causing its feathers to dim for only a moment before returning to normal.

"What?!" The blood leech was truly shocked this time.

An instant-cast spell that can devour curses? What kind of bizarre ability is this?!

In that instant when he was shaken, Ian struck again.

The incantation was uttered almost instantly, this time not by a ray, but by…

"Invisibility!" His figure suddenly vanished from the spot.

It's not just visual invisibility, but complete concealment of even aura, temperature, and magical fluctuations!

The blood leech's pupils contracted sharply, and it frantically scanned its surroundings with its mental energy, but could only catch a blurry phantom moving rapidly!

That was fast! The opponent seemed to be covered by a layer of shadow, making them extremely well-concealed!

"left!"

His fighting instincts made him dodge sharply to the right.

"laugh--!"

A scorching ray grazed his ear, burning a few strands of hair and causing a burning pain in his earlobe.

It's not over yet!

"Deep Binding - Rapid Fire!"

"Hiss hiss hiss—"

Four beams of icy blue light blocked all his escape routes.

The blood leech had no choice but to twist its body, and a blood-red shield appeared on its skin.

"Bang bang...!"

The icy blue ray struck the shield, and the Deep Freeze effect caused frost to quickly condense on the shield's surface, making its structure vulnerable.

Ian's true form had already appeared behind him like a ghost.

Both hands were raised simultaneously, the left hand ice blue, the right hand bright white, and the two rays spiraled and intertwined again at extremely close range.

"it's over."

A calm voice rang in the blood leech's ear.

The blood leech was in a panic, frantically activating all its life-saving methods. Blood patterns under its skin emerged like living snakes, weaving together to form a flesh and blood shield on its back.

But it's too close!

"Pfft!!!"

The ice and fire diamond pierced the flesh shield, and the Sunfire and Deep Freeze effects erupted simultaneously!

"Aaaaaah—!!!"

A heart-wrenching, inhuman scream echoed throughout the swamp!

The flesh and blood shield was like an ice block thrown into a furnace, instantly vaporizing by more than half.

The drill, its momentum undiminished, plunged deep into the back of the blood leech!

The energy of ice and fire raged wildly within his body, freezing and brittle the internal organs on the left side of his body, while carbonizing the right side of his body with high temperature.

The Yang Flame energy was like a leech, frantically purifying the bloodline essence upon which he depended for survival.

"No...it's impossible...how could I...die at the hands of an apprentice..."

The blood leech looked down at the tip of the diamond that shone from its chest, where ice and fire intertwined!

He struggled to turn around, his eyes filled with disbelief, terror, and despair.

"Click."

Ian placed his left hand on the back of his neck and gently pulled.

The entire skull, along with the neck bone, was ripped off.

The leech's eyes lost all their luster, and the headless corpse collapsed forward, falling into the swamp mud and quickly being swallowed by the filth.