Grinding EXP From Fireball Skill-Chapter 38: Yubis’s Nightmare

Mage Tower, library.

Li Wei was looking up information on the Evil God Yubis.

Yubis was rumored to be an Evil God of dreams, an indescribable entity. Those with higher spiritual sensitivity might dream of Yubis and hear its whispers in their sleep.

Some would be corrupted by these Nightmares, their minds becoming unstable.

Others would gain mystical knowledge from the whispers, obtaining Power from Yubis.

Thus, Yubis was also known as the Nightmare God.

The realm of dreams was too mysterious, even more ethereal than the Divine Kingdoms above the heavens, so even Mages knew little about it.

To this day, no Mage had ever witnessed the true form of the Nightmare God Yubis.

The book warned against trying to acquire any knowledge from an Evil God.

The moment you gained that knowledge, you would pay a price.

Many powerful Mages, in their quest to determine if the Nightmare God Yubis truly existed, had descended into madness and lost their sanity after gathering too much knowledge from the Evil God.

The more rational a person was, the harder it was for an Evil God to bewitch them—unless they voluntarily abandoned their reason.

Mages were the group least susceptible to an Evil God’s influence, but their intense thirst for knowledge also made them the group most likely to abandon their reason.

To a Mage, knowledge was Power!

Li Wei put down the book. The cases of Mages losing control and descending into madness were horrifying.

A single Grand Mage who lost control could easily destroy a town.

It was hard to imagine the terrible disaster a Legendary Mage losing control would cause.

The book summarized it in a single sentence.

The Legendary Mage Mar Nan lost control. Yanxia City was razed to the ground, with no survivors among its million inhabitants.

’Too dangerous. I’d better stay far away from those Evil God Cultists.’

Li Wei decided not to leave the Mage Tower again until the Black Cultists had been dealt with.

His Basic Meditation Method was just over six hundred experience points away from leveling up. He could use this time to focus on his Cultivation.

To break through sooner, Li Wei spent a fortune on another bottle of Magic Potion.

Li Wei returned to his room with the Magic Potion.

’I should be able to break through after I finish this bottle of Magic Potion!’

He glanced at the wall, where the patterns twisted to form words.

[Basic Meditation Method (Great Success)] 3402/4000

...

「Three days later.」Li Wei heard some terrible news.

The Apprentice Mage who went to hunt down the Black Cultist of the Yubis Sect was dead. The number of Apprentice Mages in the Mage Tower had dropped to nineteen.

Li Wei was shocked. He hadn’t expected even an Apprentice Mage to die.

’I wonder how the Mage Tower will respond now? Will they send a Tier One Mage to handle it?’

Li Wei was quite concerned about this.

After all, the Black Cultist was hiding right here in Maple City, far too close for comfort.

It was like a ticking time bomb buried at his feet, leaving Li Wei with no sense of security.

’I hope they deal with the Black Cultist of the Yubis Sect soon.’

He was paying close attention to the matter.

"Huh? Teacher Gu Ze is going to hunt the Black Cultist?"

Li Wei was extremely surprised when he got the news.

Gu Ze explained, "The Mage Tower losing an Apprentice Mage is a big deal. The Master Mages of the tower have decided to dispatch three Apprentice Mages to resolve this matter completely."

Li Wei asked, "Why not send a Tier One Mage?"

Gu Ze shook his head. "The Tier One Mages are all busy. They don’t have time to deal with this."

Li Wei hesitated for a moment before saying, "Teacher Gu Ze, I’ll go with you."

Gu Ze said, "There’s no need. The Mage Tower has already finalized the team. You should stay here and focus on your Cultivation."

Li Wei was a little worried. He looked at Gu Ze and said, "Then please wait a moment, Teacher Gu Ze."

He began Casting the Invisibility Armor Spell.

A moment later, Gu Ze saw a layer of Magic Radiance flow over his body. He touched his arm and felt a hard shell covering it.

His expression changed in surprise. "Is this the Invisibility Armor Spell?"

Li Wei nodded. "The Invisible Armor can last for a very long time, much longer than a Magic Shield."

"Teacher Gu Ze, let me show you how to turn the Invisible Armor on and off."

Soon, Gu Ze had learned how to control the Invisible Armor.

Gu Ze smiled and said, "This really isn’t necessary. I always cast a Magic Shield before entering combat."

"It’s better to be safe than sorry. I’m just worried about a sneak attack," Li Wei said.

Gu Ze nodded, accepting Li Wei’s kind gesture.

"Alright, I’m off. Don’t worry about me."

Gu Ze put on his gear, took his Magic Staff, and left the room.

Li Wei watched as the three Apprentice Mages left the Mage Tower.

’I hope everything goes smoothly!’

Worried about Gu Ze’s safety, Li Wei found it difficult to calm his mind all day.

He couldn’t settle down to meditate and cultivate.

So, Li Wei decided to practice his Magic instead.

Now that he was an Apprentice Mage, he could finally use the Magic Training Ground without restraint.

Li Wei bombarded a target dummy with the Small Fireball Technique.

Under his control, the Small Fireball Technique traced different trajectories through the air toward the target.

Li Wei was trying to control the Small Fireball Technique after it was cast.

It was theoretically possible, but very difficult.

It was like trying to change the path of a fired bullet.

After continuous attempts, his Small Fireball Technique could finally, just barely, curve around an obstacle to hit the target behind it.

’The books say top-tier Mages can use their Spiritual Power to freely control the power of their Magic. They can cast group Attack Magic that only harms enemies without hurting allies!’

’My Spiritual Power...’

Li Wei tried to project his Spiritual Power outward.

It was incredibly hard. His skull felt like an eggshell encasing his Spiritual Power, extremely tough and difficult to break through from the inside.

Only in a state of Meditation could he pry open a tiny crack to extend his Spiritual Power and grasp the Magic Elements.

’The state of Meditation!’

When this occurred to him, he stood still, calmed his mind, and tried to enter a meditative state.

By focusing on his Magic practice, he forgot his worries about Gu Ze’s safety.

This actually allowed him to enter a state of Meditation quickly.

Li Wei could perceive the free-floating Magic Elements around him, but his Spiritual Power could only capture them.

He couldn’t do anything else.

He tried to cast Magic while in the meditative state.

The moment the thought arose in his mind, he was kicked out of his meditative state.

’A failure.’

Li Wei wasn’t surprised. A meditative state required one to keep their mind empty and focus all their attention on Magic Perception.

The only thing one could do was absorb Magic Elements to cultivate Mana.

Constructing something as complex as a Magic Model made it difficult to maintain that state of mental emptiness.

Unless he could construct a Magic Model with a single thought.

In other words, he would have to do it subconsciously, without thinking, making the construction of a Magic Model an instinct.

That would be equivalent to instant Casting.

Currently, Li Wei couldn’t do that.

The next day, Li Wei finished his morning Cultivation around noon.

He went to Gu Ze’s room and knocked, but found that Gu Ze hadn’t returned yet.

’It’s been a whole day. Why isn’t he back? Could something have happened?’

Li Wei’s heart tightened.

"Magic Butler, check the mission progress for the hunt of the Yubis Sect’s Black Cultist."

Magic Butler: "Yesterday at noon, the Apprentice Mages dispatched by the Mage Tower rendezvoused with the team from the Professional Association and entered the underground sewers in the west district. The mission status has not been updated since."

’Yesterday noon... Crap, this is bad!’

A full day had passed, and Gu Ze and the others still hadn’t returned. Li Wei had a bad feeling.