Volume One, Chapter Three: Venturing Alone into Misty Hollow, Rapid Advancement!

Lin Yi took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on the class-transfer scroll with intense, burning fervor.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Arcane Mage is the progenitor of all mage classes. It is said that there once existed a group of powerful Arcane Mages who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the gods, capable of annihilating demons with a mere flick of their fingers. However, the class came with a significant drawback: the difficulty of learning its skills was absurdly high, and the breadth of knowledge required was vast beyond measure. Even if an ordinary person were fortunate enough to obtain such a scroll and become an Arcane Mage, leveling up would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens. Yet, for every level an Arcane Mage gains, the power of their skills multiplies several-fold, sometimes even tenfold. This is a feat no ordinary class can match. Because it was so difficult to master, it eventually evolved into the Mage, a simplified version of the original.

But for Lin Yi, this challenge was non-existent. He possessed a max-level talent, allowing him to master any skill with ease. Lin Yi was ecstatic; once he attained the status of a Gold-rank professional, he could transfer into an Arcane Mage. That day was not far off. With his talent, his leveling speed would surely shock everyone. Lin Yi tucked the scroll away securely and drifted into a deep sleep.

...

The next day, as the morning light broke, Lin Yi walked out the door under the worried gaze of his mother, Yang Mei. He had made an excuse about going to the school's beginner dungeon to train for the week, but his true destination was the wild.

After paying a one-hundred-dollar teleportation fee, a dazzling white light shot into the sky. In the blink of an eye, Lin Yi and dozens of others were transported to Wulong Town. This was a frontline base near the wild, where large numbers of professionals entered and exited to hone their skills and hunt monsters for treasures and equipment.

The crowd surged with powerful energy. Warriors carried greatswords, mages clutched staves, and archers slung longbows. Some even displayed traits of other races, such as cat ears or rabbit tails—the products of bloodline fusion. Lin Yi took it all in before striding toward the outskirts of town. His destination was the Village of Confusion, where the lowest-level monsters were level five—perfect for his current needs.

Walking alone, he drew many curious glances.

"Tsk, tsk, another greenhorn who thinks he's invincible. Freshly awakened and already dying to get himself killed in the wild!"

"Maybe he's some powerful, rare class? What do you know?"

"Are you blind? Can't you see the mage mark on his hand? He's clearly just a common mage."

The professionals whispered among themselves, their eyes filled with ridicule. Mages were traditionally considered to have low survivability; even Iron or Bronze-rank mages often needed warriors to guard them. For Lin Yi to venture into the wild alone was, indeed, a death wish. But he turned a deaf ear to their murmurs and marched forward. His talent was something these ordinary people could not comprehend.

Suddenly, a crisp voice rang out from behind him. "Little brother, would you like to join us?"

Lin Yi turned to see a smiling girl beckoning to him. She was dressed as a Priestess, clearly a kind-hearted soul wanting to offer him assistance. Before Lin Yi could reply, the youths around her expressed their dissatisfaction.

"Jiajia, we're here to hunt the Blood-patterned Wolf King. How can we bring along such a burden?"

"Exactly. He doesn't know the height of the sky or the depth of the earth. How many times can you save him?"

"Bai Jia, you're just too kind-hearted."

Bai Jia grew anxious, pouting, "Why are you all like this?"

Lin Yi offered a gentle smile. "Thank you for your kindness, but I'll be fine on my own."

With that, he walked toward the Village of Confusion without looking back. He had no intention of forming a party; it would only split the massive experience gains! To level up quickly, going solo was the only way. Low survivability for a mage? That didn't apply to Lin Yi. His level ten Shield of Armor was enough to withstand five hundred points of damage. Even in a head-on collision, he could easily cope.

Watching his retreating figure, Bai Jia sighed repeatedly, silently praying for his safety.

As Lin Yi ventured deeper, he finally encountered his first monster: a Kaino Goblin. The creature, clad in green rags, had a face twisted in terrifying malice. It let out a roar and swung a thick club at Lin Yi. To test the power of his Shield of Armor, Lin Yi did not dodge; instead, he silently chanted the incantation. In an instant, a glowing white shield materialized, wrapping around his entire body.

*Bang!*

The Kaino Goblin’s heavy blow landed, carrying 130 points of damage. Yet, Lin Yi stood as firm as a rock, not moving an inch!

"Incredible!" Lin Yi laughed heartily, marveling at the effect of the shield. "Fireball, activate!"

With a flick of his finger, a scorching fireball the size of a basketball shot forth. *Boom!* The massive fireball tore through the air, leaving a charred trail before exploding on the goblin's face. The terrifying damage instantly depleted the creature's health bar.

Lin Yi gasped, shock filling his eyes as he looked at the charred, unrecognizable corpse. He realized the astonishing destructive power of a max-level Fireball: 200 base damage, plus a triple-damage critical hit to the head, had instantly killed a level five Kaino Goblin.

[Defeated a level five Kaino Goblin, gained 79 experience points.]

Lin Yi beamed. Compared to his classmates still struggling in the school’s beginner zone, his leveling speed was worlds apart! In those zones, a single kill might only yield one or two experience points.

"The real training has only just begun!" With a glint of excitement in his eyes, he wasted no time.

*Boom! Boom!*

Scorching fireballs exploded one after another, clearing away every threat.

[Defeated a level five Flame Goblin, gained 75 experience points.]
[Defeated a level five Frost Goblin, gained 72 experience points.]

Lin Yi's experience bar climbed rapidly with every kill, his leveling speed truly staggering. It was more than a hundred times faster than anyone else's.

*Whoosh!*

A brilliant white light erupted from his body—he had leveled up!

[Name: Lin Yi]
[Class: Mage]
[Level: LV2 (37/2000)]

With the level up, the power of his Fireball doubled to 400 damage. If he triggered a critical hit, breaking a thousand damage would be easy! Dealing a thousand points of damage as a beginner was unthinkable; if he told anyone, they probably wouldn't believe it.

Now even more efficient, Lin Yi no longer needed to land precise hits on vital points to secure a one-shot kill. If it wasn't for the time spent seeking out targets, his speed could be even faster!

[Defeated a level six Green Goblin, gained 81 experience points.]
[Defeated a level seven Red Goblin, gained 84 experience points.]

*Whoosh!*

A moment later, the white light shone again—he reached level three! In just half a day, Lin Yi had gained two levels. Meanwhile, his classmates had likely only accumulated a few dozen experience points. The gap between them was like a chasm.

"Haha, keep going!" Lin Yi licked his lips, took a few bites of dry rations from his pack, and dove back into the fray. The feeling of his strength constantly climbing was wonderful.

*Boom!*

The Village of Confusion became a nightmare for the goblins that day. Unrelenting fireballs bloomed everywhere, reaping one life after another. Lin Yi’s experience bar surged visibly. With a continuous flash of white lights, his level skyrocketed to five! In a single day, he had accomplished what would take ordinary people months to achieve. For most, combat was exhausting and far from easy.

[Level reached five, unlocked new skill—Arc Arcane Impact!]

Lin Yi was overjoyed. For a mage, level five was a small milestone. The Arcane Impact was the first group-attack skill he had mastered!

"Awoo!"

At that moment, roars erupted from all sides. Dozens of glowing green eyes emerged from the darkness—it was a pack of goblins...