Chapter 376 – Benlajet: The Fall

As a spellcaster who had advanced to Master-Level thousands of years ago, though Ben Lajie had always holed up in his Mage Tower running money-losing ventures, one had to admit this usually unreliable fat old man had accumulated some reserves. At the very least, he could produce two life-saving magic items at critical moments.

Facing the “Velocity Kinetic Cone” that would pierce his body and shred his soul in the next second, with no ability to dodge, Ben Lajie had to immediately activate the only two life-saving magic artifacts he carried.

The first to take effect was the magic Necklace Ben Lajie had been clutching in his hand from the start. Having prepared in advance, the solidified spell on this Necklace activated fastest. Almost the moment Punk released the pale purple “Velocity Kinetic Cone,” the somewhat anxious Ben Lajie had already unleashed the Master-Level spell solidified on the Necklace:

Master-Level Evocation Spell—”Gentle Water Shield”!

As faint water elemental fluctuations spread through the space, a flowing, transparent water screen slowly emerged on Ben Lajie’s left side. The “Velocity Kinetic Cone” that tore through space and arrived instantly struck this layer of protection. Though the spell shield rippled slightly, it silently blocked the cone’s advance. While the “Velocity Kinetic Cone” enhanced by Punk’s “Mana Compression” ultimately pierced through the transparent water screen, by then it had exhausted all its mana and shattered into nothingness.

Compared to the ineffective spell from the left, the attack assaulting from Ben Lajie’s right side was far more perilous. Since Ben Lajie activated the magic Scroll slightly slower than the magic item, though the “Wall of Iron”—with defensive power not inferior to the “Gentle Water Shield”—successfully blocked Punk’s attack, the purple-tipped “Velocity Kinetic Cone” that pierced the protective spell was now less than a centimeter from Ben Lajie’s head.

“Phew, phew!!”

Turning to see the “Velocity Kinetic Cone” nearly touching his forehead shatter and vanish, Ben Lajie felt as if he had just returned from death’s doorstep—this was real combat. Just a tiny bit slower in activating the magic Scroll, and his head would have undoubtedly exploded instantly under the terrifying kinetic impact!

“Thank goodness, thank goodness, Cyan. I’ve managed to turn the tables after all. Though I’ve used my life-saving trump card early, Punk has also expended one use of his metamagic technique. For at least the next millisecond, even that guy can’t release a third ‘Velocity Kinetic Cone.’ Next… it’s my turn to counterattack. Yes!”Ignoring the cold sweat trickling into his eyes, Ben Lajie immediately seized the opportunity to prepare his spell. By now, the fat old man had finally realized the immense gap between his own strength and Punk’s. If he wanted to survive or even win this battle, he couldn’t afford the slightest mistake in his next actions.

While calmly constructing the spell model, Ben Lajie also relied on his Master-Level thinking speed—faster than a supercomputer—to quickly recall the knowledge he had acquired from the book Evocation Mage Combat Manual:

“After the intense spell attacks just now, Punk has lost his offensive capability for the next millisecond. However, the protective spells constantly active on him cannot be easily breached. Moreover, considering the trump card he displayed during his fight with Ovakain—the ability to reflect attacks—recklessly attacking might put me in danger. Therefore, I must first cast a movement-enhancing spell on myself…”

As he thought this, Ben Lajie acted accordingly. In an extremely short time—less than a millisecond—his nearly instinctive evocation spell was almost fully constructed. Next, as long as he applied the greatly movement-enhancing “Flame Rush” to himself as planned, this fat old man, now fully engaged in combat, would still have a chance to counterattack!

But…

Ssshhhk!

Just as Ben Lajie began planning his next move, just as his “Flame Rush” was nearing completion, just as he once again tightened his grip on the small necklace… a nearly imperceptible sound of flesh being pierced by a sharp blade brought all his thoughts to an abrupt halt in his mind…

The fat old man, with blood-foam gushing from his mouth, slowly lowered his head. Under his incredulous and shocked gaze, a blade protruding from his chest reflected the crimson glow of flames at the location of his heart.

“This… this… how… how…”

In his final moments, as the fire elements around him grew silent and dissipated, as the light in his pupils gradually dimmed, and as the fully formed spell abruptly collapsed, Ben Lajie’s lips twitched slightly, as if he still wanted to say something. But… in the end, nothing came out.

The moment the dagger pierced his body from behind, a massive amount of destructive mana had already invaded Ben Lajie’s soul. Even for a Master-Level spellcaster, without protective magic or a resilient physical body, a soul exposed to an enemy’s mana remained fragile. With just one powerful mana impact, the soul brimming with infinite potential vanished into dust amidst a brilliant azure glow.

“Mr. Nokani, it seems your Evocation Mage Combat Manual certainly didn’t tell you—even if your opponent is a pure spellcaster, you must always guard against a sharp dagger from behind… What a pity, you’ll never have the chance to remember this lesson.”Accompanied by low, chilling words, Punk—who had just stepped out from the second Anywhere Door behind Ben Lajie—deftly and cruelly twirled his dagger into a gleaming arc. In the sharp blade radiance of the dagger named “Sith’s Calm,” Ben Lajie’s right hand, along with the Storage Ring and Storage Bracelet on it, were cleanly severed by Punk with a single slash.

Expressionlessly kicking aside the obese old man’s bloated corpse, Punk calmly began removing the “spoils of war” from the severed hand one by one.

Theoretically, Ben Lajie’s later tactical approach wasn’t entirely flawed. Although Spell Instant is described as “instant,” it couldn’t truly achieve zero-interval casting. After employing the Metamagic – Dualcast technique, Punk indeed couldn’t instantly construct another spell model! However…

What Ben Lajie likely never realized until his dying moment was that the “Anywhere Door” solidified on Punk’s Mage Robe could be used a full three times. And Punk’s most unexpected killing move… was actually this sharp dagger once seized from High Priest Tisha Xia’er!

Thus concluded the fall of the 17th Master-Level Evocation Specialist Mage—Benlajie Nokani!

(End of Chapter)