Chapter 170: Former Saint
Chapter 170: Former Saint (New Month, Subscriptions, Votes, and Favorites)
When the Shopkeeper invited Liam, his first instinct was to run. He thought the Shopkeeper might have discovered his secret and wanted to silence him.
But then he realized he wasn't alone, and involving innocent people would be too terrible. Besides, the shop had been around for decades, and who knew what traps the Shopkeeper might have set up inside. Running away would be like declaring war, and Liam didn't think he could outrun the owner of a Saint's territory.
So Liam nodded and extended his hand. "Mr. Shopkeeper, I'm very interested in the items in your Warehouse. Please lead the way."
The two of them walked past several rows of shelves and exited through the back door. They crossed the courtyard, and the Shopkeeper opened the Warehouse door. Inside, there was no magic to isolate the aura, and as soon as the door opened, Liam could sense that the items inside were all valuable treasures.
Am I overthinking this? Could it really be that the Shopkeeper just wants to help a promising young mage? Liam was just starting to think about the Shopkeeper's intentions when he felt a cold breeze behind him. He immediately dodged to the side, and a green wooden thorn, about the thickness of a chopstick and faintly scented with herbs, whizzed past his face.
Liam's face changed dramatically, and he made a gesture with his right hand, shouting:
"Four Directions Thunderstorm!"
With the spell, lightning radiated out from Liam in all directions. But it was useless. The Shopkeeper in front of him suddenly disappeared like a soap bubble popping.
Illusion! Liam knew he was in trouble and immediately crushed a jade talisman he had just taken from his spatial bag.
"Thunder Shield." A large mass of plasma exploded from Liam's body, attacking all the corners. He couldn't pinpoint the Shopkeeper's location, so he had to use a wide-area spell to probe the surroundings.
As the plasma spread in all directions, Liam finally sensed the Shopkeeper's presence in one corner of the courtyard using Life Magic. However, the moment Liam detected him, the Shopkeeper also sensed him.
The Shopkeeper's expression turned serious, and he suddenly vanished from the corner of the courtyard, reappearing almost instantly within the circle of Liam's lightning defenses.
Thinking he had the upper hand, the Shopkeeper lunged, but Liam quickly drew Krinvi's Fang and stabbed it towards the Shopkeeper's kidneys.
Truly, a magic weapon forged in the nearly magic-free Radiation World through sheer human effort, Krinvi's Fang pierced forward relentlessly. Even though three silver protective shields instantly appeared around the Shopkeeper, Krinvi's Fang sliced through them as if they were paper. The Shopkeeper's confident smile vanished with the disappearance of his shields.
But the Shopkeeper was clearly battle-hardened. At the last moment, he twisted his body to avoid the critical hit, then appeared at the Warehouse door, clutching his waist.
That moment had been incredibly dangerous. Most Wizards aren't adept at close combat, so many of their defensive spells, like Iron Armor, are designed to protect against physical attacks. Most combat-capable Wizards have some form of close-range teleportation or shielding magic to protect themselves.
In theory, if you can disable a Wizard's defenses and escape mechanisms, it's not impossible to take them down in close combat. For example, during the peak of the witch hunts, many modern spells hadn't been invented yet, and quite a few Wizards were killed by farmers with pitchforks. However, with the advent of modern magic, the difficulty of taking down a combat-trained Wizard has increased exponentially.
Naturally, the Wizards skilled in combat don't include those from the British Ministry of Magic who can't even cast an Armor Charm. However, in these peaceful times, such Wizards are not uncommon.
Clearly, the Shopkeeper had deemed Liam to be one of these novices, especially when Liam started with the highly offensive Thunder Art. The old Shopkeeper mistakenly assumed Liam was just a Wizard who excelled at stationary attacks, so he decided to close the distance and deal a decisive blow.
In reality, the Shopkeeper's assumption wasn't entirely wrong. For someone as young as Liam, a lack of combat experience was almost a given. Moreover, magic research and usage required significant effort, and Liam's age suggested he wouldn't have had enough time to master various spells.
After Liam used an attack spell that was surprisingly powerful for his age, the Shopkeeper naturally assumed Liam was only proficient in one type of offensive magic and knew little about defense or close combat. The Shopkeeper was also confident in his own magical defenses.
In this moment of carelessness, the Shopkeeper approached Liam without any precautions, only to be caught off guard. Liam, who seemed to have some sort of advantage, pulled out a powerful magical weapon and struck a critical blow. Even though the Shopkeeper managed to dodge slightly, he still ended up with a deep gash on his waist.
Liam could see the Shopkeeper's hand, covering the wound, slowly dripping with black blood. The Krinvi's Fang was known for its potent poison and bleeding properties, and a Wizard of the Shopkeeper's age wouldn't last long with such a severe injury.
The Shopkeeper had used illusions and sneak attacks earlier, so Liam was now prepared for a fatal blow. He knew that if he had failed, it wouldn't just be one person who would die. Liam didn't believe the Shopkeeper would show any mercy and let his companions go.
The Krinvi's Fang differed significantly from many magical artifacts in the Harry Potter world. Liam spent several days researching a method to neutralize the weapon's side effects using a mix of Life and Nature Magic. Given its unconventional design, Liam had been concerned about accidentally injuring himself and had preemptively studied how to counteract the weapon's effects.
For the Shopkeeper, it was difficult to quickly figure out how to neutralize the effects while an opponent was still a threat. While top-tier Wizards could easily overpower such issues, the Shopkeeper was far from that level.
Seizing the opportunity, Liam moved to a more advantageous position and continued to cast attack spells at the Shopkeeper, who struggled to maintain his defenses. As a result, the Shopkeeper's efforts to suppress the toxin were reduced, and he soon became unsteady.
Seeing this, Liam pulled out a Jade Talisman he had kept in reserve, preparing to deliver the final blow. This Jade Talisman, infused with a significant amount of Righteous Power, was a Lightning Summoning spell, the most powerful attack Liam currently had.
Just as he was about to activate the Jade Talisman, a familiar voice called out from nearby, "Stop, it's one of us, this is just a misunderstanding."
(End of Chapter)
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