Chapter 38 Chapter38-Instant Kill, Everyone's Astonishment!
"Wrath of the Earth!"
Howard raised his wand, and in an instant, earth elements converged frantically, causing the ground to tremble violently.
At this moment, Glyn and Caitlin finally understood why Howard had only summoned a single firedragon earlier.
Turns out, Howard was a magus!
"My God, what level of skill is this?"
"Just the prelude of the skill can cause the earth to tremble... this is definitely a skill beyond S-level!"
"It's too powerful!"
"S-level skills are already incredibly rare; can someone actually grasp even higher-level skills?"
In this fleeting moment, everyone was astounded by Howard.
Sensing the terrifying pressure, the Bloodfiend Larva abruptly sped up.
However, before it could reach Howard, the Wrath of the Earth skill had already unleashed its power.
The first shockwave erupted gloriously from the ground, the terrible force instantly sending the Bloodfiend Larva flying.
Before the Larva could even react, rich earth elements gathered and promptly transformed into a mountain range.
The next moment, the range descended thunderously, directly pressing the Bloodfiend Larva underneath.
This scene was particularly eerie.
A massive mountain range suppressing an extremely tiny insect!
If this weren't a digitalized world merged with a game, such a press would probably have instantly killed the Bloodfiend Larva.
Regrettably, the Larva was only injured.
There was no system notification for Howard and others, which meant that it was still alive.
Glyn, Caitlin, and the others stared in awe at the mountain range formed entirely from the congregation of earth elements.
"This isn't a real mountain; it's a dense assembly of earth elements!"
"My God, using the force of elements to create a physical entity directly; just how terrifying is this person's strength?"
The numerous students couldn't help expressing their admiration.
At this moment, in their hearts, Howard's strength surpassed both Glyn and Caitlin by a great margin. After all, neither Glyn nor Caitlin had the skills to accomplish what he just had.
"I am not his match!" Glyn exclaimed, feeling a sense of inferiority, "To achieve this, one would need a skill above SS-level, or be a powerhouse above level 80!"
Caitlin's beautiful eyes blinked, surveying Howard with sparkling interest.
Initially, she was drawn to Howard's appearance, but now it appeared that not only was Howard powerful, but he also possessed great courage.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have stepped forward fearlessly while everyone else was fleeing.
Only Abby frowned tightly, looking at Howard with puzzlement.
Having known Howard for so long, the familiar feeling when he held her hand earlier immediately made her guess his identity.
However, witnessing Howard unleash such a powerful skill made her hesitant to believe it.
She knew that Howard had only recently realized his talents.
Despite having some guided training in the academy, she couldn't fathom that he could have a higher level than her, let alone mastering skills above SS-level.
Looking across the whole Saint City, no one was known to have learned SS-level skills, though higher-level areas might offer such possibilities.
Thus, Abby was extremely doubtful, unsure of what to believe.
Unaware of everyone's thoughts, Howard was intently focusing on the mountain range, ready to immediately unleash another SS-level skill – the Icy Touch of Winter Goddess – as soon as the elemental mountain range disappeared.
Five seconds passed in the blink of an eye.
Swiftly, the mountain range formed from the earth elements vanished, and the Bloodfiend Larva furiously flew up, charging towards Howard to attack, enraged shouts resounding.
"Damn it, how dare you insult the noble and great Smordo Clan! Even death won't absolve you of your sins!"
However, before the Bloodfiend Larva could finish speaking or approach Howard, a biting cold wind howled out.
The originally purple mist was frozen, and snowflakes fell from the sky.
In an instant, the Bloodfiend Larva was attacked by the cold air, frozen in mid-air.
A surreal, extremely beautiful figure emerged from behind Howard.
An oppressive force suddenly descended, leaving people like Glyn breathless.
"That is the shadow of the Winter Goddess!"
"My God, what level of skill is this? To be able to summon the shadow of a deity?"
"He's definitely a big shot."
"If only I could become his disciple..."
For a moment, the way many students looked at Howard became fervently admiring, their eyes filled with crazed adoration.
Would they be paralyzed with shock on the ground if they knew that the big shot in their eyes was the very Howard they had once mocked?
With the descent of the Winter Goddess's shadow, the cold air became even more ferocious, wreaking havoc between heaven and earth.
The next moment, the shadow of the Winter Goddess raised her hand, and with her pristine and crystalline fingers, she gently pointed in the direction of the Bloodfiend Larva.
In an instant, the breaths of countless people became more rapid.
They all fixed their eyes on the Bloodfiend Larva, their hearts brimming with curiosity. Could such a powerful skill actually kill the Bloodfiend Larva?
When the finger harboring terrifying strength touched the ice-bound Bloodfiend Larva, before everyone's eyes, the Bloodfiend Larva dispersed like ashes in the wind.
[Ding dong! Congratulations to awakened Howard, your team has successfully killed the extraplanar creature — Bloodfiend Larva, earning 100,000 experience points!]
Perhaps due to being a special creature, this time the reward was even more substantial than that of a Gold BOSS.
Not to mention the elite team's members, even Glyn and Caitlin successfully leveled up.
Howard advanced to level 13, and after allocating all the attribute points to spirit, his own attributes saw a remarkable increase.
In truth, Howard would not fear extraplanar creatures below level 60; with two SS-level skills and one S-level skill, he could kill any of them no matter what.
However, Howard had initially assumed that he would have to put in more effort.
Unexpectedly, this extraplanar creature turned out to be a high-attack but low-HP type, precisely meeting the one-hit kill condition of the Icy Touch of Winter Goddess.
Yet, Glyn, Caitlin, and the others did not know that Howard had killed the extraplanar creature Bloodfiend Larva leveraging the skill mechanism; they now viewed him as a godlike figure.
"Sir, you are truly formidable. No wonder even a heavenly beauty like Caitlin is willing to be close to you." After Howard killed the Bloodfiend Larva, Glyn's address and attitude towards him had become extremely respectful, and not just in words.
Caitlin was even more excited, her face flushing red.
Unfortunately, she also understood that she had no relation to Howard.
If they were to miss each other at this point, it's highly likely they would never meet again.
However, throughout Caitlin's journey, despite her proactive approach, Howard remained indifferent.
What could she do?
She surely couldn't just present herself in Howard's bed, could she?
With her talents and pride, she could never do such a thing!
"Alright, let's leave this place as soon as possible."
Howard glanced around, confirmed that the Bloodfiend Larva hadn't dropped any loot, and urged everyone to leave promptly.
However, now that they had escaped the crisis, Howard chose not to speak any more.
Along the way, Glyn and Caitlin primarily took charge of giving commands.
Fortunately, following the killing of the Bloodfiend Larva by Howard, the purple mist had dissipated.
The monsters within the ruins were largely cleared, offering them an unobstructed route out.
In no time, Howard and the group arrived back at the original cave.
Passing through the water curtain would allow them to exit the ruins.
"We've only explored one pathway in these ruins. We're not sure where the other four lead to; they might take us to the same destination or perhaps somewhere different," voiced Glyn, addressing the group before adding, "Does anyone wish to continue the exploration?"
An extraplanar creature would descend only once, hence after Howard killed the Bloodfiend Larva, Glyn no longer held any fear.
The monsters within the ruins were something their team could easily handle, even slaughter without resistance.
Yet, the students of the elite team exchanged hesitant looks, all harboring traces of fear.
The excursion to the ruins, during which they had lost three of their own, had truly frightened them.
"Glyn, I think... maybe we should stop exploring the ruins," one student hesitated before others chimed in agreeing, expressing their preference to level up outside instead.
Glyn scrutinized the students carefully, seeing the fear reflected in their eyes, he chose not to insist further.
"No worries," Caitlin said with a smile. "If these potions are important, we can come back later on our own. You can even bring people from your family next time, okay?"
Turning towards Howard, she asked, "Darling, will you come again next time?"
Hearing this, Howard didn't hesitate and nodded.
The danger level of the ruins wasn't considered high, and if they could find more potions, it would yield nice returns, whether he kept them for himself or handed them over to the Church.
At his response, a smile curled up at the corners of Caitlin's mouth, her face beaming with delight.
As long as she had opportunities to interact with Howard, she was confident in winning over his affection.
"In that case, let's leave for now. It's a pity there isn't a church in Saint City; we might have to travel overnight!" Glyn sighed as he signaled everyone to pass through the water curtain and exit the ruins.
Thus, their venture into the ruins temporarily came to an end.
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