Chapter 390: Son of the Wind God

This skill is very simple; it just changes their [Wind Blade] from a single-target skill to an area-of-effect one.

[Wind Blade] is equivalent to a basic attack, consuming little mental power and having a short cooldown.

It can be said that Wind Mages are the most suitable class for farming monsters.

However, Cao Xing is not short on troops for farming monsters right now; what he lacks are troops with good talent who can learn Archmage skills.

Scanning around, these Wind Mages all have a special talent, namely: Son of the East, West, South, or North Wind.

But this talent doesn't add much to their attributes.

Shaking his head, Cao Xing didn't bother checking them one by one.

Instead, he took out the [Gernadi's Mage Manual (Orange)] directly from his backpack.

The moment this mage manual appeared, a strong aura of wind surged forth.

On the field, the robes of those Earth Mages fluttered slightly.

And that group of Wind Mage apprentices stared fixedly at the manual, unable to tear their eyes away!

Although they didn't know what the Lord held in his hands.

They could feel that this item had an extremely strong attraction for them!

Looking at their eager gazes, Cao Xing said, "This is something left behind by a Wind Archmage."

"It records many types of advanced wind spells, as well as his self-created spells."

"But for certain reasons, this Archmage has already passed away."

"Therefore, I now need an apprentice with good talent to learn the spells in this manual. Who among you has the confidence?"

Cao Xing couldn't be bothered to search one by one, so he let them volunteer themselves.

Hearing this, the hundreds of mage apprentices on the field exchanged glances.

They all saw the longing in each other's eyes, a pursuit and yearning for magic.

However, they were still very aware of their own strength and potential.

The magic recorded inside such an Archmage's manual—learning just one type would allow their strength to undergo a qualitative change.

It can be said to be an incomparably precious legacy.

If it fell into their hands and they failed to learn it, burying this legacy, it would be a grave sin.

For a moment, the atmosphere became somewhat subtle and heavy.

Just then, a mage apprentice in the crowd raised his hand.

Cao Xing looked over.

It was a thin, frail-looking youth.

His face was somewhat immature, but his gaze was extremely firm.

Even when facing Cao Xing's scrutinizing gaze, he did not shrink back but met it firmly.

Cao Xing's lips curled into a smile, and he also saw his name.

"Allen, do you want to try?"

Hearing Cao Xing call him, this young-looking male mage nodded solemnly.

"Respected Lord, I would like to try."

"Very good, come forward."

Hearing this, the male mage stepped out from the crowd and prepared to go.

The other mage apprentices, seeing Allen step up, had looks of astonishment on their faces.

One of the female mages grabbed his sleeve and asked softly, "Allen… are you sure?"

"The curse on you…"

The male mage hesitated for a moment, then nodded heavily.

"I am sure."

With that said, he walked directly in front of Cao Xing.

Cao Xing also took a look at his attributes.

[Wind Mage Apprentice: Allen]

[Attributes: Same as above]

[Talent ①: Magic Affinity]

[Talent ②: Seed of the Wind God (A life born when the wind silently ceases; he shall inherit the fate of the Wind God. However… the fate of the Wind God is one of suffering, requiring one to endure many hardships. Those with this talent have -80% casting speed, and every time they cast a spell, there is a 40% chance of failure.)]

(Note: This is a growth-type talent. Every time potential is broken through, the negative attributes will be reduced by 10%, and additional abilities will be gained.)

[Satiety: 57]

[Loyalty: 63]

(Character Introduction: A mage apprentice with a special talent, a member of the many Seeds of the Wind God. Whether he can inherit the fate of the Wind God, no one can say…)

Seeing this talent, Cao Xing narrowed his eyes instantly.

Good heavens, this is the first time he's seen a talent that strengthens negative effects.

Reducing casting speed by 80% directly, plus a 40% failure chance every time a skill is cast—who could handle that?

One must know, when a mage casts magic, failing once will result in severe backlash.

Once or twice is fine, but if it happens too often, it will damage the body and brain.

In severe cases, it could even lead to lifelong paralysis.

The other magic apprentices also seemed to know about this male mage's situation.

A young girl with long black braids said softly, "Allen… don't go."

"It hasn't been easy for you to become a magic apprentice. In the academy, you've fainted so many times from studying magic that the instructors don't even dare to let you learn new spells."

The other apprentices also chimed in, "That's right, Allen… give it up."

"It took you two years just to learn a basic Wind Blade spell."

"With your speed, who knows how long it would take to even get started with this Archmage's legacy."

"Allen, don't bury this legacy."

"Allen…"

Listening to the apprentices' dissuasion, a look of hesitation gradually appeared on the young man's face.

It was clear that even within the Mage Association, he was among the worst-performing apprentices.

Being born with a debuff is truly something an average person cannot bear.

The male mage gripped his staff tightly, his gaze wandering between his companions and the mage manual in Cao Xing's hand.

His eyes were filled with conflict.

But Cao Xing said directly, "Allen, make your own choice."

"Even if it's you, I will let you try."

"Of course, as your companions said, an Archmage's skills are not easy to master. Learning any skill will involve many failures."

"And every failure will cause us backlash. In the long run, it could even damage your foundation, making you unable to touch magic for the rest of your life."

"Choose."

Facing the choice given by Cao Xing.

The male mage had already made his decision. He said solemnly, "Lord, I choose to accept the legacy!"

Hearing this, the whole scene was in an uproar.

However, Allen turned around and said firmly, "Perhaps normally, I am the worst apprentice in the academy, and in the eyes of the instructors, I am the bottom-ranking student!"

"But for any magic, I have poured in many times the effort to learn it."

"Reborn into this life, nothing can stop my passion for magic!"

"I must become an Honorary Mage, an Archmage, or even stronger, even if it… costs me my life!"

Listening to his resounding voice, the crowd fell silent.

Clearly, while the mages present were equally passionate about magic.

They could not do as Allen did—to pursue magic with their life, even while bearing a debuff.

Even the old mage Tyren nearby showed appreciation in his eyes.

"Very good."

Cao Xing's voice of admiration rang out, and then he handed the manual directly to him.

"Allen, take it."

The male mage took it solemnly, then clenched his right fist and placed it against his chest.

"Thank you, Lord. I will definitely do my utmost to learn the magic within, and I will not fail your expectations!"

[Due to your generous gift, territory member: Allen's loyalty has increased significantly. Current loyalty: 75]

With that, the mage apprentice turned around firmly.

But Cao Xing said, "Allen, wait a moment."

Allen stopped in his tracks, his eyes filled with some confusion.

Cao Xing chuckled, "If you want to learn an Archmage's magic, you can't have your Seed of the Wind God dragging you down."

"So now, I will let you break through your potential and break your curse!"

With that, Cao Xing took out several Elite Souls, as well as a Chieftain Soul, and from his backpack, the last Boss-level soul.

Feeling the aura from them, Allen's breath hitched again!

"This is… these are magical items that can let me break through my potential, oh heavens!"

The firmness in his eyes gradually turned into shock!

Including the other mage apprentices, they also looked at Cao Xing in extreme shock.

They all knew that as a person born when the wind silently ceased, fate was difficult.

Although that song said that if such a person could persevere, they would eventually inherit the fate of the Wind God.

However, countless Seeds of the Wind God had already died due to magic backlash.

As time passed, everyone stopped calling them Seeds of the Wind God and instead called them People of No Wind.

Existences not favored by the wind element, and even abandoned.

They had also heard a legend.

If a Seed of the Wind God breaks their limits time and time again, breaking through their potential ceiling, they will break this curse and possess the true power of the Wind God.

However, this was just a legend.

After all, to raise one's potential, how difficult a task is that?

And now, in this territory, this Lord had taken them out directly.

Allen stood there blankly, his whole person in a daze.

It wasn't until Cao Xing's voice that he came back to his senses.

"Take them, and let me see what magical changes will occur after your potential advances."

Alan took it with a look of deep emotion on his face, "Thank you, my Lord!"

[Due to your generous gift, territory member: Alan's loyalty has greatly increased. Current loyalty: 89]

…

"Use them." Cao Xing's voice rang out.

Alan nodded heavily, his eyes filled with determination.

He directly slapped an Elite Soul into his body!

A powerful aura of wind elements caused his own aura to surge rapidly.

The other apprentices were also watching Alan with expectant faces.

However, halfway through the breakthrough, the aura on Alan abruptly stopped.

Cao Xing was also somewhat surprised.

"It failed just trying to break through to Elite. Could this Seed of the Wind God talent also affect the Luck attribute?"

At this moment, Alan looked at Cao Xing with an apologetic expression, as if he had been dealt a heavy blow.

Cao Xing waved his hand and tossed him another Elite Soul.

"Alan, continue."

These four simple words reignited his confidence!

Alan took it and merged it into his body.

A powerful aura of wind elements surged up.

This time, he did not fail.

[Your territory member: Alan has successfully used the Soul, becoming a Tier 3 Elite creature. Base stats increased by 30%. Learned new skill: Chain Wind Blade]

[Attention! Due to the increase in potential, Talent: Seed of the Wind God, Casting Speed -10%, Failure Probability -10%, Magic Strength +10%]

…

A smile curled onto the corners of Cao Xing's mouth.

Very good, the casting speed has now become -70%, and the magic failure probability has also become 30%.

As for the later Magic Strength +10%, this is a quite powerful attribute.

It doesn't just affect damage; it also affects various values of magic.

For example, the fixed value of the Shield of the Wind God is 20,000; after a 10% increase, it becomes 22,000.

For all mages, this is an extremely important attribute.

Cao Xing took out two more Boss Souls from his backpack.

"Alan, continue."

There were no superfluous words.

This male mage nodded firmly.

This time, he used three Boss-level Souls in succession before successfully breaking through.

[Your territory member: Alan has successfully used it and has become a Tier 3 Boss-level creature. Learned new skill: Wind Spirit Dance]

[Wind Spirit Dance: Creates a 30m * 30m area of surging wind elements. When all friendly units pass through this area, they will gain a +20% Attack Speed effect and can use the wind elements to ascend to high places.

Maximum ascent height: 300 meters, duration: 30 seconds, cooldown: 3 minutes]

[Talent: Seed of the Wind God, negative status -10%, Magic Strength +10%]

"A decent skill."

A look of appreciation appeared in Cao Xing's eyes once again.

If used well, this [Wind Spirit Dance] skill can play a major role at critical moments.

This also made Cao Xing look forward to what skill Alan would activate after transforming into a Leader.

However, only one Leader-level Soul remained in his backpack.

With a "let's try it" mindset, Cao Xing took it out.

The mage apprentices on the side, seeing this scene, were completely stunned.

Their eyes were filled with envy as they looked at Alan.

They all knew.

From today on, this usual bottom-feeder of the academy, this magic waste, would soar into the sky!

Alan's eyes were also filled with gratitude; the way he looked at Cao Xing was as if he were looking at his own parents who had given him a second life.

After tossing several souls down.

Alan's loyalty had already reached its maximum value.

This was also the creature that had reached full loyalty the fastest since Cao Xing had recruited so many territory residents.

This time, Alan took the Leader-level Soul from Cao Xing's hand and, without hesitation, slapped it into his body once again!

The aura of wind surged up from his body.

And in one go, it reached a certain peak!

It was as if everything that had been accumulated for many years was exploding at this moment!

A dangerous aura burst forth from this male mage.

It even brought a sense of oppression to the other apprentices!

[Your territory member: Alan has successfully used the Soul, becoming a Tier 3 Leader-level creature. Base stats increased by 30%. Learned new skill: Advanced Spell · Strangling Vortex]

[Advanced Spell · Strangling Vortex: Condenses a large amount of wind elemental power to form a huge, high-speed rotating Strangling Vortex with a range of 30 meters. Enemies trapped within the vortex will take massive damage.

The Strangling Vortex can move, with a maximum duration of 10 seconds, a maximum movement range of 300 meters, and a cooldown of 10 minutes.]

[Talent: Seed of the Wind God, negative status -10%, Magic Strength +10%]

…

Seeing the system prompt, a look of pleasant surprise immediately appeared in Cao Xing's eyes!

"The Leader-level was successful too, haha!"

"He actually awakened an Advanced Spell!"

This was Cao Xing's current foundation; even if it was just an ordinary apprentice, he could make them reach the sky in a single step and become an Honorary Mage.

Of course, this was just an Honorary Mage created by forcing growth.

One could tell from the fact that Alan currently only possessed Elementary Wind Element Mastery.

Ordinary Honorary Mages, like the old mage Tyren, already possessed Advanced Element Mastery skills.

This represented their deep understanding and cognition of the magic within their own system.

Of course, this transformation was still extremely powerful.

Three consecutive breakthroughs had significantly weakened the debuff on him and even granted him significant enhancements.

The [Seed of the Wind God] talent had changed to -50% Casting Speed, -10% Failure Probability, and +30% Magic Strength.

This meant that in the future, when he cast spells, there wouldn't be such a high probability of failure.

Cao Xing praised, "Alan, well done."

And in the eyes of this wind mage apprentice, there was no pride whatsoever.

Because he knew that everything he had was bestowed upon him by his Lord.

Just at this moment, Cao Xing took out a large pile of Magic Crystals from his backpack.

From Green quality to Gold quality.

The magical aura contained within them was almost enough to turn into shock!

Not only these wind mages, but even the earth mages nearby and the two female mages had eyes filled with intense shock.

"By Goddess Lisa, these are actually all Magic Crystals!"

"Magic Crystals worth 5 gold coins each!"

"Oh my god, I even see Gold quality Magic Crystals; these are treasures worth thousands of gold coins!"

From the exclamations of these mage apprentices, one could tell how precious these Magic Crystals were.

Not a single one of them was something they could afford.

These were all the foundation of the Archmage Gennadi.

Now, it was finally time for them to be put to use.

Cao Xing said, "Next, every mage apprentice can come to me to collect 20 Green quality Magic Crystals."

"Sylvia, Aili, Tyren, Alan, each of you can collect 10 Gold Magic Crystals."

One Gold Magic Crystal not only improves their magical affinity but can also increase spell strength by 1%.

It can be said that this is an item that all mages dream of!

Those mage apprentices looked on with envious gazes.

And Cao Xing continued, "As for the other apprentices, don't worry; as long as you work hard to learn magic and break through your potential, I will reward you."

"For those who break through to Elite, I will reward you with another 50 Blue Magic Crystals."

"For breaking through to Boss, I will reward 50 Purple Magic Crystals, and for breaking through to Leader, 50 Gold Magic Crystals."

"Don't worry about whether I can afford it; as long as you break through, you can come to me to collect them."

In an instant, excited expressions appeared in the eyes of all the mage apprentices!

As the saying goes, under heavy rewards, there must be brave men.

And under the stimulation of such rewards, these mage apprentices were already feeling crazy!

They couldn't wait to break through their potential immediately and become Elite, or even Boss-level creatures!

"Thank you, my Lord, your generosity is as vast as your magic!"

The loyalty of the hundred or so mages on the field rose another notch, with everyone reaching over 90 loyalty.

Cao Xing nodded slightly and said, "Alright, now collect your Magic Crystals, and then all go into the Mage Tower to meditate and absorb them."

"Yes, my Lord! Great Lord."

All the mage apprentices stepped forward one after another, and after collecting their respective shares, they headed straight to the Mage Tower.

Soon, only Cao Xing was left here.

Cao Xing glanced at the 50,000 points he still had left.

Then he saw the points lucky wheel below, and his heart felt a bit itchy.

"Should I… spin the wheel for fun?"

…

Thanks to book friend: Hu Yifan for the 100,000 point reward!!!

(Thank you very much!!!)