Chapter One Hundred: Skills Ever Ascending, Summoning Elemental Raven Mages

With the blessing of the Divine Set, his mental power was at least double that of mages of the same rank. The effect of the forest fruit was truly remarkable; his recovery rate was several times faster than when he trained in the skill hall.

As he gazed at the vast thicket before him, laden with an abundance of forest fruit, Yang Feng did not hesitate. He immediately summoned a flock of Crow Mages, swiftly depleting his mental energy. Moments later, his reserves were entirely spent. He dispersed the summoned Crow Mages, but the medicinal effect of the forest fruit had not yet faded, and his mental power was already recovering rapidly. Once he recovered a portion of his strength, he began summoning Crow Mages again. When the effect wore off, he would consume another forest fruit and wait for his mental power to return. Crow Mages appeared endlessly, only to be recalled again and again. This place had become the ideal location for Yang Feng to hone his skills. For this reason alone, Yang Feng felt that venturing into the Silent Forest instance had been the right choice.

Freed from the concern of exhausting his mental energy, Yang Feng’s skill training advanced at an astonishing pace. While he focused on his cultivation, the Crow Warriors had already charged into the den of the Forest Lizards. There, a multitude of Forest Lizards awaited.

[Slayed Level 24 Forest Lizard, experience +40,000]
[Obtained: One Lizard Hide]
[Slayed Level 25 Adult Forest Lizard, experience +50,000]
[Obtained: One Lizard Hide]
[…]

Upon entering the lizards’ lair, the Crow Warriors encountered adult specimens. Judging from their attributes, these adult Forest Lizards were clearly enhanced elite monsters. Their level had already reached 25, offering even more experience. Yang Feng paid them no mind, letting the Crow Warriors fight freely.

At that moment, Yang Feng devoted himself entirely to skill training. After hundreds of summonings, his Crow Mage skill finally advanced to level two. But this was only the beginning. With such an advantageous place for training, how could Yang Feng possibly let the opportunity slip by? For him, this place was nothing short of a paradise for skill cultivation.

Time passed, and Yang Feng did not rest for a single second. He summoned Crow Mages with abandon, swallowing one forest fruit after another. His mental power remained in a constant state of rapid recovery.

After just a few minutes, his skill reached level three. This rate of advancement was many times faster than anything achievable in the skill hall. Meanwhile, deep in the lizard den, the Crow Warriors pressed on, steadily perfecting the map in Yang Feng’s mind. His experience bar kept climbing, now having reached fifteen percent.

Several hours later, Yang Feng finally paused, for the forest fruit had nearly all been consumed. The level of his Crow Mage summoning skill had risen to nineteen, beyond which he could not improve further. Examining the attributes of the Crow Mage, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

[Pet Name: Silver-ranked Crow Mage]
[Combat Power: 5,000]
[Speed: 5,000]
[Mental Power: 30,000]
[Vitality: 5,000]
[Defense: 5,000]
[Skill: Ice Arrow]
[Ice Arrow: Summons ice arrows within a certain range to deal damage to targets. Damage is determined by the caster’s mental power!]

Standing before Yang Feng was an Ice-element Crow Mage. Its palms gleamed with a cold, frosty light, shards of ice forming and melting in its grasp. The sound of cracking ice could be heard. After repeated upgrades, the Crow Mage’s mental power now reached an astonishing 30,000. Yang Feng could scarcely imagine how fearsome the Crow Warrior’s combat prowess was now.

Most importantly, the Crow Mage’s Ice Arrow was an area-of-effect skill. Yang Feng pointed in a direction, issuing the order to attack. Instantly, the Crow Mage unleashed a volley of ice arrows. Yang Feng watched as countless icy projectiles shot forth like rain, piercing tree after tree. The barrage lasted more than ten seconds before finally subsiding. The skill’s range was about twenty meters—not vast, but the destructive power was immense. Thirty thousand points of mental power was no small matter.

At level nineteen, it was normal for the Crow Mage’s mastery and skill power to surpass that of the Crow Warrior. Each had its own use. The Crow Mage, however, had a notable weakness: its consumption of mental power was immense. Summoning a Crow Warrior cost only six hundred points, but summoning a Crow Mage required a full thousand. Without the Divine Set, Yang Feng doubted he could even manage a single level-19 Crow Warrior, let alone a mage.

But then again, who at level twenty-one could possibly have raised their skill to nineteen? Such progress was nearly unheard of.

With most of the forest fruit spent—especially after level sixteen, when the mental drain grew immense—almost every two or three Crow Mages summoned required another fruit. "If only I could take these forest fruits out of the instance!" he thought. Unfortunately, the fruit could not be stored or removed; it had to be consumed within three minutes of harvesting, or it would lose its effect. Otherwise, Yang Feng would have gladly revisited the instance to gather more.

“Even so, these remaining fruits shouldn’t go to waste. I can fill every slot with Crow Mages.” Currently, Yang Feng had 130 Crow Warriors and one Crow Mage. There were still over sixty open slots in his pet space. With some forest fruit left, he resolved to fill them all.

He ate another fruit and summoned six more Crow Warriors, eventually bringing their number to 140. Then, Yang Feng turned his full attention to summoning Crow Mages. The attributes of each summoned mage were random, beyond his control. In a moment, wind, rain, thunder, and lightning—Crow Mages of every element appeared beside him. Regardless of element, their attributes were the same, the only difference being the skill they wielded.

[Pet Name: Fire-element Crow Mage]
[Skill: Flame Spell]
[Flame Spell: Deals fire damage to the target; combat power is determined by the caster’s mental power.]