D.I.O

Known as the ‘king of reptiles,’ the tyrannosaurus in front of Yongno was 15 meters long and weighed seven tons. It was a violent and overwhelming monster. If Merlin screamed or not, it didn’t make a difference, as the tyrannosaurus rushed towards the party members without a second thought. It didn’t even test the water and consider who it should attack first; it just charged toward them without bias. The tyrannosaurus struck as if it had some personal vendetta against the party members, and with little delay, it soon ravaged and slaughtered the users.

Bam! Bam! Crack!

However, the party was soon able to muster a counterattack. Flashes of light streaked across the sky and hit the tyrannosaurus’s body, causing sparks, flares, and electricity to appear. The monster’s skin was thick, so thick that it seemed a long spear wouldn’t even be able to penetrate it. Yet, the party members were convinced that the recent spells had caused damage.

“Be careful! Four have already died! This pace is a bit dangerous- ack?!”

The party leader was throwing out fire arrows at the tyrannosaurus, but the monster didn’t seem to care as the projectiles glanced off its head. Then, the tyrannosaurus went straight for the party leader and chomped down on him. In an instant, the party leader scattered into gold dust.

“Woah! What’s going on!”

“Ack!”

To state the obvious once more, the party was unlucky. Moreover, they had made a critical error in their judgment. There was a reason why the groups in DIO were made up of a front line and a back line, consisting of warriors and mages, respectively. Groups with only warriors, mages, or other specific classes produced less collective force than a group that balanced these different classes.

Barring those who specialized in a different area, mages were largely understood to be damage dealers. In other words, they were the ones who were the best fit to be in attacking formations.

Of course, mages did have defensive spells, but it was difficult for them to cast both defensive and offensive spells at the same time. Furthermore, it was almost always more effective for mages to focus on offense rather than defense. Thus, mages, while chanting their spells, needed a frontline that could defend and protect them.

However, the party had chosen to take on this level-up task with sixteen mages. Also, they were going against an enemy that was five levels higher than they were, and this foe specialized in speed and instantaneous destructive power. These were two weak points that mages had on the battlefield. They were screwed from the start.

“Ice.”

/You have acquired an attribute magic skill./

Amidst this general scene of chaos, Merlin raised his quarterstaff. Once he made his move, the water particles in the air and his magic power combined to create ice arrows. If other users were to see what Merlin had done, they would have cried out in surprise. This was because he did not [Chant], a basic magic realm principle for all magic users to cast spells.

Regardless, Yongno had only cast a tier 9 spell, which was an extremely low level when considering the vast number of magic spells in the universe. So, it wasn’t surprising that someone would be able to cast that spell without a verbal chant. However, what was surprising was that a beginner magic user had done it. Though their senses had been accelerated with a buff, this only increased the speed at which they chanted. A spell that would have typically taken thirty seconds to a minute was instead completed in six or twelve seconds. This did not stop them from needing to chant, which is what had just been displayed by Yongno.

“Woah!”

Yongno had showcased a tremendous feat in casting his spell, but he soon embarrassed himself. He had sent his ice arrows flying toward his own body.

“What? Why? Ugh… did I mess up on some calculations?”

In magic, there were three predetermined steps that needed to be followed before any spell could be cast. The first was to circulate one’s magic power through a specific, learned technique, thereby creating the foundation for magic usage and casting. The second was image making, wherein one would bring out the properties and effects of magic. The last was an internal mapping system that allowed mages to send out their magic, as there wasn’t a universal map that anyone in the world could use.

Among these three steps, the easiest to train was, by far, the third part: the internal mapping system. In truth, the internal mapping system wasn’t anything difficult.

Undoubtedly, higher-level mages had to study and deal with tremendously complex and challenging mathematical equations to properly create and refine their internal mapping systems, but a tier 9 spell didn’t need this type of complex calculation. If a mage had a basic understanding of middle school-level math, they could easily create and execute an internal mapping system for a tier 9 spell. The difficulty actually lay in the first and second part of the predetermined steps: properly utilizing a magic technique and image making. However…

Crackle!

“Ah, wrong again!”

There was no rule which stated that a university or high school student had a higher understanding of math than a middle schooler.

“Ack!”

Merlin had already failed six times in casting his magic spells. Of the additional 100 tetra he gained when entering the area, he had already used up 30 tetra. Furthermore, the tyrannosaurus had already killed off ten other mages and was now rushing towards him. It was a literal do-or-die situation! Still, Merlin did not panic. His senses and neural pathways had been increased to five times their normal levels. Although the tyrannosaurus was fast, Merlin’s senses were working speedily with the buffs given. With this, the tyrannosaurus’s speed was essentially five times slower than usual through Merlin’s eyes, so he didn’t feel as though the monster was moving too fast.

In reality, if the mages who succumbed to death had not focused on casting spells and had instead tried to flee, none of them would have perished. This didn’t mean that the tyrannosaurus was weak; it meant that the buffs put on the party members were that great. As such, fighting against the tyrannosaurus, or any other monster at that level for that matter, shouldn’t have been an impossible task for the party members.

Among the sixteen party members, if they had just one internal energy or life force user, that member would have been able to gain the tyrannosaurus’s aggro, allowing the mages to unleash their attacks and make quick work of the monster. Essentially, these party members were just dealing with an extension of the basic tests. They were facing a challenge that should have been easily cleared by beginner users.

“Ice!”

Mumbling a few words of a chant, Merlin was able to create a palm-sized icicle in front of his quarterstaff. Soon, he started utilizing his internal mapping system. However…

Clank!

Something again went wrong, and his magic spell was once again canceled.

“This fuc-”

Bam!

Merlin was struck by the tyrannosaurus’s broad tail, sending him flying ten meters into the air. The monster must have thought that it had dealt with Merlin as it proceeded to turn its massive body to fight the other mages. Yet, Merlin twisted his body in mid-air and landed relatively safely on the ground. While the impact he sustained was not too different from being struck by a truck, only his two arms were mildly injured. Overall, Merlin had not suffered any significant injury.

“Woah! I actually wasn’t hurt that much.”

Merlin was surprised at his relatively healthy status, as he had seen his other party members instantly disintegrate after getting struck by the tyrannosaurus. The only reason Merlin was able to stand here surprised was that his life, strength, and stamina points were at a cheat-like level, numbering 200.

His basic strength points were 50, but with the buff, Merlin possessed 200. A typical adult male had somewhere around 30 points.

However, based on Mari’s explanation, the point system for physical stats doubled at every century mark. In other words, strength points from one to a hundred gave single points, but from a hundred to two hundred, double points were given instead. In Merlin’s case, this meant he had 100 points from the first 100 points in strength and 200 points for the following 100 points in strength, so he had 300 total points in strength. Following this structure, points from two hundred to three hundred would be doubled once more, giving four points for each point, which would provide a maximum value of 400 points in the 200~300 point region.

Hence, in absolute terms, Merlin actually possessed 300 points in strength. To put it one way, compared to an average adult male with 30 points in strength, Merlin was ten times stronger. Additionally, this type of structure applied to his other physical stats, so Merlin possessed tremendous physical strength to the point that his skin wouldn’t be punctured or broken by any spear. He also had enough stamina that he wouldn’t feel tired from constantly evading the tyrannosaurus’s attacks.

“Ack!”

At that moment, the last user fell. Of course, the party members had not died without putting up a fight, so the tyrannosaurus was in a ragged state. It had wounds on every part of its long body, and blood was dripping down its body. Yet, it was also the case that a wounded animal was the fiercest. The ferocity and killing intent emanating from the tyrannosaurus’ eyes were intense.

Clank!

“Ugh, this is so useless.”

Merlin sighed as another one of his spells was canceled. While Merlin’s image-making skill was already highly developed, he couldn’t properly set up his internal mapping system. If he studied a bit of basic math, Merlin would be able to improve in this area. Yet, Merlin had a personality where he would passionately pursue what he liked and avoid what he disliked as if it were the plague. Unfortunately, these traits probably wouldn’t allow him to progress smoothly in this area. It sucked for him that he disliked math.

He… detested math… to the extreme.

“Screw this.”

And so, Merlin simply gave up. He started this game to have fun, to play. He felt that it wasn’t necessary to force himself to do things he didn’t want to or rack his brain for something unenjoyable. Still…

“Ice.”

He didn’t give up on ‘magic.’

He had only given up on ‘math.’

“Roar!”

As it stomped its large feet on the ground, the tyrannosaurus rushed towards Merlin. Though the scene should have been tremendously frightening and fear-inducing, Merlin calmly lifted his quarterstaff in reply.

Whoosh.

He imbued magic power into the wooden quarterstaff, and in his staff, his magic power circulation and technique were being carried out. After this was image making, he envisioned something cold, sharp, and sturdy. As he did this, the chill radiating from his staff was starting to cool his body and bring down the temperature of his blood.

/Enchant skill has risen to rank 8!/

The magic realm was vast, and there were branches of magic study that dealt with magic usage without the need for an internal mapping system. One such branch of study was enchantment. Of course, enchantment could also be used with an internal mapping system. However, if a mage could hold something and enchant it, essentially making the distance zero and removing the need for maps, they could fully utilize enchantment magic. Much like how martial artists who used internal energy or aura didn’t need an internal mapping system, if a magic user could create zero distance between themself and an enchantment object, they would be able to circulate magic power and utilize enchanting. All this could be done through one’s senses, like martial artists, rather than through an internal mapping system. Thus, once a mage could properly imbue magic power into an object…

Creak.

They would be able to use that object as a magic-infused projectile, like a magic arrow.

Bam!

With this sudden change in his course of action, Merlin was able to fling his quarterstaff into the tyrannosaurus’s wide-open mouth, resolving the situation. The tyrannosaurus became totally rigid as it started to freeze from within, beginning from its head to its feet.

/Clear!/

/You have acquired the title, ‘Tyrannosaurus Slayer!’/

/All buffs will expire!/

“Man, I just barely defeated it.”

Merlin let out a sigh of relief before looking down to see what had dropped. The first thing that entered his gaze were two teeth around the size of a short sword. Merlin used the appraisal function on the items.

“Spartoi? Isn’t this an item for Necromancers?”

The other items were unremarkable. There were twenty packets of tyrannosaurus meat, tyrannosaurus bones numbered one to twelve, which could be used to recreate an undead tyrannosaurus if all the bones were collected, and a bit of gold, which was actually quite valuable. Alas, Merlin didn’t know of this. The last item was something quite eye-catching, a five-liter bottle filled with some reddish liquid.

“Hmm, I guess there’s nothing that goes to waste in dinosaurs.”

Then, as Merlin murmured things like, “I wonder if the meat is tasty….”

Bam!

“Huh?!”

Merlin had been wholly focused on reading the item description of his drops, so he wasn’t ready for a sudden, unexpected attack. He had been utterly defenseless against the strike, which originated from the tyrannosaurus that he had just defeated.

“Wait, what? Monsters regenerate here?”

Rather than waiting for a reply or figuring out what happened, Merlin focused on the enemy before him. Since his sense acceleration buffs had expired, the attacking tyrannosaurus seemed to be moving five times faster than before. Furthermore, since he had lost the additional magic power from the buffs, his enchantment spell probably wouldn’t deal as much damage as it had previously.

“Ugh, so tiresome.”

Yet, rather than showing any signs of anxiety, Merlin sighed in frustration.

“I wanted to use magic for as long as I wore this robe, but I guess that ship has sailed.”

Truthfully, the tyrannosaurus in front of Merlin wasn’t a match for him.

Whoosh.

The 13 years of internal energy within the golden core of his first planetary core circulated and expanded into 26 years of internal force. This was almost the maximum limit of his power output. Merlin focused this power on his hands and employed his advanced hand skills.

Bam!

The rushing tyrannosaurus’s body was instantly bent into an L-shape as it was forcefully flung five meters into the air. A fifteen-meter-long monster was being thrown five meters into the air by a mere human that stood less than two meters tall. The tyrannosaurus then lifelessly crashed onto the ground. It had met instant death.

“I’m guessing this is my full power. However, I don’t think I used my power efficiently. I’m guessing that the dinosaur doesn’t possess any spiritual powers or defense. If I utilize Penetration Power, I’ll probably only need to use five years of internal energy.”

As Merlin talked to himself, he picked up the monster’s drops. They were the exact same as before. Essentially, he now had two sets of the drops.

“Well, my internal energy has increased. It seems my stats are being heightened after having some of the restrictions lifted.”

His spiritual power had risen six points and was now reading at 76 points. Among the 76 points, 20 were being used to maintain his 20 tetra of magic power, and another 20 were converted into ten years of internal energy within his first planetary Golden Pill Immortal Technique core. Thus, he had 36 points remaining. Two spiritual power points could be converted for a point of internal energy years, and this could gain up to 100 internal energy years. As such, Merlin essentially gained 18 years of additional internal energy.

“I’m still far from obtaining one cycle, or sixty years. When am I going to become an expert internal energy user- huh?”

While Merlin was complaining to himself, he saw the space in front of him shake like a mirage. He quickly opened his inventory and took out the external golden core. Since he had used up his reservoir of magic power and internal energy, Merlin was essentially defenseless. If a new enemy appeared at this moment, he’d have a rough time contending against it.

“Dang, I was totally defenseless just now. If I didn’t have this external golden core, I would have been totally screwed… ah, also, what am I supposed to do with this spirit?”

Merlin fell into thought as he looked toward the spirit, which had just been watching when he was fighting the dinosaurs. Controlling the spirit wasn’t too difficult, but during combat, Merlin didn’t feel like he could divide his attention to control the spirit in any effective way, especially since the spirit didn’t offer any combat power or help.

Merlin concluded…

“I’ll give it some advance commands. I can probably save some advanced imaging within it to act under certain scenarios, right?”