Chapter 57: A Strange Sensation

The afterglow of the orbital ion cannon slowly faded, and as she watched the scattering starlight drifting through the air, Catherine’s gaze grew dreamy, yearning, and somewhat sorrowful. Noticing Lin Mo’s worried look beside her, Catherine forced a smile and said, “Don’t worry, Master, I’m fine—just a little… regretful.”

“Regretful?”

“Yes. Although I’m an orphan and life hasn’t been very smooth, my magical aptitude is pretty good,” Catherine’s eyes grew distant, lost in reminiscence. She spoke slowly, “Like every apprentice just beginning to study magic, I used to fantasize that maybe I could become a Magus one day, even a Saint of Magic—thunder rolling in my left hand, destruction in my right… Don’t laugh, Master! Everyone’s had such dreams, right? What do you say, friends?”

“I get you, streamer! When I was little, I dreamed of growing up to be a scholar of the arcane. Now I’m just a driver!”

“Streamer, a handshake! My mom said my childhood dream was to build airplanes. Now I’m screwing bolts in an aircraft parts factory! The way my dream came true makes me want to curse!”

“Haha, when I was in elementary school, I wondered whether I’d go to Ivy League or Tsinghua. After the college entrance exam, I found out I didn’t qualify for any university I’d ever heard of!”

“I chose alchemy in college with high hopes, thinking I’d soon become an alchemist. Now I’ve graduated and can’t even get hired as a technician at a chemical plant!”

“I loved animals and majored in magical beasts. Now I can’t find any job and am almost eating dirt!”

“History major, relic research—know anything about that? We eat dirt every day!”

“Damn it, I’m in magical metallurgy. Before college, they said it was a sunrise industry of the new era. After my master’s, the country pushed for environmental protection, and every factory shut down. A graduate like me is now cooking in a restaurant!”

“……”

A flood of self-deprecating comments scrolled by the screen, and Catherine felt a little better. She gestured to Lin Mo and continued, “See? Everyone’s been through this… When you grow up and finally become a high-level mage, you pretty much know Magus is the best you’ll ever achieve, but you still yearn for those advanced spells. Now, suddenly, I was able to experience the brilliance of high-level magic up close. It feels so close to my old dreams, but then I remember I can’t even cast a simple light spell now, and… it hurts a bit.”

After speaking, Catherine felt even more lost. As she lowered her head, she suddenly felt a large hand land heavily on her head, ruffling her hair. Then Lin Mo’s casual voice sounded, “Don’t worry! When you reach a high level in martial arts, you can unleash this kind of brilliance too! Look at it another way: your magical talent isn’t enough, so you’ll never cast a seventh-level spell, but your martial arts roots are strong! One day, you’ll shine brighter than this!”

Feeling the warmth from the hand atop her head, Catherine smiled silently and was reinvigorated. “I’ll look forward to it, then. Guess I’ll have to cling tightly to Master’s leg! Sorry, I suppose I’m a bit sentimental today because I’m sick.”

“Chances are you’ll have little time for sentiment soon. Aren’t you hungry?”

“Not really, just a little dizzy. My combat ability isn’t at its best.”

“That’s perfect. The creatures coming up next aren’t especially strong either. Your lunch will be one of them.”

“I’m sick, and I still have to fight?”

“It’s a rare opportunity. Consider it a chance to get familiar with this type of enemy and gain some experience. Oh, and don’t use the dagger I gave you.”

“So many requirements? Fine, who told you to be my master? Where’s the enemy?”

“They’ll appear once the mist on the ground disperses.”

Hearing this, Catherine looked around. After the blast from the orbital ion cannon, the lingering haze on the ground had mostly cleared, and many bizarre creatures had faded away, leaving the surroundings relatively normal again. Catherine breathed a sigh of relief; she never wanted to encounter those strange beings again.

Her relaxation lasted only a moment before a sudden black shadow interrupted it. The shadow appeared out of nowhere, moving so fast it blurred the eye, its attacks rapid and eerie. The strange creatures that had mostly vanished shrieked as the shadow pounced, their bodies forcibly pulled from ethereal to solid form before shattering into fragments and being devoured by the shadow!

With each creature absorbed, the shadow grew stronger and more solid. Once all the nearby ethereal creatures were slain, the shadow finally stopped, revealing its true form.

It resembled a werewolf, its body covered in black-gray fur, torso as muscular as the strongest human, legs bent backward like a wolf’s, with enormous paws and sharply hooked claws over ten centimeters long. Its forelimbs were more humanlike but very long, hanging past the ankles, with forearms thicker than the hind, fingers tightly curled and claws extending. The head was a snarling wolf’s, jaws protruding with rows of sharp teeth jutting from the lips, pale drool dripping, and two triangular eyes narrowed as it appraised Catherine, looking sly and cunning.

Seeing the creature clearly, Catherine felt less tense. She pointed curiously at the “suspected werewolf” opposite and asked Lin Mo, “Master, is this the opponent you meant I’d face?”

“Yes. Why? Have you seen it before?”

“Of course!” Catherine nodded firmly. “The scientific name is ‘Tartan Assassin.’ Most people call it ‘Shadow Wolf,’ a third-level magical beast—right? These things are often active in energy-rich environments. I’ve encountered them at least three times during wilderness streaming. Didn’t expect to see one here!”

“In general, you’re not wrong; you have met its relatives,” Lin Mo sat cross-legged on the ground, waving a hand for Catherine to begin. “But this isn’t a ‘Shadow Wolf.’ It’s its evolved form, scientific name ‘Tartan Possessionist,’ a fourth-level magical beast, also called ‘Phantom Wolf.’ The difference isn’t huge. Go ahead and kill it.”

A fourth-level magical beast…

Catherine calculated in her mind. Watching the Phantom Wolf hunt, she’d judged its speed comparable to a Butcher Bird’s. Even sick, she was confident she could suppress it. She reviewed the Shadow Wolf’s abilities in her mind, and with no further hesitation, she summoned her spirits and charged forward before the enemy could attack!

The shadow seemed startled, evidently not expecting its much weaker opponent to launch an offensive. Moreover, her charge was swift—no slower than its own!

Faced with this unfamiliar threat, the Phantom Wolf decided to probe first. It leapt back and swung its thick right claw, forming a sharp, dagger-shaped blade of energy that howled toward Catherine’s legs!

Cautious, it aimed the energy blade at her legs, but Catherine seemed not to notice, neither slowing nor changing direction, colliding straight with the blade! Yet the expected scene of blood spraying did not occur—the energy blade simply passed through her legs! Not piercing, but as if there were no substance, her legs blurred, and the blade passed through as if striking a phantom!

The Phantom Wolf’s eyes grew serious. It managed to discern her movement: not an illusion! Because the energy blade, made very thin for power, at the instant of contact, Catherine flicked her left leg slightly outward, then her right, dodging the blade by a hair’s breadth and resuming her run. The speed made the movement appear ‘blurred’ to the eye!

It instantly realized it had met a formidable foe! Her speed was indeed higher than its own! Moreover, its pause to release the energy blade had slowed it, while she pressed her attack, now only meters away! Ha! So what? Am I supposed to be afraid?

The Phantom Wolf was a battle-hardened, bloodthirsty beast, and Catherine’s aggressive momentum stirred its ferocity. Instead of retreating, it charged at her, its huge claws igniting with crimson flames as it slashed toward Catherine’s throat!

Exactly as expected!

A hint of delight flashed in Catherine’s eyes. This evolved form used the same moves as the original Shadow Wolf—the flaming claw charge she’d seen several times before. Though the move had few openings, she could catch them! She halted abruptly, pivoted on her left leg in a wide arc, neatly evading the flaming claws, and with her right hand clenched, swung a half-circle punch straight at the beast’s head!

The Phantom Wolf was stunned! It hadn’t expected this opponent to be so agile or so familiar with its moves! It dared not take the blow head-on, but was caught in the rigid phase of its attack, unable to twist away. Helpless, it activated its innate skill:

Instantaneous movement!

Leaving a cloud of blue-gray smoke behind, its massive body flashed twenty meters diagonally back, stabilizing into solid form and opening up a gap. Just as it relaxed, it realized Catherine had somehow appeared right before its eyes, almost within arm’s reach!

How could this be? Could she predict its landing point? No time to figure it out, only seeing her delicate fist growing larger in its vision, then smashing into its face!

Smack!

A dull thud sounded—the hit landed! Yet Catherine felt no joy; her eyes filled with astonishment as she blurted out,

“This is impossible!”

The sensation from her hand was like striking a thick wad of cotton, most of her force absorbed, only a small portion landing solidly. Her carefully calculated full-strength punch barely hurt the Phantom Wolf—it didn’t even knock it down, only pushed its head back a little!