Masteria Online: Shattering the Dark God's Grand Scheme-Chapter 136 - Rank Advancement Test

They laughed. That was the response he had expected. They were at First Rank, which required level ten. This was a massive power spike compared to Beginner Rank. They were, by every metric available to them, strong. The average player was still around level six. The claim that a single player could drop all three of them at once was seen as nonsense.

Lumi still wanted to avoid unnecessary PvP. It did not even remotely serve his goal. It would merely lower the EXP of three random players.

"My name is Lumi," he began. "I assure yo-"

He was rudely interrupted. "You want us to believe you are Lumi!? Idiot! Come here, pretty boy!" One of them lunged forward with a sword. The other two began casting their spells, grinning cruelly.

Lumi coldly raised his wand. "Dark Drop."

Above their heads, an immense pressure suddenly materialized.

"Wha-" One of the magicians looked up, trembling. Fear settled in their hearts as a pressure forced itself against their very insides.

The energy that surged out of him was not comparable to anything the three of them had encountered in their time in the game so far. They didn’t have time to cast even a single teleport before...

BOOM!

None of them had time to scream.

[-311 HP]

[-234 HP]

[-301 HP]

Wood and vegetation tore to shreds, the debris formed a massive cloud, hindering sight.

"By the stars..." One magician slowly commented to himself under his breath. "These people..."

He looked left, looked right. Not a single person was reacting how he expected. Everyone was... impressed?

Impressed!?

A murder just occurred! A triple homicide! Damn, he had to get the guard!

He ran off.

As for the various players, they looked at Lumi with sheer, unadulterated awe. "Holy shit..." A tall woman slowly breathed out. Her legs trembled as she stared at him. "It’s really... the real Lumi!"

She suddenly rushed up. "Lumi! Lumi, listen to me. I’m rich, could you consider carrying me? I can pay you, also, if you look like that in real life, could you give me your ba-"

"Stop." Lumi put his hand out to stop her. "I am going to leave now, and no one will stop me. Additionally, I have a girlfriend. Don’t say things like that to me."

He turned away, and began walking away.

No one else stepped forward.

He left them behind and continued toward the library.

...

Somehow, the gatekeeper to the Great Library either recognized Lumi, or thought that a man carrying a Herene ship was too important to question. He walked right through.

He then stood at the door to the Grand Library.

"..." Despite his best efforts, there wa sa single, irrefutable problem. The door could not accommodate the ship. Lumi stood silently for a second, before tying the rope to a post, then walking inside.

His presance was immediately detected. Although he could not see the old man, he soon heard Merath’s voice. "Lumi. I had expected a visit, but I must admit that this was far ahead of the schedule I had in mind. What makes you come to me?"

"Great Merath," in complete and utter honesty, Lumi had forgotten Merath’s preferred term of address. Perhaps it was the soul damage, or perhaps it was an insignificant detail. He did remember, however, that Merath preferred less praising, and more doing.

He continued. "My airship cannot get inside. Could you assist me?"

"You’re what." Merath replied flatly. His entire thought process had been thrown off guard. "What airship? Did you come with the knights?"

He visualized the scene, barely extending a hand. It was a small ship that could hold one man. "..." As it turned out, Merath, too, could be shocked into silence.

He waved his hand, and the ship was teleported inside. It was automatically sent out of the way to a secure room. With that out of the way, Merath continued, "I am even more confused, now. What was the hurry to see me?"

"Merath." Lumi explained. "I believe I am ready for the next level of my studies. I am ready to receive Rank Two."

"No." Merath stated reflexively. "It has only been but a few weeks. How could you have possibly have read through all the books, understood their theory, and mastered it?"

"Please test me. Give me a mission." Lumi replied.

"..." Merath felt strange looking at him. The vast majority of people attempted skip the mission. Many people tried getting friendly with Merath in order to casually jump over the mission.

The man in front of him was asking to be given a mission.

"The mission is not entirely the point." Merath replied. "Let you be tested. Do you want to be a Second Rank mage? Start with using Light Shower."

[Quest Received: Rank Advancement 2]

[Objective: Complete Merath’s Tasks]

[Recommended Level: 30]

Lumi immediately accepted the quest as a small smile appeared on his face. Sometimes, obtaining EXP was that easy. Getting a native to trigger a quest.

"Yes." Lumi raised his wand and aimed directly at Merath. There was absolutely no way he would be able to damage Merath. He was sturdier than anything else in the room, including the metal cube Merath for some reason had on a desk.

"Light Shower!"

Significantly bigger than when he first used the spell, what used to be a small spray of white light had turned into a continuous stream, flying toward Merath.

It stopped immediately the moment it got remotely in range of the old man. Not even the penetrating properties of the spell meant anything here.

Merath slowly nodded his head. "You have mastered it. Your strength is also beyond the threshold."

"However," he continued. "Being a magician is not about mastering a single attack spell. Lumi, demonstrate your Light Shift."

Lumi didn’t even blink. Light Shift, or its variations, were a teleport spell. It was his most used spell ever, including his past life.

One moment, he was standing in front of Merath. The next, he was behind him. Then, he was back in his original position.

"Good!" Merath couldn’t help but praise. "Very good!"