Elite Mages’ Academy (Web Novel)

Chapter 286: Strange Scales

Wang Dalin ought to have been grateful that Xiao Lin was holding a non-lethal training sword, or else he would have been sliced in half but that one slash. Even so, there was a significant area of burns caused by those hot flames and it was enough to make Wang Dalin wail.

The training hall suddenly became chaotic. Students who had no idea what happened rushed out of the hall one after another, though there were a few people who stayed behind to see what happened. The monitors had already gathered together.

Barely half a month had passed since the monthly exam and the events which happened during then were still fresh in their mind. The scene at the end of the fierce battle with the orc commander, when Xiao Lin suddenly ran off and attacked everyone without distinguishing between friend or foe, popped up in everyone’s consciousness.

Several people looked at each other and someone asked diffidently, “What should we do?”

Xiao Lin stood still after the sudden release of flame sword aura at Wang Dalin. He hung his head low and held his training sword in his hands, but no one dared to approach him at that point anymore.

“We have to help him! At least subdue him and calm him down,” Cheng Ming said matter-of-factly.

“How are we supposed to do that? We’re all aware of his strength levels. Who else would dare to say that they are able to handle this, other than Cheng Ming!”

“We probably won’t lose if we go in together.” Rather than expressly going in to help Xiao Lin, the person simply seemed unconvinced that the monitors would fail in an attempt to subdue him.

“Tell me, why do you guys even bother? If you get injured here, you’ll have to spend redemption points for treatment. Don’t forget that we’re in the academy now, not in some monthly exam!”

Some of them were briefly stunned before making that realization and saying in unison, “Yeah, let’s look for a teacher!”

Everyone had only spent three or so months in Dawn Academy, but it was always difficult for them to fully assimilate the teacher-student status. After all, although Dawn Academy was an academy, the fact that many adults there were nearly 30-years-old nearly made them forget that they could actually seek help from the student union or the teachers, should there be any issue that they could not deal with.

Cheng Ming expressed agreement. Xiao Lin was in a very strange condition, and it was definitely not something that the freshmen could handle by themselves. The monitors immediately dialed the number of sophomore year leader, Chen Yu.

Chen Yu was in the midst of fretting over the gambling pool, as he intended to make a small profit out of it and was one of the few who were optimistic for Xiao Lin. After listening half-heartedly to the monitors, he stood up abruptly and rushed over with a couple of people to the training hall. At the same time, he silently prayed that nothing had happened to Xiao Lin. He had already placed his bet, and had even been entrusted with New Dollars by someone else.

“What the hell is going on?” Chen Yu asked sternly after arriving at the entrance of the training hall. He could still be stern in front of those monitors, but all them were sheepish and unable to clearly explain the reasons behind what happened. They said it was a rampage but could not explain why.

As the conversation on their magic cell phone earlier was not entirely clear, Chen Yu first glanced at the empty training hall. Xiao Lin was just standing quietly there and looked just fine. Breathing a sigh of relief, he was just about to step forward when several monitors hurriedly pulled him back. Cheng Ming was nominated by other monitors as their representative to explain everything in detail to Chen Yu.

Cheng Ming scratched his head. He was actually still confused, so he could only explain everything in the simplest of words. “Xiao Lin is in a strange state right now, and the point is, we can’t get close to him. He’ll violently attack anyone who gets close, whether it’s an enemy or a friend. I feel like he’s lost his self-awareness.”

“He’s on a rampage? Are you sure?” Chen Yu felt that it was outrageous, and had it not been for Cheng Ming who said that, he might well have believed that they were just pulling his leg.

“Not exactly either. We’ve seen this once in the monthly exam. At that time, Xiao Lin was unaware of himself when he went into a rampage, but he still took the initiative to attack. It’s different from now, because he’s just standing still.”

“I’ll go in and have a look.” Chen Yu decided, then added after a pause, “Doesn’t matter even if he attacks me. Do you think I’m not able to beat him?”

His words were so confident that it surprised some of the other monitors, but they soon came back to their senses. Chen Yu was the sophomore year leader, which meant that he was the strongest in the entire sophomore year. No matter how strong Xiao Lin was, it could not possibly be a match for Chen Yu.

“The monitors can stay behind. The others can leave first!” Chen Yu noticed that there were a lot of onlookers, so he waved them to leave. He still had considerable authority as a year leader, so the crowd began dispersing reluctantly under his imperative order, which was made easier with the cooperation of several monitors who ushered them out.

After making some preparation, Chen Yu stepped into the training hall empty-handed. As a senior, his strength has reached Silver-rank, and he excelled even when compared to the vast majority of third-year students.

“It’s hot!”

Chen Yu frowned. Steaming heat had somehow spread throughout the training hall and it felt as if they were being put on a steamer before being baked in the oven. The independent realm in which Dawn Academy was located had an almost constant weather with no huge temperature fluctuations. Therefore, the suspicious heat could only come from Xiao Lin.

“Xiao Lin?” Chen Yu tried houting at him.

Xiao Lin then raised his head slowly. His turbulent and apathetic expression reminded one of death, but the next second, he suddenly moved and darted over without warning, just like a cannonball.

“So fast!” Chen Yu secretly exclaimed in his heart and instinctively crossed his hands in front of his chest.

Bang!

The heavy impact made Chen Yu’s feel slightly numb. The force was incredibly strong, which made Chen Yu doubt whether Xiao Lin was really just a freshman. Nevertheless, Chen Yu lived up to his reputation as a Silver-rank senior, as he was able to perfectly block Xiao Lin’s strong punch without even moving an inch.

Although Chen Yu was well aware that there was no way around the huge gap in strength between a freshman and a Silver-rank sophomore, he could not help but say somewhat smugly, “You’re still a bit too green.”

The next second however, Chen Yu’s pupils shrank and his horrified eyes fell on Xiao Lin’s unretracted fist. On the surface of his fist was reddish skin that looked burnt, which at some point became covered in a layer of light-yellow scales!

There were not too many scales, and were situated quite sparsely apart. Each one was the size of a cup opening and glimmered with a faint luster. To Chen Yu’s horror however, the scales were growing slowly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

“This. What the hell is this? You, who the hell are you!” There was finally a panic in Chen Yu’s tone.

As far as strength was concerned, Chen Yu was not at all afraid, but the scene before him was completely beyond his expectations. Despite being a year leader, Chen Yu had only been in Dawn Academy for three years. Many things were still beyond his general knowledge and scope of understanding.

“Year Leader Chen, I advise you to come out quickly. This situation isn’t something you can handle!” A low and serious tone suddenly echoed from outside the door. When Chen Yu turned around, he found that the logistics department’s Song Junlang had already showed up quietly.