"You can block hidden arrows, you can block daggers, but can you block magic?"

"Tsk tsk. It seems you can’t..."

He felt Lady Unis’s wisdom and greatness more profoundly than ever. If she hadn’t given him a Magic Crystal Stone before he left for emergencies, he truly wouldn’t have been one hundred percent certain he could take down this black-haired kid.

"Cough... cough—"

Lin Mo coughed with difficulty, enduring the searing pain. He took a Life Potion from his waist pouch, pulled out the Ice Blade, then drank more than half the potion and poured the rest onto the wound on his chest.

The gushing blood visibly staunched, but the puncture wound—a good three to four centimeters in diameter—was not so quick to heal.

Using his sword for support, he pushed himself to his feet, a wave of dizziness washing over him.

This was only possible because his Constitution was so high. A typical Warrior or Assassin Professional, after suffering such a devastating magical blow and the corrosion of the Ice Element, wouldn’t have even had the strength to drink a potion, let alone stand up.

Alton also got to his feet, but the hand holding his sword trembled uncontrollably.

He could sense it—the young man before him was incredibly strong!

If nothing else, the suit of plate armor alone spoke volumes.

A suit of ordinary plate armor costs at least 70 Gold Coins, and a suit like his, which was clearly of much higher quality, could easily be worth more than 200 Gold Coins!

To be able to move so freely in heavy plate armor, and to even possess an incredibly expensive magic item like a Magic Crystal Stone...

Clearly, this was no ordinary person.

’But why would a "noble" like that target them for no reason?’

That was what Alton couldn’t understand.

’Could it be because of Lin Mo?’

Alton didn’t dwell on it. That wasn’t what he needed to be thinking about right now. The task at hand was to find a way to survive...

But looking at the fully-armed Jim, no matter how he racked his brain, all he felt was a profound sense of powerlessness.

’If Lin Mo hadn’t been injured, they might have had a chance to fight back.’

But now, Lin Mo had been grievously wounded by a surprise attack from the magic stored in the Magic Crystal Stone. While his life wasn’t in immediate danger, his combat power had been severely compromised.

’With just him and Ali, they probably...’

Jim had been watching from the sidelines for a while. He understood their strength perfectly and knew his victory was assured, so he laughed arrogantly. "A genius like you might have become an Extraordinary—or even higher-level—Professional, had you been given the chance to grow. But what a pity. Today, you’re going to die right here."

"The feeling of killing a genius... it’s truly exhilarating!"

He took a deep breath, as if savoring the pleasure, and slowly drew the long sword from his waist as he walked toward them.

Lin Mo clutched the wound on his chest. Feeling his physical strength rapidly draining away, he found it increasingly difficult to remain calm.

’He still didn’t even know who they were, or why they had dispatched such a powerful team, so determined to see him dead.’

Jim raised his sword and swung at Lin Mo. Gritting his teeth, Lin Mo activated [Resilience] and forced his battered body to unleash [Cross Slash].

"Oh?"

Jim raised an eyebrow in surprise, but his attack didn’t falter. He unleashed a powered-up strike, and the two bursts of Sword Qi canceled each other out. As their blades met, Lin Mo’s expression changed. The movement tore at the wound on his chest, which began to bleed anew. He stumbled back several steps, his sword hand trembling uncontrollably.

’His condition was too poor, and the power of his Skills was also affected.’

’His opponent was indeed strong—probably a Level 2 Professional. If I weren’t so badly injured, this might not have been so difficult, but now...’

"You’re surprisingly resilient. But this is as far as you go."

Jim continued his assault on Lin Mo as he spoke.

Just then, however, a long sword lunged at him from behind.

There was no furious roar, no hysterical cry—just a bone-chilling cold that stunned even Jim.

"CLANG—!"

He spun around and blocked the blow. Seeing the frost spreading across the blade, his expression darkened.

"Filthy Half-Beastman!"

He lashed out with a kick, sending Ali flying like a broken doll. Her sword arm snapped, twisting at an unnatural angle.

She stared ahead, her face a mask of defiance. Her good hand was clenched into a fist so tight her nails dug into her palm.

"Lin... Mo... Run..."

Jim, angered by Ali’s attack, was done playing around. But he didn’t bother with her; instead, he remembered his mission and turned back to Lin Mo.

However, Lin Mo had suddenly vanished from sight.

Jim stared blankly for a moment. Then, recalling what he’d seen while observing the earlier fight, his pupils contracted.

The next moment, a dagger appeared before his eyes, less than ten centimeters away. By the time Jim reacted, it was too late to dodge. The dagger sank deep into his eye socket, and blood sprayed out.

"AAAAARGH—!!!"

Jim roared in fury and swung his sword wildly.

Lin Mo managed to parry in time, but the sheer force of the blow sent him flying back several meters. He barely managed to stop himself by plunging his sword into the ground.

"You’re dead!"

Completely enraged, Jim charged at Lin Mo, his remaining eye wide with fury.

’A direct confrontation was out of the question.’ Lin Mo prepared to activate [Invisibility] to evade the attack and wait for an opening, just as he had against the Mutated Goblin right after he first arrived in this world.

...

"That’s enough!"

A clear, cold voice suddenly rang out in the woods.

The next moment, a fiery red barrier materialized in front of Lin Mo. Jim’s sword struck it, sending ripples across its surface, but the barrier itself remained perfectly still, completely undamaged.