Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Storage-Type Magic Staff

BANG!

After using her Mage’s Hand to send a charging barbarian flying, Jiang Weifang didn’t even have time to catch her breath before she started preparing the incantation for her next spell.

Over twenty meters away, a burly barbarian with a ferocious expression charged at her, wielding a bronze hammer.

Meanwhile, the barbarian who had just been knocked away scrambled up from the ground, spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, and charged at her again without a word.

Anxiety gripped Jiang Weifang as she watched the scene unfold.

There were only two barbarians, but both were as strong as Middle Knights.

If not for the Magic Robe she wore, which was enchanted with protection against blades, she would have long since died under the barbarians’ combined assault.

But her current situation was still grim.

The Magic Robe had nearly reached its damage threshold, while the two barbarians were only slightly injured and retained most of their combat strength. Once the robe’s protection collapsed, the consequences would be unthinkable.

As if sensing her predicament, both barbarians grinned savagely, their lecherous gazes roaming over the graceful figure her gray robe could not fully conceal.

Noticing their gazes, Jiang Weifang’s expression darkened. She gritted her teeth and unleashed an Acid Splash, but one of the barbarians anticipated the move and dodged it.

The next second, a hammer and a sword struck her at the same time.

A faint shimmer of light emerged from the robe, firmly blocking both attacks.

"Let’s see how long this turtle shell of yours can last!"

The hammer-wielding barbarian sneered and brought his heavy hammer crashing down again.

Jiang Weifang dodged clumsily.

Although she also practiced a breathing technique, she had yet to form a Life Seed. Her physique was still only at the level of an Apprentice Knight, making her no match for two Middle Knights in close combat.

After dodging another attack, an Oak Short Staff suddenly appeared in Jiang Weifang’s palm with a mere thought.

A pained expression flickered in her eyes as she looked at the exquisitely crafted Oak Short Staff in her hand.

It was an alchemical-grade Magic Item she had spent a fortune on. It stored five Acid Splash Spells and five Dizziness Technique spells. By activating it with Spiritual Power, she could instantly cast a spell, skipping the incantation entirely.

Moreover, the spells had a Magic Power of at least five degrees.

A direct hit would be more than enough to instantly kill a Middle Knight.

The drawback, however, was that it had a limited number of uses.

Once all ten spells were used, this Magic Staff, worth over one thousand Gold Coins, would be no different from an ordinary wooden stick.

’Still, survival is what’s most important right now.’

’If I’m dead, this Magic Staff is useless anyway.’

Jiang Weifang quickly made her decision. Gritting her teeth, she prepared to use the Magic Staff to finish off these damned barbarians.

But before she could make her move, she heard the sudden sound of something whistling through the air.

A figure shot out from the woods, flashing to the hammer-wielding barbarian’s side in the blink of an eye. With a casual swing of his blade, a large head flew high into the air as hot blood sprayed a meter high.

The sudden turn of events startled Jiang Weifang.

But when she saw the newcomer’s face clearly, her expression immediately turned to one of delighted surprise.

"Pei Ze!"

Pei Ze nodded at her, then his figure flickered as he charged toward the other barbarian.

The terrified barbarian turned to run, but he hadn’t gotten far before he felt a rush of air from behind. The next second, a sharp pain pierced his heart from his back. He looked down to see the gleaming tip of a sword protruding from the center of his chest, stained with fresh, warm blood.

THUD!

The barbarian’s eyes went wide as he collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

Jiang Weifang stared, dumbfounded, her heart filled with shock.

She wouldn’t have been surprised if Pei Ze had easily dispatched the two Middle Knights.

But for him to do it without using a single spell, relying only on a longsword—that was what truly astonished her.

’The way he cut them down like chopping vegetables... his physique must be at the level of a Peak Knight at the very least!’

’Did he practice some sort of High-tier Breathing Technique and reach an advanced stage?’

’Or is his Spiritual Power so high that it caused his physical strength to skyrocket?’

Jiang Weifang’s mind reeled with shock and uncertainty.

She only snapped back to her senses when Pei Ze walked over. "Thank you, Pei Ze," she said gratefully. "I owe you one!"

Pei Ze waved his hand. "Even if I hadn’t stepped in, you had a way to deal with them."

As he spoke, he glanced at the Oak Short Staff in Jiang Weifang’s hand.

A Magic Staff was a relatively common type of Magic Item. Like dimensional bags, they were one of the few Magic Items that even First-level Wizard Apprentices could use. They were generally divided into two types: recording and storage. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

The former referred to a staff with a spell permanently embedded in it. One only needed to channel a small amount of Spiritual Power to activate the spell module within the staff and cast the spell.

Because the spell in a recording-type staff was permanent, it could be cast repeatedly as long as the wielder had sufficient Spiritual Power.

Storage-type staves, on the other hand, could only store a limited number of spells. Once depleted, they were effectively useless.

Because storage-type staves were relatively simple to make, many Enchantment Apprentices enjoyed using them for practice.

As a result, alchemical-grade storage-type staves were quite common on the market and also relatively inexpensive.

In contrast, recording-type staves required much more demanding enchantment skills. The embedded spells were at least One-Ring Spells, making them Glimmer-grade Magic Items at minimum, far more valuable than their storage-type counterparts.

Clearly, the staff in Jiang Weifang’s hand was a storage-type.

This kind of staff had at least ten charges, more than enough to deal with two Middle Knights.

Jiang Weifang shook her head. "This staff is my only trump card, and its uses are limited. If I’d wasted it here, the next few days would have been miserable for me."

Pei Ze nodded without another word and looked at the two corpses on the ground.

Jiang Weifang tactfully said, "You should take the points for these two."

Pei Ze didn’t object; after all, he was the one who had dealt with them.

A moment later, his Crystal Bracelet registered another 20 points.

"What are your plans now?" Pei Ze asked.

Jiang Weifang put her hands together in a pleading gesture. "Can I please team up with you?" she asked pitifully. "Just for three days. Once I earn enough points, I’ll find a place to hide and won’t trouble you again. I’ll also be sure to pay you the reward as promised."

Pei Ze thought for a moment and agreed.

After all, they had a prior agreement, and he was a man of his word.

Seeing Pei Ze agree, Jiang Weifang’s face lit up with a joyful smile.

’With an expert like Pei Ze around, I’ll be much safer now.’

And this was quickly proven to be true.

Not long after they set out again, the pair was attacked by a band of barbarians.

More than forty barbarians attacked from all sides, their war cries echoing through the forest... and then they were all utterly annihilated by Pei Ze with his sword alone.

Jiang Weifang, who had stayed in the back, had just killed a single Knight-level barbarian when she turned around to find that all the other attackers had already been wiped out.

Even though she had already witnessed Pei Ze’s strength, she couldn’t help but marvel at it.

’I definitely picked the right person to stick with!’

After they cleaned up the battlefield, Pei Ze’s points shot up by more than one hundred, launching him into the top twenty on the leaderboard.

The points on the leaderboard were currently polarized. Among the Second-level Wizard Apprentices at the very top, even the one with the lowest score had over 1,200 points.

Meanwhile, among the First-level Wizard Apprentices, the highest scorer only had a little over three hundred points.

Jiang Weifang, for instance, only had 256 points so far.

There was a reason for such a massive disparity.

Second-level Wizard Apprentices far surpassed First-level ones in both casting speed and Magic Power, allowing them to easily kill Middle- and Senior-rank Knights.

With one or two Magic Items, they could even hold their own against a Grand Knight.

First-level Wizard Apprentices, in contrast, struggled even to face a single Middle Knight one-on-one.

Unless they possessed special Magic Items like Jiang Weifang, they would be lucky just to escape if surrounded by multiple Middle Knights.

It was only normal that the point gap between the two levels was so enormous.