Chapter Thirty-six: The Embryo of the God of Magic! (Seeking Followers)

This Secret Realm of the Supreme God's Bookshelf can be considered the most popular among all the knowledge layers. From the perspective of loot, the rewards here offer an exceptionally high value for their cost. Besides the possibility of shattered runes that can fetch a hefty price, there's also a chance to acquire fragments of books, which greatly enhance enchantment effects. According to mystical statistics, monsters here are far more likely to drop skill books and proofs of class change.

Yi Shen surveyed the surrounding structure. He found himself beside a broken wall; after entering through it, one encounters wandering elemental monsters and some peculiar, giant books. His gaze lingered on the books, whose covers bore mysterious symbols. Though many had tried to decipher these glyphs, no progress had ever been made. Of course, Yi Shen was not here for the symbols. After a careful observation, he unleashed a series of Blink spells.

With a flash, Yi Shen arrived atop the books. This vantage point allowed him to walk along the wall, observing the positions of more monsters. The creatures here had around three thousand health points. Yi Shen dispatched several on the periphery in no time, testing some of his new skills in the process. From this elevated spot, he was exceptionally safe; few monsters could attack him.

Now, before Yi Shen, three areas teemed with dense clusters of monsters—more than thirty elemental entities and over twenty book monsters combined. A bold idea formed in his mind: he would gather them all for a mass sweep.

Summon Water Elemental.
Summon Wind Elemental.

With his plan set, Yi Shen waved his hand, conjuring wind and water elementals to draw the monsters' attention from six directions. This time, however, he didn't approach to cast Fire Bombs. Instead, once the monsters had converged, he stood atop the high wall and began to cast Blizzard.

Blizzard (E): Consumes 400 mana, rains icy shards onto the target area for 8 seconds, dealing 200 damage and reducing enemy movement speed by 50%. This skill can be stacked with enhanced slow effects.

Due to its rain-like appearance, Blizzard was often called Storm by the players. The standard strategy for mages was to use minor spells to gather monsters, then Blink away to secure their position, slowing and damaging foes with Blizzard. Though its output didn't match single-target spells, Blizzard's damage was continuous and benefited from spell power bonuses. Once the number of monsters exceeded five or six, this area-of-effect spell and its slow became incredibly effective—a godsend for any mage clearing mobs.

But in Yi Shen's hands, the effect was even more terrifying. He could cast the spell without cooldowns and had the ability to perform multiple casts. After testing, Yi Shen found that since Blizzard was a non-targeted spell, he could simultaneously cast it in five different areas. Each Blizzard covered a radius of about five or six meters; combined, they blanketed a forty to fifty meter zone with area damage. With enough monsters, the Blizzards' damage could even stack.

With a rush, after the monsters had gathered, Yi Shen raised his hand. Five crystalline magical energies appeared around him, and in the sky nearby, an icy crystal connected with them. The air grew cold and oppressive; the essence of frost solidified into ice crystals that fell among the monster hordes.

Normally, a team with three mages was considered extravagant—mages were esteemed and rare. Yet now, Yi Shen alone rivaled five artillery mages firing at once. He didn't even need a frontline; at the distant corners, the scene was awash with falling ice crystals.

The damage numbers were so dense that they blurred together. A single Blizzard dealt 200 base damage over 8 seconds, but with Yi Shen's spell power, it could reach over 400 in that time. Five simultaneous Blizzards—even if only two or three overlapped—meant Yi Shen could deal over a thousand points of damage in eight seconds.

Though a thousand damage seemed modest compared to casting Arcane Impact several times, the key was that Yi Shen was clearing more than fifty monsters at once. After twenty seconds, their numbers rapidly dwindled, especially in the corner areas where his concentrated attacks stacked extra damage.

In one minute, save for a few scattered book monsters, Yi Shen had swept the entire area clean. The reward points glittered densely before him, offering a feast for the eyes. After dispatching a few unruly, wounded monsters, Yi Shen blinked closer and began collecting his spoils.

Ding! You have slain a Blue Rune Spirit (Secret Realm), gaining 71 experience points.
Ding! You have slain a Blue Rune Spirit (Secret Realm), gaining 12 contribution points.

...

Ding! You have obtained a Shattered Rune (F).
Ding! You have obtained a Book Fragment (E).
Ding! You have obtained a Water Elemental Shard (E).

...

Ding! You have obtained Guardian Armor (F).
Ding! You have obtained Sentinel Elemental Bow (F).

...

It took only a minute to slay the monsters, but Yi Shen spent five minutes clearing the battlefield. Each monster granted him 70 experience points; this wave alone surged his experience by more than 3,500, rekindling the thrill of grinding monsters in the Secret Realm. The runes, fragments, and shards fetched good prices outside, so Yi Shen didn't rush to break them down, instead storing them in his inventory for now. The equipment drops, however, were lackluster and he immediately dismantled them for research points, gaining a dozen attribute points.

"Continue."

After his first successful wave, Yi Shen confirmed the method's viability. By using water and wind elementals to gather the mobs, he could perform mass sweeps without injury, avoiding the risk of being surrounded. While other teams tried to pull only a few monsters at a time for solo kills, Yi Shen was already lamenting the lack of targets.

There were fewer monsters on the first floor than he expected; after just two pulls, he had nearly emptied it. At the far end of the bookshelf was a special ladder. Yi Shen sent his elementals ahead to scout, then blinked up himself.

Upon reaching the second floor, he used the same technique to climb the high bookshelf wall. As he looked at the wandering monsters, his eyes sparkled—he already regarded them as his spoils. The Blizzard that filled the screen brought not only efficiency, but also a sense of legendary confidence, as if he had become the mythical God of Magic himself.