Chapter 26: Knock Out Again

He was a Giant Dragon, not some bird. Taking off from a standstill was not impossible, but the wind pressure generated was too great, especially at the moment of liftoff, which required exceptionally high strength!

The best way to take off was to perform a standing jump or find a high place to leap from. If he could use Magic, it wouldn’t be so troublesome, but he hadn’t learned how yet…

Even now, as he jumped and began to fly, the wind from his flapping wings still made the trees below sway. After gaining some altitude and flying further, he realized he could no longer see the Castle.

He should have been able to see it clearly from a high place, but now, Zheng Yichen found no trace of the Castle he ought to have seen.

“…You’re right. Without you, I really wouldn’t be able to get back.”

Nodding lightly, the Ghost Maid sat quietly beside Zheng Yichen, cool to the touch like a small air conditioner. Still not feeling sleepy, Zheng Yichen turned his gaze back to the people on the ground.

After a moment of recollection, he channeled the Mana within him, guided by his Spiritual Power, and drew a Magic Rune Array in the air. This Magic was a weak healing spell. This method was another way to cast Magic.

It didn’t rely on directly activating the Rune Patterns engraved in his Mental Consciousness. Instead, it used Spiritual Power to guide Mana to create a temporary Rune Array to release the spell. This casting method made the Magic Rune Array visible, much like the flashy Magic-casting in anime or movies.

Pale green light scattered onto those people. Their injuries were all minor, and the weak healing spell completely repaired them. Bored, Zheng Yichen began to look these people over.

The middle-aged man wasn’t much to look at, so he skipped him. The other males weren’t interesting either, so he skipped them too. As for the girls… perhaps because this world had special powers, people benefited a lot, so their appearances were not bad at all.

Looking at his own right claw, which kept rubbing together, Zheng Yichen quickly reached out and pressed it down. He had almost couldn’t resist reverting to his old habits from before meeting Loris. That didn’t stop him from doing other things, like curiously checking the bundles these people carried.

“Huh? Are these pastries? They look really good.” Zheng Yichen picked up a piece of pastry from a delicate box and sniffed it gently. A sweet, fragrant smell made him almost entranced.

Though he didn’t have high demands for food, he wouldn’t mind enjoying a delicious treat. “Do you want some?”

The Ghost Maid shook her head lightly.

Zheng Yichen didn’t stand on ceremony. He tossed the pastry, which was incredibly small to him, into his mouth. A dragon’s body was powerful, no doubt, but it was really troublesome in some situations.

In his Human form, this pastry would have been enough for him to savor slowly for a while. In his dragon form, no matter what, it was just one gulp. Placing the box, which had a faint Mana Fluctuation, to the side, he continued rummaging through the other luggage.

What these people carried were basically daily supplies and a few changes of clothes. Nothing particularly special… Hmm? What’s this?

Picking up a small card, Zheng Yichen stared at it for a moment. The text on it was in Common Script, which he could understand.

“Petty… Fergus? Summoning Department?” Reading the name on the card, Zheng Yichen channeled a bit of Mana into it. The card immediately projected a three-dimensional image, allowing Zheng Yichen to identify its owner.

A Summoner… This was a special branch of the magical Professions. Although it involved forming Contracts with various creatures and summoning them for battle when needed, that didn’t mean Summoners lacked combat ability themselves.

A Summoner who progressed was strong!

This was the conclusion Zheng Yichen drew after Loris explained the later development stages of Professionals in this world. Initially, Summoners seemed to rely entirely on their summoned creatures for effective combat power, while they themselves weren’t very strong. If someone got close to them, they would basically be pummeled.

But that was only in the beginning. By the mid-stage—what was called Reaching the Tier—the Summoner’s prowess would show. Not only could they form Contracts with many powerful creatures, but they could also borrow the powers of their contracted beings to enhance themselves!

Just looking at it that way might not seem too impressive, but the abilities they could enhance themselves with were not limited to just one!

Eyes of an eagle, ears of a wolf, speed of a leopard, strength of a bear—similar abilities could all be bestowed upon the Summoner. These types of enhancements didn’t conflict with each other; only the stronger ones would override the weaker ones.

Of course, starting out as a Summoner was also very difficult. While others training only needed resources for themselves, Summoners needed resources not just for themselves but also to nurture powerful partners. It might not be as exaggerated as seven or eight times more, but two or three times was common.

Overall, it was a quite rare Profession.

And now he had encountered one here.

With a goal in mind, Zheng Yichen quickly found more similar cards. After checking everyone’s information, only Petty had a special Profession. The others were quite traditional, not even including the relatively rarer Battle Qi Warriors.

“You’re not afraid of sunlight?” As the sun rose, the Forest trees that had taken on a darker hue returned to their normal colors, looking once again like an ordinary Forest.

The Ghost Maid shook her head lightly.

“That’s good.” Muttering, Zheng Yichen shifted his body, still blocking the slanting sunlight. Noticing his action, the Ghost Maid narrowed her eyes slightly and smiled silently.

The middle-aged man was the instructor for these students. Though it was unclear why they had come to a place like the Forest of Illusions, which clearly posed a deadly threat to them, considering it wasn’t his doing, they probably wouldn’t be in too much trouble…

As the instructor, he was the strongest among them, so he woke up quite early. However, upon waking from unconsciousness, his eyes were still bloodshot, remaining under the influence of hallucinations. The moment he awoke, he swung a fist at a student beside him.

As if that student were not his pupil, but a sworn enemy instead.

Thud—

With a dull sound, the newly awakened instructor’s eyes rolled back, and he passed out again. Zheng Yichen squeezed the wooden stick he had whittled while waiting around. After engraving Rune Patterns on it, its strength and knockout effect were greatly enhanced. He had prepared it specifically to “re-knockout” these people when they woke up…