The fact that 'Haunted by Evil' can be lent to others is undoubtedly good news. This way, if one day they don't want to fight anymore, they can simply lend 'Haunted by Evil' to someone else without worrying about it being never returned.
For example, that Hulk; with his strength, combined with the 'Haunted by Evil' bonus, he'd be terrifying.
"Remember my words, never let power control you."
Watching the Ancient One return 'Haunted by Evil' and turn to leave, Finney opened his mouth but didn't ask why the Ancient One had refused to form armor earlier.
...
"Senior Brother Mordo, come out for a one-on-one duel!"
Early in the morning, Finney excitedly arrived at Mordo's door, urging him impatiently.
The experience gained in battle far exceeded Finney's expectations. For the past week, Finney had been using 'Haunted by Evil' to fight Mordo almost every day.
When Finney first saw Mordo 'possessed by a demon,' he was quite startled and questioned him for a long time. Finally, too lazy to answer, Finney could only fob him off by saying it was a magical artifact given to him by the Ancient One. This
resulted in Mordo secretly muttering things like, "It's unfair, I was here first!" in some hidden corner.
Getting back to the point, after a week of testing, Finney discovered he had far underestimated the experience gained from combat, or rather, from fighting stronger opponents.
The experience he gained from fighting Mordo in that week was equivalent to his previous three months' worth of growth—a terrifying rate. In one month, it was equivalent to a year's worth.
Furthermore, Finney discovered that the experience gained from victory was far greater than from defeat. He discovered this when he knocked Mordo down while Mordo was distracted.
Finney deeply regretted not discovering this sooner. If he had known earlier, even risking exposure by constantly seeking out opponents, he would now have more than three skills.
However, this thought did not last long. He remembered the advice the Ancient One had given him, and after careful analysis, he realized that even if he discovered it earlier, it wouldn't have been much faster.
The most important factor in gaining experience in battle is the opponent's strength and the use of 'Possessed by Evil Spirits'. Relying solely on 'Golden Grand Evolution Technique' and 'Violet Chicken Nuggets' is definitely not enough to defeat someone too strong.
Therefore, the main reason for this situation is that 'Possessed by Evil Spirits' significantly boosted his strength, and Mordo's strength was also considerable.
Having figured this out, Finney stopped dwelling on the past and immediately focused on the present, which meant consistently challenging Mordo to one-on-one duels every day to gain experience.
"Are you possessed lately?"
Mordo complained, opening the door with a bitter face. He had indeed asked the Ancient One about 'Possessed by Evil Spirits' out of concern, and although the Ancient One denied that she had given it to him, she still told him not to worry about it and to try his best to help.
"Alright, alright, enough talk, let's go."
Finney pulled Mordo towards the training grounds. Along the way, many mages, seeing this scene, immediately gathered around with interest.
Kamar-Taj is only so big, and the fact that Finney and Mordo fought every day quickly became common knowledge. In the world of mage training, this kind of thing wasn't actually uncommon.
But Mordo and Finney were, after all, disciples of the Ancient One. Leaving Finney aside, Mordo's skill was among the best in Kamar-Taj.
Being a sorcerer wasn't a safe profession. Since their duty was to protect the world, what kind of protection was there without threats? Learning magic was for combat.
Therefore, whenever the two fought, many sorcerers would come to watch.
"Go, Finney! Beat Mordo today!"
"Mordo, don't be careless and lose like last time!"
In the training grounds, both had their own fans. Although Finney had only been there for a little over a month, he had won the favor of many sorcerers with his 'Violet Chicken Wrap' and his youth.
Ignoring the interference from outside, Finney, standing in the arena, gave Mordo a provocative look, then directly summoned his longsword and shouted: "Possessed by Evil Spirits!" A gleaming, silver-white armor instantly enveloped his entire body. He held no weapon, yet, in terms of appearance alone, it far surpassed the shabby Mordo before him.
By now, the other mages around were no longer surprised by Finney's 'Possessed by Evil Spirits,' though most of them, like Mordo, had been startled the first time they saw it.
Similarly, after learning its "origin," many secretly uttered envious remarks like "Master Ancient One is so biased," and "I want that armor too," for which the Ancient One had given him no shortage of exasperated reprimands.
Seeing Finney complete with his armor, Mordo dared not be careless. He quickly activated the Walter's Boots of Swiftness, first casting the Ring of Raghadore, a magical shield, on both hands, remaining vigilant.
Most mages in Kamar-Taj were melee mages. While they did possess ranged magic, it was difficult for most mages to control due to its immense power, and also because the spells were too difficult for many to learn.
Finney wasn't sure if Mordo possessed ranged magic, but it was just a friendly spar; neither side would likely go all out, especially with the Ancient One present. Even if a mistake was made, the Time Stone could salvage the situation.
Without many reservations, Finney fought with exceptional decisiveness, and with the advantage of his armor, he charged forward first.
Mordo remained calm, seizing the moment Finney charged, activating the Walter's Boots of Swiftness, leaping into the air to accelerate and jump behind Finney, ready to attack.
However, the instant Mordo jumped, Finney reacted, slowing down and quickly flipping to block Mordo's attack with his arm.
"Finney, you're a mage, don't always rely on your armor,"
Mordo said loudly as he retreated, not out of jealousy or annoyance, but to remind Finney not to neglect his magical studies by relying on his armor.
Finney humbly accepted this, and under the blessing of 'Possessed by Evil Spirits,' his overall strength was enhanced. Even spells that could only produce sparks could now generate small, flickering flames.
After
a dim Ring of Raghadore condensed on his right hand, Finney charged at Mordo again.
The two fought back and forth, with gasps of surprise coming from the surrounding mages. After about half an hour, the battle ended with Finney's defeat due to exhaustion.
Releasing 'Possessed by Evil Spirits,' Finney lay on the ground without any decorum. Mordo, though also panting, looked much better than Finney.
"Couldn't you have gone easy on me and let me win a few times, Senior Brother Mordo?"
Although he said this, Finney knew very well that Mordo had definitely held back, otherwise they wouldn't have been fighting this far. During the battle, Mordo had even been pointing out his weaknesses.
That's why, even when everyone in Kamar-Taj addressed each other as "So-and-so Mage," he still called Mordo "Senior Brother" with a more intimate tone.
"The real enemy won't go easy on you!"
Mordo first gave a serious lecture before asking with concern, "Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Wake up, Senior Brother Mordo. Although I lost to you in the end, breaking through my defenses will still be quite difficult for you."
Hearing this, Mordo couldn't help but feel envious again, thinking to himself: I was here first, why do you get all the Master's favor! You can't always pick on one person. In the following days, Finney fought other mages one after another, but compared to them, he gained the most experience from Mordo. For this, Finney secretly gave Mordo a nickname:
Experience Baby Mage Mordo! And so, another month passed in the blink of an eye, until a phone call disrupted Finney's experience-farming rhythm.
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(End of Chapter)