Chapter 21: Mage Puppets and Attribute Growth

The prompt appeared, and John didn't hesitate to choose to enter.

A wave of spatial energy surged.

John's figure disappeared and reappeared in a vast hall that felt ancient and heavy.

[First Trial: Eliminate 10 Level 1 Mage Puppets]

[Current Mage Puppet Attributes: HP 200, Magic Attack 40]

In the empty hall, 10 mage puppets materialized out of thin air.

Magic energy fluctuated as the 10 mage puppets initiated their attacks first—fireballs, water arrows, Wind Blades—all targeted at John.

-1

-1

...

The attacks from these mage puppets couldn't even penetrate John's magical defenses, causing only 1 point of damage each.

John raised his hand, and a Fire Rain fell, instantly obliterating the 10 mage puppets.

[Defeated Level 10 Mage Puppet. Plunder talent triggered: Spirit +1]

[Defeated Level 10 Mage Puppet. Plunder talent triggered: Spirit +1]

[Defeated Level 10 Mage Puppet. Plunder talent triggered: Skill Point +1]

The notifications flashed.

Mage puppets weren't considered monsters; they didn't grant experience points or drop items.

However, their attributes were real, and the Plunder talent could be triggered.

The 10 mage puppets provided John with 2 points of Spirit and 1 skill point.

[First Trial Completed]

[Second Trial: Eliminate 100 Level 10 Mage Puppets]

The battle ended, and the hall was once again filled with mage puppets—this time, 100 of them.

John acted decisively, casting Fire Rain once more over the clustered mage puppets.

As expected, they were all instantly killed.

[Defeated Level 10 Mage Puppet. Plunder talent triggered: Skill Point +1]

[Defeated Level 10 Mage Puppet. Plunder talent triggered: Spirit +1]

...

This time, John gained 21 points of Spirit, 3 skill points, and 1 point of magic crit.

These mage puppets, with their high spirit attributes, were perfect for increasing his Spirit.

[Second Trial Completed]

[Third Trial: Eliminate 10 Level 10 Elite Mage Puppets]

[Attributes: HP 500, Magic Attack 80]

The empty hall was once again populated with 10 puppets.

Unlike the previous two stages, these 10 mage puppets possessed the strength of elite boss-level enemies.

Facing even one elite boss was challenging for players of the same level, let alone ten.

However, John was an exception.

With a single cast of Fire Rain, he engulfed the 10 elite mage puppets.

The overwhelming damage instantly depleted their 500 HP.

Instant kill!

[Defeated elite mage puppet. Plunder talent triggered: Spirit +1, Skill Point +1]

[Defeated elite mage puppet. Plunder talent triggered: Spirit +1, Skill Point +1]

…

Notifications flashed.

John was surprised to see that the 10 elite mage puppets had yielded 10 points of Spirit and 10 skill points through Plunder.

Skill points were exactly what he lacked the most.

Onward!

The next stage consisted of 100 Level 10 elite mage puppets.

In his previous life, John had failed this trial.

But now, things were different.

With no pressure, a single cast of Fire Rain engulfed the 100 elite mage puppets, killing them all.

[Defeated elite mage puppet. Plunder talent triggered: Spirit +1, Skill Point +1]

[Defeated elite mage puppet. Plunder talent triggered: Spirit +1, Skill Point +1]

…

John gained another 100 points of Spirit and 100 skill points.

[Fourth Trial Completed]

[Trial Five: Eliminate 10 Level 10 Elite Mage Puppets]

[Attributes: HP 1200, Magic Attack 160]

This time, the mage puppets had the strength of elite boss-level enemies.

John still felt no pressure. After his skills cooled down, he cast Fire Rain again.

-919

-921

-917

The damage numbers flashed, but Fire Rain's damage was no longer enough to instantly kill the elite mage puppets.

The mage puppets retaliated, various spells flying towards John.

-1

-1

These elite mage puppets still couldn't surpass John's magical defenses.

Bang! Bang!

John unleashed two more spells, shattering two of the mage puppets.

Once Fire Rain cooled down, he cast it again, engulfing and killing the remaining eight mage puppets.

[Defeated elite mage puppet. Plunder talent triggered: Skill Point +1, Magic Crit +1]

[Defeated elite mage puppet. Plunder talent triggered: Spirit +1, Skill Point +1]

…

Notifications flashed, showing that John had gained 7 points of Spirit, 6 skill points, and 4 points of magic crit.

Compared to the leader-level mage puppets, the attributes plundered from elite mage puppets were even rarer.

[Trial Stage Six: Eliminate 10 Level 10 Rare Mage Puppets]

[Attributes: HP 2500, Magic Attack 320]

John frowned. Why not 100 elite mage puppets?

It wasn't that John couldn't handle rare mage puppets, but the increased difficulty and reduced quantity meant he would gain fewer attributes.

Bang! Bang!

-4

-7

Two Fireballs hit John, barely breaking through his magic resistance and causing single-digit damage.

John counterattacked with a Fire Rain.

Followed by a Fireball and Wind Blade, instantly killing one rare mage puppet.

With his skills cooling down, John switched to two daggers, the novice knives discarded by Sini.

Rushing to another mage puppet, he used the assassin skill Assassinate.

Slash!

-570

The mage puppet's physical resistance was only 120, so John's attack caused over 500 damage.

Quickly following up, John's daggers flashed, slicing through the puppet's vital points and draining its HP to zero.

As the mage puppet disintegrated, it stared at John in confusion, unable to comprehend how a mage could be so skilled in close combat with such high physical damage.

[Defeated Rare Mage Puppet. Plunder talent triggered: Spirit +10, Skill Points +3, acquired skill Lightning Strike]

John had plundered a skill but didn't have time to check it as he focused on the remaining eight rare mage puppets.

The rare mage puppets put some pressure on John, but he still managed to kill them with relative ease.

From the 10 rare mage puppets, John gained 21 points of Spirit, 12 skill points, 3 points of magic crit, and a rare lightning skill, Lightning Strike.

John immediately used skill points to upgrade Lightning Strike to level 10, the maximum for a novice.

[Lightning Strike: Level 10, deals Spirit * 95% damage to enemies, consumes 5 mana, 3-second cooldown]

[Note: Skill is at max level. Upon advancing to a Tier 1 Mage, spend 10 skill points to upgrade to Thunderstorm]

Another powerful magic attack skill was added to John's arsenal.

John closed the skill description and looked around the now-empty hall, frowning. "Why is there no movement?"

Based on the trial's pace, the next wave of mage puppets should have appeared by now.

If the trial had ended or failed, he should have awakened the hidden class.

But nothing happened for quite a while.

[Generating new trial stage]

Just as John grew impatient, a notification appeared.

With a surge of powerful magic, a massive, metallic mage puppet materialized.

[Trial Stage Seven: Eliminate a Level 10 Epic Mage Puppet]

[Attributes: HP 6000, Magic Attack 640]

This time, there was only one puppet, but it had the strength of a level 10 epic boss.

Its Spirit attribute was 640, second only to John's.

Whoosh!

Massive magic waves formed two gigantic Fireballs, one after the other, hurtling towards John.

"Two Fireballs?" John thought, his expression serious. He feared he might not withstand the damage from both.

Buzz!

An Earth Shield formed in front of him, just as the two Fireballs struck.

Boom!

The Earth Shield shattered, and the second Fireball hit John directly. The intense heat and searing pain washed over him.

-1242

John's health dropped to just over 200 points from his original 1450, teetering on the brink of death with just one more hit needed to finish him off.

"Finally, a worthy opponent!" John muttered to himself, eyes blazing with determination.

The mage puppet's rigid face showed a hint of disdain as it prepared another spell.

"You won't get another chance!" John declared, eyes fixed on the mage puppet's movements. In the next instant, he cast Fireball.