Chapter Four: An Assault from the Mirror World

Entering the Mirror World once again, Chu Yun now regarded the goblin camp as if it were a dungeon in a game.

Having mastered four spells, his combat prowess had improved dramatically. However, casting magic consumed his mental energy, and simply remaining in the Mirror World drained it continuously.

Therefore, when dealing with lesser enemies, Chu Yun refrained from using spells. Instead, he dispatched them one by one as before, collecting experience points along the way.

Night had fallen. All the goblin hunting parties had returned, and these repulsive creatures were now feasting on the corpses of various beings—at least half of which were human.

The total number of goblins was about sixty. Half of these mirror images had already been killed by Chu Yun once before; judging by their translucency, they hadn’t recovered yet, and it was unclear how long it would take them to respawn.

The long night stretched ahead, but Chu Yun was in no hurry. He intended to slaughter all the goblins, including their leader, and then rest. At midnight, he would launch his final assault.

Just as Chu Yun stepped into the goblin camp, familiar sounds rose once more. This time, he understood the voices of the women inside the tent.

“No, I don’t want this! Please, let me go!”

“Kill me! I’d rather die than let these monsters crawl out of my body. Hurry, kill me!”

“Please, monster uncle, don’t hurt me. My father will come and punish you!”

The tent was filled with chaotic cries; it was impossible to say how many people were imprisoned within.

Chu Yun sighed. In the end, he chose the faster path to vengeance. Listening to those voices unsettled him greatly.

He walked straight toward the tent where the goblin chief resided, deftly avoiding goblins along the way and dispatching the ones guarding the entrance without pause.

However, the moment Chu Yun killed the goblin at the tent’s entrance, the goblin chief—enjoying a meal and the service of a human woman—became aware of him.

The chief was far stronger than ordinary goblins, with a much wider alert range.

As the goblin chief, wielding a spiked club, charged at him, Chu Yun’s expression didn’t change. He began chanting an incantation, pressing his thumbs together while spreading his other fingers apart.

Suddenly, a surge of flames shot from his outstretched fingers, enveloping a five-meter cone in front of him.

“Urah!? A... a mage!?” the goblin chief cried out in terror as the searing flames engulfed him.

Hand of Burning

Rank: 1st-level Evocation

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: 5 meters

Components: Incantation, gestures

Duration: Instantaneous

Effect: Unleashes a jet of flame, dealing 3–6 base fire damage in a five-meter cone, igniting any combustible materials in the area for continued damage.

Description: For every additional increment of mental energy spent, base damage increases by 1–6, up to a maximum determined by the caster’s Intelligence.

Hand of Burning was a first-level evocation spell. With racial bonuses, Chu Yun’s Intelligence reached 17 (average human being 10), significantly boosting his spell effects.

Moreover, the goblin chief wore not a scrap of clothing, and their race possessed little magical defense. Struck by Hand of Burning, the chief was gravely wounded and instantly caught fire.

The burning inflicted continuous damage. In a panic, the goblin chief rolled frantically on the ground, but unable to extinguish the flames, he dashed madly toward the nearby river.

He roared in fury, his body briefly aglow with red light, moving faster than before. Unfortunately, he collapsed before reaching the water.

Chu Yun, who had been prepared to cast “Arcane Burst” for a follow-up attack, paused.

A flash of white light; the goblin chief was slain instantly by Chu Yun’s first-level spell.

“It’s nothing special, after all.”

The enemy was far weaker than he’d imagined—unsurprising, really. This was just a small goblin camp, and goblins themselves were weaker than humans. Being instantly slain by a powerful mage’s direct attack was to be expected.

As the flames gradually died down, Chu Yun approached the glowing orb dropped by the goblin chief.

Perhaps because the spell’s power was too great, the chief didn’t drop any experience points this time but instead released his recently used skills.

Chu Yun reached for the orb, which immediately faded.

Skill Acquired: “Berserk”

Berserk

Rank: 0-level Status

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: Incantation, gestures

Duration: 3 minutes

Effect: Temporarily increases Strength by 5–8 points.

Description: While Strength is enhanced, some rationality is lost.

Though this skill was of little use to Chu Yun, any skill dropped in the Mirror World meant the goblin chief would lose it in the real world as well—a worthwhile trade.

Skills collected in the Mirror World could be learned instantly. Those left unclaimed would, under the orb’s protection, slowly drift back toward their original owner. If Chu Yun didn’t intercept them, the enemy would eventually reclaim them.

This process was slow enough that Chu Yun had ample time to collect his spoils.

He glanced at his own stats. Now a true arcane traveler, his sheet displayed a new attribute representing his mental energy.

Like health points, mental energy would increase with his level and attributes.

Spirit: 12/15

Zero-level spells typically consumed 1 point of spirit, first-level spells 3 points, and merely being in the Mirror World drained 1 point every ten minutes.

Chu Yun had only been inside for a few minutes, so he had plenty of spirit remaining.

Restoring mental energy required him to return to the main world. During meditation, he could recover spirit points at a rate of his meditation level (3) plus 10% of his spirit per hour.

Each basic ability could be raised to a maximum of class level plus three. Chu Yun could spend 3 more skill points to increase his Meditation to Level 4.

After defeating the goblin chief, Chu Yun’s personal specialty, “Gamer,” gathered basic intelligence on his opponent based on the state of the mirror image.

Goblin Chief Lv2: HP 21, Physical Attack 3+4, Magic Defense 2, Defense 5, Speed 8

The chief’s base attack was 3; the spiked club added 4. These were rough values calculated by the specialty skill and could vary depending on the target’s condition and the force used—only for reference.

Chu Yun lifted the tent flap in the Mirror World. Inside, apart from the now half-transparent, half-mirrored goblin chief, there was also a human female mirror image.

However, her alert range was small, and she did not detect Chu Yun nor attack.

This time, Hand of Burning would not be an appropriate choice—one wrong move and the woman might be reduced to ash as well.

“I’ll sneak attack with Arcane Burst first, then finish it off with Hand of Burning.” Chu Yun surveyed the area and quickly found a suitable spot for an ambush.

Hanging inside the tent was a bronze mirror, likely looted from somewhere, measuring about fifty or sixty centimeters—much larger than the arcane burst's beam.

Chu Yun positioned himself before the bronze mirror, adjusted its angle, and focused the reflection surface on the goblin chief. Under his will, the mirror’s surface rippled like water, transforming into a gateway between two worlds.