Mechanical Alchemist

Chapter 59: The Power of Money

Suddenly, a "Bizarre-level" distorted monster appeared, catching the four teams off guard.

However, Su'en was leisurely watching the scene unfold, with the two assistant instructors observing from a higher vantage point without any intention of helping.

The students had seen samples of the zombie-like creatures in the academy and had practiced tactics to deal with them, but this was their first time encountering living creatures.

Although slightly panicked, it had to be said that the students' theoretical knowledge was sufficient, and they were handling the situation with composure.

The four teams cooperated with each other, with the heavy machinery students delaying the onslaught of the distorted creatures while others searched for cover and focused their firepower on the boss.

However, not only did the bizarre creature appear, but the distorted monsters hiding in the shadows also went mad and charged out.

For a moment, the students were overwhelmed by the tide of monsters.

...

Fortunately, the academy's combat suits had good defense, otherwise, with just one encounter, these inexperienced students would likely have suffered casualties.

At this moment, while everyone was engaged in the intense battle, Su'en noticed a fleeting gaze from the crowd directed towards him.

Upon closer inspection, he saw a chubby guy giving him an innocent look from a distance. It was as if the gaze was saying, "Brother, remember to take care of me!"

Although Su'en found it both funny and exasperating, he understood the meaning behind the gaze and nodded towards the guy.

After all, they were all elite students, and they were not so helpless.

After a brief moment of panic, the team leaders of the four teams finally reacted and began implementing the tactics they had practiced.

"Form a defensive formation, triangular formation!"

"Don't panic, prepare heavy firearms!"

"Mages, set up alchemy formations for area coverage attacks..."

As soon as the giant mechanical shield was brought out, it made a crisp sound as it unfolded into a steel plate. The clasps interlocked, instantly forming four iron triangles, tightly protecting the team members inside.

It had to be said that this was the advantage of having superior equipment.

Then, various large-caliber, high-powered firearms were set up, firing rapidly.

Steam cannons, six-barreled fire god guns, anti-armor flamethrowers...

Su'en watched the firearms emitting bizarre blue and black flames, and his eyelids twitched.

These high-end heavy military firearms were not even seen in the firearms shops outside the city.

Yet, almost every student had one in their hands.

While feeling envious, Su'en couldn't help but think, "These rich kids sure know how to spend... They use up all their ammunition on the small monsters before even facing the boss. They are really extravagant."

However, despite his musings, the effects were immediately apparent.

With a single burst of fire, the monsters within the range of the firepower were completely destroyed, with limbs and arms flying everywhere.

And it wasn't just these mechanical weapons.

After the defensive formation was established, the alchemy formations under the feet of the mage alchemists also lit up.

One by one, the mage students formed their hand seals, their expressions serious as they began to condense elements...

In terms of destructive power, alchemy magic was not inferior to firearms at all.

The power of alchemy magic was directly proportional to the amount of energy involved. Within the limits of the caster's physical endurance, the more energy added, the more exaggerated the elemental magic would be...

Then, Su'en watched as this group of rich second-generation mages used the most basic first-tier spell, "Fire Serpent Coiling," and with the surplus energy, they piled up small fire serpents the thickness of two fingers into flame pythons the size of water barrels, directly incinerating the distorted monsters into ashes.

For a while, the underground space was filled with lightning and thunder, and various elemental spells showcased the astonishing killing power of the old-school mages.

These students who had mastered a wealth of magical knowledge treated this place as a demonstration classroom for magic, opening Su'en's eyes wide.

However, at the same time, Su'en couldn't help but mutter to himself incessantly: "Tens of thousands, tens of thousands... and they're all gone in an instant..."

Alchemy practitioners truly were a money-burning profession, especially the mages.

Su'en felt a bit distressed. Clearly, with just a few shots of ordinary bullets to the head, the monsters could be dealt with, but these guys insisted on using a thousand or ten thousand times the cost... He had witnessed the "wealth ability," a transcendent ability exclusive to the rich!

...

The boss was indeed extremely powerful.

As a "Bizarre-level" creature, it possessed considerable intelligence. Not only did it know how to find cover to avoid attacks, but it also used tools to throw heavy objects from a distance. Moreover, its body's resilience was extraordinary. Even high-explosive alchemical shells that could blast open concrete could only leave fist-sized holes on its body.

However, in the end, the "wealth ability" quickly quelled this unexpected situation.

The tide formed by the distorted monsters was suppressed by even more terrifying firepower.

Knowing that it was no match, the bizarre creature abandoned its lair and fled towards the depths of the tunnel with its heavily injured body.

Su'en casually crushed a few stray distorted monsters that had escaped to his side and muttered, "These guys waste so much ammunition. Aren't they afraid of encountering even greater danger later on..."

Although he knew that the storage space rings of these noble students were large, the quantity of ammunition was definitely limited. Moreover, firearms also had cooldown times. The more powerful the firearm, the more it needed to cool down and be maintained after continuous firing...This wave has been repelled, but what about the next wave?

However, Su'en also feels pretty good, anyway, it's not wasting his own money.

It's also fortunate that there is such a group of people to clean up the monsters. Otherwise, Su'en would have no idea how long it would take for him to find that sickle by himself and whether he would have the ability to do so.

The injured boss escaped, but the students dared not chase after it. However, the assistant Daniel thought of something and smiled as he whispered to the female assistant next to him, "I'll go after that weird one!"

Rosa seemed to know what he was going to do and nodded with a relaxed smile, "Okay."

These young students, without a bit of crisis pressure, the trial would be meaningless.

.......

Because of the battle suits, although the students were in a sorry state, except for a few minor injuries, there were no major losses.

After experiencing a big battle, these young students suddenly relaxed from the tension and smiles appeared on their faces again.

"Phew... it's finally over."

"It seems that the distorted monsters are not that terrifying..."

"Oh my god, we actually repelled a 'zombie-like weird' too. We almost killed it!"

"That's right, I haven't even unlocked my equipment yet, and this wave of monsters has been repelled. Boring..."

"..."

Alright, they're showing off again.

This is typical of lack of experience.

Experienced hunters would definitely choose to clean up the battlefield and leave quickly at this moment.

But these students probably thought that the previous round of fire had already cleared all the monsters in this lair, so there shouldn't be any danger. They sat down one by one, chatting and resting.

But they didn't think about whether this commotion would attract monsters from deeper in the cave.

.......

At this time, Su'en, who was watching from a distance, gradually became serious, muttering to himself, "It seems like they've been attracted..."

He looked up at the dark hole that looked like a beehive above his head, and suddenly heard the sound of friction, as if some monster was about to come out.

Su'en took a closer look and his super vision allowed him to see that something strange was wriggling out of the hole, like a chubby white worm?

Like an enlarged slug, these two to three-meter-long worms secreted sticky bodily fluids and slowly slid down from the hole in the ceiling.

[Aberrant Acidic Worm]

Explanation: A large carnivorous worm that contains a large amount of acid in its body; this type of distorted monster is timid by nature, moves slowly, and has no attacking ability; unless it is under a lethal threat, it generally does not leave its nest. However, its mature form is highly aggressive.

It's another kind of distorted monster that I've never heard of.

Su'en looked at the identified information and immediately became suspicious, "No attacking ability, then how did they come out? And what is the mature form of this thing?"

He vaguely felt that something was wrong.

He originally thought that the distorted monsters were attracted passively, but he didn't expect them to be worms.

At this time, the sticky fluid dripped from the ceiling, and the students only realized what was happening.

"Huh... something fell on my head?"

"Ah! It's so disgusting, what is this?"

"Be careful, this slime is highly corrosive!"

..."

The students were still complaining and hadn't realized the danger.

They once again missed the best opportunity to dodge in time.

And at this moment, with a thud, a fat worm fell from the sky and landed heavily on the ground. With a splat, it turned into a puddle of green acid emitting corrosive smoke.

After the first one, it was like opening a floodgate. The white worms in the sky fell like rain, making crackling sounds.

Hundreds and thousands of worms instantly turned this space into a pool of acid.

Su'en was relatively far away, but he could still feel the burning sensation in his respiratory tract through his gas mask. He could imagine that the students in the acid would definitely be in a bad state.

Oh~ Their gas masks are more advanced, maybe they can't smell it.

But it's definitely nauseating.

"Damn it, this acid is corroding my battle suit!"

"We need to get out of here clean. Oh my god, the corrosiveness is too strong, I can already feel my skin burning."

..."

There is no eternal substance in the world. Even the best battle suit materials will wear out, let alone being soaked in such a highly corrosive environment, the runes on them are also quickly corroded.

The students didn't even have time to retrieve their mechanical shields and ran out of the acid area in a sorry state.

At this time, Assistant Rosa also had a serious expression and spoke up for the first time, "A sudden situation has occurred now that Assistant Daniel is no longer here. I can't guarantee the safety of each and every one of you. Everyone, stay alert!"

Su'en listened and guessed what the purpose of the male assistant leaving just now was.

With one less "bodyguard," the students were nervous, but Su'en didn't feel anything. Because he knew that there was still a second-tier professional mentor hiding in the dark.

Thinking of this, his gaze unconsciously looked towards a certain hole in the tunnel.A hint of confusion flashed in Su'en's eyes. Could this also be part of the trial?

Did the academy instructors drive these bugs out?

.......

In the darkness, two figures seemed to have noticed that Su'en was aware of their presence.

"Huh, that guide is quite alert. He seems to have noticed us."

"That's normal. Professionals struggling to survive at the bottom all have the alertness of a beast. Those who have crawled and rolled out of a pile of corpses won't have poor combat abilities. Ah, our students lack these kinds of experiences..."

"..."

The two people hiding in the dark turned out to be Daniel and the instructor, August.

As they were chatting, Daniel suddenly bent over and spat out a mouthful of turbid blood.

August instinctively supported him, expressing concern, "Huh. Daniel, are you injured?"

Daniel leaned on his arm, a trace of cold light flashed across his face, "Hmm, I got punched when I was chasing that weird creature just now."

August was about to say something, but before he could speak, he suddenly sensed something and his gaze sharply turned towards the void several meters away, "Huh... Something's not right, a professional is approaching, it's a stealth!"

But before he could react, the next second, he felt a tremendous force on his arm, and a sense of impending death instantly enveloped him, "You... Daniel, what are you doing!"

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