Chapter 81: The Terrifying Instant Death Magic

"Poison Magic: Countdown to Death!" Emma gently placed her palm on the gnome.

Boy's heart sank to the bottom: "Countdown to Death?"

Emma smiled and pulled Hess Mingfen back, "What? You don't seem to have heard of this magic. But you should know that in poison magic, there are skills that can directly take a life, right?"

Boy slowly got up, his eyes full of fear, but when he felt his body, there seemed to be nothing unusual.

"Don't touch it. It looks like you really don't know anything," Emma said. "I advise you to leave here quickly, because you're not far from death."

"Bitch, are you trying to scare me?" Boy waved his knife in front of her angrily. "You think you can trick me with this? You're still too young."

Emma sneered, "Don't believe it? Yes, this move isn't flashy, so it's understandable that you don't believe it. So, you should take off your clothes and take a look."

Boy said, "Hmph, you want to trick me and attack me while I take off my clothes, hahaha, I don't believe it." Although he said this, his expression was no longer as playful and relaxed as before.

Emma didn't say anything, just looked at him with a 'believe it or not' expression, silently counting in her mind: "45, 44, 43, 42..."

Seeing that she wasn't joking, Boy was clearly panicked. He took a few steps back, cut open his clothes with his knife, and saw a blood-red pattern on his chest, as if it had been imprinted from inside his body.

Emma smiled inwardly, recited the magic words in her mind, and a rock cage suddenly burst out of the ground, trapping him. She continued counting, "19, 18, 17..."

Emma's countdown sounded like a death knell in Boy's ears. He was already terrified, not knowing what to do. Suddenly, he knelt down and said, "Stop counting, stop counting, please save me, let me go! I'm sorry, I was wrong, stop counting, I beg you, sister, mom, I beg you, stop counting, do you hear me, you bitch! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you..."

"7, 6, 5, 4, 3..." Emma looked at him expressionlessly, as if she were looking at a dead man.

"I'm going to kill you, you dirty bitch!" Seeing that his pleading was useless, Boy's mind had already gone mad. He swung his knife at the thick stone bars, cutting through half of one with a single strike. But before he could finish, all his internal organs suddenly stopped functioning, including his heart. Boy stood there as if he had lost his soul, his eyes gradually losing their light, and he fell to the ground, dead.

Emma sighed in relief and hurried to check on Wayne. Shana looked at her in shock, a chill running through her. She thought poison magic was truly terrifying.

After treatment, Wayne's injuries had stabilized, but he was still unconscious.

Shana looked at the gnome's corpse, which was indeed dead, and asked, "Emma, what magic was that? I've never heard of it."

"Countdown to Death. Now you've heard of it, haven't you?" Emma smiled.

Shana thought for a moment and shook her head, "I've seen the list of poison magic taught at the academy, and I don't think there's this magic. What kind of magic is it? It's too terrifying."

"Never heard of it? What's so surprising about that? The Magic Guild and the Holy Garden can't possibly know all the magic in the world, let alone an academy." Emma said, "Have you heard of the Shulin family, who specialize in poison element magic?"

"The Shulin family, hmm." Shana nodded and pointed at her in surprise, "Shulin Emma, so you're from the Shulin family. I should have guessed."

Emma smiled, "If you didn't guess, it means my family's reputation isn't big enough. Yes, I'm from the Shulin family. The 'Countdown to Death' is a secret technique of my family, a type of instant death poison magic."

"Oh." Shana said, "I know. Poison magic relies on altering the properties of poison elements to invade the body and cause various adverse effects. I've heard that instant death magic invades the body's tissues, causing them to necrotize and leading to immediate death. This magic is so difficult that it's classified as an ultimate magic in the academy. You actually learned it already!"

Emma shook her head and smiled, "Not exactly. I'm not as powerful as you think. Instant death poison magic is divided into many levels. The one I used is the lowest level, so it's less difficult. Actually, this move has many weaknesses. First, it requires direct contact to take effect. Second, it has a time limit and is easily neutralized, which the little monster didn't know."

"Can it be neutralized? How?" Shana asked curiously, then realized Emma was looking at her without speaking and awkwardly smiled, "Sorry, I forgot that magic secrets can't be told to outsiders, especially family secrets."

"Ha ha." Emma said, "It's fine, I'll tell you. For magic like 'Countdown to Death,' once you understand its characteristics, it's easy to neutralize. It works by directly injecting poison magic into the body, where it lies dormant. The caster must be within the range of their magic power to control the dormant elements inside the body. Of course, I don't control it by directly releasing magic power, as that would be detected. Instead, I control it through the death mark left on the body. This means the magic only works under my control. If the target kills me or escapes my control range, the poison elements will disappear due to the loss of magic power. Additionally, the target can use their own magic elements to block the poison elements, causing them to attack and destroy each other. There are other methods to neutralize it, some of which I might not even know. In short, it has many flaws."

Shana nodded, "So, poison magic isn't that strong."

Emma laughed, "You're wrong again. I said this is a simple intermediate magic, so it naturally has many flaws. Once you learn more complex advanced magic, it becomes much harder to neutralize. Some are currently impossible to neutralize, and the best you can do is avoid being hit. That's why I'm willing to tell you the secret of this magic."

"Is that so?" Shana smiled, "I thought you were being so kind, willing to tell me the secret of your family's magic."

"If you want to learn, I can ask my family to teach you. They won't mind."

Shana said, "Oh, really?" She thought for a moment and added, "But I won't learn. Poison magic is too difficult, one of the three hardest types of magic. The magic concepts are complex, and the innate requirements are high. Without a base of over 300 affinity for wood or earth elements, it's impossible to cast advanced magic. Even spatial summoning is easier to learn than poison and mind control, as it doesn't require the affinity for poison or the mental willpower for mind control."

Wayne, who had been unconscious on the ground, slowly woke up, coughed lightly, and finally saw the situation around him.

"Don't move, don't get up, be careful not to aggravate your injuries," Shana and Emma were very concerned and held him down.

Wayne said, "I seem to be injured, but it's not serious. Hey, where's that little gnome?"

Emma smiled, "Don't worry, he's dead."

"Dead? That's good. Who killed him? That's impressive."

"It was Emma. Her poison magic is very powerful," Shana glanced at Emma.

Wayne said, "Really? I knew it was you. You're the best."

"It wasn't just me, it was all four of us. You should rest and not talk too much," Emma said.

"Hey, where's Hess Mingfen?" Shana looked around but didn't see him. His self-sacrificing act earlier had deeply moved her. He was usually so timid, yet he had shown such courage, even though he had wet his pants from fear.

Suddenly, they heard Hess Mingfen's voice from the pile of broken tents, "Don't come over, I... I'm not wearing pants."

Emma and Shana giggled. Shana said, "Hess Mingfen, I'm sorry for hitting you earlier."

Wayne asked in confusion, "You hit him? Why?"

Emma recounted what had happened earlier and how Hess Mingfen had bravely saved them.

Wayne was somewhat surprised and laughed, "Oh, he's really brave."

"He's not as brave as you."

"Me?" Wayne chuckled, "Actually, I was terrified, so scared my legs were shaking, but I just forced myself to hold on."

"Oh, that's rare. You learned humility after being injured."

"It's not humility, it's the truth." Wayne suddenly said, "Right, we still need to get back to Fire Lizard City. What should we do now?"

Shana pressed him down again, "Don't move. The teacher is dead, and it's useless to rush back. What's more important now is to preserve our own lives."

"But..." Wayne saw their determined expressions and gave up.

At this moment, a voice came from a distance, "Teacher, let's rest in that open field."

"Hey, look, there are already people there."

Emma and Shana's faces lit up, and they quickly waved to the approaching students and teacher.