Chapter Fourteen: The Mage's Free Mode

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Two-Handed Greatsword (Silver Grade)
Physical Attack: 10-15
Strength +2
Physical Attack Power +6
Required Level: 5
An exceptional weapon for warriors, it can fetch a good price at the auction house.

Apprentice Cloak (Bronze Grade)
Magic Damage: 0-1
Intelligence +1
Though this cloak is only bronze grade, until the dungeons before level fifteen, it was the sole cloak available for mages, and cloak drops are exceedingly rare. Lu Yang felt incredibly fortunate after his rebirth. Equipping the sky-blue cloak not only increased his magic damage but also enhanced his appearance significantly.

Examining his attributes, after equipping a full set of mage gear, Lu Yang’s stats changed dramatically.

Name: Lu Yang
Class: Mage
Level: 4
Endurance: 7
Strength: 5
Intelligence: 75
Agility: 7
Constitution: 10
Health: 140
Mana: 750

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Physical Damage: 9-13
Spell Damage: 110
Defense: 8
Physical Critical Chance: 0%
Magic Critical Chance: 2.6%
Spell Regeneration Speed: 11 points/5 seconds

Among all the level 5 bosses outside the novice village, Lu Yang was capable of soloing neither the Wild Bull Chief nor the Wolf King. Defeating those two bosses was purely a matter of luck. The boss Lu Yang could truly handle alone was the Wild Bee King in the Twilight Swamp.

Passing through the Misty Forest, one would enter the Twilight Swamp, where level 5 wild bees were everywhere.

Among many level 5 monsters, wild bees didn’t boast the highest attack power, but they were the most troublesome. Their attacks inflicted poison, causing a damage-over-time effect that drained 20 health points per second. At this level, such output was quite a headache for players.

However, all of this vanished with the release of a video by a fire mage in Lu Yang’s previous life.

Since "Second World" imitated real-world mechanics, wild bees had a glaring weakness—their wings.

Any fire attack on a wild bee’s wings would ignite them. After suffering three consecutive heavy hits, the wings would burn away, causing the bee to fall to the ground, helpless against the player’s attacks.

Once this strategy was revealed, countless players flocked to try it. Yet, executing it was far from easy. First, one had to hit the bee’s wings precisely.

In automatic mode, mages cannot control the exact target of their spells, so to achieve this, one must switch the mage’s attack mode.

In "Second World," there are two game modes: automatic and free mode. Each has its pros and cons, but to become a master later on, one must use free mode.

What is free mode? Take the fireball spell as an example. Normally, casting a fireball requires a set of incantations, a series of hand gestures, and actively channeling the body’s magical energy. In automatic mode, the mage neither needs to speak the incantation nor perform the gestures or learn the energy channeling techniques—the system handles all this automatically. However, the system defaults to a three-second casting time.

In free mode, advanced mages who have mastered the high-level magical language, hand gestures, and energy control can cast the incantation themselves, perform the gestures, and manipulate their internal energy to cast the fireball. The casting speed then depends entirely on the player’s ability to recite and understand the spell.

In his past life, Lu Yang was known as the “Furious Fire Emperor” precisely because he knew how to simplify incantations. While others took three seconds to cast a fireball, he needed less than half a second.

This meant Lu Yang no longer needed to invest in haste or accuracy. Abandoning these, he poured all his attributes into critical strike chance, reaching as high as 83%, making almost every attack a guaranteed critical hit.

But that wasn’t enough. In free mode, every spell is fully controlled by the caster. If the mage doesn’t aim properly, the spell will miss. So free mode isn’t for every player—it requires mastering complex, tongue-twisting incantations and possessing exceptional combat awareness and prediction skills. Otherwise, even if you know the spells, your fireballs won’t hit the target.

Now, having unlocked free mode again, Lu Yang’s aura as the Furious Fire Emperor reemerged.

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Spotting a wild bee, Lu Yang began chanting the advanced incantation while swiftly performing the casting gestures. In just 0.5 seconds, a fireball appeared in his hands and shot toward the bee flying back and forth.

“Boom.”

The fireball struck the bee’s wing precisely, igniting a flame.

Enraged, the wild bee charged toward Lu Yang.

Before it could take two steps forward, another fireball hit its wing. Furious from the second hit, it tried to chase Lu Yang, but a third fireball struck its wing again. After three consecutive attacks, the bee’s wings burned to ashes, and it dropped to the ground.

Before the bee could crawl forward, another fireball struck, killing it instantly.

With enough mana and powerful magic damage, Lu Yang demonstrated what it meant to be a mobile turret.

Sweeping through the wild bee territory, Lu Yang used his memory to locate the Wild Bee King’s lair.

Hiding behind a cluster of reeds in the swamp, he searched for the Wild Bee King’s position. Soon, a loud buzzing approached. Following the sound, Lu Yang saw a black-and-yellow bee, one size larger than the others and half a human height tall—the Wild Bee King.

Lu Yang glanced behind him. All the wild bees along the way had been slain by him, and none had respawned yet. Ensuring his rear was secure, he aimed at the Wild Bee King and began chanting.

After 0.7 seconds, a ball of flame struck the Wild Bee King’s wing.

“-137”

The Wild Bee King turned, and a second fireball hit its wing.

“-139”

Flying less than three meters forward, a third fireball struck its wing.

“-272”

A critical hit! The Wild Bee King lost its wings and fell to the ground, forced to chase Lu Yang on its thin, short legs.

On the ground, the Wild Bee King’s crawling speed was only 30% of its normal flying speed. Lu Yang only needed to retreat while continuously casting fireballs to wear it down.

Of course, the Wild Bee King wasn’t so easy to kill. After one minute, its wings would regrow. To slay the Wild Bee King, Lu Yang had to manage his mana carefully.