chsdbacks Chapter 39 Selection, Shadow Forest
Chapter 39 Selection, Shadow Forest
Information flooded in like a tidal wave.
Rowling heard many familiar or unfamiliar names; they were all renowned third-class apprentices from various departments and external watchtowers.
Kael'thas Silvershine of the Elemental Ring was naturally among them. It is said that his current strength is unfathomable and has already reached its limit, only waiting for the right meditation method and medium.
Lina's name also appeared prominently; her stealth and assassination skills were terrifying.
There were also some apprentices from other wizarding families or with special talents, none of whom were easy to deal with.
Just three days before the selection began, something happened in the academy that caused quite a stir.
A short, stocky apprentice named Aubrey publicly signed the two-hundred-year-long contract of service in the center of the college square.
Rowling happened to be passing by and witnessed the whole thing.
He knew Aubrey; he was an apprentice a few years ahead of him, known for his tenacity and outstanding talent in earth magic, and had also been stuck at a bottleneck for many years.
At this moment, Aubrey wore a complex expression, a mixture of relief, resolve, and a hint of barely concealed sadness.
He imprinted his soul mark on that heavy contract that shimmered with spiritual light using his mental power.
The moment the contract was established, a powerful energy surged from the contract scroll and poured into Aubrey's body.
Rolin could clearly sense that Aubrey's mental power, guided by some external force, began to boil and compress violently. A fragment of the Heart of the Earth, a crystallized earth element medium that had been prepared in advance, was emitting a thick yellow light, resonating with that external force.
The process lasted for about an hour.
During this time, Aubrey trembled all over, and veins bulged on his forehead, clearly enduring immense pain.
But when everything calmed down, a mental pressure with a completely different, heavy, and stable aura spread out from him.
Although it is not yet powerful, its essence is already different!
Aubrey's spiritual power successfully crystallized, officially stepping into the realm of a first-ring wizard!
The surrounding crowd erupted in exclamations of amazement, envy, and even jealousy.
Aubrey slowly opened his eyes, his gaze gleaming, but the shadow cast deep within them by the loss of two hundred years of freedom was difficult to completely conceal.
He glanced at the brand formed by the contract scroll in his hand, touched it, turned and left, his back view carrying a hint of heaviness.
This scene had a tremendous impact on Roland.
He personally witnessed people successfully promoted through this route, proving its feasibility.
But the promotion that came at the cost of his freedom, and the feeling of being controlled by others, made him feel a strong sense of unease and resistance.
"We absolutely must not take this path!!"
Luo Lin silently recited the mantra, his fists clenching unconsciously.
His desire to become a formal wizard did not diminish with Aubrey's advancement; on the contrary, it became even more fervent and pure.
He wants to take control of his own destiny and embark on that extraordinary path in his own way!
The selection takes place in a demiplane called Shadowwood.
As soon as Roland stepped into the teleportation array, the scene before him suddenly changed.
The sky was the eternal hue of dusk, the light dim.
Huge branches and twisted black trees form an endless forest, and the ground is filled with a thin layer of shadowy energy that can interfere with perception.
The air was filled with rustling sounds and a faint sense of being watched.
As the announcement stated, the selection criteria were indeed extremely comprehensive.
They need to survive in this perilous forest within a specified time and complete as many of the missions as possible, as the academy has announced through specific beacons.
There are many types of tasks:
Hunting designated shadow creatures, searching for specific magical plants, deciphering simple rune traps left behind from ancient times, surveying the terrain of unknown areas, and even referencing limited confrontations with other apprentices under specific conditions.
The competition was fierce from the very beginning.
Hundreds of top apprentices roam this vast and dangerous forest, each displaying their unique talents for the limited spots.
Rowling soon encountered a challenge.
In a twisted woodland, he encountered a group of shadow cheetahs that could blend into the shadows and launch surprise attacks.
Bahamut's Dark Eye issued an early warning, but the number and speed of the cheetahs still posed a huge challenge.
Rolin remained calm. His optimized [Weak Force Field Armor] steadily blocked the first wave of attacks, while [Acid Splash] precisely targeted the cheetah that pounced out of the shadows.
Baha hovered in the air, using his vision to provide Rolin with overall intelligence and using subtle mental interference to disrupt the cheetah's attack rhythm.
The man and the crow worked together seamlessly and quickly wiped out the troublesome creatures.
Then he received his first assignment.
Searching for a Shadow Orchid that grows only on a specific type of Moonshine Moss.
Using Bahamut's keen sense of energy and life force, they avoided several dangerous vortexes of shadow and successfully found their target on a shady rock wall, carefully avoiding the mimic moss monster that guarded the area and blended almost seamlessly into the environment.
While surveying the terrain of a valley, they encountered a contestant.
The opponent came from a school of thought known for summoning elemental creatures, and was accompanied by two burning fire elementals.
The other party clearly also saw Rolin as prey and tried to steal the token he had obtained from his previous mission.
Battle broke out.
Fire elemental ranged attacks pose a significant threat to Rolin's armor.
Rolin decisively adopted a hit-and-run strategy, using the complex environment of the woodland to maneuver around. His [Corrosion Orb] severely injured a fire elemental, while Bahamut used the Dark Silver Eye to locate the faint energy fluctuations of another fire elemental's core, guiding Rolin to use [Acid Splash] for a precise strike.
Seeing that things were going badly, the apprentice finally managed to escape in a sorry state using a scroll.
As time goes on, the difficulty of the tasks increases, and the frequency of encountering other apprentices also increases.
With his solid foundation, flexible tactics, and seamless cooperation with Baha, Rowling repeatedly resolved crises and completed his missions.
He carefully chose his route, trying to avoid unnecessary conflicts and focusing his energy on earning mission points.
Rowling noticed that popular choices like Kyle and Lina acted more flamboyantly, often completing tasks or eliminating opponents with overwhelming force, resulting in rapid increases in points.
But he was not impatient and moved forward steadily at his own pace.
During a mission to break an ancient rune trap, his prior knowledge of ancient runes came in handy, allowing him to locate the trap's energy node faster than others and safely disarm it, earning him extra evaluation points.
In another timed resource collection mission, Baha's ability to sense energy-rich points allowed them to quickly locate the target area in the vast forest, saving a lot of time.
As the selection process progressed into its later stages, Luo Lin's overall ranking remained consistently around the top fifty.
This result wasn't the absolute best, but it was solid enough, demonstrating his comprehensive and solid abilities, especially his ability to fight alongside his magical pets, which left a deep impression on the wizard mentors who were secretly observing him.
He knew that the most crucial moment was yet to come.
The later the selection process goes, the more intense the competition will become.
He adjusted his breathing, feeling the cool touch of the concentration crystal he kept close to his body, his eyes growing increasingly determined.
……
The selection process in the Shadow Forest has entered its final stage, and the atmosphere is becoming increasingly tense.
The number of remaining apprentices has dwindled sharply, and those who have persevered to this day are all elites among elites, making the competition on the leaderboard extremely fierce.
Rowling maintained a cautious yet efficient pace.
He no longer simply pursued the quantity of tasks, but selectively accepted special tasks that were more difficult and offered richer rewards.
These tasks often involve clearing out powerful monsters in a specific area or exploring uncharted territories marked as high-risk.
In the Shadowwoods, in a region called the Decaying Woods, lurks the Howling Banshees, and Rolin's mission is to wipe them out.
However, when Rowling was carrying out this mission, he encountered a severe test.
The Banshee is not a physical entity, but a crystal formed from dense negative energy and the resentment of the dead. Ordinary physical and elemental attacks have little effect on it, and the psychic screams emitted by the Banshee can directly impact the soul.
Bahamut's Dark Eye issued an unprecedentedly strong warning, indicating that the target was extremely dangerous.
Luo Lin did not venture deep into the woodland rashly, but first observed the area from the perimeter.
He noticed that the gray mist that permeated the woodland could weaken mental perception, and the Howling Banshee appeared and disappeared in the mist, making her extremely difficult to locate.