The seven Wizards stood by, watching with varying expressions.
Blood Fury stood with his arms crossed, his face unreadable, showing neither satisfaction nor indifference.
The Wizard from White Bird Academy raised an eyebrow, her gaze lingering a bit longer on the pile of Wizardry Tools, a faint, ambiguous smirk playing on her lips.
Of the other five Wizards, some remained expressionless, while others glanced over briefly before looking away. Only one old man in deep blue robes let out a chuckle.
"Heh, Blood Fury, your Blood Bone Tower students certainly come well-prepared."
Blood Fury turned his head, his crimson eyes fixing on the old man as a sneer curled his lip. "Hmph. It’s called being prepared for anything. What would a White Wizard like you know about it?"
"Hey, watch your temper!" The blue-robed old man’s eyes widened, his facial wrinkles bunching together.
"Siyan, how about I fight you with one hand behind my back?" Blood Fury raised his right hand, spreading his fingers wide before clenching them into a fist, his knuckles popping with a series of crisp cracks.
"I..."
"Enough, you two old fossils have had your fun," the Wizard from White Bird Academy interrupted. "You’re Second-Tier Wizards, for heaven’s sake. Can’t you set a better example?"
"Tch." Blood Fury retracted his hand and looked away.
"Hmph." Siyan also shut his mouth, flicking his sleeve as he turned his face aside.
The white-robed female Wizard shook her head. "Come here to decide the entry order."
The seven Wizards formed a circle.
The white-robed woman looked up. "The usual rules: Rock-Paper-Scissors, one round to decide the order. Any objections?"
No one spoke.
"Then let’s begin."
The seven Wizards made their moves simultaneously.
Blood Fury opened his five fingers, palm held out flat.
The other six Wizards all threw scissors.
The expression on Blood Fury’s face froze for about half a second before visibly darkening.
"Hahahaha!" Wizard Siyan was the first to burst into laughter, the tuft of white beard on his chin quivering. "Blood Fury, oh Blood Fury, you finally have your day!"
The white-robed woman’s lips twitched as she fought to suppress a laugh. "Blood Bone Tower, last."
The other four Wizards laughed as well. Two were more reserved, merely smiling, while one couldn't help himself and started slapping his thigh in amusement.
The seven apprentices stood nearby, their expressions quite a sight.
Ethan’s mouth twitched as he looked away from Blood Fury’s face, which was now dark enough to drip ink.
The other six apprentices had various reactions; some were stifling laughs, some were stone-faced, some had slight smirks, and one simply turned away, his shoulders shaking.
Blood Fury took a deep breath and turned around, his crimson eyes staring directly at Ethan.
"Ethan," Blood Fury began, his voice low and strained, as if squeezed from the depths of his throat. "Make. Sure. You. Per. Form. Well. Understand?"
Ethan stood tall, placed his right hand over his chest, and bowed slightly. "Yes, Dean. Absolute first place."
Blood Fury stared at him for two seconds before a grin pulled at his lips—a smile that held a touch of ferocity.
"Good. Remember those words."
The six Wizards quickly decided their order.
The white-robed woman gestured with her chin toward the teleportation gate. "Entry order: White Bird first, Canglan second, Ashen third, Silver Moon fourth, Iron Front fifth, Violet sixth, Blood Bone Tower seventh. Begin."
The girl with the ponytail from White Bird Academy was the first to step into the gate.
Next was Canglan Academy, a round-faced youth in short blue robes.
Then Ashen Academy, a bald, burly man with dark red flame tattoos on his arms.
Silver Moon Academy followed, a slender girl in a silver-gray cloak that obscured most of her face.
Iron Front Academy sent an undersized but stout young man wearing half-body leather armor and a short axe at his waist.
Violet Academy sent a tall girl in a pale purple dress, her blonde curls cascading over her shoulders, holding a short wooden staff.
One by one, they stepped into the gate, the blue light swallowing each figure as it flared.
Soon, only the seven Wizards remained in the valley.
...
Ethan steadied himself, his gaze quickly scanning his surroundings.
He was in a forest.
No, it wasn't an ordinary forest.
The trees were impossibly tall.
The trunks of the nearest few were so thick it would take four or five people to encircle them. Their canopies blotted out the sky, fracturing the overhead light into countless tiny, shimmering specks.
The bark was covered in a thick layer of dark green moss that felt like a plush carpet.
A low roar echoed from the distance, though it was impossible to tell what creature it came from. The sound reverberated through the trees, seemingly shifting between near and far.
"Phew. Well then, time to have some fun."
A smirk touched Ethan’s lips as he raised his right hand.
A pale green light surged from his palm, sinking into the soft soil beneath his feet.
The surrounding wood-element energy particles were drawn in, surging into the dormant root systems underground like an invisible tide.
Then, the ground began to move.
The roots, stems, and vines buried deep in the earth were activated all at once.
They churned out of the soil like countless green serpents, spreading out in all directions.
The earth buckled, roots writhed, and vines poked their heads out from beneath the leaf litter like a waking nest of snakes.
The root systems were galvanized by his mental power, beginning to expand, spread, and intertwine at a frantic pace.
He began to walk forward, his pace neither fast nor slow, as if he were taking a stroll in his own backyard.
Fifteen meters to the front-left: three stalks of Silver-Leaf Grass. A vine coiled around them and pulled them in.
Twenty meters to the front-right: a Frost-Pattern Flower. A vine coiled and retrieved it.
Thirty meters directly ahead: seven or eight Ghost-Face Mushrooms growing on a piece of deadwood. Vines climbed the trunk, plucking them one by one.
His efficiency was that of a harvesting machine.
In less than a hundred steps, his ring already held over forty stalks of herbs.
Ethan’s smirk widened as he continued forward.
An Iron-Backed Bear poked half its body out from behind a tree. Before it could even process the situation, a wooden spike as thick as a man's arm erupted from the ground, skewering it from its jaw through the top of its skull.
The Iron-Backed Bear didn't even have time to whimper before its massive body crashed to the ground.
【Life Energy +15. Current Life Energy: 764.】
Ethan walked over, knelt down, and with a swift motion of his blade, stowed the bear’s paws and gall bladder into his ring.
"Not bad. A good start."
Ethan stood up, flicked the blood from his hand, and kept walking.
His right hand glowed with pale green light once more as vines and roots resumed their outward expansion.
He wasn't hiding his strength.
Not even a little.
From the moment he stepped into this secret realm, he had no intention of holding back.
The total mental power from twenty mental runes surged within him, drawing in wood-element energy particles with every breath.
The particles flocked to him like iron filings to a magnet.
He pushed the Plant Growth cantrip to its absolute limit.
His mental power split into dozens of fine threads, each connected to a vine or root, allowing him to simultaneously control every plant within a fifty-meter radius.
The vines were like extensions of his own fingers—incredibly agile. Digging, plucking, coiling, and stowing; every movement was fluid and seamless, without a hint of hesitation.
If any other apprentice were to see this, their eyes would have popped out of their heads.
That is NOT how you use a cantrip!!!
Rate on N.U.
