"What time is it? It's already seven o'clock! Oh no, I still need to get to the instructor's laboratory..."
Biji scrambled up quickly and dashed out of the room.
"Really now..." Leilin watched Biji's retreating figure and shook his head with a bitter smile.
The events of the previous night were quickly cast from Leilin's mind.
The secret realm blood battle was approaching, and no apprentice from Black Bone Forest Academy could escape participating.
Those geniuses with fifth-rank talent, in particular, were prime targets for elimination by the opposing academies.
By comparison, Leilin only had some talent in Potionology, and with
This was one of the reasons Leilin had been reluctant to reveal his true strength.
In the days that followed, Leilin stayed in his dormitory, familiarizing himself with the Falling Star Pendant, using the Chip to record and analyze spell models, developing powerful zero-level wizard spells, and concocting attack potions — all in preparation for the secret realm blood battle.
...
The sky was a dull grey, with occasional threads of rain drifting down, casting a shadow over everyone's heart.
In a vast stretch of wilderness, a dense crowd of apprentice wizards in grey robes stood in formation, each wearing a solemn expression. Their eyes held various emotions — some fierce and ruthless, others dazed and uncertain.
In front of them stood over a dozen formally robed wizards in white and black.
Leilin stood unobtrusively in a corner among the apprentices, occasionally stealing glances at the instructors ahead.
At the very front of the instructors stood a bald, powerfully built man in a black robe. He stood motionless, and the unconscious ripples of power emanating from him alone were enough to make Leilin's Spiritual Power circulation falter.
"That must be our headmaster of Black Bone Forest Academy — the legendary Second-level
Leilin lowered his head deeply, not daring to look up again.
As for the idea of using the Chip to scan the man, Leilin crushed that thought firmly. The methods of a Second-level Wizard were mysterious and unfathomable — he had absolutely no confidence that he could avoid detection.
Besides, the Chip currently couldn't even breach the defensive Field of a First-level Wizard, so there was no point in humiliating himself.
"But... the secret realm is being opened here?"
Leilin surveyed his surroundings. Under the dim sky, the wilderness nearby was completely silent. Moles and lizards, as if sensing the impending battle, had long since fled the area.
Among the crowd of apprentices, Leilin spotted Biji, Merlin, Niss, and Jiamen, among others.
Jiamen stood near the front of the apprentice formation, his face grim and sullen, with dark circles ringed heavily around his eyes. He didn't look to be in good shape.
Niss stood at the very back of the formation, entirely shrouded in her grey robe, keeping an extremely low profile.
Meanwhile, Biji and Merlin were whispering something to each other off to one side.
When Biji spotted Leilin, she gave him a friendly smile.
"Biji has several attack potions I gave her, and she's not exactly a priority target. She should be fine!"
Leilin comforted himself inwardly.
"They're coming!" "They're here!"
Suddenly, a commotion erupted among the apprentices, interrupting Leilin's thoughts.
Leilin took a deep breath and looked up toward the distant horizon.
Far off at the edge of the skyline, a dark speck had appeared. As it drew nearer, it grew larger and larger.
By the time the shadow reached the front of the Black Bone Forest formation, Leilin could see the creature's full appearance.
It was an enormous beetle-like creature with eight long, hard black legs, each one over a dozen meters in length. Atop its tiny head sat a pair of massive compound eyes, which were curiously studying the Black Bone Forest crowd below.
"Target's body is covered by a protective Field. Preliminary assessment: First-level Wizard creature. Subject is advised to maintain distance!!!"
The Chip's voice chimed in, making Leilin fully realize the creature's power.
"Hssss!!!"
The giant beetle gnashed its mandibles, and from its mouth dripped drops of yellowish-green fluid that sizzled into deep pits upon hitting the ground.
The surrounding apprentices stumbled back, their faces pale, clearly terrified by the sight.
"What's there to be afraid of? It's just an Abyssal Iron-Back Beetle!"
"Silence!!!"
Under the restraint of the lead instructors, the apprentices gradually calmed down from their panic.
"Sly, your students are actually frightened by my little pet? Looks like they're in for a rough time!! Hahaha..."
A clear male voice rang out, and from atop the beetle's back, a middle-aged wizard in a white robe jumped down. Although his face still appeared middle-aged, his eyebrows were entirely snow-white.
"Hmph!!!" As if beneath his dignity to engage, Headmaster Sly merely gave a cold snort.
But from the Chip's perspective, Leilin could clearly see an invisible wave ripple outward from Sly, spreading toward the beetle's back.
"Ugh!!!" "Ah!!!" Several sharp cries suddenly came from atop the beetle — young voices, judging by the sound.
"Sly! How dare you..." The white-browed wizard flew into a rage. His eyebrows suddenly turned red, as though dripping with blood.
"What's the matter?" Headmaster Sly stepped forward aggressively, radiating an overbearing presence.
"That middle-aged man with the white eyebrows should be the headmaster of Gothic Sage's Cottage. Although they're both Second-level Wizards, Headmaster Sly is a Dark Wizard skilled in combat — his strength clearly surpasses the white-browed one's. If the enemy weren't attacking with two factions combined, Black Bone Forest Academy would never be at a disadvantage..."
Leilin's eyes narrowed.
Just when the apprentices thought the two headmasters were about to come to blows, a sharp whistle sounded from the edge of the sky.
A colossal carriage — dozens of meters in both length and width, with a pair of snow-white wings growing from either side of the cabin — descended slowly from the air, pulled by a flock of vultures.
Bang!!!
The carriage touched down smoothly. The door opened, and a blonde woman in a white robe was the first to step out.
"Gulu, stop! Don't forget that we've already signed a contract!"
At the blonde woman's words, Sly and Gulu both snorted coldly and retreated to their respective sides.
Behind the blonde woman, wave after wave of apprentices poured out of the carriage, their bodies radiating powerful energy fluctuations.
"Hehe! Sly, I hope your students survive in some small number — don't let your academy become a true graveyard..."
Gulu, the white-browed headmaster, let out a cold laugh. Behind him, the beetle automatically folded two of its legs together and straightened them to form a makeshift ladder, and many apprentices descended from it.
Both groups of apprentices sized up the Black Bone Forest Academy side with hostile, predatory gazes, as if the people there were nothing but prey.
"Mostly third-rank, a small number of second-rank, and not a single first-rank!"
Leilin's heart went cold. Because Black Bone Forest Academy had been the weaker party, the terms of the blood battle were clearly stacked heavily against his academy.
Not only were two academies joining forces to attack them, but the opposing side was allowed to exempt all first-rank apprentices from the blood battle, while every single apprentice from Black Bone Forest Academy was required to participate.
Those first-rank apprentices would serve as nothing more than cannon fodder once inside, completely useless in any real capacity.
"After this battle, Black Bone Forest Academy will probably be set back for a very long time..."
Leilin looked at the students from his own academy — some of whom were clearly still only eleven or twelve years old, mere children — and sighed inwardly.
However, there was little he could do for them. At most, when it didn't threaten his own interests, he would help where he could.
Right now, he had something more important to take care of.
"Chip, begin assisted recording!"
Leilin was now a third-rank apprentice, and the Chip's capabilities had improved accordingly. Most third-rank apprentices could no longer escape its scans.
Leilin specifically recorded every apprentice carrying Magical Items — whether they were enemies or allies.
These were the individuals he would need to watch out for during the blood battle.
After hearing the provoking words, Headmaster Sly's expression grew even darker. He waved his hand. "Enough talk. Let it begin!!!"
"Since you're so eager, how could we possibly refuse?"
The white-browed Gulu and the blonde woman shared cold smiles and nodded. "Then let's begin!"
At their respective headmasters' orders, the formally robed wizards from each academy stepped forward, producing all manner of strange objects from their bundles, their robes, or even from within their own bodies, and began setting them up.
Once they finished, an extraordinary magical formation had appeared on the ground.
"Fortification Runes, Energy Conduit Runes, Fire Runes — those are the only ones I can recognize!" Leilin's eyes flickered as he had the Chip record the magical formation.
Meanwhile, the three headmasters each stepped forward and produced three blood-red scrolls.
"In my name, Sly, I summon the lingering wills of battle that wander the wastelands — open the stairway to glory and death..."
The three headmasters chanted in unison, then tore the scrolls apart.
BOOM!!! Blood-red lightning crackled and exploded. Above the torn scrolls, a massive rift suddenly split open in the void.
WHOOSH!!! Countless gales and bolts of lightning poured into the rift, and the sounds of explosions and howling wind echoed endlessly from within.
After more than ten minutes, the void finally settled.
"This is an abandoned wizard resource secret realm. Any objects of value within have already been scavenged by our academies. Now, it shall become your battlefield..."