Feng Li diverts the conversation back to its original purpose. "Anyway, we're here to discuss the upcoming events. We won all 4 of our randomized matches in the knockout round, so that guarantees us one of the 16 spots in the resources round. 48 of the weaker countries have been eliminated: you'll only be facing strong opponents henceforth. Let's talk strategy."
Pang Lai takes over. "For those of you who aren't aware, the resources allocated to you over the course of your training actually stem from an enormous Resource Pool. Much of it will be dispersed over a vast region, and all of you competing students will be teleported there. The countries will be ranked by the cumulative value of the resources acquired by its team members, and the bottom 8 will be eliminated. Therefore, idling is strictly forbidden. You must actively seek out opportunities to obtain treasures. To that end, cooperation is crucial. You'll be teleported to random locations, so finding one another should rank highly on your list of priorities. And do away with all inner conflicts. Keep those out of competition."
[How inspiring.]
Fat chance Zu Jiming, Li Kaifeng, Mu Tingying, and Nanrong Ni will demonstrate any semblance of cooperation with me or Zhao Manyan. And I'm not guilt-free either: if I stumbled across Mu Ningxue, it's unlikely I'd stick with her.
The advisors monotonously lecture us on dos and don'ts, yet it's a glossed over remark from Pang Lai that sparks my curiosity.
"Don't bother going after the jackpot. In my year, it was in a swamp surrounded by poisonous fog, and none who entered returned alive. In fact, the presence of Rulers discouraged its retrieval; it remains uncollected to this day, and it happens to be in the region of competition for this year. To my knowledge, the jackpot isn't quite as much of a death trap this year, but the effort-to-value ratio is still too high. In short, avoid the small-scale volcano near the center of the enclosed space. I wouldn't even inform you where it's located if not for the possibility of you randomly finding it and wasting your time trying to search for a treasure."
[Oh, you'll bet I'm finding them. Volcano and poisonous swamp. Got it.]
…
…
A week later, the participants gather at the same stadium where the opening ceremony, and subsequently the China vs Japan battle, was held, but unlike before, it's filled with silver magic stones: Space stones arranged in intricate arrays, composing a formation.
"Such a huge Space formation, I wonder where it's going to teleport us to! Don't tell me it's the edge of the world?" Zhao Manyan's eyes are wide.
[It is rather sizable, I'll grant him.]
Each rune is nearly as large as me. A staggering amount of Space mana must have been used to draw them all.
"I'll now explain the rules!" The main judge steps forward and announces in English, "Sixteen countries, one hundred and sixty students will be teleported to random spots in the space set up for the treasure hunt. You will each end up in a different place, and as usual, you'll encounter all kinds of dangers and demon creatures, so you should be extremely careful while searching for the treasure! Even though we have assistant judges watching you inside, and will try our best to guarantee your safety with the help of the Observer Eagles scattered across the place, there are chances that accidents will happen, so I hope you can stay calm and ask for help immediately. Don't lose your life because of your greed!
"Finally, this here is a Scroll of Space. When you realize that your life is in danger, tear it in half. It will activate in around four seconds and teleport you back here with a space vortex. Again, safety first; don't do anything stupid!"
With that, randomly selected students step into the formation, and silver flashes accompany their departure. I'm called after around 60 students have vanished, and I briefly experience an uncomfortable, claustrophobic squeezing before my surroundings are renewed.
Cries of eagles resound a hundred meters above me. Indeed, when I glance up, Observer Eagles are circling overhead amidst blue skies. The images they see are transmitted in real time to the general public.
Noxious odors permeate my nostrils. A speedy glance around me reveals the source: I'm in a swamp. Thin trees with onyx bark and a distinct lack of foliage litter the squishy, mossy ground.
[The scent of rotting corpses with no accompanying bodies? And no traces of demon creatures that may have been the culprits…]
Well, if danger is here, so are rewards with a highly positive correlation: such is the nature of this round.
I morph into a Shadow Bird, the superior option to trudging through the mud, and weave between the looming trees. A few seconds later, I arrive at the center of the small forest.
I'm not alone. Trapped within dozens of frozen branches is a disheveled Mu Ningxue. Several ominous onyx trees are swiping their branches at her, but everything slows to a halt in her Ice Domain. She's currently in no danger.
I'm momentarily at a loss. There's several reasons to leave her here, and several more to free her.
[I'm uncomfortable being around her right now.]
Also, I'm certain I'll make more progress and acquire more treasures on my own. Even with Wind Wings, Mu Ningxue is just a burden.
But Pang Lai told us in no vague words to stick together.
However, 8 of 16 teams will advance past this round. The metric is simple: each team's net gain of resources will be quantified and compared. The top 8 will advance. If I argue I'll obtain more on my own than the two of us will earn together…
Wait, that's all unnecessary if I alone acquire enough to put us in the top 8. Then I won't have to explain anything to anyone.
The course of action is obvious. Save her and then leave.
I snap out of my miniature reverie and cast Descending Light: Beam! A golden circle taller than me glows while concentrating energy, then pulses out a destructive ray of Light. I aim it at the trees encircling Mu Ningxue, and they all evaporate in rapid succession. They're mostly dark-attribute Warriors, and the lone Commander has been drastically weakened by Mu Ningxue's frost.
What remains of the thicket of trees is mere ash. The gloomy forest center has been transformed into a small meadow, albeit a spooky one.
I'm about to leave Mu Ningxue to her own devices, when I sense people approaching from the shadows in the forest surrounding us. They're definitely not members of the Chinese team.
[Conflict with others so early on is fruitless.]
They likely don't have any resources I could rob, and if they do, it's definitely not anything worth my time. In this resource round, obtaining any precious item requires effort proportional to its value.
Second, Mu Ningxue probably picked up what was valuable already, and the trees attacked her for it. Two reasons to leave.
I arrive at this conclusion in a heartbeat, and I melt a befuddled Mu Ningxue into my Shadow Evade: Shadow Bird spell. I fly us out of the spooky forest into an open plains region, where I cancel the spell. Green grass reaches up to our waist, white flowers up to our shoes, and the occasional towering tree offers the area some much-needed heterogeneity.
The picturesque landscape directly contrasts the ominous forest behind us. Mu Ningxue's fairy-like appearance accentuates the effect.
"Mu Ningxue, I'll be going soon. Are you alright on your own?"
She coldly glances at me. "Pang Lai won't be happy if we split up."
[Not this again.]
"I'm so confused. Since when did you become the authorities' lapdog?"
"For all your brains, you really understood nothing I said back then," she sighs.
"Right, right, you're in danger because the Mu Clan is targeting you, and to get the public on your side to act as a shield from their hands, you must wipe away the Black Vatican stigma by having an outstanding performance for China in this tournament," I roll my eyes. "Why that means you suddenly have zero autonomy beats me. Unless you're not confident in your own ability to stand out, but that doesn't make any sense because you were China's MVP in the first round against all those mediocre teams."
"Forget it, you won't understand," she condesendingly states, already walking away and expecting me to follow.
Acid leaks into my tone. "I see. Well, I should be glad you rejected me. I liked you for who you were, not for who you are now."
"This is exactly why I told you to keep your distance. Yang Jianyu, you're clinging to memories, unable to mature and empathize with others. Things have changed. Deal with it."
"Oh, I'm dealing with it."
Ignoring her reminder to stick together, I once again morph into a Shadow Bird and soar away, flying over the plains.
…
…
There doesn't seem to be any danger within the green plains littered with white hydrangeas. Correspondingly, there's nothing to obtain here. I'm guessing it's a safe zone of sorts.
I cease my pointless wandering and morph back into a human. My figure starts rising into the air, the effects of continually casting Change of Order: Gravity.
After rising far above the Observer Eagles, the entirety of the plains comes into view. And beyond.
To the north, the gloomy forest. Honestly, it's a tiny tumor sprouting off the plains; the more noteworthy environment to the north is a desert expanse precisely like the outskirts of the Sahara. Loads of sand creatures, with treasures to accompany them.
To the east, a lake just as large as the desert: a 7 km by 11 km ellipse. I'm guessing the vast majority of participants won't enter it, since most Mages have next to no experience fighting underwater.
To the south, a rolling hills environment with enormous trees. A smooth green canopy obfuscates the hills' actual ground. Groups entering will constantly have to watch out for ambushes: the canopy's shade and tree trunk obstacles highly favor hit-and-run tactics.
To the west, a rocky volcanic region. Plumes of white mist rise explosively from fissures every so often. It looks like it recently suffered a pyroclastic flow, since the ground comprises gray ash and basalt. In the center is a volcano that blocks the western horizon: it must be over 10 kilometers tall.
I continue rising, searching for a particular ecosystem. Only after achieving an altitude of 6 kilometers do I spot it, to the east of the lake.
Billowing, dark foggy substance surrounding a small valley. That's definitely the swamp surrounded by 'poisonous fog' that Pang Lai mentioned.
[Swamp? Or volcano?]
Well, if I assume most teams don't have an authority like Pang Lai that mentioned the swamp, everyone who's confident will head for the volcano. Meaning I should get there first.
…
…
My feet keep sinking into the ashy ground while I jog. Being a Shadow Bird consumes mana at a rate twice as fast as a full Shadow Galaxy would recover it, so about 2 Basic spells' worth every 5 seconds. I usually fly for a minute at a time, then recover for a few minutes by jogging.
I've no method of sensing when fissures will release noxious fumes, so I'm just giving them all a wide berth. An astute decision, as I've counted at least 3 mini eruptions where I would've been at ground zero.
By noon, I'm already approaching the volcano. It's shaped like a laboratory flask, but I'm unsure where its main treasure is located.
Without hesitating, I start flying up the side of the mountain. When in doubt, go towards the danger—in this case, the hollow summit.
As I ascend, the acrid odor of sulfur intensifies.
[Ugh. Is this even worth it?]
…
…
Half an hour later, I trudge the last few steps to peer inside the volcano. Hot gas and toxic fumes discourage prolonged examination of the lake of magma, so I pull back after a few seconds.
Its surface is a bright orange-red, instead of a cool black. I was expecting the top layer of magma to have partially solidified, but I guess it's churning enough to offset the cooling effect of the atmosphere. Miniature explosions of magma indicate gas welling to the surface, and the churning is probably caused by vast quantities of gas pushing aside magma to escape into the atmosphere.
In short, it's a flatulent volcano.
I'm not alone at the summit. Over a dozen other human figures line the summit circle, which is over a kilometer in diameter. We're all at a loss on how to proceed; none of us want to jump in and search for the treasure. They all seem to have arrived at the volcano from different cardinal directions, and I'm guessing they didn't find anything valuable on the way because I didn't either. All the value of this entire volcanic region is concentrated in one item: the jackpot of this resource round.
And none of us can even see it, let alone obtain it. The organizers of this tournament must be having a field day at the expense of our helplessness.
[Think.]
What are the most obvious things to do that everyone else must have done?
They probably circled the summit a few times and found nothing. Scoured the region a bit below the summit to no avail. A Wind Mage must have flown into the pit with Wind Wings, which they'd wrap around themselves to protect against heat and poisonous gasses.
Even soaring above the magma didn't yield anything? Where the hell is this jackpot, then?
[Ah.]
The organizers can't expect us young Advanced Mages to actually enter the magma. That'd require incredibly high Fire resistance, not offered by anything weaker than a Heaven Fire Spirit.
Therefore, since searching the magma lake isn't what they had in mind…
I start constructing a 4th tier Water Star Constellation. Yes, in the week after our victory against Spain, my Water Galaxy rose to the 2nd tier.
The tier 3 Advanced Water spell is Flower Sky: Water Flower. It summons a huge bulb of water above you and fires bursts of it in a dome around you, doubling as a shield. The dome is incomplete and looks more like a flower, hence the name.
Now, I'm casting Flower Sky: Torrential Deluge. An insignificant water droplet is fired at a location of my choice, and it summons row after row of waterfalls that sequentially hammer down, covering a square region centered at the droplet, crushing anything within the strike zone.
Of course, I aimed the droplet at the center of the volcano. The resulting torrents of water, 6x amplified by Tsiri, collapse onto nearly a tenth of the entire magma lake. An instant later, my eardrums nearly shatter from the resulting explosion of steam, lava, cooled rock, and ash.
I clad myself with a Light Scale Holy Armor right after finishing the Water spell, anticipating this outcome. Turning into a Shadow Bird would have been foolhardy: the chaotic Fire energies in the explosion would have severely injured me.
Thankfully, my diving back down the mountain and glowing armor shield me from the worst of the miniature eruption. I can't say the same for the others; eliminating the competition with this maneuver was part of the plan. I'm sure some of them reacted in time to summon expensive Magic Armor, but any reduction in numbers means less energy I'll have to expend fighting them to obtain the treasure.
Anyway, the main purpose of blowing up the magma lake…
Was to provoke the creature currently visible after I trudged back to the summit. The ash mostly cleared by the time I made it to the top again.
It's a Molten Manta Ray, a dark red creature over 50 meters long that's diving in and out of the magma lake in a frenzy. 2 of my peers dash to the volcanic rim while I'm eyeing it, but they're closer to each other than to me. While they cautiously glance at each other, I start making my way over to them.
[I'd rather eliminate the others now.]
I approach a man around my height, 190 cm. He's a pale, bulky, buzz cut individual with prominent facial features and a clean-shaven beard.
I introduce myself in English while extending a hand. "Jianyu Patel, Chinese team. Nice to meet you."
He narrows his eyes, but grasps my hand without hesitation. "Dmitry Romanov, Russian team."
"I suggest we eliminate that Italian girl, then duke it out. I don't want you backstabbing me while I fight that thing."
"Likewise. Are you good at offense?"
"If you can ensure she doesn't dodge, I'll eliminate her."
The corners of his lips slightly lift, adding life to his wooden expression. "That I can do. Let's go."
Unfortunately, the girl seems to have caught onto what we have in mind. She's already running down the mountain, and it'll take significant effort to catch up. I turn back to Dmitry.
"What now?"
He grimaces. "I'm good at trapping, not chasing."
[Plant? Maybe Space?]
"Do you think she'll be back? Wait, there she comes! She brought her teammates!"
He swivels his head in surprise, and I seize the opportunity to whack the back of his head with my Chaotic Piercer. He collapses in a heap, unconscious.
[I hate to do this to someone so naive, but…]
I rip apart the Scroll of Space in his pocket, and a bright silver magic formation blinks his figure away.
I'm currently on a timer; I saw the Italian girl with at least 3 teammates up here earlier, and if they all gang up on me, I'll lose my chance to sneak away with the jackpot. Hence why I used a dirty trick to send Dmitry out of here: I must kill that Molten Manta Ray as quickly as possible, with no interference.
The artificial eruption blasted apart my first Light Scale Holy Armor, so I hastily encase myself in a second one. Next, I cast Change of Order: Gravity to send myself careening towards the berserk lava creature.
A thick haze obfuscates my vision significantly, but the Molten Manta Ray's dark red body is still visible when it occasionally swims to the surface.
[Now!]
When I'm hovering about 50 meters above the magma lake's surface, I abruptly start free falling, having ceased casting the Basic Chaos spell on myself. Instead, I compress 3/4 of the remaining mana in my Chaos Galaxy into one superpowered Change of Order: Gravity enveloping the Molten Manta Ray. As if kicked by a giant, it hurtles out of the crater, but nowhere near high enough to escape the volcano. The walls tower 300 meters above the lake, yet the creature's parabola will peak at less than 50 meters.
However, I reserved some Chaos mana for my next maneuver. Manipulating gravity, I start flying out of the crater, far faster than the rate at which I cautiously descended. Midway, I start free falling for one second, enough time to cast Flower Sky: Torrential Deluge and aim the water droplet at the spot where the creature will land in around 3 seconds.
1.
Several blood vessels in my eyes burst as I force the last dredges of Chaos mana into a final Change of Order: Gravity, turning me into a blurring projectile and launching me out. A glowing projectile, once I conjure a third Light Scale Holy Armor. I'm hardly clear of the summit when an explosion of magma, steam, and ash disintegrates my golden armor, forcing noxious fumes and dust into my lungs. My dwindling momentum receives an exponential boost, and I allow myself to fall a kilometer down the side of the volcano before morphing into a Shadow Bird.
I calculated the explosion angles fairly precisely, since the flailing Molten Manta Ray lands not 500 meters away from me. Giving my surroundings a cursory glance, I spot 4 people in the distance rushing over. Evidently, they noticed the deep red glow in the shape of a manta ray within the plumes of ash.
Fighting the exhaustion from draining my Chaos Galaxy, I morph back into a human once I'm within 30 meters of the creature. It's actually quite pitiful for such a large demonic beast: keening, whimpering, and flopping around helplessly as it asphyxiates and succumbs from its injuries. It's like a fish out of water.
I put it out of its misery by pinning it to the ground with one sword and dragging a second one across its throat. Its severed head is larger than me!
[Where did the advisors place the jackpot?]
I'm certain it's within this Molten Manta Ray's body, since I never saw a second one in the magma lake. I decide to cut open the stomach first, since it's the most obvious place to hide something.
Within the blazing hot stomach contents is a treasure chest, approximately half the size of my backpack. Exquisite yellow, orange, and red fire patterns adorn its surface: whoever constructed this certainly thinks highly of aesthetics.
I immediately empty the contents in my backpack, stuffing the chest inside in their stead. It's just dried food, and I can hunt beasts if necessary.
[Time to leave.]
I morph back into a Shadow Bird and speedily escape eastwards. Thankfully, I aimed the trajectories of the Molten Manta Ray and myself to launch out the east side of the volcano, so there's no one barring my path to the plains.
One of my pursuers aligns 343 bright green Wind stars, conjuring 2 pairs of Wind Wings on his back. He quickly leaves his peers behind, closing fast. He's flying over 100 m/s, multiple times faster than my Shadow Bird form.
No matter. He'll reach me once I enter the plains, but he won't have anyone backing him up.
After another minute, I'm back in the picturesque land of green grass and white flowers. I choose now to morph back, surprising him enough that he pauses 150 meters away.
Not far enough. Nyx Regime: Abyssal Dominion! A suffocating darkness envelops us. A moment later, dozens of Shadow Nails fly at him, the result of me drawing two tier 6 Shadow Star Patterns. He immediately summons an earring onto his ear, and it pulses with a golden glow that surrounds him. The defensive Magic Tool indeed provides him some respite from the barrage of Shadow attacks, but he has nowhere to go. After around 10 seconds of him fruitlessly chasing and killing shadow clones and facing a storm of Shadow Nails, his frantically conjured defenses flicker and disappear. He bitterly smiles and raises his hands, surrendering.
I'm having none of it. "Tear apart your Scroll of Space."
He complies, and the silver patterns blink him away after 4 seconds.
I waste no time turning back into a Shadow Bird; I head for the lake to the east. I'd rather not spend any more mana fighting useless battles.
…
…
Once I plunge into the icy waters of the lake, I'm confident of having escaped my pursuers. Gazing into my Spiritual World, my Chaos and Shadow Galaxies are completely dim. Half the mana in my Water Galaxy is gone, and only a quarter of the magic power in the Light Galaxy remains.
[Ugh, was it even worth it?]
I start propelling myself across the lake with bursts of water. The most practiced Advanced Mages are only capable of very minor mana manipulation without aligning stars, which is why it takes around 30 minutes to cross the lake and climb ashore.
I'm about to unlock the flame patterned box when I think better of it; every sign points to the jackpot being a Fire treasure, and if opening the box causes whatever's in it to bind to me, that'd be a complete waste because I don't have the Fire Element. The logical course of action is simply to be patient.
From my stint in the skies, I'm well aware of the forest between the lake and the poison valley. I nonchalantly stroll in.
A canopy doesn't exist here, unlike in the rolling hills biome. The trees are too sparse, their leaf foliage too thin. This allows sunlight to illuminate the mossy ground, though it'll vanish soon as sunset approaches.
Oh well.
…
…
At nightfall, I finally reach the edge of the forest, and there's a slope that leads down into a basin of sorts, a valley. A few dozen meters below me is a layer of black miasma, appearing to fill the basin like a lake.
[Definitely the poisonous swamp Pang Lai mentioned. The only question is whether the miasma is just a thin layer floating above the valley, or if it's omnipresent down there.]
The Poison energies would corrode my Shadow Bird form, so that option's out. I don't feel good about any of my choices, honestly. If I had a full tank of mana, I wouldn't hesitate whatsoever.
As it stands, only my Water Galaxy has recovered to its maximum brightness. The others are at most half full, and Chaos is pitiful with less than half an Advanced spell's worth of mana… wait.
[The Observer Eagles can't see what happens inside the miasma.]
The black fog is impenetrable to light, obfuscating the valley's content from my eyes. I'm certain the same is true for the winged cameras circling up in the troposphere, especially since it's past dusk.
[That means I can unleash my full strength without any observers.]
All traces of anxiety within me vanish. Pang Lai mentioned Rulers might inhabit this region, but if no one's here to watch me fight, I'm confident I can at least escape.
I descend the earthen slope leading to the miasma lake. When I'm a few meters away, I construct a Light Star Path.
Illuminate: Cleanse!
Rays of light condense around my hands, and I direct them at the miasma comprising Poison particles. The spell carves a dent the size of an apple in the black fog, but diffusion smooths it out within seconds.
I cast the spell twice in a row at the same location, and the second spell doubles the dent's depth. Thankfully, it seems the miasma won't grow denser as I descend, but I'll have to cast an Advanced Light spell at this rate. My Light Galaxy only has enough for 2. One to get inside, one to exit.
Descending Light: Beam!
The golden circle taller than me pulses, firing a dazzling ray of light into the Poison barrier and melting away all miasma in the way. There! The light illuminates grounds free of the black miasma, so clearly the 'lake' of poisonous fog is just a barrier above the valley.
Without wasting time, I morph into a Shadow Bird and soar through the closing gap in the black fog. It's only 3 meters thick, so I morph back after less than a second.
Still, by the looks of it, I have another 80 meters to descend. The ground begins caving in slightly with each step: I'm walking into a swamp, after all. I'm lucky to possess the Shadow Element, since it blesses me with excellent night vision.
At the bottom of the slope, I spot a nearby stream flowing to the center of the valley and decide to follow it.
…
…
This place is eerie. I'd expect such a dark and poisonous biome to be absolutely crawling with venomous insects, but I haven't found the slightest traces of bugs, let alone anything larger. There isn't so much as a blade of grass in this muddy area, only some moss here and there.
The landscape is surprisingly rocky for a swamp: massive boulders litter the ground everywhere. I've spotted several other streams in the distance, and they all seem to converge at this gray rocky enclosure a few hundred meters away. It's the only landmark of note: a 50 meter tall structure shaped like an igloo, but comprising hundreds of boulders instead of ice. There's several exits instead of one, each corresponding to one stream flowing in.
A foreboding sense leaks into my body. There's definitely danger in there. And I can't just tear my Scroll of Space to escape in a perilous situation; the miasma somehow sealed off enough of the region's Space permittivity that the scroll's potency isn't quite enough to allow for an exit.
[Well, I've come this far.]
I stalwartly march to my doom, easily passing through the opening corresponding to my stream. It's somehow darker inside than outside, even though both environments are pitch black. My night vision seems to be obfuscated—I can only see a few meters in front of me.
Following the running water, I arrive at a deep pond. I clench my teeth and dive in, swimming to its center. I find another treasure chest to match the one in my backpack, but this one's pitch black. Shrugging, I scoop it into my now full backpack and swim to the surface, but my body tenses up as soon as I climb out of the water.
A creature is crawling down the wall, an arachnid at first glance. A humanoid head, tiny compared to its abdomen the size of a car. 8 muscular legs, 4 sprouting from each side of its scaly body. A scorpion tail sprouting from its rear.
Titters alert me to a second one, opposite the first. They've flanked me on either side, and they're slowly scuttling towards me.
Their size belies their strength. I estimate one of these could defeat that Bone Official I left to Yao Nan, and easily at that. They're probably Advancing Commanders, yet why are they so cautious? Aren't I just a measly Advanced Mage?
No, it isn't caution, but sport. Prey is hard to come by, so I'm somehow a form of entertainment.
[You won't be entertained much longer.]
I start constructing a Water Star Constellation, provoking the pair of predators to lunge at me, but it's too late.
Flower Sky: Torrential Deluge!
I fire the water droplet at my feet, and the rows of waterfalls start pummeling the interior of the rocky enclosure. The force pulverizes rock and earth alike, sending dust flying everywhere, but it's intercepted and blown to the ground by the overwhelming, chaotic barrage of water particles.
The scorpion creature closest to me suffers first. A row of waterfalls presses it down, canceling all of its momentum from its lunge at me. It screeches as its scales are eroded under the brutal spray of water, but by the time the spell ceases pouring water in the rows near it, it only sustains superficial injuries to its muscles and soft tissue.
The second one instantly reverses its motion when it senses the Torrential Deluge, attempting to escape, but it's too late. The waterfalls reach its position and it's similarly crushed to the ground.
However, as the crescendo of Water elements dies down, the two horrific creatures seem to shake off the vestiges of shock and daze. While they were suppressed by the waterfalls, I retreated to the stream whence I came, but the deep grooves on their scales and flesh failed to prevent them from stalking me once more.
[So this is the prowess possessed by demonic beasts at the pinnacle of the Commander level…]
Tsiri has a single terrifying additional effect: all Water spells augmented by Tsiri will be imbued with turbulent, explosive force. Instead of a laminar flow that smoothly slides over objects, the water's nature becomes a violently turbulent flow that bombards the objects with explosive forces. And the soft characteristic of water is transformed into a rough and sharp one, so that water flowing over one's arm now feels like sandpaper mixed with glass shards, scraping one's skin into ribbons.
The additional effect is sufficient to turn the defensive Water Element into a peerless offensive maelstrom, shredding enemies and constantly buffeting the sharp water into every orifice with cruel explosions of forceful turbulent flow. Add the 6x spell amplification and Domain, and it seems I'm the one who ripped off Asha'ruiya with a mere billion yuan as the price.
Despite all this, I'm faced with reality. The scorpion beasts, albeit lathered with ragged wounds, retain every ounce of their menacing disposition.
[The moment I display weakness of any form, they'll scatter all reservations to the side and hunt me down. At speeds I won't be able to outrun.]
But approaching them is out of the question. The last thing I want is to be trapped in a pincer attack between two Advancing Commanders.
I clench my jaw in resolution as the pair of horrid arachnids broach within 50 meters of me: a distance they could traverse in less than a second.
Indeed, the slightly larger of the two lunges without warning. I momentarily register a twitch of its hind legs before the disgusting creature occupies the majority of my visual field.
I'm flung backwards dozens of meters by sheer momentum, but I manage to vanish into a Shadow Bird apparition before suffering any major impacts. I immediately stand up, decorated by only a couple of bruises and scratches.
Unlike the scorpion chimera, which is currently convulsing on the ground and spraying lime-green blood everywhere. Its head and the front portion of its body are split in two: it hewed itself in half when it ran directly into a summoned sword.
Impressively, it actually managed to acknowledge the threat and attempted to retract some of its forward velocity, which is why it wasn't cut completely in half. Perhaps its prior injuries dampened its reaction speed, and I may not have killed it in such a manner had it been at full strength.
[All speculation, of course.]
The live scorpion unleashes a scuttling cry upon witnessing its partner collapse, and it rushes in a blur towards me. Evidently possessing predictive instincts, it instantly angles away right as a row of waterfalls obliterates the earth it previously occupied.
Having just cast yet another Torrential Deluge, the Water elements in my surroundings are in a fervor. I focus, willing them to congregate as well as expel traces of other Elements. The environment within a few hundred meters rapidly transforms into a storm of dancing and flowing water droplets.
I inhale jubilantly, reveling in the power available at a moment's discretion.
The remaining magical beast halts outside my Domain briefly, but its hatred overcomes its self-preservation instincts, and it chooses to execute a furious dash with every ounce of energy it can muster.
Unfortunately, the roaring Water elements rip into its open wounds. I release a violent thrum of mana from my Water Galaxy and focus on directing it to engender the desired phenomena.
A spinning whirlpool over a hundred meters wide neatly plucks away the scorpion chimera from its charge; then, the beast suffers laceration after laceration as the whirlpool shrinks and rotates faster. Within seconds, the whirlpool can hardly contain the scorpion, but the pitiful creature is being whipped around faster than food inside a blender. Aptly, it suffers the same fate: after demolishing its tough scales, the rough waters simply eviscerate the demonic beast into so much green goo.
Satisfied, I dispel the Domain, and the stormy environment slowly regains its initial gloomy tranquility. I commence the trek back to the miasma, following the stream that led me to the treasure, which is currently snug in my pack along with its peer. I decide to plunge into the current and propel myself upstream with assistance from Tsiri, laughing in exhilaration.
Abruptly, my arrogance transforms into terror. I release the full strength of the Greater Soul-grade Water Spirit, conjuring jets of water at my feet that propel me at blistering speeds. Combined with surges of dwindling mana from my Chaos Galaxy to fuel Change of Order: Gravity, I'm speeding away faster than the competitor with Wind Wings.
It's barely enough to escape the attack. A billowing purple fog nearly as fast as myself melts everything in a kilometer-wide circle: the rock enclosure no longer exists. Neither does a great deal of earthen ground in the circle. It's as if a godly hoof slammed down, demolishing everything and leaving behind a telltale hoofprint. Except it was an acidic substance and not a blunt force that caused such widespread destruction.
I don't bother to examine the source of this substance. I focus on the rapidly approaching slope that leads to the black miasma barrier, and I expend the remaining mana in my Water Galaxy to explode the stream at my feet. The force sends me flying upwards, accompanying a gargantuan deluge of water underneath me, and I fire the requisite golden beam to carve a hole in the barrier.
Relaxation is not a possibility. Having run out of other movement options, I quickly morph into a Shadow Bird and flee into the forest, praying the horrid creature won't leave the poisonous valley.
It doesn't, but roars of frustration remind me that I'm not in the clear. I glance back to see a pulsating purple ball of fog the size of a mansion flying at me.
[Do I have enough time?]
I rip the Scroll of Space, and the silver radiance will blink me away after 4 seconds.
3.
2.
I clad myself with the Black Snake Armor.
1.
Bless the Black Snake Armor and its poisonous nature; it swells and absorbs much of the Ruler's desperate poison attack, but is corroded by the 30% that remains. Still, it bought me enough time. The skin on my back festers and burns from the purple fog right as I vanish.
I reappear atop the huge Space Formation we entered in the morning, and I collapse onto my stomach. All the skin on my backside is gone, revealing muscle on my back, legs, and arms. A sizable blood pool is already forming around me as I lose consciousness.
[Wait, the backpack?]
…
…
The same question flashes through my mind once I wake up. Surprisingly, I'm not in the hospital, but atop cold stone.
I blearily try to rise to my feet, but someone pushes me down into a sitting posture.
"Relax, don't make any sudden movements."
[I know that voice.]
"President Han?"
Apparently, I'm still on top of the Space Formation, surrounded by eliminated participants and team advisors seated in the massive stadium.
"Ah, you've regained your mental faculties. How do you feel?"
I face the wizened man and offer a shaky smile. "Better now that there's skin on my back."
"You frightened us half to death, appearing out of nowhere with such a horrific injury. Thankfully, I reacted quickly and erased the corrosive substance, then healed your skin."
"Thank you."
He frowns. "Is there a need for gratitude between us?"
Cowed, I quickly reply, "Of course not. By the way, what happened to my… oh."
A stern middle-aged man with a magnificent beard and dazzling golden robes is standing next to Han Ji. He's carrying both of the treasure chests.
"I believe those are mine, senior."
"I'll be holding onto them until you explain. I thought I told the advisors of each team to warn the students of the poisonous valley, not enter it. And how did you know there was treasure within?"
[Well, I can't implicate Pang Lai.]
"I just figured that the valley would follow the rules of this resource round: more danger equals better rewards. Since it's the most dangerous location, so much so that we needed an explicit warning, it must have the best treasure."
"Ah, I'm not withholding these for malicious reasons. As the organizer of this round, I'm merely curious how you somehow managed to obtain both treasure chests, when you were only told the jackpot was in the volcanic region."
[Playing good cop now, are we?]
He's sniffing for signs that I used power beyond my means, like the forbidden magic Li Kaifeng unleashed against Jiang Yu.
"If I reveal everything, wouldn't that just be exposing all my secrets for no reason? Senior Felmon?"
His brows furrow. "Fair point. But it's just the three of us here in the arena, and I'll set up a Sound barrier so no one can eavesdrop on our conversation."
"No, I mean I demand compensation for my explanation. 10 billion yuan, or I'll take my chances with arguing my case with your higher-ups. Or you can just hand those back to me."
He glowers at me, infuriated. "Listen here, little brat! You-"
"Enough," an imperious voice intones.
He whirls around, even more incensed, but his bravado vanishes instantly upon seeing Pang Lai. The ancient old man wears an utterly furious expression, and his mere aura forces Felmon back a few steps. The so-called organizer flees with his tail between his legs, leaving my chests behind.
[So this is the stature of one of the strongest Mages under the Forbidden level…]
I'm genuinely impressed. "I appreciate the help, senior."
"No need. Let's go back to our team, shall we?"
The three of us walk to our group in the seats, and they're all flabbergasted upon seeing the ornate fire chest and onyx chest in my hands.
Apparently, Zhao Manyan, Mu Tingying, and Li Kaifeng are the only eliminated ones. The others, hopefully, will remain there until midnight, when everyone will be teleported back.
Accompanying them are the 5 advisors, as well as yet another old man I've never seen before.
I break the ice, laughing at Zhao Manyan. "What happened? Out of everyone on the team, I thought your turtle shell would be most effective at preventing you from getting eliminated…"
He flushes angrily and retorts, "I just wanted to check out the volcano, since everyone started gathering there in the afternoon. Then it fucking erupted, eliminating at least 30 people! I was right on the summit when it happened, and I barely fucking survived!!! All for nothing, since obviously you ran off with the treasure way before any of us got there!"
[In hindsight, it makes sense that people continued to flock to that region… The teams that knew I stole the treasure made sure not to tell anyone, allowing the curious people to waste their time at the volcano. Giving those teams more opportunities to find treasure elsewhere.]
Li Kaifeng clears his throat. "As the only person whose primary Element is Fire, I believe the advisors know the best decision is to give that treasure to me… Don't worry, I'll ask my elders to properly compensate you."
I narrow my eyes. "You're getting a little ahead of yourself. I concocted and executed an intricate plan, risking my life to obtain this thing. Do you really think I'll sell it to you for a cheap price? Dream on."
I plop into a seat, hugging both treasure chests, clearly indicating my attitude on the notion of releasing them. Han Ji intervenes on my behalf. "I hope no one coerces him into making any decisions. He earned those rewards fair and square, and he has the right to do whatever he wants with the chests."
The unfamiliar old man rises to his feet, speaking up. "While that's true, he said he won't sell it for a cheap price. Meaning he might accept an expensive price."
Zhao Manyan whispers, "That's Chairman Shao Zheng, one of the military leaders of China. Do not mouth off in front of him."
[I'll keep that in mind.]
"Chairman, I don't even know what's inside these chests. How can you possibly put a price on the fire chest?"
"Fortunately for you, I do. I won't reveal the onyx chest's contents, but just know that you should use it on yourself. As for the fire chest, it is truly useless to you. Within is a Soul-grade Fire Spirit, but don't sneer yet. I'll honestly tell you, the effects on this one are quite good. A Domain more potent than any other Soul-grade Fire Spirit's. 9x spell amplification, if you can believe it. Most pertinently, its additional effect is an overbearing one. When you trap opponents in its Domain, it'll passively burn their mana. Mages at your cultivation level, regardless of whether they shield themselves, will have dim Spiritual Worlds within 3 minutes. Lower level Mages won't even last 30 seconds."
Pang Lai continues when Shao Zheng finishes. "I was privy to the details of this round's jackpot, and I heavily protested its placement. How on earth is a team of Advanced Mages supposed to dive into the magma, kill a creature that's practically invincible in there, and retrieve the treasure chest from its stomach? I won't ask how you did it, but I'll offer you a trade. I'll tell you what you should demand in exchange for the fire chest, and you tell me what exactly happened at the volcano. In private, of course."
I instantly respond, "I accept."
He grins, pleased. "4.6 billion yuan. These things are not forged in great quantities. The highest quality artificial Elemental Spirits are Pseudo Heaven, better than Soul-grade Spirits but lacking in comparison to true, natural Heaven-grade Spirits. This one is just beneath that level, and I estimate it cost at least 1 billion yuan in resources to create, not including the failed attempts. That's why so few Pseudo Heaven Spirits are made each year, and why people with the money still can't get them. You need money and connections to obtain one. This is a failed byproduct of attempts to create a Pseudo Heaven Fire Spirit, but still rather high quality in its own right."
"That sounds… ridiculous. The byproduct of such an expensive process, just the reward for an Advanced Mage? It sounds like Super Mages would fight over it…"
"Because the organizers weren't expecting anyone to get it. That's why I protested the plan: it was clearly an attempt to skimp out on rewarding the students for this resources round. I at least made sure the jackpot's value was proportional to the difficulty of obtaining it; they were originally planning on putting a Soul-grade Fire Spirit with an ordinary Domain in there. I, and several others, argued that this one should be placed in the fire chest instead. Hahaha! I'm sure a few of those greedy old bastards felt like they were slicing off a piece of their own flesh when they saw you with this round's jackpot!"
"Pang Lai, please, might you conduct yourself with some dignity for once?"
"Oh, shut it, Chairman. What are you going to do? Demote me? I was a powerful Mage when you were in diapers; don't act like you can boss me around just because you're at a higher level than me now."
"I was not trying to… never mind."
[Hmm. 4.6 billion yuan?]
It's no longer life-changing money. My bank account currently contains 1.2 billion yuan: a sixfold increase after betting on China's first place in the resource competition. The problem now is that placing billions of yuan as a bet will fudge the odds because there's less betting emphasis on individual matches, so I might only obtain a 20 or 30% increase. Well, I'll obviously still bet it all each time we're about to fight another team.
At any rate, I've a use for the Fire Spirit that's more valuable than 4.6 billion yuan.
I interrupt the biting exchange. "I'm sorry if I'm betraying expectations here, but I just wanted information on what's inside. Unfortunately, I highly value this Fire Spirit, and I will not be selling it to anyone."
Mu Tingying hotly rises to her feet. "How bold! Elders, are you hearing this? He cares nothing for camaraderie. Our team means zip to him."
"Right, so abiding by my free will to not offload my possessions means I'm a bad team player. Remind me, who was the one instigating an assault on one of our team members not 2 weeks ago?" I sneer.
"You-"
"Enough!" Han Ji steps in. "Jianyu is well within his rights to do as he pleases. He single handedly secured China's position at the top of this tournament's resource round!"
Pang Lai nods in approval. "Indeed. Besides, this isn't the first time Jianyu has obtained a valuable resource that a teammate might need. And he offered up that resource at less than half of what he might have obtained at an auction. If he's a bad team player, I'm curious how exemplary a good team player might be."
"Alright, that's enough discussion. You're free to go whenever you want, Jianyu, or stay to watch the rest finish," Chairman Shao Zheng informs me.
I slightly bow to him and the other elders before briskly walking away. I decide to head back to the hotel: I've no interest in waiting for the others since Zhao Manyan is already out. Pang Lai escorts me there, and I manage to make his eyebrows raise 4 times while detailing my escapades around the volcano. Apparently, the Observer Eagles couldn't see a single thing during the critical parts of my operation because of all the ash…
…
…
Back in my hotel room. I dive onto the soft mattress and open the onyx treasure chest with heightened anticipation. Inside… is a dark gray stone the size of my head.
[What the fuck? A regular stone… wait, no. It's anything but regular.]
Limpid with a silver glow. Runes like the orbits of stars on its surface. A Stone of Will. For enhancing one's Spiritual Attainment.
Spiritual Attainment is a completely separate path of cultivation from the clusters of stars. There's 9 tiers or levels, and three tiers are in each of three realms: basic, intermediate, and advanced. An immeasurable gap of power exists between realms. I suspect Ai Jiangtu is in the intermediate realm, maybe even higher than the 4th level, and he's able to focus his Will and channel enough energy into the Basic spell that it exhibits the strength of an Intermediate spell, or even more. A Mage at the 1st level might not even indent a strong Soldier's skin.
My Spiritual Attainment has bloomed to the peak of the 4th level after straining it to cast absurdly powerful Chaos magic. Multiple times. In situations where I might have died from the slightest mistake. I went from the 4th level to the 4th level.
Clearly, growth of Spiritual Attainment is slow, usually only speeding up when accompanying the expansion of one's star clusters. And yet this Stone of Will can be consumed overnight to explosively enhance my Spiritual Attainment.
I can't wait to find out how much it'll help me improve. I attain the meditative lotus posture and place the Stone of Will in my lap.
I slowly breathe in and out, focusing on my Spiritual World. More specifically, the Will or Intent that allows me to interact with it. I gather the Intent and send strands of it onto the Stone of Will. As seconds, minutes, hours slip by, I allow my conscious mind to fade away, immersed in the Stone of Will's comfortable radiance.
I snap back to reality when the wee light of dawn illuminates the room. The Stone of Will's radiance is gone, and it's just an ordinary stone now.
My Spiritual Attainment… woah.
I experimentally cast Change of Order: Gravity on the objects in the room. The lamp, treasure chest, alarm clock, coat hangers, shoes, everything starts whizzing around every which way according to my whims.
Shoes, to my feet. Coat hangers, back to that rack. Alarm clock, get on top of that desk.
It's as if I possess the Space spell of Telekinesis, but I've achieved the same effect by manipulating the gravity around each object. It's still one Change of Order at a time, but my perception and timing are through the roof. I'm able to concentrate on several entities at once and cast wildly varying spells in rapid succession, something that would have relieved a lot of the mental burden of executing that plan at the volcano.
I had to strain my Spiritual Attainment to its limits to cast that Chaotic Vortex against the Dark Swordmaster. Now, I'm afraid I could do it simply by snapping my fingers.
Level 6 Spiritual Attainment. I'm invincible.