Chapter 691: Chapter 338: Duel
In his eyes, Heliodor was completely being led by the nose by Valentine.
Who is Valentine?
The leader of the "Fungal Mycelium Society," the initiator of the "Wisdom Spore" plan, a man who can "entertain" a group of Level 5 Wizards with just a blueprint of a plan.
In eloquence and tact, Heliodor was utterly suppressed by him.
It was just that this "anomaly" appeared, disrupting Valentine’s "rhythm".
Actually, it can’t be said that Heliodor is "stupid," as many Wizards of the Deep Sea Faction are like this. They possess extraordinary wisdom and extensive knowledge in their fields of expertise, but living alone in their "own little world" for years inevitably leads to certain shortcomings in some areas.
Moreover, in the Deep Sea, Wizards who reach Level 5 basically lack nothing. Sometimes, deliberately competing with each other can also be considered a unique "game" for them in their long and boring lives.
After stepping down from the high tower, the "aura" around Ronan started peeling off layer by layer.
He had experienced a similar feeling once before.
Those people went from amazement to realization, and then curiosity, finally ending in indifference or regret, before turning all their attention to the more deserving "Deep Knowledge Crown".
His performance in the entry-level selection was no secret; he spent a total of more than three years in the tower, comprehending all the Ancient Spirit Texts within the Tower of Knowledge.
Though it was also an unbelievable achievement, compared to what many initially assumed—a mere eight days to memorize over 2,300 Ancient Spirit Texts—it seemed much more acceptable.
Besides, he had an equally "noteworthy" issue—his soul quality!
With three-star soul quality, being able to ascend to Level 4 was itself like a "miracle".
Heaven knows how many resources Heliodor, that guy, expended on him after "picking" him up to achieve this.
But although he successfully reached Dawn, Level 5 certainly wasn’t something to consider.
A Wizard destined to have no significant "future," no matter how "freakish" one aspect of his performance may be, is not worth much attention.
"Very ironic, isn’t it?"
Due to Alazan needing to impart the Spiritual Text for dream entry, Ronan did not sever his connection with Alazan; Alazan witnessed all of Ronan’s rise and fall.
"A faction that prides itself on knowledge, yet values the members’ achievements in knowledge least...
If I were the leader of this faction, you would already be wearing the crown, ending this farcical selection."
"Don’t use your archaic mindset to judge the current Wizards..."
Ronan shook his head, "This is not the era you lived in, even the resources and methods for enhancing soul quality could be found easily...their mindset is not wrong, just that they misjudged the person.
And besides...."
Ronan squinted his eyes towards a direction, whispering, "How do you know the Leader of the Deep Sea hasn’t cast a gaze of attention upon me?"
Ronan was looking at the pointed roof of the Crystal Palace, where the true senior figures of the Deep Sea Faction stood.
Since his exit from the Tower of Knowledge, the "gaze" of the head Grey Robe from the Crystal Spire hadn’t shifted away from him.
Besides this Great Elder, there was also a member of the Elder Council who "frequently" cast attention-laden glances at him.
Initially, Ronan found it strange but soon figured it out.
The latter is probably the one standing behind Misha.
"After tearing the facade with Misha, what truly needs consideration is the potential trouble this one could bring me...
Level 6 Wizard..."
Ronan’s eyes flickered as he glanced thoughtfully at the distant Deep Sea Elder in Grey Robe, whose face was indistinguishable.
A plan slowly formed in his mind.
It turned out that after Ronan exited the Tower of Knowledge, the communication he sent to Zorn produced good results.
Over on Misha’s side, it was all "cheerful," with Misha returning to his original confident and high-spirited state, even more so than before.
Ronan saw Misha and Zorn talking, then Misha looked up, scanning the field and finding his location.
Misha, looking entirely like a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy, yet displayed mature behavior.
He wore an approving smile, nodding at Ronan from afar.
Ronan "hastily" returned the gesture with a bow.
Visibly, Misha’s gaze towards him became more satisfied and appreciative.
Ronan couldn’t help but feel a bit ashamed, he wondered when he finally ripped off the "disguise," what reaction Misha, that "delicate flower" who had never experienced "worldly dangers," would have....
The appearance of the "Deep Knowledge Crown" propelled this otherwise "unremarkable" selection of the Son of the Deep Sea to an unprecedented peak fervor.
No one paid attention to the results of the first phase of the Knowledge Trial anymore; everyone looked up at the dazzling Crystal Crown on the Inverted Tower, anticipating who it would ultimately belong to.
As the few straggling gazes converged back, a strange spell fluctuation emerged, marking the official commencement of the second phase selection of the Son of the Deep Sea.
The Inverted Tower vanished into the void, the center of the circular Crystal Palace cleared space, then gradually revealed a crimson tower that seemed to be irrigated by lava, with countless flames flowing.
The Flame School’s Battle Tower...projection.
Ronan’s eyes flickered slightly, watching the crimson high tower tremble gently, "shaking" out variously colored Light Balls emitting different waves of Elemental Energy, floating in the air like multicolored bubbles.
At this moment, Ronan suddenly felt the Spirit Lake Ring on his finger heat up slightly, and he looked down to check.
.....
Inside the Crystal Palace room, Lady Mel was nowhere to be found. Heather sat alone on a gothic high-backed chair with a pointed top, talking to an old thrush with slightly bald feathers opposite her.
"Heather, this is against the rules..."
The old thrush spoke with a human voice, that of a young man, filled with a profound sense of helplessness.
Heather’s pretty face turned slightly serious as she earnestly told the thrush, "Lao’en, I’m saying it one last time... do it immediately, or don’t force me to reveal all your dirty deeds!"
The thrush showed an anthropomorphic expression of confliction. Half a breath later, it spoke reluctantly, "Alright.
It’s only you, Heather.
Besides you, no one else would make me take such risks in doing this..."
"Stop with the meaningless nonsense."
Heather urged impatiently, "Hurry up."
The old thrush opened its mouth and spit out a thin white worm, then its eyes rolled back as it fell straight, turning instantly into a dry, cold bird corpse.
Heather didn’t even glance at it, focusing instead on picking up the white worm spit out by the thrush, and rubbed it between her fingers. In no time, the white worm unraveled in layers, revealing it as a piece of paper rolled extremely thin.
Heather picked up the white paper, softly reciting the name on it: "Cosk. Du..."
Her beautiful eyes shimmered, as she lifted her scallion-like fingers, giving a gentle shake, conjuring an object resembling a crystal pendant out of thin air, and whispered to it a few words.
Moments later, Heather shook her head and flicked her fingers; the thrush’s corpse and the white paper before her quietly turned to ashes and were blown away without a trace.
....
"Cosk Du Lin..."
Ronan recited the message conveyed by the Spirit Lake Ring, turning to look at Heliodor, who had been watching him, "Do you know him, teacher?"
Heliodor frowned and shook his head, "With so many Deep Sea Wizards, I can’t possibly know them all."
"Then we’ll only find out who it is after we go inside.."
Ronan wasn’t bothered, as the name conveyed by the Spirit Lake Ring was of his first duel opponent.
Perhaps it was specially arranged to help regular "unacquainted with battle" Deep Sea Wizards against sudden nervousness and anxiety.
The second round of duel selection even went so far to inform everyone of their opponent’s name beforehand and provided a moderate amount of preparation time.
"Speaking of which, after all this time, I don’t even know which branch of spells you major in..."
Heliodor sighed and then began to take things out from his Space Ring he carried.
Bottles and cans appeared, nearly all of them potion spells.
".. This bottle is ’Stone statue ghost potion,’ which can significantly enhance the body’s resistance to energy elements within fifteen minutes of consumption.
’Elemental Water,’ which you are aware of, is slightly higher-level than the previous bottle you prepared, and can summon an Elemental Life-form equivalent to a Level 4 Wizard....
’Vomiting Potion,’ after use, make sure to immediately move away from the range of the potion’s vapors. It carries an extremely intense foul smell that can even directly affect the soul, ordinary means can’t defend against it. It’s unlikely that a Level 4 Wizard can still cast spells if hit..."
Ronan watched in a daze as Heliodor stuffed his arms with potions, rapidly explaining the function of each one.
"Teac..teacher.."
"That’s enough."
Heliodor introduced the last potion and then patted his shoulder encouragingly, "If your luck is bad and you come across a Level 5 Wizard, just concede immediately...
Go on, Damien, don’t let them look down on us."
Ronan felt at a loss whether to laugh or cry for a moment.
By this time, many wizards had already started flying towards the center duel arena.
Each person nearing the center flame tower projection, a Light Ball around the projection would immediately light up and "engulf" them.
Both designated battling wizards were swallowed by the Light Ball, the ball blinked once, and then disappeared into the void.
Ronan put away the bunch of potions Heliodor gave and slowly moved forward with the crowd.
Just thinking about how to find his destined Light Ball, he suddenly felt a nearby blue Light Ball flash rapidly.
Followed by a formless force dragging him towards it with great strength.
When Ronan came to his senses, he was already on a shimmering blue sea surface, suspended in the air, below which was a small island filled with coconut trees.
In front of him, a chubby fellow wearing round crystal glasses was staring intently at him.