Hunting

Belrod, the wizard apprentice ranked ninth among the top ten experts of this class at Realm of Darkness Wizard Academy.

Although Belrod had always appeared modest and wise in the eyes of others, no one knew of the almost twisted arrogance in his heart.

Because he believed that as long as he was given enough time, he could surpass any wizard apprentice, because that was the kind of person he had always been!

From an unknown newcomer whom no one noticed, step by step, Belrod had surpassed the friends around him, surpassed those so-called experts, and even, in the end, become a person of the hour on the academy's top ten experts ranking.

All of this had forged the capital for Belrod's arrogance. Beneath those seemingly humble, wise eyes was a pride that looked down on everything.

Even those so-called top ten experts of Realm of Darkness Wizard Academy ranked ahead of him—if not for having too little time, he would certainly be able to surpass them as well. He believed that day would definitely come.

"Yes! That's it! This is exactly the kind of opportunity!"

When Realm of Darkness Wizard Academy announced the trial rules, amid the trembling fear of many wizard apprentices, Belrod was so excited inside that he was practically trembling, even forcing himself to hold back the urge to laugh out loud.

Because of this, he forcibly restrained himself, lowering his head and trembling nonstop. In the eyes of some people, Belrod seemed to be afraid.

Usually, to earn a few dozen magic stones, one had to put in a full month of all-out effort. But in this trial, as long as he killed one wizard apprentice, he could earn five hundred magic stones!

This kind of trial should simply be a beautiful paradise!

"That's right. I only need to kill ten wizard apprentices who are like idiots, and I can get five thousand magic stones. If I can kill twenty, that's ten thousand! If I want even more..."

Belrod was so excited that both his eyes turned bloodred. As long as this trial was over, the so-called top ten experts would be nothing more than passing clouds.

"My goal is only the Holy Tower!"

Belrod said coldly to himself.

Along the way through the trial mystic realm, Belrod almost sank into madness.

"Haha, the fourth one. Two thousand magic stones now. This is simply too easy. Two thousand magic stones have come into my hands so easily. As long as I return to the academy, two thousand magic stones will be enough for me to buy those things I once kept planning for."

Belrod sneered. "Once I have those things, hmph, hmph, the so-called top ten experts will be nothing more than bugs beneath my feet, hahaha... No, only two thousand magic stones is still far from enough. I only need to kill one more, and that's five hundred magic stones. I need even more magic stones!"

Belrod viciously pulled his blood-colored claws out of the chest of the wizard apprentice beneath him, his expression somewhat crazed as he rushed into the distance to hunt those weak prey.

Half an hourglass later.

Belrod said bitterly, "Damned mark. The more points I get, the stronger the signal fluctuations this mark gives off. Once those timid-as-mice fellows sense the powerful fluctuations, Green runs away from a great distance ahead of time. Damn it!"

Belrod cursed.

Suddenly, Belrod's footsteps stopped, as if he had faintly sensed something.

"This is... the smell of blood and the fluctuations of a mark! Yes, this is the mark's sensing! Haha, it's nearby. Poor little kitty, I've caught you!"

Belrod laughed wildly. Not only had his palms turned into a pair of ferocious claws, but his body was also covered in purple-black scales, faintly coated with a trace of black liquid that seemed highly toxic. His entire body was as lithe and powerful as a wild leopard.

"Woo-haha, little kitty, I'm coming..."

Belrod, who had leaped out from the woods, suddenly stopped speaking in an eerie way. He stared blankly at the shocking scene before him, and no sound could come from his throat anymore.

The scene before his eyes was too shocking!

It even made Belrod, who had fallen into madness, clear-headed in an instant!

Across a vast area, large swaths of trees and grass had been destroyed by sorcery. Gouges and craters were everywhere, the thick smell of blood flowed and spread in all directions, and some charred severed limbs were scattered carelessly about, as if their bodies had been blown apart by some powerful explosive force.

Such a terrifying scene could absolutely only have been caused by a fierce battle between more than twenty wizard apprentices!

And yet at this moment, on the entire field, there was only one person standing with his back to him, panting, seemingly having consumed too much magic power.

Gulp...

Belrod could not help swallowing a mouthful of saliva. A drop of cold sweat slid down his forehead, but he did not notice it at all.

Sensing through the mark on his forehead, Belrod discovered that a dazzling, enormous ball of light was wantonly releasing radiance in all directions up ahead, like the blazing sun in the sky, making it impossible to look at directly, even giving him the feeling that if he looked at it a few more times, both his eyes would go blind.

Compared to the other party, the mark on his own forehead was pitiful, like the glow of a firefly, only barely maintaining its sense of existence beneath the sunlight.

"This... just how many wizard apprentices would he have to kill for the mark to become this terrifying!"

Belrod sucked in a breath of cold air, and in that instant, his consciousness became incomparably clear.

At this moment, Belrod completely forgot the purpose he had come here for. Right now, he only wanted to leave this hell-like place, because the person before him was simply not someone he could deal with!

A person like this had already completely surpassed the scope of the so-called top ten experts of the newcomer ranking!

No, this was not a person. This was a monster!

Suddenly, the figure who had his back to Belrod and was panting slowly turned around, and a deathly pale mask appeared in Belrod's field of vision.

His pupils shrank, and Belrod shot backward without the slightest hesitation. At this moment, he no longer had any thought of accumulating marks.

And this person who made Belrod feel fear was none other than Green.

As it happened, when Green had first slaughtered his way along, until he had cruelly killed the sixth trial wizard apprentice, the mark on his forehead had already begun to emit quite astonishing fluctuations.

Because the sixth wizard apprentice killed by Green was a strong one, and already possessed four people's points himself.

In this way, Green had essentially accumulated the mark fluctuations of ten wizard apprentices on his body. Immediately, the mark fluctuations on Green's body were like a flame in the darkness within the trial grounds. Wherever he went, the other wizard apprentices would avoid him extremely early, making it so Green had no way to continue hunting at all.

After that, aside from one very strong wizard apprentice who tested Green slightly before fleeing, Green did not encounter anyone at all. Green was even planning to give up on this method of obtaining magic stones and wait where he was for the mystic realm to open.

However, just after Green gave up hunting, four wizard apprentices, all of them giving off no weak mark fluctuations, actually joined hands and came looking for him. They seemed to be a small group from some academy who had happened to be teleported together and wanted to work together to kill Green and seize the marks on his body.

The weakest mark fluctuations among these four people had three, and the strongest person had actually reached eight!

And so, a great battle erupted.

Relying on the Pale Mask's almost absurdly powerful defensive barrier, Green held a mid-grade magic stone to replenish his magic while repeatedly casting Firebird Sorcery. Under Green's powerful Firebird Sorcery attacks, one after another, the four wizard apprentices turned into flames in despair, their marks absorbed by Green in succession.

And the instant Green absorbed the final wizard apprentice's mark, bringing the number on him to thirty-three, the fluctuation of Green's own marks became almost like the sun in the sky. With Green at the center, powerful mark fluctuations within a hundred-meter diameter burst outward in a ring of invisible ripples.

At that moment, every wizard apprentice within a hundred meters of Green felt a terrifying mark fluctuation like the blazing sun burning in the sky.

That round of mark fluctuations seemed to be warning everyone that an irresistible, powerful wizard apprentice had been born here!

And it was also in that very instant that Green sensed a figure appear behind him.

"Another greedy one? Five points of mark fluctuation, hmph!"

Beneath the mask, Green's eyes looked at the other party coldly as he waited for them to approach. At the same time, his hand frantically absorbed a mid-grade magic stone, replenishing his magic.

However, to Green's disappointment, this person seemed to be frightened by him and actually turned without the slightest hesitation, fleeing at once.

"Mm? Ran... You think you can come when you want and leave when you want? If it's two thousand five hundred magic stones, it's worth chasing a little."

Thinking this, after a ripple of magic passed through the magic staff in Green's hand, a huge wind-element bat appeared in the air ahead, constantly flapping its wings.

Green did not hesitate. After a two-step run-up, he leapt lightly and landed on the bat's back, chasing after the fleeing figure.

Green's mark fluctuations were released without restraint, like the sun in the sky. All the wizard apprentices who sensed Green's mark fluctuations drew away one after another, not daring to come close at all.

This kind of mark fluctuation seemed to gradually withdraw back into his body only when Green was at full magic and had no magic fluctuations on him, releasing within a relatively narrow range.

The wind-element bat gradually closed in on the figure fleeing across the ground. On the bat, Green gave a cold smile. A fireball slowly appeared at his fingertip, then turned into a firebird and flew nimbly toward the figure.

Sensing the somewhat exaggerated energy fluctuations behind him, Belrod cried out in alarm, "No!"

Throwing caution to the wind, Belrod tossed out a precious consumable life-saving item.

A blurry mirror appeared behind Belrod, seeming to possess some special protective ability. Green's firebird slammed into the mirror's surface, and with a pfft, waves of fire scattered in all directions, the raging flames even twisting the air.

However, this mirror completely blocked Green's attack, though it too became faint and flickering as a result, almost about to turn transparent and vanish.

"It blocked it? In that case, this is a bit troublesome."

Green frowned.

In the previous series of battles, Green had consumed a large amount of magic. Although he had replenished some by absorbing magic stones, he could no longer maintain continuous combat.

After hesitating for a moment, considering that the secret realm was about to open afterward, Green sighed.

"Forget it. I'll spare your life."

Thinking this, Green urged the bat to land on the ground and began wholeheartedly absorbing the magic stone in his hand.

In the previous battle, Green had obtained two small but fairly practical enchanted wizard tools, which could be considered a little extra gain.

One was a ring, normally able to store roughly 50 to 60 points of magic and instantly replenish it when needed.

The other was a necklace, able to release a repulsive fire ring with decent defensive power, capable of reflecting about half the energy of attacks below 30 degrees, and somewhat weakening attacks below 40 degrees.

But Green already had the Spring of Joy Necklace, and besides, its defensive function somewhat overlapped with the Pale Mask's defensive barrier, so for the time being it was of no use at all.

When the fleeing Belrod saw Green give up the pursuit, his trembling heart finally loosened, and he nearly collapsed as he said, "What wizard academy did this monster crawl out of? I actually ran into him on the first day. Good thing I spent the sky-high price of five hundred magic stones earlier to buy a Void Realm for saving my life. Hmph! I'll put hunting aside for now. It's better to find the other members of my squad as quickly as possible."

At the mention of the Void Realm, Belrod's heart ached again, but he dared even less to look back as he fled into the distance.

The farther from that monster, the better!