The Competition Commences
The competition was to be held on the Walker Plains in the central region.
This place was close to the central city, so a few large-scaled guilds had branches nearby that could send out resources and personnel if anything unexpected came up.
The miraculous abilities of Magi ensured that it took but a few months to transform the heart of the Walker Plains into a vast field.
Before the competition started, a few Magi had arrived earlier to settle down and do business. Thus, a few fairs had sprung up on the outskirts. Many fairs merged together, forming a rudimentary Magus city.
If this competition could be pulled off without a hitch, given the war council’s plan to make it a regular affair, the place could really become a new Magus city, even surpassing the cities of the other four regions.
……
Waves of Magi surged in from all over the place and filled the area.
Seeing such a bustling scene, Baelin took a deep breath and pulled off his cloak, and then hastened as he rushed through a street.
He walked quickly, and after seven or eight turns, he arrived in front of a residence and knocked.
*Ka-cha!* The door moved slightly to form a narrow slit, and a pair of guarded eyes appeared. After realising it was Baelin, the eyes disappeared into the darkness and then opened the door.
Baelin turned sideways and squeezed in, not letting the door open fully.
It was a small room inside. The oil lamp produced a dim, flickering yellow light, while Aaron, Vinas and Memphis were all waiting quietly.
Memphis was in the worst state. Not only were there many black bandages around him such that he was similar to a mummy, his ears had even been pierced through with a large nail, revealing a large hole.
“Hey, when can I free myself from this weird appearance?”
Memphis raised his hands with bandages wrapped around them, looking like a mummy as he protested.
As a former member of the nobility, he could not stand being low-profile.
Baelin furrowed his brows as he explained. “Wait a while longer. This place is being monitored using bloodline aura detection spell formations. Even if you’re siding with the humans currently, we can’t let the fact that you’re a dark elf be revealed!”
Vinas shot Memphis a glance, “Don’t bother with him! He’s just been restrained and wants to go out to breathe some fresh air. My lord, how’s the situation outside?”
Aaron gestured to show that he was listening.
“There are far too many Magi gathered here. I couldn’t find Longbottom and the others, so it’s very likely that he’s modified his appearance or is in hiding.”
Baelin smiled wryly, “Looks like we can only catch them during the competition!”
“Competition? Do you mean you’re planning to enter the genius Magi competition?” Aaron got the point quickly.
“Yes, that’s right. I’m only thirty years old, and Bio Boosters are considered a branch of ancient Magi. In that case, I meet the qualifications to enter!” Baelin laughed.
“Only in the competition will I have the chance to meet Longbottom and persuade him to turn back!” Baelin mumbled.
Vinas and Aaron, who knew that this child of destiny’s shortcoming of idealism was making itself known again, could only sigh.
Honestly speaking, this child of destiny was basically perfect, but his flaw was in his kindness.
In Twilight Zone, kindness was the one thing that one could not have. Sooner or later, Baelin would pay the price for this.
Aaron and Vinas exchanged a glance, as if having made some decision.
Baelin was totally oblivious to this, still sighing for Longbottom.
In his memories, Longbottom had always been a good child. What had happened?
……
At the registration point, a deathly pale Magus in green robes walked out.
“Hehe, Leylin, Baelin, I’m here!”
Longbottom’s appearance had undergone a huge change. His spiritual force had been suppressed till it was that of a semi-converted Magus.
On the Walker Plains, this level of strength was considered mediocre at best and not eye-catching. It was unknown what methods he had used to get past the detection spells at the registration point.
The youth looked to the centre of the competition area. Hatred, elation, and an emotional struggle all flashed by his expression, before they disappeared.
He quickly took his coat and used his hood to conceal his face, disappearing into the crowd.
Leylin could somewhat sense the arrival of these people, but he could not be bothered with them currently. He was in his personal laboratory, an empty test tube beside him.
Threads of black liquid were still wriggling at the mouth of the tube, producing slight hissing sounds.
The Giant Serpent’s Breath potion. It was the fruit of his labour, formed from ten years of study, and with the help of Fendix’s hearts of Earthen Fiends, he was finally able to make it. Leylin turned green after he ingested it, his aura dark and unstable. This situation continued for an entire night before he recovered.
Leylin glanced at his condition.
[Leylin Farlier. Rank 2 Warlock, Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent. Strength: 22.5, Agility: 16.3, Vitality: 31.1, Spiritual force: 145.5, Magic power: 145 (Magic power is in synchronisation with spiritual force).]
“A standard Giant Serpent’s Breath potion can increase my spiritual force by ten points, and the other attributes also increase as well. Not bad! Based on this rate, after taking five standard Giant Serpent-Breath potions, I’ll meet the spiritual force requirements!”
Leylin looked at the numbers, his eyes sparkling.
Giant Serpent’s Breath potion was the culmination of his hard work in these ten years. With the ancient rank 2 Magi of Twilight Zone as the foundation, he was able to create a spiritual force potion suitable for Warlocks.
With the aid of this potion, he was confident that the estimated 200 years given by the A.I Chip could be shortened.
“The requirements to become a rank 3 Magus is to raise spiritual force till the 200 mark, and then completely solidify it!”
These were the two requirements for Magi to advance, and neither could be overlooked. Warlocks also had specific requirements pertaining to their bloodline.
Leylin laughed, raising his hand. A thread of bright silver spiritual force shot out from between his eyebrows. Like a mischievous little snake, it wriggled livelily between his fingers.
Though it was only as fine as a strand of hair, this thread held within an immense energy.
The solidified spiritual force of a rank 2 Magus was something lower ranked Magi were unable to comprehend.
All spiritual forces that had not reached this level would be smashed through in a direct clash.
Hence, rank 2 Magi were usually capable of crushing lower-ranked opponents. This was also one of the reasons why rank 2 Magi could lead.
“Amongst rank 2 Magi, to appraise the extent of solidification of spiritual force, one needs to look at how deep the silver colour is.”
Leylin muttered. After gathering numerous high-grade meditation techniques and with the simulations by the A.I. Chip, he was extremely clear on what he was supposed to do to advance.
“At the early stage of solidification, spiritual force is a light silver. At the middle stage, it will become more concentrated and become silvery-white! At the peak stage of the solidified spiritual force, it will be a bright silver!”
After reference to countless other meditation techniques, Leylin had broadened his perspectives and progressed at a rapid pace in his own.
He smiled lightly as he peered at the light silver spiritual force in his hands, and produced a thought.
This bright silver spiritual force danced in the air, attracting energy particles of various elements and formed spell models of various shapes, and then disappeared back between Leylin’s brows
“I’ve completed all my homework on the solidification of spiritual force, and my manipulation of it has reached the peak.”
Leylin evaluated his own strength. Through ten years of settling down and working towards rank 3, he had accumulated a lot. He had even touched the boundary of rank 3, and even Logan, the Protector of the East, was no longer in his sights.
“With my current strength, I’m probably the furthest ahead amongst rank 2 Magi. With the bonus from my bloodline, I’m basically matchless within rank 2!”
With the help of the A.I. Chip, Leylin was very confident in his strength.
“But there’s still ways to go before I can handle rank 3 Magi!”
At this point, the ones capable of causing Leylin fear were only Anya, the dark elven Empress, the Guardian of the Realm, and the remaining few rank 3 Magi.
“No matter what it is, this competition is tied to my own advancement, as well as my choices and conjectures about destiny. It must proceed smoothly, even if a rank 3 Magus were to attempt to stop it !”
Leylin made up his mind, eyes sparkling.
……
*Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Multi-coloured fireworks exploded into the air, various spell lights and tassels forming gorgeous images in the sky.
The genius Magi competition held in the central region had begun magnificently.
The competition area was similar to the ancient Roman colosseum.
With support from magic, this construction was much larger than the ancient roman one. It was big enough to hold tens of thousands of Magi.
At the heart of the colosseum, tens of individual arenas had been created. The young Magi who were participating would first begin with the elimination rounds.
“How boring.” Leylin and the eight other rank 2 Magi sat on the platform which had the best seats, doing their jobs as judges.
Though Leylin was seated here, he had long since gotten annoyed by the host’s speech. The only reason why he was still sitting here was because he was forcing himself to do so.
As for the other few rank 2 judges, they looked just as bored.
The battles at the beginning were usually not very intense. The Magi were lowly-ranked, and most were level 3 acolytes. With a competition of this level, it was more than enough for peak rank 1 Magi to watch over them.
Hence, Leylin and the others were bored to death.