novelnext Chapter 788 - 736: Illusion Tower (Part 2)
Chapter 788 - 736: Illusion Tower (Part 2)
"However," Raymond shifted his tone, "after some dispute above, the plan was rejected."
Dispute.
Duke chewed over the word in his mind.
A dispute worthy of the term used by a Demigod Mage probably wasn’t just a simple argument.
"There are many reasons for the rejection." Raymond’s tone was as calm as if he were talking about the weather. "Some feel that this group of young people represents the future of the Wizard Plane and shouldn’t bear such high risks so early. Others believe there should be a preliminary selection to weed out those who lack basic combat abilities before conducting high-intensity practical assessments. And some feel—"
He paused.
"Some have backgrounds that run deep; if anything were to happen to them, it would be problematic to explain."
His words were so blunt that everyone present was momentarily taken aback.
Then, some awkwardly looked away, some lowered their heads, and some lightly coughed.
Duke’s face remained expressionless.
Raymond continued, "Thus, the final plan has changed."
"The objective of the assessment in two days is singular: to filter out those who do not possess basic combat abilities."
"Basic combat abilities?" someone couldn’t help but ask.
Raymond glanced at that person.
"Basic combat abilities are those where one’s real combat power matches their level. The pass criteria for this assessment are designed based on the normal ability of Level 1 Crystalized Mages."
"If you can’t even pass this assessment, there’s no need for you to stay here any longer."
According to the rules, those who fail the assessment will be directly eliminated and must leave.
At the dinner, Raymond only revealed this much information and said nothing about the content of the assessment.
...
Two days later, in the morning.
After meditating and adjusting his state, Duke opened the window. The glow of Sky City was transitioning from the nighttime silver-blue to morning pearl white, scattering across the dew on the meadow, shimmering with tiny lights.
The distant snow mountain outlines were clear, the air was as crisp as if it could freeze one’s breath.
He stood at the window, took a deep breath, then turned to inspect the items within his Space Ring.
Once finished, he donned a dark robe that was easy to move in and stepped out.
As he passed through the Light Gate barrier and stepped onto the corridor bridge, Duke noticed that today’s crowd was exceptionally dense.
Countless young wizards flowed in from all directions, converging into streams heading toward the Seventh District Teleportation Plaza.
Some wore heavy expressions without a word. Some whispered, exchanging bits of information sourced from who-knows-where.
Some moved hastily, eager to rush towards the destination in a single stride. Some intentionally walked leisurely, as if savoring their last bit of free time.
Duke walked neither fast nor slow, blending into the crowd like an inconspicuous shadow.
The Teleportation Plaza came into view.
It was a vast circular plaza, with a diameter of nearly five hundred meters.
The ground was paved with black stone, etched with densely packed teleportation runes, slowly circulating, emitting a faint blue glow.
At the center of the plaza stood a massive thirty-meter-tall Teleportation Gate, its frame cast from some silver-white metal, engraved with runes so complex they were dizzying, and at its center was a flowing, bottomless blue light curtain.
The area around the plaza was already filled with people.
Duke gave a cursory glance, numbering at least five hundred.
Young talents from different continents, various forces, and diverse bloodlines had gathered here, waiting for the same thing.
The crowd naturally divided into different areas according to their factions.
Those from the Golden Continent took the best spot on the plaza’s eastern side.
The Blood Rose, Star Tower, and a few organizations Duke couldn’t name comprised over a hundred people.
They gathered together, voices loud, laughter even louder, as if it wasn’t a pre-assessment waiting period but a social gathering.
The people from the East Coast were stationed on the southern side, and the Seville Empire students maintained their usual silent demeanor, though their numbers were also significant.
Around them were smaller groups from other East Coast organizations, though their presence was similarly strong.
Local students from the Central Islands were scattered across the plaza, lacking a fixed gathering area. They were the most numerous and the most dispersed, with some in small groups and others standing alone.
West Coast individuals stood in the most remote corner, Vera, Leon, Edmond, Lis, along with twenty or so familiar and unfamiliar faces, totaling less than thirty.
They stood quietly, in stark contrast to the bustling crowd around them.
Duke walked over and found a spot at the edge of the group to stand.
Time ticked away.
Seven fifty-five.
The magic light curtain above the plaza suddenly lit up.
Lines of golden text emerged, so clear that everyone could see:
"The First Joint Central Islands Assessment"
"Duration: One month"
"Location: Illusion Tower"
"Rules are as follows:"
The entire area instantly quieted.
The text on the light curtain continued to appear:
"1. This assessment is an illusion trial. Each participant will independently enter the Illusion Tower, which consists of thirty levels. Each level is a separate illusion, with random content and increasing difficulty with each level."
"2. Assessment objective: Pass at least ten illusion levels within one month to qualify. Those failing to pass ten levels will be directly eliminated."
"3. Assessment opportunity: Each participant has only one chance. Upon entering the Illusion Tower, one can choose to exit at any time. Exiting is considered the end of the assessment, with the number of levels passed as the final result."
"4. Assessment timing: Participants can choose to enter at any time within the month. Once entered, the timer begins."
"5. Ranking mechanism: Those with the same number of passed levels are ranked by total completion time. The shorter the time, the higher the rank."
"6. Extra rewards: The top hundred rankers will receive extra rewards, which include but are not limited to high-level Witchcraft Artifacts, rare materials, contribution points. Specific reward plans will be announced upon the completion of the assessment."
"7. Special note: The illusion content each participant encounters is unique, but difficulty remains consistent within the same level."
The text on the light curtain lingered for ten seconds before slowly fading away.
The plaza erupted into a cacophony of discussion.
"Illusion Tower? What’s that place?"
"Everyone encounters different content each level? How do we compare?"
"Choosing a time to enter within a month; one could wait for others to test the path."
"Not necessarily; the rules state everyone’s content differs each time, just the difficulty is the same."
The text on the light curtain lingered for ten seconds before slowly fading away.
Replacing it was a massive leaderboard.
The board was densely filled with over five hundred positions, listed from top to bottom.
At that moment, all positions were empty, with only the top marked in large gold letters:
"Illusion Tower Real-time Rankings"
The plaza crowd continued to discuss.
"Heh, the tenth level is the qualifying line... it shouldn’t be hard?"
"If it’s not so hard, why don’t you go in now?"
"..."
The crowd split into two groups, one eager to rush into the Teleportation Gate; the other, more cautious, remained observing, waiting to see the outcomes of the first batch.
Duke belonged to the latter.
He stood at the edge of the West Coast crowd, his gaze fixed on the blank positions of the leaderboard, his face expressionless.
Lis came over at some point.
She stood three steps away from Duke and asked cautiously, "Duke, sir... when do you plan to go in?"
Duke did not look at her.
"Just waiting a bit more."
Lis shrank her shoulders and whispered, "Then I’ll wait too... after all, there’s a whole month..."
The eastern side of the plaza, among the Golden Continent crowd, suddenly went quiet for a moment.
Then, the crowd automatically parted, making way.
Audric emerged from the crowd.
He still wore that dark red robe, the hem gently fluttering with his steps, the golden rose emblem on his chest shining brightly in the sunlight.
His golden hair casually draped over his shoulders, eyes of pale gold sweeping through the crowd, the corners of his mouth holding a faint smile.