Free Web NovelChapter 16: Chapter 16: Hit the Jackpot
An unexpected stream of information suddenly flooded into Mo Ning’s mind.
[Your outstanding performance in the first group assessment has earned the Assessor’s praise. You will receive an additional reward.]
Mo Ning’s pupils contracted slightly.
The first thing that came to mind was the green, somewhat arrogant face of Goblin Fodder.
Just a moment ago, Goblin Fodder had been lukewarm toward him at best, even showing a hint of repulsion. How had the evaluation suddenly turned into "high praise"?
’Is this goblin schizophrenic or something?’
[Additional Reward 1: You will receive the Magic Potion "Calming Ointment." This ointment has the Effect of rapidly restoring Spiritual Power. The reward will be delivered directly to your residence shortly. Please be ready to receive it.]
Mo Ning only needed a single glance before a look of immense surprise flashed in his eyes.
A Magic Potion!
It was actually a Magic Potion!
He remembered clearly that on [Dawa’s Grocery List], a bottle of [Calming Ointment] was priced as high as 68 Black Tower Points.
For a newcomer, this was by no means a small sum.
Even Sitt, serial number 001, who held a "huge sum" of 150 points, would never easily trade a third of his wealth for such a small jar.
So this was definitely like hitting the jackpot.
[Dawa’s Grocery List] had a more detailed description of this Magic Potion’s Effect:
[To use, simply take a soybean-sized amount and apply it to the temples and between the eyebrows. The medicinal power will penetrate the skin and directly affect the spirit.]
[This Magic Potion can accelerate Spiritual Power recovery. Applying some when one’s spirit is exhausted can increase the recovery speed by more than twenty percent.]
[This Magic Potion can slightly stimulate the body’s vitality, thereby promoting its self-healing capabilities, and thus possesses a certain healing Effect.]
[When applied during Meditation, the potion’s medicinal effects will Gently nourish the spirit, making the Meditation’s Effect better.]
It was for this very reason that almost all Apprentices would buy [Calming Ointment]; the only difference was how much they bought.
Besides his overwhelming joy, Mo Ning also had his doubts.
Additionally, according to the rumors circulating in Lakefront Manor, the group assessments of the past few months only had Black Tower Points as rewards.
Only after a while, when the newcomers developed more needs, would the rewards become more diverse.
This was only the first group assessment, so how had he received a Magic Potion like [Calming Ointment]?
’Too strange!’
But this thought only lasted for a moment.
Another message followed, dousing him like a bucket of ice water poured over his head:
[Additional Reward 2: You will receive advance information about the second group assessment. The assessment will begin in eight days. The theme of this assessment is wilderness survival. It involves a certain degree of danger, so please be sure to prepare thoroughly.]
The joy in Mo Ning’s eyes froze.
The academy’s purpose in organizing the assessment was clearly to observe the newcomers’ ability to adapt when facing danger.
But "wilderness survival" in the Wizard World was nothing like camping in his previous life.
The wilds of this world were inevitably filled with all sorts of dangerous creatures.
The prompt explicitly stated that it "involves a certain degree of danger," and Mo Ning was 100% certain—there would definitely be monster attacks.
’Otherwise, what would be the point of the assessment?’
According to rumors in Lakefront Manor, injuries and deaths were common in the assessments for past newcomers.
What was even more terrifying was that the academy wouldn’t provide any rescue, even if someone was injured or killed.
In other words—the academy didn’t care about deaths.
One could even say the academy was eager to use this method to weed out newcomers with poor adaptability.
The academy doesn’t raise trash!!
He subconsciously assessed himself—he had the [Eye of Truth] and had accumulated a fair amount of knowledge, but most of that knowledge was about Secret Divination and Divination, Spirit Seals, and the principles of Witchcraft.
There was simply no time to convert it into combat strength.
It wasn’t just him; most of the newcomers were in the same boat.
Only a small number of newcomers had mastered Martial Arts before entering the academy, giving them a certain advantage in wilderness survival.
Mo Ning couldn’t help but curse inwardly:
"Throwing a bunch of clueless newcomers into the dangerous wilderness for an assessment... The academy is full of bastards."
He took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil of his emotions.
’Fortunately, I’ve received the information in advance, so there’s still time to prepare.’
Mo Ning involuntarily recalled the scene from that morning—newcomers forming cliques in the small square of the dormitory area, gathering in small groups, bustling with activity.
Looking at it now, that was the right thing to do.
When facing dangerous wilderness survival, joining a small group for mutual support would undoubtedly increase one’s safety significantly.
But in his situation, with his Spiritual Talent being at the very bottom, it would probably be difficult to find strong teammates.
Even if he managed to join a small group, he might be treated as cannon fodder—pushed out to block a blow at a critical moment, the first to be abandoned in times of danger.
Mo Ning let out a silent sigh. ’I can only rely on myself.’
At this very moment, as the assessment rewards were distributed, the commotion in the cafeteria grew louder and louder.
Whispers, like a subtle electric current, began to circulate and converge rapidly among the newcomers.
"I heard Vino got 28 Black Tower Points!"
"Tsk, Sitt only got 25 Black Tower Points."
"Kerry, number 004, got 26 Black Tower Points, 1 more than Sitt!"
"The newcomers who were scared off by the goblin, no matter how far they ran, got zero Black Tower Points. Over ninety percent of the newcomers didn’t get any points. The assessment was too hard."
"Damn goblin. When I become an Apprentice, I’ll definitely teach that lowly goblin a harsh lesson."
Mo Ning listened for a while and realized something—besides himself, it seemed no other newcomer had received an additional reward.
Vino, the recognized "number one," had only received 28 Black Tower Points, 2 fewer than him.
It was conceivable, then, that she was unlikely to have received an additional reward.
Soon, Sitt pushed back his chair and stood up. With a stiff expression, he left the cafeteria with the Princess and the Count’s daughter.
His departure was like a silent signal to disperse.
The newcomers exchanged glances and left the shimmering underwater cafeteria in twos and threes.
The "weak" ones like Mo Ning naturally chose to lag behind and leave later.
This was an unspoken understanding among the weak.
Since he had nothing better to do anyway, he began to discreetly observe the others.
Besides analyzing Witchcraft, the [Eye of Truth] also had many practical little functions.
Observation was one of them.
A dozen or so illusory strands of light appeared, instantly sketching the outline of a simple pupil.
Mo Ning called it—the [Insightful Secret Eye].
He pretended to glance casually at the cafeteria entrance.
The [Insightful Secret Eye] flickered and, crossing a distance of over twenty meters, appeared above the cafeteria entrance.
Every newcomer who left fell under its surveillance.
Without turning his head, Mo Ning could observe each newcomer’s face, so clearly that he could even see their pores.
However, the [Insightful Secret Eye] had its limits. It had to be in the same space as him, and the distance between them could not exceed 200 meters.
The most interesting part was that the [Insightful Secret Eye] also possessed a learning function similar to the "large-scale AI models" of his previous life.
With enough data, it could learn and analyze on its own, and then, through numerous facial details, discern a target’s hidden emotions.
In other words—a character analysis model.
Although it was only an auxiliary function, Mo Ning felt that if used in the right way, it could still produce extraordinary results.
Last time, with the Second Level Apprentice Lai Te, he had seen that the guy harbored malicious intent, wanting to lure the newcomers into the Secluded Forest.
「One minute later.」
As a newcomer with an aquiline nose quickly left the cafeteria, Mo Ning shifted his posture slightly, a subtle change coming over his expression.
The [Insightful Secret Eye] analyzed the minute expressions on the person’s face and came to a strange conclusion:
[Serial Number 186, Kanda. Current psychological state: Excitement, nervousness, fear.]
’Excitement’ was understandable.
Kanda might have performed well in the assessment and received an above-average reward.
But ’nervousness’ and ’fear’ made no sense.
’What was he nervous about?’
’And what was he afraid of?’
Using the [Insightful Secret Eye]’s playback function, Mo Ning repeatedly observed the person’s face, firmly committing the name "Kanda" to memory.
