Free Web NovelChapter 29: Chapter 29: Demon-Seeking Net
Inside the Mysterious Secret Hall of the Quiet Forest.
At Mo Ning’s command, the Demon-Seeking Net lightly swept toward the edge of the hall, beginning to glide slowly along the Secluded Forest.
His logic was simple: the Secret Gate was most likely hidden somewhere along the edge. Searching along the Secluded Forest offered the highest probability of success.
Around him, some of the more impatient newcomers could no longer hold back and began wandering around the hall.
But everyone was extremely cautious, not daring to carelessly touch any of the items in the hall—the various exquisite stone carvings, the seemingly ordinary candlesticks, and so on.
The tragedy of "Dead Ghost" Gavin was the best cautionary tale.
Two figures in the crowd were particularly eye-catching.
The newcomer with serial number 001, Sitt, and one of his teammates, Princess Phoebe from the Land Kingdom, drew a great deal of attention.
Sitt walked slowly toward the Secluded Forest at the edge of the hall. He took each step with extreme slowness, as if the ground beneath his feet wasn’t solid flagstone but an abyss on the verge of collapse.
The most astonishing thing was his eyes—his originally light-green pupils now glowed with a strange, dark red light, like two embers that had just been extinguished but still retained their warmth.
Beads of sweat dotted his forehead, and his breathing was slightly ragged.
Walking seemed to be an extremely strenuous task for him.
Following closely behind him was Princess Phoebe from the Land Kingdom.
The Princess was holding an exquisitely crafted Blue Crystal Pendant in both hands, which was emitting a faint azure glow.
She followed Sitt’s every step, her gaze shifting back and forth between him and the pendant, her delicate face filled with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation.
It wasn’t hard to guess that the pendant was some kind of Low Level Witchcraft Item with a detection function.
Mo Ning’s gaze swept over Princess Phoebe’s Blue Crystal Pendant, then shifted to Sitt’s sweat-dampened profile, pausing for a moment.
There had long been rumors among the newcomers: Sitt possessed some kind of special bloodline, which was why he held the top spot with serial number 001.
Now, it seemed the rumors were being confirmed.
’A thought suddenly surfaced in Mo Ning’s mind. ’Second Level Apprentice Lai Te deliberately released the information about a "fortuitous encounter in the Secluded Forest." He’s probably after Sitt’s special bloodline.’
The thought was absurd, but it wasn’t entirely without merit.
He had read through too many notes, journals, and secret records in the Royal Library of the Holy Spear Kingdom.
Those pages documented numerous tragedies related to "bloodlines"—newcomers or Apprentices with special bloodlines were targeted by malicious Wizards, and in the end, their bloodlines were forcibly extracted from their living bodies.
And Sitt, who happened to have a special bloodline and the ability to explore the Secluded Forest, had a high probability of being set up by Lai Te.
Mo Ning quietly clicked his tongue, gaining an even deeper understanding of the dangers within the academy.
The human heart was more unfathomable than Witchcraft, and desire was harder to guard against than a curse.
’Lay low!’
Mo Ning repeated those two words in his mind.
「A few seconds later.」
The Demon-Seeking Net suddenly changed.
The intricate Magic Sensing Structure at the center of the glowing net began to flicker with specks of light.
At first, there were only a few faint motes, like the first stars to appear in the night sky. Then, they grew more numerous and brighter, converging into a small, flowing halo of light.
Mo Ning’s heart leaped with joy.
’I think I’ve found it!’
However, before the joy could fully spread, the corner of his eye caught another movement.
Sitt had quickened his pace, and more sweat beaded on his forehead.
A dazzlingly beautiful smile bloomed on Princess Phoebe’s delicate face as well.
The direction they were walking in was pointed straight at the Demon-Seeking Net’s location.
Evidently, the two of them had also discovered the anomaly.
Mo Ning’s gaze lingered on the pair for a moment, swept past the other newcomers still wandering aimlessly, and finally returned to the spot where the yet-to-be-revealed Secret Gate was located.
Finally, he shook his head slightly. ’Forget it! I’ll let Sitt be the one to stand in the spotlight. I don’t want a disgusting guy like Lai Te to target me.’
As the thought settled, he started walking in the opposite direction—toward the cafeteria.
The girl with the vermilion mole immediately noticed Mo Ning’s movement. She started to lift her foot, but in the end, her boot only shifted a small step before settling back down.
She decided to stay and watch the show, as well as find out the results of the first random assessment.
The Insightful Secret Eye noticed the girl’s movement at once.
But after a single glance, the Insightful Secret Eye dismissed her as a suspect, merely adding her to a watch list.
*****
「Soon.」
Mo Ning stepped into the cafeteria, which looked like an underwater restaurant.
Unlike the boisterous atmosphere of the previous night, the cafeteria was now so cold and empty it was almost desolate.
Among the hundreds of tables and chairs, only a dozen or so figures were scattered about, all eating with their heads down. They were all newcomers with unremarkable talent—he had some impression of these faces with high serial numbers.
They had consciously given up on competing with the likes of Sitt and Vino, leaving the stage early for those destined to be in the spotlight.
Mo Ning walked to the serving counter with practiced ease.
The Black Wood Puppet stood silently as always. When it saw him approach, its stiff head turned slightly, and a flat, mechanical voice sounded:
"Serial number 7-118-256, welcome. Please enjoy your meal."
He glanced at the breakfast options for the day.
There were only three: coarse rye bread, a bowl of thin bean porridge, and cold-cut smoked meat.
It was only enough to fill one’s stomach, far from being delicious.
Mo Ning took his tray and sat down in the same window-side corner as yesterday.
The school of fish outside the water wall seemed to recognize him. A group of small, colorful creatures quickly gathered, curiously observing the humanoid being through the transparent barrier.
He took a spoonful of the bean porridge and thought to himself, ’I really miss the soy milk and fried dough sticks from my past life!’
The academy’s "dark cuisine" had reached a point where he could no longer stand it.
How was he supposed to find the energy to study tomes that were hundreds of pages long if he couldn’t even eat properly?
Mo Ning raised his eyes and glanced at the school of fish outside the water wall—their scales shimmered, and their flesh looked firm and tender.
He licked his lips, his eyes gleaming with a certain "foodie" light. ’What are you looking at! Sooner or later, I’ll have you all in a pot!’
For an ordinary newcomer, catching fish through this water wall of unknown depth was a nearly impossible task.
But he had stared at the water wall for a long time yesterday and had already formed a few vague ideas.
He just needed time to test them.
「Five minutes later.」
A wave of clamor rushed into the cafeteria like a flood.
Mo Ning didn’t even need to look up; he could judge the number of people just by the density of their footsteps—at least thirty, perhaps more.
Excited chatter buzzed like a disturbed beehive, ricocheting around the spacious hall and startling the fish outside the water wall into scattering.
"Sitt really is amazing! He’s number one for a reason!"
"The switch for the Secret Gate was hidden under a floor tile! Who would have thought?"
"Princess Phoebe’s pendant is incredible. It lit up when it got within five meters of the Secret Gate."
Mo Ning took a bite of his bread and chewed slowly.
But his ears were perked, quietly catching fragments of the conversations drifting around him, gradually piecing together the full picture:
Holding the Blue Crystal Pendant, Princess Phoebe walked to the northwest corner of the hall, where the pendant suddenly burst with a dazzling azure light.
Sitt crouched down and tapped on the floor tiles next to a stone statue, one by one.
When he knocked on a particular hexagonal tile, the sound was slightly different from the others. He then used his bloodline talent to investigate carefully, finally confirming that there was a point of converging Magic Power beneath it.
Then, the number 001 newcomer did something incredibly bold—he pried open the floor tile.
Beneath it was a shallow recess, with two hand-shaped imprints carved side by side at the bottom.
Sitt and Princess Phoebe discussed it for a moment before each pressing a palm onto an imprint.
The moment their Spiritual Power flowed in, both handprints lit up with a faint glow.
The Magic Pattern at the bottom of the recess was activated, and a beam of light shot up from it, striking the nearby sword-wielding statue.
"HMMMM—"
The statue slid quickly into the Secluded Forest, disappearing into the mist among the trees.
A floor tile beneath the statue’s feet silently became illusory before vanishing completely.
A dark opening was revealed to everyone.
It was dim inside the opening, and one could only faintly make out a few steps leading down; nothing else was visible.
Sitt was awarded 25 Black Tower Points, while Princess Phoebe received 20, making the other newcomers incredibly envious.
That was the entire process.
Mo Ning was lost in thought.
One person pressing it wouldn’t work; two people had to press it at the same time for the door to open.
’Yesterday was a solo assessment that tested willpower and courage, but today’s Secret Gate is designed to be opened by two people. Is the academy encouraging a certain degree of cooperation?’ he wondered.
He then thought about the second assessment in seven days. ’If I have a teammate, the probability of safely completing the wilderness survival trial should be much higher.’
The true purpose of this random assessment seemed to be to encourage newcomers to find teammates.
Mo Ning sighed, a bit troubled.
He had too many secrets and just wanted to lay low. He really didn’t want to find a teammate.
*****
「Deep within the Black Tower.」
「Inside the Observation Room.」
Nasha tilted her head back, her emerald eyes gazing at the sphere of light floating in the air.
Inside the sphere, Mo Ning was sitting in a corner of the cafeteria, expressionlessly dealing with his bowl of thin bean porridge.
Her gaze fell on his face as she murmured softly, "Don’t think I don’t know that you were the first to discover the location of the Secret Gate.
"While the other rookies were wandering aimlessly in the hall, you glanced several times at the floor tile hiding the Secret Gate’s switch.
"You didn’t want to stand out, so you kept quiet? You just handed the reward over to Sitt?
"That was indeed a smart move. I’ve seen plenty of newcomers and Apprentices who were flashy, and things didn’t end well for them.
"The most outstanding newcomer from my year became a shriveled-up corpse, curled into a ball, during a mission three years later. He probably weighed less than 30 kilograms.
"That guy, Carter, had several suspicious points about his death. I have a strong feeling he was badly set up by other Apprentices and ended up unluckily losing his life.
"On the other hand, I, a newcomer with below-average Spiritual Talent, became one of only two Third Level Apprentices from my year."
Nasha picked up another Screaming Bean, the interest in her eyes growing ever stronger. "Just how many tricks does this kid have up his sleeve?"
