Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree

Chapter 831: Chapter 758: The Beginning

This time, the banquet didn’t last long; it was just a preliminary discussion among everyone.

None of them knew the exact details of the examination, nor the size, environment, or the strength of the enemies.

It’s possible that by the end of the examination, they might not even meet each other, making the team-up effort moot.

Duke, Vera, and the others believed the exam environment should be large; otherwise, factions with a population advantage like the Golden Continent and the East Coast could easily band together.

When designing the examination, the Six-Ring Tower should account for such situations.

Half a month passed swiftly amidst the tense preparations.

Duke continuously used the Kudzu Root Potion to aid his meditation, and his proficiency with the Giant Divine Soldier stuck at mid-Level 2.

Although still far from full mastery, compared to a month ago, his control over the Demon God improved somewhat.

The summoned illusions began to execute more complex tactical maneuvers, such as feigned attacks, luring the enemy, encirclement, and rearguard actions. Though still a bit clumsy, they no longer acted solely on their own will.

The spell for summoning the Giant Divine Soldier essentially provided Duke with a formidable assistant at Level 2 Peak, achieving a two-against-one advantage in battle.

However, this depended on the summoned Demon God following his orders, to enable cooperation during combat.

The previously summoned Demon God had significant autonomy; Duke could only issue one command, with the Demon God deciding on specifics.

Now, the summoned Demon God could adhere more closely to his commands, executing more detailed orders.

On the night before the examination, Duke did a final check of the supplies in his Space Ring, ensuring everything was ready.

After all, the examination would last three months, and he prepared enough supplies for three years.

With the presence of the Light God Court, food shortage was not a concern; the main preparations included magic potion materials, casting materials, and witch arrays.

...

On the day of the examination, in the morning.

After Duke stepped out, he followed the crowd to the examination site, passing through a barrier Light Gate, across a long bridge, and after about a quarter of an hour, a small island appeared.

The island was shrouded in a light blue barrier, with dense runes flowing across it, marking a carefully arranged protective witch array.

In the island’s center stood an antiquated building. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

The building was small, occupying only a few hundred square meters, constructed entirely of gray-white stones.

There were no lavish decorations or tall towers, only the Six-Ring Tower’s emblem engraved above the main entrance.

The exterior walls of the building were covered with some vine plants, the leaves verdant, dotted with small light purple flowers, adding vitality to the ancient structure.

However, Duke noticed that the roots of those vines deeply penetrated the stone crevices, with a faint luminescence glimmering over them.

These were not ordinary plants but some kind of living defensive measure.

A crowd already gathered before the door.

Duke glanced around, seeing at least over two hundred people, densely packed in front of the building.

Some wore grave expressions, some conversed in whispers, some meditated with eyes closed, and some incessantly checked their pocket watches.

When the time came, the building’s main door silently slid open.

Behind the door was a deep corridor, with perpetual lamps embedded in the walls on either side, emitting soft white light.

The crowd filed in, their footsteps resonating oppressively in the narrow space.

The corridor twisted and turned, sometimes veering left, sometimes right, with one junction after another.

If not for following the people ahead, Duke suspected he might get disoriented in the maze.

He noticed the occasional murals on the walls, seemingly depicting the rise and fall of some ancient civilization, but he had no time to examine them closely.

After about a quarter-hour walk, the space ahead suddenly opened up.

It was a massive circular space, with a dome so high it was almost impossible to see the top; runes sprawled densely across the walls, slowly flowing and emitting a light blue glow.

In the very center was a gigantic Teleportation Array, with a diameter exceeding fifty meters.

The witch array’s disc was crafted from some silvery-white metal, etched with countless intricate patterns that converged from the edges to the center, forming a fist-sized depression in the very middle.

Embedded in the depression was a fist-sized blue crystal stone, with innumerable lights swirling within, akin to a miniature galaxy.

Around the Teleportation Array stood over a dozen Level 3 Mages clad in council uniforms, murmuring to each other.

An elderly man, white-haired and white-bearded, stood at the array’s edge, holding a thick book, his gaze sweeping over the crowd filing in.

"Quiet." The old man’s voice was not loud, yet it reached the ears of every individual clearly.

The whole place fell instantly silent.

"The examination will commence shortly," the elder scanned the crowd, "Enter the Teleportation Array in order of the final ranking in the Illusion Tower."

He glanced down at the book in his hand and announced the first name:

"Morris."

The crowd parted automatically.

A slender figure stepped out from the shadows, clad in a grayish robe, a face pale and bloodless, eyes hollow as they swept over the Teleportation Array, then he stepped onto it.

The light flared, and his figure vanished into the blue barrier.

"Audric."

Audric strode out, his dark red robe notably striking amidst the light of the Teleportation Array.