Chapter 867: Resourcefulness
The flicker of hope in Kahn’s eyes was instantly extinguished.
His expression crumbled, and he muttered incredulously, “Are you being serious?!”
He shifted his attention to the beautiful elf sitting beside Daneli and asked, “Don’t you think this will be beneficial for all of us here?”
Atierl covered her mouth and let out a soft giggle. “Oh, Kahn, please don’t look at like that,” she said with a faint smile.
“I’m not participating in the tournant, after all. I’m just here to support my friends and brother.”
Kahn didn’t know how to react. He turned to Daneli and asked solemnly, “What’s stopping you from sharing intel?”
He paused, thinking of sothing, and added, “Do you, by chance, think the intel we have will pale in comparison to yours?”
“Of course.” Daneli scoffed, raising his chin slightly.
“Despite Saratoga keeping a tight lid on information leaks, we still have our ways of uncovering them,” the elf said with a grin. “After all, that too can be considered a skill of the participant.”
Kahn knew the elf was right. No matter how strongly the Saratoga administration guarded the secrets of the Grand Magus Tournant, it was inevitable that sohow or other the information would leak.
Just like Daneli had said, uncovering secrets about the trials was a skill in and of itself.
The Grand Magus Tournant didn’t just test a participant’s strength, but also their wits, intellect, and resourcefulness.
“Information sharing is not completely off the table…”
A calm and steady voice cut through the silence. Kahn turned to look at the source of the voice. It was one of the Dark King’s students.
Eleiney looked at the blond youth from Coral Cove and revealed a faint smirk, “I can assure you, Magus Kahn, whatever it is that you know about the first trial, I already know.”
Kahn’s eyes narrowed. “How can you be so sure? You don’t even know what we know.”
“It’s about the spell, isn’t it?” Eleiney’s eyes glead with a crafty light. “More specifically, a Rank 3 Spell.”
Kahn’s heart skipped a beat.
A Rank 3 Spell? We need a Rank 3 Spell for the First Trial?!
He turned to his classmate, Charlie, and asked for confirmation. After all, Charlie had been the one to gather that intel, while he did not know anything about it yet.
Charlie revealed a bitter smile and nodded.
Damn it, there goes out bargaining chip, Kahn cursed inwardly.
He then turned to the brown-haired young woman with pale blue eyes and asked with a faint smile, “What do you want in return then?”
“Three things,” Eleiney said with a confident smirk. “First, money. A lot of it.”
Edward stared at her with a blank expression.
As expected of Adam’s student, he thought in amusent.
Eleiney had shared the information with him and Lisa—and Biden by association—because they were Adam’s childhood friend. Additionally, Daneli shared everything he knew thanks to their long-standing bond.
But it was interesting to see Eleiney negotiate a similar transaction with new acquaintances.
“Well, that depends on how valuable your information is,” Chris countered.
“Rest assured, my intel is most accurate,” Eleiney replied confidently.
Aiden and Arthur did not get involved in this deal. They wanted Eleiney to make all the profits, because she seriously needed the money.
Not because she was poor or anything, but because her profession demanded frequent, expensive investnts.
She had followed in Adam’s footsteps and beco a Herbalist, after all.
“What’s the second thing?” Charlie, who was seated beside Kahn, asked curiously.
“Well, that… is a promise,” Eleiney said with a smile.
“A promise?” Mikar perked up. He was seated beside Edward, and it would seem that the two had clearly beco drinking buddies. “What kind of promise? I hope its not anything too exaggerated.”
“You must promise to beco our allies, of course,” said the young Herbalist. “It will be imperative that we form groups if we want to overco the second trial.”
Kahn, Charlie, Chris, and Mikar’s eyes widened in surprise.
The second trial of the Grand Magus Tournant!
Another thing that shocked them was that these people already seed to have an idea about what the second trial would entail.
They couldn’t help but wonder if Saratoga had divulged the information regarding the trials to all of its students, giving them an edge.
But on second thought, that seed unlikely.
Saratoga Castle was one of the Four Pillars of the Empire. A lesser-known fact about this institution was that it was the oldest of the Four Pillars!
Naturally, it held itself to the highest of ethical standards. Outsiders had, at the very least, that much faith in this arcane institution.
The information about the second trial, however, would be useless now. It would be useless until and unless they overca the first trial.
And the four of them knew that there was no way they would be told any crucial information about the second trial.
Not yet.
“And what’s the third thing?” This ti, it was Chris Cloud from Greenfield Ridge who spoke.
“Well, this is more of an equivalent exchange than a condition,” Eleiney began, scanning the faces of the four new acquaintances.
“The first trial will take place in Marian Lake. Participants will be required to dive into its depths and acquire a key in the sprawling labyrinth. This key will allow them to enter the second trial.”
Charlier suddenly felt like the information he had gathered earlier click into place. “And we require the Rank 3: Spell Alter Self if we wish to stay underwater for extended periods!”
“Precisely,” Eleiney said with a smile. “And this is where my third condition cos into play.”
She paused for a mont, allowing her words to settle in.
“To enter the First Trial, we require a Rank 3 Spell,” she continued. “And for that, we need to consult a Mana Vortex Magus. But here’s the catch… we can only ask for this spell from a Magus we are not acquainted with.”
Kahn stroked his chin, nodding in understanding. “I see. So you want us to introduce the professors of Coral Cove to you. At the sa ti, you’d introduce the Professors of Saratoga to us.”
He turned to Edward and asked, “I suppose this is a three-way exchange, then.”
Edward simply raised his wine cup and offered a toast.
As explained earlier, the tournant didn’t just test one’s arcane prowess, but also one’s adaptability and skillfulness.
Chris chid in from the side, “So that’s how it is! This will test out networking and communication skills.”
Charlie nodded in agreent. “Precisely. And it is no easy feat to convince a Mana Vortex Magus.”
“That is to say…” Mikar looked at everyone, his eyes gleaming with excitent. “Even before the first trial has started, the Grand Magus Tournant has already begun!”
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