"However," Raymond shifted his tone, "after so 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 argunt.
"There are many reasons for the rejection." Raymond’s tone was as calm as if he were talking about the weather. "So 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 assessnts. And so feel—"
He paused.
"So 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 montarily taken aback.
Then, so awkwardly looked away, so lowered their heads, and so lightly coughed.
Duke’s face remained expressionless.
Raymond continued, "Thus, the final plan has changed."
"The objective of the assessnt in two days is singular: to filter out those who do not possess basic combat abilities."
"Basic combat abilities?" soone 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 assessnt are designed based on the normal ability of Level 1 Crystalized Mages."
"If you can’t even pass this assessnt, there’s no need for you to stay here any longer."
According to the rules, those who fail the assessnt will be directly eliminated and must leave.
At the dinner, Raymond only revealed this much information and said nothing about the content of the assessnt.
...
Two days later, in the morning.
After ditating and adjusting his state, Duke opened the window. The glow of Sky City was transitioning from the nightti silver-blue to morning pearl white, scattering across the dew on the adow, shimring 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.
So wore heavy expressions without a word. So whispered, exchanging bits of information sourced from who-knows-where.
So moved hastily, eager to rush towards the destination in a single stride. So intentionally walked leisurely, as if savoring their last bit of free ti.
Duke walked neither fast nor slow, blending into the crowd like an inconspicuous shadow.
The Teleportation Plaza ca into view.
It was a vast circular plaza, with a diater of nearly five hundred ters.
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-ter-tall Teleportation Gate, its fra cast from so silver-white tal, 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 sa 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 na comprised over a hundred people.
They gathered together, voices loud, laughter even louder, as if it wasn’t a pre-assessnt 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 deanor, 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 nurous and the most dispersed, with so 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.
Ti ticked away.
Seven fifty-five.
The magic light curtain above the plaza suddenly lit up.
Lines of golden text erged, so clear that everyone could see:
"The First Joint Central Islands Assessnt"
"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 assessnt 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. Assessnt objective: Pass at least ten illusion levels within one month to qualify. Those failing to pass ten levels will be directly eliminated."
"3. Assessnt opportunity: Each participant has only one chance. Upon entering the Illusion Tower, one can choose to exit at any ti. Exiting is considered the end of the assessnt, with the number of levels passed as the final result."
"4. Assessnt timing: Participants can choose to enter at any ti within the month. Once entered, the tir begins."
"5. Ranking chanism: Those with the sa number of passed levels are ranked by total completion ti. The shorter the ti, 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 assessnt."
"7. Special note: The illusion content each participant encounters is unique, but difficulty remains consistent within the sa 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 ti to enter within a month; one could wait for others to test the path."
"Not necessarily; the rules state everyone’s content differs each ti, just the difficulty is the sa."
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 mont, all positions were empty, with only the top marked in large gold letters:
"Illusion Tower Real-ti 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 outcos 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 ca over at so 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 mont.
Then, the crowd automatically parted, making way.
Audric erged 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.
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