So I Became a Witch and Started Doing Daily Quests

Chapter 413 : Mermaid Form

In the earlier stages, many participants had been restricted by external interference beyond the trial environment, forcing them to choose to retreat in order to advance.They would not easily involve themselves in disputes with Marquell-Storm or Louisto-Tulan and the others.

However, with the final stage 【Endless Sea】 officially opening, many participants who had been holding back until now began to act.

Just like the Deep-Sea Shark Shapeshifter who had just been dealt with by Hela-Helheim—he was, in fact, a participant who had intended to rely on his knowledge of the ocean environment to seize the initiative.

Yet, all these sudden changes that occurred in the blink of an eye failed to draw the attention of the audience.

Instead, everyone’s eyes turned in unison toward a hidden corner on the screen, a spot that had clearly gone unnoticed by the participants within the trial scene.

"That is——Janna Roland!?"

A few minutes earlier, at the very moment the barrier outside the Meditation Array had officially opened, Janna—one of the most highly anticipated participants—did not complete her transformation immediately. Instead, she leapt into the sea in human form, allowing the surging seawater to engulf her and drag her down into the deep ocean.

It was precisely for this reason that Hela-Helheim had not spotted Janna’s figure on the sea’s surface.

"Buzzz—"

At this moment, as a humming sound arose, in the pitch-dark depths of the ocean, a water-blue radiance suddenly burst forth from Janna’s body without warning.

As the glow grew brighter, all the spectators in 【Glory Arena】 finally saw Janna’s new form after transformation on the floating screen!

And at the very instant Janna’s transformation form was revealed, sounds of gasping erupted one after another across the audience seats in 【Glory Arena】.

Strange yet familiar, magnificent yet mysterious.

Watching the floating screen, at a fantastical figure usually only seen in storybooks or opera performances, the entire 【Glory Arena】 fell into an inexplicable silence.

Even the seasoned host John-Jones, upon seeing Janna’s transformed form, was briefly stunned.

"It is the Mermaid Princess 【Olivia】！"

Unlike others who appeared utterly shocked, Jenny—a devoted fan who had specially taken the Steam Train to the 【Elemental Soul Wizard Academy Gathering Ground】 just to watch Janna compete—could not help but cry out hoarsely when she saw the figure that haunted her dreams appear on the screen.

As an ordinary person without any extraordinary powers, Jenny’s daily life outside of work consisted mainly of watching operas.

So, when she first encountered the 【Transfiguration Trial】—a competition composed entirely of extraordinary beings—she had been quite bewildered.

Not only did she not understand the rules well, but she hardly knew who the participants were.

However, as time passed, Jenny eventually experienced the feeling of “addiction.”

Beyond the incredible trial settings, the dazzlingly diverse transfiguration spells of each participant also gave Jenny a surge of adrenaline.

Especially when Jenny saw Janna’s series of operations that even she, as an outsider, could not help but admire—she felt her ticket money had truly not been wasted.

After all, as Janna’s passionate fan, nothing could excite her more than watching her idol shine brilliantly before everyone!

But the appearance of the final stage 【Endless Sea】 once again made Jenny anxious for Janna.

Judging from Janna’s performance in the earlier stages, Jenny had gradually discerned Janna’s favored direction of transformation—various wondrous plants with unique functions.

However, this 【Endless Sea】 trial environment, composed entirely of water elements, clearly conflicted with Janna’s specialty in plant transformations.

Just when Jenny was filled with anxiety for Janna, the scene on the screen once again sent her emotions soaring as if riding a roller coaster, pushing her excitement to its peak.

So much so that her excessive excitement even caused her to break out in goosebumps and tremble in her limbs.

"It really is 【Olivia】—

The story of mermaids… it was real all along!"

"Splash——"

The waves surged, thunder roared.

The participants who had just been fighting in a chaotic melee on the sea’s surface, suddenly—as if by silent agreement—paused their movements in unison.

"Why is there singing here?"

Though the entire sea was filled with crashing waves and thunderclaps, this song was not hindered in the slightest by any noise. It was as if someone were whispering directly into the participants’ ears, carried to them with perfect clarity.

"Splash—"

Just as all the participants were briefly entranced by the song, a tremendous roar of waves erupted from a nearby vortex.

"Boom——"

Immediately afterward, waves soared sky-high. Before the stunned gazes of all, a towering water pillar nearly ten meters tall suddenly rose from the vortex. Atop that pillar, a slender figure cloaked in a blue argon glow appeared in everyone’s sight.

"That is——"

Her long aqua-blue hair naturally cascaded down her shoulders and back. Her delicate, fair skin, bathed in silver-white moonlight, shimmered as if wrapped in a veil of silver gauze, radiating a hazy beauty.

But what truly made it impossible for anyone to look away was the splendid fishtail—hidden among the surging waves—covered in crystal-clear azure scales like translucent gems, and the divine-like face framed by her blue hair and slender fin-like ears.

"That is a mermaid!? Why is there a mermaid here!?"

Unlike ordinary people who only knew of mermaids from storybooks or operas, the participants—who were all Third-Tier Wizard Apprentices—had already learned about mermaids in their 《Introductory Biology》 classes at the Wizard Academy.

In fact, they knew well that merfolk, the ocean’s beloved, mostly resided in the Second-Tier Wizard Gathering Ground 【Atlantis】, and rarely appeared inland.

Even when they did, it was only as exchange students in the Dordogne-White Tower. Normally, they would appear only in human form and acted with extreme discretion.

Yet now, such a rare extraordinary being appeared in the trial grounds of 【Bonsai Secret Realm】. The participants could not help but feel a profound sense of unreality amidst their shock.

"Could it be that this ‘mermaid’ is actually a test deliberately set by the trial examiners for this stage?"