nownovels Chapter 12 Passing the Test
Chapter 12 Passing the Test
Two jets of dark green acid shot out precisely, hitting the heads of the two phantom wolves respectively.
The acid corroded rapidly, and the Phantom Wolf let out a silent howl. Its body twisted a few times before dissipating into the air, leaving two faint points of light that merged into Rolin's identity plaque.
With a beginner level of 20% proficiency, he is already able to accurately hit fixed or slowly moving targets at close range.
He continued onward.
The maze's passages are intricate and complex, with phantom monsters appearing from time to time, including swift shadow cats and stone-skinned monsters with slightly higher defense.
Based on the characteristics of the monsters, Rolin skillfully used three spells.
To deal with fast-moving enemies, use the [Acid Splash] skill, which has a slightly wider coverage area, for area-of-effect attacks.
For dealing with a single target, use more precise burst fire.
[Mage's Hand] is responsible for interfering, pushing away nearby monsters, or picking up the points dropped by distant monsters.
The [weak force field armor] remains in place, resisting some unavoidable scratches and impacts.
His fighting style is efficient and calm, with no unnecessary movements, and his allocation of mana is extremely reasonable.
With the support of his mental and magical strength as a third-class apprentice, as well as his considerable proficiency in spells, he steadily progressed through the maze, and his points steadily increased.
During this time, he also met other qualified apprentices.
These people were clearly much stronger than the apprentices outside, using various methods to clear out the monsters.
Some used fire magic, some summoned earth elementals, and some engaged in agile close combat, using enchanted weapons.
Seeing that Rolin was using seemingly ordinary acid spells alone yet with remarkable efficiency, the apprentices all showed a hint of surprise.
In a relatively spacious cave, Roland encountered an apprentice using wind blade magic. The apprentice was simultaneously dealing with three extremely fast shadow cats and seemed somewhat overwhelmed.
A shadow cat broke through the wind blades' blockade and pounced on the apprentice.
Seeing this, Rolin instantly activated [Hand of the Mage], and an invisible force pushed the shadow cat to the side, causing it to deviate from its attack direction.
At the same time, a shot of acid was applied, which took care of the shadow cat.
The apprentice breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Rowling, nodded in thanks, and then focused on dealing with the remaining two shadow cats.
Rowling did not stop and continued on his way.
He has no intention of forming alliances with others; acting alone is more in line with his habits and allows him to better conceal his true intentions.
The difficulty of the maze gradually increases, and ghost-like monsters capable of launching weak mental attacks begin to appear, as well as groups of small monsters.
Luo Lin's mental strength far surpassed that of an ordinary third-level initial stage cultivator, and with the added protection of [weak force field armor], he was able to handle the situation with relative ease.
He viewed these battles as opportunities to hone his spellcasting and mental resistance.
After an unknown amount of time, the identity badge felt warm, indicating that the assessment time was about to end.
Luo Lin crushed the nameplate, a flash of white light, and he reappeared in the square.
Most of the qualified apprentices have emerged, each exuding a powerful aura, clearly having gone through a fierce battle.
Luo Lin was one of the last to emerge, but his aura was relatively stable. He had only used up most of his magic power, so he was not particularly outstanding among the crowd, but he was by no means inferior.
The deacons began tallying the points.
The rankings on the spell screen kept scrolling, displaying only the scores of the seventeen qualified participants.
Ultimately, the rankings were finalized.
First Place: Kyle Silvershine (Mid-Level Third-Class Apprentice), Points: 2850
Second place: Lina Sharp (Third-class Apprentice, First Stage), Points: 2650
Third place: Luo Lin (Third-class Apprentice, First Stage), 2480 points
Fourth place: ...
Rowling is ranked third.
This is quite an achievement. Considering that he has just been promoted and his magic is not particularly powerful, he mainly relies on precise control and reasonable tactics to gain an advantage.
The one ranked first, Kyle Silvershine, is a blond-haired boy with a cold and arrogant expression, and his body exudes obvious elemental fluctuations.
The second, Lena Sharp, is a petite girl with bright, intelligent eyes, who seems to excel at stealth and surprise attacks.
The old wizard on the high platform looked at the rankings and nodded.
Seventeen people passed the assessment.
Overall assessment: Kyle Silvershine, Lena Sharp, and Rowling performed exceptionally well.
"Luo Lin, your advancement speed is astonishing, your foundation is solid, and your performance in actual combat is stable."
The old wizard looked at Roland, his tone calm but with a hint of approval.
As one of the outstanding performers in this assessment, you will receive the following rewards:
First, all previous intellectual debts will be waived.
Second, a reward of 2000 contribution points will be given.
Third, one gains the qualification to enter the low-level spell library and select one zero-ring spell.
The generous rewards drew envious glances from other qualified apprentices, especially the debt forgiveness and 2000 contribution points.
Rowling remained calm and bowed respectfully, saying, "Thank you, Wizard."
He knew this was just the beginning; the academy would only value those who had proven their worth and potential.
The assessment has officially ended.
The apprentices who failed to meet the standards looked ashen-faced and were taken away by the deacon, where they would face heavy debts or an unknown fate.
The seventeen who met the criteria breathed a sigh of relief, sizing each other up, knowing that these people were likely to be the backbone of the future academy, as well as potential competitors.
Ignoring the stares, Rowling walked straight to Wizard Eric and bowed again, saying, "Thank you for your guidance and gifts, Wizard."
Wizard Avik nodded slightly: "This is the result of your own hard work."
Keep it up.
After saying that, he turned and left.
Rowling understood that Wizard Eric recognized his potential, but he still had to walk his own path in the future.
He first went to the Affairs Tower to complete the formalities, and the knowledge debt on his identity badge was cleared. At the same time, he gained 2000 contribution points. Combined with his previous savings, his total contribution points reached nearly 5000.
Next, he went to the academy's low-level spell library.
The collection of zero-ring spells here is more abundant and rarer than that in the library.
The guardian of the spell vault was an old wizard who had been meditating with his eyes closed. After verifying Roland's qualifications, he let him in.
Rowling browsed the spell rack.
There are offensive spells here, such as Arc Lightning and Flame Arrow...
Defensive features include a [Deflection Field] and a [Secondary Elemental Shield]...
It includes auxiliary skills such as [Lightness Technique] and [Concealing Aura]...
There are also special functions such as [Detection Spell] and [Language Proficiency].
He weighed the pros and cons carefully.
In terms of attack, he has [Acid Splash], which is sufficient for now.
It has a [weak force field armor] for defense.
In terms of support, [Hand of the Mage] is very well-rounded.
What he needs more are spells that can compensate for his weaknesses or provide unique abilities.
Ultimately, his attention settled on a spell called "Literacy".
This spell can help the user decipher most basic enchanted texts, runes, and simple contract terms. It is extremely useful for learning more profound knowledge, interpreting ancient documents, and even avoiding being taken advantage of in contracts.
This perfectly suits his needs.
Without hesitation, he chose the spell model crystal with the [Literary Proficiency] attribute.
Holding the magic crystals and the generous rewards, Roland returned to his stone house.
The evaluation controversy had passed, and his third-place ranking brought him to the attention of the college's higher-ups, but it did not attract much attention.
With Kyle and Lina watching from the front, he knew perfectly well that being a third-class apprentice was just a new starting point, and the path to becoming a formal wizard was much longer and more difficult.
However, after the assessment ended, Luo Lin's pace of life did not slow down; on the contrary, his life became busier and more fulfilling due to the broadened horizons he gained.
He clearly recognized that being a third-class apprentice was merely a threshold, and the real path to becoming a formal wizard had only just begun.
He first spent several days focusing on learning and constructing the newly acquired spell, [Literal Proficiency].
This spell model is somewhat similar to [Hand of the Mage], but it focuses more on the intricate weaving of mental energy and the analysis of information flow, rather than the manipulation of energy.
Leveraging his advantages as a "highly efficient scholar," Rowling successfully constructed a stable model in his mental sea after failing more than ten times.
He attempted to use magic on a basic botanical atlas he had borrowed from the library, written in ancient Helium.
As the spell was cast on the model, and his gaze fell upon the distorted characters, a strange feeling arose within him.
The characters seemed to come alive, and the meanings they represented flowed naturally into his mind. Although he couldn't instantly understand all the deeper allusions and technical terms, the basic meanings of the words and the general gist of the sentences were clearly discernible.
[Spells: Literacy (Beginner)]