Chapter 235 : Chapter 235

Chapter 235: The Underground Space Beneath the Wizard Tower

At this moment, the atmosphere outside the arena was one of cheers.

The arena was packed, and even with the live broadcast, a large number of senior students came to watch.

This time, the highlight moment was frozen on the Wizard Tower that was split open by a single sword strike.

The tough construction material still allowed one to see the shape of the Wizard Tower, but a giant, sky-piercing sword had split it right down the middle, causing it to fall to both sides.

The terrifying aftershock destroyed everything around the Wizard Tower; whether it was the terrain or the vegetation, everything collapsed outwards with the Wizard Tower as the center.

Such a spectacle was indeed considered magnificent.

Of course, this was by a witch's aesthetic standards.

In the center of the competition grounds, among the neatly arranged Dream State pods, a sound was heard.

This was not the first Dream State pod to open; during the course of the competition, several contestants from smaller academies had already been eliminated with regret.

The most formidable one had the worst luck yesterday, using up all three lives and being directly eliminated.

And this time, Aqier from the Holy Angel Academy, with all three lives intact, voluntarily withdrew from the competition.

He knew he had lost the qualification to continue, but he had also earned a considerable number of points.

Even though… after killing those few wizards in the Wizard Tower, he did not top the scoreboard, and with the exchange competition still ongoing, he was destined to be pushed further down the rankings.

Whether it was regret or other emotions, they were meaningless to him at this moment.

Aqier opened the Dream State pod.

The noise outside the arena was fervent, quite different from the disappointment and boos he had expected.

But on second thought, this was the Witch Academy, and the majority of the audience were witches.

They wouldn't feel disappointed because of him.

Their cheers at this moment were built upon their failure.

Although it wasn't mockery or boos, at this moment, it was more heart-wrenching than those sounds.

His withdrawal caused quite a stir, but it was for the better.

At least in this environment, he wouldn't have to endure too much external pressure.

Aqier went to the Holy Angel Academy's seating area, where he was greeted by the classmates and teachers who had come with him.

The expressions of his classmates were all filled with disappointment and sighs, especially in the current atmosphere, being ridiculed by the Witch Academy on their home ground, their faces were completely lost.

Only his mentor had a gentle expression, as if nothing had happened.

“I’m sorry… Mentor Gena…”

“You don’t have to apologize to me, child, you’ve already done a great job.”

Gena gently stroked Aqier’s head and said softly.

Aqier had now completed his unknown mission for this exchange competition, but he couldn't be told.

He could only offer encouragement.

“But child, as the team leader this time, you also made a mistake, do you know what it is?”

“This… it was my mistake as the team leader, making a decision rashly without clearly seeing the situation.”

“Are you trying to say it was a mistake in your decision-making? No, it was your compromise, child. When faced with adversity and threats, you must not compromise. Whether you are facing threats of benefit, threats from companions, or threats of life and death, your only choice is not to compromise.”

“Regardless of these… but my companions…”

“I am merely expressing my point of view. You have your own choices to make. I am only telling you my experience. If you have a different opinion on my views, then you can use your future choices and facts to prove me wrong.”

“No… Mentor would not be wrong… I understand…”

Watching Aqier leave, Gena McIntosh fell into silence.

But educating a student couldn't be rushed, let alone teaching a Child of Destiny.

He really wanted to say that he also made mistakes, but he was betting that the child Aqier would understand on his own.

Only by overcoming this obstacle of his, would Aqier achieve a higher state of mind.

And only by suffering a loss, by being stung, would he understand what he couldn't let go of.

As the team leader, he got into character and couldn't abandon his companions, but there were too many roles to play in life.

This would lead to too many things he couldn't let go of.

If such a life didn't learn to let go, it would be very tiring.

Following Aqier’s withdrawal, the students of the Holy Angel Academy also withdrew one after another.

They had already lost the strength to contend for the final victory in the exchange competition.

Some of them understood Aqier, while others were puzzled and confused, even feeling that Aqier had dragged them down.

No matter what their mindset was, no one would care about their thoughts at this moment.

And the one most delighted to see the Holy Angel Academy's collective withdrawal was, naturally, Shop Manager Xia Li!

“Hahaha! Good, good, good! All those birdmen, withdraw from the competition for me! Wonderful! Little Han and Tan Han did a beautiful job! It’s so satisfying to watch!”

At this moment, Xia Li, who was in the shop watching the live broadcast on the projection, was so happy she was about to jump up.

“Aiya! I should have gone to the venue. Forget it, I’m happy today. The bakery is 50% off, quick, quick, quick Little Shiqian, organize a free cookie giveaway event. I want more people to know about this!”

“Alright, Shop Manager, you must be the only one this happy about the Holy Angel Academy's elimination, right? Did you intentionally make Little Han and Little Tan target the Holy Angel Academy like that?”

“That’s right, Shop Manager, why interfere with Little Han and the others’ decisions? Isn’t it too selfish to do that for your own sake?”

Ying Shiqian chimed in from the side.

“Sel… selfish? How could that be? I, I even put up my little treasury as collateral!”

Xia Li felt a bit embarrassed being called out by her two shop assistants.

“Huh? Shop Manager, you’re that generous?”

Hearing about the little treasury, both Ying Shiqian and the other were surprised.

That was the shop manager's treasure.

Although it nominally belonged to the club, the club was single-handedly established by the shop manager.

“Of course… anyway, I’m very happy right now. How about… we contact the newcomers in the club, and we go out for a gathering, have a good meal.”

“Yay! A good meal!”

This was Ying Shiqian.

“Huh? A good meal again?”

This was Tang Yihan.

After all, Xia Li's habit of wanting to go out for a good meal whenever she was happy was… hard to describe.

Not everyone liked to gather for a meal.

At this moment, within the Dream State exchange competition.

Here at the ruins of the split-open Wizard Tower.

The earth-shattering commotion here naturally scared the surrounding people away.

This was a battle of gods; getting caught in the crossfire would mean oblivion.

Even that abnormal area formed by the variant lightning completely disappeared under the neutralization and cancellation of the immense Holy Light power.

The one who had previously turned into a giant troll was also nowhere to be seen now.

It was a bit of a pity; he might have been sent away when the wizards used that variant lightning grand sorcery.

Even if he wasn't completely dead, Aqier's sword strike was enough to send him off.

The aftershock of this sword strike was just too vicious.

Even if I had been there in person, I would have felt the terror of this attack.

Thankfully, we reached an agreement and let him leave early.

As for resources… that’s really hard to say, because they were all wiped out, and no loot was left behind at all.

Aqier’s calculations were going to come to nothing.

With the Wizard Tower split open, we could now see the vast and complex structure inside, but because the destruction was too violent, many parts were no longer recognizable.

However, some precision instruments and Sorcery Tools were still discernible, though they were completely damaged by the attack, to the point where they couldn't be pieced back together.

“What is this?”

I kicked at one of the few intact objects before me.

To have survived such an attack, it must be something good.

“Did you find something?”

Tan Han also walked over at this moment.

She was a little surprised to see these big things, but after opening them, they were full of strange materials and semi-finished Sorcery Tools, which were of no use to us.

“By the way, it seems we are already in an underground area, right? There’s still space below the Wizard Tower?”

“Not sure, but it’s quite possible,” I said, shaking my head.

But the actions of my hands didn't stop, because Spirit Vision detected hollow information below, which meant there was space underneath.

For there to be space under such a massive building without it collapsing was truly a miracle.

One had to marvel at how particular the materials used for this Wizard Tower were.

Eventually, we found an area here that led underground.

“There really is.”

I lifted a heavy stone slab, revealing a passage leading downwards.

The further down we went, the more we could feel the solidity of the foundation.

The entire underground space was constructed from the same material as the main tower of the Wizard Tower; no wonder it hadn't collapsed.

One must know that the Wizard Tower withstood such an attack without collapsing into a pile of rubble, only being split open, which was enough to show the terrifying nature of this material.

As soon as we opened this place and walked down, we could smell the stench of blood and a peculiar odor.

“Looks like we’ve arrived at quite a place.”

After reaching the bottom, we were, not surprisingly, ambushed.

But the sorcery the opponents used was really not up to par, and only that Sorcery Tool was a bit tricky.

However, they were facing the elite of the Witch Academy.

They were subdued in just a few moves, and both Tan Han and I tacitly chose not to kill them.

“One, two, three… I didn't expect three wizard apprentices to be hiding here? Their strength is so weak, but they’re quite good at hiding,” I said with a smile, kicking the disarmed and restrained guys on the ground.

Even after being captured, their mouths were not clean.

They started spouting nonsense as if their mouths were smeared with honey, but for the sake of some information, we ultimately didn't silence them.

Instead, we used a more direct method.

Tan Han was not polite at all; she went up and gave one of them a kick between the legs, instantly silencing him and intimidating the other two.

“Tan Han… that move of yours…”

The corner of my mouth twitched as I looked at Tan Han.

That move was so practiced, I was starting to worry about any perverts who might harass Tan Han in the future.

“Don’t all boys fail to resist this move?”

Tan Han, however, didn't think it was a big deal.

At this moment, the intimidating aura she displayed reached its peak in front of these guys.

This one would really stomp on them.

“Seems like there’s no problem.”

It’s not like I’m the one getting hit… wait, I’m a girl now, why would I be afraid of this?

“Are there any other hiding places in this Wizard Tower?”

At this moment, Tan Han didn't waste any more words and began the interrogation directly.

The moment she entered this state, even I was a little surprised.

Wasn't this a bit too professional?

But since Tan Han had taken on the role of interrogator, I decided to wander around this underground area, since it was quite large.

Mainly because there was still a smell of blood.

The smell of blood implied too many things.

It meant people had died here, and… if they were killed instantly, they wouldn't have bled so much.

After all, once death is determined, they would be revived immediately.

Only when all lives were lost and revival was impossible would a corpse remain.

I didn't pay much attention before, maybe because the environment was too dark.

When I lit up the place with a small alchemy lamp, I discovered that there really were “corpses” here!

And it was obvious that these were not NPCs from the exchange competition, but remains left by contestants.

So someone was eliminated this quickly?

It's just a pity that I could no longer tell which academy they were from; I could only vaguely make out that they were unlucky fellows from the Beast Academy.

But soon, my attention was drawn to another very conspicuous object.

It was a glass vessel as thick as a person, and most importantly, there was a “person” inside!

A human specimen?

This was my first reaction.

After all, it was the Wizard Academy; I wasn't surprised that they would have such things.

When the light shone on it, I realized that this glass vessel was filled with a green liquid, and the “human specimen” inside also appeared before me.

This was no person, this was a mermaid!

Her lower body was a long mermaid tail.

My goodness, the Wizard Academy could even get its hands on a contestant from the Sea Race?

But after a closer look, I was shocked by the familiar face.

This was Yvette!

That unlucky Sea Race member who left the sea to find the Elf Alliance!

I hadn't paid any attention to her after killing her.

I didn't expect to meet her here.

But why was she here?

Did she also die completely, leaving behind this shell of a Dream State body?

But I quickly dismissed this idea, because she was still alive.

Crack!

With a piercing sound of shattering glass echoing in the basement, the light green water spilled all over the floor, and Yvette fell to the ground with the flow of water.

I ignored the other tubes connected to the vessel and destroyed it directly.

“Little Han, what happened?”

The commotion here immediately attracted Tan Han's attention.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I found something interesting in here and broke it to have a look,” I quickly replied, but the actions of my hands didn't stop.

Just from her appearance, Yvette hadn't suffered any serious injuries, just some minor external wounds.

And after soaking in this liquid for so long, her wounds hadn't worsened.

As expected of a mermaid…

Just as I was marveling, her fish tail underwent a very drastic change.

That layer of fish scales shriveled as if shedding skin, and then two legs replaced the original spot.

Only now did I realize that the mermaid's tail was a permanent spell effect, and this spell effect was based on… it seemed to be the other party’s mermaid bloodline…

Other species are truly magical.

I shook my head and stood up, and at this moment, Yvette also showed signs of movement.

As expected, she was the type that wasn't completely dead.

The other party coughed a couple of times as if choked by water.

Speaking of which, can mermaids be choked by water?

Mermaids are truly amazing.

“You… damned… wizards… I, Yvette La… absolutely…”

Even though Yvette had just woken up, a string of curses already came out of her mouth.

I patted her little face.

I have to say, it felt good, soft and supple, but… what on earth did this person go through?

Even though she had just woken up and couldn't even muster the strength to open her eyelids for a long time, she was already cursing.

After finally catching her breath, she opened her eyes.

Under my small lamp, she saw the face of the person in front of her.

After a moment of dazed confusion, Yvette’s eyes suddenly cleared up, and even her pupils contracted violently!

“Hey, we meet again.”

I looked at her with a playful smile.

“You! You you you! How can it be you! A witch!”

At this moment, the change in her expression was strangely comical, but in the end, she could only force out such a sentence.

“Be grateful, your name is Yvette, right? I didn’t remember it wrong, did I? I’m the one who saved you.”

“You… impossible! You, you must be with those wizards… don’t! Don’t come over!”

“Why are you so afraid of me? You were cursing so fiercely when you were unconscious just now, what are you pretending for now?”

“Cur… cursing? You, you must have heard… what’s wrong with me cursing! It’s none of your business!”

Yvette’s mind was still a bit jumbled at the moment, and her words were incoherent.

After being captured by the wizards, she was subjected to inhuman abuse.

Something about this being a Dream State, and that studying mermaids might reveal the secrets of their transcendent power, she was in utter despair listening to it.

But in that glass vessel, she couldn't commit suicide, her body was completely weak…

Now that she was rescued, there was no joy of being rescued at all, and to make matters worse, she encountered a witch!

Why was her life so bitter!

“Since I saved you, I should receive some payment.”

As my voice sounded, Yvette subconsciously crossed her arms over her chest.

Payment?

In the exchange competition, what better payment was there than killing her to get points?

“Kill me or cut me up, do as you please!”

Yvette was already prepared to die and be resurrected again.

She just hoped that this time, she wouldn't be resurrected in some ridiculous place.

It would be best if it was in the Aphrodite Forest.

But after waiting for a while, the other party showed no signs of wanting to kill her, so she subconsciously opened her eyes to check the situation, only to see the other party simply extending a hand, with no weapon or signs of casting a spell on it.

“Eh?”

“Why are you looking at me like that? You don’t think I’m going to kill you, do you? Please, killing you only gets three points, but this… you only get one per life.”

I smiled and reached my hand towards her chest.

There was a beautiful scale there, precisely the heart scale of her new life.

Following a scream from Yvette, another scale appeared in my hand.

I took out the previous one, and under the light, the two scales shimmered with a colorful glow.

Their patterns were identical, truly beautiful!

“Ahhh! What on earth did you do!”

At this moment, Yvette could no longer hold back the grievance in her heart.

Even if she were killed, she wouldn't cry so sadly, but when her heart scale was plucked out again, she couldn't help but cry.

Sometimes, grievances cannot be expressed.

If grievances could be spoken, there would be no grievances in the world.

Was she aggrieved simply because her heart scale was plucked?

Yes, but not entirely.

There were just too many contributing factors.

The accumulated sadness, pain, and grievances finally erupted at this moment.

“Little Han, what’s the situation?”

After hearing the commotion and the crying, Tan Han couldn't help but come over to check.

As soon as she arrived, she saw this scene.

And Tan Han’s arrival immediately scared Yvette into stopping her crying.

She knew Tan Han, and her teacher had even told her that she was very dangerous and powerful.

But at this moment, one witch was already making her miserable enough, and now another one came, and it was Tan Han whom she recognized…

She felt that her good days were over.

Maybe… she should just commit suicide…

Tan Han looked at Yvette, then at me, and finally, her gaze fell on my hand.

“A Sea Race mermaid… Little Han, you plucked her heart scale?”

“Is there a problem?”