A cold-calling bird with a broken claw rested on a dead tree.
But in the next moment, it was caught by a withered vine and swallowed into a tree hollow.
Below the tree, there were corpses everywhere, and the tree trunk glowed with a faint red light, as a fresh, tender branch broke through the soil.
Crack!
A barely visible wind blade precisely severed the newborn tender branch.
Bloom smiled coldly, and once again chanted an obscure incantation, unleashing a wind blade that sawed down the dead tree.
He turned to look at the group of prospective Apprentices, and spoke in a voice like a broken gong.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you, during the mission, your safety is solely your own responsibility. No matter who dies, it has nothing to do with anyone else.”
Everyone nodded; their wristbands contained records of this.
The Death Swamp earned its name because of its extremely high mortality rate.
Even the School has not yet fully recorded all the types of Magic Beasts in the swamp.
Not to mention the intelligent humanoid races unique to the swamp, such as Cyclops and Lizardmen.
In short, an ordinary person entering the Death Swamp should not expect to see the sunrise of the next day alive.
Salun’s long boots stepped on mud and rotting leaves, surrounded by various poisonous insects.
Soon, he was covered in many large bites, and even Danik, who was a Mid-level Knight, could not escape unscathed.
Among the thirty-one people present, only Bloom constantly emanated the unique mental field of a Wizard, which protected him from common poisonous insects.
“I knew I shouldn’t have had any expectations for the School!
The Wizard adult who escorted us during the assessment even bothered to drive away poisonous insects for us!”
Beirut complained in a low voice from the side.
Danik quickly elbowed Beirut, signaling him with his eyes not to speak carelessly.
In the swamp, Bloom was perfectly capable of killing all of them.
Salun pushed his monocle up and glanced at his status panel.
【Salun Keynes】
【Talent: Twin Souls】
【Extraordinary Realm: Novice Knight 70%】
【Mental Power: 2.5】
【Physique: 3.5】
【Possessions: leaf of wisdom, Ancient Parchment (one page)】
“The secret medicine provided by Danik is indeed potent. My progress has significantly increased over the past few days, and I believe I will soon break through to Mid-level Knight.
However, as my realm improves, the assistance provided by the secret medicine should also diminish.”
Salun was quite satisfied with this, but when he saw the Mental Power entry, he frowned again.
Based on the requirement of at least ten Mental Power to advance to Low Apprentice, he was still far from it.
If it weren't for the improvement in his aptitude, he probably wouldn't have even gained a decimal point after meditating these past few days.
“It’s good to see my own progress.”
Salun understood in his heart that this was the greatest help the 【Monocle of the God of Deception】 brought him.
“The School had previously sent people to investigate. A group of Swamp Magic Crocodiles is guarding a starry vine.
The starry vine is our mission objective this time.
There is a Magic Crocodile leader comparable to a High Apprentice, and ten other Low Apprentice-level Magic Crocodiles.
My goal is to kill the leader, as for you…”
Bloom scanned everyone, then burst into a sharp laugh.
“Under the premise of ensuring your survival, form groups of three and make sure to kill one Magic Crocodile.”
As soon as his voice fell, the faces of the thirty prospective Apprentices turned grim, as if they could wring water from them.
Though they were extremely angry, none of the Apprentices who had survived until now were fools, and none refuted Bloom’s view.
This made the other party feel a wave of boredom; he had originally planned to kill a few to sate his bloodlust.
“Tsk.”
Bloom spat on the ground, looking at the Apprentices with disdain.
“The School has already tried its best to treat you favorably; your chances of winning are not small.
If this were decades ago, in our generation, it would almost certainly be a suicide mission.
Magic Beasts generally have less desire to attack once they are full.
You Apprentices are really boring. I originally wanted to pick out a few live baits to lure the Magic Crocodiles.”
He shook his head slightly, sighing, and everyone felt a chill in their hearts.
They were still young, after all, and after joining the Black Wizard School, they clearly felt something inside them shatter.
Three people against one Low Apprentice-level Magic Crocodile seemed to have an absolute numerical advantage.
However, this was not the case. A Low Apprentice, with sufficient preparation, could completely kill several Grand Knights of the same realm.
And even if Danik broke through to Mid-level Knight, facing a Magic Crocodile alone would only lead to death.
The difference between them was almost qualitative.
The only belief that could sustain these Apprentices was that Magic Beasts generally did not have high intelligence.
With three people working together, there was still a certain possibility of killing a Magic Crocodile.
Salun naturally formed a team with Beirut and Danik.
“I just happened to collect some knowledge about the Swamp Magic Crocodile, this type of Magic Beast.”
Danik called Salun and Beirut over and began to quietly share what he knew.
“Their weakness is their soft underbelly, provided you avoid their deadly bites, water restraints, and death rolls.
One strike from its crocodile tail is enough to smash the three of us into pieces!”
“Water restraint?”
Salun asked in confusion. He understood death rolls and bites.
As long as the Magic Crocodile’s large mouth was sealed, these two abilities would be rendered useless.
But water restraint was clearly some kind of extraordinary ability.
“Yes, Magic Crocodiles can manipulate magic factors to form water elements, eventually condensing into a giant water ball, trapping people inside to suffocate them to death.”
Salun and Beirut nodded, indicating they understood.
“Wait! This guy isn’t going to explode like a Devouring Frog, is he?”
Beirut said with a shrunken neck, a bit of fear in his voice.
Salun and Danik exchanged glances, then smiled and shook their heads.
“No.”
“That’s good then.”
The three distributed their respective tasks, then followed the team, whose steps had clearly become heavy, towards a muddy pond.
Upon reaching the muddy pond, all that met their eyes was sludge, making it impossible to discern the location of the Magic Crocodiles.
What was even more unexpected for everyone was that the deranged Bloom flew directly into the air, unleashing a large number of wind blades into the muddy pond.
For a time, roars erupted, and huge murky splashes of water exploded in the muddy pond, spraying everywhere and landing on everyone.
But they no longer had time to curse.
The enraged crocodile pack, with their lantern-sized eyes, stared at the weak humans who dared to provoke them.
“No!”
Some Apprentices failed to dodge in time and were violently struck by a Magic Crocodile, thrown heavily, their bones shattered.
Other Apprentices had half their bodies bitten off by a Magic Crocodile.
Their remaining upper halves crawled on the ground, blood and intestines trailing a crimson path, like vengeful spirits from hell.
Amidst all these sudden changes, apart from Bloom, the mastermind, Salun’s team of three was the least affected.
Salun had seen the red light glowing on the Apprentices’ bodies in advance.
But this time, he did not speak out to warn or help.
He simply grabbed Beirut and Danik’s arms as soon as they entered the muddy pond.
Taking advantage of the Magic Crocodiles’ widespread attack on the other Apprentices, the three, following their pre-assigned steps, found a Magic Crocodile that was devouring a corpse.
