Chapter 0032: Compulsory Mission

Grimm hurriedly left the alchemy laboratory. He had originally planned to sneak outside the tower to test the combat power of his Earthen Golem, but halfway there he was drawn in by the bustling crowds. The Swamp Tower had never been so lively.

Normally, everyone kept to themselves. Those with tasks attended to them, while those without either meditated, copied texts, or were busy with sorcery experiments. The tower, except for the dining hall during meal times, was always cold and quiet. Even when apprentices occasionally crossed paths in the corridors, it was only a brief nod before passing by.

But today was different. To Grimm’s surprise, nearly every apprentice who dwelled in the tower had left their quarters and was heading hurriedly in the same direction.

Grimm, puzzled, called out to a somewhat familiar “friend,” Benson, who was also a junior apprentice.

“What’s going on? Where are you all going?” Grimm had barely finished his question when Benson replied in an even more astonished tone, “You don’t know? Didn’t you check your sorcery amulet? Master Anderson has summoned all formal apprentices to the lecture hall for a meeting. You’d better hurry!”

With that, Benson rushed off.

Master Anderson? A meeting?

Grimm was stunned, shocked by such a rare occurrence. As the resident sorcerer of the Swamp Tower, Anderson was, according to the unified guidelines of the Central Forest Tower Sorcerer Association, required to give the apprentices a free course every three months. Otherwise, apprentices could only ask him questions about sorcery by paying knowledge points or magic crystals.

Unfortunately, in this nearly isolated Swamp Tower, Anderson was the undisputed master, and most of the Association’s regulations were simply ignored by him.

In the six years Grimm had lived in the tower, Anderson’s public lectures could be counted on one hand—just four times in total. The rest of the time, Anderson secluded himself in the upper floors, rarely interacting with the apprentices.

So this sudden news left Grimm utterly astonished.

He hurriedly pulled out his sorcery amulet from his neck and found it faintly glowing red, slightly warm to the touch.

Ah… well, during his recent alchemy experiment, he had temporarily disabled the amulet’s connection to avoid external interruptions. Now, as soon as he activated it, a deep and hoarse voice emerged.

“All apprentices who receive this message, report to the lecture hall immediately. Anyone not present within a quarter hour will be stripped of their apprentice status!”

Grimm shivered, quickly stowed the amulet, and joined the crowd heading for the lecture hall.

The lecture hall was reminiscent of the tiered classrooms of his previous life, though its front round platform was replaced by a high dais. No matter where an apprentice stood, they could only look up slightly at the sorcerer teaching. Clearly, the designer of this hall would never allow any apprentice to surpass the sorcerer—even in name or space.

The spacious hall could seat over two hundred, but with only fifty apprentices in total, they sat scattered. Three distinct circles formed around the three “strong ones,” and apprentice leader Allen had just gathered four small groups. The rest sat apart, displaying their “lone wolf” identity.

Grimm used to be one of these lone wolves.

As he surveyed the hall, his gaze settled on an especially striking figure.

A bright red gauzy dress, a beautiful face both coldly aloof and irresistibly enchanting. The owner of that face was waving at him from afar.

Mary in red, always solitary, was already the focus of many secret glances. Now, her gesture pushed Grimm into direct opposition with many of the male apprentices.

Whoosh—

Countless ambiguous looks were cast at Grimm, making his face change slightly.

Mary truly was an expert at attracting enmity.

But there was no time for hesitation. He could only stride over to her and sit down obediently.

“Remember, you’re my little follower now. Next time, come earlier!” As Mary leaned close, whispering her threat, Grimm sensed the murderous intent around him intensify. Mary seemed pleased with this effect, her face showing a smug satisfaction as she straightened her posture.

Her emerald eyes swept the hall; every male apprentice who met her gaze was lost in soul-borne intoxication, only to shudder and quickly lower their heads, avoiding her eyes.

At that moment, Grimm felt a particularly powerful gaze settle on him, making his skin crawl.

Startled, he looked up—it was him!

He was being watched by Entik the Pest, one of the three strong ones.

From beneath the hood that concealed his face, two eerie green lights shone, coldly fixed on him. Though no words were spoken, an invisible pressure began to spread over Grimm’s body.

Facing Entik’s spiritual power of 19 points, Grimm was clearly the weaker party. In combat, he doubted he could cast spells under such overwhelming pressure.

However, remembering yesterday’s sniper battle, where Entik had fled in panic from the terrifying Alice, Grimm’s nascent fear evaporated.

You were chased by Alice, yet that same Alice escaped from me. Perhaps you haven’t even recovered from your wounds! Hiding beneath your hood—trying to conceal your battered body?

Silently cheering himself on, Grimm felt a surge of pride. Thinking of Entik’s scarred face under the hood, he forced himself to withstand the pressure.

Entik’s gaze grew ever colder.

Though no words were exchanged, the subtle changes in their spiritual confrontation were keenly felt. Entik could even see, beneath Grimm’s stern facade, a mocking smile.

Suddenly—

Entik’s eyes within the hood flared with cold, burning green flames. His gathered spiritual power surged, threatening to erupt.

But in the next moment, Grimm disappeared from his gaze, replaced by a beautiful face almost dizzying in its allure.

Mary in red glared fiercely at Entik, her lips moving silently. Though dozens of meters apart, Entik could read her words.

“He’s mine! Touch him, and I’ll kill you too!”

The words were brief, but their fierce and domineering aura was unmistakable.

Entik’s malicious eyes grew colder still.

From every angle, this nouveau-riche Mary in red was no match for him—most of her skills were countered by his own. But… he had to admit, he was far from his peak. To be blunt, he was at his lowest ebb.

With most of his scorpion bugs destroyed and needing days to regrow, fighting Mary now—even if victorious—would drain him further.

Ever adept at patience and concealment, Entik finally turned away, avoiding Mary’s challenging gaze and falling silent.

“You really know how to stir up trouble! Even daring to provoke Entik the Pest!” Having driven him off, Mary finally turned to tease Grimm.

Grimm could only smile wryly.

Most of this enmity was drawn onto me by you, wasn’t it?

Yet, faced with Mary’s domineering presence, he felt no resentment or complaint. Strangely, he sensed from her an inexplicable trust and… dependence.

Dependence?

Grimm shook his head, amused by his own absurd thought. Surely, it was just the mental exhaustion from the alchemy experiment.

The subtle interaction with Entik had drawn the interest of the other two senior apprentices, their gazes lingering on Mary and Grimm.

Mary, like a bristling she-cat guarding her territory, continued to intimidate them, her posture unyielding.

As the atmosphere in the hall grew ever more tense, a flicker of light and shadow appeared on the dais, and Master Anderson’s hunched, gaunt figure materialized.

His cold gaze swept the hall. Leaning on his sorcery staff, Anderson was silent for a moment before finally speaking.

“Today I have both good news and bad news for you.”

Everyone in the hall instantly held their breath.

“The good news is you are about to receive the richest batch of resource rewards in your lives.” Anderson’s sinister gaze scanned the crowd. Seeing no one lose their composure at the surprise, he nodded in satisfaction. “The bad news is… each of you must undertake a compulsory task.”

With a tap of his staff, a translucent screen was projected onto the dais, instantly displaying countless lines of flickering green text, cascading like a waterfall.

...

Redwood Town Exotic Creature Survey
Talin Flower Purchase
Fir Fortress Defense Mission
Twilight Valley Guard Assignment
Lowing Hunting Grounds Cleanup
...

...

Line after line, column after column—most were apprentice-level tasks within the scattered forest towers’ controlled territory.

Originally, as apprentices of the Swamp Tower, they only needed to complete duties of patrol and resource protection, forming a relatively closed circle. But now, with Anderson suddenly opening all apprentice-level tasks across the forest towers’ region, did this signal some major change?

Some apprentices with insight couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.