Chapter 0034: Facing the Sun, Turning One's Back in Shadow

Since he had already chosen the task he liked, it was time to hurry and register. After all, each task had a clear indication of the number of people already signed up and the total required. Once the quota was filled, the task would immediately vanish from the list and enter the execution phase. If he acted too late, the task he desired could slip through his fingers right before his eyes.

As soon as the Tower Sorcerer Anderson released the tasks, he returned to his quarters without another word, leaving all the subsequent registration work, as was only natural, to the head apprentice, Allen.

Unsurprisingly, the only green task—guarding the Swamp Tower—was instantly claimed by Allen, along with several apprentices close to him who also became the lucky ones. As for the remaining spots, which were clearly still available, he monopolized them as well, adopting an air of a price-gouging merchant—whoever bid highest would get a place.

The weakest of the junior apprentices clustered around him, seething with resentment but not daring to show it, forced to bargain in hushed, submissive tones. Some of the more attractive female apprentices fluttered their lashes, flocking around Allen with coquettish charm, forming an impenetrable barrier at his side. Meanwhile, most of the other junior apprentices gathered around the three strongest, chattering indecisively, clearly uncertain about their choices.

Mary, with Grim in tow, approached the crowd’s edge. As her elegant brows arched, those whispering and giggling apprentices immediately scattered to the sides, clearing a path to the head apprentice, Allen.

Though Allen could act high and mighty before others, he could never muster such bravado before the three strongest and Mary.

The three strongest were unanimously recognized as the most formidable among the senior apprentices. In a head-on confrontation, someone like Allen—who had only barely reached intermediate level thanks to his magical implements—would be no match for the three, no matter how many followers he had.

As for Mary, Allen was truly terrified of her.

Even as head apprentice, the mere memory of Red Mary, drenched in blood and terrifying in her ferocity, made his heart pound with dread. And since Sorcerer Anderson had taken this Red Mary away only to return her unchanged, it was obvious he intended to let her roam unchecked within the tower. Without sufficient reason or excuse, Allen would never risk a direct conflict with Mary.

As Red Mary drew closer, Allen tried to compose himself, but his pallid face and shifty eyes betrayed his fear. Before this lawless vampiric she-devil, his dread was genuine.

“I want to register for the task to investigate the Shadowy Catacombs. Put my name down,” Mary demanded forcefully, as imperious as ever.

Without a word, Allen produced the magical token that represented his status as head apprentice. Channeling his mental energy into it, a small screen of light appeared, displaying the details of the task Mary had chosen.

Mary also produced her magical token and tapped it against the screen. Instantly, the number of participants for the task changed from 4/10 to 5/10. It seemed four apprentices had already signed up for the investigation before her.

Now it was Grim’s turn to choose a task.

“I’ll take the Kragg Alchemy Apprentice Trial,” Grim said calmly.

Allen glanced at him and silently adjusted the contents of the screen. With a flicker, the task Grim wanted appeared.

Grim wordlessly drew out his magical token and reached toward the screen. To his surprise, just as the token was about to touch the display, the task listing wavered strangely and shifted to the one Mary had just chosen.

Caught off guard, Grim’s token touched the screen.

The next second, the number of participants for the Shadowy Catacombs task changed from 5/10 to 6/10.

Such an unprecedented occurrence left everyone present stunned—even Allen wore a bewildered expression. Forcing a smile, he said, “Oh dear… What’s this? Did the magical device malfunction? What a mess… Maybe you should ask the sorcerer if you can withdraw from the task?”

While the others were still in shock, Red Mary was the first to explode.

Without a sound, her sharp nails gleamed with a ghostly light, slicing through the air with a piercing shriek aimed straight at Allen’s heart. At such close range, and with their vast difference in agility, she could well have torn out Allen’s heart before he even realized he’d been attacked.

Yet just as her deadly hand was halfway there, a dark, scaly claw shot out from the side and collided with hers.

The two hands seemed to clash only briefly in the air, but inexplicably, the monstrous claw instantly shattered, ground to dust by Mary’s razor-sharp nails. Though Mary appeared to have the upper hand in this exchange, the disintegrated claw shed no blood or flesh. Instead, the scattered fragments transformed into countless black-armored, black-tailed scorpion insects that swarmed to latch onto Mary’s delicate hand.

Mary stepped back, shaking her hand rapidly, quickly destroying the biting scorpions. By then, the figure shrouded in a cloak—Insect Entek—had already stepped to Allen’s side.

That monstrous hand had been his.

The swarming scorpions, buzzing like a returning hive, poured into Entek’s drooping sleeve and vanished. The eerie scene only underscored the sinister power of this insect master.

Grim, face pale, cast a final look at the screen before turning to quietly lead the bristling Mary away. For once, the usually fierce Mary refrained from acting rashly. Her keen senses had detected that the other two of the three strongest had also stood up, silently closing in on the scene.

Anyone who made it to apprentice level was no fool, and those who became senior apprentices were even more shrewd. Except for a few with particularly odd temperaments, most senior apprentices knew well how to keep a low profile. Clearly, the sudden rise of Red Mary had seriously threatened the dominance of the three strongest, who had now, deliberately or not, begun to unite in excluding her.

…

As they parted ways outside his quarters, Mary seemed about to offer Grim some comfort, only for him to gently refuse with a smile.

He stepped inside, closed the wooden door softly, and stood for a long while in the darkness.

He had seen the day’s events clearly; they had little to do with Mary. If he were to seek out the mastermind, Grim could say with confidence it was Insect Entek. Whether it was because Grim had stolen his thunder previously or the three strongest simply wanted to put Mary in her place, Allen’s little trick today had undoubtedly been at Entek’s behest.

When immortals clash, it’s the little devils who suffer.

Such was the tragedy of the weak.

So Grim had no intention of probing further. Instead, he needed to plan for his future.

That investigation of the Shadowy Catacombs was a textbook dangerous task. If he had the strength of an apprentice sorcerer, he would get through unscathed. If he were a senior apprentice, with caution, he might protect himself. But he was only a junior apprentice!

Thrown into a group of senior apprentices with his meager powers, even with Mary looking out for him, he needed to have some means of his own. Red Mary might remember the kindness he’d shown her when she was down, but not enough to risk her life for him.

Ultimately, Grim had to rely on his own strength for survival.

In the darkness, he drew from his pouch the earth golem he had just completed. The crystal core, no larger than a fingertip, glimmered faintly with the light of earth element. The four energy nodes carved into it continuously absorbed the drifting earth element from the air, storing it as combat energy.

Two of the four energy nodes were already lit; the earth energy was half full—time for a test.

Grim listened carefully for any sounds outside, then quietly opened the door and slipped away.

At this hour, most apprentices were likely still in the lecture hall, fretting over their forced tasks. Walking the corridors, Grim met not a single soul.

A quarter of an hour later, he was back on the familiar stony path outside the tower.

Yesterday’s battle among the senior apprentices had clearly taken a toll on the swamp monsters. Along the way, seeing their sparse, cowering figures, Grim couldn’t help but feel a rare pang of sorrow.

These monsters, usually so fearsome and sinister, were reduced to trembling prey before the mightier sorcerer apprentices, hiding futilely wherever they could.

Perhaps in their eyes, the sorcerer apprentices were the true monsters—more evil and cold-blooded than any creature of the swamp.

Following the stony path, Grim made his way to his chosen testing ground—the Mire Swamp.

Simba was dead, now transformed into the earth golem in his hand. With the swamp hags leaderless, it was the perfect time for target practice.

He stopped at the swamp’s edge. Five paces before him lay a foul, stinking pool. In the turbid, dim water, he could faintly sense the weak soul waves of three swamp hags.

He casually tossed the golem’s summoning crystal to the edge of the pool. As the pale yellow crystal touched earth and moisture, a strange ripple emanated from it.

Under the guidance of Grim’s mental energy, without any incantation, clouds of ochre dust began to swirl around the crystal. The ground, driven by some otherworldly force, rose and twisted into the shape of a human-like earthen golem.

Grim closed his eyes to sense it: his crafted crystal core was embedded in the golem’s chest.

He opened his eyes and looked it up and down.

This was the one thing that might yet change his fate.