Chapter 251: Chapter 26: The Slate and the Conspiracy

“Hello, Casu, Saphia. I am Anvis.”

“I think Saphia’s viewpoint is correct.”

Smiling as he took over the conversation, Anvis touched his chest with his right hand and nodded slightly to acknowledge the two of them.

Then he gestured towards the distant jungle.

“Have you noticed that there seems to be a special force field surrounding this area? If my Perception isn’t wrong, it should be a ‘wall’ that temporarily prevents us from leaving.”

“Force field?”

Hearing this, Casu immediately expressed some skepticism.

He was the first person to arrive here, and although it was less than half a minute earlier than Anvis, he hadn’t detected any force field nearby.

Saphia fiddled with the Magic Cube in her hand, although it was unclear what she did exactly. Moments later, a series of data stream-like fine Runes lit up and flickered across the surface of the cube.

“…Anvis is correct. Taking the oak tree as the center, with a radius of five kilometers, the strength is unknown.”

Looking at the results displayed on the cube, Saphia said in an even tone.

“Five kilometers away?! No way, is it really there?”

On receiving an unexpectedly affirmative answer from the girl, Casu was startled, his black cloak quivering like smoke.

Perception was one of his weaknesses, merely able to reach close to the level of a Fourth Rank, with a maximum range of about one and a half kilometers.

For something as far away as five kilometers, he could only detect it with the use of a Secret Technique, but that would be unnecessary.

“Yes, the most likely possibility is a blocking force field, with a probability of 83.42 percent. The second possibility is hidden spatial obstruction with a 9.6 percent chance, and subsequent possibilities are negligible.”

In response to Casu’s doubts, the girl with blue hair and purple eyes emotionlessly tapped the Inscriptions on the cube, delivering an extremely precise answer.

While the three were discussing, a bright White Light like that of stars appeared once again in the clearing of the forest.

All three of them were simultaneously drawn to the light, and when it dissipated, a girl appeared on the spot, dressed in deep Silver Blue inscribed Light Armor, a long sword dangling from her waist, and flame-gold waist-length hair.

Finding her body back to normal, she gently opened her eyes, which were an exceptionally rare shimmering golden-red.

After exchanging glances with the three varied individuals present, the girl began to slowly speak, wanting to ask something.

But at that moment, a cold Spiritual fluctuation suddenly spread rapidly from the crown of the oak tree, instantaneously reaching all four of them.

“Trial examination, the force field will disappear in five minutes, find the true venue within twelve Magic Time.”

After reading the message from the Spiritual fluctuation, Casu organized the content, picking out the key points.

“It seems that the new arrivals here tonight should just be the four of us.”

Saphia nodded lightly, her voice still flat as she added.

“The recent message didn’t mention any restrictions related to the trial, nor any hints about the location of the venue. Since it’s an examination for new members, the difficulty should be within a certain limit.

I think either the area here isn’t too large, enough for us to search thoroughly within twelve Magic Time, or there are relevant clues within the surrounding environment.”

“That should be the case. The place where clues are most likely present is this oak tree.”

Anvis nodded in agreement, incidentally mentioning the location of the first trial in his memory.

“Wait, hold on… What are you talking about? Could you explain the situation a bit more?”

Listening to the discussion of the three, the Knight Girl who appeared last was full of Confusion, unsure how to join in.

“As you can see, we’re not directly at the venue right now, but in a trial examination scene.”

With a relaxed and comforting smile, Anvis calmly began to explain the current situation to the girl.

“If we want to officially become members of the True Knowledge Society, we need to find the real venue location within the next twelve hours, otherwise, we will lose the qualification.”

As he spoke, Anvis turned toward the other two with a smile, his light silver monocle reflecting the soft moonlight, making his deep blue eyes look especially profound.

“The three of us, how about we introduce ourselves briefly? At least for now, we all have the same goal and can act together temporarily.”

“I am Anvis, a Mage from the Mystical School, just over one year since enrollment, with early Third Rank strength.”

As the proposer, Anvis was the first to introduce himself.

“Saphia, from the Transformation School, enrolled for one year, intermediate Second Rank.”

The girl with light blue wavy long hair played with the cube in her hand as she succinctly introduced herself.

“I am Casu, of the Necromancy School, currently in my second year of enrollment, at the early Third Rank.”

The cloaked figure of Casu shifted, turning towards the last girl who had appeared.

“I am Alisa, a Magic Knight, admitted for one year, with high Second Rank strength.”

Hearing the others introduce themselves, the knight girl with golden-red eyes hurriedly followed suit.

“Good, Saphia, Casu, Alisa, shall we start exploring that oak tree immediately? Once the force field disappears, there’s no telling what might change around here.”

Anvis nodded and naturally took over the lead.

This suggestion was met with agreement from the three of them, and with a clear goal in mind, they began to examine the giant oak tree without hesitation.

As everyone searched carefully, soon enough, with the dissolution of a hidden illusion magic array, a fragmented black stone slab appeared before them.

The slab was engraved with an incomplete Guiding Array, and judging from the intact lines, this slab was but one-fifth of the entire array.

Seeing the stone slab, Anvis’s initially heightened anxiety was somewhat relieved; the first step of the trial still matched his memory.

“It seems what we need to do is gather the rest of these stone slab fragments.”

Casu shook his cloak, speaking lightly.

“With this slab as a medium, it should be quite simple.”

“The Locating Technique doesn’t work on it, Casu, do you have any other methods?”

With slender fingers pressing on the surface of the silver-blue cube, Saphia tried and then shook her head.

“Of course!”

Casu nodded confidently, and at the same time, a pale bone Magic Wand appeared in his hand.

Accompanied by his chanting, a silver-white Mini Skeleton emerged from the ground.

He handed the stone slab to the skeleton, and with eyes burning with a unique bright silver Soul Fire, it took a look and then placed the slab inside its ribcage. The whole skeleton then transformed, turning into a silver bone Compass.

The silver-gleaming needle spun briefly before pointing towards a direction in the gloomy Dream Forest.

“The nearest stone slab fragment is to our northwest.”

After glancing at the compass in hand, Casu looked towards the other three.

“Let’s set off, everyone, and stay alert. Since this is called a trial, it’s likely that this place isn’t safe.”

Anvis looked at him approvingly, sensing a faint hint of Space-Time Power emanating from that skeleton.

.….….

While Anvis and the others were exploring, in a ravine of the surface Dream World.

A high-level Secret Ceremony Array with an extremely complicated Engraving Structure, hundreds of meters in diameter, was emitting a pale blue glow atop a temporarily constructed huge stone platform.

Next to the array stood a tall, thin figure wearing a smooth, pale mask and a black robe.

He held a metal nameplate, his gaze fixed on a Magic Hourglass on the ground that was nearly out of sand.

On the nameplate in his hand, there was an emblem carved with a semi-open eye, and an uneven deep-red nonagon star engraved within the pupil, as though weeping blood.