Wizard: My career panel has no upper limit

Chapter 595 The Clown's Gift

Nydiel was sitting on a throne made of flames.

“Station Chief Nitil.” Standing before her was a middle-aged male wizard in uniform.

His voice was low, tinged with a tentative respect: "About that Ralph..."

The middle-aged wizard paused deliberately, wanting to see Nytil's reaction first.

"Speak." The voice from the throne was utterly cold and devoid of any emotion.

"According to our intelligence, he has returned from the fifth level of the abyss and is currently at the observation station completing the final procedures for the Golden Ring assessment."

The middle-aged wizard continued, his tone carrying a subtle implication:
"The assessment will officially begin in three days, at the 'Trial Grounds' on the seventh level of the Abyss."

"And then?" Nitil's eyes remained unmoved.

“Then…” The middle-aged wizard swallowed hard, seemingly choosing his words carefully:

"As the acting station chief of the observation station, you now have partial supervisory authority over the assessment process."

While we can't directly interfere with the assessment content, we can make some minor adjustments in certain aspects.

He lowered his voice even further as he said this:
"For example, the environmental parameters of the testing site, the stability of the magic supply, or even certain 'unexpected factors' within the testing grounds..."

Nitil finally raised her head and looked at her confidante.

Those eyes were like two solidified molten lava, devoid of warmth, only pure coldness.

"What do you think?" she began slowly, each word seemingly squeezed out from between her teeth.
"Should I use my power to set up an 'accident' for Ron Ralph during the Golden Ring assessment?"

The middle-aged wizard's expression stiffened slightly, but he still forced himself to speak:
"Station Chief, that kid did make you lose face in front of everyone at the observation station."

You've just been promoted, a crucial time for establishing your authority. If you could take this opportunity…

"enough."

Nitil interrupted him.

She stood up, and the Flame Throne shattered into countless flying sparks the instant she left.

After hovering in mid-air for a moment, it reformed into a suspended ring of fire that circled behind her.

"Have your minds been corrupted by the chaotic aura of the abyss?"

Nitil's voice carried a hint of sarcasm:
"What do you think the Golden Ring Assessment is? Is it some kind of petty internal competition? Is it a game that people like you can interfere with at will?"

She turned around, her gaze sweeping over all her confidants with a sharp, piercing look:
"The level of the Golden Ring assessment is much higher than you imagine."

It is directly monitored by the academic alliance and the Court of Truth; a dedicated recorder is present for each examination, and every detail is documented.

As she spoke, she raised her hand and made a sweeping motion in the air, unfurling a curtain of light made of flames.

A dense list of names and rune symbols appeared above.

“Take a look at this,” Nitil pointed to a certain area on the screen.

"This is the list of supervisors for this Golden Ring assessment. See the name at the very top?"

All eyes turned to that direction, and their expressions changed simultaneously.

That name is: Archmage "Recorder" Vasiguld, Truth Court containment sequence 23.

“And this one.” Nitil pointed to another name:
"Elvenstrard, the Discipline Elder of the School Alliance. Do you know what these two people mean?"

No one dared to answer.

“They are mad dogs operating under the rules,” Nitil sneered.
"They don't care about factions, personal relationships, or any exchange of benefits."

All they care about is the rules themselves.

Her voice gradually became stern:
"That old madman Gould once reported a great wizard to the Wizard Council because the wizard had cheated in a similar test."

Finally, the great wizard was stripped of his right to colonize for the next fifty years and imprisoned in the Court of Truth's cell for twenty years to reflect on his actions.

"As for Elwin..." she sneered.
"This guy is even more ruthless. Last year, a family tried to bribe the examiners to help their child pass the professional enchanter exam, but he found out about it."

Do you know what happened next? Three core members of that family were 'exiled' and banished to the ninth level of the abyss.

There was dead silence in the office.

“So,” Nytil turned around and sat back down on the Flame Throne, “…”
"You still think I should risk being targeted by those two old lunatics, Gould and Elwin, just to assassinate Ron Ralph? You really need to get your brains checked."

The middle-aged wizard turned pale and quickly bowed his head: "This subordinate is foolish, please forgive me, stationmaster."

“Stupidity is secondary; the key issue is that you haven’t grasped the situation.”

Nitil's voice softened somewhat:
"There was indeed a conflict between me and Ralph."

The failure of that meeting made me a laughing stock among my fellow wizards.

If conditions permit, I would certainly be willing to find an opportunity to teach him a lesson.

"But then again," she changed the subject:
"Such retaliation must be carried out within a reasonable and legal framework, must not violate the rules, and must not cause trouble for oneself."

"The Golden Ring assessment clearly does not meet these conditions."

Intervening would come at too high a price, with too much risk and too little reward. It's simply not worth it no matter how you look at it.

She stood up, walked to her confidants, and spoke with a lecturing tone:
“You must remember one thing—the mark of political maturity is not the ability to attack the enemy by any means necessary.”

On the contrary, it's about knowing when to act, when to withdraw, and when to be patient.

"Ron Ralph is indeed a smart young man, and he really did make me suffer."

But so what? He's still alive, and so am I.

The road ahead is long, and opportunities abound. Why rush things and put yourself in a dangerous situation?

Her words revealed a calm and rational calculation:
"Moreover, given his current momentum, if he really passes the Golden Ring assessment and is promoted, he will soon leave the observation station and move to a higher level."

By then, we'll have less and less overlap, and the likelihood of conflict will decrease.

"If that's the case, why offend the Court of Truth and the Alliance of Schools over such a small grudge?"

The people in the office looked at each other, and finally all lowered their heads.

"All of you, get out of here." Nitil waved her hand.

"Go do what you're supposed to do. There's a ton of daily work to do at the observatory. Don't waste your energy on this pointless scheming."

"Yes, stationmaster."

Everyone left the office.

When Nydiel was alone in the room, she sat back on the Flame Throne, gazing out at the Dark Sea, and sighed softly.

“Ron Ralph…” she murmured to herself.

I hope you can pass the assessment smoothly.

If the opportunity arises in the future, I'd like to see just how far you can go.

Flames leaped behind her, casting her shadow on the wall like that of a silent king.

The seventh level of the abyss, the "Trial Grounds".

This is one of the oldest areas of the entire observatory.

It is said that this training ground already existed when the Abyss exploration system was established.

The central control hub of the trial grounds is located in the core underground area.

This is a huge circular hall, with countless crystal plates shimmering with runic light embedded in the walls.

Each crystal plate is connected to a specific area inside the trial grounds, displaying real-time data on environmental parameters, magic concentration, spatial stability, and other information for that area.

At this moment, the chief examiner, "Stone Skin" Bolin, is standing in front of the projector, carefully checking every detail.

He was a somewhat aged-looking high wizard, thin in build, with an unnatural grayish-white complexion.

That was a side effect of the fact that he solidified his most proficient "highly resistant skin".

This defensive spell greatly enhances all-around resistance, but it will gradually make the caster's skin as rough as stone.

Pauline's personality was as rigid and strict as his appearance.

His belief is simple: true strength must be proven through real tests.

Any attempt to take shortcuts or cheat is seen as blasphemy by him.

"Parameter calibration complete."

A deputy examiner of the Dark Sun level standing beside him reported:
"The difficulty levels of all three assessment stages have been adjusted to the standard values, the magic supply is stable, the spatial anchor points are fixed, and there will be no abnormalities."

“Very good.” Pauline nodded, his voice hoarse and deep:
How many people participated in this year's Golden Ring assessment?

"Seventeen in total, Professor Pauling." The assistant examiner flipped through the list in his hand:
"Six of them were taking the assessment for the second time, while the rest were trying for the first time."

"Is Ron Ralph on the list too?"

"Yes, Professor. He is taking the assessment for the first time, and at just twenty-nine years old, he has set a record as the youngest challenger for the Golden Ring assessment in the history of the observatory."

Pauline's brow furrowed slightly:
"Twenty-nine years old? So young and he dares to challenge the Golden Ring assessment? Has his magic compression reached the required level?"

"According to preliminary tests, it has reached more than four times the normal level."

The assistant examiner answered respectfully:
"In addition, his achievements in abyss exploration are also quite outstanding. He has completed several high-risk missions with a 100% team survival rate."

"Hmph." Pauline snorted coldly.
"Young people are always like this, thinking that they are exceptionally talented and can ignore the rules and challenge higher-level tests in advance."

Little did they know, the Golden Ring assessment tested not only magic and talent, but more importantly, character, experience, and the ability to cope with the unknown.

He turned around and looked at the assistant examiners behind him:
"Remember this: absolutely no leniency will be allowed during the assessment process."

Regardless of who the assessor is or their background, the standard procedure must be followed.

"Yes, Professor," everyone replied in unison.

"Then, let's begin the final system check."

Bolin walked to the control panel, preparing to activate the assessment array:

"Once the magic array is activated, the assessment will officially begin in three days..."

He suddenly stopped talking.

Because, at that moment, all the lights in the control room went out.

It wasn't a gradual dimming, nor a slow fading; it was a sudden, complete, and absolute darkness.

It was as if all the light sources in the world were erased at the same moment.

"What's going on?" Pauline realized that he had also failed to activate the Light spell.

His voice rang out in the darkness, tinged with obvious wariness:
"What about the emergency procedures? Why weren't they activated?"

No one answered.

Or rather, they haven't had a chance to answer yet.

Because the next second, a piercing bell rang out in the control room.

The voice was sharp, distorted, and filled with a kind of absurd comedic quality.

Like the mocking sound of a bell hanging from a clown's hat as it is shaken wildly.

All the wizards present froze.

They recognized the sound of the bell.

This is the mark of the king of absurdity.

In the darkness, the crystal plates that were originally engraved with runes suddenly lit up again.

What they display is no longer the normal environmental parameters and data streams.

Instead, there were frantically flashing clown mask patterns:
Some were laughing, some were crying, some were screaming, and some were silent...

Countless masks twisted and transformed on the crystal plate, creating a dizzying visual impact.

"His Majesty Saint Hector..."

Pauline's voice became cautious, and he immediately bowed in a certain direction:
"What is the purpose of Your Majesty's arrival here?"

There was no answer, only those masks, their expressions constantly shifting.

Then, under everyone's gaze, the holographic projection in the center of the control room began to distort.

The three-dimensional map that originally marked the structure of the trial grounds gradually deformed, twisted, and reassembled.

Ultimately, it transformed into a giant theatrical mask made of light.

The mask had a smiling left half and a crying right half.

“Dear Pauline.”

A voice came from the mask, a voice that was light, bouncy, and full of a kind of mischievous pleasure:
You look a little nervous.

"Relax, I'm just here to...adjust the difficulty of the assessment a little."

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Bolin's forehead.
"Your Majesty, the difficulty level of the Golden Ring assessment is set according to the standards of the School Alliance. Changing it arbitrarily would likely cause..."

"Wouldn't that attract the attention of the Truth Court and the Alliance of Schools?"

The King of Absurdity's voice carried a clear hint of sarcasm:
"Don't worry, little Pauline, I wouldn't do something so stupid."

I was just... adding a tiny bit of extra 'surprise' for a particular participant.

“And,” his voice became even more cheerful:
"This adjustment was made within the scope permitted by the rules."

After all, one of the assessment rules clearly stipulates:
The examiner can adjust the difficulty of the assessment according to the actual situation of the participants.

What I'm doing now is simply helping you exercise this right.

Pauline's expression grew even more grim: "Your Majesty, the 'certain particular participant' you mentioned, you mean...?"

"Ron Ralph."

The king of absurdity made no attempt to conceal his name:

"That little guy is very interesting."

I've been feeling a bit bored lately, so I wanted to see how he would perform under extreme pressure.

His voice held a hint of amusement: "So, I've decided to adjust the difficulty of his assessment to... its maximum."

"Maximum value?!" one of the deputy examiners couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "But that... has already exceeded the difficulty that a Moon-level examiner can handle!"

“That’s right.” The King of Absurdity’s voice was filled with mischievous excitement: “That’s what makes it interesting.”

His words echoed in the control room:
"Moreover, I have already made the design in advance. All three assessment stages will be 'dramatically adapted' by me."

The control room was deathly silent.

The examiners present could all tell that the King of Absurdity was serious this time.

He really intended to adjust the difficulty of Ron's test to a level that was almost impossible to complete.

“But, Your Majesty…” Pauline began with difficulty:
“If the difficulty is too high, leading to the death or mental breakdown of such a genius, wouldn’t the loss be somewhat…” “I understand what you mean, don’t worry.” The King of Absurdity interrupted him lightly:

"I have set up sufficient protective measures at every stage."

If he really can't hold on any longer, he'll be automatically teleported out. At most, he'll suffer some psychological trauma, but his life won't be in danger.

"Moreover," his voice carried an unspoken meaning:

"If he can't even pass this test, then he's not worthy of the expectations I have for him."

"However, if he actually passes..."

All the mask patterns in the control room suddenly froze into the same expression:
A smile full of anticipation, tinged with a touch of madness.

"If he really passes."

The King of Absurdity's voice became solemn:
“I guarantee that when Ron Ralph advances to the Dark Sun level, he will not need to undergo the Star Ring level assessment and will be directly promoted to the Star Ring level Explorer.”

These words struck like a thunderbolt, resounding in everyone's hearts.

Star Ring Explorer is one of the highest honors in the current Abyss Exploration System.

Only wizards who have made outstanding contributions at the Dark Sun level are qualified to be awarded this title.

The King of Absurdity is now promising Ron to skip the normal promotion process and directly obtain the title.

Such treatment is extremely rare, even in the entire history of abyss exploration.

“This…” Pauline opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

Because he understood.

The King of Absurdity's actions this time, seemingly unreasonable, seemingly willful, seemingly just a prank on a whim, are in fact a real test.

He wanted to see if Ron was truly qualified to be the person he entrusted with important responsibilities.

"Alright, I've finished speaking." The King of Absurdity's voice became light and cheerful again:

"Now, let's see how that little guy performs."

The mask began to fade away, and the lights in the control room returned to normal.

The holographic projection transformed back into a 3D map of the training grounds.

However, the three areas that were originally marked as "standard difficulty" on the map have now been remarked.

The new markers feature clown images with different expressions.

Bolin stood up, looked at the three areas, remained silent for a long time, and finally just sighed.

“Notify everyone,” he said to the deputy examiner beside him, “to make adjustments according to His Majesty’s decree.”

“Furthermore,” he thought for a moment, then said:

Send a special notification to Ron Ralph.

Tell him that his assessment will be much more difficult than others, and ask him if he is willing to accept the challenge.

"Yes, Professor."

The assistant examiner turned and left to carry out the order.

………………

Ron was sitting in his study, with several assessment-related documents borrowed from the observatory's archives spread out in front of him.

Just then, a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

"Come in," he said without looking up.

The door slid open silently, and a young witch in an observatory uniform walked in.

She looked somewhat nervous, holding a sealed crystal letter in her hands.

“Researcher Ralph,” the witch said, bowing slightly, her voice tinged with apprehension.

"This is a special notice personally entrusted to me by the chief examiner, the great wizard Paulin."

According to the regulations, you need to read and respond on the spot.

Ron then looked up, his gaze falling on the crystal letter.

He reached out and took the letter, his fingertips touching the crystal surface, and the runes suddenly lit up.

It then transformed into countless tiny specks of light, which reassembled into lines of floating text in the air.

The words lingered in the air for a moment before gradually disappearing.

There was a brief silence in the room.

The witch responsible for delivering the message stood at the door, carefully observing the other person's expression, trying to read some emotional fluctuations from his face.

But they found that the young man remained calm throughout, as if what he had just seen was just an ordinary notice.

“As expected, it’s going to be like this…”

Ron muttered to himself.

"What did I say?"

Acelia's voice echoed deep within his consciousness, her tone tinged with obvious schadenfreude:
"That 'kind' clown king has indeed prepared a 'big gift' for you."

A dramatic adaptation? The most difficult one yet? Wow, looks like he really 'has high hopes' for you.

"After all, I've taken so much from them," Ron thought to himself.
"There's always a price to pay; there's no such thing as a free lunch."
Moreover, at this level of existence, every "gift" they give inevitably comes with some form of exchange.

"So, what's your choice?" Acelia asked with great interest.

"Refusing might seem cowardly, but it guarantees your survival."

If you accept... tsk, with the Witch King personally adding extra ingredients, it's hard to say whether you'll survive.

Ron didn't answer immediately.

He closed his eyes and began to rapidly mentally rehearse the scenario.

Why would the King of Absurdity do this?
On the surface, it seems like a spur-of-the-moment prank, a torture designed for amusement.

Is it really that simple?

If it were merely for amusement, given the King of Absurdity's personality, he could easily have made adjustments without his knowledge.

Wouldn't it be even more interesting if he found out the difficulty had increased dramatically after he entered the assessment?
Since you chose to inform him in advance, give him the right to refuse.

That means... this test itself includes a test of whether one dares to accept the challenge.

And even if we take a step back and assume that we were cowardly this time, will the other party really let it go so easily in the future?

"Researcher Ralph?"

Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, the witch who delivered the message couldn't help but speak up to remind him:
"Do you... need more time to consider?"

"No need."

“Tell the High Wizard of Bolin,” Ron said, enunciating each word clearly, “I accept.”

The witch paused for a moment, seemingly surprised that he agreed so readily.
"Are you...are you sure? The notice clearly states that the difficulty will be far greater than..."

“I’m sure,” Ron interrupted her.
"Since His Majesty has specially prepared this 'feast' for me, wouldn't it be too disrespectful of me to refuse?"

The witch gave him a deep look, and finally nodded:
"I understand. I will convey your reply truthfully."

........................

Three days later, Ron stood at the entrance to the assessment, surrounded by a dozen other participants.

Each of these people exuded a suffocating aura of magic, their eyes filled with undisguised arrogance.

In their respective fields, they are all top performers among their peers, and are considered as potential candidates to reach the Dark Sun level or even become Grand Wizards.

But at this moment, everyone's attention was focused on the deputy examiner in front of the entrance.

She was a Dark Sun-level wizard dressed in a gray-black robe; her very existence was like a walking void.

As she stood there, the surrounding light seemed to be absorbed by her, forming a faint halo of shadow.

The wizard's face was covered by a hood, revealing only the outline of his jaw.

It was a paleness that was almost pathological.

"The rules for the first level are very simple."

The assistant examiner's voice seemed to come from the depths of an ice cellar:
"You will be randomly assigned to different areas on the seventh floor."

Each person's task is to collect a dimensional beacon and reach the central rendezvous point within seven days.

She raised her hand, and a crystal shimmering with an eerie light appeared at her fingertips:
"This is what a dimensional beacon looks like."

It will hide in every corner of the trial grounds, some in dangerous situations, and some disguised as other things.

Whether you find it or not depends on your wisdom, luck, and…”

The witch paused, her voice carrying a cruel mockery: "Understanding the nature of the abyss."

Ron sized up the other examinees around him.

Standing at the very front was a tall male wizard.

His left arm was wrapped in silver runic chains, emanating unsettling energy fluctuations; it must have been some kind of powerful control-type alchemical equipment.

Beside him, a petite witch held a bone staff.

The head of the staff is inlaid with three eyeballs, which are slowly rotating as if observing something unseen.

"The seventh level of the abyss," the deputy examiner continued, his voice carrying a warning.
"Most of you may never have set foot in this depth."

Here, the laws of physics are like paintings casually sketched by great men—a staircase that exists today may lead back to yesterday's starting point tomorrow.
The direction of gravity you feel right now may be completely reversed in the next second;
Even time itself, like crumpled paper, lets you see the result first, then experience the cause.

Her fingers traced a line in the air, and a crack appeared in the void, revealing the surging chaotic energy within.
"The essence of the seventh layer is the manifestation of 'dynamic chaos'."

Here, the only function of order is to nourish chaos.

Those who attempt to forcibly stabilize the environment using conventional magic often find their magic like water poured into boiling oil, only triggering a more violent and chaotic backlash.

She looked around at everyone:
"I've seen too many self-important geniuses killed by their own 'intelligence' on the seventh floor."

Remember, in the face of chaos, attempting to establish order is often tantamount to suicide. Sometimes, compliance is the only way to survive.

After saying that, she raised her hand without warning.

More than a dozen beams of light shot out from his fingertips, hitting the unsuspecting examinees present.

Ron felt a sudden dizziness, as if the space around him was being kneaded by a giant hand, with all dimensions twisting, folding, and recombining.

The feeling was like being stuffed into an extremely thin pipe and then being thrown out at a speed beyond one's comprehension...

The next moment, his feet landed heavily on some soft yet scalding ground.

Ron opened his eyes and found himself in a space that was almost impossible to describe by common sense.

The "sky" here is an unsettling deep purple, with countless tiny specks of light swimming within it.

However, upon closer inspection, it can be found that the trajectories of those light spots completely violate any known physical laws.

They sometimes accelerate, sometimes reverse, and sometimes even disappear suddenly in the air and then reappear in completely unrelated locations.

And the "ground" beneath our feet.
He looked down and found himself standing on a substance that resembled muscle tissue.

These tissues are an unnatural deep red, covered with vein-like patterns, and pulsate with some unseen heartbeat rhythm.

Each movement subtly alters the shape of the ground.

The originally flat areas will rise up, and the sunken areas will be raised, making the whole space seem like part of the body of some giant creature.

This is the vortex region.

Ron activated his "crisis awareness" ability, attempting to sense threats in his surroundings.

But the next second, he realized the seriousness of the problem.

The "crisis premonition" was indeed triggered, but the message it conveyed to him was completely chaotic.

He could sense danger approaching from the left, but at the same time he could also sense that the danger had disappeared from the right.

He could foresee something hitting his back, yet at the same time he "saw" the "reason" why the attack hadn't happened yet.

The entire premonition is like a jigsaw puzzle piece thrown into a blender; each piece is real, but when put together, it is absurd.

at this time……

A sharp whooshing sound came from behind him.

Ron turned around instinctively, only to find nothing behind him.

But the next second, a violent impact came from his shoulder.

He looked down and saw a dented wound on the "flowing protective barrier" of his left shoulder, from which blood was gushing out.

The cut surface of the wound was strangely twisted, as if it had been torn open from the inside by some invisible blade.

"Disordered chronology"

Ron gritted his teeth and suppressed the pain, immediately understanding what had happened:
"I felt the pain first, and then I 'saw' the result of the attack, but the 'reason' for the attack has not yet emerged."

Sure enough, just as this thought flashed through his mind, a fist-sized black rock suddenly appeared from the void and flew toward him at an astonishing speed.

The rock passed right through the spot where he had been injured.

In other words, the wound exists before the attack.

This bizarre reversal of cause and effect slightly disrupted my thought process.

"Time is not linear here."

He quickly analyzed the situation:
"The order of cause and effect has been disrupted."

The 'future outcome' I foresee may occur before the 'past causes'.

Just as he was thinking, the surrounding environment suddenly changed drastically.

The originally deep red ground began to flow like liquid.

Countless tentacle-like muscle tissues emerged from the ground and danced wildly in the air.

But the strangest thing is...

Ron saw that about ten meters in front of him, a huge mutant was lying on the ground, covered in blood, and was obviously dead.

Its body was in an extremely contorted posture, as if it had experienced unimaginable pain before its death.

But the next second, the "already dead" mutant suddenly leaped up from the ground, letting out a deafening roar, and pounced on Ron!

Its movements were fierce and swift, its claws gleaming with a corrosive dark green light, leaving a burning mark in the air with each swing.

(End of this chapter)