Wizard: Starting with Dealing with Magical Plants

Chapter 303 Ellie's Test

The testing hall is located on the third basement level of the wooden tower, a spacious and bright circular space.

The ground was paved with smooth black stone slabs, and the walls were etched with countless fine, shimmering rune lines, clearly forming a large-scale comprehensive testing array.

The dome hangs high, inlaid with many large magic crystals, which can project different energy fields or illusions as needed.

Several young men and women were already waiting in the hall. They all appeared to be newly joined apprentices or low-level wizards who were about to be evaluated. They kept their distance from each other, and their expressions ranged from nervous to feigned composure.

The young assistant led Rowling and Ellie to a row of waiting seats at the edge of the hall and said softly, "Please wait here. The tests will be conducted in numerical order."

"When it's your turn, the runes on the wall will light up with the corresponding color and number, and there will be an audio prompt."

"The test items include mental strength and stability, mana purity and reserves, basic elemental affinity, knowledge quizzes, and combat simulations."

"The specific details will be determined by the assessment mentor on duty."

"Relax and just perform normally."

After saying that, the young assistant turned and left.

Rowling and Ellie sat down in the empty seats.

Ellie couldn't help but look around, then whispered, "Mr. Rowling, will the test here be difficult?"

"Just follow the standard procedure." Luo Lin's gaze calmly swept over the open space in the center of the hall, as well as the several platforms around the open space that were obviously test points, with different instruments placed on them.

"The main objective is to understand the basic skills and potential of new members in order to allocate mentors and resources."

"We will simply present the facts as they are."

Ellie nodded, took a deep breath, and tried to calm herself down.

She subconsciously touched the copy of "The Art of Green Wood Spirit Condensation" that she kept close to her body and the notes that Luo Lin had given her, as if she could draw power from them.

The wait wasn't long. After about ten minutes, the rune array on one side of the hall lit up with a soft blue light, and a clear number "seven" appeared. At the same time, a gentle female voice echoed in the hall: "Number seven, please proceed to test station number three."

A somewhat thin boy who looked about fifteen or sixteen years old stood up nervously and walked towards a platform in the central area where a crystal ball and intricate markings were placed.

Test begins.

Mental strength test, mana purity test, elemental affinity test—the boy was clearly a little nervous and his performance was not very stable. Especially during the elemental affinity test, when faced with several energy crystals representing different basic elements, his mental guidance seemed quite clumsy. He only managed to light up the wind attribute crystal relatively brightly, while the other crystals showed a weak reaction.

The test was conducted by a middle-aged witch with a serious face and her hair neatly tied back. She recorded the data without expression throughout, occasionally offering a brief prompt.

The boy stumbled during the knowledge quiz. He answered a few questions about basic spell models and the conservation of energy fairly well, but when it came to deeper questions about rune linkage and the principle of energy field superposition, he seemed to be struggling.

The final simulation took place in a temporarily generated illusionary scene covered with a thin layer of snow, where the player fought a snow sprite made of energy with simple movements.

The boy managed to defeat his target with a few low-level wind blade spells, but he was also quite exhausted and panting heavily.

After recording the final data, the middle-aged witch nodded and said in a calm tone: "Mental strength is average, stability is acceptable."

The purity of the magic power is average, and the reserves are relatively low.

Element affinity is biased towards wind, but weak in others;

The basic knowledge is not well grasped;

Unfamiliar with real-world combat situations.

"Overall assessment: Basic apprentice, recommended assignment to the Elements and Energy Fundamentals Department, to receive systematic training under Master Marlowe."

The boy seemed to have expected this outcome and was not disappointed. Instead, he breathed a sigh of relief, bowed to the witch, and then left the hall with another assistant.

The next few newcomers also underwent testing, and their skill levels varied.

Some elements have excellent affinity, but their mental control is rough;

Some have solid theoretical knowledge but lack practical adaptability;

There was also a boy who seemed quite interested in ancient runes. He performed brilliantly in the knowledge quiz, but during the practical simulation, he was so nervous that he was almost pounced on by an illusionary creature.

Rolin observed silently, gaining a general understanding of the Secret Language Council's testing standards and evaluation methods.

Pragmatic, direct, and focused on comprehensive abilities and potential rather than simply rank or background.

This does indeed match Hawke and Morpheus's descriptions.

Finally, the runes on the wall lit up again, this time with a green light, displaying the number "twelve".

"Number 12, please proceed to test station number one."

Ellie's body stiffened slightly.

Rowling gently patted her shoulder: "Go on, relax."

Ellie nodded vigorously, stood up, and walked towards the platform in the central area where the elemental affinity test had been conducted previously.

The middle-aged witch glanced at the information in her hand: "Ellie, a natural energy apprentice, from Blackrock Town."

"Okay, let's begin."

The first test was a mental strength test. Ellie placed her hands on the transparent crystal ball, closed her eyes, and tried her best to concentrate.

A soft, pale green light, like the first buds of spring, began to emanate from inside the crystal ball. The light gradually intensified and stabilized in a medium-to-high brightness range.

"Mental strength is moderate, stability is good, very stable."

The witch nodded slightly and wrote her comments on the record board.

Ellie had followed Rowling through the wilderness for a long time, experiencing many dangers, and her spirit and will had been tempered to be far more resilient than that of her peers.

The second project is about the purity and reserves of magical energy.

Ellie doesn't have a formal mana pool; she only has a little natural energy accumulated from cultivating the "Azure Wood Spirit Gathering Technique."

The test instrument's response was very weak, with pitifully low values, but the energy ripples it emitted were exceptionally pure and gentle, with almost no impurities.

"The mana reserves are extremely low, but the purity—is very high, an extremely pure natural energy." A hint of surprise flashed in the witch's eyes as she looked up at Ellie. "What kind of meditation technique do you practice?"

"The Azure Wood Spiritual Art," Ellie answered honestly.

"The Azure Wood Spirit Condensation Technique?" The witch frowned, seemingly searching her memory. "A very ancient, basic natural meditation method, rarely practiced these days. I didn't expect it to retain such pure energy properties—not bad."

The third project is element affinity.

When Ellie faced those energy crystals, her natural energy instinctively gravitated towards the wood element, which represents life and growth.

Although there are no special wood-attribute testing crystals here, natural energy resonates slightly with crystals representing "water" and "earth".

The crystals representing "fire" showed no reaction and even seemed to repel the element.

"Elemental affinity — leaning towards wood, water, and earth, and repelling fire."

"It conforms to the characteristics of natural energy," the witch noted, then asked, "Besides natural energy, have you tried to contact or learn about other elements?"

Ellie shook her head: "No."

The witch stopped asking questions and moved on to a knowledge-based Q&A session.

The questions cover the basic properties of natural energy, identification of common herbs, principles of basic healing techniques, and some basic survival skills in the wild.

Ellie's answers were mostly based on her understanding of the "Green Wood Spirit Technique" and her actual experience following Rolin. Although some parts were not systematic or standardized, they often hit the key points, especially in terms of plant characteristics and energy perception, where her insights were quite unique.

"His theoretical knowledge is not systematic enough, but his practical perception and understanding are very strong," the witch commented. "Especially his subtle perception of life energy, which is beyond the level of an ordinary apprentice."

The last project is a practical simulation.

The illusionary scene that appears is a lush, dappled woodland. Ellie's opponent is a slow-moving but surprisingly powerful woodland sprite made of twisted vines and roots.

Ellie took a deep breath and didn't rush to attack like the other apprentices before her.

She first moved quickly through the woodland, using the trees as cover, while simultaneously drawing upon natural energy to try and sense the emotions and patterns of the plants in her environment.

She discovered that although the plants in this hallucination scene were made of energy, they also seemed to follow certain basic laws of nature.

When the woodland sprite lashed out with its vines, Ellie didn't take the blow head-on; instead, she nimbly hid behind a large tree.

Then, she tried to infuse a gentle amount of natural energy into the tree.

The moment the energy was injected, the branches and leaves of the tree seemed to tremble slightly. Although it was not a real living thing, the plant veins simulated by the illusion were stimulated by the energy. When the vines that were whipping over touched the marked tree, their speed and power were slightly slowed down.

Ellie seized the opportunity!

She emerged from behind the tree, conjuring a small ball of vibrant green natural energy in her hand. Instead of attacking the forest sprite's body, she aimed precisely at the junction of several of its main roots that were deeply embedded in the ground!

The explosion of the sphere of light contained vital energy that had a peculiar disruptive effect on the growth-oriented and life-giving structure of the vines and roots.

The forest sprite stiffened noticeably, and several of its roots even twisted unnaturally.

Ellie didn't stop; she immediately channeled natural energy again, trying to soothe and guide the surrounding low shrubs.

Although they couldn't actually attack, stimulated by natural energy, the branches and leaves of these shrubs moved without wind, which just happened to block the forest spirits' pursuit.

The forest spirits grew even more agitated, wildly waving their vines and striking the bushes, wasting their own energy.

Ellie continued to maneuver, sometimes using natural energy to interfere with its roots, sometimes stimulating the surrounding plants to create obstacles, and even trying to use condensed natural energy to form tiny spikes to attack the weak points around the spirit's energy core.

This was the idea she learned from Rowling: to find the key points of any energy structure.

The battle lasted for about five minutes. Finally, the forest sprite's energy was exhausted due to constant interference and its own pointless consumption, and it dissipated into specks of light.

Although Ellie was also quite exhausted and her face was pale, she had no injuries, only a significant energy depletion.

Throughout the entire process, she did not use any powerful offensive spells, relying solely on her understanding of natural energy, agile movements, and tactical application to wear down her opponent.

The testing hall was quiet for a moment.

The other waiting newlyweds looked at Ellie in surprise.

They had never seen this kind of fighting before.

The middle-aged witch was silent for a moment, then quickly took notes, a glint of admiration in her eyes.