Wizard: Starts with Advanced Meditation

"Are they all targeting you alone?" Hughes asked.

"It wasn't originally like that, but I was the youngest among them when I was promoted to third-class apprentice, so they joined forces," Nora said bitterly.

She stared at the jagged gash she had broken off on the table, a surge of malice welling in her eyes, and said in a cold voice:

"Hughes, do you know what? Right now, most of the bastards who are eyeing Angelona's trump card and wishing I would disappear from the trial list immediately are actually our acquaintances."

"One is Dylan, the one from the Slyford family, another is Tilanie from the Lumbini family, and an apprentice named Campus Nister."

"Before, they would just try to sabotage my missions, but this time, on my way back after completing my mission, they took matters into their own hands!"

As she spoke, Nora's hands were already taut and white, her ten fingers digging deep into her palms, as if only the sharp pain could barely suppress the resentment in her heart.

"That misty swamp was already filled with miasma, and Dylan actually released his three Wind-Swallowing Wolves. While I was blinded by the miasma they exhaled, Tilani ran out as well."

"I was no match for them. Even my staff was crushed by Dylan. If I hadn't crushed the Flame Balm you gave me and used up my last chance for a near-death teleport, I probably would have been stuck in that damned swamp forever."

Nora looked at her faded leather armor, her voice filled with the lingering fear of surviving a close call.

This was not the first time she had been so close to death, but it was the first time she had felt an unprecedented sense of resentment towards "dying."

Hughes nodded, picked up the silver cutlery, skewered the lizard meat on the table, and then put it in his mouth to chew slowly.

Although the meat was already slightly cool, the moment he bit into it, the juices rich in magical substances inside still flowed into Hughes's throat like a warm current.

As he savored the delicious monster meat, he mentally processed Nora's current predicament.

Nora's reasons for giving up the Five Crowns Trial were nothing more than two things—the relentless targeting by the three, and the fact that she had already lost all her trump cards.

The Slynford and Lombney families are both families in the central district of Corella. Although neither of them are Golden Ring families, they have far more Third-Class Apprentices than the Craig family.

Perhaps because they lived in the same neighborhood, the two families had never gotten along.

At the height of the conflict, both families set their sights on the Craig family, who lived nearby, and made them their vassal families.

Hughes's father naturally disagreed. Joining one side would inevitably intensify the other's animosity, and besides, neither side was a Golden Ring family, so there was certainly no future in following them.

Not to mention that Hughes' father was obsessed with elevating the family back to the status of the Golden Ring family.

So he politely declined both sides' offers. Although he didn't completely offend either side, he did manage to offend both families to some extent.

As for that Campus, although Nora didn't know him, Hughes did. His family, like the Chiss family, was a first-level family.

Because they were both members of the family alliance, and the Chess family had a potion master, the Nister family had dealings with them.

Hughes was also a playmate of Moore and the others when he was young, so he had some impression of this family.

Hughes guessed that it was probably because of Campos's interference that Dylan and Tilani, who already had conflicts between their families, joined forces against Nora.

As for the reason? Perhaps it was because Campos coveted that trump card, and thus extended an olive branch to the other two through the Golden Ring family. Driven by mutual interests, they joined forces.

"Or perhaps..."

Hughes's eyes suddenly turned cold. Perhaps the Chiss family was up to something again, trying to use the Nister family to take action against those around him.

"Go ask Moore when you have time. Although we have him under control for now, his family is the most troublesome..."

Hughes muttered to himself, then looked up at the rune-covered leather armor on Nora.

The leather armor was made of the hide of a black magical beast, and in addition to some engraved runes, its surface was covered with mysterious silver magical patterns.

These patterns subtly radiate spatial energy, becoming increasingly dense in vital areas such as the shoulder armor and breastplate. Following the winding trajectory of the patterns, it appears that they spread along several key nodes.

However, these nodes were empty, with only a few marks on them.

Nora caught Hughes's gaze, and her pretty face flushed slightly. Then, she smiled slightly, a hint of teasing in her voice:

"Hughes...we're siblings, you know~"

Hughes realized what was happening, rubbed his forehead speechlessly, and said helplessly:

"I was just observing those magical runes, but they've all faded to almost invisible..."

Nora could only give a wry smile upon hearing this, and then lowered her head to deal with the food in front of her, which had already gone cold.

Her trump card was the rune-covered leather armor she wore, but in reality, the armor's only purpose was to support the gems embedded in it and activate their magical patterns.

The gems embedded in them, known as the Diswen Stones, are Nora's true trump card.

According to Nora, Disven was a formal wizard of the Space faction, and these Disven Stones were obtained in a secret realm he left behind during an adventure.

Their sole function is to teleport nearby dying creatures to random locations, but at least several hundred meters away from the original location.

Nora spent almost all of her savings from the past few years, and with the help of Lily's connections, she finally hired a low-level craftsman to embed these gems into the leather armor and activate them with spatial runes.

(Calling him a toolsmith sounds a bit strange, how about this toolsmith?)

It was thanks to these gems that allowed Nora to teleport to safety when she was on the verge of death that she was able to survive one near-death adventure after another.

Unfortunately, no matter how careful she was or how thrifty she was, the number of Disven Stones was limited, and according to Nora just now, she had already used up the last one.

Hughes remained silent, stroking the "Tidal Blessing" on his finger, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. His previously calm tone now sounded as if it had been chilled to the bone:

"Nora, since your teacher condones this kind of thing, have you ever thought about—getting rid of them one by one?"

Although his words sounded like he was asking Nora's opinion, his tone left no room for negotiation; it was more like he was stating a decision that had already been made.

Nora paused, stopped what she was doing, and looked at Hughes in disbelief.

It wasn't until she saw the confident look on his face that she realized the boy in front of her, who had just shed his childishness, was no longer the little follower she used to bully.

"Then this time, we'll rely on the little genius of the Craig family..."

She had originally intended to give up the Five Crown Trial, but now she thought that even if she withdrew from the competition, the other party would still try to eliminate her.

Across from him, seeing Nora agree, Hughes smiled inwardly.

"Perfect timing to try out that witchcraft, but I need to test it out first. Perhaps that wasteland at the academy would be a good place..."