Wizard: Starts with Advanced Meditation

"Grumble grumble—"

As soon as he finished speaking, all the ice crystal fragments in front of Hughes suddenly rose slowly, and then surged wildly in front of him like a raging wave.

In the blink of an eye, as if drawn by an invisible force, they began to gather in an orderly fashion, gradually forming a human-shaped outline.

The next moment, the edges of the ice shards began to stick together, and as the fine ice crystals continued to coalesce, the outline of the human figure gradually revealed the torso.

Then the shape of the limbs gradually took shape amidst the surging waves of ice chips.

"Crunch, crunch—"

Each fragment is precisely embedded in its corresponding position, making a slight "click" sound, as if a precise mechanical assembly is underway.

In a short while, a doll made of ice crystals took shape, with the originally scattered fragments sticking together tightly, reflecting the firelight inside the room.

In the firelight, a mysterious ice crystal puppet stood before Hughes.

—Your name

Suddenly, a voice rang out in Hughes's mind without warning.

He glanced at Holt, only to see that the other was staring intently at the "whisper of the soul" before him, not looking at him.

—Hughes Craig

Hughes responded in his mind as well.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz—buzz!!"

In an instant, the Ice Soul Stone lit up with an icy blue light.

The light seemed soft, yet it carried a chilling coldness. The fireplace, which was burning brightly inside the room, suddenly went out with a "whoosh," leaving only a few wisps of black smoke slowly dissipating in the cold light.

The room was plunged into darkness in an instant, with only the light emitted by the Ice Soul Stone barely illuminating the area where the two of them were.

Suddenly, Hughes' pupils dilated, and he stared wide-eyed, only to find that the ice crystal doll in front of him had disappeared.

Instead, there was an expressionless "self," with the other person standing there quietly, like a phantom that had stepped out of a mirror.

"Hughes, begin asking the questions you wish to have divined. However, my abilities are limited; this puppet can only answer with 'yes' or 'no.'"

Holt spoke with difficulty, his voice returning to its original youthful tone.

What he didn't say was that after this ritual, he would be unable to use prophetic magic for at least a year.

"Fortunately, however, the quality of the whispers of the soul is very high, and there is even a small chance that its response will be correct if you ask about formal wizards."

As he spoke, he made a hand gesture, and a whispered soul drifted towards the top of the doll's head, causing the Ice Soul Stones to gather in a ring.

"You can ask the doll four questions..." Holt explained.

This corresponds to four Ice Soul Stones.

Hughes stared at the doll that looked exactly like himself, pondered for a moment, and then asked in a deep voice:

"The Chiss family... no, is Mor Chiss's situation heading in the direction of breaking free from the contract?"

He naturally wouldn't gamble on the extremely low accuracy rate of a formal wizard, so he could only try to shift the object of the prophecy.

"Snap—Bang!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the first ice stone suddenly lit up with a dazzling blue light. With a "crack", the ice stone cracked open from the center with spider web-like patterns, and then shattered, with ice crystal fragments scattered on the ground.

--no.

The doll's response appeared in Hughes's mind; its tone and manner were exactly the same as his own.

Hughes did not mention the Ring and the Chelca family, after all, Holt was right there, and the fewer people who knew the secret of the Ring, the better.

"It seems the Chiss family may not have noticed anything amiss yet."

Hughes thought to himself, but this matter could not be kept secret for long; sooner or later they would find out.

Then, Hughes asked his second question:

"Will Hughes Craig, for some reason, attract the attention of Second-Level Wizard Jones Morsold within the next two years?"

He will undoubtedly be the biggest threat to Hughes when he tries to seize the "Land of Life" (something that the Chiss family possesses in their ring, mentioned in Chapter 150).

The Chiss family has a close relationship with Jones, and once this cunning and greedy second-level wizard makes a discovery, future plans will inevitably become much more difficult.

"Bang--!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the second Ice Soul Stone shattered rapidly, in a completely different way from the first Ice Soul Stone.

--no.

Another response was given.

Hughes composed himself, gazing at the Ice Soul Stone fragments that shattered into ice shards, a knowing glint in his eyes.

Even though he used himself as the subject of the prophecy for the second question, it still involved the fate of a second-level wizard. Naturally, the Ice Soul Stone could not withstand it and would explode instantly.

With only two questions remaining, Hughes fell into deep thought…

Gradually, memories of the trial being brought forward by a year inexplicably, the quota being filled by the five rings, and Cyrus's warning surfaced in his mind.

"If the purpose of the trial is to select the champion..."

After a long while, he slowly raised his head, gazing at the remaining two floating Ice Soul Stones, and said in a deep voice:

"If Hughes Craig of Everfrost Spire becomes one of the winners of this year's Trials of the Five Crowns, will he die because of it?"

……

"Bang!! Bang!!"

……

"A secret realm?!"

Inside the spire in the center of the Black City, Piesley stared at the prophetic results presented by Dios, his tone filled with undisguised astonishment.

"Is this trial being held in a secret realm? Damn it!"

Roglie cursed.

He was never good at group attacks, and in the trials in the secret realm, it was always an unrestricted four-tower melee.

"Damn it! This clearly benefits those lunatics at the Howling Spire! What were they thinking?! They moved it up a whole year, yet there are still only five spots!"

Pisley expressed his dissatisfaction.

Clearly, he was very dissatisfied with the arrangements at the Vientiane Spire, because last time, he was only one place short...

"Does anyone know what the previous dungeon challenges were based on?"

Neve muttered to herself.

"I only know that, excluding the wartime edition, the previous edition was a one-on-one duel similar to the Holy Palm Arena, and the edition before that was a hunt for the Void Race camp in the Sael Secret Realm."

Her strength was quite good among the third-tier students, and through that trial, she exchanged for the intermediate meditation method and successfully advanced to the level of Ultimate Apprentice under the guidance of her mentor.

However, if she still fails to become one of the five crowns after participating in this trial, she plans to give up completely and instead focus on becoming a formal wizard.

However, this means that she might only be qualified to enter the center of Maransel if she explores the seemingly endless path to Level Two.

Suddenly, an apprentice sitting in the corner spoke up:

"It's either about hunting specific magical beasts or robbing certain limited items."

He frowned, then complained:

"However, the environment of secret realms is usually very strange. The few trees in the Sel Secret Realm that occasionally sprout Void Eye Demons are already considered mild."

"I remember in previous years, the trial took place in a secret realm left behind by a level two wizard. Every half hour, a barrage of lasers would shoot down from the sky there, powerful enough to pierce through even the most advanced body-refining apprentices!"

At this point, he shook his left hand, which was now almost transparent.

That was the arm of the Void Arm Spirit; as for his original arm, the reason for its loss is self-evident.

"..."

A discussion broke out in the hall.

At this moment, Barossa, who was sitting in the main seat, suddenly spoke:

"Gentlemen—"

He slowly rose, his feathered robe opening as if adding a pair of full wings to his body.

"I hope—you can help me become the first of the five champions."