Wizard: Starts with Advanced Meditation

"What?!"

"I'll help you!!"

"..."

The crowd's condemnation surged like a tidal wave, and the air in the hall instantly became heavy.

Roglie, Neve, and the others all looked extremely grim.

Although Barossa's strength can be said to be the best among them, those present are all extreme apprentices, each of them a ruthless character who has climbed to the top by stepping on corpses.

Asking them to join forces to help an apprentice of the same level is simply a pipe dream.

Among them, the one with the worst expression was Pisley, whose strength was second only to Barossa.

His fingertips tapped heavily on the armrest, his gaze on Barossa sharp as a blade:

"Barossa, even if we don't get those five spots, we can still gain more battle merits to prepare for our path to becoming a full-fledged wizard, and besides..."

As he spoke, Piesley's eyes grew increasingly dangerous, and his voice, though deep, reached the ears of every apprentice present:

"Besides, instead of helping you, we might as well join forces to exclude you first, at least that way we'll have one less threat."

——！

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone present showed a look of shock.

They never expected that Piesley would be so bold as to openly speak everyone's thoughts in front of Barossa!

However, although everyone had similar thoughts, the people in the hall all fell into a tacit silence.

With the Five Crown Trials imminent, none of them wanted to reveal their trump cards. Besides, Barossa was backed by the Vice Dean, so even if they could defeat him, things would definitely not go well for them afterwards.

Seeing the silence of the crowd, Pisley was not surprised. He chuckled and then turned and walked toward the stairs.

With Piesley taking the lead, the others also expressed their opinions.

Neve brushed her blonde hair back over her shoulder and said in a cold tone:

"Lord Barossa, if there are no benefits greater than those from this trial, then we are afraid we cannot agree."

The others also looked indignant, and after uttering a few harsh words, they all left.

"hehe……"

Seeing everyone leave, Barossa's face remained unchanged, but the fluctuations around him suddenly solidified, and in the next moment they transformed into tangible dark energy, bursting out forward!

"Buzz—!!!"

In an instant, darkness swept over the entire hall.

An invisible pressure instantly pressed down on everyone, making it impossible for them to move an inch. It was not a suppression of magic, but a pure crushing of the mind!

"Varied--!"

Pisley, who was walking downstairs, suddenly froze, let out a muffled groan, and was abruptly stopped by the force, his back breaking out in a fine sweat.

As Roglie reached the door, he suddenly felt a chill, but fear had already crept over his limbs, rendering him unable to move.

Those apprentices who hadn't even taken a few steps far fared even worse; they were directly pressed to the ground by the dark energy, their bodies slamming against the ground with dull thuds, their faces filled with horror.

Only Neve managed to remain calm, because Barossa had approached her privately a few days earlier to discuss the collaboration.

Even just now, it was only under the covert influence of her magic that Pisley dared to speak so rudely.

At this moment, she stood quietly in the corner of the hall, her gaze fixed on Barossa's figure, her eyes filled with an undisguised solemnity.

The opponent's strength was already almost on par with that of a formal wizard!

Without hesitation, Neve quickly followed Barossa's plan and quietly unleashed her magic upon each of her apprentices.

Under the influence of witchcraft, everyone's fear of Barossa was amplified to an extreme degree. Their pride as Ultimate Apprentices was shattered in an instant, leaving only deep fear.

"Buzz—"

The next moment, the dark energy that filled the hall suddenly receded, and their mental pressure also receded like a tide.

……

"Whoosh...whoosh...whoosh—"

Heavy breathing echoed throughout the hall. People leaned against the walls and pressed their chests, taking a long time to recover from the suffocating pressure.

At this moment, Barossa had already left an indelible shadow on their hearts, making everyone tremble with fear and no longer daring to disobey in the slightest.

Barossa slowly raised his hand, a vortex of shadow floating in his palm.

He looked down at the suppressed crowd, his face remaining completely expressionless.

"As you can see, I could easily win the championship on my own. Recruiting you is just to guard against the unpredictable factors within the secret realm."

"Besides, I didn't say I wouldn't give you any benefits."

……

"Splash—"

After answering Hughes's last question, the doll shattered instantly, its smooth body turning into ice crystal fragments that scattered on the ground.

The ceremony then concluded.

"call--"

The white light in Holt's eyes suddenly faded, revealing his slightly tired eyes.

"Phew...it's finally over."

He collapsed wearily to the ground, ignoring the chill emanating from it.

As he spoke, he slowly raised his hand and gently touched the fireplace. The woodpile instantly burst into bright flames, illuminating the room once again and reflecting Hughes' thoughtful face.

After a long while, Hughes recovered his senses, glanced at Holt who was slumped on the ground, and nodded slightly:

"Thank you, Holt, this prophecy was very useful."

As he spoke, he reached into his storage bag and pulled out a bottle of top-grade mana potion, then gently tossed it to Holt.

He knew this was no ordinary third-class prophecy ritual; Holt must have expended a great deal of energy.

"Do you want to participate in this year's trial?"

Looking at Holt, who was drinking the potion, Hughes asked.

The puppet's reply had given him some confidence, but he still insisted on participating in the trial and was interested in securing a spot.

Therefore, a grand gamble was quietly brewing in his mind.

"No, I haven't advanced as quickly as you, and this amount of time isn't enough for me to stabilize my strength."

After saying that, Holt gulped down the potion in his hand.

Although some second-level apprentices did participate in the trials in order to gain merit in battle, Hott focused his main energy on prophecy and intelligence gathering.

Therefore, his current combat strength is not strong, so he has already given up on this year's trial.

"Okay, I'll be going now..."

After saying that, Hughes turned and left.

"Creak—"

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!"

……

"Whoosh—hiss!"

Inside the house, watching Hughes's figure gradually disappear into the wind and snow, Holt could no longer hold back. A sweet taste rose in his throat, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Whoosh—ha..."

Gazing at the pool of blood on the ground that had instantly frozen, Holt whispered:

"Hughes... I paid a huge price... to initiate this ritual, so you absolutely must come out of this trial alive... After all, 'Whispers of the Soul' itself has admitted it—"

"Only you can do that."