Wizard: Starts with Advanced Meditation

"Look! It's those extreme sports apprentices!"

Suddenly, a cry of surprise erupted from the crowd, like a spark thrown into a pyre, instantly plunging the entire square into commotion.

The previously chaotic and surging crowd suddenly stopped, and almost everyone looked in the direction the exclamation was pointing. Hughes was also drawn to the exclamation and looked up.

From the direction of the market area, a small group of people were walking slowly towards them.

Their clothing was no different from the crowd, yet they all carried an invisible aura that caused the people closest to them to subconsciously quiet down even before they got close.

The originally chaotic crowd seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, spontaneously moving aside to both sides, making way for a straight passage, allowing them to calmly step into the front of the square.

Leading the group was a cold-faced young man, dressed in a black feathered robe that trailed on the ground, each feather gleaming with a cold, dark light in the morning sun.

Behind him stood several powerful Limit Apprentices, whose numbers, though small, encompassed almost all the Limit Apprentices currently existing in the Everfrost Spire.

"Our academy's ultimate apprentices! They've finally arrived!"

The apprentices and companions beside Hughes murmured among themselves, their eyes filled with longing.

At the same moment, the chatter among the crowd intensified again, with everyone discussing the newly arrived Extreme Apprentices.

"Look at that black feathered robe! I bet he's Barossa, the vice-dean's new apprentice."

"I heard he escaped the Black Ring Crown assassination attempt all by himself. I really don't know how he did it, there were even formal wizards there!"

"..."

"A black crown? Escape?!"

Hughes stood silently in the corner, listening to the chatter of the people around him, a strange look flashing across his face.

—Strictly speaking, he did manage to escape the assassination attempt by the Black Ring Crown once.

Thinking of this, Hughes slightly curled the corners of his mouth, then leaned forward slightly to continue listening to the discussion.

At the same time, to Hughes's surprise, his mental energy fluctuations seemed to barely keep up with the strength of some late-stage limit apprentices.

—That meditation method is definitely not simple; the mental and magical power it refines is of very high quality!

Hughes thought to himself.

He didn't think about it in detail, since research involving these two substances could only be conducted by those who had advanced to become formal wizards.

……

"Speaking of which, I remember that the Limitless Apprentices in our academy are usually at odds with each other, right? How come this time, they all seem to be subtly leading Barossa?"

One of the apprentices asked in confusion.

"You might not know this..."

Another apprentice, wearing a felt hat, pressed down on the top of his hat and lowered his voice:

"I've heard from others that before this batch of extreme apprentices returned, several veteran extreme apprentices died along the way."

"I heard it was done by another college. I guess that's why they teamed up..."

"Huh?! No wonder I didn't see Dimora from last year's competition..."

As everyone was discussing, a figure in the crowd was silently watching the extreme apprentices, his fists clenched quietly in his sleeves.

"Something's definitely fishy! (Dwarven language)"

The voice, trembling slightly with anger, came from beneath the wide hood, but was instantly drowned out by the surrounding clamor.

Somewhere, the former toolsmith was also among the crowd, his withered hand gripping the same strange dagger from before, muttering a sinister laugh:

"Hehe...They're all here...That way...I have more 'helpers' now, hehehe..."

It seemed that it was through that dagger that he was able to sense the people he was trading with.

Soon, with all the extreme apprentices arriving, all the participants in the Five Crown Trials were present.

Hughes also took out the academy badge from his storage bag and firmly attached it to his Dark Absorber Robe.

When the four towers reunite, this badge will naturally have its use; otherwise, everyone wouldn't be wearing it.

"Buzz!! Buzz!!"

Just then, three beams of ice-blue light suddenly appeared on the high platform in front of the square. The surging beams of light pierced through the barrier and shot straight into the sky.

The previously noisy crowd instantly fell silent. The apprentices stopped discussing the Limit Apprentices and instead focused their attention on the high platform. Even the top Limit Apprentices were no exception.

Three figures slowly emerged from the pillar of light, the leader being the headmaster of the Everfrost branch, the dragonborn wizard Nord Melonnos.

That's right. After extracting the remains of a level-two frost dragon from Durink, Nord changed his path as a wizard and became a bloodline wizard.

His face had almost lost all human features, his skin was completely covered by a layer of fine dragon scales, and the horns on his head were even more ferocious, with sharp forks at the tips.

Standing on either side of him, shoulder to shoulder, were the two vice-deans—Finn and Richard.

The aura of Level Two Wizards emanating from the three instantly swept across the entire area, even suppressing the auras of those Limit Apprentices to nothingness.

Nord slowly stepped forward, looked at the crowd below the stage, and began to speak:

"I hope that you will all win five titles and live up to the reputation of the Everfrost Spire."

His words were concise and powerful, and the sound of the bell seemed to still echo in their ears, igniting a fierce fighting spirit on the faces of the apprentices below the stage.

"Well then, time is of the essence. Let's head to the Myriad Peaks immediately and rendezvous with the other branches!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire room erupted in uproar.

"The Spire of Maranseaux! Is it the Spire of Maranseaux in the center of Maranseaux?!"

"They're going to our academy's main campus! That means we can go to the center of the continent!"

The audience erupted in cheers and chatter, and even the apprentices couldn't hide the shock and elation in their eyes.

"Good heavens! I've only ever seen records of the Myriad-Tiered Spire in the academy's books. It's one of the core powers of the entire continent!"

Roglie clenched his fists, his voice trembling. Neve, standing beside him, also looked on expectantly.

"Finally, we'll get to see the true face of the center of the continent...?"

Amidst the conversation, whether they were young apprentices undergoing their first trial or seasoned veterans who had experienced numerous trials, everyone's face was filled with barely suppressed anticipation.

in the corner.

Hughes, however, stood out from the excited crowd around him. His expression grew increasingly solemn, and his hand, clad in the Frost Grip, unconsciously clenched the hem of his robe.

All previous trials were held at Maransel's branch, either in a secret realm of a branch academy or in a dangerous area within its territory.

Never before has a trial been held directly at headquarters—it seems this trial is indeed extraordinary.

Thinking of this, Hughes's eyes suddenly turned cold. Recalling the prophecy from some time ago, he had already made up his mind about his actions in this trial.

Soon after Richard whispered a few words to Nord, Nord gently waved his right hand, and the platform beneath their feet instantly lit up with a dazzling silver light.

As silver light flowed across the platform like water, and amidst the continuous flashing of several runes, a semi-transparent giant light gate slowly appeared on the surface of the platform.