Wizard: I Have a Nightmare World

The dark red orb of light pulsated slowly in the underground space, each pulsation like a muffled heartbeat echoing throughout the entire space.

Golden patterns flowed and intertwined on the surface of the sphere, exuding a suffocating sense of oppression.

That is the purest energy core in the world, the essence accumulated by totem civilization over thousands of years.

But at this moment, no one was paying attention to the ball of light; everyone's eyes were on each other.

The twelve stone pillars are arranged in a circle, and the advance team members on each pillar maintain a tense and vigilant posture.

Four apprentices from Steelscale Academy stood on the stone pillar on the east side. The one leading them was a burly, short-haired man whose Steelscale badge on his chest gleamed coldly in the dark red light.

The four members of Lunar Ring Academy stood on the west side, with Isabel at the very front, her silver-gray braid swaying slightly in the energy fluctuations.

The four apprentices of Obsidian occupied the stone pillar on the north side. The one leading them was a gaunt, black-haired man whose robe was covered in fresh dirt, indicating that he had just been through some kind of fierce battle.

The four apprentices of the Crown of Thorns stood on the south side, led by a woman wearing a thorn ring. Her gaze swept over everyone present, a faint smile playing on her lips.

The seventh logistics squad of White Raven Tower stood on the stone pillar on the southwest side, with Du Wei at the forefront, followed by Lynn, Cullen, Fei Qing, and Scarlett, already in combat readiness.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

Then, the leader of Steelscale Academy, a man named Gareth, slowly spoke.

"The people from White Crow Tower are quite quick."

His voice was hoarse, like the sound of sandpaper rubbing against the ground.

His gaze swept over Du Wei, then landed on Lynn, lingering for a moment before becoming meaningful.

"It seems the Bloodvine Wizard's disciple is here too."

Lynn's heart tightened; he sensed a subtle shift in the atmosphere in that instant.

Isabel from Moon Ring Academy also turned her head, her gaze falling on Lynn, a cryptic smile playing on her lips.

"It really was him."

Her voice was soft, but in this vast underground space, every word reached everyone's ears.

Lynn felt several gazes locked onto him as if they were real, like being stared at by several lurking beasts at the same time, each gaze carrying undisguised hostility and scrutiny.

The four students from Steelscale Academy had already jumped down from the stone pillar and landed on the ground, spreading out in a fan shape.

Gareth stood at the front, his right hand hanging by his side, his five fingers slightly spread, and an earthy yellow light flowing around his fingertips, clearly ready to cast a spell.

Isabel of the Moon Ring Academy didn't move, but the three Moon Ring apprentices behind her had quietly spread out, their positions extremely strategic, perfectly blocking the White Fang Squad's retreat route to the left.

The leader of Obsidian Academy, a gaunt, black-haired man, glanced back and forth between Gareth and Du Wei, then took a half-step back, gesturing that he would not intervene.

The woman leading the Crown of Thorns leaned against a stone pillar, arms crossed, a knowing smile still playing on her lips, like a spectator watching a good show.

"Gareth, you want to make your move here?"

Du Wei's voice broke the silence as he took a half-step forward, blocking Lynn's path.

His tone remained calm, but Lynn could sense a subtle sense of pressure in it.

"Make your move here? No."

Gareth shook his head, a cold smile playing on his lips.

"We just want our friends from White Raven Tower... to leave first."

Before he finished speaking, he clenched his right hand and a burst of earthy yellow light erupted.

Three stone spears burst from the ground, forming a triangular shape as they shot directly at the stone pillar where the White Crow Tower team was located.

boom!!!

The stone spear struck the stone pillar, sending fragments flying and causing the entire pillar to shake violently.

Du Wei had already reacted the instant Gareth made his move. He flipped his left hand, and a silver-white alchemical bomb appeared in his palm, which he then hurled out fiercely.

The alchemical bomb traced a silvery-white arc in mid-air and landed precisely on the ground directly in front of the Steel Bell Squad.

Gareth's pupils contracted, and he grabbed at the two teammates beside him with one hand while slamming his other hand on the ground.

The earthy yellow light spread rapidly across the ground, and a thick stone wall rose up instantly.

Boom!

The alchemical bomb exploded, and silvery-white wind blade fragments rained down on the stone wall, leaving deep ravines.

Although the blast didn't penetrate the stone wall, the entire wall was riddled with cracks and on the verge of collapse.

"withdraw!"

Du Wei gave a low shout and led the four of them to quickly leap down from the stone pillar and land on the ground.

Their landing point was precisely in the gap between the Thorn Ring and Obsidian Academy.

The woman wearing the thorn ring glanced at Du Wei, but did not stop him; she even slightly stepped aside to make way for him.

Thanks.

Du Wei thanked him in a low voice.

"Don't thank me yet, I just don't like situations where there are more of us than us."

The woman raised an eyebrow and gestured towards the steel scales and the moon ring.

"Besides, being used as a pawn doesn't feel good."

Gareth's expression changed slightly, but he ignored the Crown of Thorns' taunts and instead focused his gaze back on the five people from the White Raven Tower.

"Isabel, how long are you going to keep watching this show?"

Isabel sighed softly, then raised her right hand.

The temperature in the air suddenly dropped, and a thin layer of white frost spread from her feet outwards, instantly covering the ground within a ten-meter radius.

"My apologies, friends of White Raven Tower."

Her voice remained soft, but there was no trace of apology in her tone.

"You all know the rules of this expedition: there is only one world core, and it's better for one person to take it than four to share it."

With a gentle wave of her hand, three ice spikes materialized in mid-air, their edges gleaming with a chilling light, piercing straight into Lynn's chest.

Lynn's pupils contracted sharply upon seeing this.

He didn't expect that the leader of the Moon Ring Academy would attack him first, and that his attack would be a deadly one.

Almost at the same moment the ice cones condensed, Lynn's body reacted instinctively.

He rolled to the side, and three ice spikes flew past his back, embedding themselves in the ground behind him and blasting three fist-sized craters into the hard stone slab.

"You dodged pretty quickly."

Isabel raised an eyebrow, seemingly somewhat surprised.

But she didn't stop. She waved her hands again, and this time she condensed not three ice spikes, but a full twelve, which poured down on Lynn like a torrential rain.

Lynn felt a chill and immediately activated the water curtain spell's magic model.

A curtain of azure water condensed and took shape in front of him, the water swirling rapidly to form a defensive barrier.

Twelve ice spikes struck the water curtain in succession, each one creating violent ripples.

The water curtain trembled violently, and cracks appeared on its surface, but it did not break and withstood the attack.

"Water Curtain? A third-class apprentice can actually use defensive magic to this extent..."

A hint of seriousness finally appeared in Isabel's eyes.

Just as she was preparing to launch her third attack, Cullen charged from the side like a raging bull, his double axes drawing two dazzling arcs in the dark red light, aiming straight for Isabel's head.

Isabel had to withdraw her attack on Lynn and retreat rapidly to avoid Cullen's two axes.

But Cullen's attack did not stop. He pursued relentlessly, his double axes slashing like a whirlwind, forcing Isabel to retreat repeatedly.

"Cullen, cover Lynn."

Du Wei's voice came from another direction.

At this moment, Duve is already facing off against Gareth.

Gareth's earth magic focuses on defense and direct suppression, while Du Wei's alchemical bombs and agile movement techniques give him a certain advantage.

The battle between the two reached a delicate balance, with neither able to gain the upper hand for the time being.

Fei Qing and Scarlett were engaged in combat with the other three apprentices from the Moon Ring Academy.

Fei Qing's short sword was agile and versatile, constantly seeking breakthroughs in the gaps in the enemy's defenses.

Scarlett's arrows precisely blocked the enemy's movement routes, preventing the three of them from coordinating effectively.

The battle reached a stalemate for a time.

Lynn stood at the edge of the battle zone, panting heavily, his eyes quickly scanning the entire battlefield.

He noticed a detail: although Steelscale and Moonring were working together to target White Raven Tower, their coordination was not smooth, and there was even obvious overlap and interference during several joint attacks.

"There is no real trust between them; they are only temporarily allied."

Lynn quickly made a judgment in his mind, but what concerned him even more was the attitude of Black Medicine Academy and Crown of Thorns.

The gaunt leader of Obsidian Academy remained standing in place, arms crossed, watching the battlefield expressionlessly, showing no intention of intervening.

The leader of the Crown of Thorns was even more noticeable; she even yawned and leaned against a stone pillar, listlessly observing the battle situation in the arena.

"They are waiting."

A thought flashed through Lynn's mind.

"Once we've fought Steelscale and Moonring to the point of mutual destruction, we can reap the benefits."

His gaze returned to the dark red sphere of light floating in the center of the space.

The sphere of light continued to pulsate slowly, with golden patterns flowing across its surface, radiating a heart-pounding energy fluctuation.

The core of the world is right there, suspended above everyone's heads, but no one dares to make a move, because whoever tries to take the core first will become the target of everyone's anger.

Lynn took a deep breath, lowered his voice, and said in a volume only Amber could hear:

"Amber, do me a favor."

Amber poked her little head out of his pocket, blinking her big, dark green eyes.

"Lynn, you speak, Amber is listening."

"When I create chaos later, secretly fly to that ball of light and see if there are any protective mechanisms around it, and if so, what kind of mechanisms they are."

Amber's face turned deathly pale in an instant.

"Lynn, are you crazy? That ball of light looks dangerous!"

"I know, but I have to take the gamble."

Lynn's gaze hardened.

"If we hadn't taken the gamble, our team might have really been eliminated here today."

Amber looked into Lynn's eyes, remained silent for two seconds, and then nodded vigorously.

"Okay, Amber will help you!"

Lynn took a deep breath and quietly reached for the Shadow Fang ring on his finger with his right hand.

This was a trump card given to him by the bloodline wizard. It could only be activated five times a day, and each time it could unleash a Shadow Pierce spell of the first level.

He had originally planned to save this trump card for the most crucial moment, but now it seems that moment has arrived.

"Du Wei!"

Lynn suddenly shouted.

Du Wei heard his voice and responded without turning his head:

"explain!"

Give me three seconds!

Du Wei didn't ask why, he just grinned, then suddenly took out three alchemical bombs from his waist and threw them at the same time in Gareth's direction.

Gareth's expression changed, and he quickly conjured a thick stone wall in front of him.

This time, however, the three bombs did not explode in front of the stone wall. Instead, they traced three arcs and landed on Gareth's left, right, and rear sides, respectively, before detonating simultaneously.

Three loud explosions rang out almost simultaneously, sending debris and dust billowing into the sky and engulfing Gareth.

Although the attack didn't actually injure him, it successfully trapped him in the smoke and dust, temporarily preventing him from supporting the others.

It's now!

A glint flashed in Lynn's eyes, and he suddenly raised his right hand, causing the silver patterns on the [Shadow Fang] ring to light up instantly.

An almost invisible dark spike shot out silently from the ring, so fast that even the eye could not catch its trajectory, and it went straight for Isabel's back.