Survival at Sea: I Became Number One by Growing Mushrooms

Xu Jiawei hesitated for a moment before asking, "If I don't pass today, can I take the test again tomorrow?"

"Of course, if you don't mind the registration fee." The receptionist looked at her like she was an alien. She's really rich, spending money to take an exam for fun.

Before level seven, mages are still quite strapped for cash. Learning magic is extremely expensive; a single high-level spell can cost tens of thousands of gold coins. They also need to stock up on mana and stamina potions, otherwise leveling up will be very slow.

Once you reach level seven, things change. Mages can earn extra money by setting up barriers and formations for others. In other words, being a mage before and after level seven is a completely different way of life.

Mages are even more expensive than alchemists. Alchemists can still recoup their costs, but mages can't recoup any of their investment before level seven. However, this Sage Xu is a level five alchemist, so he is indeed richer than ordinary mages.

"Okay, then let's register." Xu Jiawei paid the registration fee. The exam was in an hour, so she took advantage of the time to recharge her energy.

Fifty minutes later, Xu Jiawei went up the stairs.

The exam will be held on the third floor, in a huge battle arena.

Xu Jiawei knocked on the door, then pushed it open and entered. A very capable-looking female magician stood there, looking quite intimidating.

"I'm surprised that anyone would choose me to take the exam. You must have heard that my exams are the strictest, and I won't go easy on anyone."

Those who had previously sought her out for exams were all skeptical, walking in with smiles and leaving in tears. The female magician felt that Xu Jiawei was the same kind of person.

"It's okay, teacher. If I can't pass today, I can take the test again tomorrow," Xu Jiawei said.

The female mage nodded and said, "The rules of the exam are: attack me, and I will determine whether you pass or fail after the battle. The competition begins."

As soon as the magician finished speaking, he took out his staff, and two spells came rushing towards her. Xu Jiawei quickly took out her small sword to fight back.

Xu Jiawei read the rules before coming, and they said that she could use her talent on the spot.

Fire and wind magic flew towards them, coming with overwhelming force.

Xu Jiawei directly sprouted several ice mushrooms from the ground and then used the spirit-binding technique. Soon, the mushrooms grew arms and legs and exploded directly in front of the flames, instantly extinguishing the flames.

The magician nodded in satisfaction. It seemed that this little girl was quite capable for daring to take his exam.

As soon as the flames disappeared, Xu Jiawei released parasitic spores. The spores floated directly towards the mage. The mage raised his hand and cast a purification spell, but the parasitic spores had no effect on him and directly broke through the purification spell.

The mage was somewhat surprised and unleashed the wind skill again, making it difficult for Xu Jiawei's parasitic spores to move forward.

Xu Jiawei controlled her parasitic spores to detour.

The mage was full of admiration; she could even use her skills to detour, which was already quite good for her current strength, and she knew how to be flexible.

However, she wanted to test where her limits were.

The wind transformed into a giant mouth and swallowed the parasitic spores. Because the wind had no physical form, the parasitic spores could not parasitize it, and after being swallowed, they lost contact with Xu Jiawei.

This was the first time she had encountered such a situation; the parasitic spores, which had always been invincible, had suffered such a great loss for the first time.

Since parasitic spores don't work, then light spores are even less effective. Levitation, mycelial regeneration, and spore splitting—I don't know what these can do. Only spirit possession is still usable.

Wait a minute, spore splitting, if one parasitic spore isn't enough, can't we just use a few more?

Xu Jiawei then released her spore clones, unleashing dozens of parasitic spores. The magician's expression grew increasingly appreciative.

Then, several mouths formed by wind swallowed the parasitic spores one by one, and then the magician released another purple wind.

The gust of wind struck Xu Jiawei with such speed that it was almost impossible to cover her ears.

[Ding! Player is now in a slowed state; movement speed reduced by 50%]

Unexpectedly, this was a debuff skill. Xu Jiawei immediately used Light Purification to remove the slowing effect, then frowned and thought.

If multiple methods don't work, then we'll just have to rely on sheer force and a miracle. But if the venue is destroyed, shouldn't we make her pay for it?

Forget it, I'll just pass the exam first. Right now, I should be thinking about how to beat her.

Xu Jiawei then used her talent again, and countless Destruction Mushrooms sprouted from the ground. She then cast a Spirit Attachment spell, and the mushrooms grew limbs and rushed toward the mage at an extremely fast speed. The mage used the same tactic as before, but the Destruction Mushrooms exploded immediately after entering the wind tunnel, shattering the wind tunnel and the surrounding wind tunnels.

The mage was somewhat surprised and immediately released hundreds of wind-blown nozzles to devour the agile Destruction Mushroom.

As expected of her Destruction Mushroom, it not only runs fast but also has great power. It's a pity it's only disposable, but since she can keep making more, it's not really disposable.

This wave of attacks isn't over yet, and the next wave of mushrooms has already surrounded us.

The magician felt that it was almost time, and this candidate gave her a great surprise.

He quickly chanted a spell, and a huge wind god statue appeared in mid-air, followed by a violent wind and intense pressure.

The Destruction Mushroom turned into dust upon contact with the gale, which then blew onto Xu Jiawei, binding her and preventing her from using any skills.

"I lost." Xu Jiawei helplessly admitted defeat. This skill was too powerful. Unless she reacted in time to release the Light Purification, it was too fast. It took Xu Jiawei one second to release the skill, which was enough time to decide the winner.

The magician's smile grew wider: "In a while, I may no longer be your match. You passed the test this time; your results are excellent."

Xu Jiawei thought she had failed the exam, since she hadn't defeated the magician. Turns out, the grading was based on performance.

Xu Jiawei bowed and then returned to the hall.

When she returned to the hall, everyone stared at her as if she were a monster. Was she qualified? Or even excellent? How old was this girl? Where did they put their old faces?

Next, we just need to wait for the certificate and badge. The receptionist said they could be ready before 3 PM, because the Level 6 badge is already prepared. We just need to engrave our names on it, it's very simple.

A few hours later, the receptionist handed over the round badge with a name and a mushroom engraved on it, her hands trembling.

[Ding! Congratulations to the player for becoming the first level 6 mage in the entire game! You have received a Diamond Chest*1. This will be announced to the entire game.]

[Ding, system announcement: Congratulations to player AAA Mushroom Fairy for becoming the first level 6 mage in the entire game! You're the envy of everyone!] The announcement was repeated five times, and even popped up as a pop-up to make sure others saw it, and dinged five times to make sure others heard it.

The world chat exploded, and even the server 62 chat channel started discussing it.

It was truly enviable; even Xu Jiawei's profile picture and chat box displayed a constantly changing silver halo.