Wizard's Journey

Chapter 119 Sweeping Across the Five Regions (Part 3)

One day later.

As the crimson sun swooped down from the sky, a wizard apprentice screamed in despair and crushed the badge in his hand.

As the firelight gradually faded, Grimm, beneath his pale mask, felt the badge mark on his forehead, but instead of the expected joy, his eyes were bloodshot and his extreme fatigue was tinged with a hint of ferocity.

The chirping branches had lost their power, and Green finally realized what curse he was under.

Whenever Green closes his eyes, he inexplicably feels that someone is suddenly attacking him from behind, or that Raffi, Binghamson, and others nearby are desperately calling for help, and other strange and disturbing phenomena. But when he opens his eyes, everything returns to normal, and nothing happens.

Green might be able to overcome the cries for help from Raffi, Bingham, and others with reason, but the feeling of being suddenly attacked and breaking out in a cold sweat made him constantly anxious, turning around abruptly, and tense, instinctively making various defensive postures.

As a result, let alone closing his eyes to rest, even blinking has become a luxury for Green.

Green can manage for a day or two, but if it's a full ten days, and he wants to compete for the pinnacle reward in the Holy Tower Qualifying Battle...

However, no matter how Green changed his body information, this inexplicable curse would not disappear. It was as if it were some kind of strange and deeper curse, and it tormented Green to the point of mental confusion in just one day.

We must not be weak!

Green was pushing himself as hard as he had when he stormed the Tower of Ruins, practically driving himself to madness. His eyes were bloodshot beneath the pale mask, and the bulging veins on his forehead were concealed by the mask. With powerful breaths, Green took flight and continued flying forward.

Now, in the vast District 12, with numerous wizarding apprentices, Ice Age Millie and Primal Curse Allilo already defeated by Grimm, there is no single person who can stand against him alone. Only a powerful team of ten top wizards can make Grimm somewhat wary.

Of course, such wizard apprentices are themselves contenders for the qualification of prospective witch hunter wizards, so the possibility of them forming a team together is not very high.

……

Half an hourglass time later.

Whoosh! Boom!

A figure plummeted from the dim sky, followed immediately by another figure that relentlessly pursued it. After a terrified roar of resentment, space distorted, and the figure that had fallen earlier left the Holy Tower Qualifying Battle Secret Realm.

On the ground, Grimm slowly sheathed the Hydra Greatsword, unmoved by the increasing mark value on his forehead. His bloodshot eyes slowly turned to the three wizard apprentices who were already stunned and speechless not far away.

Ok?

Senior Brother Varo?

Originally, Green wasn't particularly interested in these three wizard apprentices whose mark values ​​were all below one hundred, but after suddenly seeing that one of them was actually his senior brother Varo, he thought about it and decided to go over and say hello.

With a few quick movements, Green appeared in the sky not far from Varo, and with another quick movement, he was about to fly to Varo's side.

"Walk!"

With a low shout, the two wizard apprentices next to Varo crushed their badges without hesitation, disappearing completely in the spatial distortion. They dared not hesitate; they had just witnessed this terrifying figure with the white mask chasing after the number one of the ten masters of Blacksota Wizarding Academy from afar, then slamming him down from the sky, forcing him to crush his badge.

God knows what would have happened if I had crushed the badge even a little later.

Uh?

Varo naturally recognized Green and was genuinely startled by Green's terrifying aura. Before he could even explain to his two companions, the two guys ran away in fright.

Of course, Varo could also understand how his two companions felt.

After all, the three wizard apprentices were only trying their luck and wanted to see what real masters were like; they had no intention of competing for the prospective demon hunter wizard qualification. Varo's two friends were similar to him, wizard apprentices who studied arcane knowledge, possessing many magical techniques but lacking strong combat abilities.

After a slight pause upon seeing the two leave the secret realm, Green understood what had happened but didn't dwell on it. He simply looked at Varo and whispered, "Senior Brother Varo."

Varo stuck out his tongue and joked, "Look at you, you almost scared them to death, you coward."

Despite saying this, Varo couldn't help but glance at Green with twitching eyes, swallowed hard, and said, "What are you up to? You're usually so patient, but this time in the Holy Tower Qualifying Tournament you've really made a name for yourself. You even drove that guy Dolanchi out of the Secret Realm."

Green chuckled lightly to match the atmosphere, though it was a forced laugh.

Suddenly, Varo seemed to realize something. He stared intently at Green's pale mask and bloodshot eyes, his expression changing drastically. He said in disbelief, "Green, the 'blood-eyed, white-faced' person that's been circulating in our District Twelf since yesterday, could it be you?"

Green paused for a moment, then said with slight surprise, "Blood-eyed and pale-faced?"

Looking into Green's bloodshot eyes and at the deathly pale mask, Varo immediately confirmed his suspicions, swallowed hard, and shuddered, "You...you...you bastard! It was you! You swept through our entire district, making all the top ten wizard apprentices on the Twelfth District's leaderboard cower in fear, hiding and panicking, thinking you were some legendary wizard apprentice from another region. Now, you're simply..."

In the end, Varo couldn't find a word to describe it. He wanted to swear, but felt the atmosphere wasn't right, because Varo had a feeling that Green wasn't in good shape.

"Why……"

Varo said boredly, "Once you get out of here, the old man will be so smug. Now his legacy has been completely inherited and carried forward by you. He'll have plenty to brag about to those old guys. You've got a bit of Senior Sister Youquan's style back in the day!"

Green shook his head: "If my mentor knew you called him an old man behind his back, he would definitely kill you himself."

With a pursed lip, Varo continued, "How would he know if you don't tell him? Alright, alright, hurry up and collect the marks. I have to go now; I can't wander around this place alone."

As he said this, Varo crushed the badge in his hand.

Only after Varo left did Green slowly turn his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the alluring woman who was emerging from behind a stone pillar. His eyes narrowed, and he said coldly, "Kredia?"

Behind the stone pillar, a witch apprentice dressed in a long red and green dress slowly walked out, revealing large expanses of snow-white skin. The red patterns on the dress were actually fiery red scorpions.

The long dress partially concealed Catherine's private parts, yet simultaneously accentuated her exaggeratedly alluring figure. A shimmering gold necklace slid down to the space between her high, white breasts, drawing the eye and sparking endless fantasies. However, Catherine, known as the "Enchanting Despair" among newcomers, stared at Grin with shock and disbelief on her beautiful, seductive face.

"Pale Mask Grin, it's you?" Cretia's voice seemed to come from deep within her throat, arousing desire in the opposite sex.

Green had no interest in this wizard apprentice, known as the Enchanter of Despair, during his newcomer trials. Seeing that the other's mark was also jet black, exceeding one hundred, a cold glint flashed in his tired, ferocious eyes. Just as he was about to attack, Kretia hurriedly shouted, "Don't attack! I came to you of my own accord!"

Slightly taken aback, Green said coldly, "You've come to me on your own initiative? What for? To give me points?"

Clementia hesitated for a moment, then quickly waved her hand, trying to put on an "innocent" smile, and said humbly, "Lord Grin, we didn't have any grudges during the newcomer trials, did we? So... is there any possibility of us cooperating?"

"Hmph, cooperate with you?" Green's bloodshot, ferocious eyes flashed with mockery as he scoffed, "What strength do you think you have that makes you worthy of cooperating with me?"

Kredia smiled and slowly shook her head, saying, "It's precisely because my strength is insignificant to you that there's a premise for cooperation, right? If my strength were a threat to you, I'm afraid you wouldn't even give me a chance to speak."

Kredia looked at Green with surprising confidence, which piqued Green's interest. Suppressing his weariness and aversion to wasting time, he said calmly, "Tell me, how do you want to cooperate? What can you offer me?"

Raising her head proudly, Kretia stared directly into Grimm's eyes and said confidently, "After the rookie trials, I've been studying the principles and fluctuations of the Wizard Academy's point imprint. I know that with only twenty years left, I have little chance of guaranteeing a chance to obtain the Demon Hunter Wizard qualification in the Holy Tower Qualification Battle. However, if I could assist an absolute powerhouse…"

Yes, more than a decade ago, Kretia's real goal was to use her ability to search for marks as a selling point to help the winner in exchange for mark points after Millie and Allilo had a winner!

This is the unique wisdom that belongs to Cretia.

Green asked疑惑地问道：“This mark?”

"Yes! That's the mark! Now, as long as the other party can't control the power of nature, no matter how well they hide, I can clearly sense the approximate location of any wizard apprentice with a mark score of over 300 within a 5,000-meter range. This is the result of my research over the past ten years!" Kredia said with a hint of pride.

Green was stunned for a moment, quietly watching the witch apprentice.

This kind of wisdom is indeed unconventional, something that ordinary wizard apprentices would never even consider. Although it is a form of "cheating" in terms of the selection process for the Holy Tower Qualifying Battle, it utilizes the wizard's ingenuity, so it not only does not violate any rules, but if a qualified wizard were aware of it, they might even praise it as genius.

However, Green wasn't immediately convinced by Kredia's words. Looking directly into Kredia's eyes, he asked calmly, "So, how many Imprint Points do I have now?"

"Between 6300 and 6400!" Cretia said without thinking.

Now, Green was completely convinced that the other party truly possessed the wondrous ability he had described, and asked in a deep voice, "Then what do you want?"

Kredia licked her lips but didn't answer immediately. Instead, she said excitedly, "Originally, I only thought I could help you find prey, but it seems I can help you with something else as well. Are you currently suffering from a severe curse? I bet it's the mysterious curse left behind by the primordial curse, Aliro."

Green's breathing became rapid: "That's right, you know how to solve it?"

Seeing Green's reaction, Kredia felt completely relieved. Her eyes sparkled as she said, "If Lord Green can sign a contract guaranteeing to hunt two thousand points for me within the next few days, I will tell you how to break the curse. Of course, I will stay by your side for the next ten days, searching for the prey you need!"

Two thousand points, even if Kredia is later expelled from the Holy Tower Qualification Battle Secret Realm, one thousand points would be enough to ensure Kredia's qualification as a prospective Demon Hunter Wizard.

According to Green's estimate, the entire Holy Tower Qualifying Battle Secret Realm contains between 200,000 and 250,000 wizard apprentices, which translates to a total of 200,000 to 250,000 points. Wizard apprentices leaving the Secret Realm can take half of their points with them. While killing a wizard apprentice grants the full reward of their points, the remaining wizard apprentices will likely be vying for around 150,000 points, possibly a little more.

The loss of two thousand points was exchanged for more resource information...

Without almost any hesitation, Green said in a deep voice, "Deal!"

A moment later, upon learning that he was cursed because of the Hydra Greatsword, Grimm, his face extremely pale, discarded the sword. It's likely that when Grimm severed Aliro's arm with the Hydra Greatsword, Aliro "corrupted" the sword with his blood.

After Grimm discarded the Hydra Greatsword, he had only moved a few dozen meters away when he began to struggle like a mollusk, as if something mysterious was twisting the sword. At the same time, an ominous aura emanated from it, suggesting some kind of mystical force.

(The mystical elements will be discussed later in the story, along with the protagonist's communication with the dimensional gaps and talents. It's something with a touch of "science fiction" and is related to some deeper aspects of the story. But don't overthink it, like dimensional wars or anything like that; without these elements, the story will still be narrated according to a "pseudo-materialist system.")

A few hundred meters after Green left the Hydra Greatsword, the faint mental disturbance began to dissipate, and Green's tired body and mind were finally able to catch their breath. Kredia, who was following beside him, smiled smugly and lightly licked her red lips with her smooth tongue.

……

After seven or eight hourglasses.

Guided by Kredia, Grimm expelled all the wizard apprentices in the vicinity whose imprint scores exceeded three hundred from the Holy Tower Secret Realm. Then, he took the female wizard apprentice and left District Twelve, leaving behind the Stone Pillar Forest that was already trembling under Grimm's power.

…………

P.S.: I originally planned to reveal the cause of the curse in the next chapter, but thinking about it, I think I'll stick with this chapter, otherwise the book review section will be...

I've been in a bad mood these past couple of days, so I deleted any annoying book reviews I saw, and I even had some insomnia last night.

Contest item: What will be the outcome of this Santa Qualifying Battle? Feel free to make your guesses and leave a comment in the book review section. You can come back and check back in a few days.

Hint: This volume is called The Battle of the Holy Tower.

(End of this chapter)