903 Passed (1/2)

Oliver, as a ”warrior” who had been through life-threatening dangers many times, was not too panicked to move at the critical moment. He backed off sideways subconsciously and waved his short sword, trying to find a way to escape.

However, he was far weaker than Captain Grigra, who took advantage of the length of his sword and slashed nonstop, making it impossible for Oliver to draw near. He could not make the best use of the short sword and could not resist the attacks by raising his sword.

Clang, clang, clang.

After a few crisp sounds, the short sword fell to the ground, and Oliver's right hand was bleeding.

Grinning hideously, Grigra stepped forward and cut horizontally, further reducing Oliver's range of activity.

After only a while, Oliver realized that he had been cornered. He would have to face the flashing longsword whichever direction he went to.

Am I going to die?

When the longsword reached him, Oliver's head was dizzy, and something seemed to be bursting out from within his body, turning his eyes bloodshot. He subconsciously grabbed the only thing in his hands and raised it against the longsword.

Pa.

After a dull noise, Oliver stepped back again. He was stuck to the cold wall. More blood flowed out of his fingers, dying the blue staff red.

”Hehe!” Grigra was not concerned. Oliver could not defeat him when he had a short sword, and it was even unlikely now that he was merely holding an uncanny staff.

The only thing that made him waver was that the short staff seemed rather precious, and his heart would be pained if it was broken.

However, he thought of the room full of gems and possible magic items, and his vacillations were immediately gone. There were so many valuable items after all. He could afford the loss of the staff, as long as he killed Oliver in time and closed the entrance in case other people competed with him for the treasures!

Making up his mind, he slowed down his longsword, blew away the staff, and pierced at Oliver's chest.

Looking at the glittering tip of the sword, Oliver felt that the whole world was slowed down and that the sword was reaching his chest like a snail. However, only his mind was this fast. His body was as ”slow” as Grigra's longsword. He could only watch the longsword penetrate him without being able to do anything.

Am I going to die?

I don't want to die!

After only a short while, Oliver was caught in a strange hollow state. Then, a string seemed to have been broken in his head. He felt that something flooded out of his soul overwhelmingly into the blue staff in his hands.

Crack.

With a weird ”crack” coming from the staff, Oliver felt that he had opened a gate, and his whole body was enshrouded in an ocean of tiny silver electric arcs.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The silver electric arcs that emerged from the staff hit Grigra's critical parts without meeting any obstacle.

Grigra's face and chest were immediately blackened. His longsword hit Oliver's body, but it led to nothing more than a shallow wound.

How can I die… Shocked and confused, he looked at the short staff before him that was still sparkling before he collapsed without any strength.

He had long confirmed that Oliver was not a magic apprentice, so he could not use the short staff even if it was an extraordinary item!

How did it happen? Grigra died with his eyes wide open in regrets.

Holding the staff with both hands, Oliver breathed hard. His back was as hunched as a shrimp. He had such a headache that he almost bumped into the wall.

After a long time, he was finally back to himself. He slowly raised his head. There was vague blood in his eyes, his nostrils, and the corners of his mouth.

Did the blast of spiritual power when I became an apprentice activate the staff? He thought in confusion, But shouldn't the staff have a central mark? Has it been erased?

He shook his head and looked at Grigra, holding the staff tightly. The fearsome captain that always terrified him was lying there lifelessly; his face dark and his eyes wide open. He was obviously as dead as anyone could be.

Not entirely reassured, Oliver squatted and examined Grigra's body carefully. After the confirmation, he looked at the staff in both confusion and ecstasy.

”Is this the power of magic?”

He quickly calmed down. He shut the entrance and found another secret exit. Then, he put the books, the items, and the gems into the magic pouch left by sorcerers and retreated.

It was not because he did not want to stay here and improve his strength first, but because there was no food here. He would be starved in a couple of days. As for the animals in the wilderness, 90% of them were stronger than him, except that they preferred brutalizing each other.

...

Two days later, Fernando came to this place and searched for ”Hysterical Dance”, an organization that had evacuated here. As far as he knew, although the Eye of Curse had been hiding recently, he hadn't admitted failure yet but merged a lot of smaller organizations to make up for the losses in the previous incident.

If it weren't for that, he wouldn't have known where he should go at all.

Naturally, he was unaware of the specific location of ”Hysterical Dance”. Only by reaching the area and passing the test of the sorcerers could he be allowed in.

”Huh, some magic traps are activated here.” Fernando moved carefully on the ground instead of flying in the sky due to the night watchers' recent madness. With his spiritual power, he suddenly discovered an obvious trap with little disguise, suggesting that it was set up by a rookie.