Chapter 971 (1/2)
Richard was caught in a complex mood—he didn’t know if he made the right decision.
His decision was correct to a certain degree, as his group didn’t face any more dangers from monsters and mercenaries due to the company of the group of strangers. Besides, the strangers seemed more sociable than he imagined. He thought that these powerful people would disregard lowly apprentices like them, but he was surprised that apart from the beautiful man who always put up an ice-cold expression, the other young ladies didn’t seem to harbor any ill intention toward them.
But… They were just too powerful.
At that moment, the group arrived at a territory belonging to a certain monster lord. In order to protect its territory, the monster lord showed up to eradicate the visitors. It was an enormous nine-headed dragon lizard with a long body of five meters. But what astonished Richard was that no one launched any attacks. Instead, the young man stared coldly into the monster’s eyes and after a few seconds, the monster fled with its tail tucked between its legs like a puppy.
Richard felt his head go numb. Even though he asked the strangers their intentions for entering the Deepest Labyrinth, he didn’t receive any answers. Now, he could only hope that no conflicts would arise between their groups. If not, they would be crushed without a doubt, not to mention even taking the apprentice test.
But… Richard looked over his shoulder at this thought. In only half a day, his group had gotten along well with the strangers. Perhaps the main reason was because there weren’t any troublesome characters in his group and everyone was easy to get along with. If not, he was highly confident that the petite young lady would annihilate the troublemaker.
Richard heaved a long sigh before shifting his gaze to the tall mountain through the lush forest. That was their destination: the entrance of the Deepest Labyrinth. According to plan, they should have arrived the day before if they weren’t delayed by battle. Fortunately, they were still within the given time so… there shouldn’t be any issues.
Richard knitted his brows. For some unknown reason, he had a bad hunch. As an elite among the apprentices, he constantly heard the reason for the change in the apprentice test from the mentors. In the past, the apprentice test had the apprentices form groups and explore for a period of time before receiving their evaluation. But this time, there was a relatively huge debate among the mentors. Rumor had it that the evaluation criteria wasn’t uniform in the past, which led to unfair results. The modification to the apprentice test could standardize the apprentices’ qualifications and make them compete from the same starting line. But… Richard felt that something was amiss because this obviously went against their ‘Safety First’ belief. Moreover, the test content was also baffling. In the past, it was deemed dangerous to just head into the Enchanted Forest. But this time, reaching the Enchanted Forest was only the first stage. Even though his group was composed of elite apprentices, they still couldn’t possibly survive in the Deepest Labyrinth. Besides, two-thirds of the Mage Tower’s elite apprentices sent for this test. Was it really necessary to take it this far?
But there was no meaning in considering this question any longer. Since they were here, they could only continue with their journey.
At the same time, in a campsite at the bottom of the mountain, a middle-aged man lifted his head and gazed at the sky. After comparing the sun and time, he knitted his brows.
“What time is it now?”
“11:25 a.m., Sir.”
The young man, dressed as an apprentice, answered humbly. The middle-aged man frowned.
“Richard’s help signal was fired yesterday afternoon, right?”
“Yes, Sir. It happened around 5:43 p.m. yesterday in the southeastern zone of the Enchanted Forest.”
“It seems like they’ve faced some troubles. I wonder how they are doing now…”
The middle-aged man sighed and shook his head.
“How are the others doing?”
“Frey and Adella think that we should check on them. But Stewart and Hilla don’t seem interested. The others are resting and waiting for orders.” The young apprentice hesitated. “Frankly speaking, Sir, everyone is feeling rather worried that we have to pass through the Enchanted Forest and enter the Deepest Labyrinth.”
“I know.”
The middle-aged man waved his hand.
“I’m aware of that. In fact, I don’t understand why the higher-ups approved this ridiculous proposal. But now, since you guys are here already, we don’t have any more reasons to cancel the test. Fortunately, your mentors will be alongside you, so this seems like a good idea. Sigh… It just doesn’t feel right for tragedies to happen before they even have the chance to enter the Deepest Labyrinth.”
“Sir…”
“Alright, go and get prepared. If they haven’t shown up by 12, I will conclude that Richard’s team failed. Get the others ready. We will split into groups before entering the Deepest Labyrinth. This isn’t an ordinary adventure so make sure they give their best!”
“Sir Gabe went to check on the teleportation door at the entrance of the Deepest Labyrinth. He said it’s to ensure that the test will proceed without any issues.”
“Hmph, he seems to take his work seriously. Alright, go off and let me have some peace.”
“Yes, Sir.”
The young apprentice spoke, before bowing politely and leaving the place.
At the next moment, the middle-aged man grimaced.
In fact, the new apprentice test caused quite a stir among the higher-ups, especially when two-thirds of the elite apprentices were involved. It could also be said that apart from the scholarly mages who weren’t experts in battles, almost every mage of the new generation was sent here. This was an extremely risky move. Although coming to the Enchanted Forest could allow them to combine theory with practice and gain rich battle experience, mages weren’t soldiers, after all. The elite apprentices were the core strength of the new generation, which the organization had spent massive amounts of time and money to groom.
It was due to this reason that many mentors objected to this absurd test. But most of them were low-level mentors. Even though they understood the apprentices best, they weren’t in a position to make the call. They tried to request hiring mercenaries to ensure the safety of the apprentices but were rejected by the higher-ups with a dignified reason…
The new test format was for the sake of fairness.
Yes, it would ensure that the results were fair, but it was too dangerous!
As a result, the higher-ups gave in to the request to allow the three mentors to accompany the apprentices into the Deepest Labyrinth. However, they weren’t allowed to assist the apprentices in getting through the Enchanted Forest. Everything should have been fine, but now…
Richard…
The middle-aged man sighed. Richard was one of his favorite students. He was smart, hardworking, and courageous. He would definitely be one of the core strengths in the future of the organization. But now… What else could the middle-aged man do apart from waiting for his arrival?
“Sir! Sir!”
At this moment, loud, shuffling footsteps disrupted his thoughts. He turned around with a frown and saw the young apprentice from before scampering toward him, raising both hands and yelling loudly.