Chapter 575 - 574: The Trial Examiner

Chapter 575: Chapter 574: The Trial Examiner

Colin immediately picked up his Spellbook, turning to the page for [Jade Water Ball].

As he recited the Spell, a torrent of water surged out in front of them. The gushing stream formed a sphere, enveloping the other four inside.

While the others held their breath, Colin peered through the transparent sphere of water at the far side, carefully guiding the [Jade Water Ball] forward.

In just a moment, the sphere of water floated across to the other side.

With a mental command from Colin, the entire sphere burst. The four people inside landed safely on the ground. The magical water streamed over the edge and into the chasm below, vanishing from sight.

Kase shot a smug-looking Dorn a snort, then turned to Colin. "I gotta ask, why didn’t we use the flying Magic?"

"That Magic can’t carry so many people," Colin said. "Now, no more complaining. Let’s keep moving."

The group continued down the corridor.

Before long, Dorn, who was leading the way, raised his right hand. "Stop. There’s a trap ahead."

"What kind of trap?" Colin asked, halting in his tracks.

Dorn took a few steel balls from his pack. He bent over and gently rolled them along the ground ahead. As they rolled, he tilted his head and pressed his ear to the floor.

When the steel balls came to a stop, Dorn stood up. "This trap is like that chasm from before. An entire section of the hallway is part of it. All of you, take a few steps back."

Colin and the others immediately backed away several meters.

Then, he pulled a crowbar from the side of his pack. Taking a step back, he carefully used it to pry up the floor tile where he had just been standing. Next, he began prying up the tiles over the trap itself.

With the tile pried open, Colin, standing behind Dorn, could clearly see a long, thin Magic Rune carved beneath it.

The Rune itself emitted a faint blue glow and extended to other parts of the floor.

"Can you read the Runes? I need to know which part of the Rune to destroy to disable this trap."

As Dorn spoke, Colin took out the [Fragmented Historical Lens] and examined the Rune beneath the floor.

He frowned. "I can read the script, but... I’m not entirely sure."

"Well, do your best. I have no desire to be torn to shreds by some bizarre ancient Magic," Dorn said, already prying up other floor tiles.

Colin, meanwhile, continued to carefully examine the traces of the Rune on the floor.

Even though this was an Array carved thousands of years ago, parts of its structure were similar to modern Arrays. At the very least, he could see traces of [Magic Missile] in its design.

The two of them fiddled with the trap for the better part of an hour.

"I’m not going to figure out any more by looking at it." Colin straightened up, wiping cold sweat from his forehead.

"Then you do it."

Colin took the crowbar from Dorn. After one last careful look, he aimed at one of the Magic Runes on the floor and struck it hard.

The instant the crowbar touched the Magic Rune, the Rune flared brilliantly. Simultaneously, a Magic Radiance ignited on the walls on either side. The glowing Magic Array spread rapidly through the cracks between the stone bricks.

Suddenly, Colin felt his feet lift off the ground.

He glanced to the side and saw Kase dragging both him and Dorn backward.

The next moment, a barrage of red Force Missiles shot out from the wall in front of them, streaking toward the opposite wall like a hailstorm. Occasionally, two Force Missiles would collide, erupting into a pale red wave of energy in midair.

After a chaotic series of buzzing sounds, the corridor slowly fell silent.

Colin squinted, waving away the dust in front of his Helmet’s visor.

The corridor before them was now completely unrecognizable.

The walls on both sides were pockmarked with small craters from the Force Missiles, and the floor was covered in a layer of rubble. Fortunately, the Magic Rune under the tiles had completely lost its glow. Otherwise, Colin wouldn’t have dared to make a single move within the range of such an out-of-control Array.

Standing beside him, Dorn patted his beard, and a cloud of fine dust fell from its thick tangles.

He said in a rather hoarse voice, "Just look at this trap. And to think there are people today who imagine the Ancient Empire as some beacon of civilization. A beacon of civilization doesn’t rig up deadly traps like this as part of an exam."

"No one considers a nation that practiced slavery civilized," Ale remarked.

"Let’s just keep moving. The Magic Array below is out of energy... I’m just glad this particular examination tradition didn’t survive to the present day." Colin brushed the dust from his armor and took the lead.

The group passed several more areas that seemed to be trapped, though many of the mechanisms had lost their effectiveness due to age and disrepair.

Regardless, the party didn’t have to waste any more Magic on traps and soon arrived smoothly before a large door. A plaque on it read, "Final Test."

Beyond the door lay another dark, stone-paved hall.

The group stood in the doorway, using what little light they had to peer inside.

Standing inside the hall was a humanoid figure that emanated a ghostly blue light. The figure wore Elven-style Half-plate Armor and leaned on a Long Sword planted in the ground before it, its hands resting on the pommel.

Despite the faint light appearing in the doorway, the figure remained completely oblivious.

After getting a clear look at the scene inside, the party carefully retreated to the middle of the corridor.

"I’m guessing that thing is like the Invisible Stalker and will stay confined to that room," Dorn whispered. "That’s a huge advantage for us."

"Don’t get careless," Colin said. "If I’m not mistaken, that’s the instructor who used to be in charge of the Murmurer’s final test. For some reason, he died here and became a ghost."

"In that case, you should be able to teach us how to fight him, Mr. Colin," Orelia chimed in.

Ale nodded. "A very clever suggestion."

Hearing this, the Tiefling gave a slightly embarrassed smile.

"That’s definitely bad news," Kase said, his tone serious. "If that guy is anything like our friend Colin, it means we’re facing a really tough opponent. He can cast a lot of Cantrips, and he’s wearing thick Iron Armor. To be honest, it’s not fair to the rest of us that people like that can even exist."

"I’m not quite *that* powerful..." Colin said.

Kase said, "If I’m being honest, the one enemy in this world I’d least want to face is you, Colin, my friend. I’m being dead serious."