Chapter 69: Disastrous Flying Lesson

Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Disastrous Flying Lesson

Jeremy had read in books that Demon Soul Crystals could be exchanged for merit points, but he never expected to have the opportunity to lay hands on them as early as his first year.

He reached out and snatched one of the floating crystals. Its exterior was pitch-black, but when the light from the ceiling struck it, the crystal reflected a brilliantly dazzling seven-colored light, mesmerizingly illusory. The stone’s surface was engraved with crescent-shaped veins, varying unevenly from one to seven lines.

This was the core of power, the heart of the Wasteland monsters, and also the invaluable resource they left behind upon death. Demon Soul Crystals contained the purest elemental magic power, far exceeding the magic cores of the native Demon race or the crystals mined from natural mineral veins. On the Sylva continent, these three types of stones were the most powerful circulating currency.

Jeremy twirled the crystal in his hand and then handed it to Lucius, who was still standing silently beside him. However, Lucius merely gave a nonchalant glance, showing absolutely no interest.

Seeing that his teammate didn’t want to accept it, Jeremy gathered all seven Demon Soul Crystals and was about to return them to Griffin.

Griffin closed his eyes slightly and waved his hand dismissively: "Keep them. Just consider it as converting into merit points for the whole team, so later you guys can stop badmouthing me behind my back, calling me a heartless bastard."

The corner of Jeremy’s mouth twitched slightly. So... he knew all about the curses they secretly hurled in the group chat.

Jeremy offered a forced smile without losing his politeness; his right hand retracted in less than a second, tossing all seven Demon Soul Crystals straight into his personal spatial ring. The words of gratitude he uttered this time carried a bit more sincerity: "Thank you, Teacher."

Seven crystals ranging from tier one to tier seven, carrying a total value of up to 1,111,111 merit points! This was undoubtedly a massive fortune falling from the sky. Especially the tier seven crystal, equivalent to the life of a seven-star monster. Its rarity level, even if auctioned off in the black market, was more than enough to exchange for a castle.

If it were a gift from someone else, Jeremy would definitely weigh the pros and cons and not accept it easily. But since Griffin gave it... Jeremy accepted it without the slightest psychological burden. Given the days of penal training this man was about to drop on their heads, what was wrong with collecting a little advance payment? Jeremy pocketed them with absolute peace of mind.

Remembering an important matter, Jeremy spoke up to ask: "Teacher, if this trip to the Wasteland lasts two months, then we don’t have to participate in the midterm exams, right?"

Calculating the time, the midterm exams would take place in about fifty-odd days. That was when the entire five-department system had to conduct unified cultural and practical combat exams.

Griffin replied lazily: "With your currently miserable strength, you’d end up at the bottom in the practical combat exam anyway; just directly skip the exam and be done with it. As for the cultural subjects, taking the makeup exams after you return alive won’t be too late."

Jeremy: "..." His sarcasm was as sharp as ever, leaving Jeremy completely unable to find an angle to retort.

Seeing that everything was settled, Jeremy shoved his hands into his pockets: "If your wound is fine, then we’ll take our leave."

Griffin didn’t reply, merely lifting a finger nonchalantly. Magic power flared brightly. The minimalist bedroom scenery instantly blurred, and when Jeremy blinked, he and Lucius were already standing firmly right at the dormitory gate, not a millimeter off.

Quite thoughtful, actually.

Stepping out of the magic elevator, Jeremy walked shoulder to shoulder with Lucius. Just as Jeremy was about to open his mouth to offer a socially polite goodbye, Lucius abruptly stopped in his tracks and turned his head to look straight at him.

"This holiday, do you have any schedule, Captain?" Lucius’s voice was deep and warm, his profound gaze locked onto Jeremy’s face.

Jeremy didn’t overthink it and answered frankly: "Yes. I have a date."

Lucius’s brow furrowed slightly: "For both days?"

"Yeah." Jeremy nodded.

More accurately, he was asked out. Lomita had thrown out the invitation since before the holiday and had been constantly messaging these past few days. If he kept finding excuses to refuse, it truly wouldn’t be giving face at all.

Receiving this ruthless answer, the atmosphere around Lucius instantly dropped several degrees. His gaze darkened slightly, revealing clear displeasure.

Lucius turned around, grabbed his door handle, opened it, and decisively stepped inside.

"Slam."

The door slammed shut, bringing with it a trace of uncalled-for coldness.

Yet less than a second later, the door swung open again. Lucius’s cold, handsome face poked out, tossing out a dry string of words: "Good night."

After that... he slammed the door shut again.

Jeremy: "..." He truly had no way of understanding this young master’s mind.

The two days of leave passed as fast as a blink of an eye. During these two days, Jeremy accompanied Lomita to sweep through "Star Moon Island"—a floating island dedicated as an entertainment area for students. Not only that, but they also continuously threw themselves into 1v1 combat matches.

Lomita possessed a gentle exterior, but once stepping onto the arena, Lomita instantly transformed into a violent rabbit with maddening destructive power. Jeremy was completely helpless and had to indulge the other in smashing things up.

However, having a high-level "sparring partner" continuously pushing his limits, Jeremy’s reflex capabilities and magic power control also increased significantly.

The holiday officially came to a close.

At five in the morning on the third day, while the sky was still dyed in a damp dark blue, the five miserable members of Class 659 were dragged out of bed by Griffin’s voice-transmitting magic.

And exactly ten minutes later, through the department’s secret teleportation matrix, they officially set foot into the land of death: The Wasteland world.

The environment here was worse and more suffocating than any imagination.

The sky had no sun, only covered by a layer of pitch-black, oppressively gloomy mist. The air reeked of sulfur and toxic gas. The ground beneath their feet cracked open like a giant spiderweb; thick, reddish liquid like magma filled the crevices, radiating a scorching heat.

The ruins of collapsed architectural structures were submerged under layers of ash and dust, with creature bones scattered everywhere. Mutated spiders, centipedes, and snakes the size of a human calf swarmed and crawled over the rock crevices.

"..."

Jeremy quietly shifted his gaze toward the forest of death in the distance. The scene within was enough to make anyone faint of heart vomit.

The withered tree trunks bore twisted forms, looking like humans struggling in agony. On the bark grew countless deformed zombie faces. A hawk swooped down, but before it could even touch a branch, the bark instantly split open, extending razor-sharp fangs that swallowed the prey, skin, bones, and all.

The bone-chilling sound of cracking bones echoed. Fresh blood sprayed out, dyeing the gray trunk into a sticky dark red streak.

Besides the tree monsters, occasionally there were also sparse deformed creatures wandering about. Snake-bodied human-faced monsters, or rat-human hybrids were still considered "normal." The more disgusting ones bore patchwork forms from seven or eight different races, forming lumpy masses of flesh covered in tentacles.

Leon rubbed his arms covered in goosebumps, his face scrunched up in disgust: "This cursed place is even more disgusting than those drawings in forbidden books."

Jeremy secretly agreed. The apocalyptic Wasteland truly lived up to its reputation.

And the most terrifying part was, this was merely the simplest F-rank Rift. He didn’t dare to imagine what kind of hell S-rank areas would contain.

In stark contrast to the students’ extreme tension, Griffin leisurely clasped his hands behind his back, strolling exactly like a noble taking a walk in a royal garden. He casually broke a dry twig to use as a wand and spoke in a flat voice:

"Today, the first lesson I will teach you is Mana Wing Manifestation."

"This is the most basic flight magic. Use your own magic power as a conduit, condensing it into soul wings. The method is very simple: Focus your spiritual force, force the magic power to run along your meridian system, and gather all the power at the core point on your spine. Imagine the form of the wings in your head, silently chant the manifestation incantation I taught you, and simultaneously draw the basic flight star pattern scheme in mid-air. That’s it."

The twig in Griffin’s hand traced a few lines in the air. In a flash, a complex, brilliantly glowing star pattern diagram condensed into form. Accompanying it, six brilliantly radiant wings of light unfurled from his back, as magnificent and majestic as the wings of an angel descending to earth.

It sounded easy when spoken... But the moment Jeremy’s gaze swept over that star pattern diagram, the corner of his mouth twitched incessantly. The complexity of this so-called "basic" thing was at least on par with a Twin-Star magic matrix!