Ceylon Island, City of Aum.
The antimage apprentices who guarded the soul crystals stared blankly at the 23 crystals that shattered one after another. One of them immediately rushed into the meeting room of the antimages and fell to his knees, "M-my lords, everyone in the City of Keyin has been wiped out... they're here..."
"Stop wasting my time! Why panic? Get out!" the antimage was furious, flinging the antimage apprentice out of the room. He returned his gaze to the other antimage sitting at the table, "Mage Cook, we need to fight back."
Cook Aum's face was obscured in the large black robe, raising a hand to stop the antimage's concern, "Of course, but we must not be reckless. Quinn, I don't want us to be wiped out of existence. I don't know how would we be able to explain it to our ancestors if we did."
"Mage Cook! I simply don't understand your trepidation! They are just a group of apprentices! Look -- if you're afraid, I can-"
Snap.
With a crisp sound, Quinn rose into the air grabbing at his neck, and Cook's voice was full of malice, "I'll say it again. These are not ordinary apprentices. Their magic is stronger than yours. A hundred years ago, my father disintegrated into ash by an apprentice who suddenly promoted in battle. I do not want to see that happen again to our kind."
Cook paused, replaying that scene in his mind. He was merely an apprentice a hundred years ago -- if it wasn't for his father sacrificing himself, he wouldn't be alive now. This was truly a nightmare becoming reality.
"This is a disaster for us, I admit," Cook muttered, helping Quinn up. "But this is just a game to them. Don't act brashly, or I'll sacrifice you."
With a low growl, Quinn returned to his seat silently.
Another mage spoke up, "He's too young, Cook. He won't ruin our plans, but do we really have to do that? Although they are just pariahs, they're the source of our strength after all..."
"We have to give up on them and gather as much power as possible. If we can survive, we can persevere."
"Not only us, all of us... all of us will persevere."
"Peter, I leave this task to you. On the premise of ensuring speed, try to move as many mortals as possible. If necessary, you can sacrifice them to stop the apprentices."
All the antimages fell silent; the fact that they were mere livestock loomed over their heads.
The huge magic fluctuations and flashing electricity high above the City of Keyin spread across the night sky. Three trial apprentices looked back immediately in shock.
"Who do you think that was?"
"I don't know. There are too many unknown people here, but that is definitely not apprentice-level magic -- and it's electric magic at that. Are they using magic scrolls?"
"That's too reckless! Using a high-levelled scroll that early..."
They concluded that the magic came from a scroll, To most apprentices, this trial is best completed in a group.
One of them asked an apprentice with a squirrel in his hand, "What's the scouting situation?"
"We got some problems -- there are some magic circles in the city that the squirrels can't bypass. It'll take two hours for them to chew through it."
There were unexpectedly many towers on Ceylon Island. After flying for about two hours, he found another place of gathering.
It wasn't that far from the City of Keyin, and it should also be under the rule of the Aum family. It was midnight, and the town was extremely dark -- only the mansion was brightly lit.
The devil popped out of Adam's mind immediately, "Master, I'm going in."
The devil had already darted towards the mansion. It is better for them to take some initiative anyways.
But just as they were about to sneak into the mansion, they heard Adam stop them, "Wait."
Earlier as he was flying, Adam was mindlessly fidgeting with the bracelet and discovered that it had a function of positioning.
Four nodes were clearly displayed on the bracelet, with the centre node being him.
He landed on the ground and released his runes gently, which allowed his bracelet to enlarge as well. Adam waited for them quietly. After a while, the three figures approached with trepidation.
Adam saw their fearful faces, and used lightning to illuminate his face and bracelet, "I am Adam. I'm from the Moldo Academy."
After seeing the bracelet, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief. You simply can't forge that, so they stood a few metres away from Adam and began to introduce themselves.
Apparently, they come from Moldo as well, but Adam has never heard of them. They didn't know who Adam was either.
"Were you the one who casted that magic just now?" one of them asked.
"If you mean the magic at the southern side, yes, that was me," Adam admitted, feeling that there was nothing to hide.
One of them looked dissatisfied, "You're too reckless! How can you make random shots of magic like that? If you get hit by a curse, you'll cause trouble for everyone."
Adam frowned upon hearing this. He didn't like people meddling in his own business, given that their trial methods were completely up to the apprentices. Why are they trying to cause trouble with Adam?
"Whatever," Adam muttered, the thoughts of partnering with other apprentices fading away instantly. "Goodbye."
The apprentice who accused Adam was stunned, but suddenly, a squirrel made a sharp squeak.
The apprentice with the squirrel raised his head and muttered, "There aren't any antimages in this city, and there are thirty-two sources of energy about to break through."
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