From Wizard Apprentice to Conqueror of Myriad Worlds

"GO—LEM—DE—MON—IN—COM—ING—! EV—ERY—ONE—TAKE—CO—VER—!"

The shout exploded from his throat, spreading in all directions. It pierced through the gale and torrential rain, reaching the eardrums of every newcomer.

The crowd froze for a brief moment.

Then, chaos erupted.

The newcomers closer to the forest scrambled madly for the trees. Some even ditched their adventurer backpacks to lighten their load.

The newcomers farther from the forest desperately dove into the nearest patch of tall grass, fumbling to rip up handfuls of blades to cover themselves.

Not a single newcomer dared to remain exposed before the Golem Demon.

Because everyone knew—the Golem Demon possessed a terrifying long-range attack.

Its tail, comparable to a steel whip, had an exceptionally sharp metal spike at its tip, said to be formed from a spiritual alloy secreted by a special gland.

This spike could be detached at will and would regenerate, much like fingernails or hair.

The Golem Demon would use the momentum of a high-speed dive to viciously whip its tail, simultaneously detaching the spike and launching it at an incredible speed.

Nearly every Golem Demon had mastered this superb tail-spike shooting technique.

Within thirty meters, its accuracy was perfect. Before you could even blink, a spike would be buried in your chest.

Between fifty and one hundred meters, its aim was still high enough to be terrifying.

So, no one here was unafraid.

Even someone as strong as Sitt didn't hesitate to drop down into a patch of low grass.

He simultaneously performed a rather difficult Trick, [Mimicry Disguise]. Magic Power flowed from his fingertips, and his blue robe instantly turned the color of grass.

The Trick's effect was even a cut above that of [Phantom Spray], which showed just how strong Sitt's talent for Witchcraft was.

Mo Ning crouched in the tall grass like a statue, a cold light flickering in his eyes.

A flock of clamoring thoughts swirled in his mind:

'At the Golem Demon's speed, it should reach an altitude of one hundred meters in about three seconds. That's its effective attack range.'

'I can't let this monster charge into the crowd, or the casualties will be devastating.'

'So, the best way is to give it a little scare right as it enters attack range.'

'I don't need to cause much damage. I just need to make it mistakenly believe that not all the terrified humans on the ground are prey—that a hunter might be hiding among them. It will then abandon this hunt.'

'However, I'll be nearly two hundred meters away from the Golem Demon at that point. That's far too great a distance.'

'Even for a Second Level Apprentice, the casting range of conventional Witchcraft is usually only about fifty meters. For a First Level Apprentice, it's even shorter, often not even reaching thirty meters—specialized Witchcraft notwithstanding, of course.'

Yet Mo Ning had a feeling. 'But I think I can do it.'

This, too, sounded completely unbelievable.

But Mo Ning just had an indescribable, inexplicable intuition. 'I can definitely do it.'

His thoughts continued to race, mapping out every step of the plan with perfect clarity.

'At the same time, I can use certain methods to make Uma appear as a highly threatening target in the Golem Demon's eyes.'

'Once the Golem Demon is startled, its survival instinct will compel it to attack what it perceives as the most dangerous target first, then turn and flee.'

This was the method Mo Ning had devised to eliminate Uma—using the Golem Demon to kill Uma. It was also the most foolproof plan.

After all, it was perfectly normal for a few people to die during the wilderness survival assessment.

Culling the unqualified newcomers and screening for promising candidates with ability, courage, and potential was the academy's goal in the first place.

The academy certainly wasn't going to send someone to capture the Golem Demon for interrogation, to pry the reason "why it killed Uma" from the monster's mouth.

Mo Ning thought of a problem, and his brow furrowed slightly.

'There's one problem. If I want the Golem Demon to see Uma as the biggest threat, I have to be the one to fire the 'first shot'.'

'Doing that would be too conspicuous and would easily draw the attention of others, because while everyone else is trying to hide, I'd be attacking the Golem Demon.'

As his mind raced, a solution naturally came to him.

'Hmm... perhaps I can have Anya and Reina act at the same time. With three people sharing the attention, I'll be a much smaller target.'

'Isn't that what teammates are for?'

Having thought of this, Mo Ning decisively issued an order, "Wait for my signal. We'll cast together to distract the Golem Demon."

The two girls were stunned for a moment, then nodded one after the other.

Anya remained firm and decisive, giving the quickest response.

Reina was a fraction of a second slower, but she showed no sign of opposition, which meant her obedience had also improved considerably.

Just as he finished speaking, his[Insightful Secret Eye], observing from above, caught some unusual activity from the direction of the Battle Group.

He saw Princess Phoebe, who was admired by a great many of the newcomers—all of them male, of course—standing under a dense tree. At some point, a short silver arrow had appeared in her fair, slender hand.

The object was only about the length of an index finger, silvery-white all over, and its surface was etched with fine runes that emitted a faint silver glow in the curtain of rain.

The short arrow wasn't touching her fingers but was floating bizarrely in her hand. It trembled from time to time, as if ready to shoot through the air at any moment.

As the female powerhouse among the newcomers, widely acknowledged for her "Divine Armor," this was clearly one of the many Witchcraft Items Princess Phoebe had brought to the academy from the Royal Family.

Meanwhile, Potter, who had shouted the earlier warning, had also raised his hands, and faint specks of light were twinkling at his fingertips.