Chapter 82: Warm Spring
What kind of hint was this?
Forget it, it was better than nothing!
“Then, I announce that the Underdark Treesea, the Apprentice Trial, has officially begun!”
Following Wizard Slater’s order, the Apprentices by the lake all walked towards the lake and jumped into it.
Splas.h.!.+
After splas.h.i.+ng in all directions, the Apprentices who jumped into the lake disappeared.
“Then, let’s go. See you at the finish line.”
“Okay, see you at the finish line.”
Heath and the others greeted each other and then jumped into the lake with the rest of the team.
Soon, the lakeside next to the mountain fortress sea became clear.
Witch Ca.s.sandra then said to a young Apprentice next to her, “Vina, take them up and raise the image.”
One of the female Apprentices said, “Yes, Teacher.”
Then, she took off her clothes and went into the lake naked. She disappeared into the water as if she had melted.
Several female Apprentices walked up to her, took out their wands, and began to chant spells at the lake.
Splas.h.!.+
The sound of running water could be heard.
A large water ball suddenly rose in the middle of the lake. The water ball reflected an unfamiliar image of a dense forest, a towering mountain peak, a withered dead land, and so on.
And at the very front was a peak that shot straight up into the clouds.
Ferde sat down on the wooden cane, and the shepherd dog, Scott, also laid down beside him.
He combed Scott’s hair while looking at the water ball hanging on the lake. He said softly, “Old dog, let’s see.”
“Whether or not anyone can reach the end.”
…
At the same time, after jumping into the water, Heath immediately felt the world spinning.
Splas.h.!.+
His vision blurred and he appeared in an unfamiliar place.
It was a beautiful forest full of flowers. There were more than ten puddles in the forest. At this moment, there was an Apprentice sitting in each puddle. Obviously, they were all teleported here.
While Heath was looking at his surroundings, a voice rang in his ears.
The voice was as strict as a father’s. “How long do you plan to sit there? It’s time to go.”
A big dog had unknowingly stood in front of him and was staring at him with a serious expression.
It wasn’t just him. Heath noticed that there was a big dog in front of every Apprentice. However, other than his dog, Heath could only hear the barks of the other dogs.
While Heath was sizing them up, another voice sounded, as gentle as a mother’s.
“Shh, don’t scare him. He hasn’t adapted yet.”
Suddenly, another Flower Fairy appeared beside him, holding a small fairy stick in her hand.
Similarly, each Apprentice had one beside them.
Heath could not help but ask, “Who are you?”
The information he received from his spiritual power was very strange… This did not seem like a normal creature… It was not even a reaction that a creature should have.
The Flower Fairy explained, “I am the mother of flowers, and he is the father of dogs. We are illusionary spirits created by Wizards. We will give you a little help on the way to the destination.”
The big dog added, “We will not harm you!”
Heath suddenly understood.
He had read in a book that illusionary spirits were energy bodies created by Wizards with magic power. They could carry out the orders given by Wizards.
They were not real bodies. After the energy was exhausted, they would naturally collapse.
The Flower Fairy said, “Then can we go on our way?”
Heath nodded and got up from the pool.
“I’ll help you clean up first.”
As the Flower Fairy spoke, she raised the fairy stick in her hand and gently tapped on Heath. The five-pointed star on the top flashed, and Heath’s wet clothes and hair were instantly dried.
Then, she continued, “The first step is to check your hourgla.s.s.”
Heath did as he was told and took out the hourgla.s.s from his dimensional pocket.
At this moment, the hourgla.s.s was in a strange state. Not only did the sand in it not flow down, but it was slowly increasing.
The Flower Fairy said, “At the beginning, you will have a lot of time.”
The big dog said, “But you can’t waste it.”
The Flower Fairy continued, “Now, open your map and confirm the location and route.”
Heath continued to take out the map.
At this moment, there were many more marks on the map, including the starting point, the ending point, the treasure chest, the route, and even his specific location.
When he saw his position, Heath couldn’t help but open his mouth. “The seventh floor?”
The map showed that he was on the seventh floor at the bottom.
At the same time, the surrounding apprentices also noticed this and started to wail.
“No way! The seventh floor! We’re that unlucky!?”
“G.o.d, it’s too unfair!”
“What bullsh*t trial? What the f*ck is this? Is there any fairness to it?”
Heath was also a little depressed.
To be so far behind in the beginning, wasn’t this a little too tragic?
At this moment, the big dog said, “Innate deficiency isn’t scary. As long as you don’t lose your fighting spirit, you can still ride the wind and break the waves!”
Heath nodded. He wasn’t a child who didn’t know anything. After two lifetimes, his mental fort.i.tude had been honed enough, and he quickly swept away the unhappiness in his heart.
He said, “Let’s go.”
After saying that, he took the lead and set off.
When the surrounding Apprentices saw this, they all stopped complaining and followed Heath’s footsteps.
“Let’s go, let’s go!”
“Let’s try our luck.”
The forest was filled with fresh flowers and lush gra.s.s. The warm sun baked the earth. The temperature was neither hot nor cold, and the sun was bright and abundant.
It was very easy to walk in such a place. A few Apprentices were also talking and laughing. Even Heath, who was wearing the cloak of Shadow Tower, did not encounter any hostility as if he was outside.
After walking for a while, Heath felt a little thirsty.
He was just about to fetch some water when the Flower Fairy said with concern, “What’s wrong? Are you thirsty?”
She raised her wand and flew to a big tree nearby. She knocked on it lightly. “Big tree, big tree, the child is thirsty, the child is thirsty.”
Splas.h.!.+
The treetops shook.
An old woman’s face appeared on the tree trunk. Her voice was nagging but full of concern. “Oh! Poor child, are you thirsty? Quick, drink some morning dew. I just collected it this morning.”
She extended a large leaf in front of Heath. The middle of the leaf was filled with morning dew.
“Drink it quickly, child, quickly.”
Heath picked up the leaf and drank the morning dew.
The tree continued, “Is it enough? If it’s not enough, I still have a lot. Drink more, drink more, don’t be thirsty.”
As she spoke, she sent over more morning dew.
Heath shook his head. “It’s enough.”
“Then do you still need food? Bread, apples, bananas, or anything else?”
The old tree sent over more branches. On the branches, there was a very strange variety of food such as bread, roast chicken, apples, bananas, and so on.
Its voice was filled with doting love.
The other Apprentices saw Heath’s actions and immediately followed suit.
“Quick, I’m thirsty!”
“I’m hungry too. I want to eat roasted pork. Is there any roasted pork?”
“I want venison meat.”
The Flower Fairies around the Apprentices all got busy, waking up the old tree next to them.
The conditions of each Apprentice were met.
Heath picked a breadfruit and put it in his hand: ‘Extract.’
[Beep, extraction successful. Spiritual Power +0.01]
He could not help but laugh. It seemed that he could really do it!
His heart was filled with joy. He immediately looked around and saw that the sun was s.h.i.+ning brightly and the spring breeze was blowing gently.
All he saw was warmth.