Translator: AnubisTL
The blinding blue light faded, and the distorted sense of space receded like a receding tide.
Jieming's feet touched solid ground. After a moment of dizziness, he opened his eyes.
Following his planned course of action, Jieming activated the rune-imbued magical artifact the instant the teleportation completed.
In the blink of an eye, three layers of differently colored shields materialized around him.
Only then did Jieming have time to survey his surroundings. The densely packed crowd that had filled the plaza had vanished, leaving behind only a desolate wasteland.
He stood on a vast, barren plain, his feet planted on a gray, uneven rocky ground. In the distance, an eerie forest shrouded in thick mist loomed.
Further still, jagged mountain ranges, their peaks resembling skeletal spines, were faintly visible.
The air hung heavy with a sulfurous, scorching heat, mingled with the stench of decaying alien vegetation, creating a primal, untamed atmosphere.
"Huh?"
Jieming exclaimed in surprise, immediately noticing something amiss—the elemental power permeating this realm was completely different from what he had sensed at Noren Academy.
The elemental forces surged like wild horses freed from their reins, exceptionally active and even dangerously unstable.
Jieming could feel the surrounding fire element burning with scorching intensity, the wind element whipping restlessly past his ears, and the earth element so heavy it seemed to solidify.
This was clearly not a gentle plane.
"With such violent elemental power... the destructive potential of energy-based witchcraft would be greatly amplified here. However, the demands on a wizard's mental control would also skyrocket. Even a minor mistake could cause wizardry to spiral out of control, potentially backfiring on the caster."
Jieming extended a finger and attempted to manipulate the surrounding elemental power with his mental power.
Watching the energy sphere coalesce before rapidly expanding and bursting, he immediately drew a conclusion.
For him... this might actually be good news?
After all, his rune-imbued magical artifact relied on the interaction between its talisman seal structure and the surrounding elemental forces. This volatile environment could allow the artifact to unleash even greater power.
Of course, the excessively violent elemental power also carried the risk of damaging the rune-imbued magical artifact more easily.
From a testing perspective, this also served as indirect verification of the stability of the rune-imbued magical artifacts.
Jieming surveyed his surroundings, his vision obstructed by the undulating terrain and towering vegetation in the distance.
The roars of wild beasts and the flapping of wings echoed from afar, but the specific threats remained unseen.
"In this unfamiliar environment, danger could emerge from anywhere. It seems that simple attack, defense, and mobility capabilities are far from sufficient for survival in the wild. Reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance are equally important, perhaps even more so. Sensing potential threats and concealing one's own movements... these are the keys to survival in an unknown environment."
Jieming immediately recognized his shortcomings. "Indeed, I've learned another lesson."
Firmly resolving to prioritize crafting reconnaissance-type rune-imbued magical artifacts next time, Jieming refrained from hasty action. Instead, he decided to first test the performance of his existing prototype rune-imbued magical artifacts in this plane.
The defensive rune-imbued magical artifact had already been deployed, and its performance thus far seemed satisfactory.
The earth attribute shield, in particular, had become even more resilient due to the unique elemental power here. However, the remaining two shield types seemed significantly less stable.
"The shields construct smoothly, but the moment they materialize, the violent elemental power causes slight fluctuations in the rune-imbued magical artifact. I need to use mental power for rapid stabilization and calibration... I'll mainly rely on the earth attribute shield from now on."
"Next..."
With a thought, the mobility rune artifact, disguised as a belt at his waist, glowed faintly.
A weightless force surged forth, lifting his body.
He leaped forward lightly, gliding as if carried by an invisible wind, moving at a speed far exceeding a normal sprint.
Under the influence of the wild plane's turbulent wind element, his velocity seemed even greater than it had been in the academy's training grounds, though controlling it required slightly more focused mental power.
Finally, he tested the offensive rune-imbued magical artifact.
He casually pointed at a towering boulder in the distance and focused his mind.
A fireball the size of an adult's head materialized in mid-air, emitting a piercing hiss as it hurtled toward the rock with lightning speed.
Boom!
The explosion was far greater than he had anticipated. The rock shattered into a shower of flying debris!
The talisman seal instantly unleashed the plane's raw fire element, amplifying the fireball's power to more than double its strength in the academy's training grounds.
"Whoa... impressive," Jieming murmured, thoroughly satisfied with the result.
The wild elemental power of this plane had indeed significantly enhanced the attack power of his rune-imbued magical artifact.
While this might make control slightly more challenging, the benefits far outweighed the drawbacks.
Having completed his testing, Jieming stowed the rune-imbued magical artifact.
He had only two objectives for participating in this trial:
First, to thoroughly test the rune-imbued magical artifact's combat effectiveness in a true wild plane, identifying its limits, strengths, and weaknesses.
Second, a newly formed goal, was to collect samples of materials unique to this plane.
With such rampant elemental power, the materials forged here were bound to possess extraordinary properties.
As for merit points?
Jieming wasn't particularly concerned about them.
With the support of the second-tier cultivation protocol, Jieming didn't need to compete for first place to prove himself. He only needed to ensure his final merit points ranked him within the top 10%, granting him eligibility to participate in the large-scale assessment held by the Noren Workshop in five years.
Focusing his mind, Jieming activated his mobility rune artifact and casually chose a direction with a higher concentration of elemental power, accelerating forward.
After all, common sense dictated that areas with higher elemental power concentrations would be richer in resources but also more dangerous.
This perfectly aligned with Jieming's dual objectives.
During his flight, he encountered other wizard apprentices in the air or on the ground, all using flight or acceleration spells.
Most of these apprentices regarded him with wary glances.
Clearly, many hadn't expected to encounter others so soon, especially someone moving faster than themselves.
Having just entered this plane, the apprentices felt a competitive spirit, but the tension hadn't yet reached a boiling point. After all, none of them had accumulated many merit points yet, and engaging in combat now would leave them vulnerable to opportunistic attacks from others.
Thus, the apprentices merely glanced at Jieming from afar before quickly changing direction, cautiously moving away from him.
Occasionally, someone who felt they couldn't escape Jieming's "pursuit" would stop and adopt a defensive stance, ready for battle.
Jieming would give these individuals only a fleeting glance before activating his mobility rune artifact. He would then accelerate away from them, quickly moving beyond their detection range.
While he did need to test the combat capabilities of his rune-imbued magical artifact, he wasn't in a hurry to fight humans. It would be better to find some living targets to practice on first.
(End of the Chapter)
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