Chapter 444: Calamity Crystal |
Looking at Vivian’s slightly vacant gaze, Janna quietly held the other’s unnaturally cold hand.
But to Janna’s gesture of concern, Vivian gave no response. Instead, she lowered her head even further.
“Alright, let’s just have a simple meal here.”
After the carriage had been traveling for about twenty minutes, the Bone Sage Gushan-Rav instructed the alchemical creature to stop in front of a roadside restaurant on the outer ring of the city center.
Seeing this, everyone followed Gushan-Rav down from the carriage, entered the restaurant, and, under the guidance of the staff, took seats in a private room on the second floor.
“You probably haven’t eaten much these past two days. It’s best to eat more today, so you’ll have strength for the return journey later.”
It was Gushan-Rav who spoke again. After finishing, he handed the menu to Reiman-Tulan beside him.
On the other side, Anthony-Rook casually handed the menu over to Janna.
“Thank you, Headmaster. Vivian, is there anything you’d like to eat here?”
Seeing Vivian still looking so downcast, Janna quickly ordered two dishes and then passed the menu to Soro-Flare beside her.
As expected, Soro-Flare, who had also failed the trial, likewise said he had no appetite and passed the menu back to Janna.
Thus, amidst this back-and-forth “courtesy,” Janna and Gawen-Tull finally chose several main dishes and side dishes, while Jose-Gold added a dessert, bringing the ordering to an end.
The dining atmosphere remained heavy. Even though Gushan-Rav spoke a few times during the meal, it did little to lighten the mood at the table.
During the meal, Janna communicated privately with Gawen-Tull through sound transmission, roughly learning the entire process of the White Tower Trial—
and even its final outcome.
Under the new rules of the White Tower Trial, a total of 1,140 apprentices participated. Among them, half of the Wizard Apprentices came from large-scale wizard settlements ranked near the top.
Not only did large settlements indeed receive more trial slots compared to medium- and small-sized ones like Turin, but their apprentices were also generally stronger, being ranked higher in overall ability—one of the main reasons for their greater numbers.
Yet, compared to the 1,140 participants, the White Tower ultimately admitted fewer than forty people. Of those, five slots were specially reserved for “designated apprentices” like Gawen-Tull, who had 【Wizard Invention】.
Under such a premise of extremely low acceptance rates, this year’s White Tower Trial was particularly competitive.
Especially under the new rules, without the “interference” of apprentices wielding 【Law Fragments】, most could fully unleash their true strength.
As for the apprentices from Turin’s settlement, they inevitably fell short due to inferior skills.
Even Soro-Flare, the strongest among them, failed to enter the top forty.
“Janna, come outside.”
Just as everyone was nearly finished eating, Vivian—who had barely spoken the entire time—suddenly stood up and called Janna out of the private room.
“Vivian—”
“Janna, I’m fine now. You don’t need to worry about me.”
Seeing Janna’s hesitant expression, Vivian cut her off and forced a smile that looked uglier than crying.
“That’s good—after all, with your ranking this year, you’ll definitely have no problem next year.”
In this White Tower Trial, although Vivian did not pass in the end, her rank still placed her in the top fifty—higher than even Soro-Flare and Reiman-Tulan.
So, Janna believed that with Vivian’s diligence in cultivation, she absolutely had a chance to break through next year.
“Mm, I also believe that next year I’ll definitely pass—I absolutely will!”
Janna, who had originally been worried about Vivian’s state, felt reassured when she saw the blazing fire ignite in Vivian’s eyes as she spoke those last words.
“Janna, take this.”
“Hm?”
Just as Janna was about to say more words of encouragement, Vivian suddenly shoved into her hands a crystal about the size of a baby’s fist, golden throughout.
“This is—【Calamity Crystal】?”
The moment she touched the golden crystal, the secret aura of 【Fate】 and 【Space】 laws hidden within it caused Janna’s eyes to widen.
“That’s right. I had asked my father to buy it for me earlier. Now, we’ll each have one—”
Hearing Vivian’s words, Janna still wore an expression of stunned disbelief.
The 【Calamity Crystal】 was a magical tool with the power to avoid misfortune and warn of danger.
Before its owner encountered a “dangerous event,” the 【Calamity Crystal】 would turn an ominous blood-red.
As the “level of danger” deepened, the warning color of the 【Calamity Crystal】 would darken further until it became crimson like fresh blood.
Beyond its warning ability, the 【Calamity Crystal】 also had space-location and teleportation functions.
Of course, this function was limited to a paired set of main and secondary 【Calamity Crystals】. Once one crystal turned red, the other would also receive a signal.
At that moment, the holder of the paired 【Calamity Crystal】 could activate the 【Spatial Teleportation】 function and directly send themselves to the side of the crystal holder shrouded in danger.
For this reason, 【Calamity Crystals】 were often used by wizard families for their direct descendants, to protect them in times of peril.
And as a special magical tool with the dual attributes of 【Fate】 and 【Space】, its price was also extremely expensive.
If Janna remembered correctly, the market price of a single 【Calamity Crystal】 should be around thirty thousand Gold Surrel, making it both extremely costly and rare.
“Vivian, this is far too precious. I can’t accept it—”
“You must accept it.”
Not giving Janna any chance to refuse, Vivian forcefully shoved the 【Calamity Crystal】 into her hand.
“I know that many tasks in the White Tower are extremely dangerous. Every year, some Wizard Apprentices die in the process of carrying out missions—so, for your own sake, and for me as your friend, you must take this item!”
Looking into Vivian’s resolute eyes, Janna still shook her head.
“Vivian, among my Contracted Creatures, one Dream Realm creature already possesses danger-foresight ability. Moreover, my own sense for danger is also extremely keen—”
“This is different!”
Before Janna could finish, Vivian interrupted her again.