Wizard: Starting from Escape from the Thorn Garden

Chen Lin deliberately dimmed the lights in the sealed room, leaving only a cold light on the experimental table.

An indescribable stillness permeated the air, as if even the falling dust could be clearly heard.

Chen Lin sat upright in front, his fingertips twirling a small pinch of shimmering powder—stardust.

This is a small bottle of high-level materials that Master Liria gave as an extra gift after she gave the Shadowthorn Ring.

The accompanying brief description only mentions: "The astral dust remains, containing faint spatial coordinate information and stellar energy. It needs to be slowly guided by mental power. It can slightly amplify the stability of spatial perception, but it carries the risk of eroding unrefined mental power."

For Chen Lin, who possesses the ability to refract space, this is undoubtedly a highly attractive topic.

During his rest over the past few days, besides familiarizing himself with the Shadowthorn Ring, he devoted most of his energy to studying this mysterious stardust.

"Seed of Origin, Deep Analysis Target: Stardust."

Dark golden roots spread through the sea of ​​consciousness, carefully enveloping the stardust particles between the fingers.

This time, at least there was some success.

The data stream, mixed with unprecedented spatial fluctuations, surged into consciousness:

[Analysis Target: Stardust]

Energy properties: faint stellar radiation, with a core of highly condensed spatial coordinate information flow.

Structural characteristics: The microparticle structure is extremely unstable, containing microscopic spatial folds. Without guidance, it is extremely easy to escape or cause microscopic spatial ripples.

Mental interaction: It has a slight attraction to mental energy.

It can be mixed with Moon Shadow Essence and then integrated into the spiritual sea; direct integration carries the risk of spiritual rupture.

Usability simulation:

Option 1: Enveloping spiritual energy in moonlight essence for contact can safely guide the inert spatial information flow to slowly integrate into the spiritual sea.

It can slightly enhance the host's passive perception stability of spatial fluctuations, with an estimated increase of 5%-10% each time it is integrated, increasing the perception radius to 10-15 meters, with a maximum of 10 enhancements, after which the effect decreases.

Option 2: Incorporate a minute amount of stardust during the generation/detonation of the Spirit Pivot Seed.

It is necessary to precisely control the formation of temporary spatial coordinate anchor points inside the seed.

effect:

The stability of the psionic seed's flight trajectory has been greatly improved, increasing its hit rate.

When a seed detonates, it can inflict a weak but precise spatial anchoring effect, forcibly fixing the spatial structure of a small area around the target, briefly interrupting spatial displacement spells or talents.

"Spatial anchoring..." Chen Lin's eyes flashed with a sharp light.

This effect is practically tailor-made for the Trial Tower!

The shadow creatures of the Shadow Corridor, the abyssal worms of the Corruption Garden, and even some elite apprentices skilled in spatial displacement may be briefly and forcibly pinned to the spot at crucial moments, which could determine their life or death!

He immediately began the experiment.

With intense concentration, the essence of moonlight flowed from his fingertips, carefully enveloping a tiny, rice-grain-sized psionic seed.

At the same time, the Seed of Origin, like the most precise tweezers, "picked up" a tiny, almost imperceptible particle of starlight from the stardust bottle.

"Merge!"

The Moon Shadow Essence gently pushes the microparticles toward the core of the seed.

The moment they came into contact, the iridescent light on the seed's surface fluctuated violently!

The microscopic spatial folds inside the particle fluctuated slightly, but under the suppression of the Moon Shadow's inertial force field and the strong constraint of the Seed of Origin, they were successfully pressed into the psionic rune structure inside the seed, forming an extremely tiny, flickering point of light—a temporary spatial anchor!

It worked!

However, fine beads of sweat had already seeped from Chen Lin's forehead, indicating that his mental energy consumption was significantly greater than that of generating ordinary seeds.

With a thought, the seed, which had merged with the stardust, shot out silently.

Its flight path within the sealed chamber was exceptionally stable; even when he deliberately interfered with it using subtle wind magic, its trajectory barely deviated! When the seed struck the specially designed target and detonated—

hum!

In addition to the expected mental shockwave, the space within half a meter of the target seemed to freeze for a moment!

The movement of air and the drifting of dust both stopped for an extremely short time!

Although it was only for a moment, the feeling was incredibly clear!

"It's done!" Chen Lin was thrilled.

He temporarily named it the Star Track Anchor Bomb.

Although we can only fuse a single seed with a single grain of stardust at present, and the success rate and stability still need a lot of practice to improve, the direction is correct!

This will become another hidden trump card for him in his journey through the Trial Tower, to fight against high-speed or space-type enemies!

Just as he was about to try again to optimize the fusion process, the Wind Imprint of the Green-Top Alliance in his arms suddenly vibrated slightly, emitting a warm blue light.

Chen Lin perked up and temporarily put down the Stardust Bottle in his hand.

As his mental energy probed the jade talisman, a clear stream of information flooded into his mind:

"The Green Peak Alliance is summoning us to discuss the trial, including information about the three levels of the trial, especially the news about purifying the temple—Evan."

"Purify the Temple!" Chen Lin's heart skipped a beat.

Elena had clearly obtained a new clue through the star prophecy, and he immediately got up.

While the research findings on Stardust are important, the information about the Temple is the core issue.

He quickly tidied himself up and carefully put away the stardust bottle and the remaining materials.

The Shadow Thorn Ring's icy touch pressed against the base of Chen Lin's index finger. Its deep, restrained dark gray hue and subtle thorn patterns almost blended into his skin under the soft light of the barrier's upper layer.

-----------------

Chen Lin stood at the entrance of the corridor leading to the Emerald Pavilion and took a deep breath.

The air was filled with the unique scent of the upper levels of the fortress, a blend of high-level magical potion fragrance and ancient plant aromas, much clearer and thinner than the lower market area.

On the identity plaque, the pale blue wind mark was slightly warm, guiding the way.

The walls on both sides of the corridor are covered with a kind of living moss that emits a faint fluorescent light. The vine-like patterns pulsate slowly beneath the moss, like the blood vessels of a barrier.

Guarding the entrance were two level-three wizard apprentices with a composed demeanor, dressed in silver-gray trimmed robes. Their sharp gazes swept over Chen Lin's nameplate, especially the silver vine markings and pale blue wind imprints entwined on it. They nodded slightly and silently made way for him.

After passing through the corridor, the view suddenly opened up.

The Emerald Pavilion is a natural platform suspended above the aerial roots of a giant, ancient guardian tree.

The platform is naturally formed by the gnarled and twisted living aerial roots, and its surface is covered with smooth, mirror-like dark green jade slabs.

There were no walls around, only a low fence woven from aerial roots, covered with fragrant, emerald-green vines, interspersed with tiny, shimmering, silver-blue flowers.

The ceiling is part of the Barrier Dome, but this dome is not made of thick rock. Instead, it is composed of countless fine, luminous moss and transparent crystal clusters. Soft light falls down like a flowing galaxy, enveloping the entire platform in a tranquil and mysterious atmosphere.

In the center of the platform, a huge round table carved from a single piece of starstone stands quietly, with naturally formed star-like spots on the tabletop resembling a miniature universe.

Seven stone chairs, each with a distinct style but exuding an extraordinary aura, surround the round table.

At this moment, five people have already taken their seats.

Evan Windwhisper sat in the main seat, still dressed in a flowing blue and white robe, exuding an elegant aura, but his eyes were sharper than when they last met, as if they could see right through people's hearts.

He toyed with an invisible wisp of air between his fingertips. When he saw Chen Lin arrive, a gentle smile appeared on his lips, and he nodded slightly.

Sophia sat to Evan's left, her gray-white, rocky skin gleaming with a cold, hard sheen under the starlight. Her posture was as upright as a javelin, and her aura as steady as a mountain.

She merely glanced at Chen Lin, her rock-like gaze scrutinizing him, before returning her attention to the enormous magic map spread out on the table.

Kyle sat in the shadows at the very edge, his figure seemingly blending into the darkness of the platform's corner.

Only a pair of cold, dagger-like eyes gleamed in the darkness, locking onto Chen Lin the moment he stepped onto the platform. They lingered for a moment on Chen Lin's right hand, where he wore the Shadow Thorn Ring, before disappearing back into the shadows as if they had never existed.

Elena sat to Evan's right, her silver hair cascading down like a waterfall, shimmering with a dreamlike glow under the starlight.

She closed her eyes, placed her hands together on her knees with her palms facing upwards, and a transparent crystal the size of a pigeon egg, with what appeared to be nebula flowing inside, floated above it, emitting a faint, calming vibration.

She didn't open her eyes, but Chen Lin could feel a gentle yet vast spiritual force sweeping over him, with a depth as profound as the stars.

There was another face that Chen Lin had never seen before, sitting next to Sophia.

He was an exceptionally tall and burly man, wearing dark red sleeveless leather armor and revealing arms covered in flame tattoos.

He had a rugged face, short, fiery red hair that looked like burning flames, and wild, aggressive eyes. He was idly tapping his knuckles on the hard stone table, making a dull sound.

His gaze toward Chen Lin carried undisguised scrutiny and a hint of... eager fighting spirit.

The Seed of Origin provides an instant notification:

[Target: Rhodes, a peak fourth-level wizard apprentice, a core member of the "Forge" family, nicknamed "Flame Fist";]

Specializes in fire-based energy manipulation, power bursts, and close combat; has a fiery and warlike personality.

Evaluation: Threat level: High; extremely high physical destructive power.

"Chen Lin, welcome to the core meeting of the Green Top Alliance."

Evan's voice, like a gentle breeze, broke the brief silence across the platform.

He gestured to an empty stone chair between Kyle and Rhodes at the round table. "Please sit down. Serena is the only one missing."

Chen Lin bowed slightly: "Senior Ai Wenxue, Senior Sophia, Senior Kyle, Senior Elena, Senior Rhodes."

His voice was calm and neither humble nor arrogant, and he then walked to the empty chair.

As soon as he sat down, the air at the edge of the platform rippled like water.

A slender figure emerged silently, as if stepping directly out of the shadows.

The newcomer was dressed in tight-fitting, pure black leather armor that seemed to absorb light. His face was covered by a mask of the same material, revealing only his eyes and chin. His figure was indistinct and elusive, like a moving shadow.

She walked to the round table and sat down in the only empty seat next to Elena, without making a sound the whole time.

[Target: Serena Shadow, a peak fourth-level wizard apprentice, a member of the "Shadow Veil" family, nicknamed "Shadow Strike";]

Specializing in shadow jumping, stealth assassination, and mental interference, with an extremely low presence;

Assessment: Threat level: High.

"Everyone's here."

Evan lightly tapped the starstone tabletop with his fingertip.

The center of the desktop lit up instantly, and a complex, three-dimensional map projection composed of pure light and shadow appeared.

The map has a multi-layered structure and is marked with numerous danger symbols, energy fluctuation areas, and obscure paths.

"The Southern Trial Tower is a place of myriad phenomena, where life and death are unpredictable."

Evan's voice turned serious.

"Based on the exploration records of the Barrier over the years and some of the secrets passed down by our families, the general environment and known dangers of the first three levels of the Trial Tower have been basically explored, but the deeper levels are still shrouded in mystery."

The purpose of this meeting is to share intelligence, clarify objectives, and develop preliminary cooperation strategies.

He pointed to the bottom layer of the map, an area marked in dark red:

"First layer: Heart of Lava".

Environment: High temperature, pervasive sulfurous toxic gas, magma rivers and unstable crust.

Main threats: Fire elemental creature swarms, including small fire spirits, lava lizards, fire bat swarms, as well as lava eruption traps and continuous erosion from high-temperature environments.

There are areas rich in fire element essence, and possibly the remains of ancient furnaces, containing various forging-related heritage and rare forging materials.

Then it points to the second level, a dark and deep area:

"Second floor: Shadowy Corridor."

The environment is characterized by extremely dark lighting, unstable spatial structure, spatial rifts in some areas, and an atmosphere permeated with the aura of the dead and a field of mental interference.

The main threats are shadow creatures such as shadow wolves, ghosts, shadow lurkers, undead swarms, primarily skeleton warriors and wraiths, mental illusion traps, and spatial rift cutters.

It contains shadowy and undead materials, soul-related artifacts and knowledge, and even a faint leak of astral energy, which can aid in enhancing spatial perception.

Finally, it points to the third floor, a colorful area filled with an eerie atmosphere:

"Third layer: Corruption Garden."

The environment is characterized by a jungle of demonic plants polluted by abyssal energy, rife with poisonous miasma, and a complex and varied terrain.

The main threats include abyssal demonic plants such as man-eating flowers, poison vines, and mind-polluting spores, as well as abyssal worms, swarms of highly poisonous insects, and environmental toxins.

Rare magical plant samples, fragments of abyssal crystals, and possible ruins of ancient purification altars have been found there.

Evan's gaze swept over the crowd:

"Our goal is not to stop at the first three levels. The real opportunities and challenges lie at a deeper level."

However, the first three levels are the only way to pass through, and also the place where the weak are selected.

We need to proceed efficiently and safely, preserving our strength.

"Give me the Heart of Lava."

Rhodes grinned, revealing gleaming white teeth, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked, and the flame tattoos on his body seemed to come alive, glowing faintly. "Those fire lumps, one punch each! Lava? Perfect for tempering my gauntlets!"

"In the Shadow Corridor, Serena and I are responsible for scouting and eliminating shadow threats."

Kyle spoke coldly from the shadows, his voice like the scraping of ice.

"Leave those rats hiding in the shadows to us."

Sofia calmly replied:

"I can take the lead in the Corruption Garden's physical defense and environmental suppression. The Rock Armor can resist most toxin corrosion and physical attacks."

Elena slowly opened her eyes, her silver pupils seemingly swirling with stars:

"My stellar omens can detect some spatial rifts and mental traps in advance, and provide a weak environmental purification field. However, the interference in deeper areas is very strong, so the effect will be weakened."

All eyes, including those of the newly joined Serena hidden behind her mask, were on Chen Lin.

Evan smiled and said, "Junior Brother Chen Lin, your abilities are unique, combining both defense and control, especially with your newly acquired powerful magical artifact..."

His gaze swept over the ring on Chen Lin's hand, and he continued,

"It has an extremely strong ability to survive in complex environments."

Your vine bindings and neurotoxins should be remarkably effective at containing the mutated plants and swarms of insects in the garden. And…”

He paused, then added meaningfully, "Master Liria's 'Shadowthorn Ring' has an immeasurable value to our team in terms of its ability to conceal itself and escape at crucial moments."

This was to get Chen Lin to make a statement, and also to assign tasks.

The information network is really good; it seems that one of Liria's apprentices has a problem with her.

Chen Lin's mind raced, and he instantly understood.

He needs to demonstrate his value, but he cannot be treated as a mere support or meat shield.

"My vines and toxins can handle the corrupted garden's monstrous plants and swarms of insects."

Chen Lin spoke calmly, his voice not loud but clear.

"The toxins are particularly effective against plants and arthropods, and the vines can restrict their movement, creating opportunities for Senior Sophia to attack. My symbiote has some resistance to environmental toxins. As for stealth..."

A faint, almost imperceptible dark gold shimmered across the Shadow Thorn Ring pattern on his right index finger. "I can provide cover when stealth reconnaissance or an emergency escape is needed."

He didn't take on everything, but he clearly defined his role: the main force controlling the Corruption Garden and providing auxiliary defense, as well as ensuring rear security in critical moments.

This aligns with his abilities and avoids conflicts with players like Rod and Kyle regarding their primary offensive roles.

"very good."

Evan nodded in satisfaction.

"Specific tactical coordination will be adjusted based on the actual situation after entering the Trial Tower. Next, we will focus on the core of this meeting, which is also one of the ultimate goals of our Green Peak Alliance in this trial."