Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Chapter 124 Waiting

"Then why did you save her?"

Iris Clark was puzzled by this.

She couldn't understand Link Grand's thought process.

Since you already have suspicions, why waste your energy trying to save a suspicious person?

"To confirm some speculations."

Link casually mentioned it, but didn't elaborate or go on to explain further.

Since learning of the existence of the "Sea Sail Alliance," and knowing that a considerable number of the new recruits in the Storm Sea of ​​the South District are keen to curry favor with the local apprentices of the North District,

He knew that even among the top 30, not everyone was necessarily self-reliant.

While not absolutely certain, Link was at least 80% confident that he could find someone among the other 28 who was willing to secretly collude with the local apprentices in the North District, or even act as an inside agent.

Andrea Norman's impulsive act of eating the fruit seemed incredibly foolish.

Would someone who ranks in the top 30, if they were intelligent enough, do something like this?

There is clearly another reason.

This gave Link the feeling that she secretly wanted to be eliminated on purpose.

Andrea Norman's changing expression and unusual tone of voice after waking up confirmed Link's suspicions.

She definitely has something to hide.

In that case, don't blame Link for turning ruthless and using someone who still seems to have some conscience to set a trap.

The enemy outnumbered us, and the disparity in strength was enormous.

Link doesn't think his side has much of a chance of winning unless they resort to some underhanded tactics.

Moreover, the other party has already decided to kill; in a life-or-death struggle, how can one be soft-hearted?

He walked silently for a while, making sure that he was completely out of the detection range of Dalton Colin and his group.

Link immediately took action.

"Keep up."

He gave a shout and quickly entered a mountain hollow that had been selected in advance by the circular flying saucer, then slipped into a cave to hide his tracks.

Four reconnaissance dummy units were deployed around the mountain valley as a precaution.

Both the circular flying saucer and Iris Clark's bionic eagle were sent out.

One person monitored the movements of Dalton Colum and his three companions, while another patrolled the surrounding area to see if there were any unusual occurrences or strangers approaching.

On the way, Iris Clarke wanted to urge Link Grand to tell her what he wanted to confirm.

After Link Grand suddenly changed his route and concealed his whereabouts, Iris Clark immediately realized what he was trying to prove.

He then kept quiet and cooperated perfectly throughout, doing whatever he was told.

Her eyes and the expression on her face revealed a strong sense of surprise and anticipation.

So that's what they were up to!

"interesting!"

"This is so much fun!"

"I like!"

"Hehehe..."

Inside the cave, Iris Clark was multitasking.

While rummaging through his small bag for "toys" he might need later, he watched Dalton, Corren, and the other three on the smart screen and let out a lewd laugh.

She even split the screen in two, one half showing the four people's movements, and the other half zoomed in to focus on Andrea Norman's every move.

Link, too, stared at the monitor, preparing himself, remaining silent.

Wait quietly.

……

Link Grand and Iris Clark are not the only ones waiting.

Many people are waiting.

……

Jasmine Kidman is waiting.

She didn't know whether her luck was good or bad.

Who knows? She was randomly teleported to a very safe place, with a small bag containing her watch and a task list at her feet.

Having learned about the main and side quests, and having just put on the watch,

Link immediately sent a notification request to pair the watch with it.

This made Jasmine very happy.

This means that Link Grand still cares about him.

After being told her the truth and given her location, Jasmine felt much more at ease.

Even though Jasmine had begun to gradually try to be independent and assert her own opinions in the first two months,

But when a person is thrown into this strange world, she still instinctively wants to find someone to rely on.

She knows this habit is bad and wants to change it, but she hasn't been able to yet.

We can only try harder in the future.

Jasmine stuck out her tongue, feeling slightly ashamed of her self-deceiving thought.

Fortunately, she was trapped on a sandbar in the middle of the river as soon as she landed.

The river flows swiftly and rapidly.

The river is vast, about two thousand meters wide, stretching as far as the eye can see.

The sandbar is covered with only reeds, not even a shrub, let alone tall, straight trees.

Want to cut down trees, build boats, and cross the great river?

There aren't the objective conditions!

swim?

Crossing the river by wading?

Are there giant beasts on land, but no ferocious beasts in the water?

Jasmine tried it at first.

As soon as it entered the water, before it had even swum 30 meters, it was surrounded and chased by a group of aquatic beasts that resembled crocodiles but were several times larger. They were forced back to the sandbar by the scent of humans.

Thanks to the profits from the Silver Star Flower hybridization and breeding, the dividends from the Li Xuan Grass series, and the small bonus from the Wizard Celine, Jasmine Kidman also upgraded her equipment.

Following Link's example, Molly donned the "Defender 3202" suit, purchased two reconnaissance golems, and carried a certain number of self-destructing mines of various models.

They were armed to the teeth.

However, Jasmine was still helpless against the wild beasts in the water and the great river.

Aquatic beasts have sharp teeth, flexible and powerful tails, and thick skin, making them both defensive and offensive.

The "Defender 3202" suit can protect against the bites, pounces, and tail whips of aquatic beasts, but Jasmine's body cannot withstand the impact and pressure for long.

What?

You said Iron Man, a mortal, is on par with gods.

Once you put on the armor, you won't die no matter how many times you fall.

How can you even compare them?

A single suit of armor costs tens or hundreds of billions of US dollars to make.

If you calculate the purchasing power of the two world currencies, one suit of armor can buy several thousand "Defender 3202" sets, or a set of level 3 wizard artifacts!

Jasmine not only encountered problems in defense, but also in offense.

Unless she uses up all her self-destructing fire grenades, Jasmine has no way of breaking through the defenses of the aquatic beast!

Jasmine did not give up after returning to the sandbar from the water.

She estimated that the distance from the sandbar to the riverbank was about a thousand meters.

With the help of the "Defender 3202" outfit's cloak and boots, and by gliding close to the river surface, one might be able to reach the destination successfully.

But the ferocious beasts in the water wouldn't just stand by and watch Jasmine escape; they would inevitably rush up to intercept her.

Increasing the altitude would affect the range and make it impossible to cross the river.

It will only fly halfway before crashing into the water.

At that time, they will still have to face attacks from ferocious aquatic beasts.

It would have been better to just go into the water from the beginning.

At least they won't lose the ability to escape the battlefield.

The boots in the "Defender 3202" set are definitely a weakness when it comes to flying!

They can't win a direct confrontation, and they can't avoid it either.

After careful consideration, Jasmine was at a loss and had no choice but to wait.

Waiting for a variable to emerge.

Or wait for Link to arrive.

She carved out a safe zone in the tall reeds, took precautions and set up a perimeter, and hid there.

Many people have entered this world, the vast majority of whom are local apprentices from the North District. They are rivals and enemies.

Protecting yourself is the most important thing.

Hiding one's whereabouts is the top priority.

Jasmine didn't want to end up with a local apprentice from the North District, or even a member of "Pureblood Will," instead of the expected variables or Link.

That would be ridiculous!

Besides, I'm just idling around anyway.

Let's just dig up the underground tunnel that Link Grand, that annoying guy, mentioned when he was making fun of Lesser Mudstone.

Ugh!

Jasmine sighed deeply.

I get upset just thinking about that guy.

……

Trish Lucia is waiting.

As Hawke Lucia's younger sister, Sophie Lucia's cousin, and Soren Lucia's niece, Trish Lucia was originally preparing to perform well in the two-district competition, hoping to gain greater support from her family through good results and high rankings.

However, he was forced to accept the mission of leading a team to intercept and kill Link Grand.

This will undoubtedly have a significant impact on her performance and results in the two-district competition.

Trish Lucia, who already disliked Sophie Lucia, grew to hate her even more, and her dislike gradually turned into hatred.

Why should I clean up the mess you made?

Trish Lucia's heart was filled with resentment towards Sophie Lucia.

She really wanted to quit or just do a half-hearted job.

However, this task was assigned by Soren Lucia, and under pressure, Trish Lucia had no choice but to do her best.

This feeling is extremely uncomfortable and torturous.

When her emotions got the better of her, Trish Lucia hated Sophie Lucia to the core.

Fortunately, not long after entering this world, Trish Lucia received a report from a three-person team saying that they had discovered Link Grand's whereabouts and were trying to assassinate him.

Unfortunately, due to various restrictions imposed by the academy, the special miniature AI it comes with can only communicate via text and perform short-range, short-duration positioning; it cannot communicate via voice or video, nor can it automatically generate coordinates.

With no better option, Trish Lucia could only use the watch issued by the academy to locate the three groups of three.

Therefore, we can roughly deduce that Link Grand is located quite far from where she is.

They were further away from the other two groups of three.

It's difficult to get there in time to provide support.

This means that before Trish Lucia and the other two groups arrive,

That trio didn't just kill Link Grand,

At the very least, you have to keep pestering the other person and keep tracking them.

Trish Lucia continued on her way while waiting.

We await the next report from the three-person team.

Waiting for the trio to report their success.

Waiting for this disgusting mission to end.

……

Lanny Taylor is waiting.

Of the first-year members of the "New Blood Mutual Aid Association," there are 10 people in the top 30, including her.

Only Isco Alex could catch her eye.

She genuinely looked down on everyone else.

But in the two months that Lani Taylor has been in the "New Blood Society," she has never shown any related emotions and has always treated everyone the same.

With the support of Wizard Ella and being a top-tier genius himself,

Good grades, good figure

Although her face was covered by a veil, her clear, autumn-water-like eyes were captivating enough to make anyone who saw her immediately think that she must be an absolute beauty.

The vast majority of the first-year members of the "New Blood Mutual Aid Society," especially the male members, were captivated by Lanny Taylor's personal charm and beauty.

Including Isco Alex.

Even many second- and third-year students are gradually drawing closer to Lani Taylor.

This laid a good foundation for Lani Taylor's competition for the position of president.

As long as she performs exceptionally well in this inter-district competition, in the bet between Paro Wizard and Peter Lionel Wizard, there will be no obstacles for Lanny Taylor to rise to power.

Before the competition between the two districts had even officially begun, Lanny Taylor already had a vague plan in mind before entering this world.

Upon entering this world and discovering the watch and the task list, Lanny Taylor became even more convinced of her idea.

The disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves is enormous.

To win this big competition and this bet, a head-on confrontation is definitely not going to work.

You must avoid the "pure-blood will" and focus on the main quests to complete them and compete for a high ranking.

How can one divert the attention of the "pureblood will" from oneself, so as to quietly complete the mission?

There is no other way to provide a more suitable and efficient target for "pureblood will".

So, here's the question?

Of the 12 first-year students belonging to the Paro Wizards' camp, which one is more suitable to be a target than Link Grand?

No!

Even she, Lanny Taylor, is not qualified.

So, Lanny Taylor waited, waiting to hear what Link Grand would do next.

She observed Link Grand for several months and came to realize that although Link Grand outwardly pursued calm and stability, he was actually unable to withstand stimulation or pressure.

It's easy for it to bounce back if you push it or apply pressure.

Without Lani Taylor's intervention, Link Grand himself would become the target that attracts the attention of the "Pureblood Will".

What she needs to do is to advance the main quest while the "Pureblood Will" is too busy to pay attention to her.

You can do a task alone, but it's better to have a team.

So, Lani Taylor was also waiting for Isco Alex and two other barely acceptable partners.

Waiting for my team to take shape.

……

Andrea Norman was also waiting.

Waiting for the right opportunity.

I shouldn't have done that, I shouldn't have tried to take advantage of that small thing during my holiday part-time job.

As a result, someone seized on her weakness and used it to blackmail her into becoming an inside agent.

Andrea Norman was initially reluctant to agree.

The person who threatened Andrea Norman extended an invitation, which she could not refuse, to visit the Flesh Mill Arena in the West End black market, especially the small arena used to resolve disputes.

He also showed her the actual video of Antoine Hilton being beaten to death by Rivers Francis.

After that, Andrea Norman completely gave up the idea of ​​direct resistance.

The person who threatened her seemed to have extraordinary abilities.

The person in charge behind the scenes is definitely even more terrifying.

Upon entering this world, and facing Dalton Corren who treated her with utmost sincerity, Andrea Norman's lingering conscience suddenly prevailed, and she wanted to be automatically eliminated by making a mistake.

She hypnotized herself into believing that this way, she wouldn't have to face a difficult choice.

To everyone's surprise, Dalton Colum actually managed to get his so-called big boss, Link Grand, to come to his rescue.

And they even rescued her.

Since we haven't been eliminated, there's nothing we can do but do what we should do.

"Don't blame me, Coron."

Andrea Norman glanced at Dalton Colum, who was walking ahead of her, diligently clearing away weeds and thorns to make it easier for her to walk.

She raised her right hand, brushed a few stray strands of hair behind her ear, and tucked them behind her ear.

When my finger touched the earring, I casually pressed the emerald on it.

The location signal has been sent.

It seems unlikely that Link Grande could go too far in such a short time.

If those people receive the signal and are not far away, they will definitely arrive in time.

Hopefully, it's not too late.

There will definitely be enough time!

(End of this chapter)