Wizarding Age: I can analyze everything

Chapter 92 You can't even afford this little bit of money?

After hearing Gu Lin's words, Yin Guang glanced at her expressionlessly and did not respond.

Gu Lin didn't mind and said with a smile, "Besides, your cousin and Pei Ze are now fellow disciples, and they have a very good relationship. Even for your cousin's sake, you should still treat Pei Ze better."

Upon hearing this, Yin Guang finally lost his composure, his cheeks twitched, and he revealed a constipated expression.

Gu Lin chuckled to himself as he watched.

The Gu family and the Yin family have always had a good relationship, so the young people from both families are quite familiar with each other and occasionally visit each other.

As far as Gu Lin knew, ever since he was outshone by Pei Ze in the freshman trial, Yin Guang had secretly regarded Pei Ze as a formidable rival and was determined to surpass him. To this end, he even went so far as to enter a wizard tower of a family elder and seclude himself for a period of time.

When he came out of the wizard's tower, he learned that Pei Ze had killed the legendary knight.

Gu Lin still remembers how interesting Yin Guang's expression was at the time.

However, she could understand. After all, the person she had painstakingly cultivated to surpass had suddenly made great strides in strength, and the gap between them had not only not narrowed, but had widened.

The gap between ideals and reality would be a blow to anyone.

What?

You asked her why she knew Yin Guang's expression at the time?

That's because she told Yin Guang the news herself!

Besides this, Gu Lin also knew that Yin Guang had a strong liking for his cousin, Yin Xue.

Therefore, Yin Guang was naturally somewhat displeased with Pei Ze, a man whose talent and strength far surpassed his own, and who was also very close to Yin Xue.

Just as Gu Lin was wondering whether he should tease Yin Guang a few more times, he suddenly caught a glimpse of several people walking towards them out of the corner of his eye.

After seeing the leader's face clearly, the girl secretly pursed her lips.

Yin Guang also noticed the newcomer, and made no attempt to hide his frown, revealing an expression of disgust.

"Long time no see, Yin Guang. I heard you went into seclusion for a while. How did it go? Did you gain anything?"

The young man leading the group approached Yin Guang and greeted him with a forced smile.

Yin Guang snorted coldly: "Whether you've gained anything or not, you'll know once you fight me."

"Good suggestion." The young man narrowed his eyes and chuckled. "Then let's set a time to spar at the dueling arena."

In just a few words, the tension between the two was so palpable that it was obvious to anyone watching.

The surrounding wizard apprentices subtly distanced themselves from the two.

A younger wizarding apprentice curiously asked an older student beside him, "Who is that person? Why does he seem to have a bad relationship with Yin Guang?"

"That's Meng Kai from Shadow Academy. His brother, Meng Wei, and our academy's Yin Xue are recognized rivals."

The young apprentice suddenly realized.

Ignoring the surrounding chatter, Meng Kai turned and greeted Gu Lin.

"Long time no see, Gu Lin."

Gu Lin gave a dismissive reply.

The Meng family is a bloodline family on par with the Pei family, and they are sworn enemies with the Yin family. Their relationship with the Gu family is not much better.

Moreover, Meng Kai is arrogant, so Gu Lin has always looked down on him.

Meng Kai didn't mind Gu Lin's disregard. He looked up at the light screen in the sky and said, "I heard that your academy has an apprentice named Pei Ze participating in the competition this year?"

Yin Guang scoffed, "You know perfectly well why I'm asking this."

Meng Kai chuckled, "I heard that Pei Ze is a first-year student like you, but he has killed a legendary knight. He must be very strong. I'm suddenly looking forward to his performance in this trial."

These words were ostensibly praising Pei Ze, but anyone could hear the strong sarcasm in Meng Kai's tone.

He clearly did not believe the rumors to be true.

Gu Lin's eyes darted around, and he suddenly said, "Judging from your tone, it seems you don't believe Pei Ze can get a spot in the competition?"

Meng Kai smiled but did not answer the question, only revealing an undisguised sarcasm on his face.

Seeing this, Gu Lin laughed and said, "How about we make a bet? We'll bet on whether Pei Ze can get a spot in the competition!"

Upon hearing this, both Meng Kai and Yin Guang were taken aback.

Meng Kai frowned slightly, staring at Gu Lin's expression for a few moments, somewhat puzzled as to why she suddenly proposed a bet.

Yin Guang also frowned and subtly sent a message to Gu Lin.

"What are you planning?"

"It's nothing, just earning some extra money."

"You really trust Pei Ze that much?"

Yin Guang was completely puzzled by Gu Lin's plan.

Even if Pei Ze has a record of killing a legendary knight, so what?

Among the wizard apprentices participating in the trials, there were so many people with equal or even greater strength that they could not be counted on two hands.

Not to mention the geniuses among geniuses like Sang Fan, Meng Wei, and Su Shouhai.

Pei Ze's chances of getting a spot in the competition were really slim.

Where did Gu Lin get such confidence in Pei Ze?

Gu Lin didn't answer Yin Guang's question, but looked at Meng Kai with a half-smile and said, "How about it, want to make a bet?"

Meng Kai glanced at her, then at Yin Guang, seemingly discerning something from the latter's expression. He immediately felt reassured and narrowed his eyes, asking, "What's the stake?"

Gu Lin put one hand on his hip, waved the other hand forcefully, and said boastfully, "Five hundred magic stone coins!"

hiss!

A collective gasp filled the air.

The wizard apprentices who were eavesdropping on the two's conversation all gasped.

Did they hear me right?

Five hundred magic stone coins?

That's enough to buy a slightly lower-quality Tier 1 magical artifact!

For many wizarding apprentices, this was an astronomical sum of money!

Meng Kai's expression froze.

Although he was highly regarded in the family and received a lot of resources on a daily basis, and his older brother Meng Wei would occasionally provide financial assistance, it was still not easy for him to come up with 500 magic stone coins at once.

This is almost equivalent to his entire fortune.

"Hey, you can't even come up with this little bit of money?"

Gu Lin spoke in a drawn-out tone, raising his voice to attract even more attention.

Noticing the strange looks from those around him, Meng Kai couldn't help but curse under his breath. The Gu family members were indeed all vulgar nouveau riche!

He snorted and readily agreed.

"Alright, I'll bet you five hundred magic stone coins!"

He refused to believe that a wizard apprentice who had only been promoted for less than three months could possibly overpower many veteran wizard apprentices who had accumulated years of experience!

Seeing that Meng Kai had agreed, a sly glint flashed in Gu Lin's eyes, and he immediately made a contract with Meng Kai.

With the constraints of a contract, there's no fear of the other party going back on their word.

Yin Guang watched the whole thing and secretly shook his head.

Although he didn't know where Gu Lin's confidence came from, he knew that Gu Lin was most likely to lose.

Pei Ze is indeed outstanding, but in this elite trial, there are many people with excellent abilities. How can Pei Ze stand out?

If this trial had been postponed for several months or half a year, giving Pei Ze more time to grow, perhaps he could have secured a spot in the competition.

Now, well...

Yin Guang shook his head.

Oh well, Gu Lin has plenty of money anyway, losing 500 magic stone coins isn't a serious blow.

As news of Gu Lin and Meng Kai's bet spread quickly, it stirred up another wave of excitement among the crowd. Many people were shocked by the astonishing stake of 500 magic stone coins, and the buzzing of discussion was endless.

Pei Ze's name quickly attracted a lot of attention.

Countless curious or scrutinizing gazes focused on the scene in which he was standing.

As if passing through a thin membrane, after a slight daze, Pei Ze found himself in a spacious corridor.

The entire corridor is about ten meters wide and nearly eight meters high, with the walls, floor and ceiling on both sides all made of bluish-gray stone.

Torches were hung every five meters along both sides of the wall, their dim yellow light flickering and casting shifting shadows on the walls and floor, adding to the eerie atmosphere of the corridor.

Pei Ze looked back and saw that the portal he had come from had disappeared, leaving only a thick wall.

Composing himself, Pei Ze took out a long sword and held it in his palm before stepping forward.

The rules for this trial are simpler than those for the previous freshman trials.

In particular, there are no rules prohibiting the killing of other participants.

If it is not prohibited, it is permitted.

In other words, killing is permitted during the trial.

However, considering that everyone is given a teleportation ring that can be activated to leave the maze instantly, which is equivalent to having a life-saving item, it is not easy to kill other participants.

That being said, allowing killing will undoubtedly raise the intensity of the trial to a whole new level.

Tap! Tap!

Pei Ze's footsteps echoed down the corridor, and there was no other sound.

Pei Ze walked slowly, as if he were taking a stroll.

He was in no hurry.

The rules already stated that even if you obtain the rainbow gem in the center of the maze, you must hold onto it until the trial ends.

So even if someone else gets their hands on the camouflage gem first, there's no need to worry; you can just snatch it back later.

The Dawn Council's establishment of this rule clearly encourages participants to fight each other.

At the end of the corridor is a right corner.

After turning the corner, there is another long corridor, which is over a kilometer long.

Four or five hundred meters away, more than a dozen thin figures swayed and wandered in the middle of the corridor.

With its pale bones, tattered leather armor, rusted weapons, and flickering soul flames in its eye sockets, the skeleton soldier is clearly the most common type of undead creature.

Pei Ze was not surprised; since it was a maze, it was perfectly normal to have monsters.

The Dawn Council wouldn't just let its participants fight each other; it would add other challenges.

Soon, the skeleton soldiers spotted Pei Ze and immediately charged towards him.

As cannon fodder among undead creatures, skeleton soldiers are not particularly strong in combat.

Even a random apprentice knight could take on four or five skeleton soldiers at once.

However, as he got closer, Pei Ze noticed that the appearance of these skeleton soldiers was somewhat unusual.

Their exposed bones shimmered with a jade-like luster, as if they had been enhanced.

After they actually started fighting, Pei Ze confirmed his guess.

These skeleton soldiers have indeed undergone some kind of enhancement, and their combat power is no less than that of a novice knight.

However, this level of combat power was still insufficient for Pei Ze.

With a slight thought, his gray robe instantly shrank, transforming into a close-fitting hunting outfit that allowed for easy movement.

Without even casting a spell, he charged forward with his sword, hacking all the skeleton soldiers to pieces like chopping vegetables or watermelons.

Stepping over the shattered bones scattered on the ground, Pei Ze continued forward.

At the end of the corridor, a fork in the road appears before you, with two paths leading to different stone chambers.

The heavy stone door was tightly shut, obscuring the view beyond.

Pei Ze stopped in his tracks, a thoughtful expression on his face.

The most troublesome part of a maze, besides the countless monsters, is the intricate network of paths and rooms.

Places like mazes are typically most advantageous for wizards specializing in divination.

Wizards of the prophetic school are not good at attacking or defending, but they have a large number of detection and exploration spells, making them perfect for navigating mazes.

However, those who participated in the trial were all wizard apprentices, and had basically never been exposed to proper divination magic.

Of the spells they possess, those usable for detection and exploration in mazes are probably limited to a handful, such as detecting secret doors, detecting magic, and detecting the undead, which are of little practical use.

So apart from a few wizard apprentices who have special abilities, most people can only honestly explore the maze.

Fortunately, Pei Ze happened to be one of the few people who had a trump card.

With a slight thought, the black bracelet on his wrist instantly shattered, and flocks of mist crows flew out from it, splitting into two waves that flew towards the left and right paths respectively, crashing into the stone gate like cannonballs.

Two loud booms rang out almost simultaneously, and the stone gate burst open, with the fog crows rushing in one after another.

Before long, the sounds of fierce fighting came from both rooms.

Through his contact with Wuyu, Pei Ze quickly learned about the situation in the room.

More than twenty enhanced skeleton soldiers were wandering around the room on the left. Apart from the stone door that led in, there was no other exit, clearly a dead end.

In the room on the right, there was a three-headed bear goblin.

Bear goblins are a subspecies of goblins, belonging to the category of goblin-like creatures.

They are massive, more than twice the height of ordinary goblins, and are ferocious and violent.

Adult bear goblins generally possess the strength of a mid-to-high-level knight.

A select few elite individuals can reach the level of a peak knight.

However, in front of Mist Raven, whose average combat strength surpassed that of a peak knight and was almost at the level of a Grand Knight, these three bear goblins couldn't even last a single move before being torn to pieces.

The fog raven then discovered a passage deep inside the room.

Pei Ze smiled slightly and walked towards the room on the right.

Passing through the stone door deep inside the room, Pei Ze arrived at a long corridor once again.

The spacious corridor was completely empty, stretching as far as the eye could see.

"I wonder how big this maze is."

Looking at the kilometer-long corridor, Pei Ze's eyes flickered slightly.

Considering the trial lasts only seventy-two hours, the maze, no matter how large, shouldn't be that big.

The key is to find the right path to quickly reach the center of the maze.

After regaining his composure, Pei Ze continued forward.

Walking along the empty corridor, he felt a sense of loneliness, as if he were alone in a vast, desolate place.

However, this feeling was quickly shattered.

A sharp, piercing sound suddenly came from above.

Without a second thought, Pei Ze immediately ducked and lunged forward, the wind whistling past his back as he slammed into the hard ground.

Suddenly, a cracking sound was heard, the ground split open, and pebbles flew out like bullets, hitting Pei Ze's gray robe with a crisp sound like metal hitting metal, sparks flying everywhere.

Pei Zefu stood up and slashed his sword behind him with lightning speed.

The blade quickly sent a slicing sensation through flesh.

A piercing scream suddenly rang out, making one's eardrums ache.

Only then did Pei Ze have the time to examine the attacker's appearance.

It was an ugly monster that at first glance resembled a humanoid creature, with a long, narrow head, a small but sturdy gray body with spots, and extremely thin limbs that looked like tentacles formed of multiple cartilage segments, with spiky pads at the ends that opened like flower petals.

Chokehold monster!

A name instantly flashed into Pei Ze's mind.

(End of this chapter)