Chapter 96: Chapter 55 Phantom Crystal Beast
"In the fourth trial, you will face the challenges with a \'companion\', divided into three sub-trials. Stronger opponents will appear in each sub-trial, and elimination of either yourself or your companion will result in failure of the challenge."
"Scores will be awarded based on the number of trials passed; the maximum score for each sub-trial is 10 points, and it is not required to pass them all."
"Now, come forward in order and begin the challenge."
After the announcement, everyone was discussing among themselves. This time, no one took the initiative to step forward, preferring to watch others to gain experience.
The staff member above, not surprised by this, hung up a schedule, with the assessment time [2:00 PM - 7:00 PM].
This meant that if one registered too late, they might not even get the chance to participate before the assessment ended.
"Hmph, what cowards," sneered the girl in the flowing golden dress, stepping forward once again as the first student to take the assessment.
"Pawula is the first to participate, with a bonus of 2 points," the staff member declared, then the assessment began.
"Wow, if I\'d known that going first awarded points, I would have stepped up earlier," someone in the crowd discussed.
"But being the first has its disadvantages in terms of information too, it\'s not necessarily a good thing."
"Enough talk, let\'s just watch."
Pawula and her golden scorpion entered the arena, while on the opposite side, a white crystal core emerged from the bottom, and soon two blue beams radiated from above, converging upon it.
Before long, the crystal core rapidly heated and vibrated, then suddenly exploded. A cloud of crystal fog dispersed, then recollected, taking the form of a fanged beast resembling a fierce tiger.
Primordial Sequence 3 · Phantom Crystal Fang Beast (Standard Dark Silver Level)
A puppet creature temporarily formed by a Magic Crystal Core, controlled by other transcendents or AI, often used as a training target.
Although it is an expendable intended for training, the creation of such a phantom crystal beast is not cheap. It is estimated that only a wealthy institution like Yuanting Academy would use them on such a large scale.
"The challenge begins!"
At the command, the phantom crystal beast simulating a real mythical beast burst forth like a fierce tiger, charging towards the frail golden scorpion.
"Tsk," frowned the brown-haired girl in the golden dress, lifting her hand as golden spinning discs emerged from her side, rushing towards the phantom crystal beast in an attempt to stop its frenzied assault.
These golden discs, with their five blades, sped up briefly in the air before crashing into the beast\'s path, colliding with it.
The rapidly spinning blades shaved off blue fragments, while the discs themselves shattered upon impact, scattered on the ground. This attack merely slowed down the creature for a moment as the phantom crystal beast still struck the golden scorpion, sending it flying.
Facing the golden scorpion now airborne, the phantom crystal beast relentlessly leapt up, swinging its claws to strike it down, smashing it into a small pit on the ground, leaving it limp and unable to move.
Then, the phantom crystal beast landed and pressed the golden scorpion into the ground with its paw, causing it to struggle desperately.
"Roar—" The phantom crystal beast growled low, turning its beastly eyes towards the approaching Pawula, as though warning or threatening her.
At that moment, should she continue attacking or consider her \'companion\' and temporarily cease her offensive? The first girl to take up the challenge faced a dilemma.
"How vile..." she muttered as she lowered her arm and then slowly retreated, her eyes fixed on the phantom crystal beast.
"Roar—"
Seeing this, the phantom crystal beast seemed somewhat satisfied. It released the golden scorpion from under its paw, sprayed it with a mouthful of crystal sand to groggily weigh it down, and then with a swipe sent it flying back to Pawula\'s side.
This crystal sand was not fatal, but it had side effects for the upcoming challenges; it hindered the golden scorpion\'s movements, made it difficult to absorb atmospheric Aijieka particles, and was hard to clear in a short time.
This was just the first spray, and if two more were to follow, the Golden Scorpion would be completely immobilized and declared defeated, forced to leave the field.
The challenge had entered a difficult moment, and the spectators below were also discussing fervently.
"This looks tough."
"If it were me up there, I probably wouldn\'t fare much better."
"I\'m only at Sequence 2. Even with another Sequence 2 partner, defeating a Sequence 3 Phantom Crystal Beast is just too difficult."
Inside the arena, Pawula first tried to clear the Crystal Sand sticking to the Golden Scorpion\'s body, but she quickly realized that such action greatly exhausted her Magic Power. If she managed to clear it, it also meant that she wouldn\'t have much strength left to fight afterwards.
Sequence 2 was just the starting stage for Transcendents. Many people had abilities that were not yet perfected, and their reserves of Magic Power were not substantial, so they could not afford to waste it so extravagantly.
"I can only keep going," Pawula frowned, set down the Golden Scorpion, and then charged forward herself.
Seeing this, the Phantom Crystal Beast, fierce like a tiger, charged once more.
"Golden Shimmer Technique: Thousand Needles Through the Void."
Golden dots floated in the air around Pawula, circling her. Then, with a fierce clench of her fist, these floating dots instantly converged to form extremely thin, long needles.
A buzzing sound cut through the air as these long needles pierced the charging Phantom Crystal Beast, embedding themselves in its body.
"Shatter!" She shouted again, and the Golden Needles inside the Phantom Crystal Beast\'s body instantly burst forth, sprinkling golden spots of light within its azure body.
The internal fragmentation of the Golden Spikes did not disintegrate the Phantom Crystal Beast but caused its body to stiffen suddenly. It missed its target and rolled on the ground, stirring up a large amount of dirt, and collided with a distant wall.
After executing this move, Pawula was nearly drained. She was sweating profusely, her body on the verge of collapse. After all, she was only at Sequence 2, and even with her family\'s secret technique, she had reached her limit.
"Clark, it\'s your turn!" she weakly commanded her \'partner\' to attack, and soon the little one charged forward.
The Phantom Crystal Beast, still rolling on the ground, struggled as the flashing Golden Needles and Spikes inside made it difficult for it to move. However, as time passed, these golden lights gradually weakened and would inevitably fade away.
"Ah, the Golden Scorpion has charged up."
"Look, it\'s jumped right onto the Phantom Crystal Beast\'s head."
"That must be Poison Sting, the vivid red on its tail is almost all of its Magic Power."
"It\'s struck down. It\'s pierced into the Phantom Crystal Beast\'s ear. Now, let\'s see if it works."
Inside the arena, the Phantom Crystal Beast continued its struggle, finally throwing off the Golden Scorpion on its head. It managed to stand up with effort, but as it tried to charge at the Golden Scorpion again, its body wobbled and eventually collapsed thunderously to the ground.
"Pawula passes!"
"Wow, she passed the first minor challenge. That wasn\'t easy."
"Congratulations, Student Pawula. Do you wish to continue with the challenge?" the staff above asked.
"Can I give it a try? Although it\'s unlikely that I\'ll win, I still want to see what the second minor challenge looks like."
"Certainly, Student Pawula," the staff nodded, then waved his hand. Stay connected with m-v l|e\'-NovelBin.net
Three white Crystal Cores appeared at once, with blue light converging above them. After a burst of shaking and intense heating, the three Crystal Cores transformed into three Phantom Crystal Beasts, each taking the form of a tiger, an eagle, and a swift wolf.
"I concede," Pawula declared her defeat immediately after seeing the lineup, knowing she definitely couldn\'t beat them.
"No problem. As the first student to reach the second minor challenge, you are awarded 2 points, ending with a total of 14 points."
"Now, may the next student please step forward."