The next day, nearly a thousand apprentices gathered in the Hall of Arcane Arts, wearing uniform apprentice robes. The sight was truly impressive, and Charlie knew that most of the excited and curious expressions on the apprentices' faces did not fully comprehend the cruelty of the upcoming event.
Perhaps some would mature after this ordeal, though it was unknown what price they would pay.
After passing the academy's inspection, the apprentices entered the teleportation portal in the center of the Hall of Arcane Arts in batches and disappeared from sight.
The queue of heads flowed steadily, and soon it was Charlie's group's turn.
A teacher spoke softly from the side of the portal, "Destination, Pebble Beach, coordinates randomly set, prepare."
"Students, please step into the portal."
The three of them stepped into the oval-shaped portal with rippling water-like waves. The dazzling glow disoriented their senses of time and space, and Charlie's sixth sense told him he was hurtling at an indescribable speed, with the pricking sensation of needles constantly stimulating his heart.
Just as his curiosity compelled him to open his eyes, the surging arcane energy quickly subsided, and a moist sea breeze hit their faces. The roar of the tide rolled, and before them lay a stretch of gray-white beach, with jagged rocks. They stood on the edge of a large boulder, and a hundred meters ahead was a white sandy beach dotted with thatched and wooden stick-framed umbrella-shaped huts, like a cluster of mushrooms.
Traces of human habitation? Though the huts looked very miniature.
Charlie did not have time to observe the surroundings further, as an overwhelming sense of threat suddenly assailed him. The chip in his brain sounded a fierce alarm, and Charlie instinctively tilted his head as an arrow whizzed past his neck, the fierce wind leaving a stinging scratch on his cheek and a trickle of blood. The arrow embedded itself several inches into the rock, its feathered tail trembling, revealing its formidable power.
It had almost hit his heart! An attack? By an apprentice, or someone else?
Charlie quickly crouched down, pulling Irene with him, while Jerry had already dropped to the ground the moment Charlie was attacked.
A piercing scream suddenly broke the tranquility of the tidal flats, as a short and stocky fish-man, about 1.2 meters tall, with short and thick limbs, bulging muscles, and an oil-green skin covered in bumpy protrusions, emerged. The most striking feature was the row of fresh red spines on its head, standing erect, and its cavernous mouth filled with uneven fangs.
Holding a bow and arrow, it glared fiercely at the trio, and under its command, a huge crab charged towards them, brandishing its claws.
Around them, the apprentices were already engaged in battle with the fish-men, their cries, shrieks, and the fish-men's roars mingling together. Arrows and magic flew through the air, the fight raging on.
Not far away, an unfortunate student lay on the ground, his head smashed open, with several fish-men crawling on top of him, greedily chewing and slurping, blood spreading everywhere.
Irene bent over and retched violently, clearly disturbed by the sight.
"Follow me!" Charlie grabbed Irene and jumped down from the boulder, dashing into a stream, the icy cold water flooding into their shoes.
A shadow flashed overhead, and a fish-man leaped like a frog, its crude stone knife swinging towards Irene's back.
Charlie seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. Striding forward, he muttered something under his breath. A translucent blue shield enveloped Irene, the stone knife striking the shield with a loud clang and rebounding, slamming into the fish-man's head, blood spraying as it collapsed like a stone.
Jerry's eyes shone with astonishment. "Casting on the move?"
It was a technique that ordinary apprentices could not master, the difficulty lying in maintaining mental focus and concentration while one's attention was divided.
After erecting the magic shield, Charlie conjured an orange fireball in his hand and hurled it at the approaching crab, not even bothering to check the result, instead shouting, "Run!"
The three of them weaved through the rocky terrain, not stopping until the sounds behind them had faded.
"What now?" Jerry panted.
They had reached the edge of the Pebble Beach, with the landscape transitioning from sand to a swampy green wetland ahead, dotted with pools of water and waist-high green plants, the view obscured by a thin mist about 150 meters in.
Charlie calmly stated, "I'm going to enter the swamp."
Jerry jumped up, angrily rebuking, "Are you crazy? Didn't you hear the teacher? The Pebble Beach is the safest, the fish-men are just a nuisance to us. You saw how they couldn't keep up with our speed. Now you want to go into the area the teacher marked as dangerous? Are you in a hurry to die?!"
Charlie looked at him coolly. "I'm not asking for your opinion, I'm just telling you my plan."
"Then go by yourself! I'm not joining your insanity!" Jerry turned his gaze to Irene, smiling slyly. "Irene, let's go together. We'll look out for each other."
To Jerry's surprise, the usually meek Irene had a clear opinion. She moved a step closer to Charlie. "I support Charlie."
Jerry's face immediately darkened, and he sneered at Charlie, "The teacher just last night told us that as fellow apprentices, we should support and help each other. You've forgotten that already? Just because you know a few spells, you think you're something special? You're arrogant and dismissive, and don't listen to good advice. I'll definitely report you to the teacher for your disrespect and insubordination!"
Charlie scoffed, "You talking to me about unity? Are you worthy of that? Who was the first to stir up trouble behind my back? Who's been trying to marginalize me from the start, trying to curry favor with the teacher? If I hadn't been prepared, I probably would have been driven out on the first day."
Jerry panicked a bit, turning to Irene and accusing, "Was it you who told on me?"
Seeing Irene's downcast expression, he angrily shouted, "What a despicable thing! Can't you keep your mouth shut? It's none of your business!"
Irene's lips trembled, intimidated and on the verge of tears.
"Shut up! I was the one who found it out. If you had the guts to do it, why can't you let others talk about it? Where's your shame?" Charlie snapped.
Jerry backpedaled, pointing at the two of them. "Alright, alright! A pair of lovebirds! So you two have been colluding all along, ganging up on me! Well, we'll see about that! Just wait until I get out of here, I'll show you both!"
He then spewed a stream of vulgar and obscene language, leaving Irene in tears, unable to bear it.
"Get out of here!" Charlie raised his wand.
Jerry retreated a few steps, cursing and grumbling as he headed back towards the Pebble Beach, soon disappearing from sight.
Irene worried, "Is this... not a good thing? Won't the teacher blame us?"
Charlie smiled and analyzed, "On the surface, he doesn't seem to be wrong, at most just lacking in character. But I've actually disrupted the team's unity and failed the teacher's expectations..."
"What should we do then?" Irene wrung her hands, pacing back and forth anxiously.
"If I didn't do this, I wouldn't be able to let go of this grudge. I don't provoke others, but I won't let them provoke me either. The teacher definitely won't blame me, let alone you."
"Why?"
"Because my value is higher than his. You remember the proposal I submitted to the academy when I first joined?"
"Yes, it was just a few days after you joined."
"That proposal increased the production of the green energy crystals in the Arcane Circle by 60%, benefiting all professions and significantly reducing costs. The teacher got a one-time reward of 800 points for it. What has Jerry ever given him? Just helping with some trivial matters?
Now what we're doing is completely different, incomparable. You don't need to worry. I'm just taking the opportunity to retaliate. Since he wants to get rid of me, I'm just returning the favor. I haven't actually harmed him, I just don't want to be in the same team, especially when I'm fighting for my life, with someone plotting against me in the background."
Hearing Charlie's explanation, Irene felt relieved, looking at him with admiration. "He's really so stupid, picking such a powerful opponent. If he had targeted me, I probably would have been driven out long ago. When you weren't around before, I always lagged behind him in reporting to the teacher, clumsy and slow."
"Alright, enough about him. Let's see what we should do next." Charlie realized they had not yet escaped danger.
Irene asked softly, "Do we really have to go into the swamp area?"
"Yes, I came in with the intention of earning points, not just getting by."
"Okay..." Irene lowered her head, fiddling with the straps of her backpack. "I'm just afraid of being a burden, since I don't have much combat ability. I was chosen because of my unique and strange ability."
"Communicating with plants? If you're willing to help, you can try it now. Our biggest threat right now is our lack of understanding about this place. If you can gather some information, it might be a big help."
Encouraged by Charlie, Irene regained some confidence. "Let me try."
She walked to the edge of the rocky area, placing her hand in a small shrub and closing her eyes...
While Irene was focused, Charlie took out an eagle-eye potion from his bag, gulping it down. A cooling sensation spread from his throat, eventually surrounding his eyes. A ghostly eagle's head flickered above him for a moment before dissipating.
Charlie slowly opened his eyes, as if the world had shifted from cloudy to bright. The distant scenery a hundred meters away was now crystal clear, and he could even see 500 meters towards the beach.
What a remarkable potion. Activating his chip's function, Charlie entered a state of combat readiness, surveying the area within a 300-meter radius.