Erica, who had already experienced this challenge several times, now looked completely at ease.
When the first skirmish was resolved effortlessly, she quickly arrived at the second encounter.
She remembered exactly where the monsters appeared. Before they had even fully entered her field of view, Erica had already released her magic in advance, attacking toward the sky and the ground.
The poor platypus-mice couldn't even muster the slightest resistance and were already burning into delicious cooked meat amid the surging flames.
Arriving at the location of the third encounter, Erica pre-constructed her magic.
After experiencing many failures, she had become extremely familiar with the monsters' attacks.
The monsters in the first few stages simply could not stop her.
Erica didn't even need to waste her "natural energy." Just relying on the magic in her hands was enough to slowly chip away at the monsters' HP bit by bit.
The flies hidden in the lush grasslands attempted another sneak attack, but this time, she simply stepped a few times to the right and behind, perfectly dodging the fly's attack.
A ball of fire magic she had prepared long ago slapped toward the fly.
One, two, three…
Very fast.
Under Erica's skillful attacks, the monsters fell one after another.
Behind Erica, the green-glowing teleportation array appeared again, but she didn't turn around.
Instead, she walked straight toward the tiny path that had grown out between the waves of grass.
She knew that this time was finally the real challenge.
Passing through the dark forest path, a wide plain appeared before her again.
This time there were no foxtails swaying in the wind, only flying dust and a scorching earth.
Erica walked to the center of the land and suddenly heard a rustling sound.
On the ground, five mounds of earth began to move.
Without the cover of grass waves, they were extremely noticeable.
And in the sky, five black objects were also diving down toward her.
This was the final test.
Facing the attacks of ten monsters at the same time.
The first time she entered, Erica was in total panic.
After all, she had never dealt with a situation where she had to handle ten monsters at once.
The difficulty of ten monsters versus five was definitely not as simple as doubling it.
But after many failures, Erica already knew the monsters' attack methods like the back of her hand.
Now, standing here for the tenth time, her eyes held only the confidence of someone who must pass.
With no time to think, she immediately used muscle memory to slip out of the monsters' encirclement.
She kept her body low, dodging the lunging attacks of the platypus-mice and the bats' sprayed corrosive fluid.
She narrowly dodged one wave of attacks, and then the monsters used the opening to attack again.
Multiple monsters continuously circled Erica, making her feel for a moment that she had no safe spot to attack from, and her space to move was gradually being pushed back.
But this time, Erica was fully prepared.
She hid her body behind several platypus-mice. Right now, the bats were adjusting their posture, filling their abdomens with black fluid, leaving them no time to attack Erica.
Taking advantage of the instant the monsters turned, intense flames burst from Erica's hands.
[Second-Tier Magic: Ring of Flame]
The flames in her hands swung out violently, clamping onto the two monsters in front of her and completely enveloping them.
The fierce burning within the sealed space created an explosive effect. The two monsters were blown into chunks of flesh and blood, gradually dissipating into the air.
Perhaps because their companions had died, the remaining monsters screeched out strange "ga-ga" cries and charged toward Erica again.
Once the number of monsters drops, the difficulty naturally decreases.
Erica didn't panic. She watched the bats diving toward her, and on the ground, a green formation slowly took shape.
After fitting a peculiar rune into the magic circle, she stood still and waited for the monsters' attack.
After spitting their sticky fluid, the three bats tried to stab Erica with their mouthparts.
But at the instant they got close, a layer of green vines suddenly burst from the dusty ground, clamping the bats' mouthparts between the gaps of the vines.
Erica snapped her fingers, and several thorns protruded from the vine barrier, completely piercing through the monsters' bodies.
She clapped her hands, and the vine barrier gradually withered away, along with the bats' bodies as they faded into nothing.
The remaining platypus-mice and bats were no longer Erica's opponents.
She formed two spheres of water in her hands and hurled them at the bats in the air.
The powerful impact caused the bats to sway uncontrollably. Their shaking bodies greatly reduced both their diving speed and power.
Erica wrapped vines around her hands and suddenly grabbed the neck of the foremost bat.
Like holding two long spears, she seized the bats and used their mouthparts to stab the incoming platypus-mice.
The two collided; the platypus-mouse was pierced through by the bat's mouthparts and died.
Then the vines completely devoured the bats until they, too, were dead.
Erica brushed off her hands and looked toward the last approaching monster.
"If you've got any sense, why don't you just finish yourself off?"
Unfortunately, the monster couldn't understand Erica's words. It stubbornly spat a few drops of black fluid.
But under overwhelming power, the bat's sticky fluid acted almost like a conductor. A bolt of lightning passed through each drop of fluid and struck the bat's body.
The monster twitched a few times in the air and dissolved under the sunlight.
It hadn't even managed to scratch Erica.
Erica blew a puff of air off her fingertip.
Just like the last surviving gunslinger in a Western.
Seeing the emptiness around her, Erica didn't feel hollow, on the contrary, her heart brimmed with honor and pride.
She had succeeded.
Suddenly, the surrounding illusion began to shift violently.
The wasteland shattered like a mirror.
In an instant, reality and illusion seemed to split apart.
"…"
Erica blinked and looked at the scene before her, as if it were a painted scroll.
A gentle breeze drifted by, the starry sky rotated above.
The fields before her seemed to stretch for thousands of miles.
Lush trees and blooming flowers, green mountains and blue waters, stretching endlessly.
In the sky, countless points of light twinkled, like falling stars illuminating the entire world.
Windmills swayed, wind chimes chimed.
Such a beautiful scene left Erica frozen on the spot.
She unconsciously took a deep breath of fresh air mixed with the fragrance of earth.
Feeling the air fill her exhausted lungs, she realized for the first time how wonderful air could be.
"Congratulations, Erica."
"You are the first full-score student."
A voice sounded from nowhere, as if coming from behind the mysterious starry sky.
Viktor's figure slowly appeared, the coat behind him fluttering.
Red and green patterns glowed mysteriously under the night sky.
"Viktor… professor?"
Viktor looked at Erica, and in his gaze, there seemed to be a hint of satisfaction.
"As the first student to pass, I can grant you one request that is not excessive."
"Go on. What do you want? The power of a mage will reward you."
———
It had been a long time since Erica had faced Viktor like this.
In this space, there was no other living creature besides the two of them. Now, whatever she said would not be interrupted.
All her impulses, all her curiosity, perhaps the person before her would answer them all.
Finally, she thought of a gift that would satisfy her completely.
"Professor, I want…"
"I want to challenge you. I want to know the gap between me and you."
Yes.
Erica told herself, 'I want to know, how far must I work, to catch up to your back?'
Viktor didn't answer, but the corners of his mouth curled upward slightly.
As if he had long known Erica would say this.
"Your choice today will become the medal of courage for your entire life."
"Well then."
As his voice fell, the surroundings instantly shifted. Vast forests burst out of the plains and stretched their towering bodies toward the sky.
Wildflowers and grasses climbed up Erica's legs, the night sky was swallowed by a gigantic sun, and the countless stars seemed to merge entirely into the blue sky.
Sunlight filtered through dense layers, falling onto Erica's golden hair.
Endless vitality, the perfect warmth, nourished the land as everything surged wildly with growth.
It all swept toward Erica with an overwhelming pressure.
On Viktor's coat, a pair of eyes opened.
Between the two eyes, red-and-green light erupted with an otherworldly glow.
As if two colossal demonic beasts hovered in the sky behind Viktor.
In that instant, Viktor, showing his full power, was like a calamity descended upon the world.
"I accept your challenge."
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