“You’ve already completed the Ice Sealing Formation?” Herbert was slightly surprised, though the depth in his eyes made it impossible to tell how genuine that surprise was.

“Yes.” Corey nodded almost imperceptibly, then stood beside Saul, glancing at him sideways. “If my plan is feasible and you and Luke can’t submit your answers within a day, then I win this competition.”

Saul raised his eyebrows, but before he could say anything, he heard Kismet’s amused voice from nearby.

“Oh, then Wizard Corey can put half your mind at ease, because Wizard Luke has already died in the distortion when the Storm Eye appeared. He can’t possibly come out to submit his paper anymore.”

Herbert frowned. “Luke is dead? You saw it with your own eyes?”

“Yes.” This time it was Lucy who answered. She had finally stood up again, but her face was covered with a layer of white mist from magic, making it impossible to see her features.

“The manor suddenly experienced distortion inside, and we were all running out. Luke was just a bit slower.”

Hearing Lucy’s explanation, Saul remained outwardly calm but thought there was definitely more to it.

Luke’s strength might not match Kismet’s, but it wasn’t inferior to Lucy’s.

If Lucy could escape but Luke died inside, that was somewhat unreasonable.

However, Saul still didn’t say much. He just secretly glanced at Kismet, seeing that the other showed no worry whatsoever, maintaining a relaxed smile.

But Corey seemed to have a straightforward personality. She noticed the anomaly and directly asked about it.

“Why was Luke here? Did he come to you to submit his paper?”

“No.” Lucy’s voice had recovered somewhat but was still harsh and unpleasant. “He came to demand the answer from me. But I don’t have the answer, and even if I did, I wouldn’t give it to him.”

Lucy’s equal frankness left everyone looking at each other.

If that was the case, then no one here would feel sorry for Luke’s death.

Though no one would have anyway.

But this way, Luke was truly eliminated.

Unless he could be resurrected within a year.

Having gotten her answer from Lucy, Corey stopped dwelling on it and said to Lucy, “Then I’ll start now?”

Using the Ice Lock Formation to seal the Storm Eye was their examination question to begin with—it had just changed from a theoretical exam to a practical one.

Herbert agreed, but at the same time, he would use his own methods to prepare for sealing the Storm Eye. If Corey failed and Saul also couldn’t submit a paper, then it would be time for him to step in for damage control.

But if even he couldn’t seal the Storm Eye—after all, the Wind Sprite still hadn’t appeared, and Clark had died unexpectedly—then if this sealing failed, it would be another catastrophe for the Borderland.

If the Storm Eye’s eruption couldn’t be avoided, Herbert had to quickly seize the anchor point.

Even if it meant slight mutation, it would be worth it.

So Herbert floated behind everyone, constantly observing the Storm Eye’s movements.

Since Corey had proposed sealing first and Saul showed no intention of submitting his paper, everyone began preparing for Corey.

The “everyone” here also included several first-rank wizards who had come to watch the excitement and dozens of people Herbert had brought.

Only Saul belonged to the competitors and was excluded.

Kismet obviously had no interest in helping either, holding his harp and standing beside Saul.

Neither of them moved far from the Storm Eye, both observing its movements.

At the same time, Saul had Diu Diu return to carry a message to everyone at the wizard tower.

Corey removed the bow tie from her collar, untied the ribbon on it, and with a gentle shake, the bow tie became a circular silk paper three meters in diameter.

The silk paper was covered with densely packed formations.

Layer upon layer, with several micro-formations hidden in the gaps as well.

The design was so complex and the structure so ingenious that it was breathtaking.

Although Saul couldn’t see the formations on the silk paper, from everyone’s exclamations he could imagine that she had definitely designed quite an excellent formation.

“Are you nervous?” Kismet beside him suddenly asked with a smile.

“Why should I be nervous?” Saul asked back.

He didn’t try to peek at Corey’s answer, just occasionally glanced at the sky, as if waiting for someone, or perhaps just looking at the scenery.

During Corey’s formation setup, the Storm Eye inside Old Days Manor erupted once more.

But this time the affected range wasn’t as wide as before—it merely caused the black hole at the manor’s center to grow slightly larger.

However, even this small change made the preparing Corey speed up.

None of the first and second-rank wizards present had experienced a Storm Eye eruption, but those terrible experiences passed down countless times still made them feel fear from the bottom of their hearts.

A wizard assisting Corey began trembling uncontrollably.

If the Storm Eye fully erupted, those staying here would definitely be the first to be mutated, the first batch to die.

Just as the panicked atmosphere was spreading irrepressibly among the lower-rank wizards, a candy-like fragrance suddenly diffused.

Everyone who smelled this scent unconsciously showed intoxicated smiles, and fingers that had been trembling from tension and fear also calmed down.

Saul looked sideways at Corey, who had just raised her hand to brush her golden curls and showed a sweet smile.

“Quite precise emotional control ability.”

Emotional control abilities leaned toward light-attribute magic. Saul had seen this on an apprentice before, but that apprentice could only sense emotions, not precisely control others’ emotions.

“Indeed precise, but sickeningly sweet.”

Kismet was somewhat bored, plucking the strings of his harp. But he understood the urgency of the situation and didn’t let the harp make any sound that might affect the nearby wizards.

Just as Corey and the others were tensely preparing, another third-rank wizard from the Borderland arrived.

Pei’er wore a high-collared black cloak that covered the lower half of her face. Her entire figure was like a giant black bat descending from the sky.

An air wave spread outward with her as the center, but just as it was about to approach Corey and the others, it suddenly disappeared.

As if it had been absorbed by something.

Looking again, Pei’er’s cloak, which had been lifted by her landing, had somehow already fallen down, tightly wrapping her body and concealing the slender, graceful figure beneath.

Pei’er didn’t speak, just quietly stood behind everyone. Her earlier panic was completely gone, as if she had fully calmed her fearful emotions.

Saul had been staring at Pei’er since she appeared.

Earlier she had left behind a string of inexplicable words and suddenly run away. Saul was still very worried about her mental state.

Not far from Pei’er stood Lucy, who was also concealing her face.

Saul looked down at his fingertips. The pollution source he had just extracted from Lucy was still sealed at his fingertips, not yet severed.

Both Pei’er and Lucy had been treated by Saul, but neither had developed star eyes.

For star eyes to be transmitted to a person, besides having favorable feelings toward Saul, there needed to be someone who already had star eyes as a pollution source.

The favorable feelings here had nothing to do with romantic love—it was just the degree of intimacy and friendliness between people.

If someone who already had star eyes appeared here and now, would Pei’er and Lucy develop the same star eyes?

Lucy might not.

Because when she woke up and looked at Saul, there was no trace of gratitude in her eyes.

Instead, she became extremely alert immediately after hearing Kismet’s name.

At this moment, Corey, who had been setting up the Ice Lock Formation, finally stood up. She first glanced at Saul standing far aside, then her gaze fell on Herbert and the later-arriving Pei’er.

“Ready, we can begin!”

Herbert stepped forward, standing not far behind everyone, and said seriously, “I look forward to you sealing the Storm Eye. Then you’ll become the next third-rank wizard of the Borderland.”

(End of Chapter)

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