nagpurpolice Chapter 407 : Thorny Plane
Chapter 407 : Thorny Plane
「Dear audience, up until this moment, the third stage of the 【Andrew-Gamp Transfiguration Trial】, the 【Magma Lake Secret Realm】, has officially concluded. Below is the latest ranking of all the trial participants..—」 As the third stage of the 【Andrew-Gamp Transfiguration Trial】 drew to a close, the host John-Jones, standing on a flying witch tool, held the newly updated score ranking chart and announced it to the entire audience.
Up to now, only twenty-one participants remained in the 【Bonsai Secret Realm】, while thirty-four had been eliminated.
Ranked first was Louisto-Tulan, who secured the lead with a score of one hundred sixty-two points.
Ranked second, there were two participants.
They were Marquell-Storm and Hela-Helheim, both tied with one hundred fifty-two points, only ten points behind Louisto-Tulan.
Ranked third was Kumbu-Thornspike, who currently held one hundred and two points. This created a huge fifty-point gap with the second place.
Ranked fourth was still Daisy-Hathaway, who had also been ranked third in the previous stage. With ninety-two points, she followed closely behind.
As for Janna, who had repeatedly made astonishing moves, she only had eighty-two points so far, tying with three other participants for fifth place——
「Miss Janna’s ranking finally went up！」
In the audience seats of the 【Glory Arena】, Goblin Billy couldn’t help but let out a low cheer upon hearing Janna’s rank.
「Yes, her rank finally went up at last.」
Hearing Janna’s latest standing, Gawen-Tull also felt a sense of relief. However, what weighed on him more was still his worry for Janna.
「I hope the last two stages will have scenes more suitable for Janna to showcase herself—」」
「Rumbleee—」
The volcano collapsed, magma dried up.
Amidst a violent magical storm, the original volcanic scene vanished in an instant. In its place emerged a swamp shrouded in thorny vines and poisonous miasma.
Among them, the ceaseless screeches of venomous insects inside the miasma sent chills down everyone’s spine.
「This is——」
Opening her eyes, Janna saw the brand new scene before her, and a flicker of unusual color flashed in her eyes.
「The 【Thorny Plane】？」
An endless swamp of poisonous miasma, a gloomy and terrifying forest of thorny vines—this was the very elemental plane where Janna had first succeeded in completing a 【Spirit Summoning】. She would never mistake this place.
Yet, as she listened to the venomous insect cries surrounding her, Janna couldn’t help but feel something was missing.
「This 【Thorny Plane】 does not truly exist. It is merely a projection.」
As a Summoning Wizard apprentice deeply familiar with the 【Thorny Plane】, Janna quickly noticed the anomaly.
Aside from lacking biological diversity, the absence of 【Plane Will】 also made Janna realize that the various elemental scenes inside the 【Bonsai Secret Realm】 were merely projected illusions from real 【Elemental Planes】.
「Rumble—」
With the last rumble ending, the thorny swamp terrain outside the Meditation Array finally solidified. The surrounding violent elemental particles gradually settled down until everything returned to normal.
「Everchanging Form！」
At the very instant the 【Elemental Tides】 ended, the first to act was none other than Kumbu-Thornspike, who possessed the A-level talent 【Insect Speech】.
「Buzz—」
This time, Kumbu-Thornspike transformed into a venomous hornet, nearly the size of a fist, its entire body dark yellow, with tufts of fuzz atop its head.
Upon completing his transformation, Kumbu-Thornspike darted into the poisonous miasma at great speed, vanishing from sight.
「Everchanging Form——」
Seeing the direction in which Kumbu-Thornspike swiftly disappeared, the other participants also sensed something was off. To avoid any mishaps, they all immediately completed their own transformations.
This time, everyone’s transformation strategies were simple. Most transformed into insects, or stones and other low-mana-consuming lifeforms, hiding themselves away.
「Looks like everyone’s magic power has been almost drained.」
Even Louisto-Tulan and Hela-Helheim both adopted conservative strategies this round. One turned into an inconspicuous sparrow and perched on a thorn tree, while the other transformed into a rook and hid in the shadows, neither showing any intention to continue fighting.
「Buzzz—」
While Janna was still carefully observing, suddenly, an unsettling screech echoed again. From all directions, swarms of venomous insects poured from the poisonous miasma like dark clouds, rushing toward the Meditation Array.
「So it comes after all.」
Watching the venomous insects close in, Janna’s face showed no surprise.
Just now, the moment Kumbu-Thornspike flew out of the Meditation Array, Janna, using her 【Nature Communication】 ability, had mobilized the surrounding thorny vines to monitor him.
As she expected, once Kumbu-Thornspike left the array, he quickly hid himself in a tree hollow.
Immediately after, countless venomous insects gathered as though following an unseen command, swarming around the tree hollow where Kumbu-Thornspike hid. Then, in the next moment, the swarm organized itself and surrounded the entire Meditation Array, poised to attack everyone within.
「It seems, aside from Marquell-Storm and Louisto-Tulan, Kumbu-Thornspike is the third participant who has grasped a 【Law Fragment】.」
Moreover, the 【Law Fragment】 Kumbu-Thornspike possessed must have a power extremely similar to his A-level 【Insect Speech】 talent—
The ability to control insect swarms.
「Buzz-buzz——」
As the swarm’s screeching grew closer, those who had transformed into birds or insects hiding in the trees had no choice but to retreat back into the Meditation Array.
「These venomous insects act as if commanded. No matter where you hide, they will always find you！」
Not only the participants who had turned into birds or insects, but also those who had turned into stones were surrounded. The insects corroded them with acidic venom, and soon, the stone surfaces were riddled with holes, forcing those participants to prematurely activate their 【Anti-Magic Rings】.
「We must unite to wipe out these insects. Otherwise, none of us will escape！」
The speaker was a male participant who had just escaped back to the Meditation Array from the treetop, changing back from insect form into human form.
However, upon hearing his words, the others did not immediately respond. They remained watchful, each seeking the path to maximize their own advantage.
「Rustleee—」
Just as the atmosphere reached a stalemate, suddenly, a strange noise came from beneath the ground.
「There’s something underground！」
The first to issue a warning was Daisy-Hathaway, ranked fourth in points. But before she could finish her words, a green thorn vine as thick as an arm burst out from underground and coiled tightly around her calf.