A huge tower shadow appeared in the sky.
The colossal tower pierced the heavens and reached the earth.
"It's the Divine Dragon Tower!"
Isla Ning whispered.
At this moment, Morintis also felt a sense of awe.
He hadn't seen the Divine Dragon Tower since entering Xiajing Academy.
He never expected it to appear in the sky like this.
The tower's spire shot out beams of light, enveloping the entire Latent Dragon College.
All the students within Latent Dragon College were simultaneously teleported to the trial location.
The teleportation lasted over ten seconds.
Judging by the duration, the trial site was very far from Xiajing Academy.
The sound of ocean waves reached their ears.
Westsea City was coastal; Morintis was too familiar with the sound of waves not to recognize it.
The trial location was by the sea.
Their feet landed firmly on the ground again.
Their vision quickly returned, and blinding sunlight shone down.
Morintis had an illusion, as if he had returned to the seaside of Westsea City.
Isla Ning's small face was pale, her small hand tightly gripping Morintis's arm.
Her lips pouted, her face full of displeasure.
"Dizzy and headachy.
Long-distance teleportation is really awful."
Peach said, "You'll get used to it after a few more times.
It's like this for everyone at first."
She glanced at Morintis with slight surprise; he showed no sign of discomfort at all.
"Could it be that he often uses teleportation formations?"
A thought crossed her mind, and she became more cautious about underestimating Morintis.
Morintis observed their surroundings.
They were on a small island.
Not far behind them was the coastline.
They were standing on a sandy beach.
Waves crashed one after another.
Not far ahead, there was a curtain of light.
The light curtain almost enveloped the entire island.
They were outside the light curtain.
Through the light curtain, they could see many monsters inside the island.
A stone floated in front of each person, glowing brightly.
"It's a Mission Stone."
Peach, having experience, immediately reached out and took hers.
Morintis also reached out and grasped his own Mission Stone.
The moment he took the Mission Stone, he understood what the trial mission was.
The island they were currently on was called Mermaid Island.
The island was filled with numerous marine-type monsters.
In the center of Mermaid Island, there was a dungeon:
The Mermaid's Tear Dungeon.
Their trial mission was to enter Mermaid Island, fight their way to the center, enter the Mermaid's Tear Dungeon,
kill the final BOSS inside the dungeon, and obtain the Mermaid's Tear from the BOSS.
The entire trial mission had three key points:
First, the average level of the team entering Mermaid Island must not exceed Level 20.
It was the average level, not individual levels.
The team could consist of at most six people.
Because they needed to face the BOSS, having a Knight at a higher level was naturally better.
Thus, they needed to bring someone with a lower level to balance the average.
This was precisely why Ethan resented Morintis for taking his brother's spot.
Second, the Mermaid's Tear only drops in the Nightmare difficulty of the dungeon.
Therefore, the team's overall combat power couldn't be too weak; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to clear it.
Third, only three Mermaid's Tears will drop.
Only the top three teams that clear the dungeon can obtain the Mermaid's Tear.
Morintis didn't understand why it needed to be kept secret.
"In the end, it's just clearing a dungeon."
"Could it be that the Mermaid's Tear has some special significance?"
Peach had already finished reading the mission and said solemnly, "I didn't expect the trial mission this time to be Mermaid Island."
Peach had experienced many trial missions, was experienced, and surely knew more than them.
"The Mermaid's Tear Dungeon only drops three Mermaid's Tears every year."
"Mermaid's Tears can be used to craft extremely special equipment; they are very useful."
"Mermaid Island is not located within the territory of our Divine Dragon Empire."
"So, every year, besides our Divine Dragon Empire, people from other countries come to Mermaid Island."
"This time, our entire Latent Dragon College is mobilized.
There are 10 teams in total.
We are Team 2."
"We not only have to compete with our fellow students from Latent Dragon College but also with Professionals from other countries."
Peach explained the entire situation.
Isla Ning asked, "Then what do we do?
What if we encounter them?
Do we kill them?"
As she spoke, she unconsciously glanced at Morintis, who had genuinely killed people before.
Hearing about killing people, several others visibly tensed up, only Morintis remained unmoved.
Peach shook her head.
"Generally, it doesn't come to that.
Similar things happened before.
Usually, they just guard the dungeon entrance to block entry; rarely does it lead to actual killing."
Hearing Peach's words, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Peach continued, "But we still can't let our guard down.
Deaths have happened before."
"Alright, let's prepare to enter Mermaid Island."
"Daniel, buff us!"
Daniel responded and immediately began casting skills.
Various auras instantly appeared on everyone.
Strength Enhancement!
Agility Enhancement!
Defense Enhancement!
Mana Surge!
Under the加持 of these buffs, everyone's attributes saw a huge increase.
Morintis felt these buffs.
Strength, Agility, Constitution, Spirit – all four core attributes increased by 30%.
Mage skill power increased by 20%.
All buffs lasted for one hour.
With the Prophet's buffs, the team's combat power increased significantly.
The Prophet was indeed a powerful support class, especially indispensable in high-difficulty dungeons.
With a Prophet present, the team's combat power could multiply several times.
However, compared to Morintis's god-tier talent, the Prophet's amplification seemed weak.
"I wonder what effect the Prophet's buffs would have on the Skeleton Warriors?"
With a thought, a Skeleton Warrior instantly appeared beside him.
A sinister wind arose out of nowhere, and the temperature dropped a few degrees.
The sudden appearance of the Skeleton Warrior startled the others.
The Skeleton Warrior emanated a sinister aura, its soul fire flickering, holding a gleaming greatsword.
It occasionally emitted unsettling grating sounds.
Daniel, who was buffing everyone, was so startled his hand trembled, and his skill even stopped.
Jade let out a sharp scream and shrank behind Peach.
"Holy crap."
"Undead summon."
Peach, though relatively calm, asked, "Morintis, is this your summon?"
Morintis looked at Daniel.
"Please give it a set of buffs too."
"O-okay."
Daniel was stunned for a couple of seconds before regaining his composure, trying hard to calm down, and continued buffing everyone.
On the beach, lights constantly flashed as every team received their buffs.
Looking around, they were all rare classes.
Professions rarely seen in other cities were blooming everywhere here.
Morintis now understood what Lord White God meant by 'internal members of Xiajing Academy'.
These people showed talent early, studied and grew up in Xiajing Academy from a young age, and underwent their class change there.
They could be said to be Professionals cultivated by Xiajing Academy.
Basically, everyone had a rare class, everyone received the best education and enjoyed excellent resources.
Far surpassing Professionals from other cities.
Like Isla Ning, the same age as Morintis, already at Level 19.
And she knew much more than Morintis.
Peach was only a year older than Isla Ning and Morintis, yet already at Level 23.
"Huh?"
Daniel showed surprise.
"My skills...
can't be applied to it."
The buff auras dissipated as soon as they touched the Skeleton Warrior.
He tried several times, all with the same result.
Morintis wasn't disappointed.
Perhaps it was because his talent was too powerful, directly overriding low-tier skills like Daniel's.
"Can't even receive buffs.
Trash," Ethan snorted coldly, his tone full of disdain.
Morintis looked at him, his gaze icy.
Being provoked repeatedly, Morintis wasn't without temper.
The Skeleton Warrior's eyes glowed red, also turning its head to look at Ethan, its soul fire flickering incessantly, a sinister wind swirling around it.
Ethan instantly felt a chill down his spine, involuntarily taking a step back, flames simultaneously erupting from his staff.
Peach reacted extremely quickly, immediately stepping between the two.
"If you want to fight, do it back at the academy.
Complete the trial first."
Morintis nodded and withdrew his gaze.
Ethan took a deep breath, trying hard to restrain himself.
When the Skeleton Warrior looked at him just now, he genuinely felt his life was in danger.
As a loud boom sounded in the sky, the trial began.
Peach immediately said, "Enter the island."
The group formed a team and were recognized as a single entity by the light curtain.
Their average level was exactly 20, compliant with the rules.
Everyone felt as if they had passed through a water curtain and had entered Mermaid Island.