Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree-Chapter 612: The Beginning

Duke paid the Magic Stone, and the Mechanical Body immediately spat out a specially made metal token inscribed with complex space coordinates and identifying runes. It was similar in size to the previous invitation token but had more personalized patterns, marked with Duke’s name, and a flickering lone wanderer symbol in the center.

"Registration successful. Your competition code has been generated. The competition will begin at 9:00 AM, Anvil Castle Standard Time, fifteen days from now. Please present this token at Central Zone Third Teleport Hall through the designated channel to enter the competition’s exclusive Witch Array on that day.

The specific rules, resource exchange list, and basic quadrant map have been authorized to your identity-linked information terminal, which can be accessed via your Thought Core or any public information terminal."

The Thought Core can also serve as a high-end information terminal in the Seville Empire, making things much more convenient in this nation.

Leaving the registration point, Duke returned to his room at the Gearheart Hotel.

He activated the Thought Core and, as expected, found a new encrypted entry named "Void Echo: Quadrant Contest" in the accessible information list.

As his Spiritual Power touched it, a vast amount of information was systematically presented to his consciousness.

Detailed competition rules, behavior restrictions, resource point classification and approximate exchange rates, examples of some publicly known environment types from previous events, and most importantly — that long list of real resources.

These resources exist within the Quadrant Contest, and as long as you can acquire them and bring them out, you can exchange them for the corresponding resources from this list.

Duke took a look, and the list spanned hundreds of pages, impossible to read through in a short time.

The list includes but is not limited to Magic Potion Materials, Magic Metal, Crystal Cores, Witchcraft Artifacts, special Energy Sources, Special Items, and more, most of which come from various strange Planes in the Endless Plane.

The Yellow Sand Crystal in Duke’s hand is a product from a strange Other Plane. Unlike a Witchcraft Artifact forged by human hands, it is born in a special Plane, under a special environment.

There are many things similar to it, often possessing extremely strange and powerful functions.

For instance, while the Yellow Sand Crystal is considered a Level 1 Witchcraft Artifact by the standards of a Witchcraft Artifact, it is far more useful and powerful than a Level 1 Witchcraft Artifact and cannot be accurately judged by the standards of the Wizard Plane.

It is said that some Planes even have axes capable of opening Planes, and such items can no longer be simply evaluated by level, even surpassing world-class secret treasures.

...

Fifteen days passed in no time, amidst regular meditation, moderate adaptive training, and in-depth study of the competition materials.

On the morning of the competition day, Anvil Castle was shrouded in a layer of dawn fog with a slight metallic sheen.

Duke checked over his belongings: most importantly, his Thought Core and the Space Ring he was wearing. The supplies were adequately prepared, and his Spiritual Power and physical condition were adjusted to their best.

The duration of this Quadrant Contest would be quite prolonged, either bringing your food or finding food on-site within the Quadrant Contest grounds.

The food and water found within, as long as there are no problems with them, can be consumed and drunk.

However, most Wizards should not have to resort to this, as carrying a Space Ring in the competition is allowed, and preparing sufficient food and water is not an issue.

He changed into comfortable attire suitable for movement, layered with an unassuming dark gray traveler’s cloak, gently lowered the hood, and stepped out of the Gearheart Hotel.

On the street, the flow of people heading toward Central Zone Third Teleport Hall noticeably increased, moving swiftly with sharp presences, scrutinizing and wary of one another, as an invisible tension of the nearing contest permeated the air.

As he passed through a large intersection, Duke unexpectedly encountered the Rhine team.

Rhine, Lina, and Blake were fully armed, dressed in uniform-style lightweight enchanted leather armor, with several auxiliary Witchcraft Artifacts flashing different glows on them, clearly well-prepared for this competition.

Beside them was a new face, a tall and thin young male Wizard with a large metal bookcase on his back and an elusive gaze, apparently a newly recruited teammate.

"Mr. Duke! Best of luck and fruitful rewards!" Rhine was the first to spot Duke, greeted him proactively, maintaining a polite demeanor.

Lina and Blake nodded in acknowledgment, pausing momentarily on Duke’s simple attire.

"You too," Duke calmly responded, without saying much more, as they passed by each other, merging into the crowd heading in different directions. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The brief encounter marked that they would be competing on the same battlefield in different manners.

Central Zone Third Teleport Hall was a splendid domed structure with a spacious interior, now already crowded with hundreds of contestants, split into different passageways for the Level 1 and Level 2 groups. Amidst the noise were low conversations, faint sounds of weapon checks, and announcements from Mechanical Body guides.

This was just one of the entry points for the competition, with many more similar entry points spread throughout the Seville Empire.

Duke displayed his competition token, passed through security and identity verification, and was guided to the Level 1 group’s teleportation area.

Here, dozens of Light Gates emitting stable space fluctuations were neatly arranged, with each gate overseen by a small Mechanical Body for final calibration.

"Number L-7342, solo contestant, Duke. Teleportation is about to begin, please stand firm and maintain stable Spiritual Power. Good luck." As the cold prompt from the Mechanical Body faded, Duke’s vision was engulfed by a gentle blue radiance.

A slight sensation of weightlessness and spatial displacement followed, but it was not intense.

When the light dissipated and the feeling of firm ground returned, Duke found himself in an unfamiliar environment.

Along with him appeared four other Wizards, two men and two women, spaced about ten meters apart, clearly loners at a random teleportation point or temporarily assigned together.

The location they found themselves in was a rather desolate and rocky mountain forest.

The sky was a heavy leaden gray, with dim lighting. The ground was covered in gray-brown sandy soil and sparse shrubs with leaves resembling iron sheets.

In the distance, darkly contoured mountain ridges stretched menacingly, while variously sized, twisted gray-white rocks were scattered nearby.

The air was filled with an inexplicable sense of age, and a faint, unsettling aura.

It was very quiet, not a breeze to be heard.

The five scrutinized each other warily, none eager to speak or intending to make a move.

Having just arrived here, they had no reason to fight; their purpose was to acquire resources, not engage in mindless battles, unless there was a grudge.