Chapter 27: Overture to the Abyss, Mage Class Trial!

“An Abyssal Surge? A Mage Trial?”

Lin Yi looked puzzled.

What was that supposed to be?

Zuo Qian continued explaining. “This knowledge isn’t found in your textbooks, so it’s perfectly normal that you don’t know about it.”

“But you should know the fundamental reason behind the changes that struck our Blue Star a thousand years ago, right?”

Lin Yi nodded. “The Abyss invaded, and the planes overlapped.”

“Exactly! The Abyss. That’s a term you’ve probably heard many times.”

“You can think of the Abyss as a parallel world—a different dimension.”

“It’s the source of every disaster and crisis that has ever plagued Blue Star.”

“It’s filled with endless hordes of terrifying monsters. Some of them even possess their own civilizations and social systems, just like us!”

“But the more dangerous a place is, the richer its opportunities and rewards tend to be.”

“Many of the truly powerful figures in Great Xia became strong only because, after training in the Abyss, they obtained crucial skills, talents, and exclusive equipment—rewards of extreme rarity.”

“The Abyss is a terrifying plane containing everything imaginable. It’s like a universe, constantly moving and operating. Inevitably, there are times when it draws especially close to our Blue Star plane.”

“When that happens, the two planes collide, and a rift can form between them.”

“Those rifts are what you know as dungeons.”

Lin Yi listened as the old principal filled him in.

His eyes lit up.

He had never before wondered how those dungeons came into existence.

So that was how they were formed.

“This morning, a limited-time dungeon appeared in the eastern outskirts of Jiangcheng.”

“That dungeon was contaminated by a trace of Abyssal aura, causing the monsters inside to mutate.”

“The spatial structure of this kind of dungeon is extremely unstable. After existing for a certain period of time, it will disappear.”

“So you have to enter as soon as possible and claim the rewards!”

“And this dungeon is rather special. It’s a trial dungeon.”

“More precisely, it’s a single-class trial dungeon. Only mages are allowed to enter!”

Lin Yi pondered for a moment before asking, “Principal, what benefits are there if I clear the trial?”

Zuo Qian chuckled. “You really won’t lift a finger until you see the rabbit. But I’m the same, haha. We don’t enter dungeons for the rewards?”

“The reward for this trial is a title.”

“It's called the Abyss Challenger!”

“The title grants no attributes, but you can think of it as either a key or a qualification.”

“The qualification to enter the true Abyss!”

Lin Yi understood.

Based on the old principal’s explanation, truly valuable equipment, rare skills, and rare talents could all be obtained in the Abyss.

And professionals who failed to clear this kind of class trial would have no qualification to enter the Abyss.

Without a doubt, that meant they could never become truly powerful in their entire lives.

No wonder the principal had said it would affect his future prospects.

“According to the pattern observed in the past, every time this kind of class trial dungeon appears on Blue Star, the trial is different. Before entering, challengers are informed of the rules for clearing it. Once they fulfill those rules, they gain the qualification to enter the Abyss!”

“Jiangcheng is very lucky this time. The rules for clearing this mage trial are incredibly simple. You only need to endure for three hours inside the trial dungeon. You aren’t required to kill any specific number of monsters, nor do you have to kill the boss.”

“So, Student Lin Yi, make the most of this opportunity!”

“Because if you want to encounter another class trial later, no one knows when that will happen. And it may be even more difficult!”

In truth, the difficulty was hardly a concern for Lin Yi. With his current strength, he could not merely be said to crush professionals of the same level.

It was more like attacking them from an entirely higher dimension.

No matter how difficult this trial was, it could not pose much of a challenge.

Perhaps only the true Abyss would qualify as a challenge for him.

What Lin Yi feared most was missing this opportunity and not knowing when he would get another chance to participate in a trial.

While the two of them were talking, they had already left Jiangcheng, despite the Fourfold Beast’s leisurely pace.

“You’re doing quite well. Back when I was still a teacher, I took several students flying at high speed. Every one of them was terrified.”

Lin Yi fell silent.

There was something he wanted to say, but he had no idea how to put it.

You call this high-speed flight?

Could he say that if he flew using his own skills, he could move more than ten times faster than this tortoise-paced mount?

The area surrounding Jiangcheng was almost entirely encircled by lush and beautiful grasslands.

The eastern outskirts were no exception.

After leaving the city and flying east for a while longer, Lin Yi soon saw a vast, dense crowd gathered in one part of the grassland.

“Word spreads quickly. This mage trial dungeon only appeared a short while ago, yet several base cities around Jiangcheng have already received the news and rushed over.”

“When I sent your homeroom teacher to find you this morning, there weren’t many people here. Many of the students from our school who had changed class to become mages formed groups and entered. They should already be inside.”

“No, wait. This may be troublesome…”

Zuo Qian’s expression changed as he looked down at the tightly packed crowd.

Lin Yi noticed the problem too.

There were so many people that the dungeon entrance was no longer visible. And it was obvious that everyone was standing in line.

What was going on? Did they actually need to queue to enter a dungeon?

The Fourfold Beast landed, and Zuo Qian recalled his mount. Drawing on the connections he had accumulated over the years, he brought Lin Yi forward and revealed his identity to the Jiangcheng military professionals maintaining order at the scene.

Perhaps out of partiality toward their own people, the soldiers turned a blind eye as Zuo Qian and Lin Yi repeatedly cut ahead through the line. They did not stop them.

Soon, the two of them reached the central area, surrounded on all sides by the crowd.

Lin Yi saw a spatial rift flickering incessantly, radiating a gloomy, dark aura.

Clearly, this was the entrance to the limited-time trial dungeon.

On either side of the entrance stood numerous robed professionals and formation mages, working to stabilize the dungeon entrance and extend the dungeon’s duration as much as possible.

“President Jiang, it’s me, Little Zuo!”

Zuo Qian put on a humble, ingratiating expression. At a glance, he spotted Jiang Xian, president of the Jiangcheng Professionals’ Alliance, standing at the center of the crowd.

Jiang Xian was beaming.

With so many schools, unaffiliated organizations, and guild members from other base cities coming to Jiangcheng, he felt it reflected well on him.

At that moment, a group of people in the uniforms of a certain professional academy were speaking with Jiang Xian. Their auras were powerful, and nearly all of them had reached the fourth advancement or higher.

For Lin Yi’s sake, Zuo Qian could only grit his teeth and call out.

His attitude, however, was exceedingly respectful.

His conversation with an important guest had been interrupted, and Jiang Xian was somewhat displeased.

But this was a public occasion, and he could not afford to lose his temper.

He could only turn and look over.

Zuo Qian gave an awkward smile. “President Jiang, here’s the situation. Our school has another student who successfully changed class to become a mage, but he hasn’t had the chance to participate in this trial yet. Now there are people everywhere, so I was wondering if you might…”

“Lin Yi, come over. This is President Jiang Xian of the Jiangcheng Professionals’ Alliance. He’s a fourth-advancement Archmage!”

Before Lin Yi could say anything, Jiang Xian asked in surprise, “You’re Lin Yi?”

The End.