Chapter 186 - 108: Incredible Harvest, Ending the Assessment with a Grand Performance

Chapter 186: Chapter 108: Incredible Harvest, Ending the Assessment with a Grand Performance

’What is that? It looks so powerful.’

The Dazed Girl had an outgoing personality and directly asked the question on her mind, "Mr. Mo Ning, have you mastered a new Witchcraft?"

A moment ago, Mo Ning had been sitting still for a long time, his focused and meditative appearance looking exactly like someone constructing a Witchcraft Model in their Spiritual World.

Mo Ning smiled and nodded, his tone frank. "Not a new Witchcraft. I just had a flash of Spiritual Light during the battle and took the opportunity to optimize my Talent Witchcraft."

The explanation of "Spiritual Light" wasn’t a lie, because the [Light of Truth] was also a kind of Spiritual Light. That’s why he spoke with such a calm expression.

The moment the Affiliated Magic Pool was successfully constructed, it began to spontaneously draw free-floating Magic Power from the Ocean of Magical Power and convert it into his own.

This was the source of the electric light flashing in his pupils.

But he didn’t elaborate. Some secrets were best kept to oneself.

Hearing the words "Spiritual Light," the two girls had the same thought pop into their heads: ’Mr. Mo Ning has an enviable amount of Spiritual Light flashing through his mind.’

Anya revealed a graceful and proper smile, bringing the topic back. "Let’s eat!"

The three of them sat around the wooden table and began to enjoy their hard-earned, steaming hot lunch.

Mo Ning barely had to lift a finger as the two girls bustled about as diligently as maids.

Anya forked out pieces of golden-brown pork shoulder from a metal container, carefully cut them into small pieces, and thoughtfully placed them on the plate in front of Mo Ning;

Reina then scooped up some fragrant fish meat, removed the large bones, and placed it by Mo Ning’s hand. Finally, she ladled out a bowl of milky-white fish soup with a few vibrant green wild vegetables floating on top.

The Dazed Girl was quite familiar with the wilderness. As the team had traveled through the wilds, she would occasionally pick a wild vegetable and pocket it, unknowingly accumulating a large handful.

The two "cooks" didn’t think there was anything wrong with what they were doing. They took it for granted that they should take good care of Mo Ning.

It was as if, in their minds, this young man was meant to be treated this way.

Anya suddenly sighed with regret. "It’s a shame we don’t have any bread."

Mo Ning wasn’t bothered. "It’s fine."

Reina thought for a moment and proposed a medium-term solution. "After we condense our first Spirit Ring, we can learn a Level Zero Witchcraft called [Quick Bread Making Skill]."

Just from hearing the name, Mo Ning had a guess. The person who created this Witchcraft most likely despised the academy’s cafeteria and had angrily invented this little Spell to turn flour into bread.

Anya nodded. "We’ll train hard and learn it as soon as possible."

Reina grunted in agreement and clenched her fists. "Let’s do our best!"

Mo Ning was a little speechless.

The higher the Witchcraft Level, the more precious the Spell Slots. Every Spell Slot must be chosen with careful consideration to ensure maximum efficiency in using one’s Spiritual Strength.

’Deciding to learn the Quick Bread Making Skill now... isn’t that a bit rash?’

But he wasn’t the type to interfere with his teammates’ choices, so he said nothing and simply speared a piece of pork shoulder with his fork and popped it into his mouth.

The moment he bit down, the juices burst between his teeth. It was crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and bursting with savory flavor.

Mo Ning couldn’t help but nod. "Not bad."

Anya’s pretty face instantly bloomed like a flower.

Mo Ning then spooned some fish soup into his mouth. The sensation on his taste buds made him narrow his eyes slightly. "This is delicious."

The fish soup was unexpectedly savory, without a hint of fishiness, and even had a faint, sweet aftertaste. It was clear that extra care had been taken when preparing the ingredients.

Reina smiled, her eyes curving into crescents, and her signature cowlick bobbed happily along.

The two simple comments made the girls’ hearts swell with warmth—all their effort had not been in vain.

Mo Ning swallowed the fish soup, looked up at the two of them, and revealed the battle plan. "After lunch, we’ll rest for two hours. Then we’ll go clear out the Hard-skinned Monkeys in the forest and eliminate the biggest threat of this assessment."

After miraculously mastering that powerful Level Zero Witchcraft, he was absolutely confident he could crush the troop of monkeys that had pushed the Battle Group to the brink of collapse.

The ever-present Thunder Power in Mist Valley told him that three lords had divided the monkey troop among them, and he had already devised a strategy to deal with them.

"Okay!"

"Understood!"

The two girls responded at the same time in clear voices.

They already knew that the Hard-skinned Monkey population in the forest was astonishingly large; the Battle Group, composed of over two hundred new recruits, had been pushed to the brink of collapse several times.

But they had complete faith that with the brilliant Mr. Mo Ning leading their small team, the Hard-skinned Monkeys wouldn’t be an obstacle at all.

*****

「At the edge of the forest.」

「Inside the Battle Group’s camp.」

Sitt stood on a simple watchtower built from damp logs, his hawk-like gaze sweeping over the dense forest ahead, his expression grim.

The dense fog had been dissipating for nearly two hours, and the Hard-skinned Monkey troop had clearly become more reserved, no longer daring to recklessly harass the camp.

The new recruits finally had a chance to catch their breath. They scattered in small groups around the camp, foraging for wild vegetables and fruits, trying to fill their increasingly empty stomachs.

Whether they were a "Strong Person" or a "weak person," all were equally plagued by the specter of hunger—the burning emptiness in their stomachs was even more unbearable than the monkeys’ sharp claws.

In truth, the Hard-skinned Monkeys themselves were a quality food source. Their meat was firm and rich in protein, but no one dared to hunt them.

Earlier, a Strong Person from the Battle Group had killed two Hard-skinned Monkeys, but the troop had shown unusual solidarity, forcefully snatching back the bodies of their comrades.

At this moment, the curtain of rain grew dense again.

Raindrops smashed against the ground, and the fine splashes formed a mist that rose rapidly. It had already passed waist height—about a meter high—and was now creeping toward their chests.

Compared to the first time, the mist was rising much faster, as if an invisible hand was pushing it upward from below.

"Dammit!"

Sitt cursed viciously, slamming his fist on the railing in front of him, making the wooden planks BUZZ.

Princess Phoebe stood gracefully by his side. Even under her rainproof hood, her world-class beauty still gave off an air of nobility and grace.

This most brilliant, beautiful pearl among the new recruits glanced at Sitt, and that irrepressible feeling of disappointment welled up in her heart once more.

Sitt always wore his emotions on his sleeve when faced with setbacks, becoming restless and irritable in private.

His only good quality was that he never lacked courage in a fight, daring to stand at the very front against the ferocious monkey troop.

The problem was, brute force alone was often not enough to solve problems.

If she hadn’t been in the background, constantly encouraging, mediating, and managing the many new recruits in an orderly fashion, the Battle Group probably wouldn’t have even been able to set up a camp.

Princess Phoebe was beginning to seriously doubt whether choosing Sitt as a teammate had been the right decision.

She sighed to herself and began to speak about the difficult situation the Battle Group was facing.

"From the looks of it, the monkey troop knows we’re short on food, so they’re constantly trying to wear us down and weaken our combat strength.

"I have a strong feeling that once the dense fog covers the land for a second time, the monkey troop is highly likely to launch a more ferocious attack."

"What?! The monkey troop is going to attack?"

Sitt’s voice suddenly jumped an octave. His just-realized expression made Princess Phoebe’s heart sink a little further.

She secretly shook her head.

’It’s so obvious, yet he needs me to point it out before he gets it. It seems Sitt’s intellect really isn’t enough for him to be a qualified leader.’

In fact, it wasn’t just this time.

Previously, when Miss Anya sent the warning that "Sitt might be targeted by the Second Level Apprentice Lai Te," all she saw on Sitt’s face was sheer panic and anger.

Other than venting those useless emotions, he was completely unable to come up with any effective countermeasures.

"Dammit! Goddammit!"

Sitt cursed repeatedly.

Princess Phoebe pressed her lovely red lips together and suddenly recalled something her mother had once earnestly warned her about:

"My child, you will face many choices on your path through life.

"Some choices you will make correctly, and that is wonderful.

"Some choices you will make incorrectly, but that’s okay.

"You must decisively leave that wrong path, otherwise it will swallow you bit by bit like a quagmire, and in the end, completely ruin your life."

Princess Phoebe’s gaze fell on the ever-rising mist, and a clear thought flashed through her mind—Sitt was that wrong path.

She secretly made a decision in her heart: ’After this assessment is over, I must leave Sitt’s team.’

Another face immediately flashed through her mind—Miss Anya.

Anya’s brilliant analysis of "Sitt’s bloodline ability" had left an exceptionally deep impression on her.

Princess Phoebe genuinely felt that Sitt’s mind was far inferior to Anya’s.

She began to seriously consider whether she could form a brand new team with Anya.