Versatile Mage

“This place really gives me the creeps,” Mo Fan had been to quite a few spooky places so far, yet he still felt uncomfortable coming down here, implying that the Poisonous Miasma Lake Valley was indeed scary in its own way.

Ayleen and Mu Ningxue did not seem to enjoy the scenery too. Their breathings were heavier, as the place was indeed very creepy as Mo Fan had mentioned. They were surrounded by pitch-black mountain walls, and the paths were narrow and craggy.

Most importantly, the poisonous miasma was looming above them. According to Tony, if he had not opened up the gap, an Advanced Mage could only survive a few seconds in it. The poisonous miasma was like a natural barrier protecting the pitch-black valley, so they could not imagine what kind of eerie creatures would be here.

Even Mo Fan had a bad feeling about it. He suddenly suspected that the Hunter Union was trying to get the participants killed by hiding the treasure in such a place. The Observer Eagles were unable to see through the poisonous miasma, and if anything happened, he was no longer confident that the teleporting scrolls would be able to bring them out of this place!

To their relief, Ayleen had the Light Element. Otherwise, Mo Fan would really have struggled to find the courage to advance in such a sinister place, without any light to guide them.

“Tony, where do we go now?” Mo Fan glanced ahead with the help of the light that Ayleen had brought forth.

“I heard them mention the treasure is located at the Seven Serpents Dragon Pond. I was standing high up observing the valley before, and I did find a small lake formed by seven rivers. From afar, it did resemble seven giant serpents surrounding a pond. I believe that must be our destination, so I’ve purposely kept track of our whereabouts. I’m confident that this is the right way. Come, we’re about to be the brightest stars in the treasure hunt!” Tony said confidently.

Tony had mentioned that the Poison Miasma Lake Valley was like a world sealed off by the layer of poisonous mist, and the miasma closer to the center was thicker than in the rest of the places. It might be ten, or even twenty meters thick. Therefore, it was impossible to fly in and drop down right on their destination. Even a Ruler-level creature would die trying to traverse the poisonous miasma if it was over ten meters thick.

Therefore, the only way to the center was reaching the bottom from the edge of the miasma, and slowly making their way to the center through the darkness at the bottom!

Since the whole lake floor was immersed in darkness, it felt like they had fallen into a complicated maze. As such, the wise move was to observe the place from high above and use the mountain tops, ridges, and walls that were higher than the poisonous mists as landmarks to remind them where they were.

Mo Fan had to admit that this place was a lot spookier than the demon creatures’ territories he had been to before. At the same time, he was even more confused…

However, humans would die for riches, just as birds would die for food. Since they had already come, there was no turning back now. They could only follow Tony as he led them to the Seven Serpents Dragon Pond!

—

—

To the south of the mountain range, two men wearing white robes with golden silk were riding their flying beasts close to the shore of the lake. They were looking down at the poisonous miasma shrouding the sunken area.

“Damn it, we came as quick as we could, but those students still went down before we could stop them!”

“We have to alert the governor about it.”

“It hasn’t been too long since they went down there. Let’s head down there now and find them,” one of the Mages proposed.

“How are we going to make it to the bottom? We can’t even drive the poisonous miasma away. The terrain down there is extremely complicated. Even if it’s only been ten minutes, it’s unlikely that we can track them down… damn it, why didn’t anyone tell them they aren’t supposed to go down there!?”

——

The stadium in Venice…

Fabio, the governor of Venice, was wearing a black Jazz hat pulled down to his face, only revealing his tall nose bridge and sharp chin.

A judge came and said to Governor Fabio seriously, “Governor, four students have gone into the Poison Curtain Lake Valley.”

“Didn’t we already appoint two assistant judges to guard that place so that the participants wouldn’t go in there?” Fabio frowned.

“The two assistant judges happened to see some students injured nearby, so they went to lend a hand. They didn’t expect the four students to go into the valley while they were away,” the judge said.

“How long has it been?” Governor Fabio asked.

“Around twenty minutes.”

“My God, can they still make it back? Tell the advisors of those students the truth right now!” Fabio ordered.

Not long after, a few advisors of the English, Chinese, and Swedish teams were informed of the matter. They gathered at the governor’s location.

The Chinese team had sent Han Ji. He was looking grim. He initially thought Mo Fan and the others would return from the treasure hunt after their intense battle, yet not only did they stay in the treasure hunt, they ended up entering a forbidden area!

The place was beyond the bounds of the stage that the Hunter Union had drawn for the treasure hunt. Many people had raised objections of using the place as the stage for the treasure hunt, mainly because there were lots of areas that were not fully explored yet. The mysterious valley shrouded by the poisonous miasma was considered to be the most dangerous among them!

-Did Mo Fan seriously have to go to a place like that?…-

“Isn’t someone going to explain to us what’s going on? Are we just going to remain silent?” an old English Mage named Paulson snapped furiously.

“It’s indeed our fault that the assistant judges didn’t manage to stop the students… but if it wasn’t for your student Ayleen controlling the Observer Eagles, we would have learned what they were up to earlier and prevented it from happening. I’ve organized all Hunters that are familiar with the place to form a rescue team, but it might take them some time to reach the place. Let’s just hope the kids don’t venture too far into the valley,” Governor Fabio said.

“Mister Governor… there’s one other thing that we just discovered.” Another judge arrived in a hurry. He was hesitant to speak when he saw the representatives of the other countries.

“Just say it!” Governor Fabio ordered sharply.

“Another group also went into the valley before them, led by Senior Hunter Felmon’s nephew, Kelly!”

“What?!…” Fabio was stunned.

The faces of Han Ji, Paulson, and the representative of the Swedish team sank upon hearing this.

What were they doing? They had already allowed two teams to enter a dangerous area that was not meant to be part of the treasure hunt. Their lack of responsibility was unacceptable!

“Ask Felmon to come here, now!” Governor Fabio demanded.

Senior Hunter Felmon was the main organizer of the treasure hunt. He was responsible for finalizing the stage for the treasure hunt. If his nephew Kelly was involved, things were not as simple as they seemed on the surface!

—

Not long after, Senior Hunter Felmon arrived. He was astounded when he learned that two groups of participants had entered the Poison Curtain Lake Valley.

“Are you sure my nephew Kelly is the one leading them?” Felmon asked quickly.

“Yes, it’s indeed him, and judging from the information we’ve gathered through the Observer Eagles, Kelly’s team headed for the Poison Curtain Lake Valley first, and the group of four seemed to be following their trail…” the judge informed him.

Felmon had a puzzled look. He stayed quiet for some time.

A while later, Felmon said, “I believe Kelly must have mistaken it as the place where the grand treasure is.”

“Senior Hunter, what do you mean by that?” Fabio asked.

“Basically, I researched the areas that were used for the treasure hunt in the past when I was finalizing the options here. I learned that this space was used as the stage for the treasure hunt during the World College Tournament over thirty years ago. I did thorough research on it, and figured out that the twisted space is indeed quite suitable to be used as a stage for the treasure hunt.”

“The truth is, a long time ago, the place used to be just a normal lake. The place is quite huge too, but for some reason, the lake dried up due to the presence of some strange energy. The water vapor lingered in the air above the lake and absorbed some deadly poison over a long period, and eventually turned into the poison curtain that only a few people could get close to.”

“The poison curtain was already there during the World College Tournament thirty-two years ago. The organizers had hidden the grand treasure in the lake valley, since it was meant to be hidden at a relatively difficult spot. The main organizer didn’t want the students to find it so easily, so he decided to hide the treasure in the lake valley. No one found the treasure in the end,” Senior Hunter Felmon said.

“But I’m afraid the Poison Curtain Lake Valley is going to be a lot more dangerous compared to thirty years ago?” Han Ji asked.

Han Ji was actually quite shocked… the reason being that, he used to be one of the participants when the space was used as the stage for the treasure hunt back then! It had been thirty-two years, meaning that this World College Tournament was the sixteenth after the one he participated in!

“But there’s something you wouldn’t know… the grand treasure of the treasure hunt thirty-two years ago was never retrieved!” Felmon continued.

Han Ji was startled. -Never been retrieved?-

Impossible, the grand treasure was usually extremely valuable, since it was the greatest prize in the second round of the World College Tournament. It simply did not make sense that the organizer did not retrieve it even if the participants failed to find it!

Han Ji still remembered that the loot during the treasure hunt was quite shocking, as he had improved greatly with the resources he had acquired during the treasure hunt. It allowed him to achieve great things, eventually granting him the opportunity to achieve the Super Level. Therefore, the grand treasure thirty-two years was surely something valuable too!

“I did ask someone who was a judge back then. He told me that it’s not because they forgot to retrieve it, but because they weren’t able to retrieve it!”

“The poison curtain had become extremely deadly in just a few days, forming a barrier that no one could break through. On the other hand, it’s extremely challenging to enter the valley from the edge of the poison curtain and look for the treasure. A few people that went to retrieve the treasure died! A Super Mage also went, but he almost died after losing his way inside the valley…in the end, the treasure has been left there for thirty-two years. I believe my nephew Kelly must have looked at the information when I was organizing the stage, and mistook it for the place where the grand treasure is!”