Chapter 477-478: The Mission: Bring Back the Heart of Wood; Entering the Desert Wasteland
Chapter 477-478: The Mission: Bring Back the Heart of Wood; Entering the Desert Wasteland
477: The Mission: Bring Back the Heart of Wood
Yaoyue could ignore everyone else, but Mogefei was a stronger seventh year and the team captain to boot; so, no matter how unwilling she was, she had to give him face. There were a lot of stronger people in her class and she knew how big a role luck had played in her being able to join the special mission. It was only because they had not joined the challenge that she was able to rank high enough to get into the top ten.
She didnt dare offend Mogefei, who was a well-known seventh year.
Dont let her harassment of Feng Wu and the other girls fool you; she only dared do so because they were second-years and weaker than she was.
There were ten people, but only three rooms. They ultimately divided the rooms up with six guys to two rooms and four girls to one room, which, considering there were more guys in the party, was a fair division.
Even though Yaoyue wanted a private room, she didnt dare provoke Mogefei and could only agree unhappily to sharing a room.
The girls room wasnt big, but it had two beds of adequate size to fit two per bed. The question was, who would share a bed with Yaoyue?
Ill take this one. You three take that one. Yaoyue, having no intentions on sharing a bed with anyone, promptly declared ownership and laid down on her bed.
Senior Sister Yaoyue, thats going too far! Ai Lin exclaimed.
I am your senior sister. Do you listen to me or do I listen to you?! Yaoyue said with a smirk. She couldnt handle Mofegei, but she could certainly handle these girls.
You... Ai Lin wanted to keep arguing, but Yaoyue ignored the girls, pulled out a romance novel and began to casually read in bed.
Ai Lin was livid. What kind of person was this girl? Was she really a seventh-year senior? Werent seniors supposed to take care of their juniors? Why was a bed even something to fight over?!
Zi Cheng stopped Ai Lin and shook her head when she saw Ai Lin about to rush up to Yaoyue. Forget it, listen to Senior Sister Yaoyue. Zi Cheng also felt Yaoyue was excessive, but it wasnt worth it to argue over such a trivial thing and possibly make things more difficult later.
Ai Lin understood fighting against a seventh year wouldn't be any good for them as second years, so she took a deep breath and resolved to get back at Yaoyue in the future. She asked, What should we do now? Its a little difficult for all three of us to sleep in one bed.
Wasnt it? The bed was a small and could barely fit two, never mind three. Even though the girls were slender, there was no way for all three to sleep in it.
Zi Cheng thought about it and offered a solution. Why dont I put a spread for Feng Wu and myself on the floor to sleep? You can take the bed Ai Lin.
Ai Lin scoffed mentally. The heroine never forgot to show how caring and compassionate she was. Had Ai Lin not known better, she may have been moved. Realizing this, she turned to look at Feng Wu a little worried Feng Wu might be deceived. She had learned from their interactions that Feng Wu was a simple girl.
One glance was all it took for her to realize her worries were unfounded. It was clear Feng Wu had no idea what Zi Cheng was doing.
You sleep in the bed; I have this. Feng Wu said before producing a hammock from her space ring. It was something she had purchased a long time ago. Though she normally bought things to eat, she would occasionally buy things that caught her interest, so there were many miscellaneous items in her space ring other than food.
She secured the ends of the hammock to the sides the room and placed a blanket on top. The setup looked even more comfortable than the beds.
The beds were basic, just wooden planks on top of a base and a quilt covering over top. It was by no means a luxurious spread.
After Feng Wu made her hammock, took of her shoes and laid down, she squinted her eyes in satisfaction.
And just like that, the bed drama passed without further issues.
Ai Lin left the room to search for a secluded spot to message Zo. She breathed a sigh of relief upon learning he had already arrived.
The individual challenge ended and the final results came out fifteen days ago. A lot of people were in shock that a group of second-year girls triumphed over so many seniors. If it werent for the live broadcast, no would have believed it. The girls had somehow succeeded where many seniors failed.
After the challenge, they were brought to the vice principals office and personally assigned the mission.
The school wanted them to enter the desert wasteland and find the sealed Heart of Wood.
Legend had it, a thousand years ago the wasteland was a beautiful area filled with grass, but then something happened and the grassland turned into a desert.
The Heart of Wood was the most precious artifact for wood magicians. When it physically manifested in the world a thousand years ago, it had a weak consciousness, but that didnt stop magicians from fighting over it. How many entered the lush grassland to get it? They fought to the point the land became barren and the once sprawling oasis became a desert, forcing the Almighty to seal the Heart away. No one had seen it since.
But the seal was soon to be lifted and the Heart would appear again. Who knew how many powerhouses would vie for it this time? Though both Star Marshall hall and Xingguang Holy academy knew a lot of powerful people would fight to the death for it, they didnt know how to prevent it. They existed to protect humanity from external forces and were not good at protecting humanity from itself.
This was why the school chose to send students instead of their more powerful teachers. There were also several people from Star Marshall as well.
Ai Lin knew from having read the book that the school wanted to get the Heart, not for ambition or power, but to restore the desert and turn it back into the grassland it had once been.
478: Entering the Desert Wasteland
Though the process could be slow, it would benefit the people once complete. It was a pity the heroine contracted with the Heart of Wood in the original story. Once contracted, the Heart couldnt return to the desert wasteland, so the schools plan couldnt be realized.
But with so many variables this time, Ai Lin no longer believed the heroines halo would be as all powerful.
The students had rested after a simple dinner and went out the next day to shop for supplies. They wouldnt be able to replenish their daily necessities once they entered the desert so they had to buy everything they needed beforehand.
The people in town both hated and loved the sudden intrusion of outsiders. It was great for the local economy but it was horrible for public safety.
Several fights had broken out and the girls were being openly molested. The girls with higher status refused to go out and were hiding in their homes. Only the ordinary girls dared walk outside for chores and errands, but even they didnt dare visit each other.
Though the adventurers wouldnt kill ordinary people on a whim, they didnt think twice about taking advantage of and bullying the residents. It was hard for the residents to think well of the adventurers.
The residents grew to quickly resent the visitors and were eager to be rid of them. They hoped the adventurers wouldnt return after entering the desert.
Rumor had it, strange treasures would appear in the world soon. It was just speculation and no one could definitely confirm it, so though some adventurers had already entered the desert, most were just waiting and watching. They planned on waiting for several more days in the hopes that confirmation would come, before heading into the desert themselves.
It didnt matter what the adventurers planned; there were a lot of them in town and they were troubling the residents. There was a certain amount of fear and dissatisfaction in the air.
This was why Feng Wus group asked if something had happened recently in town. They had wanted to ask further, but decided against it.
They entered the desert wasteland on the third day after they finished shopping.
There was no sign of life in sight. Anyone who wanted to enter the desert had to do so on foot as no living creature would set foot in the desert. It was a mystery why, but it seemed like there was something terrible inside.
A few days ago, a soldier had wanted to ride in with his horse, but his horse refused to move forward. It had a look of horror on its face. No matter how much it was beat, it refused to move. There were many such cases. In the end, everyone had to walk.
The desert was filled with endless yellow sand and scorching heat. There wasnt a single monster anywhere.
The people in the group felt a suffocating pressure the moment they stepped into the desert. A disturbing panic set in, it was as though they were all facing a man-eating monster and the monster was waiting to swallowing them whole.
Feng Wu looked at the endless sand then touched the bag that held Rui Baby. A flicker of doubt flashed in her eyes.
This place is strange. The moment I walked in, it felt like I was entering hell. Tang said.
Yeah, it doesnt feel like a good place. Huozhou nodded in agreement.
Be careful everyone. This place isnt as it seems. Mogefei warned expressionlessly.
Their hearts grew solemn as they became aware how difficult their mission would be. But upon reflection, the school created an extreme challenge just to pick who would go. It would have been strange if it wasnt a difficult mission.
This place is full of evil aura, so much so there are clouds of it. Everyone be careful not to disturb anything. Yaoyues face was ugly as she looked off into the distance.
Is it the undead? Mogefei asked.
It might be, or it might be something else. We wont know until we see it.
Both Ai Lin and Zi Cheng looked at Yaoyue in admiration. They thought she would only cause them trouble and put on airs as a senior. Turns out she was actually capable! Although they were students in the same division, they had different teachers guiding them.
Yaoyue was one of the rare necromancers at school. Necromancers were the most mysterious. Yaoyues character was bad, but she was the strongest in the group of necromancers. That was how she successfully got a spot amongst the top ten.
With Yaoyues reminder in mind, they all walked carefully toward the spot marked on the map they had been given before leaving campus. The spot marked was the location of the Heart of Water. All they had to do was get the Heart and bring it back to the vice principal.
It would take more than a couple or days to reach the sealed area with the Heart. It was hard to know how big the wasteland was without having been in it before. It was possible to not exit even after walking a couple of years. The sealed area was also hidden inside the desert and would take a minimum of three months of walking to reach.
They couldnt risk getting lost and losing time.
Days were long and hot while the nights were cold with temperatures below 10. They felt like human popsicles when the wind blew on them. Fortunately they werent in the arena and their abilities werent sealed. Though they still needed heavy coats, it wasnt unbearable because they had fighting qi and magic for protection.
They didnt have to hunt or search for food because they brought plenty of provisions. At night they camped and rested because they couldnt hurry in the cold.