After everyone was seated, the principal of Homemon Watts, Tiberion, briefly said a few polite words. The white-haired elder seemed to be in a bad mood and looked like he might fall asleep at any time.
However, every time Griffith stared at the learned old man, he could always feel an invisible force disrupting his perception. It was as if the principal was there, but not there...
Immediately afterwards, one of the professors sitting at the top of the hall stood up and waved to the servant beside him. Soon, a box was moved to the center of the hall.
"The talent test will now begin. Each branch will conduct it in order." The professor opened the wooden box and reached out to take out a somewhat worn-out pointed wizard hat.
"It's begun," Galadia said excitedly, "Griffith, are you curious?"
Curious? Curious about what? I know nothing about what can I be curious about?
Sonia was also a little excited and said softly: "This is the sacred artifact left by the guardian Minerva. It has the magical power to see through the mind and soul, and can see the characteristics and potential of every extraordinary person."
Well, it's the thing that can describe my strength, agility, and perception in numbers. Griffith thought about the crystal lens on the Earl's Mansion.
First, it was Minerva College. A freshman put on the old hat first according to the list. The big brim almost covered his head, which looked ugly and funny.
Suddenly, a crack opened on the brim of the hat, and it began to wriggle like a mouth. The two holes in the hat even looked around like eyes.
"It's fried chicken again," the wizard hat said with some dissatisfaction. "The brats who are coming up later, please remember to wipe your hands clean so as not to stain my smooth skin."
This hat, alive!
Griffith seemed to hear a strange landing sound, faintly coming from the depths of his own soul. Common sense and rationality seemed to shatter at this moment, and chaos hit his brain, as if he had encountered a mythical creature a long time ago.
bear.
Fortunately, after experiencing so many incidents, his tenacious will survived the impact, and his mind became clear again after a brief dizziness.
The freshman wearing the hat was startled and almost jumped out of his seat. The professor next to him held his shoulders and said to the hat:
"Please start, Mr. Talent Hat. I hope it will end as soon as possible. There is still a topic waiting for me to submit."
"Okay, okay," Talent Cap muttered with his eyes closed for a while, then suddenly shouted, "Ah, good. It's decided. Minerva!"
The professor picked up a wand and drew it towards the sorting hat: "Talent test!"
"Okay, okay," the tip of the talent hat deflated after being pulled, "This, um, a pretty good talent, C+, spell casting enhancement!"
A huge crystal immediately projected a phrase on the wall, which was a description of testing talents.
"Spell casting enhancement. The power and duration of the spell will be increased by no more than 15%, and the chanting and effectiveness time of the spell will be extended by 3-10 seconds."
There was a burst of cheers in the dinner hall immediately. For those freshmen who have never understood their talents, this test can very intuitively display their strengths and weaknesses.
The freshman who was sure to have enhanced spell casting happily took off his hat, saluted solemnly at it, and then returned to the long table. The test found that his talent was quite good. Although it had the disadvantage of lowering the casting speed, the effect of increasing the power was very obvious.
.
Minerva's freshmen came up one after another to take the test. When it was Sonia's turn to take the test, the expression on the talent hat suddenly became exciting:
"This is, oh, so rare...
"Beautiful young lady, you actually possess rare dual talents, and you are also an insight and a mirror!"
The crystal immediately displayed Sonia's talent introduction.
Insight (A). The caster has a certain probability of uncovering secrets and analyzing the mysteries and origins of the world. This talent can be further grown.
Mirror (A). The caster has extremely high resistance to negative mental effects such as charm, confusion, and fear, and has a certain chance of receiving one or more benefits such as high-speed chanting, double casting, and guaranteed success during the spell chanting process.
Effect.
Amidst the exclamations, Principal Tiberion and several senior professors who were sitting high above opened their eyes and looked at Sonia with caution or interest.
"Sonya is very powerful," Galadia secretly told Griffith, "The current principal Tiberion has the gift of insight, which means that Sonia will be promoted to high sequence more quickly.
Immediately afterwards, Galadia also walked up to receive the test.
The elf pinched the edge of the hat with his slender fingers, rubbed his fingers in disgust, and reluctantly put the hat on his head.
The entire hall held its breath. It was not uncommon for elves to come to Homemonworth to study, but in this class there was only one Galadia.
The boys from different branches looked at him infatuatedly. His slim figure, long black hair, and clear eyes gave people an irresistible sense of mystery and temptation. If they were face to face, it would be difficult for them to even raise their heads.
Whispers have already let everyone know that Galadia is the daughter of the Archon of the Elf Kingdom. Her powerful and outstanding talent is one of the blessings given to her by the goddess who controls the stars and the silver moon. She is destined to be different from the beginning.
What could it be? Griffith was also curious.
"It turns out it's you," the talent hat shook the tip of the hat. "You are more awe-inspiring than my father's aura. I'm sorry, I can't overstep."
I dare not mention the talent cap!
There was an uproar in the hall. Galadia grabbed her greasy hat and rubbed it on the table before getting up and returning to her seat.
…
When Minerva's test was about to end, it was finally Griffith's turn to put the talent hat on his head. Based on the previous experiences of several Shutorals, he estimated that his talent should also be related to strengthening defense or attack.
"Strange, very strange," the talent hat seemed confused, "Am I getting confused?
"I should be right, you are one of those terrible little bastards... You shouldn't be... Your talent is...
"Concentration (C+). Increases the caster's mental recovery speed by an additional 15% and reduces the casting cooldown time by 9%."
this……
Griffith felt that he was surrounded by strange eyes. His talent cannot be said to be bad. The speed of mental recovery and spell casting cooldown are very important for extraordinary people in many ways. If a magic configuration or extraordinary ability is just right,
Being stuck on your own mental cooldown and unable to generate it is fatal.
However, the problem is that Griffith cannot cast spells at all! The Spellbreaker Path rarely has extraordinary abilities that can be actively deployed.
Even if a person who has been contaminated by the blood of the army during long-term training and fighting has enough knowledge and spirit, his magic configuration will be washed away by the blood and become a mess. This is why knowledgeable and powerful wizards avoid battlefields and killings.
If not, the dirty work is left to the military.
The freshmen from other colleges have already begun to cheer. Even if they don't know Griffith, they think he is really a funny weirdo.
"Hey, genius, you really deserve to be from Minerva!"
"Easily obtained a talent that we could never even imagine!"
Griffith took off his talent hat and walked to his seat with a normal expression. He didn't really mind the result and didn't quite understand what everyone was uproaring about.
I don’t know you...
Galadia patted the shoulder of the trainee knight who returned to her side and comforted:
"Don't take it too seriously. The improvement of your talent is just the icing on the cake. Moreover, after your abilities are improved, the cooling time of the holy weapon or sealed object may also be affected by your talent, which is also very good!"
Suddenly, the hall became quiet, so quiet that even the ants passing by put down the candy bars they were carrying.
Aaron came to the side of the talent cap.
It's him! Everyone held their breath and stared at this beautiful, quiet boy. The moment he put on his talent hat, Principal Tiberion couldn't help but adjust his sitting posture.
Aaron, the boy who defeated the man, the only bloodline of his family to survive the fatal attack of black magic.
He is as beautiful as a porcelain doll and destined to be different.
What talent will it be?
Just when everyone was curious, the talent hat howled in a heart-piercing voice.
"Gula Banning, labor camp!"
…
The confused talent caps were dragged away for debugging, and the talent test will continue after a while.
The sumptuous dinner seemed to be endless. As we went to the back, Minerva's food became more exquisite and precious, and some students from other colleges even made dissatisfied protests.
Griffith finished the food in front of him, but could not join in the conversation around him. Not only did he not understand the girls' topics, but the allusions that the boys used to use before were also incomprehensible, as if he was listening to another language.
After dinner, he went out for a walk. Griffith packed up some roast lamb and fruit wine, put them in small packages and put them in his pocket. Suddenly, his hand touched something warm and cold.
This is a strange piece of flesh and blood, showing a crystal bright red color, as smooth as gelatin, and exuding an indescribable strong attraction.
Perhaps after the tentacle monster attacked the Flying Leaf and was repelled, Griffith got it when he was hit by the explosion and fell into the sea water. However, from the appearance and feel, it is impossible to imagine that it came from the dead gray skin and
In the giant tentacles that exude a putrid smell.
When staring at this piece of red flesh, Griffith would have the desire to swallow it in one bite. Fortunately, caution and reason stopped him.
Common sense in mysticism told him that this was a piece of flesh and blood essence, something that only very powerful life forms could possess.
The question is, what to do with this thing?
…
After the dinner, Griffith did not go back to the dormitory directly. Instead, he hid two daggers in his boots and patrolled along the deep corridor. He also brought some barbecue and sweet wine that had not been touched at the banquet.
, prepare to find a good place to be alone for a while, and sort out what happened during this period.
Homemonworth is located in the southwest of the Sea of Tranquility. The Flying Leaf sailed through a series of small islands during the day before reaching the bottom of the steep cliffs here. Griffith looked towards the direction of disembarking, vaguely in the darkness.
You can see the rock steps winding upward from the bottom of the cliff.
The disembarkation point is in the southeast of Homemonworth Castle. Slightly to the north is the undulating cliff. On the cliff is the corridor connecting the library, dormitories and classrooms. Below is the blue water. From here, a little further to the west, there is also
To the northwest of the castle is a stream flowing out of the valley, where the school has built a trestle bridge leading to the neighboring town.
There is a large open space between the city wall and the cliff. If any enemies rush out from the Whispering Forest, they can move around the city wall to flatter terrain. This is also the focus of Griffith's inspection.
When fighting in the East, this habit helped Griffith many times to detect the enemy's intentions or find gaps in the encirclement. This is also an important reason why he has continued to patrol strange places before going to bed every night.
To the south of Homemonworth is a large area of dark green Whispering Forest.
Although there is a road that passes through it and reaches the city of Beyelan, the magical energy lost in the ancient era has accumulated in the Whispering Forest for some reason. At the dinner, the professors repeatedly warned that there were innocent souls wandering there, and there were strange mutations everywhere.
Living things, anyone who doesn't want to live can go there.
Griffith climbed up a tower and looked at the south side of the castle. There were continuous city walls and even a towering city gate as the entrance. Immediately after leaving the city gate to the south, there was a large sloping slope that extended to the Whispering Forest.
edge.
The structure of this college is really strange... Griffith walked south along the corridor surrounding Homemonworth.
Cliffs, fjords and rapids surround Homonworth in three directions. The only south side that can be easily accessed is blocked by a vast forest. Between the forest and the city wall is a steep slope. If any enemy attempts to attack from the south,
If he attacks, he will be divided by the forest, and then attack the solid city wall to the south, not to mention that the attack process will also be exposed to the defenders who occupy the absolute commanding heights.
This is a well-chosen fortress! But what is it to protect?
Homemonworth is far away from the main waterway and is not a strategic location on land. To be honest, it is quite difficult to attract an army to attack here.
Griffith gently knocked on the black boulders that built the city wall. This rare boulder is extremely strong. Homemonworth used a large number of boulders to build itself into an extremely strong fortress, which means that there are extremely important things here.
Protect.
"Argos, Voss..."
"Argos."
"Naa..."
A repetitive and vague whisper suddenly came from the silence. The voice was distorted and hoarse, full of indescribable chaotic noises.
Griffith was startled and looked for the place where the sound came from.
The repetitive and monotonous sound gradually faded away, replaced by a clear voice.
"Good evening, young man," a blurry shadow suddenly appeared in Griffith's consciousness, spitting out human words, "If you don't go to bed so late, are you looking for strength? Or are you pursuing love?"
Griffith immediately drew the dagger from his boot.
"who?"
"The psychic node Minos is at your disposal," the shadow said. "Minos collects the source of essence and helps the holder to evolve to a higher level of life form."