So I Became a Witch and Started Doing Daily Quests

Chapter 398 : Elemental Tides

"Gurgle一一"Because everything happened in the blink of an eye, Marquell-Storm, who had kept his attention fixed on the swarm of insects behind him, did not notice Janna’s series of actions just moments ago.

Of course, Marquell-Storm also failed to realize that, on his trouser leg, a “Grass Seed” with no magical fluctuations and no trace of abnormality had silently appeared.

"There’s actually such a trick?"

At this moment, watching Janna’s sequence of operations on the curved giant screen, Gawen-Tull, seated among the audience, both broke into a sweat for Janna and felt heartfelt admiration for her sudden quick-wittedness.

"Miss Janna’s move was truly wise!"

Sitting right next to Gawen-Tull, Goblin Billy couldn’t help but clap and cheer when he saw Janna’s “high-level maneuver.”

However, unlike Gawen-Tull and Goblin Billy’s optimism, Lilith-Mage, who knew well that 【Elemental Tides】 had not yet begun, still frowned deeply, staring unblinkingly at Janna on the screen.

"Whoosh一wind roared, and under Marquell-Storm’s unparalleled speed of flight, before long, he had already left the other contestants far behind.

"It’s a Meditation Array!"

Still maintaining her Grass Seed form, Janna felt Marquell-Storm’s speed gradually slow down. Then, in the clearing at the center of the forest, she saw a Meditation Array with a radius of about ten meters.

"Plop——"

Just as Marquell-Storm was about to fold his wings and descend, Janna’s form shifted again, directly transforming from her Grass Seed form into an inconspicuous emerald-green butterfly. Seizing the chance, she flew off from Marquell-Storm’s trouser leg to the nearest tree.

"So soon he’s already entering a meditation state?"

Perhaps due to the massive drain on his magic during high-speed flight just now, the very moment Marquell-Storm returned to human form, he sat cross-legged at the center of the array. Without even a minute of delay, he directly entered a shallow meditation state, absorbing the surrounding wind-elemental particles.

Seeing this, Janna, now in butterfly form, beat her wings again and discreetly landed behind a relatively thick tree.

Immediately, her body expanded once more, silently transforming again—this time into an inconspicuous oak tree—

concealing herself within the forest.

"Whoosh—"

As Janna restored her magic in tree form, suddenly, a tearing sound split through the sky above the forest.

Before long, Louisto-Tulan, who had likewise transformed his arms into crimson wings, reverted to human form and landed not far from Marquell-Storm within the Meditation Array.

As the first to arrive, Marquell-Storm merely lifted his eyes slightly when he saw the newcomer was Louisto-Tulan, then continued meditating.

Having expended no small amount of magic himself, Louisto-Tulan also just cast Marquell-Storm a glance before sitting cross-legged within the array to recover his power.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh一—"

As time passed, one after another, contestants began arriving at the Meditation Array. With a rough glance, Janna counted less than forty participants who had finally gathered there.

Compared with the original fifty-five from the 【Transfiguration Trial】, more than a fifth had already been eliminated.

"That’s odd—Kumbu-Thornspike and Hela-Helheim aren’t here in the array."

As the first to sense the incoming swarm, Kumbu-Thornspike might have been overtaken by Marquell-Storm later, but with his speed, it was impossible he hadn’t arrived yet.

After all, unlike Janna’s butterfly form, whose flight speed was relatively slow, Kumbu-Thornspike’s transformation into a dragonfly was reputed to be among the fastest in the insect world.

What’s more, Hela-Helheim, considered one of the top contenders for victory, had also not appeared within the array.

Thus, Janna easily surmised that, just like her own strategy, they were both choosing to remain hidden, waiting for the right moment to act.

"Huff一inhale一—huff一inhale—"

The sound of synchronized breathing echoed throughout the Meditation Array. Because the trial had only just begun, every contestant who had reached the array tacitly sat down to recover their magic, without any intent to fight.

Overall, up until now, relations between participants remained relatively calm.

"Rumble—"

While everyone quietly recovered their power, suddenly, a thunderous roar resounded from the sky.

Immediately, the originally docile magical particles went berserk without warning, breaking into violent turbulence.

"Damn it, I had just started meditating!"

Because of the magic riot, the later arrivals had barely begun recovering their strength when they were forced to withdraw from meditation.

This, without question, made their already depleted condition even worse.

"Rumble—"

The deafening thunder continued above the forest. As it grew louder, the rampaging magical particles converged into a seven-colored torrent that blotted out the sky. In an instant, it swallowed the entire forest.

"So this is the Elemental Tides John-Jones spoke of."

It was as though reality itself was reshaping. The trees consumed by the rainbow torrent twisted and warped, until at last they collapsed entirely.

What was once an endless forest disappeared, replaced by a massive valley ringed by towering mountains.

"Dear audience members, what you are now witnessing is the 【Bonsai Secret Realm】 entering the second stage under the influence of the 【Elemental Tides】—the Storm Valley. This is one of the famed wind-elemental landscapes of the 【Elemental Soul Secret Realm】——"

As John-Jones introduced it, every spectator turned their gaze toward the 【Glory Arena】, where the 【Bonsai Secret Realm】 had been utterly transformed.

A moment ago, it had still been a lush green forest. Now, in the blink of an eye, it had become a deep valley.

For the majority of ordinary spectators who had never experienced much magic, this miraculous change was like a dazzling display of power.

Overwhelmed by the spectacle, many in the audience could not contain their excitement, breaking into animated discussions with those around them.

In no time at all, the once-calm 【Glory Arena】 had become lively and noisy.

"Professor Mage, was that transformation just now also caused by illusion magic———"