Chapter 398 Deformation Trial
John Jones's voice, like it was coming from a surround sound system hidden in the clouds, echoed clearly and loudly throughout every corner of the Bonsai Secret Realm, lingering endlessly.
"What a magical place."
Normally, for a secret realm in an extradimensional space, people in another space would be unable to penetrate the spatial barrier and observe the scene within the secret realm, except for those directly inside it.
However, judging from the voice transmitted by John Jones just now, and the competition format where the Deformation Trial could be watched by the audience as a performance, it was clear that every move of all participants currently in the Bonsai Secret Realm could be seen by the audience in the Glory Arena.
And the principle behind this was what Jia Na found most curious and perplexing at the moment.
"Buzz—"
As John Jones's voice faded, a humming sound, so loud it made one's skin crawl, suddenly echoed from the southeast of the forest.
"What is that!?
"
Looking in the direction of the sound, a black, oppressive "dark cloud" resembling a sandstorm was seen approaching the group from the southeast of the forest.
"Buzz—"
The first to react was Kunbu-Poison Spine, who always wore a smiling mask and possessed an A-grade Insect Whisper talent.
Almost at the instant he heard the buzzing, a pair of transparent wings, like those of a dragonfly, grew from Kunbu-Poison Spine's back, and with an extremely rapid vibration frequency, he flew towards the northwest of the forest, shouting, "It's a swarm of insects!"
Due to wearing the Magic-Banning Ring, Jia Na could not immediately cast Eagle Eye Technique to ascertain the true nature of the "dark cloud."
However, Jia Na, possessing an A-grade Natural Affinity talent, relied on communicating with the surrounding plants and immediately confirmed that the "dark cloud" was actually a swarm composed of tens of thousands of poisonous insects.
Among them were the Disease Rot Aphids, which Jia Na was extremely familiar with, a type of insect that specifically devoured the vitality of plants.
It was precisely the presence of the Disease Rot Aphids that directly dispelled Jia Na's idea of transforming into a tree to avoid the insect attack.
"Flap, flap—"
With her butterfly wings spread, Jia Na, who possessed the ability to communicate with nature, was almost the second person to react after Kunbu-Poison Spine.
Therefore, she made a decisive move, directly casting the relatively magic-saving Partial Transfiguration, transforming into a butterfly-winged form and rapidly flying towards the northwest of the forest.
Similarly, other participants who also sensed the danger quickly cast their most magic-saving Partial Transfiguration.
Some grew wings on their backs, others transformed their limbs into beast feet, and some even transformed their hands into hard, sharp claws like a pangolin's, burrowing into the mud to take an underground route.
"Professor McGonagall, did you know from the very beginning that the Transformation Trial assessment was conducted within an illusionary space?"
At this moment, Gavin-Tuer, sitting in the audience, looked at the "vast forest" within the arena, confined like a "bonsai" within a rectangular barrier, and the hundreds of times smaller participants inside the "bonsai." While Gavin-Tuer found it novel, he also felt an indescribable sense of absurdity.
It turned out that the so-called Bonsai Secret Realm was merely an illusionary space constructed using the magic patterns on the walls of the Glory Arena!
"I knew."
Watching Jia Na constantly flapping her butterfly wings and nervously dodging the insect swarm on the huge illusionary screen above the Glory Arena, Lilith-Meg's face couldn't help but show a hint of mischievous satisfaction.
"Only the truth she discovers herself is the most interesting."
The insect swarm moved extremely fast; in just over ten minutes, several slower participants had already been caught by the swarm and were forced to activate their Magic-Banning Rings, leaving the Bonsai Secret Realm.
Among them were participants who had transformed their limbs into beast feet but had to withdraw early because their running speed could not keep up with the insect swarm's flying speed.
"No, if this continues, my flying speed will eventually be caught by the insect swarm behind me."
Compared to flying magical beasts, Jia Na's butterfly-winged form, simulated from a Thorn Flower Fairy, was much slower in terms of flying speed.
Even though Jia Na had discovered the insect swarm in advance through her natural communication ability and escaped by utilizing the time difference.
However, the disadvantage in flying speed also caused the distance between Jia Na and the participants behind her to continuously shorten, making her feel a sense of exhaustion.
"I need to find a way to increase my flying speed—"
"Chirp—"
Just as Jia Na was still contemplating a solution, a crisp bird's cry suddenly sounded from behind her.
Looking back, she saw a half-human, half-bird figure with a bird's beak on its face, arms transformed into green wings, and accompanied by strong winds, flapping its wings and quickly sweeping past above Jia Na's head.
"It's Maguire-Storm!"
As a hot favorite to win the Andrew-Gump Transformation Trial, Jia Na had a very deep impression of Maguire-Storm.
Maguire-Storm, possessing an A-grade Hurricane Affinity talent, not only held the title of "Hurricane's Wrath" at the Element Soul Wizards Academy but was also one of the few Wizard Apprentices in the participant roster who seemed to have mastered Law Fragment.
Unlike Louis Tor-Turan, who was ranked second in popularity and had a relatively reserved and gentle demeanor, Maguire-Storm, with his short green hair, strong physique, and clear, distinct features, had a very aggressive aura.
What left the deepest impression on Jia Na was the undisguised aggressiveness in Maguire-Storm's eyes when she first entered the underground waiting room of the Glory Arena; even a public figure like Jia Na, who was accustomed to being the center of attention, would feel a slight discomfort.
"Perfect timing!"
The moment she saw Maguire-Storm, Jia Na's mind immediately outlined a plan to "borrow strength to strike."
"Ever-changing—"
Chanting a spell, at the moment Maguire-Storm was about to pass over Jia Na's head, Jia Na's body suddenly shrank rapidly. In just the blink of an eye, Jia Na transformed into a slender, emerald-green snake, no thicker than a finger, and landed on the tip of a tree branch.
Immediately after, the emerald-green snake body formed an arc, and relying on the instantaneous explosive power of its body muscles, Jia Na, transformed into a green snake, directly propelled herself towards Maguire-Storm.
And just as Jia Na was about to touch Maguire-Storm's body, magic surged, and Jia Na once again transformed into a grass seed with irregular serrated edges, firmly adhering to Maguire-Storm's pant leg.
