So I Became a Witch and Started Doing Daily Quests

Chapter 159: Forceful Intervention

"Crack—"

Lightning flashed. Under the joint assault of Reiman and the Blackbone Grove apprentices who had earlier shouted for someone to come out, Hugh Stone, an apprentice of the Guardian faction, gradually began to falter.

In addition to facing the tremendous pressure of a two-on-one battle, the "curse suppression effect" from the Rotfruit Hugh Stone had consumed earlier also began to weaken.

This allowed the negative effects of the various curses on his body to surge once more.

Especially the 【Severe Injury Curse】, which caused the lightning-torn wounds on Hugh Stone's body to continue bleeding, festering, and worsening, further reducing his combat strength.

"Damn it—looks like this time, I’m really going to fall here—"

Upholding White Coral Academy’s fine tradition of "grouping up," Hugh Stone, who held considerable sway among the second years, quickly gathered many familiar apprentices through his excellent communication skills.

Initially, thanks to their large numbers, Hugh Stone and the others moved unimpeded through the secret realm, encountering little danger.

Although there were many disagreements over resource distribution, since their safety was ensured,

the academic credits gained from “secret realm duration” managed to cover most of the resentment.

Even if they couldn't place first, ranking in the top fifty wasn't an issue.

Especially since Hugh Stone, the highest-level apprentice in the group and someone with a certain say in resource allocation, had currently accumulated enough points that, if he could maintain his lead, breaking into the top three was well within reach.

However, unexpectedly, in the final sprint phase, the apprentices of Blackbone Grove and Mist Tower, who had been acting like scattered sand, suddenly joined forces to launch a coordinated assault against White Coral.

Now, with two hours remaining before the assessment ended, being kicked out of the secret realm at this point would mean his entire group would instantly lose one hundred academic credits.

And one hundred credits would create a massive gap.

By the end, not to mention the top five, even the top ten would be out of reach for Hugh Stone.

"If I had known, I would’ve played it safer——"

Feeling his magical power gradually depleting, Hugh Stone’s heart began to sink into despair, and thoughts of retreat started to form.

Suddenly, a cold wind blew through, rustling the bushes.

A thick white mist abruptly surged into the battlefield, enshrouding everyone.

"This is—"

As the fog continued to spread, Hugh Stone’s gaze instinctively turned toward Bell Moonshadow not far away.

As a fellow member of the same club, Hugh Stone naturally knew that the surrounding fog was the effect of Bell Moonshadow’s second talent—【Fog Affinity】.

"Trying to stall with the fog? Unfortunately, it’s too late——"

"Seal your hearing and retreat immediately—"

While Hugh Stone was still stubbornly resisting, a gentle female voice suddenly sounded in his ear.

In an instant, recognizing the owner of the voice, Hugh Stone’s previously distracted pupils abruptly contracted.

"It’s her?"

Meanwhile, just as Reiman was preparing for another round of fierce attacks, Hugh Stone, who had been barely hanging on, suddenly surged with new energy, scooping up a fellow apprentice who had gone into shock from a lightning strike and quickly retreated.

Seeing this, Reiman, though puzzled, wasn’t about to let a nearly-cooked duck escape.

Without hesitation, he leapt in pursuit.

"Gone?"

Gazing into the dense fog with visibility of less than three meters, a sneer appeared on Reiman’s face.

"Do you think you can trap me with a trick like this?"

"La la—la la la—"

Before Reiman could act, a haunting melody with strong hypnotic properties suddenly echoed in everyone's ears.

Immediately following, accompanied by the sound of seeds cracking open, the "Parasitic Spores," laced with a powerful neurotoxin, caused the apprentices of the Black Witch faction under hypnosis to start convulsing uncontrollably.

"Hmph!"

With a disdainful snort, a howling gale swept in from all directions.

Within a few breaths, the thick fog surrounding the apprentices of Blackbone Grove and Mist Tower was completely dispersed.

"How dare you use poison on Mist Tower apprentices? What a joke!"

After a wind-affinity apprentice broke through Bell Moonshadow’s 【Fog Affinity】 technique, several Mist Tower apprentices, now out of paralysis, looked both angry and humiliated.

If not for that bizarre sound-type witchcraft, a mere neurotoxin wouldn’t have even fazed Mist Tower apprentices, who had been exposed to various poisons since childhood.

"Ah—"

Just as everyone resumed searching for the White Coral apprentices, a scream suddenly drew their attention.

They turned to see a Mist Tower apprentice’s arm had been cleanly severed at the root by a nearby Blackbone Grove apprentice.

"You’re crazy! How dare you ambush me?"

The Mist Tower apprentice, his arm severed, was consumed by fury.

Without another word, he swung his wand and summoned several streams of highly corrosive acid poison, attacking the Blackbone Grove apprentice who had cut off his arm.

"What’s going on?"

Watching the two suddenly erupt into combat, Reiman furrowed his brow.

From his perspective, the two Black Witch apprentices who acted first were like a fuse, triggering the entire conflict.

More and more people, as if possessed, began senselessly slaughtering one another.

"A bunch of fools."

Though the scene was bizarre in every way, Reiman, long accustomed to the Black Witch faction’s tendency to kill at the slightest provocation, didn’t rush to join the fray.

Instead, he turned to continue watching the direction in which Hugh Stone had disappeared.

"Found you."

The scene suddenly magnified.

The previously battered "Hugh Stone" appeared abruptly before Reiman.

Although a sense of unease lingered in his subconscious, an uncontrollable impulse overtook Reiman. With bloodshot eyes, he glared at "Hugh Stone" with murderous intent.

"Die!"

Crack—

—

Lightning flashed again.

With another chant from Reiman, a deep purple bolt, several times thicker than before,

blasted from the tip of his wand.

As a scream echoed, a cruel smile curled at Reiman’s lips.

"Finally took one down..."

Three minutes earlier, switching perspective:

With a howling gust of wind, the white fog enveloping everyone quickly dissipated.

As their vision cleared, the apprentices of the Black Witch faction, who had been hypnotized by 【Siren Chanting】 and ambushed by 【Spore Parasitism】, immediately launched an attack on the retreating White Coral apprentices.

However, before they could catch up, a Blackbone Grove apprentice, as if possessed, severed the arm of a nearby Mist Tower apprentice.

The gravely injured Mist Tower apprentice, overcome with rage, immediately engaged the Blackbone Grove apprentice in a vicious duel.

Other Black Witch apprentices, recognizing that the instigating Blackbone Grove apprentice had fallen under Mental Control Witchcraft, merely watched coldly without intervening.

What no one expected, however, was a deep purple lightning bolt suddenly firing from the tip of Reiman’s wand without warning.

With a tragic scream, a Mist Tower apprentice standing in front of Reiman was instantly killed by the sneak attack.