Chapter 157: Insect Swarm Proliferation

At Ceres Academy, a full academic year is calculated from Frostgold Month of one year to Frostgold Month of the next.

Credits earned beyond this period are counted toward the next academic year.

This also coincides exactly with the academy's enrollment period.

However, some "magic scions" are sent into the academy before enrollment even begins.

But there is no claim that their academic year is longer than that of freshmen who enter through examinations.

A magic academy with a tradition spanning millennia would not harbor such a basic flaw.

For these early-entrance "freshmen," the academy calculates their first academic year from the date they enter.

For example, Gao De entered Ceres Academy on Darknight Month 2.

His first academic year is therefore from Darknight Month 2 of this year to Darknight Month 2 of next year.

Then, after a one-month gap, his second academic year follows the standard schedule: from Frostgold Month to Frostgold Month of the following year.

Of course, these "magic scions" have no interest in the modest rewards of the credit leaderboard.

Yet "credits" serve many purposes within the academy, and even "magic scions" must strive to earn as many as possible—this is undeniable.

Upon learning of the freshman credit leaderboard and its corresponding massive reward, Gao De was instantly tempted.

One hundred gold coins would suffice to purchase a dozen zero-level spell formulas.

He naturally intended to compete for this reward.

In fact, in previous years, Gao De had a good chance.

Because he broke Dean Gavin's record during the entrance task, he received a full five credits as a reward.

Combined with his mage rank settlement, even before taking a single course, Gao De already had ten credits—far ahead of other freshmen.

The problem is, this year is different.

This year's freshman cohort produced a "monster" who became a first-rank mage at age fourteen—Yu Lan.

A fourteen-year-old first-rank mage earns credits from mage rank assessment: first-rank apprentice one credit, second-rank apprentice two credits, third-rank apprentice three credits, first-rank mage initial stage five credits.

That's eleven credits already, surpassing Gao De's ten.

Additionally, if a student ascends to first-rank mage before age twenty, they receive three bonus credits, with an extra one credit for each year earlier.

Yu Lan is fourteen, so he earns 3 + 6 = 9 bonus credits.

That means, upon enrollment, he immediately gains twenty credits.

Add two more credits from the entrance task, and he starts with twenty-two credits!

Gao De, who had always "dominated" academically, felt unprecedented pressure in academics for the first time.

He has enrolled in eight courses; if he completes and passes them all, he will earn thirteen credits, bringing his total to twenty-three—barely surpassing Yu Lan's twenty-two.

The issue is, Yu Lan won't skip any courses this year, so his credits will keep rising. Gao De, deep down, possesses resilience.

Under these circumstances, most people would realize first place is unlikely and shift their goal to second.

After all, the difference in reward between first and second is only twenty gold coins.

But Gao De, precisely because it seemed "unlikely," had his determination ignited.

He set no goal of "securing second, chasing first"—his goal was "first."

His strategy: enroll in as many courses as possible, and meet certain academy benchmarks to earn bonus credits.

On Frostgold Month 20, his supply of the Infinite Fruit Drink was finally exhausted.

On Frostgold Month 27, his previous purchase of first-tier training room time was nearly gone; Gao De had to spend ten gold coins to buy another forty hours.

On this same day, another event occurred.

Xiao Er's estimated forty-five-day incubation period for 269 poison insect eggs ended today—the thirty-fourth day after accepting the task—with only three eggs still unhatched.

As an academy mentor, Xiao Er did not haggle over the few remaining eggs; he settled Gao De's payment early.

"269 insect eggs; 266 have hatched."

"After you filtered out the defective specimens, 79 fire-marked ant larvae, 54 Ma scorpion larvae, and 29 illusion-thorn centipede larvae remain—167 qualified poison insect larvae total."

After inspecting the larvae in the incubation chamber, Mentor Xiao Er nodded in satisfaction and handed Gao De five Saint Xi En gold coins.

"As for the task reward, you must collect it yourself at the Logistics Department—I'll notify them you've completed the task."

Gao De accepted the five gold coins, nodded thanks, and withdrew the cultivation chamber's secret key from his robe, returning it to Xiao Er.

Finishing the task eleven days ahead of schedule and receiving five extra gold coins, Gao De left the cultivation chamber in high spirits. The academy's upper echelons might be good or bad, but most mentors were decent.

Gao De hurried to the Logistics Department's task hall to settle his task.

Xiao Er had indeed confirmed his completion, as promised.

After scanning his identity plaque, the staff handed Gao De the task reward: a rare zero-level spell formula—【Insect Swarm Proliferation】.

He tucked away the spell formula and did not rush back to construct the spell model; instead, he browsed the task bulletin board.

Since the 【Poison Insect Breeding】 task was complete, Gao De planned to find another suitable task to take on.

He was short on money. Even in a supernatural world, one must work hard to earn a living.

Most academy tasks either require a mage rank or specific knowledge, meaning you must complete certain courses before qualifying.

So despite the long list of tasks on the board, Gao De, still in the "starting from nothing" phase, found it difficult to find a suitable and attainable task.

But today, Gao De was lucky: after scanning the board for only a few moments, the bulletin suddenly flickered.

The next instant, a new task appeared at the top of the board—indicating an official academy-issued task.

【Mountain Patrol】: A pet magic array malfunction caused numerous red-eyed sparrows to escape into the academy's back mountain. Assist the academy in patrolling, driving off, and hunting these red-eyed sparrows to prevent ecological disruption.

Reward is calculated by number of red-eyed sparrows killed: one gold coin per kill. (Red-eyed sparrow eyeballs serve as proof.)

No mage rank requirement; this is a long-term task with no limit on number of applicants or deadline.

Note: Do not harvest any plants in the back mountain except red-eyed sparrows. Violators will be punished.

Red-eyed sparrow: zero-level earth-pulse creature, bred in pet magic for aerial reconnaissance; highly alert, skilled at concealment, weak in attack.

The entire Ceres Mountain range, including the back mountain and the waters beneath Kuli Cliff, belong to the academy.

Students are forbidden from approaching without permission, let alone privately harvesting its resources.

For example, the Maid Clams in the waters beneath Kuli Cliff are like fish raised in a pond.

Entering the water to harvest clams without permission is theft of academy property.

Even if permitted—such as during the entrance task—the harvested clams must be surrendered, equivalent to earning credits through labor.

Otherwise, Gao De would have long made a living from them—why would he now be struggling for money?

As he pondered, Gao De reached the task counter, submitted his identity plaque, and applied to accept the 【Mountain Patrol】 task.

Why not accept it? A task with no restrictions—even if he didn't intend to complete it—was worth taking, since there was no penalty.

Moreover, red-eyed sparrows are earth-pulse creatures; completing the task grants not only gold coins but also primordial essence.

The staff recorded the details and handed Gao De a permit to enter the back mountain, a map of the restricted zones, and a portrait of the red-eyed sparrow to avoid misidentification.

They also provided supplementary data: preferred habitats of red-eyed sparrows, common concealment methods, etc.

"Most of these restricted zones are alchemy herb gardens, protected by wards or magic arrays—try to avoid them entirely."

The staff pointed to the marked restricted zones on the map and warned Gao De.

Gao De nodded, indicating he understood, then turned and left.

Back in Building 30, Zone One, Gao De immediately pulled out the newly acquired rare spell formula: 【Insect Swarm Proliferation】 (Evocation, zero-level):

You cause mites, fleas, mosquitoes, and other insects to temporarily appear on a living creature within range (30 feet) and within your line of sight.

The target, depending on its physical strength, suffers minor toxin damage and experiences negative effects such as itching and paralysis.

After reading the spell description, Gao De instantly understood why it was a rare spell formula.

As the task hall staff had noted, the spell's damage is unremarkable.

The negative effects—itching, paralysis—are not particularly lethal in combat.

The attack method, though novel, is otherwise ordinary.

But…

This spell is a "targeted skill"! It has no casting trajectory; as long as the target is within range, it activates instantly upon them.

Effectively granting two bonus effects: "100% hit rate" and "instant activation."

The title "rare spell" is fully deserved.

The truth proves:

Ordinary spells aren't necessarily weak—but rare spells are rare precisely because they have standout qualities.

(End of Chapter)