So I Became a Witch and Started Doing Daily Quests

Chapter 397 : Transfiguration Trial

John-Jones’s voice echoed like it was coming from a surround-sound system hidden high in the clouds, resounding clearly and sonorously in every corner of the 【Bonsai Secret Realm】, unceasing and inescapable."What a mysterious place."

Normally speaking, within a secret realm located in an alternate dimension, it should have been impossible for anyone outside the realm to pierce through its dimensional barrier and witness what was happening inside.

Yet, from John-Jones’s transmitted voice just now, and the fact that the 【Transfiguration Trial】 was being held as a competitive performance for the audience, it was already clear: every single move of the contestants inside the 【Bonsai Secret Realm】 was being broadcasted to the audience of the 【Glory Arena】.

And the principle behind this was precisely what Janna found most puzzling and curious.

"Bzzz—"

As John-Jones’s voice faded, suddenly, a sound that made one’s skin crawl reverberated from the southeast of the forest.

"What is that!?"

Looking toward the sound, they saw in the southeast of the forest a dark mass, like a sandstorm of black “clouds,” surging rapidly in their direction.

"Bzz—"

The first to react was Kumbu-Thornspike, who always wore a smiling mask and possessed the A-level 【Insect Speech】 talent.

Almost at the very moment he heard the buzzing, a pair of transparent wings like those of a dragonfly sprouted from Kumbu-Thornspike’s back. With an extremely rapid frequency of vibration, he darted toward the northwest of the forest.

"It’s a swarm!"

Because of the 【Anti-Magic Ring】 she wore, Janna could not immediately cast 【Eagle Eye Spell】 to confirm the true nature of the “cloud.”

However, with her A-level 【Nature Affinity】 talent, Janna quickly confirmed by communicating with the surrounding plants that the “cloud” was in fact a swarm made up of countless venomous insects.

Among them were the “Black Aphids” Janna was all too familiar with—bugs specialized in devouring the vitality of plants.

It was precisely the presence of these “Black Aphids” that crushed Janna’s initial thought of transforming into a tree to evade the swarm.

"Flap—flap—"

Her butterfly wings spread wide—Janna, who had the ability to commune with nature, was the second person to react after Kumbu-Thornspike.

Acting decisively, she immediately cast the mana-saving 【Partial Transfiguration】, transformed into her Butterfly Wing Form, and rushed northwest through the forest.

The other contestants, realizing the danger as well, all resorted to the most mana-efficient 【Partial Transfiguration】.

Some sprouted wings, others turned their limbs into beastly legs. Some even transfigured their arms into hard claws like those of a pangolin, burrowing into the earth to escape underground.

"Professor Mage, did you know from the very start that the 【Transfiguration Trial】 was actually taking place inside an illusionary space?"

At this moment, Gawen-Tull sat in the audience, watching the “potted plant-like” rectangular barrier enclosing the forest inside the arena. Within the “bonsai,” the contestants had been shrunk hundreds of times smaller. While feeling a sense of novelty, Gawen-Tull also could not help but find the whole thing absurd.

So the so-called 【Bonsai Secret Realm】 was nothing more than an illusionary space constructed using the runes inscribed upon the walls of the 【Glory Arena】!

"I knew."

On the enormous illusionary screen hanging above the 【Glory Arena】, Janna flapped her butterfly wings frantically, fleeing from the swarm. Seeing this, Lilith-Mage’s lips curved in a mischievous smile.

"The truth is only interesting if she discovers it herself."

The swarm advanced with terrifying speed. Within just ten minutes, several contestants who were slower had already been overtaken and forced to activate their 【Anti-Magic Rings】, withdrawing from the 【Bonsai Secret Realm】.

Among them were those who had transfigured their limbs into beastly legs but still could not outrun the swarm and were forced to retire early.

"No, if this keeps up, with my flying speed, I’ll be caught sooner or later."

Compared to bird-type magical beasts skilled at flight, Janna’s Butterfly Wing Form—modeled after the Thornflower Sprite—was still far slower.

Even though her nature communication ability had allowed her to detect the swarm in advance and escape during the time gap, her slower flight speed meant the distance between her and the trailing contestants was shrinking. The sense of exhaustion pressed down on her.

"I have to find a way to increase my flying speed—"

"Caw—"

Just as Janna was wracking her brain for a countermeasure, a clear bird cry rang out from behind her.

Looking back, she saw a half-human, half-bird figure: a sharp beak for a face, both arms transfigured into azure wings, wind swirling around him. He flapped powerfully, streaking past Janna from overhead.

"It’s Marquell-Storm!"

As one of the hottest contenders for the championship of the 【Andrew-Gamp Transfiguration Trial】, Marquell-Storm left a deep impression on Janna.

With his A-level 【Hurricane Affinity】 talent, Marquell-Storm was not only known in the Elemental Soul Wizard Academy as the “Fury of the Hurricane,” but was also one of the few contestants suspected of already mastering a 【Law Fragment】.

Unlike Louisto-Tulan, ranked second in popularity, who carried a reserved and gentle temperament, Marquell-Storm—with his short azure hair, strong build, and sharply defined features—exuded an aggressive aura.

What impressed Janna most was that very first moment when she entered the underground waiting chamber of the 【Glory Arena】—the unrestrained aggression in Marquell-Storm’s gaze had been so intense that even someone like Janna, accustomed to the attention of the public, felt distinctly uncomfortable.

"Perfect timing!"

The instant Janna saw Marquell-Storm, a plan flashed through her mind—a plan of “borrowing strength.”

"Everchanging Form—"

She chanted the incantation. Just as Marquell-Storm was about to sweep past her, Janna’s body rapidly shrank. In the blink of an eye, she had transfigured into a slender, emerald-green serpent no thicker than a finger, coiling atop a tree branch.

With her serpent body bent like a bow, she unleashed the explosive power of her muscles in a burst, propelling herself like an arrow straight toward Marquell-Storm.

At the very moment she was about to make contact with him, her magic surged once again—her body transfigured into an irregularly jagged grass seed, which clung tightly onto the fabric of Marquell-Storm’s trouser leg.