Wizard: Start with Biological Transformation to Grind Experience
Chapter 202 - 016: Gathering and Pursuit

Chapter 202: 016: Gathering and Pursuit

Half a month later, Fiery Flame Tree Valley.

"Boom!"

A massive meteorite, several meters in diameter, descended from the sky and struck the center of the clearing, landing directly on a Fiery Flame Tree.

The protective flame shell of the Fiery Flame Tree was no match for the pure Earth Element composition of the meteorite, which easily broke through and heavily smashed into the core. The core, already covered in cracks from previous battles, shattered instantly.

"Woo-hoo~"

The Fiery Flame Tree let out a mournful cry before collapsing heavily to one side.

Its massive body, spanning over ten meters, quickly burned into sparks that dissipated in the wind, leaving behind only scorched earth and over a dozen shimmering Blood Crystals atop it.

Lynch stepped forward and picked them up, one by one.

[Blood Crystal +13]

Current Blood Crystals: 1028.

After more than half a month of relentless collection, Lynch’s Blood Crystal count had reached 1,028 pieces, a number that was... utterly unremarkable on this Blood-colored Battlefield...

Hmm...

Lynch was puzzled. He had been tirelessly collecting day and night and believed his collection efficiency was quite high. Most of the monsters he encountered were killed in an instant. Yet, even with this, he still couldn’t compete with others.

The other apprentices on the battlefield seemed to be operating on another level. The numbers displayed on the map showed that hitting the thousand mark was extremely common; there were even many in the thousands, and some apprentices at the top had collected tens of thousands of Blood Crystals—it was like they were cheating.

"It must be teamwork."

Lynch speculated that such efficient growth in Blood Crystals was unlikely for lone wolves like him; most likely, teams were formed to act collectively, pooling their collected Blood Crystals onto one person.

The highest numbers on the map seemed to support this theory.

The largest number on the map was over thirty thousand. The position was near the castle and showed no sign of movement, yet the number kept climbing continuously.

Evidently, a team had been organized there. Some team members were stationed in the castle to guard the Blood Crystals while others went out to collect them, later gathering their spoils into one central stash.

"There’s also plundering."

The map often showed numbers that were moving around, only to suddenly merge as one absorbed another, forming a larger number. Clearly, as time progressed, some hidden players were beginning to take action.

Exerting oneself to actively collect Blood Crystals was always the most tedious approach. Lying in wait to ambush someone and reap the rewards—wasn’t that a better deal?

Even Lynch encountered multiple ambush attempts while collecting. He had noticed a clear correlation: as his personal Blood Crystal count grew, the frequency of ambushes against him increased dramatically. Within the past two days, he’d faced three separate attacks.

These reckless and insatiable individuals were nothing but trouble for the world. Lynch decided to leave them here to nourish the earth.

"A hundred thousand Blood Crystals... that’ll take forever."

Lynch’s primary goal in collecting Blood Crystals was to exchange them for the Golden Key to the Shadow Tower.

He had previously researched the pathways to obtaining a Golden Key, learning that it was exceedingly difficult—especially for apprentices like him who were considered "Muggles." Even after advancing to Wizard, earning access remained nearly impossible.

He had initially planned to give up, but since the Blood Moon Battlefield began, he discovered that Golden Key access could be exchanged here.

The price, however, was steep—100,000 Blood-colored Crystals, making it one of the most expensive exchange items available.

"Miscellaneous stuff."

The lower right corner of the map featured an emblem, and pressing it revealed a detailed list of items available for exchange on the battlefield—an overwhelming and bizarre assortment of goods, seemingly endless.

From High-level knowledge, advancement potions for Wizards, and various rare materials to Witchcraft tools, Magic Wands, and even peculiar items such as potions to extend one’s lifespan. Some offered scandalous exchanges, like spending a night with a Witch or acquiring a female apprentice as a slave...

Essentially, anything that existed within the Ancient Ruins was up for trade here.

"Good stuff..."

Among the list, he saw many rare resources unavailable or unaffordable on the market, such as the thorny-back dragon bloodline, which ranked higher than the Earth Dragon Bloodline. If he could secure that, Parker could progress even further.

Additionally, there were numerous potions, alchemy materials, high-level magic knowledge, and more—the sheer amount of desirable items was staggering.

"I really need to gather more Blood Crystals."

"It’s time to switch locations."

As time passed, the number of apprentices venturing outside the safe zones for collection was gradually increasing. In the more obvious, easily accessible areas for gathering, the map displayed clusters of densely packed numbers—all apprentices.

Over the past few days, Lynch had noticed a significant decline in collection efficiency. More than once, he had identified a target only for another apprentice to beat him to it before he could reach it.

Now, the areas where Blood Crystals were heavily concentrated on the map were mostly in medium-danger or even high-danger zones.

The map roughly categorized the zones into safe, low-danger, medium-danger, and high-danger areas. Most apprentices were still active in low-danger zones; few had begun exploring medium or high-danger zones.

"Let’s check out those places first."

Collecting Blood Crystals was challenging for everyone; working hard all day might only yield one or two pieces. Lynch wasn’t keen on targeting hardworking fellow apprentices—no matter how tempting it was, he preferred to figure out another way.

"Just ruins... I’ll start here, then."

After scanning the map quickly, Lynch pinpointed a medium-to-high danger zone and tidied up his Blood Crystal stash before heading in that direction.

At the same time, several kilometers to the east in a forest, a group of apprentices was rapidly approaching Lynch.

"The fat sheep is on the move!"

"We need to pick up the pace; we can’t let him escape!"

"He won’t get away! But we definitely need to speed up; otherwise, someone else might beat us to it. A thousand Crystals on that fat sheep—obviously we’re not the only ones eyeing him."

This apprentice was absolutely right.

From the northeast, the north, and more directions, multiple groups of apprentices were racing toward Lynch’s position.

"A thousand Blood Crystals!"

"Tsk tsk! A lone fat sheep like this still exists?"

"If we snatch him, we’ll strike it rich!"

"Hurry, pick up the pace! We have to beat the others to it!"

Every apprentice’s face glimmered with excitement and fervor.