However…
Boom!
The explosion rang out.
After releasing the Fireball Spell, Meieruita pressed An Luo’s head down, firmly holding him in his embrace, and calmly watched the bloody carnage unfold before them.
This fireball was even more powerful; the ambusher was blasted into fragments.
No need for a finishing blow.
Ding-ling!
A crisp bell rang, signaling the end of the exam.
“Let’s go.” Meieruita gave An Luo no chance to turn and look, half-pressing him in his arms as they walked some distance before releasing him. “The exam is over. Head to the exit.”
A crowd of Wizard Apprentices gathered at the exit—some from the list, some ordinary; some unscathed, others badly injured.
The crowd vaguely split into two factions. The listed Wizard Apprentices were fewer but carried more momentum, with the joy of surviving calamity. The ordinary ones were more numerous but scattered and disorderly, yielding the way to let those on the list pass first.
Meieruita and An Luo blended in, unremarkable.
“Exam passed.” The Old Treeman’s hoarse voice announced as he returned the inspected Wizard Apprentice Credential to a smug Wizard Apprentice.
A classic scene.
The protagonist, long lurking and blending in, revealed his true strength in crushing fashion to pass the exam. At first, everyone thought Meieruita’s pass was mere luck—until that evening, when heading to the upper floor, he was publicly announced as first place with privileges.
Jaws dropped all around.
Right now, the face-slapping plot was brewing.
Like fine wine, the longer the slap was fermented—with layers of buildup—the more satisfying it would be.
If Meieruita went up now and shocked everyone, it would still be satisfying, but not as much.
Therefore, An Luo had arranged the plot like this:
When leaving the exam venue, the Old Treeman conducted a preliminary screening. There was only pass or fail—no rankings.
At that moment, some cannon fodder who felt confident in their performance began to smugly fantasize about how they would use their privileges after becoming Mid-Level Apprentices.
But the readers, with their god’s-eye view and information advantage, eagerly anticipated Meieruita slapping their faces.
Then, the protagonist Meieruita made his entrance and was announced to have passed the exam as well.
Everyone was shocked.
This was the first layer of satisfaction, fulfilling a bit of the readers’ expectations.
Then came the twist: Meieruita was a new apprentice who had just entered the Wizard Tower not long ago—less than a year in total. So those cannon fodder villains quickly regained their mental balance. They figured Meieruita’s pass was pure luck, like a blind cat stumbling on a dead mouse. He had probably run into some dying fool and succeeded by sheer chance. Essentially, he was still a small fry, not worth worrying about.
The readers, still holding the information advantage, knew Meieruita was undoubtedly the first place. After seeing these cannon fodder villains’ guesses, they grew even more eager for Meieruita to slap their faces again.
Next, some cannon fodder villains who weren’t entirely sure of Meieruita’s strength decided to test him. But Meieruita was busy with his research and ignored them completely. The cannon fodder assumed he was too scared to accept the challenge, so they left behind a “very powerful” curse trap that they claimed “took a long time to set up,” strutting away smugly.
Then, as time ran out, Meieruita temporarily ended his research, packed his items, and pushed open the door.
The cannon fodder’s meticulously prepared trap, which had taken ages to set, was instantly cracked by Meieruita. Not only did it fail to hinder him, but it backfired on the fool who dared to target him.
That unlucky bastard ended up losing more than he gained. He had planned to trap Meieruita until he missed the deadline, forcing him to remain a Junior Apprentice in the Lower Layer. Instead, the backlash knocked him unconscious. By the time he woke up, everything was settled, and it was he who had to stay behind as a Junior Apprentice.
Another small burst of satisfaction.
Immediately after, they arrived at the assembly area. Various psychological activities and remarks followed, all centered on disdain for Meieruita and agreement with a certain cannon fodder villain, stoking the readers’ anticipation.
Rankings were announced one by one, building the readers’ excitement higher and higher. In the end, the smug cannon fodder villain took second place, while the true first place—Meieruita—made his grand finale appearance, claiming all the rewards, privileges, and prestige.
Everyone erupted in shock upon shock upon shock.
But Meieruita wasn’t excited at all; his mindset remained utterly calm.
In an instant, the cannon fodder villain became a clown, overwhelmed by shame, regret, disbelief, and seething hatred toward Meieruita.
Yet Meieruita didn’t even notice him, his mind entirely on his previous research.
Discovering that Meieruita wouldn’t even glance his way only fueled the cannon fodder villain’s rage into impotent fury. He inwardly vowed to make Meieruita pay.
Thus, the satisfaction peaked, wrapping up this round of face-slapping while leaving readers eager to see how Meieruita would deal with this villain next.
If nothing unexpected happened, this plot beat would play out much the same.
——That smug cannon fodder villain had already voiced his fantasies aloud, and An Luo couldn’t pretend not to hear.
There was a clear strength gap between veteran apprentices and ordinary ones.
On top of that, this operation allowed them to band together. The veteran apprentices, with the strongest sense of crisis, quickly formed groups, snowballing into an overwhelming force that crushed the rest.
As a result, nearly all the veteran apprentices passed the exam. So far, not a single ordinary apprentice had.
Finally, one appeared—and he was badly injured, looking on the verge of death. The veteran apprentices didn’t spare him a single glance.
There were many Junior Wizards. Even after some died during the exam, plenty remained. It would be a while before it was An Luo and Meieruita’s turn.
An Luo quietly discussed with Meieruita, “How about we split up for now?”
The face-slapping drama accompanying Meieruita involved real blades and swords. An Luo mainly feared getting caught in the crossfire like a fish in a burning city.
To be safe, he should stay far away.
The crowd pressed in tightly. To avoid getting separated, Meieruita gripped An Luo’s wrist firmly. An Luo gently tugged twice, signaling for Meieruita to let go.
But Meieruita didn’t budge. He lowered his head, his gray-green eyes glancing at An Luo, and let out a short laugh. The laugh was so brief it was unclear if it was just a simple chuckle or laced with cold mockery.
“I have an experiment to conduct.” He bent down, his lips brushing An Luo’s ear. His warm breath tickled, and every now and then, his moving lips grazed An Luo’s earlobe as he spoke: “I want to see just how far your affinity as the Creator has reached.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, An Luo’s heart sank, alarms blaring in his mind.
Damn, Meieruita plans to use me as a shield?!
“I need to know how much these insignificant characters will be affected by you, so I can judge how to adjust my actions going forward.”
An Luo: “…”
I knew it!
He said dryly, “What if they end up hating me and decide to take me out…?”
Meieruita’s voice was calm: “I won’t give them the chance.”
“Don’t worry,” Meieruita said. “I’ll protect you.”
How much goodwill did these insignificant cannon fodder characters hold toward An Luo? Was it enough to make them submit to the Authority of the Creator?
Meieruita hoped the answer was “no,” but he was rational enough to know it was probably “yes.”
Magic Plants and Magic Beasts were easy to deal with—they didn’t speak. Humans were different; they talked and expressed themselves.
Dealing with them was troublesome.
The best solution was to kill them all, but that was unrealistic.
Meieruita didn’t want another John to appear.
An Luo had once lived in a peaceful world. If others kept showing him goodwill, he would eventually reciprocate in kind.
That wasn’t what Meieruita wanted.
Meieruita knew he wasn’t good enough. He was strong, but that was it. He had many flaws. If An Luo had a choice, he certainly wouldn’t approach Meieruita voluntarily—in fact, he’d stay far away.
Meieruita was the protagonist; that was his advantage and his flaw.
The advantage: In An Luo’s heart, he came first.
The flaw: An Luo knew him too well, so he always harbored inescapable wariness.
For many side characters, An Luo had only sketched them briefly—he knew they existed and their basic traits, but only roughly. For instance, An Luo had written about the Man-Eating Flower and Thorn Beast, vaguely understanding their habits, but he couldn’t predict their specific behaviors.
Beyond that, there were countless passersby An Luo had glossed over without detailing. He had zero understanding of them.
Thus, An Luo might be less guarded against them than against Meieruita.
That John—An Luo had only written him offhand, with no emotional attachment. He could casually assign him a tragic end without qualms.
But after meeting the real John and spending time together, An Luo’s attitude changed.
He started caring about John, even reflecting on the hasty fate he’d planned for him.
If he spent more time with John, John’s weight in his heart might gradually surpass Meieruita’s.
After all, John was a purely good person, wasn’t he?
If John was white, then Meieruita was black.
Meieruita wouldn’t let it happen again.
An Luo wanted to stay in the Lower Layer?
That would mean more time with John, building feelings.
Not a chance.
Meieruita would first bring An Luo up to Mid-Level Apprentice, physically separating them. Then, he’d make An Luo realize that while he had the Authority of the Creator, it wasn’t broad enough to stop people from wanting to harm him.
That way, even if An Luo wasn’t fully satisfied with him, he’d have no choice but to stay.
“Mother.” Meieruita chuckled lowly. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”
Yes, I’ll protect you forever and ever and ever.
After all, this world is so dangerous for you.
So, don’t even think about leaving me.
