The apocalypse struck, and I became a druid.

Page 152

Jiang Yuan was covered in sweat, gripping the carving pen tightly, his arm muscles bulging, but the pen tip only left a faint white dot on the snakeskin surface.

His younger sister, Jiang Rui, was even more anxious, her face turning red as she struggled to channel energy with the carving brush.

Many others are in similar situations.

Even if ordinary students exert all their strength, the tip of the carving pen can only shine slightly at most, barely carving out a trace. The rune lines are distorted and scattered, unable to form a complete circuit at all.

The few that were drawn barely managed to form shapes, and their lines were dull and lifeless, devoid of any energy fluctuations.

The assessment is over, and the results are tallied.

Among the Awakened trainees, less than 40% barely passed, and the runes they inscribed had weak effects.

Of the ordinary trainees, less than 10% pass the test.

Seeing everyone's frustrated expressions, Chairman Wu comforted them:

"Don't be discouraged by your poor exam results. We've only learned theory these past two days, and we've only practiced once or twice."

"We are currently feeling our way across the river, so it's normal for this situation to occur."

...

The atmosphere at the summary and analysis meeting was somber.

Chairman Wu frowned deeply:

"The problem is obvious: the essence of the Source Clan's rune system is the precise manipulation of mental power and energy."

"Ordinary people do not have awakened spiritual power, or their spiritual power is very weak, so they cannot guide the energy of the pen tip at all, let alone depict circuits that require extremely high stability and energy perception."

Lin Qianqian added with a serious expression, "Even the simplest circuit requires far more mental focus and energy micro-management than we expected. This knowledge system has a certain threshold."

No one expected to encounter such a significant setback in the very first step.

Han Ning now has a basic understanding of the problems the camp is currently facing.

He thought for a moment and said, "Actually, it's just that ordinary people are too weak, but that's not a big problem."

"The pass rate for awakened individuals is quite good, close to 40%."

"Then, let's first improve the strength of all ordinary people and enhance their mental power."

Chapter 170 Veteran Mentors Newcomer

"Professor Ye, you take your agricultural team and prioritize the jade potato planting area to expand its scale. I'll oversee the mutant plants."

Han Ning said.

Consuming jade-colored potatoes over a long period can rapidly improve the physical condition of ordinary people.

"Understood!" Professor Ye nodded. "If planting is expanded and there is sufficient nutrition, the growth cycle of the jade-colored potato can be compressed to within one week."

Han Ning looked at Chairman Wu and Vice Chairman Zhao:

"Then it's Lao Zhao's turn. You guys organize combat squads. Awakened individuals will take ordinary people with mobility capabilities and go out hunting in small groups."

"Try to find some easy targets to kill, obtain energy or crystals, and prioritize supplying them to ordinary people to quickly strengthen their bodies."

"Strive to significantly improve the fundamental capabilities of the entire team."

Furthermore, with awakened individuals personally leading ordinary people out to hunt monsters and obtain energy, Han Ning believed that the strength of the ordinary people in the settlement would soon increase.

Once the order was given, everyone acted swiftly without hesitation.

President Wu and Lin Qianqian continued to lead the study group. He organized some talented Awakened Ones and studied the subsequent rune knowledge with them.

Both of them have good learning abilities and are awakened individuals with strong mental strength. Their learning progress is among the best of the awakened individuals, making them suitable to temporarily serve as team leaders.

We are all people who have gone through the college entrance examination and studied advanced mathematics.

After all, it's just some basic knowledge of the original races; it can't be too difficult.

Professor Ye and his agricultural team plunged into the planting area, carefully tending to the jade-colored potatoes.

Han Ning only needs to occasionally go over and let the plants grow rapidly.

However, as the number of crops that need to be released increases, Han Ning is considering whether to cultivate a few nature sprites.

It's not that he finds it troublesome, but sometimes he doesn't have time to spare, which affects the speed of plant growth.

Nature sprites also have the ability to accelerate plant growth. They are natural creatures from another world, born among extraordinary plants brimming with vitality.

A good companion of the elves.

Meanwhile, several hunting teams, led by awakened individuals and mixed with relatively strong ordinary people, braved the cold wind and hail to emerge from the caves in search of suitable prey.

This mountain range was still relatively unfamiliar to everyone, so Han Ning planned to have the treasure-hunting bees guide them to hunt monsters.

...

"On the left side of the pile of stones, at the two o'clock position, there's a lone Magic Eye Frog!"

The Demon Eye Frogs are the same group of toads that Han Ning killed last time. Because their eyes have ripples, low-level awakened individuals or ordinary people who are stared at by them will uncontrollably freeze.

Therefore, it was named the Magic Eye Frog.

Through their exploration, they discovered that a large number of these toad monsters lived in the waters surrounding the cave, in the flooded mountain stream.

They are quite powerful, with individual combat strength exceeding that of ordinary black snake monsters, and roughly on par with vortex crabs.

There are few vortex crabs, but there are many magic-eyed frogs.

Xiaoyu's figure moved like a ghost among the rocks on the water's surface, her voice transmitted to the two ordinary team members behind her through simple body movements.

"I see it!" A man in his forties, an ordinary person who had not awakened any abilities, held up a compound bow, his fingers trembling slightly with nervousness.

Since the batch of firearms ammunition captured had all been used up, ordinary people could only use the composite bows they had collected, or some hunting bows, as ranged attack tools.

Another player kept a close eye on the flank.

"Don't panic, hold your breath, and wait for my signal!" Xiaoyu whispered, then suddenly accelerated and nimbly circled around to the side and behind the Demon Eye Frog.

With a flash of cold light, the metal dagger in his hand pierced the relatively vulnerable side of the Demon Eye Frog's neck.

"Hiss!" The magic-eyed frog cried out in pain and sprang up.

"Launch!" Xiaoyu shouted.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Two ordinary people pulled the bowstring almost simultaneously.

Arrows whistled as they were shot out.

Although the accuracy was a little off, the close-range shooting at a stationary target still successfully suppressed the monster frog's counterattack.

Xiaoyu was responsible for controlling the movement of the Demon Eye Frog, while arrows were fired continuously, finally killing the monster.

"Well done!" Xiaoyu shook the black blood off the blade and encouraged him, "Old Zhou, if your aim were a little better, it would be even better. You two come over and absorb the energy, next place!"

Similar scenes kept playing out around the cave.

Awakened individuals with rich combat experience are like veteran players in a game guiding new players, taking charge of controlling the battlefield.

Ordinary people take on the role of suppressing fire and finishing off enemies.

If ordinary people absorb a few waves of energy, their physical condition will be significantly enhanced.

At the same time, it also helps newcomers who are stepping onto the "battlefield" for the first time to relieve their nervousness.

Instead, there is an excitement of participating in the battle and a tangible sense of security from the real increase in physical strength.

With positive feedback, everyone's motivation will be high.

...

The mentoring model has proven highly effective after just a few days.

The jade-colored potatoes are being produced in rapid succession, and the energy-rich tubers are being distributed.

The changes in 30 ordinary people are the most obvious; their complexions have become rosier and healthier, and they have become much stronger.

Even some middle-aged and elderly people in their forties and fifties walked much more briskly.

Physical coordination and reaction speed have improved significantly.

While Lao Zhao and his team were training the new recruits.

The gathering area, inside the newly built classrooms.

Outside, the generator was humming and whirring.

Inside, several high-wattage energy-saving lamps hung in the room, illuminating the otherwise dim space brightly.

President Wu posted a table recording everyone's learning progress and assessment results over the past few days.

The study of the Source Clan's basic crystal energy runes has entered the practical intensive stage, and the differences in talent have begun to emerge due to the requirements for mental strength and energy micro-management.

"Jiang Yuan, Jiang Rui, begin the second assessment."

Chairman Wu called out by name.

This brother and sister pair stood out the most among the ordinary people.

Jiang Yuan's mental energy seems to be naturally more active than that of ordinary people, while Jiang Ruirui is meticulous and has stable control.

The two walked to a piece of snakeskin that had been laid out and picked up a specially made carving pen.

They held their breath and focused intently, guiding the faint flow of energy from the tip of their pens to painstakingly carve on the tough snakeskin.

As Jiang Yuan's pen tip swept across the paper, a crooked but barely functional energy mark slowly lit up. Although the light was dim and intermittent, the structure was basically correct.

Jiang Rui was more stable than her brother, carving simple, clear, straight lines with less sluggish energy flow than the others.

The brother and sister had beads of sweat on their foreheads as they meticulously carved the simplest rune circuits.

After a while.

A faint, shimmering white light emanated from the two black snakeskins.

"it is good!"

Chairman Wu smiled.

"Starting today, you two will be transferred to the 'Rune Research Group One' and will be directly guided by Lin Qianqian to enter the next stage of your studies."

"Each person will be given an extra portion of low-grade crystal powder per day for practice and energy maintenance."