So I Became a Witch and Started Doing Daily Quests

Chapter 400 : Tree Form

It was just a pity that because he could not use magic power, Matthew-Grayrock, who was hiding underground, was unable to use 【Mental Perception】-type witchcraft to investigate the source of the roots. At the same time, he also had no way to go after the one who had destroyed the tunnel—"Kaka一一"

As the tree roots continued to burrow downward, the trunk above ground also grew rapidly. Before long, a giant dawn redwood about thirty-five meters tall, with gray-brown bark, a broad rounded crown, and feathery, flattened leaves covered with fine hair, suddenly appeared in the middle of the valley.

"A—·tree？"

Looking at the massive tree that had suddenly risen from flat ground, for a moment, everyone’s gaze instinctively turned toward Janna-Roland.

Compared to turning into an owl and leading other contestants who had likewise transformed into bird-type magical beasts to search for weak points in Storm Valley’s hurricane, Louisto-Tulan’s approach, Janna’s transformation into a towering tree seemed more like a "reckless" act of confronting the hurricane head-on.

What’s more, the hurricane in Storm Valley was no ordinary one. It was being controlled by Marquell-Storm, capable of delivering targeted attacks. Sure enough, the moment he saw Janna transform into a tree, Marquell-Storm’s first reaction was complete disdain.

Immediately, Marquell-Storm manipulated the surrounding hurricane, sending it raging directly at the "obnoxious" tree, with not a shred of pity.

"Hm？"

The gale howled. As Marquell-Storm watched Janna’s tree form being completely engulfed by the storm, he could not help but frown.

Contrary to his expectations, the strange tree formed by Janna’s transformation was not only unbroken but was standing even more firmly, rooting itself deeply into the ground.

"Wuu-wuu一一"

Seeing the unmoved strange tree, Marquell-Storm, having wasted much time, grew impatient. He immediately increased the hurricane’s force, without holding back.

"Kaka一—"

As the storm grew stronger, the branches of the dawn redwood Janna had turned into began to show signs of slight cracking.

However, with roots nearly thirty meters deep and a thick, sturdy trunk, Janna, in her tree form, was not moved in the slightest, directly withstanding Marquell-Storm’s cunning assaults from all angles.

"Against a hurricane of this level, an ordinary tree would’ve long been blown down. But why is the tree Janna turned into completely unaffected？"

A few minutes earlier, when Gawen-Tull learned that the second stage of the 【Transfiguration Trial】 required all contestants to face the destructive hurricane environment together, her heart had clenched tightly for Janna once again.

In fact, not only this time—when Gawen-Tull had seen that the first stage of the 【Transfiguration Trial】 required contestants to break through the encirclement of a swarm of insects purely by ability, she had already begun worrying for Janna.

After all, in these past days, through spending time together, Gawen-Tull had come to clearly understand not only Janna’s extraordinary transfiguration talent but also the specific direction of her strengths.

Janna was most skilled, without a doubt, at transforming into various plant-type lifeforms. Aside from that, the rest were only of average level.

Especially in the field of flight, since among plant-type beings, very few possessed flying ability. Even the Thornflower Sprite, with its butterfly wings, could only be considered agile—its flight speed could hardly be called fast.

So, when Gawen-Tull saw Janna competing against a group of contestants skilled at turning into bird-type magical beasts, her first reaction was—

to not hold much hope.

But fortunately, thanks to Janna’s quick thinking, she cleverly managed to hitch a "free ride". Not only did she conserve most of her magic power, but she also became the very first contestant to arrive at the Meditation Array.

This result, without a doubt, allowed Gawen-Tull, who had been tense all along, to finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Yet when she learned that the second stage of the 【Transfiguration Trial】 was to be held in a valley filled with hurricanes and wind-element disasters,

the heart she had just managed to put down rose up once again.

As an onlooker outside, Gawen-Tull could not personally experience the hurricane’s harshness, but her first thought had been the same as Louisto-Tulan’s—that the correct approach was to transform into a flying magical beast and break through the storm in one go, reaching a hurricane-free zone to take shelter.

But what Gawen-Tull had not expected was that Marquell-Storm, with his A-rank 【Hurricane Affinity】, would deliberately act against them, controlling the storm to completely seal the valley.

Faced with this outrageous situation, John-Jones, as the host, did not declare a violation, but instead explained that Marquell-Storm’s actions were a contestant’s legitimate use of the environment, in line with the 【Transfiguration Trial】 rules.

At that moment, Gawen-Tull’s feelings were both furious and helpless, like the mountain ranges surrounding the Elemental Soul Wizard Academy—rising and falling without pause.

Until, when she saw Janna transform into a strange tree, her heart leapt straight into her throat——··

"She really endured it！"

Watching the tree still standing firm under the storm’s unrelenting impact, Gawen-Tull’s emotions shifted from tense,

to shock, to now an inexplicable excitement.

"Professor Mage, do you know what kind of tree Janna turned into?"

Unable to hold back her curiosity any longer, Gawen-Tull asked Lilith-Mage, who was beside her, while staring at the screen showing the proud tree still standing tall.

"It is a dawn redwood."

"A dawn redwood？"

Hearing of a tree species she had never encountered before, Gawen-Tull’s eyes flickered with puzzlement.

"It generally grows in the Eastern Continent. It’s considered a relatively wind-resistant species."

Relatively... wind-resistant?

Hearing Lilith-Mage’s explanation, Gawen-Tull’s mouth twitched.

Wind-resistant? More than that!

Up until now, the dawn redwood Janna had become was like a stone rising from the earth—no matter how the hurricane howled,

it had not been shaken in the slightest——

And compared to Gawen-Tull’s disbelief, Lilith-Mage, sitting beside her, was much calmer.

After all, no one knew better than Lilith-Mage just how rigorous Janna’s training had been these past few days.

Leaving aside the hurricane environment of 【Storm Valley】, even against a tornado, Janna’s dawn redwood form could easily hold out for half an hour.

"Wuu-wuu一—"

The violent hurricane continued to rage wildly through the valley. At its center, Marquell-Storm stared at the strange tree unaffected not far away. Finally, his patience snapped.

"Janna-Roland—"