Playing Dirty

Du Pont glanced at Charles. The chubby boy frowned first, then took a deep breath and swaggered to the center. "Haha, why aren't you saying anything? Didn't you say the School of Evocation was full of rich young masters? Why did adding a little stake make you chicken out? Hey, if you don't have the guts, don't bark all day and go looking for trouble. Anyone who didn't know better would think we were all Barbarians from the Northlands!"

Hearing Charles's words, quite a few apprentices joined in the jeering. Conner's expression turned somewhat ugly, but reason told him that risking 600 gold over something so trivial really wasn't worth it.

What if they had some kind of trump card?

He exchanged a look with Bran, and they quickly reached an agreement. Bran stepped forward and retorted, "Heh, a pair of worn-out shoes is worth 600 gold? Even brand-new ones might not sell for that price. Just keep playing the coward."

Bran was about to continue refusing when he heard Mount's message. "Wait, Bran. Why do you think they're willing to put up those shoes?"

"Huh?" Bran had not quite caught on. "You mean?"

"They aren't trying to provoke us. They're bluffing, and their goal is to make us too scared to accept!" Mount replied quickly. "Pete may be an idiot, but he's incredibly strong. Even graduates might not stand a chance against him in a brawl. They're clearly trying to use those shoes to scare us, then advance to retreat and achieve their goal while earning a good reputation. And if we don't even dare to bet with Pete, our ultimate weapon, wouldn't that prove we're both cowardly and poor? How are we supposed to get by in the academy after that?"

"That's right!" Bran immediately found the argument convincing. After discussing it with Conner, the vice president suddenly realized as well. "So he doesn't have any trump card at all. He's just using his capital to extort us, hoping we'll forfeit on our own?"

"Exactly. It's like playing cards. If we fold, they win, while we lose both our reputation and our momentum. Then you, the student council's vice president, can forget about becoming president—"

"Hehe, even if you only brought out a pair of secondhand trash shoes, we accept!" Having seen through it all, Conner stepped forward himself instead of letting Bran take the stage. He took out a silver ring. "The Ring of Darkvision. The wearer can grant themselves or someone else sixty meters of Darkvision for eight hours every day. Even without casting a spell, it provides low-light vision by default. It's definitely worth more than your boots."

As Conner spoke, he raised the plain-looking silver ring. Yet anyone with sufficient arcane knowledge could see the flow of magic contained within it, leaving many surprised by his wealth.

In terms of practicality alone, this ring was far more valuable than those Boots of Silent Steps. Although the elven boots also enhanced stealth, automatic low-light vision and eight hours of Darkvision were useful in daily life as well. They were much more useful than the shoes.

Upon hearing Conner's words, Du Pont and Charles were clearly getting anxious. After awkwardly exchanging looks for several seconds, they finally said, "We'll add an ancient Nesser coin worth 100 gold!"

"Me too. I'm putting up another 100 gold!" Charles sneered after speaking. "I'd advise you to stop while you can. Don't puff yourselves up and end up giving us money. Everyone will call you idiots then. If you back out and apologize now, we'll let today's matter go."

"Make us apologize? Dream on!" Conner had still been somewhat uncertain, but now he was completely convinced that the two transmutation boys were all bark and no bite. He immediately overturned his money pouch. "Isn't it just 200 gold? Pocket money. We're in!"

Once Conner accepted, the atmosphere among the apprentices immediately grew lively. Many who loved watching trouble began cheering, while others directly started taking sides.

For a time, there were actually more people supporting Du Pont's side.

Although many people did not know Charles, Du Pont the big mule was notoriously hated among the third-years and freshmen alike. Quite a few people recognized him on sight.

But no matter how annoying Du Pont was, he merely liked showing off his possessions. Conner was even more irritating, throwing his weight around and issuing orders over nothing.

"Beat him up! Beat him up! That damn School of Evocation wants to be the boss? No wonder he's still only a third-level mage in his third year. There's definitely something wrong with his intelligence!" This was the School of Divination.

"Selling Cat's Agility and Bull's Strength scrolls! Levitation Spell and Enlarge Spell at discounted prices! Also, powerful spells from the old system—Ghoul Touch and Magic Weapon—at special prices! Welcome to buy!" This was the School of Transmutation.

"Blur Spell and Mirror Image on limited-time sale! Color Spray and Invisibility Spell have outstanding effects! All spells cast now cost only half the price of scrolls!" This was the School of Illusion.

"Summon Monster means you don't have to lift a finger! Acid Arrow can disfigure your opponent! Web Spell keeps him from running away! Trust us, the School of Conjuration is the best choice!"

Seeing the commotion grow increasingly lively, the instructor raised a hand and cast a silence barrier along with Silence Spell. Once everyone had quieted down, he finally said, "Since this is a combat class, only enhancement and protection spells are allowed. School of Evocation spells and summoning spells are excluded. Scrolls and magic items are completely forbidden. Each spar lasts no more than three minutes. When one person loses, another takes his place. The spar ends if anyone loses consciousness or surrenders. Do you four have any objections?"

The two evocation students hurriedly nodded upon hearing this, while Du Pont and Charles looked ashen but still forced out, "None."

The instructor nodded. Just as he was about to speak, Charles jumped out and pointed at Slim Monkey. "I want to fight him first!"

Mount's expression darkened at once. He was about to refuse when the instructor nodded. "Since you issued the challenge, the challenged party naturally has the right to set conditions in this regard. Ten seconds from now, it begins."

Since the instructor had spoken, Slim Monkey could not object even if he was dissatisfied.

Some apprentices even dared to skip combat class, but Esso, the instructor teaching it, was a genuine high-level Battlemage. Rumor had it that his actual combat ability surpassed even some high-level mentors qualified to take apprentices. He simply did not accept apprentices for personal reasons, and occasionally went out on missions, disappearing from sight. He was one of the capable figures of the new generation.

He and Conner's group had some prestige among the apprentices, but in this master's eyes, they were truly worth nothing.

If anyone wanted to approach this master to negotiate terms, only the families behind Conner or Bran might be capable of it. Even they themselves lacked that ability, much less Slim Monkey.

Still, seeing Charles's cautious, pudgy face, Slim Monkey walked to the center and cast Mage Armor on himself.

Du Pont was tall with long legs, so Slim Monkey might not be able to beat him. But this fat guy surely had low agility. If he could not beat Du Pont, could he not beat this dead fatso?

Charles on the other side had also finished casting Mage Armor, but then cast Bear's Endurance as well. At the command, he immediately charged.

The transmutation curriculum mainly taught Fox's Cunning, which increased intelligence by 4 for one hour. But under the new spell system, this spell could easily be converted to enhance other attributes, making it unnecessary to learn similar spells such as Bear's Endurance.

Slim Monkey panicked the moment he saw that stance.

As School of Evocation mages, their essential second-circle spells were generally Scorching Ray and Cloud of Daggers. Fox's Cunning ranked far behind those two practical offensive spells. If they intended to become adventurers after graduation, it ranked even behind Blindness Spell, Invisibility Spell, Web Spell, Invisibility Spell, and Misty Step. Where would they find time to learn this enhancement spell?

Although learning Fox's Cunning could effectively improve an apprentice's learning ability, the spell lasted only one hour at most. A third-level apprentice only had two second-circle spell slots. How much progress could two hours total possibly bring?

A fifth-level mage could graduate directly without continuing further studies at the academy. Having two third-circle spells and four second-circle spells counted as completing one's training. Popular schools like the School of Evocation had no spare time to study other functional magic.

If a team truly needed a support-oriented mage, either the School of Conjuration or the School of Abjuration would be better than the School of Evocation. Why would they seek out spell artillery like them?

Mount turned and ran.