Cheating

Du Pont then glanced at Charles, the chubby kid first frowned, then took a deep breath, and walked to the center putting on airs: "Haha, why so quiet all of a sudden? Didn't you say that the School of Evocation is full of rich guys? Why are you backing down over a little wager? Hey, if you don't have the guts, don't talk. You're always making a racket and starting trouble. People who don't know any better would think we're all Barbarians from the Northlands!"

Hearing Charles's words, many apprentices also jeered. Conner's face turned a little ugly, but his reason told him that betting 600 gold coins over such a trivial matter was really not worth it.

What if they had a trump card?

He exchanged glances with Bran, and they quickly reached a consensus. The latter stepped forward and retorted, "Heh, a pair of worn-out shoes worth 600 gold? Even brand new ones might not sell for that price. Just play dumb."

Bran was about to continue to decline when he heard Mount's message: "Wait, Bran, why do you think they're bringing out these shoes to compare?"

"Huh?" Bran was a little confused. "What do you mean?"

"They're not trying to provoke us, they're bluffing, and their goal is to make us afraid to accept!" Mount quickly replied, "Although Pete is an idiot, he's so strong. Even graduates wouldn't stand a chance against him in a brawl. They're clearly trying to scare us with these shoes, then retreat to achieve their goal and gain a reputation. And if we don't dare to bet when we have Pete, this killing machine, doesn't that mean we're both cowardly and poor? How will we ever survive in the academy after this?"

"That's right!" Bran immediately realized the logic. After discussing it with Conner, the vice president also understood: "So, he doesn't have any trump cards at all, he's just using capital to extort us, trying to make us give up automatically?"

"Exactly, it's like playing cards. If we fold, they win. And if we lose, we lose face and momentum. At that time, your position as vice president of the student council won't be so easy to make permanent..."

"Heh, even though you only brought a pair of used shoes, we accept!" After understanding the situation, Conner took the initiative to step forward, not letting Bran go to the stage. He took out a silver ring: "Ring of Darkvision. The wearer can grant themselves or others 8 hours of 60-meter darkvision every day. Even without casting a spell, they will have dim vision by default. It's definitely worth more than your boots."

As Conner spoke, he held up the simple silver ring. But anyone with enough arcane knowledge could see the magical flow contained within, surprising many people with his wealth.

Purely in terms of practicality, the value of this ring was much greater than that of the silent-walking boots. Although the elven boots also came with an increased stealth effect, this ring could automatically grant dim vision and 8 hours of darkvision, which could be used in daily life, making it much more useful than the shoes.

Hearing Conner's words, Du Pont and Charles were clearly a little anxious. They hemmed and hawed, looked at each other for a few seconds, and then spoke: "I'll add an ancient Netheril coin worth 100 gold coins!"

"Me too, I'll bet 100 gold directly!" Charles finished speaking with a sneer: "I advise you to stop while you're ahead. Don't try to bite off more than you can chew and end up giving us money. Everyone will say you're stupid. If you back down and apologize now, this matter will be over."

"Let us apologize? Dream on!" Conner was still a little nervous, but now he was sure that these two earth-and-wood kids were definitely putting on a show of strength. He directly flipped open his money bag: "It's just 200 gold coins, pocket money. I'm in!"

As soon as Conner accepted, the atmosphere among the apprentices immediately became lively. Many people who enjoyed watching the excitement began to cheer, and some even began to take sides.

For a time, most people were supporting Du Pont and Charles.

Although many people didn't recognize Charles, Du Pont, that big donkey, was notorious among the third-year students and freshmen. Many people were very familiar with his face.

But even if Du Pont was annoying, he was just showing off his wealth. Conner, on the other hand, was always taking a chicken feather as an arrow and issuing orders, which made many people feel uncomfortable.

"Beat him, beat him. The School of Evocation wants to be the boss? Serves him right for only being a level 3 mage in the third year. There must be 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, and powerful old-system magic Ghoul Touch and Magic Weapon at preferential prices, welcome to buy." This was the School of Transmutation.

"Blur Spell and Mirror Image on sale for a limited time, Color Spray and Invisibility Spell with excellent effects, all spells now buffed, price only half of the scroll!" This was the School of Illusion.

"Summon Monster doesn't require you to lift a finger, Acid Arrow disfigures your opponent, Web Spell makes him unable to run, trusting our School of Conjuration is the most suitable choice!"

Seeing that it was getting more and more lively, the instructor raised his hand and released a Silence Spell and a silence barrier. After everyone calmed down, he opened his mouth and said: "Since it's a combat class, then naturally only enhancement and protection spells are allowed. The School of Evocation and summoning spells are not included. Scrolls and magic items are all prohibited. Each sparring session lasts up to three minutes. If one person fails, the other one goes up. Anyone who loses consciousness or surrenders will have their sparring invalidated. Do you four have any objections?"

The two from the School of Evocation nodded quickly when they heard this, while Du Pont and Charles' faces were ashen, but they still reluctantly replied: "No."

The instructor nodded and was about to speak when Charles jumped out and pointed at Slim Monkey: "I want to fight him first!"

Mount's face looked ugly when he heard this. He wanted to refuse, but he saw the instructor nod: "Since you issued the challenge, then the challenged party naturally has the right to make requests in this regard. After ten seconds, it officially begins."

The instructor had already spoken, and even if Slim Monkey had dissatisfaction in his heart, he didn't dare to bring it up.

Don't look at how some apprentices even dare to be lazy and not come to the combat class, but the instructor Esso is a genuine Battlemage with high-level skills. It is rumored that his actual combat level is even stronger than some high-level mentors who can take apprentices, but he doesn't take apprentices for personal reasons, and occasionally he goes out on missions and you can't see his figure. He belongs to the new generation of powerhouses.

He and Conner's group still have prestige among the apprentices, but in the eyes of this master, that's really bullshit.

Wanting to talk to this master and negotiate conditions, I'm afraid only the families behind Conner or Bran are possible. Even they themselves don't have this ability, let alone him.

However, looking at Charles' cautious fat face, Slim Monkey still came to the center and cast Mage Armor on himself.

He might not be able to beat Du Pont because that guy is tall and has long legs, but this fat guy's agility is definitely not high. He can't beat Du Pont, but can't he beat this fat bastard?

The Charles on the opposite side also finished casting Mage Armor, but then cast Bear's Endurance. After a command, he directly started charging.

The earth-and-wood courses mainly teach Fox's Cunning, the effect of which is Intelligence +4 for one hour, but under the new spell system, this spell can be easily converted to buff other attributes, and there is no need to learn the same type of Bear's Endurance anymore.

Slim Monkey panicked when he saw this.

As School of Evocation mages, they basically have to learn Scorching Ray and Cloud of Daggers as level 2 spells. The priority of Fox's Cunning is far behind these two practical attack spells. If you want to be an adventurer after graduation, then this spell has to be ranked after Blindness Spell/Invisibility Spell/Web Spell/Invisibility Spell/Misty Step. Where is there time to learn this enhancement spell?

Although learning Fox's Cunning can effectively increase the learning ability of apprentices, it should be known that releasing this spell lasts up to one hour. A level 3 apprentice only has 2 level 2 spell slots, so how much can they improve in a total of 2 hours?

A level 5 mage can graduate directly without continuing to study at the academy. Having 2 level 3 spells and 4 level 2 spells is considered a master. Popular schools like the School of Evocation will not have extra time to learn other functional magic.

If a team really needs an auxiliary mage, then both the School of Conjuration and the School of Abjuration are better than the School of Evocation. Why look for them, these spell turrets?

Mount turned around and ran.