An Unrefusable Challenge, As You Wish

(Fighting Square)

In a corner where Silver Magic Robe fluttered, the crowd dispersed to create a small empty area. In the center of this area, a tall and slender figure sat quietly on a black metal high-backed chair.

The metal high-backed chair is covered with exquisite and beautiful patterns, naturally emitting wisps of black mist like smoke.

Amidst the swirling mist, the handsome young man with blue eyes and white hair, sitting quietly in a high-backed chair, exuded an air of mystery, nobility, and elegance that seemed innate.

The amount of Nightmare Tungsten Steel inherited from Bennigo was not much, not enough to support the huge metal thrones that others possessed. So Ronan had to settle for second best and had a high-backed chair made for himself that was still relatively comfortable to sit in.

"Nono Perin."

Ronan fiddled with a Communication Stone in his hand, then thought for a moment and put it away again.

There's no need to ask Bennigo for confirmation about such a trivial matter.

He saw a shadow hidden beneath the sun-like exterior of the blond wizard named Nono Perin; he was a man with ill intentions. Even if he really was Bennigo's friend, Ronan had no desire to have anything to do with him.

Our gaze returned to the distant arena, where the first round of duels continued.

A day and a half has passed since the battle between Ronan and Travis took place.

Even if the duels between more than a thousand formal wizards continued day and night, it would still take at least several days to complete them all.

The vast majority of level two, or even late level one wizards, don't actually pay much attention to the match on the field.

A duel between wizards of lower strength than them, especially one that is not a life-or-death struggle, is a meaningless and pointless contest for them, especially for second-level wizards, and has no reference value whatsoever.

Only when a contest involves a second- or even Third Ring character is it worth their attention, and their focus is primarily on the target character rather than the battle itself.

But Ronan is different.

He watched very attentively and seriously.

The effects of six bottles of "Murphetira's Kiss" on brain development cleared away the blockages and clutter in the brain, freeing up a large amount of extra space.

Ronan's "wisdom" has increased dramatically, and his thinking has become so sharp that it is beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

He gazed towards the Fighting Arena, his blue eyes shimmering with countless tiny sparks of light.

Although he was sitting in the crowd, his "viewpoint" was as if he were in a very high position, with a "full view" of the entire Fighting Arena. He could watch all the fights taking place at the same time.

He was in an extremely peculiar state, with countless inspirations generating, colliding, and [Annihilation] in his mind every moment. Those battle scenes, whether useful or useless, shrank in Ronan's eyes, turning into tiny specks of light that seemed like free-floating energy particles, which then merged into his body, solidifying his foundation and becoming nourishment for his growth.

Ronan absorbed these nutrients with boundless "Greed," just like the seed of the Saint Blood Tree bathed in his blood, constantly undergoing subtle growth.

This is a process of accumulation, an essential process for him to move from one stage to another.

Ronan has never had a "mentor," with Bennigo perhaps being a half-mentor. He has relied on himself all along, and he has become accustomed to relying solely on himself.

His essence was still that of a "wild grass," and what wild grass excels at is doing everything it can to obtain anything that is beneficial to its growth: sunlight, soil, and water. In fact, watching the battles between wizards who are not as strong as himself is not a boring thing.

After watching the matches, Ronan found many interesting and useful points.

For example, he saw a wizard with an Arcane Circle take a potion during a duel, which could temporarily petrify his skin and coat it with liquid metal, increasing his defense to a level that even a late-stage level one wizard spell could not break.

There was also a wizard whose mental power cultivation was only at the mid-level of level one, but his use of magical tools was "divine" and he had his own unique understanding. He could control the use of several magical tools at the same time, and the wonderful synergy between the magical tools could even make his opponents at the late level one admit defeat.

There are also wizards who are skilled at controlling "puppets." All the Metal Element and elemental spells they learn are used to enhance the puppets' strength. During the battle, they hide under the puppets' protection throughout, grinding their opponents down until they have to admit defeat. Every wizard who can step into the mist and advance to become a first-level official wizard has their own wisdom. Even if their strength is low, they may still be able to pull off some "eye-catching" combat maneuvers.

At one point, Ronan seemed to understand a deeper meaning behind the Arcane Circle's holding of these combat trials: perhaps the Arcane Circle wizards hoped to absorb the "wisdom" of others to enhance their own abilities. Unfortunately, not many people could think of this.

The vast majority of Arcane Circle wizards are wizards who specialize in Metal Element magic. Metal Element wizards have many different fighting styles, and Ronan also saw wizards like himself who preferred melee combat.

Almost all of these people possessed a certain level of knightly skills, and their bodies were stronger than those of ordinary wizards; some had even undergone certain physical modifications.

However, these Metal Element wizards who took the "melee route" were generally weak in combat. The only one Ronan saw who was outstanding was a young wizard named Orlando.

He possessed a large, bow-shaped Tier 1 Magical Item, using his own metallic medium as arrows. His archery skills were also extremely high. During battle, he used elemental spell enchantments combined with the explosive effect of the Metal Element spell [[High-Energy Crucible]] to completely suppress opponents who were a level higher than him, drawing a lot of attention.

Ronan noticed that the Soul Rune Orlando had condensed also seemed to amplify this aspect, making his metal arrows faster and more accurate.

"It's closer to Bennigo's style."

Ronan watched the cold-blooded young man named Orlando step down from the Fighting Arena, thinking to himself, "Once he comprehends the Extraordinary Magic Domain, his strength will undergo another qualitative leap, and he will instantly rise to fame..."

Ronan realized how crucial the Extraordinary Magic Domain Power of Breaking Law] was for the improvement of wizards who followed the "melee route." He demonstrated the effect of [Power of Breaking Law] in his battle with Travis, which is why it caused such a stir and attracted so much attention.

The ability to Power of Breaking Law energy fields is probably one of the most suitable for melee wizards.

Of course, only Ronan knew that the reason why the [Power of Breaking Law] could exhibit such amazing effects in his hands, and could even easily tear apart the Extraordinary Magic Domain field of a second-level wizard, was largely due to the terrifying physical power brought about by his own physique.

Others may not know this.

The rankings in the sky Fighting Arena changed constantly, and bursts of sound came from overhead from time to time.

The voice came from a huge, metallic-looking Silver Bat, which was also the one presiding over this competition trial.

The bat looked like some kind of alchemical puppet creation, but it seemed to house a human soul. Ronan heard others call it "Biondini." As for the Silver Bat's owner, Ronan's gaze moved upwards and landed on an old white-bearded wizard wearing a magnificent robe and a wizard's hat.

This Third Level Wizard had kept his eyes closed since he appeared, seemingly in a state of semi-sleep, as if no battle below could arouse his interest.

Almost all the high-rise residents of the Arcane Circle live in the central Silver White High Tower.

They assist the Ring Master in managing the Arcane Circle, and are also the "mentors" of the Arcane Circle Wizards, as well as representatives of various schools of magic.

After Arcane Circle normal Arcane Circle wizard, they will soon receive invitations from various factions. After choosing to join, the senior high-ring wizards in the faction will impart the necessary inheritance and knowledge to you. If you can climb up step by step, you will have the opportunity to come into contact with the mastermind of these factions and become their mentor.

Competition and conflict also exist between different schools of thought. For example, there was a conflict between Basil, who led the group to participate in the Ronan entrance test, and Tulpa, who was in charge of the entrance test. Generally speaking, at this time, it comes down to the strength of the faction.

If the faction you join is powerful and has high-level experts who will stand up for you, the problem will naturally be solved. Otherwise, you will have no choice but to avoid it.

It's common for people to leave one faction and join another in the Arcane Circle.

The entire Arcane Circle system operates within such a healthy competitive environment.

Ronan was an exception; he offended many different powerful factions as soon as he joined, and was thus excluded by all factions, or rather, he represented the "Bennigo" faction.

Watching the game, thinking... Occasionally, Ronan would simulate a battle with a wizard on the field in his mind, or test some unexpected magical techniques.

Before they knew it, time had passed, and the first round of the competition trial came to an end.

"Boom!"

The ground beneath his feet suddenly began to shake. Ronan instinctively stood up and then saw that the level three old wizard, who had been in a "dreamy" state, had opened his eyes at some point.

A radiant light, seemingly capable of piercing through the mist, shone from those indifferent, weathered gray eyes; the powerful spiritual energy, belonging to the third level, surged and churned like a vast ocean.

Without him making any move, a massive amount of free energy particles from heaven and earth converged, Fighting Square began to break free from the shackles of gravity, rising into the air with a rumble. Ronan's eyes widened in shock; the power of Third Level Wizard was beyond his imagination.

With a wave of his hand, he could overturn countless cubic meters of earth and rocks. Even if this method were only used to smash people, few second-level wizards could withstand it.

He suddenly recalled the dark clouds that filled the sky like congealed blood during the battle that destroyed Hoddam Academy. The powerful wizard from the Crimson Tower must have been a level three wizard, or even stronger than the old man in front of him. Compared to such a being, a level two wizard was indeed like an ant.

Just then, a new Fighting Arena was generated in mid-air. It was a large rocky arena suspended in mid-air, also enveloped by an energy shield of Rune Array.

Previously fragmented "arenas" have now coalesced into one that is larger, more formal, and more solid.

The second stage!

"If you have an opponent you'd like to challenge, write down their name and give it to me."

The Silver Bat in the sky, acting as the "referee," spoke in a deep voice, announcing the rules and format of the second round of the competition to everyone.

The second round is a stage for challengers, with the vast majority of wizards retreating to the spectator seats.

Wizards aspiring to higher rankings would write down the names of the challengers they wished to challenge and hand them to the Silver Bat Biondini. Biondini would then conduct an initial screening—rejecting some meaningless challenges that were too far off the mark—before informing the challenged of the shortlisted "challengers."

The challenged party has the right to refuse a challenge, but if the number of refusal exceeds a certain limit, their ranking will be lowered.

Literally speaking, this is a fairly reasonable and fair rule.

The black metal bar chair behind Ronan melted and shrank back under his robes. He took a few steps forward and looked up at the densely packed names in the sky, formed by runes, as he approached the Fighting Arena.

At this moment, someone has already submitted a "challenge application" to the Silver Bat Biondini.

Using his mental power, he wrote the names of the challengers in the air. The names turned into streams of light and shot towards Biondini high in the sky. The latter opened his mouth and swallowed the names of the wizards one by one. His jewel-like silver eyes narrowed slightly, like a discerning gourmet savoring the dishes that were being served.

Ronan withdrew his gaze from the sky rankings, extended his finger, and calmly wrote a name in the void before him.

Then another name was added.

Several streams of spiritual energy secretly extended from the side, seemingly trying to peek at what he had written. He raised his hand, and the two names he had written turned into streaks of light that shot towards the giant bat in the sky.

The Silver Giant Bat Biondini was "savoring" Ronan's challenge letter when it suddenly stopped chewing. Then it lowered its gaze and gave Ronan a deep look.

"It's been a long time since I've 'tasted' this person's name."

A deep, wistful voice emanated from Biondini's enormous silver maw, "I still remember how he looked standing in the audience. Unbeknownst to me... he's become a taboo subject, something no one dares to mention. Ah, time."

Biondini's strange voice, which seemed to penetrate one's eardrums with every word, caused a buzzing commotion and discussion among the Arcane Circle below.

Many people instinctively looked at Ronan, their eyes filled with doubt and curiosity.

Biondini had eaten the names of countless "challengers," but this was the first time he had shown such a performance, and he even took the initiative to talk to Ronan.

So, who exactly did this young man, who rose to fame overnight like a comet, challenge?

Some people subconsciously looked in the direction of the ten Meditation Tower not far away, their faces showing an incredulous yet quickly dismissive expression.

Impossible, how could he dare?

So... it's against the rules?

Ronan raised his head and calmly met the gaze of the Silver Giant Bat.

"Of course, I personally admire your courage immensely."

This stage still belongs to you.

The latter's slightly ferocious beast face revealed a smile. It opened its mouth and spat out a stream of light towards Ronan.

The deep, husky voice suddenly rose in pitch, as if deliberately trying to draw everyone's attention.

"But before that, you need to prove your strength to me. That person doesn't like being disturbed."

Since you have such courage, I'm sure you won't refuse this battle, right?

Ronan caught the beam of light that Biondini had spit out at him.

A shimmering name is hidden within the light.

When Ronan saw the name of the "challenger," his eyes widened slightly, as if he hadn't expected it.

But soon, his expression calmed down again.

"Like"

Ronan gently crushed the name in the light, shifted his gaze from Biondini to another direction, and spoke softly.

"As you wish."

The next second, beams of light, even more intense than the sun, burst forth from the spot where his eyes were fixed.

The sudden burst of powerful energy pushed aside everyone who stood in the way of that light.

One wizard after another hurriedly gave way.

Then, a handsome young man with blond hair, as beautiful as the sun god and as dazzling as the sun, strolled out from behind the crowd.

He gazed at Ronan from afar, a flawless smile on his face.

He said softly, "Damien, let me see what Bennigo has taught you."

In an instant, a sudden hurricane swept across the entire Fighting Square.

Arcane Circle wore expressions of astonishment and disbelief.

Nono Perin!

Nono Perin, the number one player below the Fourth Ring, has actually challenged Ronan?!

Thanks to my good brother Sisi for being the leader, and thanks to Lucky Cat for being the helmsman, thank you~~