Entry Test

Inside the lobby of the metal building, Ronan followed the usual procedures.

Coincidentally, the same Green Eyes Wizard he had met the first time was the one who received him this time.

He clearly remembered Ronan too, and asked half-jokingly, "Looks like you've found a guarantor this time. Who is it?"

Ronan announced Bennigo's name.

Unexpectedly, the Green Eyes Wizard, who had been all smiles just a moment ago, stood up abruptly upon hearing the name.

"Bennigo?! Which Bennigo? Where is he?"

Before Ronan could answer, the Green Eyes Wizard had already spotted Bennigo standing not far from the two of them, silently exhaling smoke rings.

Green Eyes stared at Bennigo for a long time before sitting down again.

Then, a strange, indescribable look appeared in his eyes as he looked at Ronan.

Why would Bennigo vouch for you?

"Why would you ask Bennigo to vouch for you?"

The green-eyed man muttered something to himself.

"What's the meaning?"

Ronan frowned and pressed for more information, but the latter refused to say anything more and her attitude towards him suddenly became much colder. After completing the registration, she tossed Ronan something that looked like a number tag, pointed in the direction of the inner entrance, and then ignored him.

"I'm starting to regret asking you to be my guarantor."

Ronan walked back to Bennigo with a slightly somber expression. From the Green Eyes Wizard's reaction to Bennigo's name, the change in his attitude towards him, and the rumors that Quidi had mentioned about Bennigo offending many people in the Arcane Circle... he began to realize the seriousness of this problem that he had almost ignored.

"It's not too late for you to back out now."

Bennigo, with his pipe dangling from his lips, spoke calmly.

"Change your mind?"

Ronan shook his head, gripped the number certificate in his hand that represented his qualification to participate in the Arcane Circle entrance test, and strode towards the test entrance not far away.

He's given up an opportunity right in front of him? Absolutely not!

If Bennigo was truly notorious before, then it's best to distance yourself from him as soon as you join the group.

He now only wants to enter the Arcane Circle as soon as possible, to inherit the Metal Element magic and runes, and to access a higher platform for resource exchange and acquisition.

Ronan and Bennigo entered through the entrance, stepped into the light curtain formed by the Rune Array, and arrived at a room that wasn't very large.

A group of people were standing on one side of the room, talking in hushed tones. A wizard wearing Arcane Circle robe quickly came over, briefly checked Ronan's identity information and test credentials, and then told him to wait there.

Ronan Bennigo stood silently facing each other, each fully aware that the other was hiding many things from them. Their fragile partnership might crumble once the entrance test was over, and would temporarily come to an end.

At this moment, the group on the other side of the room stopped talking and naturally looked in their direction. "Do you know anyone here?"

Bennigo tapped the cigarette holder lightly and asked casually.

Ronan withdrew his gaze and calmly replied, "Yes. Before you, I tried to find someone else to vouch for me."

About twenty meters away from him stood a man in a silver robe, with short hair and metallic scratches on his left cheek, surrounded by several wizards, displaying his extraordinary and high status.

It was Basil, the magician from the Arcane Circle, who had refused to vouch for Ronan.

I didn't expect him to be here too. Judging from his demeanor, he seems to be here as a guarantor to guide people through the entry test, and he brought more than one person with him.

"Kid, you should be glad you got rejected."

Bennigo glanced in Basil's direction and said with a faint smile, "For 'bloodsuckers' like them who make a living by 'recruiting,' the price you'd have to pay for vouching for you once would be much higher than what I would pay."

"Um?!"

Ronan was taken aback. "They also ask for benefits?"

"That's a stupid question."

Bennigo said calmly, "Without sufficient benefits, why would a complete stranger risk vouching for you?"

If you hire a 'vampire' to vouch for you, you'll have to hand over 30% of all mission rewards to them for at least 30 years after entering the Arcane Circle. Of course, hiring a 'vampire' also has its advantages; 'vampires' have their own connections and methods that can make it easier for you to pass the entry test.

After all, if the referral is successful, they can get another reward from the Arcane Circle.

Thirty percent of the profits from all the missions over the past thirty years?! Ronan was shocked, then relieved.

Fortunately, Basil "looked down on" him and rejected him back then.

In comparison, he would rather associate with Bennigo than be "fleeced" for thirty years!

At that moment, Ronan heard Bennigo's voice again in his ear.

"... This guy could miss you, so he's obviously not a discerning and qualified 'vampire'."

Huh?! I can't believe something like this actually happened! Even 'bloodsuckers' have their off days? Haha, this kind of exciting scene is rare indeed!

Ronan subconsciously looked up and saw a young wizard with a face full of fire marks walking out of the small door leading to the official testing site, looking somewhat disheveled.

His robes were tattered, and he exuded powerful spiritual energy fluctuations befitting a late-stage level one wizard. His face was grim and unpleasant.

As soon as he came out, he walked straight towards Basil.

Ronan couldn't help but blink, not immediately understanding what Bennigo meant.

"Grown ups."

The short man, Gu Wei, said in a low voice, "That guy looks a bit unfamiliar."

Basil gave a soft "hmm," his eyes fixed on a middle-aged man in a silver robe who was puffing on a pipe not far away, scrutinizing him.

Whenever Basil's gaze swept over the Arcane Circle symbol on the left breast of the latter's robe, waves of shock would inevitably rise in his eyes.

The Third Ring!

Where did this "Third Ring" come from?!

He recognized all the "Third Ring" wizards of the Seventh Magic Ring, but he had never seen this man before! Moreover, this man was only a late-stage Level 1 "Third Ring" wizard. Logically speaking, someone who could obtain the status of Third Ring wizard should at least have the strength of a Level 2 wizard.

Could it be a top-tier genius from another magic Arcane Circle, or the offspring of a noble person?

But why would Third Ring wizard from another Arcane Circle come to the Seventh Magic Ring to vouch for someone?! And the person they're vouching for is just a mere early-stage level one. Hmm?!

Basil noticed the unassuming little wizard beside the other person and suddenly a vague impression came to mind.

He remembered that a little over a month ago, he and Gu Wei were searching for a "big fish," and this little wizard happened to be on their list of targets.

It seemed to be a low-level wizarding force destroyed by the Nefa Key. They even tried to get him to vouch for them, their naivety was truly laughable.

It was truly astonishing and unbelievable that such a lowly wizard, whose background, strength, and talent were all so mediocre, could actually get a "Third Ring" to personally vouch for him. "My lord, the Fire Vulture has come out."

Gu Wei's voice pulled Basil back to reality. He looked up and saw a young wizard with a face full of fire marks and an arrogant look in his eyes walking quickly toward him.

Seeing the grim expression on the other person's face, Basil's heart sank slightly, but he still asked, "How are you?"

"It's no use!"

The arrogant young man spat and said resentfully, "They gave me the stuff, gave me my name, and then just briefly mentioned the selection criteria."

"Persisting for one minute counts as passing, persisting for five minutes counts as a core. And they even injected that top-tier Tier 1 Terra Behemoth with a 'Berserk Potion' right in front of me!"

Basil's face immediately darkened, and he uttered a name in a low, cold voice.

"Tulpa!"

Terra Behemoth, possessing a thin lineage of Ancient Rock Giant, are already troublesome. It's unclear where Tulpa found such a top-tier Tier 1 behemoth, and he even went so far as to inject it with a "Berserk Potion."

Even a level two wizard would have a headache if they saw the Terra Behemoth in this state.

The requirement of holding on for one minute to pass clearly indicates that no one is intended to pass smoothly! The level 1 late-stage wizard Fire Vulture is the "ace" among Basil's group, aiming to become a core member.

Tulpa raised the bar for "core" standards to five minutes! Even if he went up there himself, he might not be able to do it.

"Tulpa"

Basil took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his anger, and muttered to himself, "I'll remember this."

The "examiner" for the introductory test has changed; Basil's old acquaintance has been replaced by a wizard he doesn't know well.

Basil tried to "show goodwill" to the other party, but unexpectedly received even more targeted attacks in return.

Clearly, the other party's "appetite" was much greater than he had anticipated.

"Grown ups."

Gu Wei asked worriedly from the side, "Three people have already been turned away in this batch. Are the remaining two going to continue?"

Basil's eyes flickered as he slowly replied, "Wait a bit, at least... until the effects of the 'Berserk Potion' in the Terra Behemoth wear off."

Go up to them and tell them to let others go first.

As he spoke, Basil glanced indifferently at the wizard group beside him who were also waiting for their test.

Perhaps because the results were not as expected and he was in a bad mood, the young wizard Fire Vulture, who had come out in a disheveled state, stared at the silver-gray figure who "replaced" them for the test and muttered a curse, "Even a first-level early stage dares to participate in the test."

"Don't fucking die in there!"

Basil remained silent, his face showing no emotion.

"Go on, kid, it's your turn."

Bennigo, with a pipe in one hand and the other behind his back, casually greeted Ronan.

Ronan nodded, then suddenly said, "As the guarantor, shouldn't you share some of your experience with me before the test?"

For example, the specific content of the test, etc.

"The test has no fixed items; it depends entirely on the 'examiner's' preferences and mood."

It's basically all about fighting anyway.

Bennigo flicked his cigarette ash and said to Ronan meaningfully, "But your luck doesn't seem to be too good today; the test might be a bit more difficult than usual."

"I had a feeling about this when I walked in."

Ronan answered calmly, but Bennigo shook his head slightly with an expression that said, "You don't understand."

Ronan was too lazy to talk to him anymore and followed the person leading the way.

Just as Ronan was about to step through the testing door, he suddenly heard Bennigo call out to him from behind, "Hey kid! Still don't know your name."

Ronan paused slightly before striding inside.

"Ronan. My name is Ronan Damien."

"Ronan?"

Bennigo watched Ronan's figure disappear through the small door, slowly exhaling a puff of white smoke. Half of his festering face was faintly visible in the dissipating smoke, making it impossible to discern his expression.

"You'd better not make me take this step for nothing..."

The moment Ronan stepped through the small door, he was struck by a sudden, slight wave of dizziness.

However, the dizziness came and went quickly; his consciousness returned to normal in less than half a second.

When he came to his senses, he realized that he seemed to have entered some kind of "Secret Realm Space", similar to the "Corpse Garden" he had entered before.

This Secret Realm Space is spacious and bright.

He was now in a small white square, which was next to a towering, huge gray wall, and was surrounded on three sides by a light curtain of Rune Array.

Once outside the small square, the light immediately dimmed, revealing a vast, gray wilderness shrouded in thick fog, with the outline of a small hill faintly visible. There were two people in the small square.

A Bald Man with a sinister appearance and a black mole on the tip of his nose sat lazily on a huge black metal chair.

A middle-aged male wizard with an ordinary appearance stood beside him.

When Ronan appeared, the Bald Man in the metal chair merely glanced at him before looking away, yawning and appearing listless.

The middle-aged male wizard beside him stepped forward and shouted loudly to Ronan, "Go straight forward. Retreating back to the protective range of the Rune Array counts as failure. Now, the test officially begins!"

Ronan's eyes flickered, but he didn't say anything and walked straight towards the outside of the square.

Stepping out of the light barrier of the Rune Array and into the black wilderness, a sinister and oppressive feeling immediately washed over me.

The middle-aged male wizard, acting as the "examiner," instructed Ronan to walk straight ahead, and Ronan, without any intention of disobeying, slowly moved forward.

The direction straight ahead leads to the location of that small hill in the wilderness.

The closer Ronan got, the more intense the sense of oppression in his heart became.

Moreover, he always felt that there was a pair of huge, invisible eyes above his head, coldly watching him move forward like an ant.

"They even sent in those at the early stage of level one, and they didn't bring anything with them."

Watching Ronan's figure disappear into the thick fog of the wilderness, the middle-aged wizard who had just announced the start of the test turned to the Bald Man on the black metal chair and said in a cold tone, "Sir, it seems that Basil is quite dissatisfied with us."

Is this some kind of protest?

"Protest? He doesn't deserve it!"

The Bald Man casually spat out a mouthful of thick, black phlegm mixed with metallic fragments onto the ground, and coldly said, "Later, you'll stand in Rune Array and make sure this piece of trash he sent in at the early stage of level one suffers a lot. It doesn't matter if he dies. From now on, whoever he sends in, I'll cripple or cripple them."

The Bald Man grinned, revealing a mouthful of cold, pale teeth.

"Until... he shows real sincerity."