I Seem... To Have Finished?

The moment Steampunk finished speaking, a low murmur rippled through the crowd.

"A complete runic structure?"

Ike bit on his rough fingers, brow furrowed, eyes full of struggle:

"I've only learned the basic Runic Frame and a small number of mana circuit connections..."

"As for the core central construction, I can barely even understand it, let alone carve it."

Though he was a first-level apprentice, that was the result of pouring all his time and resources into it.

He'd only learned a tiny bit of everything else.

On the other side, within the Cain Wizard Tower camp.

Locke tilted his head slightly, glanced at Kathy beside him, and asked in a low voice:

"Kathy, do you have a handle on this?"

Kathy pushed up the large glasses nearly sliding off her nose, her voice trembling a little:

"My Runic Studies rating is only 0.5... I can barely design a complete small-scale rune, like 'Glimmer'."

"But... carving on bone? I've never tried that."

Locke's brow furrowed deeper at that:

"My Runic Studies is 0.6. Designing runes isn't a problem."

"The real difficulty now is that bone isn't a flat rune paper—its surface has curves, and its interior has pores."

"Hardness and force are also issues."

And across the way, in the Blazing Sun Wizard Tower camp, Joyce and Virgil were exchanging rapid glances.

As elites carefully nurtured by Blazing Sun Tower, both had achieved a staggering Runic Studies level of 0.9.

At this level, among all the current first-year freshmen, they were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

That was the biggest confidence they had for coming here today to crash the scene.

Joyce lowered his voice, a hint of caution in his tone:

"Watch out—they might tamper with the carving knives and bones on the other side."

"I'll start designing a sufficiently compact and complete rune right now, aiming to crush them in conceptual deconstruction."

Virgil nodded immediately, a flicker of ruthlessness in his eyes:

"Good. I'll go confirm the materials and carving knives."

Then he turned to look at the burly corpse-collecting apprentices behind him and gave them a signal.

Those apprentices instantly nodded in understanding, smirking with ill intent.

Just then, Steampunk spoke again, still wearing that professional smile:

"Considering that most of you are freshmen and may not be very proficient in Runic Studies..."

"This competition is exclusively sponsored by the Sko Chamber of Commerce. All participants will be provided with a Purple Diamond Carving Knife enchanted with 'Sharpness'!"

"This kind of knife cuts through bone like mud, minimizing the difficulty of carving."

"As for the relevant bone materials..."

Steampunk snapped his fingers.

Whoosh—

Several clerks immediately stepped forward and dumped two large sacks of processed white bones onto the open ground in front of the shop.

These bones varied in size and shape—skulls, leg bones, ribs, and even some beast bones.

"To avoid wasting everyone's time with participants who know nothing about Runic Studies..."

"Everyone must first verify their Runic Studies level with me."

"Minimum requirement to compete—Runic Studies level 0.3."

At these words, the crowd that had been buzzing with excitement fell silent instantly.

Many of the lower-level apprentices who had been rolling up their sleeves just moments ago wilted like eggplants hit by frost.

Among them was Ike, his face full of longing.

"Damn it..."

Ike clenched his fists, eyes burning with frustration:

"That's a Purple Diamond Carving Knife worth 3000 Purple Gold Coins! And with an enchantment!"

"Even if I could just touch it, that'd be enough to brag about for ages!"

He sighed, turned to look at Tylen beside him, and gave a bitter smile:

"Well, that's settled. Let's just stay down here and watch the show."

"This kind of high-end match has nothing to do with us."

Yet, the next second, Ike was completely stunned.

Because he realized Tylen had somehow left his side and was following the two noble apprentices ahead toward the arena.

"Hey! Magnus, what are you doing?!"

Ike quickly lowered his voice and called out, terrified the kid would get kicked out for not knowing the rules and embarrass himself.

Tylen turned back, grinning at Ike with a flash of white teeth:

"My level's high enough. I want to give it a shot!"

"Huh?!"

Hearing this, Ike felt his mind go blank.

This guy, who usually cowered and only knew how to bury his head in corpse collection, had actually reached 0.3 in Runic Studies?

He himself hadn't even broken into 0.1!

At that moment, only twelve apprentices were heading toward the arena.

On the Cain Wizard Tower side, there were barely four: Kathy, Locke, Tylen, and another short, freckled youth.

On the Blazing Sun Wizard Tower side, a full eight people stepped out.

Just from the numbers alone, it was clear how vast the gap in student quality was between the two sides.

The twelve lined up before Steampunk for level verification.

When Kathy and Locke spotted Tylen, their expressions showed some surprise.

They vaguely remembered this low-tier apprentice who had once received special permission from Master Makley to sit in on lectures.

But later, due to exclusion and disdain from other noble students, he'd never shown up again.

Who would've thought he'd actually meet the competition standards?

Just then, two burly men from the Blazing Sun camp suddenly grinned, their eyes fixed on Tylen with ill intent:

"Oh, isn't this the Cain Tower corpse-collecting apprentice we chased off like a dog?"

"What, picking up bodies gave you confidence? You dare show your face here and embarrass yourself?"

Tylen lifted his head, his gaze calmly sweeping over the two.

They were the same pair who'd fought him for the corpse of a pedestrian killed by a carriage a few days ago.

Before Tylen could speak, a cold glint flashed in Locke's eyes as he snapped:

"Filthy dogs spewing crap from your mouths."

"Trash who only wins by numbers, and you dare spout nonsense here?"

Joyce, the leader on the other side, snorted and glanced at Locke:

"Sara, why are you so eager?"

"Let the low-tier apprentices settle their own affairs."

"As a noble, are you going to stoop to meddling in commoners' business like those wastes? How degrading."

Locke's face darkened, and he was about to retort.

But the burly man grinned even more arrogantly, taunting:

"Little puppy, cat got your tongue? Scared stiff?"

Just then, Tylen, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.

His face still wore that eerily calm, easygoing smile, and his tone was as flat as if he were discussing the weather:

"Not scared."

"I was just thinking, if I duel you later and kill you, whether I'll need to pay the guards compensation."

The moment those words left his mouth, the air around them seemed to freeze for several seconds.

No furious roar, no heated rebuttal.

Only a matter-of-fact coldness, as if stating some predetermined truth.

Locke and Kathy couldn't help but glance sideways at this apprentice who usually had no presence. For some reason, a faint chill crept up their spines.

The burly man froze for a moment, then burst into laughter as if he'd heard the funniest joke ever:

"Fine! You've got guts!"

"Hope you don't run when you lose. Grandpa here will teach you what rules mean!"

Soon, all twelve had completed their level verification.

When Steampunk checked Tylen, a barely perceptible gleam flickered through his shrewd eyes.

Then he quickly regained his composure, his face still wearing a professional smile, but the last trace of worry in his heart finally settled completely.

"Verification passed."

At this point, the competition was about to begin.

Over a hundred onlookers had already gathered around.

There were apprentices here for the spectacle, passersby, various mercenaries, and even some working formal wizard apprentices stopping to watch.

Twelve people were quickly issued Amethyst Carving Knives.

Tylen gripped the familiar knife, feeling its perfect weight and texture, and thought to himself:

"Teacher really thought of everything."

"Afraid I'd lose my touch with a different knife."

Next came the bone selection phase.

Throughout the process, Joyce and Virgil's gazes were fixed like two venomous snakes on Tylen's group of four, as if afraid they might pull something.

The five-minute selection time flew by in an instant.

With sharp eyes and quick hands, Joyce and Virgil snatched up two relatively large, flat-surfaced hip bones first.

These bones were best suited for carving runic arrays.

Kathy grabbed a smaller hip bone, while Locke picked a complete skull.

As for Tylen...

Just as he set his sights on a decent shoulder blade, that burly man deliberately shoved him aside and snatched it away.

He reached for a breastbone, only to be blocked by another Blazing Sun Tower apprentice.

Faced with such blatant targeting, Tylen remained expressionless, his demeanor unchanged.

After being repeatedly crowded out, he seemed to "helplessly" grab a slender tibia from a corner.

Seeing this, the burly man put on a provocative, smug look, as if he'd already won half the battle.

Virgil, watching from a distance, nodded slightly.

He'd already learned from his underlings that this kid had mastered a Magic Thorn Art, possibly a hidden threat, which was why he'd arranged for people to target him at every turn.

Now, seeing the other party angrily pick the hardest, most difficult-to-carve tibia, he was completely at ease.

"A tibia—hard, thin, with a steep surface curve—completely unsuitable for carving flat runes."

"This guy's not worth worrying about at all."

"The competition begins!"

With Steampunk's command, the atmosphere instantly tensed.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, all participants quickly got into the zone.

Joyce and Virgil, true to their elite status, had their knives flying up and down with fluid motions, clearly well-prepared.

Kathy and Locke were slower but steady, carefully tracing lines on the bones.

Time ticked by.

Soon, half the sand in the hourglass had flowed through.

Thirty minutes had passed.

Most people were still sweating over the rune connection points, some even frustrated by cracks in their bones from excessive force.

Just then, a flat, almost jarring voice suddenly rang out in the quiet arena.

"I seem... to be done?"

The voice wasn't loud, but at that moment, it struck like thunder.

Everyone turned in shock, their gazes converging.

There stood Tylen, holding that slender tibia, looking a bit dazed.

His expression seemed almost bewildered, as if asking:

That's it?