An Exquisitely Crafted Answer

Hearing Tylen's words, an uproar erupted across the silent arena.

Both inside and outside the field, every gaze converged like spotlights, all fixed squarely on Tylen.

At Cain Tower's side, Kathy and Locke's faces were etched with shock.

The carving knives in their hands still lingered on the bone surface, barely having completed the outermost Runic Frame.

Locke even nearly slipped his knife off course from distraction.

They stared in disbelief at this bottom-tier apprentice who usually had no presence, one thought echoing in their minds:

How is this possible?

Across the way, Virgil and Joyce of the Blazing Sun Wizard Tower had shock mingled with deep confusion and incredulity in their eyes.

After all, their Runic Studies proficiency was as high as 0.9!

Even so, they had only just finished the outer framework and two main magic circuit engravings.

In their understanding, such complex rune construction was absolutely an impossible task for a bottom-tier corpse-collecting apprentice who hadn't even attended a few formal classes.

"Don't let him fool you!"

Joyce quickly shot Virgil a look, signaling him to steady his nerves and keep carving.

"This is likely a psychological tactic from the other side to disrupt our progress."

"They want us to lose our composure and waste time."

Yet, as her sharp gaze swept over the slender tibia in Tylen's hand, her pupils suddenly dilated.

That originally rough tibia had both ends precisely cut flat, revealing the hollow marrow cavity.

On the bone's surface, several smooth magic circuits were cleanly engraved, along with three small but structurally complete magic cores.

"This... how is this possible!?"

A storm raged within Joyce's heart.

Leaving aside whether this set of runes could even work, the speed at which he had engraved on that long, hard tibia had already far surpassed all of them!

The precision and fluidity of his knife technique made it look as easy as cutting tofu.

Steampunk walked over at that moment.

His shrewd eyes also flickered with unexpected light.

Though he had long known Tylen was prepared on Makley's side, he hadn't expected the kid's speed to reach such a level.

"This kid couldn't have known the topic in advance."

"Could it be... he came up with this on the spot?"

Thinking this, Steampunk marveled inwardly, then put on a stern, businesslike expression and stepped forward to ask:

"Student Magnus, are you sure?"

"According to competition rules, once a piece is submitted, no modifications are allowed."

"If your runes cannot be activated or produce no magical effect, you will immediately lose your qualification for grading."

Tylen bowed respectfully, still wearing that harmless smile:

"Please rest assured, sir, I've already checked it over."

Seeing Tylen's confident demeanor, Steampunk nodded and announced loudly:

"Very well!"

"Since you've finished, please explain the design concept of these runes to everyone present and give a full demonstration!"

Under the crowd's gaze, Tylen calmly raised the slender tibia in his hand, his tone steady.

"On this bone, I've carved a small rune array capable of controlling the minute flow of air."

"It consists of three basic cores, six magic circuits, built upon the classic 'Karl Rune Framework.'"

Tylen's voice was steady and clear, carrying across the entire venue:

"And its effect is simple."

"When I consume mental power to activate the runes, it can automatically produce sound."

Hearing this, many in the crowd grew intrigued.

Locke, on the side, even set down his carving knife and asked curiously:

"Produce sound?"

Joyce sneered: "Hopefully you're not blowing it with your mouth!"

Steampunk also looked expectant and announced loudly:

"Then, Student Magnus, please begin your performance!"

Tylen nodded, gripped one end of the tibia, and slowly infused 0.5 points of Mental Power.

Hum!

The runes on the bone's surface instantly flickered with a faint cyan glow.

Immediately after, a strange current of air sounded from the hollow cavity inside the bone.

Combined with the several sound holes Tylen had deliberately chiseled into the bone, a bizarre yet irresistibly catchy melody began to play.

Doo-doo-doo-doo... doo-doo-doo-doo... doo-doo~doo! Doo-doo~doo!

It was a tune that had never existed in this world, but was known in every household in Tylen's past life: "Two Tigers."

The melody was simple, brainwashing, and carried an inexplicable sense of absurdity.

The passersby and apprentices gathered around to watch were momentarily stunned at first.

But soon, they couldn't help nodding along to the rhythmic tune, and some even started humming involuntarily.

"Doo-doo-doo... this tune is actually pretty addictive!"

"Not bad, this thing's got something to it!"

"Holy Father... above!"

Locke, upon seeing that the rune had actually taken effect and could even play such a complete piece of music, was instantly shocked, his eyes wide.

Beside him, Kathy's large eyes, hidden behind her big glasses, were also filled with shock and curiosity.

She couldn't imagine how this ordinarily obscure, low-level apprentice had managed to do it.

And besides... this tune she'd never heard before, though strange, was actually quite pleasant to listen to.

Steampunk, at this moment, could barely suppress the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

As a second-rank formal wizard with a 3.6-level mastery in Runic Studies, he could see at a glance the exquisite ingenuity of this rune set.

"A stroke of genius!"

"This requires not only a deep understanding of runes, but more importantly, the kind of innovative thinking that breaks out of established frameworks!"

If he had been given this assignment, his first instinct would likely have been to carve a traditional rune that could emit light or heat.

But those rune structures involving the manipulation of actual elements were generally far more complex, requiring more intricate and advanced elemental resonance cores at their heart.

This kid, however, was different.

He took a different path, never touching those substantive fire or light elements.

Instead, he chose the most basic wind element, and only involved "control of wind flow velocity," without any wind element condensation.

This meant the rune set didn't need a complex core dedicated to resonating elemental particles; it could operate using only the most basic universal core.

The most brilliant part was that he utilized the naturally hollow structure of the shinbone, combined with the acoustic principles of musical instruments.

With the simplest runes and the most suitable materials, he produced the most intuitive, most stunning effect!

At this moment, the brainwashing melody of "Two Tigers" kept looping endlessly.

Joyce's face had already turned extremely sour.

She stepped forward abruptly, pointing at Tylen and demanding loudly:

"Who can prove that this rune set was carved by him on the spot?!"

"And who can prove that he didn't know the topic in advance?!"

By now, Joyce had come to her senses.

The real competitors for her today were never those two flashy noble brats.

It was this corpse-collecting apprentice, whom they had consistently overlooked and even mocked!

She had calculated many things for today's competition, guarded against all possible cheating methods from the other side, and kept a tight watch on those two noble apprentices.

But she had never imagined that the other side would use those two noble apprentices as bait, drawing all her attention.

Thus allowing this inconspicuous corpse-collecting apprentice to deliver the finishing blow right under her nose!

Faced with Joyce's accusation, Steampunk's face instantly darkened.

He dropped his smile, looked at Joyce with a serious expression, and said in an icy tone:

"Student Joyce, please mind your words and accusations!"

"Student Magnus has had people from your Blazing Sun Tower watching him the whole time."

"Whether these runes were carved by him stroke by stroke right now, just ask your people, wouldn't you know?"

The two burly apprentices tasked with monitoring Tylen, their faces pale, stammered and lowered their heads. With so many people watching, they dared not lie.

Steampunk gave a cold snort and continued:

"As for your claim that someone leaked the topic in advance?"

He raised his right hand, his expression solemn and dignified:

"That is an extremely serious and unprovable accusation. Since Student Joyce is so aggressive, then I..."

"Swear by the honor of the Steampunk name, before the great Source Fire Holy Father and the profound Primal Sage!"

"Today's competition topic—aside from myself—I have not told a second person in this world!"

!!

At these words, Joyce opened her mouth, her previously arrogant flame instantly extinguished, leaving only embarrassment and mortification on her face.

In this world, once one became a formal wizard, oaths carried the binding effect of magical power.

The fact that the other party dared to swear simultaneously to the Source Fire, the Holy Father, and the Primal Sage meant that the topic had indeed not been leaked.

And within noble circles, forcing a formal wizard to prove their innocence through oath-taking was an extremely undignified act, one that bordered on insulting and powerless.

Her earlier impulsiveness had not only failed to turn the tables but had instead dusted her family's reputation with the taint of "rudeness" and "inability to accept defeat."

"I..."

Joyce bit her lip, staring fixedly at the skeleton still playing its cheerful music, unable to utter another word.