I was an apprentice in Ferren

Chapter 45 Deception
DuPont glanced at Charles, and the chubby guy frowned first and then sighed. He walked to the center and pretended to be serious: "Haha, why are you all silent? Didn't you say that the Energy Shaping System is full of rich guys? Why did you chicken out after adding a little prize? Hey, if you don't have the guts, don't shout. You're always making a fuss and looking for trouble. People who don't know us would think we're all barbarians from the North!"

Hearing Charles's words, many apprentices joined in the jeering. Connor's face darkened, but his reason told him that it was not worth betting 600 gold for such a small matter.

What if they have a trump card up their sleeve?
He and Bran exchanged glances and quickly reached a consensus. The latter stepped forward to retort, "Ha, a pair of worn-out shoes worth 600 gold? Even brand new ones might not sell for that price. You're just being a coward."

Bran was about to continue declining when he heard Mount's message: "Wait, Bran, what makes them think they can compete with these shoes?"

"Huh?" Bran seemed a little confused. "You mean?"

"They're not trying to provoke us, they're using a trick to make us afraid to take the risk!" Mount quickly replied. "Although Pete is mentally challenged, he's incredibly strong. Even a graduate wouldn't stand a chance against him in hand-to-hand combat. They're clearly trying to scare us with these shoes, then use this as a pretext to achieve their goal and gain fame. If we don't dare to gamble with Pete as our trump card, doesn't that mean we're both cowardly and poor? How are we supposed to survive in the academy after that?"

“That’s right!” Bran thought it made sense, and after discussing it with Connor, the vice president also suddenly realized: “In other words, he doesn’t have any trump cards at all and is just using his assets to blackmail us, trying to make us forfeit?”

"Yeah, it's just like playing cards. If we fold, they win, and we lose our reputation and our prestige. Then your chances of becoming the student council vice president will be slim."

“Heh, even though you only got a pair of secondhand, worn-out shoes, we’ll take them!” After understanding the concept, Connor took the initiative to step forward, preventing Bran from going to the front, and took out a silver ring: “Ring of Dark Vision. The wearer can grant himself or others 8 hours of dark vision at a distance of 60 meters every day. Even without casting a spell, they will automatically have dark vision. It’s definitely comparable to your boots.”

Connor held up the unassuming silver ring as he spoke, but anyone with sufficient arcane knowledge could see the magical flow within it, surprising many with his wealth.

In terms of pure practicality, this ring is far more valuable than those silent boots. Although the elf boots also have the added stealth effect, the automatic dim vision and 8 hours of dark vision are also useful in real life, making them much more practical than these shoes.

Upon hearing Connor's words, DuPont and Charles became visibly anxious. After exchanging hesitant glances for a few seconds, they finally spoke up: "I'll add another Netherian Coin worth 100 gold coins!"

“Me too, I’m betting 100 gold!” Charles said with a sneer. “I advise you to stop now. Don’t try to impress us by giving us money. Everyone will say you’re stupid. Now stop and apologize, and we’ll let this matter go.”

"Apologize? Dream on!" Connor, who had been a little hesitant, was now certain that these two civil engineering lads were just all bark and no bite. He immediately rummaged through his money pouch: "It's just 200 gold coins, nothing more than pocket money. I'll take it!"

As soon as Connor took the call, the atmosphere among the apprentices immediately became lively. Many people who loved watching the drama began to cheer, while others immediately started to take sides.

Surprisingly, the majority of people supported DuPont and his partner.

Although many people don't know Charles, DuPont is notorious among third-year students and freshmen, and many people are familiar with his face.

But even if DuPont is disliked, it's just about showing off its products. It's Connor who makes a big fuss about things and issues orders, which makes everyone even more unhappy.

"Beat him up, beat him up! This so-called Evocation Department guy thinks he can be the big boss? No wonder he's only a level 3 mage in his third year. He must have some kind of intellectual problem!" This was from the Prophecy Department.

"For sale: Scrolls of Cat's Agility and Bull's Strength, Levitation and Giant Growth spells at discounted prices, and powerful old-system magic Ghost Strike and enchanted weapons at preferential prices. Welcome to purchase." This is a Transmutation spell.

"Illusion and Mirror Image spells are on limited-time special offer! Rainbow Jet Invisibility is incredibly effective! All spells are now available at half the price of a scroll!" This is the Illusion school. "Summon monsters without lifting a finger, Acid Arrows disfigure your opponents, and Web Spells prevent them from escaping. Trusting our Conjuration school is the best choice!"

Seeing that things were getting more and more lively, the instructor raised his hand and released a silence barrier and a silencing spell. After everyone quieted down for a while, he spoke up: "Since this is a combat class, only buff and defense spells are allowed. Evocation and summoning spells are not allowed. Scrolls and magical items are all prohibited. Each sparring session will last a maximum of three minutes. If one person loses, the other person takes over. If anyone loses consciousness or surrenders, the sparring session is invalid. Do any of you four have any objections?"

Upon hearing this, the two men nodded quickly, while DuPont and Charles looked ashen-faced, but still managed to answer, "No."

The instructor nodded, and was about to speak when Charles jumped out, pointing at the skinny monkey: "I want to fight him first!"

Mount's face darkened upon hearing this. He was about to refuse when the instructor nodded: "Since you issued the challenge, the challenged party naturally has the right to make demands in this regard. Ten seconds later, it will officially begin."

The instructor had already spoken, so even if Skinny Monkey had grievances, he didn't dare to voice them.

Don't be fooled by the fact that some apprentices dare to skip combat classes; the instructor, Esso, is a genuine high-level battle mage. It's rumored that his combat skills are even stronger than some high-level instructors who can take on apprentices. However, he doesn't take on apprentices for personal reasons and is occasionally absent from missions. He belongs to the new generation of powerful figures.

He and Connor's group were quite respected among the apprentices, but in the eyes of this master, they were utterly worthless.

To even speak to this master and negotiate terms, it's probably only possible for Connor or Bran's family; even they themselves don't have that ability, let alone him.

However, seeing Charles's cautious, chubby face, the skinny monkey still went to the center and cast a mage's armor on himself.

DuPont is tall and has long legs, so he might not be able to beat him, but this fat guy is definitely not very agile. He can't beat DuPont, but he can't beat this fat guy either.

Meanwhile, Charles on the opposite side had also finished buffing himself with Mage Armor, and then with Bear's Resilience. At his command, he immediately began his charge.

The Civil Engineering course primarily teaches Fox Wisdom, which increases Intelligence by 4 for one hour. However, under the new spell system, this spell can be easily converted into buffs to other attributes, so there's no need to learn the similar Bear Resilience.

The skinny monkey panicked when he saw this.

As Evocation mages, they almost always learn Searing Ray and Dagger Cloud as second-circle spells, with Fox Wisdom ranking far behind these two practical offensive spells. If they're aiming to become adventurers after graduation, this spell will be even further behind Blindness/Invisibility/Web/Invisibility/Stealth Step. Where would they find the time to learn this buff spell?

Although learning the Wisdom of the Fox can effectively increase an apprentice's learning ability, it should be noted that casting this spell will only last for a maximum of one hour. A level 3 apprentice only has two second-circle spell slots, so how much progress can one make in a total of two hours?
Level 5 mages can graduate directly without continuing their studies at the academy. Having two third-circle spells and four second-circle spells is considered graduation. Popular schools like Evocation don't have extra time to learn other utility spells.

If a team is looking for a support mage, then whether it's a spellcaster or a defensive mage, they are better than an evocation mage. Why bother looking for these spellcasting turrets?
Mount turned and ran.

(End of this chapter)