I was an apprentice in Ferren

Chapter 46 How about you come?

How much of an advantage does adding 4 points to your constitution have?
The skinny monkey, who had initially thought he could rely on his slender build and good stamina, was now completely outmatched in both speed and stamina, and was being chased and beaten by Charles.

The chubby boy attacked while taunting. His strength was already a level above the skinny monkey's, and his agility was inevitably lower. However, since they were both apprentices, there was no qualitative difference between them. His physique enhanced his endurance and made him full of energy. He could fight for twenty minutes even against the slender waists of those half-elf ladies, let alone when he was in high spirits.

With one person fighting and the other running away, the scene was destined to be ugly, and at this point, DuPont started to stir up trouble.

"If you dare to pick a fight but don't dare to fight back, do you even deserve to be called a coward?"

"Exactly, what kind of skill is it to keep running away? You might as well just admit defeat and go back. What's the point of staying here and making a fool of yourself?"

"The Energy Shaping System is full of such trash, what are they bragging about? They should just go home and be their grandsons!"

The boos from the audience made Connor's face turn ugly, and a female voice sent a message that made his hands and feet turn cold: "Connor, what's wrong with you? You can't even handle such a small matter. Now you've dragged the Evocation Department into being mocked by a bunch of mud-playing bastards. Have you no shame?"

"I'll arrange it right away, senior." Connor quickly replied, then texted Mount: "Stop running! The president is angry. We men of the Evocation Department can be knocked down standing up, not run away like trash!"

Skinny Monkey received Connor's message and gritted his teeth in anger.

That's easy for you to say, but you're the one who'll get the beating!

However, the president's name still made him obediently turn around and launch an attack.

Connor's rise to the position of vice president of the Apprenticeship in his third year was not due to his exceptional talent. The key to his advancement lay in the favor of the president, who had already mastered third-circle magic in his fourth year but chose to pursue further studies.

Mount turned and attacked back. Both of them had mage armor, so the staves didn't hurt much when they hit them. Their attacks were completely instinctive and lacked any real strategy. But how could he compare to Charles, who was empowered by the Bear's Resilience?

After several rounds, Charles seized an opportunity and swept his staff across the room. Mount raised his staff to block, but the difference in strength made his legs tremble. Before he could catch his breath, he was kicked away.

Skinny Monkey, who had already wasted a lot of energy on parrying, could no longer hold on and lost his balance, falling to the ground. He struggled to get up, but was kicked several more times. Seeing the staff being pulled at him, he hurriedly shouted, "I surrender!"

Charles pretended not to hear and was about to make a move when he saw Mount glow with a yellow light. He swung his stick at him but heard no reaction. He thought to himself that his mentor had intervened and gave an embarrassed smile: "Sorry, I'm not very good at fighting, I couldn't stop myself."

Mount cursed under his breath, refused treatment amidst the boos, and ran straight to the dormitory. The instructor ignored him and said indifferently, "The monsters in the dungeon won't let losers escape so easily. If you don't want to end up in such a sorry state, you should study and practice even harder."

He gave a stern warning and looked at the 6-foot-2-inch tall dragon vein sorcerer who probably weighed 300 pounds: "Now it's your turn."

As Pete approached, Charles swallowed hard.

Charles was only slightly shorter than DuPont, but was still considered outstanding among his peers at 5 feet 4 inches tall. However, he looked like a child next to his opponent, and was not even as tall as his opponent's shoulder.

I didn't feel anything when we were far apart, but at this distance of 30 yards (one yard = 0.9 meters), the other person felt like a small mountain, and I couldn't help but mutter to myself.

Does DuPont really have a chance of winning?
Pete didn't care about all that; he only cast two simple spells, but they sent chills down Charles's spine.

Mage armor that increases protection, and foot oil that increases speed.

Pete also doesn't know any buff spells like Cat's Agility. As a Dragon Vein Warlock, he knows fewer spells than a normal mage. He came to the mage academy only to improve his thinking ability and learn how to tap into the power of his bloodline.

Unlike mages, whose core strength lies in intelligence, warlocks primarily possess charisma and secondarily in agility and physique. However, the fact that Pete is still in his third year of high school at the age of 19 suggests that his intelligence is somewhat questionable, and judging from his spherical body, his agility is probably not very high either. But his strength and physique are definitely extraordinary.

A 300-pound body would be difficult for an average person to walk on, but Pete was clearly not one of them. With the added benefit of oiling his feet to increase his speed, he even felt somewhat light. The staff in his hand was a foot longer than usual. Standing on the stage, he no longer had that honest and simple look, but instead looked like a fat crocodile with a fierce glint in his eyes.

Charles turned to look at DuPont one last time, only to see his confident expression and a single sentence.

"Try running him around a couple of laps. If he can't keep it up, just give up. Don't worry about winning or losing, I'll take care of everything."

With those words, Charles felt much less pressure. He looked at the other man and gave him the middle finger: "You fatso, you're so fat and you're still working as someone else's free bodyguard. If you work yourself to death here, your mother will be heartbroken!"

Upon hearing this, Pete flew into a rage and charged forward without waiting for the instructor's order.

Charles was prepared and ran away as soon as the other party chased him. However, what he did not expect was that Pete, who looked fat, had amazing explosive power. He was tall and had long legs, and his running seemed clumsy, but the distance between the two had closed without him realizing it. Charles cursed in his heart and tried to run away, but even if he ran until his lungs almost exploded, it had no effect.

Seeing that the opponent was about to get close, Charles turned around and hurled his staff, but to his surprise, this full-force attack did not cause any damage to the opponent. It only slowed Pete down for a moment. The behemoth roared and raised its staff, its terrifying aura making it seem as if it was going to smash Pete's head open with a single blow.

With less than five yards between them, Charles shouted "I surrender! I surrender!" and charged into the crowd. But Pete couldn't stop and crashed into the crowd like a tank amidst screams.

At this critical moment, countless spider webs suddenly appeared beneath Pete's feet, their powerful stickiness causing him to fall to the ground just three yards from the crowd.

The spider web was quite elastic, and Pete, still wearing his mage armor, wasn't seriously injured. He struggled to his feet, glared fiercely at Charles, and muttered something in dragon language.

The instructor waved his hand, and the spiderwebs disappeared. He looked at DuPont and said, "Your turn."

DuPont nodded, stretched his body, and then applied some oil to the soles of his feet.

Seeing DuPont's choice, the instructor nodded silently. Without advantages in strength and endurance, and even less in speed, one was naturally at a disadvantage in every aspect. He looked at DuPont, who was preparing: "Your mage armor?"

“No need, this will do.” DuPont shook his head, eliciting a gasp of amazement from the surrounding apprentices.

"Is this idiot out of his mind? Although the mage armor doesn't provide much protection, it's still comparable to chainmail. Without it, how can he fight Pete? Does he think he can exhaust this fat guy by running around in circles?"

"That's a strategy, but combat class isn't a running race. What's the difference between him being willing to embarrass himself like that and losing?" "Exactly. Besides, Pete could just stand there and wait. If he doesn't take the initiative to attack, it's at most a draw. What makes him think he can win? Is he just shameless?"

“I think this guy doesn’t have enough spell slots. Someone just said that DuPont isn’t even level 3 yet, so he only has 3 first-level spell slots at most. With the buff, he’ll only have 2 left. With the Mage Armor buff, he’ll only have 1 spell slot left at most. Without second-level spells, he really doesn’t have many trump cards if he wants to win. This should be the best strategy.”

Connor, his face grim, said to the men around him, "If DuPont runs away when the fighting starts, we'll boo him hard and see how he'll have the nerve to stay here."

The apprentices around him nodded in agreement. Connor looked at Annie and sent her a message: "If DuPont keeps running, remember to get your class to cheer him on and make him lose face."

Anne's expression turned somewhat unpleasant upon hearing this: "Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

“What’s wrong with that? Does his running around make your architecture department look good?” Connor sneered. “Mount is mediocre in the Energy Conversion Department, but he can hold his own against the top students in your class. What future do you have hanging out with these mud-playing kids? Do you still want to join the Apprenticeship Council?”

Anne remained silent for a long time without replying. Connor waited patiently for a while before pressing further: "Don't have any illusions about friendships between apprentices. After graduation, won't you all be going to different construction sites? You might never see each other again after leaving here. Even if you can't switch classes with me, I've taught you a lot of spell techniques. You can learn a fireball spell and someone will want you in an adventure team. Or do you really want to go to a construction site and hang out with a bunch of mortals?"

Anne remained silent for a long time before replying softly, "I understand."

Connor smiled as his plan succeeded, but just as he was contemplating how to make the village girl more obedient, he heard a gasp from above.

Sigh, is DuPont really that brainless? He just went ahead and attacked without even trying the reverse psychology tactic?

But when he looked at the ring, he only saw Pete lying on the ground, his life hanging in the balance.

"Wha, what?"

a minute ago.

When Pete saw that DuPont had also applied the "Grease Your Feet" buff, he immediately sensed something was wrong and launched a full-scale attack after the instructor gave the order.

After the chase with Charles, he finally caught his breath. DuPont seemed much more agile, and he didn't want another chase.

We must act swiftly and decisively.

However, to Pete's surprise, DuPont did not choose to run away, but instead raised his staff and went to meet him.

This discovery thrilled Pete. He swung his staff and swept it horizontally, but only shattered the transparent shield. The staff, now cushioned, no longer had any impact. DuPont seized the opportunity to raise his staff and swung it hard at Pete's waist and abdomen.

Pete hadn't paid much attention at first. For a dragon vein sorcerer with innate defense, the term "thick-skinned" wasn't a derogatory term. He could easily take the hit head-on and then knock the opponent unconscious with a single blow.

But to his surprise, the blow caused him to gasp for breath and stagger back several steps. In a daze, he seemed to see the magical aura on DuPont's body suddenly disappear, but those bloodthirsty eyes made him tremble all over.

But DuPont showed no mercy. The two were already close, and he used the handle of his stick to smash Pete's cloth shoes. The pain from the blow to his toes made the man's massive weight cause him to stagger.

Having yet to encounter an opponent, Pete let out a chilling howl of resentment and pain. He swung his staff, wanting to smash this despicable fellow to death, but before the staff could fall, DuPont, with his hands free, grabbed Pete's robe and leaped up, kneeing him precisely between the legs.

No man could withstand such pain. Countless apprentices watching felt a chill in their groin. Pete screamed and knelt on the ground, but DuPont still did not stop. He grabbed his staff, which was still standing, and dodged the dragon vein sorcerer's last counterattack with a back-and-forth movement. With a flying kick, he knocked Pete to the ground, stepped on his back, strangled his neck with the staff, and exerted force with both hands.

“Say it yourself, surrender.”

Suffocation brought the shadow of death. Pete grabbed DuPont's staff with both hands, trying to pull it away, but to his horror, his strength, which he had always been proud of, could not budge the staff an inch. Instead, he found it even harder to breathe, but the savage blood in his body made him refuse to surrender. He struggled angrily and in vain.

After several seconds, Pete's struggles gradually weakened, and as his arm fell, DuPont released his staff and took a breath.

The instructor gave him a deep look, but simply shook his head and announced.

"The victor is DuPont."

The surroundings were completely silent. Connor stared blankly at the unconscious Pete in the middle of the field, then at DuPont, who was still breathing, and felt a chill run down his spine.

I was still arranging things off the field, how did this duel end so quickly?

How come this is even faster than Mount and Charles fighting?
The thought of the loss sent a chill down Connor's spine. He looked at Bran, who was equally stunned, and grabbed his sleeve: "What happened? How could Pete lose in close combat? Did he break the rules by using Charm or Sleep spells?"

“No, he just let a shield spell go.” Bran’s expression was grave. “Like the instructor, he used the shield as an opening to launch a preemptive attack, then charged in like a martial monk. Pete was so badly beaten that he only had time to retaliate before being kicked in the groin and then strangled unconscious.”

"Huh?" Connor was filled with disbelief. He heard the instructor announce that DuPont was the winner, and watched the guy who had given him a mocking smile take away all the bets. His blood boiled, and he squeezed to the middle and shouted, "Impossible! This is definitely a scam!"

Upon hearing this, Bran covered his face. The instructor's previously amused expression instantly turned cold as he looked at Connor and said, "What, are you implying that I would cover up for this student in front of so many people for such a small thing?"

"Huh? That's not what I meant." Connor immediately felt he had done something stupid upon hearing this, but he had already suffered too many losses today, so he tried his best to make his words reasonable: "Pete's strength is as high as 19 points and his constitution is 18 points. If he just put in a little more effort in strength alone, he could even reach the extraordinary level. Even if he's not very bright, he's still a dragon vein warlock with a tough skin and the ability to cast first-circle spells. How could he lose to this kid?"

Before the instructor could speak, DuPont sneered: "Are having strength and being good at fighting the same thing? If the Iron Golem has 35 strength, then according to you, it would be invincible across the continent. Would Faerûn still be living in the era of dragon rule?"

"That's sophistry!" Connor trembled with anger, but DuPont just clenched his fist: "Fine, you're not convinced, are you? Then I don't mind having a friendly match with you to decide who gets all the stuff, and putting on a show for everyone."

　The 30-level cap on monster attributes in version 5e is a simplification of the rules, and monster attributes are based on version three.

　　The idea of ​​gaining extraordinary attributes after reaching level 20 is a classic setting in D&D web novels, but it's strangely combined with the fifth edition rules, and this setting is still used.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)