They don't want me to try anymore.

"Hey! Woman! Can you stop siding with outsiders?"

"But he's really handsome..."

Richard, whose combined age across his two lifetimes was over forty, had no interest in the words of the group of young men and women.

Because mages and warriors were tested separately, Zoe went to the next room, while he was led directly to the training ground at the back—frankly, it looked a lot like the stadium where his school held sports meets in his previous life.

In the center of the arena, a middle-aged man with a hooked nose bowed and said:

"I am Arno Brand, an assistant instructor in the mage department, and I also have some knowledge of summoning magic. Since you chose a high difficulty level, I will now face you with the strength of a high-level Bronze-rank summoner... Are you ready?"

Sensing a similar aura to Megan's, Richard nodded solemnly.

He knew that this high-level bronze-grade ...

In terms of experience, they are not even on the same order of magnitude.

This competition is bound to be very difficult...

"Be careful."

As soon as Arno finished speaking, a six-pointed star magic circle lit up in front of him, from which a majestic giant wolf, two meters tall at the shoulder and with lightning crackling in its fur, leaped out.

Those watching from the sidelines immediately recognized him:

"The highland wolf of the North, specifically the Thunderstorm subspecies!"

"Even a high-ranking Bronze Knight would have a hard time dealing with this thing, right? Connaught is doomed to lose."

"Hmm, will it leave a scar on his face...?"

Why are you only focusing on this?

Richard took a deep breath and thought quickly.

Generally speaking, a summoner's summoned creatures are either otherworldly elves or demons with whom they have signed a contract, magical beasts that they have personally tamed, or magical weapons that have recognized a master. In short, it is impossible for a summoner to get whatever they want.

What's frustrating is that Richard currently doesn't have many summoned beasts that can stand up to the giant wolf in front of him one-on-one—Connaught's resources are insufficient, which means that his summoned beasts are all found in his hometown forest.

Hive Tree People and the like can fight opponents wielding wooden swords, but they'll have a hard time fighting those that are crackling with electricity.

After much deliberation, a white light appeared beneath Richard's feet...

then……

A bunch of white fluffy balls popped out with a "plop plop".

"Haha, what do you mean, a bunch of rabbits!"

"This thing has absolutely no fighting power, right?"

Ignoring the mockery around him, Richard commanded his rabbit army to charge towards the giant wolf.

The opposing side clearly didn't quite understand this maneuver either, but the giant wolf from the north still opened its jaws wide, and its sharp fangs pierced through the first rabbit that jumped towards it...

But in that instant, things changed.

The rabbit's body suddenly exploded, spewing out a foul-smelling, viscous liquid that immediately smeared the giant wolf's mouth.

The rabbits behind them suddenly accelerated and jumped over, some exploding into fireballs, while others simply swelled up and hung on the wolf's fur, so that even if they died, they wouldn't fall off.

"Ouch!"

Instantly, the giant wolf transformed into a slow-moving fireball, rolling and howling incessantly.

The onlookers on the sidelines were stunned.

Professor Arno across from them nodded and praised, "Knowing your summoned creatures weren't strong enough, you modified and disguised them beforehand? That's certainly a way to overcome the strong with the weak, but it's far from enough..."

"You're right!"

"Ok?"

Arno frowned, suddenly noticing that Richard was carrying a sword and rapidly approaching him.

Yes, this time, Richard wants to fight in close combat.

He knew that, as fellow summoners, his opponent was far superior to him in terms of both mana and skill, and he could never win in a summoning contest.

His rabbit had only temporarily trapped the giant wolf; the wolf would break free soon, and he still wouldn't be able to handle it.

Therefore he decided...

Engage in close combat and look for an opportunity!

Coincidentally, due to his advanced age and the need to maintain the image of the royal family, he had indeed practiced swordsmanship at Connaught Palace for a period of time, so he had a foundation in this area!

During his charge, he also continuously unleashed mental attacks to disrupt his opponents.

Arnold felt the magic trying to invade his mind and showed the same expression he had when being trash-talked on the field.

He shook his head: "Close combat is a good method, but using mental attacks is boring. My rank is far higher than yours, and even if I suppress my strength, I cannot be harmed by this kind of spell."

"But what about you? How will you deal with the same trick?"

With a glare, he launched a mental attack on Richard!

Chapter Eleven: You Need to Use Your Brain When Fighting

Arnold was unaware that such a thing as quantifiable personal attributes existed.

However, even considering only common sense, the mental strength of a Silver-ranked person after suppressing their power is far superior to that of a Bronze-ranked person.

Therefore, he is very confident!

This blow was enough to take down Richard on the spot!

One second passes...

"How can it be?!"

Richard didn't even stagger before rushing to within three meters of Arnold!

Seeing the teaching assistant's surprised face, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, the buffs provided by the emulator are useful.

With the help of the [Fighting God] effect, he is immune to mental attacks that are one level higher!

However, his opponent was a seasoned veteran. Although he was surprised for a moment, he quickly recovered, took three steps back, and held his staff horizontally in a defensive stance.

Upon seeing this, Richard immediately summoned a tree spirit at his heels.

But this treant isn't for attacking!

It's so big, so long, and so hard...

The moment it appeared, it lifted Richard into the air like a pole!

Richard used this momentum to do a backflip and instantly appeared behind Arnold.

Arno's attention was first drawn to the tree.

After all, based on experience, summoners will definitely use summoned creatures to attack.

By the time he realized that Richard was just using the tree man as a stepping stone and that the real trouble was already behind him, it was too late.

"Teacher, be careful!"

With a warning, Richard's sword tip pierced Arno's back.

Arno raised an eyebrow and his body erupted with a burst of blue ripples.

Richard felt a tremendous force slam into him, and he was sent flying, landing on the edge of the training field.

It was clear that he had no chance of getting close to his opponent.

Just when everyone thought Richard's attack had failed, Arnold laughed and said loudly:

"That move just now was already a common spell used by silver-ranked players."

"Congratulations, Richard, you've won."

W-what?

The freshmen in the surrounding stands were all shocked.

In the first half of the morning, they barely counted the number of people who passed the test on two hands, and most of them were high-level geniuses of the Bronze rank from prominent families!

How could a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy who had only reached the first dan level actually win?

"impossible……"

"Damn, I'm so envious! If I had been more careful just now, I might have won too!"

"Cheating! He definitely cheated!"

"He would definitely be a perfect boyfriend!"

"You girl, I've put up with you for far too long!"

Amid gasps of surprise, Richard was helped by Arnold to the sidelines to rest.

He turned his head and looked to the other side.

Zoe's results are in.