I became a god through archaeology in the Wizarding World.

"Open it... for me!!"

With Rhodes's deep, beast-like roar, time seemed to stretch out infinitely at that moment.

Jamie's pupils shrank to pinpoints as he watched helplessly as the greyish-white shoulder crashed into his prized Wind Barrier.

"Buzz~~"

The blue wind wall trembled violently, emitting a beeping sound as if it were about to collapse under the strain.

Is it blocked?

Jamie felt a surge of relief at surviving the ordeal, but the next second, that relief was swallowed up by endless fear.

Because he saw that Rhodes' right arm, covered in grayish-white rocky skin, underwent another terrifying transformation at the moment of impact!

"Sizzle~~!"

The already tattered linen sleeves burst open completely, turning into strips of cloth flying everywhere.

In a tenth of a second, Rod's entire right arm expanded wildly to three times its normal size, like an inflating balloon!

That expansion is not a bulky, bloated mass, but rather an explosive state resulting from extreme compression of muscle fibers.

His originally pale skin instantly turned as black as iron, and his thick blood vessels bulged out like black earthworms.

Even more chilling was that from beneath that iron-black skin, countless black steel bristles, each about an inch long, pierced the skin like steel needles, standing upright and gleaming with a chilling metallic light.

This isn't a human arm! It's clearly the forelimb of an ancient magical beast grafted onto a human!

[Localized Limb Deformation - Steel-Fur Giant Arm]!

"break!"

Rhodes gave no one time to react. The mutated giant arm clenched into a fist and, with a piercing whistling sound, slammed into the center of the already crumbling wind wall.

This punch had no magic model, no elemental arrangement, only pure and extreme violent aesthetics!

"Bang!!!"

A deafening roar, like the thunder of a heavy cannon, exploded in the center of the arena.

The wind barrier, strong enough to withstand a first-level spell, was as fragile as a piece of glass struck by a hammer in the face of this punch.

Countless fragments of cyan wind elemental energy shattered in the air, transforming into dazzling yet deadly points of light.

The force of the punch had not yet subsided, and its lingering power remained.

Jamie didn't even have time to scream before he was hit head-on by a charging rhinoceros.

His sternum emitted a series of cracking sounds, and his body was thrown away like a kite with a broken string by the terrifying kinetic energy.

He traced a tragic parabola through the air, flying more than twenty meters, clearing the edge of the ring, and crashing heavily onto the sand below the audience.

"puff!"

Jamie coughed up a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs, his body convulsed, and he completely lost consciousness.

The smoke and dust cleared.

In the center of the ring, Rod remained in a punching stance.

His right arm remained in that terrifyingly mutated state, the black steel bristles gleaming coldly in the sunlight, and his entire being exuded a suffocatingly ferocious aura.

Dead silence.

The once bustling and deafening arena was now so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Thousands of spectators, whether apprentices, formal wizards, or nobles who had been waiting to see a joke, were now all gaping, their expressions frozen on their faces.

What did they see?

A history teaching assistant with no magical fluctuations shattered the defensive spell of a wind-elemental genius with a single punch.

"This...this is..."

High in the stands, Professor Isaac trembled as he removed his glasses, his lips quivering: "Is this the ultimate in kinetic energy transfer? No... no... that hand..."

Just then, in the front row of the VIP section, an elderly man wearing a scarlet robe and a badge with two snakes entwined on his chest suddenly stood up.

He is Mentor Galon, a senior professor at the Bloodline Law Academy, known for his sharp insight.

Galon stared intently at Rhodes's mutated right arm, his cloudy old eyes blazing with an unprecedented fanaticism.

"Black Iron Skin... Steel Needle Mane... Pure Physical Destructive Power..."

Galon's voice, sharp and high-pitched with excitement, amplified by the amplification spell, instantly resounded throughout the entire arena: "This is the [Steelbrook]! A bloodline reversion of the [Steelbrook], a First Era war creature long extinct!!"

This roar was like a depth charge dropped on a calm lake.

The entire audience erupted in uproar!

"Bloodline atavism? That teaching assistant is actually a potential bloodline sorcerer?"

"Good heavens! A steel-bristled boar? That's a legendary monster that can smash through city walls! No wonder he doesn't use magic!"

"So the stone skin we had before wasn't a potion, it was a manifestation of our bloodline! We were all mistaken!"

Exclamations of surprise and murmurs of discussion rose and fell.

The mockery and contempt they had previously shown towards Rhodes have now turned into awe and envy.

In the wizarding world, atavism signifies an extremely rare talent.

These people don't need to painstakingly construct spell models like ordinary wizards; their bodies are the strongest weapons, natural fighting machines!

On the ring, Rod slowly retracted his right arm.

With the control of his mind, the terrifying feeling of expansion quickly subsided, the black steel bristles retracted under his skin, and his skin returned to its grayish-white petrified state, eventually turning back into normal human skin color.

He heard his mentor Galon's roar and sensed the change in the gazes around him.

Rod's lips curled up almost imperceptibly.

This is the effect he wanted.

Rather than letting people suspect that he possesses some kind of shady secret or ancient artifact, it's better to let them believe it's a beautiful misunderstanding.

Rod raised his head, his gaze calmly sweeping across the stands.

He neither denied nor admitted it; this silence was seen by many as the tacit consent of a powerful figure.

He glanced into the shadows of the VIP section, where Brut's brother, the man from the enforcement team, stood.

At this moment, the cruelty and mockery that had been on the man's face were gone, replaced by a deep sense of fear and hesitation.

Making a move against a useless teaching assistant with no background is completely different from making a move against a prodigy who has been favored by a bloodline mentor.

The former is like crushing an ant, while the latter could trigger a war between academic factions.

Rod straightened his torn sleeves and turned to walk toward the referee.

The wizard in charge of the judgment only came to his senses at this moment. He glanced at Jamie, who was unconscious outside the arena, and then at Rhodes, who was unharmed. He swallowed hard.

"The winner...the winner, History Department, Rod Griffin!"

As the referee announced the decision, thunderous applause and cheers erupted from the stands.

The wizarding world reveres the strong, whether that power comes from magic or bloodline.

Mentor Galon pushed aside his guards and jumped down from the stands without regard for his image, rushing towards Rhodes.

"My child! My good child!"

Galon's old face was plastered with an excessively kind smile, as if Rhodes were his long-lost grandson: "I am Galon of the bloodline. Tell me, do you often feel an uncontrollable surge of heat within you? Do you have an urge to tear everything apart when you're angry?"

Rhodes looked at his enthusiastic mentor and chuckled inwardly.

Of course not, that's just a side effect of extracting genes from the encyclopedia.

But on the surface, he showed a hint of confusion and hesitation, and nodded: "Yes, mentor. I always thought it was... some kind of illness."

"Illness? That's a gift! A blessing from the gods!"

Galon grabbed Rhodes' arm excitedly, as if he had grasped some priceless treasure: "Stop moving stones in the History Department! That's a waste of your life! Come to the Bloodline Department, and I'll personally guide you to become a true war wizard!"

On the other side of the stands, Professor Isaac looked at Rhodes, who was being fawned over by everyone, opened his mouth, and finally revealed a bitter smile that was both gratified and disappointed.

He knew that his little pond could never truly contain this dragon.