Wizards begin by accessing the Inspiration panel.

Chapter 68 First or Second Place (Bonus Chapter 1)

On the arena, Andrea's dark element shield was finally shattered by William's relentless attacks with his twin swords!

"Damn it!" Just as Andrea adjusted her posture, William stabbed Andrea in the knee joint with his sword, hitting the weak point in her armor.

Richard knew at a glance that Andrea was going to lose. It seemed that even he himself would be outmatched in close combat against William, who possessed the physical attributes of a high-level knight and top-notch swordsmanship.

However, his strengths were not physical abilities or close combat, so engaging in close combat with William would definitely not be a wise move.

I remember a famous saying from the book "Guiguzi" from a past life: "Use your strengths to attack their weaknesses" is the right way to do things.

"Swoosh~" A thin line of blood shot out from her knee joint, and Andrea staggered, her speed decreasing sharply.

As a high-ranking knight, William was well aware of the weak points of knightly armor, so he attacked by thrusting with his longsword rather than slashing.

A thrust, concentrating one's strength on a single point, can quickly penetrate thick knight's armor. Although Andrea's armor is not ordinary, the joints are relatively weak points, just like other ordinary knight's armor!

The fact that such a tiny wound was caused by a full-force stab from a high-ranking knight is already a testament to their impressive defensive capabilities!

"Ding ding, slurp~"

William struck three more times, but Andrea only managed to block two before his injured knee was struck again.

This time, he could no longer stand and knelt on one knee.

William did not continue his attack, but silently held his sword and looked at Andrea.

Andrea turned to look at the third-level wizard apprentice beside her and raised her hand to indicate that she had given up!

"William Bannings wins!" The third-level wizard apprentice on the arena announced loudly the result of the second match of the semifinals, and then added, "In one hour, the third match of the semifinals will begin, Richard Clavel versus William Bannings!"

"Clap clap clap!" The whole audience burst into enthusiastic applause, and the freshmen in the venue were also discussing among themselves.

"William is absolutely terrifying, he completely dominated Andrea the entire time!"

"Indeed, did you just hear what Andrea said? William seems to possess the physical attributes of a high-ranking knight!"

"A high-ranking knight? That's an exaggeration! William is only sixteen or seventeen years old."

"It seems Richard is in danger in the next match. William hasn't been playing at full strength at all so far, so we can't tell how strong he is at all."

"Yes, although Richard is also very powerful, at least there are clues to follow, and everyone knows about the level zero witchcraft he used in the previous few matches, so it is relatively easier to guard against."

"That's true. Although the semifinals are a round-robin format, the next match is essentially the final. Regardless of whether William or Richard wins, he'll be the undisputed champion. Let's wait and see!"

From the stands, Karina chuckled and teased Meiluo, "Tsk tsk, your junior is about to compete for the top spot among the freshmen, aren't you excited? Like I told you before, you'd better hurry up; if you like someone, you should take the initiative!"

"What? By the way, Karina, do you think Richard can beat this William?" Mei Luo said, but her head was already lowered and her cheeks were flushed.

An hour later, the Level 3 Wizard Apprentice announced: "Match 3 of the semi-finals: Richard Clavel vs. William Bannings!"

The previously noisy dueling arena instantly fell silent, with William and Richard standing still on the ring.

"Richard, Andrea disappointed me in the last match, so don't disappoint me again!" William said with a smile.

This time, William didn't take any chances and removed the weighted wristbands before the final.

"We'll find out once we try," Richard replied calmly.

"The match begins!" shouted the third-level wizard apprentice.

As soon as he finished speaking, Richard fired three black-feathered arrows. With the help of the giant bow, the three black beams shot straight at William like three bolts of lightning, a multi-shot attack.

William's figure swayed three times in the blink of an eye, leaving three afterimages in his place, and he calmly dodged Richard's multiple shots!

Richard's expression immediately turned serious; this was a situation he had never encountered before.

"A very fast arrow, but unfortunately, it's not fast enough for me. To hit me, it needs to be even faster!"

William said this with a rather relaxed expression.

Richard's pupils contracted. Faced with William's verbal provocation, he knew that the other party was definitely not as relaxed as he spoke. This was more of a psychological tactic to undermine the opponent's fighting spirit.

If one's fighting spirit is not firm, such words will disturb one's mind, causing one to quickly reveal weaknesses and be easily defeated.

However, sometimes to successfully hit the enemy, you don't necessarily have to speed up yourself; you can also choose to slow down the enemy.

Richard immediately used his Proficiency Level Slow spell, and a black light instantly enveloped William, reducing William's speed by at least half.

Now, when William dodged Richard's arrows again, he struggled greatly and was no longer as composed as before.

"That's right, Richard, you're the first person who's qualified for me to use witchcraft on." William said, somewhat embarrassed and angry.

William cast a level-zero spell on himself for the first time. The casting speed was extremely fast. In a moment, two wisps of black mist seemed to attach themselves to William's legs as if they were alive.

"Huh! Isn't this the Black Wind Spell, a level zero witchcraft that very few people learn?" A level two wizard apprentice in the stands asked the person next to him.

"That's right. This level zero spell mainly enhances one's flexibility by about 30%. In other words, the higher one's flexibility, the more advantageous it is to cast this spell on oneself."

"However, if one's own flexibility is already poor, then the effect of this witchcraft will be very weak," his companion explained.

"I understand now. No wonder William chose such a level zero spell. For him, the effect of this spell can enhance his flexibility to the extreme." The level two wizard apprentice immediately nodded, indicating that he fully understood his companion's explanation.

Now, when William moved again, he returned to his original ghostly agility, making him completely invisible!

It almost completely negated the effects of the slowing spell Richard had previously cast on him.

With a swift movement, he dodged Richard's near-sonic arrow once again!

"Richard, is that all you have? If so, then you lose!"

In an instant, William lunged forward, rapidly wielding his twin swords, creating a whirlwind of blades as he attacked Richard, employing his signature whirlwind sword technique.

Richard said calmly, "Of course!"

Having said that, he held nothing back, mobilizing the exceptionally pure mental energy in his mind, and instantly unleashing a secondary mental shock!

William was stunned. The two swords he was swinging rapidly stopped, and the Whirlwind Sword Technique he had just unleashed was interrupted as if it had jammed.

"It's this witchcraft! Davos was instantly killed because of it before!" a freshman in the arena couldn't help but shout.

Taking advantage of this opening, Richard used the Weakness spell for the first time!

This chapter is an extra chapter! I'm hoping to make a run for the fourth round of recommendations, so I hope you readers can support my humble work over the next two days. Thank you!

(End of this chapter)