Leon had deliberately chosen the most secluded assessment room, and he had already been managing his mana with extreme caution.
Every spell was precisely controlled to hit the passing line of the 【Crowned】 rank, near the glorious rank—neither impressive nor lackluster, and certainly not creating any major disturbance.
Everything was so normal, so ordinary; it was just a certification for a passing mage that couldn't be more mundane.
Although the 【Crowned】 rank was considered rare in the borderlands, Worcester City was, after all, a first-tier provincial capital. It wasn't exactly a rare sight.
So how did he end up being targeted by this guy?
And...
Leon looked into Kevin's eyes, which seemed as if they could see through everything.
Although this guy was an arrogant scion of a wealthy family, his vision was indeed sharp. He had actually seen through the fact that Leon was holding back at a single glance.
Now things were troublesome.
"This is bad, this is bad, this is bad! I told you so! I told you to pick another time, but you just had to keep acting all mysterious..."
In the darkest corner of the assessment room, a figure draped in a large apprentice robe was trembling.
Lucrezia had pulled her hood extremely low, almost covering her entire face. Her body was still shivering slightly, appearing as though she was terrified by the scene.
In reality... she was drained.
Just a minute ago, right before Branch President Brandon pushed open the door.
Feeling the powerful presence outside, Lucrezia, relying on a dragon-blooded sorcerer's sixth sense for danger, made an extremely bold and "quick-witted" decision—
All-in!
Taking advantage of the gap while the examiner wasn't looking, she poured 80% of the mana in her body into Leon in one go!
Because she knew that if she tried any tricks after they entered, she would definitely be seen through by that palace-rank old man.
Only by charging him up in advance and turning Leon into a full-status "pseudo-glorious mage" could they better handle the sudden situation!
"Huff... huff..."
At this moment, Lucrezia's face was flushed and her legs were weak—the aftereffect of having her mana drained instantly.
Leaning against the corner, she panted while watching the situation in the room.
Wait... that examiner was pushed aside?
And that seemingly powerful old man isn't stopping it?
Could it be... that this is also within the small fry's calculations?!
At this thought, the way Lucrezia looked at Leon changed, shifting from her original worry into a sort of inexplicable, profound admiration.
As expected of the small fry... he even calculated this step?
Leon: No, I didn't. I'm actually panicking right now.
"Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!"
Inside the assessment grounds, flames soared.
Rather than a magic duel, it was more like a one-sided slaughter.
The staff in Kevin Felton's hand swung like a windmill. Every swing was accompanied by a fireball screaming out like a cannonball, smashing ruthlessly toward the figure who was scurrying away in distress.
"Is the heavens punishing me?!"
Kevin roared with a distorted expression while firing off spells frantically, as if trying to vent all the resentment from the past few months onto this unlucky bastard in front of him.
"Being kicked out of a top-tier team and exiled to this group of trash who aren't even as good as candidates! And I have to play house with you garbage in a borderland countryside like this! It's truly hell!"
As a genius born into the Solan Empire—the world's strongest nation—and one of its top noble families, the Felton family, how much blood, sweat, and tears had he endured in his training since childhood?
He had clearly produced results; he was already a leader among his peers... yet just because he made one tiny mistake...
He had fallen to this state?!
"I won't accept it! I won't accept this!!"
Kevin let out a furious roar, the mana fluctuations on his body surging again as the color of his fireballs turned from orange-red to deep crimson.
"Why did I have to come to this remote little kingdom! I'll make you realize just how weak and incompetent you are!"
He looked at Leon, who was struggling to dodge across from him, the fury in his eyes finally finding an outlet.
"Your backhand casting is weak, your forehand construction is unskilled, your footwork is loose, and your reactions are sluggish!"
"Not a single movement is decent! And you think you can stand on the same stage as me? Dream on!"
"Bang!"
Another exploding fireball detonated at Leon's feet. The resulting shockwave sent Leon flying, slamming him heavily against the protective barrier.
"So... so strong..."
Leon "struggled" to climb up from the ground, clutching his chest. His face was a mask of terror and despair, as if he had been beaten to the point of having no strength to fight back.
However—
Tsk, this guy only has this much strength... this is a bit difficult to handle.
While Leon yawned internally, he precisely controlled his muscles to create the illusion of "staggering back after being hit."
Too weak.
Simply too weak.
This arrogant muscular bro in front of him might have intimidating mana, but his casting wind-up was as long as an old lady crossing the street.
With Leon's current strength, even using only one hand, it would take less than five seconds to knock this guy flat.
But he couldn't do it...
After all, a palace-rank big shot was watching from the sidelines.
If he performed too shockingly—for instance, using a casual 【Spell Counter】 + 【Blink】 + point-blank instant-cast Pyroblast to blow this guy's head off like a watermelon...
It would be satisfying, but the consequences would be unimaginable.
That kind of logic-defying combat power would definitely result in him being tied up and taken to a floating city immediately...
More importantly...
Who knows if those old fogies at Arcanum could withstand the pressure from the Holy Light Church?
Never overestimate the value of a "genius," and never underestimate the filthiness of politics.
This continent was never short on so-called geniuses.
Before growing into a true titan, would they really go head-to-head with the continent's number one violent organization, the "Holy Light Church," or even bet the entire association's foundation for a slightly interesting "rising star"?
Don't be ridiculous.
Capitalists wouldn't make such a losing deal, let alone those shrewd old mages.
When the time came and the Church's army pressed the borders, he would definitely be the first sacrifice pushed out to appease their wrath.
"So, stay low and don't get cocky."
The alarm bells rang in Leon's mind once more. "Now is clearly not the time where the whole world will step aside for me."
And so, Leon was forced to enter Oscar-winning actor mode.
Was that side-roll just now a bit too cool?
No, next time has to be more pathetic. Ideally, I should face-plant like I'm eating dirt.
While "panting heavily" and dodging attacks, Leon was frantically reviewing his acting performance in his mind.
Sigh... what a pain.
A trace of bitterness rose in Leon's heart.
Ever since he got used to being a legendary mage, the combat rhythm of these low-tier spells was simply torture to him.
It was like someone who was used to eating full imperial banquets suddenly being asked to research how to make husks and wild herbs look fancy.
He had forgotten most of the low-tier skills; he could only remember some of the most basic ones.
Trying to make this "amateur scuffle" look realistic was actually more exhausting than going all out.
That should be enough...
Leon estimated the time.
The examiner earlier said that as long as he could last two rounds of assessment, he would pass.
Now that he had lasted this long against this mad dog, who was much fiercer than the examiner, the quality of his performance should be even higher.
Alright, time to wrap this up.
Next, I just need to find an opportunity to intentionally leave a huge opening and take one of his hits head-on...
Rate on N.U.
