I am the Enchantress!

"what?"

Wilder's lips twitched.

Shouldn't an interview be something like two people sitting face-to-face, chatting, and if it works out, great, if not, then that's it?

Why do you still need to take action?

This doesn't sound like something a gentlemanly profession like a mage should be doing.

The warriors are similar, but the evaluation only covers slashing at thin air.

"What? You're too scared?" Hollen asked. "It's not too late to give up now."

Wilder has nothing he wouldn't dare to do.

No matter how formidable Hollen may be, he is ultimately not as terrifying as the Phase Spider or the Shark Lizard Beast; at least he won't actually kill anyone.

The benefits of adventure are never just experience and gold coins, but also the courage to face powerful enemies.

For Wilder, there was no fear whatsoever; he didn't even feel nervous.

"I'm just a little nervous."

A very natural unease appeared on Wilder's face.

His lips were pressed into a thin line, he was breathing heavily through his nostrils, and his eyelashes were twitching rapidly.

But his right hand naturally reached behind his back, palm up, steadily preparing the spell.

Before Hollen was even aware of it, the battle had already quietly begun with the "actors".

"There's no need to be nervous, I won't kill you."

Hollen didn't notice anything unusual on his face.

It's only natural that an eighteen-year-old novice mage would be nervous facing a senior mage.

"If you don't fall down within twenty seconds, you pass."

"It's taking so long? Could it be a little shorter?"

As he spoke, Wilder sensed the fluctuations of magic power in his right hand; it would take a few more seconds to complete.

"Instead of wasting your energy on haggling, you might as well save it and hold on a little longer," Hollen said, unmoved.

Wilder didn't expect him to agree; he just wanted to buy time.

"What constitutes a fall? Landing entirely on the ground? If only the lower or upper body lands, does that count?"

"You talk too much nonsense!"

Hollen was too lazy to argue with him. "From now on, Fina will be in charge of keeping time."

"Wait! I'm not ready yet. Shall we start after we count to three?" Wilder kept nagging.

Hollen didn't speak, but only glanced at Fina.

"Three, two..."

Fina began the countdown.

"one!"

Before he could finish speaking, Wilder already felt the surging magical energy in his palm.

He quickly flipped his palm, and white light poured out, forming a thick white mist around him.

The air swayed slightly, and the white mist dissipated in an instant.

Four identical Wilders appeared in the open space.

【Mirror Image Technique】

The spell was successfully cast.

Hollen on the other side was stunned for a moment before realizing that he had been tricked by this novice mage.

All that nonsense he was spouting was just stalling for time to unleash the Mirror Image spell.

nervous?

He even has tactics!

"Kid, you're pretty smart!"

Hollen did not lose his temper.

What started as a boring beating of an apprentice has now become quite interesting.

Wilder completely ignored Hollen's reaction.

The moment the Mirror Image Technique took effect, he had already begun preparing the [Greasy Technique].

A mage apprentice fighting against a senior mage is inherently an unfair duel.

Even with the system's support, he couldn't change the fact that he was being completely crushed.

To win, you can't rely on magic alone.

As a high-ranking mage, Hollen has only one drawback compared to Wilder.

underestimate the enemy.

Every second he underestimated this novice mage became a crucial moment for Wilder to prepare his spells.

At this moment, Hollen saw four identical Wilders before him, all making the same hand gestures to charge up their spells, making it impossible to tell which one was the real Wilder.

"If you can't see clearly, then take them down one by one."

He casually spread out his palm.

One second, or two seconds.

A silver-white glowing energy ball, about four inches in diameter, rose from his palm.

【Colorful Ball】

Level 1 spell.

Five colors, corresponding to five types of additional damage.

Strong acid, freezing, flame, lightning, toxins, thunder.

This silvery-white light is lightning, which can cause a powerful paralysis effect on enemies.

"This is fine, no one will die."

Hollen waved his hand at Wilder, who was standing at the front, and an energy ball carrying lightning suddenly flew out at an extremely fast speed!

He didn't hide.

"Bang!"

The mirror image had extremely low defense; its body instantly disintegrated and vanished into the air.

"Next are the left and right sides."

This time, Hollen opened both palms simultaneously, and a green and an ice-blue energy ball rose up on the left and right sides respectively.

"Strong acid and freezing? No one will die."

Hollen waved both hands, sending two energy balls flying toward Wilder on the left and right sides respectively.

"But you might be left with a disability, so you'd better stay away!"

However, none of them managed to dodge, and they dissipated into the air as phantoms.

"My luck was a bit bad, but there's only one left, so this time it won't be a mistake."

A blazing red energy ball was gathering in his palm. "Flames? This could really kill someone!"

"Your luck is really bad!"

The last remaining form of Wilder suddenly spoke, revealing a captivating smile.

"Um?"

Before Hollen could understand, he suddenly felt the surroundings darken.

He looked up abruptly, and the thick oil mist had somehow obscured the sky above him.

【Greasy Techniques】

fall!

Hollen's calm expression instantly turned stern. He immediately dissipated the fireball that was gathering in his palm, and leaped away, barely dodging the falling grease.

I almost got myself into trouble.

Six seconds?

Five seconds?

Hollen was secretly surprised. He had actually prepared the greasy technique so quickly?

The speed at which a spell is cast determines a mage's life, and advanced mages are extremely sensitive to time.

Hollen was able to stroll so leisurely because he had calculated that Wilder's spellcasting time would definitely be more than ten seconds.

The result was a reduction of almost half?

Did you use a staff?

But his oak staff was still tucked into his waistband.

An eighteen-year-old mage apprentice can cast a level one spell in just five or six seconds.

Has Ironweave Town truly produced a magical genius?

"Good lad!" Hollen exclaimed excitedly.

Wilder, however, didn't have such thoughts. The failure of the grease spell was within his expectations. After all, his opponent was a high-level mage, and what he wanted was not to defeat him, but to buy time.

Fina was idly counting down the days beside her.

"Eleven, ten..."

We've made it about halfway through.

Wilder drew his staff with his right hand and held it in his hand, where a [magic missile] was hidden.

With his left hand outstretched upwards, he prepared to launch another [Magic Missile].

Hollen prepared to continue his attack, wanting to see just how far this kid could go.

But just as he raised his right hand to cast a spell—

"Magic Missile!"

The ruby ​​on Wilder's staff suddenly lit up, and three extremely fast, deep pink missiles shot straight at Hollen!

He initiated the attack.

If he waits for Hollen to make the first move, he will inevitably have to interrupt his spell preparation. Moreover, Hollen's spellcasting is almost instantaneous, and once he is interrupted, he may not have another chance to prepare his spell.

Therefore, it is better to take the initiative. With the magic missile's guaranteed hit attribute, Hollen will inevitably have to cast a spell to defend.

This back-and-forth process can take up a lot of time.

As expected, Hollen abandoned the attack and instead cast [Shield Spell].

A pale yellow aura of magical energy instantly enveloped him, blocking the missile's damage.

"Seven, six..."

Hollen raised his hand again, ready to attack.

But the missile in Wilder's left hand was not ready yet; it was still two or three seconds away.

"Magic Missile!"

He raised his staff high again and shouted at Hollen with overwhelming force.

That resolute gaze seemed to foresee the missile exploding on him.

Hollen was taken aback.

besides?

Without much thought, he immediately cast the shield spell again.

However, the ruby ​​at the tip of Wilde's staff remained dim, and no spells were cast.

"Um?"

"Just kidding." Wilder grinned.

"Three, two..."

"one!"

Time's up.