Chapter 65: Fight Like a Martial Master

In the once spacious room, aside from Misius, there stood a middle-aged man. His upper body was bare, revealing a physique knotted with muscles. His gaze was as sharp and piercing as an eagle, fixed upon Rollin.

“Misius, who might this be?” Rollin asked, his voice tinged with surprise and suspicion as he glanced at the man. Seeing that 'he' made no move, Rollin turned to Misius for answers.

Misius burst into laughter. “You mean 'him'? Well, he’s an alchemical puppet created by Misius, just like myself. I was made in Misius’s own image and fused with a fragment of his memory. That fellow, on the other hand, is nothing but muscle—a brawler, pure and simple!”

A brawler? Rollin was puzzled, but Misius continued, “Rollin, let’s leave his introduction for a moment. First, I’ll tell you about the reward for the second trial.”

Rollin listened intently, suspecting that among these rewards might be the formula for a potion that could cure his brother’s congenital leg ailment.

“If you pass the second trial,” Misius explained, “you will receive the formulas for seven-star and eight-star potions, a magic ring, the skills of a martial master, and a martial master’s weapon!”

Rollin felt his mind spinning. The mention of the seven-star and eight-star potion formulas filled him with hope; if he could obtain them, his brother’s leg might finally be healed. But what was this magic ring, and why was a martial master’s reward being given to a mage like himself?

Noticing Rollin’s confusion, Misius asked calmly, “You have a staff, don’t you? What’s its conductivity rate?”

Rollin didn’t see the connection, but he answered honestly, “Yes, I have a staff, but its conductivity rate is only sixty percent. Why do you ask, Misius?”

Misius smiled. “This magic ring functions just like your staff, but its conductivity rate is ninety percent. All you need to do is wear it on your finger to activate its power—no need to hold it like a staff.”

“Ninety percent!” Rollin’s eyes widened. He recalled seeing staffs in the Cervantes Alchemy Shop in the imperial capital: his own sixty percent staff cost two hundred gold coins; a seventy percent staff cost thousands; an eighty percent staff soared to tens of thousands. The ring’s conductivity rate was an astonishing ninety percent—he’d never seen a staff of that quality in Cervantes.

Furthermore, Rollin knew that, given the same conductivity, the smaller the staff, the harder it was to craft. This ring was so tiny, yet could be worn on the finger and function as a staff—truly remarkable!

“Now, about the martial master’s skills and weapon,” Misius continued, “I admit I find this reward a bit puzzling. My memories say that Misius once hoped mages would also cultivate martial mastery, but I don’t know why.”

Rollin was speechless. He couldn’t fathom what Misius from millennia ago had been thinking; everyone who entered this sanctuary was a mage, yet the second trial rewarded them with martial master skills and weapons. Did he really expect mages to dual-cultivate martial mastery? That discipline required the cultivation of battle energy and physical strength—each aspect demanded great effort, and talent was essential. Two years ago, Rollin’s constitution had been so poor that he failed the martial master test in Bosang Town.

This reward left him baffled, so he shook his head and stopped pondering it. What mattered was the nature of the second trial. “Misius, what is the challenge for the second trial?” he asked.

Misius’s expression turned odd. “Because the reward involves martial mastery, the challenge is related to martial masters.”

Rollin grimaced inwardly. Martial mastery was his weakest area—he’d failed even the basic physical tests as a child. Could this trial really involve a martial master’s test? If so, he was in trouble.

Misius gestured toward the muscular alchemical puppet. “Here’s the task: defeat this puppet within two hours. Its strength will match your mage level. You’re currently a third-level mage, so it will fight as a third-level martial master.”

Relief washed over Rollin. “This isn’t too difficult,” he thought. “Though the opponent is a puppet, its ability is only third-level. With my triple-element magic, and especially the army of fearless undead in my necromancer’s domain, defeating it shouldn’t be too hard.”

Suddenly, Rollin sensed something amiss. He recalled Misius mentioning that out of ninety-eight who passed the first trial over the past ten thousand years, only nine managed to clear the second. If it were this easy, why was the pass rate so low?

Sure enough, a sly grin appeared on Misius’s face. “Ah, you seem to realize the challenge is not so simple. There’s another requirement: when you fight the puppet, you must battle like a martial master.”

“Battle like a martial master? What does that mean?” Rollin asked, perplexed.

Misius’s smile grew broader. Stroking the wild tangle of his beard, he said slowly, “To fight as a martial master means you cannot use any magic or mental power against the puppet. You must defeat it with your fists and feet, just as a martial master would!”

“Damn!” Rollin couldn’t help but curse. He was on the verge of tears. A mage’s greatest asset in battle was mental and magical power—those enabled him to unleash formidable spells and summon undead allies. Now, he was being told to fight a third-level puppet without magic or mental strength. How could a mage be expected to do this?

“Misius, surely you misspoke?” Rollin ventured. “A mage without mental or magical power—how can he possibly fight?”

The burly, disreputable Misius chuckled. “That’s how Misius set it up ten thousand years ago—I’m just following the rules. No magic or mental power allowed; that’s what fighting like a martial master means. If you have battle energy, use it by all means—I won’t stop you.”

Rollin rolled his eyes. “Battle energy? I don’t have any! What mage would bother dual-cultivating magic and martial arts?”

“It’s all clear now. The second trial begins!” Misius declared, waving toward the puppet. The muscular puppet immediately turned to face Rollin, its eyes flashing with fierce light.

At the same moment, Rollin was shocked to find his magic and mental power sealed off, unreachable. Even his necromancer’s domain was frozen. He couldn’t even summon a massive stone to tip the fight with its weight!

As Rollin reeled in confusion, the puppet moved, charging at him with lightning speed, its gigantic fist hurtling toward him like a cannonball!