"Hmm... It's possible." Barnes silently nodded.

"Hey! Amos Mage is dueling someone! Hurry up and watch!"

Suddenly, a few magic apprentices ran past the window.

"A duel? What's happening? Is it because of love?"

"Who knows? With his strange temper, who knows who he offended? Or maybe someone offended him. That's possible too."

"Should we bring a chair? It might go on for a long time."

Barnes was stunned, her eyes widened as she stared out the window: "Wasn't he just giving examinations to candidates earlier?"

At that moment, two more magic apprentices walked by.

"I heard the opponent is a candidate. Oh my, candidates can directly challenge the examiner now?"

"Failed the exam and resorted to violence? Maybe I'll try that next time I flunk a test."

"Wake up, you'd get beaten to the ground by the mages!"

"Dueling a candidate?" Barnes was stunned, quickly got up, and rushed out.

...

Located on the roots of the Sacred Tree, in the northwestern magical training field of the Magic Academy.

The wind gently blew, stirring a few fallen leaves.

Above, the canopy of the Sacred Tree; below, dappled patches of sunlight. Surrounding the area were the ancient structures of the Magic Academy.

Amos and Angel stood at the very center of the spacious training field, their gazes locked.

By the entrance, a small crowd of magic apprentices had already gathered, both men and women.

Barnes hurried over, pushing past the gathered apprentices to the forefront, staring in shock.

"Master Mage! What are you doing? Wasn't this supposed to be an exam? How did it turn into a duel!" She shouted, intending to step forward and intervene.

"Stay out of this! The examination isn't over!" Amos stopped Barnes, then pointed at Angel and said loudly: "Your knowledge of magic is impressive, your spell casting has passed, and even your proficiency in the ancient elven language is excellent. But that's still not enough. Next, I will test your spell-casting skills and adaptability! These are the core abilities of a mage! No matter how great your knowledge is, if you can't cast spells effectively to achieve your goals, it's all meaningless! Here, take this wand!"

As he spoke, Amos tossed the wand in his hand toward Angel.

Angel caught the wand, gripping it nervously as he focused his eyes entirely on Amos.

"This is part of the exam?" Barnes was at a loss for words.

The nearby apprentices began murmuring.

"What's going on? Is the admission test spell-casting now? That's excessive!"

"If you can cast spells before admission, then what's the point of joining the academy?"

"Isn't the adult candidate admission exam usually just about magic power perception? When did casting spells become part of it?"

"Begin!" Ignoring the apprentices' chatter, Amos extended a hand, drawing a circle in front of him while chanting an incantation.

Quickly, a semi-transparent magic shield was summoned: "Use whatever magic you wish. As long as you can penetrate this shield and hurt me—even just knock off one of my beard hairs—you'll be admitted. It's that simple."

Simple?

The apprentices all swallowed nervously.

"Isn't this the Triple Shield Technique?"

"It seems so..."

"A triple-layered one..."

"And it's not even using his own familiar wand..."

Someone whispered, "I've been at this academy for twenty years, never failed any test, yet I'm not sure I could definitely break through that shield..."

Angel quietly observed Amos, slightly parted his lips, and began chanting.

Soon, red flames gathered before him and were tentatively hurled toward Amos.

With a loud "boom," the fireball exploded. After the flash of light faded, the shield appeared untouched before everyone.

Someone whispered, "Was that a single-layer Fireball Technique? It looked like a second-layer to me..."

"That was definitely a second-layer Fireball Technique..." another answered softly.

Being able to use a second-layer Fireball Technique before even enrolling... Perhaps the only one not surprised in the crowd was Amos himself. After all, he had already been shocked so many times today, he was numb.

Angel continued chanting.

A wave of cold swept through the training field, noticeably dropping the surrounding temperature.

In front of Angel, a mass of thin ice needles appeared. With a sharp "whoosh," they all darted toward Amos, hitting the shield and breaking apart. The shield still remained intact.

"This one's definitely single-layer, Ice Cone Skill." The apprentices all collectively exhaled in relief.

If Angel had pulled out a second-layer Ice Cone Skill, they might have collapsed from inferiority. After all, few apprentices, even after twenty years in the academy, reached the level of dual-element second-layer proficiency at age fifteen.

However, their relief might have come too soon.

Angel began chanting a third incantation.

This time, what appeared were Wind Blades, single-layer. Although they still couldn't touch the shield, the apprentices were dumbstruck.

"Three elements?"

Angel proceeded to chant a fourth incantation.

A weak Holy Light radiated from the sky, falling upon him—a first-layer Blessing Spell.

"Four elements? My god... How many magic systems has he learned? And he's an unadmitted candidate?" It was a catastrophic day for the apprentices, an extremely disastrous day. A severe blow to their confidence.

Amos squinted slightly, quietly observing Angel.

"What are you planning to do? That's the Triple Shield Technique. You can't break it using these beginner, single-layer spells." The little devil sounded a bit impatient: "By the way, can you even use triple-layer magic?"

"I can't."

"Then what's your plan?"

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