The weather was calm and sunny, the sky clear—a perfect day to go out.
A young female mage felt refreshed and cheerful, all because she had found a great job—as the home tutor for the Daughter of Duke Ryan.
The Duke was generous; just attending the interview would net her ten gold coins, and if officially hired, the monthly salary would reach fifty.
The more she thought about it, the more excited she became.
She secretly resolved: Today, I must take a carriage out!
She had specifically reserved a carriage, but the moment she stepped out of the inn, she was dumbfounded on the spot.
The inn’s entrance was packed with people early in the morning, a crowd so dense that not even a drop of water could seep through.
She hurriedly asked, “What happened?” Someone next to her replied, “There was a fight just now. The city guards are here to maintain order.”
“I see…” She sighed inwardly. It seemed her luck wasn’t great today.
With a crowd this dense, the carriage couldn’t possibly make it through. She could only walk a stretch on foot first.
She finally managed to get on a carriage, but before going far, it stopped again.
The coachman turned and said to her, “Miss, there’s some kind of traffic control up ahead. Seems a bigwig is returning to the Empire Capital. We can’t go any further.”
“All right then…” She paid the fare for that part of the ride and once more continued on foot, but the further she went, the more she felt something was off.
Not long after, mishaps began to occur one after another.
First, an old woman had her purse stolen and dragged her along to help catch the thief.
Next, a flower pot from a balcony above suddenly crashed down nearby.
The closer she got to the interview venue, the more accidents there were—she was nearly driven mad with anxiety.
“Goddess above! What wretched luck…” she shouted in frustration.
At this moment, the mastermind behind the scenes was leisurely standing inside the venue, sipping the floral tea that Duke Ryan used to entertain his guests.
The clock in the room struck ten times, signaling that it was now ten o’clock in the morning.
“Hmm… Looks like there aren’t many who want to be Her Highness Lilia’s home tutor.”
Charlotte Wuyue swept his gaze around. The hall was completely empty, not a soul besides himself.
Anyone could tell something fishy was going on here!
Duke Ryan suppressed his impatience and said, “Marquis of Wuyue, please wait a little longer…”
Charlotte glanced out the window. Outside the venue, several mages were hurrying over—some with torn robes, some missing their mage hats, each one looking bedraggled.
“No need, they won’t be able to come in.”
A blue halo lit up behind him, and for an instant, a glimmer flickered in his emerald-green eyes.
In an instant, ice pillars formed under the feet of the mages at the entrance, locking them firmly to the ground.
They could barely breathe, let alone cast magic.
The mages outside were on the verge of tears—the door was right there, but they couldn’t take a single step closer!
If only they could reach that place, they’d get ten gold coins!!!
Charlotte turned back and said to Duke Ryan, “Let’s begin the interview. I’ll cover their travel expenses as compensation.”
Duke Ryan’s face darkened, steel gray with anger.
He’d long known Charlotte would play tricks, but hadn’t expected the youth to be so bold, pulling such a stunt right under his nose.
In the end, only one person had come to interview for the position of his daughter’s home tutor. How could he show his face after this?
“Don’t push your luck, Charlotte Wuyue.” Duke Ryan was no pushover; he knew clearly that this young man before him was provoking him.
“Fine… Since you’re so eager to become my daughter’s tutor, then let’s have a test—defeat me!”
“Gladly, I couldn’t ask for more.” Charlotte smiled faintly, gazing at Ryan as if watching a beast fall into a trap…
Charlotte and Ryan now stood at the center of a Test Field for magic.
Ryan told Charlotte, “Marquis of Wuyue, if you’d rather not suffer, it’s not too late to refuse now. I haven’t even picked up my sword yet.”
Charlotte made no response, simply standing quietly with his eyes fixed on Ryan.
After a moment, he spoke slowly, “Duke Ryan, I’m already standing before you. What more is there to say…”
Ryan sighed helplessly. “Seems you’re quite serious about this match. Fine then, let me see for myself how much talent the Emperor himself praised you for.”
From the very beginning, Charlotte had been giving him trouble. This time, Ryan decided to go all out and teach Charlotte a real lesson.
As one of the Empire’s future pillars of strength, if Charlotte didn’t know to restrain his sharpness, it would spell disaster for a talent not yet fully grown.
A lone tree in the forest, the wind is sure to break it.
Ryan intended to give it his all and let Charlotte taste the bitterness of defeat.
Even if Charlotte was a prodigy, invincible among his peers, that didn’t mean he could defeat the strong.
Ordinary people could only train magic or Fighting Aura to the fourth rank, but Ryan—he had reached the fourth rank in both.
Just one step short of transcending into sainthood in both disciplines.
Ryan clapped his hands, and before long, a maid brought over a magic scroll and a sword.
The hilt of the long sword was carved with an ice-blue Blue Rose—a treasured heirloom of the Karen Family, the Blue Rose Sword.
The moment Ryan grasped the long sword, his aura changed. He planted the sword in the ground with one hand.
“Marquis of Wuyue, this is your last chance. In my hand is a Military Magic Barrier Scroll, meaning I might use fourth-rank or even stronger magic in this fight. Are you still willing to proceed?”
Charlotte’s face remained calm as he replied steadily, “I understand what you’re implying, Duke Ryan. I, Charlotte Wuyue, hereby promise—should I be injured or suffer any mishap in this duel, the Mistmoon Family will not pursue the matter.”
Ryan’s tone also grew grave. “Hmph, in that case, show me your true abilities.”
But Ryan knew well, Charlotte was just saying what sounded right—if something truly happened to him, never mind the Mistmoon Family, even the headmaster of Kalishi Academy would surely come to demand an explanation.
“Of course, as Her Highness Lilia’s tutor, I must also let my employer witness my skills.”
A considerable crowd had gathered to watch this duel—nearly every servant in the Karen Estate had come for the excitement, and of course, two mages responsible for security.
After all, the Military Magic Barrier might not withstand the spells of a fourth-rank peak mage.
“Wait!” Suddenly, a figure darted from the audience—a silvery-white silhouette tinged with pink, all too familiar to the two in the arena—Lilia Karen.
“Father! Please stop this nonsense! Marquis of Wuyue, you too—how could you accept such an unreasonable demand!”
Lilia was truly angry with her father this time. She hadn’t expected that the moment she left, her father would make such an outrageous decision.
A fourth-rank in both magic and Fighting Aura, bullying a third-rank mage? Wouldn’t people laugh if they heard?
Lilia knew her father was worried for her and didn’t trust Charlotte, but this was going too far—even using a Military Magic Barrier. Did he intend to kill Charlotte?
“Your Highness Lilia, please allow me to apologize for my earlier rudeness. If my abrupt proposal has brought shame to the Karen Family, I, Charlotte Wuyue, am willing to take responsibility. Let this duel serve as my apology.”
“Charlotte, you rascal! Even now, you’re still trying to win over my daughter.”
Duke Ryan’s rage spiked; he activated the magic scroll, and a massive white barrier enveloped the field.
From this moment, Charlotte had no way out.
“Marquis of Wuyue, you…” Lilia panicked instantly. Watching Charlotte’s calm and steady demeanor, her heart inexplicably tensed.
Her fingers twisted the hem of her dress unconsciously, and before she realized it, her palm was damp with cold sweat.
But Charlotte only smiled with confidence.
That’s right—from the start, this duel had already been in Charlotte’s grasp.
Charlotte had predicted Duke Ryan would challenge him, and had already mapped out his strategy for victory in his mind.
Charlotte asked Ryan, “Has the duel started yet?”
Though angry, Ryan kept his composure and said in a deep voice, “Of course. Let me warn you—I am a Magic Swordsman. If you think that’s unfair, I can let you have the first three moves.”
A deep purple magic circle flared beneath Charlotte’s feet. “No need.”
“Hmph, do you think you’re something special just because the Emperor praised you as a prodigy? Don’t forget—in my day, I was also called a genius!”
Ryan yanked the sword from the ground. The blade flashed coldly in the sunlight.
With a flick of his wrist, green Fighting Aura coiled around the blade.
The brilliance flowing along the sword’s edge burst forth, and as Ryan swung, it shot at Charlotte—a shrill screech tore through the air, forcing the maids in the audience to cover their ears.
In the blink of an eye, the magic circle beneath Charlotte’s feet expanded two or three times, radiating dark purple points of light.
Several slender, diamond-shaped barriers materialized in front of him—no more, no less—perfectly blocking three Wind Blades.
The Wind Blades struck the shields with the crisp sound of shattering glass.
Charlotte retaliated. With a light tap of his finger, a dark ring-shaped array formed in his palm.
He spread his hand toward Ryan; seven Shadow Missiles shrouded in black mist shot from the array, threading past Ryan’s blade at cunning angles as if drawn by invisible threads.
“Interesting…” Ryan dipped his left shoulder, evading the missiles, and his long sword swept sideways with a green gleam.
The moment Fighting Aura collided with dark magic, a plume of gray-black smoke erupted, and the shockwave whipped Charlotte’s black cloak into a frenzy.
“That’s an Augmentation Magic Circle under your feet, isn’t it?”
Ryan asked, for Charlotte’s shadow magic truly didn’t seem like something a third-rank mage could produce.
Charlotte gave no answer, simply unleashing more spells. Several Shadow Chains shot out, seeking to entangle Ryan.
Charlotte thought to himself, “Just as I expected…”
As Charlotte predicted, Ryan believed the circle beneath Charlotte’s feet was an augmentation array, and would now try to destroy it, even at the cost of expending a large amount of mana and Fighting Aura.
With repeated exchanges like this, the first to falter would surely be Duke Ryan—though it would take time.
Ryan sneered, summoning a crystalline blue magic circle in his hand. Ice spikes erupted from the ground, shattering the chains perfectly.
Charlotte nimbly shifted his footing, the magic circle moving with him.
Charlotte’s mana seemed inexhaustible.
Shadow Missiles fired at Ryan one after another; dense Shadow Chains launched from different circles; he even conjured a Shadow Sphere with a powerful suction to restrain Ryan.
Other mages, lacking precise control, typically used large-scale destructive spells.
The ability to command magic with such accuracy was the mark of at least a fourth-rank mage.
The audience stared in awe—magic could be used like this?
It was a dazzling display of precise spellcraft! Each spell flowed smoothly into the next, as if rehearsed in advance; every attack seized the perfect gap in Ryan’s actions.
Magic erupted like free fireworks, forcing Ryan into relentless evasion, searching for an opening.
Lilia gazed at Charlotte’s figure, entranced. The confidence he radiated in battle was impossible to fake.
Could she ever be like Charlotte? In him, she seemed to see the awe-inspiring Great Magus from her storybooks!
Lilia whispered, “No way… Could Charlotte really beat Father?”
No matter how one looked at it now, Charlotte held the advantage.
Ryan’s mouth twitched. This brat kept throwing out spells with no end—was he not worried about running out of mana?
There had to be something tricky about the circle under his feet. Ryan decided—he would force Charlotte to break his own circle.
Ryan deliberately left an opening and allowed a Shadow Chain to bind him. As expected, Charlotte seized the chance.
In an instant, mana surged, and dense, dark magic circles appeared overhead; black mist burst from the center, transforming into thousands of fine needles aimed straight at Ryan’s chest.
Amid the torrent of shadow needles, Ryan’s figure shattered into ice crystals—it was a doppelganger created with fourth-rank Ice Magic.
A chill ran down Charlotte’s back. With no warning, the air split with a razor-sharp screech, as if an invisible blade tore through space.
He didn’t even have time to see the attack’s origin—his body reacted before his mind: his back tensed, legs kicked off the ground, sending gravel flying, and he shot backward like an arrow from a bowstring.
The deadly aura grazed his nose. On the ground where he’d just stood, a half-foot-deep gash appeared, its edges still glowing with magical scorch marks.
Before he could land, a biting chill swept through the stone slabs underfoot.
Pale blue light flared like ghostly fire, racing through the cracks and weaving into a palm-sized crystal-blue array.
In its center, icy patterns spread and grew at a visible rate.
Before he could adjust, several arm-thick ice pillars burst from the ground, their frosty tips stabbing straight at his chest and abdomen.
Charlotte uttered a low curse, twisting his body mid-air.
His fluid leap turned into a clumsy tumble, and he crashed onto the ground—sharp stones biting through his clothes in a dull ache.
He dared not pause for a moment. The ice pillars brushed past his shoulder, showering his skin with icy shards that froze instantly into tiny crystals.
He scrambled, rolling on the ground; the hem of his robe was torn open by an ice pillar, letting in cold wind that mingled with his sweat, sending a shiver through him.
Ryan’s pursuit was relentless, giving no room to breathe.
From the corner of his eye, Charlotte caught the ghostly blue shimmer of Ryan’s long sword; every slash trailed a mist of ice, magic circles flaring at his feet in constant succession, as if the whole ground had become a trap.
He managed to focus just enough to hastily form a faint Magic Shield before him—“Bang!”
The sword struck the shield, spiderweb cracks radiating outward. Charlotte staggered back two steps from the shock, a metallic taste rising in his throat.
He thought grimly, “As expected… Dealing with someone who’s both a fourth-rank warrior and mage is tough.”
Charlotte hadn’t expected the tide of battle to turn so sharply.
Two more ice pillars shot in from either side.
Charlotte ducked low, letting the pillars whistle over his head and smash against the stone wall behind him, shattering into a storm of icy shards.
He dove forward, planting his hands on the ground, using his momentum to roll half a turn and barely dodged Ryan’s sweeping attack that followed.
His breathing was ragged, sweat soaking his bangs and sticking to his forehead.
Every dodge drained his strength; his mental energy was burning fast from constantly casting defensive spells.
There was no chance to mount a counterattack—he could only search for brief moments of respite amidst Ryan’s unyielding onslaught.
Now, the initiative had passed to Ryan.
And Charlotte, thrown into magical chaos, could no longer maintain the magic circle at his feet.