The Puppet’s single eye glowed red, locking onto the frail-looking young man standing before it.
Heavy footsteps echoed as it began its charge.
Within the entire dueling ground, everyone’s gaze was fixed on this moment, but this time, the air no longer brimmed with expectation—instead, it was a cruel anticipation of spectacle.
They wanted to see how this former prince would be crushed in humiliation by this machine of steel.
Leo yawned.
Boring.
When the Magitek Puppet was less than ten meters away from him, he finally moved.
He raised his right hand—not to cast a spell, but simply snapped his fingers in the air.
“Snap.”
A crisp sound rang out.
Immediately after, three massive, earth-yellow magic circles unfurled before him, glowing brilliantly!
“Vmm—vmm—vmm—”
Under the astonished gaze of thousands, three towering, two-meter-tall humanoid beings made entirely of stone and earth rose up from the magic circles!
[Earth Elementals]!
They let out deep, rumbling roars, as if the earth itself was trembling in response.
Just moments ago, the dueling ground was filled with whispers and schadenfreude, but now, it was plunged into a deathly silence.
Everyone looked as if they had been petrified, eyes wide, mouths agape, staring blankly at those three colossal figures—and the slender silhouette standing before them.
It took several seconds before a shriek, as if to shatter lungs, broke the silence.
“Holy crap! A Summoner?!”
That shout was like a spark thrown into boiling oil, igniting the entire arena in an instant!
“A Summoner! He’s actually a Summoner!”
“My god! How is that possible? Wasn’t his magical aptitude supposed to be zero?”
“A Summoner! That’s even rarer than Miss Christine’s dual affinities!”
“Three! He summoned three at once! Just how much mana does that take?!”
On the Grandstand, even the instructors shot up from their seats in unison, disbelief etched across their faces.
The vice-dean even forgot to put down his teacup, letting scalding tea spill all over his prized mage robes.
Summoning magic!
One of the most mysterious, and most powerful, branches of magic in this era!
And it had appeared in a dethroned prince, judged by the royal family as “zero aptitude”?
This was more outrageous than a dragon dancing in the royal capital’s main square!
…Well, perhaps that was still a bit more outrageous.
Leo ignored the thunderous waves of shock around him.
He eyed the three diligent “infrastructure workers” before him and curled his lip in his heart.
Well, they’ll have to do.
Usually, these three only dug foundations and built walls back in his territory.
At this moment, the Magitek Puppet’s charge was almost upon him.
Leo lazily waved his hand at the three Earth Elementals, giving his command.
His tone was as if he were directing laborers at a worksite.
“Go. Tear it down for me.”
“Raar!”
The three Earth Elementals, receiving their orders, strode forward without hesitation, charging straight at the oncoming Magitek Puppet.
The next moment, the scene made everyone’s eyeballs nearly drop to the floor.
There was no clash of spells and steel, no duel of arcane might and mechanical force as expected.
Instead, what erupted was a raw, utterly primitive… monster wrestling match.
The foremost Earth Elemental completely ignored the Magitek Puppet’s swinging steel fist, spread its arms wide, and locked the Puppet’s waist in a bear hug!
“Clang!”
The Puppet’s charge came to a screeching halt.
The other two Earth Elementals seized the chance to flank from left and right.
They cared nothing for attacking weak points or clever tactics.
Their logic was simple.
Boss said to tear it down.
So, tear it down!
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Huge fists of stone rained down on the Magitek Puppet’s head, chest, and joints.
The heavy thuds made the students in the stands grit their teeth.
Of course, the Magitek Puppet wasn’t about to just sit and take it.
Its trapped arms struggled madly, swinging out—one fist smashing the left Earth Elemental in the face, another pounding the right one in the chest.
“Boom! Boom!”
Shards of rock flew everywhere.
But the Earth Elementals seemed to have no concept of pain.
Their sole objective was to smash the iron lump before them into scrap.
The scene descended into utter chaos.
The clashing of metal and stone rang out endlessly, with sparks and debris flying all about.
What kind of magic evaluation was this?
This was clearly a street brawl—three against one!
And as for the instigator, Leo stood to the side as if nothing was happening, hands in his pockets, leisurely enjoying the show.
He even had the time to offer some on-the-spot guidance.
“Hey, you on the left, yes you, don’t just pound its head. That’s the hardest part.”
“Hit its knees! Can’t you see its legs are wobbling? Idiot!”
“And you in the middle—put some muscle into it! Didn’t eat breakfast?!”
The students in the stands were completely dumbfounded.
From shock, to dazed silence, to… fascination.
“This… this actually works?”
“Damn, just damn! This is way more exciting than those spell duels earlier!”
“Every punch lands! Look, the Puppet’s chest plate is caved in!”
“Why do I feel like… Prince Leo is directing workers to demolish illegal construction?”
The absurd yet awe-inspiring spectacle had completely wiped away the tension and reverence that Christine and Irina had generated earlier.
The atmosphere now was like watching an extraordinary circus performance.
The instructors on the Grandstand exchanged glances, their expressions odd, trying not to laugh.
This test… something about it felt very off.
The fight settled into a strange stalemate.
The Magitek Puppet’s defense was truly impressive—after being pummeled by three Earth Elementals for so long, it was dented all over, but its core components seemed intact.
Yet the Earth Elementals’ defense was even greater.
The Puppet’s fists struck them like pounding real stone, only breaking off some fragments.
“Boom!”
Just then, the Magitek Puppet seemed to seize an opening, its energy core overloading as its arms surged with power, tearing free from the Earth Elemental’s embrace—then delivered a heavy punch right to its chest!
“Crack—”
That Earth Elemental froze, a gaping hole appearing in its chest before it collapsed with a crash, breaking into a pile of rubble.
“Ah! One’s down!”
Cries of surprise rang out from the stands.
Now it was two versus one.
There should finally be some suspense, right?
However, Leo only clicked his tongue impatiently.
He snapped his fingers again.
“Snap.”
Once more, that familiar magic circle flared to life.
Under everyone’s stunned gaze, a brand new Earth Elemental climbed up from the ground, roaring as it rejoined the fray.
Back to three-on-one.
Now even the instructors on the Grandstand couldn’t sit still.
“Instant summoning… and not a word of incantation!”
“His mana… he’s summoned four Earth Elementals and still isn’t showing any signs of fatigue!”
“A monster! This kid’s mana reserves are monstrous!”
Everyone knew: summoning one Earth Elemental cost 40 mana.
Four in succession?
That’s 160.
For a freshman, that’s nearly a third of their total mana.
But Leo?
His face wasn’t flushed, he wasn’t out of breath—he even seemed impatient just waiting around.
His expression seemed to say: Is that it? I could summon thirty more.
Irina looked at the man on the field who was far too relaxed, watching as he turned the most serious of tests upside down, and finally couldn’t suppress the curve of her lips.
This guy…
She couldn’t help but mock him inwardly.
He had turned the Academy’s most solemn ranking exam into his own personal summon showcase.