I Ascend to the Divine Throne through Arcane Means

Chapter 14: Contest

Early in the morning, at Kane Mansion

Waking up with a start, Lis clambered out of bed and stretched mightily, his joints cracking audibly.

Last night, he and Mora had a few more drinks. The tipsiness was quite pleasant, and he fell asleep directly without meditating when he returned.

The fatigue brought on by several days of intense training seemed to have dissipated, leaving him feeling much fresher.

Today's breakfast was a meal of vegetable and cheese pancakes coupled with blueberry oatmeal porridge, likely something Joyce had instructed the kitchen to prepare, knowing well that he hadn't eaten lightly the night before.

"Master Lis, this is today's mail, including a formal letter from the Royal Magic Academy of Feis, which might be important," Joyce said, as ever standing by Lis's side, handing over the mail.

"A letter from the school? Is there something going on?" Lis asked, eyeing the envelope with curiosity; he couldn't recall anything particularly urgent for the school to be sending him correspondence.

The Feis Royal Magic Academy, which bore the name of the kingdom, was proof that it was the best magic academy in the kingdom.

Having enrolled at the age of ten, the academy didn't adhere to a fixed teaching model. It pursued a philosophy of free development. Students who entered the academy in the same year were considered contemporaneous and could choose to attend any courses they found interesting, similar to the elective system in universities from his previous life. Perhaps the only requirement was that one had to attain the rank of Intermediate Mage to graduate.

Thus, within the school, one could witness the remarkable sight of ten-year-old children and people in their thirties or forties attending the same class.

However, he hadn't been to the academy for several months now; what could possibly be happening at this time?

Lis opened the envelope to see neatly penned handwriting, clearly from an official school document. There was no record of any particular event, merely an invitation to Lis to visit the Fifth Magic Workshop.

The Fifth Magic Workshop was a place Lis knew of. The academy had many workshops, but it was the top ten that people coveted, with resources guaranteed to be of the highest tier. The Fifth Magic Workshop was quite prestigious, especially given the preceding workshops were reserved for the academy's principal and vice principal.

Why would they invite him to visit out of the blue when he hadn't applied for anything?

Well, he might as well go take a look when the time comes; he was quite curious to see what advanced experimental equipment and novel research projects might be there.

Lis stuffed the last of his pancakes into his mouth in just a few bites, suddenly craving the pancake rolls from his previous life. He decided to experiment with making them once his immediate concerns were settled.

The morning training session passed quickly, but what puzzled Lis was the change in his attending guards.

There was nothing different about Dison; he was as respectful and patient as ever.

His Guard Commander, Welf, however, had changed somewhat. Previously, he had retained a bit of pride and arrogance, but now his demeanor was exactly like Dison's, and Lis even sensed a hint of... fear in Welf's eyes?

Lis was unaware of the severe emotional trauma his butler had inflicted upon Welf the previous night and simply assumed Welf had suddenly come to realize his, the Lord Viscount's, brilliance and charm.

It was a jest, of course. Lis remained very curious, but no matter what, Welf was reluctant to speak, particularly with Bill next to him who claimed with a dark circle under his left eye that he had fallen out of bed while sleeping...

Nevertheless, this was a good opportunity for Lis to inquire about several Combat Skills he was interested in learning, such as Taunt, Block, and other such divine warrior skills, and some very practical strengthening combat skills like Secondary All Attributes Enhancement and Danger Prediction.

Incidentally, during these few days of practice, Lis found that his game system could still detect information about enemies just like in the video games of his previous life. Unfortunately, Welf's Level was too high, and he could only see just a handful of details.

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[Based on your level, you have obtained the following information.]

Name: Welf

Race: Human

Level: 102

Life Value: ???

Mana Value: ???

Main Profession: Shield Warrior

Secondary Profession: Treasure Hunter

Talent: Rock (Gold Level Talent: When using a shield, gain a 30% Block effect enhancement and a 30% increase in Strength Attribute)

Attributes: ???

Danger Level: Extremely Deadly!

Evaluation: He takes three punches to your seven parts head!

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It seems Welf only recently became a Golden Warrior, but it wouldn't be a problem for him to deal with Lis.

Although he had gained a sizeable amount of Experience Points from meditating in the past while, it would only result in a Level increase of about three if he used them all for leveling up, which wouldn't make much of a difference.

Indeed, was farming creatures and completing quests still the fastest way to level up?

Lis found himself missing those days of grinding from his previous life.

Although noble life nowadays is very comfortable and even includes a sweet-smelling little maid, I still prefer that kind of life full of unexpectedness and surprises! The life of adventure, that is.

As for being a homebody, well, that's out of the question now!

Once I master the "All Martial Arts Mastery" specialty, I can start the next phase of my plan.

These past few days I have been sparring with the guards, but it's more about learning martial arts to improve my proficiency. I haven't really had a proper battle yet.

With this in mind, after resting for a moment, Lis turned to Dison, who was standing by, and said,

"Dison, come on, let's have a contest and test my strength."

Dison hesitated for a moment before agreeing. It's not that he thought he would lose, but he was considering how much effort to put into the match.

Should I feign a mistake later to let the young master win?

Lis, seeing the conflicted expression on Dison's face, knew what he was thinking.

"I can use magic, you know. It won't look good for you, an intermediate warrior, to lose."

Upon hearing this, Dison's expression grew serious. He held his sword defensively, readying himself and waiting for Lis to make the first move.

I've never fought a mage before. After all, among all the extraordinary professions, mages have the highest barrier to entry.

At the bronze and silver ranks, compared to the numerous warriors, mages are quite rare. I've only faced the assault of their innate magic when hunting magic beasts, but I have yet to experience a real battle against a proper mage.

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[Ding~]

[Limited Challenge Task Triggered]

[Objective: Defeat the silver warrior Dison]

[Reward: To be determined based on task completion]

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Oh? A limited task has been triggered; I must win now!

Lis saw that Dison was ready, grasped the long knife he picked up on a whim, and began to chant spells.

Even without using a magic wand, which meant no corresponding power enhancement or casting support, Lis released the spells smoothly.

"Secondary Deflection Field Field"

"Spirit Armor Technique"

"Magic Light"

"Buffer: Precise Strike"

"Bear's Tenacity, Cat's Grace, Bull's Power, Fox's Cunning, Owl's Wisdom"

...

Regardless of their effectiveness, Lis applied all the beneficial magic spells he could to himself, and for a moment, he was surrounded by a shimmering glow of various magic lights.

Dison didn't move, simply waiting quietly for Lis to finish casting his spells. However, Lis's next actions caused a change in Dison's expression.

Lis raised his knife, muttering to himself as a white glow indicative of martial arts flickered over him.

"Combat Skills: Secondary All Attributes Enhancement"

"Combat Skills: Resistance Enhancement"

"Combat Skills: Danger Prediction"

Warriors have relatively few protection and benefit system combat skills, but after using this combination of magic and combat skills, Lis felt a moment of emptiness within. The practice had already consumed a significant amount of mana, and this series of actions had further depleted Lis's mana reserves.

After all, my mana value isn't high right now, and I'm not wearing any corresponding magic items or equipment.

Dison looked at Lord Lis, now seemingly protected to the utmost extent, and couldn't help but feel a shiver run through him.

He never expected that in just a few days, Lord Lis would have learned and mastered the combat skills he displayed, which was a bit terrifying.

Dison was aware that certain special reclassifications could use skills from two basic professions, like a magic swordsman, who could utilize both magic and combat skills. But those were reserved for individuals with exceptional talent. Most people, after choosing their main profession, could hardly learn skills from other professions.

Could it be that Lord Lis possesses such a top-tier talent?

Not daring to underestimate the situation, Dison discarded his original plan of not using combat skills and also bolstered himself with beneficial statuses.

"Here I come!"

Lis's figure dashed, charging toward Dison.