"So this is what it used to look like!"

Lan Xi marvelled.

​​

"Brother Fike, do you know where this thing came from?"

Fike smiled calmly as he explained, relaying to her everything the hidden information had told him.

"This was originally called the Magic Furnace - Asclepius' Sacred Relic. It is a remnant left behind from the primordial ages. After passing through several generations of kings, it's become like this."

Lan Xi couldn't help but let out a slight sigh.

Fike quickly put the utility back into his backpack.

Before he left, Lan Xi made an abrupt offer all of a sudden.

"Fike, we still have some rare herbs here. If you need them, I can give them all to you, under my own authority!"

Hearing this, Fike was tempted, but he was too embarrassed to simply take the rare herbs she offered for free.

"Miss Lan Xi, what do you need me to do for you in exchange?"

Lan Xi smiled.

"I only need dear brother Fike to win first place in the freshmen trial and help promote the Romon Auction. Would that be okay?"

Fike quickly agreed to the conditions, and Lan Xi opened another secret door in the room, revealing a store of countless rare herbs amd medicinal ingredients.

At this moment, the hidden message was going wild, unrelentlessly sending out notification after notification.

Fike was also stunned by this.

"Can I really take all of these?"

Fike asked.

"Whatever you like, you can take them all!"

Fike carefully picked out and selected only a small portion of the herbs he needed.

Just as he had thanked her and was about to leave, Lan Xi suddenly stopped him again.

"It's getting late now... Why don't you stay the night? I'll treat you well!"

An alluring look was embedded in her gaze. Lan Xi's hand was currently resting on Fike's waist, and her fingers caressed his butt lightly.

Fike was no longer as nervous as he had been when he first met Lan Xi.

"Thank you for your kindness, Miss Lan Xi, but there's a match tomorrow, so I'll have to leave tonight! Sorry!"

Fike immediately left after that, leaving Lan Xi alone with her emotions in a mess.

"What should I do to capture your heart?"

Lan Xi whispered to herself quietly.

...

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, the fourth day of the freshmen trial had arrived, and Fike headed over to the trial arena together with Sertia as usual.

Along the way, she asked him about what happened yesterday.

Fike told her everything that had happened without keeping anything from her.

In Sertia's heart, she bitterly thought to herself that she now had yet another new competitor, Lan Xi.

Today's event was about to begin.

The same familiar host called out leisurely.

"Good morning, dear teachers and students! We are now about to commence the fourth day of the freshmen trial!

"Today's battles will see our remaining contenders compete for the final three placements.

"Now, let's give a warm welcome and a round of applause to the top five of the freshmen trial!"

Five figures walked steadily toward the host.

"First up is Rowan from the Melee School! A mighty berserker!"

Rowan raised his Spirit Rock Blade as he looked confidently around at everyone in the arena.

"Next is Serena, from the Summoning School!"

Serena wore a pretentious gaze as scanned the faces of her opponents.

"Serena, I love you!"

"Goddess Serena! You must win first place!"

Hearing these blind words of the crowd, Fike in turn met Serena with a fierce gaze as he thought to himself in his heart.

'I'll make you pay for what you did yesterday!'

"Next up is the final hope of the Spell School, god's favored, Fike!"

Instantly, at the mention of his name, the entire stadium erupted into an intense and defeating burst of applause.

Obviously, in the eyes of these spectators, Fike's previous actions and attitude had left a deep impression in their hearts.

He had proven that not only was he strong, he was also kind-hearted.

The hearts of the Yogmo Academy girls, in particular, had been completely smitten. He had become their dream lover, the perfect Prince Charming.

"Ah Ah Ah! Fike, I love you!"

"Lord Fike, unrivalled!"

Fike was unperturbed by the commotion surrounding him. He had clearly grown quite a bit following his recent series of events.

The host then introduced the two remaining contestants. They were Kerg from the Summoning School and Rooney from the Melee School.

"Today's matches will follow the structure of an all round battle! The first contestants who accumulate three points will advance directly into the top three!

"Now, let's get right to it and let the battles begin!"

Fike's first opponent was Rooney from the Melee School.

The gong sounded, and the match began.

Rooney was a berserker who wielded a machete, but compared to Rowan's Spirit Rock Blade, he was simply inferior.

Whether in regards to speed or explosive power, his abilities were far from Rowan's..

Rooney raised his machete and charged directly toward Fike.

Meanwhile, Fike had already drawn his Hermes' Curse for a counterattack.

This time, he chose not to release any Sword Qi, but lock swords directly with his opponent instead.

The instant Rooney's machete collided with the demonic blade, the contender was knocked far back by the powerful recoil.

His machete was knocked out of his grip and fell straight to the ground.

Witnessing firsthand the disparity in strength between himself and Fike, it was not long before Rooney had lost the will to continue fighting.

The following clashes in their duel were completely one-sided as Fike performed a series of intricate swordplay, and Rooney was soon overpowered by the relentless attacks.

"The first match has concluded! Fike from the Spell School emerges victorious!

"With that, Fike has scored his first point!"

Fike walked off the arena. The next match would be Rowan against Kerg from the Summoning School.

Immediately as the gong sounded, the ground beneath Kerg's feet suddenly rose up, forming a huge rock platform that launched him violently into the sky.

As he landed heavily with a thud, he looked up to see that Rowan had already rushed to his side, lifting his greatsword in his hand.

He cried out in panic.

"I admit defeat! I surrender!"

Hearing his opponent's words, Rowan smiled lightly in response.

"Good kid! I like people like you, who know what's good for them!"

Rowan did not continue attacking.

In truth, Kerg had already developed an understandable terror in his heart facing this opponent. After all, it wasn't like he hadn't seen how Ah Fei's match had ended.

Even before stepping into the arena, when he had heard that his opponent would be Rowan, he had already given up on the match on the spot. He knew in his core that he simply did not have the strength to go against this terrifying beast.

At this moment, the referee made the next call.

"Next match, Fike versus Serena!"