Wizard Bloodline

"Again, it's you?!"

Inside the metal building's hall, Ronan followed the usual procedures.

By coincidence, the green-eyed wizard who had served him the first time was there again.

He clearly remembered Ronan and half-jokingly asked, "Looks like you found a guarantor this time, who is it?"

Ronan mentioned Benigo's name.

The green-eyed wizard, who had been smiling just a second ago, suddenly stood up, startled.

"Benigo?! Which Benigo? Where is he?"

Before Ronan could respond, the wizard noticed Benigo standing silently nearby, puffing on his pipe.

The green-eyed wizard stared at Benigo for a long time before sitting back down.

Then he gave Ronan a peculiar look.

"Why would Benigo vouch for you?"

"How did you get Benigo to vouch for you?"

He muttered to himself.

"What do you mean?" Ronan frowned, pressing for more information, but the wizard refused to elaborate. His demeanor turned cold, and after completing Ronan's registration, he handed him a token—a kind of number plate—before dismissing him with a wave toward the inner entrance.

"I'm starting to regret asking you to be my guarantor."

Ronan walked back to Benigo, his expression slightly darkened. The green-eyed wizard's reaction to Benigo's name and his subsequent change in attitude, coupled with Quidi's hints about Benigo having a bad reputation in the Ring, made Ronan realize the gravity of a problem he'd previously overlooked.

"You can back out now."

Benigo, pipe in mouth, said calmly.

"Back out?"

Ronan shook his head, clutching the number token that represented his eligibility for the Ring's entrance test, and strode toward the test entrance.

Faced with this opportunity, how could he abandon it? Impossible!

If Benigo was indeed infamous, Ronan planned to distance himself from him as quickly as possible after joining the Ring.

His sole focus was entering the Ring to gain access to metal spells, sigil inheritances, and a higher platform for resource exchange and acquisition.

Ronan and Benigo entered the entrance, stepping through a rune-formed light screen into a small room.

On one side of the room stood a group of people speaking in low voices. A wizard in a Ring robe approached, quickly verifying Ronan's identity and test credentials, then instructed him to wait.

Ronan and Benigo stood silently, both aware that the other was concealing much, and that their fragile cooperation might end once the entrance test concluded.

The group on the other side of the room stopped talking, naturally turning to look at them.

"Do you recognize anyone?"

Benigo tapped his pipe, casually asking.

Ronan withdrew his gaze, responding calmly, "Yes. Before you, I tried to find someone else to vouch for me."

About twenty meters away stood a man in a silver robe with short hair, a metallic scar on his left cheek, surrounded by several wizards, indicating his exceptional status.

It was Bazel, the Ring wizard who had refused to vouch for Ronan.

Ronan hadn't expected to see him here, seemingly also acting as a guarantor for more than one person.

"Kid, you should be glad you were refused."

Benigo glanced at Bazel, smiling slightly. "Those 'leeches' who make a living off recruitment, the price you'd pay for their guarantee is much higher."

"Hmm?!"

Ronan was taken aback. "They ask for benefits too?"

"A foolish question."

Benigo replied indifferently, "Without enough benefits, why would a stranger risk vouching for you?

"If you had a 'leech' vouch for you, after joining the Ring, you'd owe them at least thirty percent of all task rewards for thirty years.

"Of course, there are advantages to choosing a 'leech'; they have connections and methods to ease your test.

"After all, a successful referral earns them another reward from the Ring."

Thirty percent of all task rewards for thirty years?!

Ronan was shocked, then relieved.

Luckily, Bazel had "overlooked" him and refused his request.

He'd rather cooperate with someone like Benigo, infamous or not, than be "leeched" for thirty years!

Then Ronan heard Benigo's voice again.

"...Missing out on you shows he's not a discerning 'leech'.

"Huh?!

"Even 'leeches' have setbacks?

"Haha, such a spectacle is rare!"

Ronan instinctively looked up, seeing a young wizard with fiery markings on his face emerging from a small door leading to the test site, looking somewhat disheveled.

His robe was tattered, radiating the powerful mental energy of a late first-level wizard, his expression dark and gloomy.

He walked directly toward Bazel.

Ronan blinked, momentarily unsure of Benigo's meaning.

"Sir."

A short man, Gu Wei, whispered, "That guy looks unfamiliar."

Bazel softly acknowledged, his eyes fixed on the middle-aged man in a silver robe smoking a pipe nearby.

Each time Bazel's gaze passed over the Ring emblem on the man's robe, shock rippled through his eyes.

Three rings!

Where did this "three-ring" come from?!

Bazel knew the "three-ring" wizards of the Seventh Ring, but he'd never seen this man!

Moreover, a "three-ring" wizard with only late first-level strength? Typically, a "three-ring" status required at least second-level strength.

Could he be a top talent from another Ring, or the offspring of a prestigious figure?

But why would a "three-ring" from another Ring come to the Seventh Ring to vouch for someone?!

Especially a mere early first-level... hmm?!

Bazel noticed the unremarkable young wizard beside the man, suddenly recalling something.

He remembered that a month ago, while searching for a "big fish" with Gu Wei, this young wizard was on their list.

He seemed to hail from a low-level wizard faction destroyed over a Nepha's Key, and had naively asked Bazel for a guarantee, amusing him with his innocence.

Such a mundane, unremarkable wizard, and yet a "three-ring" wizard vouched for him—it was truly surprising and baffling.

"Sir, Fire Condor is out."

Gu Wei's voice pulled Bazel from his thoughts, and he looked up to see the fiery-marked young wizard approaching quickly.

Seeing the young man's grim expression, Bazel's heart sank, but he asked about the situation: "How did it go?"

"Useless!"

The young man spat angrily, "I gave them the stuff, gave my name, and they briefly explained the selection criteria.

"Last one minute to pass, five minutes to be core...

"And right in front of me, they injected a 'Berserk Potion' into a top-level first-grade Terra Beast!"

Bazel's expression immediately darkened, and he coldly muttered a name.

"Tulpa!"

The Terra Beast, with traces of ancient rock giant bloodline, was already formidable, and Tulpa had found a top-level first-grade one, crazily injecting it with a "Berserk Potion."

In that state, even a second-level wizard would struggle.

Lasting one minute to pass, this clearly wasn't meant for anyone to succeed!

The late first-level wizard Fire Condor was Bazel's "ace" for this batch, aiming for core status.

Tulpa setting "core" standards at five minutes—even Bazel himself might not manage that.

"Tulpa..."

Bazel took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, muttering, "I'll remember this."

The entrance test's "examiner" had changed from Bazel's acquaintance to an unfamiliar wizard.

Bazel had attempted to "make nice," only to be met with intensified targeting.

Clearly, the new examiner's "appetite" was much larger than anticipated.

"Sir."

Gu Wei spoke worriedly, "Three have been stopped already. Do the remaining two continue?"

Bazel's eyes flickered, slowly replying, "Wait. At least... wait for the Berserk Potion's effect to wear off.

"Tell them to let others go first."

Bazel glanced at another group also waiting for testing.

Perhaps due to unmet expectations, the previously disheveled young wizard Fire Condor glared at a certain silver-gray figure heading for the test and cursed lowly, "An early first-level dares enter the test?

"Hope he doesn't die in there!"

Bazel remained silent, expressionless.

"Go ahead, kid, it's your turn."

Benigo, pipe in one hand, gestured to Ronan with the other.

Ronan nodded, suddenly asking, "As my guarantor, shouldn't you share some insider tips before the test?

"Like the specifics of the test?"

"The test isn't fixed; it's up to the examiner's whim.

"Generally, it's combat."

Benigo flicked ash from his pipe, saying meaningfully to Ronan, "But your luck might not be great today; the difficulty might be higher than usual."

"I expected as much entering."

Ronan replied calmly, Benigo shaking his head as if Ronan didn't understand.

Ronan had no interest in further conversation, following the guide forward.

As he approached the small test door, Ronan heard Benigo call after him, "Hey, kid! I still don't know your name."

Ronan paused, then continued onward.

"Ronan. I'm Ronan Damien."

"Ronan, huh..."

Benigo watched Ronan disappear through the door, exhaling a puff of white smoke. His half-ruined face was obscured by the swirling smoke, his expression unreadable.

"You'd better not make me regret this step..."

Crossing the threshold, Ronan was hit by a brief dizziness.

But it passed quickly, and his consciousness returned to normal in less than half a second.

He found himself in a "secret realm" similar to the "Corpse Garden" he'd once entered.

This realm was vast and bright.

He stood on a small white plaza, snug against a towering gray wall, with rune-formed light screens on three sides.

Beyond the plaza, darkness fell, revealing an endless gray wasteland, shrouded in mist, faintly outlining a small mountain.

Two people stood on the plaza.

A bald man with a cunning look and a black mole on his nose sat lazily on a large black metal chair.

Beside him stood an ordinary-looking middle-aged male wizard.

As Ronan appeared, the bald man barely glanced his way before looking away, yawning with disinterest.

The middle-aged wizard stepped forward, shouting to Ronan, "Walk straight ahead. Retreating into the rune array means failure.

"The test begins now!"

Ronan's eyes flickered but he said nothing, heading toward the plaza's edge.

Stepping through the rune light screen into the black wasteland, an oppressive chill enveloped him.

The "examiner" wizard had instructed Ronan to walk straight ahead, and he complied, moving forward.

The straight path led toward the mountain.

The closer Ronan got, the more intense the oppressive feeling grew.

Moreover, he felt as if a giant, invisible eye loomed above, coldly watching his ant-like progress.

"Even an early first-level is sent in, without anything."

Watching Ronan's silhouette vanish into the mist, the middle-aged wizard turned to the bald man, speaking coldly, "Sir, Bazel seems displeased with us.

"Is this a protest?"

"Protest? He's not worthy!"

The bald man spat a black, metallic flecked blob onto the ground, speaking coldly, "Stand by the rune array, let his early first-level waste suffer. If he dies, so be it.

"For every person he sends, I'll cripple one."

The bald man grinned, revealing sharp, white teeth.

"Until... he shows true sincerity."

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