Chapter 7

What was the result?

No vicious attacker was seen, only two black people, and the scarecrows that had been placed on the empty ground as symbolic targets were all reduced to powder.

Not far away, Deputy Captain Verry was dumbfounded, his mouth open wide enough to fit an egg.

A little further away, Sir Farm*Brando and his few servants were paralyzed with fear on the ground.

"Oh my God, what am I seeing?" Verry couldn't believe his eyes.

His predecessor's predecessor had once told him that if someone was an excellent mage seed, they could use the crystal ball to release a fireball and turn a scarecrow into ashes.

What did he see now?

A row of ten scarecrows was completely gone. The ground was covered with black ash and a small amount of unburned straw.

"Cough, cough, cough..." The old and young duo were coughing desperately, both choked by the thick smoke from the intense fire.

"Sasha." The old mage called his deputy, his voice filled with indescribable joy: "Notify Old Mike to bring out my cherished bottle of wine! I've found a treasure!"

"Treasure!? What treasure?" The deputy, who had rushed over from elsewhere, was a bit bewildered.

The old man, Norton, grabbed Duke, who was still in a daze: "Him—once in a millennium, no, once in ten thousand years, a great mage seed!"

"Wow—" Suddenly, the entire Northshire Abbey training ground was in an uproar.

In any era, the most common were the muscle-bound soldiers who relied on brute strength. Conversely, the more skill and talent required for a profession, the rarer it was. Mages, of any kind, were extremely rare, almost like unicorns.

Almost the moment the old man announced it, Duke could feel everyone's gaze toward him change.

Most were envious, a few were jealous, but there was also... reverence!

Duke's ears were filled with chaos, but he still understood the gist: as long as he became a formal mage, he would be equivalent to a noble, and in the future, he might even have his own fief and his own mage tower.

The two guards who had once looked down on him were dragged over by Deputy Captain Verry, begging for Duke's forgiveness like dogs.

Of course, the most shocked was Farm*Brando.

After the initial shock, his face immediately turned from astonishment to iron gray because he heard a sentence.

"Kid, from this moment on, you are the highest-ranked ninth-grade mage apprentice of the Stormwind Royal Magic Academy. Yes, I will apply for special treatment for you. This way, you can enjoy benefits equivalent to a knight."

What!? Impossible!

Duke's somewhat handsome face, in Brando's eyes, was more hateful and terrifying than the most hideous ghoul. Brando couldn't believe his ears.

Ninth-grade talent!

What is ninth-grade talent!

Since the founding of the Kingdom of Stormwind, only one person has ever received a ninth-grade talent rating! That is the current Grand Mage of the Stormwind Royal Court, Medivh, the legendary man hailed as the next Guardian of the World!

Who was Medivh's mother?

The famous Guardian of Azeroth, Aegwynn.

Why did an unknown poor boy have such terrifying talent?

Brando was about to go mad!

He knew he had lost!

Despite not having made any bets, Brando knew he had lost.

The reason he could claim credit so boldly was twofold: his noble status and the fifth-grade apprentice qualification he obtained in the pre-arranged mage trial.

Among mortals, fifth-grade already represented excellence.

There was only one Medivh in the world, and the more talented mage seeds had long been recruited into Dalaran, the holy land of human mages. Therefore, the fifth-grade apprentice status was enough to let Brando walk around Stormwind with his head held high.

Unfortunately, compared to the ninth-grade talent apprentice Duke who appeared out of nowhere, he was nothing.

"Kid, what's your name?" The old man clung to Duke's hand as if he would run away if he let go.

"Duke."

"Duke? What's your last name?"

Duke was taken aback: Uh, right, this is a Western-themed fantasy world.

To others, Duke was just a first name, not a last name. He couldn't tell the old man that his last name was Du, and he was a theoretical distant relative of the great poet Du Fu.

At this moment, a last name suddenly popped into Duke's mind, the last name of a life winner in the World of Warcraft game that all men envied and hated.

Duke said it as if possessed: "Marcus... Duke*Marcus!"

The old man, holding Duke's left hand with his right arm, raised it high: "The new champion of this year's mage apprentice trial has been born, he is Duke*Marcus!"

The result was shocking, over a thousand people with mouths wide open enough to fit a duck egg stared dumbfounded at everything.

Silence.

Unconsciously, everyone's gaze refocused on the young noble Brando.

Facing the hostile, envious, and even contemptuous gazes, Brando's face felt like it was on fire.

Apologize? Impossible!

Nobles would only apologize to another noble!

Even if he knew he was wrong, a noble would never bow to a commoner. Regardless of how talented Duke was, he was still just a mage apprentice.

Apologizing? He didn't need to consider it until Duke became a court mage!

"Hmph!" With a sullen face, Brando stomped his foot and ran away with a bunch of servants.

After a long time, when Brando's figure had completely disappeared.

Boom!

The entire venue erupted.

The wave of excitement finally burst forth.

Every commoner was discussing wildly, whispering to their companions about what had just happened, causing screams to break out.

"I... I... I didn't hear wrong, did I? That young man named Duke won the bet?"

"No, you didn't hear wrong! Duke outperformed the young man from the Brando family in the mage apprentice trial. Ninth-grade talent! That's completely above Brando's fifth-grade talent."

"Right, a commoner child defeated the noble-born Brando, it's truly unbelievable!"

"Speaking of which, will Brother Duke enter the Stormwind Royal Magic Academy?"

"Wow, you mention that, and I suddenly remember that Duke is the first commoner to enter the magic academy since the founding of the Kingdom of Stormwind!"

An muscular young man said excitedly: "Duke is amazing, no, I have to become his follower when he graduates from the magic academy!"

"Wait for Duke to graduate? I suggest you connect with him early. Ninth-grade talent, he might become the next Grand Mage of Stormwind."

"Tsk tsk, look at the shining eyes of the girls around, they can't wait to swallow Duke whole."

A large group of young men were shouting wildly, venting their excitement.

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