Having a powerful lord as a father figure, what's wrong with just wanting to draw cards?

As long as they are not demons, the academy will accept any student with a bit of talent, regardless of race!

Furthermore, the minimum age for taking the entrance exam is twelve, and the maximum age cannot exceed eighteen.

So you can see many other races’ young students at the entrance, like visiting a race expo.

Amidst the cacophony of voices, Nancy moved closer to Nats so that her voice could reach his ears:

"Natsu, which exam room are you going to?"

"In the Knight's Exam, I'm stronger and can take a beating... What about you?"

"Mage, don't let my appearance fool you, I'm quite talented in summoning magic!"

"Good luck! See you after we enroll!"

Has he always been this passionate?

Before she knew it, Nancy's emotions were infected by him, and she felt inexplicably inspired, with an urge to get into the academy with him.

"Ok!"

After entering the college, the two passed through the eastern dormitory area and then parted ways after arriving at the core area, following the examination room signs.

The magician exam is held in the magician arena, while Natsu's destination is the general arena on the other side.

Both arenas resembled alternate versions of the Roman Colosseum: circular, open-air, with seating for spectators all around, and the large sandy area in the center serving as the battleground.

Besides these two arenas, there is actually an even larger arena called the Ranked Match Arena. Its area is almost larger than the two combined, occupying the majority of the entire academy.

As for its function, we'll discuss that later.

Sometimes even after seeing the road signs, Nats still doesn't know the way. This time, he simply followed the other test takers to their destination.

The scene outside the knight's exam hall was like a battlefield.

He saw several muscular men showing off their muscles, who didn't look much older than him; some of them exuded an aura stronger than the large wild beasts in his hometown forest, while others were unassuming, but Nats immediately felt that these people might be even more terrifying.

Big cities are truly a place where hidden talents abound.

"My mother always said that when you arrive in an unfamiliar place, it's best to find someone to get close to in order to learn some basic information..."

Having lost his father at a young age, Nats unconditionally trusts his mother, believing that she cannot be wrong about anything she says.

So, despite his social anxiety, he bravely walked forward and randomly struck up a conversation with someone who seemed to be of a lower social standing.

The social anxiety here is not social anxiety in the traditional sense, but rather the meaning of social terrorist. Shyness and the like simply do not exist in Natz's dictionary.

"Yo!"

"..."

"Hey, you're here for the Knights' exam too?"

Domi was a little confused. Was this how you strike up a conversation? Out of politeness, she answered anyway:

"If this is the knight's examination hall, then I think I haven't come to the wrong place..."

"Aren't you nervous?"

"What are you nervous about?"

"Look at those guys' physiques, they're so fierce! I don't know how someone as young and skinny as us can possibly beat them..."

There's some basis to Nats's statement.

Just as he had told Nancy before, he was strong and could take a beating. Underneath his clothes were large, solid muscles, but they weren't very noticeable from the outside; he even looked a bit thin.

Wow, at 12 years old, who else has such an amazing physique?!

The referee will also give him extra points because of the age difference.

Domi and Nats looked at each other almost eye to eye, glancing at his physique before looking at their own.

figure?

Does this have any necessary connection to whether he can beat others?

Does this clueless kid even know how many digits of damage his punch can cause?

Wait, something's not right!

The outside world is full of hidden talents. Just like how top students often say they failed their exams and laugh at themselves, they might actually have some real skills.

Just in case, Domi specifically sensed it and also scanned it up and down on the analysis panel.

The analysis panel only gave a rating of "not badly durable," but Domi's perception told him that this guy in front of him possessed a terrifying power he had never seen before.

Currently in a dormant state with no waves, but once awakened, Domi is not sure if he can defeat him.

After all, the unknown is the most terrifying.

After thinking for a moment, Domi humbly replied, "I only know a little magic. Compared to magic, I am more skilled in melee combat. If I want to study here, I have to rely on my own strengths and give it my all, right?"

Nats's eyes lit up. It seemed he hadn't misjudged this person. This classmate's level was probably similar to his own, which he could sense from their aura. So he continued:

"So, are you confident you can beat them?"

Domi didn't know why he asked if he could beat those weaklings, but he decided to be honest anyway:

"Yes, it's not a difficult thing."

And so, Nats got the 'basic information' he wanted—the seemingly impressive muscular men were actually all show and no substance, not worth mentioning at all!

Soon, this group of trainees will enter the arena for their entrance exams.

The assessment adopts a round-robin scoring system, with several matches held simultaneously. Each match has two dedicated referees who calculate the scores for both sides, and the matches are conducted alternately to ensure that everyone plays a full five matches, with a certain amount of rest time before each match.

There's no need to actually defeat them completely. In the general arena, you can cast a hit-absorbing spell on the two duelists. This spell can absorb a certain amount of attacks without actually harming the opponent. When the absorption reaches its limit, the spell will shatter, resulting in defeat. This way, both sides can go all out.

The scores are divided into ten. After five rounds, as long as the total score exceeds thirty, you can successfully enroll.

After finishing his warm-up exercises, Domi walked onto one of the separated 'boxing rings' to look at his first opponent in this match.

Unfortunately, his opponent was a muscular man whom Nats had labeled as all show and no substance.

Nats, who hadn't yet had his turn, became a spectator, watching Domi's team intently. He figured he'd find out if they were just all show and no substance with just a few punches!

Chapter 168, Section 167: Classmate? Neighbor?

The muscular man opposite Domi wasn't the same age as him; he looked to be around sixteen.

Anyone who has seen the world can easily discern this tender life force.

His father or master was probably a strong soldier, because his muscles were clearly the result of rigorous training. Only in the military would such a harmful yet quick-acting training method be used. As people age, various side effects will gradually appear.

The opposite of physical training is like Domi, which involves scientific and slow development.

Without a system, the training speed would be far slower than this method. However, Domi had been tortured by Altaïr since childhood, and was in no way inferior to his opponent in terms of training volume and muscle quality.

This is still in its most primitive state, not even taking into account his terrifying 70.92 points of strength.

If you include that, it's exponential growth.

Domi cracked his neck, his bones making a crisp snapping sound, and said in a relaxed tone:

"Looks like I can finally have a good fight with my fists this time."

After saying that, he disappeared back into his amulet, his heavy slime gel coat disappearing into the amulet. Like his opponent, he bare-chested and lean, and shook his fists, without even using the 'Slime Hand'.

"Slime Hands" is the code name for the state of Domi's arms after they are covered with gel. There's no need to go to such extremes to deal with a little kid.

"Don't think that just because you're the son of a grand duke I'll go easy on you."

"I couldn't ask for more, so bring it on!"

The other man's gaze grew increasingly dangerous. He knew that Domi was no pushover. Despite having less muscle and being younger than him, Domi dared to be so arrogant as to choose a head-on confrontation, which meant he must have something to rely on and should not be underestimated.

Domi is like a cheetah full of explosive power; when it doesn't move, it's still, but when it does, it's astonishing!

He silently mustered all his attention.

The two referees standing to the side exchanged a glance. They both knew that Domi was the son of Grand Duke Carlos, and they couldn't let him lose face...

The phrase "unable to back down" refers to both the mental and physical aspects of the situation.

One of the judges scoring Domi was about to say something to his opponent when Domi stopped him with a look.

The referee suddenly felt a tightness in his anus. Why would a mere kid make him feel so threatened?!

However, since the main party had already 'expressed its opinion,' they couldn't say anything more, and slowly raised the starting flag in their hands...

"Ready~~"

After a short, rhythmic chant, the flag was suddenly waved down: "Begin!"

At the same time, a colorless shield from the arena enveloped the two, providing all-around coverage without any blind spots; this was the previously mentioned attack magic.

The moment it breaks signifies failure.

The muscular man immediately adopted a defensive stance, holding his hands tightly in front of him, leaving a gap to observe Domi's movements.

He had just finished making that gesture when his eyes widened in surprise, filled with doubt and confusion.

The other person was just standing there a moment ago, why did they suddenly disappear?

The next second, Domi, who was swooping down, suddenly appeared in front of him, and with tremendous kinetic energy, a punch that could even create a sonic boom, went straight for his abdomen!

This guy... just bypassed his defenses like that?!

What about my original tactic of exhausting him? Was it a joke?

If even the eyes can't keep up with the speed, how can the body keep up?

Under the shocked gazes of the two referees and Nats, Domi's earth-shattering punch landed squarely in his abdomen!

The shockwave, visible to the naked eye, even shot out from the other side of the body.

The muscular man's eyes bulged out from the blows, and saliva involuntarily sprayed from his mouth. He curled up like a shrimp in mid-air.

Click!

The crisp sound echoed throughout the venue.

That was the sound of magic breaking when struck.