Wizard: This mushroom is too fierce.

Bauhinia Duchy, Colt Town

Lynn Colt, dressed in silver-white knight's armor, stood on the stone wall of the town, looked around for a moment, and then let out a low sigh.

With his family in decline, his future uncertain, his father's illness worsening, and the small town of Colt hidden in the countryside seemingly destined to rot there forever.

"Cough cough..."

"Father!" Lynn exclaimed in alarm, turning around and rushing towards the steps. "Why did you come out?"

"Didn't Old York tell you that you need to rest?"

"Cough cough..." Baron Colt coughed, a look of disdain on his weathered face: "What does old York know? Back when I followed the Duke of Bauhinia in his campaigns, I suffered much worse illnesses and more serious injuries than this."

"Father..." Looking at the stubborn old man with a full head of white hair, Lynn's eyes showed a look of heartache. His father, Baron, started as a soldier and fought for more than ten years before becoming a knight and being granted the title of Duke of Bauhinia. Just when things were about to get better, his health collapsed first.

"It's tough..." Baron looked at the sparsely populated town of Colt and said again, "If only Roland hadn't been taken away by the wizards."

"In that case..." Baron held Lynn's hand and said sadly, "After I'm gone, you two will have each other and be able to support this little family together."

Lynn's eyes reddened, and he said encouragingly, "It will happen..."

"Roland has been ambitious since childhood; he will surely become a wizard."

Baron didn't speak, but just silently looked at the sky. He didn't understand the wizarding world, but it was probably like a duel between knights, where the strong prey on the weak. Roland only had the aptitude of a first-class wizard. Could he really become a great wizard?

"I hope so..." Barron's eyes were complicated as he asked again, "Lynn...your fiancée?"

Lynn remained silent for a moment, his gaze fixed on his armor and the iron sword on his back. His heart grew cold, and he said in a cold voice, "In the end, we are not on the same path."

"Carrie walks her sunny road, I walk my rugged path."

"Father, rest assured, I firmly believe that the path I have chosen is the right one. Even if I leave the Kingdom Knights, I am confident that I can become a Knight of the Earth."

"Our family will not disappear, and the town of Colt will never remain hidden in the remote countryside forever. I will definitely make our family rise again."

Barron patted his son on the shoulder, then turned away. In that instant, an overwhelming sadness welled up inside him. He was old and could no longer fight; this was the power of time.

But he really wished he could be twenty years younger so he could help his children.

"This is a difficult and arduous road..."

.......

Roland's villa courtyard

Roland opened the academy forum and found his own post. The post seemed to have lost some of its popularity recently, and instead, everyone's discussion was focused on a battle report post.

"The Plague Caverns, in conjunction with three dark wizarding academies in the underworld, breached the Bach Magic Mine. The academies suffered heavy losses. This information comes from official data released by the Wizarding Association. More than 320 wizarding apprentices have died."

"Many well-known wizarding apprentices have emerged among the dark wizards, such as Rexxar, the 'Aberration Creator' of the Plaguelands, and Cameron, the 'Bone Modifier' of the Bone Order..."

Looking at the several well-known third-class wizard apprentices in the post, Roland couldn't help but ponder. The society of dark wizards did have its merits; they could quickly train a wizard apprentice into a ruthless executioner, giving them considerable combat power.

In comparison, the white wizarding society is much more relaxed. In the eyes of white wizards, the third-class wizarding apprentice stage is just a foundational stage.

"However..." Roland murmured to himself, deep in thought. Perhaps dark wizards could have the advantage in the early stages, but as time went on and they exhausted the benefits of their progress in battle, they would have to face problems such as a weak foundation and a lack of knowledge about hybridization across multiple disciplines. And this was precisely the key to a wizard's continued progress.

Roland closed the post, his gaze sharpening slightly, and opened his own post.

【Cillian Hope】

This person's post was the most popular; he wrote a sentence: "Roland Colt, coward, the most patient man, the mastermind behind the scenes..."

A barrage of labels landed on his head, each followed by various likes. Roland's face darkened, and he focused his mental energy on the person's name.

【Cillian Hope】

[Team: Puppet House]

[Magic Direction: Puppet School Earth Element Puppet Magic Sub-Direction]

[Titles: Third place in the Puppet House Preliminary Rounds, Next Generation Leader of the Hope Family, Two-Star Rating Recipient, Leader of the Academy Family Faction Wizards, Tenth Place on the Ladder Potential Ranking...]

"The Hope family... an old wizarding family native to the Deep Caverns, extremely skilled in puppetry. The family owns a small magic workshop and is a supplier of magical parts for the academy's standard puppets."

"The Deep Caverns' Current Year's Student Ladder Potential Ranking... 10th place, specially arranged by the authoritative external organization 'Mobisans' Wizard Media."

Praise, praise, and a flood of likes and comments appeared below this person's post.

In contrast, there was belittling, scorn, and sarcasm, as if Roland, an unknown figure, deserved such treatment.

Who let him suddenly win first place?

Who told him to be a first-class wizard when he enrolled?

He should have been wandering around in the muddy fields, not suddenly standing above most of the wizarding apprentices.

People like that should never get back up.

Roland remained calm and silent, coldly observing the comments on the post. He sensed an emotion, a cynical one.

Perhaps, in their hearts, Roland should be like them.

With a slight mental movement, Roland opened the forum's writing board and wrote: "If you think I am not worthy of winning first place in the Magic Plant House, then defeat me in the field of botany. If you think I am incompetent, that everything is a conspiracy, and that I do not deserve everything I have today, then stand in front of me, defeat me, and tell me personally that you are not good enough, instead of barking like a dog on the forum."

"If you feel that you are strong enough, please participate in the Bloodflame Tournament one month from now. The venue is the Bloodflame Arena in Northwind City, north of the Deep Cavern."

"The post with the first place in this knowledge contest from Magic Plant House has a total of 3565 posts and tens of thousands of likes. Among them, 3000 posts think I am not good enough."

"I hope that at least half of the participants in the Blood Flame Tournament will dare to compete and stand in front of me."

"I'm waiting for you!"

Signed by: Roland Colt