Wizard starting from shoeing donkeys

Chapter 123 – 114: Playing the Game Unconventionally

Connor and Hamilton exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of helplessness in the other’s eyes.

Just then, suddenly, there came a knock on the office door, and without waiting for permission from those inside, the person outside pushed open the door and walked in.

This made the young master known as Gordon very displeased. He said, “Your Excellency the Sheriff, it seems that you are far too lax in demanding basic manners from your subordinates.”

“If such a thing were to happen in Makado City, you would become the laughing stock among the nobility!”

However, he noticed that Connor and Hamilton were not paying attention to him; instead, they were looking at the newcomer with odd expressions, which made him curiously turn his head to look over.

A young man clad in knight’s plate armor entered, a greatsword seemed to be strapped to his back, and with the armored helmet removed, he carried it tucked under his left arm at his waist.

Therefore, from the newcomer’s features, one could easily discern that he was not very old.

The young man was Rein!

Only to hear Rein say, “Sir, I am the lucky fellow you were looking for.”

“What?” This made Gordon’s face fill with surprise. He scrutinized Rein carefully, and then, pointing at him, he stood up in shock and said, “You… you actually took that advancement magic potion directly?”

Because he could clearly sense that the unrestrained, vibrant life force field emanating from Rein was a common phenomenon observed when a squire just broke through to become a formal knight.

This transformation process usually lasts two to three days, so it is very easy to distinguish.

“Believe me, you have done a very, very foolish thing!” Gordon said with an extremely unsightly expression.

He could not fathom that anyone, upon receiving an advancement magic potion, would choose to take it directly without even an hour’s delay—what incredible confidence!

Shouldn’t one normally adjust their physical state and mentality to reach an optimal condition before taking it?

This youth does not play by the rules at all!

Gordon felt sick to his stomach thinking about how such a rare advancement potion was squandered by the youngster before him.

Rein raised his eyebrows slightly, a look of displeasure on his face as he said, “Sir, should my successful advancement not be an occasion for celebration?”

By this time, Hamilton and Colonel Connor, having come to their senses, were looking at Rein with surprised faces.

Taking a few seconds to size up Rein, Hamilton stood up, a smile spreading across his face as he looked at Rein and said,

“Rein, congratulations on finally ascending to the Transcendent! I knew with your talent, this day would not be far, but I didn’t expect it to come this quickly!”

“Haha, congratulations, Rein!” At this moment, a smile also appeared on Connor’s face as he stood up and spoke.

Just then, a person dressed like a knight in plate armor, standing beside Gordon, quietly whispered a couple of words into his ear, instantly enlightening Gordon and changing the way he looked at Rein.

Only to hear him say, “Rein, is it? Since you claim to have successfully ascended to the Transcendent, that is indeed rare for someone your age. However, this Knight Caralvi by my side has taken a fancy and hopes to test his strength against you.”

“No!” Hamilton shook his head, flatly rejecting the offer on behalf of Rein.

The Knight Caralvi beside Gordon, by Hamilton’s instinctual judgment, was possibly even stronger than him, likely a seasoned knight.

If he went a little too far in the bout, Rein, the newly promoted knight, would likely be severely injured on the spot, thus interrupting the entire Transcendent transformation process, and his strength would fall by ten to twenty percent for no reason.

Because the Transcendent transformation is not something that can be fully completed in just a few hours—it generally takes about two to three days.

Of course, the first few hours after taking the potion are when the transformation is most intense, completing about seventy to eighty percent of the total transformation, but this does not mean that the remaining twenty to thirty percent of the transformation is unimportant.

“Your Excellency the Sheriff, why not? Could it be that this Rein… Sir, has not truly ascended to the Transcendent, instead relying on some potion’s effect?” Gordon said smugly, as if he had seen through their act.

“This…”

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After hearing Gordon’s words, Hamilton was at a loss for words.

He did not expect the other party to suspect that Rein hadn’t actually taken a magic potion but had consumed some other kind of potion to achieve the appearance of a burgeoning life force field, akin to just having ascended to the Transcendent.

Rein, standing to one side, understood that the Knight Caralvi had whispered this piece of information to Gordon.

Rein assessed the knight, and from his perception, the knight’s strength seemed to be about the same as Hamilton’s, although Rein could not discern any finer details.

But Rein had a faint feeling that the knight might be stronger than him, though only by a very limited margin.

Right now, having just made his breakthrough, he urgently needed an opponent to test the changes in his strength.

Of course, what was most important was for Rein to demonstrate his power, to show that he had indeed truly stepped into the Transcendent state and become a formal knight.

In doing so, he could also prove that he had indeed taken the rare advancement potion, thereby avoiding the endless harassment from other nobles seeking the potion.

Clearly, there were far more nobles than just young master Gordon here, who coveted that advancement potion.

Thus, Rein first looked at Hamilton and Connor, giving them a glance to signal his confidence, then turned to Gordon and said, “A test? Certainly no problem.”

This brought a look of joy to Gordon’s face as he turned to Hamilton and said, “Your Excellency the Sheriff, it seems you do not have as much courage as your subordinate.”

Hamilton’s face had already darkened when Rein rashly agreed, and now with Gordon’s taunting remarks, his expression became even uglier. At the same time, he also felt a trace of displeasure towards Colonel Connor.

Before this young master Gordon, my modest position as the security officer of Flashgold Town naturally could not compare to Connor, the Imperial Army Colonel, yet Connor stood by silently without saying a word.

Lord Hamilton turned his head toward Connor, and Colonel Connor seemed to realize something, walking up beside Lord Hamilton and whispering, “Perhaps Rein will give us a surprise.”

“Hmm?” Lord Hamilton looked at Connor with an extremely incredulous gaze.

His expression seemed to say, Rein has only just stepped into the Transcendent realm, and you’re telling me there could be a surprise in his duel with an experienced knight? Are you stupid, or am I stupid?

Connor let out a helpless smile, as there were some things that were naturally not appropriate to discuss in front of Gordon.

But ever since Rein had entered the room, Connor had a vague feeling that Rein, who had just become Transcendent, might pose a certain threat to him.

Yes! A threat to him, a Peak Knight.

So, after a brief congratulations, Connor had been pondering over this matter.

When he returned to his senses, he saw his good friend, Lord Hamilton, giving him a cold look, which made him feel both annoyed and amused!

“Then let’s go! You should have a training ground here, right?” said young master Gordon with a smile on his face.

“Yes, right next door,” Rein nodded.

Connor patted Lord Hamilton on the shoulder and said, “Let’s go! Relax!”

Thus, the group of five, led by the guards, arrived at the training ground behind the administrative hall.

Upon seeing so many important figures entering, the various Night Watchmen and security officers who were practicing in the training ground all stopped their movements and turned to look over.

“Security Officer!”

“Lord Hamilton!”

“Hmm! You all stop for a moment, Rein will have a duel with this… Knight Caravel!” Lord Hamilton said with a somber face.

“What?”

“Rein is going to duel a formal knight?”

The crowd started murmuring among themselves.

“Could it be that Rein is already a formal knight?”

“Impossible, I was rescuing kidnapped children with Rein just two days ago, and he wasn’t a knight then, how could he become one in just three days!” a Night Watchman shook his head and said.

“Rein may be strong, but compared to a formal knight, he is probably no match.”

“Indeed, Rein is now like a banner for us Night Watchmen of Flashgold Town, what is Lord Hamilton thinking? If Rein loses, won’t it be a disgrace to our town?”

“Losing to a formal knight is not a big deal! If it were you, you probably wouldn’t even qualify to duel!” Matteo retorted irritably.

The knight named Caravel walked to the center of the field and stood still, but when a Night Watchman offered him a practice sword, he completely ignored it.

Gordon simply waved his hand on the side and said, “Such practice swords cannot be used for a duel between knights, let them use their own weapons!”

This comment caused a stir among the watching Night Watchmen; the opponent was actually going to use a real weapon. Was this still just a duel?

It was nothing less than a formal combat!

This time, even Colonel Connor squinted his eyes. Using a practice weapon and a combat weapon were two entirely different concepts.

If they were using practice weapons—wooden swords made of iron—they would be at low risk in the duel given that both were clad in plate armor, with little chance of accident.

If Rein were to lose, he wouldn’t sustain any serious injuries.

But if they were to use combat weapons, then the risk in the duel would sharply increase, almost akin to a real fight!

A slight mistake could lead to serious injury.

“I have no objections!” Rein said with a serious expression, showing no fear.

“Very well, lucky one, let’s begin then!” a deep voice sounded, coming from none other than Knight Caravel.

“Clang!”

He drew out the two longswords that hung at his waist, revealing himself to be a rare dual-sword style knight.

Rein too took down the Dual-Handed Greatsword ‘Glimmering Greatsword’ off his back, holding it in his hand. The substantial increase in strength allowed Rein to now effortlessly hold the Dual-Handed Greatsword with one hand.

Of course, if he wanted the attacks to be powerful, he would naturally need to wield it with both hands to chop.

Seeing Rein was ready, the next second, with a ‘swoosh’, Caravel in his hundred-plus pound knight’s plate armor charged towards Rein with the agility of a swift cheetah, surprisingly light on his feet.

At his move, the surrounding Night Watchmen could only see a blur before the opponent disappeared from sight. When their eyes caught him again, he was already upon Rein.

“A speed-type knight!” Lord Hamilton squinted and said.