Hilia agreed to the duel, and Mier immediately grew excited.

Upon entering the combat training ground, he shouted, "Hilia, you don’t need to hold back, go all out, don’t worry, I’m fine."

Hilia said calmly, "I won’t compensate if I damage your magic puppet. I need a mentor to witness this."

"Alright! Don’t worry, go ahead and hit with all your might, even if you damage the Heart of the Magic Puppet, I won’t ask for compensation, as long as you can break it."

Mier was so excited, like a guy who just got a smile from his goddess, not realizing how badly he’d fare later.

He immediately found the mentor, and after the mentor repeatedly confirmed, they established a one-sided compensation agreement.

It stated that if he damaged Hilia’s magic puppet, he would compensate double, whereas if Hilia damaged his, she would not need to compensate, and he would cover his own repair costs.

He even added an extra condition: if Hilia could completely wreck his magic puppet, he would give her 10 Gold Coins.

Gold Coins weren’t much for Hilia now, but it was better than nothing.

After her mad holiday spending spree, her Gold Coins had dwindled to about 300, but the rewards for the relic raid would arrive in two days. With rewards from the school, the Holy Court, and the Ista Royal Family, her Gold Coins would surpass 1000, so she wasn’t too concerned about the 10 Gold Coins.

Once the agreement was set, the two went to the venue, and because Mier spoke so loudly, all the students were attracted over.

The mentor also took this opportunity to let the other students see the gap between a Tier Two Mage and a Tier One Mage, letting them gather around the combat training field, curiously watching the two on the field.

Mier was full of fighting spirit. Even though he knew Hilia and the others had raided the Lost Lighthouse, he still didn’t think Hilia, from an ordinary family, would have a superior magic puppet.

As long as his magic puppet’s defense was high enough that her magic couldn’t break through, wouldn’t it be an easy fight?

No matter how many tactics you have, if you can’t break the defense, it’s all in vain!

As soon as the mentor announced the start, Mier immediately controlled his magic puppet to charge forward.

Hilia watched the opponent’s magic puppet running and couldn’t help but shake her head, "The running already shows such a big flaw, I really don’t want to bully the weak, but fine, since he wants to deal with me, I’ll teach him a harsh lesson!"

With a wave of the girl’s hand, the magic puppet mirrored it, and magic power refined to 101% burst forth in an instant.

Several layers of ice walls appeared quickly, enveloping Mier’s magic puppet from front, back, left, right, and above.

Inside the ice walls was a metal net of Orichalcum, combined together, to firmly trap Mier’s magic puppet.

This defensive magic turned into a sturdy prison, impossible for Mier to break through by crashing around.

Then Hilia controlled the magic puppet to condense an ice bow, and a crystal arrow emerged on the bowstring, slowly gathering magic power.

When the magic power in the bowstring reached about one-tenth of that needed for destroying the Ghost Ship, the magic puppet released the bowstring.

At the same time, the ice walls that Mier’s magic puppet couldn’t break through, shattered at Hilia’s command.

Before Mier could react, the ice arrow had already reached, exploding on the magic puppet’s chest.

A robust surge of magic power blasted out from the point of explosion, blowing outwards.

The mentor did not intervene, as this surge of magic power at most caused people to stumble, without causing any real harm.

But the students, after steadying themselves, looked with awe in their eyes.

In the center of the explosion where the ice arrow hit, Mier’s much-vaunted magic puppet, which supposedly no Tier Two Magic could penetrate, was now reduced to mere parts on the ground, only its spine and Heart of the Magic Puppet intact.

All the students, including Mier and the practical class mentor, watched this scene in shock.

Mier seemed downright stupefied.

He fell to the ground, muttering to himself.

"Impossible... impossible..."

"My invincible magic puppet, why couldn’t it withstand even a single magic? This isn’t right?"

"Is Hilia a Tier Three now?"

Hilia recalled the magic puppet and said calmly, "Mier, the person who sold you the magic puppet materials exaggerated the performance of your materials. Your magic puppet’s defense can only block entry-level Tier Two magic. Fighting with me holds no meaning, don’t bother me again in the future."

After speaking, Hilia turned around and walked out, leaving the dumbfounded students behind.

Mier looked at Hilia’s back with some disorientation.

He thought that as long as he became a Tier Two Mage, the family’s resources could furnish him with a very strong magic puppet, even if he had just become a Tier Two Mage and hadn’t yet mastered Tier Two magic himself, he could rely on the magic puppet’s capability to master magic quickly and use it adeptly.

He thought perhaps he couldn’t defeat a Tier Three Mage, but surely he could beat Hilia.

Especially knowing that Hilia’s magic puppet had poor defense, using materials that barely provided any defense just to sync with single-element magic.

Instead, without even exerting full effort, she had trapped his magic puppet with a casual Tier One magic.

With an effortless attack magic, she not only dismantled his magic puppet into pieces but also knocked him to the ground.

The defensive magic his puppet had learned seemed like it was made from paper at that moment.

One ice wall and one crystal arrow broke Mier entirely, shattering his resolve.

When the mentor came to help him up, he looked up to see Hilia back at her place, reading a book again.

The mentor said, "Mier, according to the agreement you made with Hilia, you need to cover the repairs of your magic puppet, correct?"

Mier looked at his magic puppet, now reduced to scrap with only the spine and Heart of the Magic Puppet still usable—no longer worth repairing, might as well get a new one.

He nodded dejectedly, "I understand."

"Alright, do you need the mentor’s help in tidying up?" The mentor breathed a sigh of relief, glad Mier wasn’t putting up a fuss, which would have been a headache for him.

"Thank you, mentor."

Mier wasn’t in the mood to clean up, he just wanted a quiet place.

...

Hilia continued reading, feeling the awe from her fellow students surrounding her, a slight curve tugged at her lips.

"Mr. Rose’s special training is simply amazing. Before the special training, I couldn’t have achieved this level. Thank you, Mr. Rose!"

"How is it going?" Rose asked.

"In just over half a month, I can master it all, two days ahead of the time you gave me!"

"Very good. After learning, you should also consider advancing to the next stage."

"Okay!"

...

The fight between Hilia and Mier spread throughout the school through the students, making everyone realize the stark gap between Tier Two Mages of different calibers.

Upon learning that Hilia was a candidate for the Holy Daughter position, the other candidates became increasingly mysterious and mighty in everyone’s eyes.

Two days later, Hilia appeared in the principal’s office with Doris and others.

They came to claim their rewards from the school, the Holy Court, and the Ista Royal Family.

The principal wore a serious expression, "Besides calling you here to give you the relic raid rewards, there’s also something else I need to discuss with you."

"Regarding the Mage League, do you have any intentions to participate?"