The Gray Dwarf's suggestion was to give both parties another half year. After six months, a competition would be held to pit Richard and Stevenson against each other in Rune Construct proficiency. The test subject would be designated now by Her Highness Helen Su, giving them the next six months to study, improve, and prepare for the specific challenge. Whoever truly inherited Helen Su's knowledge in Rune Constructs would be decided by the outcome of this competition.

  All the Archmages instantly understood. The so-called second chance was, plainly put, just the Gray Dwarf wanting to extract another half year's tuition fees from Stevenson!

  Had Her Highness's financial situation deteriorated to such an extent? But they quickly realized the Legendary Mage's finances could only be excessively healthy; it was merely Deepblue's finances that might have issues.

  In the eyes of any creature whose goal is to collect more gold coins, time is exceptionally precious, especially time on the Norland continent. Therefore, after making the decision, the Legendary Mage wasted no time, directly deciding on the competition's subject during the meeting.

  The decision and the test subject details would be delivered to Richard and Stevenson later that day. Naturally, Minnie would also receive a copy. But no one held out any hope for her. News of Marquis Neo's defeat had already reached Deepblue's upper echelons. Within the core circle centered around the Archmages and extending to their close disciples and colleagues, the way they viewed Richard had changed significantly. Previously, Richard was merely considered a little fellow with astonishing talent, fortunate enough to have gained Her Highness's favor. But now, with the Akmond family rising like an erupting volcano, no one dared look down on Richard from the perspective of family power and background anymore. At most, they might mutter insults about the upstart's son behind his back.

  As night fell, a cheer erupted from Stevenson's residential area. Stevenson clutched a document, scarcely believing his eyes! He reread it over a dozen times before daring to believe it wasn't a dream.

  For the first time, the Dragon Blooded Sorcerer felt Helen Su favored him.

  The blood-stained conspiracy not only went unpunished but wasn't even mentioned. The matter he had worried about most had simply passed. Since Deepblue's leadership had made their decision on the matter, regardless of how much power the Akmond family or Richard himself concealed, he no longer needed to fear direct retaliation. What made him ecstatic was that the door to Construct Mastery, which he thought had slammed shut before him, was now open again, granting him a fair chance to compete against Richard.

  Fair? Stevenson didn't think so at all.

  He was a Dragon Blooded Sorcerer, already seventeen, with mana exceeding level ten, backed by the financial might of his entire family. Most importantly, he had a true Construct Master behind him! And the competition was set for half a year later, but the test subject was given out now. This was practically encouraging him to cheat! Although the construct needed for the test had to be created and installed by Stevenson himself, the materials could be processed and provided by his family, and the design could be fully developed and perfected by Saint Kruse! Half a year was enough time for Stevenson to address all his shortcomings related to the specific design and create the corresponding Rune Construct.

  His residence now housed two iron cages. One, a large cage reinforced with containment magic, held a strong Winter Wolf. This two-meter-long giant wolf was one of the north's unique, fierce magical beasts. Besides formidable physical strength, it could innately cast two spells: Chilling Slow and Ice Arrow. Winter Wolves that lived long enough could also breathe freezing breath. The other cage contained several plump Arctic Snow Hares. These white-furred rabbits possessed outstanding cold resistance and bred rapidly. However, apart from agile movements and quick speed, they had no offensive capabilities, being the most basic magical beasts found everywhere in the northern continent and the foundation of the entire magical beast food chain. Winter Wolves primarily preyed on Snow Hares.

  Helen Su's test was this: use self-made Rune Constructs to arm a Snow Hare, then defeat a Winter Wolf. A simple, yet very difficult, challenge.

  The Winter Wolf naturally had superior strength, its running speed wasn't much slower than a Snow Hare's, and its innate magic had a range exceeding thirty meters. The Snow Hare stood no chance against the Winter Wolf. Its inherent weakness also made it a poor candidate as a Rune Construct host. No single primary Rune Construct was sufficient to let a Snow Hare contend with a Winter Wolf, and loading a second Rune Construct onto its small body was beyond the capabilities of a primary Construct Master.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  But even the most difficult problems have solutions. If Saint Kruse couldn't solve it, Stevenson believed Richard couldn't either. Moreover, the rules were clear: if neither side's Snow Hare defeated the Winter Wolf, their performance would be evaluated, and the winner decided based on the outcome.

  After the initial euphoria, a calmed Stevenson began seriously contemplating the Legendary Mage's test. On the competition day, the Winter Wolves provided by Deepblue would surely be of similar strength, but the Snow Hares would be prepared by Richard and Stevenson themselves. Like all magical beasts, Snow Hares varied in size and strength. Since they needed to host Rune Constructs, a carefully selected strong Snow Hare would have vastly different final combat power compared to an ordinary one. Half a year was enough time to breed two new generations of Snow Hares. The Solam family was renowned for breeding magical beasts; in six months, Stevenson would surely present Richard with a big surprise in the form of a brand-new Snow Hare.

  Breeding new magical beast varieties required huge investment, but at a time like this, the cost could be disregarded. If Stevenson could win this battle, all previous investments would be worthwhile. The Winter Wolf and Snow Hares in the cages were test subjects provided free by Deepblue, but only this once. Future use would require expensive purchases or catching them himself.

  When people suddenly see hope in desperate situations, the energy they unleash is often immense. Stevenson had already conceded defeat in terms of talent, but he was determined to seize this new opportunity, leveraging his family's full power, paving a path to Construct Mastery with gold coins.

  A letter detailing the latest developments and expressing Stevenson's determination was once again sent through the magic array. Before long, the communication array lit up, and a page of magic parchment was transmitted back. The letter was personally written by Duke Solam, consisting of only a few lines, but the meaning was crystal clear. The Solam family would fully support Stevenson in winning this construct competition. At the end of the letter, the Duke made only one request: no more foolish acts.

  Stevenson understood what this meant. Gordon's deeds on the Day of Fate had spread throughout the continent; the Akmond family's status was now no less than the Solam family's. If Stevenson committed another foolish act like the failed assassination attempt, no one could save him.

  And this time, Stevenson was determined to defeat Richard fair and square within the rules. Helen Su still favored him; it was just that her tastes... were slightly peculiar. The Dragon Blooded Sorcerer felt that since the Legendary Mage could even stomach Richard, perhaps his own turn might come one day. When that day arrived... if such a day ever truly came, Stevenson wasn't absolutely confident. There was a crucial, unavoidable point: a sorcerer with strong dragon blood might be unable to perform as a man before the Legendary Mage, unless she willingly suppressed her reverse dragon might. But could that thing even be suppressed? Dragon might, at least, could not.

  Meanwhile, in the residential area several floors below, Richard was kneeling before the iron cages, observing the Winter Wolf and the Snow Hare. The Legendary Mage's decision had also surprised him greatly, initially causing some feelings of injustice and resentment. However, as he delved deeper into studying the test subject, Richard had cast aside all emotions, fully immersing himself in the world of Rune Constructs.

  He had reviewed all recorded primary Rune Constructs but felt none were sufficient to enable a Snow Hare to defeat a Winter Wolf. Especially since Winter Wolves had strong resistance to toxins; even endowing the Snow Hare with a temporary potent poison attribute would, at best, cause the Winter Wolf some discomfort after eating it.

  Richard continued flipping through the thick introductory construct tome beside him. His search had reached the second-level catalog, but he still hadn't found a construct capable of letting a Snow Hare defeat a Winter Wolf. Only from third-level constructs onwards did Rune Constructs appear that could bestow various abilities upon the target creature, rather than just simple attribute bonuses. Fifth-level constructs could even simulate bloodline abilities, like the famous Celestial Armaments, which could grant the target a holy attribute and add numerous abilities of celestial beings.

  Richard closed the book, no longer looking at the dazzling array of high-level constructs listed further on. He turned his gaze back to the iron cages. He had currently only succeeded in creating one semi-finished primary construct. According to normal progress, even after half a year, he would likely only be able to create primary Rune Constructs, making second-tier constructs impossible, let alone third-level or higher. But Helen Su wouldn't pose a clearly impossible challenge. So Richard began to ponder.

  In the world of Rune Constructs, there were infinite possibilities. Existing standard constructs represented only a small corner of the construct world. The works of Construct Masters who had truly left a significant mark on history all bore strong personal styles, nearly impossible to imitate. Thinking this, Richard grew thoughtful. Since standard Rune Constructs couldn't solve the problem, perhaps he should bypass them altogether.

  Creation was the eternal theme of the construct world.

  With this thought, Richard suddenly saw the light. The Legendary Mage was actually using this test to examine whether he possessed the essential quality for the path to Saint Construct Master: creativity.

  Saint Construct Master couldn't be the end of his journey, because Deepblue Aria was a Rune Construct surpassing the fifth tier. Although he was currently just a low-level apprentice, Richard's pride compelled him to dedicate his entire life to fulfilling his promise to Helen Su. In his life, the importance of this promise was second only to his mother's dying wish.

  Only much later did Richard understand that this pride, originating from the depths of his soul, actually belonged to the Akmonds.