Bell seemed to be quite apprehensive of Merrick, unwilling to spar with him, and even took a jab at Duke.
"Has the Thorn Holy Towerās standards dropped so low now that it canāt even sense othersā magic power auras? I think it should just shut down early," Merrick casually said.
Bellās expression turned a bit unpleasant, but he seemed unwilling to argue with Merrick, preparing to leave.
Duke suddenly stood up and said, "We can spar, although Iām a second-class wizard apprentice, I think sparring with you shouldnāt be a problem."
"What did you say?" Originally, Bell just wanted to provoke Duke under the guise of sparring and hadnāt thought Duke would actually accept the challenge.
The gap between a first-class wizard apprentice and a second-class wizard apprentice is quite significant. A first-class wizard apprentice has at least thirty points of spiritual power, while Duke only has a little over twenty.
Spiritual power determines the strength of magic and the amount of magic power within oneās body. In battle, the second-class wizard apprentice is completely outmatched and disadvantageous.
In theory, as long as the first-class wizard apprentice isnāt too incompetent, losing is practically impossible.
On the surface, it seemed unwise for Duke to take the initiative in issuing a sparring invitation.
"Duke, donāt heed him," Vivian also stood up and held Duke back.
"Itās alright, Iām confident, trust me," Duke lightly patted Vivianās shoulder as he spoke.
Seeing Duke so calm, Vivian knew Duke wasnāt reckless. Since he dared to say so, he must be confident, so she became less worried.
"Alright, weāll spar after this bout ends. Iāve already paid to cut in line. But donāt regret it," Bell stated eagerly, seemingly afraid Duke would back out.
Since Vivian was present today, Bell couldnāt wait to show himself in front of her, letting her know that her choice of fiancĆ© was far inferior.
"Donāt worry, Iāll show up when itās time," Duke replied calmly, seemingly indifferent.
At this moment, Merrick seriously glanced at Duke, walked over, extended his hand, and said, "My name is Merrick. Regardless of whether you win or lose this sparring, we could get to know each other and interact more in the future."
"Duke," Duke extended his hand and shook Merrickās.
Merrick admired Dukeās courage and guts; Black Sailās wizards can lose but shouldnāt be timid.
Realistically, even if Duke refused, it would be reasonable since this is an unfair challenge.
But Duke still accepted and showed no fear, making Merrick think heās a truly admirable person worth befriending.
Merrick is quite proud and arrogant, generally not acknowledging ordinary people, otherwise, he wouldnāt have admitted to killing Uli and done so openly despite being wanted afterwards, strutting openly outside Black Sail territories.
He wasnāt born into a pure-blood mage family, thus had no bias towards lineage, instead holding disdain for those from pure-blood mage families.
The previous conflicts with Uli stemmed from this; Uli was unbearably arrogant daily, which Merrick naturally disliked, leading to frequent clashes.
After the assessment, he struck a decisive blow with no mercy, disregarding the consequences.
Today, seeing Bell, a pure-blood mage from Thorn Holy Tower, coming here to bully Black Sail folk, Merrick couldnāt sit still and came directly to stir trouble.
He genuinely wanted to fight Bell, preferably signing a life and death contract, so he wouldnāt have to hold back.
Sadly, Bell chickened out and avoided Merrickās spar invitation, yet eagerly accepted Dukeās challenge.
"Bullying the weak while fearing the strong," Merrick directly remarked, not merely thinking aloud but saying it right in front of Bell.
Bellās face turned instantly ashen, yet he said nothing and instead went to consult with the wizard arenaās personnel.
At the wizard arena, bouts can be queued up if you pay, arranged whenever you want, but requires signing a contract.
As the organizer, the arena naturally wants to avoid involving itself in troubles, hence requiring exemption contracts for privately initiated duels.
Especially since Bell is from the Crawford Clan, a very formidable pure-blood mage family, forcing the arena to handle matters cautiously.
Soon, Bell and Dukeās spar was arranged, set to begin after the current bout ends.
Inside the arena, a bald man announced to the surroundings, "Ladies and gentlemen, today we have a special program where two youngsters have temporarily decided to spar. They are Duke, a second-class wizard apprentice from Black Sail, and Bell, a first-class wizard apprentice from Thorn Holy Tower!"
No sooner had he spoken, laughter erupted from the audience seats.
"What are these two kids here stirring up!"
"Hey kid, bite off the Thorn Holy Tower guyās ear with your teeth!"
"Havenāt seen kids brawling for a while, kinda interesting."
...
In the arena, battles are generally at the official wizard level; wizard apprentice-level duels are rare sights.
Duke and Bell are both in their teens, undeniably kids compared to wizards with lifespans of hundreds of years.
"This isnāt fair! Why must our Black Sailās second-class wizard apprentice fight a first-class wizard apprentice from the other side?"
"Exactly, are you intentionally bullying our Black Sail people?"
"How can Thorn Holy Tower people rampage in Harbor City!"
"Let me do it!"
...
Soon, dissatisfaction voices emerged from individuals, mostly wizards from the Black Sail side.
Naturally, they supported Duke and were displeased with this unfair duel; some official wizards even proposed replacing Duke in the bout.
The bald man quickly clarified, "This sparring is merely an exchange between two kids, completely voluntary. Our arena absolutely did not force Duke to participate!"
This being Black Sailās territory, he wouldnāt dare attempt such a thing even with a hundred-fold courage.
Duke and Bell then walked into the arena, positioning themselves on respective sides, awaiting the duelās commencement.
This duel naturally involved betting too, with odds wildly fluctuating as betting commenced.
For this unfair duel, the odds aptly reflected everybodyās views on it.
Dukeās odds were one to three, initially reaching one to six, before gradually settling at one to three.
From the audience seat, Merrick candidly declared, "Iāll bet five thousand on Duke winning!"
Having said this, he retrieved numerous magic stones from his space ring, pouring them into the black vortex over the ticket stand, leaving onlookers flabbergasted.
Betting that much at once, especially on Duke who had an ostensibly low win rate, was akin to tossing magic stones into the water.