The Second Trial

After dealing with the ambush from the Black Mist Knight, Thea didn't let her guard down as she cautiously proceeded towards the summit.

The latter half of the journey could be described as uneventful. In fact, by the time she reached halfway up the mountain, she had a rough idea of what was going on.

The initial purpose of this trial was probably not for apprentice wizards to hack their way through blocking knights. If she wasn't mistaken, it was likely to assess the reaction speed and basic physical fitness of the participants. In other words, it was to select those who would run away swiftly when faced with danger.

But Merlin, the mastermind behind this trial, probably never anticipated someone like Thea among his descendants, who would simply take down the Knight.

The martial skills of this Black Mist Knight would be considered outstanding even today. Her medieval ancestors would have probably fled in panic when faced with him. The notion that ancient martial arts were superior to modern ones was unlikely. Any skill would undoubtedly become more refined over time, honed through generations of practice, resulting in a final version stronger than the original.

"Phew." Reaching the mountaintop, Thea gasped for breath and planted her sword into the ground. It was an incredibly high mountain. Although she hadn't encountered any enemies along the way, it wasn't an easy journey, mentally. She wondered about the state of those ancestors who had to run all the way up while being pursued. They must have been exhausted too. Hopefully, the second trial won't be too difficult.

What lay before her wasn't really a summit, but more like a plaza—the entire mountaintop had been flattened. In the distance stood a large palace with a distinct English style. The palace gate was ten meters high, surrounded by several tall but damaged knight statues.

Thea didn't rush to open the gate recklessly. Instead, she planned to observe for a while. Besides, she wasn't sure if she had the strength to push open the gate, given its size.

It seemed like the designer of this trial didn't want participants to rush in foolishly either, as the thick and wide gate slowly opened on its own.

Thud, thud. Heavy footsteps echoed in Thea's heart as a colossal figure slowly emerged from behind the doors, much to her astonishment.

It had two horns sprouting from its head, crimson-yellow eyes, four limbs with wings, and a body covered in scales resembling molten lava, with a tail as long as its body trailing behind.

"A red dragon? A fire dragon?" Thea didn't know the specific scientific name of this creature, but she knew for sure that she wasn't a match for it. Let alone herself, even if Bane chugged an entire canister of that Venom serum, he wouldn't stand a chance against this creature.

Was Merlin really trying to select mages? Thea's previous thoughts were probably wrong. How could those medieval peasants and villagers, plus sheltered nobles, possibly defeat such a beast? They'd be scared out of their wits.

Or perhaps her unorthodox completion of the first trial resulted in increased difficulty? Thea looked down at the sword in her hand. It certainly didn't seem capable of dragon-slaying!

Could it be another test of agility to swiftly run inside while the red dragon attacked? That didn't seem right either. Thea shook her head. The dragon remained stationary at the gate, showing no intention of moving.

She thought of seven or eight possibilities in an instant, including strategies from games and various fairy tales from her previous life, but none seemed to apply to her current situation.

Her current situation could be described as being between a rock and a hard place. While she was pondering the purpose of the trial, the red dragon seemed to grow impatient with her inactivity. Without warning, it breathed out a fireball.

Thea cursed inwardly. Did the prerequisites for becoming a mage apprentice include being a dragon slayer? Or were ordinary people during Merlin's time so fierce that killing dragons was as easy as killing chickens?

Faced with a fireball the size of a basin, there was no need for any technique. Judging by the color of the flames, the temperature was definitely high. Even Lady Firefly's fire-resistant physique might not withstand it. There was no choice but to run.

"Bang, bang." As Thea continued evading the fireballs, she also looked for a way to break the stalemate.

But the dragon remained stationed at the gate, not moving an inch. Ranged combat was futile; she had no bow and arrows, and even if she did, they wouldn't be effective. Melee combat? Ridiculous. And magic? Thea was here to learn magic, after all; she didn't know any yet.

Huh? While dodging the fireball, Thea darted eastward, only to notice a patch of ground previously scorched by the flames, yet devoid of any signs of a high temperature.

She quickly ran to the edge of the scorched pit and reached out her hand to touch it. To her surprise, she felt no intense heat when she touched it.

She extended her sword to the bottom of the pit and waited a few seconds before pulling it out. There were no signs of burning or heating on the blade.

Was it an illusion? No, she used the sword to touch the edge of the scorched pit, and there was still a physical impact.

Vaguely understanding the intention behind this trial, Thea extended her left hand and thought, 'Handgun.' Instantly, a Beretta 92F appeared in her hand. The gun's weight felt authentic, and when she fired a shot, the sound, trajectory, and impact were identical to those of a real firearm.

She understood—this was a test of the challenger's creativity. No matter what weapon one imagined, as long as it could deal with the red dragon across from them, it counted as passing. It was all about thinking outside the box. With the thinking of Earthlings from her previous life, Thea had nothing to fear.

Without wasting another moment, Thea imagined a larger-than-life version of the Terminator, equipped with a Gatling gun, charging forward.

The red dragon was indeed formidable, responding to the Terminator's provocation with a fireball the size of a basin. Neither side attempted to dodge, and within half a minute, the Terminator bravely sacrificed itself.

Without wasting any time, Thea's mind raced as she recalled the giant Jaegers from the Pacific Rim movie. She piloted the one she conjured, the Crimson Typhoon, a towering figure clad in red, standing at 150 meters tall with three arms, each wielding a serrated sword. With an imposing demeanor, it charged forward.

Suddenly, seeing such an enormous creature, the red dragon lying on the ground, playing dead, almost popped its eyeballs out. Despite being a magical creation, its intellect and experiences from its past life were still present. Having lived for thousands of years, it had never encountered such a massive humanoid creature. Was this the legendary Titan?

Against the 150-meter-tall, over-six thousand-ton metal construct, facing off against a dragon that was only 20 meters tall and less than 100 meters long, the process could only be described as a complete domination.

Thea felt exhilarated like never before. With one hand holding down the dragon's neck to prevent it from moving and the other two hands wielding giant swords, she began a fierce assault. Initially, she used a few sword techniques but eventually abandoned them, opting for straightforward hacking and slashing, which proved sufficient against the dragon.