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[Players, please get ready; the battle royale game is about to begin.]

[During the game, all intrinsic magic and equipment will be temporarily sealed. Players can only obtain temporary spell slots and equipment from the resource boxes guarded by resource magical beasts in the field. A good start can help you go further.]

[After the game starts, a poison mist will slowly erode the field. Please be aware and evacuate the poison mist area in time.]

[Throughout the game, clown illusions will refresh at random locations. Defeating these clown illusions might yield superior spell slots or equipment.]

[The power of the clown illusions will increase as the game progresses—the stronger the clown illusion, the better the spells and equipment dropped. However, players should act according to their capabilities.]

[During the game, each player has one resurrection opportunity. Please use it wisely, as this is a mercy from Lord Clown for the unlucky ones.]

[The game will end when there is only one person left, after which scores will be calculated based on player rankings. In addition, players who participate in defeating clown illusions will receive extra points.]

[Lastly, a friendly reminder: Lord Clown is watching you all. Players who perform impressively during the game might earn extra impression points, so please do your best to showcase yourself.]

[Wishing everyone a pleasant game.]

....

With Lord Clown's snap of his fingers, nearly two hundred newcomers found the training ground beneath their feet beginning to be reforged. The area expanded vastly, stretching to the size of a small world, and under the influence of terrain magic, the entire field became complex, featuring various terrains such as jungles, grasslands, hills, swamps, deserts, and more.

The newcomers found themselves randomly scattered across the field, distributed at various locations. Their standard battle robes had changed to ordinary novice robes; only the masks on their faces remained, albeit some of them with innate abilities had lost their magic.

All the newcomers' movements were also restricted. A transparent barrier confined them in place, temporarily unable to move, and within it flickered a one-minute countdown.

At the same time, a list of rules popped into everyone's minds, causing many faces to change.

Especially those successors trained by the senior judges—they had heard about the content of the assessments from their elders, which typically involved testing strength and loyalty.

Loyalty tests are harder to define, but strength tests usually consist of arena duels and the like, which is why it's necessary to familiarize oneself with their chosen spell slot combat systems beforehand so as to perform better during the duels.

Thus, in the days leading up to the assessments, these individuals had diligently familiarized themselves with the combat using the spell slots they had chosen.

But now that this new assessment rule had been announced, they felt all the months of practice had been in vain. Now that one could only use the random spells acquired during the assessment, everyone was back to the starting line again.

However, where some felt anxious, others rejoiced. For instance, the newcomers who entered through special recruitment due to their dueling talents found it easier to adapt to new spells. For them, such rules were even more favorable.

Regardless of whether the newcomers accepted it or not, they couldn't change anything. Soon, the one-minute countdown ended, the magical barrier that bound them disappeared, and they regained their freedom, signaling the start of the battle royale game.

........

Outside the field, Dorothy and two bronze medal assistant instructors were monitoring the progress of the entire game.

Dorothy finally had time to take a good look at the two assistant witch instructors.

Based on the aura emanating from them, they were two authentic Great Witches, and their races were also easy to identify—one, wearing a lion mask, was an Angel Witch, and the other, wearing a half-face mask shaped like a flame butterfly, was a Demon Witch.

And the identity tokens hanging from their waists highlighted their factions. The Angel Witch's waist hung a bronze token with an angel relief on the back, while the Demon Witch's token featured a horned demon relief.

Clearly, the two belonged to factions of the Judgment Court other than Dorothy's Mother Superior.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Dorothy learned their codenames—the Angel Witch was called Lionheart, and the Demon Witch went by the name Lady Butterfly.

Lionheart had some opinions about Dorothy's battle royale game, finding it too aggressive and unfair. However, Lady Butterfly quite liked it, exclaiming that Lord Clown's method was interesting and sufficiently entertaining.

But the assessment had already begun, so whatever they said was of no use. After a short conversation, all three focused their attention on the field of play before them.

After all, this assessment was an exam for newcomers and a recruitment drive for themselves; they needed to figure out a way to pull the outstanding newcomers into their faction after the assessment ended.

Of course, the two teaching assistants were just observing, while Dorothy got directly involved. She left one thought thread to follow the assessment process, and her other three thought threads had already been cast into the field, splitting into nine Clown Illusions.

The hunt had begun…

And now, the perspective shifted to the newcomer's side.

Miss Ghost Mask accepted the assessment rules quite easily and took action immediately as the assessment began.

Even though her spellcasting ability was sealed, as the next candidate for the village shrine maiden, Miss Ghost Mask had been trained to be well-rounded from a young age. She was skilled in both academics and martial arts, and even without her casting ability, her physical skills remained intact.

Her starting area was a vast Primeval Forest, with trees soaring to the skies and dense canopies obscuring the sky, casting the forest in shadows, with only a few mottled beams of sunlight filtering through the gaps of the leaves.

Miss Ghost Mask was quite pleased with such a start, reminding her of her ninja training days in the village.

She casually picked a tree and ran straight up the trunk.

It seemed that, though her spellcasting abilities were sealed, the simple trick of gathering magic power under her feet to make tree climbing effortless was still usable.

This realization invigorated Miss Ghost Mask, and then she started to leap and sprint through the branches with the proficiency of a ninja, showcasing various agile moves.

Firstly, she had to find a Resource Box. As the rules stated, most Resource Boxes were guarded by Magical Beasts, so she needed to look around for any nearby.

Miss Ghost Mask thought so in her heart.

Fortunately, she didn't have to search for long before she spotted a huge Giant Python coiled around a tree stump on a large tree.

Upon seeing the snake, she didn't hesitate for a moment and leaped toward the python, and the snake, noticing her, was just about to open its mouth in an Intimidation attempt.

But as its mouth opened, the next second, a flash of blade light swept past, and the python was neatly bisected along its open mouth.

Miss Ghost Mask shook her hand, executing a Blood Shake to fling off the blood from her hand blade, and searched the large tree where the python was. Eventually, she found a Resource Box on the branches.

Upon opening the box, she was overjoyed to find a Spell Orb, apparently a Spell Slot, alongside a Tachi and several Magic Potions.

Turning to the Spell Slot, her beautiful eyes curved into crescents, feeling like she had taken off from the start.

Rank 6 battle magic martial skills: Serpentine Draw and Slash.

Awesome, it was precisely the Iaijutsu she was most proficient in. She had to learn it.

However, as she was about to reach for the last few Magic Potions in the box, her gaze suddenly sharpened and her body sprang far back.

And in the instant she had retreated, a streak of sword light flashed by, hitting where she had just been standing, and then sliced right through the giant tree that required five people to encircle.

Boom…

The giant tree collapsed, crashing into the others and creating a loud noise, kicking up a cloud of dust, from which a figure emerged at a steady pace.

A familiar Clown mask adorned the newcomer's face.

This was a Clown Illusion.

...A standoff ensued...