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Outside the competition venue, Dorothy's face changed as she felt the connection with one of her Phantoms suddenly cut off, sensing a bit of awkwardness.

"No way, can they really play like this? What kind of King of Luck is that, getting Nine-Ring Magic from a regular Resource Box?"

The homebody witch clicked her tongue, somewhat speechless.

In the rules she set, the likelihood of getting Nine-Ring Magic from a normal Resource Box was about one in a thousand, and there were less than 200 competitors in total. Theoretically, since the game had just started not long ago, Nine-Ring Magic shouldn't have appeared.

But alas, the randomness of a King of Luck simply didn't follow logic, opening a Nine-Ring Spell with the first box — who could she even complain to about that?

And it wasn't just a Nine-Ring Spell, it was specifically a Greater Domination Spell.

Honestly, as powerful as this High-Level Magic was, it wasn't actually that easy to use; after all, the casting time was too long, and it required the Spell's medium to touch the opponent's body to take effect. It also required your Mental attribute to be stronger than that of your opponent in order to dominate them—so many restrictions.

But again, Kings of Luck were truly unreasonable. From that Resource Box also came a Magic Bow that could turn Spells into arrows. Now she had a long-range casting medium, all that was left was to dominate the target.

Then she happened upon Miss Ghost Mask's fight with the Clown Illusion, finding the perfect opportunity to strike with a covert arrow while the two were fully focused on their battle.

"Tsk, fine, I've got nothing to say with luck like this. Really now, it's just a competition; why sacrifice years off your life for it?"

Dorothy, whose luck wasn't really great and who often didn't get good cards, grumbled to herself, then magnanimously gave up her control over the Clown Illusion.

The Clown Illusion's attributes really weren't up to par, and couldn't withstand the Dominance of the Domination Spell. She had no choice but to accept the bet she had lost.

However, the fact that the Elf Witch could think of using a Domination Spell to dominate her illusion showed that she was truly a jewel of a genius, lucky as if by a fluke.

Dorothy flipped through the list of newcomers and quickly found the profile of the newcomer.

Codename, Child of the Forest.

Well, this codename seems fated for me. Noted, I'll try to recruit her after the game ends.

As the Lord Grand Inquisitor, she was still in need of foot soldiers; such a bright talent should be under her tutelage.

......

Meanwhile, in the forest of the venue, Elf Witch Miss Child of the Forest hopped and skipped her way over to the still Clown Illusion. At first, she didn't dare to get too close until she was sure her Domination Spell had taken effect. Then she confidently approached.

Yay, I finally have a new baby again.

The Elf Witch cheered.

Her conscience was clear. As a Summoner who mostly relied on familiars for fighting, these absurd game rules were truly a struggle.

All her familiars were sealed, not a single one could be used. How was she supposed to play, really?

She was that rare kind of witch in the Witch World that specialized in only one field. Apart from Summoning Spells and familiar training, she didn't really learn anything else, as it didn't interest her.

And precisely because of that, her progress in the Summoning Faction was nothing short of astonishing. Following the traditional Druid path of the Elf Witches, at only 20 years old, she had already become a Great Druid, leading a swarm of powerful familiars, and her Clan had given her the title of Child of the Forest.

As a reward for her contributions, the Clan Leader even specifically recommended her for a spot in the Judgment Court. Child of the Forest was very happy about this, after all, raising familiars was expensive. To become a civil servant witch with a generous salary was an opportunity she couldn't miss.

But while she was happy, she also had some concerns. Aside from Summoning Spells and familiar training, she knew nothing else. Could someone like her really excel as a Judge?

Back then, the Clan Leader had reassured her, thumping his chest and swearing that the assessment was straightforward and could be passed even with one's eyes closed.

At that time, Child of the Forest believed him.

But now, she just wanted to go back and hang that short Clan Leader and beat him up.

This assessment — was this what you meant by being able to pass it with one's eyes closed? Without my familiars, I'm really just a waste of space.

Thankfully, as they say, the heavens never seal off all exits. Through the mighty attribute of a witch, combined with the elf ranger fitness exercises popularized in her clan during her childhood—quality akin to a three-legged cat's skills—after a lengthy bout of incompetent contenders pecking at each other, she finally triumphed over the unicorn pink furry rabbit guarding the Resource Box. Upon opening the treasure chest, she hit the jackpot.

Included was a Magic Bow with innate enemy tracking and arrow spells, one Nine-Ring Compulsive Domination Spell slot, and several Healing Potions...

For the Child of the Forest, this was hardly surprising; after all, she had been lucky since childhood and grown accustomed to it.

As she saw it, even landing the troublesome Domination Spell with various restrictions at the start could be considered bad luck. However, having something was better than nothing, and she equipped it without disdain.

Just as she considered using the Magic Bow and Domination Spell to dominate more Magical Beasts in the forest and amass a beast army to venture forth from the mountains, she suddenly sensed a wave of magic power not far away.

Yep, she sensed the presence of a top-quality familiar.

Born with the ability to appraise familiar qualities, a sort of inspiration rather than a spell, this ability wasn't restricted and was functioning normally.

And now, as soon as she caught sight of that Clown Illusion, this unique familiar appraisal inspiration informed her that it was fair game.

Her luck played its part once again, and eventually, she successfully turned the Clown Illusion into a familiar under her control.

"Hehehe, let me have a good look at you."

Overjoyed, the Child of the Forest couldn't even be bothered to pick up the equipment dropped by the weakling that the Clown Illusion had dispatched with a single strike. She ran over to the Clown Illusion and lifted its mask.

Then...

Seeing nothing but emptiness beneath the mask, she was somewhat speechless.

What the heck, so it really is just an illusion, without even a face.

The Child of the Forest was quite disappointed.

However, she then suddenly felt a shiver down her spine, sensing an ominous presence. Her head, dazed with the joy of acquiring an excellent familiar, quickly sobered up.

Ah, isn't this Clown Illusion a projection of the chief examiner? Doesn't this count as attacking the chief examiner?

And I just tried to take off the illusion's mask, wouldn't that be further provoking the Lord Grand Inquisitor?

Hiss...

Realizing the foolishness of her recent actions, the Elf Witch immediately executed a nimble leap to her knees.

"Please forgive me, my Lord, it was definitely not intentional," she sincerely apologized.

After a long while, when nothing seemed to happen, she finally breathed a sigh of relief but dared not meddle with the now-subdued phantom anymore.

The Child of the Forest swiftly picked up the longsword from the ground and absorbed the Spell Slot.

She then tried wielding the sword a few times. You couldn't say she was skilled at swordplay; it was more like she was utterly clueless, the movements light and lacking any lethality.

Not that she expected herself to go into battle anyway. Holding the sword, she then looked again at the Clown Illusion beside her.

Though previously empty-handed, the Clown Illusion now wielded a bow and a sword.

Seeing this, the Child of the Forest immediately rejoiced. She was about to command the Clown Illusion to showcase a performance for her, but the previous chill made the Elf Witch adhere to her inner judgment.

... The bumbling Elf adventurer carries on...