My Muscle System in the Mage World

The students all nodded their heads with eyes filled with excitement.

"There are basically five factions at the moment; however, for the time being, one of the factions isn't attending. So you could only be chosen from the four fractions present here." Noah paused, glancing at everyone's expression before he continued, "the first three place winners are allowed to choose their own faction."

Noah returned to his grand throne.

A man in white armour approached with a striking appearance, emanating a natural presence of valour.

"I am the captain of the inner guard of the academy," he introduced himself loudly, his expression stern.

"Aur, come choose your faction," he announced, his tone turning a little milder.

As Aur made his way through the parted crowd, his presence alone seemed to cast a shadow over the onlookers. With each step, his imposing figure, towering above others with his muscular build, commanded attention. His shoulder-length hair swayed gracefully in the wind.

While some individuals were as tall as Aur, none matched his sheer well defined muscle and bulkiness, leaving those around him feeling small and insignificant in comparison.

William's eyes widened in awe as he beheld Aur's formidable stature.

"Hey, Asmodeus," William's voice echoed in his mind.

"What is it?" Asmodeus' cold voice reverberated directly inside William's head.

"Do you think I can beat him?" William asked, curiosity lacing his tone.

Asmodeus peered out from within the golden text that comprised his form, observing Aur through William's eyes. A faint chuckle escaped him as he regarded Aur.

"Kid, in ten years, you might stand a chance against him. Until then, forget about it, unless he fails to progress at all," Asmodeus replied, his tone laced with amusement.

William's expression froze, a small scowl forming on his face.

"Is he really that strong?" he muttered, disbelief evident in his voice.

"Hehe, his raw physique is already as strong as a mid-tier one wizard's spell," Asmodeus said with a chuckle.

Hearing this, William was a little shocked.

Even with the talent he had, breaking through from wizard apprentice to a tiered wizard was a critical point that needed a lot of preparation to achieve. At the rate William was progressing, he would still need more than half a year if he wanted to have a chance to break through.

Although the leap from peak wizard apprentice to tier one wizard realm might have seemed like a mere step, William, who was facing these barriers, knew the true difficulty of the tier.

William didn't feel much of a barrier when he reached the middle, higher, or even the peak of wizard apprentice. However, the barrier of tier one wizard firmly pressed him to the ground. Without his cast mental space, the difficulty of breaking through was even much harder.

But still, he felt a little indignant.

"Asmodeus, after I reach tier one wizard, I am confident I can beat him," William muttered. "After all, his body strength is only useful in a short range. As long as I can maintain a gap between us, I should be able to beat him or, if not, tie him."

Asmodeus shook his head with a chuckle and fell silent again.

"Hey, reply, Asmodeus! Asmodeus!?" William shouted internally, but no response came, making him grit his teeth.

The soft body pressing against his own didn't contain the boiling rage William was feeling right now.

Aur swiftly reached the stage and bowed respectfully.

The man in silver armour with a valiant presence announced, "The first faction is led by the village leader Noah himself and two of his indirect disciples at the tier two wizard realm. The second faction consists of the first, fourth, sixth, ninth, and tenth elders."

"The third faction consists of the second elder, fifth, seventh, eleventh, and twelfth elder," the man tentatively glanced at Noah, who nodded his head in confirmation.

"The fourth faction is currently not recruiting anyone, so the fifth fraction is led by the third elder..."

Aur attentively listened to the details. He wasn't fully aware of the politics and the internal power structure of the true powers of the village, and now he somewhat had a map and clues of the internal structure.

Since the factions that the man had announced were based on power, Aur could assume that the fifth faction, led by the third elder, was the weakest in the village.

The fourth faction was currently unknown to him. Meanwhile, the first faction, led by Noah, a tier three wizard, was undoubtedly the strongest and most lucrative, with just him alone marking their position as the first.

Aur hesitated for a moment about choosing the first faction. While it was undoubtedly the strongest, it also likely attracted numerous talents, as evidenced by their stance. Aur reasoned that although there weren't many powerhouses, there were countless lower-tier wizards there.

Aur didn't want to fall into the pitfall of conspiracy.

Furthermore, the fifth faction was out of the question for him.

With careful contemplation, thoughts collided in Aur's head as his brain analysed the information.

Just then, however, he heard a voice whispering into his ears, "Aur, you should choose me."

Curiously, Aur looked up and faintly detected where the sound was coming from, as if the voice were guiding him. He wasn't sensing it, but the voice seemed to be leading him.

Immediately, he saw the second elder sitting to the left of Noah with a stoic expression on his face.

When Aur looked at him, the second elder merely shifted his pupils slightly.

"Second elder, huh…" Aur thought, his eyes narrowing in contemplation.

The second elder's voice echoed in Aur's ears again. "As long as you choose me, I will make you my successor and provide you with countless resources."

"If you join the first faction, the resources you receive will be minimal."

"Joining the fifth faction won't guarantee your security or backing. And as for the second faction, don't you have a minor conflict with the first elder's child?"

Aur mulled over the elder's words, considering his options carefully.

"So, what will you choose, Aur?" the silver-armored man asked again, noticing that Aur hadn't yet made his decision.