Chapter 028: Passing

"Enough!"

Seeing Wang Bo beat the dwarf Gimli to a pulp, Gandalf let out a loud roar and swung his staff to block Wang Bo's strike.

"You've already won. I agree to let you join this company."

Wang Bo smiled, withdrew his knight's sword, and placed it into his inventory.

The dwarf Gimli collected his axe and strode over. "You really are a formidable fellow." He bore no grudge over his defeat but instead kept praising Wang Bo's strength.

Wang Bo complimented him, "You're not bad either. Few can last this long against me."

In the real world, most enemies were defeated by Wang Bo with just a few punches and kicks.

Some were even killed with a single punch. To be honest, if he weren't aware that he was a Kryptonian Superman, Wang Bo would truly fear going bald one day.

After Wang Bo passed the test, Gandalf turned his attention to Malthus.

Boromir, son of the Steward of Gondor, stepped forward with a sword in hand and said, "Leave this one to me."

Gandalf nodded.

Malthus stepped forward, swinging his axe as he charged at Boromir. Boromir did not show weakness and struck back with his sword.

Though he was the Steward's son, his martial skills were considerable; otherwise, he wouldn't have joined the Fellowship of the Ring.

Gandalf would never allow a liability into such an important company.

But before following Wang Bo, Malthus was a demon of hell, constantly fighting to survive, with a wealth of combat experience.

Not to mention that after upgrading to a greater demon, even if only a part of his consciousness entered the game world, he could still unleash formidable combat power through his astonishing instincts.

As long as he wasn't surrounded by an army, there was basically no danger of death, unless the enemy used magic.

But did Boromir know magic?

Of course not. He joined the Fellowship of the Ring solely on the strength of his outstanding martial skills, but those skills weren't enough to defeat Malthus.

However, Boromir's level was too high. Converted to player attributes, he was around level twenty or above. With his superior attribute suppression, though he couldn't defeat Malthus, he wouldn't be defeated by him either.

The two were immediately deadlocked.

Seeing this, Gandalf said, "Alright, I agree to let you join the company."

Malthus immediately withdrew his axe and stood behind Wang Bo.

Gandalf gave Wang Bo a deep look, then turned his gaze to the remaining three: Caroline, Ada Wong, and Lady Gremory.

Caroline stepped forward with a bow. The elf Legolas Greenleaf came out and said, "Let's have a contest of archery."

Caroline nodded.

Legolas took out a gold coin, tossed it high into the air. The coin spun repeatedly in midair, reached its peak, and then slowly descended. At that moment, Legolas instantly drew his bow and shot.

Whoosh!

An arrow struck the very center of the coin. The immense force carried the coin flying and pinned it to a stone pillar.

Those with sharp eyes saw that the arrowhead had pierced through the coin and embedded itself into the pillar.

Legolas lowered his bow and said to Caroline, "If you can do that, I'll acknowledge you as worthy to join our company."

Without even looking, Caroline drew her bow and shot.

Whoosh!

The arrow she shot was like a streak of light, striking the tail of Legolas's arrow, and then, to the horror of the onlookers, split it in two.

The coin nailed to the stone pillar could not withstand the impact, instantly cracking, splitting in two, and falling downward.

Swish! Swish!

At that moment, two more arrows flew over, pinning the falling coin to the stone pillar.

Legolas marveled, saying, "I have never seen such astonishing archery among humans. You have earned my respect. I hold you in esteem, human sharpshooter."

On the other side, the players stirred slightly, many gathering together to whisper.

"What skill is that? So powerful?"

"It might not be a skill; it could be archery itself."

"WTF, are you kidding? If it's archery, that means they can also... in reality..."

"Very likely."

"How is that possible? Are there such amazing archers in reality?"

"The world is vast, full of wonders. Who knows where these people came from."

While the players were still marveling, Lady Gremory had already stepped forward, her gaze locking onto Gandalf. "Wizard, let me gauge your understanding of magic."

Gandalf looked astonished. "Are you sure you want to choose me as your opponent?"

"Make your move," Lady Gremory said calmly.

The players on the side were all dumbfounded, unable to stay calm.

"Where did this big shot come from, daring to challenge Gandalf?"

"Her level is only one."

"Level one and she dares to pick Gandalf? Is she brain-dead? What a waste of a pretty face."

Asuna walked up to Wang Bo and asked softly, "Is your companion all right?"

Wang Bo said, "No problem."

"Really?"

"Do you think a game character can be a match for a demon lord of hell?"

"D-demon lord of hell?!" Asuna was taken aback.

Wang Bo patted her head and said softly, "After this is over, I'll introduce you."

In truth, he was also curious about how Lady Gremory would deal with Gandalf. After all, this was a game, not the real world. Could Lady Gremory really use magic to influence the game world?

Gandalf looked at Lady Gremory seriously and said, "Be careful, my lady."

He swung his staff and struck the ground hard. An invisible shockwave shot toward Lady Gremory like a cannonball. Lady Gremory stood unmoving, but the shockwave suddenly vanished when it reached her.

As if it had never existed.

Lady Gremory smiled slightly, raised a finger, and the vanished shockwave reappeared, sent back by her.

Bang!

Caught off guard, Gandalf was nearly blasted away. His feet scraped against the ground as he slid seven or eight meters before stopping. He glanced at Lady Gremory with lingering fear, nodded, and said, "You pass."

Having witnessed Lady Gremory's power, Gandalf no longer tested Ada Wong. After all, if the previous ones were so formidable, Ada Wong should be no different.

Thus, Wang Bo's group smoothly joined the Fellowship of the Ring.