The second week of the semester had officially begun, which meant that Lily''s practice sessions would now take place


    Kaiser was currently standing in a corner of the training ground, fully prepared with his gear on. He wore a tight-fitting black training shirt that allowed for easy movement, paired with flexible long pants


    He simply stood there quietly, observing his surroundings, until a small figure with familiar pink hair approached him


    He immediately recognized her


    "Oh, good morning, Mary"


    The petite girl stopped in front of him, her sparkling red eyes showing a hint of shyness


    "G-good morning, Kaiser"


    Since she had cut her hair, Kaiser had noticed a clear change in her appearance. Today, she looked much more refreshed. Her pink hair was neatly tied into a high ponytail, revealing her delicate face, which appeared rosier than before. Her red eyes also seemed brighter than they had in the past. In her hands, she held a rather long magic staff


    Kaiser gave a slight smile


    "You seem full of energy today"


    Mary instinctively reached up to touch the end of her ponytail, her voice carrying a hint of embarrassment


    "I think I should prepare properly"


    He nodded in agreement


    "A good idea. Practical combat isn''t the same as theory - being well-prepared is always an advantage"


    Hearing this, Mary furrowed her brows slightly


    "I''m just worried that I''m still not good enough. Yesterday, I practiced controlling my Mana Shield some more, but I still don''t feel like it''s quite right..."


    Just as the two were talking, another voice suddenly interrupted them


    "Good morning, Kaiser"


    Both Kaiser and Mary turned around at the same time


    A girl with soft platinum hair and sharp blue eyes was approaching them. It was none other than Amelia


    When she saw Kaiser talking with Mary, Amelia''s eyes narrowed slightly for a brief moment. But she quickly regained her usual calm demeanor and continued walking forward


    "Good morning, Amelia" Kaiser responded naturally


    Amelia stopped right between the two, as if unintentionally, but in doing so, she subtly increased the distance between Mary and Kaiser


    She glanced at Mary briefly before turning to Kaiser, her tone seemingly casual but carrying an undertone that was hard to read


    "What were you two talking about?"


    Mary blinked hesitantly but eventually answered


    "We were just discussing today''s practice session"


    "Is that so?" Amelia replied


    While Kaiser, Mary, and Amelia were still talking, a familiar voice rang out, drawing everyone''s attention


    "Alright, everyone, gather around!"


    The voice, both authoritative and gentle, belonged to Lily


    She stepped onto the training ground with a calm demeanor, yet she radiated an overwhelming sharpness. As always, her black hair and sharp black eyes gave off an air of confidence


    "Today, we will be learning about teamwork in combat"


    Her voice was clear and filled with certainty


    "Not all battles are one-on-one. In reality, teamwork is often the key to victory. So, today''s training will focus on how well you can work together with your teammates"


    She paused briefly, her sharp gaze sweeping across the students who were listening intently


    "We will form teams of three. And your challenge for today… is to fight me"


    For a brief moment, silence enveloped the training ground before murmurs broke out among the students.


    "Going up against Miss Lily?"


    "Three of us against just her?"


    "That doesn''t seem fair… but in the opposite direction"


    Lily merely gave a slight smile, unfazed by their reactions


    "Once you''ve formed a team of three, come to me to begin your training.


    Right after she spoke, Kaiser quickly noticed a subtle change in the air - a quiet surge of energy spreading across the training ground, carrying an invisible sense of pressure


    ''This energy? Is she using Aspect again?''


    Kaiser narrowed his eyes slightly, deep in thought


    And just as he had expected, in the blink of an eye, an unbelievable scene unfolded before everyone''s eyes


    Dozens of Lilys appeared simultaneously around the original Lily


    ''What a perfect ability for teaching'' Kaiser thought to himself in admiration


    Kaiser glanced around briefly before turning his eyes to the two people standing nearbyStolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    "Since we''re already here, why don''t we form a team?" he suggested with a smile


    Mary froze for a moment but quickly nodded


    "I-I''d be happy to!"


    Amelia crossed her arms, thinking for a moment before nodding as well


    "Alright"


    After the three had reached an agreement, Kaiser turned to Mary, his gaze thoughtful


    "I didn''t pay much attention to your previous battle. What kind of abilities do you use to fight?"


    Mary blinked, tilting her head slightly as if considering her answer.


    "I can use basic Mana techniques quite well… and I can also use illusions in combat"


    Kaiser pondered for a moment


    "Illusions? Can you explain further?"


    Mary nodded


    "I can create false images to distract the opponent. They have no physical form, but if used correctly, they can make the enemy lower their guard"


    Kaiser thinks for a moment, then nods slightly


    "Good. In the battle later, I''ll be the one engaging Lily directly. Amelia and Mary, you''ll fight from a distance. Mary, you can try using illusions to distract her"


    "As for you, Amelia, can you join me in close combat? Use Mana to enhance your punches. You must have had some self-defense training, right? I''ll need your support to face Lily"


    He looked at both of them before concluding "Let''s start with a simple strategy first"


    Amelia raised an eyebrow, evaluating the plan for a moment before smiling


    "Sounds decent"


    Mary clenched her hands slightly and nodded


    "I''ll do my best"


    Kaiser smiled in satisfaction


    "Good, then let''s begin"


    The three quickly stepped toward Lily


    Facing Lily, the atmosphere grew more intense than ever. A gentle breeze swept across the training ground, stirring their hair


    "Begin" Lily said, her voice calm yet carrying an indescribable authority


    Immediately, Kaiser, Mary, and Amelia''s eyes lit up brilliantly as they activated their Mana. A surge of energy spread throughout the area, signaling the true start of the battle


    Mary swiftly traced a Mana circle in the air with her magic staff, ancient runes glowing brightly. A series of magical beams shot out from the circle, heading straight for Lily


    Amelia didn''t hesitate either. Raising her high-grade gloves, she formed a Mana circle in front of her palms. A barrage of blue energy bullets fired continuously, racing toward Lily at an astonishing speed


    Kaiser, however, didn''t use ranged magic. Instead, he dashed straight toward Lily, his massive scythe slicing through the air in a sharp arc


    Yet, Lily remained still, her black eyes gleaming brightly. As the attacks closed in, she moved - not with hasty dodges, but with perfectly calculated steps


    The spear in her hand spun gracefully, deflecting Amelia and Mary''s magic bullets with minimal effort. As Kaiser''s scythe neared her, she swiftly tilted her body, evading with breathtaking speed before counterattacking with a sweeping strike


    "Too slow"


    Kaiser leaped backward just in time to dodge, but he could still feel the immense pressure from her attack


    "Your coordination is terrible" Lily stated calmly as she effortlessly fended off all three of them.


    She spoke while moving like the wind. Just as Mary was preparing another spell, Lily suddenly appeared right in front of her


    "Mary, you''re standing too close to the front line. You''re a mage - keeping your distance is more important."


    With that, she delivered a light tap with the shaft of her spear, forcing Mary to stumble backward


    Amelia lunged in from the right, throwing a punch cloaked in Mana. Lily effortlessly sidestepped, then swiftly spun around, placing the shaft of her spear right in front of Amelia.


    "Amelia, you''re attacking without paying attention to where your teammates are. If Kaiser were positioned here, you would''ve blocked his path"


    Amelia bit her lip and took a step back while Kaiser rushed in from behind Lily, swinging his scythe with great force


    Lily didn''t turn around. She simply tilted her head slightly, then spun her spear, deflecting Kaiser''s attack with fluid ease.


    "Kaiser, you charged in without signaling your teammates. In a real team, they need to know when you''re attacking so they can support you"


    Kaiser gritted his teeth. She was right - the three of them were making too many coordination mistakes. But now wasn''t the time to give up


    "Fix your mistakes and try again" Lily ordered, as if this weren''t a battle but just another routine training session


    And this time, the three of them started to understand each other better


    Mary moved further back, creating a safe distance to cast spells. Amelia held the middle ground, supporting with mid-range attacks. Kaiser remained the primary attacker, but he started synchronizing his pace with his teammates


    The battle continued, but Lily still completely dominated


    After a while, Kaiser realized they couldn''t keep fighting like this. He glanced at Mary and Amelia before quickly whispering something to them


    Both of them immediately nodded, their eyes flashing with determination


    Amelia formed a small Mana circle, and a towering earthen wall rose, shielding all three of them


    "Oh?" Lily raised an eyebrow, observing the situation


    Suddenly, a bright golden energy sphere shot out from Kaiser - straight into the wall


    BOOM!


    Dust and smoke filled the training ground


    From the misty haze, two figures burst forth at high speed - Kaiser and Amelia


    Both of them charged at Lily from opposite directions


    Kaiser''s scythe slashed downward, Mana crackling around the blade, while Amelia rushed in from the other side, her gauntlets glowing brilliantly


    By logic, Lily should have prioritized blocking Kaiser, as he was the more dangerous threat. But instead, she simply smiled


    "If you want to deceive an opponent, at least make it look convincing"


    Without hesitation, she ignored Kaiser and dashed straight toward Amelia, sweeping her spear in a precise arc


    Just as the spear was about to strike Amelia


    Her form began to shift


    From Amelia''s figure, it transformed into… Kaiser


    Without missing a beat, Lily adjusted her attack, directing her spear toward the real Kaiser


    Realizing their counterattack had failed, he attempted to retaliate, but he was a fraction of a second too late


    THUD!


    A precise kick from Lily struck his side, sending him flying backward


    Kaiser flipped midair before landing, breathing heavily


    Mary and Amelia, despite their best efforts, still couldn''t surpass Lily


    The battle dragged on for a few more minutes, but the result remained unchanged


    In the end, all three were defeated


    Lily stood at the center of the training ground, casually twirling her spear before planting it into the ground


    "Not bad, but there''s still plenty to improve" she said, her gaze a mix of satisfaction and strictness.


    After the battle ended, all three of them were panting, sweat trickling down their foreheads. Kaiser sat down on a nearby stone, while Amelia crossed her arms, seemingly analyzing their mistakes


    Mary was different. She stood frozen in place, her head lowered, crimson eyes filled with unmistakable disappointment. Her grip on her staff tightened, knuckles turning white


    She felt guilty


    From start to finish, she had been the one targeted by Lily the most. Even when she followed the plan, Lily had seen through her every move. The illusion she had created—the one meant to be the deciding trick - had been broken far too easily


    If she had done better, maybe their team wouldn''t have lost so quickly


    "I... I''m sorry" Her voice was small, nearly swallowed by the vast training grounds


    Amelia glanced at Mary but didn''t say anything. She simply sighed and turned to Kaiser


    "Well, at least it was a good fight" Amelia said, trying to lighten the mood


    "We didn''t get wiped out in the first minute"


    Kaiser lifted his head and looked at Mary, his sharp eyes taking in every detail of her expression. He sighed before standing up and approaching her


    "Mary, you think we lost because of you, don''t you?" he asked, his voice calm


    Mary didn''t answer right away. She bit her lip, gripping her staff even tighter


    "I made mistakes…" she murmured


    "My illusion was seen through immediately. If I had done better, maybe we could''ve won"


    Kaiser blinked, then let out a short chuckle


    "Mary, you''re not the reason we lost. Actually, if it weren''t for your illusion, we wouldn''t have had even a small chance to create an advantage"


    Mary looked up at him, doubt still lingering in her eyes


    "But… it didn''t work…"


    "The problem isn''t with your illusion - It''s with how we used it" Kaiser interrupted


    "Lily has far more experience than us. She''s a master strategist, so don''t blame yourself just because she was able to read our plan"


    Mary still couldn''t fully accept his words. She looked down at her hands, recalling how Lily had figured out the trick in just a second


    "But if I were stronger, maybe our plan would have worked"


    Kaiser remained silent for a moment before suddenly placing a hand on her shoulder, making her flinch slightly


    "I can help you train your illusions" he said.


    "I''m not a master illusionist, but I''ve dealt with them enough to know how to counter them. If you practice with me, you''ll gradually improve how you use illusions in battle"