Kaiser is currently standing at the training ground, where Lily's lesson is about to begin. At his side is a holster containing a silver pistol, and the large scythe rests lightly on his shoulder. His unique appearance causes many of the surrounding students to feel confused and curious. Their gazes flicker over him, pausing on the large scythe with a mix of wariness and surprise

It’s only a moment later that Kaiser’s eyes catch sight of Amelia approaching. She’s wearing a simple outfit, consisting of a shirt and black pants - the same attire that he and the other students are wearing in preparation for the duel. However, her delicate face and white hair make the plain clothes fail to hide the noble aura radiating from her

Upon seeing Kaiser, Amelia smiles brightly and waves her hand. As she raises her arm, Kaiser immediately notices the white gloves with strange patterns that she’s wearing

“Good morning, Kaiser” she greets cheerfully, full of energy

“Hi, Amelia” Kaiser responds, his gaze quickly drifting to her gloves “Are these your weapons?” he asks, curiosity clear in his voice

“Exactly” Amelia replies, gently lifting her hands to show them off.“These are a gift from Amiel”

“If His Highness bought this for you, they must be pretty special” Kaiser remarks, his eyes intently studying the intricate designs winding across the surface of the gloves

“That's right” Amelia says, a hint of pride in her voice

“He said these gloves not only help me use Mana more fluidly but also significantly enhance the power of my spells. They're far more effective than regular magic staffs”

Kaiser nods thoughtfully, his gaze scanning the other students around them. Most are holding traditional magic staffs- essential tools for controlling Mana. Looking back at Amelia, he smirks slightly, a mischievous grin forming “I feel sorry for anyone who’ll have to face you.”

Amelia crosses her arms “I’m the one who should be saying that. People should feel sorry for your opponents. Do you really think it’s fair for a Master like you to fight against Adepts who are just starting out?” Amelia gestures toward the silver pistol hanging at Kaiser’s side, her eyes gleaming with curiosity “So, are you planning to use the Mana pistol?”

“I’ve seen you use the scythe, so it’s not that surprising, but I’ve never seen you shoot a gun. Can you really shoot?” she adds

“I’ve only shot a few times to get the hang of it, not really proficient yet” Kaiser answers, lightly touching the pistol holster, his expression calm

“But this is just a secondary weapon. The scythe is still my primary choice” He tilts his head slightly, pointing to the scythe resting securely on his shoulder

Amelia raises an eyebrow, her curiosity apparent “I still can’t picture how you fight. Both the gun and the scythe require two hands, right? How do you coordinate that?”

Kaiser shrugs slightly “I’ll show you if I get the chance. But I think today I’ll just use the scythe. There probably won’t be-”

His sentence is cut off abruptly when a hand unexpectedly lands on his shoulder

“Is that so? I’d love to see you use it” comes another voice, causing both Kaiser and Amelia to turn. Standing before them is Lily, the woman with short black hair and sharp, piercing eyes

“Ms. Lily” Amelia exclaims

“You always know how to make an entrance, don’t you?” Kaiser says calmly, a faint smile appearing on his face

“Thanks for the compliment” Lily replies with a light smile, then steps past the two of them, heading toward the center of the training ground

“Everyone, gather up!” Lily’s commanding voice rings out, immediately drawing the attention of all the students. Without hesitation, they quickly move to form a neat line as instructed

Once everyone is in position, Lily steps forward, her gaze sweeping over the entire group of students

“As I mentioned the other day, today we’ll be conducting duels. You’ll be paired up to face off against each other, and I’ll be directly assessing each of your skills” she announces, her voice steady

She pauses, letting her words sink in “Think of this as an opportunity to prove yourselves, as well as to learn from your opponents. I expect to see creativity, effort, and strategy from each of you in this session”

Lily starts calling out the names of the dueling pairs, with each pair stepping forward to compete under her watchful eye. The matches are intense, though chaotic, as the students do their best to showcase their abilities. After each duel, Lily steps into the center of the field, offering sharp, almost cold, critiques

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“The way you chose your spell was foolish. If this were a real battle, you would have been eliminated from the very first moment!” she said to a student who had just lost

“You were too hasty in your approach, like charging headfirst into a death trap!” Lily bluntly criticized another student, causing him to lower his head in embarrassment

Her remarks, though harsh, hit the clear weaknesses, leaving no room for rebuttal

After a while, Lily glanced at the list in her hand and raised her voice

“Amelia Zephis and Marol!”

Her announcement seemed to make the atmosphere in the training ground grow heavier. Some students turned to look at Amelia with a mix of curiosity and anticipation. Marol, a student with messy brown hair, stepped forward, holding a long magic staff

Amelia, sitting beside Kaiser, gently stood up, brushing her hands lightly on her simple black pants. She turned to look at him, her bright purple eyes shining with confidence and a hint of excitement

“I’m going” she said, giving him a small but determined smile

Kaiser nodded, maintaining his usual calm demeanor “Good luck,” he replied, his lips curling into an encouraging smile

Amelia didn’t say anything else, just gave him a slight nod before turning and walking toward the center. Her steps were graceful but decisive. She stood opposite Marol, her white gloves with strange patterns glistening in the light. She tightened her fists lightly, her sharp gaze unwavering in the face of her opponent

Looking at them, Lily announced “Begin!”

Amelia moved as fast as the wind, her hands raised as she conjured a glowing Mana circle in front of her. A wave of Mana in the shape of blades shot toward Marol with incredible speed

Marol immediately raised his magic staff, creating a layer of watery green Mana to surround his body and block the attack

Boom! A small explosion echoed as the two Mana forces collided. However, the power of Amelia’s attack caused Marol to stagger back

Not giving Marol time to counter, Amelia quickly drew two more Mana circles in the air. From them, bright blue lightning bolts shot forward, striking like arrows of destruction

Marol gritted his teeth, drawing another Mana circle with his hand, creating a light yellow shield before him. But the speed and intensity of Amelia’s attacks far exceeded his. One of the lightning bolts pierced through the shield, shattering it, and the force of the impact pushed him back several steps

Realizing he was at a disadvantage, Marol didn’t let fear discourage him. He focused, quickly drawing another Mana circle. From it, a large, sturdy wall of earth began to rise, completely shielding him from Amelia’s attacks

Amelia’s white gloves glowed brightly, the Mana flowing through the intricate patterns. She drew a larger Mana circle, and from it, a powerful bolt of lightning shot out, heading straight for the earth wall

Boom! A massive explosion rang out as Amelia’s lightning shattered the earth wall. Debris flew everywhere, revealing Marol behind it. But instead of panicking, Marol stood still, focused and resolute. His hand quickly finished another Mana circle, and a bright red light erupted from it

From his Mana circle, a giant fireball appeared, spinning with intense heat. With a determined shout, Marol hurled the fireball toward Amelia, creating a fiery trail along the ground

Amelia was momentarily surprised by this sudden, powerful counterattack, but she quickly regained her composure. Her hands moved as fast as the wind, continuously drawing Mana circles. From them, walls of earth sprang up before her. But unlike Marol’s wall, Amelia created multiple layers of earth, each covered by a bright Mana glow, reinforcing their durability

Boom! Boom! Boom! The fireball tore through each layer of earth, but before it could reach Amelia, its power was depleted, and it disintegrated

Amelia lowered her hands, her cold gaze fixed on Marol “Not bad” she said

Marol gasped for breath, struggling to draw another Mana circle for his next attack. But Amelia had already completed her new Mana circle, and from it, a beam of Mana in the form of a light column shot straight toward Marol

Unable to dodge in time, Marol was hit, his magic staff flying from his hand as he fell. The attack wasn’t powerful enough to cause serious injury, but it was enough to end the match

Lily approached, her gaze calm but thoughtful. She smiled “You guys fought very fiercely”

“Amelia, you displayed excellent Mana control skills. Your gloves are truly a powerful weapon, allowing you to easily overpower your opponent. However, I could see a bit of arrogance throughout the match. You were overly confident in your strength, and that caused you to lack flexibility in reading the situation. You know how to handle situations, but your approach was too crude. Luckily, your opponent, like you, lacks experience, so those mistakes weren't punished”

Lily paused, as if giving Amelia time to reflect on her words, before continuing

“You have immense potential, but that potential won’t be fully realized if you rely solely on strength and skills without improving your observation and thinking during the battle. Flexibility in tactics is the key to victory, and that’s something you need to work on”

She looked at Amelia with firm resolve “Next time, I hope you’ll pay more attention to not only using your strength but also calculating and adjusting your tactics when necessary”

“Thank you, Lily” Amelia replied

“Marol, you made commendable efforts, especially with the earth wall and the giant fireball. However, you lack speed and precision in using your Mana. Particularly, your Mana defense circles weren’t fast enough to counter Amelia. You need to practice drawing your Mana circles quicker and learn to calculate when to attack and when to defend”

Marol lifted his head, his eyes filled with determination “I’ll improve, Lily”

When Amelia’s match ended, both of them left the battlefield. Amelia walked over to Kaiser and gently sat down beside him. She smiled, her eyes sparkling

“You did great” Kaiser complimented, his gaze filled with a bit of pride

Amelia lowered her head, smiling softly “Thank you” She looked at him with a meaningful expression “I think your match is next”

Before he could respond, Lily immediately called out “Next, Kaiser, step up”

Kaiser quickly stood up and walked toward the battlefield, his mind full of anticipation for his opponent. But as he waited, looking up at Lily, he noticed she had not made another announcement. A feeling of confusion began to rise within him

Noticing Kaiser’s expression, Lily couldn’t help but smile, her eyes gleaming with a mischievous spark “You don’t think it’s fair for a Master to fight against an Adept, do you?”

“If that’s the case, then Who will I fight against-” Kaiser started to say, but before he could finish, he realized that Lily’s smile had grown wider, as if she was preparing something unexpected

“A Mage fighting against a Master would be even more unfair" a wry smile appeared on Kaiser's face