A blue magic formation descended from the sky onto the mountainside. With a flash of light, two figures appeared, landing steadily on the ground.

Aurelianne turned around, taking in the surrounding scenery.

It was a vast mountain path, surrounded by lush, tall wild grass and colorful wildflowers.

The trees were robust and thriving, standing tall like clouds.

She gazed at the naturally beautiful landscape on the mountain path, her eyes filled with amazement.

Since her birth, this was Aurelianne's first time leaving the capital.

And on her first trip out, she found herself in such a wild environment.

Everything was new and exciting, filling Aurelianne with joy.

But before she could fully enjoy the moment, Viktor's calm voice sounded beside her.

"This is — the Milute Plains."

In the game, this area was a monster-spawning ground outside the safe zone.

The monsters appearing in the Milute Plains were not weak, generally ranging between levels 20 and 30.

And Viktor's purpose for bringing Aurelianne here...

"This is today's lesson content."

"Learn to fight."

As his words fell, his form transformed into a flame, disappearing from Aurelianne's sight like scattering ashes.

Viktor's vague instructions left her momentarily confused.

His sudden disappearance filled Aurelianne with panic.

The surroundings became terrifyingly quiet.

"Tea... Teacher?" she called out nervously, trying to get a response from Viktor.

However, only the rustling sound of wind through grass leaves answered her.

With Viktor's disappearance, Aurelianne's panic multiplied.

Unable to sense anyone around, not even a trace of Viktor's presence, she felt a painful sense of abandonment.

Soon, the first unnatural sound of the dangerous wilderness reached her ears.

A monster, sensing the presence of an outsider, slowly approached Aurelianne, its body making creaking joint noises.

It was a tree spirit emanating black energy, humanoid in shape with two branches for arms and roots for feet.

The purple leaves on its body looked like tree parts corrupted by dark energy.

The monster's large frame seemed to cast a shadow over Aurelianne's head.

As if her mind had crashed, her brain instantly went blank.

With no actual combat experience, just encountering such a monster made her forget how to use magic.

"This is a Corrupted Tree Spirit. Use magic to attack its upper branches," Viktor's guiding voice suddenly sounded in her ear.

Aurelianne immediately snapped back to reality, realizing the monster before her was real.

She had almost made a grave mistake!

Wild monsters wouldn't spare you just because you're distracted; they'd only become more ferocious.

Aurelianne's anxious heart calmed a bit as she frantically searched her mind for the magic she had learned.

Quickly, as she regained composure, she began to construct a spell.

Raising her hand, a formation instantly began to form, with simple patterns intertwining. A weak flame burst forth.

[First-tier Magic: Spark]

Fortunately, she hadn't forgotten about elemental advantages.

When the monster was hit by the flame, some fire ignited on its body, but it shook itself, and the flames gradually extinguished.

Looking at the Corrupted Tree Spirit again, it seemed to have suffered little damage.

Seeing the tree spirit barely harmed, Aurelianne felt a surge of panic.

A fearful expression appeared on her face, as if the corrupting energy would engulf her the next second.

"No! Don't come closer!"

She closed her eyes in fear, retreating while continuously constructing fire magic in her hands.

Fireballs hit the Corrupted Tree Spirit one after another without pause.

Although the effect wasn't great, quantity could lead to quality change.

Under Aurelianne's relentless magical assault, the tree spirit, ignited by numerous small flames, soon burst into a roaring fire that completely consumed it.

As the flames dissipated, the monster's sounds abruptly ceased.

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Aurelianne opened her eyes nervously, finding the monster before her reduced to ashes.

"Is it... dead?"

Aurelianne could hardly believe it. She looked down at her own hands.

Due to continuously casting spells, her palms felt hot.

But had she really killed this monster with her own hands?

Aurelianne couldn't believe it, yet everything before her was so real.

This feeling made her feel...

Extremely... exhilarated!

It was completely different from what those mages had taught her before!

"Not bad, at least you didn't fail on your first try."

Viktor had reappeared beside Aurelianne at some point.

While giving Aurelianne a slight compliment, he picked up the crystals and corrupted branches left by the dead monster.

He stored them in his player inventory.

After doing all this, his gaze returned to Aurelianne.

"Aurelianne, walking through this mountain path is your lesson and homework for today."

"By the way, if you want to give up, just tell me, and I'll end our lesson."

Aurelianne nodded hesitantly.

Although defeating her first monster had given her some confidence, making her realize she could fight too,

She still hoped for some reassurance, and couldn't help asking Viktor:

"You'll always be by my side to protect me, right?"

Viktor didn't speak, only transforming into a flame and disappearing with a 'whoosh' once again.

But this time, Aurelianne felt more at ease.

She knew her teacher was always by her side.

And her teacher was very strong.

Her first battle in the wild gave her a sense of liberation.

A feeling of freedom and novelty filled her mind.

Soon, three more Corrupted Tree Spirits stumbled out of the forest.

This time, Aurelianne was prepared. The second-tier magic she had readied was released in an instant.

[Second-tier Magic: Flame Bullet]

Fireballs, more powerful than before, simultaneously struck the three Corrupted Tree Spirits.

Although her level was lower than these monsters, the power of second-tier magic still dealt significant damage.

Flames suddenly erupted on their bodies, causing branches to crackle and fall.

One of them instantly perished.

But the remaining two tree spirits were more resilient. Even with their arms burned to charcoal, they still charged at Aurelianne with gaping mouths.

Aurelianne conjured a simple spell, a black formation beginning to form in her hand.

It was the hallucinogenic magic Viktor had demonstrated to her.

[First-tier Magic: Gray Mist]

A cloud of smoke enveloped the two damaged tree spirits. They paused for a second, then collided with each other.

Under the strong impact, their last health bars emptied, and their bodies gradually turned to dust, scattering in the wind.

Aurelianne walked forward.

These monsters didn't leave corpses after death, but rather weathered away completely.

This spared Aurelianne from any discomfort she might have felt seeing dead bodies after killing monsters.

She picked up the dropped materials from the ground, then heard several growls behind her. She turned around nervously.

This time, five monsters came at once, one of which was distinctly different from the four tree spirits.

It was a monster formed from intertwined flowers, its body enormous, at least twice the size of the tree spirits. From time to time, it emitted various hallucinogenic fragrances.

Beneath its body, it wielded thorny vines.

Seeing this scene, Aurelianne's heart pounded wildly. This time, she had no time to prepare second-tier magic.

She could only use simple first-tier fire magic to quickly dispatch two tree spirits, but the constantly emitting pollen made Aurelianne's consciousness less clear.

Even simple first-tier magic seemed to become complex.

A vine suddenly shot out from the grass near Aurelianne's feet with a whoosh, wrapping around her ankle and dragging her towards the flower monster.

The moment she was tripped to the ground, Aurelianne's mind instantly cleared.

Danger had arrived!

But just then.

Boom!

Terrifying flames that seemed impossible to extinguish erupted, burning through the vine behind her.

As soon as she could move, Aurelianne quickly looked back.

The remaining three monsters had been completely engulfed by raging flames.

Viktor stood bathed in fire, yet not a single flame touched his body amidst the inferno.

In the flames, he collected the green crystals left behind by the monsters.

After doing this, Viktor walked out, and the intense burning flames dissipated right after him.

"You failed."

Under Viktor's cold gaze, Aurelianne, still shaken, trembled slightly.

"If this were a real encounter, you would be dead."

In the wild, there's no opportunity for carelessness.

Humans who lose consciousness only become food for monsters.

Aurelianne felt somewhat dejected, but she indeed hadn't reacted in time.

She wanted to say something in her defense, but then heard Viktor say:

"But with me, don't fear failure."

"If you fail once, just start over."

As he spoke, Viktor's body once again turned into flames and dissipated.

Once more, five monsters reappeared before Aurelianne.

As if coordinated, they attacked just like last time.

This time, Aurelianne was prepared. She maneuvered around the tree spirits while avoiding vines and pollen.

Under constant attrition, those tree spirits were burned to ashes.

When a vine suddenly shot out from the grass to ambush Aurelianne,

This time, it missed.

Aurelianne dodged backward, her first-tier magic instantly producing flames which she threw into the flower monster's mouth.

In an instant, the pollen became a highly flammable and explosive medium. The dust explosion blew the monster to pieces.

Aurelianne breathed a sigh of relief, but this time, she didn't forget to remain vigilant of her surroundings.

Only when she was certain no more sounds came from nearby did she finally relax, plopping down on the ground.

The burn marks around her and the monster remains all testified to what had just transpired.

"I... I really did it!"

An indescribable sense of achievement surged through her heart, giving Aurelianne an unprecedented feeling of satisfaction.

This fresh experience was a first for her.

It left her excited and exhilarated.

She rested for a while, feeling her internal mana recover to a decent level, then stood up and continued along the mountain path.

Her lesson wasn't over yet.