Chapter 526 - 524: Fourth-Tier Sprint Class, Betting on More Options

The preparations for the advancement were basically all carried out in the Tower of Diligence.

Besides feeling out external Magic Power circulation and improving Magic Power refinement, Blake mentioned a lot of things to watch out for, and shared with everyone his insights from taking the advancement trial.

In the end, he named this advancement trial special training the "Fourth-Tier Sprint Class." In addition to their individual study in class, the last period every afternoon was changed to studying and gaining insights in the Tower of Diligence.

After that, he no longer set specific study times; they could study into the night.

But at the end, Blake emphasized one more thing.

"The Holy Beast Forbidden Forest at night isn’t low-risk for you. Many high-tier Holy Beasts in the Forbidden Forest just love to mess with students who accidentally stray in. So you’d best finish studying before dark. If you’re worried, you can look for the resident mentor stationed at the Tower of Diligence for help, but he might not help you."

"The Holy Beasts in the Holy Beast Forbidden Forest?"

Hilia couldn’t help getting interested.

Previously, under Rose’s guidance, she often went to the Forbidden Forest Lake to fish, but she basically never encountered the legendary Holy Beasts.

"I don’t even know what a Holy Beast looks like, or how it’s different from a normal Magical Beast," Hilia thought.

Rose’s voice came: "Back then, when I had you go fishing, your strength was too low, so those Holy Beasts weren’t very interested in you. But now it’s different—you’re Third-Tier. They really might show up just to scare people."

"Lord Rose, have you seen those Holy Beasts?" Hilia asked curiously.

Rose nodded. "Of course. If you’re interested, you can go hunt a Holy Beast and roast it."

"Hunting Holy Beasts... won’t the school get mad?"

Rose didn’t care at all. "At most they’ll expel you. No big deal."

Hilia: "..."

From the sound of it, the Holy Beasts seemed to only play tricks on students and not actually hurt them.

Hilia made up her mind that once the term officially started, she would deliberately study until night one day and then see for herself what exactly Holy Beasts were.

Out of caution, Hilia asked Rose, "What tier are those Holy Beasts?"

"At least Fifth-Tier."

Then never mind.

Hilia had no intention of being toyed with by a bunch of Fifth-Tier Holy Beasts.

After Blake finished his guidance, he left all the students there and departed himself.

Benovia came over to Hilia and pulled her into the little Holy Daughter group.

Doris planted her hands on her hips and looked at everyone. "So? Want to have a match, see who advances first?"

Benovia looked at Phil. "I don’t think I can compare, so I’ll pass."

Phil had already recovered smoothly, but what happened in Letes City made her hang her head and not dare talk to everyone.

Hilia checked Phil’s physical condition and asked, "How is it? Any discomfort left?"

Phil shook her head. "No. I’m sorry."

Doris patted Phil’s shoulder. "Sorry for what? You have no idea how cool you were. How come good things like that never happen to me? Sure, you got invaded by contamination, but your body got expanded too. So annoying."

Hilia rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. Phil could endure the contamination because her constitution’s special. If it were you, you’d be a cripple in minutes."

Doris was unconvinced. "No way. Don’t look down on me, Hilia. Want to race and see who hits Fourth-Tier first?"

Hilia snorted lightly. "I’m not racing a moron."

"You’re the moron!"

"..."

The Holy Daughter group was lively and cheerful. Hilia specifically checked Encore’s hair—grey, with faint hints of white mixed in.

Looked like Encore didn’t dare show off at school and dye her hair green.

Just then, Hilia felt someone looking at her. She turned her head and saw Shaline.

Hilia waved. "Shaline, over here—come hang out~"

Seeing Shaline hesitate, Hilia went over and dragged her in.

"Let me introduce you. This is Benovia, this is Encore, and this is Phil. She’s Shaline, in the same class as me. She’s not a Holy Daughter candidate, but she’s a genius too."

After waiting a bit and still not hearing her own introduction, Doris protested, "What about me? Hilia, aren’t you forgetting something?"

"Oh, this moron’s called Doris. Just ignore her."

"You...!"

Shaline wasn’t quite used to it and greeted everyone nervously.

Hilia could tell Shaline felt out of place, but they’d be seeing each other all the time in the future. As fellow students in the Fourth-Tier Sprint Class, they’d definitely need to exchange and study together, so it was better to get acquainted early.

Not just Shaline—other classmates could get to know each other too, but things like that...

Hilia looked at Benovia.

Benovia seemed better suited for it.

...

Leaving the Tower of Diligence, Hilia said goodbye to everyone and returned to the dorm.

Rose’s phantom emerged beside her.

"Summon the Magic Puppet," Rose said.

Hilia’s heart skipped a beat.

Here it comes.

The girl very reluctantly summoned the Magic Puppet.

Rose took control of the Magic Puppet and began planning for Hilia.

"Right now, aside from your Magic Power refinement, you’ve met all the basic requirements for the advancement trial. It’s best if your refinement reaches 120%. If you can’t, it’s not a big deal. I’m giving you half a month to finish all your subjects, then you’ll start preparing for the advancement trial."

"H-half a month?"

Hilia’s eyes widened.

Last year she’d had a whole month.

How did it become half a month this year?

Was this not blatant exploitation!

Rose snapped, "Half a month is already pretty good. For a lot of things, you don’t actually need to specially study. Subjects like Runes, Magic, Holy Words and so on—your progress has long surpassed other students. Don’t waste too much time on them."

"I-I’ll try..."

Even as she said it, Hilia didn’t believe herself.

Finishing a whole year’s curriculum—twelve subjects—in half a month.

Terrifying.

"A genius needs to act like a genius. If you can’t even do this, how are you going to become an all-round genius?" Rose said calmly. "You might not believe it, but your friend Benovia has already finished all five years’ worth of knowledge. Are you really going to admit you’re not as good as Benovia?"

She really wasn’t...

Hilia grumbled inwardly but didn’t say it aloud.

Before Rose’s hammering words could land, she lifted her head and said firmly, "Don’t worry, Lord Rose. I can definitely do it."

Rose withdrew his hand and nodded in approval.

"Then let’s begin."

Hilia pulled a long face and opened her textbooks with extreme reluctance.

Rose watched, his attention slowly shifting elsewhere.

Benovia also returned to her little secret room.

After thinking for a moment, Rose sent her an "oracle" while she was praying.

"Within half a month, complete your external Magic Power perception."

Benovia opened her eyes and looked at the statue in front of her.

"Okay."

She nodded seriously.

Besides Benovia, Rose was also paying attention to another person—

Phil.

A month before the term started, Phil had already left home and returned to the Huijin Divine Hall to treat people.

And now, after leaving the school, she was also preparing to head to the Huijin Divine Hall and be a diligent Priest.

While Hilia had her head buried in studying, Rose controlled the Magic Puppet to blink forward in a flash and block Phil’s path.

"Come with me."

Rose’s tone brooked no refusal.