Chapter 323: Natural Body Training Is Out of the Question; Steady Progress Matters Most

Even the language in this world was the same as in the previous trial.

It was almost certain that this trial wasn’t taking place in a new world. It was still the world from the beginner’s trial.

And this time, she seemed to have finally reached the land beyond Utopia.

The words “L Corp” appeared in those fragmentary search results as well. The news even mentioned a few familiar names, which made Lin Guang’s spirits lift.

The good news: L Corp existed.

The bad news: Neon City was located in H Corp’s territory, a very, very long way from L Corp. Even the regular Ethernet network couldn’t connect them… or rather, ordinary people had no way to reach it.

As if sensing Lin Guang’s thoughts, Vivi, sitting in a chair, suddenly sent her a thought. “If you can’t remember, don’t try. Out with the old, in with the new.”

Lin Guang asked, “Then what about the old?”

“How much of my data did you use watching those stupid videos…”

Though she said that, Vivi still shifted her gaze and began deliberately observing the things she had long since grown used to, things she had even become somewhat numb to.

She looked at the skyscrapers soaring into the clouds in the distance, at the floating islands found only in wealthy districts, and at the flashy magical-girl advertisements plastered across the tram carriages and the buildings along the route.

Just as Vivi fixed her gaze on the tower in the distant sky, towering like a god, she noticed the pink-haired girl’s eyes flicker.

“What’s wrong, Teresa?”

Lin Guang shook her head gently.

Herth… huh.

…………

It was still the imposing building made of black reinforced glass, still far taller than the surrounding buildings.

Ignoring the strange and disdainful looks of the other students arriving for class, Vivi walked inside with her tail held high and her head held higher, dressed in a little skirt.

—What are you looking at? I’m wearing my school uniform today!

Her classes this morning were practical training, so she wouldn’t be studying in a classroom above ground. After entering the school, she took the elevator down and soon arrived at the underground training area.

It was a vast underground training ground the size of a standard soccer field. Cold white shadowless lamps shone from the ceiling, lighting the entire space as brightly as day.

Special partitions that blocked the effects of magic power lined the edges of the field. In one corner stood a long row of metal racks, filled with all kinds of weapons.

As soon as Vivi entered the training ground, she heard two girls who had just come out of the changing room talking nearby.

“Katsumi, are you going to New Beauty Training Camp after school today? If not, could I borrow your premium membership card again?”

“Aw, but I have a private lesson booked today too… Oh, well. We’re good classmates, after all. I’ll change my booking and go to another place. You can borrow the card for now.”

“Yay! You’re the best, Katsumi!”

Vivi turned her head slightly and saw a girl with fine black snake scales on her cheeks happily hugging Katsumi, the green-haired girl with pointed ears.

The two wore tight white uniforms made of what seemed to be a special material. The fabric clung closely to their bodies, outlining their youthful figures.

With her friend’s arms around her, Katsumi wore a gentle, adorable smile.

But when she caught sight of Vivi entering from the corner of her eye, that tender smile vanished in an instant. Undisguised disgust flashed across her face, as though she had spotted something filthy.

“Heh. The very picture of putting on an act.”

Vivi was already used to this. She gave a cold laugh, looked away, and went into the changing room.

A few minutes later, the white-haired girl pushed open the door and came out. She had changed into a red-and-black, form-fitting combat suit, and her black tail poked through a specially made opening at the back of the waist.

There was no denying that she was more curvaceous than most girls her age. She was slim where she should be, and where her figure ought to have curves, she had plenty. She even had a somewhat alluring, almost bewitching charm.

As Vivi stretched, she explained to the pink-haired girl beside her, the only one she could see, using her thoughts. “This is the combat suit we’ll use in practical class later. It has a lot of magic-power sensors, and they’ll use those to score us… Sigh, I don’t really understand it either. That’s more or less how it works, anyway.”

She looked over the field, which was about the size of a soccer pitch, and felt a little concerned. “By the way, it should be fine to leave you in a locker in the changing room, right? This place is huge.”

Standing beside her, Lin Guang replied calmly, “That might work for other contract beasts, but I’m different from them.”

Vivi licked her lips and found the corners of her mouth rising slightly.

—Her voice was as gentle and calm as ever, but her tone always had this cocky edge, like nothing could faze her.

…Vivi had to admit, she liked that style.

【Katsumi: Have you got some kind of hyperactivity disorder or what? Why are you looking around as soon as you get into the training ground? You look like some country bumpkin who’s never seen the world… Oh, I forgot. You are a country bumpkin.】

Vivi glanced at the message. She couldn’t be bothered to write a long reply, so she used her eyes to position the cursor and sent back eight characters.

【Vivi: You stupid bitch, your mom’s dead】

Without a brain-computer interface, typing by staring at the letters with her pupils was slow, so she had long since taught herself to use as few words as possible to unleash the maximum hostility.

Beeeep!

The next moment, a piercing whistle rang through the training ground.

A burly teacher suddenly walked over.

She was a full two meters tall, with a black crew cut. She wore a tight camouflage sports tank top and tactical pants, and exaggerated bodybuilding muscles bulged all over her body. Even the veins stood out against her bronze-colored skin.

If not for the fullness of her chest and the lack of an Adam’s apple, her gender would have been impossible to tell.

Lin Guang: “………”

“This woman’s name is Tian Zhiya… She’s our practical training teacher.”

Vivi explained in her mind.

“Everyone, attention! Roll call!”

Tian Zhiya’s coarse, androgynous voice boomed with magically amplified reverberation through the underground space.

After a crisp, orderly roll call, Tian Zhiya nodded with satisfaction and shouted, “All thirty students are present, and everyone is wearing their combat suits properly.”

“Now, time for the injections!”

As soon as she finished speaking, most of the girls present expertly pulled out devices that looked like portable injectors. The syringes were filled with colorful magic potions. Without hesitation, they aimed the needles at the locations of their brain-computer interfaces and slowly injected the liquid into their bodies.

Watching the students’ bodies begin to glow with the radiance of abundant magic power, Tian Zhiya crossed her arms proudly. Her bulging biceps made a striking sight.

“That’s more like it! Natural training is far too inefficient, and you could even injure yourselves. It’s unsafe and out of the question!”