Chapter 247: Aina Vs Miho

Up in the professors’ chamber, Brant chuckled as Katherine’s name was completely overshadowed by chants of his and Lu’s nickname. He had his phone out, casually recording the crowd’s reaction, clearly enjoying himself.

Beside him sat Katherine—a deep purple-haired woman with golden eyes who looked far younger than her actual age would suggest. Unlike Brant, who visibly carried the years on his face, Katherine looked like a beautiful, mature woman in her early thirties. She wore a flowing robe that concealed her figure well, yet somehow still radiated an undeniable charm.

At the moment, her brows were tightly knit in a frown.

Several other professors with varied appearances lounged around them in comfortable chairs, chatting among themselves while keeping half an eye on the arena below in case their selected candidate match arrives.

"Tsk," Katherine clicked her tongue. "You and your perverted friend—stealing my spotlight again."

"Haha, can’t help it when I’m this dashing," Brant replied shamelessly. He quickly sent the video to Lu with a caption:

’You are indeed famous’

Not even a few seconds passed before a barrage of curses flooded back. Brant grinned widely, clearly satisfied, before slipping his phone away.

"You really won’t be taking that little girl as your student?" he asked, glancing sideways at Katherine.

Katherine crossed her arms lightly. "I don’t know her speciality. Unlike Lily, who has obvious talent and a strong drive to grow, I don’t know much about this girl. From your description, she seems timid and scared. If that’s the case, even if I take her in, she won’t be able to handle my teaching."

She paused, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Not to mention, she only has a 5-star talent. Though..." her gaze sharpened with intrigue, "...that spirit talent is interesting. [Spirit Reinforcer], was it? Let’s see how she utilizes that with her katana."

Brant raised a brow.

"The last thing you should try to guess around that boy is someone’s talent level," he said lightly. "I’m not sure either, but I suspect he might’ve helped her already."

He leaned closer, lowering his voice.

"And want to know a little fact?"

Katherine turned her head toward him, suspicion clear in her eyes.

"What? Don’t give me that look. Say it."

Brant wiped the foolish grin off his face and spoke evenly.

"Leon may—or may not—like that girl."

Katherine’s eyes widened instantly, her interest shooting sky-high.

"What! Really?!" she hissed. "Why the hell are you telling me this only now, you idiot?"

Her gaze drifted downward just as Miho appeared in the arena. Katherine’s expression shifted into something contemplative.

"Hmmm... looks-wise, she passes... personality—no... one no and one yes," she muttered under her breath. "That leaves only combat talent."

She straightened slightly.

"Alright. Even if she performs mediocrely, I’ll train her to be suitable for my nephew. Personality can be fixed. What she needs is fire. Let’s hope she has it."

Brant nodded slowly. He had noticed how Leon had protected Miho first when he arrived in the territory with a threatening aura. Connecting things was easy.

Turns out, Leon was related to Katherine—and it seemed they shared quite a bit of history.

Down below, both girls had already stepped onto the arena floor.

"Miho! We finally meet again," Aina said brightly. "You and Miss Lily hide really well. I didn’t see you at all until today."

Her long blue hair flowed gently in the wind as she smiled, gripping a sleek hardwood bow etched with dark textures. A thin quiver rested on her back, seemingly holding no more than 5 to 6 arrows—though everyone knew better, there must be some spatial enchantment to keep more arrows

Once again, her tone and expression could easily fool someone into thinking she genuinely missed them.

But Miho wasn’t fooled.

Still, she kept her response curt, just as Lily had instructed.

"We meet again, Aina. Good to see you," Miho replied calmly as she unsheathed her katana, the blade giving off a faint metallic hum.

Lily had told her to act as if she had no idea about their mental attacks. It would make things easier later—when they lured them back to their territory for interrogation.

Aina chuckled softly.

"It’s unfortunate we meet in a match," she said lightly. "But nothing can be done. Let’s have a nice chat after I defeat you!"

Her eyes sharpened instantly.

With a swift motion, she drew an arrow, nocked it, and fired.

The arrow screamed through the air straight toward Miho’s forehead—her aim flawless.

A faint bluish glow coated the projectile, most likely a wind-element enchantment enhancing its speed, sharpness, and accuracy.

The core with bluish veins embedded in Miho’s arm strap pulsed. Energy surged through her legs as she sidestepped cleanly, the arrow slicing past her with barely a whisper.

Aina’s eyes widened.

Miho was using wind element—and not only that, she had dodged effortlessly.

Before Aina could even voice her surprise, 2 more cores flared to life along Miho’s arm.

Lightning.

Water.

Static crackled along Miho’s calves as her katana became coated in flowing water. In the blink of an eye, she lunged forward at terrifying speed.

Aina’s pupils shrank as the sharp tip of the katana closed in.

Wind enchantment surged around the guard on Aina’s shin as she twisted her body aside, narrowly avoiding the blade.

This was the difference between a [Elemental Enchanter] and [Spirit Reinforcer], the latter able to enchant external objects and the former able to reinforce any entity in her reach and power.

That is to say, an [Elemental Enchanter] that specialises in the path of life-profession and specialises themselves to enchant various tools and equipment, and in this field, they will be obviously higher than a [Spirit Reinforcer], the latter being able to help before a battle and the former during the battle.

But of course, a high-star[Spirit Reinforcer] talent could easily overshadow a low-star [Elemental Enchanter] talent.

Miho didn’t stop.

She adjusted her trajectory with a sharp twist of her waist, her blade descending again toward the blue-haired girl.

Aina reached for the dagger strapped to her waist and blocked instinctively, hastily enchanting it with earth element.

Clang!

The impact rang out sharply.

But Miho’s water-enhanced katana overpowered it instantly. The earth enchantment shattered like brittle stone, and cracks spiderwebbed across the dagger’s surface.

"W-wow," Aina said breathlessly, eyes gleaming. "Miho... I didn’t know you could be this fierce..."

As she said that, Aina secretly activated her mind interference skill.