You Are the Worst Class I've Ever Taught

Karya didn't give Lux any more time to prepare and quickly began the training—though it was also possible he didn't want Lux to probe too deeply into his appearance and deliberately changed the subject.

In any case, by the time Lux had just figured out the training requirements, the battle had already begun.

Faced with a dense swarm of beetles, Lux reacted in a way that was very fitting for her age—a twelve-year-old girl seeing so many insects would first scream in surprise.

However, unlike ordinary delicate noble ladies, Lux screamed while raising the longsword in her hand.

Even though the grip on the sword wasn't very comfortable and the counterweight was a bit strange, she still adopted a fairly standard basic swordsmanship stance, holding the sword horizontally forward, and swept it towards the beetles lunging at her.

It was pure muscle memory.

Lux's swordsmanship foundation was solid, but she clearly lacked the rational judgment needed to deal with sudden situations.

Perhaps worried about the sheer number of beetles surrounding her, Lux immediately chose a sweeping attack with the widest range, attempting to clear out the enemies in front of her and extricate herself.

Unfortunately, although this sweeping attack had a large range, it was difficult to inflict effective damage on the beetles—protected by their carapaces, Lux's attacks could only knock the beetles away, not truly kill them.

This meant that even if Lux temporarily escaped, the beetles would eventually crawl back and continue their assault.

Under normal circumstances, Lux would have quickly realized this and changed her attack strategy.

But unfortunately, this was Lux's first real combat training session.

Faced with incredibly lifelike beetles, her mind was completely blank!

Magic, models, swordsmanship, response tactics—all of it was thrown out the window.

In this state, Lux acted almost entirely on instinct, swinging her sword with all her might again and again, with no room for thought.

As a result, under such a dismal performance, the beetles around her gathered in increasing numbers, and her own stamina rapidly depleted. In less than three minutes, the speed of her sword swings noticeably slowed, and then two beetles broke through her defense, lunging at her arm with their mandibles open...

As a sharp, almost physical pain struck, Lux's vision went black—the next moment, when she came to her senses again, she had already left the simulated training scenario.

Lux, who was supposed to last ten minutes to pass the training, only lasted three.

Leaning weakly against the city wall, Lux's forehead and temples were completely drenched in sweat. The young girl looked as if she had just been pulled out of the water, her dazzling blonde hair clinging to her head in damp strands—she was a complete mess.

However, Lux couldn't afford to worry about that.

She immediately raised her arm and examined it carefully under the sunlight.

Thank goodness.

Her fair arm was still as flawless as Ionian porcelain, with no wounds or scars.

Lux hadn't been bitten by the beetles; everything that had just happened was indeed an illusion.

It was just that the illusion was so real that Lux felt as if she had truly experienced the sensation of being bitten by mandibles, leaving her momentarily dazed...

"A disastrous performance." Just as Lux let out a sigh of relief, Karya's voice finally rang out again. "My assessment is that you maintained the dignity and politeness befitting a noble lady, showing kindness and gentleness even towards your enemies."

"I—"

Lux wanted to retort, but after regaining her composure, she thought about her recent performance and could only stand there speechless.

Retort... retort what?

Thinking back, Lux herself felt her face flush!

Her actions could now be described as a "textbook example of what not to do," having made almost every mistake possible in combat!

"I'm just not used to it!" Lux gritted her teeth for a long time before finally managing to find an excuse. "I was just curious about your appearance, and I was distracted, that's why!"

"Your excuse-making skills are on par with your combat ability," Karya continued his assessment in his unique fair and objective manner. "For now, reflect on yourself, and while you're at it, help Sona keep an eye on the surroundings. Next—Sona, it's your turn."

Unlike Lux's initial curiosity and eagerness when entering the simulation, Sona appeared much calmer when she arrived on the sand dunes.

However, like Lux, Sona was also curious about Karya's appearance and tried to get a look at his face.

Thus, she too was thrown down into the sand dunes by Karya.

Then, in the sand dunes, Sona didn't receive a sword—when the training began, Aihua floated before her.

"Make good use of your magic," Karya added with a reminder. "Now, the training officially begins."

The next moment, as the desert began to churn like boiling water and a large number of beetle-sized wild dogs surged from beneath the yellow sand, Sona quickly strummed her strings!

Magic gathered on the strings, transforming into tangible sonic blades. With a piercing shriek, she tore through the beetle closest to her.

The materialized sound completely sliced through its carapace, causing it to fall headfirst onto the gritty sand, no longer moving.

Clearly, Sona's attack effectiveness was far superior to Lux's. Her resonance with Aihua was innate, and even without practical experience playing magic-infused melodies, her first strike was remarkably effective.

With her initial success, Sona strummed her strings again. As the next note burst forth, another beetle was sliced open, Sona achieving a double kill!

Unfortunately, this wasn't an insect-extermination game.

Sound dissipated in the desert wind, and Aihua's sonic blade attacks had a limited range.

As Sona's strumming speed couldn't keep up with the beetles' encirclement speed, even though each strike precisely hit a vital spot and eliminated a beetle, Sona quickly found herself at a disadvantage.

She simply couldn't handle so many beetles.

Unlike Lux's mindless swinging that eventually led to defensive gaps due to exhaustion, Sona's problem was her lack of awareness of her surroundings. In less than two minutes, a beetle leaped onto her back.

As a sharp pain struck, Sona's first training session also came to an end.

Sona, having regained consciousness, hugged Aihua tightly. She and Lux stood back-to-back, gasping for air.

This is too intense for a first try.

"Sona's barely passable," Karya commented ruthlessly. "Unfortunately, you seem completely unable to let loose. The way you pluck each string, one syllable at a time, is like a fool wielding a sharp blade but only daring to hit people with the hilt."

"..."

Karya's bizarre analogy left Sona speechless. Just as he said, she was too reserved during training, afraid to try anything she hadn't completely mastered. Faced with a horde of scarabs, she could only take them down one by one, her combat results even worse than Lux's.

"It's your fault we can't train together!" Lux protested Karya's criticism. Though Sona accepted it humbly, seeing her friend's shaken state, Lux couldn't help but defend her. "If we trained together, we could have easily dealt with those disgusting bugs!"

"If you trained together, the enemy wouldn't be bugs!" Karya scoffed. "Now, rest for fifteen minutes, then continue training. All you have to do is survive for ten minutes surrounded by scarabs. Even the scavenger nomads of Shurima, without magic, could do that with just a stick!"

"You're just trying to trick me!" Lux pouted indignantly. "You always say I'm the worst batch, and now you're saying Shurima's scavengers can do it too. You're such a liar!"

"I'm not tricking you," Karya chuckled. "How about this? If you pass this training, I'll show you how my best students did it, and you can see how Shurima's scavengers deal with scarabs. What do you say?"

"Okay!" Lux immediately agreed. "And if I find out you're lying... you have to take off your hood and let me see your face!"

"If I'm not lying, then don't pester me about it anymore," Karya countered. "When it's time for you to know, you'll know!"

"It's a deal!"

"It's a deal!"

The bet was made. Lux stood up, full of confidence, already thinking about how to face the nasty bugs and letting out a mischievous chuckle.

Playing mysterious, huh?

Saying I'm the worst batch, huh?

This young lady will expose all your lies sooner or later!

As soon as I see your face...

I swear I'll draw you as a grotesque character and make you infamous throughout the Demacian Imperial Capital!

I'm a great artist!

Unbeknownst to Lux, as she was flexing her muscles and brimming with confidence, Karya was also smiling silently.

I know exactly what you're thinking.

Showing my face is impossible. I can't leave any leverage for you to threaten me with!

As for whether I was lying about "you being the worst batch I've ever taught"...

That's certainly not a lie.

Don't forget, the ones Karya taught before were the Ascended of Shurima!

Compared to those exceptionally gifted powerhouses, Lux and Sona are indeed the worst batch!