Basic Training (2)

Basic Training (2)

After Shanna had also completed Golden Snitch Training, the siblings came to the second Training Room.

This Training Room was the same size as the previous one, but it contained many more facilities. Some targets, Round Stones, and the like were used to practice Curses and test their power. However, the most numerous things in this room were Magical Statues. There were five types of Magical Statues in total: Shield Soldiers, Spear Soldiers, Archers, Cavalry, and Gargoyles. They covered various attack types, including melee, ranged, charges, and aerial assaults. There were five in each group, for a total of twenty groups.

"Shanna, you go first, okay? Remember, don't rush to attack. Find the right opportunity to build up your power," Bell told his sister.

"Mm!"

After the House-elves cast Protective Magic, Shanna activated one group of statues.

Red light flared in the statues' eyes. The moment they entered the field, they launched their attack. The Shield Soldiers protected the Spear Soldiers as they advanced toward Shanna. The Archers maintained their distance from the Shield Soldiers to ensure they could receive support at any time while firing at Shanna. The Cavalry circled around Shanna, ready to charge at any moment. Meanwhile, the Gargoyles flew into the air, prepared to strike the instant Shanna exposed an opening under the Archers' or Cavalry's attacks.

As usual, Shanna first put up a shield around herself. She deflected the incoming arrows, prevented the Shield Soldiers and Spear Soldiers from approaching, and kept an eye on the Cavalry and Gargoyles.

Before long, the Cavalry charged. Shanna made the ground rise up, trying to interrupt their advance. But the Cavalry leaped over the obstacle. Shanna, who had been prepared for this, tried to create a pit where they would land. Yet just as she made a small trap pit, the Archers' arrows and the Gargoyles' attacks came one after another.

Left with no choice, Shanna abandoned her attack on the Cavalry. She leaped backward to evade the arrows while casting a Curse that blasted the Gargoyles away.

However, these statues had been treated to resist magic and could repair themselves. With Shanna's current spell power, destroying their cores would not be easy.

Bell watched Shanna fight with a serious expression.

There was no doubt that Shanna had long surpassed Little Wizards her age. Even adult wizards would be defeated by Shanna if they were careless or underestimated her. Bell had never told Shanna this. He felt that things were good as they were, and he had never seen any pride, complacency, or laziness in her.

Shanna had always regarded her Gege as the goal she pursued, so she did not understand the true level of other Little Wizards. She even often felt frustrated by her own clumsiness. As for whether Shanna was truly frustrated or merely wanted to use the opportunity to get her Gege to comfort her, only she herself knew.

The light of Curses flashed constantly across the Training Ground. Flame, Hurricane, Lightning, Ice—different elements surged through the field. Their tremendous power erupted, making the ground of the Training Ground tremble slightly.

Perhaps because she had often had snowball fights with her Gege when she was young, Shanna was best at using Ice for attack and defense. Unfortunately, against a group of unfeeling statues, Ice's low temperatures and slowing effects were completely useless. At the same time, the Ice Arrows she could cast instantly were not as hard as the statues, so Shanna had no choice but to use more explosive attacks in an attempt to damage them.

The battle quickly went on for fifteen minutes. During that time, Shanna secretly set traps and knocked the Cavalry from their mounts. Then, she poured a great amount of magic power into her Shield Charm, endured the attacks of the Archers and Gargoyles head-on, and successfully pinned the Cavalry to the ground with Ice Spears. She then seized an opportunity when a Gargoyle dived at her and used an Explosion Curse to blow off its Wings. Unable to fly, the Gargoyle was directly buried underground by Shanna.

As for the remaining three statues, the Shield Soldier's defense was too strong for Shanna to break through. After trying all kinds of Curses, Shanna finally found an opportunity. She used Hurricane to restrain the Shield Soldier, then shattered the Archer.

But that was as far as she could go. After such a long and intense battle, Shanna did not have much magic power left, while the Shield Soldier and Spear Soldier could not get close to her either. There was no point in dragging things out any longer.

"Gege, I still can't defeat a group of statues."

After the training ended, Shanna was somewhat dejected. Although it was what she had expected, she had still hoped to show her Gege her cool side.

Bell smiled and comforted her. "You were only a little short. As long as your attacks become a bit stronger and you can deal effective damage to the statues more easily, you should be able to jump straight from one group to three groups."

As Bell stepped into the Training Ground, a full ten groups of statues were activated. Fifty statues marched into the field in orderly steps, their imposing presence enough to make an ordinary person collapse to the ground.

The fighting style of ten groups of statues was vastly different from that of one group. If one group of statues fought like an adventuring party, then ten groups of statues were a small-scale war. Arrow Rain fell without end, the Cavalry charged in formation, and the Gargoyles' figures blotted out the sky.

An Earth Wall rose up. It blocked the Arrow Rain while also obstructing the Cavalry's vision. Bell suddenly used Apparition above the Cavalry, then hurled a powerful Explosion Curse into their formation. Two Cavalry were blown to pieces.

The Gargoyles took the opportunity to swarm toward him. A Hurricane appeared around Bell, blocking the Gargoyles' pounces while also blowing the incoming arrows off course.

Compared to Shanna, Bell's Flying Shoes were far faster. Faced with the statues' encirclement and pursuit, he could always escape their trap at critical moments. Even if he failed to get out, it did not matter. He still had Side-Along Apparition if necessary. Bell's figure flickered in and out across the field. One second, he was in the air playing chase with the Gargoyles; the next, he appeared atop a Shield Soldier and stomped its head to pieces.

The Cavalry were the first to be eliminated. All of them were blasted into Crushed Stone by Bell. After that, the other four types of statues were defeated one after another. Twenty minutes later, only twenty statues remained on the field.

Taking advantage of the now-open field, Bell gathered a wave of magic power and unleashed a large-scale Transfiguration Charm. Soil surged from the ground and turned into solid rock, then combined to form a Stone Giant.

The Stone Giant knocked the statues away one by one. Before Bell's magic power ran out, it had knocked down every Magical Statue.

"Gege is amazing!"

Shanna jumped up happily and clapped with all her strength.

The House-elves began cleaning up the aftermath. They would repair the statues, analyze the Battle Situation, and update the Magical Statues' combat programs, ensuring that they could continue to put pressure on Bell and serve their training purpose.

For this reason, Bell had specifically arranged for the House-elves to study knowledge of Curses. He himself would also often discuss combat methods with the House-elves.