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Chapter 340: Practice
Chapter 340: Practice (Request for Subscriptions, Favorites, and Votes)
After a simple lunch, Liam and Hermione began their test. Liam tidied up his things and then, with Hermione, transformed the Room of Requirement into a Magical Dueling Arena.
"Alright, let's get started." Hermione stretched her limbs, ensuring she had fully recovered from the numbness, and then drew her wand to begin the test.
As soon as the battle began, Liam noticed that Hermione's skills had improved. She was more adept at dodging his attacks and choosing the right moments to counterattack. Her performance continued to improve as she gained a better grasp of her abilities during the practice.
After about ten minutes, the test ended. Liam concluded that Hermione now had sufficient self-defense capabilities for most combat situations, achieving the primary goal of their training.
Following the practical magic test, Liam decided to move on to the extreme test phase. This phase would not involve any potentially harmful magic but would instead focus on close-quarters combat to test her reaction time and sixth sense. With the Iron Armor spell in place, ordinary weapons couldn't harm them, ensuring absolute safety.
After both had readied their defensive spells, Liam entered the arena with a one-handed sword. Hermione held a rapier in each hand, the only difference being that the one in her left hand was slightly shorter.
A coin was magically launched from the center of the room. The moment it hit the ground, both disappeared from their spots, gliding and leaping to the center of the grounds.
Like two gentle breezes, they spun and danced with their swords, the silver glint of their blades reminiscent of butterfly wings in flight. From a distance, they looked like two butterflies circling each other.
However, beneath this beauty lay a deadly threat. Even after five or six minutes of combat, the only sound in the room was the whoosh of their weapons slicing through the air. Since both fought using similar techniques, they constantly sought each other's weak points, withdrawing their swords to defend and preparing for the next attack. This is why their weapons had not yet clashed.
As time wore on, Hermione's stamina began to wane. By the twelfth minute, a faint clink echoed from the silver light of their clashing blades. The light dissipated, and they stood facing each other.
The intense combat had been exhausting, and both could see the sweat streaming down each other's faces, trickling from their cheeks to their chins, and then dripping to the ground.
"Phew, phew—still, still a little lacking in stamina", Hermione said as she sheathed her sword into her bracelet and slumped against the wall, knees hugged to her chest. The clink they heard was the result of her withdrawing her sword a split second too late, causing her sword tip to clash with Liam's blade.
"You did well", Liam said, sitting beside her. "In real combat, you won't often face such intense, short bursts of exertion. You now have the strength to handle actual battles. However, there are still areas you can improve—"
At this point, Liam explained to Hermione the specific enhancements she had undergone and offered some targeted advice.
"So, my agility, perception, and soul resilience have been improved, right?" Hermione asked after listening to Liam's explanation. She had sensed some changes during the practice, and with Liam's clarification, she quickly understood the improvements in her abilities.
"This is really too extravagant—" Hermione was no longer the naive little girl who had just entered the Magical Worlds. She knew very well how expensive these nearly side-effect-free enhancement methods were. Besides, she had just seen that the materials included three Dragon Eggs, even if they came from other worlds. Dragon Eggs were never cheap, no matter where they came from. Moreover, she could vaguely sense that Liam had used something even more precious than Dragon Eggs on her.
"It is a bit expensive, but these things are meant to be used on people. Storing them in the Warehouse just takes up dimensional space and collects dust." Liam was speaking from the heart. He genuinely believed that all enhancement resources only showed their worth when used. Hoarding them like a miser was a very foolish thing to do.
Besides, Liam believed that the most precious item consumed in the ritual, the Golden Heavenly Silver Crystal, was something he could produce in the foreseeable future. Teacher Luo Zhen had taught him the knowledge required, and once he reached the necessary strength, it would no longer be a problem.
The only regret was that Liam had already condensed the key to unlocking Truth Power within his body, a technique of extremely high Alchemical Rank. Any Alchemy enhancement method of a lower rank would be ineffective on him.
"But—" Hermione's face showed a conflicted expression. According to her character, she would never accept such an expensive gift. This was why she had expressed her opposition before the ritual began.
"There's no 'but' about it." Liam knew that if he didn't explain clearly, Hermione would be troubled for a long time. So, he decided to be straightforward. "After all, the war has already begun. Only by enhancing our strength can we survive it. If you feel this gift is too valuable, then please strive to make it worth the effort in the future, okay?"
"I— I understand." Hermione's eyes slowly shifted from confusion to determination. "I will catch up to you. Can you spare some time to train me?"
Liam nodded. "Of course. Starting from now, I will begin your formal training to help you master these new powers quickly. Let's go to dinner. Even on weekends, it would be strange to miss two meals in a row. To avoid drawing too much attention, we should go to the Great Hall."
Liam was still a bit too cautious. During holidays, few people would bother to pay attention to others. It was also very normal for couples to forget about meals while on a date. No one noticed that Liam and Hermione had been gone all day.
Dinner was as lavish as always. At the table, he took the opportunity to cast a simple material preservation spell on a French Pigeon Meat Tart and put it into his Spatial Bag when no one was paying attention.
"For your sister?" Only Hermione, who was sitting next to him, noticed this.
"Yes. The ingredients for this dish aren't particularly expensive, but the preparation is quite troublesome. I thought I'd bring some for the little one to try." Sometimes, girls' friendships form quickly. After meeting a few times and having a few heart-to-heart talks, they had become friends.
Liam thought it was great. Kids should make more friends.
(End of Chapter)
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