At Star Stream Academy, it was important that students were groomed into well-rounded young ladies. For mortal women, knowing the arts and being beautiful was often seen as enough, but for women in the cultivation world, strength was just as important. A flower without thorns would be mercilessly picked by those fond of its beauty, therefore all students, especially those of A class, were expected to be experienced in the art of combat.
Usually during combat class, the instructor would decide what sort of battle would take place and against what type of enemy. At times they teamed up against high beasts, and at other times they had to defeat a horde of puppets. As the difficulty of the task rose with the class, even those in A class would have to put effort into surviving every combat class, but this time many of them weren't even worried.
For this combat class, A class gathered in front of the small forest inside Star Stream Academy. Glares with a hint of killing intent concentrated on Annaleigh, but she was focused on Liella who was beside her and the instructor in front of them.
"For today's class, you'll have a race. All of you will run through the forest to the opposite end where I will be waiting for you. Naturally, obstacles and traps have been arranged on the course, and you may obstruct each other as long as fatal wounds are not inflicted. I see some of you are more eager than expected, but don't forget the consequences of breaking the academy's rules."
The instructor gave a warning to Annaleigh's enemies, but it was a threat that was unlikely to have much of an effect.
"Annaleigh."
"Yes!"
Liella was about to warn Annaleigh once again, but after she was faced by that bright smile, she changed her mind.
"... Nothing, just keep up with me."
"Okay, I'll be right behind you."
A few minutes after the instructor went to the other end of the forest, the sound of a bell set them off. Far more seriously than usual, Liella pushed off the ground and dashed into the forest like a fired arrow. Annaleigh was the second to enter the forest at a similar speed followed by the rest of the class. The moment they were obscured by the green environment, the obstruction began.
Being quick made it possible to leave the danger of the forest swiftly, but as she was in the lead it was easy to target her. Liella was showing the path through the traps for Annaleigh to follow, but keeping up while dodging attacks was easier said than done. Nonetheless, Annaleigh mimicked Liella and maintained the distance between them without being hit by a single weapon or spell.
Her pursuers grew upset and started using stronger attacks, but Annaleigh didn't intend to simply allow them to interfere with her time with Liella. When a pursuing classmate landed on a branch that Annaleigh had jumped off of, it snapped and she fell into a pack of young horned wolves that had yet to become beast spirits. She most likely wouldn't die, but no one was planning on helping her so she would definitely be injured.
The next victim of Annaleigh's cunning was a girl who shot an arrow into the bush that Annaleigh was passing by. From the bush, appeared a snake beast spirit that lunged at Annaleigh, but with a light touch she diverted it to those behind her. Two of the girls managed to evade, but her target was attacked by the snake and screamed in panic. She might die from this, but as it would be due to the snake, Annaleigh wouldn't be penalized even if that happened.
Her pursuers began to grow wary, but Annaleigh didn't stop terrorizing them. About halfway through the forest, she grasped the pattern of traps and obstacles and began using them to her advantage. Suddenly, everyone following her began to fall for traps or collide into trees and trip over rocks even though they should be using the same route that she was.
Only once they slowed down and watched her figure did they notice how the area around her seemed to ripple as she passed by.
"Be careful! She's layering illusions over the scenery."
Illusory spells took a lot of energy to maintain, but by only casting illusions to hide her steps the moment she made them, Annaleigh was able to use several illusion spells within a short frame of time. However, A class was made of those regularly called geniuses so once they saw through her trick they were able to deal with it. As the finish line was in sight, her pursuers accepted that they wouldn't be able to do much damage, but Annaleigh still had one more surprise for them.
"Grr..."
Out of nowhere, a heterogenous gang of beast spirits appeared behind and next to Annaleigh's pursuers.
"Where did all of these beast spirits come from?!"
"Based on the number that's normally supplied, this should be almost all of the beast spirits in the forest."
"This is no time for analysis. We have to escape!"
Only after the incident was it revealed that faint traces of substances that attracted evolved beasts were found on the route that Annaleigh took, but even without the official news all attempts at bothering her stopped afterwards.
After her final trap, Annaleigh skipped her way to the finish line. As not all of her classmates had joined on the hunt, there were a few others already there, but she only cared about Liella.
"Liella! I finished without a scratch, just like I said I would."
"Yes, you did."
Annaleigh quickly approached Liella with joy in every step, but her smile froze as she got closer. Someone not familiar with her likely wouldn't be able to tell, but as her biggest fan Annaleigh immediately noticed the slight change in her tone.
"Liella...?"
"What is it?"
"Uh, nothing."
Liella seemed to quickly fix her tone, but Annaleigh could sense that there was a change in the way she looked at her. She was gravely curious, but she feared what her response could be. She knew that there wasn't a positive change in how Liella perceived her, so whatever the answer was, it would hurt her. Although she won the battle against her jealous classmates, they had unknowingly achieved a part of their objective.
Once everyone who could still move escaped the forest, the rest of the class was for stretches and sparring. While the injured were sent off moaning, Annaleigh and Liella stretched alone. It shouldn't have been awkward since they did the same thing during dance practice, but there was now a more strained relationship between the two. Normally Liella wouldn't be bothered by the atmosphere, but in this case even she avoided eye contact with Annaleigh.
The damage from Liella's attitude severely dampened Annaleigh's motivation, but she managed to get the courage to approach her when it was time to get a sparring partner. However, before she even got the chance to call out to her, Liella paired up with someone else. Once again, Annaleigh was an outcast, and this time, it hurt her.