Daniel was closely monitoring the situation inside the secret realm, paying attention to Nina's little actions, all of which he observed carefully.
After entering the secret realm, Nina maintained a playful attitude; she seemed unconcerned about resource exploration or anything else.
She resembled a curious girl, wandering around, only stopping to pick or explore things that caught her fancy.
Of course, the things that interested Nina were rather peculiar.
Among all the wonders in this secret realm, her greatest fascination lay with the spell beasts.
Sometimes she would linger for tens of minutes just to watch two spell beasts fighting over territory.
She would even follow them into their lairs to see if there were any treasures inside.
In this trip to the Mistriver Realm, Daniel noted the growth of the other four individuals he had trained.
Rose's principles, Reed's calmness, Green's responsibility, and Nora's decisiveness stood out.
Yet, Nina seemed unchanged.
Besides acquiring new spells from her training, everything appeared identical to how it had been before, with no sign of development.
Daniel found it difficult to judge whether this was right or wrong, as everyone has their own unique path.
However, it was clear that Nina was not capable of handling things on her own yet.
The crowd around them had begun to thin out.
Most had come to witness the young geniuses from the three great powers and, once they entered the secret realm, dispersed.
Those who remained were either eager to see the outcome of the secret realm or simply wished to observe the leaders of the Riverside city's three great powers.
Since the results of the secret realm had yet to be announced, the heads of House Windwhisper and House Lunastone remained confident.
Together, they had teamed up within the secret realm, and Daniel knew it would be an overwhelming advantage over Crossbridge Academy.
Before entering, they had exhausted their resources, raising many young members from their families to the tier-silver peak and late tier-silver levels.
The combined strength of the two houses was something Crossbridge Academy could not contend with.
Daniel couldn't even imagine the foundation the two heads had built over the years in Riverside city.
These were century-old families with a depth of power that a new force like Crossbridge Academy simply couldn't match, enabling them to boost their family's strength in times of potential crisis.
As for Daniel, he had no worries.
He was observing the situation closely, fully aware of what was happening inside the secret realm.
He was certain that once it concluded, the expressions of the heads from the two families would undergo a complete reversal.
Among the waiting crowd, the majority were women, and their eyes frequently wandered over to the area occupied by Crossbridge Academy.
After lingering on Daniel for several seconds, they would shift their gaze elsewhere.
Daniel's foundation was already solid, and after achieving tier-sage, his body had been further enhanced.
He exuded a special charm that was undeniably attractive to women.
Given that he had been in the academy for a long time, those familiar with him now found him even more appealing than before.
This time, Daniel made a grand appearance, exuding extra allure.
Not all in the crowd were smitten with Daniel, however.
A particular group stood out, radiating a unique aura that caused those around them to unconsciously give them space.
"Senior, do you really think this small Riverside city can produce students that meet academy standards? It feels more like a backwater town. Finding suitable candidates here seems almost impossible," a young man with brown hair said impatiently.
They had come to recruit students and scout for talent, not to dig through a dump for gold in such a poor place.
"Don't be hasty. I believe Riverside city is not as simple as it appears," replied an older man beside him. "Did you not notice a few promising candidates among the young people who entered the secret realm?"
"Huh?" The young man was taken aback, clearly having overlooked that detail. "But those people were only at the tier-silver peak. How can they be considered promising candidates?"
To him, tier-silver peak was nothing significant, and he dismissed those who hadn't even reached that level.
"Put away your disdain. Some people are tier-silver due to environmental constraints, while others reach tier-silver because their talent only allows for it. Our purpose in coming here is to find those with great potential who are limited by resources!"
"Trust me, when the secret realm concludes, the results will definitely surprise everyone!"
…
When Daniel noticed Nina encountering a girl named Eloise from House Windwhisper, he understood that Nina had found a formidable rival.
Through observation, he recognized that Eloise was no ordinary opponent.
Unlike those mages who had quickly ascended through vast amounts of mana stones, Eloise's magic pattern was remarkably complete and intricate.
Such a well-developed magic pattern could only be achieved through long-term accumulation and inherent talent.
Eloise's foundation and talent were both impressive.
In a direct confrontation, Nina would struggle to gain the upper hand.
However, Nina had spatial magic, which she had learned in that whimsical little world.
Her only chance was to leverage this ability to create an information gap to defeat her opponent.
What unfolded next, however, was far beyond Daniel's expectations.
Faced with an unknown adversary, Emily opted for the most prudent approach: she used control magic to restrain the enemy before launching her attacks.
This method ensured her strikes would hit their target, and even if the opponent broke free, she could still pursue further attacks.
Eloise, on the other hand, approached the situation with a traditional mage's mindset—layered strategies and calculations.
Nina, however, immediately played her trump card.
She used her spatial magic to escape Eloise's control and positioned herself behind her opponent.
Yet, instead of attacking, she exhibited no hostility whatsoever.
Even under Daniel's watchful eye, Nina appeared entirely non-confrontational.
Not only was she unthreatening to Eloise, but she also showed no obvious animosity towards the members of House Windwhisper and House Lunastone.
It seemed she was merely interested in playing, and if someone happened to get hurt in the process, so be it.
Nina's decision to refrain from attacking allowed Eloise to quickly deduce that Nina possessed some kind of teleportation ability.
Daniel had initially thought Nina would simply escape from the situation, but he underestimated the nature of both girls.
Eloise's cautious, traditional mage approach led her to assume Nina would strike from some hidden corner.
Thus, she expended a considerable amount of mana to set up numerous dense wind blades around her, an expenditure that Daniel would consider excessive.
As for Nina?
She had already sought help from others.
When Daniel saw that Nina had found Rose, he was curious about how the Rose he had trained would choose to handle such an opponent.
Now, Rose was a different person compared to just a month ago.
Daniel was eager to see what kind of abilities she would display!