Chapter 221: Black Magic Defense Class
After leaving the dining hall, the two who had been chatting all the way finally arrived at the Combat Training Ground just before class.
"Jia Na, look over there."
Hearing Vivian's sudden low whisper in her ear, Jia Na's gaze followed the direction Vivian pointed.
"Third-year apprentices?"
Looking at Hugh-Stone and Luo - Yinhu, two old acquaintances standing in the crowd, Jia Na couldn't help but show a hint of surprise on her face. Vivian, standing next to her, frowned and whispered:
"Professor Grace wouldn't want us to spar with them, would she?"
"Possibly."
"Jia Na, over here!"
"Miss Jia Na, good morning!"
Before Jia Na could even stand still, several enthusiastic voices came from different directions simultaneously.
Looking around, besides Hugh-Stone, whom Jia Na had noticed first, there were Maluo-Haige and Bell-Moonshadow, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, as well as many classmates she only knew by nodding acquaintance, all greeting Jia Na in unison.
"Good morning, everyone—"
Now, Jia Na didn't even need the deliberate cooperation of her Muscle Control talent. With her rich social experience, Jia Na could respond to the enthusiastic signals from different people with the most appropriate smile, never letting the conversation drop.
"Long time no see."
Finally, amidst a multitude of gazes, Jia Na led Vivian to Bell-Moonshadow and Maluo-Haige's side.
"Long time no see, Jia Na—"
"Mr. Maluo, if you don't want to be killed by the eyes of the people around you, I advise you not to get too close to Jia Na."
Before Maluo-Haige could finish his greeting, Vivian, who seemingly inadvertently stepped between them, reminded Maluo-Haige with a look of "goodwill."
"It doesn't matter, at most I'll just take a beating—haha, I'm joking."
Maluo-Haige, who could indeed feel the naked "envy, jealousy, and hatred" gazes around him, still just smiled nonchalantly and shrugged indifferently when faced with Vivian's reminder.
"Really—then you'll have to be prepared in advance for the Wizard Combat class later."
Maluo-Haige, who understood the hidden meaning in Vivian's words, couldn't help but freeze his seemingly relaxed expression.
Immediately, he thought that today's Black Magic Defense Class seemed to be for both second-year and third-year students, which also meant that he might really have to face the challenge of a third-year apprentice later.
"Also—Bell, you should still remember our previous duel agreement, right?"
"I remember."
Vivian, who had been as keen on gossiping as usual on the way here, seemed to have had a certain personality switch flipped at this moment, and her whole person started to have thorns.
Especially when facing Bell-Moonshadow, even Jia Na could clearly feel that Vivian's tone was not a joke.
"It seems that Vivian's recent period of secluded cultivation has indeed yielded considerable results—"
Looking at Vivian's half-smiling expression when facing Bell-Moonshadow, Jia Na couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
The relationship between Vivian and Bell-Moonshadow had not been good from the moment they first met. Even though they had teamed up in the Swamp Secret Realm, this camaraderie only served to slightly ease their relationship.
Jia Na knew that the reason Vivian was like this was because Bell-Moonshadow had openly questioned Vivian's strength when they were teaming up to encircle and suppress Shadow Creatures. This incident had left the always competitive Vivian feeling resentful to this day.
In addition, Jia Na had told Vivian that Anthony-Black Sparrow intended for her to participate in the Dordogne-White Tower Trial.
These matters intertwined, making Vivian clearly realize that if she didn't work harder, the gap between her and Jia Na would grow larger and larger, until there was no longer any connection between them. Therefore, from the middle of last year until now, in order not to fall behind, Vivian had been in secluded cultivation.
Even though she came out for a while during the final exams, she went back to continue her secluded cultivation not long after the new year.
Moreover, since Vivian came out of seclusion, Jia Na could clearly feel the change in her.
Although Vivian's attitude towards Jia Na was still as enthusiastic as ever, when facing others, she no longer had the noble and ladylike demeanor of a rich young lady from a prominent family—most of the time, the aura she exuded was more like an indiscriminate hostility—
Besides the change in personality, Vivian's physical appearance also changed significantly.
The first time Vivian came out of seclusion, Jia Na noticed that a few extremely conspicuous white hairs were suddenly mixed in with her originally light golden long hair.
By the end of her second period of seclusion, almost all of Vivian's hair had turned white like ice and snow. Even the baby fat on her face had quietly faded within a few months.
In its place was a thin, delicate, and pale face as white as snow—compared to the Vivian Jia Na first knew, she was like a completely different person.
Fortunately, this level of change was not uncommon in White Coral Academy, where Bloodline Side Wizard Apprentices were everywhere.
Take Suo Luo-Lie Yan as an example. Before awakening his Lava Lizard bloodline, his hair color was a very normal dark brown. However, after Suo Luo-Lie Yan awakened his bloodline, it only took a few weeks for his hair color to turn fiery red like flames.
His height also rapidly increased from less than 1.8 meters to about 1.9 meters. Even the muscle content on his body became more robust—
"Professor Grace is here—" Looking at the figure approaching from a distance in the sky, amidst a flurry of whispers, Grace-Eva, with her bat wings spread, quickly landed on the ground.
"Good, everyone is on time."
Grace-Eva, having retracted her bat wings, still had a blank face as she surveyed the crowd. It wasn't until her gaze fell on Jia Na that her expression showed a slight change.
"Perhaps you've already guessed, the purpose of me calling the third-year apprentices here today is to put some pressure on some of you—of course, you can choose to challenge the strongest apprentice in your class."
As she spoke, she lightly waved her snake staff, and under Grace-Eva's manipulation, a blood-colored barrier appeared around the Combat Training Ground.
"Does anyone want to take the initiative to challenge?"
After saying this, Grace-Eva's gaze unconsciously fell on Jia Na, with a playful look in her eyes.
"Professor, I would like to challenge."
Hmm?
To everyone's surprise, the person who took the initiative to apply for a Wizard Combat this time was not one of the familiar combat enthusiasts, but rather Vivian-Rose, who usually stayed by Jia Na's side.
Hearing this, Grace-Eva's gaze couldn't help but look at Vivian next to Jia Na with a hint of curiosity.
"Who do you want to challenge?"
"Jia Na-Roland."