The next day, Theo and the groups returned to the training room, occupying three rooms. Since they were planning to train together, they split into three groups and the pairs were random.
Theo got together with Ellen, Sihan was with Alea while Laust practiced with Phyrill. Yes, Laust decided to practice because of yesterday's matter, obvious to his father's plan.
When they entered the virtual world, Theo asked Ellen. "Can you give me any information about the other groups? I mean, some should have fulfilled the conditions as well, right?"
Ellen tilted her head in confusion but still nodded. "Yes. I'm not sure about the information since my family is not good at it, let alone myself. If you want to ask this kind of thing, it's better to go to Phyrill and Alea."
"As expected, I need to go to them, huh." Theo let out a long sigh.
"Haha." Ellen chuckled and said, "They are a troublesome duo, aren't they?"
"Yes." Theo nodded.
"For what reason do you want the information?"
"It's nothing… I feel like the third stage is more troublesome than I expected…"
"More troublesome? How?"
"There is a possibility that the mission will be the same as anybody else, making it harder for us." Theo scratched the back of his head. "It's kind of a race, you see."
"Hmm… I don't know the logic, but I will try asking Alea and Phyrill about this information. Since you are thinking about our next move, this is the only way I can help you." Ellen gently bumped her fist on Theo's chest while smiling. "You are not alone, Theo. If you need something, you should ask."
Theo smiled and nodded. "Thank you."
"No problem." Ellen then remembered the skill she got yesterday. "By the way, I got this skill yesterday and I feel it will be a good one for us. Let me show it to you first."
The two then began their training. Ellen showed her mist skill that was capable of creating a smokescreen. And when Theo entered the mist, he felt the cold was trying to numb his senses and lower his ability.
Theo was slightly surprised, but he didn't know what to do yet with this kind of skill. After discussing it a few times, Theo practiced his Soft Control and Force Control as the Illusion Multiplier relied on Soft Control more than Force Control.
Meanwhile, Sihan planned to get stronger by taking Alea's blows continuously like a sandbag to understand how this girl attacked him. This should improve his perception.
Alea didn't mind and tried to reinforce his shield and her sword with the new skill while continuing her attacks.
Phyrill and Laust were the same. They tried to do everything possible to get stronger since they felt the others would be leaving them behind if they didn't improve.
After all, Alea herself already moved at her own pace, outshining them. Theo was trying to pursue her in his unique way and had been improving greatly. On the other hand, Ellen hadn't used her all since they hadn't seen her tired this whole time. Meanwhile, Sihan's role was the simplest but the hardest at the same time, making him irreplaceable in this team.
Phyrill had realized it and told Laust that they could be replaced easily. Instead of an Assassin, the group would be better with a Ranger. The same applied to Laust, a Fighter. Not only could Theo replace his position easily, but Laust himself hadn't shown anything good other than the sudden change of movement in the last match.
With Radvils as their instructor, they didn't know whether Radvils would suddenly replace them or not, so Laust and Phyrill aimed to be someone special in the group to avoid any problems.
This kind of training continued for two weeks. The partners kept changing, and Theo didn't mind being paired with Laust or Sihan since it was the rule he placed on this training.
Theo kept trying one thing after another to see if they had good coordination or not. They even held three to three matches to see if something good would happen.
Unfortunately for them, Theo couldn't find anything within the two weeks.
…
Two weeks later, specifically on Monday, all the participants for the third stage had arrived in the school where Radvils planned to explain the third stage.
When Theo arrived in front of the school, he found Alea standing in the middle of the street.
Due to most of the students in their class, not many would stop by to see her, making it perfectly fine for her to wait for Theo.
Behind her was Ellen. She took a peek at Theo and waved her hand. "You've finally arrived. Welcome."
Sihan sat silently on the bench right next to the road while looking at him. After seeing Theo arrive, he closed his eyes as if feeling relieved.
Next to him was Phyrill. His hands rested on his thighs while supporting his cheek, looking at this scenery with a cheerful expression.
Last but not least, Laust. He had been crossing his arms while leaning against the tree next to the bench. When he saw Theo, he looked away and harrumphed.
"Sorry, Theo. I don't mean to create a scene, but I wonder if it's alright to go together? I mean, we need to gather at the gym in our group, so don't you think it's better to go together?" Alea gently stroked her cheek since she felt this wasn't going to work.
Phyrill already told her that Theo always went together with them since their reputation was far below her. That was why they decided to stop here to wait for Theo.
Theo furrowed his eyebrows and thought it wouldn't be necessary to hide anymore. Even if trouble arose, he could use his other identity to solve it. After all, Clone Theo could act as a replacement with that ability to speak and use skills. And if the other groups were together while Alea's group only had five people with him standing alone, there would be too many misunderstandings.
After contemplating for a minute, Theo closed his eyes and smiled, saying, "It's fine. But… If everyone hates me, don't defend me or something. Just stay quiet."
"Eh?!"
"Let them underestimate me. It's better that way." Theo smiled before releasing his killing intent. "It's more convenient for me to move with that condition."
"…" Alea didn't know his intention, but she still supported him. "Okay, okay. I will follow what you want, but put away that killing intent first."
Theo nodded and retracted his killing intent. "Let's go then."