After all, everyone wanted to shine at the Spirit Blade Dance Festival.
However, this situation was unfortunate for Ellis.
Although Ellis's popularity wasn't particularly high, she shouldn't have ended up in such a dire situation. The problem lay in the fact that Ellis had offended too many spirit mages in her daily life.
These spirit mages were generally fine, given their status, and although no one openly criticized her, over time, the accumulated resentment became quite significant.
While everyone didn't say anything openly, they were all whispering about Ellis behind her back.
After all, managing people was always a troublesome task, especially with a group of spoiled young ladies, which made things even more complicated.
Now, with Ellis facing a big sister figure, that big sister was gathering talented individuals, and those who usually looked down on Ellis were defecting. All they needed to do was stir up the crowd a little to sway those who were unaware of the situation.
In short, Ellis's current predicament was quite awkward.
"Well, it's decided then. Our next member will be Ellis," Roa declared, finalizing the decision.
Claire curiously asked, "Why is your sister targeting you?"
Ellis replied helplessly, "It's not exactly targeting me. Ever since that incident, my sister has been like this. She didn't plan to collaborate with the members she recruited this time. If it weren't for the requirement of five participants for this Blade Dance Festival, I feel like she would even fight alone."
Roa pondered, "Isn't that similar to me?"
As soon as Roa said this, the two girls beside him grabbed his hands. Roa looked at them in confusion, seeing Claire and Rinslet with serious expressions on their faces.
"Roa, you can't abandon us, okay?" Rinslet said.
Claire was more straightforward, stammering, "Well, think about it. More people mean more strength. I admit your strength is impressive, but if you rely solely on yourself to win, it will definitely be a bit difficult."
Both of them looked at Roa with pitiful expressions, leaving him speechless and at a loss for words.
What was this scene? It felt just like when two inexperienced teammates were whining during a ranked match.
Roa brushed off Claire and Rinslet's hands, exasperated, "Alright, alright, I won't abandon you, sigh."
Ellis watched the three of them, her frown lifting as she couldn't help but smile.
To be honest, Roa's team wasn't bad (excluding Roa). Claire and Rinslet both had high-quality spirits, and even though Ren Ashbell had lost most of her memory, her foundation was still there, and her level was definitely several steps above the average spirit mage.
Many spirit mages had wanted to join Roa's team but had been politely declined.
Still, the same principle applied: those without enough strength wouldn't be of much use.
Even though Claire and Rinslet were considered upper-tier in this academy, Roa had basically defined them as accessories. If someone came along who was even less capable than an accessory, it would be quite a headache for him.
However, if it were Ellis, accepting her wouldn't be a problem.
Ellis might be slightly inferior to her sister, but her strength was still decent, likely on par with Claire's combat ability.
Roa cleared his throat and said to Ellis, "In that case, you can join the regular training sessions. I'll let you know the schedule; there will be about two to three training sessions each week, lasting a whole day. The training will cover various aspects, including but not limited to refining your Blade Dance and team coordination."
With another member added, Roa began to practice one-on-one with Ellis, intending to gauge her abilities.
Ellis was skilled with a spear, and if her spear skills were to be assessed, they would likely be at the level of a high-ranking swordsman.
The training went smoothly, with Roa mostly taking it easy on Ellis while pointing out her flaws.
Time passed quickly, and after addressing Ellis's shortcomings, a day had already slipped away.
Just when Roa thought everything had settled down, the next day, a girl stormed in with three other girls.
The girl wore lightweight armor focused on agility and had a cloak that swayed slightly with her movements. Almost the moment they met, she fixed her gaze on Roa, who was at the forefront.
Ellis's expression darkened as she stepped forward, blocking the line of sight between Roa and the girl, her face cold as she said, "Sister, what are you doing here?"
In response, Velsaria shot Ellis a frosty glare.
Velsaria coldly glanced at Ellis and said, "I'm not looking for you, Ellis. Step aside; don't make things difficult for yourself."
Ellis's expression grew even more troubled, but she still didn't move, coldly asking, "Sister, what exactly do you plan to do?"
"What do you mean? This has nothing to do with you."
Velsaria pushed Ellis aside, looking at Roa with an almost unreasonable demeanor. Just when Roa thought Velsaria was here to cause trouble for him, she shifted her gaze away from his face, snorted, and continued forward until she stood in front of someone.
That person was none other than Ren Ashbell.
Seeing Ren Ashbell's somewhat blank expression, Velsaria frowned slightly, then grasped the long sword at her waist and addressed Ren Ashbell, "Ren Ashbell, do you remember me?"
Ren Ashbell felt confused, scratching her head with a bewildered expression.
However, it was this look of confusion that completely enraged Velsaria. She shouted, "You don't remember? I was the spirit mage who stood with you at the Spirit Blade Dance Festival three years ago, the one you easily defeated. But this time will be different; I am no longer the same as I was three years ago. I have become stronger."
Velsaria's words paused as her gaze locked onto Ren Ashbell, speaking each word clearly, "I challenge you. Will you accept?"
Ren Ashbell tilted her head, her brows furrowing. She didn't answer but fell into silence.
Velsaria was very patient, waiting for Ren Ashbell's response.
Ren Ashbell turned her gaze to Roa, indicating that this was beyond her ability to handle.
Roa, who was standing by and watching, couldn't help but say to Velsaria, "Um, Ren Ashbell has amnesia. A lot has happened, and her mind isn't functioning particularly well right now."
Velsaria was momentarily taken aback, then began to circle around Ren Ashbell, examining her.
This scrutiny made Ren Ashbell uncomfortable, and she finally spoke up, "Could you not look at me like that? Your gaze makes me very uncomfortable."
Velsaria scoffed, her expression filled with arrogance, but she still didn't give up, continuing to address Ren Ashbell, "Let's have a match, hmm? Let's do it in the form of a team competition. Don't say I'm bullying you."
After speaking, Velsaria turned and directed her gaze towards Roa. The girl frowned slightly, but soon her expression relaxed as she said to Roa, "Are you interested in joining my team?"
Roa: ???
Receiving a challenge out of nowhere and then an unexpected invitation left Roa feeling quite perplexed.
Although he found it strange, Roa still shook his head to decline the girl's invitation.
Roa pointed at himself and said, "Well, even though I look like this, I can still be considered the core of the team. If I leave, this team will definitely disband."
Roa said this, and he truly believed it.
Claire snorted softly and muttered beside her, "Narcissist."
The girl's voice wasn't loud, but the others present had sharp ears and naturally heard her clearly.
Roa's mouth twitched, and his expression turned unfriendly as he directed his gaze towards Claire.
Claire averted her eyes, feeling a bit guilty, and didn't dare to meet Roa's gaze.
Velsaria smiled, a hint of mockery on her stern face, and looked at Roa, saying, "It seems your teammate doesn't quite agree with you."
Roa sighed and replied, "She's just trying to stir things up."
Upon hearing this, Claire pouted angrily.
With her fiery red hair standing straight at her waist, Claire's aggressive eyes narrowed slightly, and her demeanor made Roa find it amusing.
Velsaria shrugged, not wanting to argue about the relationship between Claire and Roa. She simply said, "In any case, I welcome you to join my team at any time. After all, winning against this group of second-rate spirit users will be quite difficult, right?"
Velsaria's words undoubtedly ignited a powder keg, and Claire was immediately furious. The hot-tempered girl rushed in front of Roa, reaching out to grab Velsaria's sleeve.
Velsaria frowned slightly, subtly shifting to the side to avoid Claire's outstretched hand, her face showing displeasure as she coldly reprimanded, "What do you want, little girl?"
Claire missed her target and felt extremely annoyed. Being someone who was not polite by nature, she spoke without any reservations.
Claire mocked, "What qualifications do you have to talk big here after being taken down by Ren with a single sword?"
Velsaria's expression darkened completely. That incident was a shadow in her heart, and even after three years, she still couldn't forget that moment.
Just a simple sword strike had completely destroyed Velsaria's magical armor spirit, and her once-proud defense seemed utterly fragile in the face of the opponent's weapon. What was pierced was not just Velsaria's magical armor but also her pride and self-esteem, all of which vanished in that moment.
She vaguely remembered the expressions of the people on stage at that time.
Pity, disbelief, disdain, disgust—every expression converged, and that emotion made Velsaria almost want to vomit. She wanted to shout at the people on stage: "What are you to pity me?"
But as her consciousness faded, she lost her awareness.
With the wound exposed, painful memories resurfaced, and Velsaria's expression could be described as dark as water.
Velsaria's cold gaze swept over Claire's eyes, and a dangerous smile curled at the corners of her mouth as she coldly said, "Has no one taught you to manage your mouth? Well then, as the sister of the disaster spirit princess, I'll teach you a lesson on behalf of your sister."
Velsaria extended her right hand, powerful divine might gathering, and a fierce wind whipped up the surrounding air, transforming into a powerful shockwave that rushed towards Claire.
Claire, unwilling to back down, summoned flames that coalesced into a long whip in her hand, preparing to lash out directly at Velsaria. The raging flames dispersed the shockwave released by Velsaria, and the fiery whip swung down towards Velsaria with unrelenting force.
Flames ignited in the air, and the fiery whip left a long trail.
To Velsaria's surprise, the whip, carrying flames, struck towards her face.
Surprised as she was, Velsaria swiftly grabbed the whip. The flames ignited along the whip, and as Velsaria pulled slightly, Claire felt a tremendous force that nearly pulled her to the ground.
As the atmosphere between the two became extremely tense, ready to erupt at any moment, Roa sighed, and divine might erupted instantly.
Almost instinctively, Velsaria released the whip and retreated, a strong sense of pressure emanating from Roa, causing Velsaria's expression to grow serious.
Intuition told Velsaria that this boy before her was definitely not an easy opponent.
Claire still wanted to step forward to teach Velsaria a lesson, but Roa grabbed her, saying helplessly, "Claire, calm down. Isn't there a team competition coming up?"
Claire gritted her teeth and said, "Let go of me, Roa! I want to teach her a lesson about what it means to be the sister of the disaster spirit princess!"
Roa was a bit surprised. He had originally thought Claire was angry because of the provocation, but it turned out it was just because of that title.
Velsaria gave Roa a deep look, and this time she did not strike again. Instead, she coldly said to the people beside her, "Let's go."
After saying that, she turned and walked away without looking back.
The other spirit users followed Velsaria, somewhat at a loss.
Roa felt helpless; trouble had come knocking on his door.
Ellis showed an apologetic expression and bowed to the four, saying, "I'm sorry for bringing my sister here because of me."
Roa had no objections in this regard and casually said, "Well, sooner or later, we would have to meet her anyway. After all, she is the top spirit user in this academy, and if she participates in the Blade Dance Festival, we will definitely have to interact with her."