214. Interpersonal Relationships
Compared to his nonchalant attitude in Mechanical Engineering class, Yun Ling was much more attentive in Cybersecurity class.
With the boost of his 'Exceptional Talent,' Yun Ling's learning speed quickly surpassed the teacher's pace, and he began to study diligently on his own.
He was also realizing for the first time just how powerful this red talent's enhancement to learning ability was.
"All-rounder" or "all-around genius"—the scope of this term was incredibly broad.
He estimated that, aside from childbirth, he could probably reach the level of a Grand Mechanic in everything else, or even higher.
Seeing Yun Ling so focused on his studies, Bronya breathed a sigh of relief. If he had to start from scratch, it would be very difficult for him to catch up.
Like Mechanical Engineering, this class had a pop quiz.
This time, Bronya completed the pop quiz in record time and won first place.
Yun Ling followed closely behind, winning second place.
Bronya, having regained some of her composure, felt a surge of confidence return.
"Mind showing it to me?" Yun Ling asked Bronya for the code from her quiz.
"Of course not, Bronya isn't afraid of you surpassing me." Bronya generously showed it to Yun Ling.
She even thoughtfully explained some knowledge she hadn't covered yet.
After all, Yun Ling had also generously shown her the modified SU-22 howitzer, which was a kind of return gift.
Soon, it was afternoon, time for combat training.
Himeko first led everyone in a physical training session. While the intensity wasn't high, it was enough to exhaust the newly enrolled students.
Of course, a few could still stand.
Yun Ling, on the other hand, looked relaxed and carefree; this amount of exercise wasn't even as much as his sparring with Lin Chaoyu.
This was their first training session, and Himeko didn't have high expectations. Seeing that the girls still had energy, she let them spar.
Mei and Kiana sparred with each other. Both practiced the Void Sword Qi, and although their focuses differed, their strengths weren't significantly different.
Bronya and Yuna sparred. Although Yuna was a pseudo-Herrscher, Bronya's combat experience was far superior. Using her equipment, she kept Yuna on the run the entire time.
"Yuna, don't try to catch Bronya. You're a mage, use ranged attacks," Yun Ling reminded her.
Yuna obediently nodded, then placed her hands on the ground, causing the ground to tremble.
"Hey, wait... repairs are expensive!" Himeko seemed to sense the ground's movement and immediately stopped Yuna and Bronya from continuing their duel.
Clearly, Yuna was about to use some wide-range attacks.
But the surrounding ground was stone; such an attack would destroy the training ground!
St. Freya Academy was already in deficit, relying entirely on Theresa's tantrums and charm in front of Otto to secure funding.
If the training ground were destroyed in a moment of carelessness, she, as an instructor, would face Theresa's wrath.
Given Theresa's integrity, the repair costs might be deducted directly from her salary.
"Eh..." Yuna was somewhat disappointed; she had thought she could show off a bit in front of Yun Ling.
Bronya also breathed a sigh of relief. Judging from the unusual movements on the ground, this attack probably wouldn't be easy to dodge.
As expected, the power of a Herrscher is terrifyingly strong...
And her current weapons are only the Heavy Bunny and some gadgets; it would be very difficult to fight against a Herrscher with thinking abilities.
"It's alright, it's alright. We'll see if we can train elsewhere later. This place is definitely limiting your potential."
"But you can try finer manipulation, see how many vines you can control at once," Yun Ling suggested.
This would also help Yuna train her control over her strength.
Limited by the space, Yuna's current skills are limited to small-scale plant manipulation, far from enough to deal with Bronya.
"Okay," Yuna nodded obediently.
Then, she and Bronya began a new round of combat.
Yuna stood still, with long, thin vines constantly sprouting from behind her. Following Yun Ling's instructions, she consciously tried to control the vines.
Unfortunately, she hadn't trained in multitasking, and it seemed she could only control two vines at a time.
Fortunately, although Bronya could shatter the vines, new ones would immediately coil around her.
Bronya's face remained relaxed as she nimbly maneuvered her Heavy Bunny through the vines.
Yuna couldn't catch her even after exhausting herself.
The difference in combat experience was simply too great; Bronya didn't even launch an attack.
"You seem pretty idle," Himeko said, hands on her hips, standing in front of Yun Ling.
"I'm too tired to stand up," Yun Ling said, leaning against the wall behind him, looking weak.
"Stop pretending. Everyone else is resting, so you can spar with me." Himeko grabbed Yun Ling by the collar without further ado and threw him onto the training ground.
Yun Ling landed lightly on the ground. Himeko, carrying a greatsword, stood before him.
The greatsword's terrifying weight caused it to kick up a cloud of dust when it hit the ground.
"Sister Himeko, go easy on me!" Yun Ling couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. Why did Himeko seem to be serious?
"Here, you should call me Teacher Himeko or Colonel Himeko!" Himeko raised an eyebrow.
"I happened to see you sparring with Lin Chaoyu. Being able to fight an A-rank Valkyrie on equal terms shows you're definitely not bad. Don't even think about running away today."
Himeko looked at Yun Ling seriously, entering battle stance.
"That was all Chaoyu letting me win. How could I possibly compare to her?" Yun Ling said modestly.
"Stop talking nonsense! Hurry up and draw your sword." Ji Zi was already getting impatient.
"I want to try a different fighting style, is that alright?" Yun Ling asked.
"Suit yourself…"
As soon as Himeko finished speaking, she charged towards Yun Ling with her greatsword.
Yun Ling immediately retreated a few steps, a powerful blow slamming into the ground, creating a deep crater.
"Sister Himeko, are you serious?!" Yun Ling felt the impact; he felt Himeko wanted him dead.
However, Himeko didn't answer. The next second, her figure burst out of the dust, her greatsword slamming down towards Yun Ling.
Seeing this, Yun Ling stopped fooling around, and several thin lines appeared at his fingertips.
Himeko chased Yun Ling around, and although he looked a bit disheveled, he actually dodged perfectly every time.
"Hahaha... idiot Yun Ling is being chased and slashed by Teacher Himeko," Kiana mocked from the side.
"Why doesn't Yun Ling fight back?" Mei asked, puzzled.
Even without a sword, Yun Ling's fighting ability was definitely not bad, yet he didn't retaliate even once.
Bronya seemed to have noticed something and couldn't help but be surprised. This fighting style... was strange.
Yun Ling's fingers gently hooked.
Himeko suddenly felt a tremendous force on her hand, and the greatsword almost slipped from her grasp.
"What strange ability?" Himeko clearly hadn't seen the threads in Yun Ling's hand.
Yun Ling's fingers tightened, and this time Himeko finally saw them.
Countless threads instantly wrapped around Himeko's greatsword, which snapped in two the next second, the blade flying backward and embedding itself in the ground.
"A weapon? No, it's a thread?!"
Himeko never expected Yun Ling to use a thread as a weapon.
That thread seemed to be a very special material, possessing not only extreme toughness but also remarkable lightness and imperceptibility.
"Teacher Himeko, do you still want to fight?"
Yun Ling asked.
He had already arranged the surrounding area with threads; if he were to fight seriously, he could instantly slice Himeko into thousands of pieces.
Of course, the threads had been adjusted to be only painful, not harmful to Himeko.
"How will I know if I don't try?" Himeko charged towards Yun Ling, wielding her half-broken greatsword.
However, with a slight movement of his fingers, Yun Ling bound Himeko to threads.
If he wanted, he could even spread Himeko out in an "X" shape, and then...
Himeko's muscles tensed, and with a swing of her half-greatsword, all the threads snapped.
Yun Ling's expression was somewhat panicked as he frantically pulled at the surrounding threads, trying to stop Himeko.
Unfortunately, Himeko, unleashing her full power, could easily break the threads.
Himeko held back, directly slashing at Yun Ling with all her might.
Caught off guard, Yun Ling was blasted away by the shockwave, falling out of the arena.
The outcome was decided.
"Teacher Himeko is so strong!"
"Yun Ling is also amazing, actually managing to break Himeko-sensei's greatsword!"
The students watching below were extremely excited.
Firstly, they were amazed by Himeko's strength, and secondly, they admired Yun Ling for being able to fight her.
"Oops, I lost by accident. Teacher Himeko is really amazing; you really can't be careless at all."
Yun Ling got up from the ground, dusted himself off, and said with a regretful expression.
...