Flora’s mind raced in the gaps between her dodges.
This intensity definitely wasn’t normal. Was the puppet malfunctioning, or had the teacher adjusted it wrong?
But regardless of the cause, her dodging and reaction speed just now had been conspicuous enough. If she kept fighting, if she actually broke that puppet…
It wouldn’t just be a matter of performing well and failing to stay unnoticed at the academy; she would be displaying power that clearly didn’t belong to a “student,” which could easily arouse suspicion.
Her mind raced, and she finally made a decision.
When the next punch came, she dodged a beat too slow, as if she had no strength left.
The wind from the fist grazed her shoulder, and she stumbled sideways, staggering two steps while gasping heavily.
The puppet chased after her and threw another punch.
She raised her arm to block, but was blasted backward, crashing to the ground. Pain—her shoulder and arm ached with a burning sting.
She got up, and the puppet threw another punch.
This time she barely dodged, but she already seemed to have little strength left.
She fired an ice cone with difficulty.
The ice cone was smaller than before, shattering instantly against the puppet without leaving a single mark.
The puppet didn’t stop.
It chased her, punch after punch.
Her dodging grew slower and more strained.
Another punch grazed her waist.
She rolled aside, and when she got up, her steps were unsteady.
The puppet threw another punch.
This time she didn’t dodge.
The punch hit her shoulder, sending her flying and crashing to the ground. It hurt—it really hurt.
Although her body’s toughness was now high enough to withstand these attacks without major injury, it still hurt a lot.
She stood up, retreated to the wall, and watched the puppet charge at her again.
Hurrying, she gritted through the pain and fired an ice cone with all her remaining strength.
Just as the puppet reached her and she tried to dodge slightly, the puppet stopped instantly.
Its metal fist hung in front of her, less than half a meter away.
Flora stared at the fist, gasping.
The room fell silent.
A middle-aged man’s voice came from the side:
“Stopped? What happened?”
She turned and saw him standing at the control panel in the corner, hand pressed on a button, his expression a mix of anxiety and confusion.
The puppet’s joints creaked, then the fist slowly retracted, and the entire puppet stepped back two paces, returning to its original position, immobile.
The middle-aged man hurried over and crouched in front of Flora.
“How are you? Are you injured? Is it serious?”
Flora leaned against the wall, looking at him.
Her shoulder hurt, her waist hurt too. A small patch of skin on her arm was scraped and bleeding.
But it was fine—just superficial wounds, nothing serious.
“I’m fine,” she said.
The middle-aged man looked at her, his expression complicated. Frustration, lingering fear, and something indescribable mixed together.
“That intensity was wrong. I don’t know what happened—it looked normal when I started it, but then…”
He paused, lowering his voice.
“I don’t know how it happened. I’m really sorry—it took me a while to get it to stop. I’m glad you’re okay. I’ll compensate you later. I’m truly sorry.”
Flora was silent.
Was it his mistake? Or was there really a malfunction?
After a moment of silence, the teacher continued:
“But… I saw everything. Your reaction speed, your judgment of danger, and those ice cones hitting the same spot—you did very well. How did you do it?”
Flora looked at him. She had already decided what to say.
Then she lowered her head and looked at her scraped arm.
“I don’t know,” she said softly.
Flora’s voice was soft.
“I just… somehow my body did it instinctively. Maybe it’s from back home, when I often went into the mountains and encountered wild beasts—that’s how I trained it.”
The teacher was silent.
She quickly added:
“Then I ran out of strength, felt dizzy—and that feeling just faded away.”
The teacher was silent for several seconds, then finally nodded.
“Alright, I understand.”
He stood up.
“Rest for a while. No rush.”
He turned and walked back, then stopped after two steps and looked back.
“I’ve noted everything you did just now.”
He said:
“Reaction speed, judgment, the accuracy and consistency of your ice cones—even if your strength faltered later, the earlier part was enough.”
He paused.
“Based on your current performance, you’ll definitely do well.”
“Someone will tend to your wounds. After that, rest outside. There’s a written exam later.”
“Go out that door—it leads directly outside.”
Flora leaned against the wall, watching him walk back to the control panel, pick up a clipboard, write something, then turn and leave the room.
‘Sigh, in the end I couldn’t avoid drawing attention.’
Flora went out the door.
Outside was a stone path encircling the large building. It seemed she was at the side of the building.
Flora looked left and right and saw a group of teachers. These must be the teachers assigned to treat injuries from practical combat, as the previous teacher had mentioned.
Flora also saw some students standing ahead, receiving simple treatment. They were using healing magic and then simple bandaging. Though simple, it was enough for minor injuries.
Flora walked over and found a female teacher.
“Hello, teacher. I got a little hurt during the practical just now. Could you treat me?”
Flora said as she approached the female teacher.
“Mm, sure. Where are you hurt?”
The female teacher had noticed Flora when she approached. Looking at the pure young girl, she said gently.
“Just some scrapes on my arm. Nothing else. Just a simple treatment is fine.”
Flora extended her injured arm, revealing the small scraped wound.
The teacher treated Flora’s wound as usual. Suddenly, she looked up and studied Flora carefully.
“Little girl, you’re really pretty. Look at your arm—so fair and tender. Even I’m envious.”
She lowered her head again, speaking while casting healing magic.
“Huh?”
Flora was stunned, not expecting the teacher to say that.
“Teacher, it’s not that much. It’s really okay.”
“It’s fine, no need to be modest. Pretty is pretty.”
The teacher said with a smile.
After a few minutes, the teacher said:
“Alright, it’s done. Go over there and wait for the written exam.”
The teacher pointed to an area that looked like a sports field. Many students were lining up there, presumably waiting for the written exam.
“Mm, thank you, teacher…”
Flora glanced at the teacher, walked a few steps, then turned back.
“Teacher, what’s your name?”
“Call me Liuli. The students all call me Teacher Liuli.”
The teacher smiled.
“I hope to see you in this year’s new class!”
With that, she stopped looking at Flora.