"What...!?"
Seeing the magical radiance emanating from Rozen, the three girls present were taken aback, clearly not expecting such a development.
Especially Rico, who tried to dodge as if sensing danger.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
"Too slow."
With a seemingly slow yet swift motion, Rozen extended his magic-infused hand and drew a mysterious rune.
Seeing this, the three members of the E601 squad were stunned.
"He...he's directly inscribing with magic...!"
The three couldn't hide their shock.
In this world, Sky Wizards typically pursued practicality by using pre-made inscriptions to form spells, utilizing the runes on their magical alchemy weapons to cast magic. Unlike Rozen, who inscribed runes from thin air with magic, the three had never seen such a method before.
So, seeing this, the three couldn't help but be shaken.
At this moment, the rune Rozen had drawn turned into a stream of light, shooting out and imprinting itself on Rico.
"Ugh...!"
Rico's body immediately stiffened, unable to move.
"I...I can't move...!"
Rico gritted her teeth, trying to step forward, but she couldn't move an inch.
The rune on her body kept glowing, its magic continuously working.
"This is the Injunction Rune specifically used to restrain others' movements. As long as it's active, unless you release enough magic to dispel it or have the magic prowess to forcibly undo it, you'll be stuck standing here, unable to move at all."
Saying this, Rozen drew several more runes, sending them towards the training ground's surroundings, embedding them into the ground.
In the next moment, the ground trembled and rose, creating small mounds around the training ground.
Soon, these mounds formed into giant insects resembling flies.
Those were...
"Armored Beetles...!"
Lecty covered her mouth.
But she was slightly mistaken.
"These are clay golems created to mimic Armored Beetles using magic. Their behavior is simple: they just charge at their enemies."
Rozen smiled at Rico.
"Your task now is to use your magic gun to shoot down all these golems heading your way, preventing them from getting close."
After saying this, Rozen gave Rico no chance to object and spoke directly.
"You can choose not to shoot them down, but once they reach you, they'll cover you in extremely sticky mud. Then, a certain beautiful goddess will have to endure the laughter and ridicule of passersby on her way home."
Hearing this, Rico's expression immediately changed.
If people mocked her abilities and actions, Rico could brush it off. But if they ridiculed her cherished beauty, she absolutely couldn't tolerate it.
"D...Despicable...!"
Even Rico couldn't help but shout out.
But Rozen wanted to say...
"Didn't you say you didn't want to do sweaty training? So I'll let you stand still and shoot. Isn't this much easier?"
Rozen said with an innocent look, making Rico grit her teeth in frustration.
At this moment, Rozen turned to Misora.
"What...what are you doing?"
Misora immediately tensed up when Rozen looked at her.
"Nothing much."
Rozen showed a friendly expression.
"Just that you'll also need to fight a golem."
Behind Rozen, the ground rose again, forming another golem.
However, this golem didn't take the form of an Armored Beetle.
"This...this is me...!?"
Misora exclaimed.
Indeed.
The golem in front of Misora was shaped exactly like her, almost identical, except for its earthen appearance and expressionless face, making it a complete mud figure.
"Your opponent is her. Like Rico, if she touches you, you'll be covered in mud that's hard to clean off. So, you better take care of it."
Rozen's words made Misora's face turn pale.
As for Lecty...
"Your opponent is me."
Rozen looked at Lecty, his eyes flashing slightly and a smile forming on his lips.
"I'll personally be your opponent."
Hearing this, Lecty, who had been stunned by the sudden turn of events, finally reacted.
"W-What!?"
The next second, Lecty cried out in surprise.
"Alright, get ready."
Rozen gave no one a chance to hesitate, issuing a direct order.
"If you don't start moving, you'll be the ones to suffer."
As soon as his words fell, all the golems, except Rozen himself, began to move.
The Armored Beetle golems spread their wings and flew towards Rico.
Misora's golem also raised its head, flying towards her.
Seeing this, Misora and Rico's expressions changed repeatedly.
Both realized Rozen was serious.
"Who...who will lose to a golem...!?"
Misora fiercely extended her hand.
On her hand, a ring with a small gem embedded in it stood out.
"Armor!"
With a brief chant, the ring in Misora's hand emitted a red light, enveloping her body.
When the light faded, her uniform was gone, replaced by a light combat suit.
This suit, inscribed with runes, could deploy powerful magic barriers to resist attacks and reduce damage.
Sky Wizards equipped such suits for combat; otherwise, a human body would be severely injured from attacks.
In the past, Sky Wizards' combat suits had weaker barrier functions, no damage reduction, and had to be manually equipped, which was quite troublesome.
However, after Rozen joined the Alchemist Division, he modified the suit's inscriptions, greatly enhancing its effectiveness, boosting its protection several times over.
Then...
"Weapon!"
Misora chanted another new spell.
This time, the red light shot up from her ring like a pillar of light.
Within the light pillar, a large sword with a silver body and a revolver-like cylinder on the hilt appeared, landing in Misora's hand.
This was the magic cannon sword Misora used—Radgrid.
The magic alchemy weapon and combat suit were equipped in an instant, accompanied by two brief spells.
All thanks to the effect of Misora's ring—Wizard's Jewel Box.
This ring, with runes inscribed on its gem, could store magical alchemy weapons.
And like the combat suit, the ring's inscriptions had been improved by Rozen, allowing it to store both alchemy weapons and Sky Wizards' combat suits, enabling quick equipping with a single short spell.
Thanks to this, Sky Wizards could arm themselves in time even in unexpected situations, ready to fight.
This technology had now been widely adopted, showcasing part of the impact Rozen had on this world.
"Armor! Weapon!"
In the next moment, Rico also armed herself.
And so, the battle began.