A girl

Alex was taken aback by this unexpected situation, but no more than the beautiful feminine voice he unintentionally heard. He turned his head back and began to examine her body, scrutinizing the curves hidden by the wide coat.

"She's definitely a girl, a girl who broke a shared magical barrier with her bare hands... This is unprecedented."

There is a term known as "soft hand" which refers to combat skills tailored for women, given their body's nature and the Yin energy that distinguishes them. No girl aspires to have rough skin and bulging muscles. Despite not having a massive or muscular body, she clearly isn't possessing "soft hand" skills. She shattered a shared magical barrier, the girl with the braid, murmuring incomprehensible words. The supervisor asked her, "Do you want to say something?"

It seems something was bothering the girl, and her anger reached its peak. She started stomping the ground repeatedly with her foot before bursting out, "Wizards, wizards, damn all the wizards! Curse all the wizards! Scoundrels, pay to break the seal, pay to cross the barrier, pay, pay, pay!"

She turned towards Alex, continuing her shouting, "Of course, you didn't pay anything, while I was smashing my hand against the barrier. Most likely, you read something in your language and passed through, and a bunch of cowardly deceivers."

While the girl complained audibly, the supervisor shook his head in agreement, seemingly having his own issues with wizards. Alex gave a half-eyed glance and gestured towards him.

"The young man here flew over the barrier using a flying steed, without consuming even a drop of mana. Can you believe that?"

"Impossible, you're worse than wizards, so how could you do something like this... Damn it, why didn't I think of that? And now, what do we do after losing the prize?"

The first-place prize was medicinal pills, and it seems the girl was determined to get them. She used all her energy to forcibly break the magical barrier. However, all her hopes were dashed because of this guy who cheated the system. The girl continued to stomp the ground with her foot in frustration before sighing and taking a deep breath.

"Alright, he's a man. If you were kind to him and flattered him, he might agree to sell me the Clarity Pill... Silence for a moment... Damn it, was I speaking audibly again?"

Both Alex and the supervisor nodded in agreement. The girl resumed her hysterical foot stomping while speaking incoherently.

The supervisor turned his head towards Alex and whispered, "What we're seeing now is completely different from the monster in the braid walking amidst the barrier debris."

Alex replied, "Honestly, I'm curious. Any sort of kindness and flattery would make me forget the torrent of insults I've endured."

Alex smiled and called out to the girl, "I'm a person who loves praise. Show me your kindness, let's see how persuasive you can be. Come on, try to convince me, I might sell you the Clarity Pill."

Hearing this, the girl stopped her foot stomping under the braid covering her features, revealing a forced smile. She started speaking hesitantly, "S-sir... handsome... I hope... please..."

"Wait a moment. I can't believe I'm saying this, but even Steve's confession was better than this, and Steve is at least a man. Remove the braid," hearing this, she tightened the braid securely and took a step back.

"I'm sorry about what I said. Please forgive me for my outburst and hurtful words. I lose control when I get angry, and I'm not good at communicating with others. I apologize for my words, and I have no right to judge you."

Alex smiled, realizing that she didn't mean what she was saying. It seemed she desperately needed the Clarity Pill, even smashing the barrier to get here. He responded, "It's okay, take it easy. We can still reach an agreement."

After the barrier was shattered, the participants from different groups gathered, some of the girls paused to watch from a distance. One of them winked at her companions, saying, "Look at the tough girl talking to a guy."

"I bet he'll run away if he sees what's under that braid."

"I bet he'll puke first. Notice that?"

The auburn-haired girl in the green dress smiled mischievously and twirled the gem on her ring, causing a magical circle to appear in front of her. A gust of wind blew towards Alex and the girl, causing the braid to lift and revealing short pink hair in a boyish style. There were severe burn scars on her neck and cheeks.

The sorceress who had blown the wind placed her hand over her mouth and said, "Oops, I just wanted to greet the pink girl. But I overdid it unintentionally."

The auburn-haired girl in the green dress raised her hands, feigning innocence as she spoke, while her pink-haired friend clenched her teeth and tightened her grip, stepping back.

"I like your hairstyle. But if you make it longer, you'll definitely look prettier."

The girl in the green dress and her two companions froze in their tracks. Their intention was to make the guy run away after seeing her disfigurement, but instead, he complimented her, and he continued to talk to her casually.

"I'm okay with giving you the Clarity Pill. I told you, you should've removed the braid from the beginning."

"What's the catch?" the girl asked.

"You'll owe me a service, nothing too difficult." The girl nodded in agreement, covered her head, and hurried away. It was clear she was trying to avoid the other girls, especially the auburn-haired one in the green dress, who called after her, "Pink girl, where are you going?"

When the girl didn't respond, the auburn-haired girl turned to her companions and spoke mockingly, "Looks like the pink girl found a friend. No normal person wouldn't be disgusted by her appearance. But there are always some eccentric and deviant people who are attracted to what others find repulsive."

Alex raised an eyebrow at the auburn-haired girl's comment, who had never seen her before. She targeted him with her mockery. A small smile formed on his face as he moved towards her. The other girls, who were whispering and laughing, fell silent all at once. The atmosphere around them shifted; he felt like a beast lurking among them.

Without saying a word, Alex summoned his ethereal sword and unleashed lightning bolts. The girls froze in place. No one had expected someone to dare wield an ethereal sword in the institute.

The auburn-haired girl in the green dress gathered her thoughts and touched the gem on her magical ring. A magical circle appeared on the ground, and a gushing water fountain burst forth. The water rose, forming a transparent water dragon. The water dragon roared, its mouth opening towards Alex. Naturally, lightning and water don't mix well, and he had used a similar trick before.

"Good thinking, but you're a bit slow," a terrifying voice came from behind her. In the moment her water attack was executed, Alex had summoned a teleportation circle from his ring and instantly transferred himself. Before she could react, he yanked her hair forcefully and threw her to the ground.

*Aaaaah*

The scream that followed was one of anger more than pain. The girl quickly got up, her eyes red with fury.

"Behind you!" one of her companions yelled, but before she could turn, she felt someone's breath behind her.

"Slow..."

He grabbed her hair again, pulling even harder this time, and tossed her towards her companions. Then he shook his hands, dislodging her hair from his grip.

*Aaaaah*

She screamed again, but this time tears were in her eyes as she looked at the fallen strands of her hair.

"You scoundrel, just because you wield an ethereal weapon, you bully us."

"Hah, I didn't even use it. And look at you, complaining. What do you think of this then?"

Alex released an aura of his powerful soul, causing their bodies to shiver, and penetrated the spiritual domains of all three of them simultaneously. Feeling pressure from someone stronger in a higher realm was understandable, but to be done by someone from the same training world and a lower level, was something their minds couldn't grasp. The weakest of the three girls was at the fifth level of the Body Realm and Jin in the fourth, hence they had dared to mock him. However, they now understood the consequences of messing with the wrong person.