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Last chapter put us over 300K words, we reached 1.2 Mil views, and we're now at 4K collections!

Thank you all, and I didn't even notice that I had written THAT much lol!

According to a quick search online, the average novel is 80K words…

So I've written enough for around 3 novels, all in the last ~6 months? Which is insane; not even including all the other novels I have out as well…

Anyways, just thought that was interesting, but here's another chapter for today!

—

"…No, that was unneeded for this spell, remember? You already have a shape rune, so you don't need a second one."

Anput nodded as she restarted her sequence, leaving out the rune for cylindrical shape before continuing on.

Her brow was furrowed as I guided her through the sequence, telling her which was needed and which could be dropped.

While she was a good learner, she was rather…

Annoying to teach.

She made many mistakes; ones that I thought were incredibly simple as well…

Besides that, she also seemed to forget some of the things I had previously told her, as she re added yet another unnecessary rune to her sequence.

Sighing, I shook my head, making the Jackalkin pout before restarting yet again.

However, watching her childish enjoyment at finally reaching the correct answer was rather enjoyable, and I had a small smile on my face as she giggled, her eyes wide as she tossed the metal ball into the air.

We both watched as the metallic surface rippled, like a pond that just had a stone thrown into it.

The metal sphere slowly shifted shapes into a long spear, the tip flared out into a long, lethal point.

Flicking her wrist forwards, Anput 'threw' the spear into the ground, the long silvery metal sinking deep into the black sand floor.

Anput's eyes were wide as she stared at the spear, before a giant grin split her features.

Jumping over to me, Anput wrapped me in a tight hug, rocking her body back and forth as she held me.

I blushed as the Jackalkin embraced me, her citrus scent entering my nose.

Returning her hug, I then heard a cough behind me, and we both turned to see Jahi and Kat staring at us, the two women holding in laughs as they gestured towards the center of the field.

Professor Thorn stood there, scratching his cheek as he stared sheepishly at us, and he said "Uh, hate to interrupt you two, but uh… Leone, you're up next..?"

Anput and I released one another, the Jackalkin blushing furiously as she moved to hide behind Jahi.

As for me, I too turned crimson as I meekly approached the center of the field, where an equally awkward looking Harpy girl stood, her feathered arms denoting her ethnicity.

When I walked away, I heard the metal spear Anput had made revert to its sphere form, flying back towards the Jackalkin who swiftly palmed it away, in a terrible attempt to hide it.

Gulping, I gave the Harpy a curt nod before raising my sword, prepared to meet her in this fight.

~~~

Kat PoV

Anput was hiding behind Jahi, the large Demoness smirking as she watched Leone raise her sword against Giana Cryms, the Harpy girl holding a dagger in her hands.

Unlike what I had expected, her arms were speckled with feathers, but they weren't wings.

However, she did have bird feet, the thin calves sloping down into three long, sharp talons that pointed towards us while a fourth, smaller talon dug into the ground in the opposite direction.

Watching as Anput grabbed that metal sphere she had been tinkering with, I glanced at the Jackalkin before asking her "Did you finally finish tweaking that spell from this morning?"

Her embarrassment washed away, and the Jackalkin nodded as she quickly approached me, holding out her hands to show me the sphere.

"Yes! Leone helped me improve the spell as well; now I can do this!"

She tossed it into the air again, and it turned from a sphere into a long crescent blade, which she controlled with wobbly movements.

Nodding at her, I glanced back at Leone, who was struggling against the slippery Harpy, Giana managing to slide underneath Leone's swing and stab her dagger towards the Vampire's ample chest.

However, Leone had improved somewhat over the last month or so, and she managed to jump backwards and disengage, giving herself a moment to adjust her strategy.

Anput reverted her blade back into the sphere, before dissolving it completely.

"She's doing better now… still rough, and rather sloppy, but better."

Jahi nodded, her eyes glued to Leone's figure as she slid away from the Harpy again.

"Leone isn't quick, nor is she strong, but…"

Watching as the Vampire managed to block a stab with a thrust of her own, we all nodded as Jahi said "Our resident Vampire using precise movements, and does so with a frightening efficiency. I don't know if I could mirror that right there; not with that confidence."

Observing Leone's movements, I added "Her footwork is also pretty impressive, it's just…"

We all sighed as she stumbled over a stone, resulting in Giana landing a solid blow on Leone's forearm.

Gritting her teeth, Leone sent another brutal thrust towards the Harpy, who just slipped under it before rolling away from another down swing.

"She can be rather… unaware of her imminent surroundings, and she also has just that going for her; faced with someone with lots of power or good speed, and-"

Giana let out a low shout before launching herself forwards, surprising Leone as she suddenly found a feathered woman in her face, the dagger slamming into her ribs.

Coughing a few times, Leone stumbled backwards, before freezing up when Giana laid the blade across her throat.

Both were panting, but Giana had a proud look in her multicolored eyes as she stood across from Leone, her back straight as she looked around.

Her plumage was flaring slightly, like she was some kind of peacock showing off her fiery red feathers.

However, she wasn't turning that pride into arrogance or something equally insufferable; she wasn't rubbing it into Leone's face, but rather placing that pride in her skill to be able to win.

In our current class, she was among the faster; only Jillian and I were arguably faster, while Anput, Jahi, and Greselda were on another level.

So, she had reason to be proud of her own abilities, and after Thorn gave the two a nod Giana lowered her blade, bowing deeply to Leone.

"I apologize Princess, but this was a spar in the class; I hope you don't hold it against me."

Seeing her humbleness afterwards, Leone took another gulp of air before giving the girl a smile, resting her hand on her shoulder as she said "Of course not; everyone at the Academy is equal. Besides, you taught me about myself as well, so thank you, Miss Cryms!"

The Harpy stood up straight, her eyes wide as she nodded profusely to Leone.

"N-No, thank you Princess! I uh… I'll be going now!"

Swiftly turning around, the Harpy scurried away into the crowd, leaving a flabbergasted Leone standing in the center.

After a few more moments she returned to us, her expression confused as she asked "Did I say something wrong?"

Jahi chuckled as she shook her head, saying "Nope, just one of your loyal subjects being awestruck that you not only knew who she was but that you were nice to her as well~!"

Leone pursed her lips as she glanced back towards the group, where Giana was grinning as she talked to another Harpy.

"Huh…"