-1425- Look into my eyes

"Buzz!"

Once again, pure psychic power was released from Rozen's body, affecting the surroundings, causing the dirt to float and gather into clumps that formed into small balls of earth. These balls shot upwards like bullets.

In no time, these balls of earth ascended thousands of meters above the training ground, moving at high speed in erratic patterns.

"Try shooting them using your Clairvoyance."

Rozen said this to Rico.

"Hmph, let's see if you can really compensate for the weaknesses of the Clairvoyance passed down through the Flamel family."

Rico did not object. In fact, she was quite interested in Rozen's actions, and released the floating lens she was holding.

The lens immediately moved on its own, as if guided by an invisible hand, and floated in front of Rico's eye, attaching itself like a monocle.

"Not a bad piece of gadget, and it's designed to be quite cute too. As expected of something that will serve a goddess in the future."

Rico indulged in her narcissistic thoughts as she focused her gaze skyward.

In that moment, Rico's eyes suddenly began to shine, emitting a brilliant rainbow light.

The world before Rico's eyes changed in an instant.

First, she could see much farther.

Then, even without directly looking, she could clearly perceive everything within a few kilometers, as if all the scenes were being projected directly into her brain.

To process this sudden influx of information, Rico's brain began to operate at an accelerated pace.

Usually, at this point, Rico would start to feel a throbbing pain in her head, with her mental focus and concentration rapidly declining, eventually leading to exhaustion and dizziness.

But this time, Rico was freed from that feeling.

"Zing!"

The small runes engraved on the floating lens before Rico's eye began to glow.

The light from these runes passed through the lens, entering Rico's eye and quickly traveling to her brain.

Then, Rico's brain was enveloped in the light of the runes.

At that moment, Rico's brain was strengthened. Both her computational abilities and her nervous system's capacity were rapidly enhanced, offsetting the burden caused by Clairvoyance.

This was the effect of Virtual Aether.

Since it's the brain that processes information and data, if the burden cannot be lessened, then the brain's capacity is simply enhanced. The brain's functions are strengthened, enabling it to handle the load more easily—that's the role of the Virtual Aether.

When not used in conjunction with abilities like Mind's Eye and Clairvoyance, this item could even temporarily evolve the brain to the level of a superintelligent computer.

Of course, the item Rico was using wasn't nearly as advanced as Rozen's. His structure was incredibly complex, with vast scale, even utilizing the primordial runes—far beyond what Rico's technique could achieve.

But because of this, Rico could use it smoothly. Without Rozen's level of mastery, a more complex, intricate, and massive Virtual Aether simply couldn't be used.

Thus, Rico easily perceived every one of the earth balls thousands of meters above, tracking their erratic movements.

"I see. It does indeed feel light, without any pressure."

Rico smiled brightly, as if she had just discovered a new world.

The next moment…

"Bang bang bang bang bang...!"

Rico raised her magic rifle and began to snipe.

However, her sniping accuracy surprisingly dropped, with only one hit in several shots.

But Rico didn't seem surprised, as if she had expected this, and continued to adjust her aim, gradually improving her accuracy.

Seeing this, Rozen raised an eyebrow, then smiled slightly.

"As expected of a genius."

The further away a target is, the lower the sniping accuracy will be.

After all, too many factors affect sniping, such as air resistance, humidity, wind direction, and inertia—all of which influence the shot.

So, even with the Clairvoyance skill, Rico still needed practice to hit targets at extreme distances.

Yet this girl realized this right from the start, showing no surprise and adjusting her aim on her own, earning a few words of praise from Rozen.

Moreover, Rico quickly mastered the use of Virtual Aether, becoming proficient in its application without any reminders from Rozen. She gradually increased the speed of the item's operation, making the effects more evident.

This girl's talent was indeed exceptional, flawless in every aspect except her personality.

However, Rozen still had to remind her.

"Although the burden on your brain is gone, magic is still magic. While you're using it, your mana is also being consumed. Remember to adjust for that too—don't waste too much mana on the Virtual Aether, and save some for combat."

Rozen said this to Rico.

Even though the effect of Virtual Aether was significant, as Rozen said, it was still a magical technique driven by mana.

Given that, it was impossible to use the technique non-stop for 24 hours. It should only be used when necessary in combat.

If that wasn't the case, Rozen could use the technique all the time to peer into the past, present, and future within a minute. But aside from the issue of fairness, constantly seeing countless images of what will happen within a minute would cause a serious disorientation in time perception and sensation.

Rico seemed to have realized this too. Though she didn't respond, she consciously started to control her mana consumption.

"Good."

Rozen then turned to the final girl.

"Now it's your turn, Lecty."

Rozen addressed Lecty, who had been watching the others with admiration and envy in her eyes.

"Y-Yes...!"

Lecty stiffened immediately, responding with extreme nervousness.

Having seen what Misora and Rico had gained, Lecty was very eager to see what kind of guidance she would receive.

She was sure it would make her stronger, right?

Lecty eagerly anticipated this.

However…

"Look into my eyes."

Rozen suddenly said something without any context.

"Huh?"

Lecty was momentarily stunned, then instinctively raised her head to look into Rozen's eyes.

One glance, and Lecty couldn't look away.

The reason was simple.

"Zing..."

In Rozen's eyes, a faint light began to flicker.

Seeing this light, Lecty's expression froze, and then she became dazed as the light in her own eyes faded.

As this state took over, the timid and weak expression on Lecty's face vanished, replaced by a blank, mechanical look.

"Come."

Once again, the magic sword appeared in Rozen's hand as he addressed Lecty.

"Attack me with all your might."

Upon hearing this…

"Yes…"

Lecty responded in a cold, emotionless tone, and without hesitation, summoned her magic dual swords.

In that instant, the entire aura around Lecty changed.

It became extremely dangerous.

"Boom!"

With a heavy step, Lecty charged at Rozen with incredible speed.

In her hands, the magic dual swords cut through the air like a storm, launching countless slashes toward Rozen.