"Mage League? Us?"

Both Hilia and the other girls looked at Blake in astonishment.

Encore said, "Principal, we are only at Tier Two right now. Even if we manage to advance to Tier Three by July, I doubt we can compete with those mages who have been at Tier Three for many years."

Benovia added, "As far as I know, many Tier Three mages intentionally stayed at Tier Three, continuously accumulating power to achieve this honor. Besides the magic skills they already have, they also learned many additional spells and refined them to a mastery, even micro level."

Blake chuckled, "It seems you have done your homework, so that’s good. I think with your progress, getting into the top three in the team competition won’t be a problem, and maybe you can aim for first place."

"Winning first place seems quite challenging..." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Challenging, yes, but there’s no need to be afraid. Since the first Mage League, only a few who deliberately lingered in Tier Three have won the championship; typically, it’s seized by the youthful, talented mages of the time."

Hilia asked, "Principal, can we participate in both the team competition and the individual competition?"

Blake looked at Hilia and praised her, "See, you should have thoughts like Hilia. However, I wouldn’t recommend participating in both. The schedule for the individual and team competitions is the same; they happen concurrently. After the team competition, you’d be unable to replenish your Magic Power for the individual competition, which could lead to elimination."

Blake paused, smiled, and said, "The rewards for the team competition are more substantial. The rewards in the individual competition are also included in the team competition, though the team competition has special rewards that the individual competition doesn’t offer. Nowadays, many ruins exploration require team exploration, so the Mage League encourages teamwork."

"I see, what a pity." Hilia said regretfully.

Recalling the rewards she had seen, Hilia found that the precious rewards offered in the individual competition were indeed included in the team competition, and each year, the team competition had a special reward, disclosed only after the competition began.

Looking at it this way, simply participating in the team competition would suffice.

"So, what’s your plan?"

Blake looked at the group.

The others remained silent, all eyes instinctively turned to Hilia.

Hilia: "?"

Why look at me? Can I really make decisions for you all?

Blake said, "If you decide to participate, during the next month, you’ll have special training during your meditation classes and after school in the afternoons. Before May, this training will help you quickly accumulate Magic Power, pushing you to the limits of Tier Two and ensure a smooth advance. In the subsequent two months, specialized training on teamwork will be conducted until the competition begins."

"Do we need to participate in the school’s selection?" Hilia asked.

"No, you’ll compete as the school’s seed team."

The girls felt the pressure mounting.

Leading the charge, Hilia said, "I have no objections, I’d like to participate."

The others: "I have no objection either."

"Great, let’s start tomorrow. I’ll notify your instructors shortly, and tomorrow morning, come to me. I’ll take you to a special meditation room."

Thus, it was settled.

On the way back to the dormitory, carrying Gold Coins and materials temporarily stored at the Lost Lighthouse school, Hilia asked Rose, "Master Rose, will the school’s special training affect the targets you’ve set for me?"

Rose replied, "Yes, but you’re already more than halfway there, so it’s not much affected. The school is providing a meditation room to you that will help you reach the Tier Two Magic Power limit faster. However, because of this, the refinement of your Magic Power will decline. You’ll need to purchase a bathtub or something using the Gold Coins from the school, and continue buying herbs to take baths, synchronizing the refinement of your Magic Power with its concentration."

"Alright."

Holding one thousand Gold Coins, Hilia felt confident.

...

The next morning.

Hilia arrived at Blake’s office on time.

Other Holy Daughter candidates arrived successively.

After everyone gathered, Blake led them out of the office directly to the outside of the Forbidden Forest. After greeting the guardian of the Forbidden Forest, Oston, they entered directly.

As they walked, Blake said, "We’re heading to the Meditation Room of Serenity within the Forbidden Forest, located on the top floor of the Gentle Tower. From now on, you’ll meditate there for two hours every day. There will be a reminder when the time is up, after which you’ll attend classes."

Shortly, they reached the Gentle Tower at the east side of the Forbidden Forest, northeast of the school. At the tower’s entrance, Blake said, "Give me your student badges; I’ll grant you access."

Hilia handed over her badge, and after Blake’s operation, access rights were successfully recorded.

Soon they reached the top floor of the Gentle Tower.

The space here was neither too large nor too small, equipped with arrays to assist meditation. Six positions around the room emitted incense, and one could see the outside scenery through floor-to-ceiling windows.

Unfortunately, there was no sunshine today, or they might have seen a beautiful sunrise.

Blake pointed at five cushions in the room and said, "In the next two months, you’ll meditate here for five hours every morning and evening. If you wish to increase your meditation time, you can apply to me, but I don’t recommend it.

"The room gathers Magic Power from the entire Holy Beast Forbidden Forest, and its concentration is high. Each of you has your own meditation skill, so Magic Power absorption is efficient. Over-absorbing might slow down your progress due to the decline of Magic Power refinement."

Everyone nodded.

"Alright, choose a position and start meditating. Before May, I hope to see you all reach the Tier Two limit, completing the ascension to the Divine Realm."

After speaking, Blake left the room to Hilia and others.

Once he departed, Hilia chose a cushion by the window and began meditating.

Immediately, she felt a surge of Magic Power, about five times the usual amount, rushing into her body.

The overwhelming Magic Power surprised her, prompting her to quickly focus on integrating and absorbing it.

As she absorbed the Magic Power, her refinement visibly began to drop.

After two hours of meditation, her refinement dropped directly to 100.5%. By the afternoon, after another session, it would decrease approximately by 1% daily.

"No wonder Master Rose told me to continue taking baths," Hilia thought.

The subsequent days remained largely unchanged, except for increased interaction opportunities with the other Holy Daughter candidates, although they remained focused and engaged in meditation with little exchange.

Unaware, it seemed they were all racing against time, trying to be the first to reach the Magic Power level necessary to enter the Divine Realm.

Until the weekend, while practicing magic skills in the activity zone, Hilia heard Rose’s chuckling voice.

"The real show is about to start."

Before Hilia could respond, Mier’s voice came.

"Hilia, something’s wrong, Anarce... she’s in trouble again."

Hilia: "?"