According to the original plot, at this point the great heroine Ling Xiang could summon at most three clumsy dogs, forming the Three-Dog Slaying God Formation, enough to sweep through mages her age.
But now she can actually summon eight Black Dogs at once?
What kind of concept is that?
Well… I really don’t know.
Because in the original plot, Ling Xiang had never summoned that many Black Dogs from start to finish.
By this point, she would have been about to obtain a new summon beast.
Even though the three sisters had raised Ling Xiang to be a coward, her magical skill was actually that much stronger than the original plot’s great heroine?
“If we don’t work harder to strengthen ourselves, we might get left behind by her,” Laige Fuling said calmly.
“You don’t need to tell me that,” Laige Caicai snorted.
“Big Sister, what’s the name of this staff?”
Laige Yulian asked.
“It doesn’t have a name. The boss found it from who knows where—an ancient staff. Maybe he dug it up from a tomb,” Laige Caicai replied.
“Give it a name. It’ll be good luck,” Laige Yulian said with a smile.
“Hmm…”
Laige Caicai agreed, but suddenly realized there was a trap in the question.
If she named it something too otaku, it might expose her identity as a transmigrator.
And I, Caicai, have already figured it out: since there’s a possibility of exposing my transmigrator identity, that can only mean there are other transmigrators around.
Who else would I be exposing it to?
Laige Yulian is the most suspicious, and now she’s the one asking me to name it—it might be a test.
Laige Fuling, Laige Lingxiang, and even Lu Xiya are also suspicious, but they don’t have many flaws.
But Yulian is always grinning and laughing.
The most common character setting for a transmigrator is an optimist.
I have to come up with a weapon name that fits the world’s setting.
“Hollow Bone,” Laige Caicai said quietly, struck by inspiration.
“Uh… if you like it, that’s fine.”
Laige Yulian was speechless and couldn’t think of a way to roast her.
“I’m going back. I can’t cultivate when I’m with you all.”
“Hmph. Setting up an illusion barrier—anyone would think you’re researching a nuke,” Laige Caicai taunted.
“Just wait and see. I’ll make you stab your own butt with an air knife sooner or later.”
With that, Laige Yulian stole a bottle of sugary drink from the mini-fridge, then left the small villa and went back to her own place.
After the Second Sister left, Laige Fuling said calmly, “Big Sister, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“Go ahead.”
Laige Caicai also got up to grab a sugary drink.
“I hope you can help me collect some spell documents related to Illusory Weapons,” Laige Fuling said.
“Can I ask why?”
Laige Caicai asked.
“I’m in the same bind as you. My spells have no offensive power. That won’t work in the long run. I need to learn some damage-type spells. Illusory Weapons and my Void Shield are both Creation System spells—she specializes in offense, while I specialize in defense,” Laige Fuling explained.
“Alright. I’m free anyway these days.”
Laige Caicai nodded.
“Thank you, Big Sister.”
Laige Fuling expressed her gratitude.
“Don’t mention it. We’re family.”
Laige Caicai waved her hand.
“If you ever need help with anything, I’ll go through fire and water without hesitation.”
Laige Fuling packed up her materials, stood up, and said her goodbyes.
Laige Caicai found it amusing.
The way the Third Sister talked didn’t sound like an ordinary high school girl at all.
Her choice of words and thought process often carried a maturity and insight beyond her age.
It always felt like she might be a transmigrator too.
But Laige Caicai never imagined that the “fire and water” matter would come so soon.
For the next several days, all the sisters entered their respective magical advancement training.
The Third Sister, Fuling, had already taken Laige Lingxiang into actual combat drills, treating the great heroine as her personal punching bag.
Since the Field Operations Department didn’t need daily check-ins anyway, they booked a magic training room and conducted spell offense-and-defense training.
Actually, no—Laige Fuling herself was the punching bag, and Ling Xiang was the boxer, having the Black Dogs bite at the Void Shield.
This effectively trained Ling Xiang’s coordination and control over her summoned beasts.
Through repeated practice, she gradually improved the cooperation ability of her summons and significantly strengthened the fine control needed for multi-line operations.
Meanwhile, Fuling focused on reinforcing the defensive performance of her own Void Shield, stabilizing and enhancing her protection through targeted training.
“What kind of tactic is that? You’re really disappointing me.”
Whenever a system quest popped up, Laige Fuling would use a bit more force to crush Laige Lingxiang’s summoned beasts, ram them with her Void Shield until they rolled on the ground, and throw out a few harsh words.
The quest was easily completed.
From this, it was evident that Laige Fuling’s spells weren’t completely without offensive power.
She still had a move called Magic Shield Bash.
She could suddenly thrust her Void Shield forward, though the attack range was only about a meter, and the power was pretty average.
“Cough, sorry. I’m just too incompetent.”
Ling Xiang didn’t feel any problem even after being hit.
She didn’t accumulate any Hatred Value at all.
Instead, she felt that the Third Sister was training her strictly.
Every day, she ended up sore all over, but she was still happy and satisfied.
When she woke up, she was fully recovered and would pester the Third Sister for more training, only to be knocked rolling on the ground again.
Her days were truly fulfilling.
…
On the other side, Yulian wasn’t having such a good time.
Every day she was like a rat on the run.
Without her sisters around to help, she went to school in constant fear of retaliation from the Third Princess’ Vice President.
Thankfully, the Student Council didn’t require daily check-ins either, so her days were still relatively safe.
And one more thing: there was an old acquaintance in the Student Council—Little Freckle.
She was actually a member of the Student Council too, but after what happened last time, she’d been demoted to a marginal position, a recordkeeper doing hard labor all day.
Of course, Laige Yulian had to look after her old friend when she came to the Student Council.
She recruited Little Freckle directly into her own ranks.
After all, Yulian held a cadre position in the Student Council, even if she had no actual authority or responsibilities.
Little Freckle could become Yulian’s eyes and ears in the Student Council, gathering the latest news and sending it to her.
And Laige Yulian would protect Little Freckle from having to do any more grunt work.
The Student Council didn’t seem to have many people on the surface, but internally it was a jungle of factions, each scrambling for power, since various magic families stood behind them.
…
Finally, there was Big Sister Caicai.
After being attacked by a criminal Esper, Laige Caicai was forbidden from patrolling outside.
She could only patrol within the safe campus.
But what was there to patrol on campus?
This was basically indirect house arrest.
Lu Xiya was assigned to monitor Laige Caicai, making sure she didn’t leave the academy or cause any trouble.
If anything happened to a mage, the Internal Affairs Department couldn’t take the responsibility.
Of course, Laige Caicai wasn’t about to obediently patrol.
Instead, she dragged Lu Xiya to an abandoned club hut in the grove to slack off.