Outside the squad building, on the street leading to the training ground.
At this moment, under Rozen's lead, the girls belonging to Team E601 were walking here.
Around them, students were chatting and laughing as they walked by. When they approached Rozen and his group, they were first stunned, then surprised.
"Isn't that Rozen-senpai?"
"Rozen-senpai is actually coming to the squad building?"
"Is he planning to return to squad activities and not transfer to the Alchemist Division?"
"But why is he with those people?"
"Aren't those the three from the F-rank squad?"
"What is this...?"
The surrounding students whispered among themselves, astonished and puzzled, causing many to stop in their tracks, forming a state as if they were escorting Rozen and his group forward.
In response, Rozen said nothing and just walked on.
As for Misora, Lecty, and Rico, they were weighed down by the surrounding gossip and pointing fingers.
"Misora..."
Lecty hid behind Misora, not daring to expose herself to everyone's view.
"Do... don't worry, Lecty. Those guys are just jealous of us. Stay strong."
Misora quickly comforted Lecty, but her expression and words were somewhat forced.
Being a squad that often lost battles, Team E601 had long been subjected to others' mockery and contempt. Normally, they were used to it, but today's situation was worse than before.
Others were no longer giving them mocking and contemptuous looks but rather surprised and suspicious ones, making the members of Team E601 feel even more uncomfortable.
Even Rico clicked her tongue and spoke up.
"They dare ignore me, a goddess, and focus on that man. These commoners in Mistgun truly have no taste."
Rico expressed her displeasure in her usual manner.
Normally, when Rico walked down the street, she would also attract strange looks, even though she was indeed outstandingly beautiful. However, her unappealing personality had long made her the subject of others' scorn.
At that time, Rico could still regard others' looks as jealous ones, at least their eyes were on her.
But now, everyone's gaze was on Rozen, naturally making Rico feel uncomfortable.
However, the reactions of the surrounding people also told the three girls a reality.
That was...
"That 'Hero of Humanity' really came to be our instructor..."
The same thought arose simultaneously in the hearts of the three girls.
Clearly, even after their previous interactions and introductions, the three girls still found it hard to feel a sense of reality.
On one side was the most popular and powerful hero in Mistgun and the Floating City Alliance.
On the other side was the weakest and most problematic squad in Mistgun.
The disparity between the two was too great.
As a result, it was difficult to grasp the reality that the former had become the instructor of the latter.
But no matter what, Rozen indeed had a bit of interest in these three girls.
So...
"Alright, let's stop here."
After arriving at the training ground, Rozen stopped.
"Which training ground is this?"
"Why... why is there no one here?"
"I've never seen such a spacious training ground."
Misora, Lecty, and Rico looked around.
Now was the time for afternoon practical training courses. Normally, the training grounds in Mistgun would be filled with squads of Sky Wizards training.
However, in this open-air training ground, there was not a single person, and it was much more spacious than other training grounds, which surprised the members of Team E601.
To this...
"This is my exclusive training ground. The authority over this training ground has long been given to me. Others cannot enter without my permission, not even the members of Special Task Force S128. So, you are the second squad to enter here, aside from the Special Task Force."
Rozen said with a smile.
"An... an exclusive training ground...!?"
The three members of Team E601 were speechless.
"I... I've never heard of any squad having an exclusive training ground!"
Misora shouted in surprise.
"A... Amazing..."
Lecty looked at Rozen with eyes of admiration.
Only Rico frowned and spoke.
"You brought us to the training ground. You don't mean to have us train here, do you?"
Rico asked this question.
"What? Is there a problem?"
Rozen was curious.
"Of course, there's a problem," Rico said without hesitation, "Why should I, a goddess, sweat and train? Sweating and enduring harsh training isn't something I should be doing, right?"
This woman said such incorrigible words with her usual righteous expression.
"You're saying that again, Rico." Misora angrily said to Rico, "Every time we ask you to participate in the squad's training, you use this excuse to escape. I can't believe you're still saying that now!"
It seemed this was not the first time Rico had said this.
"Ri... Rico." Lecty also weakly said, "You... you can't do that. If you don't work hard, you can't become stronger."
Lecty tried to persuade Rico.
But Rico was indifferent.
"That's for you. I'm a goddess. I'm already strong. I don't need this barbaric training."
Rico flatly refused everyone's persuasion.
"You...!"
"No... don't fight, Misora!"
Misora wanted to do something to Rico immediately but was hurriedly stopped by the flustered Lecty.
As for Rico, she stood there calmly, ignoring Misora and Lecty, her gaze fixed on Rozen.
Seeing this, Rozen met Rico's gaze.
Then...
"I see, you don't like sweaty training?" Rozen nodded in understanding and said, "Indeed, I also hate sweaty training. I used to avoid physical training as much as possible and sometimes didn't participate at all. I can understand your thoughts."
Upon hearing this, Misora and Lecty were stunned.
Rico also froze for a moment and then spoke lightly.
"Since that's the case, then..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Rozen interrupted her.
"Since that's the case, I'll have you do a different kind of training."
As soon as the words fell...
"Zing!"
On Rozen's body, the brilliance of magic began to shine.
"What...!?"
Seeing the magical radiance emanating from Rozen, the three girls present were taken aback, clearly not expecting such a development.
Especially Rico, who tried to dodge as if sensing danger.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
"Too slow."
With a seemingly slow yet swift motion, Rozen extended his magic-infused hand and drew a mysterious rune.
Seeing this, the three members of the E601 squad were stunned.
"He...he's directly inscribing with magic...!"
The three couldn't hide their shock.
In this world, Sky Wizards typically pursued practicality by using pre-made inscriptions to form spells, utilizing the runes on their magical alchemy weapons to cast magic. Unlike Rozen, who inscribed runes from thin air with magic, the three had never seen such a method before.
So, seeing this, the three couldn't help but be shaken.
At this moment, the rune Rozen had drawn turned into a stream of light, shooting out and imprinting itself on Rico.
"Ugh...!"
Rico's body immediately stiffened, unable to move.
"I...I can't move...!"
Rico gritted her teeth, trying to step forward, but she couldn't move an inch.
The rune on her body kept glowing, its magic continuously working.
"This is the Injunction Rune specifically used to restrain others' movements. As long as it's active, unless you release enough magic to dispel it or have the magic prowess to forcibly undo it, you'll be stuck standing here, unable to move at all."
Saying this, Rozen drew several more runes, sending them towards the training ground's surroundings, embedding them into the ground.
In the next moment, the ground trembled and rose, creating small mounds around the training ground.
Soon, these mounds formed into giant insects resembling flies.
Those were...
"Armored Beetles...!"
Lecty covered her mouth.
But she was slightly mistaken.
"These are clay golems created to mimic Armored Beetles using magic. Their behavior is simple: they just charge at their enemies."
Rozen smiled at Rico.
"Your task now is to use your magic gun to shoot down all these golems heading your way, preventing them from getting close."
After saying this, Rozen gave Rico no chance to object and spoke directly.
"You can choose not to shoot them down, but once they reach you, they'll cover you in extremely sticky mud. Then, a certain beautiful goddess will have to endure the laughter and ridicule of passersby on her way home."
Hearing this, Rico's expression immediately changed.
If people mocked her abilities and actions, Rico could brush it off. But if they ridiculed her cherished beauty, she absolutely couldn't tolerate it.
"D...Despicable...!"
Even Rico couldn't help but shout out.
But Rozen wanted to say...
"Didn't you say you didn't want to do sweaty training? So I'll let you stand still and shoot. Isn't this much easier?"
Rozen said with an innocent look, making Rico grit her teeth in frustration.
At this moment, Rozen turned to Misora.
"What...what are you doing?"
Misora immediately tensed up when Rozen looked at her.
"Nothing much."
Rozen showed a friendly expression.
"Just that you'll also need to fight a golem."
Behind Rozen, the ground rose again, forming another golem.
However, this golem didn't take the form of an Armored Beetle.
"This...this is me...!?"
Misora exclaimed.
Indeed.
The golem in front of Misora was shaped exactly like her, almost identical, except for its earthen appearance and expressionless face, making it a complete mud figure.
"Your opponent is her. Like Rico, if she touches you, you'll be covered in mud that's hard to clean off. So, you better take care of it."
Rozen's words made Misora's face turn pale.
As for Lecty...
"Your opponent is me."
Rozen looked at Lecty, his eyes flashing slightly and a smile forming on his lips.
"I'll personally be your opponent."
Hearing this, Lecty, who had been stunned by the sudden turn of events, finally reacted.
"W-What!?"
The next second, Lecty cried out in surprise.
"Alright, get ready."
Rozen gave no one a chance to hesitate, issuing a direct order.
"If you don't start moving, you'll be the ones to suffer."
As soon as his words fell, all the golems, except Rozen himself, began to move.
The Armored Beetle golems spread their wings and flew towards Rico.
Misora's golem also raised its head, flying towards her.
Seeing this, Misora and Rico's expressions changed repeatedly.
Both realized Rozen was serious.
"Who...who will lose to a golem...!?"
Misora fiercely extended her hand.
On her hand, a ring with a small gem embedded in it stood out.
"Armor!"
With a brief chant, the ring in Misora's hand emitted a red light, enveloping her body.
When the light faded, her uniform was gone, replaced by a light combat suit.
This suit, inscribed with runes, could deploy powerful magic barriers to resist attacks and reduce damage.
Sky Wizards equipped such suits for combat; otherwise, a human body would be severely injured from attacks.
In the past, Sky Wizards' combat suits had weaker barrier functions, no damage reduction, and had to be manually equipped, which was quite troublesome.
However, after Rozen joined the Alchemist Division, he modified the suit's inscriptions, greatly enhancing its effectiveness, boosting its protection several times over.
Then...
"Weapon!"
Misora chanted another new spell.
This time, the red light shot up from her ring like a pillar of light.
Within the light pillar, a large sword with a silver body and a revolver-like cylinder on the hilt appeared, landing in Misora's hand.
This was the magic cannon sword Misora used—Radgrid.
The magic alchemy weapon and combat suit were equipped in an instant, accompanied by two brief spells.
All thanks to the effect of Misora's ring—Wizard's Jewel Box.
This ring, with runes inscribed on its gem, could store magical alchemy weapons.
And like the combat suit, the ring's inscriptions had been improved by Rozen, allowing it to store both alchemy weapons and Sky Wizards' combat suits, enabling quick equipping with a single short spell.
Thanks to this, Sky Wizards could arm themselves in time even in unexpected situations, ready to fight.
This technology had now been widely adopted, showcasing part of the impact Rozen had on this world.
"Armor! Weapon!"
In the next moment, Rico also armed herself.
And so, the battle began.