"Should we complete your quest now?" Agema asked, tilting her head slightly.
Arlon shook his head. "I'm not in a hurry. It's a simple quest. I want to learn more magic first."
Agema grinned, clearly pleased. "Hmm… My disciple is eager to learn. That's good to know."
June smirked. "Of course he is. You think he'd pass up the chance to milk every bit of knowledge out of you?"
Arlon shot her a look but didn't argue.
Agema chuckled. "Then, let's not waste any ti. We'll start imdiately."
June raised an eyebrow. "Start what exactly?"
Agema gave her an exasperated look. "What else? Training. I will take you and Arlon to new heights."
June and Arlon exchanged glances. Their last training had just ended, and they had only taken a week's break before coming back. And now, they were jumping right into another intense program?
"Wait, wait," June said, raising her hands. "What exactly do you an by 'new heights'?"
Agema waved a hand dismissively. "Ah, don't worry about that. We'll do things differently. We'll spend the first three months in closed training."
"Closed training?" Arlon repeated, narrowing his eyes.
"Yes. That ans no distractions. You won't contact anyone, won't interact with the outside world, and won't do anything other than train."
June frowned. "That sounds… intense."
"It is," Agema smirked. "But don't get too worked up. The second half of your training will be different. After three months, we'll go out and move around.
We'll travel, handle quests, and experience real combat—of course, while continuing the training."
Arlon crossed his arms, thinking it over.
Six months of non-stop training.
It wasn't a short amount of ti, but this was an opportunity unlike any other. If he truly needed it, he could take short breaks while June was logged out. But the thought of slacking off didn't sit right with him.
After all, this was Agema—the greatest magician Trion had ever seen.
Being trained by her was the best thing he could wish for.
And he wasn't going to waste it.
---
The sun hung low in the sky, casting golden hues over the vast plains as Evan, Maria, and Carn made their way through a stretch of wilderness.
It had been weeks since they had parted ways with Arlon's group and the Gars Guild, and in that ti, they had focused entirely on training and leveling up.
For Evan, this ant perfecting his assassination techniques—silent, deadly, and efficient.
For Maria and Carn, it ant summoning stronger creatures and mastering their control over them.
But today? Today was supposed to be a break.
"You know, Evan," Maria drawled as she stretched her arms behind her head, "I think we've all been working too hard. Maybe we should take it easy for a bit."
Evan shot her a flat look. "We literally just fought a swarm of Keldars an hour ago."
Maria grinned. "Exactly! And now it's ti to celebrate our victory. How about a nice picnic?"
Carn chuckled. "A picnic? Out here? Where monsters attack us every few hours?"
"That's what summons are for, Carn! We can let them stand guard while we relax." Maria winked, then dramatically placed a hand over her heart. "We warriors of the battlefield must learn to appreciate life between battles."
Evan sighed. "That's just an excuse for you to be lazy."
Maria smirked. "Guilty as charged. But really, you should learn to relax more. Maybe then, Carn would have a chance to—"
"Maria!" Carn nearly choked, her face turning red as she glared at Maria in horror.
Evan, who had been inspecting his daggers, suddenly stopped and raised an eyebrow. "What? What's she talking about?"
Maria turned to Carn with an exaggerated sigh. "See? He's as dense as ever. That's why you need to step up your ga, Carn. If you keep waiting, soone else might just snatch him away."
Carn groaned. "Can we not do this now?"
Evan narrowed his eyes. "Do what?"
Maria clapped her hands together. "Alright, new mission! Operation 'Make Evan Less Oblivious' is now in effect!"
Evan frowned. "That's not a real mission."
"It is now," Maria said cheerfully. She then whispered to Carn, "Carn, you need to be more assertive!
Maybe throw in so complints, brush his hair out of his eyes—oh! Or trip and fall into his arms. Classic move!"
Carn covered her face with her hands. "I hate you."
Maria patted her head. "You love ."
Evan went back to his daggers after seeing that they were whispering sothing to each other.
Maria leaned toward Carn again, "It doesn't seem like he doesn't want it. He just doesn't know."
Carn groaned again. Their training might have been difficult, but sohow, dealing with Maria was always the real challenge.
---
At the sa ti, in another part of Trion, the four mbers of the Gars Guild—Carole, Zack, Lei, and Pierre—made their way through a dense forest, the remnants of battle still fresh around them.
Scattered Keldar bodies lay on the ground, and the air carried the lingering scent of blood and magic.
Pierre cracked his knuckles, rolling his shoulders. "Four people are still enough to train," he said confidently. "We don't need an army to get stronger."
Lei nodded beside him, adjusting her grip on her bastard sword. "Agreed. We handled that group of Keldars just fine. As long as we're efficient, we won't fall behind."
Zack stretched his arms above his head, grinning. "Yeah, yeah, but wouldn't it be way easier if we had ten people? Maybe twenty? Then we could just sit back while they do all the work."
Carole smacked the back of his head. "That's not how training works, genius."
Zack rubbed his head, pouting. "Ow! It was just a suggestion…"
Carole ignored him and looked at the others. "Still, we do need to keep pushing forward.
After the war, we went to train. But we have to be careful not to fall too far behind." She sighed, twirling a strand of her hair. "I don't know about you guys, but seeing June suddenly hit level 134 was a wake-up call."
Pierre whistled. "Yeah, no kidding. She was already high-level before, but that jump was insane."
Lei frowned. "We asked her how she did it, but she didn't answer our ssages in-ga.
And even outside the ga, she wouldn't tell us anything, saying she is in a closed training so she can't talk while logged in.."
Zack crossed his arms, deep in exaggerated thought. "Suspicious, very suspicious!"
Carole rolled her eyes. "You don't even know what is 'suspicious' here, Zack."
"Sure I do! It… uh… that sothing fishy is going on!" Zack nodded as if he had just solved the mystery of the century.
Lei chuckled. "Well, for once, you're not wrong. June keeping quiet about it makes it obvious sothing happened.
And considering how much friendlier Arlon was the last ti we talked to him…"
Pierre smirked. "You think Arlon had sothing to do with it?"
Zack snapped his fingers. "Of course! I bet he found so secret boss that gives a ridiculous amount of experience, and he's hoarding the knowledge for himself and June!" His eyes glead. "Or—or! Maybe he has a secret item that doubles experience points! Or maybe—"
Carole flicked his forehead. "Or maybe you should stop spewing nonsense and focus."
Zack groaned, rubbing his forehead. "Co on! You have to admit sothing weird is going on."
Pierre shrugged. "We'll probably never know unless June or Arlon decide to spill the truth. Either way, we can't just sit around. We need to train just as hard."
Lei smiled at him. "Exactly. We might not have whatever boost she got, but that just ans we work harder."
Pierre gave her a small grin in return. The way they stood close together didn't go unnoticed by Carole, who raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Zack, however, was too oblivious to notice anything between them. "Fine, fine! But if we ever figure out what Arlon did, I want in."
Carole sighed. "Let's just keep moving before you start another ridiculous theory."
Stay tuned for updates on My Virtual Library Empire
As they continued through the forest, the four of them remained determined—not just to keep up, but to prove that the Gars Guild wouldn't be left behind.
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