Chapter 127: Actions Speak Louder Than Words "Attack me, all of you," Nessia said with a fearless smile. Alex believed that he first had to convince everyone that they’d be able to clear the trial as long as they fully cooperated. Earlier, he had pulled Nessia aside and privately talked to her. The first step the young man had in mind was to show Nessia’s talent and potential. Actions spoke louder than words. This was the perfect opportunity to showcase the Phoenix Tactician’s might. "You asked for it." Without hesitation, Renard lunged at the young lady, who was confidently standing still while smiling slightly. "Don’t cry when you get hurt later." Alex smirked, aware of the other party’s pent-up frustrations. Renard must’ve been itching to vent it all out. And now, he had a chance to do that. Just as Renard was only a few meters from Nessia, the young lady lightly tapped her staff on the ground, activating the magic formation she had prepared beforehand. A barrier rose to surround her and blocked Renard’s fist from reaching her. The impact was so powerful that a shockwave burst forth the instant his fist struck the barrier, sending a gust of wind rippling outward. Still, the barrier held true, showing how perfectly it had tanked Renard’s attack. "What are you all waiting for?" Nessia asked. "I told you to attack me. Come, show me what all of you can do. Depending on your performance, I might revise some of my plans for the last day of the trial." Bob glanced at Grint and Jorven, and the two nodded in understanding. The three joined Renard in attacking the barrier without holding back. Her curiosity also piqued, Lavinia unleashed her strongest skills, wanting to test just how strong the barrier was. However, even with the combined attacks of five people, the barrier didn’t show any signs of damage. "Go, Charles." Alex lightly pushed the teenage boy’s back. "Nessia doesn’t like men without a backbone." Charles blinked in confusion as he glanced at Alex and Dim Dim, who both had smirks plastered on their faces. "I don’t get what you’re talking about, Alex," Charles replied. "Sure. Just go and try to break her barrier first," Alex shooed the young man away. "Nessia is very good at observing people. As long as you fight seriously, she’ll have a better idea of which role she should assign you to based on your specialties." Without anything else to do, Charles joined the others in attacking Nessia’s barrier. It was a rather humorous sight. Unlike the bunch of teenagers chaotically attacking the barrier, the young lady on the other side looked calm and peaceful as she scribbled a few things in her journal. Occasionally, she glanced at the teenagers as if she was watching a documentary. The barrier she had created was pretty simple and would automatically disappear in twenty minutes. As if to make up for its short duration, it was very sturdy, capable of tanking even the hits of a Rank 4 Monster. Another downside was the heavy resource requirement. Erecting the barrier had seemed wasteful at first, but Alex had supplied everything needed. Nessia’s magic formation drew power from monster cores, and Alex had handed over several from his inventory to let her demonstrate her capabilities. The cost was a little steep, but he considered it a worthwhile investment. After witnessing the results, he believed the others would be more eager to help gather more cores, allowing Nessia to build even stronger magic formations. It didn’t take long for everyone to realize that Nessia’s barrier was the real deal. When they started, they hadn’t used their strongest skills. But seeing the barrier unaffected, they subconsciously started to attack with more ferocity. Before they knew it, they were already going all out, yet the barrier was still solid. Then and there, they understood that the seemingly innocent and harmless young lady was a very talented Magic Formation Master. Fifteen minutes later, Nessia lightly clapped her hands. "Alright. That’s enough, everyone," Nessia said. "I already have a rough estimate of your strengths." The teenagers stopped attacking, but it was very clear they now looked at her with a hint of respect, compared to when they first met her. Even Lavinia, who prided herself on her strength, had to admit that this was the first time she had met a peer who truly made her understand that the world was a big place and that there were many talented people who surpassed even her abilities. ’It seems I made the right decision to follow Alex to Frieden Academy,’ Lavinia thought. ’I wonder if there are others like her who are around the same age as me.’ Her grandfather, Ramza, had also graduated from Frieden Academy, and he had nothing but praise for the young heroes he had met during his stay. "Good job, everyone," Alex said with a smile. "Now, do you believe me that there’s a possibility that we can defeat the Rank 4 Boss Monsters? Of course, we won’t actively hunt for them. "We will prioritize our survival, but we should always be prepared for the possibility that the Boss Monsters will actively eliminate the trial takers." Renard scoffed. "Why didn’t you attack the barrier with us earlier?" Clearly, the teenage boy was still holding a grudge against Alex and was being petty. "There’s no need for me to do that since I already know how impressive Nessia is," Alex replied. "Now, let’s talk about more important matters." Alex approached his comrades and shared his plan. "We will split into three teams," Alex stated. "Charles, Nessia, and Renard will form one team. Lavinia and I will form the other. Bob, Grint, and Jorven will form the last team. "The three teams will spread out to hunt for monster cores. We will stay within a two-mile radius of this place. That way, if the other teams encounter problems, we can conveniently aid each other without fail. "The cores we collect will be used to power Nessia’s magic formation. The more cores we have, the stronger the formation. We need to gather enough cores for two—one offensive, one defensive. "Since the mists at the edge of the island will continue spreading inward, it’s only a matter of time before all the trial takers are gathered in one place. Fighting is inevitable, so it will be advantageous for us if we prepare for that as well." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖 Now that they had experienced Nessia’s magic formation firsthand, everyone was very eager to help make Alex’s plan happen. Even Renard, who was very stubborn and had trust issues, no longer said anything to oppose Alex’s plan. After giving out a few reminders, the three teams set out to hunt monsters to collect their cores. They were not aware that the Professors, who were always on a lookout for talented students, had already set their sights on Nessia, whom they believed was a worthy candidate to become a scholarship student of Frieden Academy.