Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

The Xuan Gu First Military Academy is a prestigious institution that all talented youths in the Gus Empire aspire to attend. Any student meeting the admission criteria is undoubtedly strong and capable.

There are always greater heights; within the strong, there are always stronger individuals. Every year, the assessment competition for the Xuan Gu First Military Academy can be considered a major contest for the strongest youths in the Gus Empire.

Thus, each assessment competition is held with great fanfare, attracting the attention of the entire Gus Empire. In the month before and after the competition, all news media in the empire focus on related reports.

Now that Ruo Manni has qualified to apply, she needs to put in her best effort.

Instructor Fang ultimately decided that for the next two months, Ruo Manni should focus on secluded training at home, working diligently on her second-level mecha manufacturing skills to improve her abilities.

As for her cultural studies, Instructor Fang would send her review materials daily, allowing Ruo Manni to study according to her plan in her spare time.

Originally, Instructor Fang wanted to test whether Ruo Manni’s mental strength had changed, but Ruo Manni felt a bit uneasy and declined.

Based on the values in the battle realm, her mental potential might now be no lower than 3D, possibly even E-level. That would be quite shocking for a third-tier star, and this data would be recorded. Other instructors would notice it by tomorrow at the latest.

Ruo Manni didn’t want to become famous for this, so she had to refuse.

It is said that the second-generation gene enhancement agent primarily strengthens physical attributes, and since Ruo Manni’s original mental level was C, she already exceeded the Xuangu First Military Academy’s requirement of 3B.

Instructor Fang didn’t press the matter and instead asked her to consider whether she wanted to pursue the combat or manufacturing track for mecha studies in the future.

As a versatile talent with both physical and mental potential at C-level, if she became a mecha engineer, her potential wouldn’t be lower than that of a mecha engineer with purely physical potential at 2C.

With such dual qualifications, applying to the combat department of the Xuan Gu First Military Academy should allow Ruo Manni to enter the elite class, which is more promising than the manufacturing track.

Ruo Manni naturally agreed to think it over, but inside, she felt no turmoil at all.

Since Instructor Fang had decided that she didn’t need to attend classes before the big exam, Ruo Manni also didn’t want to stay at school wasting time that could be spent training.

On her first day of school in this world, Ruo Manni didn’t even enter the classroom before saying goodbye to Instructor Fang and heading home.

Ruo Manni was truly uninterested in attending class; ever since she emerged from the battle realm that morning, she had been eager to see how the two skills and the mental meditation technique she learned would perform in reality.

However, she had to suppress her excitement due to class obligations, but now she could hardly wait to return home and try them out.

Before Ruo Manni even left the gates of Mingxin Intermediate Academy, she received a notification from the robotic butler that her package had arrived. She couldn’t help but marvel at how fast online shopping was in this world; it hadn’t even been an hour since she placed the order.

With her focus entirely on training, Ruo Manni quickly returned home and rushed to the training room to open the package containing her newly purchased weapons.

She had bought one high-quality and one mid-quality longsword. At a glance, they didn’t seem too different, but once she held them, she immediately understood the saying: you get what you pay for.

The high-quality longsword felt slightly heavier in her hand, and the silvery blade glimmered menacingly, sending a shiver down her spine. In contrast, the mid-quality sword felt much more ordinary; although it had the same blade shape, it lacked the sharpness that raised the hairs on her neck.

Ruo Manni specifically chose to buy two swords because she felt uneasy carrying just one weapon. If it were knocked away, she would be left defenseless; having a backup made her feel safer.

She stored the high-quality longsword in her space ring as her personal weapon for future use, while she planned to use the mid-quality sword for her regular training.

The telekinetic weapon prepared by Teresa Du for Ruo Manni was five willow leaf daggers, each as thin as a piece of paper. Ruo Manni hadn’t been able to use them earlier due to her low telekinetic level, so they had been left in the training room.

After studying the telekinetic skill of condensing “hands” in the battle realm, the willow leaf daggers became the most suitable telekinetic weapons for her.

As for the whip, Ruo Manni didn’t yet have a technique and her telekinetic level was insufficient to “control” it, so she stored it in her space ring.

Ruo Manni practiced the swordsmanship she learned in the battle realm, and found that her movements were nearly identical to what she had done before; the techniques resembled a dance, lacking much force. However, with each repetition, she improved slightly.

The effects of the mental meditation technique in the real world were similar to those in the battle realm, but it seemed to consume less telekinetic energy.

However, the telekinetic skill of manipulating objects from a distance that Ruo Manni learned in the battle realm was less effective in reality. The “hands” of telekinesis she formed in the real world weren’t as “solid” and lacked the same “strength” as they had in the battle realm.

In reality, Ruo Manni’s telekinetic “hands” could only “lift” objects weighing less than two kilograms. For the willow leaf daggers, she could merely “grasp” them while they wobbled.

In the battle realm, however, her telekinetic “hands” could briefly lift beasts larger than herself.

Ruo Manni attempted to “grasp” a willow leaf dagger and stab it into a target on the wall, but her strength was insufficient to penetrate. After swinging it seven or eight times, she found it difficult to maintain her grip on the dagger, and her temples began to throb slightly, indicating she had exhausted more than half of her mental energy.

Indeed, as a level-four telekinetic, if she couldn’t use her mental energy to directly attack an opponent’s mental sea, her combat effectiveness was minimal.

With her current level of telekinetic strength, she could at most use the daggers to scratch an enemy’s skin, and that was only if the enemy didn’t dodge or evade.

However, since she had advanced too quickly, her control over telekinesis wasn’t sufficient yet. This was also her first time practicing with daggers, so as long as she put in the effort, her progress would surely be rapid.

Moreover, there were other ways to inflict damage. Teresa Du had left behind a room full of medicinal plants and valuable books, and when she had the time, Ruo Manni could look into those formulas to see if she could concoct a nerve-paralyzing potion to apply to the willow leaf daggers.

The morning passed with Ruo Manni experimenting with various training methods until she felt extremely hungry and decided to stop, leaving the training room for lunch.

During lunch, she recalled Aoi Dan. Unlike herself, who had received special permission, Aoi Dan would certainly have to attend school for the next two months, meaning she would only be home in the evenings.

Ruo Manni wasn’t sure if Aoi Dan, having regained her composure that morning, would try to bother her again after school that afternoon. She didn’t want to waste her precious time dealing with Aoi Dan, so she hurried to the front door of the living room and set up a barrier to avoid disturbances during her training.