The story of the black silk female knight

Hugh's eyes narrowed, and his aura instantly sharpened.

“We received intelligence in advance and arranged for several experts to ambush us, but we still almost let the Gray Rat’s plot succeed… Does any of you know why?”

"...Because gray rats are too cunning?"

The attention-seeking Thousand-Leaf Grass quickly raised her hand to speak:

"Cao Cao, I was there too... That curse was really hard to guard against. The experts who ambushed the gray rats turned into stone statues in an instant, and everyone else shrank too."

"Are gray rats too cunning...? That answer isn't wrong, but it's only half right."

Xiu glanced at the thousand-leaf grass and continued:

"The other half is because we were too stupid! If we had been smarter, we could have gotten rid of the gray rats before they even happened!"

That's why I'm standing here... To avoid making the same mistake again, the military has decided to add another course starting with your class.

Because our duties as scouts aren't just limited to the battlefield; stopping cunning and insane criminals like the Revelers is also one of our missions..."

Ta-ta-ta-ta.

Just then, hurried footsteps came from afar, and the black-stockinged female knight gradually appeared in the rapidly approaching dust.

"Huh? It's a teacher I've never seen before!"

Despite Hugh's somewhat annoyed gaze, Valensa remained unfazed and smiled generously.

"Hello teacher, I am Valensa Bader, nice to meet you."

Unless there is a deep-seated hatred, few people can get angry at a beautiful girl with a charming smile, not even Hugh, a new teacher who has just retired from the front line.

"you……"

Xiu sighed:

"Never mind, you've come at the perfect time."

After he finished speaking, he looked at the other students again:

"Those of you who are well-informed should know that the person who performed outstandingly and turned the tide in the gray rat incident is this late-arriving top student."

"Oh, no, no... It was all thanks to everyone that we were able to turn the tide. I was just a little lucky."

Valensa quickly smiled modestly, glanced at the students' lines, and swiftly reached out to grab Chiba, who had slightly stepped out of line to answer a question, and pulled her to her side:

"For example, Cao Cao also made a great contribution... If it weren't for her ability to communicate with plants and sense the abnormality of the earth's veins, I wouldn't have been able to discover where the gray rat had set up the magic circle."

"Yes, Cao Cao, I also tried very hard."

With her hands on her hips and her small chest puffed out, Chiba Grass's face was full of expressions that said, "I'm so amazing, come and praise me!"

"...Yes, Chiba Kusa also deserves a lot of credit."

Hugh sighed again, then his eyes sharpened, and he once again emitted a fierce aura:

"But that's not what I want to talk about... Have you ever thought about why the six Star-level experts who ambushed the gray rats were all tricked by the petrification curse, while a few students became the key to turning the tide?"

"This..."

The students looked at each other for a while, but no one said a word.

"Actually, the answer is quite simple, there are two aspects."

As he spoke in a deep voice, he held up two fingers:

"First, compared to those Star-level experts, the top students are too weak. They were completely underestimated by Gray Rat. Gray Rat was careless."

But more importantly, there's the second point... because the gray rat itself isn't actually that strong; it's just that her modus operandi is rather bizarre and unpredictable, which is why everyone falls for her.

If we had anticipated the rats' potential tactics beforehand, eradicated all rats within the resort area, and inspected abandoned drainage systems, we could have prevented their scheme entirely... instead of foolishly waiting for them to act before launching a counterattack.

"really……"

The students whispered among themselves for a few seconds, and then unanimously agreed.

"That's why you have this new course today... In fact, it's not just you, active-duty elite soldiers will also undergo related training when they are not on mission."

Hugh glanced at everyone again and continued:

"On the first day after the Gray Rat incident, the active-duty elite soldiers had already begun their training, and I was the one with the best performance in the training... so I was transferred here to guide your cultivation."

"So what exactly is this training, Mr. Hugh?"

Finally, Chiba couldn't contain her curiosity and asked.

"The name of this new course is still under discussion, but the specifics of how to practice it are already very clear."

Xiu took a breath:

"Simply put, it means putting ourselves in the criminal's shoes...imagine what methods we would use to carry out the conspiracy if we were the criminal. Then, we prepare according to this hypothetical method, nipping any conspiracy or crime in the bud or minimizing the damage."

I get it, it's just a kind of criminal psychology.

Valensa immediately understood what the new course was, and at the same time, she was also a little curious.

She didn't know much about criminal psychology in her previous life, but she did know a little bit of common sense... It's a very profound subject, and it's difficult to put it into practical use without long-term research and development.

But judging from Xiu's current appearance and listening to what Xiu said before, it seems that the military has some way to speed up this training?

"Come with me."

Without another word, Hugh turned and headed towards the trial maze.

Chapter 153 Magical 3D Virtual Game

Following Hugh, the first-year students of the Vanguard Department soon arrived at the depths of the Trial Maze.

"This room..."

At their rest stop, Valensa looked around and frowned slightly.

"It looks like it was just renovated?"

"Good eye, no wonder you're the top student."

Hugh praised Valencia and nodded:

"That's right. Construction on this site only began after the Gray Rat incident. It was personally overseen by a Star-level mage skilled in illusion magic, and they worked tirelessly for eight days to complete it."

Don't worry, I've personally tested this, and it runs stably.

"Really……"

Valensa twirled a lock of hair that fell over her shoulder with her fingers, her eyes fixed on the most prominent feature in the center of the room, giving her the illusion of being transported back to a real estate sales office in a past life.

What all the students were looking at with curiosity was a huge city model, about two stories high, so tall that even 20 people holding hands might not be able to encircle it.

Unlike the sand table in the previous life, this sand table not only has a complete city with buildings and terrain, but also countless tiny people the size of ants, living in the city like real humans.

Next to the city model is a whiteboard resembling a notice board, covered with writing about various settings for the city.

The social structure, geographical environment, humanistic qualities, combat effectiveness, technological level, etc. are all described in great detail.

The only section that Valensa was particularly concerned about contained the following:

[Current Difficulty: Student Training Level; Resident's Highest Combat Strength is Candlelight]

It looks like a setup screen before starting a game... No, perhaps this really is a magical game constructed with illusion magic.

Valensa seemed to have figured out what the college was planning to teach.

"Those of you who are more quick-witted have probably already guessed it."

Hugh spoke up at that very moment, explaining the city in detail:

"This is a virtual city constructed using Radiant Illusionary Arts. Everything within the city is like a dream, yet it is as realistic as possible where necessary."

The training you're about to begin is quite simple... You will enter the city through illusion, then imagine yourself as one of the revelers, and inflict as much pain on the city as possible by any means necessary.

The time limit is three days, and the number of casualties is used as the criterion for judging the results.

I will rank you according to your scores at the end, and the five students with the best scores will have their techniques used as case studies and teaching materials, and their names will be included in future tactics textbooks.

Does anyone have any further questions?

"I have questions."

Valensa accepted the question without hesitation.

She began by praising the teaching plan:

"The idea of ​​using a virtual city constructed from illusions as a training target is brilliant."

Then the conversation shifted:

"But Mr. Hugh, have you ever considered this question? I once heard a saying from a drifter from the Eastern Continent, and it seems to make a lot of sense... What is false may be true, and what is true may be false."

It's fine to imagine yourself as a reveler-like criminal to expand your tactical thinking, but what if a classmate actually gets addicted and develops psychological problems?

Physical illness can be cured with divine magic and medicine, but if the heart is sick... it's not so easy to recover to its original state.

Valensa wasn't trying to show off; she genuinely had concerns about it.

After all, in the news of my past life, there were quite a few people who got so engrossed in studying criminal psychology that they ended up becoming criminals themselves.

"...Truly worthy of being the top student who has turned the tide many times, he realized the most dangerous aspect of this kind of cultivation so quickly."

Hugh paused for a few seconds, then gave Valensa an approving look:

"But you can rest assured, since we dare to let you students start this training, we certainly have ways to guarantee your mental health."

"Appreciate further details."

Valencia wore an expression of apparent admiration, but she was anything but yielding... If the students' mental health could not be guaranteed, she would stop the new course even if she had to use the influence of the Church of the Sun.

"Actually, the psychological problem you mentioned, Chief Student, was already encountered by our active-duty elite soldiers during the initial testing."

Hugh recalled for a moment, his expression quite complicated:

"In order to see results as quickly as possible, our active-duty elite soldiers are trained in a more brutal way... We must be controlled by illusion magic without any resistance and fall into a dream."

In dreams, we temporarily lose our original memories, retaining only our various abilities, and truly become a reveler, wreaking havoc and causing casualties in the virtual world.

It turned out that we had all overestimated our willpower... After escaping the influence of the illusion magic, two of my colleagues who participated in the experiment experienced memory confusion, actually believing themselves to be revelers, and almost committed real crimes.

That's why we recognized the dangers of this course, and that's why we're letting you enter the illusion in a gentler way now, and we've also made some adjustments to the virtual world.

You'll find out the specifics once you enter the illusion... Simply put, while most of this virtual city is identical to reality, some areas will be obviously fake, serving as a constant reminder that everything is fake and preventing you from getting too immersed in the story.

Furthermore, I will keep a close eye on each of your behavior within the illusion, and if I notice anyone exhibiting abnormal behavior, I will awaken them and provide timely treatment.

"In that case... well, I have no more questions."

Valensa hesitated for a moment, then obediently retreated back to her classmates:

"Please begin your lesson, Mr. Hugh."

. . . . .

Hugh first gave everyone half an hour to memorize the various settings of the virtual city and the geographical terrain of the entire city.

Only then did he give each person a small bottle of blue alchemical potion, instructing the students to put a few drops of the potion on their foreheads and calm their minds, actively entering the illusion in a way similar to meditation.

This approach reassured Valensa considerably... Valensa possessed this basic magical knowledge; actively entering an illusion was far safer than being forcibly pulled in by illusion magic.

After a dreamlike state, Valensa felt as if she were still with her eyes closed, yet she was already in an unfamiliar city.

It felt a bit like a lucid dream, and also a bit like being in a 3D immersive role-playing game.

In short, let's observe for now.

"puff."

Upon this observation, Valensa couldn't help but burst out laughing.

She understood what Hugh meant when she said that some things in this illusion looked fake.

Looking around, on the street we were on, there were dozens of men and women. Apart from differences in age and clothing, almost all of them had the same face shape...

Chapter 154 Now is the time for bad women

Although the method was a bit funny, the effect was quite obvious.

Anyone with a normal IQ would doubt the reality of a city where almost everyone looks the same.