Chapter 20: What Makes a Genius?

Within the Lost Woods Secret Realm, towering trees blotted out the sun, casting the entire instance into perpetual twilight.

Ke Lu watched the school System load on her phone, slowly populating with the names of her teammates as they all arrived.

[Shi Lei, Apprentice Second-Tier, Melee Class.]

[Su Rou, Apprentice Second-Tier, Healer Class.]

[Ke Lu, Apprentice Third-Tier, Support Class.]

[Bai Yu, Apprentice Second-Tier, Mage Class.]

[Ma Fei, Apprentice Second-Tier, Melee Class.]

Despite Ke Lu and Su Rou's exceptional talents, their limited training meant they hadn't yet pulled far ahead of the others.

Ke Lu glanced at the map on her phone, confirmed everyone was present, and calmly announced, "Everyone's here. Let's move out."

At her command, Ke Lu strode forward, leading the group as if she were the team captain.

"Yes, Ma'am!" The other members, caught off guard, instinctively responded in unison.

After shouting their acknowledgment, the group realized their mistake. Wide-eyed, they exchanged bewildered glances. "Brother Lei, that wasn't you who gave the order, was it?"

"Fuck no, of course not! Does my voice sound that girly?" Shi Lei's face darkened visibly.

"Why did you all respond?"

One teammate muttered under his breath, "I feel like that woman's aura is even stronger than Brother Lei's. I just instinctively responded."

"Brother Lei, you seemed to respond too."

Though the other members didn't say it aloud, they all silently agreed—even Shi Lei himself.

When Ke Lu issued her command, Shi Lei hadn't felt any dissonance whatsoever. It was as if she were the team leader.

It was a kind of... innate leadership.

No matter, I'll show them what's what later, Shi Lei thought darkly, then issued a stern warning:

"Everyone stay sharp! Otherwise, that girl will take advantage of us and think she's the team leader."

"Yes, yes, we're all listening to you, Captain," the members reassured him. They still held great respect for Shi Lei as their leader.

Nearby, Su Rou scrutinized Ke Lu from head to toe, observing something Ke Lu couldn't discern. The intense gaze made Ke Lu's skin crawl.

"What are you looking at?" Ke Lu demanded.

"Is there something strange about me?"

Su Rou shook her head, her expression serious. "Ke Lu, I feel like you've changed."

"How have I changed?" Ke Lu's heart skipped a beat. Could she have realized I'm not the original host?

No, if she had, she would have noticed long ago, not just now.

Su Rou pondered deeply. "Let me think..."

Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "I've got it! Ever since we left A City, every time I see you, I feel a bit... afraid."

"It's the same feeling I had when we met the Provincial Prosecutor-General last time."

With the timing and impact of the change now clear, tracing it back was simple.

After a moment's thought, Ke Lu arrived at the answer:

It's likely the aftereffects of fusing the new Skill, Imperator's Majesty, that have subtly altered my aura.

She smiled, consciously suppressing the unconscious air of authority she exuded and softening her tone. "It's probably just a natural consequence of my increased power. You know my Spirit Source is related to dragons and phoenixes."

Su Rou nodded, accepting the explanation readily, and playfully stuck out her tongue. "Looks like I'll have to work harder too, or I'll fall too far behind you."

Ke Lu's gaze deepened as she watched Su Rou's vibrant, spirited face.

My fate isn't like Cerydra's in the game, where I need to intimidate everyone.

I need to keep my composure and not be controlled by this power.

The team continued onward.

The Whistling Woods, being a fundamental Instance Secret Realm designed to familiarize students with such environments, naturally presented little difficulty.

Moreover, it had been farmed to death by countless upperclassmen. Guides and strategies were readily available online, providing comprehensive details on everything from boss skills to optimal routes.

Shi Lei, consulting a guide, directed the team's monster-slaying strategy.

Leading the charge, he swung his massive stone sword, hacking and slashing through the dense forest with explosive force. Each swing sent trees crashing to the ground with sharp, splintering cracks, carving a crude path through the dense foliage.

Ma Fei, followed closely behind, wielding a rugged-looking heavy machine gun.

The gun wasn't pointed at the ground but rather scanned the canopy above, where Shi Lei was clearing the path, wary of threats from the trees.

Bai Yu, from the Mage Class, laid down sturdy stone slabs beneath their feet to prevent poisonous insects from ambushing them from the undergrowth.

As for Ke Lu and Su Rou, they were far from slacking off.

Unlike the other three, who had undergone System training and could immediately jump into action, the two of them hadn't yet received such training.

Yet S-Rank Talents were called "genius" precisely because of the insurmountable gulf separating them from ordinary people.

Like sponges, they frantically absorbed practical combat knowledge, improving at an astonishing rate.

Shi Lei, as the team's vanguard, felt this improvement most keenly. As the vanguard, he received the most buffs and Healing Spells.

Initially, when Shi Lei engaged the monsters, the buffs and Healing Spells took too long to reach him, leaving him vulnerable. During transitions between combat zones, the lingering buffs and Healing Spells wasted precious Spirit Power because they couldn't be canceled in time.

But as wave after wave of lesser monsters advanced, this situation improved dramatically, and at an astonishing pace.

Ke Lu's progress was particularly striking. By the time they cleared this wave of monsters, Shi Lei could sense that her combat skills rivaled those of the top students in their class.

These students had been training in simulated battlefields for two and a half years—yet a newcomer had caught up to them in just over an hour.

It was simply... unbelievable.

Shi Lei had seen S-Rank Talents before. Gu Yunfan, a fellow Demon Race exchange student and his idol, possessed an SS-Rank Talent. But Shi Lei had only a vague understanding of the power of these "geniuses." Now, watching Ke Lu and Su Rou close the gap from scratch, he felt the stark contrast with glaring clarity.

What Shi Lei didn't know was that Ke Lu's Talent wasn't the S-Rank he assumed, but a staggering SSSS-Rank.

During a break, Shi Lei couldn't help but glance back at Ke Lu.

Beside her, Su Rou gushed animatedly, "Ke Lu, did you see how timely my Healing Spell was just now?"

Ke Lu quietly replenished her Spirit Power, silently observing her surroundings, occasionally responding with a few words to Su Rou. Contrary to Shi Lei's expectations, she showed no visible joy at her rapid progress, maintaining instead an air of calm self-assurance, as if such extraordinary advancement were entirely natural.

Shi Lei's competitive spirit flared.

Tch, I won't be outdone by that girl!

Unbeknownst to himself, his perception of Ke Lu had subtly shifted from disdain to grudging respect.

In the subsequent battle, Shi Lei fought with ferocious intensity, single-handedly pushing the entire team up a gear.

Under this relentless assault, the minor monsters along their path couldn't even mount effective resistance before being crushed into oblivion by the suddenly accelerated "war chariot."

"Holy shit, what's wrong with the captain? He's going all out!" Behind him, Ma Fei's hands were trembling from the relentless combat. He couldn't understand Shi Lei's aggressive tactics.

"Normally, we only train at this intensity when all five of us are together. And today we have two rookies? They'll never keep up."

Bai Yu leaned in close, his face radiating "I know everything" smugness, and whispered, "The captain probably wants to show them the gap in skill so they'll give up."

Boom!

With a final slash, Shi Lei cleaved through the last clinging vine. The dense forest canopy parted, revealing a small, relatively flat clearing. He skidded to a halt, bracing himself against his sword as he gasped for breath.

Sweat dripped from his jawline, his chest heaving violently. He looked up in stunned surprise at the Rune Stone marking the checkpoint.

We... got here already?

Ke Lu had actually kept pace with him the entire way.

When Shi Lei initially accelerated, Ke Lu had struggled briefly, but after that initial struggle, she adjusted with astonishing speed.

Shi Lei suddenly realized that recruiting these two newcomers might actually... be a good deal for him.