Challenge: The Fool with the Surname Okayamine

Chapter 31: The UK Chapter - "A Day in the Life"

Current timeline: Ming joins SSS, one week later~

"Ding! Ding ding ding—" As this crisp and melodious sound rang out, it was exactly five o'clock in the afternoon. At the same time, the school bell for British high schools rang on time.

Ming slowly closed his notebook after finishing taking notes. "Hoo-ha~ Is it time? Okay, I was going to write down a little more, but never mind, let's go, let's go." He muttered to himself as he packed his things.

He carefully placed the books into his student shoulder bag, then slung the bag over his shoulder and left the classroom.

After leaving the school, Ming jogged quickly through the bustling streets of London and soon arrived at the SSS headquarters. He checked his watch: 5:25 PM—he wasn't late.

"Phew, looks like I'm not too late." Ming said after taking a deep breath, then pushed open the door of the SSS headquarters and went inside.

Because Mingcai had only recently joined SSS, it was discovered that he was still a high school student, which caused some controversy and discussion among some of the SSS instructors.

According to regulations, minors and Lian Jun, who had never participated in civilian magic, were generally not allowed to participate in such high-intensity secret operations against the elf forces. However, given Ming's amazing combat talent and his strong relationship with his nominal master, Mobius, they were allowed to participate.

So they had to make Ming come to headquarters every Monday to Friday after school to receive training and participate in some simple search operations as a prospective member.

Slowly, Ming took the elevator to the underground training room. Pushing open the door, he saw a black-haired figure with a single ponytail, a head shorter than him, sitting on a bench not far from the door, waiting for him.

As Ming stepped into the training room, Larta Lifara smiled and waved at him.

"Hi! Little Klein!" Lifala greeted cheerfully.

Hearing Leafa's voice, Ming nodded expressionlessly in her direction without saying a word, then slowly walked closer.

As he approached Ming, he glanced around at the quiet, deserted atmosphere, a hint of doubt appearing in his eyes.

"Strange, where are the others? Where are the SSS members who usually train? Where are Fildo and Helarim?" Ming asked, puzzled, as he walked.

"Huh? Little Klein, didn't you notice? They've all gone out on a mission," Lifara explained. Seeing that Ming still seemed a bit confused, she scratched her head and then began to explain:

"Although the SSS is a special force established by the UK to deal with the [Elves], it still needs to be maintained by the taxes paid by the people. It's impossible to only defend against the [Elves] disaster indefinitely. We also need to take on some tasks assigned by the higher-ups, such as patrolling the streets or protecting high-ranking British officials to earn operating funds."

Upon hearing the explanation, Ming nodded thoughtfully, then said, "So it's just the two of us training today?"

"Yes, that's because you're not a full member yet and can't go on missions. So the instructor asked me to stay and train you today, little Klein~"

After saying that, Lifala turned her head, stood up, and walked towards the training ground at the back.

"Your training-type [Manifestation Device] is in the bottom cabinet. Once you put it on, you can train with me. By the way, little Klein, I won't hold back in battle, you know~"

After taking out her portable lightsaber from her pocket, Lifara pointed towards the equipment cabinet in the corner of the training room. The smile on her face faded, and she stood calmly in the center of the training field, holding the lightsaber, waiting for Ming to join her.

Ming skillfully walked to the cabinet, took out his training gear, and quickly put it on. He shook his hands and stepped into the training ground without carrying any weapons.

Seeing Ming enter the training ground empty-handed, without any training weapons, puzzled Lifara, who was armed. She frowned, pondering to herself:

'How could this little guy be so reckless? Doesn't he know he can use weapons when sparring with me?' Thinking this, Lifara decided to kindly remind Ming to prevent him from getting hurt unnecessarily.

So, Lifara said loudly, "Little Klein, I have to remind you, you can bring weapons when sparring with me! If you don't, you'll easily get hurt!"

Upon hearing the reminder, Ming shook his head, a hint of helplessness on his face.

Lifara's eyes were focused, her lightsaber gleaming faintly. She moved with agility, instantly charging towards Ming, her blade tracing a sharp arc.

Ming dodged to the side while simultaneously throwing a punch in retaliation. However, Lifara was extremely fast, easily avoiding the attack and retaliating with her laser sword.

"No need... Because of some weird things taught by that hateful green-haired old woman, I still can't quite control the strength of my knife right now, so there's no need for a lightsaber or anything like that." As Ming said this, the corners of his mouth twitched a few times on his cold face.

Unfortunately, Möbius, as a teacher, liked to impart usable anatomical knowledge to his students in the most physical way. If Ming hadn't been so incredibly resilient, Zuo would probably have died twenty times in that week. However, as a result, he also managed to secretly learn and master Möbius's anatomical skills in a way, the only drawback being that he always wanted to put them into practice.

Seeing Ming's usually calm face suddenly turn so irritable, and hearing the old woman Ming mentioned, Lifara didn't understand who she was, but she didn't pay much attention to it.

"Alright, since Brother Klein doesn't want to use weapons, there's nothing I can do. After all, I only know how to use a knife. Although I practiced hand-to-hand combat a little in the army, there's no need to embarrass myself with it. So let's get straight to it!"

No sooner had she finished speaking than Lifara moved with the speed of an arrow. She pushed off the ground with both feet, instantly transforming into a blur as she charged towards Ming with astonishing speed, sword in hand.

In the blink of an eye, she was in front of Ming and without hesitation swung her sharp short sword down at him.

Despite Lifara's swift and fierce attacks, Ming remained completely calm. He focused intently on retreating at high speed, dodging Lifara's sharp sword strikes time and time again with pinpoint accuracy.

As time went on, Ming gradually adapted to Lifara's offensive rhythm and began to take control of the battle. Finally, after a defensive play, Ming found an excellent opportunity to counterattack. He seized the moment and launched a powerful kick, landing a precise and accurate strike on Lifara's abdomen.

The heavy blow forced Lifara to jump back a few steps to absorb the impact of Ming's kick. However, despite being at a temporary disadvantage, she showed no sign of discouragement.

Instead, a slight smile appeared on her lips: "Not bad, little Klein, but this is just the beginning!" With that, she brandished her short sword again, launching an even fiercer and more ruthless attack on Ming.

In an instant, the short sword slashed towards Ming's side abdomen. Just as the blade was less than a few centimeters from Ming's waist, Ming used his knee and elbow to trap Lifara's hand holding the sword.

"What!" When Lifara saw her hand being caught, a momentary glint appeared on her face.

Seeing the opening, Ming blinked, released his grip, squatted down with his hands in a Bajiquan stance, and then used Tieshan Kao to strike the abdomen. Before the impact had fully taken effect, he stomped down and punched the spot where Tieshan Kao had just attacked, causing secondary damage.

This operation was extremely difficult, and Ming accomplished it almost entirely through a combination of physical strength and powerful technique.

Just as the second punch was about to land squarely, Lifala quickly circulated her magic and focused her mind, instinctively using [Freedom Domain] to cover the surroundings.

"Ah!" A sudden, heavy pressure arose, and Ming felt as if an invisible stone was pressing down on his body, making him feel extremely heavy. Taking advantage of this, Lifara pointed her knife at Ming's throat.

"I won! Hehe!" the girl shouted excitedly.

Ming gritted his teeth and said helplessly, "I admit defeat."

Lifala sheathed her short sword, a victorious smile spreading across her face.

"Lifalah! Isn't this cheating?" Ming asked somewhat unwillingly. Since Ming had not yet mastered the [Free Domain], it was normal for him to feel somewhat unwilling.

"Hehe, I didn't cheat." Lifara chuckled mischievously. "【Freedom Domain】is a compulsory course that ordinary magicians learn in the military. But little Klein, I remember there was a magician teacher in your report, right? Why don't you go and learn from her?"

"To put it bluntly, isn't the [Freedom Domain] just an energy product of the combination of magic and mental power? As long as you use the display device, it seems quite easy to master."

After listening to this, Ming seemed to understand something. He decided to follow Lifara's advice. Without saying much, he listened to her enthusiastic explanation of her insights on the [Free Domain] for free and then left the SSS headquarters two hours later.

Heading to Möbius's Café for today's crazy experiment. This is probably Ming's basic daily routine since becoming a magician.