William felt the familiar rush of energy that came with system notifications. The stat boosts flowed in him like electricity through his veins.

His body got stronger with each training session that went well. Teaching several students at once had a multiplying effect on his growth.

William said, "Great job, both of you," and he meant it.

"Ellie, your healing speed went up by about 30% while you still had control."

"Also for Clara, you did a great job of putting targets in order of importance in a very chaotic situation." William nodded while explaining. "Those are real, measurable changes."

He looked at his two assistant instructors. "Let’s get to scenario three!"

"Catherine and Olivia, this one is just for you both... exclusively."

"Catherine, you’re going to fight me using only your gut." William grinned. "No planning, no thinking, just reacting."

"Every time I see you hesitate or doubt, you have to run a lap."

Catherine’s face showed that she was both excited and scared at the thought of fighting someone who had beaten three conspirators in fifteen seconds. "Got it."

William went on, "Olivia, you’re responsible for tactical analysis."

"You’ll watch the sparring match and give Catherine real-time advice on what she could do better."

"This makes you use what you know in theory while also helping Catherine stay in the moment and not think too much."

He picked up two practice swords and threw one to Catherine. She caught it with reflexes that were definitely still there, even though she had been doing a lot of office work.

Her stance was perfect right away, like something you’d see in a textbook. It would have gotten full marks on any test.

"Ack~!" William made a sound like buzzer, "First mistake," without even moving.

"You’re already in excellent shape, which means you’re more concerned with how you look than how you feel."

"Set it back and do it again without worrying about how to do it."

Catherine’s face showed that she was frustrated, but she relaxed her stance and then changed it in a more natural way. It wasn’t quite as perfect by academy standards, but it had better weight distribution and flexibility for real combat.

"There you go... now it looks better," William smiled. "Keep in mind that perfect form is only for showing off."

"The form that works is for fighting."

"Let’s start the sparring match now!" William moved right away without having to show his stance.

He hit her with a test strike that wasn’t very fast or strong because he just wanted to see how she would react. She blocked it on pure instinct, her body remembering patterns from years of training even though her conscious mind was trying to stop her.

"Too much thought!" Olivia yelled from the side. "Your block worked, but you waited three-tenths of a second before doing it."

"Trust your gut!"

William kept attacking, making things harder and faster. Catherine’s blocks and counters came faster now.

Her analytical mind was slowly being taken over by her instinct to fight. William exploited her hesitation by attacking her each time she contemplated her next move.

"Your footwork is for defense!" Olivia kept talking.

"Don’t just react to his attacks! Put pressure on him!"

Catherine tried to follow the advice and started a counter-offensive that showed flashes of her old skill. William had to pay attention to her attacks instead of just watching them for teaching purposes.

She was good, really good, even with all the problems with the administration.

They talked back and forth for a few minutes, and Olivia’s analysis got more and more complex, showing that her theoretical knowledge was truly impressive. She could spot tactical flaws and suggest fixes right away, showing that she understood combat theory better than most teachers did after years of study.

"Your ability to spot patterns is what makes you strong!" Olivia yelled. "He’s systematically testing your combinations."

"Look for the repeat in sequence seven through twelve!"

Catherine’s eyes lit up with understanding, and she quickly changed her plan based on what Olivia had said. William barely avoided a hit that would have been a clean hit in a formal duel.

"That’s it!" William said it with real approval. "You’re not just defending now!"

"You’re finally fighting like a real one, but still... keep that anger in check!"

[Training Finished: Catherine Blackwood]

[Skill Improvement: +6 for Combat Instinct Restoration]

[Restoration of Confidence: Big Improvement]

[Training Finished: Olivia Gracewell]

[Skill Improvement: +5 for Tactical Analysis]

[Advanced Combat Theory Integration]

[Instructor Experience: +20]

This time, the stat boost was bigger than all of the previous notifications put together. William understood that the system was giving him points not just for training people but also for making effective teaching synergies.

When Catherine and Olivia trained together, their strengths made up for each other’s weaknesses, which led to better results than when they trained separately. "That’s what I wanted..."

William said, "Good work, both of you," and he meant it. "You still have the skills, Catherine."

"They just needed to be reminded that they are real."

"Olivia, you are excellent at analyzing things. We need to make your physical skills as effective as your mental ones."

He turned to talk to the whole group. All six women looked worn out but happy with how far they had come.

"Alright... let’s put this up on a notch by getting to the last scenario." William then starts to walk to the center of the training ground while slowly raising both his arms. "I need all of you..."

"...put up a good defense against me with full coordination that YOU CAN THINK OFF!" William said it with the highest tone he have.

Everyone was shocked hearing that from Willian, but the way his reaction shows that they realize he isn’t a man who loves to bluff other than being the challenger that he is.

"I’m going to attack, and you need to use everything we’ve learned to plan your defense and counterattack."

"Lia fights up close, Kaela puts a lot of pressure on, Clara watches over, Ellie runs support with emergency response, Catherine calls the shots, and Olivia gives real-time analysis and suggestions for how to change things."

"REALLY?! You’re going to fight all six of us?" Kaela asked with a lot of excitement. "That’s a exciting right there!"

"Heh..." William cheerfully corrected, "Not just fight... I’m going to destroy all six of you."

"But the point isn’t to win, okay? It’s to learn how to work together even though everyone has different skills and personalities."

"You can’t choose your team on real missions so you use what you have without having to complain."

He already stood in the middle of the training ground while the six women spread out, already trying to figure out where they should be. Catherine quickly began assigning tasks, and her experience as an administrator made her surprisingly good at leading troops in battle.

"Clara, higher position for better sight lines."

"Lia and Kaela put pressure on the melee from the sides."

"Ellie, stay in the middle behind the main fighters."

"Olivia, plan tactics that use magic and ranged support."

"Change your plans because he’s faster and more experienced in battle!" Olivia said. "Formation Theta-7 from the tactical manual, changed to give us a numerical edge!"

William waited until they were all in their places before moving.

"HERE I COME!" William made the move first by stomping the ground hard enough to release shockwave around them.

They responded William’s movement with the same quick and aggressive because they could tell that William was going after Ellie first because she was the main support for their defense.

The women responded at different speeds. Their coordination was still rough, but it showed promise.

Lia stopped him from getting close by hitting him with a defensive strike that made him change his angle. Kaela came in from the side with a powerful attack that would have been deadly if William hadn’t seen it coming.

He ducked under her swing and moved toward Ellie again, but Clara’s practice arrow made him move left.

"Great teamwork!" William yelled, even though he was changing his plans. "But you’re responding to what I’m doing instead of guessing what I’m going to do next."

"Olivia, where should I attack next based on where I am right now?"

"Hit Ellie again or switch to Catherine to break the chain of command!" Olivia thought about it. "Feinting left and then committing right toward the healer position has the highest chance of success."

William smiled and did just that. He wanted to see if they could respond to attacks that were predicted faster than ones that were unexpected.

Lia and Kaela moved to keep coverage while Catherine called out defensive changes. Clara fired shots that didn’t need to hit their target, but they did prevent him from moving around.

The training went on for fifteen minutes of hard work that made everyone sweat and breathe heavily. William pushed them hard, taking advantage of every gap in their coordination and every tactical weakness.

He also kept track of how they changed and got better in real time.

By the end, they were able to make things difficult for him, forcing him to defend himself instead of just surviving his attacks.

"Okay, that’s it!" William finally called, and he was impressed even though he didn’t want to be. "That last part was really good."

"You went from six people to a working unit really fast! That’s what I wanted to see."

[Group Training Scenario Done]

[Synergy Bonus: All Students]

[Team Coordination Set Up: Rank C+]

[Special Achievement: Taught Many High-Rank Students at the Same Time]

[Instructor Rank Went Up: E to D]

[New Passive Skill Gained: Synergistic Training Boost]

[All Stats Went Up: Strength +8, Agility +6, Stamina +7, Magic +4, Mana Control +3]

[Instructor Experience: +50]

[Warning: A big rise in power has been found. Suggested amount of time to rest before the next training session.]

This time, the burst of energy was too much to handle. It was nothing like the slow stat increases from before.

William actually staggered a little as his body tried to adjust to the sudden boost to all of his physical and magical powers. This wasn’t just getting stronger, but it was a major step forward in the way his system worked.

"Are you okay, Instructor Wade?" Ellie asked with worry and moved toward him with her healer instincts on high alert.

William said, "I’m fine," even though his hands were shaking a little from the rush of adrenaline that came with the sudden boost.

"I just pushed myself harder than I usually do."

"Everyone, take a break and get hydrated."