"Idiot, will you tell us why you disturbed us or do we have to beat it out of you?" Emily spoke annoyedly before even Muku could say anything.

Which was understandable, since Jade's outburst had pretty much erased half of her progress. So if Jade didn't have a very good reason for what she did, then somebody was definitely getting burned that day.

And she was sure the others would help her too. For obvious reasons.

"Oh, right! Sorry about that. I was just basking in my own genius so much that I forgot about you all dummies. Anyway, since I'm quite magnanimous, let me share with you what I have discovered" Jade replied in a way which made it hard for the others not to attack her.

The only thing keeping her safe was their curiosity about what she wanted to say. For her own sake, it better be worth it otherwise even Muku might not be able to save her.

"Let me first tell you about the random thought I had while failing to control my inner sense. I remembered that whenever we're hurt during battle and try to focus on the injury to assess the damage, our inner sense immediately narrows down on that spot without much delay. This had me thinking for a while until I realised that maybe an outside force can affect one's inner sense. That had to be the case. Anyway, I needed proof, and so, I hit myself on the forehead with a Beast Aura fist. Which is what caused the boom sound you all heard. And as expected, it worked. It hurt but it worked. The moment I activated my inner sense. It instantly gathered on the spot. For the split second I tried to control it before you all rudely interrupted me, I felt that it was much easier to control..." Jade explained herself with an arrogant expression on her face.

"...."

"...."

Everyone looked at her silently for a moment without saying anything.

Jade who had closed her eyes was forced to open them again after she couldn't hear the praises she was expecting.

"What's wrong? I just found a quicker method than the one Muku gave us. So why aren't you praising me?" Jade asked confusedly, as a look of dissatisfaction appeared on her face.

"Surely a savage method for a savage..." Layla was the first to comment.

"Layla you jerk! Who are you calling a savage?! Do you want to fight?!" Jade exploded out angrily as she tried to get up.

How could she not be angry when not only was her genius not being appropriated, but she was being called a savage too.

However, an invisible force stopped her from getting up or summoning any energy.

And she immediately snapped her neck sideways to look at Muku. After all, she was more than familiar with the restriction brought on by his Telekinesis.

"Calm down Jade. I'm sure Layla didn't mean that. It probably just slipped out. And you're right, your method is quite innovative and smart. So much so that even Layla was caught off guard by it. You can forgive her blindness right? After all, someone of your level of intelligence can't be too petty or it would be an insult to yourself" Muku tried his best to play peacemaker and even sucked up to Jade while at it.

He knew that Jade would easily see through those empty words specifically said to soften her stance. But...

"Well, if you say it that way. I guess I can forgive her this one time. After all, genius was never meant to be understood by everyone" Jade who was weak to compliments even empty ones spoke with a pleased look on her face.

The others all rolled their eyes but did so after making sure that she wasn't looking at them or they would have started another matter.

"Yes. You're correct. On the same note, Layla will be the first one to try your method to show just how sorry she is... Isn't that right Layla?" Muku spoke while looking at Layla.

Layla looked back at him silently for a few seconds with eyes which were saying, "Do I really have to do this?".

Muku looked back at her with a smiling face which said, "Yeah you have to".

Layla grimaced internally but resigned herself to her fate. After all, she had brought it onto herself.

So suffering the consequences was only natural.

She blamed it on her Jade disease otherwise she wouldn't have said anything.

Her Jade disease was so severe that it even inconvenienced her when interacting with Jade, the source, herself....

"Yes, I'll be the first to try it. I'm really sorry" Layla spoke while trying to force an apologetic smile on her face but she couldn't do it.

Fortunately for her Jade didn't feel like making things hard for her that day. And she accepted the half-hearted apology.

However, a cunning smile appeared on her face then...

Whoosh!

Pa!

Jade who had been released by Muku disappeared from the spot and appeared in front of Layla then flicked her on the forehead.

One shouldn't underestimate the attack because it was a flick. After all, Jade was a legit R4 close to the peak. That flick could possibly kill R3s.

So of course Layla felt pain from it. She felt her brain move a bit inside her head. Which made her feel dizzy along with the pain.

However, she didn't lash out at Jade.

She immediately got to work as she activated her inner sense. Despite everything, Layla was still a goal-oriented person, so she understood time and place very well.

It wasn't the time nor the place to fight with Jade. She had better things to do. And that was to successfully gain control of her mindscape...

And so, she worked towards that goal. True to what Jade said, her inner sense really did focus on the spot she was hit. And it was a lot easier to poke and prod as she tried to gain control of it.

Soon she had completely forgotten about the outside world as she completely focused on taking control of her inner sense which was still firmly under the control of her subconscious mind.

The others noticed this and didn't disturb her. They all sat back down in proper positions.

And with a snap of his fingers, Muku's metal clones appeared again.

All the girls closed their eyes at the same time as if it were practised. Then..

Pa! Pa!...

The clones flicked the foreheads of the girls. It was enough to hurt a lot but not enough to cause significant damage. Which was perfect for what they were trying to achieve.

And so, they all soon joined Jade in trying to wrestle away control of their inner sense from their subconsciousness.

"Wow. Was that all practised or did you all do something similar to this before?" Tracy who was amazed by how they acted in sync without speaking asked Muku in a whispering voice.

"No, it's not rehearsed, nor have we ever done anything like it before. What you witnessed there is what we call synergy brought by familiarity. Everyone here is so familiar with each other that a few abstract gestures are enough for everyone to understand what they should do. It was mostly evident in battle before, but I guess now they can even apply it in their daily lives. I'm actually surprised that they could cooperate with me without issues even after two years of separation... Oh, and it's okay to speak in your normal voice. I've isolated them from the surrounding sounds. We wouldn't want Jade to disturb them again. I don't think she would escape their wrath a second time..." Muku replied.

"Oh, okay. I'm quite jealous. But it also gives me peace of mind. It makes me realise that my partner might never have been truly my partner. Since we couldn't do even half of the things your group can do together. I guess I was blinded by my need to have someone to rely on..." Tracy replied sadly.

"Well, I can't say anything about that since I wasn't there. However, I can say that as long as you're with us, you don't have to worry about such things. You're one of us here. And I promise you that you'll soon be incorporated into the system if you participate in battles with us. After all, fighting together is the fastest and easiest way to get to know someone when they aren't trying to hide things from you. But of course, we won't force you to fight. It's entirely up to you" Muku replied calmly and respectfully.

"Hmm. Fight together huh? Let me think about it..." Tracy replied as she retreated into her own thoughts. Probably already thinking about it.

Muku nodded and stopped paying attention to her.

He began looking at the girls again.

That's when he noticed Freya who was just sitting there idly with her usual gentle expression on her face.

Then a sudden idea appeared in his mind...

"Freya..." He called out to the idle girl.

She was immediately startled and almost jumped up from where she was sitting. It was obvious that she had been stuck in her thoughts...

Her face turned crimson on the spot from embarrassment at the way she reacted. But she still replied.

"Y... yes?" Freya replied.

"How would you like to learn how one advances after reaching PR4?" Muku said with a smile on his face.

"?!"