The storage room was empty and freshly cleaned when they arrived. Even the cobwebs in the corners had been removed.

Karl double-checked the space that they had to work with, and then began to plan where he would put the runes.

"This space should be good enough for everything but the flying obstacle course. But that can be done outside. Even if it's raining, the outdoor air is good for them." He announced.

The tutors laughed. The kids hated going out in the rain and getting wet. It wouldn't hurt them, but half the kids forgot to close their inner eyelids, and would get pelted with rain in the eyeball, or it felt like a cold bath, and they didn't like it.

"You can stand anywhere you like, I will carve the spell into the walls." Karl explained, then moved to the back wall to get started.

He would make it the same as the other illusion, with nothing but the gargoyles added. It would keep it simple, and low mana to upkeep. Even when the system receded, the dragons would be able to train here.

Assuming the castle survived that long.

That seemed unlikely. Even a good stone building had very slim odds of being able to last ten thousand years.

The dragons watched silently as Karl carved the runes into the wall to create the [Illusionary Domain], [Reality Warp] and [Gargoyle] spells. Then, he added some simple barriers to keep occupants from leaving at random points within the castle itself. He just left the upper parts of the sky open as an emergency exit, and the garden gate.

Unfortunately for the blue dragons, none of them could read what he was writing, which was driving them all insane.

But when he finished and activated the spell, they could only stare in awe at the huge garden they appeared to be standing in.

"This is beautiful. Is it durable? It's an illusion, right?"

"Yes, it's a solid illusion. It is possible for a stronger Totem or Myth to shatter it, but as long as the room itself isn't damaged, you can reactivate it.

Personally, I recommend just keeping it for training children. They couldn't actually damage anything in here if they tried, and it will cost less mana for upkeep when you have the Gargoyles fighting at lower power levels." Karl explained.

Then, he placed a mana crystal by the entrance on a plinth.

"This will store enough mana to keep the illusion active for some time without maintenance so that you don't need to worry if the kids sneak in to compete.

I've adjusted the illusion to put a barrier over it, but you can still fill it with mana."

Dakkarian and Barry channelled mana into the crystal for a few seconds, then frowned at each other.

"How much capacity did you manage to give such a small crystal?" Barry asked.

"The whole plinth is actually mana crystal. It just looks like stone inside the illusion. If you turn it off and look in the corner of the room, you'll see a huge crystal." Karl laughed.

"Are you expecting it to take that much damage that you needed such a huge mana storage?" Barry asked.

Karl shook his head. "No, but if you send some of the older kids in here, ones getting close to the Totem Rank, you'll start burning through a load of mana if they're training on the target range. It's better to have at least a day or two worth of storage."

The tutors nodded. That made perfect sense. They were not at that level, but if someone stronger than them was going all out in here with their friends all day, then even a Mythic Ranked barrier or Gargoyle would need quite a bit of replenishment.

"This really is a versatile training ground. But can I ask why the gargoyles all look like bunny girls?" One of the tutors asked.

"Did you want something different? I can change them, it's not a problem."

"No, they're... fine, I guess? I was curious in a more academic way."

Karl smiled at him. "Oh, in that case, it's for motivation. Step into the sparring ring and challenge one of them to a match, and you'll understand."

The tutor looked confused, but he stepped into the ring and drew his sword.

A bunny maid entered the ring, curtsied politely, and then drew a two-handed battleaxe. The weapon looked ridiculously oversized next to the petite maid, but her speed was incredible, and the tutor was immediately forced onto the defensive, as he hadn't been expecting her to attack with such force.

"What the hell was that?" Barry asked as the tutor finally managed to fight the maid to a standstill.

"They're gargoyles, they have basic weapon proficiencies, and I gave them an option to use warrior type skills. But gargoyles aren't weak, no matter what they look like. They auto-adjust to your Rank when sparring, so it's a fair fight. But they're not going to go easy on you when the victory condition is first blood." Karl explained.

"Did he just get unlucky with the axe?" One of the tutors asked.

"Possibly? Dual scimitars or a nodachi style long sword probably wouldn't be better. Bunnies are fast and agile, with strong legs."

"May I?" The second tutor asked.

"Go ahead, there are more sparring rings."

The dragon rushed to an open ring, and bowed to the maid, who curtsied to him.

He took out a mage's staff, and the maid chose dual scimitars.

He had a barrier spell, but the maid was fast. Very fast. It only took half a second before she charged, dropped to her knees and slid under his lightning bolt, then swatted his legs out from under him with the flat of her blade.

The mage rolled to his knees as she returned to her starting spot.

"I get it now. It is incredibly humbling to have your ass kicked by a bunny girl in a maid outfit." He muttered.

Barry smiled. Karl was on to something. Nothing was quite as motivating as mild embarrassment.

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