Chapter 29: If you want me to train you, show me what you’ve got

Early author notes:
Happy New Year.
A bonus chapter has also been posted today.
This scene takes place between Episodes 4 and 5.

There were some revisions made accordingly, but nothing significantly changed in the content.

Early morning.

Karen, Rizel, and I stood in the village square, facing off against Myudy.

It was a mock battle to assess our skills.

Yuto wasn’t present—he’d stayed behind to make breakfast.

After discussing it last night, we decided on the order: me, then Rizel, then Karen.

I stepped forward, gripping the wooden rod I’d used in my sparring with Rizel.

Myudy did the same. Who knows where she found it, but she held a stick as tall as she was.

“Oh, right. I forgot to mention—go ahead and use your swords. I don’t want any of you making excuses afterward.”

“What…?”

I’d heard she was strong, but this was pushing it.

Even if it’s just for a second—if my Galatine so much as touches that wooden stick, it’ll snap like a twig.

“I want to see your real strength. Can you even go all out with that thing?”

Clicking my tongue, I drew Galatine.

“You’re sure about this? Don’t blame me if you get hurt.”

“Try me, if you can.”

Her response wiped away the hesitation I’d been holding onto.

Without delay, I invoked the skill I’d gained in yesterday’s battle. Galatine’s shape shifted and burst into flame. For now, I’d dubbed this form Flame Mode.

“Well, well… so you can manage that much.”

She gave a small, impressed smile.

“Hey, elf girl—Karen, was it? Mind giving the signal to start?”

“Eh…? Y-Yes, I understand.”

She must not have expected to be called on. Flustered, Karen quickly rose from the tree stump she’d been using as a chair.

“Then… begin!”

At Karen’s signal, I charged.

Strike first, strike fast. I’m not as quick as Rizel, but I doubt many could react to this speed.

Myudy didn’t even take a stance. With momentum behind me, I raised Galatine to strike—

“—Too slow.”

A wooden rod jabbed straight for my chest.

I didn’t even see it.

She had been totally unguarded—yet in the blink of an eye, she was in position and had thrust forward.

Combined with her own speed, the force doubled. It was only a wooden stick, so I wasn’t wounded, but the blow knocked the wind out of me, and I coughed violently.

“Gah—! cough cough!”

I stumbled back and collapsed to the ground.

“Next. The dog-eared girl—Rizel, right? Your turn.”

Completely ignoring me, Myudy moved on.

I scrambled out of the way so I wouldn’t get in the middle of things.

“R-Right! I’ll show you what I can do!”

“Yeah yeah, just come already!”

Rizel looked a bit shaken after seeing how easily I went down.

“Begin!”

Karen called out again, starting the next round.

Perhaps learning from my mistake, Rizel refrained from charging in headlong.

With her dual daggers at the ready, she crept forward slowly, inch by inch.

But—

“You think you’re gonna win like that?”

Myudy taunted her.

But it wasn’t wrong. Rizel’s style focused on using speed to her advantage—hence the short blades. They were light, easy to swing, and didn’t weigh down her movement.

Of course, every advantage comes with a drawback. In her case, it was reach. As it stood, she couldn’t even get close to Myudy. Her wooden rod—modeled after a long blade—kept Rizel at bay.

Rizel’s usual strategy would be to wait for a brief opening, dart in, then escape just as fast. But that wasn’t working on Myudy.

Gradually, she was being pushed back—

“Guh!”

A sharp thrust flew straight at her face.

In the blink of an eye, we had lost two in a row.

The last one standing was Karen.

“Last round. Raiga, you give the signal.”

I’d already asked Karen about it beforehand, but naturally, there’s no such thing as “pulling your punches” with magic.

A direct hit would almost certainly result in serious injury.

That’s why, in mock battles between mages, the match is decided by projecting magical barriers and seeing who can destroy the other’s first. Now, glowing barriers began to materialize in front of both of them.

“Alright, begin!”

At my call, Karen began her chant.

Myudy, on the other hand, didn’t move.

“O wind, become thunder and pierce my enemy in a single beam of light! Lightning Cannon!”

It was the same high-penetration spell she’d used against the ogre.

Myudy had deployed five overlapping light barriers. Karen’s strategy was apparently to destroy them all at once with a single, powerful shot.

“Well, your mana control isn’t bad.”

Myudy smiled as the lightning closed in.

“But ‘not bad’ is still not good enough. Dispel it—Reflect Wall!”

Her chant was just one word.

Separate from the light barriers, a mirror-like wall appeared and intercepted the lightning. True to its name, it reflected the spell—and Karen’s own barriers were shattered by the rebound of her own magic.

We all lost—without even landing a single blow.

That fact hit us hard.

“Whew… didn’t think it’d be this bad.”

Myudy said, sounding exasperated.

“You two up front just flail around relying on raw strength. Not a hint of actual swordsmanship.”

I shrank under her scolding.

She wasn’t wrong. I’d never actually learned proper swordsmanship. All I’d done was swing with brute force and momentum.

The only reason I’d gotten by so far was because the enemies I’d faced had been weak enough for that to work.

Rizel looked like she’d been hit with the same realization.

Apparently, there hadn’t been a single swordsman in her old village—and even if there had been, they were all weaker than her. She’d had no choice but to invent her own way of fighting.

Calling it a “self-taught style” sounds impressive… but in reality, it’s just unrefined improvisation.

“Well, you’ve got decent instincts. Learn the basics, and you’ll be fine.”

Then came Karen’s turn.

“As for you in the back… your mana control gets a passing grade. But your chants are too slow.”

“Ugh…”

“Your magic assumes someone else is protecting you. In a one-on-one fight, your head’ll be lopped off before you even finish chanting.”

“...That’s true.”

Karen looked down, clearly frustrated.

Come to think of it, in every battle we’d had, it had always been us taking the front line while she supported from behind. That was just our default.

“You can use healing magic too, right? A delay of just a few seconds could be the difference between life and death.”

She must’ve pictured it—Karen’s expression darkened even further.

“Well, I’ll teach you a few tricks. Now that I know what each of you needs to work on… and I’m hungry. Go eat something.”

With our weaknesses laid bare, we headed back to the village chief’s house in silence, each of us chewing over our own failures.