Volume 6 Chapter 12-2 Ice And Fire
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Tou.”
Mr. Escalion suddenly attacks with a combat skill. I barely counter with a Twin Dragon Combo, but the recoil from swinging a cleaver with both hands makes me stumble and lose my balance. Falling while holding knives in both hands is terrifying.
”That’s dangerously close!”
”You managed to pull it off with some courage, but your posture still needs a lot of work.”
They say that, but swinging knives with both hands requires not just strength but also a lot of skill. Since I have high dexterity, I should have an advantage with dual-wielding, but even then, if I’m not careful, I might cut my own hand.
If I make the weapon in my left hand smaller like Mr. Escalion’s, it might be easier, but this is also part of my training.
When I thrust the cleaver in my left hand forward, I pull my right hand back. Before swinging down the right cleaver, I move the left one aside horizontally. I can tell my coordination between left and right is awkward because of my fear.
I think I’ve been holding back because of fear ever since I accidentally cut my mom’s hand with a pestle during a rice-pounding session. That’s trauma.
Darn! I carelessly let the tips of the two cleavers touch each other. Because I was overthinking, my focus was disrupted.
With a light “chin” sound, one of the blades chips significantly. I had a feeling I’d mess up eventually. Yep, I really did it.
It was one of my favorite cleavers, and now it’s gouged with a deep, beautiful V-shape.
Resharpening such a large chip will require a lot of filing. Half the blade might be gone. Should I just leave it as is and use it until it’s ruined?
It’s not an expensive item, but I really messed this up.
Dual-wielding is indeed difficult. At the very least, if one of them weren’t a blade, it might be easier. Maybe I’ll try with a cleaver in the right hand and a hammer in the left.
Or maybe I don’t need dual-wielding at all? As long as there are two blades to activate the skill, it should be fine.
I take out what looks like a halberd from my magic bag. It’s a prototype I got from Mr. Zenom.
The tip of the long pole is like a chisel, and on both sides, there are hammer and axe attachments—it’s a very awkward specialized tool.
It seems they made it for firefighting operations, but destroying burning objects with this thing is quite dangerous, and apparently, no one wants to buy it.
Mr. Zenom immediately makes whatever he thinks of, so over 90 percent of his works are ideas that flop.
Moreover, I’ve heard that even on Earth, halberds require skill to wield properly.
”You. Were you a spear user?”
”No, with weapons like this, I can hold them firmly with both hands, and even amateurs can swing them easily, I think.”
At least there’s no worry about clashing weapons like with dual-wielding. The fact that the blades are at the tip of the staff also gives a sense of security.
But when swinging it around, you have to be careful; even if you don’t hit yourself, others might be in danger.
The halberd-like weapon is goofy—poke with the tip as a chisel, strike as a hammer, pull as an axe—but it’s very convenient for using multiple skills together.
Being a spear means the point is farther away, which puts it at a disadvantage for channeling mana, but Mr. Zenom wouldn’t leave that unaddressed.
Its shaft is made of special mithril, so it flows mana very easily. It’s not just a plain stave; it’s woven into a hollow pipe made from twisted cords.
Honestly, I think it’s overdone, but that’s the dwarf way. Mr. Gino is nodding with visible satisfaction.
Swinging it back and forth, I activate Frostfang Slash on the axe and Flame Dragon Strike on the hammer. Since even the remodeled skills have effects identical to the originals, they leave beautiful trails of light, looking very cool.
”Hmm. Doing quite the dexterous thing.”
Mr. Gino seems quite impressed.
”What’s with you? You got me all excited, and you’re completely amateur.”
Mr. Escalion’s evaluation is strict—he attacks me with Twin Dragon Combos. Even though he’s holding back, I want him to stop because a serious attack is scary.
Although I managed to parry the first strike, I was easily cornered with skillful steps and had to surrender. Swinging a spear is more difficult than I thought.
”For a master like me, this is about normal, but even amateurs can have reasonably strong spears. Clumsy people swing them around and hit allies, which is troublesome.”
The fact that you have a long reach means you can attack unilaterally from outside the enemy’s range. It must be a great advantage against an ordinary human. Only Mr. Escalion charging in without hesitation is beyond normal standards.
”With spear and sword, the sword can only engage within the enemy’s reach, huh? If you understand how to engage properly, close-range spear is more advantageous. Hey, lend me that difficult-to-use spear for a bit.”
”Can you also use spears?”
”Of course. I’ll show you the greatness of my spear technique.”
Mr. Escalion suddenly starts demonstrating. Just like I did, he unleashes a Twin Dragon Combo with hammer and axe. Can he do the same thing after just seeing it once?
”That’s good. I’ll name it Twin-Dragon Spear.”
”You stole the technique of your disciple.”
”A disciple’s technique is mine. It feels lighter than usual, so it’s pretty good.”
No way… The skill I modified was easily stolen. There’s no proper attack judgment happening.
Is it a skill that can just copy a skill by seeing it? If it’s a skill of this level, it’s no problem, but if magic bags or similar items are simply duplicated, that would be bad. Be careful.
”Furthermore, when combining the Gale Spear Technique──”
The halberd-like weapon is wrapped in wind, swinging freely and unpredictably. Does the weapon’s whistling sound disappear because the spear is becoming one with the wind? Maybe similar to the wind magic used when elves shoot arrows.
I’m breathless while admiring the flowing, beautiful series of movements. Even this old man looks cool, doesn’t he?
”…After all, doing three at once was too much. Well, there might be ways to manage it, though.”
The old man suddenly stops demonstrating while muttering something. It seems trying to combine Gale Spear Technique with Twin-Dragon Spear didn’t go well.
Because it’s a triple technique, huh. If you calculate the timing well, it might be possible, but probably there’s no real benefit in doing it intentionally.
”What exactly is the Gale Spear Technique?”
It’s not an attack skill nor a motion replay skill. With this, I could probably use it without modifications.
”It’s a secret technique I learned when I charmed the Harpy Queen long ago. Basically, this skill makes the spear feel incredibly light.”
When I openly admired it, Mr. Gino quietly told me the skill itself is just a common one that assists movement with wind. Apparently, Mr. Escalion’s belief in it doubles its effectiveness. He seems to grow stronger when women are involved—maybe that’s a talent too.
If I had to classify it, I’d say Gale Spear Technique is an attack-support skill. I can use it normally too.
It doesn’t deal damage, but it definitely makes handling the spear much easier.
The tip of a long spear moves at incredible speed when swung, creating significant air resistance. With this skill, not only is that resistance gone, but the wind also assists the spear’s movement—it makes a huge difference.
I think this skill can be applied to more than just spears.
* * *
Once I got the hang of spear handling, we moved on to practical training.
Mr. Gino had me fight a clay golem he prepared.
Honestly, I’d rather learn how to make the clay golem.
The golem’s build was similar to mine, with unnecessarily realistic sculpting, like a warrior haniwa.
Its skill was paralysis. Touching its clay sword would cause numbness and immobilization.
My status ailment resistance is maxed out, so I’d resist paralysis easily, but since it’s training, I’ll properly counter it.
I like that attack skills can be completely nullified if countered. Honestly, I’d be more scared of a normal attack.
Mr. Escalion is said to be a master even of spear techniques, but he is so much a genius that he’s not very good at teaching.
In the end, watching Mr. Escalion’s moves and analyzing them myself seems to be the most efficient way.
”You’re a logical type, but maybe that kind of person is well-suited to be my disciple. I can’t write secret manuals or anything.”
”Do I have to write a secret manual?”
I’ve managed to read books from this country somehow, but I’m still bad at writing.
If I’m told to write something, I’ll just disguise it with illustrations.
”No, I’ll leave that to my disciple. Perhaps a mysterious school no one knows about is also pretty cool.”
The old man says childish things, but he had mastered martial arts to an unbelievable degree.
Because he’s an incredible cheat who can steal his opponent’s techniques just by looking at them once.
Unfortunately, in terms of MP, I am a good match, so it seems he couldn’t steal the large technique used by the Summon Hero, which is fuel-consuming and powerful.
The techniques he can copy seem to be limited to those he can use himself.
Wait a minute… If that’s the case, there is a way to prevent Mr. Escalion from stealing skills.
Just add a reference to the Astronometry skill in the code of the skill that would be problematic if stolen. Most Stargazer-specific skills refer to the Astronometry skill. Simply copying the part of the technique that references it is enough.
Just referencing it without doing anything else is fine. If the caster does not possess the Astronometry skill, it will stop at that point.
Rather than a countermeasure against Mr. Escalion, it’s for preparing for other Summon Heroes we might meet in the future.
Anyone who has a skill copy cheat is bound to have it.
”Listen, disciple. Becoming stronger is important, but no matter how powerful you become, there is always someone above you in this world. The true essence of Escalion’s style is not to fight opponents you can’t win against from the start. When you feel like you’re going to lose, run without hesitation. As long as you survive, even a loss is a win.”
”Yes!”
As expected, the words of a seasoned warrior carry weight. Running away to win aligns with my stance as well.
That’s right, even if you can’t win, as long as you don’t lose.
”Once the battle is over, declare victory before the enemy does. That is also a true skill.”
”Victory declaration? Is that so?”
”In the world of contests, it’s the early bird that catches the worm. People tend to believe the words of the one who speaks first in a loud voice.”
Since it’s not uncommon for the outcome of a real fight to be unclear, if that happens, just make your victory known first. Especially in duels without witnesses, whoever speaks first wins, and often the outcome is decided by the difference in publicity.
It seems that even during Japan’s Warring States period, there were quite a few battles where both sides claimed victory. The Nomonhan Incident was also considered a disastrous defeat for the Japanese Army, having accepted all of the Soviet demands, but later research suggests it was almost a draw.
The battle itself was not the goal, but risking lives to reap the fruits of victory… Mr. Escalion’s words make me think various things.
”That’s a wise saying, indeed. After all, Count Escalion is undefeated. But in reality, he probably only won half the time, right? Hey.”
”Don’t talk so disrespectfully. It’s the victory of my brilliant mind.”
Apparently, he mostly won through information warfare.
It may be cowardly, but if you call it clever, then it’s clever.
He supposedly engaged in match-fixing, manipulated from behind using fame and strength, and did not shy away from any means to win.
His actions resemble those of villains in boy’s manga.
”Well, this guy is an incredible scumbag, but he’s not the type to kill for no reason. He’s pretending to be bad, but he’s actually quite soft.”
Unexpectedly, Mr. Gino comes to the rescue.
”Cut it out. My hands are pretty bloody already. Well, if I kill them, things’ll get complicated. Killing just for no reason isn’t worth it.”
Mr. Escalion says that he doesn’t actively seek to deliver decisive blows not only in duels with humans but also in fights against demons.
”But if we let monsters go alive, they might kill innocent civilians in the future, don’t you think?”
”That will be then. That means I lacked foresight. There’s no second chance for those who repay kindness with treachery.”
He’s like an old man reminiscent of Nobunaga.
I also don’t want to commit unnecessary killing, but if I show mercy to the Demon King and people end up dead, I think I’d be pretty crushed.
When the Demon King invades, it seems that the local lord becomes the on-the-spot commander. Governing a territory means, in part, that kind of responsibility.
Even in a small village, if you participate in managing the land, you have to think carefully about certain things, don’t you?
I realized that I wasn’t well prepared. I think that being able to apprentice under Mr. Escalion at this timing was luck.
”Well, I scrapped the Count title because it became too troublesome in various ways. Since I returned the territory to the country, I can do as I please in my remaining years.”
”It’s probably just womanizing, isn’t it?”
”What else could it be?”
Mr. Escalion apparently quite decisively quit being a Count. I briefly thought it was cool, but when I heard his motivation, it was pretty uncool.
What should I do? Being a lord seems more troublesome than I imagined. My enthusiasm is already waning just thinking about it.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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