Chapter 163 Progress and the Next Stage
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Ten days had passed since the showdown with Ranbaa. Just ten days, and it might seem like not much could change in such a short time, especially with only a few hours of training each day. However, the three of them were growing at a pace that defied my expectations.
What surprised me the most was Ranbaa. After that duel, he began displaying the same level of focus in his daily training that he had shown during the fight. He started turning his magical control into something tangible, gradually making up for the initial delay. Perhaps losing the match played a role, but it seemed that being defeated by “such magic” he had belittled, and being shown the potential, impacted Ranbaa the most. This shift prompted Seira, who had been ahead until now, to put even more effort into her training to not be outpaced by Ranbaa. Just two days after the duel, both of them cleared ten meters. Since they were making such progress, I decided to challenge them further and see how far they could extend their records. However, the improvement of their records started to diminish around the 13-meter mark, so I decided to temporarily halt this training and move on to the next stage.
”Whoa! It’s not a wooden tag; it’s a proper medium! And it’s brand new! I did it!”
”Are you sure? It feels weird receiving something like this.”
”It’s for training, so don’t worry. Well, I’m expecting a lot from you three, so maybe keep that in mind.”
”Um, yes, we’ll do our best!”
I added a bit of pressure to get them even more invested in their training than before. As they moved on to the next stage, they graduated from using wooden stick and received proper staff mediums. Initially, I planned to provide Eurus with both a new one and my old one, but Eurus had already gotten used to his current medium. Switching to a new one might cause confusion due to the difference in conductivity between a well-used old medium and a completely new one. So, I decided to let them transition to the new mediums after they completed the initial training.
With this in mind, the next training for the two was to utilize the earth poles that Eurus had initially practiced with. However, while Eurus had practiced crushing the pole using pressure, the new exercise for Ranbaa and Seira was to extract the pole from the ground using suction. There were different levels for this exercise, with the adhesion between the ground and the pole becoming stronger as they progressed. By the way, the issue of whether they could activate magic immediately after receiving the medium was solved due to their ongoing training to manipulate the magical energy outside their bodies. I had them practice not only channeling the energy into the medium but also flowing it along the engraved characters. Thus, they easily passed this aspect of the training.
”Alright, I’ll go first!”
”Since it’s your first time, you can do it lightly.”
”Sure!”
Seeing Ranbaa respond enthusiastically, I felt a bit uneasy. Seira and I moved away from him to observe.
”Come!”
At his command, Ranbaa activated his magic. The pole made of earth was forcefully pulled out of the ground. However, the pole was brought to a halt by the end of the staff, and due to the momentum, it snapped into two halves. The upper half impaled Ranbaa’s forehead, while the lower half pierced through his tailbone.
”Gwah!?”
After being struck by the pole, Ranbaa fell backward. He rolled on the ground, clutching his forehead and tailbone in pain. Seira looked down at him with an exasperated expression.
”You’re such an idiot. This exercise is about pulling, not yanking forcefully. Didn’t Master Neil say to do it lightly? Couldn’t you have imagined that this might happen if you forcefully yank such a big pole?!”
”Cough, ugh… I get it just fine without you explaining it so condescendingly. Are you making fun of me?”
”Of course, I am.”
Though Ranbaa’s eyebrows twitched in response to Seira’s immediate retort, he seemed to understand his own mistake this time. In fact, this training was different from the previous one, where the goal was to pull the pole with all one’s strength. As the training progressed, the adhesion between the ground and the pole became stronger, while the pole’s durability remained constant. This meant that pulling with brute force would cause the pole to break. To extract the pole without breaking it, precise control was required.
After ensuring that I had prepared extra poles for them, I turned my attention to Eurus. His training was advancing as well; he was currently practicing alternating between offensive and defensive spells. In real combat, it wasn’t about constructing neatly-formed, proper magic; it was about being able to cast spells quickly, even if they were a bit rough.
Facing an enemy and leisurely casting spells is a luxury rarely afforded. In real combat situations, allocating mental resources to construct spells can lead to neglecting awareness of the surroundings. For a magic user preparing for real combat, it’s good to learn around four offensive spells and two defensive spells that can be instantly constructed. However, cramming too many things at once isn’t efficient. So, I judged that it would be better to focus on teaching only one fire attribute offensive spell and one earth attribute defensive spell.
Initially, Eurus struggled to construct either type of spell. But with repetition, he became able to quickly construct both. While maintaining this pace and enhancing the precision and power of their magic could be continued, considering that they had learned offensive and defensive spells, it might be a good time to start practical training.
”Eurus, can I talk to you for a moment?”
”Yes, what is it?”
”Since you’ve learned the basics of magic, I think it’s about time to start practical training.”
”Practical… Can I really do that?”
”By practical, I mean it’s still training. I’m not saying to take you to the forest and have you fight monsters out of the blue. I’ll be your opponent.”
I opened my Item Box and pulled out a robe. Since I had stored it in the refrigerated compartment for potions, it was quite cool, but I endured it and put it on.
”Master Neil, what’s that?”
”It’s a robe that disperses magical energy. It nullifies weak magic on direct impact. It’s the one I used to wear, so the size is a bit small.”
”Wow… Um, what about a robe for me…”
”Sorry, I only have one of these right now. I just came up with the idea to start practical training based on your progress, Eurus. But don’t worry, I can go easy on you. Even without the robe, you won’t get hurt from magic.”
”Meaning there’s a possibility of getting hurt other than from magic…”
”I take safety into consideration, but if I’m too considerate, it’ll remove the sense of tension. And that wouldn’t be effective for practical training, right?”
”Was Master Neil’s training with your teacher also this strict?”
”Well, I’m already one of the gentler ones. While she didn’t go all out on me, I was hit by some fairly lethal magic. The robe prevented major injuries, but getting hit still hurt, and if the magic struck my face or exposed hands, it wouldn’t have ended well. If you prefer a harsher training, I can give you this robe.”
”No, that’s fine! Please keep wearing it, Master Neil!”
”Yeah, I figured.”
Watching Eurus strongly reject the idea, I couldn’t help but chuckle. It was my first time being taught magic by someone else, and thinking about it now, it’s clear that it was quite Spartan. Well, thanks to that, I naturally learned how to protect vital areas, and compared to the sword teacher who took me to the forest to fight actual monsters, I was still relatively gentle… maybe? Both situations seemed equally dangerous in terms of personal safety, so it’s a fine line.
”So, what do you want to do? While it’s a training you need to do at some point if you’re aiming for practical combat, it’s not urgent just because I came up with the idea. You can keep continuing your current training as it is.”
As I asked, Eurus seemed to be deeply contemplating. Despite his serious expression, he eventually spoke with a determined tone.
”No, I’ll do it. Master Neil, you might have time now, but if you become busy, you might not have the opportunity to join our training anymore.”
”That’s true. I can help with training now because I’m free, but if things get busy, it’ll likely become difficult.”
As I said that, the face of His Majesty came to mind. I couldn’t predict what he would do, but undoubtedly, he would do something significant. And if that happens, there’s a high chance that I won’t have the luxury to spare time for the three of them in training. Hence, I decided to conduct practical training with Eurus while I had the time.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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