My body feels light.
Perhaps it’s because I haven’t moved my body through combat during the lecture period, and the moderate rest has sharpened my senses. My sword strikes, which should have resounded with a “buon,” now cut through the air with a sharp “hyun.” The Ore Tree, which resonates with my magic crest and circulates magic power, is also in good condition. My footwork is smooth, and my transitions to the next move are seamless. As the purity of my magic power gradually increases, my movements also become faster. My current state is undoubtedly perfect.
However.
“Tch!”
I can’t land a hit. The Supervisor, who dodges by arching her body like a layback Inabaauer, peeks out from behind the Ore Tree she drew, her face slowly coming into view in slow motion, observing me calmly. It’s a near-miss dodge. She sees through me completely, without even grazing her long hair. I don’t feel any shock at her movements. I believe there are still many mountains to climb. That’s precisely why I pour more power into my attacks, grit my teeth, and push myself through anaerobic exercise to challenge her again. Even when I shift gears again, my body doesn’t scream in protest yet. After my attack, which she narrowly avoids, comes her ruthless counter.
“Tch!”
I want to click my tongue and dodge that too, but my body, not my mind, understands that my posture won’t allow it, and I react instinctively. There’s no time to think. The moment I see it, no, the moment I perceive it, I react in the domain beyond mere milliseconds. Otherwise, it ends there. My body moves reflexively, but even so, my eyes continue to send information to my brain to gain even the slightest bit of information about the opponent, and within that information, I see the expression of the Supervisor, who is watching my actions with amusement. To change that smile into even the slightest bit of astonishment, I strain my muscle fibers and push my magic-enhanced body to its limits, preparing for the impact. I feel the sensation of blocking the Supervisor’s swing with my shoulder-mounted shield. I divert its trajectory, then understand that I’ve survived and try to regain my stance during that brief opening, but…
“You’re too slow, Jiro.”
She doesn’t give me any such opening. The opponent wields two weapons. Simply put, my attack rate is doubled. As someone who uses a one-sword style, I envy the hand count of a two-sword style.
Furthermore.
“Hoh, good intuition. Try to defend with that.”
The magic emanating from the Supervisor’s magic sword is troublesome. The red magic sword in her right hand controls fire, and the blue magic sword in her left hand controls water. I understand the capabilities of these magic swords through combat. The performance of these magic swords is simply troublesome. When wielded by a master of her caliber, their troublesome nature knows no bounds. In the previous sequence, I deflected a rising slash from the fire magic sword upward with my shoulder shield, but before I could even register the water magic sword’s horizontal slash from my left, fire magic rained down from above. In addition to the two-sword style, there’s also magic. With double the offense, multiplied by four, I’m constantly being overwhelmed. My own offense is limited to slashes enhanced by magic. I lament the scarcity of my attacks.
“Damn it.”
“If you have time to curse, think. Spin your head before you lament your own powerlessness.”
I think how someone stronger than me, like Instructor Fushio or Himik, would easily overcome this situation while humming a tune, but my body continues to move. I can’t afford to create distance just because it’s tough. I respond to the Supervisor’s scolding with action. My body constantly seeks the best possible move in the current situation, pushing my limits. I send magic power to the Ore Tree as if it’s telling me to, generating even higher purity magic power, and layering it onto my body reinforcement. At this point, the subtle differences in reinforcement, which could be dismissed as negligible, become important. It’s a situation where every single move, every breath, every brief moment counts. And my optimal range is the reach of the Ore Tree’s slashes. I do have flying slashes that can be used at a distance, but those require charging and are slower compared to the Supervisor’s attacks. In contrast, the Supervisor’s range is more than double mine. No, it should be described as all-range. It’s the skillful swordsmanship Instructor Fushio spoke of, combined with the diverse magic enabled by the magic swords. Creating distance to reset against such an opponent would be a foolish plan. If I were to create distance and then close in again, it would be an extremely difficult task. That’s why I focus on pressing the attack in close combat. I know that if I’m forced into long-range combat again, my chances of winning will be zero. I have to remain in this range, where I have even a one-percent chance of winning, and while my nerves are frayed, I search for a way out.
“Your attack power is acceptable. With that attack, you could indeed wound us. However, it wouldn’t be a fatal blow. Speed up your movements, diversify your attack patterns, and…”
The Ore Tree pulses, fueling the next level of purer magic for body reinforcement. My instincts, understanding that a blink of an eye is an opening, widen my eyes. Even though the world seems to be moving slowly, I’m desperately trying to not miss even a single movement of the Supervisor, who is still impossibly fast.
“Eliminate waste.”
“Damn it!”
The Supervisor’s slash met mine. Despite her fighting with two hands against my one, I was the one who lost. The Ore Tree bears the burden, but more than worrying about that, I need to be sharper, heavier. My brain instructs my body to rotate the slash.
“That’s right, that’s good.”
However, even as I desperately grit my teeth and push my body to its limits, the Supervisor calmly deflects it with the magic swords in both her hands. And then…
“…”
The intense movement stops, and the world returns to silence in an instant. Cold sweat drips down my face as her sword points at me.
“I see. For a self-taught style, this is quite good. It seems there’s room for improvement.”
A counter after my upward slash was deflected. Without even time to use my bare fists, the fight was immediately over.
“Kgh, haa, haa, haa.”
Only then do I manage to get proper air into my lungs. My entire body is drenched in sweat. I don’t know how long we fought, but I never imagined I’d be this exhausted after just one match. I don’t show my fatigue on my face, but if this continues, I honestly think it will be tough.
“Undead King, what do you think from your perspective?”
“Kukukuku, he’s grown remarkably. I can’t believe he’s the same person who nearly died from the Oni King’s strike last year.”
“While I’m going easy on him, it’s true that he can now exchange blows with us properly in such a short time. I’m impressed by the speed of his growth.”
Thanks to that, it seems I at least received a passing grade from the Supervisor. Their evaluation was neither praise nor criticism, but for me, it was a definite result of growth.
“Don’t get complacent, fool. Don’t be satisfied with this little.”
“Yes!”
“Kukuku, how severe.”
Perhaps seeing through my inner feelings, the Supervisor scolds me, but to me, it feels like I’m being told there’s still room for improvement, which invigorates me. The fact that the Supervisor’s eyes were smiling, contrary to her stern tone, also contributed to my motivation.
“Now, Jiro, my assessment based on our fight is that your close-combat ability is too focused. I understand that was necessary, but that doesn’t mean you can neglect other areas. Even at the beginner level, with your magic power, you could have used magic for at least feints.”
Her eyes, which had been smiling, quickly became stern again.
“Undead King, you too. Why didn’t you teach Jiro magic?”
“Well, I wasn’t opposed to teaching him, I just didn’t think it was the right time.”
“Hmph. We’ll let it go at that.”
The Supervisor’s evaluation isn’t bad, but it’s not good either. The noticeable weaknesses are likely lowering her assessment.
“I have a general understanding of your abilities. It seems like we’ll need to train you after you learn magic.”
“Regarding that, Evia, I have an idea.”
“An idea?”
The first match was indeed to assess my abilities. Even if stats can be confirmed numerically, that doesn’t mean their existence can be grasped. Stats are merely a numerical representation of physical abilities. There are many cases where high physical abilities are not fully utilized. That’s why they fought directly to identify my areas for improvement.
“Indeed, there’s a spell I’d like to try.”
“A spell you’d like to try?”
“What is it, Jiro, are you interested?”
“Yes, well. It might be a spell I learn from now on.”
“It’s quite a simple spell. Evia, I recommend that he learn armor magic.”
“Armor magic?”
“…I see, so that’s what you mean.”
I tilted my head at a magic system I’d never heard of, but the Supervisor nodded in understanding.
“What kind of magic is that?”
“Theoretically, it’s a combination of delay and enchantment magic.”
“It’s a magic that’s kept waiting in place and cloaks the body. When used for attack, one gains the attribute benefits of that magic, and it can also be used for defense. It can also be released and unleashed on impulse.”
Listening to the explanations from the Supervisor and Instructor, I vaguely understood what kind of magic it was. In essence, it’s magic that cloaks you with attack magic. But that…
“That means you can’t use it without learning regular magic, right?”
“That’s right. It’s fundamentally an applied magic that utilizes elemental magic. The true essence of armor magic lies in its use in tactics that create diversity in magic. A meager amount won’t be useful.”
“You need at least six types, corresponding to each element, to make it useful.”
This magic, worn on the body, is directly affected by elemental affinities. It’s a convenient magic that can reduce attacks or increase their power if it’s in sync with the opponent’s attack. However, conversely, if the affinity is poor, its effect becomes almost nil, wasting magic power. Therefore, using this magic requires a diversity of usable spells.
“However, if you can learn it, it will certainly broaden Jiro’s combat style. I believe it’s worth pursuing rather than just learning magic normally.”
“…I suppose I can teach him the fundamentals.”
The Supervisor considered Instructor Fushio’s suggestion for a moment. Deciding it was possible, she slowly nodded once.
“We’ll go with that.”
“Kukuku, then this is my domain from now on.”
The Supervisor, who agreed, instructed Instructor Fushio to guide him in magic. As for me, I thought I’d be learning incantations and magical composition like Kitamiya or Minami. However, the instructor took out a rolled-up piece of parchment from inside his robes.
“Instructor, what is that?”
“It’s a magic scroll. The magic sealed within it is here. Jiro, try to break this seal.”
“Yes.”
I took the parchment handed to me and, as instructed, untied the string in the center and unrolled it.
“Tch!?”
“Kukuku, you learned it?”
“You should have told me beforehand if it was going to be like this.”
“Learn by doing,’ as they say in this country.”
A sudden headache struck me. Along with it, the mechanism of the magic was imprinted in my mind.
“As expected of another world, you have convenient tools.”
“Fool, it’s not something you can use so easily.”
“Huh?”
“This scroll was something I created, but magic as a technique is fundamentally a secret art, not something that circulates readily. Even with one beginner-level spell, there are differences in how each sorcerer performs it. This scroll directly imparts the sorcerer’s technique. While it’s convenient, extreme caution must be taken to prevent the leakage of technique.”
“Remember that revealing the principles of a technique is equivalent to revealing a mage’s hand.”
“Such a valuable item…”
“Kukukuku, it’s for saving time. Don’t worry about it. Now, next is water after fire.”
Thus, I continued to learn magic by being handed scroll after scroll, but a problem soon arose.
“…My head hurts.”
There are no such convenient things. I, who thought this would be easy, am experiencing a sensation like my head is being repeatedly struck by something. I don’t collapse, but coupled with the fatigue from our recent battle, I even feel nauseous.
“Hmm, twelve. You learned more than I expected.”
“Kukukuku, still, we’ve only made you learn two beginner spells each for fire, water, earth, wind, ice, and lightning. The road is still long.”
Seeing my state, the Supervisor and Instructor looked impressed along with the number of scrolls spread out.
“J-just how many spells do I need to learn?”
The headache is slowly subsiding, but it hasn’t healed; it’s just bearable. I feel that if this continues, it will be difficult. When I ask how much further I have to go, they tell me:
“At least ten types of each spell.”
“So, forty-eight more types. However, mid-level spells will be mixed in from now on, making it even tougher than before.”
While the scrolls make it easy to learn spells, knowing that the drawback is a terrible headache, those words are a nightmare in a sense. Individually, they weren’t that bad, but when combined, they can cause a severe headache. Seeing my reaction, the Supervisor and Instructor praise me for enduring more than they expected, but they also show me the minimum requirements, informing me that there’s still a long way to go.
“Undead King, you have advanced ones prepared too, don’t you?”
“I am not remiss. However, that would mean adding twenty more scrolls?”
“Given the wasteful use of magic I just witnessed, it’s better to push ourselves a bit here.”
“Indeed.”
And then, a scene that feels somewhat familiar unfolds before my eyes. The Instructor and Supervisor, with gleaming eyes, happily take out scrolls.
“Hahaha, will you go easy on me?”
Facing such a scene, I manage a wry smile and utter a faint hope, but…
“I will do my best.”
“However, I won’t stop you.”
To the two enthusiastic individuals, my hope is far too fleeting.
Today’s word: I often hear “don’t miss your chance,” but thoroughly assess that chance.
This concludes today’s chapter.
Thank you for your continued feedback and error reports. If you find this interesting, please leave reviews, ratings, and bookmarks.
*The first volume of the novel has been published by Hayakawa Bunko JA and was released on October 18, 2018. The e-book version was released on October 31 of the same year. The second volume was released on December 19. The third volume was released on February 20, 2019. These books contain revised and expanded content from the original “Shōsetsuka ni Narō” web novel, with the addition of previously unpublished interlude chapters. Please consider purchasing the new releases!
Additionally, a manga adaptation in Kodansha’s “Young Magazine The Third” has been decided and is currently in progress.
Thank you for your continued support of this work.
