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Another morning of being a virgin.
Jii-san made me go the whole training-parcours in my [Student]-body again, which is just a needless torture, but I try to make sense out of it. Like, if I come to another situation that forces [Student] on me, I may feel a bit more comfortable fighting this way. Even though I did plenty while doing that shitty pilgrimage with Kyou-san, way back when the worries were as shitty, but there were less at least!
Yeah, I'm holding a grudge!
“Hff...hf...hfffffff...”
“Alright, next we do some spear-fighting.” Jii-san shows me a stick he carved during the night, it has a pointy end and barely resembles a spear. “I will use this one, or one of its brothers when it breaks.” He has like ten of them.
“'When' they break?”
“Yeah, they won't last long. When I was young, it was a real problem.”
“How did you solve it? A bunch of weapons?”
“At first. Then I asked a legendary smith to make me a weapon set that won't break.”
“And where is it now?”
“Lost some, gave the rest away.”
“And you know how to wield a spear?”
“Lad, I can use every weapon to some degree. Spears are easy to make and rather powerful if you know how, so I guess they're like my fifth favorite weapon.”
“The other four being?`”
“Clubs are my favorites, they are just so satisfying and have the right weight. Then I guess axes, as they feel similar, but sharp, which can sometimes be nice. After that... hammers are too small, so maces maybe? Basically a club as well, just made worse by people that don't understand simple beauty. Then bladeclubs, which can withstand some swings, but are way too hard to come by.”
“What the fuck are bladeclubs?”
“Orcs use them, big chunks of iron with an edge.” Well, Ara-san told me that there are so-called ooaks in this world, though they tend to stick to mountainscapes and they were driven out of Feuerberg's mountains because they used to raid the farmsteads...
Aren't they just non-human barbarians then? Well, I guess I will find out when I meet them. And have a proper talk to barbarians outside Jii-san, for that measure.
It just seems strange that Jii-san fancies easy to come-by weapons, though their weight and size seems to play a big part into it as well.
Nevermind, we're talking spears now, and I won't make the mistake of assuming that Jii-san is worse than me. “Should I change to [Pikeman] then?”
“Ah, that muscle-form? No need, gonna start with fatty!” I want to kill him! I take my stance, aiming the tip to Jii-san's heart. “Hm...” he says while scratching his beard: “This feels different.”
“Hah? What do you mean?”
“How to say... ah, switch to muscle for a moment.”
Geez, first I should stay [Student], now he says [Pikeman], what is up with that? I do so, however and adjust my stance, as now my legs and back are stronger.
“Ah, that! You feel less fleeting, more stable. Like you're ready to take a hit. Now be a ranger.” I change classes again: “Oh, now you stand lightly again!”
“Phew... changing classes doesn't change only my body, but also my mind. [Pikeman] gives me more mental fortitude.”
“Not only that. Something else... intent? As a pike-user you do seem to be less truthful... well, intentional? Like you're just doing what you learned without really understanding why.”
“Hm... could it be, because I was trained by hunters?” Meldorn especially took care that I learn how to wield a spear, how to throw it, and how to stab. “Question is, what does it tell us?”
“No idea, just running on instinct here, but trust me, when it comes to battle, it’s very sharp. Anyway, I think I know what to do now to make you stronger.”
“Hm?”
“I need to drill into you how to fight humans, e—alfar, and others. You said you were trained by hunters?”
“Yes.”
“That means you're good at fighting monsters already.” Rine noticed that in my fighting style as well, but how are they doing it? “You look like you're searching for that clean kill, like any mistake will be exploited.”
I guess that makes sense. Meldorn did teach me that I can't take any attack back and the more I need, the more I'll damage the game. Now that he says this to me, I can notice the small things in my stance that tell about it, how I'm light on my feet, but only need a minor motion to stem myself against the ground to get as much power as possible, how my hips and shoulders are ready to twist for either a dodge or to put more weight into my attacks.
I change to [Pikeman] again, making sure that these aren't just details that are general for fighting and adjust my stance until I feel comfortable with it. This time, my feet stand more afar, just slightly, but I can feel how I'm more stuck to the ground. My waist and shoulder seem also to brace more, but there are other changes as well, like how my hand grabs the spear.
Then I change back to [Student], trying my best to keep that stance, but it doesn't feel right, and no matter how I adjust, I can't make it work. “Phew...”
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“Got enough?” Jii-san asks me while letting his stick basically dance over his hands, before he takes his own stance: “Let's spar a bit.”
“Won't that end with me being beaten up again?”
“Glad you already know it.”
...I hate it.
―○●○―
“I'm fine with him being bruised, but did you need to stab him!?” Kyou seems to be very upset, as she looks at Kenta's wounds. “I can basically look through it! God, why!? Why do I have to do emergency healing every day here!”
“Sorry, Kyou-kun.” Grekk apologizes without missing a beat: “But I need to get him ready. Would you also check if he has splinters in his wounds?”
“Oh, now you want to tell me how I do my job!? I already checked! Next time, leave that thing in him if you can, removing it did more harm than good!”
“...sorry!” Kyou may be the weakest of us, but she sure is able to make even Grekk, who once beat Instructor, shudder.
“Kyou?” I ask carefully, making sure to not make her even more angry. “This is training, so you should expect-”
Oh, she looks at me like I stole a wooden toy horse from a child to saddle it with a real saddle: “Do I need to remind you that you sent him to me twice already in as many days?”
“I'm sorry!” I may not be in control of my actions, but I also can't dismiss the truth.
Kyou really needs to be worried about Dear, who is busy looking at that wall.
“Listen to me, you two...” She says to Grekk and me, nailing us down with her eyes alone: “How do you think this will turn out? [Rejuvenate] takes a lot of me, I'm dead tired every time, and he's also beaten. Do you like us being [Worn Out] when there is a stupid fight brewing!? Which, by the way, I was against. So would you please limit yourself to bruises? That's what I can use [Heal] and my poultices on, combined with a hero-body it's little damage overall. But regrowing bones and flesh!? Cut that out, for crying out loud! Understood?”
““Yes.””
Kyou proceeds to [Rejuvenate] Kenta, who seems to be paler than usual, but he doesn't yawn or something. My black-haired friend, already exhausted by her training, seems to be even more on the edge. “Rine-chan, no alone-time with Ken today.”
“Urgh...” But I wanted to try again! I even came up with an idea! “I'm sure that this time it'll work out!” Ah, saying it out loud is a bit embarrassing!
“No means no! Now, where is Arako?” Poor Ara, it seems like you will be the next victim of Kyou's wrath. Though you may deserve it after starting that wrestling match with Kyou's bosom today, though I have to agree to that tactic as it's a sensible body-part.
Ah! I just realized the reason why Ara never returned from taking a pee!
Hm... but if Kyou is busy, then... I feel a bit rebellious, just like when sneaking out of my lessons. “Dear?” I whisper in his ear, excited and anticipating: “Let's go somewhere else.”
Oh Dear, you just look so cool! You know exactly what I mean, and the resolve is just too much for my heart to handle! “Alright.”
“Have fun!” Thank you, Grekk.
I make sure to take my backpack with me, as I have pondered a lot as a [Wizard] about how to proceed next. I came to the conclusion that my fighting reflexes are too strong, and even if I change my [Class], it doesn't change me.
But there is one thing we can change!
It's hard to look for a place where Dear and I can be alone, with all the guests this farmstead has, but we also don't want to be found by Kyou, who may return to one of our rooms any moment. In the end, Dear and I are at the woodshed which may not be the most comfortable place, but at least it's dry.
“Dear, take this.” I press the most important tool for this undertaking into his hands: Rope.
“Erm...”
“If I can't move, I can't hurt you.” This is the best idea I ever had!
“Phew... it's not like I have that fetish, but I guess it's necessary.”
After a while, I can barely move. Dear needed some attempts and feedback, as neither of us have experience with binding a person, but in the end, it seems to be legit enough. I try to break free, to wriggle free, but nothing helps. “This seems to be working!”
Dear? Why are you looking like that? “Sorry, I just can't get in the mood like that.”
Gah!
Did my genius plan misfire after all!? “But Dear, this is-”
“Rine, could it be that you're just stubborn at this point?”
…it's hard to keep eye-contact. “Well... maybe?” I mean, I want to make love with Dear, but at some point I may have lost sight of why I want to, and how important it would be for us. “I'm sorry.”
“Phew... no need. Hey, we'll just take it slowly, right? Get you used to me being close and such. OK?”
“Mhm.” Dear is so thoughtful! I can't help but to jump at him, embracing his head, pressing it to my chest. “Dear!”
“Mmff!” Ah, he can’t breathe! I let go of him, and he looks very agitated: “How!? I mean, why is the rope...”
… “Oh.” Right, I was supposed to be still bound.
He kneels down and investigates the ropes. “They're burned through... did you just use fire magic while in [Princess Knight]?”
“...maybe?”
“Not even aware... Phew, dodged that bullet.”
“Hn?”
“If you can burn through ropes to hug me, what do you think would have happened if I laid a hand on you back then?”
“Hm... I may have freed myself and smacked you?”
“Or burned to death.”
“I wouldn't do that! ...or would I? I mean, I’ve never done it before?”
“Phew... better not to think about it. Well, let's return to the rest.”
“No.”
“Hah?”
“No, if we return now, then we’ve done nothing!”
“I may have just avoided death another time!”
“You said that we’ll take things slowly, right?”
“Right.”
“So we can take them slowly now! At least cuddling!”
Even if you look at me like I'm a pain, I won't back down on that one: “Phew... fine.”
“Yay!”
“Two minutes tops!”
“OK!”
I was the first to approach, and I was also the first to turn him upside down with a foot sweep, right before grabbing his body and piledriving him into the firewood. Well, not the first one, the only one.
I better use [Heal] on his bruises myself, so that Kyou won't be even angrier than she needs to be...
―○●○―
“And this is the next marker,” remarks Tjim, an aged and strong warrior, who walked down this path several times and remembers every marker.
Harkon looks at Bjonn, a veteran who is also a master in tracking: “Your job.”
“Yeah, yeah... yup, four people, barefooted. Three men, one of them aged, and a woman. Hm?”
“What's wrong?”
“Over there... hard to see at this distance, but these may be tracks of a wagon.” Bjonn points down the hill, Harkon may not be able to see the tracks, but he expects Bjonn to be right. “What the! They're moving away!”
“Hm... Tjim, this is a marker for a farmstead, right?”
“Yeah, look at that symbol?” It's a symbol that remotely looks like a pig. “Means farmstead.”
“Are they gathering to flee to the village together?” This may make sense, warning farmsteads, getting whatever they can, going where there are more people. “Would make things easier, unless the village has mercenaries, but hey, then we'd have a fight to enjoy!”
All twenty people under Harkon's command laugh, as they imagine showing those mercenaries who can fight for real. There may be some decent ones, but most of them are garbage that’d rather avoid a fight than seek one.