The boy who had miraculously survived inside the earth spider’s nest was temporarily taken into our care.
We tried investigating the boy’s identity in the area where there had been a lot of damage, but we couldn’t find anyone who appeared to be his family or relatives.
It’s likely that his whole family fell victim to the earth spider. We’ve reported the case to the church and asked for further investigation, but I’ve heard that many of the people in that region had moved there from elsewhere. On top of that, if the neighborhood connections were weak, identifying the boy’s guardian is expected to be quite difficult.
Incidentally, it was revealed during the post-incident handling that he was the only survivor, and many of the bodies were so decayed that they could no longer be identified.
That boy is currently sleeping in an empty room at my house. He seems to have lost a lot of strength, so it will take some time before he fully recovers. For now, that’s all there is to report about the boy we’ve taken in.
And as for what I’m doing right now…
I was standing in my yard holding a wooden sword.
In front of me stood Kurt, who was also holding a wooden sword. Today, I had promised to learn swordsmanship from him.
The recent earth spider incident made me realize how fragile my physical abilities are. No matter how much magic I can use, if someone gets close to me faster than I can react, it won’t do me any good. If I don’t acquire physical close-combat skills soon, I’ll likely lose my life one day.
That’s why I begged Kurt, who specializes in sword combat, to teach me.
Next to me stood Fiene. She also wanted to learn swordsmanship, so she would be receiving lessons alongside me.
“Isn’t it still a bit early for you to use a sword?”
Kurt looked at us with a slightly troubled expression.
“You don’t have the physical strength to swing a sword properly yet. I think you should wait until your body has grown a bit more.”
“I’ll be fine. The sword’s been shortened to fit my height, and I know my strength isn’t there yet. But I want to do everything I can with this body.”
Kurt made a puzzled expression.
“Nero… you’re starting to talk like an adult in such a short time.”
“Huh? Really? Maybe I’m picking it up from Dad? Haha.”
“Is that so? Hmm… haha.”
He seemed oddly pleased.
“Well, if you insist, I’ll teach you. Let’s start with practice swings.”
“Practice swings…”
The moment I heard that, I felt a bit discouraged.
Of course, I understand that the basics are important. But I believe that learning through real combat is the fastest way to acquire skills.
By experiencing how to move and respond, your body can instinctively learn. Although the lack of basics will make things tough at first, once you grasp the feeling, your progress will be much faster.
Even if it’s rough, I’d prefer that approach.
“Dad, I want to do this in a real combat format.”
“What? Real combat format? That’s impossible…”
“How about two against one, then? Fiene and I together should be able to count as one person.”
I glanced at Fiene to gauge her reaction. She nodded back at me.
Kurt sighed.
“Well… I guess I’m being underestimated here. But even with two of you, I don’t think you’ll match up to one person. Still, fine. It’ll be good for you to experience what a real sword fight is like.”
“Great, thanks!”
My motivation surged. I was determined to absorb as much as I could in this opportunity.
Though I don’t think I can defeat an adult, I want to see how far I can go with this body.
“Alright, I’m ready. Come at me whenever you want.”
Kurt stood there in a natural stance, without taking any particular guard.
I thought hard. How could I even begin to keep up with Kurt?
Then, I recalled the body-strengthening magic he used during the battle with the earth spider. At that time, Kurt’s agility and jumping ability increased dramatically. If I could do the same, maybe I could keep up with him.
But how do I do it?
“When using magic, I was taught that you have to attribute an element to your magic power.
Does that mean Kurt enveloped his body with fire-element magic?
No, if he did that, his body would just be engulfed in flames, like a sword on fire. If he doesn’t do it properly, he could end up as a human torch.
So, does he somehow use a transformation instead? Like boosting mobility by shooting flames from his feet? No, no, this isn’t a robot anime, and that’s not realistic. Besides, I didn’t see anything like thrusters coming out of Kurt’s feet.
Then, what other method could there be?
As I recall, when I saw it with my own eyes, Kurt’s legs, covered by magic, didn’t seem to have any elemental attribute attached to them. So, is he just flowing non-elemental magic through his body?
Huh? Non-elemental?
I felt a sudden realization. Come to think of it, Ayra also uses a fighting style based on non-elemental magic. Her shoulder tackle, wrapped in magical armor, could be considered a form of physical enhancement.
Could it be… that just flowing magic power without attributing an element, relying solely on state transformations, could work?
Of course, depending on a person’s characteristics and training, they may be able to reach higher levels. But with non-elemental magic, one could flow the magic directly through the body and enhance things like strength or resilience, even if only slightly.
Maybe that’s what Kurt is doing too. Either way, it’s worth trying.
‘Hey, are you coming? Or have you decided to back out?’
Kurt said with a light smile.
It seems like he thinks I’m hesitating because I’m scared since I haven’t moved yet.
‘No, I’m coming.’
As soon as I said that, I deployed my magic field. Not to my hands, but to my legs.
From my waist down to my feet, seven heptagonal magic fields connected in a chain. I let magic flow through them and transformed my body—enhancing my leg strength.
Suddenly, I felt my legs grow much lighter.
I can do this!
I kicked off the ground, closing the distance to Kurt in an instant.
‘What…!?’
Kurt’s eyes widened for a moment. It was because I closed in faster than he expected. But he quickly reacted and blocked my attack with his wooden sword.
‘When did you learn body enhancement…?’
‘I saw you do it, Dad, and tried to copy it. Did I do it right?’
‘Copy it? You understood just by watching…?’
I’m only able to do that because of my unique ability, ‘Broken Eye.’ It allows me to see magical structures, so I can visually grasp how magic is being activated.
‘Not just right—it’s perfect. Haha, looks like I can’t afford to slack off.’
Kurt’s expression changed, his mouth curling into a grin. It wasn’t so much a “serious mode” expression but more like the face of a boy enjoying himself.
He seemed to be having fun with the situation.
‘Here I come!’
Kurt pushed back my sword and lunged forward, launching a follow-up attack.
I jumped back to avoid it.
As expected of someone who’s survived countless battles, his sword techniques are on a different level. Even with enhanced leg strength, if I lose focus for even a second, I’ll be finished.
Staying on the defensive would put me at a disadvantage. My only option is to launch as many attacks as possible and look for an opening.
I readied my sword and went on the offensive.
I deployed magic fields to my arms as well, enhancing my arm strength.
My power surged, and my sword strikes became sharper.
‘…What!? Are you reinforcing both your legs and arms at the same time!?’
I didn’t let up, launching attacks from every direction.
Though Kurt blocked all my strikes with his sword, it seemed the sheer number of attacks was becoming too much for him, and eventually, his parries weakened.
I saw his sword slide off mine as if he’d lost his grip.
In that moment, I saw an opening near Kurt’s head.
Now’s my chance!
I aimed a strike with my wooden sword.
But just as I swung—
‘Too naive!’
Kurt’s voice rang out.
His sword, which had slid off mine, suddenly swung around from the side, aiming directly at my forehead.
Damn it!? I’m gonna get hit…!
I braced for impact, accepting my defeat, when—
A sharp clack of wooden swords echoed, and the attack stopped.
‘Ugh…’
A weak but determined groan came from right beside me.
I looked over and saw a familiar face.
‘Fiene!?’
She had stepped in and blocked Kurt’s attack with her wooden sword.
While it’s true that a spectator has an easier time assessing a battle, when did she…?
But before I could process it—
‘Ugh… my hand… it’s all tingly…’
Fiene dropped her wooden sword and sat down, tears in her eyes.
She’s still just a child after all.
Seeing this, Kurt decided it wasn’t the time to continue and lowered his sword.
‘You surprised me. As expected of Ayra’s daughter. Even though you can’t yet use magic fields, you still had the courage to step in. That’s definitely from your mother.’
Hearing this, Fiene showed a slightly proud expression.
‘And Nero, you were incredible too. I never expected you’d be able to master body enhancement.’
Although he praised me, it was still a complete defeat. If Fiene hadn’t stepped in, I would’ve been beaten. Actually, I was as good as beaten. If Kurt hadn’t chosen to stop, I’d be lying on the ground right now.
At that moment when I thought I had won, Kurt deliberately loosened his grip on his sword, making it look like he’d lost control.
That created the opening I took.
This is how a seasoned warrior fights…
The difference in experience was overwhelming. And to think he wasn’t even using body enhancement…
It was a total defeat.
As I was lost in thought, probably looking a bit down, Kurt ruffled my hair.
‘You did something amazing, you know? You should be proud of that. Besides, if I let you win here, as your father, I wouldn’t have anything left to teach you. That would be sad, wouldn’t it?’
He mussed up my hair even more.
‘Also, I don’t think you’re cut out to be a frontline fighter like me. From everything I’ve seen so far, you’re more of a rear-guard type, like Diana.’
‘Rear guard?’
‘In monster battles, it’s standard to fight in a party. You’ve got the vanguard for close combat, and the rearguard for long-range attacks. A party with balanced roles has a much higher survival rate. You’re good at casting elemental magic from a distance, so I think the rear-guard role suits you. Plus, you’ve already got someone who might make a great partner in the future, don’t you?’
As he said this, he glanced over at Fiene.
She blinked in confusion for a moment but then seemed to understand and blushed slightly.
A partner with Fiene, huh…
I’d never thought about it like that.
While she’s holding off enemies in the front, I’d be casting magic from the back. That image flashed in my mind for a moment.
But that’s a long way off in the future…
‘Anyway, what I wanted to say is that your current fighting style won’t work against low-level monsters. So, there’s no need to feel so down.’
‘Oh, so that move you did earlier, where you deliberately loosened your grip and diverted my attention, that kind of fake-out only works on intelligent enemies, right?’
Kurt widened his eyes in surprise.
‘Wow, you really get it, Nero. That’s right, psychological tactics only work on mid- to high-level monsters. Well, I don’t think you’ll be facing anything like that anytime soon, but it’s good to keep in mind.’
‘Yeah, I’ll remember that.’
I definitely don’t want to face high-level monsters in my current state.
I realized I need to hone my skills, including psychological tactics.”
