Chapter 14

In conclusion, Kamui was incredibly strong.

His wind magic allowed him to accelerate, launch razor-sharp wind blades in every direction like a tornado, and hurl massive rocks with enough force and speed to crush a person easily.

Everything I had honed in battles against countless monsters proved entirely ineffective.

Even my cheat knowledge for refining magic was pointless before his overwhelming power.

Kamui effortlessly dodged or cut down every spell I cast.

But this sparring match with Kamui turned out to be incredibly valuable for me.

Of course, I didn’t win even once… but it was far more instructive than any fight I had against monsters in the demon forest.

I ended up in a grueling boot camp worthy of a drill sergeant, fighting from sunrise until sunset, repeatedly healing my battered body with light magic before jumping back in.

Today alone, I went through over ten sets of clothes, sliced up beyond repair. Looks like I’ll need to stock up on clothes tomorrow.

“Not bad. You’re about a B-rank monster or a sergeant level in the knights’ corps.”

Even though I was reduced to a ragdoll countless times, Kamui didn’t even break a sweat. The power gap was clear, but that didn’t make losing without being able to put up a fight any less frustrating.

Still, Kamui wasn’t perfect either… he was terrible at giving verbal instructions.

“Like this… you plant your feet firmly, gather strength in your soles, and when your arm and sword are in sync, you’ll just slice clean through.”

Watching Kamui slice a massive rock in half while explaining didn’t help much.

When I asked him about using body reinforcement:

“It’s like… you gather a burst of strength in your gut and then—bam! You get it, right?”

How would I get it from that…?

Kamui was an intuitive swordsman. He used the Zanshin-ryu, a style he said was fairly standard in his homeland.

The Zanshin-ryu he wielded was a combat style for the battlefield, a brutal sword style focused on defeating the enemy before one perishes.

In this world, recovery magic exists, so styles that prioritize taking down the opponent at any cost—even ignoring one’s own safety—are favored. Kamui even held a license in this ruthless style reminiscent of the deadly Satsuma Jigen-ryu.

Kamui was incredibly skilled, but he said it took years of practice to learn body reinforcement. After swinging his sword for years, one day, he just found himself able to use it.

He could enhance his sword with magic, send slashes flying, and move at superhuman speeds, making it a highly adaptable skillset. I had no choice but to watch and learn, but I was determined to acquire these techniques someday, however long it took.

…Oops, back to the sparring.

After tasting defeat repeatedly, I gradually started to understand how to fight against Kamui.

With his sharp instincts, Kamui instantly saw through my weaknesses, using his primal intuition to target every spot I didn’t want him to hit.

There were times he disrupted my spellcasting at the worst moments, or threw off my breathing with well-timed strikes that made me uncomfortable without even realizing it.

But if he kept hitting my weaknesses, then fixing them would mean erasing my flaws.

Once I realized that, I started deliberately altering my timing, casting spells to reset the tempo, and disrupting his rhythm to maintain control on my own terms.

Eventually, my tactics turned into a bit of a nuisance, and Kamui noticeably frowned. I’d like to think I got at least one hit in…

“Alright, let’s head back for dinner!”

Once I healed my wounds with light magic, Kamui led the way back to the capital. Any monsters we encountered on the way, he swiftly dispatched.

Watching from behind, I was mesmerized by his flawless swordsmanship. It was wild yet methodical, a primal beauty wrapped in savage precision.

We returned to town and made our way home.

As we walked, my stomach growled loudly. Fighting since noon, after all… I felt a bit embarrassed and tried to play it cool, but Kamui stopped in his tracks.

“Here, but don’t tell Mel.”

He handed me a skewer of grilled meat, the very scent that had caused my stomach to rumble.

Unable to resist, I took a bite. Kamui bought one for himself, too, and started eating it heartily.

“Make sure to eat everything. She’ll notice if there’s anything left.”

“…Yeah.”

In my previous life, I hadn’t really had the chance to grab a snack on the way home. Seeing my classmates do it, I’d been a bit envious, if I was honest. It felt like I was reclaiming a piece of a belated youth, and it made me feel a little lighter inside.

We returned home.

Kamui, however, had sauce smeared around his mouth, which immediately gave away our little indulgence.

So sloppy…