Published at 6th of October 2019 03:35:46 PM
Chapter 10
Chapter 10 ~ Sati, Learning
After dinner, we all go to the training ground located inside the Elf Mansion. There, we learn how to counter the Mubyōshi-uchi from Sergeant dono.
Like usual, I join in together to receive the guidance. Since it seems like we are learning something awesome, everyone else come to see too.
However, when I watch her this time, the brilliance that Sati has shown every day during practice session has paled, and even though she is still showing a good spectacle, this time they feel blander for some reason.
No matter how much I am coffered as the master of this house, this is still the Elf Mansion first and foremost. I can’t forbid those elves from watching out of boredom even if I wanted to.
Well, no matter what the occurrence is, I am the person whom people usually resent……
I prepared the light equipment like the wooden sword and the leather armour and passed them to Sergeant dono and Sati.
“The easiest method is to create a significant distance between you and your opponent.”
It is quite easy. Today’s qualifying round is narrowed inside a ring. The Mubyōshi-uchi requires the user to close the gap with their opponent in a fraction of second, hence it cannot be used if there is a distance between them. And from tomorrow on, the ring will be the same size like in the main battle, so they are going to be wider.
By taking some distance, we will never receive the hit once we timed our move exactly like our opponent.
Yet, we can never call this the most effective way of dealing with it.
“Get used to it. See right through it.”
The difficulty level suddenly rises to a great leap. It’s becoming unreasonable.
There is no helping it even if I complained. It was decided that he is going to demonstrate it first with me.
I grip my sword and shield tightly against the incoming Sergeant dono.
I have already seen the technique once, and I also understood what kind of technique it is. I don’t think I will get hit by it that easily……while thinking about such thing, I noticed Sergeant dono make an abrupt move, and *don*, his wooden sword tapped my shoulder.
“O, oh……?”
I cannot comprehend what has happened very well. My eyes have continuously been on Sergeant dono in front of me and I never diverted them even for a moment.
It was neither my own negligence nor a surprise attack. I knew it was coming, yet I couldn’t avoid it. When I received the blow, it felt like I was pinched/hold up/pick up by a fox.
Or perhaps I will get used to it over time. Not even Sergeant dono understood it that much.
“One you are hit with it for several more times, you should be used to how it is executed and able to prevent it. If necessary, I can keep you company for the whole night.”
Apparently, there does not exist a specific countermeasure.
“No, I don’t need that much time. I already understand.”
Whether Sati managed to grasp the technique with that one-time display or not, she proclaimed so and replace my place. She is brimming with confidence.
Those two face each other. Both keep their cool, staying from each other while keeping their power in check enough to think they are not going to fight.
Nevertheless, I know that Sati concentration is at its max due to her serious demeanour. Perhaps she can do it after concentrating that much.
Sergeant dono moved——a sound can be heard; Sati sword jumps to intercept Sergeant dono wooden sword.
She takes a deep breath. Then Sati releases the tension in her body.
“Darn amazing, Sati……”
“Yes!”
Then, she looks this way happily.
“You managed to fully grasp it after being shown once, as expected.”
No, seriously.
“How did you do it, Sati?”
“I listen to his movement with my ears.”
Her ears twitches while saying that.
A hearing detection skill……I have that detection skill too. If normal method cannot be used, then it is worth it to try the alternative.
“I would like to ask for one more time, please.”
I fully opened my presence detection, and then I confront him. Even though I have raised the skill’s level and increases it accuracy, originally it is used for wide area. I don’t know whether it will work or not. If it doesn’t work, then should I pick up the hearing detection skill?
Sergeant dono presence starts to shake before my eyes.
He is coming. Centre, torso————just barely, I stopped his wooden sword with my shield.
Sergeant dono face visibly shown his surprise.
Why doesn’t he show a surprised face when it was Sati……?
“Masaru sama is amazing too!”
Pleased with my performance, Sati clapped her hands.
Unlike Sati, I barely stopped his strike.
“Both of you managed to block that hit to this extent……I am surprised, very much surprised.
It is all thanks to the skill. Although, for Sati, she might be able to block that attack anyhow without the presence detection skill, but it is impossible for me.
I wonder if the presence detection will be useful for adjacent fight as well. I was trying not to use it much during battle to avoid my focus from being widespread.
“Excuse me, we don’t really understand what is going on.”
One of the elves who is helping with Sati’s practice spoken, after raising his hand.
Well, I guess so. From the onlooker perspective, it must have seen like Sergeant dono has only landed a normal blow. Then we guard against it normally.
Since these people never get hit by that strike, they will have difficulty to understand what is going on.
“I will let those who are interested experience it.”
“Yes, please!”
Nearly 20 people has queued up in a row, including Ann, Ellie, Tilika and Shira. After setting me and Sati in a place with a good viewing, he proceeds to land a blow on each of them.
Naturally, they are not disturbed and the strike lead to their surprise and make them stunned. Some of them were unable to grasp it and asked for a second time, but the result still ended up same. It is not something that can be easily be understood.
I have been watching the move thoroughly, but it seems that there is no fixed move set. Was there a common thing that is shared between the foot movement and the distance with the opponent?
“Do you understand?”
“I feel like I can do something about it.”
If Sati said so, then she really means it.
While we are talking about it, something unexpected occurred.
When Lilia tried it again for the second time, this time she managed to block the attack.
Cheers were raised from the elves. Lilia herself were unable to respond to it, however her spirit Auto Guard was activated. Naturally, in the competition this technique is forbidden and will lead to foul play.
Nevertheless, if we exempted the competition rule, there are various possibility to deals with this technique. It can be negated by both magic and skill, and there is not particularly need for a one on one encounter. Our primary opponent isn’t human being in the first place; hence this technique isn’t that much of a threat as I first thought.
“We are going to end this session for today.”
In the end, after making me and Sati face it for several more times, he concluded that Sati can now block that attack and finishes his instruction.
Well, my blocking technique is dubious still, this is primarily for Sati, so I guess it is fine.
“Thank you very much, Sergeant dono. You are a great help.”
“Thank you very much, Sergeant dono!”
“This is part of my job. Also, the foods were a treat.”
“Whenever you feel like eating, you can come by anytime. You will be welcomed.”
This isn’t my house, but this much is fine. We have more ingredients than we can possibly hope to finish.
“Then we can safely say the next time you meet it will end with our celebration of victory.”
“Yes, please leave it to me!”
Sati answers energetically.
Having meeting Sergeant dono expectation, he went back home satisfied.
“Should we practice a little bit more?”
After I sent off Sergeant dono, I came back to the training ground and asked Sati.
I also want to try more battle technique that utilizes presence detection.
“Yes. Most of my fatigue has wear off. I can still move a lot.”
Sati went for another 4 rounds today. Almost everyone loses instantaneously to her. Since we just finished having a meal, the training session is lighter. Sati feels a slight unsatisfied due to how light is the exercise.
“Alright. Let’s go for another one rounder.”
Should we go back home and continue it at our dojo? Using Gate is……a bad choice here. Ann friend had come over. Since it’s too troublesome, we will just continue here.
“Thanks for your work, everyone. I’m going to practice with Sati alone, so I ask everyone else to dissolve. Ellie, I will leave it to you. You can go ahead.”
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“I know.”
After hearing a one-line reply from Ellie, I turn toward Sati.
“Why don’t we start, then.”
Sati nodded. This is going to be like our usual practice. There is no need for an early arrangement.
I prepare to block her hit in advance. This is how I normally start my fight. Sati evaded, received a blow, and fight back.
I calm my nerve. If it is like the usual practice, then I will never land a hit on Sati.
When I think about it, for the past few days I have been practising with her. It is fun practising swordsmanship with Sati without hurting her. Even if her opponent attack past through, even if I made a mistake, it will still be safe since it will be stopped.
Sati is making the most from what she has learned in her special training for the past few days and make a great move. Though, it is still within my expectation since I have been attending the special training as much as long. I received them and avoid them without any problem.
I wield my sword while activating the Presence Detection. Even though it helped to prevent the Mubyōshi-uchi, it wears out the sense of visual and sensation so much that it became a hindrance in normal fight. Moreover, even if you can sense the body movement, eventually you still need to depend on your vision to see the trajectory of the weapon. It is not very good.
After a while, I began to sweat a lot. I took a rest and regulate my breathing, and then I asked Sati.
“How useful is the Hearing Detection?”
“Let’s see. The more you move, the more your focus will detach from your opponent, so with this skill it feel like that part is covered somehow……”
It is said to help us know the weapon trajectory even without looking at it. However, the accuracy will greatly degrade during battle. For now.
The same applies to Sati. She doesn’t have much experience incorporating the skill actively during melee combat, but if she managed to get used to it then it will become more usable.
Should I take Hearing Detection? Right now, I don’t have extra points to afford, but I can collect enough by cutting away some skills. For example, I didn’t use summoning level 4 so far.
There is no need to think about it, really.
Reset. Lower Summoning Magic from level 4 to level 3. Increase Hearing Detection to level 2.
I try to activate Hearing Detection.
“Hey, Angela husband, is he a magician……”
Oh, I can hear the chats from further away very clearly.
“Fufu. Isn’t his swordsmanship very awesome?”
“I’ve watched the competition for every year, so I say he definitely is in a level where he could compete in the main battle. Not to mention his Mana……also his magic ability?”
“As for Masaru, magic is his main forte. Didn’t I tell you that his is more than an elf.”
“Exactly like what Angela sama said, Masaru sama magic is way greater than us elf——”
Eavesdropping another people chat is interesting, but that is not my main objective.
Swinging my sword. Moving my body. Threading on my feet. Certainly, all the sounds are transmitted back to me. But that’s it. I couldn’t relate the sound and moving image together. It is not only because it is still level 2, but it also has something to do with experience.
It is not a waste, but it isn’t something that can be used immediately. A practice for a while is necessary.
“Sati, we’ve broken a lot of sweats now, so I think it is time to stop.”
She still needs to practice Recovery Magic, and considering tomorrow, it is not advisable to stay up very late.
“Um, today is about me, so if possible, I would like to practice more.”
Sati requested with upturned eyes. For some reason it feels like her usual self has changed. It is rare for Sati to demand this much.
“Then, should we continue?”
Activate Hearing Detection. Then, I turn my stance towards Sati.
However, when I activated the Hearing Detection, the sound of wooden swords clashing echoed uncomfortably in my head. I wonder how Sati handled it when she is at level 5. I must ask her later.
After going for a while, I finally give up. I already hit the limit of my physical strength.
In the meanwhile, Ann’s friend, Rosa chan has went back home, so I opened the Gate to the village and went back with Ann and Shira chan who has waited till the end.
Me together with Sati went straight to my room. I decided to supervise her Recovery Magic practice later. I will postpone writing my diary for now.
“I need to take a bath……”
“Don’t mind it, don’t mind it.”
“I-I have to take off my armour.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay.”
Me as well. She has a match tomorrow, so I thought it would be best to conserve her strength for now. It’s bad enough that I was unable to reject Sati request.
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I push down Sati into bed, then I proceed to carefully peel off her body off her armour, carefully examined her body that is still chewed up from the previous battle——
During our bath, while we are rinsing off our sweats, I have her teach me about Hearing Detection. You can predict the direction to some extent by filtering out the sound that you detected.
Sati doesn’t understand it well too. Seems like she is not just picking up the sound with her ears. There must be magic elements involved. Otherwise, your eardrum might burst as soon as you increase the sensitivity.
When I try to think about a useful implementation, I couldn’t think of anything that can be effective immediately like when intercepting the Mubyōshi-uchi. Still, it is still better than Summoning Magic level 4, which I have not used at all. So, I decided to use this skill for a while and see how it goes. It’s convenient when you want to eavesdrop another people conversation.
I rise from the bathtub and then I will practice Recovery Magic for a while before hitting the bed.
We wore our pyjamas, sit while facing each other on the bed, and then I reconfirm the state of her training so far.
“I may not have a knack for it……”
“This is only your third day of training, right? Usually, this training takes a whole month.”
For the time being, I used the same method as when I practiced with Ann.
By using a knife, she makes a cut at the tip of her index finger. Her groans left her mouth while she is activating her mana. As expected, it is a failure.
“You need more power. Take a deep breath and be more relaxed. Yes, yes. Then create the image in your head. Think about making the wound heals. Cure, return back to the original finger image.”
“Image……image……”
Her mana vanishes in the air wastefully. The small wound no longer has blood flowing out of it. Even if left as it is, the wound will most likely heal naturally.
But still, isn’t there any method besides hurting your finger over and over? It’s unpleasant to watch Sati hurting her finger again and again. I can call Will here and beat him in the name of training……but that is too much.
Ah, why don’t I replace her myself.
“Sati, the knife.”
“Yes”, and she hand me the knife obediently. I received the knife and push it against the palm of my hand while exerting a lot of strength. I hesitated from how scary it is, but I still cut it with one go. It hurts.
“A, aahh!?”
Sati raised a small scream.
Blood oozes from the wounds on the palm of your hand. It hurts a bit. Even after I have built a resistance from being cut by Sergeant dono many times before, what hurts will still hurt.
“Sati. Right now, you are the only one who can cure my wounds. If you leave it as it is, I will lose too much blood and die.”
In other word, I create a situation.
When I pretence to speak like this, Sati will be desperate.
“Eeeee!?”
“Calm down. The Recovery Magic. Sati mana is not much. You cannot afford to fail many times. Stay focused.”
“Y, yes.”
Did I cut it a tad too deep? Somehow the bloods are pouring out a lot……
I tried to stop the overflowing bloods from my palm with a towel. The towel quickly gets soaked blood red.
“Heal.”
A failure.
“Heal!”
Again, a failure. The towel is now dyed red.
Sati bites her lips in tears.
“It’s okay. You have the God divine protection. You will master it without fail. You need to draw more strength. You just need to collect some more mana and things will be fine.”
The blood continues flow.
Don’t tell me I’ve cut a blood vessel? I feel a bit uneasy now. Do your best, Sati!
“Okay……image. Cure it. To cure. Absolutely……”
Fail.
Fail.
Fail.
Sati’s mana almost run out. If she still can’t do it, I will heal myself with Miracle Light and charge her mana, and that is for today. Just went I thought I could go.
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“Sati, the next one is the last.”
“Ah, my mana……”
Seems like she is aware that she almost exhausted her own mana.
“Please, please. If I couldn’t do it, Masaru sama will die. He already lost this much blood.”
Hearing her delicate murmur is impossible with my ordinary hearing, but I do catch it up with Hearing Detection.
Yeah. There is no way I’m dying with this degree of cut.
But did I push her into a corner by saying that I will die?
“Heal!”
Mana gathers on Sati’s hand——
【Heal (Small) 】activated.
The spell invoked without a mistake. The pain gradually disappeared.
“I……did it?”
Sati feels a good response.
After wiping the bloods with towel, the wound is completely gone.
“Yeah, it’s a success. Well done, Sati.”
I said that while rubbing her head.
With level 1 the skills can be used properly. Like this, she will make no more failure.
“T-thanks God. Your hand is full of bloods……I was at lost at what to do……”
She is crying from feeling relieved.
“Now, now, there is no need to cry. From hereafter, whenever I got hurt, Sati can come and heal my injury.”
She now has a trump card up her sleeves for the upcoming match.
You can’t expect the Heal (small) to be much effective, and she can’t openly display the skill as it will cause an uproar when a beastsmen uses magic. But at least, she has more tricks in her hand.
“Please don’t do thing like this anymore.”
Saty says while wiping the blood on my palm with a wet towel.
“Un. Forgive me, Sati.”
I never thought that blood would come out pouring like river.
I’m sure that was bad for Sati’s heart.
“But I believed that Satie could do it.”
I said so, and tightly hugged Sati.
“You did very well today too, Sati.”
“Yes, Masaru sama. I will give my best for tomorrow’s qualifying match too.”
“Well, do your best, but in moderation.”
“Is that so?”
“Just like Sergeant dono or that guy in today’s match, there are many strong people in this world. We only have half a year of sword practice. So, it is okay even if we lose sometimes.”
It has been seven months since I have arrived here. About six months after I bought Sati.
“Half a year……it is still only half a year, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
“Even after 20 years……”
“Even after 20 more years.”
Whether the end of the world comes.
“Even after decades, I will stay by Sati’s side for all eternity. That is my promise.”
I still have plenty of times. Somehow or another, we will preserve. Surely.