The training ground located near the clubroom.
Originally, it was the exclusive training ground for the Spear Arts Club, but as the club dwindled, it turned into a shared training ground for minor clubs.
“It’s absurd that spears are considered minor in the first place.”
“There’s no one here?”
“Well, it’s a minor training ground.”
The club leader, Ene Rizua, opened the window of the empty training ground.
Dust filled the air as the light streamed in through the window.
Looks like it hasn’t been used in quite a while.
“To begin with, only the battle club actually does ‘training.’ Since it’s literally minor, there aren’t any people, and training doesn’t happen much.”
Besides, this was originally the training ground for the Spear Arts Club.
There are plenty of shared training grounds at the academy, and there are even training areas inside the clubroom itself, so there’s really no need to come all the way to this corner for training.
“Anyway… here you go.”
Ene handed me a spear.
Out of the dust-covered spears, this one seemed to be in decent shape.
After taking the spear and checking it, I looked at Ene.
She was already getting into position.
“As I said before, I won’t hold back.”
“Oh. Neither will I.”
“…Start.”
The beginning was Ene’s initial attack.
Was she serious about testing my qualifications or was it just a blindingly bright green spear that launched at me?
‘Mana of Life.’
A kind of mana possessed by all those born and raised under the World Tree.
The spear imbued with mana sharply aimed for my right arm.
I deftly deflected the spear’s blade.
Ting—!
The sound of metal clashing rang out, and the pushed-back Ene immediately followed up with a recovery and counterattack at the same time.
Generally impossible movements, but the spear’s reach and the life mana supporting it, along with the body of a half-elf, facilitated it.
I have a talent for wielding weapons, after all.
Kakak…!
“…!”
Ene’s attack was blocked once more.
Ene’s spear was stuck right on the blade of my lowered spear.
Ene’s spear is obviously better in terms of performance, but if I understand the flow of strength correctly, I can sufficiently block it.
The levels of mana are somewhat similar, so it’s not feasible to break through with sheer strength.
“Ahhh…!”
Kwahhhh!!!
The spear elongates.
Or rather, it looks like it elongates.
‘It’s not a splitting spear, but there’s definitely something real among the illusions. Just a simple trick?’
If I could materialize all the illusions, it might be a bit useful.
I swung the spear wildly and split the real illusion in half.
Thud!!
“What, what…”
I eliminated all the spears deceiving my eyes.
The illusion spread out like water the moment it touched my spear.
And then.
Kaaang!
“To use a dagger, you should first learn how to deceive.”
A light tap with the tip of my spear easily disarmed Ene’s spear.
As the last desperate move aimed at my back rolled to the ground, Ene’s expression completely twisted.
[Wow]
[Lily! Lily! Lily!]
[Is this really Lily? Hahahaha]
[Just quietly take your lessons]
[Look at her blocking all the attacks from that spot, lol]
[Does Lily look like trash?]
[What was that?]
[Lily can’t win against the spear]
[The professor can’t win either;;]
“…How did you do that?”
“I pulled their attention with illusions and the real thing from the front, and when they thought it was over, I secretly sent out a Clone Spear from behind.”
Zwaang.
“It might work against amateurs, but it won’t work on someone of equal level or higher.”
Ene Rizua created a Clone Spear with physical properties aimed at my rear.
I’m not sure if summoning just one was the limit or if she was doing it deliberately to deceive me.
But given the flow of mana, it’s closer to the former.
“In that case, just like this.”
“Huh… what?”
I raised my spear.
Six green spears formed around me.
Is six my limit for now?
“Simply shooting them is one way. If you waste your mental energy preparing a move, you might miss what you actually need to see.”
In war and conflict, you never know when an attack will come.
While fighting the Ancient Beast, a raucous monster might get hit by a Celestial’s attack and crash into the battlefield.
While blocking Demon Beasts, the aftermath of the Celestials and Demon Race fighting across the continent could wipe out an entire kingdom.
The examples are a bit extreme, but…
‘It’s not wrong.’
At that point, you could easily see an entire race wiped out in one night and a kingdom erased from existence.
Even if you did nothing wrong.
“You should read your opponent’s attacks instead of only thinking about your own. Of course, if the differences are severe, there’s no need for that.”
“……”
“Or rather, using other abilities is also an option. For example, using magic to assist in calculating attacks, or shaking the opponent’s mind. There are plenty of methods.”
That’s why I prefer hammers.
Against a powerful blow, techniques, numbers, or strength are all useless.
Numbers or power are of no use.
That’s why, despite knowing high-level magic equivalent to a great mage, I only use it for support.
In a tense battle like that, it’s better to swing a spear or hammer one more time instead of creating and using magical formulas.
‘But if it were a demon race, it’d be a different story.’
[Lecture ON]
[Don’t use tricks, just go for a clean hit… memo]
[Professor Lily is lecturing]
[But Professor Lily uses tricks too, right?]
[Isn’t what Lily does a trick?]
[OMG]
[LOL]
[Lily is versatile, so it’s fine]
Ene Rizua gulped at the sight of six perfectly formed spears.
‘No, at this level…’
“Uh… Junior?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t make something like that.”
Isn’t it hard to call it a spear anymore?
“Doesn’t it seem like it’s beyond the level of a spear?”
“I didn’t think you’d care about such details.”
“No! This is basically magic!”
The Clone Spear was just a spear with a blade made of the Mana of Life added to a bladed spear.
But the six spears my junior showed were different.
‘From start to finish, all made of mana…’
Isn’t this basically a spear arrow mimicking the shape of a spear?
Of course, it didn’t feel like it was using a magic circle or magic, but I had to believe it.
If I didn’t, everything I learned until now might feel pointless…
“I didn’t use any magic.”
“But…”
“It’s the same as what you did, Club Leader. Just like layering the mana spearhead onto an empty spear, you just need to create the spear with mana as well.”
“No, I can’t do that…”
Creating a mana spearhead was already tough enough.
If there’s no medium like a spear shaft, implementing it is impossible.
Unless you use some special, magical something…
“I can do it.”
No.
“I will do it.”
Definitely.
“…What?”
■
The Clone Spear that Ene used was a method applying mana transfer.
Injecting mana into a shaft without a spearhead, using that mana to serve as the spearhead.
With the medium of the ‘shaft’ and a direct image, she could move freely, but in fact, it should also be possible without a shaft.
The reason she couldn’t use anything beyond that was because she unconsciously set limitations.
Whether it was the influence of the master who taught her techniques or the continuous defeats making her believe there was no possibility…
She drew the line, believing that a ‘medium’ was a necessary limitation, so it naturally had to be impossible.
“Since you’ve drawn the line yourself, it’s naturally impossible.”
“God, I’m going to die…”
“Let’s do just 100 more. It’ll be over in no time. Seriously.”
“Ugh…”
And I decided to take extraordinary measures to break the ‘wall’ that Ene had.
I looked around.
In the stark white room, countless spears were scattered, and a sweating Ene gritted her teeth and thrust the spear forward.
“More. Faster. Here, you can just dump your mana out like crazy.”
“I’m really gonna die…”
“If you die, I’ll just bring you back.”
Even if I have to lift the restrictions, I’d bring her back.
[LOLOLOLOLOL]
[Ah, PTSD kicks in]
[Is this a gym?]
[LOLOLOL]
[Thought she was a trainer, LOL]
[Let’s do 10 more, dear member!]
[Is this a room of time and mind?]
[So funny, LOL]
[Wow, haven’t we stabbed about 5,000 times by now?]
[Going insane here]
[She seems mad, LOL]
[Ah, LOL, just die already]
This space isn’t a room of time and mind… It’s just a space that resembles the one ‘he’ created for training.
There’s no time differential and no special rules or constraints.
“It’s just a space where stamina and mana recharge quickly. Perfect for training.”
If a month passes in this space, Ene’s abilities will be unimaginably stronger compared to before.
[Lily is training for an entire month too?]
[?]
[So jealous]
“I don’t do it all myself.”
Of course, I’m willing to assist to a certain extent, but sadly, I have an episode time limit.
[Currently conducting Ep.3 club activities.]
[The progress of this episode has exceeded 90%.]
Unfortunately, ‘I’ can’t do it…
“But Ria Elposis can help, right?”
A month remains.
During the time that gets skipped, Ria Elposis will diligently… No, she’ll raise her up.
[LOLOLOLOL]
[Passing the buck, huh?]
[Training is meant to be skipped, LOL]
I concealed my disappointment while restoring the almost dead Ene’s stamina.
“…I still need to do at least 100,000 times.”
I just wish there was more time.
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