| Author: Kobayashi Homare | Original Source: Syosetu | Word Count: 3404 characters |
| Translator: Nomad | English Source: Re:Library | Word Count: 1750 words |
| Editor(s): Deximus_Maximus | ||
“Intermediate group, you’ll have combat practice under special conditions. I’ll cast Gravity magic on you, and you’ll battle a golem. There’s exactly thirty of you, so you can split into three groups and each will deal with a golem of their own. This training will enhance your communication skills with strangers, physical strength, and sense of battle. It’s just perfect, don’t you think?”
Ahh…she’s the devil. What even is Gravity magic?! I’ve never heard of anyone using that before! Maybe some high ranker in the capital’s guild knows what that is, but I’ve never met anyone who did in a remote place like this… And what was that about a golem?! Who is she to be able to summon creatures while also possessing healing magic?!
“Let’s bring the golems then…”
Miss Lapis ignored our hesitation and swung her arm, making the ground swell up until a giant golem was formed, or rather, three at the same time. For a moment I thought I was hallucinating or in a dream, but then my body suddenly felt much heavier and my mind returned to reality.
“Kuh?!”
“Wh-what happened?!”
“I can’t stand up!”
My body feels so heavy! And it’s not just my body, but everything I’m wearing and carrying as well! I was used to the weight of my leather armor, but now it felt like I was wearing full body iron armor and I could not stand the weight! Even my spear felt heavier. The simple act of carrying it was a chore in itself!
“The force of gravity should be roughly doubled for you now. If you can develop your bodies to move like normal under these conditions, you’ll easily be able to overpower an average silver ranked adventurer.”
She was supposed to be under the same effect as us, but she didn’t even bat an eye. Did that mean a situation like this was nothing special for her?!
“I’ll brief the experienced group on their training now. I’ll come by to check on you every now and then, so just do your best to fight the golems. I’ve ordered them to hold back to a certain extent, so I don’t believe there’ll be any casualties. Good luck.”
“Wha-!”
“Waitt!”
“My body! I can’t-”
We were still struggling to stand up as the golems made the ground tremble with each step they took towards us. Blood drained from our faces as it mercilessly lifted its fist up. If there was anyone watching us, they probably would have taken pity on us, or laughed at our situation. But our minds had already stopped working by then, so we had no way to know if anyone observing us.
§ § §
When I thought I had passed out, intense pain assaulted my body bringing me back to my senses and I was blown away together with the ground where I stood. Beside me, there was a spear lying on the ground, whose owner was unknown to me, but I grabbed it and stood back up. I silently looked at a soldier standing near me and he replied with an understanding nod.
We were employing so much energy just to stand up that talking was a superfluous use of it, but at some point, we became able to coordinate our movements naturally without words. I didn’t know if that was because our senses had been augmented after being exposed to life-threatening danger, or if dormant parts of our brains had been activated. But if this was one of Miss Lapis’ goals in this training, then I honestly thought it was quite a commendable feat… though everyone being currently submitted to it was filled with more resentment than gratitude.
I had already lost count of how many times the golem hit me. If I took a hit head-on, I would be blown away and faint, if it just grazed me, then I would still be blown away and get injured from the fall. It seemed way too overboard no matter how I looked at it, but I was afraid that I would face even worse hardships if I complained, so I put up with it silently.
As unbelievable as I thought it was, Miss Lapis observed our training while floating in mid-air, from which she had the entire training ground in her view. If she spotted anyone with a broken bone or a serious injury, she would literally swoop down and heal them.
That being said, she was not really helping either, while she was healing wounds, she paid no attention as to whether someone had passed out or was bawling their eyes out. She simply healed, then flew back to her spot and resumed observing. It was not only the intermediate group that she took care of, but the beginners and experienced groups as well, so I figured she had to be either a goddess or a demon. There was no way someone like that could be human, she was fundamentally different from any of us.
I stood with trembling feet, fueled by willpower alone as I charged once again while thinking of the only way to survive- simply getting stronger; and how being stronger would definitely be enough to satisfy that monster…or rather, that master.1
§ § §
Two weeks passed since Miss Lapis, our master, began her rigorous training. Though in reality, we had only been with her for six days during those two weeks. After that spearmanship course, we all could see a clear improvement in our skills. The beginners who cried trying to run thirty laps on the first day had built the strength and resilience to run sixty laps while constantly swinging their spears.
The other intermediate students and I had all built a firmer and keener set of skills to deploy during a fight. Our swings were stronger, we were fast enough to evade any enemy, had more tolerance to pain, and could persist even through the most hopeless of situations. But above all, we were able to understand the intent of someone we saw for the first time, a skill that adventurers very rarely developed.
The experienced students had grown far stronger than us. They had somehow developed the ability to infuse magic power into the tip of their spears, multiplying the strength of their weapons many times over. The rest of my group and I would have to wait until she taught the spearmanship course again before we could learn that skill.
“…Before I noticed I started wishing the course would continue on. I wonder if that’s also because of her?”
I laughed dryly at the change in my mindset. At first, I could only think of escaping this place, but now I could barely wait for the next class. I was surprised by how much stronger I became each day, but knowing that I could keep improving made me want to continue training. After all, according to her I definitely had the potential to become a top-class adventurer.
“Now, everyone. Your training finishes today. Let me start by expressing my gratitude for pulling through with me, thank you.”
Saying that, she bowed to us. Seeing that, all of us bowed back to her. That scene looked hard to believe, but no one found it strange. It had been ingrained in our body and soul to expect things like that.
“I hope everyone present was able to hone their skills in a meaningful way these last two weeks.”
She was only an instructor here, but she always went above and beyond her duties. We had seen plenty of that side of her in the past so it was nothing surprising, but I still admired her for it.
She continued talking.
“The experienced students have learned all I can teach now, but the beginners and intermediates are welcome to take the course again. Though next week a different instructor will be in charge and I won’t be teaching this course for the moment. Those of you who want to train with me again can go to the offices and reserve a spot to attend when I’m back.”
“What course are you going to be teaching next?”
One adventurer raised his hand and asked. She pondered about it for a moment before replying.
“My next one should be the archery course. After that is magic, then swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, short sword, and mallets. Then I circle back to spears. Each course takes two weeks, though I only work three times a week, so it’ll be awhile before I’m back to spearmanship. If you want you can still enroll ahead of time though.”
I felt a drop of sweat trickling down my cheek. I had guessed as much, but hearing it directly from her still shocked me. In short, she excelled at every kind of practical skill. The other instructors were adventurers and soldiers who had made a name for themselves in the past, but none of them could teach as thoroughly and successfully as she could. But if her other classes were on par with the spearmanship one, then in just one year…or even just half a year the military strength of this area would be ridiculously strong. It was scary just to imagine it.
“Anyway, congratulations on making it this far. Maybe we’ll meet again next time, I’ll be looking forward to when that time comes. Class dismissed.”
Her last words were short, unusually short, then she turned around and quickly left the training grounds. We remained there for a moment longer, talking about our future plans or just friendly chatter with the friends we made. The topics varied from people wanting to apply to the examination to become guards to others who wanted to test their new skills in difficult requests. On the other hand, I left on my own and headed straight to the adventurers’ guild.
After all, I had already decided what I wanted to do. I wanted to test how much stronger I was while fighting for a request. Though when I had decided that, I had no way of knowing that I would shriek at seeing the demonic instructor who had thrashed us for the last two weeks sitting in the reception desk as soon as I barged into the guild.
