Semi-retired Adventurer Lives Leisurely - Chapter 145

Ch. 145: Cyril’s Training Part 2

Mr. Derrick and I stood a little ways apart as we faced each other. The Practice Fields of the Mages Tower was spacious, and the distance was great enough that I wouldn’t be able to reach him in one breath. At my top speed, it would take 2 to 3 seconds.

……….oh, wait. No, no, no. I can’t. I need to go easy on him. This isn’t my training, but an opportunity for Cyril to be able to demonstrate her ability as a Magician to position herself well on a battlefield for her classmates.

Approaching him within 2 to 3 seconds would be way too fast. So I need to gradually close the distance. ……..of course, I can’t completely let my guard down either.

Henry: “Cyril, are you ready? We’ll tackle this exercise like it’s actual combat just like the instructors said to do. Take this seriously.”

Cyril: “Of course! I’m ready wherever you are!”

I sensed her nodding behind me.

…….good.

Far behind Cyril, outside of the Magecraft Barrier that surrounded the Practice Field, Ms. Elenoir stood with the rest of the class and raised her hand to signal that everything was ready.

Elenoir: “Now, let’s…..begin!”

With the starting signal, I sprinted somewhat quickly towards Mr. Derrick.

Derrick: “[Weaken] {Uz} + [Fire] {Ignis} + [Spray] {Volley}!”

And seeing me approach, Mr. Derrick sent Magecraft arrows towards me. ……….and being able to use a Spell like [Weaken] {Uz} which is completely useless in actual combat says something about the depth of Mr. Derrick’s repertoire of Spells.

And we had an agreement before the practice that in order to minimize the risk of injuries, [Weaken] {Uz} would be treated the same as [Strengthen] {Hazac} and should be handled as such.

I look at the 8 arrows flying towards my way, and I strike the two that would hit Cyril and dodge the rest.

As I guessed, the arrows I dodged flew past Cyril and disappeared against the Magecraft barrier.

Derrick: “Ugh! You have good eyes! [Strengthen] {Hazac} + [Water] {Eedle} + [Invade] {Ginci}!”

Henry: “Whoa!”

My next step suddenly turned into slippery mud, and it was the same Spell combo that Emily used on the first day. Though Mr. Derrick’s Spell was not as expansive, his positioning was irritatingly precise, and I had to stop to regain my balance.

……..though the positioning of the trap was immaculate, I would be able to jump over this kind of mud trap in an ordinary battle…….but we also agreed on me not going full throttle.

Henry: “Cyril!”

I call out to Cyril and jump to the side to avoid the muddy hole.

…….and Cyril followed suit and moved with me. She is making sure that I am standing directly between her and Mr. Derrick. This makes it easier for the vanguard to protect the rearguard, and working as a pair, this is a standard formation.

Cyril: (Henry, I’ll fire one Spell to distract him……!)

Henry: (Okay!)

As I dashed forward once again, I got a message from Cyril who was singing behind me.

3, 2, 1… Cyril counted down as it echoed inside my head.

Cyril: “{Fire Arrow}!”

Henry: “Hmph.” As she cast the Spell, I tilted my head slightly to let Cyril’s arrow fly past me.

Derrick: “Whー Hey, hey!!”

Mr. Derrick panics as he hurriedly dodges the incoming arrow. It’s not an incredibly sharp attack, but the telepathic communication between Cyril and I cannot be picked up by others. It actually cuts down time by a few seconds quicker than voice communication, and it may not be a flashy ability, but it’s quite useful.

Derrick: “[Weaken] {Uz} + [Weaken] {Uz} + [Accelerate] {Accela} + [Accelerate] {Accela} + [Light] {Luche} + [Snipe] {Sagi}…..”

Henry: “Hah!’

Mr. Derrick was eyeing Cyril and was constructing quite an impressive Spell, but I threw my spear at him. He was forced to dodge and his incomplete Spell construction failed.

At this range, I’m not limited to just blocking the incoming Spells, but I can disrupt the casting of them too.

Henry: “[Strengthen] {Hazac} + [Restrain] {Katerno} + [Launch] {Veloz}!”

Derrick: “[Accelerate] {Accela}………UGH?! What’s with that Spell construction speed!!”

To prevent him from building another Spell, I cast a quick Spell as I called my spear back to my hand. Mr. Derrick accelerates his body to dodge it, but I’m sure that he was hoping to make a combination Spell.

But while Mr. Derrick is constructing one Spell, I am able to put 3 together. Though Mr. Derrick’s skills in Magecraft is way above mine, if I use my Spell construction speed to my advantage, I can put up a fight for a little while.

And now, my spear will almost reach him. Mr. Derrick places a hand on his sword as he prepares for close-range combat.

Mr. Derrick’s sword style does not trigger Spells with key words, but by swinging his sword in certain motions to make the Kroseid Magecraft Sword Style. …….though I may be better with a weapon, if I’m not careful, I’m going to have a Magecraft Spell blasted in my face, so I can’t let my guard down.

……..using the length of my spear to its fullest advantage, I am weary of Mr. Derrick Spell as I keep him pinned down in one spot. We would be able to take him down with Cyril’s second Spell……..that would be the safest, surest route to victory.

As I thought about our next steps, my spear was finally going to reach him whenーー

Henry: “Cyril!”

Before I couldーー

I sensed something and immediately halted and turned around towards Cyril.

Cyril: “?! Okay!!”

Though she was confused at first, in a moment, she realized what I was thinking and turned around.

Yes, the course instructor, Ms. Elenoir had stepped inside the Practice Field. Holding her staff in front of her, it glowed with her Magic, and it was pointed directly at Cyril.

Henry: “…….I won’t let you!”

Cyril immediately jumped to the side, and I threw my spear as she did so. Holding back? I completely forgot to do so.

The Nyoiten Spear split into 3 clones, and struck the ground near her feet and both her sides.

……..normally, this should be enough to take down someone. Even if it was an especially tough enemy, Cyril could blast it with her Spell to finish it off. ーーand now Ms. Elenoir who suddenly entered the fray was now out of the picture.

Henry: “[Strengthen] {Hazac}”

Continuing our assault, I strengthened my legs, and jumped far away to dodge Mr. Derrick’s attack from behind.

……..and since they didn’t hold back to do a sneak attack, I found no reason to hold back either.

With the spear I drew back, I struck Mr. Derrick’s sword out of his hand and pointed the end at him.

<<<<>>>>

Cyril: “Ms. Elenoir, that was unfair!”

After our practice fight, at the sudden arrival of an assassin from outside the playing field, Cyril protested furiously.

And Ms. Elenoir, not showing an ounce of remorse, opened her mouth to speak.

Elenoir: “I’m very sorry. But this was necessary. In an actual battle, the enemy will not be limited to just the one in front of you. If you only focus on the enemies you can see, you will suffer sudden attacks from nowhere……..was the lesson to learn, and that’s why we attempted our sneak assault.”

………..well, I completely understand, but isn’t this going a little too far from the very beginning?

Derrick: “Elenoir, I told you that this isn’t a good teaching lesson. This is why your reputation among students is so poor.”

Mr. Derrick seems to be aware of Ms. Elenoir’s tendencies and warns her.

Elenoir: “Well, even if you say so, I cannot stop from doing this lesson. …….I never want any student of mine to make the same mistake and suffer as I did.” Ms. Elenoir rolled up her sleeves as she spoke to reveal…….a painful looking scar below.

Even Cyril, who was still puffing her cheeks in anger, and the two other classmates who thought the lesson went too far inhaled sharply at the sight.

I see now. Because she got hurt in a similar situation, even at the cost of her students resenting her, she wanted them to learn this from her. It’s hard to argue with her after seeing that.

Elenoir: “And I always enjoy my student’s expression of disbelief when I pull this off. You couldn’t possibly rob me of this pleasure.” Wait, does she just like pulling pranks on people?! If she said nothing, we would all have been fooled!”

…….is she just honest and genuine?

Elenoir: “But this time, I was the one to put on that expression. ……for our knowledge and learning, Mr. Henry, how did you realize what I was doing?” Henry: “Huh? Well, if I’m paired with a rearguard, I’ll be weary of anything approaching my Party member. That was all.” If Ferris or Teo was guarding Cyril, then I would have been dividing my attention to something else.

During my days at Ligaleo, I was paired with Yuu many times…….and she was quite reckless, so this was something I learned naturally.

Elenoir: “……….Miss Cyril, Miss Karin, and Miss Monica. There are very, very few vanguards who can perform this kind of feat, so do not use Mr. Henry as a baseline.”

Well, yeah. As far as doing battles in pairs, I have some level of confidence in this arena. After all, I was able to protect that feisty Yuu after all these years.

……….no really. When she gets hot-headed, she would charge in head first into a pack of Upper-Tier Demonic creatures alone, so for crying out loud, Miss Saint!! Please give me a break!!

Elenoir: “And especially Miss Cyril. I see that you have the basics down, but you probably avoided major and minor injuries because of Mr. Henry. You must recognize this, and be more careful when paired with another vanguard.”

Cyril: “Yes, I will be more careful of course. ……..but well, I can’t imagine not being with Henry ever though!”

She said that so matter of factly, that the people around blushed at the words for her.

IーーIt especially made me hurt.

Elenoir: “Now then, since we already have you here, I would like for you to work with Miss Karin and Miss Monica. Would that be okay, Mr. Henry?” Henry: “Of course.” She has been taking care of Cyril, and it would be a good experience for me to pair up with someone else for a change.

Elenoir: “Thank you very much. ……..but please make sure to go easy on them. Miss Karin and Miss Monica both significantly lack combat experience, so they would not be able to perform such high coordination and techniques. Mr. Derrick, is that okay with you?” Derrick: “Yeah.” Mr. Derrick nodded at her words. Well, I guess I can ask her after our training butーー

Henry: “I don’t mind either but…….you aren’t going to barge in again are you?” Elenoir: “Hehehe, my, my. To pull such a trick multiple times a day? Well now.” ………………….she did not deny it flat out.

Henry: “Then if it happens again, I may have to hit you with my spear next time.” Elenoir: “Please don’t! That would kill me! I won’t! I won’t do it.”

That reaction…..she was planning on it.

But yeah, I was joking too. ……..but I would have at least cast [Restrain] {Katerno} on my spear and tied her up in a magical chain.

Yup, things were rather peaceful.

Derrick: “Henry, let’s go ahead and plan out the structure and flow of the battle beforehand. I’m sure that the two would have difficulty adapting to new or sudden circumstances, so this would make it easier to test their abilities.”

Henry: “Yes, I agree. Let’s do that.” And I speak with Mr. Derrick for a few minutes.

…….that day, we did about 10 practice matches, and I swung my spear for the All Magic Class.