章節 24: Undoubtedly, Some Montages are Required. (5.4)

…

Five opponents. Two hand-to-hand combatants. Two warriors, axe and mace, one wears armor. Single rogue, very quick. Available weapons? Six knives and one short sword. All still holstered? Armor? Tailored, combat formal wear. No coat. Irrelevant given first blood requirement of match.

"Liss, Teri! Keep him from charging us!"

"Yes/You got it!"

Two charging. Hand-to-hand specialists. Style suited for quick takedowns. Strong, but easily avoidable. Making up for shortcomings with increased teamwork. Most coordinated pair. Very low amount of input needed from leader. Only one word needed for communication. Need to separate, remove ability to communicate, or knock out one of the pair. First is possible. Second unacceptable for spar. Attempt to do third option.

"Low!"

"High!"

First uses leg sweep and second charges with intention to grab from midair. Controlled fall to evade both. Use arms to gain stability. Lash out with each leg. Focus force on heel. Attacks are blocked. Reflexes are faster than expected. Hand-to-Hand opponents still sent flying. Pursue? No. Rogue coming.

"They're still in the fight! Joanne, go now! Ilmin with me!"

"Yes!"

"Affirmative!"

Rogue is very quick, but incapable of changing direction. Warriors cut off evasion opportunities. Rogue has straight line of attack. Cannot contest in knife-fight without using magic. Magic unavailable for current fight. Self-imposed limitation. Increased chance of Agility and Dexterity. Also withholds information from Loki Familia. Worth the trouble.

"Stay alert, Ilmin!"

"I am prepared!"

Easiest avenues of escape blocked by Warriors. Warriors are primarily defensive, capable of reacting quickly to any entity entering their range. Cannot engage without proper, stable stance. Rogue cannot be stopped easily. Evasion towards safe location still required. Straighten body upon arms. Bend elbows. Push off ground. Upward launch into air. Tuck in knees to maneuver into standing position.

"Everyone, throw weapons now!"

Both first attacks were feints. Meant to force me into air. At least ten projectiles incoming. Assumed incapable of dodging in mid-air.

Correct assumption.

"We have him!"

However, incorrect in assuming dodging to be only viable alternative.

No pursuers, full focus on projectiles allowed.

Estimate trajectories of incoming objects.

Seven in sight. Possibly three or more behind.

Intercept projectiles with knives or capitalize on lowered guard?

…no. More options available due to increased Dexterity.

Locate knives thrown by Rogue and warriors. Fastest and best-aimed. Utilize knives on belt to intercept. Two for mace and axe. One for each knife. All knives used. Draw sword. Intercept remaining two knives.

Look over shoulder. Four knives incoming. Two will miss. One heading towards head. Remaining can be intercepted with sword.

Last knife pierces mask.

Rely on Endurance and utilize Dexterity.

Catch with teeth.

"Impossible!"

"How did he-."

"Everyone, move!"

Throw short sword at armored warrior. Knock off helm. Considered Dead.

Catch inaccurate knives. Cuts to leg of both close-combat specialists. First Blood rules. Dead.

Deflected knife towards remaining warrior. Knife is evaded.

Use captured projectile on Rogue? No. Waste of resources.

Land.

Two opponents left.

Attack.

…

After I administered to those who needed healing, I arrange the group of Loki Familia members I was training for the week. Oswald, Baade, Wifra, Arior, and Glim all chose to sit in Seiza with their heads downcast. There was quite a bit of mumbling going between them. Most of it wasn't very nice. Little did they know that I drew power from their negative emotions… wait, no I didn't.

Yeah, I better start talking before my feelings get hurt. I am more fragile than a freshly fallen Sakura blossom when it comes to insults (lol). My pure, snow-white heart cannot possibly handle the gripes and angered glances aimed upon me (lol). There is absolutely no way I am happy about beating an experienced team of Level 2s without getting a single scratch on me (lol).

Haha! Yes, kneel before the one who has defeated you!

I took way too much happiness from this.

I coughed into my fist, made sure the edge of happiness was no longer present, and adopted one of my lecture poses. Pushing up my mask, the hole caused by the knife barely visible, and crossed my arms.

Time to teach.

"Oswald, you did well taking command of your group. Your plan was well-executed, but you were incapable of changing it once you realized it failed." I started with the Leader of the group. The Megane Onee-sama with the braids. I'd pegged her as the leader of the small band with the Armored Loli as her second-in-command. However, I found that no one else gave orders after she did. Big mistake. "You should've reassembled your team when you realized that it wasn't going to work. Make sure to appoint someone to keep watch over the team while you come up with strategies."

"Understood, Hikigaya-sama."

"Glim, you play to your strengths too much, you didn't use the speed you gained this week. You engaged me with armor on despite the fact I proved that it's useless against me." I turned to Loki's Loli. Glim seemed the most glum of the bunch and seemed to curl inward with each word. The young dwarf should, since she was knocked out after simply throwing her weapon. "Inflexibility is a liability in combat. There will always be ways and means to overcome defenses. It won't matter if you can cave in your opponent's skull if you can't catch them, and your armor won't matter if someone puts a blade between the joints."

"T-thank you for your words, Hikigaya-renshi. I-I shall endeavor to do as you say!"

"Now, as for you three…" I turned to the girls from the Dog and Cat tribes. Arior, Wifra, and Baade all had their ears flat against their heads and their tails curled on their laps. Cute, but don't think you can evade my judgement! There is no escape from my harassment- er, mentorship. There's nothing wrong about having fun correcting people when they're wrong! "None of you changed your tactics against me at all. You simply allowed yourselves to be used as parts of a plan that played to your strengths." They all winced, as they should. "You're all good in your assigned roles, but if you'd made up with your weaknesses then Oswald could've come up with a better way to utilize you."

"Yes, Sensei/Yes, Nya."

"Good, then, that's all I have for you all, as your Kami-sama has informed you of my ability's success." Carefully, I switched to a more 'formal' way of speaking. I hoped that I was hitting the right tone of voice… yes, they all raised their heads. Ahaha! My Imitate skill has leveled up! "Pack up your tents and equipment, we're returning to Orario today." I gestured to Loki who immediately stood up and approached her Familia with a grin. "Loki-sama will be informing you of our next meeting date and what you'll need to bring along."

They dispersed, moving along with their Goddess. They were bruised and beaten, but undeniably stronger than when they first started. Knocking them off their specialist mindsets will be tricky, but soon enough they'll recognize that they're limiting themselves to one fighting style. The advantages given by high Basic Skills is negated by their current mindset.

In the weeks I'll be spending with them at the Dungeon, I'll put them through the same training as Cranel and Arde.

…and speaking of my two Brats…

I made my way up to the walls, each step brought me closer to the sound of clashing weapons.

…

"They're still at it after two hours." Hestia wrung her hands and fidgeted as she observed the fight between Arde and Cranel. I took the seat offered by Hiryute, who patted the stone next to her once she caught sight of me, as I saw no need to decline. Loga didn't bother greeting me, the bastard. I think he's just being rude on purpose, now. "Hikigaya-sensei, can't you convince them to stop?"

Cranel swiveled on his ankle with speed that would break that of a normal human's and lashed out with his foot. Arde allowed it to crest over her chest before she grabbed it with both hands, swung a leg over it, and attempted to bring him down.

"They fight until first blood." I answered casually as I sat and Hiryute seemed pleased with my answer. Bloodthirsty bunch, these Amazons, even if they're a tad airheaded. I guess Zaimokuza must have had a few (read: many) bad encounters with girls on sports teams. I had to commend him on making them actually powerful though, many lesser men would've merely slandered them entirely… oh wait, their main goddess is the head of the Red Light District. How petty of you, Zaimokuza. I approve. "They put their knives to use yet, Hiryute?"

Cranel quickly withdrew his leg with a grunt, bringing her closer, and swung with his knife. Arde was forced to let go, but quickly surged forward with a straight kick aimed towards his abdomen.

"Nope~." Hiryute assumed the role of referee in most matches. Though ditzy, she's still a frontline, Level 5 combatant. Having the short-haired amazon around to act as my teaching aid allowed me to get more work done. She doesn't get bored, I get less work. Win-win. Huh, is this how a corporate manager is supposed to feel? Can't be, I actually thank her for doing what I ask and I'm not taking credit for the work she did. "Arde-chan and Cranel-kun are both too evenly matched, Hat-kun!"

Cranel dodged and attempted to 'cut' Arde's leg. However, Arde quickly threw a knife at his cheek. Cranel was forced to evade the flying knife, making his attack miss by a hair's breadth. Arde landed in a crouch, but quickly went for a leg sweep. Cranel stepped back from it, pursued, and Arde kept him away with a backward flip with her heel aimed at his chin. Once more, they were simply opposite one another.

"Fighting for two hours straight can't possibly be healthy, Bell-kun can get seriously hurt if he messes up!" Hestia protested with a surprisingly valid point. It seems that the Oppai Loli can come up with quite convincing arguments if Cranel was concerned. It's true that with both Cranel and Arde tired, they had a greater chance of hitting one another too hard. Thank goodness that I had Hiryute keeping watch on them. "Hikigaya-sensei, don't try to act cool and keep staying quiet! Ooohh! I know you're ignoring me!"

Who held the advantage? In Strength and Endurance, Cranel was putting his stamina and power to send out blows that could seriously injure Arde if he hit. He still had explosive force behind his blows while Arde was minimizing her movements and going for efficient takedowns. He took my advice concerning outlasting opponents seriously.

"The fight's about to end, Hestia-sama." Surprisingly, Loga spoke. For the first time it wasn't followed by a curse or a growl while in my presence. There was a definite tightness to his voice, however, that made it seem that he was putting a lot of effort into controlling himself. Note to self: Bete Loga is still easy to anger even when not drunk. Use to advantage. It takes a special sort of temper to nearly snap at a goddess, after all. "By the next exchange, one of them will come out on top."

For Dexterity and Agility, Arde was superior in both Basic Skills, physique, and skill. In terms of experience, Arde had Cranel beat. Cranel was only capable of evading her attacks by continuously throwing his own, and his attacks never reached her. Over the course of the week, Arde made an effort towards regaining her footwork, adhering to my rule of not using her ability, and eventually regained her competence.

The fact that they fought on even terms spoke a lot about both their talent. Cranel might have increased his Basic Skills quickly due to Realis Phrase, however Basic Skills didn't help in regards to actual, trained reflexes. He gained all of that on his own. Arde was holding back against a stronger opponent, limited to her normal form, but she was keeping her cool and leveraging her experience as much as possible. She went as far as to get Updated so that she's at the top of her game.

Now, as Loga had said, they were at a threshold. Arde was still quicker than Cranel, but can't keep up with him any longer. However, Cranel was exhausted enough to have his reflexes dulled. If they continue, Arde will lose her edge, and so the next exchange would decide the match.

They each brought their knives before their chests, crouched, and ran straight for one another. Their knives clashed and Cranel overpowered Arde's blade… only to have his wrist grabbed by Arde as she dropped the knife completely. She spun on her heel, slammed her body against Cranel's center of gravity, grabbed his shoulder, and threw him over her shoulder into the stone ground. A moment later, before Cranel could recover, she had a knife against his throat.

Ruthless, efficient, and powerful… everything I wanted Cranel to be was in Arde.

Making her his perfect rival.

…