Chapter 18
#18 Newbie Adventurer Bern (16) - Rising Star
Whoosh!
Blanca's sword sliced through part of the uneven brush.
After closely examining her stance and the arc of her sword, Bern asked.
“Have you ever learned swordsmanship?”
“I didn't have a proper teacher, just a bit of simple guidance from an old party member. Is that strange?”
“No, it's not bad at all.”
By Bern's standards, it couldn't even be called high-level, to put it kindly.
But it didn't have any particularly bad habits, nor was it burdened with unnecessary flash.
In other words, it had only the basics properly in place, so while it lacked personality, it was that much easier to teach.
Bern had been prepared to tear it all down and rebuild it from the ground up if necessary, but with this, it should be able to keep developing as is.
“The person who taught you must have been a pretty good teacher.”
“…He was one of the two warriors Bern knocked out. The bearded one. He was originally a quiet, stubborn old man, but after I healed him with healing magic when he was in a pinch once, he became much friendlier. He said he specialized in blunt weapons, so he wasn't good at swordsmanship, but he still taught me quite diligently.”
“Hmm? Ah.”
Bern remembered one warrior from the fight with Karina's party who had been especially obvious about not wanting to fight.
No wonder he couldn't look Blanca in the eye properly.
“Huh, then you were his lifesaver, big sis, and he just stood by and watched you leave the party?”
Renya, standing beside her, let out a sigh, but Blanca only gave a bitter smile and didn't seem particularly angry.
“He's the head of a family with many mouths to feed, after all. He probably couldn't keep dragging around a party member who was only a hindrance.”
“Ah, big sis. Your heart is truly as broad as the sea!”
At Renya's exaggerated praise, Blanca only shook her head and didn't react much. She had finally learned that reacting to every little thing was more exhausting.
“By the way, if this is training, what exactly am I supposed to do? Hold back on fire magic and fight mainly with body enhancement and swordsmanship?”
“No. You finally have both firepower and control, so there's no need to throw away your strengths. This is what I'm asking of you, Ms. Blanca.”
With that, Bern walked over to Blanca.
Striding forward. A distance so close that just two more steps would make their bodies touch.
“At this distance—where you can swing your sword and reach the enemy at any time—you must be able to cast a spell and hit your target. Of course, during battle, while swinging your sword.”
Blanca imagined that scene in her head for a moment.
Then she asked, her expression dubious.
“Is that even possible? I might somehow manage to hit with magic, but if I did that....”
“You'll probably take some of the backlash too. So your main focus should be low-level spells. Even if you fire them off repeatedly, at worst your skin will only get a little hot from the heat.”
“......”
“However, when necessary, you must hit them with intermediate spells even if it means factoring in getting caught in the blast yourself.”
Get in close even if you have to risk being caught in your own attacks.
Even though Bern's words seemed almost brutal at first glance, Blanca didn't get angry.
If it had been someone else, maybe not, but she believed Bern wouldn't make such a request without reason.
“Can you tell me why?”
“The first reason is to get you used to using attack spells, healing spells, and enhancement spells at the same time. Right now, Ms. Blanca, you're casting by switching from one spell to another after each use, and that just kills your strengths for no reason.”
It was like saying that when drawing, instead of only using your right hand, wouldn't it be more efficient to use your left hand and even your right foot at the same time?
But the look on Bern's face as he said it seemed to say, 'You can do something this basic, right?' so Blanca couldn't bring herself to say, 'Don't talk nonsense.'
“If that's the first reason, is there another?”
“If it's an awkward distance for you, Ms. Blanca, then it's an even more awkward distance for a pure mage.”
“Ah.”
At something so obvious, Blanca blinked.
There are some exceptions, of course, but mages are basically ranged damage dealers.
Because although they can unleash powerful, wide-ranging destruction, they have to keep their distance from the enemy so they don't get caught in their own attacks.
That is also why, among adventurers, there are occasional warriors who operate solo, but solo mages are extremely rare.
Because to project firepower stably, you need a companion who can serve as a wall and block the enemy's approach.
“Our goal is to subjugate the lich. Then the right path is to choose a growth route aimed at lich-hunting.”
With Blanca's lower rank, the odds of winning a textbook magical duel against a lich were slim.
Then Bern said they should use an unorthodox method.
It wasn't wrong, but it was also telling a mage to swing a sword at a lich and repeat self-destructive attacks, so it wasn't something she could accept easily either.
“It's fine, Ms. Blanca. I'm sure you can do it.”
Saying that, Bern gave Blanca a smile full of trust.
Blanca looked like she had a lot to say, but after seeing Bern's smiling face, she soon nodded dazedly.
[...Damn, how'd she end up getting tangled up with a guy like this.]
The demon in the shadows looked at Blanca with pity, but no human knew that.
“B-Big brother, then what kind of training am I supposed to do?”
Renya, whose complexion was a little worse than usual, asked with a rare look of unease.
He seemed afraid he'd be asked to undergo equally ridiculous training like Blanca.
“You first need to learn how to handle mana. More toward sensing ability than bodily enhancement.”
“I-Is that all? Like, do I have to charge at enemies with a sword or something.”
“A scout's job is to recon without getting noticed. Combat ability is nice to have, but it's low priority. Of course, if you want to get stronger, you can train that side too together with─”
“No, that's not it! I'll devote myself entirely to supporting the two of you! Isn't a party at its best when everyone does their part to the fullest!”
“─Hmm. That's a good attitude.”
Bern was pleased, Renya was relieved to have survived, and Blanca grew gloomy at the realization that she couldn't ask to be let off the same way.
And so, days that would be very rewarding for some and extremely grueling for others began.
***
“Ms. Blanca, in swordsmanship, the positions of your hands and feet are extremely important. If you want to bring a sword down again after a slash, you first have to lift it back up. But magic is different. Once it's formed in your palm, you can decide the direction and timing of the release with a fair amount of freedom. In other words, there's no need to keep opening your palm toward the opponent every time.”
“Ms. Blanca, a skilled swordsman can cut down or parry spells flying at them. They can block an opponent's sword as well. But they only have one sword. In other words, if you swing your sword to force the enemy to defend and then slam an attack spell into the opening, they'll be in serious trouble. The same goes if you reverse the order of the sword and the spell.”
“Ms. Blanca, broaden your field of view. Just because you're locked in swordplay with the enemy in front of you doesn't mean you can just leave the enemy group in the distance alone. If you pin down a strong enemy with your sword while firing intermediate spells at distant enemies, you can play both tank and damage dealer at once. Best of all, this way you won't get caught in your own attacks, and at the same time you can make the enemy right in front of you anxious and create openings.”
“Ms. Blanca, are you all right? That's a relief. Don't worry. Even if you make a mistake, it's training because you can try again. As long as I'm by your side, nothing truly fatal will happen. So relax and be bold. Now then, shall we start again?”
***
Recently, among the adventurers of the Eastern Branch, one party's story kept coming up nonstop.
“Speaking of Blanca's party, I hear they finished the cleanup request in the Gruatang region in just one day.”
“What? If it's Gruatang, isn't that a place where even three 3rd-rank parties would need four days? How does it make sense to do that in one day? They probably just cut corners and left.”
“No, they brought back so many monster materials that both the auction house and the wholesalers were in an uproar. Apparently, aside from being a little scorched by fire, the quality was top-notch too.”
“Have you heard about that newbie and the receptionist's party? There was this troublesome lizardman tribe of over fifty that had been abducting passersby and feeding on them, and the three of them just marched in and slaughtered them all!”
“No, didn't they say just three days ago they were hunting kobolds? And now they're off hunting lizards again? When on earth do they ever rest?”
“Don't even ask. I heard they bought and learned a spell scroll that turns mana into vitality, and ever since then they've been massacring monsters with barely any sleep!”
“Tch, it's nothing but those guys' stories everywhere. They're just adventurers like anyone else, so how great can they really be?”
“Hey, you. I don't care if you talk trash behind their backs, but don't go picking a fight with them. Some bastard got drunk and picked a fight, and they kept beating him with a scabbard, healing him with magic, then beating him again with the scabbard until he was crying and begging for mercy. I got chills just watching.”
“Hah, so the redhead does the beating and the sky-blue-haired one does the healing? They make quite the pair!”
“No, the sky-blue-haired one did the beating and the sky-blue-haired one did the healing. And she didn't even seem especially angry—she just beat him down with the same flatness as a leatherworker tanning hides.”
“……I didn't say anything.”
“Wow. All the guys who laughed at them when they first formed their party, saying they'd fall apart soon, have gone completely silent now.”
“If one party member can single-handedly wreck an entire 3rd-rank party, isn't mouthing off at them less a matter of pride and more a matter of intelligence?”
“Ah, right. Come to think of it, how's Karina's party? Are they maybe grinding their teeth for revenge?”
“No, they've been deathly quiet ever since. Honestly, that's smart of them.”
“Have you noticed how the receptionists have been beaming lately? It's because Bern's party has been taking all the requests that other guys avoided for being dangerous and unprofitable.”
“Their request-completion pace seems to be three to five times everyone else's, so even if each one pays a little less, the total must be no joke.”
“And they're the only 3-person party in a 3rd-rank where 5- to 6-person parties are the norm, right? If you calculate it per person, they'd probably get even more.”
“Hmm. I wonder if they're recruiting party members? Honestly, I feel like I'd be better than that hanger-on who keeps tagging along beside them.”
“There were already guys who rushed in asking to be let join, but apparently the condition for joining the party was to beat that hanger-on at tag.”
“Oh? And the result?”
“They weren't even hiding anywhere—they were right in front of him, and yet he flailed around for ten minutes and failed every time. Anyone who hangs around those two can't be ordinary, can they?”
“Damn, nothing ever works out.”
“Hey, hey. Did you hear that?”
“What?”
“Bern and Blanca, plus that guy Renya, apparently they're going to be promoted to fourth rank soon.”
“Huh, hasn't it only been a month since that Bern fellow started adventuring? That's an unbelievable pace.”
“He's so impressive that it's strange how I don't even feel jealous.”
“He really is a rising star.”