CH 27

Chapter 27: Real Combat Simulation Training and the Healer

I stand a certain distance apart from Sir Ezeal and face him.

In an actual combat training match, if we start any closer, I would have no chance against him.

Henry: “Oh grea~t… I really hope he doesn’t defeat me in an instant…”

Everyone is watching the fight between Sir Ezeal and I. Sir Ezeal said, “HA HA HA!! There will be much you can learn from this match!” and called everyone to observe. Jend, Cyril, and Teo are also observing VERY closely.

…..well, this may be better considering how dangerous it will be for the people around us when Sir Ezeal and I start fighting.

I glanced at Sir Ezeal, and he stood there with an unbelievable amount of concentration visibly swirling around him. We’re standing far apart and yet my will to fight is being pushed to the ground just by the sight.

I knew he wouldn’t go easy on me, but I did still hope just a little bit. I don’t think he’ll try to come full out and kill me, so he won’t use his [Mountain Splitter] on me……..he won’t, right?

Ezeal: “HA HA HA! Henry! Just standing like this across from you gets my blood pumping!”

Ohhhhhh... CRAP. He’s definitely going to use it. As soon as he sees an opening, he’s going to unleash his legendary [Mountain Splitter] without a doubt.

……..DANGIT. If you’re going full out, then I’m also not holding back. I’m going in with everything I got.

Henry: *deep inhale...

I suck in a very deep breath and loosen my tightened muscles. I relax the hand holding the Nyoiten Spear.

I’m not going to cast my magecraft until the match begins, but I begin to circulate the magic within me and raise my concentration.

And at that point, Mr. Ryden, who is going to be our referee, steps forward.

Ryden: “Then we shall begin. Commander, Henry, are you both ready?”

Ezeal: “Yes!!”

Henry: “Anytime.”

Mr. Ryden raises his hand…..and swings it down.

Ryden: “BEGIN!”

Ezeal: “UOOOOOOOOOOGH!!” (*sfx shout)

Sir Ezeal bellows out a battle roar and charges forward. I guess he’s not going to use [Mountain Splitter] from the getgo!

But I’m putting everything into my initial move!!

Henry: “[STRENGTHEN] Hazac + [STRENGTHEN] Hazac + [STRENGTHEN] Hazac!!”

I layer 3 strength enhancements on my spear.

The magic roars into the spear and as it shines brightly, and I bring it back behind me and take one hard step forward.

Ezeal: “Hm?! He’s going for it!”

Henry: “O-RAAAAAAAA!!” (*sfx yell)

And I launch the spear from my hand.

A streak of light blazes straight at Sir Ezeal, and after a moment…

Henry: “[SPLIT APART]!”

I pour my will into the spear.

The Nyoiten Spear obeys my command as it splits into 20 separate spears.

This is my godly equipment, the Nyoiten Spear’s 3rd ability. I can make it duplicate if I throw it. If I duplicate it, the magic spent also increases according to how many times I clone it, and its initial power will remain unchanged.

The magic cost to attack ratio is abysmal, but I get to strike 20 times with my ultimate move in one go.

Ezeal “UUUUUUUURRRRGGGHHHH!!”

Even Sir Ezeal had to stop in his tracks to deal with the incoming attack. He immediately stops in place and takes a defensive stance.

The spears of light land where Sir Ezeal stood, and a dust cloud whips around him - blocking his sight.

I bring the spear immediately back to my hands and pour magic into it again.

Henry: “[STRENGTHEN] Hazac + [STRENGTHEN] Hazac”

I chunk my spear once more.

…..and right after I throw...

Ezeal: “HAAAAAA!!!”

Sir Ezeal’s energy explodes and the clouds of dust immediately get pushed away.

….his armor is damaged, but he’s only received very minor wounds…..is this guy really human?!

Ezra: “I appreciate all the craters you’ve created in our training field, Henry! Just as I would expect from you!”

This time, Sir Ezeal moves quickly forward towards the oncoming spears.

…...he knew I reduced the amount of magic in order to conserve magic energy….this is bad...

Sir Ezeal raises and brings down his sword hard against the spears coming directly at him. He allows the rest to deflect off his armor and body.

………..look, even if I conserved one [STRENGTHEN] Hazac, it still has enough of a punch to pierce a dragon’s scale, so what is up with his [PHYSICAL STRENGTHEN] level?!

Henry: “Gah!! Not good!!”

Ezeal: “I won’t give you a 3rd chance!”

I brought my Nyoiten spear back into my hands, and Sir Ezeal had gotten much closer to me.

Before he gets into my range, I change from the throwing spear form to a hand-to-hand combat spear form, and immediately thrust forward.

Sir Ezeal easily parries the spear right in front of him.

…..but I add a spiraling motion to the thrust and do not allow him to get any closer. There is no way I could compete against the quality of his weapon and agility, so I have to maximize one of the very few advantages I have - the range of my weapon.

Ezeal: “Hmph!!”

Just like in my previous match with Owen, Sir Ezeal with brute force slams his sword against my spear. If I tried to hold on to my weapon, he would have put me off balance, but I allow my body to follow the hit as I let go of my spear.

And I immediately return it to my hands.

Ezeal: “A troublesome ability as always!”

Henry: “It’s not flashy or fancy, but it’s reliable!”

He comes closer a step at a time.

I’m barely keeping him off me by shrinking and extending my spear and making my attack range fluctuate wildly, but it won’t last long. 2 steps closer, and it’s my loss.

Henry: “.........[STRENGTHEN] Hazac + [RESTRAIN] Katerno!!”

In a close range combat where each moment can determine your loss, using magecraft here is a gamble.

But I’ve been training and fighting alongside Sir Ezeal. I was able to luckily time one of his inhales to spring a spell on him.

Ezeal: “That won’t work on me!!”

A chain made of magic is nothing to Sir Ezeal, but I’m able to gain a precious second.

I jump backwards, and fire another spell.

Henry: “[FIRE] Ignis + [LAUNCH] VEROS!!”

I can only gain another second with this, but during that time, I drive my spear into the ground, and spray Sir Ezeal with a cloud of dust.

He shouldn’t be able to see me. He may just bust through it with another one of his brute force energy bursts, but I scramble to the side and swing my spear.

….but my plan backfires, as I see one beam of light burst upwards out of the cloud of dust.

Ezeal: “Giving me time to prepare this move was a critical mistake.”

Oh crap.

I was still running to his side when I realized my error. A wave of energy bursts out from Sir Ezeal’s body wiping away the remaining clouds of dust.

Ezeal: “It is checkmate!”

Using the large broadsword as a focus, magic explodes from it as it transforms into a sword of light. This is Sir Ezeal’s ultimate move, “Luminous Blade.” This is just to prepare for his [MOUNTAIN SPLITTER] at full power.

………..even though I relocated, he identified my exact location with impeccable timing and calculation. Yup, I lost.

Ezeal: “HAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

Sir Ezeal brings down his Luminous Blade, and a wall of light that would easily destroy a fortress appears before my eyes.

I was able to bring my spear back in time to try and deflect it, but my spear arm and main standing leg both break at the bone.

……….continuing the match from here is impossible. It’s my loss.

<<<<>>>>

Henry: “ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!?!”

If I didn’t block the last blow, I would have easily died!

I broke my left hand and right leg and couldn’t move, but I still throw my protest at Sir Ezeal.

Ezeal: “You had my full confidence that you would survive that attack. You should be proud of yourself. Even if I did accidentally strike you, I was going to stop my blade at the moment it hit.”

Henry: “Yeah, I don’t know how you could have possibly stopped a swing like that mid-way through but okay…”

Henry: “Do not fret. If I released my Luminous Blade, the blade that would have reached you will have disappeared.”

Oh, ...hmmm, I see.

…..but wait. If you released it after it hit me, it would have still hit me and gave me a critical if not fatal injury, no?

Ezeal: “But Henry, even though your spear throwing tactics were superb as always, you are still unable to deal with me properly when I get into striking range. Continue training and improving this weakness.”

Henry: “Sir Ezeal’s skills are way above anything I’ll be able to deal with…..”

I consider myself a first-rate spear user, but compared to this man’s swordsmanship, there’s nothing I can do. As soon as I’m caught in his range, it’s over. I’m 100% confident about that.

He’s way above me in physical strength, magic power, and skill. Against someone like that, I think I held out as long as I could.

Ezeal: “Hmmm, but we’ll need to repair and restore the field or we can’t continue training.”

I look away quickly far into the distance and didn’t meet his eyes.

In my initial attack, my 20 spears created multiple creators everywhere. If I was to use [STRENGTHEN] Hazac five times, I would completely run out of magic and pass out, so I didn’t go all out with that throw, but the condition of the field is still…..bad.

Ezeal: “Okay everyone! Fill in the holes! It’ll be good physical training! Afterwards, we will continue the real combat training matches! Show me what you have learned from the match you just saw!”

The Knights respond energetically in kind.

And suddenly, there’s an immediate construction project being completed by the Black Dragon Knights. They’re used to this kind of activity, so it’s done smoothly and efficiently.

Ezeal: “And Henry, go to that cottage over there. There’s a Healer on standby there. Get your wounds fixed up. Do not fret, I heard that their skills are good. They will fix up your broken bones in no time.”

Henry: “Understood.”

It’s the Black Dragon Knights who are paying the fees, but they are paying an hourly rate so I gladly accept the offer.

Henry: “Hey, Jend!”

Jend: “Hm? What’s up?”

Jend was helping out fill the holes with the Knights, but he looks up as I call his name.

Henry: “I need to get to the Healer! Could you give me a hand?”

Jend: “Oh, okay. I’ll be right there.”

If this was the battlefield, I’ll cast [HEAL] Teol and stop the pain temporarily as I relocate myself, but there’s a chance that the wounds could get worse if I do that, so I get Jend to help me.

Jend: “....but Henry. You were really strong out there. I thought I was catching up to you pretty quickly during our trainings but…”

Henry: “Yeah, there’s no way we could any training with magecraft mixed in. It’ll wreck your yard like this.”

Jend’s house is large and well built, but if I start rampaging with magic filled spear throws, it’ll easily flatten to the ground.

Jend: “Well, I got a glimpse of your skill when you handled the Griffin so easily, but the top sure is far up ahead.”

Henry: “I mean, I am bragging about this, but if you take out all the system breaking cheaters like Sir Ezeal out of the adventurers group, I’ll be pretty close to the top. I’m not going to let you beat me that easily.”

But there are a lot of cheats in this world though! I can easily think of 10 people who are right above me.

Grrr, it hurts. The cottage is still far away.

Jend: “Sir Grandezeal, huh. I had him take a look at my sword skills, but I wonder if I’ll be able to reach his level some day. Then maybe I’ll have a chance with Ferris…”

Henry: “I’m pretty sure strength will have nothing to do with whether she’ll go out with you or not.”

Jend: “No, she really likes strong men. So I need to show her what I’m made of. Like, strong enough to be able to tell her, ‘Look, you’re mine now!’ like that.”

The door to the cottage opens.

“Um, sorry. I couldn’t help but overhear. Jend, I know I said those things as a child, but I’m not going to just decide on my partner from strength alone.”

Jend: “........WH---....”

And out comes the person we were just talking about.

Ferris: “H-hi Mr. Henry. I was watching from the window, but that’s amazing that you were able to fight so well again the Hero, Commander Grandezeal.”

Henry: “Oh, um...thank you? …..But Ferris, why are you here?”

Ferris seems to be quite surprised herself, and clears her throat once lightly.

Ferris: “One of my most common quests is to be on standby as a Healer for Knight Organizations while they train. I’m typically the Healer for the White Dragon Knights, but today I’m over here. It had something to do with Commander Beatriz of the White Dragon Knights meeting with Commander Grandezeal, and she recommended that I come here today. But I never dreamed of seeing you Mr. Henry….or Jend…”

…..I mean, yeah, yesterday, I did talk to Sir Ezeal about Ferris, yeah. And he said something about talking to Commander Beatriz, yeah... but...

How could I have ever imagined him dragging her here like this?!

Oh crap. Jend completely petrified and completely froze in place.

I don’t blame him. …….My condolences, Jend.