NBAA Vol. 7 Chapter 6 Part 1
CHAPTER 6
Two days after solving the sewer incident, Reito trained in his garden.
He lifted his great sword with one hand while gazing at the ice statue before him. The shape was modeled after the “Battle Golem” he had encountered in the Abyssal Forest.
Reito first swung his sword without any magical reinforcement.
“Haaaaah!!!”
The moment the great sword blade collided with the ice statue, a violent metallic sound echoed, and a shock ran through Reito’s right hand. Even though his arm felt numb, Reito didn’t let go of the great sword and sighed as he looked at the ice sculpture. Even though a certain amount of force was applied, the ice statue only suffered a crack in its head and was not destroyed.
“I failed… I guess you can’t use ‘Strike Blade’ with one hand after all.”
“Quaaah…”
“Purupururu…”
Ullr and Hitomin were lying down sleepily in the garden, and Kotomin and Suramin still slept inside the house. It was morning. Reito had woken up before anyone else and started training. This was a habit from when he was training with Aria, and he did not feel like his day had started unless he started training early in the morning.
Reito was trying to see if he could activate the “Strike Blade” with only one arm.
“Use all the muscles in your body… but it’s easier said than done.”
It was extremely difficult to swing a great sword down with the full force of your whole body while using only one hand.
Reito’s ideal was to be able to use “Strike Blade” even when wielding two swords; a great sword and a long sword. He also thought that if he could use the “Strike Blade” with one arm, he might also be able to use the “Demon Blade” with the other hand…but for the time being, it seemed like this would remain just an imagination.
“‘Limit Boost’ and ‘Gravity Strike Blade’.”
This time, he would raise his physical abilities to the limit and envelop his hands with crimson magic. And once more, he wielded his great sword with only one arm.
Now, the sword was released several times faster than before, slicing through the body of the ice sculpture and scattering icicles on the ground. Reito himself, however, shook his head, unconvinced. Even with his magic-enhanced body, he could not succeed in “Strike Blade” with only one arm.
“Hmm… no good, I wonder what’s wrong.”
“It’s going to take a lot of energy.”
“What, who is it!?”
“Woof?”
Reito turned around when a voice called out to him from behind. There, as expected from the voice, stood Shizune. She seemed to have climbed over the building’s enclosure and entered the garden.
“Shizune-san!”
“…Just ‘Shizune’ is fine. We’re about the same age, right?”
“I’m fourteen…my birthday is coming up soon.”
“In that case, I’m one year older than you. Well, call me whatever you like. More than that, it seems like you’re not sure about the blade. The sharpness isn’t quite there.”
“Do you even know that? As expected from a Swordmaster…”
“You seem to be a little concerned about what I said. So tell me what you’re trying to do. Maybe I can help.”
『She’s a surprisingly friendly person.』
Ignoring Airis’ attempt to make fun of him, Reito began to speak.
“Um… actually…”
Reito explained the technique called “Strike Blade” that Bal had taught him and told her that he usually uses both arms, but that he was currently practicing using only one arm.
After listening to him, she nodded her head in understanding.
“I see, so that’s how it is. I’ve heard of “Strike Blade”…somewhere. Well, if I can’t remember it right away, then it’s probably not that great of a sword technique…”
“I think Bal will go mad if she hears this…”
“Anyway, it takes more than ordinary training to handle with one arm a sword technique that is normally used with both arms. And she says that that sword technique is not suitable for you, right? Do you think you can complete it before the Battle Festival is held?”
“To be honest, I’m not confident…”
“In that case, give up for now. Instead of sticking to existing sword techniques, it’s sometimes important to create new sword techniques.”
“A new sword technique…”
Reito remembered the existence of “Acceleration Strike” from Shizune’s words. This was a sword technique that added an additional battle technique to “Gale Strike”, which was a combination of the techniques of “Gravity Strike Blade” and “Shippuken,” and he remembered that it could be used even when using only one arm. However, he never used it in actual battles because he could not master it completely.
“I’ve been working on a new sword technique, but I haven’t been able to get it to work.”
“Oh, that makes me curious. Could you show it to me as well?”
“Sure, but …… don’t get your hopes up.”
“I won’t laugh if you fail.”
Reito was annoyed by Shizune’s provocative words, and thinking that he would succeed no matter what, he raised his great sword towards the ice statue whose upper body was destroyed.
He then unleashed a sword technique that combined his best technique: “Helmet Splitter”and “Gale Strike.”
“Fuu… haaaa!”
“…!?”
Reito stepped towards the ice statue with great force, and swung the Extermination Blade from the top with only one arm. The speed of the sword was so fast that even Shizune could barely follow the line of the sword with her eyes.
After slashing the ice statue in half with the Extermination Blade, Reito looked at Shizune.
“It’s like this, what do you think?”
“…I’m really glad I was able to bring you into my side.”
Shizune looked at the severed ice statue and broke into a cold sweat at the speed and power of its attack. If he had used the same sword technique from the beginning in their battle the other day, the outcome of the battle might have been different.
However, it was a sword technique that even Reito himself was not used to yet. He felt a mild pain in his right arm.
“Ouch… maybe I pushed it a little too hard.”
“I see, the attack you just used was a combination of multiple battle techniques. It’s certainly less powerful than the ‘Demon Blade’ technique, but there aren’t many openings.”
“Is that so?”
Compared to the “Demon Blade,” the “Acceleration Strike” was less powerful, but the time it took to build up was shorter. The strain on the body was something to think about, but overall, it was easier to handle and less openings than the “Demon Blade.”
“Can that battle technique be used continuously?”
“No, I don’t know because I’m not used to it yet. Come to think of it, Shizune, how did you learn the battle technique ‘Continuous Strike’?”
“I am surprised that you have not mastered ‘Continuous Strike’. To learn it, you have to keep using the same technique on a regular basis.”
“Huh? I use pretty much the same battle techniques…”
“In my case, when I learned the ‘Thrust’ technique, I continued to use it every day for about three months to perfect it. After using the technique three hundred times a day, I had mastered the ‘Continuous Strike’ technique.
『When Mr. Reito lived in the mansion, other servants were watching you, so your time to train was limited, and since you started living in the forest, you used various battle techniques, so you didn’t learn them.』
After Shizune’s words, Airis’ explanation echoed in his brain, and Reito realized why he was unable to learn the “Continuous Strike” battle technique. It was true that Reito had memorized fewer combat techniques compared to a normal swordsman, but he never focused on using a single battle technique.
When he lived in the Abyssal Forest, he used different battle techniques and magic to defeat monsters, so he did not have time to focus on just one battle technique.
“Do you think I can learn it too if I practice now?”
“I don’t think there’s a problem with that. ‘Continuous Strike’ is a battle technique that can be learned with repeated practice. However, in your case, you should definitely be able to use the sword technique from earlier.”
“Acceleration Strike?”
“To be honest, that attack just now was brilliant. But it’s still a little rough around the edges. You’re aware of it yourself, aren’t you?”
“Well, that’s true…”
Fortunately, Battle Festival had been extended, which meant he had more time to train. He was confident that if he made good use of this period, he would be able to fully master the “Acceleration Strike.”
However, Shizune shook her head as if it was not enough.
“But this sword technique alone is no match for that man.”
“Eh?”
“Our objective is to defeat the strongest swordsman in this city. Even if you were to master that sword technique perfectly, you would still be nowhere near as good as him.”
“Gorai, huh?”
Their objective was to defeat Gorai, an adventurer from Hailstorm and the most powerful Swordmaster in the city.
In Shizune’s estimation, Reito was not far behind him. She once told Reito,”If you and I join forces, we will have a chance to win,” which was not a lie, but she could not assure him that they would be able to win for sure.
“I’m not saying I don’t appreciate your efforts, but we are fighting Gorai. I can’t say for sure that we can win as things stand now…and the problem is that we don’t know each other very well.”
“We don’t know each other?”
“It’s true that we had crossed swords once, so we were able to get some idea of each other’s capabilities. Still, I don’t know everything about you, and I haven’t shown you everything about my sword. If we’re going to fight together, we need to know more about each other.”
“So…do you mean we must gain experience fighting together?”
“That’s what I mean. In that sense, it is convenient that the Battle Festival has been extended. I came here today to invite you to the Tower’s Great Labyrinth.”