The Sword I Wield to Survive (6)
"This is already your second time using it today."
Grey, the manager of the training hall, recognized me.
The students following behind me did as well.
"Are you planning to duel the students this time?"
"It's not a duel. It's a lesson."
"Hey, brat professor! So you're saying you won't do it properly?"
Talia was practically jumping with fury.
"Quiet. I have never once failed to give my full effort in any lecture so far. I won't disappoint you, so please wait in silence."
Grey reactivated the magic device, and a stage formed in the center.
"Students don't need to move to the spectator seats. Talia, come up first. Everyone else, watch from close to the stage. This will be a rare opportunity."
I was already standing on the stage when Talia followed me up.
To create an environment where the two students could fight without restraint, one more preparation was necessary.
"Grey."
"Yes, please speak."
"I have one additional request."
Grey looked at me, waiting for my words.
"Please deploy the mana barrier."
The mana barrier was a kind of protective wall created when skilled mages worked together.
Attacks using mana were powerful and could easily affect areas beyond the stage itself.
The mana barrier prevented that.
"A mana barrier? But that can only be deployed with Professor Aipman's permission."
"I haven't obtained permission yet, but I'm certain he will allow it. I'll take responsibility."
After a moment of hesitation, Grey placed his hand on another magic device.
A nearly transparent blue mana barrier unfolded along the edges of the stage.
"Whoa, it's been a long time since I've seen this."
Talia already wore an expression of pure delight.
"When you say it's been a long time, does that mean you've used it before?"
"Of course. During the test to advance to fifth year."
Irenid added an explanation.
The two students who had reached 6-Circle were strong enough to display top-tier knight-level performance even if thrown straight into the front lines right now.
They could each handle over a hundred ordinary soldiers who couldn't wield mana, so it made sense that a mana barrier would be necessary when they fought with full power.
"I see. But I wasn't present then, so I don't know the extent of your abilities."
All preparations were complete.
I drew my sword from its sheath.
"So show me. Show me what the two of you can do. Starting with Talia."
"I've been waiting for you to say that!"
Talia gripped her weapon firmly.
Her unusually long spear looked far from ordinary at first glance.
And I already knew this weapon.
Thanks to having seen it in my previous life.
The legendary spear, Gungnir.
Talia's homeland was Boreas, a nation founded by pirates whose original trade had been plunder.
It was created when those pirates destroyed a kingdom with a mild climate and settled in its place.
Because life itself was battle for them, they produced excellent warriors.
However, they lacked technology and economic expertise.
To make up for those shortcomings, they had no choice but to plunder neighboring countries.
Gungnir was the trophy they seized after destroying one such kingdom.
When the plundering continued, the surrounding nations formed an alliance and attacked Boreas.
The allied forces drove Boreas to the brink of destruction, but they couldn't break through the final resistance of the warriors cornered in the capital.
But that was as far as it went.
After the war, Boreas was left as nothing more than a small coastal city-state.
"That spear has an interesting shape. It doesn't seem like an ordinary weapon."
"Hehe, even a brat like you can tell? This spear is tougher than that sword of yours."
Unfortunately, Gungnir's special nature wasn't merely that it was sturdy.
Its true value lay elsewhere.
In my previous life, Talia only awakened Gungnir's true power after reaching 8-Circle, but by then it was far too late.
"Come at me. Since today's lecture is meant to end with the two of you sparring against me, the sooner we finish, the more free time you'll have."
"Free time? Perfect! Then I won't hold back from the start!"
When Talia poured mana into Gungnir, lightning began to crackle and flash along its length.
She seemed to know that Gungnir produced lightning in response to mana, but it was clear she didn't understand anything beyond that.
In that case...
I had decided exactly what I needed to teach Talia.
"Here I come!"
Talia gripped the spear with both hands, drew it far back, then thrust it forward as she launched herself at me.
She twisted her waist and used only one hand for the thrust—an efficient stance.
It ignored wind resistance while taking full advantage of the spear's long reach.
But she had thrust too deeply.
I moved lightly and dodged.
Talia, now close to me, thrust several more times, but I continued to evade by the narrowest margins.
"Oh? You're pretty good at dodging."
"Being small has its advantages. I can easily avoid large, committed attacks like those."
Even though I could have dodged with more room to spare, the narrow escapes were deliberate moves meant to provoke Talia further.
"Then try this!"
Talia created distance and stopped, aiming the spear at me.
At that moment, the spearhead flashed.
Crash.
Thunder roared from the tip as lightning shot toward me.
"Whoa!"
I threw my body sideways to avoid it.
The lightning struck the mana barrier, which shook with a terrifying sound.
"Uwaaah!"
"I-It's fine! The barrier will protect us!"
The students watching just outside the barrier screamed.
"Talia, that's going too far. If that had hit me just now..."
"What are you talking about? You already dodged it!"
Without giving me any breathing room, Talia kept firing lightning from the spearhead.
I had let out an "Whoa!" at the beginning, but the preparatory movement had been quite large, so avoiding it wasn't difficult.
I simply kept throwing my body out of the way each time.
"You're slipping away so quickly!"
"No matter how strong the attack is, what does it matter if I can just dodge it?"
"Let's see how long you can keep that up!"
"I'll return those words right back to you."
I had only been dodging, but while evading the lightning I closed the distance to Talia in an instant.
The gap was now too narrow for thrusting attacks.
Talia swung the spear, trying to strike me at close range.
But I ducked under it, reached toward the side of her head.
"Ugh!"
To avoid having her head grabbed, Talia arched her upper body backward.
That was when a smile rose to my lips.
Got you.
By the time Talia saw my smile, she had already fallen for the feint.
What I had been aiming for wasn't her head.
I kicked Talia with all my strength, sending her flying.
"Gah..."
Her body tumbled through the air before she used a roll to land and regain her stance.
She hunched over, clutching the spot on her chest where the kick had landed.
"How dare you! How dare you!"
But Talia's hands were empty.
The spear she had cherished so dearly was gone.
"How dare you take my Gungnir!"
Gungnir, which had been Talia's weapon, was now in my grasp.
What I had reached for wasn't her head but Gungnir itself.
I had gripped it tightly and kicked her hard enough to make her lose her weapon.
"I'll borrow it for a moment. No matter how I look at it, you seem to be using this spear incorrectly, Talia."
I tossed Regret into the air. It scattered and vanished.
It had stopped materializing and returned into my body.
In its place, I ran my hand along the beautiful spear, Gungnir.
"It's an excellent weapon. Its only misfortune was meeting the wrong owner."
"What? What's wrong with me!"
"The characteristic of this spear is that it 'produces lightning.' But have you never considered this possibility?"
As I spoke, I poured 8-Circle mana into the hand holding Gungnir.
Maintaining it for long would be impossible, but for a brief time I could handle 8-Circle mana.
Immediately, far more menacing lightning began to leak wildly around Gungnir.
I still can't maintain it for very long, but...
"W-what are you doing to my Gungnir?"
"The idea that this spear doesn't simply create lightning, but that the spear itself might be lightning."
When I released Gungnir, it floated into the air.
When I took a throwing stance, the spear followed the direction my hand pointed.
The secret hidden within the legendary spear Gungnir.
It was that only by wielding it with mana of 8-Circle or higher could its true form awaken.
Lightning that flew freely according to its owner's will.
In my previous life, Talia had only realized Gungnir's true value after reaching 8-Circle, but she lost her life before she could grow accustomed to the awakened spear.
For the future, you must become stronger. Grow stronger and survive no matter what it takes!
Talia stared at Gungnir with a dazed expression.
It was the weapon she had treasured more than anything since obtaining it.
She had never realized it possessed this kind of power.
"This is today's lesson. Remember that a spear can also be used for throwing attacks."
With a light flick of my hand, the lightning-wreathed spear flew toward its original owner at tremendous speed.