Private Tutoring (1)
The Outer Deity had handed me a caliper no more than two handspans long. By the standards of this era it was a hopelessly outdated measuring tool. Anyone from around here would probably look at it the way a medieval peasant might stare at a barbarian’s stone dagger. I straightened the caliper’s jaws and ran my eyes over its exterior. It wasn’t iron or aluminum. I couldn’t guess the material. The color suggested lead, yet it emitted a faint reddish luster that made me suspect it was some extraterrestrial substance.
◈ Attributes: Destruction, Measurement, Binding
The artifact’s rank was C—the lowest grade. Yet it came attached with the attributes Destruction and Binding. It probably ranked up once certain conditions were met. There seemed to be potential. However…
“What the hell is this even for?”
I had no idea how to use it. They couldn’t have given it to me for simple length measurement. There had to be some hidden purpose.
Can be used for everyday measurements.
Current rank allows measurement down to 10^-9 m units.
In addition to its original purpose, it can be used in combat.
I was dumbfounded. Combat use? It was absurd enough that someone like me would fight monsters, let alone do it with a caliper. In a world where railgun beams flew everywhere and plasma swords were standard? It was basically telling me to go die.
I probably wouldn’t be able to use it for anything beyond measurement. Still, this was enough. If I raised the rank, it should eventually measure the gaps between elementary particles. Discovering gravitons would then be trivial.
When I set the caliper on the desk it vanished into thin air. It seemed to recall itself when not in use. I practiced summoning and dismissing it repeatedly until I was familiar with the motion. That was when a clear ding sounded and the status window updated.
The God of Wisdom and Curiosity has begun to take a serious interest in you.
She is hostile toward the forces of all Outer Deities outside her own faction. Serve as her apostle and oppose the monsters from other dimensions.
Now is the time to lay the foundation. Pass the entrance exam for Stellarium Academy.
Success: SAN Parameter Unlocked
Failure: Impregnate Cartesia XD
My mouth fell open at the failure condition.
“Hey, you crazy—!!”
Stellarium’s entrance exam is divided into three stages: written, practical, and interview. The biggest problem among them is neither the written nor the interview—it’s the practical.
“The practical topic changes every year and is announced one month in advance. You must check as soon as it is released.”
I nodded at Sonia’s words. Even though I had read the novel to its completion, I had no idea what this year’s Stellarium practical would involve. The protagonist doesn’t enroll at this time. Of course I wouldn’t know; I had only seen events from the protagonist’s point of view. In other words, I had to dig up the hidden backstory.
“The only hint is that, being a practical, it will involve a great deal of physical activity.”
That was also true. It was similar to the physical fitness tests once used in old college entrance exams. Since the nation was under threat of invasion, students who would later join the reserves needed at least basic motor skills. Rustilla would probably score a perfect mark without trouble.
The problem was that I was not Rustilla.
“To speak honestly, Young Master’s physique is a little…”
“A little what?”
“…lacking. Don’t you think so?”
Sonia’s sudden fact-bomb. It was logically correct, so I couldn’t refute it. I answered with a thumbs-up.
“Looks like I’ll need practical tutoring.”
“If you require tutoring for the written and interview portions as well, please do so.”
“Why are you being so helpful all of a sudden?”
“Because This Sonia sees possibility. From This Sonia’s observation, Young Master’s probability of passing Stellarium is considerable.”
“How considerable?”
“Approximately 0.142857 percent.”
“Thanks.”
Stellarium’s average competition rate was seven hundred to one.
“Four months is far too short to develop core muscle. Would it not be wiser to focus on dominating the written and interview? That alone would give you a fair chance.”
“That was my original plan. Still, I have to clear the minimum score.”
Stellarium’s entrance exam had failing grades. No matter how well you did elsewhere, failing a single section meant rejection.
“Sonia, help me.”
“Speak.”
“You’re in charge of my practical tutoring.”
Sonia pointed at herself and tilted her head.
“…This Sonia?”
“You’re a multipurpose android, aren’t you? You said you could be used for education. Just be my personal trainer.”
“Understood.”
Unexpectedly, Sonia agreed at once. She told me to wait and left. When she returned she carried two wooden swords. She tossed one to me.
“Big-data analysis indicates a high probability of mock combat this year. This Sonia will teach you basic swordsmanship for handling plasma swords. Please follow carefully.”
Sonia adjusted her grip. Whoosh! The air tore with a sharp sound.
Wait. I have a very bad feeling about this.
For the past month the Rheinland family mansion had known no peace. The cause was Eidel. Ever since he had been carried back half-dead from the Harkus gambling den, the boy had grown even stranger. Seti felt it keenly. He studied. He cursed less. He stopped going out to gamble. He even encouraged her to study hard. It was ridiculous. Still, he occasionally showed his true colors—like the time he assaulted the Kersil family’s androids. That, at least, felt normal and therefore reassuring.
“So,” Seti said, frowning. “Why is he doing that again?”
She pointed across the training ground. The small field, roughly three hundred pyeong, belonged to the Rheinland family and lay inside the grounds. On it, Eidel was crossing wooden swords with Sonia.
“He calls it training.”
“Training?”
Seti’s personal android, Donna, nodded.
“Yes. He says he is training with Sonia to prepare for the practical exam.”
“……”
“I heard that if the young master can knock Sonia’s sword away even once, he gets to eat chicken or something…”
“Ha. Hilarious.”
Eidel was being beaten one-sidedly. The thrashing was so severe it was hard to tell whether it was training or punishment. Sounds like livestock being slaughtered echoed across the dome. Watching him get pummeled actually felt refreshing.
“Pick up the sword again. You are still far from ready.”
Sonia forcibly hauled Eidel to his feet. His legs trembled.
“What can you even do with such a weakling?”
Eidel had a frail body. He had not exercised for years. That did not mean he had grown fat; he was simply too scrawny to wield a plasma sword.
“No matter how well he does on the written test, it won’t matter. His motor skills are completely hopeless.”
Seti snorted, brushed herself off, and stood. It was time for her to head to the academy. Until she returned home that evening, Eidel continued to be beaten by Sonia. The next day was the same.
“Aack! Ack!”
“Straighten your spine. For stability both legs must be placed diagonally. You can calculate center-of-mass yet cannot account for your own?”
“Wait, that hit bone!”
“When the opponent strikes downward like this, do not hesitate—counter upward. Your gaze must remain on the opponent’s hand, not the blade. Only then will you gain confidence in your defense.”
“Kyaaaack!”
A maid beating her master. The absurd scene repeated like clockwork every morning. How much time had passed? While the calendar turned over three times, Seti watched Eidel get beaten. At first she had meant to watch only a little, but the sight proved strangely addictive. Today was no different.
Chewing bacon toast for breakfast, Seti let out a chuckle.
“Is he not going to die at this rate?”
“Young lady, you must watch your words. He is still of Rheinland blood. What if something happens to him?”
“That would just be bad luck. Or wait—maybe Sonia is the pitiful one?”
Seti giggled. On one hand, it was rather admirable. Not for anything else, but for Eidel’s tenacity. He never missed a single day on the training ground. Jog, eat breakfast, spar with Sonia until he vomited the meal back up. He was training with brutal intensity for the entrance exam. Seeing it gave her an involuntary chill. What if he actually passed…?
‘Nah, no way.’
Seti shook off the cloud-like thought. Even now Eidel was sent flying by Sonia’s strike. A loud crack—a sound that should never come from a human body—rang out.
“Wow, that one looked dangerous.”
Donna covered her mouth with both hands, horrified. Seti jumped at the noise but quickly regained composure when she saw Eidel stand again.
“…Does getting beaten every single day without rest actually change anything?”
“It looks like he has gained some lean muscle compared to before?”
“Those are just bruises. Or calluses.”
“Perhaps that is why his durability is improving.”
“…No.”
Seti shook her head.
“I trained in swordsmanship myself. A strike like that knocks you down and you don’t get up immediately.”
In an era when ancient sword arts had been revived to fight the Outer Deities, Seti remembered the thorough beating she had received on her first day at the dojo.
“Sonia just hit his wrist, right? That’s where the ulna is. It’s a point Ether passes through. Even skilled practitioners cannot grip a sword properly for several minutes after being struck there.”
Yet Eidel had gotten up. Even after blows that should have caused fractures, even after a direct hit to the skull. In the last three months he had never once lost consciousness.
“…Is he even human?”
Seti spoke the words for the first time in a while. They were the same words she always muttered after fighting Eidel. Today, however, they carried no insult—only strangeness, absurdity, and fear. Like the monsters of Darwin’s Legion that regenerated no matter how many times they were stabbed or sliced, Eidel kept rising. That body seemed to surpass human limits. Was such a thing possible? Had he become an apostle of an Outer Deity? If so, personal feelings aside, Eidel had to be driven out at all costs. Otherwise ruin would swallow the entire family.
Of course—
“Kyaaaack!”
“Stand. We continue.”
There was no chance an Outer Deity would possess someone so utterly unappealing. Even they had standards.
“Ugh!”
“Again.”
“Eek!”
“Again.”
“Urgh!”
“Again!”
Sonia’s voice rose. There was no mercy in her strikes. She avoided vital points but targeted everything else with ruthless persistence. Eidel swung his sword before he could even catch his breath. His breathing grew ragged. Sonia readjusted her grip. Her white eyes flashed.
“Young Master, how do you feel right now?”
“Ah, it feels great. Hit me harder.”
Seti’s expression went blank.
“……Is he insane?”
She seemed to be saying that a lot lately. Eidel had done more than a few crazy things, but this bizarre madness had only appeared in the last three months.
Ding!
“Wow, young lady. The practical schedule has been released. Shall I show you immediately?”
When Seti nodded, Donna handed her the tablet.
⊳ All first-round passers will engage in mock combat against a golem modeled after a C-rank monster.
⊳ Plasma swords and all necessary equipment will be provided equally by the academy. Personal equipment prohibited.
Seti read the detailed evaluation criteria below and broke into a cold sweat.
‘A mock battle…? The academy definitely said this year would only have strength tests and long-distance running!’
The information from the academy had been completely wrong.
‘It’s already been a full year since I last trained swordsmanship!’
Seti was inwardly horrified. Only one month remained. She had to reorganize her curriculum immediately. She had to hurry. Thinking of heading to the academy, she shook her head and rose from her seat.
At that exact moment—
Clack. Clack. Clack. Claaaack—!!
Four consecutive clashes of wood against wood rang out. Seti’s gaze snapped toward the sound. There stood Eidel, smiling, Sonia’s sword now lying on the ground beside him.
“…Tonight’s dinner is gold-shrimp chicken.”