A Lesson in Mana-Free Combat
As I opened the front door to head to the training grounds, Han Yeoreum grabbed my tail. I looked back at her with my eyes, the tip of my tail flicking in question.
"Saebyeok, could you help your big sis out today? I'll pay you for it."
"Sure. But you don't have to pay me."
I turned down the offer. She'd already done so much for me. But Han Yeoreum shook her head firmly.
"No way. This is tough work, so you deserve proper compensation."
"Tough work...?"
If she thought it was hard, it had to be something impossible for me. What exactly was she planning? A knot of tension formed in my stomach.
"I want you to help me train."
"Train...?"
"Yeah. You're used to fighting without mana, right? I want you to teach me how."
"Ah..."
She must have started researching ways to handle situations like the Horned Rabbit Dungeon. Now I understood why she'd specifically asked for me.
"Okay. Let's train together."
"Thanks for helping."
"No problem. I'm happy to."
The thought that I could actually be useful to someone made my tail wag happily. It couldn't swing freely with Han Yeoreum still holding it, but it wasn't a bad feeling.
"Then I'll go get ready. Can you wait a bit?"
"Sure."
While she prepared, I should organize my thoughts on how to train her. I sat on the sofa, thinking through the best approach, and waited for her to return.
'She should switch weapons first.'
Han Yeoreum was a swordsman, but a sword without mana was useless. A ranged weapon like a bow would be better in every way.
'A gun might be ideal...'
Guns were easy for anyone to learn, and the training grounds had plenty of targets set up. I was still working out a curriculum for her when she came back, fully prepared.
"Saebyeok, I'm ready. What should we start with?"
"Let's head to the training grounds first."
"Okay."
We took the elevator down to the private training facility in the basement. It wasn't the shared one everyone used—it was reserved for personal use.
"Here."
I handed her one of the guns from the rack. She accepted it with a dubious expression.
"A gun?"
"Yes. When you don't have mana, a gun is the best choice."
"R-really?"
In this world, guns were considered weak weapons. Her reaction made perfect sense.
"It might be hard to believe, but consistent target practice will pay off."
"Okay. If you're saying it, I'll trust you completely."
"Right..."
Her trust made me both happy and embarrassed. I clutched my tail with both hands while she examined the gun, then walked over to me.
"Saebyeok, could you spar with me?"
"Spar...? With me...?"
"Yeah. Of course, I'll fight without mana too."
"Um... okay."
She wanted to get used to fighting without mana. Sparring made me nervous, but I had no reason to refuse. I'd do it for her.
**
Saebyeok stepped onto the sparring platform. Han Yeoreum stood across from her, with Yu-na and Jin-hyeok acting as referees.
"We've put up a barrier, so you won't get hurt."
"Okay."
Saebyeok raised her guard and studied Han Yeoreum. Her eyes flicked between the gun and the sword.
'She's using two weapons.'
Balancing close and long range wasn't a bad setup. It felt strange that someone as weak as her was evaluating Han Yeoreum's armament.
Ding—!
A bell rang, signaling the start of the match. Saebyeok immediately began darting around the arena in erratic patterns, changing direction constantly to prevent proper aiming.
'What the...?'
Han Yeoreum stared in shock at the unpredictable movements. With only the bare minimum mana left for survival, Saebyeok's speed was astonishing—fast enough to make aiming impossible.
'So this is what fighting without mana feels like...'
No, it would be even worse than this. At least she still had a little mana remaining. How had Saebyeok survived until now?
Han Yeoreum bit her lip and fired toward where she predicted Saebyeok would go.
Bang! Bang!
Having never used a gun before, her accuracy was terrible. None of the shots even came close—Saebyeok had already read the muzzle's movement.
'I can't win this.'
She might have stood a chance against Saebyeok's sister, whose stats leaned toward strength. But against Saebyeok, whose stats were all focused on agility, landing a hit was nearly impossible.
"Go, Saebyeok!"
"Just punch her once!"
Her friends cheering for Saebyeok annoyed her, though she didn't show it. After all, rooting for Saebyeok was the right thing to do.
'I'll try to land just one shot.'
She exhaled slowly, like a sniper about to pull the trigger. At that exact moment, Saebyeok—who had been running wildly—fired an arrow.
"......!"
By the time she registered that an arrow had been loosed, it had already struck her square in the stomach. Without mana, she couldn't even track the movement. The arrowhead was blunt, so it didn't pierce, but the force behind it translated directly into pain.
"Nngh..."
It hurt quite a bit. The protective magic should have been active—why did it feel like this? Caught off guard, Han Yeoreum collapsed onto the floor and shot a resentful look at Yu-na.
"The barrier only blocks lethal impacts?"
"W-well..."
She should have mentioned that sooner. Han Yeoreum groaned and rubbed her stomach.
'Getting hit without mana really doesn't feel right.'
The pain without mana was strange—completely different, like the burn of wasabi versus the sting of chili paste. That unfamiliar sensation was why she'd gone down so easily. All she could do was clutch her stomach and endure the discomfort she couldn't adapt to.
"A-are you okay...?"
A frightened Saebyeok approached hesitantly. Her white ears and tail had drooped flat.
"Y-yeah..."
So Saebyeok had endured this kind of pain all along. A private suffering no one else knew about. How had she managed when her stomach was actually pierced last time?
Han Yeoreum let out a long breath to push through the pain.
"Saebyeok! You won!"
Yu-na rushed onto the platform and scooped Saebyeok up, lifting and lowering her like an airplane. Saebyeok's drooping tail began to wag again. Flying wasn't particularly fun, but her limbs stretched out reflexively like a flying squirrel.
"Y-Yu-na, could you use some healing magic...?"
"The match is over, so you can use mana now, right?"
"Oh."
Right, that was an option. Han Yeoreum immediately drew up her mana. The unfamiliar pain shifted into something familiar—manageable.
"Saebyeok's really good at fighting. I didn't stand a chance."
Han Yeoreum stood up and patted Saebyeok's head. Jin-hyeok, who had walked over, nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. She moved like she already knew how to counter you. Is she a genius?"
"You didn't know Saebyeok was a genius?"
"U-um..."
Embarrassed by the three adventurers' praise, Saebyeok's face turned red. She just wished this awkward moment would end.
**
Thump, thump—
Even long after the spar had ended, her heart still hadn't calmed down.
'I don't think I can fight against people.'
It was just a friendly match, yet she'd been this tense. If it were a real fight, her heart might actually burst.
She needed to rest a bit. Saebyeok sat on a bench near the pond. Levinas and Saebyeok's sister came running over.
"King!"
"Levinas."
Levinas ran up holding an ice cream cone. She took a bite, then offered it to her sister beside her.
"Did you buy ice cream?"
"Yeah!"
Her sister, after taking a bite, held the cone out to her. Saebyeok didn't particularly want any, but she wasn't about to reject the gesture. She took a bite. A long fang mark appeared on the white surface of the ice cream.
Levinas stared at the ice cream with wide rabbit eyes.
"King's teeth are sharp!"
"Probably because she's a carnivore."
"H-huh...?! Should Levinas become a carnivorous horned rabbit too...?!"
"If you're a carnivore, you'd have to eat meat instead of carrots."
"Th-then I'll just stay an herbivore...!"
Startled, Levinas plopped down on the bench next to her. Her sister laid a small cushion on the bench and flopped onto it, resting her head on Saebyeok's thigh.
Purr, purr, purr—
Her sister made a cat-like sound. It was oddly cute, how much like a real cat she was.
"She's purring."
"Yeah! Just like King!"
"M-me...?"
She'd purred like a cat? She had no memory of that. Saebyeok looked at Levinas in confusion.
"She purrs whenever someone pets her while she's sleeping! Levinas sang her a lullaby yesterday and she purred!"
"R-really?"
"Yeah! But why does she purr?!"
"Um... I don't really know either."
She actually did know. Cats purred when they were content. Maybe her body just made the sound on its own when she relaxed while sleeping.
"Is that so?!"
"Y-yeah..."
She'd been embarrassed a lot today. She scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"Should Levinas learn how to purr too?!"
Right after saying that, Levinas went to take another bite of her ice cream—only for a bird to snatch it away in a flash.
"......?"
Only the broken base of the cone remained. Levinas blinked, not understanding what had happened.
"What...?"
"A bird stole it."
"What...?!"
Levinas looked up at the sky in shock. Circling above them was a bird she'd never seen before, still holding the stolen ice cream in its beak. Its smug movements almost seemed to mock them.