205
I Killed the Demon King. It was a mistake.
Chapter 205
Since Caesar, Raven, and Gloria all enjoyed meat, the meal was quite satisfying.
Even more enjoyable was the chat they had while Gloria was digesting the meat she ate.
Raven, being naturally curious, had many questions about the beast people's way of life, and Caesar, also being curious, found entertainment in the unique questions and answers exchanged.
"Do beast people groom their fur?"
"Fur grooming is important. Isn't it the same for you? Whether a man tries to attract a woman or a woman tries to attract a man, you need to take care of your appearance."
"So fur grooming is extremely important for beauty?"
"That's right. Some guys even brush their entire body fur every day. But more important than that is smell. Whether it's the scent of morning dew, flowers, or tree sap, scents that calm the mind make you attractive to the opposite sex. Of course, if you smell bad, your romantic appeal drops significantly."
"What kind of bad smells are there?"
"For a close example, right here."
Arang pointed at Caesar's boots.
"This can't be helped. It rains every day, how can I maintain them? And this is actually pretty decent?"
"Wouldn't going barefoot prevent smells? Then you'd develop calluses on your feet too, which would be good."
"You're born with thick foot pads, that's why you can say that."
"Isn't your skin tough too? Why do you need to wear boots?"
"It's uncomfortable. Just uncomfortable. This muddy water isn't just muddy water. It's waste that flowed from where they collect manure......"
Gloria put a piece of fruit in Caesar's mouth.
"Please don't talk about such things while we're eating."
"......Sorry."
While Caesar ate the fruit Gloria gave him, Raven asked another question.
"Each beast people tribe can use different types of magic. Haven't you ever wanted to try using other tribes' magic?"
"Not at all. Fire magic and deception magic are the Red Fox tribe's tradition and uniqueness. If the Red Fox tribe were to use the Grey Wolf tribe's wind magic or the Mountain Tiger tribe's rock magic, it would be like abandoning their identity."
"So does that mean you could use other beast people's magic but choose not to?"
"I'm not sure about that. I've never tried it in the first place. Actually, there weren't occasions for all four tribes to gather and interact like this, so even if we wanted to learn, we couldn't."
Well, the Red Fox tribe and Grey Wolf tribe were enemies even before the demon realm war.
The Mountain Tiger tribe and Shadow Otter tribe probably also took it as a challenge if other tribes entered their territory.
"Come to think of it, you must be the first, Raven."
"First what?"
"Someone who learned all tribes' magic. You've even mastered all our secret techniques, so in some ways, you might know more about us than we do."
Arang put the last piece of fruit in his mouth.
"How ironic. The one who mastered all our magic is a human, not a beast person."
"I had to solve the Geotech problem, so it couldn't be helped. Of course, it's also because I'm good at learning this intuitive form of magic."
Caesar muttered in disbelief.
"There aren't many people who can brag about themselves so confidently."
Raven glared at Caesar.
"You're not much different!"
You brag a lot too.
You're second to none when it comes to being shameless.
......These words seemed audible even without using psychometry.
Since it wasn't entirely wrong, Caesar just took a sip of water without responding.
Arang asked Raven a question.
"Do you think others could use our magic?"
"No. Only wizard with extremely high magic sensitivity could use it. Of course, having high sensitivity and being able to teach it are separate matters."
"Still, they might develop magic to counter our beast people magic."
Everyone here probably knows what Arang is worried about.
Arang was concerned about the possibility of humans invading the demon realm again.
"The way humans and beast people use magic is very different. Human magic works systematically, like gears meshing together. So if someone else structurally understands the magic circle I developed, they can use magic with exactly the same effect."
"So what are you trying to say?"
"Beast people magic relies purely on sense and innate talent, so while you can achieve similar effects, the way it works is subtly different for each person. So even if they develop magic to counter beast people magic, it would be difficult to achieve the expected effect. There are too many variables."
"So you're saying they can't develop magic that completely counters our beast people magic?"
"If you're thinking of dispel magic, it's impossible. Dispel magic only works on magic circle magic in the first place."
"Hmm, I see."
Arang seemed satisfied with Raven's answer and wagged his tail slightly.
"But you need to fix your habits."
"What habits?"
"You're too influenced by your gaze, tail, and hand movements when using magic. Especially when using powerful or complex magic, your actions become exaggerated."
Raven raised her index finger and drew it to the right.
Then, a small spark moved horizontally across the table following her index finger.
"The greatest advantage of magic circle magic used by humans is its thorough security. Since complex formulas unfold at once, it's extremely difficult to instantly figure out what magic the opponent will use."
"But does that mean we beast people use too much action when using magic?"
"That's right. As magic becomes intuitive, the ways to counter it become extremely easy too. Because the direction and effectiveness of magic can be predicted."
"But wouldn't our Red Fox clan's deception magic be hard to distinguish? In the case of enchantment among deception magic, the acting ability of clones differs depending on skill level, but other than that, there's almost no way to tell?"
"Of course, enchantment magic is hard to distinguish since each fox has different actions. But there are common movements."
This makes Caesar curious too.
Caesar also had to wait quietly until Arang's real body came within the range of psychometry since he couldn't distinguish his enchantment.
"Enchantment magic seems to shake the opponent's five senses, but it actually doesn't. It's about combining colored fires to create specific forms. In other words, all clones are basically fire balls."
"Right. But we can control the temperature and create effects like stones flying when running by instantly exploding fire to create wind. This can be overcome with creativity and intuition."
"But since you need to create fire to make clones, the action of creating fire must be included."
Raven pulled her hand up from bottom to top.
Then, a clone was instantly created beside Raven like a gas stove being lit.
"Though I exaggerated my movement, all clones need fire-creating actions like this. And the lower the skill level, the more you can see the clone being completed in the direction the hand moves."
This was new information.
So clones are created in the direction the fingertips point.
"That's a weakness we already knew about. That's why we create clones while keeping our hands behind our back or hiding behind trees."
"That's why there were unit guidelines to face beast people in open fields rather than complex forests when dealing with them. Because there are no obstacles to hide hand movements."
"Then is there no way to distinguish completed clones?"
"If someone has high skill level like Chief Arang, it's hard to notice. But enchantment magic from foxes with low skill level is surprisingly easy to distinguish. As Arang said, they lack acting ability."
Raven pointed to Arang's tail.
"Especially in times like now when it's raining, clones ripple when hit by raindrops, or tail movements look unnatural, or running motions are unnatural in most cases."
Raven spoke while looking at Gloria who was listening with a serious expression.
"So if a Red Fox uses enchantment magic, don't think hastily and calmly observe your opponent. Then you'll be able to respond more easily than you think."
Raven is surprisingly considerate.
The reason Raven brought up the topic of beast people magic, which she knows almost everything about, was to teach Gloria how to deal with the Red Fox she would face in the future.
Gloria looked at Raven with slightly moved eyes, noticing Raven's consideration.
"Thank you, Raven."
"Of course, that doesn't mean dealing with beast people will be easy. Beast people are naturally superior to humans in strength and agility, and they can use magic too. It will be very difficult to approach beast people, and even if you do approach, they'll be hard to deal with due to the fox clan's characteristic flexible movements."
Gloria rolled up her sleeve to show her muscles.
"Don't worry. I've trained until I bled for this."
If there's an advantage to Gloria, it's that she doesn't lose confidence wherever she goes.
-...This won't be as easy as I thought.
-They can manifest magic as fast as a gun while having physical abilities close to a knight.
-I should be grateful that the beast people I'm facing just had their coming-of-age ceremony and lacks combat experience.
An even bigger advantage is that she's quick to self-objectify.
It's very important to clearly recognize one's disadvantages.
But what's more important than this is whether there's a solution to achieve victory by exploiting the opponent's weaknesses based on one's own weapons.
Actually, the victory formula for classic knights is quite simple.
Enduring the opponent's ranged attacks with sturdy armor while approaching to thrust in the sword.
But Gloria's equipment is currently very poor.
At best she has a steel chest guard and helmet, and it's almost impossible to counter a Red Fox's fire magic with this level of defensive equipment.
It's not like Gloria has explosive charging techniques or fancy swordsmanship either.
So this duel is infinitely disadvantageous for Gloria.
Raven glanced at Caesar and spoke.
"Don't you have anything to teach Gloria? You're her master."
"I can't teach her while everyone is watching."
Caesar stood up from his seat.
"Give me some time. I'll quickly teach her how to deal with the fox and come back."
"Now you're going to teach her?"
"Why? Scared?"
Arang scoffed.
"No way. Do as you please. I'll give you as much time as you ask for."
"It won't be long. Just 10 minutes is enough."
"Can you do it in just 10 minutes? I'll give you 20."
"Don't complain about losing unfairly. It's a single match."
"Fine by me."
As Caesar left the table, Gloria quickly followed him.
"Master, is there really a way to win?"
"Why? Have you ever seen me lie?"
"No, that's not it, but you're talking like I'll definitely win... I just don't understand why you think I'll win."
Caesar glanced at Gloria's chainsaw sword and said:
"Don't worry. You've already won."
"...Pardon?"
***
Arang watched Gloria who had just started swinging her sword in the empty lot.
There didn't seem to be any special changes in Gloria's movements.
From her ordinary downward strikes and horizontal slashes, it looked like she was just warming up.
If anything special, it might be that she had neatly tied up her long straight hair in a net?
Probably to prevent her hair from sticking out of her helmet.
'That can't be the secret to victory...'
Arang spoke to Caesar who was returning after giving his advice.
"Was 10 minutes really enough?"
"More than enough. She is my disciple after all."
"Does your disciple know how to handle sword energy?"
"No, she's going to be a classic-type knight, so she'll never use sword techniques of techniques knights."
"Does she have any special techniques?"
"None of that either. Being a classic-type knight, she only learned how to properly swing a sword."
"Then you must know how nonsensical this match is? One beast person can handle five ordinary knights. The reason isn't because we're bigger than you, it's because we use magic."
"I know. Moreover, your magic casting speed is vastly superior to human wizards."
Even the action that Raven pointed out as necessary before using magic becomes useless in front of distance.
They'll definitely cast magic at least once before Gloria can approach the beast people.
If she gets hit properly by that magic, Gloria won't even leave bones behind.
"And still you say your disciple can win?"
"Yes. She'll definitely win. So tell your cousin to stay alert. She'll win in an instant without them being able to do anything."
Arang couldn't understand the source of Caesar's confidence.
Arang knew that Caesar was strong.
But Gloria was different.
Just looking at how Gloria swung her sword told him that.
While her form was decent, she wasn't a mature knight with proper speed and power yet.
"You're not going to use some strange sophistry, are you?"
"Have you been deceived your whole life? If you're worried, you can set the victory conditions. How do you want to determine the winner?"
"Since we can't get hurt, let's say we win if magic hits your disciple's body. What about your side?"
"We'll win if Gloria's sword touches the body or cuts any hair. We'll have Raven be the fair judge."
"...Did you bribe the judge?"
"Come on, are you that suspicious?"
Arang nodded.
"Honestly, I wouldn't mind if we got a penalty."
"Raven listed out your weaknesses, right? But those aren't your real weaknesses. Your problem lies elsewhere."
"What is it?"
"I can't tell you that. That's the key to this duel."
Gloria looked at Caesar and gave him an okay sign.
"Seems like she's done warming up. Shall we start? Where's my disciple's opponent?"
"Maru!"
When Arang called out, a red fox dropped from the tree.
As expected of the red fox tribe, Maru was a head taller than Caesar.
Despite such a large body falling from the tree, only the sound of brushing grass could be heard.
Looks like Arang chose someone skilled.
Maru looked down at Caesar with arrogant eyes and said:
"I heard your concerned words about me just now."
"Don't mention it."
"In return, I'll just slightly burn your disciple's hair. Looking at her, I think a bob cut would suit her better than long hair."