Chapter 62
Chapter 62
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: How to Grow Them Lazily (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘What are you doing, kid?'
I’d even yielded the first move to her, but Artel was just standing there blankly staring at me.
Her face looked like she hadn’t comprehended what I’d just said.
It was a somewhat dazed expression, far removed from her usual cool and aloof demeanor.
For some reason, she only made that face occasionally when she was around me.
“Ma, match…?”
“Yeah.”
Why was she so shocked?
I’d skipped the explanation out of laziness, but…
If I asked to meet at the training grounds, wasn’t it obvious we’d train?
‘…Ah, maybe that’s why?’
She might be surprised because the lazy guy who slept through every class suddenly wanted to spar.
If that was it, I could understand.
Of course, there was a good reason for me pulling this off out of the blue.
To get the Hydra egg, I needed to develop both Yuria and Artel.
But if I stepped in directly to teach or train them, the system would undoubtedly interfere.
‘But what if I’m not the one moving?’
During class, when Ker controlled me to solve problems, it nearly counted as ‘my action’ and triggered a penalty.
So, conversely, what if I controlled Ker to fight?
Like how riding the Shadow Throne for fast travel didn’t reduce slothfulness, this would likely be judged as ‘Ker’s action, not mine.’
That’s what I wanted to test today.
And the reason I’d summoned the shadows in this tentacle form was a sort of preventive inoculation for her.
In [Stella Academia], Artel later gets thoroughly overwhelmed by a tentacle-type monster.
It was a bad matchup due to its erratic movements and varied attack patterns.
That leads to an event where the protagonist rescues Artel from the tentacles, but if he fails, she ends up sacrificed.
Even if rescued, she suffers immense defeat and humiliation in the process—a grim storyline.
Since I’d possessed this body, I wanted to nip that unpleasant plot in the bud.
‘Have her fight something similar ahead of time to build experience.’
That was the deeper intent behind this sparring request, but Artel still looked dazed.
Ah. I forgot to explain one thing.
“Instead, there’s a rule. No casting spells directly at me—you only fight these. Got it?”
My body couldn’t move, and I couldn’t use skills directly.
As I wiggled the shadow tentacles while speaking, she finally seemed to snap out of it.
“Ah… Oh, so it’s a spar.”
Artel finally grasped the situation.
She fiddled awkwardly with her hair for a moment…
Then her eyes turned serious.
“Alright. Here I go.”
Artel assumed a stance for her opening move.
This was our first real spar.
In reality, that is.
But I already knew her fighting style inside and out.
I’d faced her countless times in the game.
Her opening pattern was predictable.
She’d create ice platforms for mobility or fire ice spikes to probe.
Sure enough, chill gathered in her hand.
That was the motion for an ice platform.
I extended a tentacle the moment I saw it.
Crash!
The ice platform shattered futilely under the shadow tentacle the instant it formed.
“……!”
Artel’s eyes widened.
‘I’m pretty fast now too.’
I’d invested half my level-up and placement exam quest stat points into agility. (The other half into mana.)
Plus, I had the legendary rune, [Rune of Agility].
Her current movements were easy to track without even activating [Keen Eye], as long as I anticipated them.
Even after her opener crumbled, she calmly fired ice spikes.
But those were obvious trajectories I’d seen endlessly in the game.
The shadow tentacles writhed like snakes, effortlessly dodging or batting away every incoming spike.
Now it was my turn.
I recalled the patterns of that tentacle monster from the game and thrust the tentacles at her.
Frontal assault, flank, and a low sweep.
“Urk…!”
Artel reacted swiftly, erecting an ice wall to block the frontal attack.
She nimbly evaded the flank with her battle mage footwork.
But she couldn’t watch every blind spot.
Ssslrp!
A tentacle rose from below and coiled around her ankle.
“Eut…!”
Artel lost balance and toppled to the ground.
Her face showed utter shock.
As if she couldn’t believe she’d been subdued so easily.
I nodded to myself as I watched.
‘Hmm. She’s improved a lot, but she still struggles against erratic types.’
Her skills had grown, but like in the game, her limits were clear.
Of course, it was hard not to fall for attacks from someone who knew her patterns and weaknesses perfectly—like a game veteran digging for flaws.
‘Then…’
I didn’t miss the opening and controlled the shadows.
Shwaaak—
The shadow tentacles surged toward the fallen girl.
***
Artel felt darkness closing in.
‘I lost. Miserably.’
The spar had barely begun—a few exchanges in.
And she was utterly defeated by Jeron.
Every move read, every follow-up anticipated.
Then overwhelmed by bizarre, erratic attacks she’d never seen before.
This shadow magic was new too.
How many weapons did he even have?
And he hadn’t used any of his signature spells yet.
Severing magic, defensive spells, reflection magic, and more…
Without a single one, she’d been rendered powerless.
The tentacles themselves weren’t that strong.
Yet she’d been toyed with purely due to the skill gap.
The disparity with Jeron was vaster than she’d imagined.
Shwaaak—
The shadow tentacles bore down on her helpless, prone form.
‘…Pathetic.’
Artel squeezed her eyes shut reflexively.
She’d thought she’d grown decently.
With similar practical sparring ranks, maybe she could keep up with Jeron a bit—she’d gotten arrogant for a moment.
But reality was this brutal.
‘He must be disappointed in me like this.’
Even Jeron would be let down this time.
He’d acknowledged her in magic class, accepted her pushy tutoring request, and even made time to spar…
Yet she’d collapsed so disgracefully after just a few exchanges.
‘With this level of skill, dreaming of getting stronger while entertaining weird fantasies…’
She felt utterly pathetic.
So, she braced for the punishment to come.
Defeat naturally brought penalty.
That’s how she’d been taught, how she’d grown up.
She expected the tentacles to bind her body, leaving her helpless, or slam her into the ground in humiliation.
But.
Instead of the awaited chastisement, something soft and gentle enveloped her.
She cautiously opened her eyes, and the tentacles were softly cradling her arms and back, helping her up.
Like a kind hand lifting a fallen child in concern.
“…?”
Artel was speechless at the unbelievable scene.
No scolding or mockery—just an incredibly gentle touch.
Guided by the tentacles, she slowly rose and blankly stared at Jeron, still languidly standing there.
His face was so serene, it was hard to believe this was the same person who’d mercilessly pressed her moments ago.
“Good work.”
Jeron tossed out the casual remark.
Plain, yet somehow warm.
Before Artel could mull over the words, the tentacles that had lifted her writhed again.
“Ah….”
She flailed in surprise, but they weren’t attacking.
They intertwined, forming something.
‘This is…?’
A plush backrest, comfortable armrests.
In an instant, the shadows transformed into a perfectly fitted, cozy single-seater sofa.
And gently seated her on it.
“…?!”
While Artel blinked in bewilderment, another shadow tentacle zipped over, politely delivering a cool water bottle right to her hand.
It didn’t end there.
Another shadow morphed into a large fan shape, wafting a gentle breeze beside her to cool her sweat.
‘What…?’
Artel couldn’t process it.
She’d lost disgracefully, yet no scolding?
Instead, treatment fit for a distinguished guest of a great house?
Why…?
“Je, Jeron. I don’t deserve th…….”
She started to protest that this was too much, but Jeron cut her off.
“It’s fine. Take a break.”
He reclined into his own shadow like a bed, opened a novel he’d pulled from somewhere, and waved dismissively as if it were nothing.
“Rest up fully, then challenge again.”
Artel said nothing.
She simply watched his profile, leisurely reading his novel, for a long, long time.