Mock Battle (2)
He'd only tussled in grapples or scrambled desperately to evade until now, so this brought back a truth he'd briefly forgotten—etched into his very body. Knights were professionals honed for battle, spending nearly their entire lives swinging weapons. Even if what they wielded was a massive golem, as long as it could be handled like a weapon, they could melt their vast combat experience into output far beyond expectations.
"Time to show a little respect for your teacher."
With a voice tinged with faint amusement, Professor Reina's Cyclops waited patiently for him to rise. As he did, he analyzed the situation on the fly.
"You've been riding continuously to internalize the delay between your controls and the Cyclops's movements... right?"
"It's a splendid machine, but that lag compared to hand-held control is a real hassle. Obvious at this size, though."
Even human bodies had a slight gap between thought and action sometimes—to say nothing of a Cyclops. But if you pinpointed that interval precisely, you could just factor it in and move accordingly.
"Give half a step, then chain right into the next motion, and even this side can move plenty fast."
That was the secret behind Professor Reina's Cyclops outpacing the tech demonstrator in agility. On the flip side, it also meant knights like her wouldn't yield an inch in close quarters, even if reaction speeds improved.
"This demonstrator wasn't built for you to just flop around on the ground!"
This mock battle had started precisely to uncover unexpected data like this. Mountains to climb were problems to welcome and conquer joyfully—there was zero reason to resent them.
He fired up the backpack immediately and swung his weapon at Professor Reina's Cyclops once more. Bladeless sword and axe clashed, locking into a test of strength.
"My weapon's longer, at least...!"
It had ended up as a plain longsword instead of his original design, but by Cyclops standards, its length matched a human greatsword. Longer than a hand axe, reinforced to withstand swinging force. Yet it couldn't overcome Professor Reina's Cyclops output.
Output's higher on my side. Friction minimized. Reactivity lets her anticipate, but mine's definitely improved, so raw speed's faster. So why can't I dominate now?
As they pushed in a strength contest, he closed in to shove—her machine budged slightly. She promptly raised a leg; he activated the backpack to rocket upward. Feeling the sun at his back, he dove in reverse light, adding mass and fall speed to his downward slash. Her Cyclops retreated a beat late, stumbling to one knee from the crumbling ground's shockwave.
He followed with a punch to shatter her stance completely, then yanked to fling her back—but at that instant—
"I can see every move you're planning, Aizen!"
Reversing the pull, her Cyclops dragged him in and flipped him over. The massive rotation hurled the tech demonstrator flat. Dazed from the impact, he rolled up and charged shoulder-first. Weight difference toppled her Cyclops, but...
"I've learned plenty from you too."
For the first time, her Cyclops used the backpack boosters to evade his pursuit and recover stance. She read his incoming swing perfectly, ducked under, and axed straight for the cockpit.
"That'll do nicely."
The axe blade halted precisely before the cockpit.
The mock battle was over.
The dueling ground lay in chaos, but it was just a mock battle. They parked the Cyclops and tech demonstrator side by side, then unpacked the bentos Noel had brought.
"I brought more than enough for everyone. Eat up."
"Free food? Don't mind if I do."
Mina snatched a bento from Noel right away, spreading out in a corner of the dueling ground with Erica. Professor Reina, Aizen, and the others pitched in, and somehow the spot turned into a mini banquet amid the chatter.
"Lord Aizen, here."
"You didn't make these yourself, did you?"
"Sadly, I can't cook. Got them from a bento shop near the academy."
Why do those even exist...? But academies had plenty of outdoor classes, creating demand for such shops, apparently. Sure, nobles could cook personally or order from restaurants, but...
"Nobles who can cook are rare."
"Restaurants have to serve regulars too, so they're short-staffed."
Mina and Erica's explanations cleared it up. Plus, they charged premium prices.
"Still, these are noble-targeted shops, so quality's top-notch across the board."
"That's 'cause you only go to the fancy ones."
Mina narrowed her eyes, noting plenty of cash-strapped students existed, and pointed behind them.
"...With this much, could I take some leftovers...?"
"Hey, you're Nexia Duke's lady. We still got potatoes, but asking for these...?"
"...You can have whatever's left after meal time."
The alchemy students cheered. Amid their dinner-sorted racket, Aizen quietly eyed the tech demonstrator.
"Never once seized the advantage, huh."
"Yeah."
He'd thought his deathmatches had built solid skill, but he lost. Fine for a mock battle, but his pride stung a bit.
"Desk-jockeys have their limits. Transfer to knightics?"
"Too late for that—you're just teasing, right?"
"Would a professor bully a student?"
Her words said no, but her lips curved up, face brightness up 30%. She's gloating over the win.
"Looked pretty even to me. Act your age, Reina."
"They're plenty adult, Isarina. But plenty of textbook-worthy moments."
Professor Reina approached. As Noel started to scoot over, Aizen held her back; Erica and Mina subtly yielded the spot to Reina. She smiled briefly at the gesture, settled in, and spoke gravely.
"I could pull it off thanks to knightly combat experience, but honestly, I couldn't move as fluidly as you. The backpack's... booster, was it? I didn't think to use that function on the fly."
Past-life mecha memories made boosters for emergency dodges second nature to him, but Professor Reina knew nothing of that. She understood booster mobility in theory, but not instinctively—that was a natural flaw, and one for her to improve.
"And that sharp move with the sun at your back."
"Obvious tactic... well, I'd seen it work before. Decent?"
"Works fine through the magic tool view. It's my eyes seeing."
The monocular eye was just a magic tool relaying outside visuals—no light reduction. Sudden glare could blind you. Her brief lag mid-fight? She'd chased him straight into the sun.
"All prime textbook material."
"Glad it helped. Mind if I share more thoughts later?"
"Long as you skip the weird nonsense."
Harsh. But now for the important part.
"Output was clearly higher on the demonstrator, yet it never overpowered the Cyclops once."
A major flaw. Why the mock battle mattered.
Professor Reina nodded. "I dodged direct force with some tricks, but you took it easily."
"Troubling. You didn't use it, right?"
Overload wasn't official on civilian Cyclopses, but she'd snuck it back in. Textbooks needed it, she'd bullied him and Mina into agreeing. He phrased carefully; she got it and nodded.
"Didn't."
"Real problem then."
His prized machine just lost flat-out. Pondering the exact issue, Professor Reina spoke up, recalling something.
"Come to think of it, Aizen—I saw something during the fight."
"What?"
She could see what he couldn't. He pressed; she explained slowly.
"Thought I misread it at first, but... the arm on your golem."
Tapping her temple thoughtfully, Professor Reina recalled and stated firmly.
"It was slipping a bit."
Of course. That explained it.