Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: A Domain of His Own
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Loan had two concerns.
First, that he couldn't control the distance between himself and his opponent as he wished during his spar with Oscar.
His concern about space was the first.
And second, his lack of ability to overcome the disadvantage once he had given up that space.
‘I need to be able to control the engagement distance to overwhelm my opponent.’
As he was lost in thought.
Sienna, who had created some distance, spoke.
"Now, watch closely first. You can be particularly vulnerable to close-quarters attacks, so how you use your feet is crucial."
Finishing her words, Sienna drew her twin swords. Their length was somewhere between a dagger and a longsword. They seemed to be her unique weapons, specialized for swift attacks.
She soon began to engage a virtual opponent, her feet moving busily back and forth. It was as if someone were truly standing before her.
But what was even more marvelous was the footwork itself.
She always seemed to move with an ethereal lightness, but a closer look at her feet revealed a spring in her step.
Whether she was standing still or moving back and forth again, it was always consistent.
‘She maintains her rhythm and breathing, yet her movements are never predictable.’
Her advances and retreats scattered in unexpected directions.
‘It must be the process of evading virtual attacks, but how can she reverse the flow of mana so instantaneously?’
This was not a skill honed overnight.
It was only natural, then, that she would speak of the importance of repetitive training.
"Even if you try to memorize it with your eyes now, it will take a long time for your body to follow. Don't be impatient, and until you're proficient..."
Sienna couldn't finish her sentence.
In the distance, Loan was replicating her exact footwork.
"You..."
"So this is how you do it, senior."
It began with an observation.
Loan projected even the opponent Sienna had envisioned onto the screen of his senses and examined it closely.
While Sienna had recreated it well, it was only possible because Loan's imagination and perception were at their peak.
‘The opponent is holding a long spear. The trajectory is wide, like Vice Commander Oscar's. I see. My moving inward was an unconscious attempt to find an opening.’
‘It's different when facing a thrust. The placement of the feet is important, but the angle of the toes could determine life and death.’
‘Her movements in response to a longsword's chain of attacks are incredibly dazzling, yet her posture remains composed. That's highly significant.’
There were no set rules. It was movement based purely on reaction.
‘It's not that different from what I've been doing.’
Until now, Loan had moved his body by reacting to his opponent's movements.
It was a method he had used ever since he first saw mana.
A thoroughly defensive and reactive concept.
The same went for controlling an opponent's movements with magic. It was only possible with a certain amount of distance.
Facing Oscar was a perfect example of this; if he had attacked from closer range, it would have been difficult to use.
Back to square one.
If he had mana above a certain level, he could react like Sienna. From that point on, the difference in mana would decide the victor. But Loan's mana was still at the level of his younger days.
‘I have to assume that every opponent from now on will be stronger than me.’
Having joined the Union, he had to assume that the skill of the opponents he would now face would always surpass his own foresight and reaction speed.
‘There's no point in just copying my senior. Our fundamental abilities are too different.’
Loan stopped mimicking Sienna.
Sienna approached Loan.
"Looks like you've realized something."
"This isn't something I can do."
"You copied it in an instant, and now you're saying..."
"I can't go any further than this. I can't become like you, senior."
Sienna furrowed her brow at the unexpected answer.
"Giving up doesn't suit you, does it?"
"Is that how I seem?"
"What I showed you is nothing compared to magic. You're a mage who has already overcome the normal constraints of time. This just looks like you're feigning weakness."
"Ah..."
Suddenly.
The word 'mage' lingered in his mind more than the scolding.
From there, a desperate train of thought branched out in an instant.
‘Instead of blaming my weak innate mana, I should have been looking for what I *can* do. That's how I learned magic, after all.’
‘What if I manipulate the flow of Convection in advance to enable the movements I want? If I ride that flow, it might be possible.’
‘No, before that, what if I stop the opponent from entering my space in the first place? If I were to erect some kind of virtual barrier... a virtual barrier...’
Loan suddenly stared blankly at Sienna.
Meeting his clear, shimmering turquoise eyes, Sienna asked.
"Wh-what is it?"
"You're truly amazing, senior."
"Huh? Wh-why?"
"You gave me the clue to find the answer in magic."
"I did?"
Though confusion flickered in Sienna's eyes, Loan smiled, pleased about something, and gazed into the distance.
As if trying to retrieve necessary information from somewhere in his memory.
‘The Barrier of Blue Flames. There was Master Arthur's magic.’
The barrier of mana, woven like a dense net, blocked even the wavelengths of sound.
Considering the master's mana, its physical defense must have been considerable as well.
Of course, Loan couldn't erect such a powerful barrier. Nor should it be so enclosed.
He needed a new method, one that had good synergy with his own attack style.
Ultimately, what he was good at was regulating the flow of mana.
‘Getting close wasn't just a disadvantage. The opponent had stepped into my Convection.’
The flow of mana already surrounding him was his own. That didn't change whether the opponent entered it or he advanced.
‘First, I need to generate Convection in its most powerful state and see how far I can expand its range.’
But it was impossible to strengthen the Convection with only the power of circulation, with only the beating of his heart.
He had already experienced this while blocking Blake's sword.
‘It's too dangerous to use in a real fight. The strain on my body is too great.’
Hypotheses rapidly embroidered his mind.
Understanding and intuition simultaneously presented Loan with a more efficient and effective method.
Like Sienna, he pictured a virtual opponent.
First, Oscar.
Within the path of his sword, Loan regulated the size, thickness, and speed of his Convection, appropriately using 1st-Circle mana manipulation magic.
However, trying to view it only from a frontal perspective made distance regulation inefficient.
‘Just like that time.’
Back in his days as a street beggar, the day he mistook the Union for Manson's gang.
To evade the pursuing Union members, Loan had once flattened their respective positions and observed them as if looking down from the sky.
He did it again.
‘I can't just block.’
He had to control the Convection and use it to neutralize the opponent's attacks or to increase the efficiency of his own evasion, defense, and offense.
Domain.
‘My own Domain.’
Like Master Arthur, he tried changing the very form of the Convection.
Starting with the [Friction Correction] and [Speed Adjustment] he often used, he added spells like [Deepen Mana Stagnation], [Spatial Correspondence Manipulation], and [Centrifugal Force Enhancement].
As if it had been waiting.
The virtual Oscar stepped into the net of Convection that Loan had woven.
In Loan's mind, the distorted sword path, the weakened strike, the disheveled posture, and the unconsciously placed footprints were vividly drawn.
And yet, the virtual Oscar used the shortened distance to continue his attack.
He swung his sword and took several steps forward.
In turn, Loan would retreat just as much, continuing the exchange.
It was distinctly different from what he had experienced firsthand.
He had become able to control Oscar to some extent, now that he was inside his Domain.
‘Even with a different opponent.’
Lucas, Sophie, his first opponent from the entrance exam, the mage Reinholdt, and even Master Arthur all sparred with Loan.
Loan became completely absorbed.
Unaware that Sienna, finding the vortex of dust surrounding him strange, was approaching.
And Sienna—
—suddenly stepped into Loan's Domain. With clear intent. It was no longer a stage where she could just leave him be.
"Huh?"
"Hm?"
Sienna, startled by the resistance in the air, and Loan, surprised by the switch from a virtual to a real target.
But in the unintentionally started spar, both immediately began to give it their all.
"You've found an interesting method. The air feels incredibly heavy."
"Your first step, it seems to have been subtly thrown off."
The opening was there.
The opponent's first step that lost its rhythm, and his own first step in response.
"Right. I almost lost my breath. This will be effective in a real fight."
"It's still just about one step's worth. It's truly just baby steps."
Besides, it was only two-dimensional.
If it included floating in the air, the movements would become much more varied.
Perhaps it could even approach an infinite domain.
"'Just'? Enlightenment always starts there. You unravel the principle and expand upon it."
"Is that so?"
"You need to be more generous with yourself."
Loan let out a small laugh.
"Why? What is it now?"
"No, it's just... I think my worries have disappeared."
Laughing, feeling awkward, realizing, and being surprised.
The two matched each other's steps, one leading, the other following.
Inside Loan's Domain, their respective strengths and speeds were evened out. So from a distance, it looked just like they were dancing.
A very intense one, at that.
* * *
"Senior, I'd like to request a match."
Loan went to the seniors of the Faith Division who were engrossed in training at the sparring grounds and politely made his request.
It was a habit, if you could call it that, from his childhood.
If he learned something or had a realization, he had to practice. He had to experiment, observe, and make it familiar.
He always did so, because asking politely and courteously had always opened doors for him.
Everyone, taken by surprise, agreed.
Them.
Their weapons and attack styles were all different: longswords, greatswords, twin swords, maces, long spears, and fist-fighting.
But from the seniors' perspective, they couldn't have a formal spar with a rookie who was just a child, who had only just become an Oz.
Since they had agreed, they decided to exchange a few blows. It was, in a sense, truly teaching their junior a thing or two.
Loan no longer cared whether he attacked first or second.
They only exchanged a single back-and-forth, but Loan was able to confirm that the 'Domain' he had created was effective regardless of the opponent.
He was overjoyed, but on the other hand, Sienna was flustered for various reasons.
There was Loan, giving her the credit, and thanks to that, she was receiving unnecessary praise from the other seniors.
"What did you teach him for his movements to change so much in a single day?"
"I should ask Sienna to correct my form, too."
Even the Commander and Vice Commander Oscar praised her.
"It seems he's overcome a weakness common among magic users. You taught him well, didn't you?"
"Isn't it a case of innate talent blooming all at once after receiving the right guidance?"
"I didn't really do anything..."
It was difficult to say she did nothing, but it also felt wrong to take credit.
As she trailed off, the Commander's expression turned serious.
"Excessive humility can seem like arrogance. Perhaps what you've observed in him all this time has finally sunk in?"
Vice Commander Oscar added fuel to the fire.
"So, shall we entrust his future training to Sienna as well?"
"We should probably teach him a thing or two to save face, but Sienna is actually the best match for him. In that sense, for this next mission, you'll be his supervisor. Take Loan with you."
Surprised by the Commander's words, Sienna asked back.
"A mission? Already?"
"Yes. It's just some light reconnaissance."
"Reconnaissance, you say."
"After the Vice Commander went to the trouble of rooting out all those farms, it seems Le Tell is trying to start a new business."
"Even if it's just reconnaissance, if the opponent is Le Tell..."
The Commander shook her head slightly at Sienna's words.
"It seems they're trying to resolve it themselves by gathering mercenaries in Ollen. Just step in and get a feel for the situation."
"Ah... so we'll be undercover?"
"Think of it as a light field trip. Don't cause too much of a commotion. Got it?"
Having no other choice, Sienna bowed her head to the Commander.