Chapter 104
Chapter 104
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: 30. Eve of the Storm
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Even excluding spirit possession, thanks to all the cores I've absorbed so far, I can now freely digest low-grade magic armor.
On top of that, I haven't tried it yet, but I should be able to handle mid-grade magic armor to some extent, right?
“Alright. Next time Lukar recovers, I'll try possessing him while wearing mid-grade magic armor. Won't that instantly give me commander-level skills?”
“That won't happen.”
“Huh?”
Why is she stating it so definitively? You're not even a spiritist—how do you know?
“In fact, I tested it out with Meredes on that very issue.”
“Meredes?”
“Didn't I tell you I trained with Meredes while she was possessed by a spirit?”
Right. Meredes had cleanly ended the possession midway and fought without any backlash, hadn't she?
“It happened twice. Once with her bare body possessed, and once with mid-grade magic armor on during possession.”
“And?”
“When possessed bare-handed, she reached knight commander level. But when possessed while wearing magic armor, there wasn't much difference.”
“Really?”
“Whether their powers clash or the mechanisms of spirit possession and magic armor overlap... I don't know the reason. What I do know is that adding 1 to 1 doesn't make 2—it's only about 1.3 or 1.2 efficiency.”
Really? That's a bit unexpected.
“Then... no, even 1.2 means a 20% boost, right?”
“Yes. There was definitely that much difference. But wearing magic armor comes at the cost of mobility.”
“Speed...”
“Exactly. Magic armor is heavy. So I'm not sure if it's really a gain. Of course, with more refinement, there's room for improvement.”
Dabi eyed Meredes, who was waving her arm from the corner of the training grounds far away.
“Of course, this is all based on Meredes's case. I can't be sure it applies the same to you, Your Highness.”
“No, the numbers might not be exact, but it'll probably be roughly the same. Meredes!”
“......!”
Meredes bolted over at the call and bowed low.
“Yes, Your Highness. You called for me.”
“Sorry to interrupt your training. But between possessing with the pebble spirit or just fighting in mid-grade magic armor, which feels better?”
“If you're talking about the sensation, the ability amplification is higher with spirit possession. Strength and speed both. Speed especially, since you don't need armor—spirit possession wins by a mile. But it's tricky to use in actual combat.”
“Why? You already used it in real combat once.”
“I passed out back then and didn't wake up for a while. My current possession limit is 8 minutes max.”
“8 minutes?”
“It used to be 5, but it increased after I consumed the core Your Highness granted me. Still, I can't fight a full 8 minutes. To minimize backlash, I have to cut it at half—4 minutes. Otherwise, I'm combat ineffective after dispelling.”
So for me, a total newbie at 3 minutes, that means cutting at 90 seconds. This is getting trickier to use...
“So for now, I think magic armor is more practical. But if I can't equip armor or it's damaged, it could be useful then.”
“Yeah, makes sense. Thanks for explaining.”
“You honor me.”
Meredes dropped to both knees right there and bowed. With a wry smile, I personally took her hand and pulled her up.
“But don't just drop like that here. Wow, your arms are insanely toned. Lucky. Legs too.”
“......”
“But what were you doing just now? Hand blade strikes?”
“It's the training the captain ordered.”
Meredes raised her arm toward the center of the training grounds, her expression blank.
She snapped her long forearm with a short motion, slashing down with her hand blade in an instant.
Boom!
A shockwave erupted, cratering the ground. Gale Blade? That's a Gale Blade, isn't it?
“Whoa. Cool. But why use Gale Blade bare-handed? Doesn't it need a sword for full power?”
“There's a reason for it.”
Then Dabi slowly mimed a bare-handed Gale Blade.
“As you said, Gale Blade requires a sword for power. The same goes for all knight skills, of course.”
“Right. Training for when you don't have a sword?”
“Not exactly.”
Dabi looked complicated. He glanced at Meredes, then nodded.
“We were about to move to the next phase anyway. I need to prepare, so please wait a moment, Your Highness.”
He dashed toward the knight order headquarters.
Prepare?
What is he going to explain? And once he goes into HQ, it's radio silence?
Not wanting to just stand there blankly, I turned to Meredes beside me.
“Dabi's taking a while. When did he start training you?”
“A few days before you left for Dark Mountain.”
Meredes answered demurely. So almost a month ago? Right after the eclipse gate opened?
“Why?”
“I don't know the reason. At first, it was to reach the realm of bare-handed Gale Blade, and I did quickly.”
“Yeah, well, for someone like you, it'd be quick.”
“You honor me, Your Highness.”
Meredes bowed deeply again. Why does she react like this every time I compliment her? It's embarrassing; I can't even talk.
But...
A faint body scent wafted from the bowing Meredes.
Mmm, smells nice. I didn't want to exhale the breath I'd inhaled.
But since the source lingered there, it was fine. I leaned slightly against Meredes and took a deep breath.
Somehow, my mind relaxed, and fatigue washed over me.
Yeah, I'm pretty worn out.
We started off sprinting too fast this time. And the remaining time requires running even faster.
“Can I lean for a bit?”
I was already leaning. Pretty shameless of me.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Meredes's face was expressionless as always. For a moment, I wanted to activate the sovereign's eye, but...
I decided against it.
How much time passed?
“Sorry! Coming right now!”
Dabi poked his head out a second-floor window of the knight order HQ and leaped out.
Thud!
He sprinted back this way. His armor had changed? I slowly pulled away from Meredes and asked.
“'Prepare' meant changing armor?”
“Sorry. I needed a higher grade for this.”
What Dabi wore now was the white knight order's mid-grade magic armor. One rank up from before.
Why bother?
“The principle of Gale Blade is creating a fine vacuum and hurling it at the enemy.”
He drew his sword and unleashed a Gale Blade.
Kaboom!
A powerful shockwave hammered the training grounds floor, radiating outward. Dabi pointed at the impact with his blade tip.
“The vacuum disperses like this, generating the shockwave. The basic principle everyone knows. But...”
This time, he swung his empty left hand for a Gale Blade.
Boom!
“As you see, bare-handed Gale Blade has less power and shorter range without a sword. Why?”
“Weaker vacuum.”
“Correct. The vacuum disperses faster, so the weaker shockwave doesn't reach far. And it takes more effort.”
“More effort?”
“You can't leverage the sword's weight or sharpness. Sharpness means less surface area contacting air. So bare-handed takes way more strength.”
Back in my first regression, I thought this was nonsense. Now it's just this dimension's common sense.
“So sword is always better, right? Why train bare-handed?”
“Because I saw potential. And I proved it.”
“Proved what?”
“The vacuum from a sword Gale Blade combines with the short shockwave from a bare-handed one before it fully disperses, extending range and power.”
What?
I heard it, but I don't get it at all.
“What combines with what? Shockwaves?”
“You'll understand seeing it. Please step back behind me.”
As I retreated, Meredes followed. Dabi took a short deep breath, then lightly swung his sword at the training grounds center.
It looked light, at least.
But the result was anything but.
Kaboom!
A insane shockwave exploded from the center in all directions.
The direct-hit ground had a massive crater like a meteor strike. Holy crap, I could fit a house in that hole.
“Whew... What do you think?”
Dabi turned and asked. What do I think? No idea, what was that, scary.
“Insane. Looks like a new technique... Is it a master skill I don't know? Only for knight masters?”
“No. Just a Gale Blade variant I made.”
“You made it? You, Dabi?”
“Yes.”
Dabi nodded with a smile.
“As I explained, using two types of Gale Blade simultaneously yields this power.”
“Really? But you didn't use your left hand.”
“Different hands can't sync timing and spacing. So one hand for both techniques at once.”
“How?”
“Elbow-to-wrist recoil for bare-handed Gale Blade, then add wrist recoil for the regular one. Like this, this. This.”
He rhythmically flicked his right arm in front of me. I still don't get it...
“So it fires both at once. But is that all? Bare-handed plus regular Gale Blade?”
“Not as simple as it sounds. You need precise understanding of the principle and tons of practice beforehand. Otherwise, your elbow and wrist break.”
I glanced sideways—Meredes was laser-focused on Dabi's motions. Good, if she gets it, fine.
“Of course, timing is tricky. Start the two skills slightly offset, but make activation overlap. Like this, with minute delay...”
“No, but even so, that power? When did you even make it?”
Anyone'd think you slammed a Wind of Tempest into the ground.
Yet Dabi just lightly swung his sword.
Such power... Hey, Dabi? You never used anything this overpowered in your previous 9 regressions. The technique guy turns brute force character?
“It was completed long ago.”
“So you could use it but didn't?”
“Yes. Top-grade magic armor barely allowed it, but my physique couldn't sustain it long, so pointless. But now it's different.”
Dabi stretched both arms back dramatically in his armor.
“Thanks to the Ancient Wolf core, my joints are incredibly flexible now. Greater range too.”
“Joints were key?”
“Essentially yes. Shoulder, elbow, wrist. And joints reinforced to withstand shock better. So I can use the technique confidently with less force.”
“Yeah. You're in mid-grade now?”
“That's why I trained Meredes on bare-handed Gale Blade.”
Dabi turned back to the main point, eyeing Meredes.
“Soon, not far off, Meredes will surpass me and become a true knight master. Freely wielding master skills, perfectly digesting top-grade magic armor. But...”
“But?”
“No time. Even 'soon' means at least 10 years, no, 5. But to reach 5 years from now, we must first overcome the crisis in 1 year.”
Right. The otherworld invasion advanced a whole 8 years.
“No matter how talented Meredes is, knight master in a mere year? Impossible. Now it's 10 months. So instead of becoming a master, mastering a technique stronger than average master skills is key, right?”
Ooh, yeah. My ears perked up.
“At this rate, Meredes will perfect the new Gale Blade in 6 months. I'm certain it'll greatly aid against the otherworld invasion.”
Yeah. Convinced.
No, beyond convinced—impressed briefing.
Dabi, you had a plan all along.
Facing the otherworld invasion with just 10 months left, I'm not the only one racking my brain to boost forces more efficiently.