First Impression (3)

I heard the other students murmuring in confusion, but I wasn't particularly surprised.

After all, this sparring match was the very first battle in the game. It didn't matter if you lost, and winning didn't mean much either. Essentially a tutorial.

Thanks to that, the difficulty had been set somewhat high, but... of all things, the opponent you fought one-on-one here was treated as a boss by the system. It even had a bronze medal attached, so if you were aiming for a platinum medal, this was a battle you absolutely had to win.

If you knew the strategy and avoided any unfair gimmicks, the fight was fairly manageable, but the problem was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that this was only true from the protagonist Leo's point of view.

The game I was experiencing now wasn't a JRPG where everyone took turns based on character speed, each landing one hit and moving. It was a hyper-realistic FPS.

...... Actually, it wasn't even an FPS, just reality.

To be honest, I was confident in my own skills. I could easily dodge a novice's sword swung by some random amateur. That was a conviction.

Naturally, because I had dodged a sword swung by Lucas, who was supposed to be even stronger than the Sword Saint at this point, more times than I could count.

The Sword Saint was still alive. In the Aetherna Chronicles setting, he died to Lucas in the second title. This was the very beginning of the first game, so of course he was still alive.

But the time gap between the first and second games wasn't huge. About one year. Honestly, I thought that if Lucas charged in right now and fought the Sword Saint with real blades, Lucas would win. Though that was purely my speculation.

I stared blankly at the students carefully picking their weapons.

These weren't personal arms they had brought themselves. No matter how combat-oriented the academy was, they wouldn't order students to actually shoot or slash at another student for real.

Both the swords and the spears were made of wood and rubber. Getting hit would definitely hurt like hell, but as long as you didn't take a blow to the head, a couple of hits wouldn't kill you.

There were also staves for the mages who used magical power. Of course, the Mana Stones in them had been minimized so that any spell cast would only produce a little light. When the mages fired their spells, the instructor Jennifer would assess each student's skill level, determine the effective range of the magic, and then announce whether it had hit or not. At least, that was how it worked in the game.

And naturally, there were also guns.

In the case of guns, the many moving parts meant they couldn't be made of rubber. They were, in fact, real guns. To replicate the loading of a bullet and the ejection of a shell casing, it was just better to use an actual firearm than to bother building a mock-up. The difference was that the barrel was a solid steel rod, and there was no firing pin inside, so you couldn't actually fire a round even if one was loaded.

The bullets inside were just chunks of metal with no gunpowder.

...... So, the Ergensen rifle I was holding was actually heavier than the live weapon I usually carried. Same with the revolver under my arm.

Still, it wasn't enough to cause a major problem in a brief sparring session.

"All right, everyone got their weapons?!"

Jennifer glanced around at the students as she spoke. No one answered, but they each had a weapon in hand. The type of weapon varied wildly from student to student, but seeing how every last piece had been distributed perfectly without a single leftover, it seemed Jennifer had indeed reviewed everyone's specialties before class.

"......."

For just one moment, Jennifer's gaze paused on me as she surveyed the students. Was that a coincidence?

"It would be awkward to face an unfamiliar student on the first day. If you have a preferred partner, get their consent and pair up. If there are any leftover students, I'll match you up myself."

...... And the last person remaining would have to fight Jennifer.

That was the worst possible scenario. Rewinding time and fighting might let me win somehow, but I had no idea how many resets it would take.

Jennifer was a warrior of the battlefield. Her active period had been short, but she had run rampant during that brief time. Her character setting was that she could use anything she got her hands on as a weapon.

In the game, bound by the limitations of a turn-based RPG with fixed techniques, she simply appeared as a character who ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠freely mixed firearms, swords, and magic. But occasionally, descriptions in event scenes showed her fighting with a chair, a ladder, a cup, a water bottle, rocks, or even a fountain pen or pencil.

It seemed like the developers had tried to mimic a character from a famous Hollywood movie, but honestly, the animation and graphics were so awkward that it hadn't looked that cool.

Clap!

The sound of another clap rang out.

"All right, you have one minute!"

Jennifer called out.

I looked over at Alice.

"...... What, you want to?"

And Alice, meeting my eyes, immediately recoiled and took a step back in horror.

...... That stung a little.

"I know I'll definitely lose if I face you, so why on earth would I want to do that? I'd be less embarrassed losing to the instructor over there."

Hmm.

Alice was no pushover. But her swordsmanship hadn't yet reached Lucas's level.

So if we fought, I would win. Because I could erase my mistakes.

"Oh my."

Charlotte, who had been listening to Alice's exchange from the side, cut in.

"Alice, would you like to spar with me, then? Despite how I look, I'm quite confident in my fencing."

Unlike the wooden Bastard Sword Alice was holding, Charlotte carried a rapier with a rubber blade.

Charlotte gave the rubber sword a few quick flicks with her wrist, then pouted slightly.

"As expected, a different material changes the character of the blade entirely. This is less like a sword and more like a riding crop."

"If you want to quibble like that, this thing's a club,"

Alice said, raising the wooden sword in her own hand.

And what I was holding was a toy gun, for that matter.

For the record, there was no one else around us.

No matter how outstanding their skills might be, apparently no one had the nerve to beat up the imperial princess or the princess. You never knew how that might come back to haunt you.

"Oh! Me, me! Then I want to fight Sylvia!"

Ah, a sudden shock!

I had no idea how long she'd been listening, but Claire had somehow gotten right behind me and shouted that, nearly making me flinch.

If not for the past ten years spent being attacked by Lucas every time I let my guard down, I really would have jumped out of my skin.

"Huh?"

And just as Alice turned to look at Claire, who had spoken—

"Now, attention!"

I heard Jennifer's voice.

The murmuring died down, and everyone looked at Jennifer.

"Those of you who have found a sparring partner, sit down!"

At Jennifer's command, people began planting themselves on the ground one by one. Everyone was a noble, so they all wore slightly reluctant expressions, but no student dared to defy the incarnation of the battlefield. Especially since this was the first day.

Alice and Charlotte sat.

"Sylvia, hurry!"

Claire, who had plopped down the moment Jennifer shouted, grabbed my sleeve with sparkling eyes and tugged at it.

"......."

No, over there Leo was staring this way with a deeply aggrieved expression.

But still, this seemed vastly better than having to face Jennifer, so I quickly followed Claire's lead and sat down.

I'm sorry, Leo. I won't forget this debt. Not that I have any intention of repaying it.

Maybe because Class A itself was assembled from noble children with various connections to each other, most of them had found partners and sat down.

"Good, then you two, pair up with each other."

After pairing off the two remaining female students, Jennifer looked at Leo Grace, who was left all alone, and grinned.

"Hoh. The eldest son of House Grace, is it? How fares the baron?"

"Huh? Ah, yes, yes! He is well!"

At Jennifer's words, Leo snapped to attention and shouted.

"Good, a strong voice. Well then, you'll spar with me. Take a seat."

Watching Leo's face turn ashen, Jennifer didn't so much as blink.

Once Leo had taken his seat as the last person, Jennifer once again swept her gaze across the students.

"All right, so......"

She pulled a pocket watch from her coat, checked the time, then continued.

"One team at a time will take far too long. Very well. We'll go three teams at a time. Don't worry. I can watch all of you and judge who wins."

Uh, no one was worried, ma'am.

The only thing to worry about was your insane drive. Not that I had the guts to say that to your face, of course.

"Then first, hmm. All right, shall I take a look at those who will become the pillars of this nation first?"

Smiling, Jennifer pointed at me and Alice.

"You two, bring your chosen partners and step forward. And you two as well. Step forward. Three teams like this will go first."

"......."

At Jennifer's order, everyone glanced around nervously but still began to rise from their seats one by one.

No, one person's eyes were positively sparkling.

"You're a Grace as well, I see."

Jennifer looked at that Claire and spoke.

"You have good eyes. Whatever you do in the future, I hope you can maintain that gaze."

"Yes, ma'am!"

They oddly clicked well together.

Claire actually seemed like someone constitutionally unsuited for the military... Well, that was irrelevant for now.

Jennifer's gaze lingered on me for another brief moment.

And that confirmed it for me. This was no trick of the mind or coincidence.

Why? Was it because I was one of the emperor's children? Did Winterfield suspect the emperor was behind Count Crowfield's death—Ah, well, I supposed any ducal house would speculate about that.

...... Had I already landed on a watchlist on the very first day of the semester?

"Come now, don't just stand there, all of you step forward!"

"......."

We moved forward at Jennifer's urging.

Alice and I put some distance between us and stood back to back.

And there, standing right in front of me, was Claire, gripping a fairly large sword in both hands and assuming an extremely upright and proper stance.

Her eyes sparkled, and the corners of her mouth twitched, as if she were absolutely delighted to be sparring with me like this.

.......

Well, I suppose it was flattering to have someone like that as my opponent, but...

I couldn't gauge her skill at all. Unlike the game, where she'd learned a somewhat unusual combat style far removed from standard swordsmanship, this Claire had clearly been taught the same upright sword style as the protagonist Leo.

Would that actually make her easier to deal with?

I'd witnessed her fighting with the Whip Sword in reality, too. Facing a straightforward sword like this was definitely going to be much better than dealing with that kind of devious blade.

All right.

I pulled back the rifle's bolt and chambered the first round.

Then, just like a soldier holding a gun on an enemy position, I pressed the stock against my shoulder and leaned my waist slightly forward. I spread my legs a little for easier movement—

—Wait, but was it really okay to place me, practically no different from an ordinary rifleman, right in front of someone holding a sword like this?

"Now, then! Begin!"

And before I could even raise an objection, Jennifer shouted.

...... Right. Knowing her, she'd probably say something like, 'On the battlefield, you must be able to fight and win no matter the situation!'—

"Well then, here I come!"

—Before I could even finish that thought, Claire shouted and rushed at me!

Just like a kendo practitioner shouting 'Head!' she thrust her left foot far forward as she charged, raising both arms high over her head.

In a game like this, it would probably be called a 'Straight-Line Slash' rather than a 'head strike.'

A simple move, but incredibly fast.

I threw myself sideways with all my strength. I barely managed to avoid falling. The soles of my shoes scraped harshly against the sand.

Dry sand from the training ground scattered wildly, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The rifle was long, and even though the time to raise it was short, I wasn't given enough time to align the muzzle. I had been poised to fire instantly, but Claire had closed in too fast and was now too close to aim at with a long rifle.

Fine.

I'd prepare a shorter gun. From now on.

Click.

I pulled the trigger anyway, but Claire, having anticipated that much, had already leaned her body further forward and slipped past the muzzle.

"Missed!"

Only Jennifer's shout could be heard.

I leaped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠backward.

Releasing the grip ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with my right hand, I started to bring it down toward my left armpit—

"Hyah!"

Hearing Claire's shout, I immediately pulled my body back.

Having swung her sword downward, Claire pivoted the blade from that exact position and swept it toward me. If I had still been standing in the same spot, my hand would have been struck—

"Eek!?"

A little less than a half-beat too late, I felt an impact on my right arm and collapsed to the left as if I'd been sent flying.

Huh? What?

I scrambled to get up. Everyone's eyes were on me.

"Sis?"

Claire was looking at me with a deeply bewildered expression.

My arm throbbed. For a moment, the spot that took the heavy blow had no sensation at all, then the pain slowly returned and my brain began to scream.

Claire's sword was glowing with a blue light.

...... Sword aura. Claire had wrapped that wooden sword with sword aura when she swung it.

And that sword aura had followed the blade's path, moving a split-second behind the stroke itself, like a tail following a whip.

Like an actual whip.

......A Whip Sword!

Isn't it against the rules to swing a wooden sword wrapped in sword aura?!

"Again!"

Feeling somehow wronged, I ended up shouting that with all my might.