The Fundamentals of the Vertical Slash
The bell signaling the start of class rang, and the instructor immediately ordered a thousand vertical slashes. The number was excessive, and naturally, complaints erupted over what seemed like training fit only for complete beginners just picking up a sword for the first time.
Leading the charge was a particularly obnoxious girl who kept smirking like an idiot. Judging by her appearance, she was clearly a noble. The way the knight standing behind her glared with murderous intent was proof enough.
"Instructor, vertical slashes? No matter how important fundamentals are, we all passed the academy entrance exam. We already have the basics down. Isn't pouring time into something like this just a waste?"
They say physiognomy is a science. She really did have the face of someone with zero manners. Her actual words were tolerable, but that condescending tone was a masterpiece of irritation. Compared to this bitch, even the little brat's lack of manners was downright cute—almost lovable.
"I just want to check if those fundamentals of yours are actually solid. If you're so confident, go ahead. If you've really got the basics, we'll move on."
"Hmph… fine."
The rude girl flashed a shit-eating grin and lifted the practice sword. What followed was a smooth vertical slash. It was literally just swinging from top to bottom, so there was nothing difficult about it. However…
"See? What fundamentals? I could do better with my foot."
Zeron chuckled as he took a drag from his cigarette. Through the rising smoke, he caught a glimpse of the girl's face cracking with rage.
"…Is that so? My, what an impressive person you are."
"Glad you finally noticed. Yeah, I'm pretty damn impressive."
Zeron wasn't one to talk without backing it up. He drew the sword from his waist, casually tossed it into the air, then caught the hilt between both feet and performed a perfect vertical slash.
"See? Better than yours, right?"
By now the girl's face had turned tomato-red. Zeron let out another chuckle and stood up. He may have been lazy, but he did believe in earning his pay. It wasn't exactly a deep conviction, but it was his motto.
"Can you tell what's different?"
"…No. Not at all."
"Exactly. That means your fundamentals still suck. Hey, mister."
Zeron called over the knight who had been guarding the rude girl from nearby. The man only twisted his face into a demonic scowl and offered no reply.
"Don't you know the difference, mister?"
"……."
"Wow. How the hell did someone with your skills become a knight?"
Ignoring the knight who was practically radiating killing intent, Zeron walked over to a nearby training dummy. With a casual wave, the still-fuming girl reluctantly approached.
"Try it on this one."
"…You want me to cut this? With a blunt practice sword?"
"Sigh… this is exactly why your fundamentals are—"
"Ugh…!"
Grinding her teeth, the girl swung her sword. The blade fell from above and struck the dummy with a deafening BOOM. The dummy's head grotesquely crumpled from the impact.
"Oh, this thing didn't break. Must've spent some money on it."
As Zeron casually observed the dummy, the girl snapped at him.
"So? What's so different about your sword, Instructor?"
"Right, I should show you."
Zeron suddenly began taking off his shoes. While everyone stared in confusion, he casually gripped the sword between his big toe and second toe.
"What the hell are you—!"
"I told you. Even with my foot, I'm better than you."
His leg shot up in a wide arc, and the sword rose high before descending in a gentle swish. Compared to the girl's strike, it was slower and carried no visible power. Just as bewilderment crossed her face—
Thud.
The sword touched the ground. The girl's expression shifted from confusion to shock.
"See? That's what fundamentals look like."
You rude little bitch.
He swallowed the rest of the thought and deliberately curled his lips into an irritating smirk. A dull thud followed—the sound of the training dummy, now split cleanly in half from top to bottom, collapsing to either side.
"How is this…"
The girl's eyes darted around, desperately searching for the difference. Eventually she reached a conclusion, and her brows furrowed deeply.
"Is it mana? You sharpened the blade with mana? What does that have to do with fundamentals? That's an advanced technique only possible right before reaching Expert rank."
"Oh."
"See? I'm right, aren't I? Go on, explain it. What exactly does this have to do with fundamentals?"
The girl rattled off her questions in a heated rush. Zeron laughed brightly and answered.
"Looks like your eyes are just knots in a wooden plank. You can't even tell whether I used mana or not?"
Of course she couldn't. The gap in their levels was that vast. If he actually focused, there was no way she would notice.
"That's… not true, but…"
Not true my ass.
He wanted to say it, but since he really hadn't used mana this time, he quietly explained.
"It's about concentration of power. Even with the same strength, putting power into the entire sword and focusing it into the blade are two different things."
"That's impossible. With just that, it's physically impossible to cut this dummy so cleanly. That's physically—"
"Oh, for fuck's sake."
Looking for physics while using mana? Lately guns had been gaining attention and interest in science was rising, but he genuinely couldn't understand what kind of bullshit logic this was.
"Physics is fine. Science is fine too. I personally hate it, but whatever. Still, isn't that a weird thing for someone who uses mana to say?"
Using the results of science was perfectly acceptable. It could even be efficient. There were undoubtedly geniuses who could handle both. It might be difficult to scientifically define mana, but it wasn't impossible to master both. However, no matter what, this rude girl was not one of those geniuses.
"Mana is the power of will. Something like this can be done with the mana that naturally dwells in the sword when you swing it. Hell, even without any mana at all, at the very least it wouldn't completely shatter the head like yours did."
Zeron slipped his shoes back on as he continued.
"I'm not asking you to do it exactly like I did. But at the very least, the blade should actually sink into the dummy. Whether you can handle mana or not, once you learn to focus power into the blade, mana will naturally gather there."
Even setting mana aside, the sword path itself would change. A perfectly vertical downward force. Even by the physics this rude girl loved so much, a force applied cleanly without waste would generate greater acceleration. Greater acceleration over the same distance produced greater speed, and greater speed produced greater momentum. Furthermore, if the force was applied in a perfectly vertical line, the point of impact would align exactly with the blade's edge, creating a much narrower striking surface. When that shock and pressure were concentrated on a relatively smaller area—
Fuck, what the hell am I even doing?
He had only learned science haphazardly from Elena, and even that was so long ago he'd forgotten most of it. The explanation he just gave might have been completely wrong. Anyway, the conclusion was that this much could be achieved with the mana that naturally gathered. And people didn't call that "using mana."
Suddenly feeling irritated, he gave the rude girl's small head a sharp flick.
"Kyaa!?"
"My lady!"
The startled escort knight moved to intervene, but surprisingly the girl raised her hand to stop him.
"…I see. Thinking about it, you might be right, Instructor."
"Oh, really?"
I was starting to confuse myself while talking.
"Yes, well… that's right. Will. Concentration. It's obvious whether you're handling mana or a sword. I must have forgotten for a moment."
Even as she said this, the girl's expression remained sullen.
"That doesn't justify your behavior. A gentleman touching a lady's body without permission, acting rudely as if mocking her, disregarding a student, and teaching in a way that insults by belittling ignorance. I may acknowledge your ability to some extent… but as a person, you are disqualified."
"You were the one who smirked like a bitch first."
"Excuse me…? What are you—!"
Before long, the two of them had started arguing. Medeia watched them with a look of utter disdain and silently continued swinging her sword.
They're both such children.
Medeia had felt no dissatisfaction when Zeron first ordered the vertical slashes. She had already gone through this training long ago. The noble girl had said something similar to what she once had, and Uncle had given a similar response, only a little kinder. Though he certainly hadn't done anything as ugly as that.
Their argument was the kind of childish squabble only a five-year-old would have.
"You were the one who spoke rudely first."
"You were the one who spoke to me with such disregard first!"
"Your smirk was annoying."
"Does that even make sense!? From the beginning—!"
As she tuned out their bickering and focused on swinging her sword, a large male student approached and spoke to her.
"Since we'll be in the same class for a whole semester, how about we introduce ourselves?"
"Huh?"
If Uncle had heard that, he probably would have said something like his head must be a flower garden or his mental age is that of a five-year-old brat. Of course, in Medeia's eyes, Uncle was the one who acted more like a child.
"I'm… Medeia from Class A. I'm aiming to become a Magic Gunner."
"Oh! I'm Depoi! Class B! I'm also aiming to be a Magic Gunner, so this is perfect!"
Depoi laughed heartily and then turned to the male student who had been silently performing vertical slashes beside her.
"And you? What's your name?"
"…Ed. Class A. Aiming to be a swordsman."
"Whoa… Class A sure has a high ratio. What about that friend over there?"
The last one he spoke to was the boy who had started swinging his sword around the time Zeron began explaining something to the noble girl.
"……."
"Hey? Could you tell me your name?"
"……."
"Hey—!"
"…Colhuer…."
"Ah, and what class and specialization?"
"…Class C. …Magic Gunner."
Watching the scene, Medeia slightly furrowed her brow. She wasn't sure if he was just friendly or had no sense of boundaries, but it was excessive. That boy named Colhuer clearly looked like he was in a bad mood.
Around that time, the argument seemed to have ended. The noble girl came stomping over, still fuming, and abruptly introduced herself.
"I am Jeremiah de Lapien. I am in Magic Department Class A, not the swordsmanship department. My goal is to become a Magic Swordsman. I can handle guns a little as well."
Judging by the way Uncle was smirking, it seemed he had somehow won the argument against the student. On the other hand, Lapien looked like she had swallowed something bitter. She took a moment to calm her anger before continuing.
"Even if it's only in name… the academy's rules dictate it, so please feel free to call me by name. I have no intention of flaunting my authority as a noble."
It had suddenly turned into an introduction session, but Medeia thought it was for the best. She wasn't sure about the others, but she felt she could become quite close with Lapien and Ed. They were the only ones who seemed even remotely normal.