Chapter 12: The Uncle and the Honors Student
Yesterday, Little Elan served food as if nothing had happened. It was a spicy mapo tofu soup.
Holding such happiness in my hands, I was already completely over my cold.
I did not feel much discomfort, but yesterday, Little Elan and Little Hairball were driven to run around crazy as if flames were shooting out of their mouths. Until now, those two’s lips were still inflamed.
“Today there wha asolutely no cutosers (Today there were absolutely no customers).”
I guess Little Elan is meticulously avoiding having her lips touch, or else they would probably hurt.
I supported my head and nodded. Soon, it would be dusk. I closed the store.
Although I fell ill because of insufficient magic, I had absolutely no thoughts of abandoning practicing making swords. If I couldn’t soon grasp the skill, I had no way of responding to the crisis that may come soon. For example, if right now, the real hero were to appear before me, I had no way of giving them a good weapon. As a result, I could ruin the hero.
Like that, I have become inclined to playing the villain’s role.
I did not believe that I couldn’t do it. Honestly, it’s merely sensing the skeleton and making a weapon to match. I only need the right direction, so in theory, there’s still hope.
As before, I didn’t care about severe magic depletion and used all my strength to make swords.
At this time, Ka Luona’s voice sounded out from above my head.
“Are you this fierce every night?”
Such speech that people could easily misunderstand could only come from her.
I turned my head. She stood atop the stone step, looking down from up at high at me.
This time, she wore a light green knitted turtleneck, a light red short skirt, and black tights.
The silver sword was, as usual, worn at her waist.
“If you don’t call out before entering here, be careful that I might mistake you for a thief and chase you away.”
Seeings as she did not look like she came here to fight, I lay down on the ground and spoke.
If your magic power is too different than your physical strength, no matter how much you use magic, the total strength will not increase.
Extreme depletion will cause nerve pain.
She jumped down, noiselessly stepping on to the blue stone bricks like a cat.
“It’s no use. Even If I can’t see, I can’t hear, your aura is still there.”
“Oh.”
She hmmphed after being seen through.
I focused my attention on regulating my breathing, so I had no energy to ask her why she was coming. After the awkwardness persisted for a moment, she said:
“Are you really someone who opened a weapons shop?”
“Of course. Don’t tell me I seem like someone who buys and sells little girls?”
She said somewhat unhappily:
“But you might be stronger than my teacher. I graduated with the highest grades, but I still lost to you.”
She sounded like she was unwilling to resign, but she obediently recognized her defeat like a good kid.
“So, you have been following me?”
I did not use an interrogating tone. Of course, I also did not have any intentions of rebuking her.
If you want to see clearly the reason behind a strong person’s strength, the best method is observation.
“But there seems to be nothing different about you from other people. I also could not observe your strength. I only saw you possessing skills in forging weapons, that’s all.
Her words held such a “How could this be, how could the answer to the question be this”-type tone. As expected, she still hasn’t given up.
“How long has it been since you graduated?”
“A year and a half.”
“And in this time, have you directly battled anyone?”
“No one. But I still remember the fighting method very clearly–”
“With that kind of textbook battling style, you will never be able to beat me. You are definitely an outstanding person. Observation skills are outstanding, reaction speed exceedingly quick, memory excellent, and even your magic reserves are high. But a fight isn’t determined by numbers. Experience is also very important.”
Ka Luona did not speak again.
I got up and planned to continue making weapons.
“Fight me again. This time, I will use the full strength of my skills to fight.”
But I had not the slightest bit of interest.
It doesn’t matter how strong your skills are, if your weakness is the same.
“If Uncle wins, I will let you meet the one who made the sword.”
“……Let’s go! Let’s fight right now!!”
If I can meet the maker, maybe I can truly know what I’m lacking.
Anyway, this time, my win has been decided.
Just as I thought that, Ka Luona’s figure instantly disappeared.
Immediately, I put all my strength into dodging. A sword had already been stuck where I originally stood.
Although I wanted to capture Ka Luona, fireb.a.l.l.s had, in the blink of an eye, started coming towards me in all directions.
It’s not that I couldn’t dodge, but the path for dodging is limited. This is the doing of the fireb.a.l.l.s.
Only a couple of days and you’ve already reached this level?
I waved my hand and used air pressure to shoot at a fire, choosing the other path, simply breaking through. And as expected, seven to eight strong vines came whipping past my body.
Anyhow, I first dropped to the ground. If had stood in the air above, I would’ve been bound hand and foot.
Suddenly, the vines at my side exploded.
Ze *clicks tongue*. A dazzling, thunderous light. Thunder was buried inside the vines before attacking.
I used my magic strength to scatter it, but the right arm sustained a wound.
She did not cling to using her speed to beat me, but rather used magic and her skills. Her goal has become “To win the final victory” from “To be first in all areas,” letting go of meaningless pride and childish battle theory.
She has become strong.
I really wanted to praise her like this, but doing so in the middle of the battle would be impolite, as if I were displaying my superiority.
“You’ve lost your composure, Uncle. When I use my skills to strengthen myself, it’s not too much to say that I’ve developed at a G.o.d-like pace”
Even if your strength increased, seeking to excel over others isn’t right.
Teaching a junior is also a senior’s duty.
“All-powerful G.o.d of Holy Light, bestow your follower with light that illuminates darkness!”
In a breath, she poured magic into the silver sword, and the sword immediately emitted an incomparably dazzling radiance.
At the same time as her figure instantly disappeared, the clumps of earth all around me soared into the air like a fast-growing plant, surrounding me.
Ma, you can’t be this free and unrestrained.
Even though I could easily break through this restricting action, that wouldn’t have any meaning. Presumably, Ka Luona believes that her full-strength attack has the strength to make me run off with my tail between my legs, thus the increase in her arrogance and made her reject continuing to advance. For her, who is overly used to the honors student life, having a strong opponent might not be a bad thing.
“All things forge.”
The clumps of earth flew upwards. I turned my body and used three fingers to stop the silver sword from cutting down.
I (t/n: humble form) was not hurt at all, but in a circular area about ten or so meters behind me, the clumps of dirt seemed to have evaporated, frantically rushing into the sky. (t/n: basically, the dirt exploded (i think))
It certainly is an incomparably terrifying strength, but if you want to bring me down, you aren’t enough to even hit me.