Iris Academy’s Trihi Hall was a training facility created by the first Magic Tower Master, Trihi Croha.
Its plain cylindrical exterior concealed a pinnacle of advanced engineering where every branch of magical technology had been brought together: the Magic Tower’s Second Masterpiece.
Successive generations had expanded its functions and simplified its operation. By the present day, it could distort phenomena themselves to provide the ideal training environment.
Hundreds of training rooms existed within, allowing the building to double as a shelter capable of housing a vast number of people.
Reina and I rented a training room from the supervisor and stepped inside.
Apart from a strange sculpture beside the door, the room was an empty white space.
Apparently, it was not what Reina had expected.
“It doesn’t look particularly special.”
Even in the game, training had been reduced to a simple message reading [Training……], but I knew how to operate the rooms from the setting guide.
I placed my hand on the sculpture.
Although I had not supplied any mana, it reacted to my will and began to glow.
Whatever complex magic existed inside, its operation was extremely simple.
One merely had to imagine.
I closed my eyes and pictured a broad meadow. In an instant, flesh and bone filled out the vague image in my mind, transforming it into a vivid landscape.
The white room changed to match my imagination.
Green grass spread across the floor. Clouds appeared in the sky, and the walls vanished. Before long, the training room had become an open plain.
To test it, I touched the air near where the door had been.
The wall was truly gone.
The room had not merely changed in appearance. Space itself had expanded, exactly as the lore described.
Was this the standard required to call something a masterpiece of the Magic Tower?
“Oh!”
Reina wandered around the transformed landscape in delight.
“Van! What is this? Did you do it?!”
“I did.”
“Amazing! How did you know?”
Watching her run about with innocent excitement made her look like a puppy. She was adorable.
“Well, I happened to discover it while causing trouble.”
“Oh! As expected of the Empire’s Greatest Scoundrel!”
I could no longer tell whether she was insulting or praising me.
I operated the sculpture and produced two iron swords, handing one to Reina.
She examined it from several angles, then looked disappointed.
“It’s just an ordinary sword.”
“What exactly were you expecting from this place……?”
“With facilities like these, I thought they might hand out equipment that was at least high-grade, if not the very best.”
“If they did, I would have bought up their entire supply long ago.”
“Ah. So they deliberately avoid using good equipment because of people like you!”
“……You’ve been teasing me on purpose this whole time, haven’t you?”
“About what?”
I glared at her for a long moment, but Reina continued looking genuinely confused.
Well, she had always been like this.
How was I supposed to deal with such pure, innocent evil……?
Even so, the way she tilted her head was cute.
Her eyes suddenly lit up.
“Anyway, let’s spar!”
“Don’t tell me that’s why you asked me to come.”
“Of course it is! What else would we do besides spar?”
“No, I understand that, but…… Why did you ask so shyly—so cautiously?”
“Because a man and woman training alone together sounds like a date.”
At least she understood that much. But saying it while looking embarrassed had invited an entirely different interpretation!
Reina paid my confusion no mind and happily swung her sword through the air.
“In any case, I won’t lose this time! Earlier, I let my guard down, and the rules forced me to hold back!”
She spoke confidently and stopped the point of her sword directly before me.
“It’s good that you’re enthusiastic, but could you refrain from pointing a blade at me?”
“Ah, sorry.”
Reina lowered it with an awkward smile.
I had expected us to spar, but not that sparring would be her sole objective.
My original plan was to follow her lead for a while, then use any remaining time to investigate my skills. It seemed I would have to reverse the order.
“We ate not long ago. Let’s warm up before we fight.”
“Why? We can warm up while sparring.”
“Then I won’t be fighting at full strength. Are you satisfied with that?”
“Ah. No, I’m not.”
“Exactly. Let’s warm up separately and spar afterward.”
“All right!”
Her immediate agreement was so simple and endearing that I laughed.
***
Reina and I chose separate areas and began training.
After I explained the control panel, she immediately began pressing every button and adjusting the environment.
Each press produced a dummy or Magitech trap.
It felt as though I had handed a child a toy and told her to entertain herself.
Leaving Reina to it, I examined my skills.
【Name: Van Astraea】
【Level: 10】
【Martial Power 15 Mana 25 Divine Power 10】
【Skills: Basic Fire Magic, Basic Water Magic, Basic Wind Magic, Basic Earth Magic, Dual Casting, Basic Swordsmanship, Sacred Art-Healing, ■■■】
The elemental magic skills appeared first.
【Basic Fire Magic Lv. 6】
【Type: Passive】
【Can use fire magic up to the Second Circle.】
All four basic elemental magic skills were Level 6.
Their vague descriptions were exactly as they had been in the game. Since using a school of magic increased the relevant skill’s proficiency, their low grade and level were not a serious problem.
The 【Tracing Fire】 I had used during the examination concerned me.
In the game, Tracing Fire exploded immediately. During the test, however, no explosion occurred until I intentionally activated it.
The same proved true now.
If I handled this correctly, the spell could become extremely useful.
I would investigate it more thoroughly later. For now, the next skill was 【Dual Casting】.
【Name: Dual Casting Lv. 2】
【Type: Active】
【Effect: Regulates the mana within the body, allowing two spells to be used simultaneously. Efficiency increases with proficiency.】
As the name suggested, the skill allowed two different spells to be cast at the same time, though each became less efficient than when cast alone.
I planted my sword in the ground, gathered mana in both hands, and visualized two spells.
One was 【Tracing Fire】, which I had used in the examination. The other was 【Aqua】, which I had used during our earlier spar.
Dividing the mana between my hands was easy, but constructing two spells simultaneously was not.
I repeatedly felt as though I were on the verge of success, only for the sensation to slip away.
Then something strange brushed through my awareness, and a system window appeared.
【Using Dual Casting.】
Both spells activated.
Soft droplets of water floated above my left hand, while a long mana line extended from my right.
They were far weaker than when cast individually, but even that confirmed that 【Dual Casting】 had worked properly.
Yes. This was it.
I could not describe the sensation precisely, but I now understood how using Dual Casting felt.
Recalling it, I cast the spells again.
【Using Dual Casting.】
After the second attempt, I had a firm grasp on the sensation.
It was something I had done myself, yet also something that had been done for me—as though another person were moving my body.
The system was probably providing Skill Assistance.
Perhaps it helped me use a skill even when I lacked the knowledge that should have been required.
If true, that was extraordinary.
Merely obtaining a skill from a Hidden Piece would allow me to use the corresponding magic with a respectable degree of competence.
But I could not be certain yet.
Perhaps Van’s body was simply accustomed to using magic.
To test the theory, I moved on to Basic Swordsmanship.
【Name: Basic Swordsmanship Lv. 2】
【Type: Passive】
【Effect: Can use basic swordsmanship.】
Unlike other characters’ skills, which carried the names of particular styles and sword arts, mine possessed neither distinction nor a thoughtful description.
Yet under the assumption that Skill Assistance existed, it suddenly looked magnificent.
As a certain card game once taught me, the simpler an effect’s wording, the better the effect often was.
A vague description implied broad applicability. The absence of restrictions suggested equally broad potential.
The phrase ‘can use swordsmanship’ did not specify what kind, how much, or by what method. I might be able to interpret it however I wished.
If Skill Assistance truly existed.
To confirm it, I needed to attempt a technique I had never performed.
Fortunately, I had watched one particular swordswoman for a very long time—and had witnessed her attack firsthand today.
Before testing it, I glanced at Reina. She remained absorbed in the control panel.
I gripped the sword I had planted in the ground and lowered my stance.
The style was obscure enough to receive only a few lines in the setting guide, but I remembered the names and effects of all its techniques perfectly.
I repeatedly pictured that swordswoman’s strike and stepped forward.
Like flame racing along a fuse.
【Serenia-Style Swordsmanship – Ignition】
At that instant, my body escaped my control.
It kicked off the ground, rushed forward, and swung the sword, recreating the strike I had witnessed earlier.
WHOOOM—!
The heavy sound of displaced air echoed across the meadow.
Compared with Reina’s blow, mine was pathetic. Even so, I smiled in satisfaction.
Skill Assistance existed.
I had worried whether I could operate effectively while moving in disguise, but that concern was now largely resolved.
I relaxed my stance and prepared to examine the next skill.
Reina was staring at me with a grave expression.
“What did you just do?”
She strode closer and searched my face.
I could guess why she was reacting this way, but pretended ignorance.
“Why? Is something wrong?”
“That attack. Show it to me again.”
“At least explain first……”
“You might fool someone else, but you can’t fool me. It was incomplete, but that strike unquestionably belonged to my family’s secret sword art.”
“……”
I had hoped to finish while she was distracted by the control panel, but she had caught me.
“Who taught you my family’s technique? Don’t tell me……”
“No one taught me.”
“Then?”
“……I copied what you showed me.”
I gave her the unvarnished truth, but Reina could not accept it.
“You copied that technique after seeing it once? Even though you come from a family of mages?”
“A scoundrel needs at least that much talent to keep causing trouble.”
“What does talent in swordsmanship have to do with causing trouble?”
Why was she suddenly perceptive now, after accepting every earlier excuse without question?!
Having never actually lived as a scoundrel, I desperately forced the two ideas together.
“W-Well, a scoundrel’s routine consists of causing trouble and fleeing. Magic alone has limits, so I decided to use swordsmanship too.”
“……And?”
“But I come from a magical house, so I had no one to teach me the sword. So I steal other people’s techniques and use them. It just so happens that I possess a little talent for swordsmanship.”
“……And because the techniques are stolen, they lack precision and proficiency?”
“Exactly!”
Cold sweat ran down my back, but I somehow kept my voice calm.
Reina studied me suspiciously for a long moment, then returned to her usual innocent expression.
“Sorry. I suppose I was too sensitive.”
“No, your reaction was understandable.”
“I don’t know which styles you’ve stolen before, but you should avoid using another family’s swordsmanship—especially a secret sword art. It creates questions of legitimacy.”
In this world, a family’s swordsmanship functioned as a kind of patent.
If anyone could use it freely, the family’s identity and standing would suffer.
That was why I had tried to test it in secret, only to be discovered.
“Sorry. I’ll be more careful.”
“However……”
Reina smiled as though an entertaining idea had occurred to her.
“It would be different if I taught you myself.”
“Do you mean……”
“That’s right! I’ll teach you swordsmanship!”
The offer was completely unexpected, but undeniably valuable.
If I used it properly, I would have an excuse to stay near Reina and intercept attacks. I could also learn the sword systematically rather than merely copying what I saw.
Whether Reina could teach systematically remained uncertain……
In any event, there was only one possible answer.
“I had considered asking you. If you’re volunteering to teach me, I would be grateful.”
“Good! Then shall we begin immediately?”
“I place myself in your hands, Master!”
“Ahahaha! Excellent, my disciple!”
At the word Master, Reina’s grin threatened to reach her ears.
She was truly simple. The sight was so charming that I laughed with her.
Reina ran to the panel and pressed several buttons. A stone platform rose from the meadow.
I thought I knew what she intended the moment I saw it, but asked for confirmation.
“Master, what kind of training will this be?”
“What else? A spar! Rather than teaching you each form one by one, it’s better to show you the goal first.”
“Most people teach the forms one by one.”
“You’re an unusual case. If I show you a technique first and explain the forms afterward, you’ll understand, ‘Ah, this form is used for that technique!’ It will help your comprehension and keep you interested.”
Something about it sounded systematic, while the process itself seemed recklessly improvised.
“That’s what you say, but isn’t your true motive simply to spar as quickly as possible?”
“……O-Of course not! I might have invited you here because I wanted a rematch, but training is more important!”
“You do know you’re a terrible liar, don’t you?”
“Grrr! Mocking your master deserves punishment! Your punishment is a spar!”
“Please choose whether this is personal desire, training, or punishment, Master.”
“It’s a spar either way! Hurry up here!”
Reina ran onto the platform and urged me to follow.
I had yet to test 【Basic Sacred Art-Healing】 or the hidden skill, but this might be an even better opportunity.
Sacred Art-Healing required an injury before it could be used.
And as for the hidden skill—
【Name: ■■■】
【Type: Passive】
【Effect: ■■■ ■■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■■ ■■ ■■. ■■■ ■■■ ■, ■■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■.】
If my prediction was correct, it could only activate during combat.