Ilona has decided that Maureen's house is not a good place for a fight, so we are on our way to one of the soldiers' training camps.
I'll visit you again, kitten.
A sparring match... It's not that I haven't had one, at the academy we have one from time to time, although I don't have any combat related classes, so in general we just work out from time to time. But sometimes we practice with each other, in pairs....
I don't want to remember those traumatic moments where one of two things would happen, if it was something easy, part of the class would jump on me with uncertain intentions, looking for me to join them. Or if it was a difficult exercise, then the whole class would pair up with someone they trusted, someone they could cheat with or lean on. Since there were 49 of us in my class, I was almost always left alone on those occasions...
I don't know which was worse. The point is, I always ended up doing the exercises with people from other classes or some teacher.
Wait... What was I saying?
Oh yeah, sparring. I don't think that counts... Shooting some relatively harmless spells at each other, physical exercises in pairs, taking care of each other while concentrating on playing with complex magic...
Yeah, that's not combat, I have no idea what to do.
Of course I've seen other classes having actual combat, some guys too.. Eh... Enthusiasts will even shout the names of their techniques at the top of their lungs, thinking they look cooler than they actually do.
But there's a limit to what you can learn just by watching. To really learn, you have to do things yourself.
Actually, that's something I was very critical of my first boss, in my mind naturally... I found work building houses. Nothing too complicated, of course. Measuring and marking boards, drilling holes in walls if they weren't too thick, picking up debris, tying metal rods, cleaning tools, helping to hold something up...
Uh, not to go into too much useless details, I was an errand girl, a helper at best.
I understand that they wouldn't assign important tasks to a rookie, but I was physically stronger than most people there, and I knew how to use a lot of tools, but they considered it dangerous and wouldn't let me.
I can understand that, but what bothered me... My boss said he was going to teach me, he asked me to watch well as he did it, I watched obediently... But when it was my turn, the slightest and insignificant mistake made him take me out of the place and start doing it again himself... And he wouldn't let me do it again until he scolded me for not being able to do it even after so much time.
Damn it! How am I supposed to learn if you just push me out of the way the first chance you get? I've seen you do it so many times, it's my turn! Let me fail! I'll just keep trying until I get it right!
Grr... it makes me angry to remember his face. I know he didn't mean it, but the worst thing is that he always scolded me and made fun of me in front of the other workers, comparing me to others who knew how to do it long before me.
You know what? I guess getting angry is not so bad, not that I want to get angry, but it might be good to feel strong emotions when you are about to fight.
Or is it the opposite? Should you... Should you have a calm mind when you're about to do something like this?
I don't know.
'I'm nervous, I'm thinking too much... I really don't like fighting.'
It's one thing to hit idiots with bad intentions, it's quite another to fight a woman you've just met, who is respected and who seems nice. Even if it's obvious that said woman is very used to fighting.
Ah. Right, she's also a noble... I want to go home.
"Are you nervous?" The taller woman asks, her voice drowned out by her, uh, helmet.
"Y-yes, I've never had practice fights before"
"... Really? But you didn't look nervous with the high elf before?”
"High elf? So he was someone important... I'm more nervous now, thank you”
"Haha, even without you telling me, I can tell that you trust your reflexes to fight, so don't be so nervous, just imagine that we'll get some workout"
"I'll try to think of it that way"
"Okay, so?"
“Mh?”
“You didn't look nervous before”
I remember how I felt before.
"Oh yeah. I guess I don't care if trash like that guy gets hurt." My tone changed for a moment, weird.
"... That's one way to look at it"
Finally, we arrive, it's still kind of fancy and very clean, but compared to other parts of the castle it looks more unkempt, there are also a lot of soldiers around, leaning towards Ilona, Sherianna and also Nicole for some reason... What's a court mage doing again?
After passing through some double doors, we see many soldiers, in varying degrees of undress, fighting and training, only the edges of the place have a roof, a nice marble floor and many columns separating the edge with the large grassy yard in the middle.
'Wow... The marble looks fancy. When I get my house, should I get a room with a floor like that? Although my favorite floor so far is still the dark wood.'
Again, don't get distracted.
... Did I say training? More like being bullied into not stopping moving, I see several uniformed guys screaming at the top of their lungs all sorts of demeaning and rude insults that I don't want to hear.
Oh, they punched somebody in the face.
Aren't they your soldiers? Is it normal for them to treat someone in the military that badly?
It looks like I had in my face what I was thinking, Ilona speaks to me.
"They have to be strong, you know? Training them with intimidation accomplishes that very well, although most of them end up becoming bastards, unfortunately”
"But we're not at war or anything, are we? And who would attack? To the east is Carian, on the other side the endless ocean, to the south and north mountains..."
At least I know some geography.
"It came in handy with the monsters the other day, remember? You never know when something will happen"
"... True"
"It's also been toned down a lot. In more chaotic times, war was considered a blessing for soldiers, as it gave them a break from training"
"..."
"Well, I'll ask permission, go change"
"Change?"
"Of course, you shouldn't train in a dress, there are more comfortable clothes over there"
She points to a plain wooden door.
"I'm ready as you can see, take your time." Sherianna interjects.
"Okay... Hey, Nicole, please come with me"
"Why?"
"Please, what if I accidentally put on someone else's clothes? What if I can't find where they keep their clothes and I go through someone's drawers and they get upset? What if-"
"Yeah, yeah, I got it, let's go"
"Thanks"
"Do you want me to wear this in front of so many people?"
"Well yeah, it's not like there's anything else in your size that has room for the tail around here"
"I'll look for something else and make a hole for my tail myself"
"There's only this kind of clothes here, it'll be the same but worse, no time"
"Ugh. How is wearing this different from being naked?"
"In that you don't show any skin"
"My legs and arms would be completely exposed, though"
"That's no big deal, they are now"
"Oh, right"
"Isn't it kind of exciting to have so many people looking at you? Everyone will stop to watch you practice~"
"... I hate you"
"Go get dressed, the Duchess is waiting for you"
"Fine..."
I feel like I've been humoring her a lot lately, I don't dislike at all, but it's bad for my heart.
But this... I'm holding up a... jumpsuit? Bodysuit? I don't know what it's called. A one-piece garment, all black, with the top part covering the neck, sleeveless, and the bottom part going down to the hips and stopping there. It's made of some material I don't recognize, similar to cotton to the touch, but much stiffer and tougher. It also stretches and is... Very thin.
"Take off your underwear too"
"What!?"
"You have to change back when you're done, you can shower here, but you don't want to wear sweaty underwear, do you?"
"N-no, but-"
"You won't show anything, these clothes are made for that, just put them on"
I hope she's right. I strip down and put on the... whatever it's called.
I immediately have a harder time sliding it over my butt... It clings to my hips. It will definitely show off my figure. At least it's softer around my chest, even though it's tight.
A few uncomfortable rubs on my head, tail and other parts later, I'm ready.
There are no shoes in my size, and I wouldn't want to wear them even if there were, so I go barefoot, there is grass after all.
...
We're in a small room, I guess it's for soldiers, they didn't think it necessary to put a mirror in here. But I don't need one, it definitely looks like I'm completely naked, at least it doesn't show the silhouette of my nipples, which are definitely- never mind.
I do several little hops... yes, they bounce. For once I'd like my chest to be tighter, it would only be for a little while, so there would be none of the horrible problems it causes. Would there be bandages around? There should be, but they would be easy to see. I'd better not.
'Click, click.'
Mh?
"What was that noise?"
"What noise?" Nicole replies, uncharacteristically with a happy smile.
“... Whatever, I want to go lock myself up at home as soon as possible, so let's get this over with”
I fold my clothes and stuff them into a locker, the key hanging on the lock. Nicole will take care of it.
Immediately after opening the door...
Eyes, lots of eyes on me.
“Hey, you know something?” Nicole whispers in my ear, which is pressed back. "These guys have been here for months; they haven't seen a woman's skin up close in a long time."
"... And how would that help me... Wait, wait, wait"
"What?"
I just learned how to clean with magic, it would have been a bit unusual, but I could sweat all I wanted and be completely refreshed and clean afterwards... Oh, I could also get in the ground and quickly go home for some clothes...
"You tricked me"
"The sooner you start, the sooner you can leave"
"I'm talking to you-"
"Quickly, quickly~"
"..."
I walk towards the middle of the yard. So many stares make me extra self-conscious... My introverted side overcomes my exhibitionist side, I can't help but uncomfortably cover my chest and crotch with my hands, I feel my tail curling up over me.
But if I do this, it will be more obvious where I am bothered by people looking at me, making them look more, or not? I uncover myself and walk normally... I can't after all, I go back to covering myself.
I'd better do my best in battle to avoid these annoying thoughts before I explode from so much blood on my head.
Well... It's actually not that bad, I'm really embarrassed, but I must admit I appreciate that they enjoy the view. The soldiers don't bother to hide what they're looking at, but I don't sense any bad intentions from any of them... Ciren values its military power very much, with obedience and discipline in its soldiers, I guess not just any delinquent is accepted in its ranks, eh?
I reach the center of the yard where they are waiting for me. Nicole, the soldiers, and the instructors are all watching from the marble hallway.
"Are you ready?" Asks Sherianna.
"No"
"Hehe, you know, I have to apologize, I didn't think it would affect you that much, I didn't expect it to be a public fight either. What do you say we treat this like a formal training and I give you good money for taking part? That should be good motivation"
"Agreed"
"... You agreed pretty easily." I feel like I have heard this before.
"Some money these days would come handy to me"
“Alright, let's get started then, I'll start slow, don't worry”
Here Ilona steps in. She introduces us to the audience and says the most important thing.
"The rules are simple, it will be a purely physical fight, magic is only allowed as long as it is used to enhance melee attacks. The winner will be the one who gets the first blood.”
First blood? The first hit, I hope.
"Begin!"
I see the sky.
And a crystal spearhead in the middle.
Eh.
My body bends backwards at the knees and straightens before I lose my balance and fall backwards, with the help of my tail.
"You dodged that? Great! Can we go a little faster then?"
"No, no, no, wait, you're going to fight with all those weapons?"
"Well yeah, that's my style"
"... I feel at a disadvantage"
"You didn't get any weapon"
"No one told me I could, not that I would have known how to use it"
"You dodged that, didn't you?"
"I have no idea how that happened, really"
"Mmm... Your mind can't keep up with your body, huh? Well, I promised to teach you, let's take it down a notch"
"Thanks... Why am I having a physical fight again?"
"I'll pay you"
"My interest in money has suddenly dropped drastically"
"Heh... From below then, you'll be fine, you seem good at dodging, please be on guard”
I do as she says, nothing complicated, just raise my fists in front of my face. Mm, doesn't feel good... You know what? I'll trust my instincts after all, at least until I find my rhythm.
'Why ignore what helps me and has probably saved my life several times? The point is not to ignore my instincts, but to get ahead of them.'
I lower my arms and posture, turning my body to hide my right arm from her. As for my left arm, I bend it at the elbow and point my fist at my collarbone. Like a butler holding his trusty towel, but higher up.
"... All right, how are you with single punches?"
She approaches calmly, like a walk in the park, I blink and she's facing me with her fist raised.
As usual, I move slightly to avoid her punch. I feel the itch to hit her in the throat, but I suppress it.
Her attacks continue, I throw punches of my own as I feel her body slowing down.
I don't land any, but neither does she, and I'm getting used to it, slowly.
'She ducks and strikes at my solar plexus,' I have to turn- I already did, too late, brain. 'She turns and points at my head with the back of her hand,' let's tilts my head back- done, too late. 'Elbow to stomach', back up, good. 'Palm attack to my face', duck, in time, good.
I'm getting the hang of it, but I need to keep at it for a while longer, these thoughts warning me of attacks are helpful, but I'm having trouble ignoring the other thoughts that pop up too...
'Pluck out her eyes,' no. 'Crush her knees with darkness,' no. 'Destroy her heart,' no.
This is not a fight to the death, even if it were, I don't want to have to kill anyone if it's not absolutely necessary, so those urges that push me to end the fight as soon as possible are nothing more than a hindrance now.
For that very reason my blows are somewhat useless, but I don't think it would be good if I let her attack alone all the time.
It's hard to time it when you're focused, but maybe five minutes later, we stop.
"Hehe, you look more confident than when we started, let's raise the level a bit"
"Okay"
Without missing a beat, she accelerated, do some kind of somersaulted on the grass and kicked me down with her heel, I just stepped aside, I tried to hit her foot, which was still on the ground. Without finishing the kick, she gave me another horizontal one with her instep, I jumped slightly, before I touched the ground again, she got up in a flash and attacked again.
'Back, palm, instep, fist, palm, palm, elbow, sole.'
I was in a bad position, so my body moved by itself again. I parried or blocked each of her attacks.
I blocked a strong kick, but backed up a few steps. At least my mind knew what to do, it just took a while to react again.
I hear a very loud noise around, but I'm busy, I ignore it.
"Are you okay?" She asks, pausing the fight. I check my hands, they went numb for a moment, but no problem now.
"Yes... Yeah, I forgot I could block and deflect, I was just dodging... Please let's keep going a little longer, I think I'm getting used to it”
"... Heh. Okay"
"Oh wait, a block still does damage, doesn't it, does that count as first blood?"
"No, it's the one who manages to land a clean hit, you can't block with your cheek for example"
"I understand"
We continue, again she starts to attack me with combos, arms, legs, even a few headbutts. To my head, torso, legs, arms.
I have to admit it's kind of fun, I'm getting the hang of it, even though she's getting faster. I definitely wouldn't be able to see her moves if the fight had started at this speed.
I still rely on my instincts from time to time when she makes some strange attack, like when she dodges one of my kicks to her legs, somersaults in the air and throws a kick of her own, dropping her calf against me.
Or her front kicks, many, fast and in one jump, as if she was... climbing stairs.
Again, a few minutes later, I can handle her attacks without a problem. But I shouldn't get cocky, she's very good at unarmed combat, but she clearly fights with weapons. Besides, I have to strengthen my body with darkness to be able to block her blows, she is physically much stronger than me. Did Ilona know that and that's why she allowed to do that with magic?
Finally, I managed a good attack, she tried to attack me with her two outstretched palms, which I deflected upwards with my right hand and without losing momentum I tried to hit her stomach with the palm of my left hand.
Good thing it was the palm, because she blocked it with her knee. We move away again.
We take a break after a few minutes.
"Haah... haah..." I'm short of breath, but I can continue easily, I feel like I might be able to get back to optimal easily with my darkness, but I don't know if that counts as cheating.
"It's been a long time since I moved this much, it's true, you have good reflexes. But you need to improve your attacks"
"Thank you... Haa... I'm fine now, so far I've just been concentrating on predicting what to do before my body does it on its own, so to speak"
"How do you normally attack?"
"Well... With magic, I've never physically fought anyone except for a few punches or shoves"
"..."
There is more silence suddenly
"... I-I see, let's level up then, try to focus on attacking better"
She pulls her spear from her back again, and I again think that this fight is not the fairest.
She doesn't make it easy for me, she moves faster than I've ever seen her before and shoots her spear at me countless times, I don't think about how to counter it, I just dodge everything. Probably the best way to deal with a dangerous attack is to not let it touch you.
But the spear gave her a lot of range, I don't know where to attack from.
She spins the spear quickly, cutting through the grass and dirt as if it weren't there, and with that momentum, gives an extra high and long attack, cutting right where my head was...
From the beginning of the fight, I didn't feel particularly in danger, like when that big Xeno was about to land on me, it's more like... 'It'll hurt if you let it,' not the 'It'll kill you if you let it' kind of danger.
Still, seeing it seemingly almost go through my head is a bit disturbing, I'm fine for now, but I don't know if I want to have that spear near me again.
'Wait... If the spear is a problem, let's get rid of it.'
She's using weapons so I can do the same thing right?
Mom can lengthen her fingernails at will and make them really sharp, for some reason none of her children inherited that and I always envied her because she looks really cool when she does that, even if she only does it for simple things like opening a letter or cutting the string when she's sewing.
But now I can do it.
I don't realize that this is the first time I know how to do something with my darkness without doing it by accident.
I lower my stance even further and make claws of darkness appear in my hands. Curiously, thick lines of darkness appear on my skin from my fingernails, running down my fingers, hands, wrists, arms, and ending at my elbows.
We pause again. Ilona, the referee, says nothing, so this must still count as physical strengthening.
'Oh... I look really good now, I think. Shut up, you idiot, this isn't the time.'
Maybe I didn't think it through after all, the way they reflect the light and the cutting sound these black claws make, I feel like they're really dangerous for a training match. Especially, for someone like me, who is still not completely sure what she's doing.
Oh well, it's just to get rid of the spear.
"Shall we continue?" She asks.
I nod my head and change my stance again, this time bending my knees more and leaning forward, both arms outstretched at my sides.
I feel my tail wagging in an... Almost playful way, this posture feels more fun for some reason.
"Let's go, bub!"
... I don't know why I said that. How embarrassing.
She doesn't stop to think about it and starts to attack. But it seems I was too obvious, my plan goes to hell when she throws the spear at me, stabbing it deep into the ground where I was standing.
As soon as I turn my eyes back to her, she's drawing her completely black sword right at me.
But trusting my darkness, I grab her sword by the blade.
Clang!!!
"UWA!?" It's heavy! Even with my arms enhanced, I feel the pressure on my back and legs, just for a moment until it disappears, I guess they enhanced themselves too.
With my hand busy, I hold her in place with her sword, but she grabs the spear again and swings it at me, treating the ground as if it were air.
CLANG!!!
This time I stop the terrifying crystal tip with the five claws in my right hand. I'm in trouble, for sure, but at least I'm satisfied that my claws leave a visible mark on the thick crystal spearhead with an almost unbearable grinding sound that makes my teeth tingle.
She swings her leg and aims a knee at my crotch. That's a low blow! Literally! I guess by now she's confident I'll dodge it, or we wouldn't have gotten this far.
I can't lose without at least showing her a great attack first!
"HAA!"
Clenching even tighter the hand holding her sword, without letting go, I punch as hard as I can at her spear. Which causes her to voluntarily let go of both of them and recoil.
The spear flies towards the spectating soldiers, I don't worry because one of the unknown instructors pushes a soldier out of the way, the spear hits the wall with its body and manages to embed itself in it, even in that strange position.
Meanwhile, still holding the sword by the blade, I use it as a hammer while trying to scratch Sherianna with my right hand.
This time I manage to let my instincts lead me, but not to try to kill her, just to guide me to where her guard is weakest. She seems to be slow when she switches weapons and draws her bow, when she changes her mind and just throws it away.
Which gives me more chances, I still can't hit her, but it's becoming more and more common for her to deflect or block my attacks with her forearms or her other sword.
But I made a mistake, I got carried away by the very unusual experience and held her sword with my hand again without much care, then some kind of crystal or gem in her bracelet shone. Then the swords I was holding rushed towards her.
'She can call her swords back to her hand.'
That broke my stance, then she calmly threw a blow at my face.
It fails to connect as a mass of darkness catches her arm before it hits, but...
“That's the end! Magic outside of close combat is forbidden, Her Grace, Duchess Sherianna Owen is the winner!"
Ilona announces grandly.
Followed by the loud sound of an excited crowd clapping and shouting. Causing me to embarrassedly spasm in fright. I forgot they were there...
I lost, but... That was fun.
A lot of fun.
But I hope never to repeat it.