Banished from the herd, I was actually a member of a very rare species. ~With the unique skills that only I can use, I can grow and evolve quickly. I will become an unrivaled monster~ - Episode 56: Magic Training

Episode 56: Magic Training

“—Um… Katsu-kun, right?”

As I focused on the direction of the voice, I saw a small hole. It was about the size of a marble, floating in the air.  

Beyond the hole, a view of an unfamiliar place was visible.

‘Yeah, it’s me. I {Evolved} two days ago.’  

I used [Communicate] to spread my thoughts.  

There are actually two ways to use [Communicate]: one can either communicate directly with an individual or broadcast to everyone around.  

This time, I chose the latter.  

It seemed my message reached its target, as the hole expanded to human size with a grinding sound. Paula then appeared by stepping through.  

She was wearing leather armor, fitting for an adventurer. But unlike her usual adventuring attire, she wasn’t carrying her basket.  

“…No way… You really turned into a Sovereign Beast …?”  

‘Yep! I surpassed <Level 100> thanks to the <Soul Fragments> I gained from defeating the Hydra. I owe it to both you and Ergo for your help, so thanks a lot!’  

“Y-Yeah. You’re welcome… I guess?”  

Paula tilted her head slightly as she responded.  

Then, with a hesitant tone, she continued speaking.  

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen a Sovereign Beast… You’re huge, bigger than a tree. And the presence you give off… It’s like you’re directly rooted into the space around you…”  

Paula looked at me curiously, her eyes filled with wonder.  

After a moment, she asked with eager curiosity.  

“…Can I touch you?”  

“Go ahead, I don’t mind.”  

With my permission, she reached out her right hand and began patting the smooth, sky-blue surface of my body.  

It tickled a little.  

Paula was eagerly stroking one of my cubic surfaces, but I doubt she’d really figure much out from doing that.  

The texture hasn’t changed much from when I was a Jewel Slime, after all.  

After a short while, she seemed satisfied and withdrew her hand, her eyes sparkling as she made another request.  

“Hey, hey, can I try sitting on top of you?”  

“Uh, sure.”  

“Yay!”  

She seemed strangely excited. The nervousness she’d had earlier seemed to have melted away.  

Oh well. I shifted my body into a staircase-like shape so she could climb up.  

“Whoa, it’s so high up!”  

“Be careful not to fall.”  

I warned Paula as she stood on the edge of my body, marveling at the view.  

Well, even if she did fall, it’s unlikely she’d take any serious damage.  

Since learning space magic, she’s been <Leveling Up> quite actively and is now over        <Level 20>.  

With the sturdiness from |Toughness| and her improved agility from |Speed|, this height shouldn’t pose much of a threat to her.  

After spending some time with her, it was finally time to begin the actual magic training.  

“Sorry about that. I got a little too excited.”  

“Nah, don’t worry about it.”  

By this point, Paula had regained her composure.  

She covered her face with both hands, likely embarrassed by how giddy she had been earlier.  

“Alright, just like last time, come at me however you like.”  

“Okay, but… make sure to go easy on me, alright?”  

“Of course.”  

Hearing my response, she seemed relieved. She drew the short sword from her waist and charged straight at me.  

I formed a shield out of iron and positioned it to face her.  

“Haaah!”  

She let out a battle cry as her slash collided with my shield head-on.  

It seemed her <Level> had risen since the last time we met. But even so, there was no way she could break through an iron shield.  

Naturally, her blade was deflected.  

However, Paula had anticipated this. She immediately followed up with a second and third strike, aiming to keep me on my toes.  

She shook left and right, trying to confuse me and slip past the shield to land a hit on my body.  

But I wasn’t about to let her land an attack that easily.  

I adjusted the speed at which I moved the shield to match her movements, but I couldn’t reduce my perception of her movements. In a head-on clash, I had the clear advantage.  

“[Space Hole]!”  

“!”  

That’s why Paula used magic.  

A hole opened in the air, and Paula emerged from it behind me. She had put [Markings] on many of the plants around here with her magic.  

“Haaah!”  

“Whoa!”  

I quickly formed another shield behind me to block her attack.  

Normally, I can sense when |Mana| rises at a teleportation point, but this time she concealed it well. I almost didn’t catch it in time.  

Paula continued to use teleportation to try and hit me from my blind spots, while I sharpened my focus on the flow of |Mana| to guard against surprise attacks.  

She was honing her space magic in live combat, and I was fine-tuning my ability to detect |Mana| more precisely. It was a win-win training session.  

A few minutes into the training, I had a good grasp of Paula’s current abilities.  

It was time to get serious.  

“I’m going to start attacking now, too.”  

“Alright!”  

“Good. [Lightning Strike – Weak]!”  

My |Mana| transformed into lightning and shot through the air.  

Although I had reduced both the power and speed of the attack to about a tenth of their original strength, Paula’s |Speed| wasn’t enough to react and dodge once she saw the lightning strike

.  

However, by the time the lightning passed by, she was no longer in its path.

Using the fluctuation of |Mana|, she had predicted the trajectory of the lightning and had already begun dodging before it was even fired.  

I launched several more lightning attacks at Paula, but she evaded every one. So, I decided to mix in another attack method.  

I transformed the upper part of my body into a whip and swung it at Paula.  

“Hmph!”  

Paula barely dodged it by a hair’s breadth. Despite this, her offensive stance didn’t waver.  

Even attacks coming from above, out of her line of sight, were easily detected by her [Spatial Awareness].  

“Sla-sla.”  

I increased the number of whips to two, then three, and added more lightning strikes.  

As expected, Paula began struggling to keep up. Finally, a lightning strike hit her body—  

“[Space Hole]!”  

—Just before it landed, a portal appeared. The lightning transferred through it, reappearing behind me.  

She had used [Space Hole] to redirect my attack back at me.  

Since it takes less time to create a portal and send an attack through it than it does to teleport oneself, it’s a difficult technique to defend against.  

“([Replicant Form])”  

However, this time I managed to sense the |Mana| from the [Space Hole]. I quickly formed a shield on my back and blocked the lightning. 

Feeling the progress I had made from the training, I used my front shield to deflect Paula’s continued sword strikes.  

Paula, while dodging the whips, continued slashing at me.  

After countless strikes, one of her blows landed, but I didn’t block it— I parried it instead.  

“Wah!?”  

Paula lost her balance and tumbled to the ground.  

She had put too much force into her attack and got tripped up by her own momentum.  

“Don’t rely too much on brute force!”  

“Got it!”  

She quickly jumped back to her feet and charged again.  

And so, our magic training continued for the rest of the day.  

―――Non-Notification Information Recording Zone―――――――――――――

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>> The Weapon Born from the Fire of War, Fuwa Katsu has acquired the [Skill: Parry].

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Sometime later, Paula began panting, her breath heavy and shoulders heaving.  

She was drenched in sweat, her expression strained, and it was clear to anyone that she was nearly out of |Mana| and energy.  

Paula tends to push herself too hard— she often drives herself to the brink of collapse, even during simple training sessions.  

I was about to suggest taking a break when I noticed her clenching her teeth, pouring a large amount of |Mana| into her short sword.  

“Hyaaah!!”  

“What…?” 

It seemed like she was preparing a [Wave Slash], but the amount of |Mana| she was channeling was far too much. 

Curious, I raised my shield to block the strike.  

To my surprise, both the shield and the part of my body behind it were effortlessly sliced through.  

It was as if the sword had cut through tofu— no resistance at all. 

Shocked, I checked my |Status|, but my |Life| had barely dropped. The damage had already been healed instantly by [Rapid Regeneration].  

The only notable injury was the shield, which had decayed. The wound on my body was so minimal that I questioned if I’d even been cut at all.  

Well, maybe “minimal” isn’t the right word— it was more like the cut was incredibly sharp.  

The slice was so thin and precise that it was barely noticeable, like a paper-thin incision.  

It was so sharp that if I hadn’t been paying attention, I might not have even realized I had been cut.  

Paula, who had delivered this incomprehensibly sharp slash, remained in the posture of having swung her sword. She quietly muttered:  

“…It seems like… I’ve ranked up my Class…”  

And just as she finished speaking, she collapsed to the ground.