Martial Arts Training
During the second month of the Fire season, August in Japan, I spent almost every day with Kathe’s family.
After the morning classes ended, I would go home, finish lunch and my nap, then head back to the Guild. Training would begin at the training grounds, sparring either with Kathe’s dad, Mr. Taddy, or her older brother, Gars.
Kathe would usually be trading blows with her mother, Mrs. Thea, or with Mr. Taddy.
Since it was weekday afternoons, adventurers rarely used the place, so it was practically reserved just for us. Sometimes the Vice-Guildmaster, the Guildmaster, or Teacher Edel would drop by and join in.
“Oh, Vio, you had weapons made, didn’t you? Will you use them during martial arts training too?”
“Hmm… during classes we use wooden swords or weapons without blades, right? Mine has a blade, so it’s dangerous. I’ll skip it.
Ah, Teacher Edel, about the athletic course we’ve been doing in martial arts training… would it be okay if we sparred on the course itself? Like actual matches?”
Just like always, we had been building an athletic course during martial arts class. Even though we changed the layout a little every time, everyone had gotten used to it and hardly anyone fell anymore.
Right now it was basically treated like a route for challenging the third wall.
“Hm? On the course?”
“Oh right, Kathe did mention it. Sounds like you’ve been doing something interesting in class. Mind showing us what it’s like?”
Teacher Edel looked confused by my suggestion, but Mr. Taddy, who had overheard, said he wanted to see the course.
The Vice-Guildmaster and the Guildmaster agreed it sounded interesting too, so Kathe, the Vice-Guildmaster, the Guildmaster, Teacher Edel, and I started recreating the athletic course we used in class.
“What!? Kathe, earth magic wasn’t your strong attribute, was it? You can do something like this without chanting now?”
“Yes. We use this spell every class. Ren and Hachi are good at it too.”
Gars looked shocked that the learning hall’s level had improved so much since his time there, but the current students had all leveled up in wind and earth magic.
We didn’t make the third wall this time, and since five of us were building it together, recreating the course didn’t take very long.
Dad had never seen it before either, so he looked surprised, but he accepted it once I explained that we built it to recreate forest terrain.
After Kathe’s family tried running through the course once, we returned to what we had been discussing.
“So I was thinking… if we spar at different spots along the course, it could be training for fighting on bad footing. Like dividing into Red Team and White Team… or maybe doing team battles.”
For example, both sides could attack from the start and goal areas, and the team that captured the opponent’s flag would win.
When I suggested that, the Guildmaster got interested.
“That does sound fun.
… Ah, well, you kids are used to competing with things like karuta and cards, right? This course has gotten pretty complex too, but everyone’s used to it now. Since it’s safe, it’s started to feel like just an extension of play. Sure, it trains your legs and core, but if you don’t practice weapon combat too, that’ll be a problem once you reach Copper rank. Right?”
Sensing the Vice-Guildmaster’s icy stare, the Guildmaster hurriedly explained his reasoning. His danger detection instincts were impressive.
Originally, this whole thing had started because I couldn’t do weapon training yet and wanted to build up my legs and core strength in the corner of the yard.
Teacher Edel seemed convinced by the Guildmaster’s proposal and said we should start doing it that way in class from tomorrow onward.
“Alright, let’s try it with the people here. Kathe and Vio will split up, right? And considering weapon types, Thea and I should be on different sides too.”
“Hm? Then I’ll go opposite Alke.”
The adults started dividing themselves based on their preferred weapons.
It seemed Thea was separating because she used a spear rather than a bastard sword. Both she and Taddy went to the weapon storage area and came back carrying long poles.
Dad and Teacher Edel weren’t holding anything, so were they going bare-handed?
Gars and the Guildmaster had wooden swords.
Kathe and I had different weapons, but we were put on separate teams as the “kids.”
“Then I suppose I will act as the referee. Even if you suffer minor injuries, I will heal you, so please don’t worry.”
The Vice-Guildmaster would serve as both healer and referee.
Our team:
Me, Dad, the Guildmaster, and Thea.
The other team:
Kathe, Teacher Edel, Gars, and Mr. Taddy.
Each team built a mound of packed earth at their starting point and planted a flag there.
“We win if we capture that flag, right? What should we do, fight head-on? Or just aim for the flag?”
“Hey now, Thea. For this first run we oughta go head-on, shouldn’t we? The whole point of this trainin’ is seein’ how well we can fight on bad footing.”
First we had a strategy meeting. Wait… so head-on combat isn’t the only option here? As I blinked in surprise, the Guildmaster chimed in.
Dad quietly told me that adventurers couldn’t rely only on straightforward tactics. Still, since this was a training session, we decided that this time we would properly engage our opponents first and then aim for the flag afterward.
Once the other side finished their strategy meeting too, the match began.
Kathe was holding a long pole, but I planned to fight bare-handed like in class. Of course, I had my barrier armor on, and I was using plenty of physical enhancement too.
The course had been widened enough for two or three people to run side by side, but Dad dashed forward first.
Even though he was a big guy, he ran silently like a flying squirrel. It looked incredibly cool!
On the other side, Teacher Edel saw Dad’s movement and rushed forward as their vanguard.
Just before the second wall, near the balance beams, Dad and Teacher Edel met. They locked both hands together and glared at each other.
Was it a contest of strength? Their biceps bulged as they struggled, and then Teacher Edel aimed a kick at Dad.
But Dad seemed to have predicted it. He lightly leapt backward while launching a backward kick of his own.
Whoa! That’s amazing!
“Vio, watch your footing.”
The Guildmaster’s voice made me realize I had reached the end of the stepping stones. That was close.
Thea collided head-on with Mr. Taddy, while the Guildmaster clashed with Gars. Their weapon fights began immediately.
I climbed the second wall and ran straight into Kathe.
“So we’re fighting on top of the wall, huh? It’s our first time sparring, Vio. I’ve seen you fight my dad, so I won’t underestimate you.”
Kathe faced me with a serious expression.
It wasn’t the way she used to look at me at the learning hall, as if I were just a five-year-old little girl. She was treating me as an equal. That made me happy.
The top of the wall was wider than the balance beams, but it was still about two meters high, so we had to watch our footing carefully.
Kathe seemed to be balancing her body using three points, both legs and her tail.
However, swinging around the long pole she was using as a spear would be unstable at this width. If she wanted to keep her balance, her attack options were limited.
Honestly, Kathe could have waited for me at the spot before climbing the wall.
We stared each other down for a moment before Kathe suddenly thrust the pole straight at me.
Thanks to training with Mr. Taddy, I had gotten quite used to the speed of thrust attacks.
As the pole shot toward me, I twisted my body slightly to the right at the last possible moment, just enough to avoid getting hit.
Since she had fully extended the thrust, Kathe couldn’t pull the pole back immediately. I grabbed it with my left hand and flicked it upward with my right wrist.
“Ah!”
Because she had thrust with only her right arm, Kathe’s grip couldn’t withstand the shock. The pole slipped from her hand and flew into the air.
I caught the spinning pole after one rotation and immediately pointed it at Kathe’s neck.
Checkmate.
“I give up… haaah. That didn’t go well at all.”
“Hehe. That’s thanks to getting poked over and over by Mr. Taddy.”
Ever since our first sparring match, Mr. Taddy had never shown me any mercy. Of course he didn’t use attacks that would cause serious injury, but since I was allowed to use any kind of attack, he would come at me with speed I could barely keep up with.
Every session started slowly, but little by little the speed increased… and the weight behind the attacks too.
Every time I ran out of stamina in the end, and Dad had to carry me home.
Today I hadn’t even used vision enhancement, but thanks to all that training I could clearly see Kathe’s attacks.
The other adults were still fighting, so I jumped down from the wall and ran straight for Kathe’s team’s flag.
“Victory for Vio’s team!
The adults were too focused on their own fights. That’s rather childish of you.”
The adults, who had completely forgotten the objective and were absorbed in their sparring matches, could only grin awkwardly when the Vice-Guildmaster pointed it out.
Still, everyone agreed that fighting on unstable footing seemed like excellent training, so it would be officially incorporated into our classes from now on.
What do you think about this chapter?
