Chương 274: Field Trip With Me–Your Favourite Teacher

It is frankly incredible what the Mindscape is capable of… On its own, with just the basic resources already present there, it can already create so much, but once you add in the items that can be taken to it by being saturated with negative energy–The dimensions of what is possible expand to the point of being hard to fathom in their entirety. All of the equipment can be used to make incredible things, but the Melter and Press in particular…

Let's just say that they make for an exceptional duo in the art of craftsmanship and the creation of basically anything one can imagine. There are no limits to what they can melt down or fuse into one. The Furnace also proved to be of great importance. In my research and countless attempts, I have tried to do many things, and it involved even adding parts of myself to the mix, be it parts of my 'Base Form', knightly form, or whatever else.

I wanted to see if it was possible to imbue some of my innate abilities or upgrades into items, such as weapons. My hundred or so first attempts were too clumsy and not properly thought-out. As per usual, I tended to want to try to see if I could brute force it. Of course, it rarely ever showed any good results. The matters of the Mindscape required a bit more delicateness. It was when I decided to approach things more carefully that I took to using the Furnace more extensively.

It could burn or enhance basically anything, but as was the case with the Mindscape as a whole, it wasn't just about formulas, techniques, and pure craftsmanship, as I had discovered before already, it was also a lot about intent. This was indeed the inside of my mind after all, my will was of tremendous importance. In the Dreamscape, I was basically a goddess building dreamworlds. I didn't have this much influence or power in the Mindscape, but the fact remained that I wasn't just in any random room.

What I desired was an integral part of the creative process. Mastering this aspect of the Mindscape was of tremendous importance, so I spent a while working solely on this before truly launching myself into the complicated projects I was aiming for. By having a strong grip on this, I could bypass a lot of other things.

Currently, the projects of the masks, skin, and pool were still in their infancy, but I had managed to put all that I had learned to the test and created special weapons for the three Unwanted Presences. I considered these to be prototypes, but the ones who received them seemed to be fully convinced that they were proper enchanted items.

I had tested a few different things, for example, I had imbued a bit of 'Steel Manipulation' into the Katana I put together for Williams, which allowed the weapon to be recalled if dropped. Baker's halberd got a bit of 'Smith's Worst Nightmare', which, combined with his strength and augmentation spell, should allow him to split helms with frightening ease. As for Rose, I had placed a bit of 'Steel Shaping' into her crossbow, allowing it to create its own bolts, albeit at a rather modest rate, and her club…

I had done something a bit different. Rather than place a bit of an innate ability into it, I had gone ahead and shoved the 'Passive State' and 'Aggressive State' concept of the 'Plush Form' into it. The normal club was the normal form, and the other would make the club grow large and heavier. Normally, this weapon could be used with just one hand, but when transformed, it required the use of both hands.

They were quite pleased with my gifts, unaware that they were also charged with dormant spirits, which allowed me to know where these weapons, and by extension their owners, were at all times. It was more of a safety measure for their sake than a surveillance tool, though. If I wanted to know their every move, I would have placed another kind of spirit inside, but just their positions were enough, and also, the spirit could let me know if they were holding the weapon or if it had been dropped.

This was especially important, as today, we were going on a field trip into the woods. I had pushed for the trio to be allowed to gather actual terrain and combat experience for a while now, and eventually, I had managed to get an agreement… Jimeni and I weren't the only instructors. The Unwanted Presences were also being taught in history and all that business. They had gotten quite a few new classes ever since the republic had fallen, much to their disapproval.

I wasn't against educating them in many domains, but those other teachers were getting in my way, too. They were constantly going on and on about 'danger'. Those damned bastards… It is literally just a trip that will take one day at maximum, in a completely safe environment featuring dozens of elite guards. The most dangerous thing around will be me, and I have no intention of hurting them–I swear, those who do not fight are always those who have the loudest opinions about it.

I got into a fist-fight with a giant monster and burnt down a forest in the process. I know a little more about dealing with a crisis than these fucks. They were lucky that I couldn't speak in my knightly form. I would have already insulted them all otherwise, and seeing how feeble they are, it probably would have made them cry. … Regardless, I eventually did manage to get an outing authorised. My arguments were better.

The otherworlders were supposed to be weapons, and what good were weapons that had never even slain a single thing since coming to this world? Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Right now, Williams has never even hurt a fly, and Baker's combat experience is purely theoretical. Only Rose has ever actually killed stuff, and even then, it was just pests on her farm and hunting basic animals with her old man.

It wouldn't prepare her for the sort of things they could encounter here. Thankfully, since the previous regime seemed afraid of doing anything properly, they had allowed areas infested with beasts and monsters to proliferate unopposed, which would serve as a perfect playground. My students looked quite nervous the whole way, and even more so once we arrived at our destination. Keep in mind that this is real fighting.

Just because I'll step in at the slightest risk, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't give it your all. Down the line, you'll have to take hits to know what it's like. Also, when you do take hits, it will be a good time to teach you how to patch yourself up until a real physician or healer comes along. That will not be part of today's lesson, however. We will take it slow at first. This forest is mostly filled with two creatures that normally move and act in groups to hunt.

They are social entities, but you will be facing them one-on-one so that you can get your bearings. It will just be face-to-face combat today, so stand ready, and don't forget the footwork I taught you. It is essential. Williams swallowed his saliva, but he was also trembling with excitement. This guy spoke too much about how this or that was like stories he had read. I was worried that he wasn't taking this seriously enough.

The other two were keeping it together better, but I could sense their nervousness as well. The area was surrounded by heavily armoured knights, with mages hidden amidst them. The environment should be under control, but I nonetheless summoned my own warriors as an extra layer of security–Indeed, I had successfully learned from that one guy who had shown up with a combat art relying on summoning. My version was a bit different from his, though.

Spectral Fellowship - You may now create special ghosts that can only be summoned in the Knightly Form. They can be empowered and channel your own learned abilities It relied on what I could cook up inside the Mindscape, but so far, I quite liked it. These special spectres could be made in a much different way than other spirits, and had to take the form of more 'physical' beings. They were spectral, as in translucent and somewhat ghost-like, but the brunt of their abilities needed them to be fully corporeal.

There were limitations to how many I could summon at a time, or how often I could do it, but it seemed heavily dependent on their strength, and also my overall mastery of this ability. Right now, I have three made-up ranks for them: Rank and File, which I could summon en masse, Bodyguards, which were limited to around a dozen at most, and elites, who could only be present on their own, or as a duo when really stretching things out.

I summoned the Bodyguard variety and had most of them keep a close eye on the Unwanted Presences, while I sent two into the forest. Quickly enough, they came back with a few creatures hogtied with translucent ropes being dragged behind them. Splendid. Does anyone want to go first? We'll start with the small green fellows, easier to read since they are humanoids. One of the two species was a goblin species. I believe there were several thousand species of those creatures just running around.

Certain of them were some of the vilest creatures in existence, some were just silly, and some were even sapients. Goblins had a rather big range that they could cover, but this species was a rather typical one. They proliferated like rabbits and moved in very big groups. Alone, a goblin like this one could be overpowered by a child. Of course, that was only if the attacker actually committed to it and wasn't a nervous wreck. Williams raised his hand, so I nodded and signalled for him to step forward.

Be careful, it has a sharp rock. My bodyguards formed an arena using their own bodies as the goblin was released from the bindings. The unintelligent creature was afraid and confused, but quickly realised that there was no escape. I had picked this place because of the goblins. They were weak humanoids, were ugly beyond belief, and didn't know how to beg for their life. Perfect for rookies to train on. Once it realised that it was stuck here, it turned aggressive toward Williams.

The green thing was unwilling to provoke my spectral guards, so it charged for the otherworlders instead. It ran with a distinct lack of grace or proper balance, holding its weapon high above its head, making it plenty obvious what its move would be. I stood ready to rearrange this thing's brain by launching a thumb-sized iron spike if Williams messed up, but he surprised me.

He stanced himself up almost correctly and successfully cast a mana bullet, blasting a hole right through the left side of the goblin's chest, taking out ribs and one lung… It didn't survive for long after this. Being that he was still a beginner mage, he had pointed with his finger to aim the spell, and his shakiness had made him hit his target in a spot he hadn't actually been aiming for. He had still hit his target. The goblin was pretty small and had been in motion as well, so it wasn't too bad. Good.

Who's next? Daniel Williams stared at the corpse of the goblin for a few moments before turning away. One of my ghosts took the corpse away, throwing it into some bushes. Baker was next, and he took a little longer, hesitating for a few seconds as he easily sidestepped the goblin's grossly miscalculated attacks. He eventually stabbed it right in the face with the spear-end of his halberd.

As for Rose, I thought she would be a bit more nervous, considering that she waited to go last, but her nervousness was shedded away swiftly. The unfortunate goblin had its head smashed into a pulp. Very nice, they aren't afraid to kill those things just because they are humanoid. Today should be a productive day…