Chương 339: The Two Fighters

I stared at myself in the reflection of a sword that did not exist on account of it being a creation of the Mindscape. Nonetheless, the reflective capabilities of the blade were very real, and I could see my magnificent face staring back at me with a mild expression, which I like to qualify as my 'teaching face'. At the moment, I was standing in the Training Hall of the Mindscape, the area that had come to be thanks to Elowen's presence.

If anyone wanted to look for her, this place was the first that should be searched, as she spent most of her time here. If not present, she would probably just be in another of the Mindscape's regions alongside at least one of her sisters. It was a strange thing to say considering that I was her role model, but Elowen sort of had the mindset of a hero. In the sense that she was always going around and running errands for everyone. This is a trait I remember hearing about some of the most beloved heroes of history…

Who were also the heroes people remembered the most even as time went on, for the simple reason that their many good deeds, even if small, made people talk about them continuously, to the point that even if it had been a long time since the last person who had seen these heroes alive was gone, the current generation would be able to remember stories they had heard about them nonetheless. Of course, since Elowen had me as her mentor and instructor, it was a bit odd to imagine her as a beloved hero.

Especially when she applied my lessons so well. Her style of fighting is about as far removed from honour as is possible. As a result, though… It is very effective. The best fighting style isn't the one that makes you look good or anything. It's the one that allows you to win. Right now, Elowen was sparring with Rose, and their wildly different styles of fighting were forcing them to think outside the box and actually try new things all the time.

Previously, I had felt that Elowen was stagnating due to a lack of a proper quote-on-quote 'rival'.

Every so often, Leou might be able to find some destitute knight that I could use as a step for Elowen to learn a few things, but it was inefficient, and their lack of knowledge about her made them rather easy opponents to kill quickly with deception–She had clearly learned well, but she nonetheless needed an opponent that knew her tricks and could actually push her to improve in a way that I couldn't on account of having way too much experience. Also, I know Elowen far too well.

I can basically predict her every move with my eyes closed. I am just too close to her, and she gets a bit pouty if I hold back on her. As cute as my tomboy is when getting upset like this, Rose is definitely the best option. One function of the Training Hall was to mimic real conditions, so training wasn't held back due to the special nature of the Mindscape. Even though there wasn't much risk, I still did my best to be around whenever they trained together.

Rose solely specialised in wielding a club and refining her crossbow skills. With her wide array of special spells and the fact that she had access to extra weapons from her inventory when in a pinch, it made her quite unpredictable. That was without mentioning the little trick she had picked up to open fights.

By starting the duel without her mask on, she could run behind a pillar to use the vanish ability she possessed in this state to reposition herself and attempt a surprise attack before putting on her mask and acquiring a boost in strength. The aura of terror she emitted with the mask on was useless on Elowen, though. As for Elowen, she wasn't too big on ranged attacks, so she much preferred to close the gap and get right into the faces of her opponents.

Although she typically wielded a sword, I had trained her to use other weapons as well, such as the spear or halberd. I had crafted her special weapons as well, so that she could pop out into the real world already armed. … Of course, I had also trained her in hand-to-hand combat and grappling–Though Elowen wasn't really that similar of a fighter as me at her core. She loved to imitate me, but she was actually a much more graceful kind of fighter.

The fact that she could manage both her own and my style was a big advantage for her, however. As they couldn't be more different. I had frankly been a bit surprised when that swordsman in the nightmare had acted as if I was some kind of genius. I know that I am very good, but I never really considered myself to be truly exceptional. The reason I dominated others back during my knight training was simply because I actually took things seriously and knew how to properly leverage my advantages.

I was born abnormally physically powerful. That was no secret. I made sure to capitalise on this by training my body to the best of my capacities… In this manner, when I was told to spar with another knight trainee, I would immediately know that my opponent was much weaker than me physically, so the goal was to get up close and personal, skip actually swinging weapons, and grapple. In this scenario, I was basically guaranteed to win easily…

Not to say that I am bad at more traditional combat, but once again, it was all about using my superior strength. Rather than gracefully parry, I would just hit the sword of my opponent like a barbarian at the last moment to completely throw them off. Most of the time, I would just pretend that I was going to do things by the book, only to pull the rug from under their feet and just overpower them. This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

As such, I never really considered myself a genius in the strictest sense. I knew that I would be an excellent knight, but in terms of raw skill. I wasn't so certain that I would do too well. The swordsman seemed to think differently, though. I was just playing around with him since it was clear that, just like when I was a knight trainee, I had the physical advantage, but it would appear that he saw something other than brute force in my technique. Mmh… Have I been misusing my knightly form this entire time?

I assumed that the more refined skills I showed while in this form were due to 'Evolving Warrior' and 'Knightess', but could it be that I could do even better? Perhaps I am giving too much thought to what that man said. He might have been mistaken and afraid of the coming of death. He could have spouted nonsense without realising it due to being blinded by fear, but I feel like it is worth exploring. I did train Jinine, and it's said that she's a great knightess nowadays.

Elowen and Rose are also making quick advances in their combat capabilities, so I am clearly a good teacher, but I had sort of assumed that it wasn't due to personal skill, but simply an understanding of combat. In that regard, I would confidently call myself a genius. When it comes to fighting things out, I always do quite well. I put the sword back on its rack and clapped my hands.

"Alright, spar is over, girlies. Come and sit with me" The three of us sat in the middle of the Training Hall.

"You did well today. You two make progress almost every day, but there are still mistakes, of course…"

"Elowen, as per usual, you don't take advantage of your ghostly nature as much as you should. When you take on a physical substance, you just stay in it instead of hovering between being corporeal and non-corporeal. If you did, you could phase through some of Rose's hits easily, or even phase right through her to strike from behind""As for you, Rose. You still have the tendency to focus on one method of attack the more the fight progresses. You have both your club and your crossbows.

You need to better evaluate when to switch between them. Even if not perfect, I would prefer it if you switched too often. It would help you better distinguish when it's a good time and when it's a bad time""Other than that, your overall combat skills are not bad at all and are still improving. Keep up the good work–I would prefer if you used more feints, though.

It's good that you go head-to-head like this, but real fights are usually won by the combatant who can push their adversary to commit a mistake first""It isn't glamorous, but the more underhanded fighter is usually the one who ends up winning. You're either crafty, or you have overwhelming power that crushes your opponent before they can do anything significant.

You are both very strong and could definitely kill most knights with a well-placed strike, but you definitely aren't strong enough to obliterate your enemies so easily for now" Elowen raised her hand.

"Big sis, were you strong enough… To obliterate your… Enemies like that?"

"I wasn't""Even though you were so much… Stronger than the average human back then…?"

"Indeed. At the end of the day, having lots of brute strength isn't everything. If anything, my strength was better employed for quick assassinations than direct combat. You two should try it. Sneak up on someone from behind, catch them in a headlock, and snap their neck real quick–In this scenario, having superior strength is much more valuable""Reacting to a surprise attack is one thing, but reacting to a surprise grab by someone significantly stronger than yourself is nearly impossible.

Most mages wouldn't be able to cast a spell quicker than you can break their neck, and even warriors would be at a loss as they wouldn't be able to break free with their strength, so they would waste time on a useless action and die before they can try anything else""Just be careful of the speedy ones with daggers. They perform better on average in this kind of scenario–One time, I tried it on an elf who was supposed to be a ranger and scout, but apparently was also an assassin at times.

He stabbed me in the forearm immediately and twisted the blade in a way that prevented me from applying the force required to kill him" Rose leaned forward with interest.

"Did you manage to get him?"

"Of course! It was when I was a human. I never missed any of my attacks back then. He might have managed to get me to miss my chance at a swift kill, but that was merely because he rendered me physically unable to do it. Had he just stabbed me without messing with the muscles so thoroughly, I would have snapped his neck on the spot anyway!"

"Honestly, he could have gotten away if he hadn't been a cocky jerk and actually taken off running immediately. I am quite fast, but an elven ranger is probably just as fast as me, but with the ability to manoeuvre around way more easily" I shrugged with a smile on my face. The fool had actually stayed and started babbling about how his dagger was laced with poison and that I should tell him who had sent me if I wanted the antidote. It wasn't on purpose, but he was quite the funny guy.

"I had honestly not even noticed the blade was poisoned, but since he was so graceful as to inform me immediately, I pretended that it worked, and the second he let his guard relax a bit, I pulled the dagger out of my arm and threw it right at his thigh. The dagger was indeed poisoned, but I guess he didn't take into account that I was simply built better than others" I took the occasion to brag in front of Elowen and Rose.

They were definitely the ones most easily impressed by stories like this, and I couldn't miss a chance to look cool in front of them.

"Did the poison not affect you at all?"

"So the lesson is that he should have waited for signs of the poison to manifest by themselves before actually mentioning its existence, right?" Elowen and Rose spoke in succession.

"For the second question, you are correct. If your opponent doesn't know something, it is often best to leave them in the dark and only tell them once it is clear that the secret isn't worth keeping, or that you feel like you can gain something by revealing a trick of yours""And the first question… I got a mild stomach ache for an hour three days later, but I don't know if it was the poison or my bold attempt at a new recipe with mushrooms…"