Chapter 371 - Sparring (Patreon)

The first stop is Channeler, where I have prepared some fighting for Vega against lower difficulties. Partially, it's so she can gain some experience in a relatively safe space, but mostly I want to see how these guys will do against the little half-demon.

Locating one of my anchors, I fly up this time instead of teleporting. I head toward where I sense my anchor until I reach Channeler and a group of about 100 people.

"Sorry, they were curious and just wanted to watch. Most of them are quite cooperative," Channeler greets me.

"Okay then," I answer him and turn to Vega. "So, are you ready, minion? We will have you fight until you find someone similarly strong, and you will spar with them."

"Can I stop holding back? Like with that girl where I couldn't hear her heart?"

"Sure, go all out. I will interfere if it's too much."

Having her answer, Vega stretches similarly to how I did in front of her a few times and stares in the direction of the mix of Easy, Normal, and even a few Hard difficulty people Channeler was able to get.

"We can start with George and Susan; they are both from Easy difficulty."

"Yeah, I don't think that's a good idea," I say after I examine them.

"I know it will be two versus one, but they won't hurt your disciple. Both of them are quite..."

"That's not what I meant."

"Oh," his expression turns serious. "Then give me a moment."

While Channeler goes to the group of people, I turn to Vega, "Change of plans, minion. Start slowly, and if they are weak, stop fighting. Only if they can hold on, put in more effort."

"Why? If they are weak, they should know it!"

"Channeler spent a lot of effort getting people, and so I don't want them to think he did it so a 6-year-old girl can stomp them to the ground."

"Minion Channeler should be happy master keeps him around!"

"I know where you are coming from, minion, but try to think more in the future. If I only cause trouble for him, he will just go and join in with someone else."

"He can do that if he is dumb. There is no need to keep such people around!"

"Minion, you are too naive. There are situations where you want something, and you can't avoid people. Having someone who understands you and deals with them instead is invaluable."

"Is that true?" Vega asks as if she suspects me of lying.

"It is true." Out of habit, I reach out and caress her hair. "So keep these people close. They won't do it for free, so make sure to reward them. Otherwise, they will leave when given the opportunity."

"Demons wouldn't do that! They follow only the strong, so I need to become strong enough so they won't leave!"

"That's also an option. But think of it, okay? Oh and give me a moment. I will be back right away." I place an anchor and teleport to the three people from Hard difficulty Channeler was able to get.

Unlike others Channeler is currently talking with, they are standing to the side and talking among themselves.

"We will start with George and Susan from Easy. I already explained everything to them."

"Sounds good."

I push Vega a bit, who moves ahead, even now I constantly keep my eyes on her and my senses. I might really be paranoid.

When the woman and the man from Easy difficulty face her, the fight starts.

It's Vega who attacks first, and 5 seconds later, the man and the woman roll on the ground.

Nothing seems to be broken other than their pride. Good minion did what I asked her to do.

"Please, Noname, can you tell your disciple to hold back a bit? I didn't know she was that strong," Channeler whispers after coming to me after checking on the man and the woman.

In the same way, I whisper, "She held back. A lot."

"But you said she is level 62."

"Yes."

"But... okay, forget about it. Let's try Jon from Normal. He is one of the stronger ones there and should be at a higher level than she is."

After I agree, the short but muscular and wide man faces Vega.

There is already a weak, almost transparent mana armor around his body with a deeper shade of blue around his forearms. The palms of his hands have an even darker shade and a weirdly feeling mana.

As before, Vega charges first, not even creating a mana dagger in her hand.

She dodges under the man's kick and then her speed changes in quick succession. From faster to slower to confuse the man and throw him off. She then clashes against him, her knee hitting his crotch in smooth movement.

Unfortunately for the man, her knee sends a weak burst of kinetic energy through. The mana armor around him flickers as he almost loses control over his skill, and with a groan, Jon stumbles back.

Before he can say anything, Vega kicks him again in the same spot, breaking even the stronger armor around his forearms to get through the defense he puts up.

For a moment, I think she might attack again, but she stops and just looks down at the adult man rolling on the ground with a confused expression on her face.

"Master, he isn't even hurt that much. It's just a little pain. Why is he lying down? He would be dead if it was a real fight." She turns to me.

While Channeler rushes to the man, she rejoins me, and I quickly create a barrier around us to stop others from listening to her to keep the remains of the man's dignity.

"He is older than me and has more mana too. But he is weak and slow at the same time. And he gave up so easily. I didn't even use the kick at its full power so it couldn't hurt that much." She sighs disappointed.

Even though she tries to hide it, I notice a hint of a smug smile on her face as she watches her defeated opponent.

Damn it, minion.

The last hope of protecting the tutorial attendees' dignity is the man from Hard difficulty.

Well, there are three of them, but Channeler only picks one while the remaining two talk and laugh. I think I heard something interesting, so I try to strengthen my hearing in a similar way some members of my group can. But I'm only able to hear a bits of the conversation.

Being able to listen to others isn't an ability I consider too interesting or worth the time invested. In the end, I turn back to Vega and her opponents as she faces them.

His level should be closer to 100, so he should have a good shot at defeating my minion.

Unlike the others, he also radiates more mana, and his body strengthening seems better. Another melee-range fighter type of build, seemingly, but there is a weak lightning crackling on his body as he attacks first.

Vega waits until the last moment, and with her body boosted by kinetic energy, she dodges to the side, a single mana projectile shooting at the man who dodges it and charges her again. Vega creates a dagger in her hand, and the man also radiates more mana, the lightning around him flickering even beyond his body which he uses as an attack.

The minion used to melee range doesn't seem to like it. It is something that tries to stop her from the kind of fights she likes the most.

Even so, she doesn't hesitate and releases more mana, forming a weak imitation of mana armor.

With a strong push from kinetic energy, she reaches the man even as his kick hits her arm, leaving a burned mark there.

For a short moment, the man looks towards me, expecting me to stop the fight. It almost costs him, and he barely blocks the kick aimed at his nether regions.

As an answer, a burst of lightning shoots towards Vega, and the armor around her body moves, all the mana concentrating on her forearm she uses to block it.

From her, an orb made of mana and boosted by kinetic energy shoots at the man who hastily avoids it, only for Vega to use the opportunity to get closer, holding the knife. The move is similar to Tacita's, with a hint of my minion's aggressiveness and reliance on her skills to get her out of the tricky situations she puts herself into.

But before she can even clock, the man moves at a higher speed, and his kick sends Vega rolling on the grass as she clumsily tries to absorb her own momentum.

The man once again checks with me, and seeing I don't mind, he sighs. Then he follows my gaze and notices a mana knife stabbed in his calf.

An expression of surprise is quickly replaced by pain, and he pulls it out, the mana dissolving now that Vega doesn't hold it.

Getting back on her feet, my minion smiles with determination, burn marks on her skin, and scratches all over. Her shoulder also seems to be dislocated.

So cool.

"Minion, say 'I can do this all day.'"

"I can do this all day!" she shouts and charges the man again.

They clash shortly multiple times, the result always being a small wound on the man, barely a nuisance, and more burns on Vega. But my minion keeps coming back for more.

The man isn't even holding back, and despite being at a higher level, he has trouble dealing with the nimble half-demon using kinetic energy to move erratically or to weaken his physical attacks.

While the fight goes on, I also notice a man sitting nearby and talking to Channeler. That man is really old, probably even over eighty years, and he feels weak. Easy difficulty for sure. What catches my interest is the way he looks towards me, Vega, and everyone else. The expression is hard to describe.

At first, I think he might have a skill like Ibasella's [Empathy] or Darren's [Intuition], but no matter how hard I try or if I use my eyes, I can't sense anything.

So I judge it's something akin to Cipher's skill that allowed him to collect information. Not by using mana, but by using his own senses to a high degree.

The old man must be the psychologist with eidetic memory Channeler mentioned. The one who had such interesting things to say about people from Hell difficulty.

His skill reminds me once again that there are skills that might be impossible to detect by using mana. A different sense might be required.

Something like that could cause more trouble in the future, so I'd better keep it in my mind.

"Should be enough." I turn back to the fight.

Vega doesn't stop and continues to charge at the man who stops the moment I call.

So I use [Redistribution] and grab hold of my silly minion, who freezes mid-air, moving slowly toward her opponent. A wild expression is on her face, and in each hand, she holds a dagger. Both of the daggers are nearly transparent, a clear sign of her having barely any mana.

I boost myself closer with my kinetic energy and poke her nose a few times, the minion unable to move at all.

"Thanks for helping," I tell the man from Hard difficulty. "My disciple seemed to have a lot of fun."

Unlike Vega, the man is already healed. A result of the healing aura in the common area. Vega not being healed at all only confirms my suspicion that protection doesn't extend to her.

"It's fine." The Hard difficulty attendee smiles weakly and turns to the minion. "She is really strong. Your name is Vega, right? Thank you for the duel."

Vega still doesn't move as I keep her in my skill.

"She won't answer. I have to punish her a bit for acting so stubbornly. Can you also thank Channeler for me? I will meet him sometime during the other events."

"I will pass it along."

I touch Vega and transport us both to one of the spots I discovered. It's a clearing pretty far away from the common area, surrounded by trees and with a small stream of clear water passing through.

It's comfortably quiet here.

"Do you know what you did wrong?" I ask her.

The still-stuck mid-air Vega blinks a few times. She can’t defend herself even as I touch and push the tip of her nose, tilting it upwards, "I wouldn't expect such a dumb way of fighting from someone with [Concentration]. Do you agree?"

Silence.

"I mean, some aggressiveness is fine, but to the point of looking more like an animal than a thinking human? Isn't that too much? If you want to be aggressive, go for it with some strategy in mind or be strong enough to be allowed to do so."

More boops and I move her hair, making it cover her face until she can barely see me through it. Then I tickle her.

"Some opponents are weak against constantly attacking and aggressive opponents. Others are weak against ranged attacks. Another group isn't good at physical combat. Yet I have noticed that my silly disciple still fights the same. No matter how much I try to change it."

From the ground, I pull a patch of grass and put it on her head.

"I wouldn't say anything if you were strong and really good at a single type of combat. In such a case, it's possible to make it work. But minion, you aren't at that point yet."

Lastly, I move her body over the stream of water and only then release my skill, making her fall into it.

Like an angry kitten, she spits out water and jumps out, shaking and letting out noises akin to hissing. Then she stands there, still angry, wet, and wounded after the duel.

"Any defense, minion?"

When she stands quiet, I move closer and touch her, then I teleport us to Lily, who didn't expect to see Vega after already saying goodbye. And especially not in such a state.

Before we return to Miwa, Vega changes into new clothes and gets fully healed.

Then I teleport us back to where Miwa is. My experience with [Tether] is much better now to the point Vega isn't hurt anymore. Well, that and Vega's improved level.

***

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