Chapter 496: Training as the Time goes by

『I wonder how much time has passed already huh?』

「…」

Of course, no one can answer.

It’s been an eternity since I’ve been plugged into this pedestal.

Clouds drifted, rain fell, many nights have passed, and I was still here.

『How long has it been since… When will I be able to get out of this?』

「…」

『This already like a torture prison on this plains…』

But there was a voice that answered my lament. A man’s voice, full of dignity, came out of nowhere.

「Are you done with your “One Hundred Years of Solitude” act?」

It was Fenrir-san who looked at me with a dumbfounded expression as I acted out my monologue.

『I’m bored!』

「I didn’t expect it to be this long either. But it’s better than when you were stuck in the Forest of Exhaustion, right?」

『Well, that’s true, but…』

I know there is an end, and I have Fran, Urushi, and Fenrir with me here now. And I have also grown quite a bit.

『But I’m bored, bored! It’s been a month you know?』

Yes, it’s been a month since then. Even after all that time, the analysis hasn’t been finished yet. How much time will it take huh……?

A hut made of earth magic now stood next to the pedestal. For the first few days, Fran had laid her bed on the plains and slept there. She doesn’t mind sleeping out in the open, or rather, she prefers to sleep on the fresh plains rather than in a confined space.

However, it rains sometimes, so we built a hut just in case. At first, Fenrir tried to build it, but we forgot that this guy was originally a wolf. He dug a huge hole and said 「Isn’t this a nice place to sleep!」

In the end, Fran decided to make it properly. But this is Fran we were talking about. Well, it’s not as bad as just having a roof over her head though. Sh*t, if I could have made it, I could have made a better house!

Well, thanks to my analysis not being finished yet, Fenrir was able to stay out longer, and Fran and Urushi made a lot of progress in their training.

『I even can do this with my ice magic now you know!』

I can now control my ice magic better, which I was not very good at before, and transform it from wolf to dragon, dragon to tiger, etc. without difficulty.

With thunder magic and fire magic that I specialize in, I can make ten dragons fly in the air, move them separately, and finally scatter them like fireworks.

I wouldn’t do this in front of Fran, but I can even make it look like a beautiful girl and have it pose in many sexy positions.

「I’d just remove the Simultaneous Operations in the first place」

『Then, we won’t be able to respond to an emergency like that right?』

「You worry too much huh?」

『It’s a good thing because it’s been good training for me. And Fran’s training has progressed even further』

Fran and Urushi are already in the second stage of their training. This is the training to fight using only sword techniques.

Fran doesn’t use sword techniques very often. The reason was that in a high-speed battle, the delay after a move can be fatal. There was also the reason that Fran, who could increase the power of each blow with her skills and magic, did not need it.

But another reason is that Fran is not very good at using her sword techniques.

In the case of a normal swordsman, they would practice sword techniques → learn sword skills → fight mainly with sword skills → encounter opponents for whom sword skills alone are not enough → and start to use both sword techniques and sword skills in a balanced manner.

However, Fran had mastered sword skills at a high level from the start and was, therefore, able to fight battles on her own. Moreover, because she became strong quickly, she didn’t need to use sword techniques in the method mentioned above.

She skipped the process that other swordsmen go through, where they learn sword techniques and use them all the time and get hurt. Normally, that’s when the body learns how to use the sword techniques. Because of this, Fran, who had not accumulated much experience, was not very good at utilizing sword techniques in her offense and defense.

This is the reason why we often use sword techniques to pre-empt or end a fight.

Fenrir knew this and told her to use only her sword techniques for a while. Even in the mock battles against Fenrir, she was using only her sword technique to fight.

Fenrir is like an illusion, so it doesn’t seem to matter how many attacks he receives. Thanks to this, he was able to take Fran’s sword techniques from time to time, while giving her advice.

「I think it’s time for her to get some real combat soon」

『Can’t she just have a mock battle with Fenrir?』

「I’m an illusion, so she can’t touch me. That’s not even a mock battle. You won’t call a fight with a goblin as a real battle, right? She needs to fight a stronger opponent. Either an actual battle against a magic beast or a mock battle against adventurers」

As expected, she won’t get meaningful experiences unless she trains in actual battles.

「It’s just, you know, I’m about out of time」

『Eh? What do you mean?』

「I’m almost out of time to talk to Master like this. I’ve been saving my strength except for when we were training, but I can’t stay out here any longer. I’m sorry」

Those words made me understand. It’s not just that he won’t be able to use his illusions to come out here anymore, but that he really won’t be able to talk to us like now.

「I’ve taught Fran and Urushi almost everything I can teach them, but… It’s regretable that I won’t be able to see them in the future. Please take care of the rest, Master」

『Should she hunt some small fry magic beast then?』

「As long as she doesn’t have a decent opponent, that’s all we can do. We’ll start with the small fry and then increase the difficulty. Fortunately, in these plains, we can narrow down the strength of the monsters to some extent」

However, I still feel uneasy about letting them fight a strong magic beast without me… I’ve been through something like this before in the Royal Capital, but the position was reversed now. This time I’ll be the one waiting.

『Hey, can she just have a mock battle with Fenrir and Urushi?』

「The two of them know too much about each other’s moves. I’d prefer another adventurer or a formidable magic beast if possible」

We can’t call in the adventurers here. We have to hide my identity, and there’s no way they’d agree to stay here and keep up with Fran’s mock battles in the first place.

「I guess, Master needs to work on that worrying habit of his huh…?」

『I know…』