Chapter 18

# Chapter 18: New Adventurer Bern (16) – Rising Star

Whoosh!

Some of the unevenly grown bushes were cut by Blankah’s swinging sword.

Bern, who had been carefully observing her posture and the trajectory of her sword, asked a question.

“Have you ever studied swordsmanship?”

“I didn’t have a proper teacher, but an old party member gave me some simple advice. Is it strange?”

“No, it’s not bad considering.”

By Bern’s standards, it wasn’t impressive enough to be considered highly skilled.

However, there were no particularly bad habits or unnecessary flair either.

It was plain and simple—just the basic foundation well in place. While it lacked any defining characteristics, that made it easier to teach.

Had Bern been considering reworking her fundamentals entirely, but now it looked like she could naturally progress from the current base.

“The one who taught you seems to have been quite a good teacher.”

“…That’s Berne, actually, one of the two warriors you defeated. The one with the scruffy beard. He was originally taciturn and stubborn, but after you saved him with healing magic when he was in danger, he became much more amicable. He would seriously teach me despite insisting that he wasn’t good with swords.”

“Hmm? Oh.”

Bern recalled the warrior who particularly avoided conflict when they clashed with Karina’s party.

Ah, so that’s why Blankah couldn’t meet his eyes properly.

“Ho, so you are the life-saving benefactor of that lady? And you just watched as she left the party?”

The sigh came from Renya standing nearby, but Blankah simply gave a bitter smile without showing any outward signs of anger.

“Because she’s the head of the family with many dependents to feed. It probably wouldn’t have been feasible to continue dragging along a party member who was more of a hindrance.”

“Ah, Lady Senior. Your heart truly has the breadth of the ocean!”

With Renya’s exaggerated praise, Blankah merely shook her head, not giving much of a reaction. She had finally learned that responding to each and every detail was exhausting.

“So, if it’s training, what exactly are we going to do? Are you going to advise me to hold back on the fire magic and focus mainly on physical enhancement and swordsmanship in combat?”

“No, when you have both strong firepower and control, there’s no need to discard those advantages. What I require from you is this.”

Saying that, Bern approached Blankah.

With decisive strides, Bern came close enough that another step would mean their bodies would touch.

“At this distance. At this interval where you can reach the enemy with your sword at any moment, I want you to hit your enemy with a spell while swinging your sword. Of course, in the middle of the fight.”

Blankah visualized the scene in her mind for a moment.

And uncertainly asked a question.

“Is that even possible? The magic part might somehow work, but then…?”

“Most likely, Ms. Blankah herself would also be affected to some extent. Therefore, the main focus would be on lower-tier spells. If you fire them indiscriminately, that would probably just make your skin slightly warm.”

“…”

“If necessary, however, you must aim for mid-tier spells, even if it means getting caught in your own attack.”

In short, stick to it even if you’re going to get hit by your own attack.

Even though Bern’s words might have seemed inhumane at first glance, Blankah didn’t get angry.

She simply trusted that Bern wouldn’t make unreasonable demands without a reason.

“Could you explain the reason?”

“The first reason is to get used to using attack spells, healing spells, and enhancement spells simultaneously. Currently, Ms. Blankah casts one spell, then switches to another after it’s done, but that’s throwing away your strengths unnecessarily.”

It was like saying, if you’re drawing a picture, using both your left hand and your right foot alongside your right hand is much more efficient.

However, the look on Bern’s face when he said this was akin to saying ‘Surely, you can do this much, right?’ preventing Blankah from protesting too loudly.

“First reason? Is there another one?”

“To anyone who might find this distance bothersome, it would be even more bothersome for pure mages.”

“Ah.”

Indeed, if it was obvious, Blankah’s eyes blinked.

While there are some exceptions, mages are generally ranged damage dealers.

They can unleash strong and wide-ranging destructive powers, but they need to maintain a certain distance from enemies to avoid being caught up in their own attacks.

There are occasionally solo warrior adventurers, but solo mage adventurers are exceedingly rare for the same reason.

Since it is necessary to have a barrier role ally to keep enemies at bay in order to reliably project power.

“Our goal is to subdue Richi. Therefore, aiming for a sniper-style growth route is the right path forward.”

The probability of Blanca defeating Richi, a higher-class enemy, with conventional magic combat is low.

So Bern said they would use unconventional methods.

It wasn’t wrong, but the suggestion that the mage should swing a sword while engaging in repeated self-destructive attacks was not something easily accepted.

“Don’t worry, Ms. Blankah. I truly believe you will achieve this.”

Saying this, Bern gave a smile filled with trust directed at Blankah.

Though it looked like Blankah had a multitude of things she wanted to say, after gazing at Bern’s smiling face, she eventually nodded dumbly and slowly.

[…Oh dear, how did I end up with someone like this?]

A demon lurking in the shadows looked at Blankah with a compassionate gaze, but no human knew of its existence.

“Master, then what kind of training should I do?”

Renya, slightly pale-faced compared to usual, asked nervously.

He was clearly afraid of being given an absurd training requirement similar to Blankah’s.

“You need to learn how to control your mana first, specialized in sensory abilities rather than physical enhancement.”

“Is… Is that all? No cutting down on enemies with a sword or anything of that sort?”

“Stealth reconnaissance is about not being seen while observing. Combat skills would be nice to have, but they have lower priority. Of course, if you want to get stronger, we can train in that area too—”

“No, no! I will be thorough in my role as support to both of you! Isn’t achieving the best role synergy in the party the ideal shape of a party?”

“–Hmph. A good attitude.”

Bern was satisfied, Renya relieved that he would survive, and Blankah felt glum realizing she couldn’t get away with it that easily.

And thus began days that were very fulfilling for some and extremely challenging for others.

***

“Ms. Blankah, the position of your hands and feet is very important in swordsmanship. In order to slash down again after swinging down, the process of lifting the sword upward is necessary. But magic is different. Once generated from the palm of your hand, you can somewhat arbitrarily determine the direction and timing of its firing. Meaning that there’s no need to unnecessarily reveal your palm to your opponent.”

“Ms. Blankah, a seasoned swordsman can cut or deflect magic flying towards them. They can block the swinging sword too. But there’s only one sword. This means if Ms. Blankah swings the sword to lead the enemy’s defense and uses magic to attack in the gaps, the enemy will be in a difficult position. The same goes even if the order of the sword and magic is reversed.”

“Ms. Blankah, keep a broad field of vision. The fact that you’re fighting a sword duel in front of you doesn’t mean you can ignore the enemies at a distance. While using a sword to restrain strong enemies, you can launch mid-tier spells at distant enemies. This allows you to simultaneously perform both roles of the tanker and the dealer. Moreover, this method prevents you from being involved in your own magic attacks and can create openings by causing frustration in the enemy.”

“Ms. Blankah, are you alright? Fortunately, the practice is just that. Don’t be overly worried, since even if you make a mistake, you can try again. While I’m here, a truly dangerous situation won’t happen. So don’t hesitate and be bold. Come on, shall we start again?”

***

***

Recently, among the adventure guild’s East Branch members, there’s constant talk about a particular party.

“Blankah’s party, right? They apparently finished the cleaning request in the Grovatan area in just one day.”

“What? If it’s Grovatan, even three class 3 parties usually take about four days there. Is that even possible? They probably made some sort of deal and ran.”

“No, the amount of monster materials they brought back caused a commotion at both the auction house and the wholesale market. They mentioned the quality was excellent—scarcely charred.”

“Did you hear about the rookies and the reception desk party? There was a Lizardman tribe over fifty strong that kept kidnapping and eating passersby, making them a serious thorn in everyone’s side. It seems these three just barged in and wiped them all out!”

“Wait, didn’t they say they were going to fight Kobolds just three days ago? Have they already moved on to Lizards? When do they even rest?”

“According to rumors, they bought a spellbook that converts mana into stamina and mastered it. Apparently, since then, they’ve been on a rampage against monsters without getting any sleep!”

“Tch, stories everywhere are all about those guys. They’re still just the same old adventurers, so how great could they be?”

“Hey, don’t go taunting them from behind. There was this one drunk guy who started a fight, and they just repeatedly beat him with sheathed swords while healing with magic until he begged and pleaded while crying.”

“Really? So when one with red hair beats him, the one with blue hair heals? They must be perfectly coordinated!”

“Nope, the one with blue hair both beat and healed. And weirdly, without any sign of anger, just like a craftsman treating leather, calmly thrashing him.”

“…….I didn’t say anything.”

“Ho, those guys who mocked and laughed at them when they first formed their party? Now they’re completely cowed and submissive.”

“Don’t shout at them, right? When each member can dismantle an entire class 3 party, it’s not pride—it’s simply a lack of intelligence.”

“Ah, right. What about Karina’s party? Are they perhaps plotting revenge?”

“Nope, they’ve remained unnervingly quiet since then. Honestly, it’s quite wise of them.”

“Hey, why are the receptionists smiling so much these days? It’s because that Bern’s party has snapped up all the missions others avoided for being too dangerous and unprofitable.”

“Seems like the speed at which they complete missions is three to five times faster than others, so even if the payouts for each mission are low, the total must accumulate to something quite significant.”

“And they’re one of the only three-member parties in the class 3 rank where larger groups are usually five to six members. Calculating per person, they must be making even more?”

“Hmm. I wonder if they’re going to recruit more party members. Honestly, I think I’d be better than that tag-along.”

“Some guys tried to join them, but the party join condition was to win a game of tag against that tag-along.”

“And?”

“Even though that guy was just standing right there in front, they all flailed around for ten minutes and failed. How could they possibly be ordinary when they hang out with someone like that?”

“Damn, it’s hopeless with them.”

“Hey, hey, did you hear?”

“What?”

“Bern and Blankah, and this Renya guy as well, are going to be promoted to class 4 before long.”

“Seriously? Bern’s only been an adventurer for about a month, right? Amazing speed.”

“They’re so exceptional now, it’s almost like their ambition can’t even grow anymore.”

“Truly a rising star.”

***

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