11th of the Second, 4273
Senshinzako
Despite it being a rest day for the unit, the day started as early as the last few ones. On the next one, our second task would be given by the guild, though following their schedule for our time of rest, that day would merely be devoted to our free time and training. Which to me mostly meant varying forms of training and preparation, however likely I found that some of that would have to be sacrificed due to the demands of my coworkers. For one, early into the morning I assisted for the first time with the preparation of breakfast, mostly by helping Nalfimiria in bringing part of the food from a nearby bakery. Afterwards, she also gave me a few lessons on how to verify our current supplies, as well as to estimate the need to refill them, seeing as the role of making sure they remained ready to fulfill our needs wasn't one connected to any particular member of the group, and I happened to be the least well informed in that end.
Still, I did manage to accomplish most of a guidance turn over that process. There were risks of occasional interruptions when using a guiding eye within the streets, but the delay this caused wasn't that long. Soon after finishing that lecture and those chores, I sought out to continue training, and found Fasnilthar and Chiaisei also engaging in guidance. Apparently, they had finished a walk through the park just then, and had taken to accomplish other parts of daily training soon after. I completed one of my cycles with them, before getting to my physical training for that morning. The first step of it was a short sprint, following a similar route to which those two took, though afterwards I made sure to exercise my muscles as well, taking special care to go through the parts of my workout that would be harder to pull off while on the move, which I chose to do in a part of the park specialized for public exercise.
Upon my way back, I found those two again, with Nalfimiria and Finarkzir nearby, on a training field somewhat close to the house. Based on the training spears nearby, I guessed part of that training revolved around Chiaisei's direct fighting techniques, yet at that point, it looked like they had been doing some defensive training of their own, being that Chiaisei was the one on a defensive position in that case. I understood her wish to practice on that front. As much as the wind wall produced automatically around a wind caster will push away lighter kinds of projectiles or thermal based attacks on its own, one would need to make a preemptive effort in order to blow away certain kinds of attacks with the form, more so than they would need with barriers. That, and using wind as a shield carelessly could result in one hurting their own allies, if the attacks being hurled away ended up heading in a friendly's direction. Not to mention, from my understanding of things wind casters had a strong preference for mobile ranged fighting, as well as to incorporate swift dodging into their defensive capacity. Most of the core styles relating to the Wind Stride are centered on extreme mobility, after all.
Chiaisei had claimed during the day we met that she wasn't as well practiced in the defensive traits of her magic, especially when comparing herself to Finarkzir. Her footwork and reaction time seemed effective from my perspective, though there likely still existed room to improve, especially if she wanted it to be comparable with the movement of a bird. Yet if there was anything I found that she was having trouble with, it was that Fasnilthar apparently had a solid read on her dodging and blocking habits. Hence, though overall Chiaisei was being successful at avoiding most common forms of attacking, whenever Fasnilthar would put the advantages of her area into full effect that usually would lead to Chiaisei taking a loss or two. There appeared to be no particular pattern behind when Fasnilthar turned up her offensive repertory either, meaning there were few hints for Chiaisei to understand when the attacks would grow in intensity.
Not to say I found this something to be poor on Chiaisei's part, mind you. On the contrary, Fasnilthar seemed to be quite focused during their exchanges. Forcing a senior of ours to fight her seriously should be viewed as an accomplishment from Chiaisei's part, even if she reverted the expected gap in level between them through her affinity. Especially since Fasnilthar had already demonstrated a high level of skill in overwhelming defenses. It didn't seem like anything short of a specialist in barriers would have an easy time fending her off, yet even then, considering how difficult that match up is said to be, I had a suspicion Fasnilthar was precisely the type of spellcaster to devote a lot of practice to handling her weaknesses well.
"In their own ways, each of them is bearing a lot of resolve, in their current circumstances. Perhaps what I initially sought to learn with that conversation has yet to be achieved, though it certainly paints each of my coworkers in a different light, as of now." Seeing them practice, I remembered what had been discussed the previous day, and the words of which I spoke myself. Each of my teammates had a goal motivating their actions, or an ideal of sorts to accomplish. To Chiaisei, Sowanarcistvir and Finarkzir that ideal appeared to take the shape of a mission, one that only the magical beast gave any details towards, yet seemed truly motivating for each of them. Fasnilthar on the other hand seemed to fight out of a sense of purpose, be it on protecting civilians or friends, from what I heard, and Nalfimiria led her practice through the image of one she greatly admired.
"She didn't seem to embody said spirit to me at the start, but perhaps the one I misjudged the most so far has been Chiaisei. She didn't show great signs of a warrior's will by this point, yet maybe now seeing them practice after hearing that has made it much clearer." I thought while observing them briefly, before Nalfimiria caught track of my presence and dragged me over towards them.
—You love saying training with others is helpful, don't you? Why don't you join us now? — She asked, after the other two also greeted me.
—I was considering it. Though first, why is Sowanar elsewhere? — I thought to mention, seeing as he was the only member of the unit not present there.
—I'm meeting with his lady later today, so he decided to take more time to talk with her before it happened. Probably to tell her everything he found of interest about me over this period, or at least the things she doesn't know already. — Though she mentioned this motivation casually, Chiaisei, having taken a break from the training to listen to us briefly, appeared to have found it odd.
—Aren't you bothered by that? Having him report on your daily life sounds a little peculiar to me.
—Oh, knowing her sources I doubt he could figure out anything she doesn't already know in a week or so. Besides, I've also been preparing myself for this meeting, in my own ways. Our darling lady can't escape the sisterhood's eyes and ears, so if she does find this kind of action needed, I can't exactly say she is treating me unfairly.
—Truly? Well, I hope he doesn't report much on the rest of us, at the very least.
—As far as this duty is concerned, I believe it is centered on myself solely. They wouldn't be so blatant about spying if the act wasn't mutual.
—I see. Can you tell us anything about this woman, then? I don't require an identity, simply any additional context already would be quite relieving. — After the two of them exchanged words around the topic for some time, Chiaisei asked this directly. It felt like she saw this particular part of the talk more relevant than the rest, based on her position. Fasnilthar, having also stopped training without a target, was watching the scene with Finarkzir in a surprising feat of quietness on her part.
—Her identity will be revealed eventually. I doubt that girl plans on staying hidden for long, for one thing. There isn't a whole lot of context to be offered that wouldn't deliver the answer, though. Neither the knight nor master have a particularly subtle trail behind them, so any hint towards it would swiftly lead to the final truth. Act under this presumption, and your detective work shouldn't last that long. Based on the girl's stance, you shouldn't worry about any repercussions to your snooping either.
—Is that so? Intriguing news, to be certain. May I request assistance for a different matter as well, though?
—Barely a hint was given and your curiosity is already driven then? Hardly a surprise, given the topic. Any High Scholar with some understanding of history would react much the same. Let's do things like this, then. Senshinzako and Faslin get to spar with each other while we continue the lessons with the spear. This should give you more time to develop your queries later. I imagine you're interested in that as well, right Senshin? — Nalfimiria turned towards me while asking this.
—Sure.
—Good! I was hoping for a chance to spar together today, and it got here nice and conveniently. Come Senshin, let's see what you got. — Fasnilthar said. There was a casual sense of confidence to her voice that made me both warry and thrilled to test my colleague personally.
I then stepped into the ring those two had been using for evasive training, while Chiaisei took the training spear once again. Nalfimiria took to teaching her more about how to move with it and use it, taking into account her magical specialty. Finarkzir would be the judge to our matches, and that made me thankful I had been sprinting through the park with my thought communicator on. Seeing as Finarkzir spent most of her time in it, and there potentially were other magical beasts there for a similar reason, I figured it could prove useful to keep with me constantly. That, and though it wouldn't work without a device paired to it, there still existed the off chance it would aid in communicating with someone whose accent I failed to understand, or with one who didn't share any common language with me. By my suggestion, after Fasnilthar offered me the chance to set the rules, we would be on a 1 hit type of set, being that any effect caused by a spell of ours would count. Finarkzir suggested I reconsider both the rule set and the wording to it or to add a preparation period to each round, but as I failed to identify the issue, Fasnilthar asked for us to proceed.
While getting prepared for the match, I took a moment to observe my opponent's posture. She had one of her bags filled with training ammunition for her spells, one they had to refill frequently post every round training with Chiaisei, most likely. That, and she held her staff forwards, pointing towards me. Based on the way she handled it, I imagined she wasn't using it like that simply to keep the threat of electrical spells constant, but also due to the barrier dock¹ near its tip, making it a potential defensive tool as well. The posture of her torso and legs also meant hiding behind the barrier would have been simple, if she needed to do so suddenly. That, and the arm holding the staff was in an ideal spot to alter between her upper body and legs with the barrier's coverage swiftly, which also indicated her preference for the size of her spell shields wouldn't cover her whole self. Her gaze was focused at me, yet it appeared she positioned herself in a way that would give her room to switch her point of focus easily as well. All factors indicative of good form for a ranged mage, when it came to individual battles like that.
"First, to recall where each of our advantages lie. For Fasnilthar, it would be a slight edge in potency, a large one in the rate of attack, a greater variety in offensive magic and easier access to multidirectional attacks. Range differences exist but are presently irrelevant, and though I have the defensive edge, either of our active defenses should be able to protect one against the other. Passive defense isn't a factor in this type of practice. As for me, I have an edge in mobility, a technical advantage in direct fighting and some advantages in concentration exchanges, based on the magic restrictors placed on her. A direct brawl is likely to my advantage, yet the distance between us means one wouldn't be possible immediately, and despite the technical edge the distance wouldn't weaken her magic in any way, so this approach isn't strictly riskless. Additional factors include equipment limitations. Fasnilthar is restricted to twelver steel shots in her bag per round, but due to lack of thrown options, my methods of attack are all restricted to conjuration. Her limited ammunition might lead to effective strategies, yet that would rely on more experience sparring against her. How to best utilize trickery as a weapon will likely depend on information gained during the fighting itself as well." I pondered while the two of us took position.
After the two of us took position, Finarkzir asked if the two of us were ready. Though that came through a thought message, the beginning of the battle itself would be announced through screeching, to speed up the process. Even during these final seconds of preparation, I still considered my options, however. "As for ploys to close out a match, ones centered on misdirection and burst movement would be ideal. Her rate of fire might be too oppressive if it is constantly focused on me, after all. I might be able to do as much with conjured images, but that remains to be tested. Having options like Sling Leap would be helpful around now, yet there is no use considering choices beyond my magic." As these thoughts concluded, I had also finished confirming my readiness.
Marked by a screech from Finarkzir's part, the first match started. As soon as it did, Fasnilthar fired her first shot. Likely to see if I would be off guard on that first moment, I thought. Hence, I conjured a shield in my unoccupied arm, and moved forwards in a way to parry the attack partially, without completely dodging sideways yet still covering my flanks, seeing as I knew Fasnilthar could (and likely would) utilize any ammunition that was directly around me after missing again. As I finished making my preparations for this shot and moving forward, I realized a second shot was coming. "Aggressive, isn't she?" Considering my initial momentum, I wasn't sure if I could duck away without throwing my body in a direction entirely, so I opted to alter my stance a little while also preparing the spell for a barrier, in case I had to block one shot or two. Then I noticed there was a third shot. And a fourth, fifth… "She's just starting the fight with a volley?!" Noticing that a little too late, I realized that with the amount of shots heading my way, there was no way my barrier or shield would hold. Even if it held onto this initial wave, by the time the fifth shot hit me the remaining seven likely would already have been fired. I tried jumping away from my position, only to find she had called my escape route beforehand and managed to hit me while in mid air, a position in which sustaining my shield would have been much harder. Sometimes the simplest of answers turn out to be extremely effective.
If the fight even lasted a single second, it wasn't much longer than that. In a mix of surprise and frustration, I laid in the grass for a moment after landing. "She just went all out, from the first move! What could have led to that kind of logic?!" When still laying there, I turned towards her, still on the ground. She spent some seconds staring at me in return, likely confused as to the cause of my exasperation. She then looked around the field, before yelling at me briefly.
—Hey Senshin! The loser's supposed to recover my ammunition post a match, right? I have multiple loaded bags with me, but I recommend doing it after every round. — The agreement wasn't particularly vicious, and from her tone it didn't sound like she was trying to taunt me further, as she just talked normally while telling me this. But I didn't like her implications. "You're not gonna win in a while from now", I could almost imagine her voice warning me of this.
—Let's just continue. If I get a single win before the bags run out, will you help in refilling them? — I said while getting up. I was a little frustrated with how things had gone just now, and Fasnilthar's casual attitude didn't help me recover, yet I still felt it might have been best to just stick to that challenge.
—Are you sure? There are only four with me this time, and I don't think you'll be beating me in four tries, or maybe five depending on how many shots remain after each try. Looking around for fourty eight of those things alone might be a little harsh. — Her attempt at worry made me further irritated. So much so I barely realized the implications of the fact she planned on using all of her ammunition in each set she fought.
—You shouldn't worry about me. Just focus yourself on fighting. — I spoke, having returned to my initial position and holding my sword up once more. She looked at me for a second, before sighing and exchanging the mostly emptied bag she had on her shoulders for a new one, fully loaded.
The second round ended similarly to the first one. I was expecting a volley that time, though that didn't necessarily mean I had thought up any countermeasure in time. Hence, I tried hiding with illusions from the start, yet in the end all it took was for her to spread out the area of her volley to end up hitting me. In the third round, I tried abandoning the usual defensive approach and going straight for movement, so that it could buy me time to go on a counteroffensive. As that sparring zone was round, any path but backwards would have taken me towards her, regardless. This afforded me protection from the first wave of attacks, though she didn't need a long time observing me to calculate my route precisely, thus each shot after the third grew increasingly more accurate, until I was forced to try to defend myself directly and ended up getting swarmed again.
In the fourth, I tried applying some of what I did in the third, though mostly seeking to find space to hide myself. Though after stalling her for a second or two, she hit me with a small lightning bolt, the first spell that wasn't magnetic she had used that far. "So she'll only use other forms if I last long enough to earn them, huh…" I wasn't confident that was a rule, as I wasn't confident Fasnilthar would restrict herself very rigidly in this regard, yet at least that appeared to be a pattern.
We got to the fifth round, and in the bags with her she still had the ammunition to go for another match. I took a second to consider how I would continue that set with my next attempt. "Maybe I should be taking a more offensive approach for the next round as well. If I continually need to use concentration to protect myself while she's only using it for attacking, I will never be able to get any momentum. Seeing as her main method to defend herself is barrier casting, this might improve my odds." The main reason why I didn't consider this option from the start was that my main form of ranged magic, light magic, relied completely on conjuration.
As a result, I needed to use either a conduit or my hands to prepare each attack. She, in comparison, relied on a form that combined conjuration and manipulation, and partially as a result of Thalgignir's properties as well, the entire area around her functioned as a means through which she could manifest her magic, in the case of magnetic based attacks. Which is an elaborate way of saying, the discrepancy on how many attacks we could send out per second was massively in her favor. This before even considering the fact that while each of my spells needed to be shaped before being used, once established her zone of control wouldn't require as much of an active effort, thus increasing her firing rate or the concentration she could dedicate to other magical forms. So far, I had at most seen her launch up to six spheres in a single second, and despite the constraints on her strength, I suspected her volleys could grow more numerous still.
"I'll need to conjure arm reflections to try to keep up. It would improve my output and potential valves, though it will likely speed up my usage of spirit essence. I doubt I'll be able to go much further than ten rounds with her without recovering, if I want to pose a challenge. I'll also need to buy an extra second before being able to attack in full." Settling for this strategy for the next confrontation, I told our judge I was ready, looking at my opponent while resolute. Fasnilthar, meanwhile, simply continued looking towards me as she had to that point. "Right. I think I'm getting closer to the ideal stance to take this time."
The match started, and that time, instead of holding my training sword I held both hands while pointing towards her. I fired my spells immediately as I started moving sideways, and like always, she started firing her spheres as soon as the round began. I had fired a blast of light from each of my physical hands, I started focusing myself on creating more hands to be used for attacking, all the while preparing myself for evasive maneuvers, just as the first wave of attacks was shot from each side. The attacks I sent never reached around her area, though. Instead, it seemed like Fasnilthar aimed that sphere in such a way that it collided with my first blast of light, and the small detonation that impact caused triggered the same reaction on the second blast. "Targeting at a moving spell?! How is she this reckless?!" I thought to myself while focusing on aiming my next spells and dodging her follow up, while making sure not to fall on a clear evading pattern. Seeing her immediate reaction to my spells was to try to parry them with her own, I decided to increase the distance and delay between each subsequent blast slightly. My initial reflection was mostly completed by then. I also realized she had been conjuring missiles around her person since seeing me attack, and the second one had taken shape by then.
We continued with this sort of exchange briefly until my conjured arm was completed, and it started attacking as well. At a few points before that I had been forced to put up a barrier between us, though I had more or less understood by then that staying still for even a second against her would have been a mistake. Up to that point, she had defended herself through a collision of attacks at a different point, yet she had also managed to dodge a blast of mine at one point, and detonate a different one by placing a small barrier on its way. Had it been a physical conjuration, it likely would have blown through that sort of barrier, yet since my attacks had mostly been based on energy, any contact would cause them to trigger. "Maybe mix in some physical constructs with my attacks."
I was also a little surprised she was attempting to dodge light magic, all the more so because she was being somewhat successful at it, even if most of the time she had been blocking my attacks through different means. Since she hadn't activated her aura and didn't seem to be directing that much strength to her veil, all she had to use for physical feats was her normal body and sharpened mind. Hence this suggested she likely had calculated the route of the attack before it was even fired, something that wouldn't have been her first during that match. I also noticed she had been maneuvering her conjured missiles around the battlefield as she continued producing them, likely a signal she was hoping to corner me.
"She has gone through most of her shots. Time to press her harder." Noticing this over our brief stalemate, I started rushing towards her, seeing as her lack of a meaningful form of infusing magic would have placed her under a lot of pressure if I got nearby. At times she would threaten me with electricity, yet I figured there was a moment in which her staff briefly shined before spells assisted by it could take shape entirely, hence I took the habit of stepping sideways whenever I saw that glow. I was also weary of the positioning she was taking with her conjured missiles, seeing as I hadn't discovered what her plans to use them were for up until that point. Still, in between the exchanges of attacks, I noticed her ammunition was almost depleted, something that apparently had caused her to slow down on counter attacks by that point. I was confident I was headed towards a victory, as I fired another round of light blasts, this time confident she would have no option but to use a barrier in that instance.
Yet, just as I started shaping my attack, I noticed all four conjured missiles she had made started moving. The first, and closest to her, headed towards the zone in which I attacked her. As the distance between us wasn't that large by then, it felt like our attacks intersected right down the middle of their path. Hers, instead of meeting mine directly, detonated in between each of the blasts I produced. That explosion was relatively small in potency, yet parts of the missile fired off from it like shards, as they had maintained their shape partially through the explosion, and those fragments managed to detonate my attacks. I then also noticed that despite their lack of power, those missiles covered a pretty high area. This reminded me of the interaction we had in regards to the rules, specifically in regard to what consisted of a hit, namely any effect caused by the spell of an opponent which hit its target.
"Blast! She was aiming at the loophole this entire time!" Those spells wouldn't hurt me, yet if I blocked or countered them too close I would end up getting caught by the shards resulting from it. We never specified if our veils would count as defense in cases like this either, so in theory mine wouldn't be enough to nullify this hit either. Thus, I tried halting my momentum and jumping outside of their reach, before triggering each missile individually. I did so while making sure to guard my front with a thin barrier. It wouldn't protect me against her lightning spells, yet it would slow down the process of her creating a current between us slightly, not to mention warn me if she attempted it. I also prepared my first conjured arm, and one I had just finished preparing to attempt to block any spheres she launched by that point. In the end, I succeeded in avoiding the radios of those shards, yet failed in a different sense.
Having protected myself on that front, I prepared myself to take the brunt of her remaining ammo and possibly some lightning spell she had conjured, but realized a mistake I made as I felt one of those spheres gently tap one of my legs. "Oh… She can use the shots that are already on the floor. Of course." Be it my focus on keeping up with her offensively, or simply trying to imagine what uses she would have for those missiles, I failed to notice she had created an extension at some point, and used it to attack one of my flanks. In other words, those threats likely were her means of halting my momentum, and therefore landing an easy hit with the spheres laying around me.
"Just how many layers of distractions was she making use of?" At that point, I started to ponder how much of that match had been a way to deceive me and how much was a sincere attempt at attacking. Thinking so, I fell to the ground for a moment, only to then notice how many spheres were spread around all over the battlefield. For a moment, I wondered whether I should ask if the one she had used had been launched during that match, though as soon as I glanced at Finarkzir, she nodded in affirmation, likely guessing my question before I could even make it.
Still on the ground, I started taking note of the places the spheres were spread out over. Over fourty of them had been used, and though the training field we were on wasn't that large, as I had been moving all over the place they were spread out all around us. Thankfully, the grass wasn't tall enough to hide any, yet I still figured finding them all might take a few minutes. "It'll give me time to recover a little, at least." I thought before getting up. While looking around for the spheres to gather, I also would take the occasional glance at Chiaisei's spearmanship lessons. "She's learning quickly. And Nalfimiria seems quite competent as a teacher as well." As I started training myself martially almost as soon as I could comfortably hold a training sword, I had no idea what would have been normal for someone getting started at our age, yet I had the impression Chiaisei was doing well, by that point. Even if there had been two or three lessons for her at most. "I suppose her footwork must have already been decent enough, be it for evasive training or usage of wind casting."
Occasionally looking at them, I continued my task. At some point, however, I noticed Fasnilthar was taking a role in it as well, despite our agreement. At first, it was mostly to point out to me where each sphere was, seeing as detecting them through her magic was a fairly simple task, as she could generate magnetic waves that would cover a large area without using much of her concentration. Those wouldn't have much of an effect on the spheres unless she placed a significant effort on them, but the way in which they reacted to this spell made it easier for her to distinguish between types of materials, as well as, in this instance, detecting where her ammo would be, seeing as it was made of metals strongly affected by magnetism. However, about halfway through the task Finarkzir took charge of pointing me to the ammo, while Fasnilthar herself would help. Instead of picking up the spheres with her hands, she would just walk around them, and her magic would throw them inside her bag. She was pretty precise at doing it, considering I imagined such a mundane usage for magic likely wasn't something she practiced. Other than her insistence on making this process flashier, there was something else bothering me about this. "I thought this was supposed to be my punishment."
—Why are you helping?
—Hm? To save time, of course. Finding my shots is way easier for me. Why else? — Once again, her tone hinted at no deeper meaning or thought behind this. It just felt like her casual self showing continuously.
—That wasn't the deal, though. — It annoyed me a little that she tried creating something akin to a punishment to each set of failures without any intent on following through with her intentions.
—Yeah, but if we're doing an entire set before any breaks, I would have to just stand there watching for a few minutes straight, right? The deal isn't that great for me, so I'm changing it a little. Finarkzir is also using her time waiting for us, right?
—Right. No point in using any more of it. — The eagle responded through our thought communicators.
—If you say so. But had I won, would you have gone through this as well?
—Yep. I would have been trying way harder at gathering my ammo. Senshin, I wouldn't be counting on a victory very easily, though. I'm only getting harsher on you from now on. — I imagined that meant during the last round, she still was holding back on me a little. I was grateful for this chance at a greater challenge, especially as I had started to understand better how to tackle a foe with her abilities slightly.
—Also, are we still working under the assumption any kind of hit will count as a score?
—If you want to change that, I'm fine with it. It was a little silly slip up during our agreement, though it's not like fighting like that would have been of any real use in real life. Just pay more attention to wording for these types of rules. This type of thing isn't significant in most situations, but it's a relevant skill in other parts of life. — After telling me that, she tapped me on the shoulder while passing by the area I was searching on, before continuing on with her own part of the collection.