My peaceful musings were interrupted by heavy sighs from behind the small wall dividing the rooftop.
These sighs already seemed familiar to me.
"Oh? It seems we've crossed paths before," she said.
"I guessed right then," it was the same girl who had hindered my assessment of the sturdiness of local shops with her melancholic sighs. "Taking a walk?"
"Me? Oh, well... I just couldn't find a suitable partner for the class, so I slipped out unnoticed," I replied.
"So, nothing has changed?" she asked.
"Yeah, I was thinking about what to do, but it seems weak mages aren't needed by anyone."
"And what have you decided?"
"Well, the simplest solution would be to join a guild, but the new guilds want strong candidates, and the old ones have already recruited people for non-essential tasks."
"And what role were you considering?"
"Well, I don't know, I helped my parents run their shop, so I thought maybe I could be a secretary or treasurer. But it looks like combat skills are much more valued here."
"You can't argue with that. So, you'll have to develop your magical talents."
"I guess so," she sighed again. "And how about you? How are things going?"
"Not that great either. However, I've stocked up on interesting literature and now have a couple of ideas to test in practice. By the way, the guild recruitment starts soon, right?"
"Yeah, one month after enrollment. So, a little over a week left. Do you think you'll make it?"
"Why not? New guilds will be represented as well, and they might need any new recruits, regardless of their abilities. After that, it's all up to me. At least I've realized what I lack, and for now, I'll try different staffs, and maybe even weapons."
"Are you planning to try yourself in martial arts?"
"Unlikely, but I'll attempt to use magic through a weapon. If it works, I won't have to struggle to shape the spell; I'll only need to maintain the magic within the metal."
"Hmm, that will be difficult without a focusing crystal. In staffs, they usually use crystal or precious stones. But you can't insert a large stone into a sword."
"Hmm... Then I'll have to find myself a magical sword."
"Do you have relatives from the royal family?"
"Um, no."
"Then where will you get the money?"
"Oh well, I'll think of something," I said, still wanting to know more: "Would you mind telling me your name?"
"Huh? No... it's better not to," she replied.
Her response didn't fully convince me. I tried to go around the partition, but the girl on the rooftop was already gone. It was strange that I didn't hear the door to the stairs open, but somehow she managed to slip away.
With one week left, I decided to occupy the local training grounds during the nights. During the day, they were reserved for the best students and instructors, and general classes were conducted there, but in the evenings, it was open for anyone who wanted to train. Practicing magic within a barrier-protected territory was much safer than having students secretly train elsewhere. However, I couldn't rely on any instructor's help, and I had to sacrifice sleep, but that didn't reduce the number of willing participants.
On the way to the available training ground, I met many novices who had received low grades, including some from my own class. The training grounds with magic protection were particularly popular, and mages usually preferred to train alone. However, warriors usually gathered in groups of five or six, with few exceptions.
I managed to claim an empty area and began examining the equipment.
"Well, second-rate students don't get the best," I muttered to myself, laying out what the instructors hadn't locked away. High-quality staffs weren't meant for unauthorized practice, so the only things left on the rack for the night were those that no one would miss. Crookedly made wooden staffs, some even cracked, metal staffs made of iron, cheap steel, and even bronze, and a couple of stone staffs that nobody used, as they only inflicted more damage if you hit an enemy on the head with them. But for practice, it was sufficient.
I took the most popular among the novices, a wooden oak staff, and attempted to channel magic into it. As before, every time I managed to gather a somewhat powerful charge, it would dissipate. Foolish abilities I have!
"Well, then try harder," I recalled a couple of angry memories and felt a light warmth in my hands, but after a few seconds, I no longer felt the staff in my hands. "Didn't last long..."
When I directed a bit more power into the staff, it quickly burnt out. I'd better not spoil wooden staffs any further and move on to the metal ones.
Steel, iron, or bronze... I would have liked to try a silver one, but it was locked in a cabinet, and I doubt they'd let me have it even with an instructor present.
"Steel should absorb magic faster," I thought. I performed the same experiment with a steel staff, but the result was only slightly better. The tip melted, and the focusing stone simply fell out. "Useless..."
After some thought, I decided to try the bronze one. Surprisingly, the result with it was more noticeable. The metal struggled to absorb magic but also gave it away with difficulty, which allowed my abilities to keep some of the magic from dissipating. However, it was still not enough to complete a spell.
"Hmm, if less active metals can retain magic longer, then maybe a stone one would be even better."
No one used them, but they looked quite expensive. I didn't want to spoil them, but I still wanted to try. I directed some magic into the staff, but nothing particularly extraordinary happened. I felt the power remained within it, and it didn't hurry to disperse, but it was still not enough for a spell. Then I decided to take a risk. I concentrated harder and tried to channel more power into the staff. After half a minute, something finally happened – a small glowing ball flew out of the staff and soon dissolved in the air. I managed to cast the simplest light spell, but it drained a considerable amount of strength.
The stone staff struggled to release magic but was also difficult to fill with it. Still, I needed something else, a material that could absorb magic like metal but release it with difficulty like stone. Unfortunately, I didn't have such an option.
Since I couldn't solve my magic issues, I decided to try my luck with weapons. Making sure no one saw me, I sneaked into the warrior's training ground and grabbed a few swords that caught my eye.
"Well, since I'm at it, I can try what was described in the book about the summoner," I took several types of swords to figure out which one I'd like to train with. Instructors didn't encourage training outside one's specialty, so asking for their help wasn't an option.
The quality was mediocre, but there were plenty of different shapes to choose from. Long and short swords, broadswords, rapiers, yatagans, and daggers... Too many options. I decided to start with something closer to a sword.
Using two long swords was not easy. Despite not complaining about my lack of strength thanks to my side job at the port, they only got in the way when I tried wielding both at once. Short swords were much more manageable, though when I tried to block, they ended up hurting me on the reverse edge.
I had to lean towards curved swords. The saber and scimitar were a bit heavy and sometimes got in the way with their length, while the yatagan was the closest in shape to the swords from the book.
Trying to adopt the stance as described in the book, I struck the dummy a couple of times. The strikes were decent, but I didn't feel the fluidity in handling the blades; something was hindering me. I tried a strike from a pivot, and unexpectedly, something happened. A gust of wind knocked the dummy back when I hadn't even touched it.
The blades in my hands were also damaged; the wind had severely frayed the edges, leaving cracks on them. It seemed I managed to accidentally cast a spell, even without storing magic in the swords.
An unusual feeling, as if I had achieved something on an intuitive level. Though it was just a simple gust of wind, I was still far from full-fledged spells. Anyway, I should try other incantations. I focused on anger and swung the blade with force. A flash of fire slashed through a couple of dummies and dissolved into the air.
Yes! I did it! I happily waved my hands, and something smoking fell to the ground. "Oh..."
In my hand, there was only the hilt of the sword, and the molten blade had flown off.
"A cheap piece of iron," I put aside the broken sword and temporarily picked up the remaining scimitar.
"There's no need to blame the sword for your mistakes."
I don't remember anyone else being here. I turned towards the voice and noticed a girl standing silently in the shadows. Red ribbons on a gray uniform and flickering blue hair in the moonlight that peeked out from behind the clouds.
"Asura, if I'm not mistaken?" I didn't like the way she was looking at me. "Is there something wrong?"
"Just curious why a mage," the girl glanced at my blue mantle, "needs so much weaponry. I thought you'd scorn brute force."
"Well, I'm having some problems with magic, so I decided to learn a few tricks, just in case."
"Hmm, practicing martial arts for fun, how silly. If you've chosen to be a mage, you should stick to that path."
"I don't see anything wrong with it. I heard that your clan used magic in the past but didn't lose its swordsmanship skills. I thought I could do the same."
The girl arched her eyebrows even more, sending a shiver down my spine. She could scare children with just her appearance.
"But using magic on such basic weapons is just a waste of a blacksmith's work," Asura picked up the remains of the blade from the ground, and they melded into an amorphous piece of metal. "Only the best metals can withstand magic without consequences, especially fire magic. What's the point of testing it on a cheap iron sword that can't withstand even two attacks?"
"I don't have any other options, and this one will do for practice."
"Hmph," the warrior turned slightly away from me, and I heard the clang of her blade.
Instinctively, I raised my hands before me, positioning the yatagan along one arm while the scimitar didn't make it in time and ended up in front, crossing its blade with the second one. A beautiful katana's swift strike cut through the night air and hit my block.
"I didn't strike at full speed, but you still managed to block it. Commendable," the girl smiled slightly, but only for a moment. Our swords were still in a clinch, but Asura thoughtfully stroked her chin with her free hand while looking me up and down. "Your body doesn't belong to a pampered noble; it seems you've worked physically before, so you do have some strength. You blocked with both blades right away, knowing that one wouldn't be enough, and preemptively shifted your left leg back so I wouldn't knock you down with my strike. Impressive reflexes."
After finishing her analysis, the girl sheathed her katana.
"And what was that all about?"
"I was testing you. You have good potential and could become a fine warrior, but as long as you're in this specialization, they'll never assign you an instructor. If magic isn't working for you, you should switch to the warrior's class."
"Perhaps I'd have more success there, but here's the thing: in this country, mages are highly regarded, and if there's an opportunity, it would be a shame not to take advantage of it."
"Hmph, so you're doing this only for your social standing, what a pity," the girl headed towards the exit.
"Why did you come here, then? Your clan has always ignored the outside world."
Already at the door, the girl froze and without turning said sharply, "That's my personal business," and then she was gone.
Only when the warrior disappeared behind the door could I finally breathe calmly. She nearly killed me, but I managed to remember the right move in time... well, almost.
I looked at the yatagan; its blade had split with a light crack and fell to the ground. "She has a good sword," breaking the blade with a single strike so effortlessly, but something else bothered me. I was supposed to maneuver the second blade in my hand, which would have made my defense more reliable and the swords wouldn't have broken. However, the wide guard of the scimitar got in the way; those swords from the book didn't have it. The shape of the blade wasn't the only thing that mattered; the hilt was essential too. With such swords, it would be impossible to execute all that was described in the book. It looks like I'll have to find better weapons.