The Chair’s Observation Log: Rufus and Aster

First, I walked across the hall to Rufus’s room. His door was slightly ajar, so I was able to sneak in quite easily. Off to the side, Rufus stood in a fighting stance, swinging a punch in the air unlike the ones from earlier today. No, this punch was much weaker. I couldn’t be sure, but it seemed to be just enough to kill a beast. He was likely trying to cut back on the stamina used during battle. So, over and over, he threw that weak punch until the moment before he ran out of stamina.

After spending a few minutes recovering his strength, he then moved onto other techniques, like trying to incorporate a jab into his fighting style. Jabs were quintessential in a wide variety of attacks and feints, so it was strange that he only just now thought of using them. He took a couple of test swings before following up with a haymaker. His movements were much smoother: his momentum carrying his entire body.

Next, he tried to change the amount of wind-up before a punch. Before, he threw his right arm back and swung it forward which, while effective, wasted a lot of stamina. But now, his punches had a clear line of motion, taking advantage of every muscle and the predicted recoil from landing a hit. Sure, his attacks were easier to read, but for fighting beasts, they were more powerful and efficient.

He tried to use a few kicks and other hand techniques, but it gave him too much trouble – losing his balance, hurting his hand, or other trivial things. It didn’t take long for him to switch back to regular punches. It was the right choice at the moment. He could experiment and train all he wanted when he was safe, but using something unreliable in a real fight would get you killed. Maybe if he was up against a god beast, he might have no other choice but to risk it. Though, until that time, he could get by with what he’s practicing.

I checked on Aster next. Her door was tightly shut, so I had to use a bit of magic to mute the creaking vines as I opened it. It definitely wasn’t enough precaution, but Aster didn’t seem to be paying attention. Instead, she was completely exhausted, panting heavily, keeping her focus on the far wall, not even noticing the door. From what I could see, the wall was littered with needles all circling around one in the center. On further inspection, the more recently thrown needles were inching closer to the central needle.

Aster threw another, once again landing a few centimeters from the central needle. She grimaced, but she continued throwing another. And another. Each successive shot became more accurate.

Oh, I see. She was training her accuracy while her body was exhausted. She probably wanted to turn her throwing skill into instinct, making it near impossible to avoid her attacks. Currently, although the distance was shrinking, her shots were close only about 20% of the time. However, I could see it increase to 70-80% before the night ended.

After throwing a single needle for a while, she switched up the fingers grabbing the needle, handling and tossing multiple at once. Her dexterity was improving at an impossible rate. Her eyes slowly started to glaze over, but she bit her lip and kept throwing. She wasn’t going to stop, but she was frustrated. I couldn’t tell you what she was thinking, but after a minute, she made up her mind…

…and tore off her own arm.

I almost gasped aloud, but that wasn’t even the most startling part. She immediately stuck her arm back to the wound and concentrated her mana in the area. Her regenerative abilities reattached her arm in mere moments. Then, she threw a needle at the target the moment after. It was way off, but after doing it a few hundred times, her accuracy gradually returned. She repeated the same with her other arm.

Aster was figuring out ways to improve the lag of her regeneration without hindering her movements. It was definitely the more extreme scenario, assuming that she’d be ripped to pieces, but it had merit. If she could focus her mana while also blocking attacks, the party would have a much easier time dealing with the beasts. Quite literally a voluntary meat shield.

But she wasn’t done yet. I could see a faint line of mana connecting the wound to her torn off body part. Was she trying to control the torn off part from a distance? A technique like that required a massive level of precision, not to mention the ability to use mana as a pathway. Sure, it was possible: skills such as telepathy or telekinesis were created based on that principle. However, Aster didn’t have the skill yet. It would take her seasons, if not years, to get a solid feel for the technique.

Nonetheless, Aster persisted. She was making progress, her fingers slightly twitching, but it was nowhere near usable. Maybe she had a different idea in mind. I would’ve loved to stay and see what came from it, but I had to check up on the remaining two. Aster would show it off tomorrow anyway.

I left the room the same way I entered. Though, for a brief moment as I stepped through the door, I could feel Aster’s eyes on me. However, when I turned around, her attention was still on the wall.

It seemed like her mana sense had improved too.