Past and Future II / Onto the Next Stage

“… and so, today I’ll have you practice fighting as a team. While your skills as individuals are important, they can only take you so far. If you want to succeed against something as overwhelming as an Anomaly Beast, teamwork is your only option,” Professor Anellia said, concluding her rather lengthy introduction.

I glanced to my right. Lined up next to me were five other Inheritors, standing at attention. With the exception of Vandan, who, much to my relief, appeared to be a serial truant, this was all of us.

The others had been attending this specialized Inheritor Combat Training class since long before Akio and I had arrived in this world, but this was the first day for us Foreigners.

Since neither of us came into this world with prior combat experience, we were both assigned to beginner-level courses until we could prove our aptitude and move up the ladder. Given the existing skill we inherited from our predecessors, however, that process, which would have taken years for an ordinary student, had been completed in just a few weeks.

Starting from Beginner Swordcraft, I climbed through the Intermediate and Advanced courses until, finally, I was told by my Swordcraft instructor that I was ready to join the others. Akio must’ve improved at a similar rate in his classes, as we ended up landing here at the same time.

Kerne chimed in following the end of the professor’s speech. “Teamwork is one of our group’s weaknesses, I agree, but what do you have in mind? It hardly seems fair to conduct a mock battle between students if one side includes six Inheritors.”

While the physical capabilities of humans in this world eclipsed what would be possible in my world, being an Inheritor went beyond even that. I had participated in a number of sparring matches with other students during my Swordcraft training, and it quickly became clear my body possessed a supernatural advantage over my peers. While my opponents could still defeat me with superior skill or technique, the fact remained that my strikes were inherently faster and stronger than theirs by a notable margin. Such was the blessing of Aeresi.

Professor Anellia grinned in response to Kerne’s comment. “Well, my first idea was to pit you against a group of professors, since plenty of them were renowned warriors or adventurers in their heyday, but then I had a different thought. One that sounded way more fun.”

She strutted toward our line, walking through the center to split the six of us down the middle. “There will be a mock battle, but rather than a team of Inheritors, we’ll be doing two teams instead. This should solve the balancing issue, no?”

Akio, Shina, and I stood on one side; Kerne, Mara, and Fleur stood on the other.

“I have to disapprove, Professor. In a real battle, all six of us would be fighting on the same side. This does not seem like an effective way to train teamw—mrgh!” Kerne’s complaint was snuffed out by Fleur’s hand as she aggressively clapped it over his mouth.

“I love the idea. I’ve been so bored recently, and this sounds like a lot of fun. I’ve never gotten to fight another Inheritor before,” she said.

“Yeah, this could be a nice way to blow off some steam,” Mara followed, seconding Fleur’s opinion.

I wasn’t sure if “fun” was the right word, but I didn’t hate the idea of a mock battle like this. My training up until now had either been solo or against a single opponent, so I could use the practice.

Kerne, having wrestled Fleur’s hand away, continued to resist. “Professor, I believe you should recons—”

“Nah bro, the girls are totally right.” This time, Akio cut him off. “I mean, think about it. A team fight between classmates? It’s like we’re living in a shounen manga. My younger self would kill me if I missed out on this opportunity!”

I had no idea why Akio insisted on referencing things from our world that no one could understand. Well, except for me. But I’d never admit that I get any of his nerdy comments.

“Well, there you have it.” Professor Anellia clapped her hands together. “Looks like we’re all in unanimous agreement.”

Shina and I haven’t even spoken! And Kerne dissented immediately! This was my first time meeting her, but I could already tell Professor Anellia was a bit of a character. She seemed to be as excited about this as Fleur and Akio were.

Shina turned to me and, in a low voice, said, “I’m glad we’re on the same team. Let’s show them what we’re made of.” She must’ve been too embarrassed to speak up in front of everyone, but it was clear she was fired up too.

“Yeah. Let’s do it.”

Akio spun around to face us. “I know we haven’t fought together before, but I think we have a good shot at this, even if you and I are newbies. Two phys-DPSs and a mage seems like a pretty good team comp for this kind of thing, IMO.”

Don’t use acronyms in speech! It’s cringe! Plus…

“I-I’m not really a DPS—I mean, a damage dealer. I’m more of a dodge tank.” Crap, I’m doing it too! And a normal person wouldn’t know the term “dodge tank”. I’m exposing myself!

“Hmm… You did solid damage against those Anomaly Beasts, though. And you’re telling me Strength isn’t even your main stat? Maybe you’ve just got protagonist growths or something…” He nodded to himself several times, seemingly satisfied with that assumption.

I wanted to refute his lofty expectations of me, but worried I’d dig the hole deeper, I kept my mouth shut.

“Everett, what are you two talking about? I don’t get it at all,” Shina whispered in my ear, apparently not comfortable enough to speak around Akio.

Uh, isn’t it way more embarrassing to get on your tiptoes and speak straight into my ear? You’ll make people think there’s something going on between us!

“Don’t worry about it,” I mumbled back.

Just in time to save me from a conversation growing awkward, Professor Anellia clapped her hands again to gather our attention. “Everett and Akio, are you two familiar with the general procedures for duels and mock battles at the academy?”

“Magically blunted weapons and first-hit elimination, right? That’s how we did things in the Polearm classes,” Akio replied, while I gave a nod in affirmation.

She sighed in response. “Good. I used to just assume everyone paid attention to safety procedures in class, but I already made that mistake with Vandan once, and it did not end well… thankfully, Professor Estor’s healing magic is world-class.”

I assumed she was making a joke, but the downcast looks on the faces of the four native Inheritors told me otherwise. What… did he do…?

“Ahem. Well, best not to reminisce about the dark times. I’d like each of you to conjure your weapons now so we can begin.”

Don’t just gloss over this! Now I’m even more worried about him!

Grumbling to myself, I matched the movements of my companions and closed my eyes, trying to focus. In this world, it was normal for even non-mage fighters to learn at least a few key spells. Consequently, one of the skills I practiced in my Swordcraft classes was basic conjuring magic, a mental-magic spell that allowed a person to deposit and withdraw objects at will.

Unlike incantations, mental-magic was conducted purely via thought. If nothing else, natural compatibility was less of a problem when it came to mental-magic compared to incantations, so most people were capable of simple feats like this with enough practice. Shina insisted incantations were superior, but given someone like Fleur used mental-magic exclusively, I was pretty sure she was just biased. And either way, she used the conjuring spell for her staff, too.

Phew. Got it. I was a little worried I had failed, but after a second, I felt the coolness of steel manifest in my grip. This was Leon’s sword, the same one Shina gave to me after we first met. For whatever reason, this weapon made me feel sentimental, even though it wasn’t mine to begin with.

Professor Anellia then went around enchanting our weapons and ammunition with a powerful blunting spell. It was akin to switching out live rounds for rubber bullets; it wouldn’t eliminate the chances of injuries entirely, but it would curb the lethality of our attacks without affecting their base properties.

“Alright!” She clapped her hands together one last time. “Each team to one side of the training yard! You’ll start when I say ‘go’!”

Akio was propping up a huge halberd on his shoulder, carrying it as if it weighed nothing. “You know, since I’ve never gotten to fight with you guys, I’m pretty excited.”

“G-good luck,” Shina said to us both.

I took a deep breath. There were a lot of reasons for me to want to win here, but most of all…

“You can count on me.”

I promised her that.

And this is my chance to prove it!