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— Rue, can you teach me some kind of defensive magic?
— I could do that, but using the library would be much more efficient.
— Can you at least teach the basics? I don't want to spend time traveling to the library and back.
And I want to avoid that annoying spirit if there is a possibility to do so — I thought to myself at the same time.
— If Master wishes so, I can do my best.
— Then please interrupt this exercise and teach me.
— Interrupting...
The demon and the summoner start rapidly losing colour. Eventually they were bluish white and start becoming transparent. In a few moments they disappeared as if they were never there.
— Interrupted. Accessing database... Searching... Organizing... Done.
After a small pause Rue started explaining.
— The first defensive skill mages usually learn is Ether Barrier. This is not exactly a spell. In essence it is just concentrating Ether outside ones own body. This will usually enable the user to defend against most attacks. Thanks to it's simplicity it is easy to learn, but the downside is that Ether consumption is really inefficient.
The consumption of Ether is important, but one other thing caught my attention in Rue's statement.
-You said that it would 'usually' enable me to defend against attacks. Can you clarify what you meant by that?
— The effect of the concentrated Ether will depend on the nature of the user's Ether Link. For example if the user has Ether Link that lets him control ice, an ice wall might be produced. On the other hand, if it is Ether Link that lets one control wind, then wind will be produced. So, while ice would work as a proper wall, wind would only change the vector of the attack.
So the skill produces the type of a wall that corresponds to the type of the ability one has. This is easy to understand, but I'm confused as to what will happen in my case.
— Then what if the wall that is produced doesn't actually protect from attacks?
— As I said earlier, this is not a magic spell, it is just one of the basic skills. In case a mage needs additional protection, there is an array of defensive spells at his disposal. Though, they are harder to learn and are more specialized.
So I should start with this, and if it doesn't work out, then try something more advanced.
— Ok, do you have any tips besides 'concentrating the Ether outside the body'?
— It is written in the records that this skill is just an extension of one's Ether Link ability, so Master should try doing it in the same way he uses his ability.
Easier said than done. If I understood everything correctly, then the blue fog I see in my mind's eye is my Ether. The problem is that currently the effective radius of my ability is twenty centimeters at most. And that is only if I sit and concentrate. In addition to that, if I extend the fog it becomes thinner. Making a shield out of it is not something I can do.
— Rue, is it normal that I can't 'reach' with my Ether farther than twenty centimeters.
— There is nothing normal or usual when the talk is about possessors of a strong Ether Link. Having low range is not something that is unique. There are quite a lot of such individuals. For cases like that, creating an armor of Ether is recommended. In other words Master should try wrapping himself with ether.
— Thanks for the advice.
I sat down and concentrate attention around my left hand. Then, as I imagine it, the blue fog starts enveloping it and in a couple of minutes my whole hand is enveloped in it. This is actually much easier than extending the Ether. The feeling of Ether wrapping my hand is quite peculiar. It feels as if there is something there, but nothing that I can touch. As if my hand is submerged in water which is neither cold nor warm.
Whatever the case, I am really glad that I succeeded. Ecstatic from my success, I try covering my whole body with Ether. The process is slightly annoying, but ten minutes later in my mind's eye there is thin layer of blue fog covering my whole body. It isn't effortless to keep it up, but I don't have to concentrate all my attention on it either.
Now for the live tests.
— Rue can you throw a few pebbles at me. I need to see if this actually works.
— With pleasure, Master.
'With pleasure'? Why is it that this is the first order that you are glad to follow? If I think about it, the last time Rue was throwing pebbles at me, she was also oddly enthusiastic... I probably shouldn't think too much about it. Some things are better left untouched.
As Rue throws some pebbles at me, I concentrate on the feelings. Unfortunately the shield doesn't seem to work. I still feel the pebbles hitting me. Disappointed, I concentrate on the Ether armor and try making it bigger. It took only an instant to realize that I shouldn't have done that. During this experimentation I forgot to keep track of the blue MP bar in my mind. Turns out this is what the phrase 'inefficient Ether consumption meant'. In fifteen minutes my MP bar was nearly depleted. And when I tried making the armour stronger, it started consuming even more. Luckily, I noticed that the bar was about to get depleted, so was able to cancel the armour before so I was able to cancel it in time and didn't faint. It's interesting to note that I don't actually feel any mental exhaustion as long as I am using a skill that consumes Ether. So even though I will faint from mental exhaustion should this MP bar get depleted, I don't actually feel it until I either stop using the skill or I faint.
Sitting in the shadow of the tree I was resting and thinking about this skill to make armour. If I cover my whole body in Ether, I can barely keep it up for fifteen minutes. It might sound sufficient, since the real combat is unlikely to last that long. Leaving aside whether that is sufficient or not, the real issue is that with my current strength the armour won't actually protect me. Making it stronger isn't actually an option, since it would mean I will run out of MP much faster. The only thing I can come up with is to focus it on one place. In other words to use this ability not as a shield or armour, but closer to how a buckler is used. This way the area is smaller, so consumption is smaller. It also means that I can concentrate more Ether there, so the protection is stronger. Yeah, I'll try doing that as soon as I recover.
Main concern is that my ability can't function as a defence. what did Rue say about it? 'The effect will depend on the nature of the Ether Link'? So, if the nature of my Ether Link is unsuitable, then concentrating it in one point won't help me defend against an attack. Worst case scenario is that I will have to learn a specialized spell for defence. It would be bad, since I am unlikely to succeed in the time I have left, which is less than seven hours by the way. No sense in being pessimistic. Even if I won't be able to learn a proper defensive skill in time, it should still go much better than the last time. I just have to do what I can.
Long story short, the idea of concentrating Ether around my left arm worked somehow. After seven hours of training I got at least somewhat satisfactory results. The attacks aren't getting stopped or deflected, but the strength of the impact gets greatly reduced. Depending on the amount of Ether I concentrate the reduction is somewhere between ten and fifty percent. Though the part that is getting reduced does not exactly disappear. From what Rue observed it seems that the impact is getting stretched in time. So for example if I make the shield as strong as I can, then when the impact comes, half of it hits me, but the other half changes it's nature from hitting to pushing. In other words instead of getting hit for the full force of the oncoming attack, I get hit for half of it and then get pushed back. This may not sound impressive, since I am still getting hit, but being able to half the strength of an oncoming attack should be more than sufficient at this point. After all, my opponents are only hellhounds.
After some rest, I decided to finish my training for the day. It's already evening and since I don't remember exact time things happened last time, I should just wait until the elf exits this building. Before leaving I form the sword from Chlymea in my hand and move it into the inventory. This way I can get it immediately when something happens.
I exit the training complex. Good, it's still light outside. I don't remember what time I exited last time, but it was definitely dark, so it means that I have some time left. I sit down leaning on the wall of the training complex and start waiting. I could try pestering Rue to get more information, but this is a good opportunity to recover a bit more. Even though I took breaks to regenerate MP, the fatigue still accumulated. Getting into the fight exhausted and unable to use my meager abilities to the fullest is not a good idea.
So, I am just sitting along the wall, looking at the trail and waiting for the elf. During the time I was sitting there were multiple individuals coming out of the training complex. They eyed me suspiciously, but did not approach me. For my part: I eyed them curiously and ignored. This let me rest and I even nearly dozed off. Whatever the case, it took more than an hour for the elf to come out. As she went out of the building, she didn't seem to notice me. Fine by me.
As the elf disappeared from my sight in the forest, I wait a bit and stand up. I probably should reproduce the conditions as accurately as possible, so I ask Rue to light me the way to my room. I start walking quickly along this way. A minute later I see the hooded figure, so I slow my pace. I start getting nervous and my heart starts beating faster.
Why am I even doing this? Why put myself in danger for a ghostly chance of getting an ally? Am I going to revive if I die again? What if the retry was a one-time deal and I won't revive in case I die here? No! There is no point in second guessing myself now. I need to do this and if I can't survive the attack of a few hellhounds then I definitely won't be able to survive the first round. I am stronger than last time. That time I was able to survive, so there shouldn't be anything to worry about this time. Still... Even if you know that opponent is somebody you can deal with, waiting for the attack to begin is nerve-wrecking. Even though I manage to calm myself down, I am still nervous. It actually relieved me when the flash signifying the beginning of the attack came.
The elf jumps back and crashes into the tree. At that time two hellhounds appear in the forest. Immediately after that I take the sword out of the inventory. Let's try something I couldn't do last time. Focusing on the tip of my sword I pour Ether into it and slash two times. Two wind-blades speed towards one of the hellhounds. In the nick of time a hellhound jumps away and both blades miss it, leaving an 'X' mark on the tree behind the hellhound.
The hellhound dodged. Does this mean that hitting it the wind-blade might actually damage it? As I realized that, I throw five more wind-blades at the hellhound. This time it couldn't dodge all of them and one blade left a long red gash on the side of it. It started moving slower. At the same time, the second hellhound finally got close enough and jumped on me. I jumped back dodging the attack. As I did that, I slashed with the sword producing the wind-blade.
Well, what do you know... This skill is not so useless after all. The wind-blade hit the hellhound from the point-blank so the hellhound didn't have the chance to dodge it. The blade hit it's face, cutting the hellhound in half. While I am distracted, the wounded hellhound attacks me from behind by swiping with it's claw. In the nick of time I manage to raise my left hand covered in Ether to block the impact. Ouch! Even weakened, this still hurts.
As I get thrown back by the impact, I perform a slash making the wind-blade. Being in midair, I couldn't aim properly. The blade goes slightly off the mark, but luckily the hellhound is still close enough so that my attack hits it's leg. At least it's something. Even though the hellhound isn't not dead, it's not a threat anymore.
As I stand up, I check myself over. Compared to the last time, my condition is much better. Even with excessive use of wind-blades, my blue MP bar is only half-empty. My left hand has three gashes from the last swipe, but they aren't too deep. I should visit the infirmary, but there is no immediate need. So all in all it is a nice improvement. I kill the wounded hellhound that couldn't stand properly anymore and start moving towards the elf.
Success! Even though there are at least eight more hellhounds, I can leave them to the elf. She should be regaining her consciousness right about now. Oh, great timing! The elf stands up and takes something from her pocket. I don't even have time to look at it. With a small flash, the rifle appears in her hands.
Actually, calling her weapon a rifle might give a wrong picture, so let me elaborate on that a little. A black, around one and a half meter long rifle gives off a sci-fi feel. Clipped under the barrel is a blade that is as black as the rest of the rifle. I heard about gun-blades, but rifle-blade is something new to me. The scope on top of the rifle caught my attention. It was just a black cylinder without glass. How does she even aim with it?
As soon as the gun emerged, from the stock of it dropped two cylinders. At first I thought that something broke, but those cylinders didn't hit the ground. They hovered for a moment and flew off into the woods to where rest of the hellhounds were supposed to come from. I was about to sigh with relief, but the elf raised her gun. It wouldn't be a problem were it not pointing at me. As I noticed flashes and howls coming from the forest, the elvish sharpshooter spoke:
— Slowly raise your hands.
What's wrong with her? Didn't I help her just now?
I have a feeling that something is wrong. Something is just not right here. Let me reassess the current situation I am in.
As far as this elvish sharpshooter knows, this is the first time we meet. The event leading to our meeting was me saving her from the hellhounds. She could deal with hellhounds herself, but was temporarily incapacitated, so this definitely counts as 'saving'. So why? Why is she pointing a gun at me?
— I...
— Silence! Slowly raise your hands. No sudden movements.
With no better alternative I raise my hands up.
— Good. Now, confess. What were you trying to do?
Huh? What is she talking about?
— What do you mean 'what'? Isn't it obvious?
— Answering question with question is bad manners. But you are correct. This truly is obvious.
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