09 — Morning Drills with the Valkyries
09 — Morning Drills with the Valkyries
Early that morning, after my mug of Substance X, a knock at the door interrupted my Magic Handling practice.
“Who is it?”
“Good morning. I am Ripnear, a member of Lady Lumina’s Valkyrie Paladin Regiment. Training will begin soon, so I’m here to collect you.”
“Thank you, I’ll be just a second.” Before anything else, I cast Purification on myself to get rid of the usual after-smell. According to the grimoire, cleansing magic was all-encompassing and more effective than any other form of hygiene. It was particularly handy as a mouth freshener, and for saving on toilet paper.
On the other side of the door (and considerably lower than eye-level) was a cute girl with big, round eyes and fluffy blonde hair that cascaded down in waves. Her unrefined armor stood in stark contrast to her fragile appearance.
“Thank you for going out of your way. I’m Luciel. Nice to meet you.”
“No thanks necessary. I’m only following Lady Lumina’s orders. Healers are normally forbidden from entering the paladins’ training grounds on their own. Now, let’s go.”
Despite her dignified way of speaking, I just couldn’t bring myself to see her in that way. She had this cute and snug feel about her that her style of speech only amplified, like she was forcing herself to do it on purpose.
I followed her through the castle, trying my best to keep from smirking.
“Wow, this is pretty big.”
The training grounds were spacious enough to hold a full four-hundred-meter running track.
“Our regiment’s grounds are rather small compared to others,” Ripnear said.
“Huh? Oh, really?” There were several of these around here?
“You’ve arrived. Thank you, Ripnear. Luciel, come,” Lumina beckoned.
The rest of the regiment had already gathered, and Ripnear ran up to join the formation. I had expected a squad of paladins to be a bit more populated, but there were only eleven of them including Lumina. And they were all so young.
“Um, are there only women here?” I asked.
“Indeed. Is that a problem?” Lumina and the others peered at me.
The honest truth was that I just didn’t want to hit a woman. My master was one thing, but a scar on a young woman meant more than a scar on some old guy.
“I know you’re all probably stronger than me, but I don’t know if I can bring myself to attack a woman.”
“No? Then it seems my previous judgment was correct. You are indeed an ignoramus. Forgive me, but our time is limited. We must move on. Please introduce yourself.”
And that was that, apparently. I was an ignoramus. Were they that strong?
“Um, sure, sorry. Hello, everyone; I’m Luciel, a healer. I work here as an exorcist. I wanted to get back into training and Miss Lumina kindly offered me a chance to join you all. I’ll try not to get in anyone’s way. Thank you for having me.”
“Take note, ladies,” Lumina addressed the team, “this healer is a strange one. For two years, he was coached in combat at an Adventurer’s Guild. Now, I want you all to show him how a paladin trains. His healing magic will keep him on his feet. Introduce yourselves when the opportunity arises. Is that understood?”
“Yes, ma’am!” the regiment sounded.
“Good. As always, we’ll begin with warmups. From there, we will proceed to one-on-one, one-on-two, and two-on-three sparring. Ready, ladies?”
Lumina kicked into a jog, and the other paladins promptly followed.
“Don’t just stand there,” Lucy chided, breaking my trance.
“It’s just a little running,” Queena added.
“Got it!” I replied, trailing at the very end of the pack.
For two whole years, morning and evening, I had sprinted for hours on end. So yeah, running was no problem. Heck, running was nothing to me...or at least, that’s what I would have said if reality ever let me have anything.
“Raise your knees, Luciel! Run with purpose! Your healing can’t carry your legs!” Lumina called as she lapped me with the other paladins.
Contrary to what she must have believed, I was running as hard as I could. It was everything I could do to keep the air in my lungs flowing. But the cold, hard truth was that, to these girls, this was nothing but a light jog.
In this world, physical ability was ruled by stats—that was a fact of life. If you didn’t have the numbers, you couldn’t succeed. That limitation was an impenetrable wall and I’d slammed right into it.
It felt senseless, like my training with Brod had been nothing but a drop in the ocean to these women. Just as stats were linked to one’s capabilities, so too were they linked to one’s chances of survival. That was simply how things were.
But I couldn’t accept it. I refused to let arbitrary levels and jobs be the judge, jury, and executioner for what I could and couldn’t do. So I shut out those preconceptions, that reluctance towards working with a regiment of women, and focused on what I could do right now, in this very moment—train with the Valkyries.
A humiliating thirty minutes later, after being lapped by the girls eight more times, the jog concluded.
“Form groups and begin sparring. Luciel, I want to see your abilities first-hand. Take your blade and strike me with the intent to kill,” Lumina ordered.
“Don’t you use dulled swords for practice?”
“Hm, worry not, you will not draw blood,” she smirked. “I suppose, however, that if you do land a blow, I ought to indulge you in a courtesy.”
She carried no sword or shield, and I knew that wasn’t meant as a slight to me. She was just that good. But that was fine by me.
“I’m gonna prove that stats aren’t everything.”
I took my stance before Lumina with my trademark sword-and-spear style. With a throaty grunt, I thrust my spear forward, then used the momentum of it to pivot and propel a swing of my sword. I anticipated her dodge and reeled back to kick—
“You’re wide open!”
My vision blurred and suddenly I was seeing stars in the sky, just like when Brod would throw me.
“This is the style you’ve been fighting in the labyrinth with?”
“Yeah...”
“Without any experience in dual-wielding? Your recklessness astounds me. Stand and ready yourself. Come at me with the skills you learned during your time at the Adventurer’s Guild. Exactly as you were taught.”
“All right.” I steadied myself and pulled out my tragically underused shield, adopting the stance Brod had drilled into me. It reminded me of my training days.
＊
“Listen up, Luciel; most o’ what you’ll be up against will be stronger than you.”
“Ha, probably.”
“Not probably. You can bet your ass on it. If you’re up against someone one-on-one, nothing beats getting the hell outta there, but the world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.”
“Right.”
“There’s one thing you have that other combat classes don’t, though.”
“Healing magic?”
“Bingo. And you’ve got a feel for casting while on the move now.”
“More or less. I have been doing it for a year and a half.”
“You can’t beat someone stronger than you, so be clever. Plant traps.”
“Traps? Like what?”
“Like faking an opening while you’re in the middle of a spell.”
“That...doesn’t sound like it’d end well for me.”
“Normally, you’d use their attack against them with a feint like that, pull a reversal, but you’re just flat out not good enough to try it. They’d counter it like it’s nothin’.”
“Ouch. Well, you’re not wrong, but I still don’t like where this is going.”
“You’ll take the full hit, then hit ’em right back while you heal yourself. That’s pretty much all you’ve got to work with.”
“A suicide attack? You know if I slip up once, I’m done for.”
“Relax. You’re gonna master it by the time this half-year’s up. Count on it.”
“I-I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Thought you didn’t wanna die?”
“Can you prove I won’t die in the process of training not to die?”
“I won’t aim for your vitals. We’ll start off with your arms and legs.”
“So, you’ll eventually aim for my vitals?”
“Take your stance.”
“Wait, Master? Can you answer the question first? Master!”
“Hope you’re ready!”
“Gyaaahhh!”
＊
“Luciel, why are you crying? Are you in pain? I apologize if I was too forceful.”
The memories had brought tears to my eyes. “Oh, no, I was just thinking back on my (hellish) training.”
“I can only imagine how (wonderful) it must have been, to bring you to tears.”
“Anyway, I’m ready now.” I threw up an Attack Barrier and held up my sword and shield.
“Make your move.”
I lowered my stance and rushed her. This time, I concentrated on the fundamentals—my footwork—maintaining my form like a rock. Still, it felt hopeless. I was going strictly by the book and the gap in our abilities was just too wide.
Lumina saw an opening and needled at the cracks in my defense with counter-attacks that I only just managed to block with my shield. I responded with counter-attacks of my own. And on it went, back and forth, fruitlessly trading blows. Nothing was going to come of our session this way, so I settled on a gamble. There was a technique I wanted to try.
I swung my sword wide, from left-to-right, leaving my center open to attack. This feint was one of the few things Brod had complimented me on in the past. According to him, my lack of ability made it seem less like a trick and more like a mistake.
Lumina took the bait.
“Oh holy hand of healing. Oh birthing breath of the land. Heed my prayer. Render my energy an angelic breath and mend this wound. High Heal!”
As my body began to glow, I cleaved my sword back to the left with all my might, but struck only air. Lumina had utterly vanished.
“Splendid maneuver!”
And then everything went black.
“...up... Wa...up... Wake up, I said!”
A flash of pain shot across my cheek.
“Ooowww!” I cried, shooting up. Lucy and Queena were standing over me. “Wait, where am I? The training grounds?”
“Good eyes. Training’s over, so we’re all going to eat,” Lucy said.
“Lady Lumina’s left you to us.”
“Oh, right, I got knocked out. I appreciate you two waiting for me.” I stood up and cast Heal on my stinging cheek.
“She knocked you out good, Luciel. I’m a little impressed.”
“I’m amazed she would acknowledge a healer,” Queena agreed.
I tilted my head in confusion.
“Anyway, there’s more training where that came from. Come on, let’s get breakfast.”
“We’d better hurry. We’re the last ones here.”
“Oh, right.”
The girls hurried me along to the dining hall.