NOVEL NEXT Ch 12 - Acquire the Instructor’s Abilities
Chapter 12
Acquire the Instructor’s Abilities
It was a weekend morning with no classes.
I was having breakfast at a table with Chloe, Viola, and Schmitz.
Since we had a random meeting in my room a few days ago, the four of us had been having breakfast together quite often.
The students who followed Schmitz from the south were also eating at the table next to ours.
‘Serine is also nearby, occasionally glancing over here.’
Serine was sitting a bit further away, surrounded by her followers, eating breakfast.
She would sometimes eavesdrop on our conversations, but she still kept her distance from me.
“By the way… It seems the first duel will be in two weeks, just as you said, Ernas.”
Schmitz spoke up during breakfast.
This morning, the future schedule was posted on the dormitory’s first-floor bulletin board, officially announcing the duel’s date.
“So, it’s likely we’ll be up against Class 1 Red.”
“Unless there’s a change, yes, Class 1 Red will be our opponent.”
“Ernas, if it’s Class 1 Red, then Rufus Ignis, from one of the six great swordsmanship families, will be their representative.”
Chloe spoke in a cautious tone.
“I’ve heard he’s very skilled and charismatic.
He won’t be an easy opponent.”
“Yeah, he’s not.”
“Should we do some special training to prepare for the duel?”
“There’s no need to go that far.”
I shook my head.
“Just focusing on the training our professors give us is enough.”
“Really?”
At Lichtenaur Swordsmanship Academy, the best experts are in charge of education.
To improve the overall strength of the class, it’s best to follow the academy’s training.
At least for now.
‘Rufus is probably putting his students through hellish training right now.
But… it’ll backfire.’
In the novel, Class 1 Red ends up exhausted by overtraining when they enter the duel.
Rufus pushes them too hard, trying to achieve results in a short two weeks.
“Of course, we do need to practice basic teamwork, to move as one.”
“If that’s the case…”
“I’d like to leave that to you and Chloe, Schmitz.”
Both of them looked surprised when I pointed at them.
“Make sure Class 6 Black can work as a team.
Also…”
I glanced over at Serine’s table.
“It would be good to ask Serine for her cooperation.
Chloe, I’d like you to handle that.”
“Oh, why me?”
“Because I think it’ll go more smoothly if you ask her rather than me.”
“You find it awkward to ask your ex-fiancée for help, don’t you?”
Chloe laughed, covering her mouth.
Then Viola, who had been eating her breakfast eagerly, raised her head.
“By the way, Ernas, why did you break off your engagement with Serine?”
She showed no interest in the duel but immediately got curious about the engagement.
“What happened for you to call it off just before entering the academy?”
“There were just some things we didn’t see eye to eye on.
That’s all I’ll say.”
“Oh, come on, tell us more! I’m really curious!”
Viola clung to me persistently.
In the novel, Viola was a character who showed a lot of interest in other people’s romantic affairs.
‘Right now, the only interesting incident is the fallout between me and Serine… so I guess it’s unavoidable.’
There’s nothing to gain from revealing more details.
While I was thinking about how to wrap this up, Schmitz carefully spoke up from beside me.
“Ernas, if you don’t mind… could we talk about it in private later?”
“Schmitz, why would you…”
“I actually have a fiancée back home too, but our relationship is a bit awkward.”
Schmitz looked down apologetically.
“We’ve known each other since we were kids, but it seems she doesn’t think much of me…”
“Wow, I didn’t expect Schmitz to worry about something like that.
I guess you’re more of a romantic than I thought?”
“C-Chloe, don’t tease me!”
Watching Chloe tease him, I remembered that Schmitz had such a backstory.
It was a detail briefly mentioned in the early part of the novel.
“Sorry, but I can’t say much.
It wouldn’t be fair to Serine either.”
If I say too much, it might create inconsistencies and give a weird impression.
So, I decided to end it here.
“Understood.”
“Oh, that’s a shame.”
“Indeed, that’s for the best.”
Schmitz and Viola looked disappointed, but Chloe nodded with a smile.
“…Serine, Serine?”
Hearing the voice of the girl sitting in front of her, Serine flinched.
She had been so focused on Ernas, who was sitting a bit away, that she hadn’t been paying attention to the conversation with the girls around her.
“Sorry, what were you saying?”
“Oh, it wasn’t anything important…”
“Hmm…”
The girls following Serine exchanged glances, trailing off.
“Serine, could it be that…”
“Do you still have feelings for Ernas?”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
Serine hastily denied it.
“I already told you, I’m the one who wanted to break off the engagement.”
“But still…”
“You keep glancing at Ernas whenever you get the chance…”
“T-That’s because…”
Serine quickly thought of an excuse in response to their pointed remarks.
“I’m just worried that Ernas, now that he’s single, might start flirting with other girls…”
“If he’s single, then it doesn’t really matter how he interacts with other girls, does it?”
“I’m just concerned that the girls in Class 6 Black might get hurt.”
“From what we’ve seen, he always acts like a gentleman…”
“…He used to be quite a shady person.”
Even after getting engaged, Ernas used to flirt with other girls.
That was one of the reasons why Serine wanted to break off the engagement.
“He’s changed so much lately… I can’t get used to it.”
The girls looked at Serine with various expressions as she muttered to herself.
At Lichtenaur Swordsmanship Academy, weekends are free time.
You can train individually, relax, or wander around the island… It’s up to you.
‘But we can’t leave the island.’
Students of Class 6 Black and the others are confined to their assigned islands.
They just go back and forth between the dormitory, the training hall, and the outdoor training grounds.
However, once you reach the level of a graduate, these rules become meaningless.
‘With the magic power of a graduate, you can easily cross to another island.’
Anyway, for now, we can’t leave this island.
Trying to swim away would make you a meal for the monsters lurking in the lake.
We have to continue our preparations on this island until the academy lets us leave.
“…”
As I stared at the calm lake, lost in thought, I heard a commotion from the direction of the outdoor training grounds.
Serine, Schmitz, and Chloe were gathering students and talking about the upcoming duel.
‘They can handle the students.’
I just need to focus on myself.
To win the duel, my role is crucial.
‘The duel’s outcome is decided by who can capture the other class’s badge first.’
Each class is given a badge, usually worn by the class representative.
So, the goal is to defeat the opposing class representative and take their badge.
‘And I need to handle that myself.’
With that thought, I walked along the beach alone.
My destination was the north side of the island, with its rugged, mountainous terrain.
‘Quite treacherous.’
Even avid climbers would need equipment to scale it.
But today, I planned to reach the top.
‘I need to test my body technique.’
Body technique, similar to the lightness skill in martial arts novels, allows you to move swiftly without worrying about obstacles, and at higher levels, it lets you glide through the air.
Graduates can easily move between islands thanks to this technique.
‘I wonder how good Chloe’s Yusbruck Body Technique is…’
The Yusbruck Body Technique itself is pretty decent, but Chloe is still at a C-rank level.
Can I climb that rocky mountain with a C-rank Usburg Body Technique?
“Well then…”
I took a deep breath and relaxed my legs.
I already knew how to move.
“…!”
Thud!
I kicked off the ground and jumped up.
I quickly climbed up the jagged rocks and then leaped again, moving swiftly up the rocky mountain.
But at one point, my foot slipped.
“Ugh…!”
In an instant, I lost my balance and fell.
It was a dangerous situation where I could have been seriously hurt, but I managed to land safely, just barely, thanks to the Yusbruck Body Technique.
“That was close…”
Twisting my body mid-air caused pain in several muscles.
Am I going to have to rely on Viola’s acupressure again?
“Haah…”
I sat down on the ground and sighed.
I hadn’t even made it halfway to the top.
I didn’t really want to try again either.
If I fell again like before and broke a bone, that would be a real problem, so it’s better to not try anymore.
‘So, with C-rank Yusbruck Body Technique, this is all I can do…’
It might also be because of Ernas’s weak physical abilities, but still, this isn’t going to be much help.
If I make a mistake in a critical situation like I just did, it could be dangerous.
‘The Body Technique is going to be important for the duel…’
Unlike when I fought Serine and Schmitz, the duel is going to take place on a special training island.
The terrain there is harsh, so I’ll need the Body Technique to move effectively.
Most importantly… I’ll need it to take down Rufus from Class 1 Red.
‘There’s no choice.
It looks like that’s the only way.’
I turned my back on the rocky mountain.
Then, I crossed the island and headed toward the academy.
“…”
It was a holiday, so the door was locked, but since I was the class representative, I had the key.
I opened the door and walked down the hallway, and there was the “duty room.”
Peering inside, I saw Instructor Annaliese asleep, sprawled on the bed.
Next to the bed… there were bottles of alcohol scattered around.
‘Just like in the novel.’
Annaliese was normally a diligent and impeccable woman.
Her only flaw was that sometimes she drank too much.
She never touched alcohol unless it was the day before a holiday, so there was no problem with her duties as an instructor, but…
‘In the novel, there was an episode where the protagonist took care of Annaliese when she was hungover.’
Annaliese, like this, would never wake up until the sun was high in the sky.
That was a clear setting from the novel.
“…”
I carefully entered the duty room.
I approached Annaliese and placed my hand on the inside of her wrist, which was hanging out of the bed.
‘If she wakes up, I’ll just say I was checking her pulse because she doesn’t look so good.’
It would be nice if I could replicate her abilities just by briefly touching her, but to fully replicate them, it would take nearly a minute.
So, attempting to replicate her abilities while she’s asleep is the best option.
‘Now then…’
I focused my mind.
Soon, yusricht activated, and a message appeared.
[Attempting to replicate the abilities of ‘Annaliese Granger’.]
[Understanding of ‘Annaliese Granger’ is 60%.]
I clicked my tongue.
Compared to the 95% understanding of Serine and 90% of Chloe, my understanding is quite low.
Unlike Serine and Chloe, who were heroines in the novel, Annaliese was just a side character, so it made sense.
[Due to insufficient understanding, the ‘Ability Replication’ may fail.]
[If ‘Ability Replication’ fails, you cannot attempt it again with the same person.]
[Do you want to attempt the ‘Ability Replication’ of ‘Annaliese Granger’?]
A warning message appeared.
There’s a chance it could fail, and if it does, I won’t be able to try again with Annaliese.
This was something I had anticipated since I had seen similar descriptions in other artifacts.
‘If I fail here… two problems will arise.’
First, I won’t be able to replicate Annaliese’s abilities again.
Second, I won’t be able to use her abilities in the duel.
‘Actually, the first problem isn’t that serious.’
For now, I’m stuck on this island with Class 6 Black, so there aren’t many people to copy abilities from.
But once I leave the island, there will be many stronger swordsmen than Annaliese.
Even if I can’t replicate her abilities again, I can find a way to make up for it.
‘So, the second problem is the real issue.’
If I fail to get Annaliese’s abilities, I’ll have to come up with a new strategy.
I can’t win the duel with just my current abilities.
‘Then, should I try to build a relationship with Annaliese to increase my understanding?’
I thought about it for a moment.
How could I gather more information beyond what the author set?
Then, I immediately shook my head.
‘That would be a foolish move.’
If I became her lover right now and made her spill all her secrets, I could raise my understanding above 90%, but that’s not realistic.
And I can’t predict what would happen if I did that later.
‘No need to waste time.
Trying now is the best option.’
There are two weeks left until the duel.
Even if I fail now, I can think of a backup plan during those two weeks.
The more I delay, the less time I’ll have to come up with a solution if I fail.
‘Let’s give it a try.’
I made up my mind.
With my hand on Annaliese’s wrist, I closed my eyes.
[Attempting to replicate the abilities of ‘Annaliese Granger’.]
Annaliese’s ability, the “Lichtenauer Body Technique.”
Normally, this technique would take quite a bit of study at the Lichtenauer Swordsmanship Academy to master, but would I be able to obtain it now? The judgment was beginning.