Thanks to the academy principal, I somehow managed to gain control over my magical power, but I learned that there’s a big difference between “being able to” and “mastering” it.
I can manage to light a fire, similar to a lighter, on my fingertip while sitting down.
But if I get up and start walking, running, or if I begin to think about things like, "What’s for dinner tonight?", and my concentration breaks, the fire instantly flares up!
According to the principal, "Only when you can maintain that without being conscious of it can you proudly say that you’ve mastered magical power control." It’s tough.
It seems that if your magical power is low, you don’t need such control, so I feel a little angry thinking that I’m the only one struggling with it.
“That’s a luxury problem. The more magical power you have, the more you can do, so in a way, I envy you,”
“Yeah. If I could perfectly control magical power with that amount of magical power, I might be able to master many Flying Magic Swords, Fragarach. I heard even the Sword Princess herself can only handle two of them,”
Sherry and Carrol said that while I was complaining during breakfast. Fragarach... Hmm, that’s definitely a bit intriguing.
“I wonder if many people use the Flying Magic Sword, Fragarach, at the academy?”
“No, I don’t think many do. Probably less than 20%? And most of them only wield one sword. I heard the Witch of the Blue Storm can control seven Flying Magic Swords, Fragarach though...”
“The Witch of the Blue Storm?”
“She’s ranked third, Sharon Pallerius’s alias. She uses a blue machine based on the Mystic Frame and controls seven Flying Magic Swords, Fragarach, as if they were part of a storm. That’s where her name comes from.”
So, the third-ranked person uses Fragarach? I wonder if it’s because the Mystic Frame is excellent for magic battles or if it’s her own skill. I wonder if I could use multiple Flying Magic Swords if I became better at controlling my magical power?
“By the way, our next class is Armed Gear practice, and it seems we’re finally going to do a mock battle,”
“Finally. I understand the need for safety instruction, but I was getting bored with all the simple practical exercises,”
When Sherry said that, Carrol and Lirisha both nodded slightly as if they understood. These three are high-ranking nobles, so they’ve been using Armed Gear since they were little.
In Armed Gear battles, experience gives an advantage. I’ve gotten used to moving them, but I’ve never fought in one.
“Have you all fought in an Armed Gear before?”
“Sherry and I have. We’ve even fought each other. We lived close to each other,”
“I have too. A knight from the Elfrau Castle fought with me.”
So everyone has battle experience. Looks like I’m the only one falling behind.
“I don’t think that’s the case. Unlike Frame Gear, Armed Gear doesn’t have much of a difference in performance, so it’s mostly about the person’s combat sense. Since Nero’s been an adventurer since childhood, I think she’ll be able to fight well,”
While Carrol reassured me, we changed into our gym clothes and headed to the training ground for the exercises.
Instead of our usual worn-out Armed Gear, shiny new machines lined up in the training field.
There were twelve in total. The numbers written on the shoulders and chests really gave off the vibe of training machines.
Other students were also interested in the new Armed Gear and were looking at them or touching them lightly until the teacher arrived.
There were just over eighty students in this class. Probably about half of the first-year students? Most of them were commoners.
Nobles like Carrol probably didn’t need to rush to take the class since they’ve already used and fought in them. It’s a little odd for them to be taking this class.
“Well, well, it’s not every day you get to ride a new model of Armed Gear, you know? It’d be a waste not to take this chance,”
“Is that so?”
“Of course! If you’re aiming to be a ‘Magical Engineer Meister’, everyone would take this!”
“Oh... Rara, you’re here...”
Snorting heavily, Rara had somehow appeared behind me and Carrol. Is she after the Armed Gear, not the class?
“It’s the new model Telepsichora, which inherits from the famous Calliope developed by Musa Industries! I had heard rumors, but it’s been adopted by the academy! And we get to ride it! Ah, what a beautiful form… I could eat three bowls of rice just looking at it!”
“I don’t get it,”
Why does she need to eat rice while looking at an Armed Gear? Did she not eat breakfast?
It wasn’t just Rara though, several other students were similarly staring at the machines, holding their phones up to take pictures. Are they the same? Maybe they all aim to be Magical Engineer Meisters too?
“Alright, everyone, line up! Let’s begin the class!”
Oh, the teacher arrived. It’s Flare Paralem, a member of the Dragonkin. The Dragonkin are a combat tribe that lives in the Great Southern Forest and are known for their powerful punches. I once saw a Dragonkin adventurer fighting and he knocked out a Stone Golem with one punch.
According to Sherry, Flare-sensei is also a participant in the Mechanical War Ragnarok, just like Miss Sophie.
“Today, you’ll use these machines to practice mock combat. I won’t just have you punch each other out, so we’ll start with something easy: Sumo.”
“Huh?”
Sumo? Isn’t that a martial art practiced in Eashen...?
While we were puzzled, Flare-sensei began explaining Sumo.
You fight in a large circular ring drawn with chalk on the ground, and if you get pushed out of the ring, you lose. If any part of your body, except for the soles of your feet, touches the ground, you lose. There are also a few rules like not punching or kicking.
In other words, you just have to push the opponent out of the circle. Isn’t this just a power struggle?
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