Eve, who had stopped moving, abruptly stepped down from the bench, drew the sword from her own waist, and stared fixedly at the blade. She seemed so excited that I could almost hear her breathing.
“…Hey?”
Wondering what she was planning to do, I asked her, but Eve didn’t answer my question and instead swung her sword up.
Making the blade glow faintly, she unleashed a [Heavy Slash].
“…Huh?”
The voice slipped out of me involuntarily. What Eve had just used was undoubtedly a [Heavy Slash]. However, it was distinctly different from the one she had shown in our fight just moments ago.
It was still rough around the edges. She was also inexperienced with it. And yet, as a strike unleashed by Eve, there was almost no sense of incongruity.
Eve’s very own [Heavy Slash].
“…This is amazing. To think a Combat Art actually activates just by recreating the movement… it’s amazing.”
Eve, the person in question, was surprised as well, but I was feeling a level of shock far beyond that.
(What the hell… is that…)
I had explained the theory of recreating a Combat Art, but actually being able to do it is a completely different story.
Even I had spent a considerable amount of time before I was able to recreate it. Yet, Eve managed to recreate it on her very first try. An overwhelming talent that I could never hope to reach.
(Incredible… what the heck is with her, she’s incredible…)
From the very bottom of my chest, something hot began to overflow.
(If I keep teaching her, what heights will she reach? She’ll definitely surpass someone like me with ease… Eve is, without a doubt, a genius.)
Remembering when I saw the way she used her body back at the guild and only thought she was “excellent,” I felt the urge to punch my past self. Eve was the ‘best of the bunch’ in the guild? Don’t be an idiot.
There’s no way an exceptional talent greater than her exists in that guild.
“Ha… Haha…”
A laugh inadvertently spilled from my lips. In my heart, there was nothing but pure jubilation.
“Not bad at all. Recreating a Combat Art is difficult, but you mastered it in a single shot. However… it’s still a bit rough around the edges.”
“…Th-thank you so much! I-it’s true… I’m still not used to it… yet.”
Suppressing my welling joy, I made an effort to speak calmly.
Meanwhile, Eve kept gripping the hilt of her wooden sword over and over, perhaps happy that she had managed to recreate the Combat Art.
“You’ll need to use it several times. You are currently standing at the starting line. By recreating it over and over from here, you’ll sublimate it into a Combat Art that suits you even better. Not just [Heavy Slash], but other Combat Arts as well. The total number is quite large. It will take time, and the effort required won’t be something to sneeze at either.”
“But I understand. This is something that… if I do it, I’ll definitely become stronger… I’ll do it.”
I saw the fire of determination light up in the yellow-green eyes of Eve, who had seemed timid and lacking in confidence up until now.
Intensely feeling her motivation, I took out a single orb from my breast pocket and showed it to Eve.
“I don’t intend to make you do this all alone. This thing here is called a Recording Crystal. It can record scenes for a short amount of time. I’ll record your Combat Art recreations with this.”
“…?”
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Eve had been showing an expression completely brimming with motivation, but perhaps not quite understanding what I was saying, she was now just staring intently at the Recording Crystal with a complicated look on her face.
“I’ll use this to review your movements. Based on that, I’ll think about and research things like what angle and how much force you should strike with. Of course, I plan to share the results with you, too.”
“…Sensei, you would do such a thing for me?”
“Is it a bother?”
“N-no, I’m incredibly grateful. Thank you very much!”
“Alright, then just do as much as you can. Try recreating the Combat Arts you currently know. I’ll keep the Recording Crystal running… That’ll be all for today.”
“Yes, I understand!”
Eve nodded and put strength into the fist gripping her straight sword.
The gaze she directed at me was much stronger than when I had first brought her to this classroom.
That night, in the private room of the living quarters Ittetsu-san had built for me, I stared intently at the Recording Crystal. Playing within it was the scene of Eve using her [Heavy Slash] Combat Art.
“…The more I look at her, the more I realize she’s worth the effort.”
I muttered without thinking. She’s motivated, and above all, talented. Her conversational skills, her naivety in never doubting people, and her lack of self-confidence still leave some room for improvement, but even taking all that into account, she’s so rewarding to teach that I’d still get change back.
In the end, after that, Eve was able to reproduce almost all of the combat arts she had learned. Even though most were rough and imperfect reproductions, it was still a more than satisfactory result.
No, it goes beyond satisfactory; you could say it was an outcome I never even anticipated. If she continues to grow like this without hitting the kind of wall I did in the past, what will become of her?
“She’ll undoubtedly become a top-notch adventurer. …No, it’s still too early to jump to conclusions.”
Thinking that far, I suddenly remembered my original goal.
That’s right, I need Eve to get stronger. So she can make it big as an adventurer and bring me money.
“…Seeing that so-called overwhelming talent, did I get a little too engrossed?”
I got too fired up and seemed to have completely forgotten the very reason I built this classroom until just now.
“Besides, there are still a few things I’m concerned about.”
The first thing that comes to mind is the discrepancy between Eve’s actual ability and how those around her evaluate her. Just from crossing swords for a day, Eve was fighting well enough to pass for a 6th-rank adventurer.
Despite that, the guild evaluated her as “useless” and “dead weight.”
Judging from Satoria’s reaction, that assessment likely wasn’t just from that arrogant guy, but the guild as a whole. It’s so far off that it feels more fitting to assume they were evaluating a completely different person.
“…Should I check on how she does in a party sometime soon?”
That would be the quickest way, but the current Eve is too inexperienced to party up with me.
For now, I’ll continue instructing her in combat arts, and maybe check after a little more time has passed, I planned.
“Well then, shall we resume?”
There are still plenty of things I can do to make Eve stronger, aside from just classes.
Looks like it’s going to be a late night today, I thought, rolling my shoulders to pump myself up.
Scattered around me were numerous sheets of paper, completely filled with notes on Eve’s habits and proposals for improvement, which I had been writing continuously, losing track of time in my deep concentration.
Waking up early in the morning, I checked the monster wards inside the house and then went out to patrol around the classroom.
Probing for presences, I walked around checking the monster wards placed on the land I’d purchased.
Taking my time and checking them carefully and thoroughly, I felt a temporary sense of relief finding no abnormalities in any of them.
But this alone still isn’t enough. If the monsters multiply, they will eventually ignore the wards and come to ravage my land without fail. That’s exactly why I have to thin them out.
If I step off my purchased land and run for a bit, I immediately encounter monsters. I strike them down with my katana, defeating them. I collect the dropped magic stones, and move on to the next.
I spent the entire morning hunting down all the monsters in this area. Even though their numbers will mostly return to normal by tomorrow, it’s still an important task to keep my land and buildings from being ruined.
Even though the area is wide, the strength of the monsters that appear is nothing major. Therefore, by the time the sun was fully up around noon, today’s monster hunt was mostly finished.
Finally, I struck down a wolf-like monster, an [Ash Wolf], and while collecting its magic stone, I thought about the future of my classes with the pure-white-haired girl.
“…It might not be a bad idea to let Eve experience monster hunting eventually.”
The biggest part of an adventurer’s job is subjugating monsters. Rather, defeating the ever-multiplying monsters is an adventurer’s role and mission. I think she has experience subjugating them in a party, but she should probably build up some solo experience as well.
Lightly tossing the magic stone I just collected in my hand playfully, I felt even a slight thrill of excitement at the possibility of Eve’s growth, and headed home in a great mood.
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