novelraw Chapter 53 : Chapter 53
Chapter 53 : Chapter 53
Chapter 53
Sigrin and Angel headed to the academy’s private training grounds during class.
[Angel Wizaal]
Entering the room with Angel’s nameplate, I saw a spacious training area.
Boom!
Angel brought out all the weapons from his personal storage and dumped them on the floor.
Daggers, axes, guns, bows, longswords, and more.
“The most important thing in combat is choosing a weapon you feel attached to.”
“Oh…”
“Is there a weapon here that draws you? One you’ve used before, maybe?”
A weapon that draws me.
I recklessly picked up a massive axe.
But I put too much force into lifting it, and I started wobbling under its weight.
“Uh…? Sigrin! Keep your balance!”
“Eek, Instructor! I’m going to fall!”
“Why did you even pick that up?! Don’t come closer!”
Angel hurriedly moved behind me and carefully took the axe.
“Thank… you. I got carried away and embarrassed myself.”
“It’s fine. It’s my fault for bringing every weapon just in case.”
“…I’m really sorry. I almost hurt you.”
“It’s fine if you accidentally cut something off.”
“Don’t say such horrible things.”
“I meant don’t worry about it.”
“Yes.”
“Alright.”
Amid formalities, pretenses, and a bit of sincerity, Angel separated the heavier weapons from the pile.
“Don’t you have any weapons you’ve used before?”
Guns, daggers, boomerangs, throwing stars, needles.
Only lightweight weapons remained.
I’ve used guns quite a bit.
I picked up a pistol.
If you could handle the recoil, guns had the highest attack power among weapons no-cores could use.
I’d used a gun during the Cardia Beginner Raid, though not for combat.
“Is the gun comfortable?”
“I really want to use swords, but I’m not agile enough.”
“I see.”
Angel set up a stand and attached a target sheet.
“You learned how to wrap processed power around objects in class, right? The ‘Palm Ether Manipulation’ unit, I believe.”
He beckoned to me, and I handed him the gun.
“Yes, I learned it from Professor Spitu.”
“All core users start with Ether manipulation. Without wrapping power around a weapon, it’s just a piece of scrap metal.”
Angel gathered magic in his hand and wrapped it around the gun. The magic flowed into the firearm, enveloping the bullet.
Bang!
The bullet, imbued with water magic, created a whirlpool around it.
It didn’t hit the target precisely, missing by a wide margin, but the power was impressive. That was enough.
“…You left the target empty for me.”
“My aim’s just terrible, but you’re optimistic.”
Angel chuckled and handed me the pistol, still warm from the shot.
“Now you try. I’m curious if Chemforce can wrap around the bullet.”
Nodding, I swallowed hard.
I loaded the bullet familiarly, lowered the safety pin Angel had raised, and wrapped Chemforce around the gun.
Taking a stance, I closed one eye, aimed at the target, and carefully pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The target was quite far, but surprisingly, the bullet hit the paper.
Not dead center, but for someone unaccustomed to combat, it was a high hit rate. If I’d managed the recoil better, I might’ve hit closer to the center.
However…
“The bullet wasn’t wrapped in Chemforce.”
“So it seems.”
Angel nodded, closely inspecting the pierced paper.
“Chemforce moves through the light reflected by objects, so it doesn’t seem to reach the bullet inside the gun.”
“Then… how do I wrap Chemforce around the bullet?”
“…”
“…”
Angel opened his mouth, looking slightly troubled.
“If you focus your gaze and wrap Chemforce around the bullet the moment it’s fired…”
“Am I a superhero?”
“…”
“…”
Angel and I fell into deep thought.
“Instructor, should I just switch weapons?”
“Why?”
“Wrapping Chemforce around a bullet seems impossible.”
“Impossible, you say?”
“Yes.”
Angel’s brow twitched.
“Sigrin, don’t give up so easily. It looks like you’re suited for this.”
“But there’s no need to take the hard path…”
“Don’t draw lines prematurely.”
Impossible.
That one word flipped Angel’s interest switch.
He’d been negligent about developing my combat skills, but now his heart raced.
“…Today’s goal was gathering information anyway. I’ll look into a method.”
“…”
I looked at Angel, who told me not to give up easily and offered to help.
Honestly, I already owned many guns and knew their types and uses well.
Using a gun was the most practical for me.
[“Cheer up. If you decided to see this through, you should go all the way.”]
I suddenly recalled the words I’d said to Apple, along with her efforts training Ki at dawn and building stamina.
“Alright, if you tell me the method, I’ll do my best.”
✦ ✦ ✦
I was assigned homework to practice wrapping Chemforce around flying projectiles.
Wrapping Chemforce around a slowly thrown tennis ball.
Considering it took 3–5 seconds to wrap Chemforce around a stationary object, it felt impossible.
Still, I practiced diligently.
As I observed more, the ball’s movements, which were hard to catch, started coming into view.
Feeling the possibility, I increased my practice, and I succeeded in wrapping Chemforce around the tennis ball while it was still in the air.
After one success, the number of successes grew.
Once wrapping Chemforce around a tennis ball became easy, I switched tools.
I used a slingshot, then a basketball.
Whoosh.
I tried wrapping Chemforce around a small stone thrown into the air.
This training definitely sped up my Chemforce wrapping.
“Sigrin~~!”
Kiriki, a fellow alchemy class student, ran up and clung to my side.
“Here, I organized the info you asked me to share last time!”
Smiling brightly, Kiriki handed me a stack of documents.
“You’ve finally made up your mind! Yeah, those who mess with your crew deserve punishment.”
Kiriki grabbed my arm, fawning over me as a reliable junior.
The Waker-Bon Family had poked a hornet’s nest called the Ebenkera Family.
How fearless.
Of course, they probably did it because they didn’t know about me!
That’s what Kiriki thought as he looked at me.
As expected of a top-tier mafia, I looked menacing holding a stone in broad daylight.
“Summarize it for me.”
Kiriki nodded vigorously.
“The Waker-Bon Family’s headquarters is northwest of Haret Village, near the road south of Lemaos—a large mansion. I confirmed cargo trucks from their business partners coming and going there.”
“What about their key members?”
“There are 39 in total. Five executives, fifteen squad leaders, and the rest are regular members. By the way, the people you met last time were regular members with one squad leader.”
I got nervous thinking of them as mafia, but they’re a small fry group.
“The executives and squad leaders all have two circles around their cores, while the rest just have cores. Mostly Dantian Core users. I mean, even if they had Brain Cores, would those brutes have the willpower to study Magic Arrays?”
Kiriki sneered, recalling them. His bruises still ached.
“Tell me briefly about their main business partners.”
“Haret Village’s ‘Strongest Sword’ forge, ‘Moonlight Bar,’ and what seems to be a privately run ‘Haret Farm.’”
“A farm?”
“Yeah. Oh, and originally, Waker-Bon was the only mafia in this area, but recently they’ve been meeting often with a mafia group called ‘Milpain.’ I don’t know what they’re trading.”
“Milpain Family?”
I frowned at the vaguely familiar name.
I’d have to look into it later.
“Good. What about their magic artifacts or tools?”
“No idea…! Haha, but you’re an Ebenkera. This much info should be enough to crush them, right?”
“…”
“My expectations are huge~! I haven’t forgotten my promise with our angel!”
“…”
“Here’s the map! It includes the businesses and partners Waker-Bon controls. Everything I mentioned is in here.”
Kiriki tapped the stack of documents I held.
“I’ll use it well.”
Seeing his desperate effort, I felt a bit sorry for him.
I should train harder. It’ll help somewhere.
I tossed and caught the Chemforce-wrapped stone, sighing deeply.
This was all part of learning, but I wished someone would convert my struggles and efforts into grades.
I had a fleeting, pointless thought.