Elysion Online ~The Dragonewt and The Summoner~

After Lily and Ion finished their training, one child was fidgeting. It was Koihi.

"E, Emm...I want to fight with my Takuto-oniichan, too..."

"That's fine. I've got a wooden sword, so why don't you try using the glass sword?"

I took out the wooden sword and handed the glass sword to Koihi. Koihi took the glass sword and felt it. When I see it, I'm convinced. I knew this girl was strong. She seems to have a pure kendo fighting style. It's been a long time since I felt this way. I'm going to enjoy this.

Duel

Opponents: Takuto, Koihi

Victory condition: Incapable of fighting, time up

Referee: Ion

As I did with Lily, I asked Ion to be the referee. Ion is safe.

I pulled out my wooden sword and was ready to fight.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah"

"Yes!"

"Then start!"

At Ion's signal, we raise our swords at the same time. We both take the middle stance. From there, the distance is gradually reduced while feinting each other with the movements of the legs, body, swords and eyes.

Then, at close range. Finally, the sword fight between me and Koihi begins.

"Yaa!"

Koihi was the first to make a move. She unleashes a sharp thrust. I parry it, duck into the pocket and sidestep the wooden sword.

"Haa!"

In response to my attack, Koihi falls behind and dodges the attack. She then swung her glass sword down from the upper level. I spun and dodged it, then used the spin to sidestep further. Koihi guards it with her glass sword. We get into a fierce battle and we both close the distance.

Oh man...this is fun. Pure kendo, after all. Both offense and defense are excellent. And more than anything, she has the image of an attacker in my mind. What do you do if you are attacked with a thrust and are in the pocket? Move back and dodge the attack. She has a clear image of attacking further.

Now then, let's see how good she is, shall we?

Once again, the distance closes and a real sword fight begins. We both dodge each other's sword fights, sometimes catching, sometimes letting go and sometimes attacking. It was a beautiful exchange of sword fights that came from pure kendo.

But this is no way to train. It's been a fun time, but it's time to end it.

I forcibly flicked Koihi's sword and forcibly jumped into her pocket.

"!!?"

Koihi couldn't cope with my sudden change of style. You can't stay in the pocket and swing your sword, but an unpowered sword can be fatal. I flipped the sword and jumped into her pocket. It's Koihi that goes down to the back somehow, but it makes a decisive difference between those who thrust in front and those who fall behind. I succeeded in forcibly driving Koihi to the corner of the field.

But now I'm going to distance myself. If I continue to attack here, I will win, but this is a training exercise. There's no point in continuing to attack here.

Perhaps sensing my intentions, Koihi adjusted her breathing and slowly took a stance. It was a unique stance where she hid the sword inside her body. It is an ancient martial art that is different from kendo, but was born from the same sword. Its name is Iai or the art of sword drawing as it is also called.

In contrast to Koihi's sword-drawing stance, I also take a sword-drawing stance. I wanted to see who was better. Koihi was surprised by my stance, but soon I saw the fighting spirit in her eyes. I'm sure we share the same feelings. I had to decide which of us had the better art of sword drawing. That was all that mattered.

With both of us in the sword drawing stance, we closed the distance. Then, when we were in a deadly stance, we stepped into each other's stance and unleashed our most powerful sword drawing.

A moment later, the dueling field is enveloped in silence.

Then we exchange words.

"...That's it"

"...Yes"

The match was uneventful. The moment our sword-drawing techniques hit, the wooden sword broke. There was no way to determine the winner.

"Ion. Let's call this duel a draw"

"Eh!? Is that okay? Because Takuto-san was pushing me once"

"Yes. But my wooden sword is in this state. That's why I want this match to be a draw. My pride won't allow me to take the win in this one"

In the first place, it's wrong to give a win or a loss in training, but if you have to give a win or a loss, this match will be a draw. In accordance with my will, Ion announced the winner.

"This duel is a draw!"

And the duel training is over. That's where Koihi levels up. In addition, my one-handed sword skill also leveled up.

『One-handed sword has reached level 5. You have acquired the martial art 【Heavy Slash】』

『Koihi´s Katana has reached level 5. She has acquired the martial art 【Return Flash】』

Oops. I've learned Lily's favorite technique. Koihi's level has gone up too much. Do I have that much experience? And Koihi´s return flash is probably a return technique.

A return move is one of the techniques used in kendo. It is a technique of returning an attack to an opponent's attack. In other words, it is a counter technique. I use it as a normal technique, but if I could use it in a martial art, it would be very different.

Thinking about that, I called out to Koihi.

"Good work. It was a good match"

"Yes! But I didn't know there was such swordsmanship"

What Koihi is referring to is my forceful swordsmanship. I have to be careful about this.

"Isn't Koihi forced to imitate? Because there are people who imitate poorly and lose sight of their own sword"

This is a common story in the sports world. If you have established your own style and then try a new style to go further, you will lose sight of your own style and your strength will collapse.

This is often compared to a baggage handler. It is said that there is a certain amount of experience that a person can carry on their own. But by training yourself, you can increase the amount of baggage you can carry. On the other hand, if you can't bear too much baggage, you will be crushed.

In Koihi´s case, the part of training herself made her level up. She's still at level 6, so the amount of baggage she can carry is still limited. So I tell her what I want.

"Koihi is smart and has good instincts for combat. You should be able to fight my forceful swordsmanship with your own style"

"Yes! I'll do my best!"

Koihi replied cheerfully. Yes, Yes! She's honest and quick to take it in. I'm going to lose to this girl someday. At this moment, I was sure of it.

Name Takuto, Intermediate Summoner Lv3

Vitality 37

Magic Power 74

Strength 27

Defense 18

Agility 24

Dexterity 53

Skills

Fighting Lv1

Kicking Lv12

Staff Lv15

One-handed Sword Lv1→Lv6

Throwing Lv1

Summoning Magic Lv19

Alchemy Lv9

Mining Lv12

Logging Lv10

Dismantling Lv14

Appraisal Lv9

Identification Lv15

Wind Magic Lv19

Fire Magic Lv19

Earth Magic Lv18

Water Magic Lv19

Dark Magic Lv18

Light Magic Lv22

Lightning Magic Lv15

Explosion Magic Lv15

Wood Magic Lv15

Ice Magic Lv15

Space-time Magic Lv13

Reading Lv5

Cooking Lv18→Lv19

Feeding Lv5

Fishing Lv5

Synchronization Lv2

Name Lily Dragonewt Lv21

Vitality 36

Magic Power 26

Strength 67

Defense 25

Agility 20

Dexterity 16

Skills

Bare-handed Lv6

One-handed Sword Lv17

Large Sword Lv2→Lv4

Fighting Spirit Lv6

Pseudo-Dragonification Lv1

Name Ion Dragonewt Lv20

Vitality 35

Magic Power 45

Strength 30

Defense 20

Agility 65

Dexterity 55

Skills

Dual Wield Lv16→Lv17

Throwing Lv1

Underwater Action Lv5

Water Blade Lv9

Pseudo Dragonification Lv2

Name Koihi Cerian Beast Lv1→Lv6

Vitality 15→25

Magic Power 12→20

Strength 15→20

Defense 8→10

Agility 15→23

Dexterity 10→15

Skills

Katana Lv1→Lv5

Flame Magic Lv1

Fox Fire Lv1

Sign Detection Lv1→Lv5