Chapter 62: You Three are the Worst Students I've Ever Taught
Once the three of them had secured their weighted vests and gripped their wooden swords, Natsuya finished his warm-up.
"Let's begin."
He cracked his bandaged knuckles and picked up a wooden sword, his voice flat and devoid of emotion.
"First, I'll test your foundations. Attack me. Don't hold back."
The trio had all seen Natsuya in a real fight. They knew better than to think he was any less dangerous just because he wasn't wielding a live Nichirin blade.
Only Kojiro hesitated. "Are... are we all going at once?"
It's three against one, after all.
"If you want to 1v1 me, feel free," Natsuya replied. "Brave move for a Kanoe."
Kojiro shrunk back into formation, positioning himself between Dojima and Seiko.
The three exchanged a look. Dojima let out a low roar and lunged first.
[Total Concentration!]
[Flame Breathing, Second Form: Rising Scorching Sun!]
The momentum of Flame Breathing exploded as the wooden sword, trailing a wave of heat, became a crimson arc aimed at Natsuya.
[Total Concentration!]
[Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance!]
Seiko followed suit, her expression tight with a trace of lingering annoyance. Her silhouette blurred into a misty trail as she closed in from the flank.
Seeing both comrades engage, Kojiro had no choice but to trigger his Breathing and swing.
"Water Surface Slash!"
Natsuya didn't meet them with a counter-charge. Instead, he stared at the three incoming attacks, his brain rapidly calculating their Logic and Kinetic Frames.
The [Insight] skill icon glowed faintly in his HUD.
Although he hadn't fully mastered the Storm Hashira's Sen-no-Sen, his months of grinding hadn't been in vain. A "Circle" of awareness and cognition expanded silently around him. It was a pure counter-instinct honed through thousands of hours of gaming.
The moment Dojima's blade crossed the boundary of that Circle—
Natsuya moved.
His speed wasn't significantly higher than Dojima's, but it was as if he had read the "Input Buffer" of the attack.
Sidestep. Drop the shoulder. Step back.
Then, he placed a rock-hard fist directly in the path of the wooden sword's hilt.
The roaring flames of the strike jerked to a halt. The sword was jammed at the source of its leverage.
Whether it's a slash or a blunt strike, it's all just an application of power and velocity. Natsuya didn't need to clash with that power head-on. He just needed to stick a "metaphorical foot" out to trip the attack as it reached its peak.
This is the essence of [Tech].
For Dojima, it was a nightmare. He had committed 100% of his power to the swing, only to have it hard-stopped halfway. The jarring impact nearly blew out his Breathing rhythm.
But his experience kicked in. The moment the slash was broken, he let go of the sword and transitioned into a heavy side-kick.
At the same time, Seiko's strike arrived from the other side.
"Water Breathing..."
Natsuya's breathing rhythm shifted instantly. With it, the wooden sword in his other hand moved like a conductor's baton.
Flick.
One palm pressed against Dojima's ankle, while his sword slapped the flat of Seiko's blade.
He forcibly hijacked their Momentum.
The synchronized pincer attack was derailed. Dojima's side-kick slammed into Seiko, while Seiko's downward slash whacked Dojima's shoulder.
Combat isn't just about [Tech], Natsuya thought. You need enough [Power] and [Awareness] to act as the 'lever' for the world.
Dojima and Seiko went spinning away in a tangle of limbs.
This left Kojiro, who was mid-swing, looking like a deer in headlights—unsure whether to follow through or retreat.
Natsuya shifted gears again.
[Thunder Breathing!]
A faint white mist escaped his lips. Natsuya looked at the wide-open Kojiro, who had walked right into his "Parry Window."
He raised his wooden sword.
"Have you ever been hit at the speed of light?"
The moment the words fell, Natsuya became a bolt of static.
"Thunderclap and Flash!"
Even with a wooden sword, the massive stat gap made Kojiro feel like a mountain was collapsing toward him. He felt the cold touch of the Reaper for a split second.
The wooden blade whistled past his ear, the wind of the strike whipping his hair into a frenzy.
Did... did he miss on purpose?
No. It was a mix-up.
The next second, Kojiro felt a sharp pain in his shin.
[Storm Breathing!]
Like an unstoppable gale sweeping the low ground, Natsuya's leg sweep sent Kojiro into a vertical spin before he hit the dirt.
Natsuya looked down at the floored Kojiro. Wait... did I hit that kid a little too hard?
Nearby, Dojima and Seiko scrambled to their feet. Stung by their initial failure, they didn't rush in this time. They stood their ground, swords raised in a cautious defensive guard.
Senior Kokonoe / Lord Successor / Natsuya-kun... is a monster, the three "students" thought in unison.
Seeing their morale dip, Natsuya tilted his chin up. His voice dripped with undisguised disappointment.
"I expected more resolve from you."
"Slaying demons? Revenge? Protecting others? Those are loud slogans."
"But if you don't even have the courage to swing at me, then your grit and capacity are nothing but talk."
He walked forward slowly, scanning their tense faces one by one. Suddenly, Natsuya bared his teeth in a wicked, almost villainous grin.
"If this is all you've got... then you three are the worst students I've ever taught!"
I've never actually been a teacher, but I've seen enough anime to know the script.
Natsuya felt a surge of satisfaction. After training with Giyu and Sabito, it had been a while since he could "smurf" on some rookies like this.
This feels great!
For the three Slayers, Natsuya's words would have been standard "tough love" encouragement in the modern era. But to warriors of this age, who had staked their lives on the path of the blade, his words were a crushing blow to their pride.
Shame flooded their hearts.
Seiko asked herself if she truly was that weak. Dojima wondered if he had lost his "edge" as a challenger. Even Kojiro felt the ghost of his initial passion for the Corps stir under the weight of the insult.
"I'm sorry, Senior!"
"Lord Tsuguko, I was negligent!"
"Next time... I won't back down!"
Natsuya nodded. The taunt worked better than I expected. Global Taunt: Effectiveness 100%.
"Again."
Natsuya beckoned with his right hand.
Rejuvenated by rage and shame, the three triggered their Breathing once more and charged. The air in the courtyard was filled with the non-stop clack-clack of wood and the heavy thud of punches.
The "Thai God of War" Gaolang Wongsawat once said: "There is a high wall between the unarmed and the armed."
Human flesh cannot normally compete with forged steel. Even a master martial artist risks death against a thug with a knife. If both sides are trained, the weapon user has a near-insurmountable advantage.
...But that's for 'Realist' games, Natsuya thought.
When a fight shifts into the "Super-Power/System" genre, as long as the stat gap is wide enough, it doesn't matter if they have wooden swords or real Nichirin blades. They were fighting a raid boss.
Thirty minutes later.
Even the strongest, Dojima, could barely hold his wooden sword. Seiko and Kojiro were sprawled on the grass, looking like they'd been through a meat grinder. They were physically incapable of continuing.
Seiko, with a fresh bruise darkening her left eye, glared up at Natsuya with a look of pure "Affinity Loss."
Natsuya didn't notice. It's training. Hitboxes don't have genders. Girl? Old man? If you're in the yard, you're a target.
He checked his UI. His [Mentorship] and [Insight] skills had ticked up significantly. Proficiency in all five of his Breathing Styles had increased as well. Even the Flame Breathing progress bar—which he hadn't officially started—had moved a sliver just by sparring with Dojima.
Aside from the half-dozen [Incomplete], [Average], and [Degraded] prototype styles cluttering his menu, everything was looking green.
Natsuya flashed a satisfied smile.
In the eyes of the three battered Slayers, that smile confirmed his image as a "Demon Instructor."
Natsuya turned to Dojima. "Since they're out of commission, let's do some 1-on-1s, Dojima."
This guy gives more XP than Seiko or Giyu. And I can pump my Flame progress through him. Time to maximize the efficiency.
Dojima: "..."
Is it too late for me to faint?
He wiped the sweat from his eyes, watching Natsuya approach. For a split second, he felt like he was a child again, facing his sternest, most terrifying ancestor.
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