Magic and Sword Lessons: The Hard Way
Story written by: Maurice A. Nigma
Characters and References of "The Slayers" by: Tsuguhiko Kadokawa
Characters and References of "Sonic the Hedgehog" by: Yuji Naka of SEGA
Within the world where the God Ciephied and the Dark Lord Shabranigdo, a group of travelers were nestled around a camp fire in the middle of the forest at a starry night having a peaceful dinner. Of course, the way that the people within the group acted is anything but normal. "Gourry! Get your hands off that drumstick! I saw it first!" was what the short red-head Lina Inverse said to her swordsman companion Gourry Gabriev just as they began to fight over a piece of meat that was apart of the normally huge, to their standards, meal.
"No fair, Lina! I was saving that piece for last!" was what the blond male swordsman responded to his female companion just as he tried his best to tugged the piece of meat away from the small sorceress. "Besides, didn't you just ate that large piece of chicken that you've managed to eat in one bite?!"
Sighing with both exhaustion and annoyance, three out of their four companions just ignored the scene as if it were only a normal occurrence rather than anything big. One of them, Sylphiel Nels Lahda, was busy going over the fire cooking another portion of the rest of her companions' meal. In the case of Lina and Gourry, it took her a long hour just to get their portion of their own enormous meal prepared right before serving the rest of her companions. The young woman didn't mind though, for one of her greatest hobbies that always manages to bring her great joy. She giggled a bit for when she heard a young but familiar voice saying with a rather amazed and frightened tone within his voice.
"Man, I still can't believe that of all the things that I happened to see within this world so far, this is perhaps the weirdest," he said quietly to two people just as he witnessed one of the greatest experiences that he had since coming within this world. "I can only image what they both would be like for when they're really hungry. The thought of it just scares me enough to give me nightmares."
"Just be thankful that it is just those together eating," replied a young but older man with a rather mutual sounding tone. "If Amelia were to join the two them, they could probably clean out an entire town's worth of food in just about a half hour when they're really hungry."
"Hey, I'm not that bad, Mr. Zelgadis," responded a young and energetic female that sounded both annoyed and shocked at what her companion just said about her. "Sure, I could be as hungry as both Miss Lina and Mr. Gourry for when we're starving, but we wouldn't go that far!"
"Somehow, hearing you say those words hasn't managed to calm my nerves about those two's wild appetite one bit, Amelia," responded the new comer to the group with a rather skeptical tone.
Zelgadis Greywords, a human chimera, only let out a rare smile crawled through all across his pebbled and bluish face. Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun pouted at the comment that their visitor gave to her right before the two of them barely managed to dodge a huge bone throw by Lina after hearing the comment. Their new friend, Miguel A. Arias, is someone that everyone hadn't expected to see. The young man actually arrived in this realm along with four beast-like and intelligent creatures who come from a completely different world. These visitors actually are more than what they appear to be for when the group, with the exception of Sylphiel, saw what they are capable of against a Monster that was infused with the power of a gem that made it as powerful as a Dark Lord. But what caught their attention the most is the fact that Miguel himself was able to transform into an entirely different being that possesses near god-like abilities that was able to defeat the creature in one attack. This new information took a little time for the group to absorb for when all they could see is just normal looking male teenager who came from another dimension.
Back on the subject at hand, when looking towards the young man's direction, Sylphiel could see that he still getting used to the articles of clothing that was given to him. What he's wearing is a different colored version of Gourry's usual swordsman outfit but with a sort of silver coating going over the huge but decent sized shoulder guards of the gray under shirt he wore. He also wore flexible and hard boots that allow for easier maneuvering. Not only that, but he also wore black fingerless gloves that allowed him to get a better grip on whatever weapon that he could get his hands on. The last thing that completed the look is the regular looking broad sword that has been attached to his hip that didn't look too pleasing to use in battle, no doubt one of the choices that Lina herself has picked.
However, the look that the shrine maiden saw on the young man's face tells her that he's still feeling a bit uncomfortable for when it comes to adjusting to his new attire. It was something that was necessary in order to help him adjust to the world that he's in now as well as keep his entry into the world a secret. Most of the people within Seyruun had witnessed the battle that had occurred within the city of white magic and wanted to get the attention of the heroes that managed to defeat the monster that became mad enough to destroy the entire world. Since that day, some people tried to get a close look at the creatures that have the intelligences of humans as well as the young man that transformed into a powerful green haired being in front of their very eyes. Fortunately, they haven't gotten a very good look at the saviors from another world so it wasn't too difficult to hide Miguel's identity as well as hide the Mobians. But that still didn't make Miguel's adaptations to the world easier.
"Man, I still can't see why I have to wear this heavy suit," was what the young man grumbled out loud for when everyone, including both Lina and Gourry, turned towards his direction seeing him struggling to get himself off the ground in order to stand on his two feet with the weight of the armor now literally baring down on his shoulders. "I know that I'm now strong enough to take heavy weights thanks to all of those years of carrying around my books for class, but is all this really necessary? I mean, this suit really leaves nothing to the imagination."
"Well, get used to it, kid. As long as you're in this world, people might get a bit suspicious for when they see you in your regular clothing," was what the self proclaimed sorcery genius said to the outer worldly teen while at the same time munching on a piece of meat that she managed to swipe from Gourry right as gulped it down and continued with a bit harsher tone. "Not only that, but the way that you were able to emit that much power that you've used against that Monster Naturon Gaav is enough to get the attention of the entire Monster Race. So deal with it and wait for your supper like a good boy!"
"Sigh! Yes, ma'am," was what the young man responded to the red-haired sorceress right before he sank himself to back onto the ground and felt terror crawling all over his body. "Man, this sucks!"
"Join the club, kid," was what Zelgadis said to the young man while at the same time looking over some old papers that he reading over while at the same time noticing the scene. "My advice to you is to try not to get on that girl's bad side and what you've just received is Lina in one of her good moods."
"Hey! I'd watch that mouth of yours if I were you, Zel! Not unless you're asking to be sent skyrocketing to the moon! Ya got that?!" Lina responded to the blue stoned Chimera with a rather evil and menacing glare on her face just as she raised one of her curled up fists.
This action cause everyone, all but the blond swordsman who managed to swipe another piece of meat from the young girl's hand, to shiver and freeze in fear at her presence. When it comes to saying something about Lina Inverse either from behind her back or right to her face, someone is just asking to die right where they stand or sit. Of course, the tense moment soon passed for when Sylphiel suddenly came up to the group with a huge pile of food that looked as though it was enough to feed a small army. Everyone's faces went wide eyed for when they all saw the impossibly large portions of the meal that both the sorceress and swordsman received. Miguel was the first person to speak his mind.
"Uh, Sylphiel, I know that you're a great cook and all, but do you really think that making about a huge pile of food for those two is really necessary? It must've took you a long time to prepare a meal like that! Not to mention the fact that it must've been real heavy for you to carry!"
"Oh, I don't really mind doing, Miguel," was what the purple clad shrine maiden respond while at the same time managing to place the huge pile of food right near both Lina and Gourry with a bit difficulty. "Whew! I mean, it must've took both you and Mr. Zelgadis some effort in order to get that much meat for dinner."
"Oh, yeah, I'm sure that it was fair to the big scary monster that we've bagged a while back for when Miguel got to finish it off with only one attack," was what the blue skinned chimera said to his female companion while at the same time turning to face the young man with a rather stern but calm look on his face. "Given the fact that this guy seems to possesses abilities far beyond any Monster that we've ever faced, it was rather impressive. Not only that, but he was also able to learn and use the Ra-tilt in such a short time. What I would really like to know is how he was able to do it in such a short time."
At those words, Miguel began to chuckle with embarrassment and nervousness for when he heard those words come out of his mouth. Ever since his fight with the Monster named Naturon in Seyruun, he's been wondering from time to time on how in the world did he managed to learn such a powerful spell like the Ra-Tilt so quickly. This not only caught the young man off guard, but he was scared with the fact that he was able to learn other abilities from anyone nearby. Like when during his fight with Naturon in the skies above Seyruun that he was able to use Shadow the Hedgehog's own Chaos Spear attack. It would also explain on how he was able to use the Chaos Control the very first time just before he had his first fight with the Mobian sorcerer Ixis Naugus.
"Well, I've got to be honest with you, Zel. I'm not too sure about it myself," was what Miguel said to the blue stoned chimera with a rather nervous tone in his voice while at the same time trying not to stammer like some idiot. "You see, back when I've first fought the sorcerer, Ixis Naugus in another world, I was able to use Shadow's own Chaos Control ability without much effort. I think that for when Naturon attacked a while back, I must've gained control of not only Shadow's Chaos Spear attack but the Ra-Tilt as well. I'm still a bit confused about how I was able to learn that spell very quickly."
"Now, that is something that I find difficult to believe, Mr. Miguel," Amelia responded to the young man from another world while at the same time pointing her index finger towards his direction accusingly. "I mean, both Mr. Zelgadis and I took years in order to learn how to harness it properly when you only took like about ten minutes in order to use it."
"Uh, don't you know that it's impolite to point, Amelia," Miguel said to the young girl with a rather stern tone while at the same time causing the younger girl to back off with a blush on her cheeks just before he could continue. "Anyway, I was just lucky enough to learn that powerful spell as the Ra-Tilt like I did or otherwise we'd all be dead meat right now."
"Now wait a minute, kid!" was what the red-haired sorceress said to the teen while at the same time gulping down the rest of her food right before she continued, "I know that I've just met you and your little animal friends back then, but I do know for a fact that there no way that you would be able to learn Zel and Amelia's spell so easily and quickly in such a short time! No way in hell that that's possible!"
"I'm afraid that I have to agree with Lina on that one, kid," Zelgadis added to Lina's words just as he softened his face a bit so as to not frighten the brown haired young man anymore from his appearance than he already is just before he continued. "From the way that I saw you use the Ra-Tilt against Naturon back in Seyruun, it seemed a little unbalanced and unfocused. Almost as if you weren't really thinking properly."
"Yeah, now that I think about it, Mr. Zelgadis, Mr. Miguel's attack did seemed a little untamed," the princess of Seyruun said to the chimera with a rather thoughtful tone within her voice while at the same time turning to face Miguel's direction. "Mr. Miguel, I'm betting that it was the very first time that you've ever used a spell as powerful as the Ra-Tilt, have you?"
Just as the young man nodded his answer towards to princess, the topic was soon forgotten a second later for when Gourry, who still has his hands full with his dinner, asked with a rather confused tone, "Uh, just what are you guys talking about? I wasn't really listening."
The words of the blond swordsman caused everyone but Sylphiel to collapse to the ground as if he just said the most unbelievable thing in the world. Lina, who managed to recover from the shock much quicker than the others, gave Gourry a good pounding on the head with her fist just as she shouted out, "Gourry, you, Jellyfish Brains!! Don't you ever pay attention to anything important that anyone talks to you about!? I can't believe that you were able to learn how you were able to learn speak let alone use a sword!! You idiot!!"
When everyone who fell managed to pick themselves up from the ground, they all sweat dropped at the sight in front of them just the red-haired girl continued her onslaught against the blonde's poor head. Just as Sylphiel arrived at the scene with a normal sized plate, she her eyes soon focused on the sight of the petite female beating the large swordsman's skull senseless with her fist. The dark-haired shrine maiden gave a blank look at the sight right before she said with a rather worried tone, "Miss Lina! Don't be so rough on Gourry! You're only hurting him!"
"Oh, don't worry, Sylphiel. It takes more than what I'm doing to harm this lunk head! See?" was what Lina responded to her older female friend while at the same time holding the swordsman in a head lock.
"L...Lina! Ca...Can't breathe!" was what the blond swordsman said through Lina's death hold while at the same time appearing to be turning blue just before the sorceress released her hold on him.
"Ahem! Now, back to the topic at hand," was what Zelgadis said with a cough in his voice right before he turned his attention back towards Miguel and continued, "Miguel, it's pretty clear that you can use the Ra-Tilt, but you yet to master on how to focus it properly. That could cause some problems for when it comes to any wandering Monsters trying to find any strong human that they could find to join their ranks."
"What do you mean that, Zel?" the brown haired teen asked the chimera while at the same time still trying to adjust to the armor that he's now wearing right before he heard Zelgadis continue.
"What I mean Miguel is that for when you've just displayed that power of yours back in Seyruun a couple of weeks back, your Ra-Tilt looked untamed and unstable. Not only that, but now that most of the people within the city now knows of the existence of you and your friends, it would only be a matter of time before any information that is contained within the city would be leaked to outside forces. Specifically, the members of the Monster Race. If any of them have sensed any trace of that energy that you've emitted, it could only be a matter of time before we would be crawling with demons and trolls on our backs."
"You know, Zel does bring up an interesting point, kid," Lina added to her older companion's words right before she removed her death hold around Gourry's neck and pulled a thoughtful look on her face just before continuing. "But there's one thing that has me bothered and that's the fact that neither me, Zel, or Amelia were able to sense a trace of that so called great power coming from your body. I mean, a power that great wouldn't be too hard to sense without something like a talisman powerful enough to contain it. Care to explain to me on why that is, Miguel?"
As soon as he heard those words coming from the red haired sorceress, Miguel began to become a bit hesitant and thoughtful for when he thought of a good explanation to Lina's question. He also knew that speaking the wrong answer to Lina Inverse herself would mean a Fireball spell directed at his direction. Just as he was about to respond, the brown haired teen began to hear Zelgadis saying to the young sorceress with a rather stern and annoyed tone in his voice, "Lina, just give it up. It's pretty obvious that the kid has no idea about why that power of his can't be sensed by magical means. Not to mention the fact that he hasn't the slightest idea of why he has such power to begin with so there's no point in trying to question him any further."
"Whew! Thanks a lot, Zel," was what the young man said to the blue skinned chimera with a sigh of relief just as he stopped messing with the guards of his armor and gave a grateful smile to him. That soon lasted for about ten seconds for when Lina started to speak up again.
"That still doesn't mean that the guy could still become a threat to those around him, especially with Monsters like Naturon are involved. Not only that, but if he uses those powers of his as well as that sword that Sylphiel has mentioned to me a while ago, then there would be bound to be plenty of problems that would make the kingdoms in this world to become attracted to whatever caused that huge mess back in Seyruun. Believe me, that's the sort of trouble that Miguel wouldn't want on his mind."
"Uh, hey, Lina. I don't know if I remember this right, but weren't you the one that went nuts a while back for when that guy made fun of you back at that restaurant?" Gourry responded to his female companion with a rather thoughtful expression on his face just as he managed to recover from the red head's assault.
With those words out of the blond swordsman's mouth, everything went silent. The time that passed throughout the campsite was so still that the only thing that seemed to be moving was the evening winds passing by giving chills to anyone near their path. But none could be much more terrifying than the fit Lina Inverse had thrown her way. "Hey! I wasn't really myself at the time, Jellyfish Brains! Besides those creeps back at the restaurant asked for it!"
Everyone within the camp sweat dropped at the words that Lina gave to her male companion said. Everyone, including, Sylphiel who had just arrived holding a plate full of food for Miguel, also began to tremble with fear with what the red head said. Before anyone could have the chance to calm the angered sorceress down, Lina began to face her attention towards both Miguel and Sylphiel themselves just as shouted to them with a rather menacing tone of voice, "And you two! What were you thinking for when you both were arguing like a married couple that you had to slam your fists on my head?! Huh?! I'm waiting!"
At those words, both the shrine maiden and the outer worldly visitor began to shake nervously just as the two of them began to say in unison with blushes on their faces, "Hey, we're not a married couple, Lina! Why are you picking on us? It's not our fault, it was Nightmare Parasite!"
"Excuses! Excuses!" was what Lina said to the two just as she stomped her way towards the couple causing the two to back away a bit with terror. "The two of you were the ones that managed to sock it too me right in the forehead and send me flying straight into the wall! The kid I could understand for when it comes to being attacked, but Sylphiel's a different story. I mean, for as long as I've known the girl, she wouldn't dare try to hurt a fly."
When they both heard those words, the dark-haired shrine maiden began to flush a bit redder than her male companion just before Zelgadis spoke out with a bit of amusement hinted within his tone, "I have to admit that Sylphiel's has gotten a bit rough for when she fought those bandits a while right before Naturon attacked. The kid must've been a real influence on her for when she went on her solo-adventures with her."
Just before either Miguel or Sylphiel could have the chance to respond to the words that the sorceress and chimera have spoke about, Amelia began to say to everyone around the campsite while at the same time getting everyone's attention just as she got into a somewhat dramatic pose, "Well, I for one admire Ms. Sylphiel on how she was able to grow into a fine warrior. A warrior who fights for those who couldn't fight for themselves or when weaken! Now that is what I called a female who fights for justice!"
With those words, everyone in the campsite began to give the self-proclaimed Hero of Justice a blank and somewhat frightened look on each of their faces. Miguel is the first to give a piece of his mind about the scene. "Uh, I don't mean to disrespect you, Amelia, but I think that you're taking this rather too seriously. Not to mention that you sound a bit crazy for when you say that speech of yours. In any case, what are we going to do now? I mean, it's pretty obvious to me that allowing me to use my own powers and abilities on any upcoming monsters or bandits that might attack is now no longer an option for me to do since it might bring any unwanted attention to me. Isn't there any way for me to adjust being here without raising any suspicion from the locals other? Right now, I'm open to suggestions."
Right as he managed to lift himself off of the ground due the weight that his armor caused, Sylphiel began to say to Miguel with a rather cute giggle just as she held out a plate of food towards her companion, "Miguel, please have something to eat first. I'm sorry that it took so long to get ready but I had to get both Lina and Gourry's dinner ready before they got upset or die hungry."
"Well, I couldn't make an argument with you there, Sylphiel. Thanks for the meal, by the way. It smells really good that I can't wait to start eating," was what the young man said to his female friend while politely taking the plate away from her hands and began to eat just as a blush appeared on her face.
Just as he began to savor the taste of what the dark haired shrine maiden had prepared, Lina began to say to him to what appears to be the most horrifying words in his entire life, "Well, why not learn how to use magic from me?"
As soon as he heard those words, Miguel began to choke on the piece of meat that he had been carefully chewing on for the past few moments. When this happened, everyone, including Sylphiel, turned towards his direction and began to become both confused and shocked for what they've just heard and seen. It seems that the only one who was concerned with the brown haired teen's well being at the moment was the purple clad shrine maiden who was now patting her hand against his back in order for him to get his throat cleared of the food that made him choke.
"Miss Lina, are you actually serious about that?" Amelia responded to the red haired sorceress with a rather shocked and confused tone within her voice.
"Well, of course I'm serious about that, Amelia," was the response of Lina with a prideful tone within her voice just as turned towards the princess of Seyruun. "I mean, think about it. The guy was able to use the most powerful spell of all Shaman magic in way less time than what you and Zel had to take. Any other spell that I could teach the guy would be a piece of cake for me to shove in his head. Just imagine what kind of news that I would be able to get for when someone gets wind of this!"
When the young man was finally able to breathe again, he began to say to Lina with a rather flabbergasted tone, "You must be out of your mind if I would allow a little wacko like you to teach me any magic that you have in mind for my first lesson! Besides, learning anything from you would mean either my death or a trip to the hospital at best!"
As soon as Miguel said those words, the red haired sorceress began to fume with anger as she began to chat the words to a spell that would mean either setting the young man on fire or blow him up. Just before she could have the chance to launch any destructive spell that she had a mind, Gourry instinctively ran over to her and grabbed the small girl with all of his strength. This also caused Lina to yell at the swordsman while struggling to the free herself from his clutches, "Gourry, what the hell are you doing?! I'm just going to set his pants on fire! Let me go!"
With everyone giving blank looks at the scene, the blue skinned chimera was the first to respond right after he recovered just as he cleared his throat, "Ahem! Well, back on topic, Miguel does need to learn a few new spells in order to adjust properly to this world, but to learn how to focus his magic powers properly. From what I could tell by watching him perform the Ra-Tilt on Naturon back in Seyruun, he seems a bit too unfocused. I'm amazed that he was able to keep the spell under control as he had for when he fought that Monster. What that guy needs is some training if he were to learn how to use them properly."
"Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad idea to me, Zel," was what Miguel responded to the chimera's proposal with a rather enthusiastic tone right after finishing the first portion of food within his mouth and wiped off any unwanted meat right before he continued. "I mean, every time that I seem to get myself into hard situations, I seem to rely too much on the powers that the Chaos Emerald has given to me. Not only would learning a few spells would help me out a lot, but it would also keep the locals from giving me strange looks whenever I do something out of the ordinary."
"Sounds more like Lina for when she demands more food on her plate," was what they have heard a recovering Gourry responding to the young man's words while at the same time receiving a bruise on his face with her fist and a dirty look from Lina as his punishment for restraining him.
"Hey, it's not my fault that the guy wouldn't give me my dinner fast enough at the time, Jellyfish Brains!" was what the red haired magic user said to her knocked down guardian right before she managed to calm herself and begin to turn her attention towards Miguel's direction with a rather excited glint of light shining through her eyes. "Anyway, Miguel, it's not a bad idea for you start using magic for when you already know how to fire off the Ra-Tilt. The only thing that you do need to work on is the way you held your focus and I'm going to make sure that every last thought that's distracting you is out of that head of yours even if it means beating the stuffing out of you to do it. It also wouldn't be a bad idea for you to train to get a few sword lessons as well for Gourry would have that covered. So what I suggest is that you to finish up the rest of your meal and rest for starting tomorrow you're going to begin your magic and swords training under the guidance of the sorceress supreme Lina Inverse and her friends!"
"Aw, damn. This is going to be a very long and extremely painful session of training. I can just imagine it already," was what the brown haired teen thought to himself just as he continued to eat the rest of his meal throughout the rest of the evening with a rather frighten shudder going all around his spine like he thought about what tomorrow's tortures would bring to him when his training began.
A/N: Well, this is the first chapter of a story that would hopefully help put every one of my written works in order so that the readers wouldn't be confused with the storyline. Not only that, but most of my works seem to go from fun to serious sounding. I thought that something like this would help with getting some thoughts out of my mind. Not only that, but this story could either become completed or unchanged depending on how much comments that I receive for this story. Well, later!
Maurice A. Nigma