So, I was made aware that KoC has over 1,000 followers now! As this arc has been getting longer and longer, I thought that I'd do a summary chapter for the 26 days of training before the next arc...This is an experiment, so if it's received poorly I won't try this style again until I get better with timeskip stuff. I'll also have some clarification on something else at the bottom of the chapter.
Once Eleonore was awake and informed about the change in the training regimen, there were only 25 days remaining before Henrietta's coronation. Being a duchy family, the Vallieres would be attending the ceremony, which meant that until then, they would have to develop as much as they could under the woman's watchful eye.
Days went past as she focused on their individual skills as well as their teamwork, and while she built up their skills in battle, she had also set Eleonore into a position requiring her to coordinate with Margrave Couture on strategies for upcoming monthly plans, though David didn't really pay attention when that had been explained as it was something Eleonore was personally involved in, being a marchioness dealing with estate security. Not being a noble himself, and definitely not being involved with the Vallieres aside from Louise, it hadn't applied to him.
He wasn't aware what Yeshua was doing for much of the time, as the slave had been instructed to get involved in their training less than before and was often on his own duties, but when he did show up he was as optimistic as ever, helping to instruct the boy on Chevalier Style and going over the results of his daily training with Karin's elementless Clones and participating during the end of each week, when they went through another team match against the real deal.
Normally, elementless Clones were intangible and could only really exist as a decoy, but her excessive willpower made them solid, and while they couldn't even cast Chevalier Style magic, they still possessed the same combat skills she had, meaning that they were effective for fighting him directly while her real body was handling her normal duties.
Even without her magic, she was a proficient melee fighter, easily matching his Gandalfr-boosted fighting style and overcoming his slowly developing spells with her sheer experience, even without wielding a weapon herself, though she was also a swordswoman that Centurion implied to be too much for the Gandalfr to handle with his current skills.
Over the course of the time they had, his grasp of his few magic spells had improved, aided by the fact that he only had three to focus on. Air Cutter still was a problem for him, who was better suited to close combat and not easily able to plan the trajectories of the cutting wind the spell demanded, but he had learned to use Unlock in daily life, from opening windows to quickly changing his position during combat by Unlocking the ground below his feet. The spell had versatile applications that Eleonore mentioned were unusual, but given that the entire description was that it "unlocks mechanisms the user understands", uses like those felt only surface level to the Gandalfr.
However, the spell he had seen the most improvement on was Expansion. Being his only void spell, he had set to learning to control it, so that he wouldn't pass out from a rune-free version as he had at its inception.
The boy twisted his body to one side, raising his knife hand to slash the blade towards the woman's arm, blunt edge out. "Emission!"
The miniature version of Expansion issued from the knife's edge, small enough that he could guide it along his slash and use the controlled burst of energy to force Karin's arm away, allowing him to bring his other arm forward, hand balled into a fist as he aimed for the woman's neck.
Knowing she was using a Clone right now meant that he could be more reckless with his attacks, and though it meant he was dealing with a far weaker variant, it didn't lessen the satisfaction of his efforts succeeding, though the strike was aimed improperly, pushing against her collarbone and forcing her to step back. She never did break that neutral gaze she possessed, but the brief moment she took to instinctively cross her fingers before realizing she couldn't perform Shield was enough for him to deliver a second blow, switching his hold on his knife to bring the sharp edge downward in a vertical slash against her chest.
He grunted as he lost his balance, his legs kicked out from under him as he was forced to turn to catch himself, bending his spine to kick upward and block her oncoming fist.
For the duration of his training so far, Karin had focused on this unarmed brawling style, rather than the swordplay he knew she was used to, and he too had been using Derf less frequently, at her request, and instead focusing on fighting using his knife. He assumed that the reasoning was to practice with a weapon that could be easily hidden and drawn, and with his focus on practicing his magic, Derf's absorption ability got in the way except in times when Eleonore and Yeshua were helping him against the real one.
The woman had been putting him through standard muscle training as well as actual combat situations, and generally teaching him the very basics of moving quickly and flexibly when he needed to, and the effort was paying off as he flipped backwards to catch his balance again, standing up and holding his knife out to catch her punch, ignoring the minor shock in his hand from feeling the edge grate on her knuckles. Even without Shield, her body was still tough and the gloves she wore were woven with steel fibers, so he couldn't expect to draw blood from her hands, and with that being her primary method of defense, the knife he held was more to protect him than to be used offensively. After three weeks, he still had yet to actually do significant damage to her Clone, though he had landed a few hits with well-timed Emission usage.
Before this training started, he would have tripped on his own feet trying to flip, and wouldn't have dared block her punch rather than dodge for fear that the weight she put behind her strikes would knock him off balance, but now, even Eleonore would admit when they saw each other that he had improved dramatically, and though he was well aware he was up against a severely restricted version of Karin, the fact that he often ended the day still standing was the most significant change he had noticed. On each end of week match with the others, he still rarely lasted longer than an hour, but it was a step forward.
Inside the estate's buildings, Eleonore was annoyed by mostly being kept out of direct battle training, but as the heir to the estate, being able to interact with the other nobles was important, and though she still kept the same quick temper, the near constant stream of meetings with Margrave Couture and his subordinates over the estate's security and with Count Berger, the estate financial advisor. Save for when she helped plan for and participate in the end-of-week fights, this had been her life, practicing her planning and strategic skills rather than her magic prowess.
For a water mage, it was perfectly reasonable, but Karin knew that she wasn't satisfied with being cooped up inside instead of being on the arena field. A water mage with an affinity to fire...She knew it was a bad combination.
Throughout the time the two mages spent in their respective fields, Yeshua instead bided his time in his usual job, working in the infirmary for the other gladiators using the arena for public events, aiding other slaves and servants, and generally doing little outside his duties when he wasn't needed. Observing David's growth as an Empty Vessel was interesting, but Karin could do that on her own, and with Cattleya also watching some of their matches, his presence wasn't needed.
As the final few days before the coronation ticked by, Karin had the three train together more often, ignoring Eleonore's tendency to blame her teammates whenever a plan didn't work and referring to how she'd been the only one seriously injured in the fight before the new regimen was put in place, and as the last day rolled around, the duchess gave them the last 24 hours as a break period. They couldn't arrive in Tristania with visible bruises, after all, and even Karin had spent 26 days with near-nonstop usage of her magic, so even she needed to recover her willpower before the upcoming trip away from the estate.
As the final day drew to a close, David hummed to himself, lying on his bed and looking up at the ceiling. "Tristania...Come to think of it, last time I went there was when I met Isabella, wasn't it?"
"You're a different man now, Partner." Derf mused, as always resting within arm's reach on the wall. "I've only seen your growth every so often, but in such a short time, you've become a fighter on par with a rookie knight, and you have far less wasted movement when you wield me. I'm looking forward to when we next fight together on a real battlefield."
The Gandalfr laughed, turning his gaze to the weapon. "I'd like it if I never had to use you in real combat, but after fighting the Crombie, the thought of fighting is kind of..." It was something he'd noticed before, but as he learned the basic techniques of fighting without Gandalfr in some of the daily training, the thought of using his skills against real people wasn't as bad as he would have expected. He wasn't numb to the thought, but at the same time, whenever he thought of going up against an opponent in an actual fight, it reminded him of that scar on his back. If he needed to cross the line, then he wouldn't hesitate and make the same mistake again.
"Aye, if you want to survive, then there are times you must kill. Just don't start enjoying having blood on your hands, and you'll be fine. I've seen all sorts of people, those who shun fighting and those who revel in it. You have learned already to fight your runes' control, so continue to exercise that freedom to think for yourself."
"Everyone's changing." the boy stated. "I'm learning to be a proper swordsman, Louise is part of New Divide now, and I've started messaging Sheffield more often recently. And now, Henrietta's even getting married…"
"Is that so surprising? Didn't you mention that a similar thing happens in that story?" the sword asked, and he nodded.
"Yes, but it never actually happened, and it took a lot longer for Henrietta to be coronated. I've never even heard of Andriy and don't know much about Germania, so I don't really know what to expect."
"It will all be fine, just observe and learn from the experience. This isn't the first coronation I've been present at, and I've even been wielded during one or two. Don't worry about it, that Henrietta is a strong woman and will do just fine."
David sighed, rolling onto his side and resting his head on his pillow. "I'm not particularly worried about her, it's more concerning how Henri's going to be mentioned…" He yawned, blinking away sleep as he laughed. "I told Louise I wouldn't push myself too hard, and here I am barely awake. It's been a long month."
"Rest easy, Partner. I'll keep watch for any phantoms."
So, I'm no history expert, and as some readers have pointed out, my descriptions of certain ranks is decidedly not realistic. As Halkeginia is not Midgard, its history is "similar, but different", and the ranks I'm using are from me looking on wikipedia for brief summaries as well as choosing titles for roles that I needed but couldn't find exact definitions for. So, I figured I'd list them here for people who want to know the ranking system. It may be updated as I streamline the system and remember more details over time.
shorturl. at/jmzFS