25 – Stone Sword #2
“If you’re going to do that, get out of my class right now.”
The atmosphere around me instantly became chilly.
Gwynn swallowed his dry saliva with a tense expression.
“You should know better what I mean.”
“… Yes.”
Most of the students didn’t understand the icy atmosphere between me and Gwynn.
What they saw was just Gwynn being knocked out by my counterattack. It would have seemed no different from other students.
However, only me who attacked and Gwynn who was attacked understood the situation correctly.
When I dodged Gwynn’s stab and countered, Gwynn had two options.
Dodge the kick, or retrieve the sword that failed the thrust to defend your feet.
At the time, Gwynn chose the latter, and it was too foolish to regard it as a simple mistake.
I clearly controlled my strength and moved in front of the students, and the movements were not so fast that I couldn’t follow them with my eyes.
Gwyn clearly saw my movements and reacted. His eyes were on my leg right up until the very moment he was beaten.
But Gwynn chose to defend rather than evade. Even though it was an attack that was obviously avoidable enough.
Did he think he could parry that attack? It won’t be. He must have seen and felt the power of batar to the point of being blown away. Actually, Gwynn couldn’t withstand my attack.
If he hadn’t learned the sword from the Sword Master in vain, of course he would have predicted that much, and then of course he had to avoid the attack.
To put it simply.
I could have avoided the attack, but I did not.
I couldn’t block the attack, but I tried to block it.
I asked a question in a situation that I couldn’t understand at all.
“Why did you do that?”
“… I thought I could stop it.”
“That’s funny. Don’t say anything you won’t believe yourself.”
It can be weak. Because you are still young
You can make mistakes. Because of lack of experience.
But not deliberately doing what I could, it just seemed like I had no intention of doing my best.
Gwynn didn’t make eye contact with me and lowered his eyes. Seeing her like that, I crossed my arms and thought for a while.
At first, I couldn’t understand Gwynn’s intentions.
But if you think about it a little, the answer came out.
“Is it because the stone sword is a sword for counterattack?”
“… !”
Is it Jeonggok?
“Gwynn Triss. It’s a pity, but that swordsmanship doesn’t suit you.”
As its name suggests, the rock sword is a swordsmanship that stabs the opponent’s gaps while standing firm like a rock. It’s not that there is no herbivore for a surprise attack or preemption, but 90% of the sword of the stone sword starts with a counterattack.
If there was a swordsman in this position, that monstrous old man would have blocked my attack casually, and if I had shown a gap in the process, he would have fired an unavoidable counterattack.
Yes. If it’s a swordsman.
Of course, Gwynn is not the swordsman. However, she is not even a swordswoman, but she insists on fighting like a swordswoman. Fillion the Great’s maxim that the crow’s legs are torn from chasing the stork is probably used in this case.
What I’ve learned is a basic combat technique that I learned randomly on the battlefield.
Because it’s a jumbled skill that’s been forcibly packed with everything you can learn to survive, I don’t think there’s much that’s lacking or better than a swordsmanship instructor who teaches systematic swordsmanship.
But.
I can teach you how effective those skills are in combat and how to use them to survive on the battlefield.
In that sense, the sword of rock that Gwynn learned was unacceptable by my standards.
“It doesn’t suit… Don’t you?”
Gwynn, as if shocked by my words, clenched his fists with his head hanging down. And he said in a trembling voice.
“Instructor. I haven’t shown everything yet. To judge just by looking at that one-“
I shook my head slowly.
“That’s enough. There is nothing more to see.”
“… !!”
The strength of the stone sword is that, as its name suggests, it withstands all attacks as firmly as a rock.
Of course, the stronger the body and the thicker the muscle, the better the stone sword is used. In particular, to withstand all attacks in place, the strength of the lower body is the most important.
In other words, it means that the sword of the rock was not a swordsmanship designed with the female body in mind from the beginning.
I don’t even have enough muscles to grow enough to be mistaken for an ogre, not a human like the sword saint.
If Gwynn had the size of a batar, or at least the level of Garnet Red’s Theo Bailey, he would be able to unleash the stone sword much better than he does now.
It’s not that I absolutely don’t have talent. When I first met her, seeing her unfurling her stone sword while fighting thugs in her back alleys, it’s easy to imagine how much bone-breaking effort she’s put in with her genius talent to reach her current level. There was.
However, with the same talent and effort, it is much more efficient for Gwynn Triss to learn a different swordsmanship than the Rock Sword.
And that fact, even if I didn’t have to point it out, she herself knew it best.
Gwynn trembled on her shoulder and bit her lip. She bit so hard that drops of blood were seeping from under her whitened lips.
She glared at me with her bloodshot eyes.
“Why? Because I’m a woman? Because I can’t fully unfold the stone sword with this body? Instructor, do you want to say that?”
While some students were agitated by the shocking remark, I calmly passed Gwynn’s emotional gaze and gave her a brief nod.
“Considering the efficiency in battle, is there any reason to insist on using the stone sword?”
I think Gwynn’s vision is narrowed due to his obsession with the rock sword.
If she had just thought of evasion instead of counterattack, she would have been able to fight better. Also, not trying to use everything you have on the battlefield is just foolish.
If you regret that you should have avoided it instead of blocking it after the knife was stuck in your throat, your only life won’t come back.
“Yes. There is.”
Gwynn said with a cold, frozen expression.
“Because I have no intention of learning any other swordsmanship. Even if you can’t stop it now, you just have to keep trying until you can. No matter what the instructor says, even if it means leaving this class, I will not give up this sword.”
I don’t know why, but Gwynn’s thoughts seemed very firm.
I was convinced that if I said more here, it would just lead to a meaningless parallel.
“Then I can’t help it. Today’s class ends here.”
After ordering the dispersal as it was not in the mood to hold classes any longer, the students greeted me with trembling expressions and left.
“… ….”
Gwynn glared at me silently, then silently turned his back.
Anyway, it seemed that he was firmly hated.
***
After class. I went back to the office and reminisced about what had just happened.
I was going to teach as an instructor, but instead I only hated it.
Why? What I said must have been right.
From noble mtl dot com
It is common sense that bad habits should be corrected at a young age. It would be just a waste of time for Gwynn if she had to hold on to the swordsmanship that was not suited to her body.
In the end, you will find out for yourself. How futile his stubbornness was when he was in real danger. And by the time you realize it, it will be too late.
Or am I doing something wrong?
If you’re wrong, what’s wrong?
“… ….”
I don’t know.
No matter how much I think about it, I haven’t done anything wrong.
So is it Gwynn’s fault?
Is it wrong for her to stick to her stone sword and hinder her own growth?
My head says yes, but for some reason, a corner of my heart didn’t confirm it.
Anyway, Gwynn is my student. We’ll have to see each other’s faces until graduation, but if we have bad feelings for each other, there’s no way that it will have a good effect on our academy life in the future.
I don’t intend to be friendly with the students, but I didn’t intend to be hated for that either.
I don’t know if I’ve crossed a river that I can’t turn back at all.
But how?
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with an answer. While I was sighing quietly with a hardened face, Instructor Lilya entered the classroom and sat down next to me and spoke to me with a puzzled expression.
“Instructor Graham. Did you have any troubles?”
“Um….”
I looked at my fellow instructor, who was small in stature and should have been attending a secondary school just by looking at his appearance.
Instructor Lilya said that she is 8 years younger than me, and although she looks much younger than him, as an instructor she is definitely my senior.
Perhaps it might give you the advice you need in a situation like this.
“Yes. I have a problem, would you please listen?”
“What? Really? Instructor Graham gave the impression that he would do well on his own, but Instructor Graham also worries?”
“Can’t we?”
“Whoops. I was kidding. Rather, am I good? You are relying on me as a senior.”
Instructor Lirya crossed her legs and smiled coyly.
“Tell me. If I can help, I will help.”
It seemed like she was trying to look mature, so she made the most adult-like expression, but in my eyes, I could only see a cute little girl trying hard to look like an adult.
I briefly explained the problem I was facing to Instructor Lyra. Things that happened in class, Gwynn’s situation, and the advice I gave.
Then Instructor Lilya nodded his head, concentrating on my story with a serious expression.
“I think I know why Gwynn did that.”
“Really?”
“Yes. And I think I know a little bit about what kind of person Instructor Graham is.”
Instructor Lilya pondered for a while before she spoke slowly as if she had made up her mind.
“Instructor Graham.”
“Yes.”
“Would you like to have a drink with me after work today?”
It was a somewhat out of the blue suggestion, but Instructor Lirya added with a bright smile as if he had read my thoughts.
“I think it will be a long talk, but it’s best to talk about it over a glass of wine.”
To be honest, I don’t really enjoy drinking. However, as long as the person seeking advice is on my side, it won’t be the time to cover things up.
I nodded and said.
“Okay.”
I didn’t bother to ask where to drink.
The only tavern I knew was the Red Bear Inn, and Instructor Lyra would know much better what was around the academy than I, who had only been in the island for a week.
I thought it would be over soon after talking for a while at a suitable tavern.
But after a while.
For some reason, I was alone in Instructor Lilya’s room.
It was a trap!