Although the Demon King didn’t say it outright, he conveyed to me his intention to teach Isabel magic.
I was gravely concerned about whether I could teach someone else when I myself was still receiving lessons.
The next day, I went down to the training ground with Isabel.
Since the entire training ground was to be used for training recruits, we settled in one corner.
The recruits occasionally watched the practice that Isabel and I were doing.
However, to those who didn’t know how to handle mana, it probably just looked like we were sitting still.
At first, they watched with interest, but eventually, it seemed that their interest waned, and no one was watching anymore.
Isabel’s shield was quite different from the one I made.
It was just large enough to cover Isabel’s upper body.
To figure out what the problem was, I carefully observed Isabel.
“Do I have something on my face?”
“No, I was just wondering why yours is different from mine.”
“A shield is a shield, right?”
The words of 5th Unit came to mind, that a shield is a one-time use shield.
Isabel’s shield deployment speed was about 5 seconds.
That was much too slow for practical use, so I decided to focus on reducing that speed first.
“Can you make it faster than this?”
“Yeah.”
I carefully examined how Isabel created the shield, infused with mana.
I could see the mana flowing from her heart and mind, transforming into the shield through her hands.
That sight seemed familiar, as if I had seen it many times before.
But the speed was much slower.
“Wait a minute, are you gathering mana to cast magic?”
“Yeah. That’s how I cast magic.”
“You can’t do that. It’s too slow.”
It was the same problem I had encountered before.
I realized why the Demon King had asked me to teach magic to Isabel.
As soon as I understood how to teach Isabel, I changed the method of practice.
“Try doing it like this.”
I informed her of the training method I learned at the academy, which was to convert mana into magic directly without gathering it.
“Like this… Ugh!”
The shield made from magic sparkled and appeared, but Isabel lightly clutched her chest.
“Are you okay? Does it hurt?”
“No, it’s just that a lot of mana is being used up.”
When attempting for the first time, one might be surprised at how quickly a large amount of mana drains away.
When gathering mana, she could control the amount herself, but if she used it directly, she would need practice to control that amount.
I had thought she would be used to it since she usually used magic, but it seemed that this was a new experience for Isabel.
“You’ll get used to it, and it will be easier.”
“I feel like I can only use it two or three times.”
Up until now, Isabel had been gathering mana and controlling the amount herself, so she probably didn’t feel it was lacking.
“We have two more trainings to do from now on.”
Training to adjust the concentration and training to increase the amount of mana were necessary.
For now, increasing the amount of mana was the most urgent priority.
Since I also lacked knowledge about this, it was a part where I needed to seek advice.
“Just keep practicing. Recharge your mana and take breaks.”
“Okay. But where are you going?”
“It’s a secret.”
I had to sneakily go check an answer key for a test, so I made an excuse.
I went up to the hotel room to find the Demon King, but he wasn’t there.
Only Aila remained in the room.
“Where did the Demon King go?”
“He went out for work. Why?”
“I have something to ask.”
I guessed where he might have gone, so I left the room and headed to the conference room.
From the murmurs coming from inside, it seemed he was indeed there.
Not wanting to just open the door, I knocked properly and entered.
Inside, I found Riki and the Demon King discussing something, so I naturally waited to the side.
“Well then, let’s proceed like that.”
“Yes, understood.”
Once their conversation ended, Riki lightly greeted me as he left the room.
As I was about to rise from my seat, the Demon King walked over to me and took a seat beside me.
“Are you training well?”
“Well, about that. I need to increase the amount of mana, but how do I do that?”
“Hmm. So that’s the problem.”
It seemed the Demon King had already anticipated it.
“The mana vault is where mana is stored to help the body get accustomed to it.”
“What if there isn’t one?”
“Just get familiar with mana.”
If that were easy, then all demons would have created a mana vault.
I considered that I was a special case, but Isabel was different.
Being an ordinary demon, she certainly needed a mana vault.
I was curious as to why the Demon King wasn’t having Isabel create one.
“I thought about it. Perhaps we don’t even need a mana vault from the start.”
The Demon King didn’t have a mana vault.
I had clearly seen it with my own eyes when 5th Unit had briefly shown it to me before.
“5th Unit said gathering mana that way is dangerous. Why is that?”
“Because controlling it is difficult. Essentially, the vault is made to control mana. It’s easier to store, too.”
“It must be inconvenient without it.”
“Inconvenient?”
When the Demon King asked me that, I shook my head.
I had never felt inconvenient up until now.
“But Isabel and I are different.”
“That’s true. As long as you have a way to control the overflowing mana, it’s fine. You need to be able to consume mana quickly.”
Earlier, Isabel said that if she used magic two or three times, her mana would be depleted.
For the time being, she could manage it with a few casts of magic, but later on, that would be the problem.
“How much mana can be stored in the heart?”
“It’s the same as the mana vault. As long as you can control it and become familiar with it, it won’t overflow anymore.”
I didn’t fully grasp what it meant to become familiar with mana, but it seemed I had obtained some answers.
Clang!
Suddenly, 5th Unit rushed in through the conference room door.
“The city is being attacked by Undead!”
“How many are there?”
“Not many.”
“Ririan, go check it out yourself and report back immediately.”
“Understood.”
I hurriedly left the hotel with 5th Unit and headed to where the attack was occurring.
“A small-scale…”
“It’s probably a typical ambush.”
Ordinary Undead aren’t much without leadership.
For an ambush, there must be at least one higher-ranking skeleton to lead them.
The incident occurred in the marketplace near the train station.
There were already soldiers sent from the Royal Guard and Knight Order, one each.
As we arrived at the marketplace, several skeletons that appeared to be about 4 meters tall were roaming the streets.
“Is there really a lifeform with bones that large?”
“An Orc?”
I had seen an Orc before, but they weren’t that big.
Moreover, since the shape of the bones was similar to that of a human, it was hard to see them as a different race.
“Haha!”
As the 4-meter skeleton laughed and raised its greatsword, armed skeletons began to gather around.
The number of our soldiers brought in by the Knight Order and Royal Guard seemed to be roughly the same as that of the skeletal soldiers.
It certainly wasn’t a large number.
I immediately contacted the Demon King to report the current situation.
“Kekek!”
Unlike the skeleton captain I had met last time, this one seemed unable to talk properly.
It issued commands to the soldiers in a sound resembling a beast’s cry.
As the skeletal soldiers began to move, our troops also began to respond.
Skeleton soldiers armed with swords and shields and allies at the forefront with spears.
It was uncertain whether general tactics would work against the skeletons.
Finally, at the moment of confrontation, the giant skeleton started to move.
If that thing rampaged, the city would be in ruins in no time.
Zap!
I dropped lightning onto its head.
For a moment, it seemed to lose strength and drooped, but soon it raised its body again.
The magic hadn’t dealt a significant blow to it.
Although I adjusted the power since we were in the city, it was definitely not weak.
The hollow eyes of the skeleton glowed red as it glared at me.
“Keek!”
With a terrifying scream, it swung its greatsword at me.
Whoosh~!
I felt a fierce wind where its sword had passed.
“Wind Blade.”
Grasping the translucent wind blade in my hand, I charged at its shinbone.
Thud!
As the wind blade struck its bones, it sounded like thumping against an empty wall.
“Ugh! It’s been a while since I felt pain! Who are you!”
Even the one who couldn’t speak earlier opened its mouth because it was in pain.
“Can we have a bit of conversation?”
“Conversations happen with blades!”
“Oh really?”
As I struck its shin again with the wind blade, it howled in pain.
“You can talk a bit, huh!”
Seemingly having come to a realization, it whispered to itself.
“Since the sizes are different, it’s out of proportion.”
As the 4-meter giant skeleton let out a shout, it began to shrink in size.
It reduced down to about 2 meters, which was still quite large.
“Now, let’s have a proper conversation with blades!”
“Suit yourself.”
I swung my sword to strike its shin again.
Clang!
This time, it didn’t easily give me its shin but raised its sword at an angle to block.
“Now it’s fair.”
With only bones, it seemed to smile as its jaw widened.
“It’s my turn!”
It spun the greatsword in its hand.
The movement resembled wings attached to a motor.
If it strikes, I would be shredded by that greatsword.
No matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t think of a way to withstand that cumbersome attack.
Whizzing!
It swung the greatsword in a manner similar to a bipedal robot.
Though not a fast movement, it was fast enough to evade.
Yet, no opportunity arose for me to attack.
As I could see, the length of the greatsword was over 1 meter, creating a wall of defense.
“I’ll grind you into powder just like this!”
If I stood still, I would be completely ground up by the greatsword!
I dispelled the wind blade in my hand.
“Are you giving up on the duel? Don’t think you can die comfortably!”
“Who said that? Magic Arrow!”
Disbanding the wind blade was to create arrows.
“That’s just a single arrow. Hahaha!”
It laughed loudly and raised its greatsword above its head.
It intended to block the falling arrows with the spinning greatsword.
“That arrow isn’t an ordinary one.”
I aimed the arrow floating beside me at its head.
To block an arrow coming straight on, it would have to lower its raised greatsword.
No matter which side it blocked, it would have to give up one way!
“Ha!”
Crash!
With a bizarre sound, as the skeleton turned its head to face the arrow, its head plopped onto the ground.
