The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 177
To meet Lucretia, I had to request an audience at the royal palace. The process was quite complex, so by the time I faced her, the sun had already set.
“You said you had something you wanted to tell me.”
“Well, yes… But what’s this? Are you some kind of king? It took 5 hours just to meet one person.”
“Security at the palace has become much stricter in the past year. That’s why they say there was quite a commotion when Miss Erina suddenly appeared at the palace.”
“Commotion? What kind of commotion?”
“You don’t need to know. That’s not what you came here to talk about, is it?”
Perhaps it was because I teased her while teaching spear techniques last time. She seemed to be trying to get some petty revenge.
My business was something that would make her eyes light up.
“You said you wanted to learn martial arts, didn’t you?”
“Rather than wanting to learn, I’d like to see your martial arts skills. Is that possible?”
“I’ll do it. But this isn’t a game.”
“What do you mean…?”
“A duel with real swords. Let’s use teleportation scrolls and have a match.”
“…!”
Lucretia’s expression hardened. I continued, as if taunting her.
“Well, if you’re scared, let’s forget about it. I’ll be going now.”
“Wait!”
Lucretia showed her competitive spirit.
“Alright. Let’s set a date.”
She was steeling herself as if facing a terrifying roller coaster.
I decided to add a condition.
“We don’t need to make it so grandiose. And there shouldn’t be any spectators for this match.”
“And?”
“If we’re doing it, let’s do it tomorrow. The day after tomorrow, I have to participate in the martial arts tournament.”
“You’re participating in the main tournament!? You!?”
“I’m participating in the freshman division.”
“Ah… That’s right. It must be child’s play for you.”
“Anyway, you have no objections, right?”
“Of course not. I’ll quickly set the place and time and let you know. Should I send someone to the Branford mansion?”
“I’ll warn you in advance, it might be harsh for you. I really don’t intend to go easy.”
“That’s what I’m hoping for. Then, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She left with excited steps.
The person she sent arrived at Rinoa’s mansion not long after.
The time was set for after noon tomorrow. The location was the Akasha family mansion in the city.
The Akasha family was renowned as a family of heroes.
While the title of hero has become common recently, the Akasha family had a deep history.
You could call them a prestigious family.
Akasha’s father was also a former captain of the royal guard and famous for subjugating dangerous dungeons.
Despite being a noble’s mansion, the Akasha family mansion had a large dojo inside.
The walls were lined with spears of various lengths, perhaps indicating that spears were their main weapon.
Lucretia greeted me, sitting formally in the dojo.
“You’ve come.”
As if small talk was unnecessary, she stood up and grasped her spear.
I put down the bundle containing my spear and scabbard and asked, “Where are the teleportation scrolls?”
“Over there.”
Where she pointed, there were about twenty teleportation scrolls.
Considering that one of those scrolls costs 50,000 rilangs, equivalent to about 5 million won, there was about 100 million won worth laid out. As expected of a prestigious family. They’re quite generous.
Lucretia picked up one of them and used it.
Mysterious characters floated up from the scroll and enveloped her.
“You use one too.”
“It’s not like I’ll need to activate it anyway, can’t I just take it with me?”
It was a chance to pocket 50,000 rilangs, but Lucretia didn’t allow it.
I used the teleportation scroll as requested.
With that, the preparations were complete.
Lucretia took her stance as if words were unnecessary.
I also drew my weapons and aimed at her.
A sword in my left hand, a spear in my right.
“It’s indeed strange. A martial art that uses dual weapons…”
“The world is vast. More importantly, what will you do? Are you going to use magic too?”
“…Let’s use it. I’ll go all out. I want to see your true skills as well.”
“Good. Then I’ll use magic too. Well… Shall we begin?”
Gulp! The sound of swallowing could be heard.
She made the first move.
“Haah!”
With two quick steps, she created the range for her spear and thrust it towards my heart. As I dodged that attack, she continued to attempt thrusts with the tip of her spear, as if testing me.
It was the right choice.
The length of the spear I use is about 1m 20cm. It’s classified as a short spear.
On the other hand, Lucretia’s spear is about 1m 80cm long. In close combat, it’s considered a long spear.
She intended to use the reach of her spear as a weapon.
‘If it were just this, I could quickly approach and end it, but…’
Swish! As I tried to approach, sharp icicles shot up from the ground.
“Whoa.”
A large piece of ice aiming for my neck. This was a tactic she didn’t use in our last duel. I suppose she didn’t use attacks that could take a life in that fight since we weren’t using teleportation scrolls then.
‘It could be dangerous if I’m not careful.’
I raised my aura to its limit.
This was to use the most basic function of aura: erasing the opponent’s magical power.
I defended against the barrage of ice spears with my aura and dove in.
After that, I converted the aura on my right-hand spear into arcane power, then used the pulling force of the arcane aura to stick my spear to the opponent’s spear.
“Ugh!?”
Lucretia was greatly flustered when the spears stuck together and wouldn’t separate.
It was a tactic I was trying for the first time, but it was effective enough.
With her spear caught, she tried to shake me off through hand-to-hand combat rather than abandoning her spear, but I had one more weapon.
“Hah!”
I swung my sword at her exposed neck.
Just before her head was about to fly off, her body shone and then vanished with a swish!
Then her body appeared at the place where she had first used the teleportation scroll.
She bit her lip and said, “You got me in that round. Next!”
Lucretia used another teleportation scroll.
I stared blankly at the sight.
‘It’s the first time I’ve seen it actually activate.’
The magic that saved humanity from the brink of extinction.
‘If I had left it, I would have surely killed her.’
That was the core of the teleportation magic.
It reads the future where the target would die and teleports them to a designated location before the attack hits.
The reason humanity in this world was on the brink of extinction in the past was due to the massive losses incurred in the process of subjugating dungeons.
Even clearing one dungeon resulted in the deaths of many people. So, when comparing numbers, they were gradually being pushed back by the monsters, which were virtually infinite.
Thinking that this was the factor of defeat, the great sage Vindalin developed magic that could minimize human casualties, and this was it.
After this teleportation magic was commercialized, human casualties were greatly reduced, and as a result, the skills of the combatants gradually improved.
If this magic hadn’t been developed, humanity in this world would have already gone extinct.
‘Someone who predicted that might have isolated our continent from the outside.’
Well, that’s something to think about later. Whatever the case, humanity in this world was saved thanks to this magic.
The magic of time and space that saved humanity. This was the reason why Dorofei, who was born with these two attributes, was so highly regarded.
Although it had the weakness of being unable to be used over long distances due to the unstable magic flow in this world, its basic effect was so excellent that it wasn’t a problem at all.
Of course, it wasn’t omnipotent.
The detailed effects differed depending on the skill of the person using this magic.
Some read too far into the future and activate at the wrong timing, while others don’t activate even when the body is severed because it’s not considered a fatal injury.
The skill of a teleportation mage was in fine-tuning these aspects.
‘Even considering that, it’s an incredible effect.’
Because it activates unconditionally for fatal attacks such as being stabbed in the heart or having the neck cut.
“What are you spacing out for? Next, I’m coming right away!”
Lucretia charged at me again.
She seemed to have concluded that she was no match for me in terms of martial arts skills, so she started to focus on magic.
She mainly used ice magic using magic as she didn’t have much aura, but occasionally attempted magic using aura.
The characteristic of her ice magic was rapid freezing.
The area touched by her spear would freeze rapidly.
I had no way to counter this attack, so I had no choice but to erase it using aura.
* * *
“Huff! Huff! Huff!”
This was the 19th round. All the teleportation scrolls had been used up.
She was breathing heavily with a tired face.
After the 10th round, it seemed she had exhausted both her aura and magic, so it became a pure martial arts battle, which consumed her stamina quickly.
“I lost. It’s a complete defeat.”
“I’m glad you admit defeat quickly. Though I’m not sure if admitting defeat after dying 19 times can be considered quick…”
I wiped off the flowing sweat.
It wasn’t an easy fight for me either. It’s fortunate that I had accumulated general knowledge about magical combat; if it had been in the past, I might have allowed one hit.
Lucretia looked dejected, but soon asked with an excited expression.
“What are my shortcomings?”
It seems no one had given her such advice before, as she was expecting guidance from me.
I chose my words carefully before answering.
“You lack the basics.”
“Basics…! I’ve been training with the spear every day since I was young! Yet you say I lack the basics…!”
“Your direction is wrong.”
Because their opponents were monsters, the spear techniques of this world had unnecessarily large movements.
“The basics of spear techniques are to eliminate gaps for the opponent to exploit. Stand up.”
I made her stand and corrected a few of her postures.
“When transitioning to a thrusting motion from here, instead of leaning your body forward, it’s better to lower your stance while putting strength in your calves. This makes it easier to react to the opponent’s next move.”
“I see…”
“The movement in the 13th round was like that too.”
I carefully instructed her.
Lucretia honestly accepted the guidance.
‘She actually has quite a talent for martial arts.’
If she had received proper education, she might have been as strong as me or even stronger.
When the primary instruction was over, Lucretia let out a sigh of admiration.
“That’s impressive. I’ve never met someone with such a deep understanding of martial arts as you.”
“You seem to be mistaking me for some kind of master, but I’m not that strong. I know at least ten people stronger than me.”
“You’re joking.”
“It’s true. My teacher could subdue someone like me in just 30 exchanges. And against her husband, I wouldn’t last even 10 exchanges.”
She listened in disbelief.
“Do… Do they also use spears?”
“My teacher uses the same spear and sword technique as I do. The other one uses a wolf tooth pole, an oddly shaped polearm. As for spears… I have a subordinate named Eonia Mirabel who’s a master of the spear. By the way, Eonia is also much stronger than me.”
“Hearing about a spear master, I’d very much like to meet them.”
It seemed like the right timing. I finally brought up my request.
“You… Seem very interested in martial arts. Would you like to make a deal with me?”
“A deal?”
Lucretia frowned noticeably at the word ‘deal’. I continued, trying to smooth things over.
“I’m not suggesting anything unseemly. I just want help with dungeon raids.”
“Let’s hear it.”
She seemed intrigued by the proposal to become a club advisor. From what I could gather, it seemed she wanted to participate in dungeon raids herself.
“Let’s say I agree to be the advisor. What can you offer me in return?”
“I’ll teach you martial arts. Later, when my friend Eonia joins, I’ll also give you the opportunity to learn from her.”
Eo wouldn’t refuse my request.
“Hmm…”
“It’s not a deal you need to be wary of, right? I’m not asking you to do anything bad.”
“That’s true. Raiding dungeons is a righteous act… Plus, I can keep a close eye on you…”
She soon made her decision.
“Alright. I’ll agree to the deal.”
“Phew!”
With this, we could finally take the first step.
“Now that that’s settled, please start the next lesson.”
“R-Right now?”
“When else? Oh, I have a question. In this stance…”
Having agreed to the deal, Lucretia seemed to have lost her reservations and wanted more active guidance.
Seeing her enthusiasm, I felt that the days I could teach her might be numbered. It seemed I would need to find Eonia soon.
* * *
Creating an academy club and recruiting an advisor was good, but there were still many problems to solve.
Above all, I needed combat personnel to join me in dungeon raids.
According to Lucretia, they didn’t necessarily have to be academy students, so I could recruit freely, but recruiting freely meant I’d have to pay to hire them.
‘So I need to find a sponsor first.’
I asked Rinoa directly. Rinoa laughed dryly.
“You’re quite brazen. Do you know how much money is involved in dungeon raids?”
“I heard it’s quite a lot.”
Travel and accommodation costs to the dungeon, purchasing return scrolls, and so on. In any case, it’s expensive.
They say you can turn a profit by selling valuable items found in the dungeon, but that’s only if the raid is successful.
“I’ll pay you back with the profits after we succeed.”
“That’s the problem… Can you succeed?”
“Can’t you just trust me on that part?”
“Dungeon raids are considered honorable even among nobles, so there are cases where nobles provide support, but that’s only for promising groups. It would be difficult to support you alone.”
“You said you’d help me find people.”
“Well, that doesn’t cost much money… And it’s a humanitarian act?”
Rinoa didn’t seem to be completely against the idea. She had been smiling amusedly for a while now. It seemed she had predicted this outcome when she first suggested the club idea to me.
“The primary problem is that you lack popularity.”
“I lack popularity? As I said, I was the second general of a kingdom, and I’ve led tens of thousands of soldiers…”
“But you didn’t have friends, did you?”
“…!?”
“Seems I hit the mark.”
“I-I do have friends! I met one just the other day. And if you look at my vassals, you wouldn’t say I lack popularity.”
“Then bring them here now.”
“Ugh…”
She was hitting a sore spot.
“I’ve come to vaguely understand that you’re an exceptional person. But you can’t do everything alone. My condition is simple. Try to persuade two of your academy classmates. But, no bribing with money.”
“I don’t have that kind of money in the first place.”
“That’s true too. Simply put, bring people who will follow you without conditions, believing in you.”
“People who believe in me without conditions…”
Rinoa grinned at me as I looked troubled.
“Why are you hesitating? Isn’t this easy?”
It certainly was. As a condition for getting support from the Count’s family, it was far too easy.
I decided to accept the condition.
“Alright. Then that’s one person already, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“You have to join too.”
“You mean I not only have to support you but also participate in the dungeon raids?”
“I thought that was obvious.”
Rinoa laughed incredulously and then nodded.
“You’re quite cheeky. Fine, then just find one more person.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I managed to reduce it to one person by being pushy, but…
I had no idea who to persuade for that one person.
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