Chapter 14: Test Fire at the Training Grounds. So This Is the Power of a Princess!
Once everyone’s stats were allocated in my "Strongest-Style" build, Lana suddenly spoke up:
"I want to do a test fire!"
Well… figures.
Her eyes sparkled like a kid who just got a brand-new toy. No surprise she’s itching to try it out—after all, it’s her very first offensive spell, and whether or not she can really shine depends on this moment.
It would’ve been nice to just say, "Sure, go ahead," but… sorry, Lana, I’ve got one more thing I want to show everyone first.
"Before that, there’s something I want you all to see."
"What? You’d better not be wasting my time. If it’s nothing impressive, I won’t forgive you!"
Eh, even if Lana doesn’t forgive me, I’ll survive. Not a problem.
Well, I’m pretty sure she’ll love this anyway.
I reached into my <Item Bag (Capacity: Large)> and pulled out the item I’d asked Marie-senpai to prepare.
"Ta-dah! This right here!"
""""Waaah!!""""
Cheers burst from everyone as I revealed a guild <Emblem> Flag for <Eden> from its case.
"I asked Marie-senpai to make this <Emblem>, and I got it yesterday. Take a look!"
I spread it out across the table.
Man, seeing it again up close—it really does look awesome!
"Zephyrus-kun, the <Emblem> looks so cool!"
Totally agree. Hanna’s got good taste, as expected of someone who loves stylish things.
"I thought it was too quick to finish, but this really is amazing. The colors are so beautiful."
"Yes. The design feels alive. You can almost sense its energy."
"Seriously, if you had something this great, you should’ve shown us sooner! It’s wonderful!"
Well, no wonder. It was a masterpiece forged with the full might of the <Wappen Seal Sticker> Guild behind it.
The guild <Emblem> was a huge hit.
Everyone admired it for a while, gazing at the design and sharing their thoughts.
"If <Eden> makes it to S-rank, this could have value as a piece of art."
"That’s true. If Father saw it, he’d probably insist on hanging it in our house."
"Ah, yes, your father does collect art, doesn’t he, Ester?"
"He does. Lately, he’s been really into paintings. He’s even displayed a few other guild emblems."
So Ester’s dad is an art collector, huh? That sounds like an expensive hobby.
Still, dungeon adventurers earn their money from dungeon resources. A knightly noble house like hers must be raking it in.
It’s different from how it’s usually shown in light novels, where barons or knights seem poor. Here, knightly nobles are usually filthy rich, decked out in heavy armor and flashy gear.
But… this emblem could actually be sold as fine art?
If I ever end up broke, I could probably make a fortune selling forgeries of it.
…Kidding. If I need cash, I’ll just dive into the dungeon like a normal person.
"Hanna, do you prefer cool things or cute things?"
"Both! They each have their own kind of charm."
"Ohh, well said, Hanna! I agree completely. By the way, what’s the coolest thing in your opinion?"
"Eh? U-um, well… l-let’s see. For example… Ze–Zephyrus-kun—"
"Eh!? Zephyrus!?"
"—'s equipment, I mean! I think it looks really cool."
"Ah, r-right~! His equipment is pretty stylish, yeah!"
I felt like someone had called my name, so I turned around—only to see Lana and Hanna both blushing and quickly looking away. …What was that about?
"Zephyrus, are you going to display it?"
"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Of course. It’s <Eden>’s <Emblem>, after all."
"…I’m jealous."
"Ah~, sorry. It’s too late to change it now."
"Don’t worry. It’s fine. I was just a little envious, that’s all."
Kalua stared at the <Emblem>.
It seemed she was envious that the emblem only had symbols for the five of us plus the <Lucky Cat-sama> crest.
Still, as she said, she didn’t actually seem bothered. Maybe because it still had a cat on it thanks to <Lucky Cat-sama>?
Well, either way, this isn’t something that can be changed now. Marie-senpai made it without caring about cost or efficiency, so if I asked her to redo it now, she might actually cry.
After we all finished admiring the <Emblem>, I placed it on the shelf above the household shrine. Just like that, the room instantly felt more like a proper guild.
"This is great! I feel so fired up now!"
"Right? That’s the power of a guild <Emblem>. Let’s work hard to become S-rank so we can be worthy of it!"
"""""Oooohhh!"""""
The five of us shouted together.
Not bad—this sense of unity.
Feels kinda like youth at an academy, doesn’t it!?
"Right, one more thing. We’re adding the guild logo to our equipment too, so can you drop yours off at <Wappen Seal Sticker> this weekend? If you leave it with them in the evening, they’ll have it finished by the next morning."
"Got it."
"I can’t wait!"
Everyone looked up at the <Emblem>, picturing how it would look on their own gear.
The weekend was going to be exciting.
"Alright then, this time for real—I’m going to try out some spells!"
"Allow me to accompany you, Lady Lana."
"Can I come too?"
"…I want to go as well."
"Then let’s all go together."
Now that the <Emblem> had been unveiled, the girls’ team seemed eager to head to the practice grounds.
Guess I’ll tag along and do some training myself.
And so, despite <Eden> technically taking the day off from dungeon runs, we ended up holding our own practice session.
When we arrived at the training field, I noticed lots of students wearing uniforms with blue embroidery on the collars, or just the standard starter gear.
"They’re all first-years. Think they’re in class right now?"
"The instructors are around, but they’re just supervising. Looks like everyone’s doing independent practice."
"Then let’s find an open spot and make use of it ourselves."
"Ah, over there—it’s free!"
"Perfect, let’s go!"
"Mm."
We moved over to an open section of the training grounds—an area with lots of ranged targets set up.
Probably because most first-years hadn’t unlocked their Job yet, this spot was emptier than the others.
After changing into our gear, we drew quite a lot of stares on the way over.
"Hey, isn’t that…"
"Whoa. It’s the princesses."
"That must be the rumored 【Hero】 Guild. I heard they’ve gathered the strongest members of our entire year."
"Think we’d even have a chance at joining? Ugh, I’m so jealous…"
"Dammit, that Hero! Just because he’s got the looks, the body, the gear, and a Job, he gets to form a guild full of gorgeous girls? Outrageous!"
"If only I had the looks, the body, the gear, and the Job!"
"You’re missing all of those things!?"
"Yeah, give it up. Your ulterior motives are showing all over your face."
"Still, Hero-kun seems honest, you know? Maybe I’ll just send a join request, even if it’s a long shot—wait, huh? Who are you people!? Eh!? Hold up!?"
Seems we were drawing plenty of jealousy and admiration.
But since the level gap was obvious, no one looked like they’d be dumb enough to pick a fight.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a group in black clothes surrounding a female student. Some kind of challenge condition, maybe? …Was there even such an event trigger?
We might also start getting more join requests for the guild soon.
Now that we’ve formed <Eden>, I realized—this is reality. Unlike in the game, people won’t just wait to be scouted; they’ll come knocking themselves. We’ll need to figure out a proper way to decline requests, too.
Since our goal is to reach S-rank, our policy is to only accept people with unique "Race" categories.
We already have Hanna as our 【Alchemist】 for crafting, so the only production role we might still want is a 【Blacksmith】, and ideally, a "Dwarf". For now, we’ll turn away normal human applicants.
Of course, that could change later.
The reason we haven’t run into candidates yet is probably because not many first-years have unlocked their Jobs.
Kalua hadn’t, after all. Once May rolls around, we’ll likely see more applications.
"Zephyrus! Can I start already!?"
Oh crap—I’d been so focused on the other students I neglected my own party.
Lana was already standing at the 20-meter line, fully ready and waiting in front of the targets.
Everyone else looked eager to see her first offensive spell in action.
"Ah, sorry about that. Go ahead. Start with 『Blade of Light』. Get a feel for the spell, its range, and direction—don’t forget that."
"Got it! — 『Blade of Light』!"
Just as I instructed, Lana released the spell.
From her hand, a massive, crescent-shaped blade of light—easily two meters long—shot forth.
"Hyah!?"
With a loud boom, the spell struck the ground just short and to the left of the target.
The blast was louder and stronger than expected, and Lana let out a startled yelp.
Well, 『Blade of Light』 is a mid-tier spell. It packs a real punch.
By the way, this <Training Ground> is technically part of the dungeon, built using artifacts—so even if you break the targets or the ground, they’ll restore themselves after a while.
"Once more! This time I’ll hit it!"
Shaking off her surprise, Lana immediately cast 『Blade of Light』 again.
This time, the glowing blade skimmed past the target’s right edge.
"Close one. But you managed to fire it level with the ground, that’s good. Now, focus harder on the target itself. And don’t look away—keep your eyes on it when you cast."
That trick worked for Hanna’s 『Fireball』, too.
It’s the same as with sports—never take your eyes off the target.
Unless you’re some kind of master, hitting without looking is impossible. Step one is always to look at where you want to hit.
"Got it! …『Blade of Light』"
Her third try.
This time, the blade shot straight from her hand and struck the target dead-on.
"I did it!"
"Nice. Landing a hit on just your third try—that’s impressive, Lana."
"Splendid work, Lady Lana."
"Hmph. Well, of course. Was there ever any doubt?"
Whether it was luck or talent, Lana had managed a direct hit in only three attempts, and she was riding high on it.
"Good stuff, Lana. Don’t lose that feel. The moment the cooldown ends, fire again. Chain them together."
"Leave it to me!"
Turns out she had a knack for accuracy—after a few tries, the shots that had been grazing started hitting solidly one after another. Her hit rate skyrocketed. Unreal.
Normally, the next step would be practicing on moving targets, but she’d only just begun.
Better to have her focus on refining her accuracy until her MP runs out.
But the moment I suggested that, she pouted.
"Eeh? But I’ve already got it down. The last ten shots were all bull's-eyes, no deviation! I want to try moving targets next!"
From my perspective, that was still too soon. She needed to get used to the feel of offensive spells first. New skills always take time to internalize. Throwing moving targets into the mix now would just confuse her.
Of course, telling Lana that wouldn’t convince her.
So instead, I decided to challenge her with a different approach.
"How about a Just Time Attack?"
"A… what now?"
"Here’s how it works. First, measure the time it takes from casting your spell to when it hits the target. Then, try to fire again so the impact lands in exactly the same amount of time. The goal is to control that timing precisely."
"?? I don’t really get it."
"To put it simply, practice so your spell hits the target in exactly three seconds. On the dot."
"Three seconds exactly…?"
She repeated it, confused but intrigued.
This technique was known as <Just Time Attack> back in the game.
It’s a critical skill for any guild aiming to climb the ranks.
It was even said that if you could consistently land hits in three seconds "as naturally as breathing," you were S-rank material. Of course, every spell had a different speed, so players would adjust their positioning accordingly.
It’s a tricky technique—but mastering it makes a massive difference in battle difficulty. I really wanted Lana to pick it up.
"The speed of a spell is always fixed. So, first, figure out where you need to stand for the projectile to hit in exactly three seconds. Then, once you’ve nailed that, practice moving around and still keeping that exact timing. Once you’ve got that down, then we’ll move on to moving targets."
"Hmm… sounds easy when you say it, but also kind of hard…"
"Well, it’s just about understanding your <Skills> and <Magic>. Once you’re used to it, it’s not so tough. Try it out."
"Alright… If I do this, I’ll get stronger, right?"
"Not exactly stronger—more like it’ll make winning a lot easier."
"…How is that any different from getting stronger?"
"Heh, that’s something you’ll find out later."
Grumbling, but still motivated, Lana pulled out her <Student Handbook (smartphone)> and started practicing her Just Time Attacks.
After some coaching, she seemed to catch on quickly—and before long, she was even landing three-second shots while running.
Contrary to my expectations, she cracked a triumphant smile and turned her practice toward moving targets, leaving me feeling a little more reassured about her potential.
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