Weapons of Mass Destruction

Chapter 371: Sparring

The first stop is Channeler, who I’ve had preparing a few opponents for Vega from the lower difficulties. In part, so that she can gain some experience in a relatively safe space, though I mostly want to see how these guys handle the little half-demon.

I locate one of my anchors opting to fly over instead of teleporting. I head over to the anchor until I reach Channeler who’s surrounded by almost a hundred people.

"Sorry, they were curious and wanted to watch. Most of them have been cooperative," Channeler says by way of greeting.

"That’s fine," I tell him before turning to Vega to get one last confirmation. " Are you ready, minion? The plan is for you to fight until we find someone about as strong as you, and then for you to spar with them."

"Can I stop holding back? Like with that girl where I couldn't hear her heart?"

"Sure, go all out. I’ll interfere if it's going to be too much."

Having her answer, Vega stretches in imitation of me, staring in the direction of the hodgepodge of people from Easy, Normal, and a few curious individuals from Hard difficulty that Channeler’s managed to round up.

"We can start with George and Susan; they are both from Easy difficulty."

"Yeah, I don't think that's a good idea," I say, examining them.

"That's not what I meant."

"Oh," his expression turns serious. "Then give me a moment."

While Channeler goes to the group of people, I turn to Vega, "Change of plans, minion. Start slowly, and if they are weak, stop fighting. Find out if they can keep up before putting in too much effort."

"Why? If they’re really that weak, they need to know!"

"Channeler spent a lot of effort pulling these people together, and I don't want them to think he did this just so a 6-year-old girl could curb stomp them."

"Minion Channeler should just be happy that master keeps him around!” Vega says.

"I know where you are coming from, minion, but try to think about the future. If I cause too much trouble for him, he’ll find someone else to work for."

"You should let him if he’s really that dumb,” she says, “there’s no reason for you to work with people like that!"

"Minion, you’re being too naive. There are situations where you want something, and you can't avoid people. Having someone who understands you and deals with them in your place is invaluable."

"Is that true?" Vega asks, seeming to suspect me of lying.

"It’s true, minion," I say, ruffling her hair out of habit. "So respect these people and keep them close. They won't work for free, so make sure to make it worth their time. Otherwise, they may leave you in the lurch at the first opportunity."

"Demons wouldn't do that! They only follow the strong, so I need to become strong enough that they don’t leave!"

"That may be minion. But I still want you to think about it, okay?"

After my minions nod in agreement, the Channeler comes back, just in time.

"We’ve decided to start with George and Susan from Easy. I already explained everything to them." He says.

"Sounds good."

I give Vega a push, and she steps forward, even now I’m keeping my full suite of senses focused on her. I might really be paranoid.

Once the woman and man from Easy difficulty finally square off against her, the fight starts.

It's Vega who attacks first, and 5 seconds later, the man and the woman roll on the ground. Nothing seems to be broken, except maybe their pride.

Good minion, she did what I asked her to.

"Please, Noname, can you tell your disciple to hold back a bit? I didn't know she was that strong," Channeler whispers, coming to me after checking the man and woman over for injuries.

"She did hold back. A lot." I whisper in response

"But you said she was level 62."

"Yes."

"But... okay, forget about it. Let's try Jon from Normal. He is one of the stronger ones there and should at least be higher level than she is."

After I agree, the short, muscular, and wide man moves to face Vega.

There is already a weak, almost transparent mana armor around his body with a deeper shade of blue around his forearms. The palms of his hands are darker yet, covered in a strange form of mana.

Once again, Vega charges first, not even creating a dagger in her hand.

She dodges under the man's kick altering her speed multiple times in quick succession. In an effort to confuse the man and throw him off. She then closes in on him, burying her knee in his crotch in one smooth movement.

Unfortunately for the man, her knee sends a weak burst of kinetic energy through. The mana armor around him flickers as he almost loses control over his skill, and with a groan, Jon stumbles back.

Before he can say anything, Vega kicks him again hammering away at the same spot, breaking through the stronger armor around his forearms and piercing his last defense.

For a moment, I think she might attack again, but she stops and looks down at the adult man rolling on the ground with a confused expression on her face.

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"Master, he isn't even hurt that much. It's just a little pain. Why is he lying down? He would be dead if this was a real fight." She asks, turning to me.

While Channeler rushes to the man, she rejoins me, and I quickly create a barrier around us to keep anyone from hearing her and thus preserve what remains of the man's dignity.

"He is older than me and has more mana too. But he’s weak and slow. And he gave up so easily. I didn't even use the kick at its full power so it couldn't have hurt that much." Vega sighs disappointed.

Even though she tries to hide it, I notice a hint of a smug smile on her face as she watches her defeated opponent.

Damn it, minion.

The last hope of protecting the tutorial attendees' dignity is the man from Hard difficulty.

Well, there are three of them, but Channeler only picks one while the remaining two talk and laugh.

I think I heard something interesting, so I try to strengthen my hearing in that way that some members of my group can. But I'm only able to hear bits and pieces of their conversation. Being able to listen to others isn't an ability I’ve ever found to be worth the time investment.

In the end, I turn back to Vega and her opponents as they take their places. His level should be closer to 100, so he should have a good shot at defeating my minion.

Unlike the others, he also radiates more mana, and his body strengthening seems better. Another melee build, seemingly, though he does seem to have a weak sheet of weak lightning arcing across his body as he seizes the initiative.

Vega waits until the last moment, and with her body boosted by kinetic energy, she dodges to the side, launching a single mana projectile at the man who dodges it and charges her again. Vega creates a dagger in her hand, and the man also radiates more mana, the lightning around him flickering even beyond his body which he uses to ward her off.

The minion used to melee range doesn't seem to like it. It’s clearly a barrier between her and the kind of fight she enjoys.

Even so, she doesn't hesitate and releases more mana, forming a weak imitation of mana armor.

With a strong push of kinetic energy, she reaches the man even as his kick lands on her arm, leaving a scorched mark behind.

For a short moment, the man looks towards me, expecting me to stop the fight. It almost costs him, and he barely blocks the kick aimed at his nether regions.

As an answer, a burst of lightning shoots towards Vega, and the armor around her body moves, all the mana concentrating on her forearm which she uses to block it.

She launches another orb of mana, boosted by her kinetic energy at the man who hastily avoids it, only for Vega to use the opportunity to close distance, with a knife in hand. The move seems to be an imitation of Tacita's style, with a hint of my minion's aggressiveness and her skills as a crutch to get her out of any tricky situations she happens to land in.

But before she can even connect, the man moves at a higher speed, and his kick sends Vega rolling on the grass as she clumsily tries to absorb her own momentum.

The man once again checks with me, and seeing I don't mind, he sighs. Then he follows my gaze and notices a mana knife lodged in his calf.

An expression of surprise is quickly replaced by pain, and he pulls it out, the mana dissolving once Vega’s dismissed it.

Getting back on her feet, my minion smiles with determination, despite the burn marks on her skin, and the scratches covering her body. Her shoulder also seems to be dislocated.

So cool.

"Minion, say 'I can do this all day.'"

"I can do this all day!" she shouts and charges the man again.

They clash shortly multiple times, leaving another small wound each time, barely a nuisance to the man in question, and more burns for Vega. But my minion keeps coming back for more.

The man isn't even holding back, and despite being at a higher level, he seems to be having trouble dealing with the nimble half-demon, who’s been using kinetic energy to move erratically and weaken his physical attacks.

It goes on for a minute or two, but at some point, the fight starts getting too heated, so I decide to interfere.

"That should be enough," I call.

Vega refuses to stop, continuing to charge the man who stopped the moment I called.

So I use [Redistribution] and grab hold of my silly minion, who freezes mid-air, moving slowly toward her opponent. A wild expression has overtaken her face, and in each hand, she holds a dagger. The daggers at this point are nearly transparent, a clear sign of her depleted mana.

I boost myself closer with my kinetic energy and poke her nose a few times, my minion locked in place.

"Thanks for helping," I tell the man from Hard difficulty. "My disciple seemed to be having a lot of fun."

Unlike Vega, the man has already healed. A result of the healing aura in the common area. Vega’s state only serves to confirm my suspicions regarding the protections afforded by this place.

"It's fine." The Hard difficulty attendee says smiling weakly and turning to my minion. "She’s very strong. Your name is Vega, right? Thank you for the duel."

Vega still doesn't move as I hold her in my skill.

"She won't answer. I need to punish her for being so stubborn. Can you thank Channeler for me as well? I’ll meet up with him sometime in the other events."

"I’ll pass it along."

I touch Vega and transport us both to one of the more private spots I discovered. It's a clearing pretty far away from the common area, surrounded by trees and a small stream of clear water passing through.

It's comfortably quiet here.

"Do you know what you did wrong?" I ask her.

Vega blinks a few times, still bound in the air. She can’t defend herself even as I touch and push the tip of her nose, tilting it upwards, "I wouldn't expect such a dumb way of fighting from someone with [Concentration]. Do you agree?"

Silence.

"I mean, some aggression is fine, but to go to the point of acting more like an animal than a thinking human? Isn't that too much? If you want to be aggressive, go into it with some strategy in mind or at least be strong enough to get away with it."

I give her some more boops on the nose and move her hair, covering her face until she can barely see me through it. Then I tickle her.

"Some opponents are weak against rapid attacks and aggressive opponents. Others are weak against ranged attacks. Another group isn't good at physical combat. Yet I have noticed that my silly disciple still fights the same. No matter how much I try to change it."

I pull a patch of grass from the ground and put it on her head.

"I wouldn't say anything if you were strong and excelled at a single type of combat. In that case, you might be able to make it work. But minion, you aren't there yet."

Lastly, I move her body over the stream of water and release my skill, leaving her to fall into it.

Quickly jumps out spitting water and sputtering like an angry kitten, shaking and letting out a series of hissing noises. Then she stands there, angry, wet, and wounded from the duel.

"Have you any defense, minion?"

When she stands quiet, I move closer and touch her, teleporting us over to Lily, who didn't expect to see Vega after already saying goodbye. And especially not in such a state.

Before we return to Miwa, Vega changes into new clothes and gets fully healed.

Then I teleport us back to Miwa. Between my experience using [Tether] and Vega’s improved level, I clearly don’t have to worry about hurting her anymore.