"You don't even have a weapon, so what kind of sparring are you proposing?"
"I just need a weapon, right? Wait a moment!"
After saying that, Reisir headed toward the shower room.
A few seconds later, he returned to the training ground holding a practice spear with a blunt edge.
It was obvious he had taken it out of his inventory.
I deduced that immediately, but since Reisir had gone in and out of the shower room, I couldn't help retorting.
"Did you just take a weapon out of the shower room?"
"Huh? What's wrong with that?"
"It seems you lack even the common sense not to store weapons in a humid place."
"Uh..., well... I do have at least that much common sense..."
"Then don't tell me... you don't wash...?"
"No!!"
"Then you lack common sense."
"......"
I could see Reisir's face flush with grievance.
Including being treated like a doting parent before training started, how many times had I been forced to keep my mouth shut despite feeling unfairly wronged?
Thinking that Reisir was now experiencing something similar felt incredibly satisfying.
While I inwardly rejoiced and outwardly looked at him with contempt, Reisir's eyes suddenly shifted as though he had made some kind of decision.
That ominous feeling lasted only a moment.
Soon, I was appalled.
Because the nature of that 'something' was revealed in less than a minute.
"This spear, and even the clothes I'm wearing right now. Actually, they weren't stored in the shower room."
After saying that, Reisir placed the spear into his inventory, then took it back out again.
Watching the strange phenomenon of space distorting like ripples as the long spear disappeared and reappeared, how could I not stare in shock?
'This bastard... just because he felt wronged after being mistaken for someone stupid enough to store weapons in a shower room, he revealed his inventory ability...?!'
I was so dumbfounded I couldn't even speak.
However, Reisir seemed to interpret my reaction as simple surprise at seeing an object disappear and reappear out of thin air.
"Why are you so surprised? The bead-shaped artifact your Familiar carries can also store items while ignoring the laws of physics. I just don't need a medium like that."
It seemed Reisir had mistaken the Yeouiju for a storage artifact.
For reference, artifacts with such a function do not exist in this world.
Was it a setting intended to emphasize how special the Awakened are?
However, from the perspective of someone who doesn't know what a Yeouiju is, mistaking it for an artifact would be inevitable.
I had neither anything else to explain nor any desire to explain it, so I decided to let the misunderstanding stand.
"That ability..."
"It became possible after the silver Ether appeared. It's fine now..., but there was a time when I felt anxious if I didn't have a weapon with me. But spears are too long and inconvenient to carry around, right? So the moment I started finding it troublesome, something like a glass window appeared in the air."
Reisir rambled on, explaining that when he brought an item toward 'that thing,' which was invisible to other people, it would go swoosh right inside, and a simplified drawing of the stored item would appear on the glass window.
Anyway, I already knew about the inventory.
So while half-listening to the latter half of his explanation, I found myself thinking about the former.
'The reason he once couldn't let go of his weapon out of anxiety must be trauma from the first demonic realm appearing, when monsters suddenly spawned during its creation.'
I had already resolved myself to smack him one way or another if we sparred, but for him to suddenly bring up such a pitiful personal story at a moment like this?
That was undeniably foul play.
"For your information, this ability is a secret known only to Lord Diyoop and Heli. So I originally intended to hide it, but come to think of it, there wasn't really any reason to after already telling you about the silver Ether."
Opening an inventory window is an advantage of being Awakened and has nothing to do with silver Ether.
Even so, Reisir wasn't trying to deceive me with clever wording.
Because at present, Reisir is the only Awakened person in existence.
He had simply misunderstood and assumed the inventory was an ability he gained because of the silver Ether.
In other words, Reisir had frankly shown me his trust.
'Subtly drawing out my sympathy, then appealing to me by saying he's revealing a secret known only to a handful of close acquaintances...'
It's honestly shocking that none of this is intentional.
As expected, I must never lower my guard around the original protagonist.
"Anyway, you said you'd spar with me if I had a weapon, right?"
"I did not say it like that."
"But that's basically what you implied, isn't it?"
"I won't deny it."
Reisir grinned, looking satisfied by my answer.
Then he lightly loosened up his body while spinning the spear shaft with a whish-whish.
"By the way, Karvaldr, are you planning to cast a buff on yourself?"
"Don't tell me you're going to say I can't?"
"No, I was wondering if you could cast one on me too."
"Of course not. I'm already at a disadvantage as it is. Why would I make you even stronger?"
"I was curious what it feels like to receive a buff..."
Although Reisir looked disappointed, he didn't continue insisting.
Instead, he slightly bent his knees, gripped the middle and rear of the spear with both hands, and aimed the blade toward me.
By taking a ready stance, he clearly showed his intention to stop chatting and begin sparring.
I also finished preparing by reactivating the buff that had already worn off.
"I'll give you the first move."
"I've never learned how to attack first."
"Uh..., really? Then just attack however you want."
It was an incredibly difficult request.
However, considering the future, it was something I absolutely had to experience.
I couldn't keep giving the enemy the initiative and quietly waiting for them to move every single time.
'Usually in novels, when characters are forced to make the first move, what do they do?'
First, they seemed to carefully observe the opponent's stance and search for an 'opening.'
The problem was either that Reisir's stance was flawless, or that I lacked the eye to see one.
I couldn't find any so-called opening.
Then there was only one thing left for me to do.
A brainless frontal assault.
Even though the outcome was obvious, what else could I do? I couldn't just give up before even trying.
I stomped hard against the ground and rushed forward, measuring the distance between myself and Reisir as well as my attack range.
The moment I reached a position where the whip could reach him, I extended my arm and swung.
Reisir lowered his stance even further, dodging the whip aimed at his waist while simultaneously kicking off the ground.
It was an elastic movement, like a spring rebounding.
The distance closed instantly, and I realized I had entered his attack range.
Even though the result was expected, panic still washed over me.
In my haste, I stepped backward and swung the whip again.
But I couldn't stop Reisir.
This time too, he lightly dodged my attack using only the movement of his upper body.
By then, the distance had already closed too much for me to swing the whip properly.
At this range, Reisir couldn't swing his spear either.
But he didn't fail at controlling the distance.
Instead, he held back for my sake.
At some point, Reisir had switched to holding the spear only in his right hand.
Then he spread his left hand open.
Instead of striking me with the spear or his fist, he gently pushed my torso with his palm.
However, 'gently' referred only to the motion itself.
The strength behind the shove was considerable, so I had no choice but to collapse ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) flat onto my back.
My feet didn't even touch the ground as I fell.
It lasted only an instant, but my body had floated through the air.
"Are you okay?"
Reisir extended a hand toward me to help me up and asked about my condition.
My body was perfectly fine, but my pride had been thoroughly crushed by a spar that ended in barely a minute.
The impact of my backside hitting the floor hurt more than the place his palm touched, and that alone explained how much Reisir had held back.
Even so, his attitude felt like giving me a disease and then offering the cure.
Even if I hadn't felt that way, I still wouldn't have taken the hand Reisir offered me.
Ignoring his outstretched hand, I stood up on my own and dusted off my clothes.
"Let's try one more time. This time, I'll attack first."
The ignored hand must have been awkwardly left hanging.
Yet Reisir accepted my attitude naturally and proposed a second match.
Judging by how easily he had dodged the second whip I swung, I doubted the result would change just because we switched who attacked first.
However, looking at it another way, it proved that Reisir truly wouldn't get hit by my whip.
It was also a good opportunity to lessen my reluctance toward swinging a whip at another person.
We widened the distance again, faced each other, and resumed sparring.
And this time, I finally understood why Reisir said striking projectiles and fighting a person were completely different things.
Unlike projectiles, whose trajectories are fixed the instant they're launched, human movement changes every moment.
Instead of immediately slipping through my guard and knocking me down like before, Reisir moved in every direction—front, back, left, and right—while dodging the whip.
At times, he even swung his spear to deflect my attacks.
It wasn't that he couldn't reach me.
He simply chose not to.
Even after realizing that, I continued swinging the whip diligently, determined to at least graze his clothes somehow.
But eventually, it began to feel less like training for me and more like I was helping train him instead, so I quietly lowered the hand holding the whip.
"Hm...? Stopping already?"
"Haven't you already repeated advancing and retreating several times? If you've done that much, isn't it enough training for dealing with someone using a weapon with a longer reach than a spear?"
"Ahahaha..., sorry."
Reisir smiled awkwardly and apologized, which I considered entirely deserved.
He claimed he would watch me train, only to use me for his own training instead.
If he had any conscience at all, he should feel guilty.
"By the way, it seems you've only learned the basics of whip techniques? It didn't look like you had any preparation for actual combat at all. And there are too many openings."
"If you say openings, where exactly are you talking about?"
"Hmm..., from head to toe, everything...?"
"......"
I had tried my best in various ways while keeping real combat in mind, but as expected, there seemed to be limits to self-study.
Once vacation began and I returned to the possessed body's main family estate, I should arrange for a proper whip instructor somehow.
This simply wouldn't do.
And if I couldn't find a suitable expert, then I would have no choice but to learn by smashing my head against the wall through endless cycles of sparring.
'Maybe I should consider changing my main weapon too...?'
At the time, I genuinely had thoughts like that.
But, as a small spoiler for readers who might feel frustrated, there was no need for that.
Because, though in a rather questionable way to call fortunate, an opportunity to learn practical whip techniques arrived very soon.
However, today's training was not over yet.
That story would come a little later...
I'll postpone it until around the episode after next.
