The OP Lich is a Returnee, Chapter 166

Chapter 166 – Training

Naya was breathing heavily, and her moves were getting sluggish. That much was understandable. She was only mortal, after all, and we had been sparring for almost an hour straight, at this point. In truth, the fact that she was only breathing heavily, and not outright gasping for air or struggling to stay upright was proof of how much her training had progressed in just a few short months.

I darted in again, swinging my training staff in a long arc. I kept my moves slow enough that Naya could actually read and respond to them, and I certainly wasn’t using my full strength, but I wasn’t going easy on her. This was combat training, after all, being too harsh or too soft would only do more harm than good.

Naya stepped back, her body enhancement magic allowing the single step to take her out of my reach. She still had enough of her wits to realize that blocking or parrying the move was useless, so she went for the dodge, instead. Or, rather, a dodge into a counter, for the moment her foot touched the mat, she reversed, springing forward with her own staff outstretched like a spear. Trying to take advantage of the fact that my staff was now out of position to try and block her strike.

I turned my body slightly, allowing the strike to pass by me. With one hand, I reached out to grab Naya’s forward wrist, and used her own momentum to speed her into a throw. She tried to control the fall, even though I did not let go of her wrist, and actually managed to do a good job of it, though she had to drop her staff in order to break the fall. Only slightly winded, instead of getting the wind knocked out of her completely. She didn’t lie about, either, but was already moving to try and get up when I tapped my staff to her throat. She froze for a second, end then sighed in defeat.

“Yield.”

I nodded once, before helping her to her feet. “Very good, Naya. Your stamina, even without the body enhancement, has improved quite a bit. You also properly read my attacks. The counter on that last move was a bold choice. But do you know why it failed?”

Naya worked on getting her breathing under control as she thought. “The obvious answer would be that you’re faster than I am, and have much more experience, but that’s not what you’re looking for. I overextended, didn’t I?”

I smiled, and tossed an Infinite Canteen to her. “Correct. You threw everything into that last strike. Not a terrible idea, when done properly, but because you went ‘all in’, you had no way to respond when I evaded and performed my own counter. It wasn’t necessary to lunge so far, especially when using a staff more like a spear. Your hand should never have come within such easy reach of me, and your feet should not have been so far off the ground, leaving you with no way to combat my throw.”

Naya took a long drink of water, before speaking. “Mistress, why this focus on melee combat?”

“Ah, why teach a mage to fight as a warrior, hmm? Well, I do not expect you to be both Reaper and warrior, be it Deathblade or Deathsoul. And, soon enough, I will teach you how to create your first undead servant, to act as your guardian. In time, I’ll even show you how to improve them. However, even if you have an entire legion of the undead under your command, it means nothing if all an assassin needs to do is get a second alone with you, and strike you down before you can react.

“I do not expect you to fight as a warrior, as I said. However, I refuse to allow any disciple of mine be wholly dependent on undead minions and spells for her defense. You need to at least be able to hold off an attacker until your minions and allies can come to aid you. More than one mighty archmage has fallen because they poured all their attention into their spellwork, and neglected to train their body, or learn to defend themselves with more mundane means.”

I paused to let her consider that, before continuing. “With magic now fully unleashed into the world, monsters will begin to form. Some of those will hunt with magic, and some will hunt magic. A mage who knows only their spellwork would be helpless if they encountered a monster who had the ability to suppress magic in an area. If you at least know how to defend yourself, then you have a better chance of surviving such an encounter.

“That is also why I am teaching you the staff, though you can easily use these techniques with a spear, as well. While the staff can be used on offense, it is primarily a defensive weapon, and a versatile one at that. It gives you options, which is the most important thing for any mage. Remember, power is only part of the equation. Skill and technique can compensate for a lack of power, to some extent. With a staff, you can deflect and redirect an opponent’s strikes, turning their power against them, provided the gulf between you is not too large.

“However, there is one more reason why you, as a Death Mage, should learn how to fight with an array of weaponry. Out of the eight elemental types, only three tend to create solid minions, which can be used to fight for them. Air, Fire, Water, Light, and Shadow all tend to have elementals of some sort, with little to no physical form. Earth has elementals as well, or even golems, but those are solid as the earth and stone they’re made from. Life has their plants and animals that respond to their commands. But the minions of Earth and Life are still different from the undead. Do you know why?”

“The only thing I can think of is that they don’t use weapons and armor, usually?”

“That’s correct. Most forms of undead can use the same types of weapons and armor that they could in life, even the mindless ones. This means that, in order to best utilize your undead minions, you need to know about weapons and armor as well. I’m not saying you need to be a master swordsman, or anything like that, but, before your training is done, I will have you be at least capable with no less than three types of armor and five weapons, at least one of which shall be ranged, plus the basics of unarmed combat.

“This isn’t just so you can better direct your undead, of course. There’s a practical reason for it, as well. Say you come across a force of six skeletons. Two in leather armor and carrying bows, two in chainmail with dual blades, and two in full plate, with swords and shields. With them is one human in a robe, carrying a staff. Who is the obvious target, here? The human, naturally. They are clearly the linchpin of this squad, and killing them could possibly leave the mindless undead leaderless, responding only to their last orders.

“Now, take the same scenario, except those skeletons are now wearing helmets to make it harder to discern one from the other. And the human, instead of a robe, is wearing leather armor and carrying a shotgun. Now, the choice of who to go after is more complicated. Yes, the human still seems like someone more important, since they are visibly different, but they no longer scream ‘I’m the evil necromancer, kill me so that I can’t control my army of the dead anymore!’ Now, you have to consider if there is someone you’re missing, or if this is a trusted lieutenant of the main culprit, who may be looking on from afar with their spells. And if you use the more ‘human-like’ types of undead, such as ghouls? The choice is even harder.”

“I think I understand, Mistress. If I am able to function wearing armor and carrying weapons similar to what my minions use, I will be less of an immediate target. At the same time, knowing about weapons and armor will help me use my undead to their full potential, instead of just sending them at something like a mindless horde.”

“Good. Now, since we are taking a break, which weapons besides the staff do you wish to learn? I am counting the staff as one of the five weapons I will ensure you know, but I will take your desires into consideration for the rest.”

Naya considered that for a moment. “If I had to pick, I would choose the staff, obviously, some type of sword, and a dagger or knife for melee options. Then for ranged, I would like the bow, and some kind of firearm.”

I nodded slowly. “Interesting choices. What is your reasoning for them?”

“Well, the staff is obvious. I’m already learning it, and the techniques can be transferred to a spear with some work. For swords, well, I know that they do not require as much strength or stamina as things like maces and mauls, which would be better for me. The dagger or knife is so that I can have something that can be easily concealed on my person, or used as a backup weapon. And for the bow and gun, I don’t know what style of either I would use, but I think that one of each gives the best options for both old and new weapons.”

“Not bad. Let’s see. For your build, a lighter, quicker weapon would be better. With your build, I think a one-handed blade would be best for you. The wakizashi or the jian, perhaps. Or maybe an arming sword or cavalry saber, from more European lineages. Not the rapier, though. You’re not exactly tall, and the typical rapier is over a meter in length, which is a bit too long for your frame. As for the others? Each has their strengths and weaknesses, of course, but many of the techniques can be used with other blades. There are only so many ways the human body can move, after all.”

“I think I’d prefer the wakizashi, Mistress. At the very least, it will stand out less here in Japan. Especially if people begin bringing back the wearing of swords in public, like some people have been suggesting.”

“Oh? I hadn’t heard about that. What brought this change of thought?”

Naya actually laughed at that. “Mistress, you may be the most powerful mage on the planet, but it seems that even you can miss how much influence you have on things. The ‘old style’ swordsmen who are passing on the Warrior’s Way teachings started a push, though there are people saying that the real force behind it is from the military, so that they can create a groundswell of public opinion. Especially if monsters might start appearing, now that magic is fully free.”

“Ah,” I chuckled. “I may have been a tad bit busy to keep track of things here at home. Well, then, a wakizashi would be a good weapon for you, though I’ll give you some training in how to use one of Phantomline’s new Mageblades, when they start making them. And either a tanto or European-style dagger would also be appropriate for a close-in or concealed weapon.

“As for the bow?” I paused considering that question as I looked at her arm. “You will definitely need to build your strength for that. Despite what the movies might tell you, it takes a strong arm and stronger back to use a bow. It is not something someone with a weak arm can handle. Still, even without body strengthening, I believe we can get you to properly fire a bow. Since we’re already doing the wakizashi, I think we’ll get a hankyū for you. A shorter bow than the full-length daikyū, designed primarily for hunting, but with proper enchantment, and imbuing your shots, it will be deadly, even to those in armor.”

I nodded to myself, considering the final piece of what I would need to round out my disciple’s martial training. “Now, guns. I will admit that I am less familiar with them than other weapons. Before we were taken to the other world, they were uncommon in Japan, and that has not changed overmuch. For that, we would perhaps need to consult with Ya, since she would be more knowledgeable about such things. But I would think a pistol of some kind would be the best choice for you. Something fit for your hand, and without too much recoil, perhaps.”

“I will ask her about it before dinner, Mistress.”

“Excellent. Now, it is almost time for lunch, so clean yourself off before heading to the kitchen to get something from the cook. And don’t let the old softy give you more than one serving of cake. Moll doesn’t get to give out treats as much as she used to, but that’s no excuse for overindulging.”