Great Teacher in a Defense Game

#11 Lightning in the Left Hand, Gold in the Right

The hair styling finished a short while later.

Lacrima brought a mirror and showed it to Enoch.

“Well, what do you think?”

“Hmm…”

“Pretty, isn’t it? Stylish, right?”

Enoch looked in the mirror and ran a hand through his hair.

A side parting, the ends styled to stand out.

Not bad at all.

Besides, this was a student trying to impress their teacher with their skill.

Enoch was more pleased with Lacrima’s thoughtfulness than the finished hairstyle itself.

“Well done. I like it. The way you added points here and there, eliminating the blandness, is impressive.”

“Hehe…you noticed. This much is basic, you know.”

Lakrina, chin in hand, offered a knowing smirk.

She seemed keen on projecting an air of expertise.

“Settings are finalized, let’s be off then.”

“Pardon? Off where, exactly?”

“Beyond the city’s ramparts. Quite a bit to test today, all things considered.”

Today was shaping up to be a busy one.

Lakrina’s capabilities required scrutiny, as did the skills acquired just moments ago.

Nothing more needed in preparation, it seemed.

They departed straightaway, then.

“Let’s go.”

“Aye.”

@

Magnus, a truly gargantuan city.

Its population hovered around a million six hundred thousand souls.

To offer a comparison, think Philadelphia, perhaps.

The crucial point was that this world’s capacity for supporting a populace was hardly negligible.

Various factors contributed to this, though Enoch sensed the bulwark encircling the city played a significant role.

‘A world where monstrous beasts could spring from anywhere. Waves were merely those beasts gathered in organized hordes. The species themselves were already widely dispersed, no doubt.’

A protracted journey equated to a brush with death in this era.

Thus, humankind erected ramparts.

Magical ramparts.

The most magnificent legacy current humanity had built.

These colossal ramparts, forged with steel and magic, signified humanity’s resolve and the very edge of civilization.

Beyond that edge, all traces of civilization vanished.

A testament to the untamed lands where man had not yet ventured.

Enoch passed beyond the boundary, leaving civilization behind.

He passed through the tollgate, pierced a long tunnel, and pressed onward for quite some time.

A moment later.

The darkness receded, and as he opened his eyes, a sprawling land of grass unfolded before him.

“T-Teacher…? Are you sure this is alright?”

Forest and meadow bloomed into view.

Lacrimas shook, trembling with terror.

As if she’d witnessed something unmeant for eyes.

This was the most commonplace reaction amongst humanity of this world.

Save for a handful of districts, they were raised on ignorance and fear of the world beyond the walls.

Land where only monsters spring forth, a place uninhabitable by man.

Such a notion was ingrained deep within their bones.

‘Small wonder all supplies are transferred by airship or dirigible. There’s a reason technicians and mages are so highly regarded. Without them, the lifeblood of every nation, Empire included, would simply cease to flow.’

Humanity of this world conquered the skies long before the earth or the sea.

The heavens were, comparatively, less touched by the taint of monsters.

-Screech-

A moment later, the carriage halted.

Enoch alighted first, Lacrimas following close behind.

“…Teacher? So, why exactly did we come here?”

“Why else? It’s all for you, of course.”

Enoch cracked open the case, placing a cigarette between his lips.

Only three remained.

He’d best start rolling a few more soon.

‘I’m getting a little tired of Entus leaf. Perhaps I’ll buy something different this time.’

“…For me? What is there to find here?”

Lacrimas inquired, watching her master light his cigarette.

Her tone held a hint of irascibility.

Abruptly dragged to this place, she appeared to be mentally cornered.

Enoch offered no pointless excuses.

Instead, he rummaged within his coat.

-Click-

-Charrrr-

What he produced was a pen and a ring.

Enoch tossed the pen to Lacrimas.

The ring, I cast it into the long grass.

“…? What is this—”

“Careful now. You’ll cut yourself.”

“Eek!”

The pen, in an instant, changed its guise.

Its original form vanished somewhere, replaced by a longsword of considerable heft.

“A, a sword?”

“A broadsword, to be precise. Now assume your stance.”

Meanwhile, the ring shifted form, rose to its feet.

A cheap trinket, worth barely 320,000 Crones, had transformed into the figure of a knight.

-Shling-

“This should suffice for practice. Now, let us begin.”

“Begin what, exactly?”

“What else? We must awaken the latent talent within you.”

The knight raised his sword, took a step forward.

-Thud!

“Ugh… Seriously!”

Lacrina tightened her grip on the blade.

Girl and knight collided in a flurry.

@

The fight continued for a short while.

The advantage lay with the knight.

-Clang! Clang! Cl-ang!

The knight’s arming sword traced a whistling arc.

Lacrina parried the incoming blows, calmly maintaining her distance.

‘Lacrina had showcased her talent from the moment she entered the academy. Already, in her first exam, she’d beaten down seven classmates. She was accustomed to fighting even before enrollment.’

Lacrina was an orphan, born and raised in the slums.

And the life of an orphan is rarely a smooth one.

Before even reaching an orphanage, one must overcome countless threats.

Hunger, cold…

Lachryma had ultimately survived within that purgatory.

And now, here she stood before Enoch.

She couldn’t possibly be bested by some mere summoned knight.

Enoch’s judgment proved true.

Seizing her chance, Lachryma exploited an opening, precisely stabbing the knight’s head with her blade.

-Clang!

The ring knight, steadying his head, retreated backward.

Despite lacking a persona, his behavior was indistinguishable from a human’s.

“Haa… haa… Is it… over now?!”

Lachryma, catching her breath, inquired of Enoch.

Enoch nodded.

“Yes. Let’s move on to the next.”

“Huh?”

Enoch did not reply.

Instead, he drew a pistol from within his coat and tossed it toward the ring knight.

“…Eh?”

“Now face both sword and gun. Imprint it upon your very being. There will come a day when you must fight like that.”

“…What are you even saying!”

Lachryma screamed, her voice cracking.

Regardless, the knight loaded the pistol, then drew his sword once more.

Gun in his left hand, sword in his right.

Lachryma’s face gradually contorted into a weeping grimace.

-Click

“Damn it!”

-Bang!

A bullet grazed her face.

Lachryma swiftly propelled herself from the earth.

Her intent was to close the distance, not to allow any space in the first place.

The knight aimed the gun again.

Enoch watched the spectacle unfold before him with keen interest.

‘Alright… time I started on my own work.’

Enoch closed his eyes and activated the skill.

The unidentified skill he’d acquired just moments before.

[Homunculus of Gold and Chain]

He intended to test it, at least a little, right here and now.

‘First, Chain Harmony.’

-Creek

Using the skill was simple enough.

Enoch only needed to decide he wanted to use it.

[Chain Harmony]

[You are being mentally linked to the target.]

The instant he activated the skill, he heard the grinding of gears.

His left hand glowed with a blue light.

-Whoosh

-Crack!

‘…Flame? Lightning? No, it feels more like a release of mana.’

Enoch brushed his clothes with his lightning-tinged left hand.

Blue lightning crackled and seeped within.

[Notice: The clothing is now bound to you.]

[Harmony propagates in a chain reaction.]

System alerts noisily erupted in his status window.

‘I see. The ‘chain’ and ‘harmony’ are just words. The real effects are binding and analysis.’

The effect of Chain Harmony was simple.

It directly linked a specific target to Enoch as an individual.

An effect akin to visually witnessing a game’s synergy.

Things linked in this way felt like extensions of his own body.

The coat he currently wore now felt like a part of his own skin.

‘Shall we test it?’

Enoch stroked his own face with his left hand.

Chain Harmony.

Flickering azure lightning etched itself upon his retina.

Moments later, a blue flame danced in Enoch’s pupils, now revealed once more.

‘I see it. I see the blue flame invading everything within my sight, chaining itself together.’

Unseen light seeped into them like waterways.

Soon, a deluge of new information flooded Enoch’s mind.

Physique, ability, and qualities.

Even thoughts and actions.

‘The knight plants his left foot. And strikes downwards.’

-Thud!

-Crack!

‘Lacrimă rolls to the side, evading the attack. Power concentrates in her right leg. She dashes forward again, dodging the bullets, and charges onward, blade drawn.’

-Bang!

-Clang!

The battle unfolded as predicted.

Without realizing it, Enoch pinpointed the exact flow of the fight.

He deciphered the patterns of action from the knight he had created.

Conversely, from Lacrimă, he confirmed the changes in her body.

The ring knight is a tool, devoid of will.

Therefore, he could know everything about it without much difficulty.

Lacrimă, on the other hand, is a living being, possessed of will.

Therefore, her thoughts remained veiled.

However, he could predict where her body would move next.

Through that, he could immediately decipher her subsequent action.

-Bang! Bang!

-Clang!

Lacrimă raised her sword and slashed.

Her left arm collided, staggering the knight.

Lacrimă spun the rising sword, grasping it in reverse grip.

The blade locked onto the helmet in a straight line.

Enoch and Lacrimă thought simultaneously.

‘Now.’

“Now-!!”

-CRUNCH!

Lacrina brought her sword crashing down.

The broadsword pierced the helmet, burying itself in the earth.

-EEEEEE…

The knight thrashed, then stilled.

The surrounding sounds gradually faded.

Only then did Lacrina straighten, exhaling a relieved breath.

“Whew… it’s over.”

*Yes. Now it is finished.*

Nearby, Enoch was thinking the same thing.

Yet the meaning differed between them.

-Ding!

[Alert: Lacrina unlocks a new aptitude!]

[New!!!: Weapon Master]

[Henceforth, she shall possess innate talent in all weapons!]

Enoch pushed the notification window aside.

That made two talents in total for Lacrina.

Freezing, and Weapons, respectively.

Neither could one dare to call anything less than S-Rank.

*Now all that remains is time and experience. The academy will see to that, not I.*

Enoch dismissed the status window and approached Lacrina.

Lacrina, catching her breath, stared vacantly up at Enoch.

“Sensei… I can’t die anymore…”

“You’ve done well. Rest a moment. Step aside now.”

Enoch gestured as if to say, *out of the way*.

Lacrina clumsily rose from atop the knight.

*Hmm. This one is beyond repair.*

The Ring Knight was already half-destroyed.

Only a thing worth 320,000 kro, after all.

Not so regrettable.

“Teacher…?”

“What is it?”

“Let’s go home now…”

Lacrima said, hugging her knees.

Her manner suggested enough was enough.

Alas, Enoch shook his head.

“Not nearly. We’ve only just finished one.”

“One…?”

“Indeed. Lesson 1 was to test your abilities.”

‘And, coincidentally, to awaken hidden qualities.’

Enoch hid the afterthought, slipping a hand into his coat.

Two watches were held in his hand before one knew it.

“Teacher…? Why are you taking those out??”

“Why, for the next training, of course.”

Enoch promptly threw the watches.

Two gargantuan mechanical serpents instantly reared up.

-ooo!!

-Krrrooo!!

“Uoooh……”

Lacrima sang along, gazing up at the snakes.

A rather peculiar sight it was.

Regardless, Enoch used the next skill.

This time, he used the homunculus’ right hand.

None other than Auric Fusion.

‘Chain Harmony revealed more than I expected. My information, the information of others, the information of objects. And even their possibilities. I am no exception.’

Enoch had already noticed the skill’s effect.

It was because, while touching his eyes with Chain Harmony, he had intently contemplated his own interior.

‘Auric Fusion.’

– *Srrrkk-*

[Effect: Allows for the fusion of a target’s essence. Reveals the target’s worth.]

Enoch invoked the skill.

His right hand glowed with golden light.

A golden arm, reminiscent of the mythical Midas.

Enoch, with his radiant hand, gently touched his eyes as before.

A moment later, opening them once more, he found a value assigned to everything in the world.

[Notification: Gold Fusion activated.]

[Broken Ring Knight: 70,000 Crowe]

[Code Name Cyber Dragon: 320,000 Crowe]

‘The worth of a summoned being is likely determined by the raw materials that became its medium. The knight’s price has fallen because it’s broken, no doubt.’

Enoch, absorbing the information, moved his right hand.

And then, something indiscernible was grasped within his hand.

Enoch quickly understood its identity.

The existence of the mechanical serpent before his eyes.

Or rather, its essence.

The very thing itself.

‘The magic of this world is bound by words. The Ice Mage wields ice, the Language Mage wields voice, such is the principle. And… Gold Fusion touches the essence of a target, nothing less.’

A certain sage once said: the worth of a target is determined by its essence.

And so it was, in reality.

‘Fusing two disparate essences into one. Like the alchemists of the distant past, who ultimately sought to create gold, no matter the cost.’

Enoch clenched the two essences floating above his hand with fierce determination.

Within his grasp, the two entities intertwined and mingled.

– *Uoooh-oooh!!!*

– *Keu-oooh!!!*

“W-What is happening?”

Lacrina, who had been observing the serpent, startled in alarm.

Followed by a look of utter shock.

The massive mechanical serpent before her.

The sight of which was already daunting, was now transforming like clay, melding and mixing together.

As if steel had lost its very essence, collapsing into liquid form.

A moment later.

From within that monstrous distortion, two heads reared up.

-Uooo!!!

“E-eh…? Two, two heads—”

“I approve.”

Lacrimosa gaped in disbelief.

Enoch strode forward.

He gazed up at the newly formed serpent with satisfied eyes.

“Two heads on a single body… and it’s grown larger as well.”

-Uooo!!

“I hold little interest in my own advancement… but this is a different story.”

Enoch chuckled, extending his hand.

The two-headed mechanical serpent bowed, pressing its heads against his outstretched palm.

“From this moment forth, I shall call you Twin Dragon. …Lacrimosa?”

“…Y-yes?!”

“Prepare yourself. We proceed to the next lesson.”