NOVEL WEB I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 10
It was a bit earlier than we originally planned (roughly 12pm), but Mr. Flippers and I left the domain to go check out the training area before we met up with Julia.
That was purely the only reason why we left early, losing back-to-back card games against a penguin had no impact on my decision to leave. Not even a little bit. My pride was completely intact and not at all damaged in the slightest.
Anyway.
Finding the training grounds was not a problem since Julia and I found its entrance when we explored the area on our first day. Despite the door being locked at that time, the sign with a giant picture of a sword and the label of "training grounds" made it fairly clear what was behind it.
Mr. Flippers and I entered that door and were greeted by a small lobby-like area that split off into four rooms. A bit of exploring revealed that each room was for a different type of training. There was a section for practicing melee weapons with training dummies set up, a similar section but for ranged projectiles, a weird section with constantly flying objects, and a massive arena for dueling.
This place actually looks pretty well-designed. It feels like some sort of weird magic dojo.
I was certain that this place would be popular during this long week despite how few creatures were currently training. Much like the halls, there were not many other Seedlings here.
Is everyone still in the bathhouse? It's already been 2 hours, so maybe they just went back to their domains? I guess they must be using up the rest of their Resource Points before the day ends or something.
I was not going to complain about the open space, so I decided to push away those thoughts and go practice in the melee area.
There were a ton of different training dummies set up with varying shapes; some had humanoid torsos while others resembled punching bags, specific shapes, or were simply unidentifiable. Off to the side of the room sat a few barrels filled with blunt weapons including a wooden sword and spear, an odd mace-like weapon, a soft whip, and a few others that I couldn't recognize. To keep things simple on myself, I grabbed one of the swords to practice with.
"Sorry, Mr. Flippers. I'm gonna need to put you down for a bit, I don't want to accidentally hit you with this thing," I apologized to the penguin as I carried him over to an empty barrel.
I plopped the small penguin into the barrel ignoring his protests.
Oh my god, his tiny head is peaking out the top... that's so freaking cute.
"Listen, I don't want you to get hurt so I have to keep you in there, but will you be a bit happier if I move you closer to me?" I asked as I sneakily took a picture of the penguin.
Mr. Flippers looked away from me and let out a quiet squawk as if saying he didn't care what I did.
This penguin can never be honest, can he?
I hid my smirk as I lifted the penguin-filled barrel and placed it around 7 feet away from where I would be swinging. It was still a bit away, but it was a third of the distance compared to the wall where he sat before and his complaining died down a bit. I started with a few light swings to get used to the sword's weight before soon switching over to basic hits on the dummy with the humanoid torso. Though my initial hits were sporadic, I was quickly able to find some sort of rhythm with my swings and my sword began to steadily collide in the spots I aimed for.
Alright, I'm getting the basics down fine. Working on my aim can wait a bit- I want to put some power into this.
Gradually, I increased the weight behind my swings with the volume of their impacts increasing proportionally. The torso shook a bit with every strike, but the sword nor the dummy showed any signs of wear. I was by no means weak either; I found that I had some decent muscles upon removing my wet clothes in my domain, so there was some considerable force behind my later strikes. I continued to swing at this level for a bit and my sword began to hit what I would consider vital spots more frequently.
What the heck are these made of!? I know the sword is wooden, but I can't even make a scratch on this dummy! Still, something doesn't feel right.
Although I was swinging with what I thought was my full strength, I felt like I could do more. There was no sense of fatigue caused by my strikes despite my intense slicing, so I knew I could push myself further.
It's like I have so much more strength that I just can't use for some reason. What am I doing wrong here?
I lowered my sword and stepped away from the training dummy slightly frustrated and confused.
"That's enough swordplay today, Mr. Flippers. How about we check out the other sections?" I spoke as I put back the sword and barrel.
"Squawk."
'Oi- don't be acting bored. I just spent two hours getting destroyed by you in Blackjack. Besides, this is important so we gotta train a bit."
"Squawk squawk squawk."
"The heck do you mean 'that was boring too'!? I was actually trying to win! Did I pose that little of a threat to make you that disinterested!?"
"Squawk squawk."
"Hush, I saw your penguin smile while we were playing so stop lying. I am super fun- you don't have to deny it. Actually... I know what my last primary lifeform will be! I'm gonna choose some sort of mushroom."
"Squawk?"
"Oh yeah, you don't know what those are. It's a type of fungi, just like me- ow! Don't peck at me, it was a good joke! Besides, it's actually not a bad choice in all seriousness. They're a good decomposer which I need and they're also a decent food source."
It would also be pretty sick to see how a mushroom environment turns out.
The two of us began walking to the section with the flying objects. This area had several private rooms with a giant reinforced-glass window showing the interior and a door to get inside.
We entered the first of these rooms. It was roughly 30ft x 30ft with a marble floor and odd metallic walls with circular holes placed in a grid-like pattern. The holes themselves were roughly 6 inches in diameter and they shot out golden spheres with a diameter half of that from the left wall which landed perfectly into the holes on the right wall.
This looks pretty cool, but I thought this might be for practicing dodging... aren't the balls going way too fast for that?
The golden color of the spheres made me a bit hesitant to step into the fire, so I stuck my hand in the closest ball's path and successfully caught it.
"It feels like actual gold, but it's not as malleable," I muttered as I examined the sphere in my hand, "Even though it's technically metal, it didn't hurt at all when it hit me... what the heck happened to my body?"
I had a feeling something was off during my practice swings, but this confirms it. Something clearly changed with my body after becoming a Seedling.
"I guess I'll just need to keep experimenting," I sighed while rolling the ball over to Mr. Flippers, "Here, you can play with this while I train so you don't get too bored."
The penguin happily began rolling the ball around as I brought my attention back to the projectiles in front of me.
They're so freaking fast... welp here goes nothing.
I jumped into the line of fire, barely getting over the first few spheres that flew under me. Despite there being no contact, they had enough weight to push the air around me and the wind strongly blew my hair.
With minimal effort, I easily side-stepped the incoming projectiles and gradually began moving deeper into the area. I was forced to navigate in a two-steps forward, one-step back type of manner due to the sporadic nature of the firing, but my progress was rapid.
Since the balls were only coming from one direction, it was like child's play compared to the green beams I avoided on my way to Antarctica.
This is actually kind of fun! I haven't even been hit once... do I have some sort of weird talent for dodging?
I slowly got more comfortable and the tension soon faded to the point where I had enough mental power to glance over at Mr. Flippers while still focusing on the golden spheres being launched at my face.
That penguin might have some god-like luck and Julia might be able to use magic, but I guess I also have a talent! Wait... speaking of Julia, how long have I been-
As if she heard my thought, the door to the room creaked open and an elf girl with a towel on her head walked in. Although she was wearing the same clothes as the last time I saw her, it was easy to tell that she had already used the bathhouse.
"Uhhh... hey Julia-"
"I waited an hour for you!" she complained, "I was so excited to finally have a bath after 3 days and you just left me there!"
"I'm sorry! I guess I just lost track of time," I apologized as I made my way out of the projectile area. Even with my now increased speed, it would still take me a bit to navigate out, "What time is it anyway?"
"... it's 1pm" she muttered.
"What!? I'm not even late! How were you waiting an hour if we're just supposed to be meeting now!?"
"Well... I didn't feel like going back to my domain, so I just waited outside the bathhouse," she blushed before continuing, "but then I realized it was co-ed so I decided to clean myself before you joined..."
The bathhouse is co-ed!? Dangit, I really missed out.
"H-hey! Don't look at me like that!" she grabbed the ball from Mr. Flippers and chucked it at me.
Of course, I effortlessly avoided it.
"Don't dodge it either!" she complained.
"Sorry, I'm just too cool to get hit. I really don't get why you're mad though. Obviously, you wouldn't want to take a bath while I was there, so wasn't it better that I didn't come early?"
"... You still should've come," she pouted, "I had a towel on, but you should've been there to look out for me anyway."
Ah- I get it now.
"Okay, I get it now, I'm sorry," I apologized with a sigh, "Next time wait for me, I'll go in with you from now on."
A slight smile appeared on the elf's face as she nodded with her face still a bit red.
Seriously, girls are confusing. I understand the penguin more than her sometimes...
"I thought we made up- why are you still throwing stuff at me!?" I shouted ducking under another sphere she tossed over.
"... I just think it's fun," she laughed while handing one to Mr. Flippers.
She has the face of an angel, but she must be a devil.
I spent an hour dodging golden spheres from two different directions.
