The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

Chapter 480
 
Sparring with Rose

The sparring session is limited to close-quarters combat—a straightforward battle using only our fists.
The reason I, with my overwhelming lack of combat experience, can even spar with Rose is that she’s actively trying to train me.
"Ha!!"

I swing my fist, infused with Healing Magic, towards her.
Rather than a wide, heavy blow, I focus on speed, delivering a jab-like punch. Rose avoids it with her eyes, and in response, she also strikes with a punch empowered by Healing Magic.
———A punch imbued with Healing Magic!!

As soon as my brain recognizes this, I decide it’s a feint, and as I focus on Rose’s left fist, which she’s drawn back to strike—her right fist, still glowing with Healing Magic, crashes into my forehead.
"Ugh!?"
"Don’t make hasty judgments!!"
"…Right, sorry!!"

What the hell was I thinking!? She’s right! If I decide that her punch is just a feint and act on that, then the whole point of this sparring is lost!
I concentrate, refocusing, and then immediately close in to engage Rose in close combat again.
"Not bad!!"

Rose counters with a punch as I approach, and I try to deflect it using Healing Flow.
"Healing Flow...!!"
However, as I attempt to redirect the mana with my palm, a sharp sound of "crack" resonates as my palm is deflected aside.

"What!?"
The punch was deflected by the opposite rotation of the mana...!?
I was told before that this was a weakness, but for it to be broken so easily...!!

My palm is knocked away, and I intercept her incoming punch with one arm, leaning back to dodge the follow-up high kick while laughing.
"Now we’re talking...!!"
Even though I’m at a disadvantage in terms of battle experience and skill, there’s no way I’m going down this easily.

But still...!! It’s frustrating... no, actually, I’m glad...!! This person is still getting stronger!!
But I’m not going to despair over the gap in strength.
In fact, I see this as the perfect wall I must aim for and surpass. It’s the ideal challenge!

"Healing Break!!"
I release a burst of Healing Magic at close range, hoping to disturb her focus!
Then I attempt a feint by increasing the number of punches with the Healing Afterimage Fist—
"!"

I throw a punch with my left fist, which I haven’t imbued with any magic, aiming for the shortest, fastest strike!
"———The aim’s not bad."
"Huh!?"

However, Rose isn’t fooled by the feint in the slightest. She effortlessly catches my punch with her palm with a light slap.
"But it’s too obvious."
"!!"

I immediately switch gears, attempting to defend with my other arm, but before I can react, Rose pulls my captured hand toward her and delivers a crushing elbow strike directly to my chest.
"Ugh…!!"
By grabbing one of my arms, she seals my movement, and with a powerful pull, she takes away any chance of defending. The impact of the strike doesn’t hit the surface but rather pierces through me, delivering an overwhelming shock.

I’m sent flying backward and slammed into the ground without being able to brace for the fall, but somehow, I manage to get on one knee, clutching my chest and struggling to breathe.
"Cough... ha...!!"
The shock of the hit to my chest lingers like mud, and I can’t catch my breath.

Even though I heal the pain with Healing Magic, my breathing is still erratic, and Rose looks down at me.
"Healing Magic might heal your wounds, and you can endure the pain, but something like this... that’s harder to shake off, isn’t it?"
"..."

"I’ll make sure you get used to that 'feeling' and 'countermeasures' too."
...So that’s how it is, huh...! She must have countered me while I was thrown off-balance!
It seems she intentionally targeted my internal organs to disrupt my breathing—could she do something like that too?

"So that’s the kind of movement you’re talking about..."
"It’s no good if you just rely on punches."
"Yeah, I can really feel that now."

I mostly rely on punches in my attacks, so maybe that makes me easier to predict.
As for that last attack... if I take it, I’ll remember the shock and pain.
To a normal person, this kind of training would seem insane, but once I’ve experienced it, I’ll be able to withstand it next time.

"Ha..."
I take a deep breath and get back on my feet, facing Rose once again.
She seems completely certain that I’ll stand up, and with her arms crossed, she looks at me with amusement.

"Well then, I’d be grateful if you could teach me more!!"
"Ha, I wonder how long you’ll be able to keep that spirit up."
"I’ll keep going, even if it kills me."

I’m sure she was just rolling her eyes at my determination as she raised her fist. I take a deep breath and raise my own fist, ready to face her again.
Even as a pure training exercise, sparring with Rose has taught me so much.
The pain in my chest from earlier still lingers, but even so, I laugh, excited for the next round.

"I knew it... I’m just so overwhelmingly lacking in real combat experience."
Whether it’s battle tactics or actual techniques, I’m far too predictable, and even with Healing Sense, I can easily be countered. I guess there’s no choice but to keep doing what Rose says and keep getting better through repetition.
"How did it end up like this...?"

As I lay exhausted in the training field, looking up at the sky, Nea’s voice echoed from above, sounding both exasperated and amused.
Currently, only me, Nagi, and Nea, who arrived late, are here. Rose has already left for a separate errand at the royal castle, leaving us behind.
"Nagi, you must have a tough time. Having to deal with this guy’s training..."

"Hahaha, not at all. Actually, it was really fun watching Usato and Rose’s training up close."
Nagi, sitting beside me, chuckled and replied.
I’ll take a short break, and then it’ll be time for my sparring session with Nagi.

"Rose really is kind, huh?"
"Eh?"
Nea and I spoke in unison.

Is she really kind? I get what she’s trying to do by not showing it, but I can clearly see she cares about me.
But calling her kind after all the beatings I’ve taken in this training session...?
"Once you experience the attack yourself, you’ll be able to prepare for it as many times as you want, right? I realized that during our sparring today—Rose is making sure you won’t fall into a situation where you’re caught off guard by an attack you haven’t seen before."

"...Well, once I’ve taken the hit, I’ll just have to endure and tough it out."
That’s true.
Rose is ensuring that I won’t end up helpless after a painful attack. She’s letting me experience it now so I can be ready for it in the future.

"The best thing would probably be to not get hit at all, right?"
As Nea said, that's the ideal scenario.
But I’m not perfect either. I’ll definitely take hits now and then.

"By the way, Usato..."
"Hmm?"
Nea seems to have remembered something and calls out to me.

"This training isn’t about sparring with the same person over and over, right? It’s fine if you're going to spar with Nagi, but have you decided on other opponents?"
"Opponents, huh... As for Suzune..."
"Suzune doesn’t need to be asked, right? She’ll eagerly join in, won’t she?"

That’s definitely true...
If I think about the others... Siguls said he’d make sure to arrange something with Rose, so as for me... I guess...
"It’d probably be Kazuki."

"Ah, Kazuki, huh... But he’s probably busy, isn’t he?"
"Yeah, that’s true..."
Kazuki is currently busy studying a lot at the royal castle, so I’d feel bad making him join my training.

But it’s worse if I hold back and don’t ask Kazuki anything at all.
"I’ll ask him for now. I think it’s not good to be too considerate about this."
"...Yeah, that makes sense."

Kazuki apparently also does training to relieve stress, so there might be times when he wants to move his body around.
I’ll go to the castle today and ask him when we can meet.
As I plan this in my mind, Nagi nods in agreement with my decision.

"Yeah. Kazuki’s as skilled as Suzune, and he’s even better at fighting at a distance, which is something you’re not as used to. So, he’d be a ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) perfect opponent for gaining experience."
"Kazuki’s magic bullets are difficult for even me to handle..."
I usually close the distance and fight with my own techniques, but Kazuki has the advantage of being able to fight at any distance.

"For a moment, I thought about calling Koga if Kazuki couldn’t do it."
"He’s probably in the Demon Lord’s territory, right?"
I nod at Nagi’s question.

"If it’s him, he might fly over if I call him..."
"It’s hard to fully deny that..."
"Hmmm..."

Koga has his own unit now, so I won’t call him, though.
Besides, it’d be cruel to try and make him act seriously when I was the one trying to make him more serious before.
"…Usato, are you okay now?"

"...Eh? Ah, yeah, I’m fine."
I check my body.
The fatigue from sparring with Rose is gone, and I feel alright now.

"Alright then, let’s get started."
"Yeah, same here."
Nagi, standing up from the grass, grabs a wooden sword.

I rise as well and move to the same position I was in when I sparred with Rose.
"I’ll be going a little harder this time, is that alright?"
I nod in response to Nagi’s words.

"Yeah, I don’t mind at all."
"...Alright. More than anything, this is for your growth. I’ll hold nothing back either."
Nagi tightens her grip on the wooden sword, raising the pressure between us.

Her presence is different from Rose’s, and I brace myself as I prepare for another round of sparring with a skilled opponent.