BXBX NOVEL Chapter 221
Chapter 221: Vol. 4 – Chapter 20
Sinneah dodged out of the way of Yumi’s naginata, and then, with a surprising speed, she lifted a foot off the ground and tried to kick Yumi’s head from the side. Yumi saw it coming though and ducked, before sweeping the floor with her blade. Sinneah jumped back, avoiding the attack before putting one fist in front of her.
The entire time, she was keeping one hand tucked away. Yumi noticed this and wondered if she was particularly strong with it for some reason, and was looking for an opening. Regardless, she ran up again and this time, went for a vertical slash.
Sinneah sidestepped, and then went for a punch with her left hand that Yumi dodged easily.
Still, the large woman moved with a quickness that did catch Yumi off-guard.
I wonder what her Dex is… Yumi thought. I wouldn’t have expected someone like this to have a high stat in that category, but she is surprisingly agile.
The thought brought a smile to Yumi’s face.
In that case… Let us make this more entertaining for each other, she thought. She’d been holding back, of course, not knowing how much speed Sinneah could handle.
She took her naginata by the center, with both hands, and held it up in the air, as Sinneah watched her. Then, she started twirling it, spinning the weapon as she walked up to the dragon-like woman. Sinneah’s eyes widened when she saw Yumi approaching her that way. Then, the Zayama smirked before she leaped forward, the tip of her blade aimed at Sinneah’s chest.
Sinneah’s left hand turned into flame then, and it was Yumi’s turn to be stunned. Sinneah moved to the side and then lunged into the hit, trying to counter with a fist aimed at Yumi’s face.
The disparity between their speed was still enough to get out of the way easily, but Yumi was pleasantly surprised.
She found herself smiling as she stepped back, putting space between them and holding her naginata by her side.
Due to her bubbling curiosity, Yumi couldn’t but ask:
“What is your Dexterity at?”
“Hm?” Sinneah raised a brow, getting out of her fighting stance. “70.”
Oh. Yumi nodded. That would explain it.
“It shows, you are very quick to react,” Yumi praised her.
“Thank you…” Sinneah replied, looking away for a moment. “Your own speed surprised me as well.”
Yumi chuckled at that.
“I would hope so, I have been training for a long time.”
“Truly?” Sinneah asked. “I see, I am impressed.”
“Hey,” Ash called out, “less flirting, more fighting.”
At that, Yumi blushed intensely and nodded.
She put her naginata out before her and waited for Sinneah to be in position to fight as well. Again, Sinneah tucked her right hand by her waist and put her left hand forward. It was like she was holding something in her right and wanted to keep it out of harm’s way.
Disregarding that though, Yumi ran up and went for a series of short stabs, all of which Sinneah dodged. However, Yumi added more speed to her attacks, little by little, in an effort to see just how much Sinneah could handle.
Soon, she went for one stab at Sinneah’s shoulder, and her naginata managed to graze it.
“Agh,” Sinneah hissed as she backed off.
“Push yourself,” Yumi told her. “I wish to see what you can do.”
“…” Wordlessly, Sinneah nodded and breathed in.
… I should be careful though, no need for either of us to get too hurt, Yumi thought as she then activated her Spirit Eye.
“Iridos,” she muttered as Sinneah ran up, and her Spirit Eye told her she’d be attacked with a spinning kick to the gut. So, Yumi blocked the attack with the shaft of her naginata.
Only for her weapon to break in half.
“A-AGH!?” Yumi stopped, looking down at her weapon, shocked. Sinneah, however, kept going and punched Yumi in the jaw.
Yumi fell to her knees while Sinneah stopped herself.
“Hm? What happened?” Sinneah asked aloud, as Ash stood up and ran over.
She cast a healing spell put a hand on Yumi’s face, but Yumi’s eyes never left her broken weapon.
My naginata… She thought, feeling like her heart had been torn in half.
“You okay?” Ash asked.
“It broke…” Yumi muttered as she looked down at it.
“Uh, yeah, seems like it,” Ash replied.
After a while, Yumi sighed and stood up.
“I… I suppose this was my fault. I did not think you would be that strong.”
“I do not understand, is something wrong?” Sinneah asked. Ash, however, ignored her.
“Uh, can’t we just get it fixed?”
“Can we?” Yumi asked. “This hasn’t happened to me before.”
“Seriously? Not once?”
“I took great care of the things I owned at the shrine,” Yumi replied. “It was part of my job.”
“Gotcha… But, yeah, it’s just the shaft. I’m sure there’s a blacksmith or someone in town who can make a new one for you. We can just head into town later.”
“… I hope so,” Yumi replied.
They remained in silence for a moment, before Sinneah spoke up.
“I apologize,” she said. “I am not sure I understand what has saddened you, but, if it was my fault, then I am sorry.”
“N-No,” Yumi shook her head, trying to calm down. “Don’t worry. It’s no one’s fault, just, caught me off-guard is all.”
—
{Ash}
With that settled, the sparring session was over and it was time for Sinneah to show what she had to offer, in terms of actually teaching Ash.
“Okay,” Ash started as Sinneah stood in front of her, while Yumi sat down next to Ash as well. Her mood had certainly taken a hit from what happened with her favorite weapon, but she was still curious to see what Sinneah could show them. “So, Tomoe’s Divine Arts. What is that?”
“A series of forms and techniques,” Sinneah began to explain. “There are three branches to it, each one with dedicated proficiencies. Because I have a Fire affinity, I can only use one, but those three are as follows: Light, Flame, and Lightning.”
Ash nodded to herself.
So, Tomoe did use Light magic, then? She also used Blessings. How did she get her connection to the gods? And which god, specifically?
“For the Light magic variant, one takes this stance,” Sinneah said, showing it. “Placing your left foot far in front of the right and doing the same with your hands, maintaining an open palm with the left. The focus of this set is flexibility and adaptability. Using this version, you can create weapons for a brief time, which can pierce through any material, and use various other forms of offensive Light magic. Of course… I cannot, though.”
Offensive Light magic does sound good. Everything I’ve been able to use so far has just been healing stuff.
Sinneah then reset.
“The second version, the Fire version, is much tighter and focused on aggression. One puts their feet at shoulder-length, and their fists close together as well, making sure every move has significant force behind it. Finally, the Lightning version.”
She put her fists down. In fact, to Ash’s eyes, it looked like she was just standing there.
“… So, what’s the stance?”
“This is the stance,” she shrugged. “The Lightning form is the encapsulation of power. It is a representation of dominance and confidence over an enemy. Speed and power that is unmatchable. But, I cannot use it, and, ironically, Tomoe herself never fully mastered it.”
“Uhuh… Quick question,” Ash asked, “did Gurron teach all of this to you?”
“No.”
“Then, how do you know any of this?”
“… I do not know,” Sinneah replied. “I have simply known these techniques all my life. I was born with them. The same way I was born with my scales and tail. They are a part of me.”
… Yeah, that sounds cool and all, but that can’t be how this works, right? Ash thought.
“Do you want to begin now?” Sinneah asked. “I… I have not ever taught anything to anyone, so I do not know how to do this.”
“Even if you can’t use the Light version, you still know it, right?” Ash asked.
“Yes.”
“Just show me what to do then,” Ash replied. “And, I dunno, maybe something will happen.”
“Understood. Take up the stance,” Sinneah directed, and Ash did so. “Now, the first step is to focus on your connection to the deity you worship. It will guide you through each punch, and each kick you throw.”
… If I have to get Magia involved in this at all, that’s going to suck, Ash thought as she nodded.
How exactly do I “feel” a connection to her? Am I supposed to try to get horny or something?
Before that question could be answered though, a message popped up over her head.
Wait, what?
Tomoe’s Divine Arts Proficiency: 0 of 10
Proficiency? Ash asked herself. Like a weapon?
She had expected the process of learning this to be more akin to learning a spell. Instead, she got this.
“Is something wrong?”
“… Nah,” Ash shook her head. “Let’s start.”