How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 22

27. Troubles Always Come (2)

Mulren and I went to the back of the store to train.

It wasn’t complex training, just learning the basics for a bit.

That much space should be enough.

When we went outside, the other two mercenaries on guard duty looked at us, puzzled.

The shorter female mercenary, showing a bit of curiosity, followed us and asked.

“Huh? What’s going on, you two? Isn’t this when the shopkeeper usually takes a nap?”

“…Anyone would think I’m always napping when I have no work to do.”

Well, yeah. Actually, that’s true, isn’t it?

This female mercenary’s name is Emel.

Like Mulren, she was a minor character who appeared in volume 10.

Among Mulren’s colleagues, she’s particularly cheerful, so she was the first mercenary I spoke to casually.

I told her about the request I made to Mulren.

“Ah, so you want to learn swordsmanship from Mulren?”

“Or Emel could teach you, too?”

Despite her appearance, she seems to have quite a bit of experience as a mercenary.

Originally, she was in another mercenary team before joining Mulren.

“No, no, I’ll pass. Still, it looks fun, so I’ll watch. Is that okay?”

“What about guarding the store?”

“Haron alone is enough for that.”

“Wasn’t he cleaning up the back of the store right now? Don’t you need to help him?”

“Protecting the shopkeeper is important. It’s our guard duty.”

She just wants to slack off.

It’s not bad to have more eyes watching.

I readily agreed.

After that, we went to the back of the store, got into position, and started training.

Emel sat on a pile of junk and watched, while Mulren and I faced each other.

“Then, please hold the wooden sword, Mr. Aileon.”

“Okay.”

I received the wooden sword and took a stance.

I vaguely recalled the stances other characters took in the novels.

I tried not to be conscious of their gazes.

“Is this how you swing it?”

I swung it a few times.

It was a bit heavy, so putting strength into my arm was tough, but I thought I swung it pretty well.

However, that was just my opinion.

From the onlookers’ perspective…

“…Ah, I see.”

“Hmm…”

Emel let out an inexplicable sigh.

Mulren also frowned, looking a bit troubled.

…It seems like something’s not right.

“Mr. Aileon, I suspected as much, but it seems you’ve never held a sword before.”

“Oh! You guessed it! So you can tell just by looking at the movements?”

“Well, you staggered as soon as you grabbed the sword.”

Emel immediately pointed out my wobbly arm movements.

Did I really do that?

…Ugh, it’s definitely obvious to others.

Alright, I admit it.

I’ve never learned swordsmanship! I’ve never even done kendo [Japanese martial art of sword fighting] in real life.

Why? Because I didn’t have money!

“That’s why I’m trying to learn. If I rely on spirit magic, I won’t be able to handle emergencies.”

There are many ways to seal spirit magic or magic.

In other words, there are many weaknesses.

Swordsmanship, which directly moves the body, is unaffected, so I thought it was necessary.

“Is there no hope, by any chance?”

“…Please give me a moment to think.”

For a moment, Mulren seemed to be deep in thought, staring into the distance and muttering something.

Then, he suddenly said this to me.

“Mr. Aileon, would you mind using spirit magic to spar with me for a moment?”

“…Huh? Is that okay?”

“Yes. It’s necessary to understand your style.”

Then, there’s no need to refuse.

I summoned water arrows in the air and asked one more time for confirmation.

“Are you really going to do it?”

“Yes. Please don’t hesitate.”

The signal started with Mulren taking a stance and gesturing for me to come at him.

‘Go.’

Undine’s water arrows flew erratically through the air.

Even when practicing against beasts, they couldn’t easily avoid it if I did this.

‘Hmm… Is he trying to show me how to respond?’

However, Mulren simply took steps forward.

Then, he charged straight at me.

What? Is he just going to take the hit?

But not a single one hit.

He knocked away the water arrows flying straight at him with his wooden sword, creating a path.

The rest of the water arrows narrowly missed.

‘Damn it… I was too focused on the trajectory, so I didn’t have a plan for when it was breached.’

I never thought it would be breached like that.

Should I control the water arrows again? Or should I switch to a quick electric shock and strike head-on?

While I was hesitating, his wooden sword lightly touched my head.

“…It’s over.”

His bitter voice.

In a real battle, that would mean a sword would be stuck in my forehead.

He wouldn’t have made this suggestion to show off the difference in skill.

I thought about this young man’s intentions.

“My skill is a separate issue from swordsmanship?”

“Ah… that’s about right.”

Emel answered instead.

“Honestly, from what I’ve seen, Shopkeeper, you have no practical experience, do you?”

That’s the truth.

“I’ve practiced against beasts? And I’ve caught a few monsters, too.”

“Eh~ Humans and beasts are different. And monsters are different, too.”

I have nothing to say.

“If you fight that honestly, you usually won’t hit. You have to be cunning.”

Honest? I was trying to be cunning by making it complicated?

“I have a similar opinion. The first water arrows were just complicated in trajectory, but if you charged straight in, you could easily create an opening. Someone stronger than me wouldn’t even need to block with a sword.”

“I, is that so? I thought I was using my head a little?”

“Well, I would just dodge and then secretly look for an opening. Mulren is the most foolish in how he responds.”

“…Emel.”

Mulren frowned slightly at her blunt words.

But she’s probably not wrong.

“Mr. Aileon needs to learn practical skills. Of course, if you want, I can teach you a little about how to swing a sword.”

“The urgent thing is that, huh.”

I calmly accepted his advice.

It’s true when I hear it.

I can’t fight, and I’ve never really done it properly.

Rather, I welcome this advice.

‘That’s an area for improvement!’

Something I must fix.

If I don’t fix it now, there will be a day when I regret it greatly.

* * *

After that, a time to learn combat methods from the mercenaries was added to my daily routine.

Mulren’s mercenary team members, like their leader, were nice guys, and they said they would help me train as soon as they heard about it.

On days when Mulren didn’t come, other mercenaries took turns watching my training.

That was bound to be very helpful.

Each mercenary has a different way of fighting.

I can’t apply all of their experiences and advice to myself, but it will serve as a reference book to look through.

At least there’s nothing to lose by learning.

* * *

‘A weak close-quarters defense, huh.’

I’m not stupid enough to take the advice lightly.

I quietly pondered countermeasures.

I felt the need to devise ways to improve my weaknesses.

There is a way.

‘Come to think of it, I’ve collected quite a bit of this, too, haven’t I?’

I checked my remaining Influence Points.

I hadn’t checked in a while, but this is a good opportunity.

‘I’ve collected quite a bit in the meantime.’

It makes me happy just to look at it.

You could say it’s the result of me selling potions so far.

What you can get from selling potions isn’t just the price of the potions.

Roughly, when I sold to 100 people a day, about two to three of them would give me small points.

By accumulating little by little like that, oh my! I’ve somehow collected 32 points.

‘Now that I’ve collected them, should I use them?’

Then what should I get?

‘An ability that dramatically increases the body’s defense? Or a psychic power like telekinesis? Or maybe…’

What I need is a way to protect my body even if I fight someone stronger than me.

It must be an ability that complements my weak fighting style that the mercenaries pointed out.

In particular, it must be a way to deal with gaps in my defense as quickly as possible.

‘Come to think of it, there was such an ability, wasn’t there?’

A way to avoid getting hit in case of emergency.

And something convenient to use.

There are abilities that can be used in either case.

’32 points. Is it possible?’

I started tapping on the input window like last time.

“Where… where… space… control.”

Numerous abilities that appear in the original work.

While there are common traits like .

Among the abilities, there are also the rarest of the best, classified as top-tier.

‘Among them, an ability that can never be obtained through ordinary methods.’

There are several ways to obtain abilities.

There are cases where you acquire them through effort.

Or by conquering dungeons or ruins, or by being passed down from someone else. The methods are diverse.

But the more powerful the ability, the harder it is to obtain.

In this setting, the most powerful and rare of the many abilities are called .

Abilities deeply engraved in the blood through a chance encounter thicker than blood.

When unleashed, they can freely create powerful phenomena that rival magic.

‘Among them, the useful one is that.’

What I had my eye on was a space-based ability.

The power to freely intervene in space with only instinct and senses, without using magic or complex theories.

That’s .

Even in the original work, only one person could use it.

The far north of the continent.

The one who dominates the snow-covered region called the White Hell, one of the world’s most dangerous top 10 magic zones.

The Witch of the Snow, Peresia.

However, the reason she is called a witch is not because she is skilled in magic, but because she possesses several powerful abilities that surpass magic.

She has as many as hundreds of Bloodline Abilities.

If I were to pick one of her abilities that appeared most often in the original work.

It’s the ability to freely manipulate space itself.

That’s .

It’s a powerful force that even the protagonist struggled with when fighting Peresia.

‘Such an ability would be very useful!’

At first, I thought about a way to increase my defense.

If it’s an ability that makes the body stronger, I should be able to obtain it sufficiently.

But defense has its insecurities.

The biggest problem is that there’s no guarantee that the opponent’s fist won’t break through my durability.

In this world, a shield that can’t be pierced will definitely be pierced, and a sword that can’t be broken will definitely be broken.

It’s sad, but that’s the world.

After all, evasion is the best.

‘If I use an ability like Space Teleportation, I can avoid even the fiercest attacks.’

There are many other uses as well.

Among the various abilities that appear in the original work, has a wide range of applications.

I hesitated for a moment before finishing the input to obtain the ability.

Unlike Lowest-Grade Regeneration, this is a fairly powerful ability.

Can I really get it with 32 points?

“Eek! I don’t know!”

If it works, it works! I pressed it in a fit of anger.

Think after you’ve done it!

Things in the world surprisingly work out somehow if you just go for it!