"Well… guess I jumped the gun, then..."
So all this… was just a misunderstanding?
Luxian grew a bit more thoughtful, spending a few seconds in silence.
"Then let's start from the basics. First, your footwork. Since you're using a long-range weapon like a scythe, you need to stay far, but still close enough for the blade to reach."
"Okay, but how do I do that?" I asked, genuinely confused.
"Try dodging the attacks while staying within the spear's reach."
Huh? Is she trying to kill me?
Before I could argue, she just asked, "Ready?"
"Wa-" I couldn't even finish before the fairy exploded.
Now that she'd slowed down, I could at least see her movements. The first strike was a thrust from my left side—I barely dodged.
She kept up the pressure without pause, getting faster. I was still able to keep up.
After a few minutes, I started struggling to dodge properly. A couple times, I tried blocking with my arm—only for it to go numb after.
A few more minutes passed and she cranked the speed so much I couldn't keep up anymore. In the end, she landed a solid hit in my stomach, sending me flying.
Crashing into the wall again, I felt some blocks fall onto my head.
Sitting in the crater, I said, "I think that's enough. I'll train on my own now."
Seriously… she doesn't know how to hold back at all. That one actually hurt.
"Huh? Really? You were doing pretty well for someone who's never trained before."
As Luxian praised me, I got up from the crater. Looking closely, I saw it slowly closing up.
Guess the island uses its energy to fix things.
"So? Are you sure you don't wanna keep going? It was getting fun," Luxian asked, sounding way too cheerful.
Give me a break... if we keep going like this, I'll die.
"No thanks. Let's do this once a week and check my progress."
"Alright. That sounds fun too. I'll be looking forward to next week."
Then she paused, as if remembering something.
"Oh, right. I got a report while we were fighting. A human group is headed our way."
When she said that, something clicked. Wait… they can communicate like that too? Then why the hell do we even need those meetings?
"Tell me, Luxian. If you can speak telepathically, why do we have meetings for reports?"
"Huh? Well… maybe because everyone wants to see you?" she said like it was obvious.
Letting out a long sigh, I put my hand over my face, then dragged it down slowly.
"Seriously... if it's something important, just contact me telepathically. As for the meetings, we can set a fixed day to catch up."
She looked a little down. But come on—if we waste time like that and something big happens, it could be dangerous.
"So tell me, how do you talk telepathically?"
"I just think about who I want to talk to and it just happens. Like..." and then I heard a voice in my head, "Like this."
Hm. Can I do that too?
Thinking about Luxian, I tried: "Luxian?"
She quickly replied, "Looks like you've already got it."
Seeing how simple it was, I lost interest fast and went back to talking normally.
"Can you use telepathy to talk to multiple people at once?"
"Unfortunately, no..."
Hm... maybe telepathy replaced the chat system? And with that limitation, I guess the meetings still make some sense.
"Alright. Can you call everyone? We need to discuss who's coming toward us. This time we'll use the meeting room."
Basically, this room had a giant round table in the middle, eight chairs, and a few living armors. It was designed to display a world map. Now I was curious to see what it would show.
Leaving the training room and looking up at the sky, I realized it was already afternoon.
Wait, how long were we fighting in there? We only had three rounds, and the last one was the longest. It shouldn't have taken this much time.
Confused, I asked, "Luxian, do you know how many hours we spent in there?"
"Hmm... hard to tell exactly, but I'd say about three hours."
"Huh? Seriously?"
"Yep. At least that's what my sense of time tells me… and the sun."
I looked out the corridor window and saw a midday sun.
...
Alright. No arguing with facts. I'll need to be more careful with my sense of time. Honestly, no idea how I stayed in there so long...
Sighing lightly, I pushed that thought aside. No point thinking too hard about it.
---------
Now with almost everyone seated normally in their chairs—except, of course, Iris, who was sitting with her foot on the table, rocking her chair back and forth.
Why doesn't she fall already?
Taking my eyes off her and focusing on the table, I could now see the full island map. Only a few parts of the new world showed up—just the area surrounding the island.
At least we'll be able to use this room later if we need maps.
Taking my eyes off the table, I spoke up.
"Luxian has some valuable information to share."
Luxian began from her seat.
"Seems like the city we discovered earlier sent knights—or a mounted team—toward us."
Everyone got excited, only for me to throw cold water on them.
"Our priority now is just making contact. Honestly, I don't want a fight right now."
Everyone seemed to think that was fair, given how little we know about this world's strength.
"Okay, but how do we make contact then?" Azathoth asked, raising her hand.
"I could go and say hi?" came a voice—looking over, it was Iris.
"Wouldn't it be better if I go?" Luxian said, placing a hand on her chest.
With that little exchange, the whole table broke into an argument about who should go first—except Shubniggurath, who stayed silent.
I was thinking. If I send Luxian, she might capture them all again.
Azathoth would basically be a nuclear bomb.
Shubniggurath... she'd be perfect if she still had her communication skills.
Lilith might start a war just by showing up.
Livia would definitely kill everyone for being "sinners."
Iris is the most viable, but I still worry about what kind of chaos she could cause.
Alice... she's got massive prejudice against strangers, thanks to the backstory I gave her.
And me? They'd all probably object. Besides, I don't even know if I could control myself in front of them.
Thinking like that, Iris was the only viable choice. She's also a magic-tank, so if things go south, she can hold out until reinforcements arrive.
The table was full of noise. I slammed my fist on it, making louder than expected, and shouted, "Silence!"
Everyone froze and stared. I cleared my throat and continued.
"I think Iris is the best choice. She's the least biased toward new beings, and if things go wrong, she can hold out until backup arrives."
The table went quiet, everyone thinking. Only Iris smiled a little.
"Alright, those in favor, raise your hand."
Six to two. The only ones against were Luxian and Livia.
"That settles it. Iris will make contact. Take some dragons with you—use them as shields if necessary to buy time."
"Got it!" Iris answered cheerfully.
"Before we all go back to our tasks, I'd like to ask something."
I turned to Lilith.
"How's the desert?"
"Looks like the creatures there are starting to gather. I'm still watching it closely~."
Now thinking deeply, I scratched my chin under the cloth. Hm… are they gaining intelligence?
"I'd like you to send me updates telepathically. In fact, I want all of you to contact me telepathically from now on for important matters."
"So that means we'll see you less?" Livia asked in a gloomy tone.
"Kind of. Until things settle down, we should focus on these new problems. Those with nothing to do, help those who do."
And me? Well, I need to learn my limits. Honestly, I have no confidence stepping into any real battle yet.
"Then, once things calm down, can we spend more time together?" Livia asked with hopeful eyes.
"Possibly, yes."
Now she looked fired up to solve everything quickly.
With nothing left to discuss, we all went our separate ways. I walked down the halls with Shubniggurath beside me.
---------
Meanwhile, a group of knights was riding toward the island.
"My lord, it looks like it'll take two days to reach it—our group is quite large."
"Maybe less. How long do you think until we see the island?"
"Hm, if it's as massive as they said… maybe a few hours."
"Alright. Let's give it twelve hours. If nothing shows on the horizon, we kill them and return."
With those cold orders, the knight returned to his position.
Darui simply watched, thinking. Two days on horseback, huh… how long did the villagers take to reach it? A day, maybe? …I can't imagine how hard they ran.
Four more hours passed. After nearly seven hours of riding, they stopped for a break.
As the others gathered and chatted, Darui slipped away to train his newly discovered skills in peace.
Looks like the body's former owner could use Qi. Not at a high level, but still something. Thanks to the system, I can use magic too.
"Status." With that word, a screen popped up.
Name: Darui Lantches
Race: Human?
Strength: 15
Agility: 12
Dexterity: 13
Intelligence: 10
At least all my stats are above average. From what I've seen, 10 is the average for knights—except Intelligence, which averages around 5. What shocked me were my father's stats—most were above 30, except Intelligence, which was 20.
Far enough from the group, he began his tests.
Or at least tried to… until he heard something rustling in the bushes.