Subscriber of the Gods Chapter 301 - Oz Lazarus (2)

All the students wore expressions as if they’d been hit on the head.

It was exactly as Ethan had said.

Everyone had been thinking like Oz. Since he said he would use magic, they naturally thought they should close the distance.

However, in a real battle, that would lead straight to being lured in and suffering a major injury, resulting in defeat.

The students finally understood what the teachers meant when they repeatedly said that real combat was different.

“Everything needed for real combat. You’ll learn all of that. Furthermore, if you master these skills, you’ll be able to achieve good results in the inter-academy exchange at the end of the second semester.”

The ultimate goal of this class was to win the inter-academy exchange.

The students’ hearts raced at Ethan’s explanation.

They thought they’d only hear about the future direction of the class since it was the first lesson.

But Ethan not only explained that but also detailed what they could learn in this class.

Practical experience.

What they lacked the most.

And what was most difficult to learn at the academy.

They couldn’t help but look forward to learning such things. Especially the students hearing Ethan’s class for the first time had already forgotten all their worries.

All their concerns about not being able to handle a class with 150 students at once were unfounded.

However, Oz was not pleased with this situation.

“Teacher Ethan, how do we test sword skills then?”

Magic was one thing. But Oz was a student of swordsmanship. Ethan was originally a swordsmanship instructor too.

As Oz openly provoked him, Ethan smiled once again.

“That’s the next step. In Introduction to Practical Studies, you’ll learn various response methods from different positions. Just because I’m a swordsmanship instructor doesn’t mean I’ll give biased lessons. So don’t worry.”

Currently, Oz had perfectly become the teaching material for the class. Through Oz, Ethan was showing what could be learned in this Introduction to Practical Studies.

Oz knew this too, but he endured. He wanted to crush that smug face.

He intended to counter the swordsmanship Ethan would display and make him kneel.

More precisely, he planned to copy everything Ethan used.

There can always be students more skilled than the teacher.

But that alone is meaningless.

To create awe towards oneself, it’s best to crush the teacher with the teacher’s own swordsmanship.

That look in the teachers’ eyes at that moment.

Oz gained confidence from that look.

“Well then, shall we move on to the next step? Let’s think from a swordsman’s perspective. Oz Lazarus, I’ve heard that although you’re a swordsmanship student, you can use magic too? What I just used.”

Oz nodded at Ethan’s words.

Simultaneously, Ethan widened the distance. It was exactly 7 meters.

“Let’s make it a bit more generous, about 8 meters. Now, this is the absolute advantage of a mage. It’s difficult for a swordsman to deal with this situation. Even if they have the momentum to quickly close the distance, the mage will cast magic even faster. If hit by a high-powered spell, no matter how tough the body is, it will be forced to brake. Whether blocking or dodging, a response is necessary. Once you respond, the mage widens the distance again and uses another spell. This can be seen as a complete defeat for the swordsman.”

Ethan had just shown how a mage can overcome the disadvantage of close distance and achieve victory.

Now it was a lesson on how a swordsman should deal with a mage at a far distance.

The students who initially focused on Oz were already absorbed in Ethan’s words.

“But what if you blindly close the distance? That’s even easier for the mage. As I showed earlier, if they know you’re going to charge forward, it’s easy to take you down.”

So what should be done?

Everyone wore quite curious expressions.

“The best thing a swordsman can do here is to break the mage’s rhythm. To break that rhythm, you need to move unpredictably.”

When Ethan gestured to Oz, Oz opened his body. Then he cast a Fire Arrow with the same formula Ethan had used earlier.

As before, only a pinch of mana could be used, so it was impossible without excellent mana control and understanding of magic formulas.

Nevertheless, Oz accomplished it effortlessly.

Then he accurately fired the Fire Arrow towards the direction Ethan was expected to charge.

However, Ethan wasn’t there.

“Impressive momentum.”

Ethan had been in that spot from the beginning.

“…!”

“You give a feint as if you’re really going to move. The mage’s rhythm breaks just by falling for that. And in sync with that broken rhythm…”

This time, Ethan really moved. With a light push off the ground, Ethan was suddenly in front of Oz.

“Now, swordsmanship.”

Ethan displayed the most basic Revinade swordsmanship.

But something was different.

“You don’t need to start from the first form. If necessary, you can go in reverse order from the last form, or use only the middle part, or even just half of the first form.”

Ethan said.

“The important thing is to be able to apply, omit, and combine as needed.”

At that moment, Oz drew his sword and imitated the modified Revinade swordsmanship Ethan had just shown.

Clang-!

Ethan lightly blocked Oz’s sword and displayed the same Revinade swordsmanship. Even though it was the same Revinade swordsmanship, the form was clearly different.

Ethan perfectly understood the Revinade swordsmanship, so his combinations and applications were quite detailed.

Clang-! Clang-!

Oz once again imitated Ethan’s modified Revinade swordsmanship, but Ethan displayed yet another newly combined Revinade swordsmanship.

In other words, every time Ethan swung his sword, a completely different swordsmanship emerged.

It was a very confusing situation for Oz, as every time he followed and displayed the swordsmanship, a new one popped up. It was also something he had never experienced before.

Oz’s eyeballs began to move frantically. Copying the swordsmanship was meaningless. He had to copy Ethan’s movements themselves.

“!”

However, he couldn’t keep tracking Ethan’s movements with his eyes. Not only was Ethan moving faster than the visible speed, but connecting movements that should have been broken were coming out in one go.

It was so different from all the opponents he had faced until now.

Unmanageable.

Oz gritted his teeth.

This was his only talent, and his most powerful weapon.

If this doesn’t work…

“This is… all I have.”

Oz swung his sword while muttering as if chanting a spell. But Oz’s sword didn’t even touch Ethan by a fingernail.

With all his movements controlled by Ethan’s techniques, Oz could only take foolish postures like a puppet.

“This is how a swordsman can excellently counter a mage.”

Oz was severely flustered, though he didn’t show it outwardly. Confirming this, Ethan struck Oz’s abdomen with the sword handle.

“Ugh…”

Then he whispered quietly so only Oz could hear.

“You’re less impressive than I’ve heard, Oz Lazarus.”

It was a clear provocation.

“Damn it! What nonsense are you spouting!”

Angered by Ethan’s sudden words, Oz began to spout rough language.

From the students’ perspective, it looked like Oz, who had been perfectly controlled by Ethan, was just venting his anger.

However, Ethan remained calm.

Despite clearly having just insulted Oz, he acted as if nothing had happened.

“Don’t worry, Oz. What’s lacking can be filled. I’ll help you.”

“You damn, damned bastard.”

Despite Oz’s cursing, Ethan showed no change in expression.

“This is the last content of today’s class. You can get hurt in this class. No, getting hurt is expected. To learn about real combat, you must also experience its risks. For that, you always need to give your all. With me here, you won’t suffer fatal injuries, but you should be prepared for minor scratches. If you don’t like that, you can withdraw from the class right now.”

Ethan gestured to Oz.

“Swing with all your might. I don’t mind if I get hurt.”

“You said you don’t mind getting hurt, right?”

Oz spat out those words and injected mana into his sword.

Although it was a very small amount due to the restricted mana, Oz, confident in his mana control, could keep the blunt edge as is.

Pak-.

Oz strongly pushed off the ground and instantly narrowed the distance. Still, Ethan didn’t draw his sword. It was a setup not much different from the previous sparring.

Oz instinctively realized. Right now, Ethan is a mage.

He’s reviewing today’s lesson content once more through this sparring.

However, the difference was that Oz had experienced this setup once before.

“I won’t fall for it twice. Never.”

The Fire Arrow flying towards the shoulder reaches as quickly as Oz closed the distance. So it needs to be blocked in advance.

Oz swung his sword towards his shoulder to deflect Ethan’s Fire Arrow and spun to maintain that momentum.

He swung his sword strongly from top to bottom.

Swish-!

He can dodge. But if Ethan dodges, then it becomes Oz’s time.

If he blocks, Oz can draw out Ethan’s sword. That alone would be as good as success for Oz.

If Ethan was such a great teacher, he should have controlled all of his movements.

Oz put even more strength into it, as it was a situation where he would win no matter what.

“…Huh?”

But Oz’s body was floating.

There shouldn’t have been time to chant a spell or construct a formula.

“Good momentum. Seeing it once and breaking the first Fire Arrow and counterattacking with that momentum. Not bad.”

Ethan’s voice grew distant.

“However.”

Crack-. Crackcrackcrackcrackcrack-!

Dozens of Fire Arrows struck Oz’s entire body.

“All you’ve experienced so far are just the students and teachers of this tiny academy. You’re just a greenhorn who’s never had the experience where even a single mistake is not allowed if you want to survive. Are you satisfied with that small vessel filled to the brim?”

“Ugh… cough.”

“Playtime is over, Oz Lazarus. Now that you’re in my class, you can’t leave without learning properly.”

Oz staggered.

“It’s praiseworthy that you’re still standing despite being unconscious.”

Ethan said as he caught the falling Oz.

“Don’t worry. Such unfortunate incidents might happen, but I’ll block them all before that. You can gain as much practical experience as you want through my class.”

And so, the first class came to an end.

***

“Teacher Claudie?”

“…Seems like you finished well.”

Claudie glanced at Ethan once and then walked past.

“What’s this? There shouldn’t be any classes on this side today.”

“Teacher Ethan!”

“Teacher Ethan, how was it? Ah, I saw Teacher Claudie standing in front earlier. I think Teacher Claudie also came because he was worried.”

“Ah, is that so? So you two also came because you were worried.”

“Yes, we were worried.”

“Nothing happened. And indeed, 150 people is a lot. It’s quite an eyeful, I’ll have to work harder from the next class.”

Ethan said with a smile. Then he slung Oz, whom he had placed at the door, over his shoulder.

“…Didn’t you say nothing happened?”

“Since no one got hurt, it counts as nothing happening.”

The two teachers were left speechless at Ethan’s smile.