Chapter 21: Mini Test
Sending the boys away, Shiro sat down and massaged her eyes.
"Look at you, reeling in the boys." Lyrica giggled as she walked over and sat down next to Shiro.
[A boon/curse I would be rather content with not having.] Shiro sighed.
"Hahaha, a lot of girls would want the attention you're getting." Lyrica laughed seeing Shiro's struggle.
Shiro rolled her eyes but had a small smile on her lips.
[That being said, don't you have anyone lining up to take you as their partner?] Shiro asked.
"Ahaha…That's a little complicated." Lyrica smiled wearily.
'Seems like she had a story to tell.' Shiro thought but decided to not pursue this matter.
Feeling a glare on her, Shiro turned her head and saw a few girls whispering to each other and pointed at her.
[What do you think they're talking about?]
"Mn? I don't think you want to know." Lyrica shook her head. She didn't want Shiro to experience mental bullying from girls due to their jealousy.
[I kill monsters for a living. I don't think a lot of things can harm me.] Shiro typed out. She didn't know what was so bad about what they could be talking about.
Not to mention, Shiro was quite curious about what normal girls do around her age. Due to her unfortunate kidnapping after the village was raided, she never truly experienced what girls do her age.
"I guess so? But it's still not very pleasant to be ostracised, so just don't pay them any attention." Lyrica said.
Seeing her constant refusal, Shiro could only nod her head. It didn't matter too much if she didn't know. She had Lyrica to spend her time with anyways.
The spars continued as it was Lyrica's turn to try 'survive' against the teacher.
Since she couldn't use her actual weapon, Lyrica could only settle with a staff. Her movements were a little awkward but she could still put up a much better fight than when she just used a single long sword.
The teacher was dancing circles around Lyrica with a series of careful concise footsteps. However, this didn't affect Lyrica as her hidden proficiency displayed how powerful it was, with just a mere fraction of its power.
Sweeping clockwise with her foot, Lyrica created a little zone for herself as the teacher hopped backwards slightly.
Smiling lightly, the teacher entered the zone with minimal care. However, that overconfidence bit her back quickly as the staff end entered her view quickly.
'Ohya?~ Lyrica's already forming her attack domain using the hidden proficiency.' Shiro thought impressed.
An attack domain was the stage before a full domain. It is a small concentrated area where the fighter would have pure concentration reaching 120%. Not many can break this attack domain without their own.
There are several forms to the attack domain which varies from weapon to weapon. Bow and arrows formed a doughnut shape attack domain. Anything around the mid-range area is the bow and arrow's home turf.
Staffs have an hourglass type of attack domain. The ends of the staff contain the most amount of power, yet the centre lacks diversity.
The sword and great sword have very similar attack domains as it is shaped like a semi-circle. It is harder to attack properly when the swordsman tried to strike behind him. But the frontal power held much diversity with an all-rounder type attack domain.
Axes and maces had a much narrower attack domain but their power compensates. With fast-moving rotations, the axe and maces are the powerhouses.
There are more, but the dagger's attack domain is one of Shiro's favourites. It didn't have the power of the sword nor the range of a bow. However, the piercing and the undisputed close combat prowess along with the diversity made it an attack domain that needed to be feared.
For Lyrica to almost construct her attack domain without even using the staff for long, truly shows the prowess of the hidden proficiencies. Not even Shiro, who used to have full body control, could form her attack domain with her weapon yet.
One may call it unfair for Lyrica to gain the attack domain without hard work, but the hidden proficiency was an inborn gift. A natural talent is apart of one's fighting prowess and luck played a big part in life whether one denied it or not.
Tilting her head to quickly dodge the staff strike, the teacher grabbed towards the staff.
Lyrica allowed the teacher to grab as she used the force to propel herself forward and sweep a kick towards her head.
The teacher flipped backwards dodging the kick.
It was a shame that Lyrica's stats were lacking or else she would put up a good fight against the teacher.
"Is this still the same Lyrica? She's so good at fighting!"
"True true! Seems like it was her level holding her back."
"So I'm looking at her, and is it just me or is she really. Like REALLY, beautiful?"
"Now that you mention it, if you look closer. Isn't Lyrica really attractive when she's focused?"
"How did we not notice earlier?"
"She was so quiet before and hardly joined in."
…
Shiro smiled hearing the compliments towards Lyrica. She knew Lyrica was a beauty that only had a slight problem with her lack of confidence before. Her small aura and behaviour made it hard for people to notice her beauty since she was always looking down.
However, at this moment, Lyrica was solely focused on the teacher as she wanted to defeat the teacher and prove her worth.
Her gaze was focused as her normally rounded eyes became sharp. There wasn't the casual smile she had but instead, was replaced by a serious frown.
Her expression gave people the feeling of heroism and bravery as she fearlessly charged towards the teacher.
Stabbing her staff towards the teacher, Lyrica transitioned into a vault and gave the teacher a roundhouse kick.
The teacher dodged but it didn't slow down Lyrica's assault at all.
Following up on the momentum of her kick, she landed on her foot and swung the staff towards the teacher.
Her movements from her hidden proficiency was a combination of different martial art movements, the current form was similar to the Chinese Shaolin Monk Staff Arts.
Her spare hand was used to balance her body while she kept low on the ground, giving her a very stable foundation and a hard to topple balance.
"A little staff martial arts? How fun." The teacher smiled as her eyes narrowed and she took her own form.
She dashed towards Lyrica, clearly wanting to initiate the fight rather than wait.
Once the teacher entered her attack domain, Lyrica stabbed the staff towards the teacher.
*DON!
Slamming her palm against the flat end of the staff, the teacher stomped backwards to transfer the force before grabbing the staff and hit it with her spare hand.
*SNAP!
The staff snapped in half as Lyrica's demeanour shattered along with it. Without her hidden proficiency assisting her, Lyrica was just an inexperienced adventurer who was no match for the seasoned teacher.
Lyrica raised her hands in defeat as the teacher was able to wipe the floor with her.
"Learn some hand to hand combat. You need to have a back up in case you lose your weapon." The teacher advised as Lyrica nodded and walked away.
Shiro patted the seat next to her as Lyrica sat down heavily. Passing Lyrica a bottle of water, Shiro watched her drink it all in one go.
"Ahh~! Refreshing." Lyrica said feeling rejuvenated.
[Nice work Lyrica.] Shiro smiled.
"Ah, it's a little frustrating though…" Lyrica smiled sadly.
[Why?]
"I wanted to win so bad. Even with this boost I still couldn't defeat her."
[Don't compare yourself like that. You're trying to compare in the wrong territory.]
"I know but you would have won against her." Lyrica sighed.
[No I won't.]
"What do you mean?"
[Her status, experience and body control, are all factored in when she fights. You're trying to compare with a seasoned veteran with only a limited arsenal and power. That is how you become depressed.] Shiro shook her head. Being competitive is good, but there is a limit called the 'Achievable Target'.
Above this target and one would be chasing an unreachable star, thus breaking their spirit more times than boosting it. One had to careful when choosing a target as it would encourage improvement.
"But I thought you said the hidden proficiency was powerful…I still couldn't defeat her." Lyrica pouted.
[You know how many people would have wanted to strangle you for saying that?] Shiro chuckled slightly.
[The hidden proficiency is powerful but it is just a jump start. It's not omnipotent as one's hard work would hone the hidden proficiency further. And even those without a hidden proficiency can defeat the talented with enough hard work.]
"But aren't there ones you cannot surpass without talent? What about them?" Lyrica asked.
[Are you untalented? Do you not have a hidden proficiency? Have you not grasped the boundaries of an Attack Domain at a young age?] Shiro asked rhetorically as Lyrica had no answer.
[Not many people have the benefit of receiving a hidden proficiency. Be grateful and work hard to further your talent.]
*Slap!
Lyrica slapped her cheeks shocking Shiro.
"You're right. I can't be such a spoiled brat." Lyrica said with flushed up cheeks from the slaps.
"....ow…"
[Why did you have to hit that hard?] Shiro chuckled.
"It was meant to be a wakeup call for me but it hurts more than I thought…." Lyrica said with little droplets of tears forming.
Shiro only chuckled before wiping the tears away with her fingers which caused Lyrica to blush slightly.
[After resting for a bit, you should keep trying to face the teacher to get experience.] Shiro suggested.
"Ah er right…" Lyrica stuttered as she jogged away to get a new weapon.
Shiro only shook her head.
'Why does this girl get so flustered so much.' She thought.
"Hey Shiro." The teacher called out.
[Yes?]
"Since you're an ice mage, why don't you have a slight spar with me. But you don't need to move from your space but instead try to attack me with your magic." The teacher suggested.
[Sure. What's my win condition?]
"Hmm, just restrain me within the time limit?" The teacher smiled.
[Sure. I'll grab a chair so I can sit down in the middle. Get a little comfy.]
He teacher only shrugged as she waited for Shiro.
Grabbing a stool, Shiro placed it in the centre before sitting down and crossed her legs.
[Ready when you are.] Shiro typed out as a light smile hung on her lips.
Getting her confirmation, the teacher hopped a little on the spot to warm herself up. She's heard of how abnormal Shiro was from the other teachers and wanted to see if her experience truly matched up with veterans.
"Three!..."
The student's gathered up in a 50-diameter circle around them as they watched with interest. This was a rare battle between the highest-level student and the sparring teacher. Level 25 Shiro VS a level 35 teacher.
"Two!..."
Lyrica watched in anxiousness as she was worried about how Shiro would fair with her arm.
"One!...GO!"
The teacher shouted as Shiro's aura changed instantly.
*CRRRR!!!
Ice spread out in a circle with her being the source. The teacher jumped up slightly as she dodged the initial freezing.
Shiro didn't let her off as she flipped her left hand and several ice spikes shot towards the teacher.
The teacher had a serious expression as she twisted her body and stepped onto the spike before jumping off.
Not even a second after landing, an ice cage was already halfway formed with her inside it.
Roundhouse kicking one of the ice spikes, the teacher escaped the entrapment.
Before she could even sigh out a breath of relief, the broken shard of the ice cage expanded and latched onto her arm.
"Tsk!" The teacher clicked her tongue before clenching her hand and shattered the ice.
Seeing this, Shiro could only smile bitterly and shake her head. Her experience and skill were there but the stats were not.
The teacher could simply overwhelm her with brute strength.
However, she wouldn't go without a fight.
Her eyes glowed with a slight blue as she snapped her fingers causing an ice forest to appear.
Waving her left hand, spears shot towards the teacher from the ice trees.
The teacher was basically attacked from every direction she could have been. To make matters worse, they were fired with different time intervals as it would be hard for her to strike everything down in one go.
The teacher narrowed her eyes before crossing her arms in front of her and charged towards Shiro.
She decided to end this farce and break through with force.
She saw Shiro's smile and frowned.
[Such a shame. Perhaps if my stats were a little higher, you may be in a pinch.] Shiro shrugged.
"What do you mean?" The teacher asked with a frown. She clearly had Shiro on the ropes yet why is she still saying that 'She' was the one in a pinch?
Shiro only smiled as she pointed up.
The teacher looked up as she saw what was waiting for her.
The entire sky was covered with countless spears of ice as each one was rotating to increase penetrative power.
The teacher felt sweat drip down her back as she couldn't imagine what would have happened if Shiro was the same level as her. She wouldn't have been able to dodge that many nor brute force her way through it.
Standing up, Shiro tapped the floor with her foot lightly as the ice started to thaw and retract into her palm.
The teacher stared at Shiro's back with a complicated gaze. The feeling of jealousy rose up in her as she realised, she only won due to brute strength. When put in an even playing field, she wouldn't have even reached close to her.