Chapter 32: Team Effort
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Aeden assigned them and managed to form ten pairs in no time.

"Man! I'm so excited to incorporate Miss Aeden's swordsmanship skills!"

"Oh? Aren't you afraid I will pull tricks on you like Mister Völun did?"

"Bring it on then!"

"Since all of you were already assigned to your respective partners, you will distance yourself from other pairs and may begin right away," Aeden told them.

"And as for you..."

A certain man walked forward. It was the entrance guard from before who lost his family due to the accident.

"Since you're the only one without a pair, I will assign Völun as your session partner. Are you fine with this arrangement?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Wait, wait, wait. Why me, though?" Völun asked her in confusion.

"What do you mean by that? Of course you'll have to do it since you didn't help me train them earlier!"

"But... I recently just did a duel with you..."

"And? Didn't I also work my ass over here training them without you? Now that I've given you the opportunity to do the intended duty that Sir Alguis gave to us, do you dare to slack off again?"

Völun couldn't argue with her justification and helplessly agreed with her.

"F-Fine! Sheesh..."

Völun took Aeden's wooden sword and went beside the former entrance guard. Völun was greeted by the former entrance guard by bowing his head.

"I hope you take care of me, Sir Völun."

"Mhm," Völun replied with a low tone.

Aeden watched them as the twenty-one trainees, including Völun, began their sparring session. Despite the fact that all of them were struggling to apply the basic swordsmanship they practiced earlier, she was glad that they knew how to incorporate the fundamentals of swordsmanship.

This session aims to look at the flaws in their swordsmanship. With two of them looking at each other's flaws, they will learn from their mistakes and spot their opponent's flaws so that they won't make the same mistakes like they did in the future...

But all of these were just the beginning. Facing monsters whose attack patterns were unpredictable was hard to deal with; what they must learn is how to counter and overcome those uncertainties... 

And for that, they must learn the basics first. Understanding it thoroughly will give them countermeasures upon facing new variables, and they might devise a technique to overcome it with the fundamentals acting as a foundation.

Aeden looked behind her and saw the pile of swords lying on the ground.

While they're still in training, I must keep those real swords and place them in a safe spot...

Aeden walked towards it and arrived seconds later. Suddenly, Aeden realized something.

"Wait. I forgot that Mister Soru's here as well!"

Aeden looked around to find Soru and apologize to him. To her surprise, he was nowhere to be seen.

"Eh? Where did he go?"

Unable to find Soru on the training ground, Aeden gave up looking for him. She decided to gather the swords and store them somewhere else.

Soru left without notice because he was hungry and was looking for something to eat. He went to the campfire that was situated not far from the large house that they were staying at.


Upon arriving at the place, Soru saw two young women preparing breakfast for everyone. This is the first time he has met those two individuals.

I shall go and wait for the others to eat...

Soru was about to leave when he saw Alguis, Silas, and the others approaching in his direction. Alguis noticed Soru and called him.

"Sir Soru! It seems like you've arrived here earlier than us."

Soru stopped upon hearing his voice. Alguis tapped his left shoulder.

"Let's eat together, shall we?" 

Soru nodded and followed them. Upon their arrival, everyone were given a bowl with food in it. They thanked the young women who prepared the food and ate it happily.

While they were eating, one of them was discussing the barricade that they were constructing around the settlement.

"Even though some women had joined us in the construction of those barricades, our manpower wasn't sufficient enough to build them with haste."

"You're right. Although we barely just started, you can notice that it'd take more than just a week to finish it," the other one told them.

"But thanks to Miss Reika and her familiar's ability, they made those heavy logs lighter, light enough for us to carry even just a person. Including Sir Alguis's ability to manipulate the soil and turn it into a mud state for a moment, our work became so much easier..."

"Their contribution greatly helped us to erect them around our settlement with ease. Without their wonderful abilities, it might take us probably a month or more to finish it all."

All of them nod in agreement.

While everyone was busy chattering, some of them noticed that the women who helped them barricade the settlement's perimeter had arrived. Although they left the site together, they arrived at the gathering late due to some hygienic reasons.

"Here they are. We left together, yet they just arrived at the moment that we were about to finish our fill."

"Hahh... You already knew about women; they were conscious when it comes to hygiene compared to us men," the other one told him and laughed.

Among the group of women that arrived were Reika and Veylir. She saw Soru and Alguis eating together. After getting her bowl, she sat beside Soru and started eating.

Moments later, all of them finished their breakfast and decided to go back to the site after taking a short break. Soru stood up but was confronted by Alguis.

"Mister Soru, do you have any plans this morning?"

"Besides observing the trainees, I have nothing else to do."

"If that's the case, maybe you could watch us erect those barricades?"

Soru paused for a moment.

Observing them might be good. I am curious about the process of their work as well...

Soru agreed and followed them to the site.

In the distance, Soru saw Veylir hovering above a pile of logs. There, he saw massive logs being cut into two vertically. On its tip was a pointy edge, erecting diagonally on the ground. Half of its body was buried deep into the ground.

All of them went to their designated posts and began working. As Soru observed them in silence, he witnessed the teamwork of the people that were entrusted to erect the barricade around the settlement.

Reika and Veylir were busy chopping the large logs in half and cutting their tips to be pointy using an aerial-type ability.

<Gale Cleave!>

Upon chanting the ability, a compressed wind blade materialized, passed through the log like it was made of butter, and was cleanly cut in half. Veylir then carved its tip using the same ability.

They applied the logs using another aerial-type ability, which is the Light Wind, making the object lighter and allowing it to be carried by a normal human.

Three individuals were assigned to carry the processed logs, which were erected diagonally on soil that was softened using Alguis's Surface Liquefaction.

Thanks to that ability, the three of them managed to insert the processed log's body into the ground with minimal effort. 

They repeated this process over and over again, with Reika helping Alguis soften the ground using the same ability that Alguis was using.

Hours had passed, and they managed to erect ten log pikes. All of them were helping each other out, including the women and men that were presented on the site. Soru watched them in silence, observing their every movement as they worked hard to barricade the entire area.

"Let's take a short break! It's already noon, and our snacks will arrive anytime soon," Alguis told them.

The two women from earlier arrived while carrying a basket full of bread and some water. The workers noticed them and gathered around to get their portions, including Alguis and Reika. Reika went to Soru and gave her bread and water. Soru took it and ate the bread.

"You know, I thought you'd help us after hours of just staring at us do the work. It seems like I shouldn't underestimate your tenacity of not getting bored!"

"I am fascinated by how all of you were united without leaving even a single person. Each of you fulfilled your roles efficiently. Maybe that's the reason I didn't experience boredom," Soru replied.

"Uh-huh... Well, since we are social beings, doing teamwork is one of our intrinsic aspects of survival. Without it, living in this harsh world by ourselves would be difficult."

Reika noticed that the workers were finished and decided to continue their work.

"All right... Let's go back to work~!" Reika exclaimed cheerfully.

Seeing that Reika was an enthusiast when it came to helping people, Soru paused and thought for a moment.

I remembered that interaction with people might help me awaken my emotions. Although I've been doing it, my problem still remains the same...

Soru took a step and decided to help them.

Maybe if I do it repeatedly, some changes might occur.

Alguis noticed Soru approaching and welcomed him. Soru stopped and watched the workers place the processed logs on the ground before erecting them.

"Oh, Mister Soru, what brings you here? Do you want to take a closer look?"

"I came here to ask if you needed some help."

Hearing his offer for help made Alguis surprised.

"W-Well, maybe you could help those people carry those large logs nearby to the designated spots they will be placed at."

Without saying a word, Soru went to the spot where Reika and Veylir were working. Alguis didn't mind him and continued his work. After he arrived, Veylir and Reika noticed him.

"Oh? Master Soru, have you decided to help us?" Veylir asked him.

"Yes."

"That's great then! With you, we might finish this project faster than we expected!"

On the other side, Reika looked at him while he was talking to Veylir.

It's a surprise that he decided to help us...

"Where do I place these finished pikes so that they can lift them and place them on the ground?"

"Uh, place it from there... to there," Reika told Soru while pointing her fingers.

Soru looked at the pile and saw a total of eleven piked logs. Without any time to spare, he stretched his hand towards them. In a second, all of them vanished into thin air, which surprised Reika and Veylir.

At the moment when the pikes vanished, Reika saw several pikes appearing near the spot where they were supposed to be erected. Not only her, but Alguis and the workers as well.

They were surprised at first, but they knew that Soru was the one behind it. The rumors about him possessing an incredible and convenient ability spread throughout the entire settlement, and them witnessing it wasn't that shocking.

"Although I knew that Mister Soru possessed that strange ability, to think that it'd be this useful is truly surprising!"

"Of course! With his ability, doing tasks like this became more convenient than ever!"

Reika went to the spot and began to activate her ability. Along with Alguis, they softened the ground to allow the workers to insert these logs into the ground.

The afternoon went by, and they decided to end today. While looking at the unfinished barricade, they were surprised by the progress they'd made.

"To think that we managed to exceed the expected progression, it's all thanks to Mister Soru's help!"

"Yeah! We saved so much time and effort on building those barricades!"

Soru heard their conversation and took a glance at them. He saw their smiles and cheerful expressions on their faces.

I guess my act greatly influenced their moods...

Soru looked at his palm and began to contemplate.

If I keep doing this, does that mean it will kindle my emotions?

Soru noticed someone's hand tapping on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Alguis smiling at him.

"Thanks for your help, Mr. Soru! Without you, the construction became faster than we expected!"

Soru noticed Alguis putting up a thumbs-up sign with a smile. He looked back at the crowd as they went back to the site.

"...You're welcome."

The two of them noticed Reika approaching them. Veylir followed while having a conversation beside her.

"I thought you'd only observe us without the intent of helping us. I was surprised with your actions!" Reika told Soru while approaching him.

"Master Soru might look like a person who lacks interest, but when he does, he'll turn into a capable fellow!" Veylir exclaimed.

"I only helped a little, that's all..."

Alguis heard their conversation and decided to give a reply.

"Mhm. Mister Soru is a capable individual, indeed!"

The three of them went back to the settlement along with the workers. There, they met Aeden and Völun, who also finished their first day training the trainees with basic swordsmanship. The dwarves greeted Alguis by bowing their heads.

"Sir Alguis!"

 Aeden took a glance at Soru.

So he was with them earlier...

"Mhm. How's the training with those who volunteered?" Alguis asked them.

"It was proceeding smoothly. Although their proficiency isn't that good, they were showing signs of improvement, especially that it was only a day since they'd begun their training," Aeden told him.

"That's good then..."

All of them went to the grounds to eat their dinner together. The villagers were laughing, sharing their experiences on the first day of their preparation for the upcoming wave. Although they were restless at first, now their spirits are full, encouraged to repel the threat that would bring harm to their settlement.

The second day arrived, and all of them continued their designated tasks. Meanwhile, Soru confronted Aeden about his training in the Phantom Combat Technique.

"I apologize, Mister Soru, but I was so preoccupied with their training that I forgot to train you," Aeden told Soru.

"It's okay."

Aeden paused for a moment.

"If you want to, we could train after dinnertime. How's that sound?"

"I'm alright with it."

After their agreement, both of them parted ways. Meanwhile, Reika and Veylir were on their usual task, which was processing the logs using their abilities.

While in the middle of their work, Reika decided to confront Veylir and ask her about a request that she'd been thinking about two days ago.

"Uhm, Veylir. I've been thinking about this for a while, but would you like to hear my request?"

Veylir paused upon hearing her question. 

"It's rare for you to ask a request. Tell me, what is it?"

"W-Well, since you're one of the oldest entities on this continent, I—"

"Wait a minute. I'm not that old, you know? If my lifespan's the same as yours, my age is equivalent to a 21-year-old's."

Reika stared at her with an annoyed look on her face.

This dragon...

"A-Anyways, since you "lived" much longer on this continent, perhaps you knew how to wield some weapons?"

Veylir's eyes widened upon hearing her words.

"Oh, I see what you're implying..."

Veylir held her chin and closed her left eye, acting like a distinguished individual in front of her.

"Basically, you want me to teach you some weapon arts?"

"W-Well, something like that..." Reika replied with a low tone.

"Hmm... to think that you'd be interested in that..."

"...But, I must tell you that I only learned a single weapon art so far, since I believe that we, the dragons, don't require such meager techniques in our combat—"

"If you knew one, then you could teach me how to!"

Veylir retreated when Reika's face was too close to her. She saw her gleaming face, eagerly waiting for her approval.

"...Alright, alright! I-I guess I could teach it to you."

"Sweet!"

Veylir scratched her cheek with her tiny claws and looked in the opposite direction.

"W-Well, don't get your hopes up. I only knew the fundamentals of it; it's not like I am proficient in it or something..."

"That's alright! It should be enough for me~!" Reika exclaimed cheerfully.

Veylir retreated further in order to prevent Reika from getting closer to her.

"So tell me, what kind of weapon art is it?"

Suddenly, Veylir's face went serious. Reika noticed it right away and decided to fix her composure.

"Oh, i-it's just some basic techniques of Spear Arts. In addition, it doesn't involve any fancy moves because I didn't bother much to learn its complexities."

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