Reincarnation with AI (Unemployment-Free)

Chapter 71 Sword Practice

It was afternoon.

According to the schedule, the afternoon was Gilead's time to teach swordsmanship.

After eating a proper meal, one regains energy.

This is different from the arrangement Rudius made at home.

Paul is not a full-time fencing instructor; he also has his own job.

Therefore, the time for teaching Rudius swordsmanship was set for the morning.

Sometimes, due to work commitments, there would be situations where Rudeus could not be taught, and in those cases, Rudeus would have to practice his sword alone in the courtyard.

Over the years, Rudius has become accustomed to this arrangement.

This also led Rudius to habitually think about what to eat first thing in the morning.

In his past life, he didn't have the good habit of eating breakfast—who eats that these days?

After a short lunch break to digest their food, Girenouil led the two men into the courtyard after they put on their protective gear.

The protective gear is made of leather and stuffed with cotton for cushioning.

The protective gear only covers the upper body, and for ease of movement, it only protects the chest and abdomen.

Rudeus patted the leather protective gear on his body and felt that its strength was far greater than he had imagined.

In fact, Rudius had already experienced how strong the defensive power of animal hides was when he went hunting wild boars with Paul in the village of Buena.

That was still fresh, unprocessed animal hide.

Rudius believed the leather armor was not strong enough.

It's just because in the works I saw in my previous life, leather armor always appeared on novice adventurers who were just starting out and going to hunt goblins.

These guys are here only to "die" —

This made Rudeus instinctively feel that this low-level armor was not very good, at least not in front of the protagonist who was covered in "steel".

To give an analogy, in my past life when I was a child, I would put books inside my clothes so that it wouldn't hurt as much when I fought with others.

Leather armor is practically like having a huge dictionary inside your clothes, because leather is tough, and with the added cushioning cotton, it might even offer more protection than a dictionary.

Rudius felt that if he slashed with his sword, his opponent wouldn't feel any pain.

When it comes to sword practice, it's inevitable that I'll have to spar with Alice.

It's beneficial for both children of similar age to practice together.

However, Rudius was very afraid of pain, and looking back now, this may have been a form of PTSD.

This is why he tried his best to avoid being hit by Alice and always stayed outside Alice's attack range.

Rudius knew that once he was hit and felt pain, a sense of disgust would arise in his heart.

Moreover, it's hard to say whether Rudius might lose his temper if he gets too enraged by the pain.

This Rudeus is not the weakling he was in his previous life, easily slaughtered by bullies. He is not strong in terms of physical strength, but rather in terms of mental strength.

If there's anything Rudeus wouldn't dare to do, he couldn't think of one—it's just that after careful consideration, he chose the better approach.

Rudeus is indeed afraid of gods, but fear doesn't mean he's afraid to fight them.

That would just be stupid.

Rudius wasn't sure if going all out against the other side was a form of courage; he figured it was just a last resort. He'd ask the AI ​​about it another day.

Walking down the street, Rudeus looked at Alice, who was a head taller than him, and felt a little uneasy.

Without magic, we definitely can't win, right?

Once inside the courtyard, Girenouil had the two of them stretch their bodies and practice swinging their swords.

Gilead observed their movements, pointed out their shortcomings one by one, and then gave them the correct guidance.

This was the first time Rudius had received instruction he could understand.

Those words contained clear meaning and logical relationships.

Paul would point out the flaws in Rudius's movements, but he couldn't tell Rudius how to do the correct posture.

Rudeus, who had always thought Gilead was a bit slow, was now witnessing the Sword King's strength for the first time.

As expected of a disciple of the Sword God.

After receiving guidance from Kyrianu, Rudius was full of confidence in teaching him arithmetic.

Someone who can say something like that must have no problem learning basic arithmetic, right?

"Clap clap clap." Kyrie Irving clapped his hands a few times and shouted, "Alright, stop now, take a short break, and then we'll have a one-on-one fight."

Upon hearing this, Alice shouted, "Yay!"

Then he looked at Rudeus provocatively.

Noticing Alice's gaze, Rudeus moved a little further to the side and sighed.

What's meant to happen will happen.

Rudeus, placing himself in the position of a swordsmanship teacher, would also think it would be better to have his first students spar with him.

In actual combat, various strengths and weaknesses, as well as the current level of strength, will become apparent.

Looking back, when Rudius practiced with Paul at home, it was mostly Rudius attacking Paul one-sidedly.

I don't wear protective gear when I train at home, but I've never felt pain while practicing swordsmanship.

Rudius thought of Paul with a hint of dejection for a moment, then began to consider the upcoming match.

When it comes to combat against people, in terms of swordsmanship, attacking the opponent's hand is one of the most basic, core, and efficient tactics.

Rudius looked at his small hands, which were not protected by protective gear, and felt a pang of heartache.

No problem. It's extremely difficult for a child to accurately hit the other person's hand.

It's highly unlikely that Rudeus could cut Alice's hand, and it would be equally difficult for Alice to cut Rudeus's hand as well.

But it doesn't matter if you miss. When you're at a disadvantage in various abilities, you should still keep your distance and not attack Alice's body, but only her hands.

The hand is the closest target, so the attacker's movements are usually the fastest, shortest, and least likely to be intercepted.

Even if you miss, you can still intimidate the opponent and slow down Alice's speed.

Rudius made a quick decision in his mind, and then Kyrie Irvine's voice came: "Alright, let's get ready to begin."

Upon hearing this, Rudeus and Alice emerged from the shade of the tree and stood facing each other.

Seeing Alice's excited expression, Rudeus instinctively used wind magic to wrap around his legs.

"Ready, go!"

At Kyrie Irvine's command, Alice charged directly toward Rudeus.

That smiling face...it really did seem to enjoy killing people.

Seeing Alice gradually adopt the upper stance, one of the most powerful and versatile stances in terms of attack angles.

Rudeus first feigned a block, then quickly dodged away when Alice closed in a little further.

Alice's sword strike missed its mark, and she paused for a moment due to inertia.

He then quickly readjusted his center of gravity and parried Rudeus's wooden sword that was aimed at his side.

Seeing that his attack had failed, Rudius completely abandoned his offensive plans and began to focus entirely on defense.

Rudius took a step back, adjusting his stance, and felt a noticeable tremor in the ground.

With a "smack," Alice slammed her foot into the ground with even more force than before, then chased after Rudeus at an even faster speed, unleashing a charged side slash aimed at Rudeus's side.

Rudeus parried with his sword, realizing he couldn't dodge, and was "knocked away" by the force of the blow.

After creating distance again, Rudeus found himself unable to even throw a sword to interfere with Alice, as her attacks were far faster than he had imagined.

If I hadn't seized the opponent's weakness at the beginning, I might not have even had the aftereffects of an attack.

Alice, after all, had received professional swordsmanship training; she wasn't some country bumpkin.

Rudeus gradually focused on the battle before him, watching Alice excitedly charge towards him again and taking a deep breath.

After three more exchanges, Rudius used his speed advantage to parry and retreat.

"Alice! Don't forget your step!" Kyrie Irvine shouted. "Use more feints, don't let him defend against them so easily!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Alice swayed, her hands moving rapidly in sync with her steps.

Rudius was caught off guard and was struck in the right abdomen by a sword.

However, Alice's move was a last-minute change, so she lacked strength. Under the protection of her armor, Rudeus couldn't even feel any pain.

"Rudeus! Don't keep staring at his hands!" Girenau shouted again. "Pay more attention to his footsteps and gaze! Pay more attention to his body movements!"

Rudius, who had once again widened the distance, suddenly realized something.

Yeah, you've already decided to go all out on defense, so why are you still staring at your hands? Are you still thinking about cutting off your hands to counterattack?

It seems that there are some such thoughts.

Rudeus looked at Alice, who was charging at him again, but this time he didn't focus on his hands. Instead, he took in Alice's entire body.

The shift in attention allowed Rudeus to see through Alice's feint. Although he was still being pressured, Alice could no longer hit Rudeus.

After parrying each attack, Rudeus led Alice in circles around the courtyard.

Alice seemed tireless in launching her attacks.

Rudeus gradually increased his magical output, but he still began to pant.

The intense competition had begun to tire Rudius.

Seeing this, Kyrie Irvine realized the battle was over, so he shouted, "Alice! Keep attacking! Make it hard for him to breathe!"

"Yes!" Alice's cheerful voice rang out.

This guy actually had the energy to answer!

Exhausted, Rudeus parried five more attacks in a row, finally opening his defense wide after Alice landed an upward slash.

not good!

Rudeus sensed something was wrong and realized what was about to happen.

The flow of time slowed down considerably.

Rudeus watched as Alice grinned and unleashed a powerful side slash towards her abdomen.

"vomit!"

Even with the protection of leather armor, Alice's full-force attack still made Rudeus vomit all the air from his stomach.

The sound of the wooden sword striking the protective gear traveled along his body to Rudeus's ears, but what Rudeus heard even more clearly was the sound of his own vomiting.

With the help of magic, Rudeus's lithe body was swept away by the blow.

After landing on his buttocks and bouncing slightly, Rudeus lay down on the ground.

"Hmm~." Rudeus let out a breath and stared blankly at the blue sky and white clouds.

"Alright, that's enough," Kyrie Irvine said.

Not far away, Alice brandished her wooden sword and said, "Rudeus isn't all that great."

Hearing Alice's words, Rudeus was powerless to refute them, and could only focus on the sound of the wooden sword cutting through the air.

"Alice, don't be arrogant!" Kyrie immediately corrected her, "It's because you've been learning swordsmanship for longer and are older than Rudeus."

"Hmph!" Alice stopped swinging her sword and added, "I know!"

After glancing at Rudeus, who was still lying down, Kyrie Irvine said, "Let's rest for a bit."

Rudius raised his hand slightly to indicate that he had heard.

He then continued to stare blankly.

Rudeus, feeling his breathing gradually calm down and feeling a bit hot from the sun, slowly got up, picked up his wooden sword, and lazily moved to the shade of a tree to lie down again.

The brain, which had been shut down, slowly started working again.

Rudius thought for a moment.

It's not that scary if a fight really breaks out. I have a fierce nature too, and I'm not uncompetitive.

Alice's attacks won't be like Paul's, overwhelming her with power and making them completely unpredictable or impossible to defend against.

This gave Rudius a sense of exhilaration during the blocking process.

Unlike his father, who was beaten the whole time during sparring with Paul, he would then show off at the end by sweeping Paul away with a power that Rudius could not match.

That block felt utterly unsatisfying; it felt like being blown away by a train—that childish Paul.

Rudeus sat up, conjured a water sphere with magic, and took a small sip, completely unaware that Alice was watching him expectantly from the side.

Rudius casually tossed the half-finished water balloon toward the tree roots and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

Alice glanced at the discarded water balloon and suddenly felt thirsty herself.

After taking a deep breath, he shouted, "Thomas!!!"

The sudden, loud noise startled Rudius, making him shudder.

My relaxed state of mind was reawakened.

He turned his head and looked at Alice with surprise and doubt.

Footsteps approached from afar, and the butler, Thomas, hurried over, asking Alice, "What are your orders, Miss?"

"Go and get me some water!" Alice ordered, arms crossed.

"Okay." After saying that, Thomas quickly left.

After listening to their conversation, Rudius realized—was the child being jealous?

This is a good thing.

However, be careful; provoking Alice now might get you beaten up.

Rudius stood up, leaning on his sword.

"Have you rested enough?" Gileadus, sitting on the steps not far away, asked, "Rudeus, I noticed you were acting a bit strange just now, what's wrong?"

So, it really couldn't hide it from the Sword King's eyes after all?

"I used magic," Rudeus admitted directly.

This magic that lifts the body reduces Rudeus's weight, allowing him to move faster and conserve energy.

Rudeus had developed the habit of casting this spell during his battles with Paul.

Before Kyrie Illya could speak, Alice asked directly, "What magic?"

After saying that, he immediately looked at Kyrie Irvine and asked, "Didn't you say that magic is useless in close combat?"

"I don't know either," Kyrie Irvine said, looking at Rudeus. "Maybe there's something different about spellless magic."

1

Footsteps sounded again, and Thomas came over carrying a kettle: "Miss, here's your water."

Without turning her head, Alice said, "Just put it there!"

"Yes," Thomas put down the kettle and asked again, "Is there anything else you need, Miss?"

"Ugh, this is so annoying, get out of here!"

After shooing the butler away, Alice didn't even glance at the kettle on the ground and went straight to Rudeus, asking, "What magic did you just use?"

Rudius watched Thomas walk away and felt that there was a reason why he might betray him.

However, in the end, he was just a servant. Although Alice's actions were annoying, they were not excessive.

"It's magic that makes the body lighter," Rudeus said succinctly.

"Become lighter? What's that?" Alice asked, still puzzled.

"Miss Alice, could you please not move for now?" Rudeus said, turning to Alice. "Let me demonstrate for you."

"Demonstration? How do I demonstrate?"

"You just need to stand still." After saying that, Rudeus cast a spell without waiting for Alice's reply.

"What?" Alice looked at her legs in surprise. "They really have become lighter!?"

Kyrie Irvine also removed his blindfold and used his magic to observe the magic swirling around Alice.

"No wonder you ran so fast!" Alice exclaimed in sudden realization, "You were able to keep hiding."

"Hmm," Kyrie Irvine continued Alice's words, "I also think that with Rudeus's control over distance and his instinct for parrying and dodging, he might be more suited to learning the Water God style of swordsmanship than the Sword God style."

"Huh? Is that so?" Rudeus stopped his magic and looked at Kyrie Illya in surprise.

I've practiced with Paul for so long, and he's never said these things to me.

Is Kyrie Illusion really that powerful?

Can you draw this conclusion just by watching one sparring match?

However, just as Rudeus had predicted, Alice didn't accuse Rudeus of cheating or anything, and Kyrie Irvine didn't object to Rudeus using magic.

During our casual conversation this morning, we did talk about magic swordsmen and such.

Not only that, before the sparring session, Gilead hadn't even mentioned that he couldn't attack the head or groin.

Does having healing magic give you the right to do whatever you want?

Does this master and apprentice mean that as long as they win, any means are acceptable?

Rudius didn't know whether he should be happy about it.

"Hey!" Alice called out, "Do you have any other magic?"

"Yes, there is," Rudius hesitated, "but—"

"What do you mean, 'just what'?!" Alice slapped Rudeus on the head. "Tell me already!"

"Oh my god!" Rudeus clutched his head, quickly retreated to the side to create a safe distance, and then cast a healing spell to relieve the pain.

I was careless and actually entered Alice's attack range.

#!

When did they get close?

"What are you talking about?" Alice asked, frowning.

After asking the question, Alice looked at her hands again, seemingly surprised by Rudeus's strong reaction.

"It's nothing," Rudeus naturally wouldn't explain that he had sworn, so he skipped that topic and continued, "It's just that the spell stopped working after being used?"

Sure enough, Alice's interest was once again piqued by magic, so she asked curiously, "What kind of magic?"

Rudius extended his right index finger and held it up in front of him, saying, "This is it."

"This?" Alice shifted her gaze to Rudeus's finger and asked, puzzled.

“That’s right,” Rudius added, feeling a slight throbbing in his head. “Please take a close look at this finger, Miss.”

Alice did as she was told, then asked, "Hmm? And then?"

"And then—" Rudeus drawled, looking at Alice to make sure she was really looking at his fingers.

Before he could finish speaking, Rudius’s index finger emitted a blinding light.

Alice, standing in the shade of the tree, was briefly blinded by the bright light, then covered her eyes and cried out in alarm, "My eyes!"

"I can't see!" Alice shouted, brandishing her wooden sword. "Gilead! Gilead!"

"I can't see!"

The Gilead, not far away, was also startled by the flash, and the fur on its tail stood on end.

But it's much better than Alice facing the light head-on.

Upon hearing Alice's panicked cries, Kyrie Irvine immediately grabbed his sword and rushed over.

As if a gust of wind had swept by, Gilead easily snatched the wooden sword Alice was wildly swinging, put his hand on Alice's shoulder, and asked, "Alice, how are you?"

Sensing Kyrie Irvine's presence, Alice felt much better, but still repeated, "Kyrie Irvine, I can't see."

"Rudeus!" Kyrie Irving glared angrily at Rudeus and demanded, "What's going on?!"

Faced with the Sword King's imposing aura, Rudeus's breath hitched, realizing that this joke might have gone too far.

Flashing lights are way too advanced for "primitive people" who have never even seen a light bulb before.

Suppressing the urge to fly up into the tree, Rudeus said, "It's alright, it'll be fine in a bit."

Rudeus didn't use much magic, so the reason for this result was simply because Ellie stared at him without any precautions and didn't understand what a flash of light was, which caused her to panic so much.

If it were a modern person, even if they were dazzled, they would just helplessly wait for their eyes to recover on their own.

Sure enough, Alice gradually regained her vision within a few seconds.

"Gilead! I can see again!" Alice exclaimed in delight.

"That's good," Kyrie Irvine said, lowering his guard after seeing Alice recover.

But Rudeus, sensing something was wrong, activated his flight magic and rushed towards the tree trunk.

He climbed up the tree in two quick steps.