Master-Disciple Relationship

「Well then, Kizuna-san, please come at me however you like.」

I was currently facing off against Shouko.

It’s not like we were fighting. This was so I could learn the player skills I had resolved to acquire previously.

Life on Kalmira Island allowed me to make time if I wanted, so we had arranged to spar three times a day in the morning, noon, and night.

When I asked why three times a day, she said that while getting one’s body used to combat is important, moving with just the body will eventually lead to developing bad habits.

According to Shouko, it’s only when the mind and body move together that a technique can be truly established.

Think with the mind, execute with the body.

A simple yet difficult action to realize, and only by accomplishing this can one become like Shouko, she said.

…Come to think of it, Shouko must practice some kind of martial art in the real world. Definitely.

「Any fighting method is allowed, right?」

「Yes. Since this isn’t a competition, as long as you win, that’s all that matters.」

「Got it.」

It’s a bit of an outrageous statement, but Dimension Wave doesn’t actually have any rules about fighting methods.

You can jump, you can use projectile weapons.

I don’t have any, but there are even things like magic, so there are no rules or restrictions.

Anyway, keeping my distance, I aimed my fishing rod at Shouko.

The fishing rod is the only long-range weapon equipment I have.

It makes sense for me to use the fishing rod until she gets closer, given my skill composition.

「Hate & Lure!」

I cast the lure in a curved motion from the right side.

This forces Shouko to dodge to the left due to the restriction of the line and lure.

Of course, I also consider the possibility of her jumping, but I can change the direction of the lure’s movement mid-flight. In other words, even if she dodges, I can follow up with another attack.

「Kizuna-san, please move with the understanding of where you are positioned.」

「Damn!」

Shouko had figured out the lure’s movement direction and controlled it in reverse.

In other words, my attempt to hit her with the lure came back at me instead.

As I tried to dodge, Shouko flew at me at the same speed as the lure.

Judging the situation, I discarded the fishing rod, changed one of the Pioneer’s Seven Tools into a hammer, and swung it.

「That’s the spirit.」

Shouko nonchalantly murmured as she backstepped away from my hammer.

While I didn’t expect to win, I at least wanted to faze her once.

After dodging the hammer, Shouko would surely counterattack immediately. In that case, the heavy hammer would put me at a disadvantage.

I immediately reverted the hammer back to its box form and gripped the Cerberus Slaughter in my dominant right hand, taking a stance.

The next moment, as Shouko charged at me, I slashed at her.

Of course, she would deflect it with one of her two fans. I had expected this.

I changed the Pioneer’s Seven Tools in my left hand into a drill and thrust it forward.

Shouko tried to deflect with her other fan, but a grinding sound rang out, and the next moment, she disappeared from my sight with a sound like something dragging on the ground.

「You’ve improved your skills a bit, Kizuna-san.」

A fan was pointed at me from the rear left diagonal.

In other words, I had lost.

「Praising your opponent while winning yourself is a bit backhanded, you know.」

「That’s just how masters are.」

「Well, I suppose it’s only in manga where disciples can easily surpass their masters.」

「Yes, that’s true. However, Kizuna-san, you are thinking with your mind and executing with your body, just as I taught you. If you can master it, I think you could become as strong as me.」

While half of that was probably just flattery, it would be nice if it were true.

Anyway, it would be impossible physically in reality, but in this world where my body can keep up, I’m gradually becoming able to move as I intend, little by little.

Come to think of it, is Shouko always this focused during combat?

While this fighting method seems amazing if I can master it, it’s mentally tiring.

Well, I don’t think any fight is without fatigue, but while I can manage three times a day, I don’t think I could maintain it constantly.

「My advice for you, Kizuna-san, is to observe your opponent closely.」

「I am looking.」

「Yes, but when I say look, I mean observe your opponent’s entirety.」

「Entirety?」

「Entirety. From the tips of their nails to every strand of hair, even the flow of blood within their body…」

「And if I can see all that?」

「Who knows what might happen?」

Hey…

I was surprised since Shouko rarely jokes around like that.

「Of course, I didn’t mean it as nonsense. While I haven’t delved into that realm, I’ve heard there are those who reach such heights once they become masters.」

「I see…」

While I can’t comprehend what kind of person could do that, if Shouko says so, then there must be people like that. Shouko has never lied.

Well, the morning training was over, so I should give Peckle some instructions.

Since the stress gauge was introduced, I’ve had to give them breaks, so the development has been stagnating somewhat.

However, judging from the amount of stress they accumulated in a day, I don’t think they would have turned delinquent no matter how much I worked them until I defeated the Karma Pengu.

Most likely, some condition had to be met before they could unlock that ability.

Speaking of conditions…

「Come to think of it, you said you were looking for me, but did you find any new continents?」

「No, we didn’t.」

「I see… It’s quite difficult, isn’t it?」

「No, that’s not it. No matter which direction we sailed, after a certain distance, we would inevitably get caught in a storm and end up in uncharted waters.」

「…You got lost again?」

「No, it’s not that. After wandering for a few hours, we would end up back in the waters near the First City.」

It’s hard to imagine they didn’t take countermeasures while I was gone.

Since Alto was there, they must have considered RPG cliches and such.

But if they still couldn’t find anything, then… just like Peckle, it’s possible some condition hasn’t been met… In other words, there’s a lock in place.

For example, maybe we can’t proceed until a certain number of Dimension Waves are cleared, something like that.

And if we consider the Limited Dimension Wave we participated in as a service stage until the condition is met for those who acquire Kalmira Island, then this abnormal behavior, in this case, being drawn to the sea, could be seen as a reward for those who deviated from the norm.

Could the reason Shouko came here at the same time as the second wave be related to that?

I don’t know.

Otherwise, the balance would be off if we couldn’t defeat the Karma Pengu.

If Alto or someone else had been summoned instead, the Karma Pengu might still be in the forest.

It’s just speculation, but perhaps some conditions are being unlocked based on our combined levels.

If that speculation is correct, then Shouko must have a considerable level… or rather, a high amount of energy.

She has the second highest energy after the Yamikage, and her equipment is good too.

…It’s a good thing I didn’t summon Yamikage. If I had, the system might have bared its fangs.

For example, the Karma Pengu might have mutated into something like a Neo Karma Pengu monster.

Well, it’s just speculation, but… if things are stable now, then it’s fine.

「So, how’s the Peckle Dungeon going?」

Currently, five Peckles were exploring the dungeon.

The first three I sent to the dungeon returned with two more Peckles.

Two Peckles wearing a triangular hat and a sister veil.

For being Peckles, these five almost looked like an RPG party.

The helmet one is the warrior, the Indian hat one is the archer, the scarf one is the thief, the triangular hat one is the mage, and the sister veil one is the priest… It was a well-balanced party.

If only our party’s composition was as organized…

Well, I might be the biggest oddball, so I probably shouldn’t say that out loud.

「Um, what were the rewards this time?」

The Peckle Dungeon tends to drain motivation easily and accumulate stress.

Specifically, it’s either that all individuals’ motivation drops to 0% and they automatically return, or they discover something and return voluntarily.

Based on past trends, new Peckles were discovered in the Peckle Dungeon.

A scrap of paper?

After the warehouse was completed, any items the Peckles obtained started going into the warehouse.

The reason was simply that they acquired massive amounts of food, meat, fish, and the like, but there were also cases where the items would be used for facility operations.

For that reason, I had come to the warehouse separately from Shouko for a moment.

By the way, Shouko was exploring the island.

She wanted to see it with her own eyes, as she said, one glimpse is worth a thousand words.

「Is this… blueprints?」

The scrap of paper had a drawing of a building and instructions on how to build it.

From what I could see, it looked like a deformed version of a hospital.

When I tried using it as an item, this was displayed.

――You can now construct the Peckle Hospital facility.

A simple explanation of the facility’s effects was shown, so I checked it.

Peckle Hospital.

Cares for injured Peckles or those who have accumulated stress.

Applies a negative modifier to the stress accumulation rate for all individuals.

The negative amount increases with each facility level. It also affects motivation every two levels.

However, the medicines used are being kept confidential…

What was that last line about? I don’t know what the developer intended with that description, but it was probably a black joke or something.

Anyway, it seems building the Peckle Hospital will help suppress stress accumulation. After confirming it wouldn’t affect the rotation schedule, I ordered some available Peckles to construct it.

So this is how you obtain blueprints from the Peckle Dungeon.

By the way, constructing this hospital requires ore, which is different from before.

Ore accumulates in the warehouse as Peckles perform mining.

Currently, it’s meager… or rather, instead of copper or iron, there’s a lot of island-exclusive ore. Well, if we could easily obtain large amounts of copper or iron, it would give too much advantage to the players who acquired Kalmira Island.

By the way, when I mine with the drill, I occasionally obtain copper and iron.

About one in a hundred times.

As I was thinking about going fishing, I received a chat from Shouko.

That’s rare, I thought as I opened the chat.

「What’s up?」

「I thought it would be unfair for me to be the only one teaching, so there was something I wanted you to teach me.」

「What is it? I’ll answer anything I can teach.」

「Then, could you teach me about fishing?」

And that’s how my solitary life changed into a life with two people.