After breakfast, Aesc left first to handle her tasks. Meanwhile, Naoki—after leaving a bowl of porridge for Totorot—quickly left the house too.
Aesc had various matters to attend to; naturally, Naoki had his own.
At the training ground near Londinium's coast.
"Huu—!"
When Naoki arrived, he saw Uther swinging a sword.
Despite his childlike appearance, Uther's swings were standard and stable. His posture didn't waver.
(Not bad… Far better than the Clock Tower Magus. At least he's no coward.)
Thinking this, Naoki approached Uther. "Yo, Uther."
"Brother Merlin?"
Uther turned, sheathed his sword, and ran over. "Good morning. Are we starting combat training? If possible, wait a bit—I need to finish my daily basics first."
"You do these swings every day?"
"Yes. Master told me to. She said, [No matter how strong a warrior, without solid fundamentals, they'll never truly be strong.]"
(Aesc said that, huh… Probably from Morgan's knowledge. For teaching beginners, it's perfect. And it's true.)
Strong foundations make learning advanced techniques faster.
"Alright, continue. I'll watch from the side."
"Thank you."
Nodding gratefully, Uther ran back and resumed swinging. While he did, Naoki observed Aesc's disciple again.
From yesterday's brief contact, Naoki knew Uther had decent-quality Magic Circuits.
In this Fairy Nation, there were no Magus families. Humans didn't reproduce naturally—no lineages. Each was produced individually. Thus, every human with Magic Circuits was a First-Generation Magus.
Uther was no exception.
As a First-Generation Magus, his Circuits naturally weren't exceptional. Naoki's "decent" was relative to that level—he himself didn't count. After becoming an Elemental Spirit, his Circuits had changed quality. Who knew what they were now.
If explained, they weren't even Magic Circuits anymore—more like an Age of Gods return, like Arcueid's.
Setting that aside, focus stayed on Uther.
Besides decent Circuits for a First-Generation Magus, years of training gave him good fitness and steady breathing… Uther had most qualities a warrior needed.
If he grew normally, he'd likely become an above-average knight.
(But that's not enough.)
Though a guess, Naoki roughly knew what Aesc wanted him to teach.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
About an hour later.
"Huu~~~~~"
Exhaling deeply, Uther looked at Naoki. "Sorry for the wait, Brother Merlin. I'm done."
"Yeah, good work…"
Rising from the sofa he'd made with Imaginary Manifestation, Naoki crouched, scooped a handful of pebbles, and weighed them. "This should do… Alright, Uther—while your body's fully warmed up, let me test you a bit."
"A test?"
"Aesc asked me to teach you combat—to become a knight. But without knowing your current level, I don't know where to start. So, let me test your basics first."
"Meaning… fight you?" Uther swallowed nervously. "I understand."
Naoki laughed. "Relax, don't overthink. Use full strength. Don't worry about hurting me—that's impossible even if you trained ten thousand years."
"Alright! Here I come!"
Taking a deep breath, Uther raised his sword and charged, slashing with all his might.
Of course, it missed. But Uther didn't give up, swinging repeatedly at Naoki.
(As expected…)
Casually dodging, Naoki confirmed his suspicion.
"Uther, have you… ever fought an enemy?"
"N-No!"
In his haste, Uther's answer wavered.
"Then real combat experience? Fighting another person?"
"Also… no."
"Until now, Aesc only taught you Magecraft and training methods?"
Uther nodded.
Sighing slightly, Naoki stopped dodging. He lightly parried the wooden sword, then flicked a pebble with his free hand—striking Uther's forehead precisely.
"Okay, I win."
Placing a hand on Uther's shoulder, Naoki scratched his head in frustration. "Looks like I'll have to teach you from scratch."
"From scratch?"
"Yes. Because you've never fought at all."
In other words, everything Uther learned was theoretical. He studied formulas but never practiced problems. Zero combat experience. Though he'd swung a sword for years, in real battle, he was a complete novice.
It showed in his movements. He didn't apply daily training. Like a child, he swung wildly with raw strength—only slightly better than one.
"I'll teach you combat from zero, Uther. So now—we start with pebble-throwing."
"Eh?"
Uther—braced for seriousness after Naoki's words—froze at the second sentence.
Pebble-throwing?
Tossing a pebble, Naoki explained with a laugh. "Uther, do you know the most important thing to consider in battle?"
"Winning?"
"Wrong. Survival." Naoki tapped Uther's forehead. "First, survive—then think about winning. Dying before victory is impossible. Winning by sacrificing yourself is meaningless—at least to me."
"Humans are fragile. Dead, nothing remains. Sacrificing for grand ideals is extreme. Normally, your life is the top priority in battle. Only by surviving can you do anything else."
"For that, learn to endure and evade."
Naoki raised a small pebble. "I'll limit my physical ability to human level and throw these at you. The arena is this training ground. Block with your wooden sword, roll to dodge, or find cover."
"Basically, do your best to survive ten minutes without me hitting your head or chest—or hitting you three times."
"That's the first thing you need to learn. We'll discuss the rest after you pass this."
(So this is training to survive in real battles later?)
Uther quickly grasped it.
"I understand, Brother Merlin. Please start—"
*PLAK!*
A pebble hit Uther's head.
"Okay, you're dead." Naoki said, tapping it. "In battle, enemies won't wait for you to be ready. Always be mentally prepared for a sneak attack."
"Got it!"
"Then, try again."
"Got it!"
*PLAK!*
Another pebble struck Uther's forehead.
(This kid… has a lot to learn.)