Chapter 886 – #193_Teacher Sua (3)
#880
1.
Teacher Sua was greatly shocked by Siwoo’s womanizing, which went beyond the ordinary.
It was inevitable that Sua, who was appalled by his harem that resembled a pride of lions, would deduct points from her evaluation of Siwoo.
Even if a hero is fond of beauty, there is a limit.
His actions, which were far from the path of moderation, were not the kind of indulgence that Teacher Sua could accept.
She was itching to give a long lecture about his views on love, but…
She held back for now.
Problems between lovers should be resolved between the parties involved.
It wasn’t like he was secretly having an affair, and Eloa was aware of it, so she decided not to meddle unnecessarily.
One way or another, Sua was in a position where she had received a favor from Siwoo.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes, of course.”
Meanwhile, Siwoo was feeling awkward about seeing Teacher Sua’s face after last night.
There wasn’t much change in her outward attitude, but it was as if a slight wall had formed in Teacher Sua’s eyes, which had previously been full of ardent goodwill.
Anyway, it was a bit embarrassing.
“I would like to review the general knowledge of homunculi before moving on. Practical training should be done after establishing the correct theory.”
The two met again at the training ground where they had finished the skill verification yesterday. Teacher Sua opened the first lesson with a soft voice.
“How many times have you faced a homunculus, Siwoo?”
“A homunculus, you say…”
The shadow-manipulating cat they encountered in Latipuntium.
The countless black dogs that split apart, which he had defeated with Sharon.
The ‘Drowned Witch’ who had inflicted a crushing defeat on Siwoo when he was full of arrogance.
The Red Knight, named the worst homunculus ever, and his subordinate, the White Knight.
The possession-type homunculus that almost put Diana in danger.
If he had to add more, maybe the Kraken he met in the fish tank.
“Six times.”
When he counted them, the number was quite substantial.
Teacher Sua seemed to have the same thought, as she raised her eyes slightly, as if surprised.
She paused for a moment, then asked again.
“Then, how many times have you fought a witch?”
“A witch… Just a moment.”
He excluded the battle with Ea Sadalmelik, which was embarrassing to call a battle.
He also excluded Paola Sochitl, whom he did not directly confront.
Della Redcliffe, the lesbian who tried to kidnap Sharon.
Bianca Bellili, who freely used all sorts of artifacts and drove Siwoo to the brink of death.
L’Rye, who appeared full of rage after defeating the Kraken and showed overwhelming power.
Dorothy, the owner of absolute defense, who tried to correct L’Rye’s mindset by pretending to be evil.
Alice Ibn Hayyan, who tried to kidnap Siwoo in the labyrinth and ended up getting extorted (currently repaying monthly).
Linne, who lightly severed his aorta with the force of a terrifying sword demon.
Rosie, a cruel public enemy and position board fanatic, who lost her life at Siwoo’s hands.
If he included the battles that took place in his mind, there would also be the Black Knight in his subconscious and Eloa’s teacher, but he excluded those as well.
“Seven.”
“Seven? I asked about your practical experience, but was it conveyed correctly?”
“Yes.”
Sua was momentarily speechless.
From what she had heard, it had not been five years since Siwoo became a witch.
Yet, he had that much combat experience, and more than half of it was against great witches.
Even Eloa, who was full of combative public spirit and a sense of duty, did not fight great witches at that frequency.
The reason was simple.
In boy’s manga, they fight to the death at every opportunity, but this world is not a manga.
No one is guaranteed to be the main character.
Jumping into a battle where you could lose your life with the slightest mistake was a frightening thing even for a transcendent witch.
“Can you tell me the rank of the witches you fought?”
“Three were 20th rank, three were 22nd rank, and one was 23rd rank.”
“……”
After hearing the next answer, Sua stopped evaluating him based on ordinary standards.
Not only were they great witches, but all of them were great witches.
Moreover, considering that Ea Sadalmelik was 21st rank and Paola Sochitl was 19th rank, it seemed that he hadn’t even counted the fights that he couldn’t consider ‘battles’.
“…It’s a miracle that you’re still alive.”
“I felt that way as I was saying it. I’m saying this in case you misunderstand, but it’s not like I enjoyed fighting.”
“I understand. I can more than guess why Eloa asked me to guide you.”
Sua sighed as she looked at Siwoo, who was giving a wry smile, and recalled the martial prowess he had shown yesterday.
That was not power that he had obtained for free.
Just as the best practice is real combat, the experience of throwing himself into life-or-death situations time and time again must have led him to a higher level.
Judging by his character, he probably didn’t jump into fights because he enjoyed it.
Perhaps his uniqueness as a male witch had led him into the vortex of struggle.
Yet, he had maintained a righteous character that was not twisted.
Humans are indeed multifaceted.
His womanizing was as chaotic as it was frightening, but in some ways, he had an extraordinary side that Sua wanted to respect.
While she was revising her evaluation in real time, Sua paused.
“……”
Still, eight was too much.
“You have more practical experience than I had anticipated. Therefore, I will briefly go over the theory.”
“I will listen carefully.”
“First, do you know about the characteristics of homunculi?”
Of course, he knew roughly.
Long dormant periods and short active periods.
The reverse barrier that is constantly activated around their bodies.
The fact that they cause disasters to devour humans.
The fact that they cannot be defeated during their dormant periods due to their ability to hide in subspace.
The fact that their danger level varies depending on the number of ‘eyes’.
“That’s right. However, there is a part that you must not miss.”
“What is it?”
“The fact that all homunculi are unique. They each have different characteristics or use different magic.”
This is one of the reasons why homunculi are difficult to deal with.
If you exclude homunculi that have no abilities, those monsters use unique magic, just like a witch’s self-magic.
“However, if you grasp a series of tendencies, it is not impossible to find a way to deal with them. Please refer to the materials I have prepared here.”
What Teacher Sua handed over was a stack of documents that wasn’t too thick.
“Homunculi can be broadly divided into two types: humanoid individuals and beast-type individuals. They each have different characteristics.”
Humanoid homunculi are generally more intelligent.
Therefore, they are more skilled in using self-magic, and even if they do not have high-level thinking abilities like humans, they may use strategic movements or deceptions according to their instincts.
In many ways, they are not much different from battles against great witches, and the Red Knight, White Knight, and Drowned Witch that Siwoo had faced belonged to this category.
“In the case of humanoids, their magic power is not much different from that of witches. Since their size is at the human level, there is a clear limit to how much they can contain.”
“That seems to have been the case.”
“It would be meaningless for me to lecture you about battles against great witches, so I will move on to the next topic.”
Beast-type homunculi.
In fact, there are overwhelmingly more of these, and their sizes vary greatly compared to humanoids, which are generally human-sized.
From small ones like black cats to giant ones like the Kraken and Red Dragon.
“The problem is probably the super-large species.”
“Yes, I think that’s probably why my teacher asked you.”
The characteristics of super-large beast-type individuals are as follows.
Overwhelming size that is closer to a geographical feature than a living creature.
Enormous magic power and powerful magic and strength derived from that.
Toughness guaranteed by excellent defense and recovery power.
It is fortunate that the precision of handling power is significantly reduced due to their excessively large bodies.
“Teacher Sua. I have a question.”
“Please feel free to ask.”
“The magic used when fighting a large homunculus and the magic used in battles against great witches are different, right? Is that why we’re training separately like this?”
“That’s right.”
The way to deal with a witch who can perform agile and nimble evasive maneuvers and a super-large homunculus who can withstand attacks with their tough hide and defense cannot be the same.
It would be a matter of whether to use delicate, precise, and agile magic, or to focus on destructive power even if there is a delay in casting.
But there is a question that arises here.
“Then, does my teacher also use different types of magic or techniques?”
Would his teacher, who is an excellent hunter in both areas, be different?
But at least in Siwoo’s memory, Eloa used the same method regardless of the enemy she faced.
Teacher Sua smiled, as if praising him.
“Eloa does not distinguish between techniques. Can you guess why?”
“…Um, I don’t know.”
“Magic that has reached its peak does not distinguish where it is used and shares the same essence.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Did you already understand with just that explanation?”
“Yes, so… Although the two methods seem different at first glance, if they are pushed to the limit, they can be used in either direction… Something like that.”
“Excellent. I can’t help but admire you.”
In fact, Siwoo was going to stay in Gehenna for the foreseeable future.
He had been wondering why his teacher had ordered him to train for battles against giant beasts, but now his question was completely resolved.
Right now, Siwoo had to change the type of magic he used depending on the opponent, as if he were changing the settings of a skill tree.
For example, if he used the three thrusts he had shown against the Red Dragon in a battle against a great witch, it would only serve as a pattern with obvious openings.
But what if he reduced the casting time, focused the power to an even greater extreme, and improved the consumption value, which was close to a waste of magic power?
It could immediately be used in battles against great witches as well.
Even if that was impossible right away, it was immediately effective in that it cultivated the ability to fight against giant beasts.
It was truly a wise arrangement worthy of his teacher.
“Shall we start with the work of refining your magic?”
“Yes, let’s.”
Siwoo, who was making armor and grabbing a spear, and Teacher Sua, who was summoning the Red Dragon’s phantom again.
It was truly a fruitful power-up event.
And it was a little later, but.
Even at this time, he did not think that the day would come so soon when he would use what he had learned.
