The Commander's Teachings

That evening, after finishing his meal, Leo, who had been busy all day, went directly to Finn's office to formally ask for his advice.

"Will you teach me close-combat skills and techniques?"

Finn, who was working on a document, was somewhat surprised when he heard Leo's purpose for coming.

Riveria, who was holding a pile of parchment, and Gareth, who was sitting in a chair checking something, both turned their heads at the same time to look at Leo.

"This request is quite sudden," Gareth said, seemingly intrigued. "Why do you suddenly want Finn to teach you melee combat?"

"It is indeed a bit sudden." Riveria nodded in deep agreement, adding, "You're still learning how to use magic, and now you want to distract yourself by learning melee combat? That's not a good idea."

In Riveria's view, Leo's magical abilities are beyond doubt, but because he has only been exposed to magical knowledge for a short time, he still has a lot to learn in this area.

Under these circumstances, Leo should focus on continuing to learn about magic and constantly explore his own strengths; that is the right path.

As a result, he now wants to be distracted by learning close combat, which is putting the cart before the horse and being greedy.

"Of course I will continue to hone my magical skills, but I don't want to fall behind in close combat either." Leo knew what Riveria was worried about, so he said frankly, "After all, I am a magical swordsman. Whether it's magic or swordsmanship, it's ideal to progress in both areas simultaneously."

"If I only study magic and not melee combat, I might as well just be a defensive Mage. Why bother being a magic swordsman?"

"Furthermore, putting aside technical skills and knowledge, my magical abilities are already quite strong, and it's time to focus on melee combat so that my close-combat abilities can also flourish."

Upon hearing this, the three clan leaders looked at each other, and finally nodded thoughtfully.

"What you say isn't entirely wrong," Gareth said, stroking his beard. "While you're very skilled in magic, you're equally adept in close combat."

"According to Loki, you raised your basic melee-related abilities to SS at every level before Lv.4, right?"

"Since you've managed to elevate all your melee abilities to a level sufficient to break through your limits, and laid a strong foundation at each level, it would be a real waste not to realize and unleash that potential."

Since Leo's four basic abilities—"Strength," "Endurance," "Dexterity," and "Agility"—can be trained to SS level at every grade, it would be a waste of such a powerful foundation not to develop his melee abilities.

So, after thinking about it for a moment, Gareth began to approve of Leo's approach.

"But his magical abilities are far superior, and he's only just begun to learn useful magical knowledge, so continuing to strengthen his strengths might not be a bad choice."

Riveria agreed with Gareth's assessment, but she had a different opinion.

"There's no rush anyway. Why not learn melee combat after we've thoroughly learned all the magic knowledge?"

At least, if it were Riveria, she would definitely do the same.

The wisest approach is to make what is already strong even stronger, and then delve into other areas only after you can no longer effectively improve in those areas.

Therefore, Riveria doesn't quite agree with Leo starting to study melee combat right now; continuing to study magic is what he should be doing at this stage.

In some ways, Riveria's idea was correct.

However, Leo still wanted to start developing his melee skills now.

"Whether it was during the battle against Goliath or during this expedition, I could only use magic to fight against enemies whose levels were far higher than mine. To do this, I could only try every means to create distance between myself and them, to avoid being hit by their attacks. I would jump around and run back and forth. But as it turns out, the distance that was created could also be reduced, and the enemy's attacks would not always miss. There were always times when they could hit me."

"Then, how will I deal with them when I can't use magic?"

"Overuse of magic also puts a very heavy burden on my mental strength and creates a dependency. Lately, I've been drinking magic potions like water, but magic potions will eventually run out. When I can no longer use magic, am I just supposed to wait to die?"

Leo recalled the time he fought Goliath, and also the time he dealt with the female-sized monster.

"I don't want to be stuck in a situation where I'm helpless except for magic anymore, so please teach me how to fight in melee."

As he spoke, Leo bowed deeply to Finn, giving him a grand salute.

"This----"

Riveria frowned immediately.

It's not that she can't understand Leo's thoughts.

After all, she was a Mage and needed someone to protect her so she could chant spells with peace of mind. If no one protected her, she would have to do everything she could to deal with the enemy, trying to find an opportunity to use magic during the gaps in the enemy's attacks, and struggling desperately.

It could be said that her magic was the key to victory; only by using it could she possibly win, and if she couldn't, she could only wait to die.

But that's precisely why Mage need to learn Parallel Chanting and how to use magic, right?

If you master these abilities, why worry about not being able to use magic in battle and decide the outcome with a single blow?

Leo could easily focus on developing this skill; why bother diverting his attention to another ability?

It's no wonder Riveria thinks that way; she sees herself as a defensive Mage, and her fighting style is to use magic to the fullest extent possible, without considering anything else.

In her opinion, Leo's magical talent was superior to both Lefiya Viridis's and her own; apart from having fewer spells, he was no less capable than her in any other aspect.

Furthermore, Leo's "Demonic Power" parameter can be trained to SSS at every level, proving that his greatest strength is still magic. In addition, several development abilities are enhancing his magical abilities, and even his skills are used to improve his magic. With such good conditions, it would be a waste not to study magic properly.

Just as Riveria was about to say that, Finn raised his hand and stopped her.

The leader of the Prum looked into Leo's eyes and clearly saw the determination and urgency within them.

Seeing that look in his eyes, Finn knew that Leo had actually made up his mind to learn close combat.

Since that's the case----

"I'm not always free; in fact, I'm extremely busy," Finn said. "The expedition just ended, and there's a lot of work to do afterward. After that, we need to prepare for the next expedition, otherwise, if we encounter those new monsters again, we'll have to turn back."

"I am personally very concerned about the appearance of those new monster species. After the cleanup work of the expedition is completed, I plan to study and investigate them carefully to see how to proceed."

"Under these circumstances, I can only squeeze out a little time each day. Do you think that's okay?"

Leo readily grasped the implication of Finn's words.

"Yes, that's alright." Leo's eyes lit up, and he immediately said, "Just give me some guidance when you have time, Captain. I also need time to review, to study, and to do other things."

It's simply unrealistic to expect Finn to spend the entire day teaching him.

But as long as you can learn something from this master of technique, it's never a loss.

At the very least, when Finn is unavailable, one can always ask others for help.

While I don't believe anyone else can teach better Finn, it's still better than me figuring it out on my own, right?

Is this really a good idea?

Riveria, seeing that Finn had tacitly agreed to the tutoring arrangement, couldn't help but say it anyway.

"There's nothing wrong with that, is there?" Finn smiled and said, "Focusing on strengthening your strengths is certainly a good choice, but making up for your weaknesses isn't a bad thing either, is it?"

"Besides, just like Gareth said, Leo has already laid such a good foundation in melee combat, wouldn't it be a waste not to develop it further?"

"Anyway, his growth rate is already very fast, there's no need to keep pushing him down one path. Developing in multiple areas wouldn't be a bad thing."

"Perhaps, given his growth rate, he won't fall behind in either melee combat or magic?"

Finn actually wanted to teach Leo something as well.

Unfortunately, Leo's growth was too rapid, which inevitably caused him to miss out on many invaluable experiences and sights along the way as he quickly became stronger.

Now, both Loki and Finn regard Leo as their greatest potential asset and trump card, their biggest asset.

Since Leo wanted to ask him for advice, he had no reason not to agree.

"All right."

Riveria was eventually persuaded, but she had one condition.

"I won't stop you from learning melee combat, but I will still check on your progress in magic every now and then, so you can't fall behind on the homework I assign you while you're learning melee combat, understand?"

Like Finn, Riveria wanted to teach Leo as much as possible.

Leo's magical talent was truly remarkable, and she couldn't bear to see it go to waste.

Recently, Riveria has been thinking about preparing a special gift for Leo, intending to help him make up for his lack of magic.

Once I'm done with this busy period, that thing should be ready, and then I can give it to him.

"Okay, I won't neglect my studies in magic."

Leo, unaware of Riveria's plans, readily agreed to the arrangement.

As I said before, he is a magic swordsman.

He needs to develop both melee combat and magic.

He has no intention of giving up either of them.

The next day arrived.

Today, just like yesterday, the members of the Loki Familia set off early to handle the various post-expedition cleanup tasks.

As a result, the headquarters, Twilight Manor, became somewhat deserted, with only a small number of grassroots members staying at home for guard duty and patrols, while the rest were mostly out.

--

Leo didn't leave early today. He didn't have much work assigned to him, so he could leave three or four hours later to handle it.

Clearly, this was the result of the clan leaders' deliberate favor, and it could be considered a small privilege granted to Leo.

It's worth noting that even Ais and other members of the Familia didn't receive such privileges; they were all sent out to work early in the morning. Yet Leo, the newly promoted Level 4, received this privilege, which shows how much Finn and the others valued him.

For his growth and training, Finn and the others were reluctant to waste his time on miscellaneous family matters. If they weren't worried that Leo was too eager for quick success and didn't know how to balance work and rest, they might even have exempted him from the post-expedition cleanup work.

So, early in the morning, Leo took the Dragon Fang Sword and went to the central courtyard, where he did some sword-wielding practice and warmed up.

Half an hour later, Finn appeared in the courtyard.

"Time is limited, so let's get straight to the point."

Finn, holding a wooden sword, said these words right from the start.

Leo naturally had no objections, and his expression instantly turned serious.

But just as he raised his Dragon Fang Sword, preparing to spar with Finn spoke up.

"That being said, I won't actually teach you swordsmanship or spearmanship or anything like that. Those things probably wouldn't be of much use to you right now." Finn looked at Leo's familiar sword-wielding posture, smiled slightly, and said, "You've already studied swordsmanship with Ais for a year. That's enough for you in terms of skill. There's no need to learn anything new."

"Ais's swordsmanship comes from a very great figure, and after years of honing it, it has become a very mature and powerful skill. Now that you have learned this swordsmanship, just continue using it."

"What I'm going to teach you isn't new skills, but how to use them in battle, and how to create as many favorable conditions and advantages as possible for yourself."

With that, Finn raised the wooden sword in his hand.

"Watch closely."

As soon as he finished speaking, Finn flicked his wrist, and the wooden sword in his hand suddenly stabbed towards Leo.

A gust of wind blew, and the wooden sword became a blur, thrusting straight at Leo's throat. Leo's pupils contracted, and he instinctively raised his sword to block.

However, the moment Leo raised his sword, Finn's wooden sword was already at his throat, the tip pressed against it.

Leo froze there, not moving an inch.

Was that sword strike fast?

Finn sheathed his sword and asked the question with a smile.

"Quick."

Leo answered without hesitation.

However, Finn said something that shocked Leo.

"Actually, it wasn't fast," Finn said calmly. "The speed of that sword strike was roughly equivalent to a full-speed attack from a level 3 Agility user with a D rank."

"Let alone you at Lv.4 now, even before you leveled up, a casual swing of your sword would probably be faster than this."