TRT Chapter 110: The Younger Generation Trades Pointers (Patreon)

(Edited by Radriel7)

Annabelle and I earned more than one raised eyebrow when we ran up to the training area holding hands. Lord Asher and Lady Isabella were sitting down and enjoying the refreshments alongside their retainers. Unlike with most social gatherings among House scions, I didn’t set up a separate area for retainers. Instead, I made sure to include them in the invitation.

After all, the whole point of this little gathering was to trade pointers and socialize. Since Clan Griffin and Clan Rhodes counted cultivators among their retainers, I figured the more the merrier.

Of course, I made sure to mention this in the invitation as well, so neither of them would bring a retainer who wasn’t a cultivator. Otherwise, things would have gotten real awkward real fast.

“Lady Annabelle,” Lady Isabella said, her tone somewhat sardonic. “How delightful to see you again.” She glanced between the two of us. “I see that you and Lord Gabriel are as amorous towards each other as ever. I have to admit, I’m a little jealous. I wish I had a beau as passionate about me as Lord Gabriel is about you.” She gave me a smoldering look. “Perhaps I should rectify that.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at her. Either Annabelle brought out the woman’s catty side, or she was deliberately trying to rile my beloved up. I guessed the latter. She did lend Annabelle that recording crystal, back when I dueled Lord Asher, so I doubted that she harbored any ill feelings towards my beloved.

Annabelle bristled at the other woman’s words and her killing intent spiked.

“I’m going to enjoy kicking your ass today,” she snarled.

The House Rhodes retainers all stood up, wearing outraged expressions on their faces, though Lady Isabella gestured for them to sit back down. It took them a moment, but they obeyed. Afterwards, Lady Isabella faced Annabelle and gave her a sharp smile.

“You’re welcome to try,” she said. “I think you’ll find me a more difficult opponent than expected.”

I believed that. The two of them were both at the third thread of the Second Circle, which made them even in terms of wizardry. However, Lady Isabella had been born into a cultivator Clan while Annabelle just started cultivating not too long ago. When it came to cultivation, Lady Isabella was far ahead. That meant in terms of physical strength, she had the advantage. If she also practiced a body cultivation technique, that just made the gap between them even wider. As far as I knew, Annabelle didn’t practice body cultivation.

“Ladies,” I said, speaking in a diplomatic but firm tone. “Please remember that the point of today’s gathering is to trade pointers and enjoy each other’s company.” I gave them both pointed looks. “I don’t want any feuds breaking out.”

Annabelle crossed her arms and huffed.

“That’s not fair,” she muttered under her breath. “She started it.”

Lady Isabella let out a lighthearted chuckle.

“I apologize, Lord Gabriel,” she said. “It’s just so entertaining to tease Lady Annabelle like this. She’s so…territorial. Her claws come out at even the slightest hint of flirtation towards you.”

I gave her an exasperated look.

“You know she isn’t joking, right?” I asked. “If you keep this up, she will actually attempt to kill you someday.”

“It wouldn’t be an attempt,” Annabelle muttered.

Once again, the House Rhodes retainers stood up from their seats, looking ready to deal with the threat to their lady once and for all. As before, Lady Isabella gestured for them to sit back down, though it took longer this time around.

“I know,” Lady Isabella said in a matter of fact tone. “That’s what makes this so entertaining. What’s life without a little danger?”

I studied her for a long moment. If teasing Annabelle was her idea of entertainment, then she wasn’t right in the head. Then again, she was a cultivator. In general, we were an odd bunch. I mean, my beloved was a possessive yandere who wanted to kill every woman who made eyes at me and I was completely fine with that. None of us were normal.

“This tea is excellent,” Lord Asher said, changing the subject. “It is quite refreshing.”

I nodded in response to his words.

“Thank you, Lord Asher,” I said. “Lorelei and I worked hard to prepare today’s refreshments.”

Lord Asher and Lady Isabella blinked at me in surprise.

“You made these?” Lady Isabella asked, holding up one of the snacks Lorelei made. It was a honeyed almond treat.

“Lorelei made the snacks,” I said, correcting her. “I made the tea.” I gestured to everyone here. “You are all esteemed guests of Clan Sturm. I could do nothing less.”

The retainers, realizing that I included them in that statement, looked somewhat touched. That didn’t stop the ones from House Rhodes from giving Annabelle suspicious looks, however.

“Interesting,” Lord Asher said, studying his cup of tea.

Annabelle grabbed me by the waist and pulled me against her side.

“My man has many talents,” she said with a smile on her face and a warning in her eyes.

Given that she was staring at Lady Isabella when she said this, it was clear who that warning was for. The lady in question just rolled her eyes.

“Now then, Lord Gabriel,” Lord Asher said after he finished off his tea. “Who shall start? As today’s host, it’s only right that you chose the first two combatants.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but then I felt a surge of mana with my divine sense as Sun magic clashed against Holy magic. It came from the entrance to Sturm Manor. I wasn’t the only one who felt it. Almost everyone here, except for those in the First Circle/Energy Condensation stage, looked towards the clash.

I let out a sigh.

“Please, ignore that,” I said in a flat tone. “It’s merely the paladins of Tempest dealing with a pair of unwanted and uninvited guests.”

Lady Isabella frowned.

“Is that…?” she asked, trailing off.

“Yes.”

“I thought Prince Eugene had confined them to his estate in the countryside,” Lord Asher said with a frown.

Annabelle sighed.

“He did,” she said. “Their confinement ended today.”

And the first thing they did was rush back to Sunheart in order to stalk Annabelle. When everyone realized this, they gave her looks of pity and sympathy.

“What are they talking about?” Corie whispered to Leroy. The pair of them stood off to the side.

“I’ll explain later,” he said. “Just know that Lady Annabelle has a pair of stalkers who keep following her.”

Corie nodded, and gave Annabelle a sympathetic look of her own.

“To answer your question, Lord Asher,” I said, moving the conversation along. “My retainer, Lorelei, will go first.” I gave him a questioning look. “Would you be willing to be her first sparring partner today?”

This was something Lorelei and I had worked out beforehand. After she returned from visiting Lady Diana, she told me that she wanted to fight with Lord Asher. My intuition told me that this would determine whether or not she accepted Lady Diana’s offer.

Of course, she wouldn’t win. In terms of wizardry and cultivation, Lorelei fell far behind Lord Asher. However, that wasn’t the point of today’s gathering. It wasn’t a competition. We were all here to learn. That was the point of trading pointers; at least, that was the ideal. Lorelei believed that she could learn a lot from sparring with Lord Asher and I agreed with her.

“It would be an honor,” Lord Asher said, standing up. He looked over at Lorelei. “Shall we, Miss Lorelei?”

My disciple nodded. The two of them walked over to the makeshift arena I had set up. It consisted of little more than a patch of grass surrounded by an array. In addition to studying the alchemy memory stone that Grand Inquisitor Corvus gave me, I also studied the one which contained knowledge on how to merge magic circles and formation.

This turned out to be easier than expected, since magic circles and formations had more in common than Spirit Earth alchemy and Luminan alchemy. If the latter were two branches coming from the same tree trunk, then the former were two twigs emerging from the same branch.

Magic circles were more powerful than formations, but less flexible. Once they were set, it was almost impossible to adjust them. They were also less mobile, and it took a lot of work to set one up. Unlike with formations, one couldn’t use flags to create one on the fly. Scribes, like Annabelle’s friend Lady Teresa, could create magic circles faster than most but it still took them some time.

As with alchemy, merging magic circles with formations created something with the strengths of both. In this case, they were called arrays, which left me feeling quite satisfied.

While I didn’t know much about magic circles, I knew more about formations. Applying my knowledge of formations to arrays was child’s play. Like with alchemy, it required knowledge of the Key of Harmonious Union.

I made a mental note to create a proper set of formation flags, or array flags as was the case. I had been under-utilizing my knowledge of formations, and it was time I rectified that oversight. While I doubted that I would use them in combat all that much, they had plenty of uses outside of that.

The array I created for today’s sparring session was a simple one. It would keep any stray attacks from hitting the spectators. The moment Lord Asher and Lorelei stepped into the ring, I activated the array, and a barrier made from glowing blue light sprang into existence.

Lord Asher and Lorelei walked to opposite ends of the ring, before facing each other. Unlike when he fought me, Lord Asher didn’t bring his axe with him. It looked like he intended to give Lorelei a handicap by facing her barehanded. Not that it was much of a handicap, given his level of strength. I didn’t know if that was him being considerate or condescending of her. Perhaps both. It wasn’t as if the two were mutually exclusive. If this bothered Lorelei, she didn’t let it show. She wore her Kinetic Gauntlets.

“Miss Lorelei,” Lord Asher said, bowing to her. “My cultivator name is Black Iron Sunderer. May I know yours?”

“You can call me Celestial Fist,” she said, taking a stance.

“Very well, Celestial Fist,” Lord Asher said, taking a stance as well. “Let us both give it our best.”

Lorelei nodded in response. The two of them stared at each other, waiting for the signal from me. As today’s host, I was also acting as the referee for the matches. Annabelle sat down at a table I had reserved for just the two of us.

“Remember,” I said, pitching my voice to carry. “I want a clean match. No serious injuries.”

Both of them nodded at my words.

Off to the side, I heard the retainers making bets with each other, guessing at how long Lorelei would last. Most thought she would last less than a minute. No one thought she would win, but it annoyed me that they had so little faith in her skills. Corie shared in my annoyance.

“Kick his butt, Lorie!” she shouted in encouragement.

I snorted, before focusing on the two combatants.

“Begin!” I shouted.

As soon as I finished speaking, the two of them dashed towards each other. Due to his superior cultivation, Lord Asher moved faster. However, I noticed Lorelei’s movements and smiled.

Back in the Icefall Region, before I went into seclusion so I could step into the Foundation Establishment stage, I taught both Leroy and Lorelei a few Earth techniques. This included a movement technique called Rolling Boulder.

Cultivators who used this technique started off slow, but gained momentum with each step. Given enough time, they could gain a lot of speed. Even better, they could apply this momentum to their attacks. The problem with the technique was that it grew more and more difficult to control one’s movements the longer one used it. After reaching a certain point, the cultivator using Rolling Boulder had to either stop using the technique or risk injury.

Moments before Lord Asher and Lorelei reached each other, my disciple stomped her foot on the ground and an Earthen Rampart sprang from the ground in between them, throwing dust into the air. Lord Asher didn’t slow down at all. It looked like he planned on plowing right through the Earthen Rampart. This didn’t faze Lorelei at all, and in fact, it looked like she planned on it.

Just before Lord Asher hit the wall, mana surged as several small stones shot out of the Earthen Rampart, heading for him at high speeds. Earth Bullet, another one of Lorelei’s spells.

Ah, so it was a trap. Clever of her. She used the Earthen Rampart to pull up the stones she needed for her spell.

Lord Asher, realizing that he had been had, summoned a shield spell to protect himself from the stones. Even though Lorelei was just a First Circle wizard, her Earth Bullet spell packed quite the punch. The stones hit Lord Asher with a significant amount of force. Without his shield spell, they would have caused some serious damage to him even though he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

His shield spell held, however, so he continued charging forward without pause. Lorelei did as well. With a yell, she launched an attack against him just as he burst through her Earthen Rampart. An explosion rocked the air as she used the Explosive Fist technique, combining it with the power of her Kinetic Gauntlet. The force behind her attack was enough to halt Lord Asher in his tracks.

Rather than let up, Lorelei continued to attack and build momentum using the Sky Breaker fighting style. The impact of her blows rang out as she hit Lord Asher over and over again, knocking him back with each hit. Despite this, I saw that Lord Asher wasn’t taking any actual damage, protected as he was by his shield spell.

He wasn’t only relying on that either. From the look on his face, it was clear that he was waiting for the right moment to make his move. If Lorelei wouldn’t give him an opening, he would make one himself.

Even as I kept most of my attention on the fight in front of me, a part of me noticed how everyone else fell silent, including the people who bet on Lorelei lasting less than a minute against Lord Asher. I found particular satisfaction in that.

Lord Asher “stumbled” over some uneven ground caused by the Earthen Rampart and lost his balance. Lorelei took advantage of this in order to use another one of the Earth techniques I taught her: Ascending Mountain. She moved in close and struck from below, using her shorter stature to her advantage. The ground beneath her feet cracked and I got the impression of a mountain bursting out of the ground to pierce the sky above; a small mountain to be sure, but a mountain nonetheless.

Unfortunately for Lorelei, it was a trap.

Lord Asher, who faked the stumble, stepped back and avoided the blow by a hair’s width. Using Lorelei’s momentum against her, he grabbed her arm and in less than a second put her in a hold. Lorelei struggled to break free from the grapple, but failed to do so. She was strong, but Lord Asher was stronger. Not only that, but the hold he used left her unable  to utilize her strength to full effect. She could try all day and never break free, not without causing serious injury to herself.

The match was over.

“Black Iron Sunderer is the victor,” I called out.

At my pronouncement, Lorelei slump in Lord Asher’s grip, disappointment and resignation in her eyes. Lord Asher let go of her and took a step back.

“Damn,” she said, standing up straight. “I had hoped to at least put a crack in your shield spell, Lord Asher.”

He chuckled.

“You almost did,” he said, giving her a smile. “If that last blow had connected, I think you would have.” He gestured to her. “You’re strong, Celestial Fist. However, you have the same weakness as your mother. You rely too much on brute force. A skilled foe can use that against you, as you just experienced.”

Lorelei scowled at him.

“You’ve seen my mother fight?” she asked.

“I’ve seen recordings,” Lord Asher explained. “And I asked my mother for advice for dealing with an opponent like you. She suggested I put you in a hold. Being strong is useless if one can’t bring that strength to bear. While it’s possible to break free of a hold like that, it’s better to not get caught in the first place.”

Lorelei’s scowled disappeared and she pursed her lips, looking thoughtful.

“Would you mind telling me more over tea?” she asked.

Lord Asher smiled.

“I would love to.”

As the two of them walked over to one of the tables and sat down, I looked over the rest of the group.

“Who wants to go next?” I asked.

Annabelle slapped the table she sat at and stood up.

“Lady Isabella,” she said, giving the other woman a sharp smile. “Shall we?”

“But of course, Lady Annabelle. I would love to.”

I resisted the urge to let out a sigh as the two of them walked into the ring.

***

A little while later, I sat at the table I shared with Annabelle, snickering at her.

“Shut up,” she said with a scowl. “It’s not funny.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, my voice cracking. “I didn’t say anything.”

Annabelle’s scowl deepened.

“Ugh. Just get it out of your system. I know you want to.”

After receiving permission, I burst out into laughter. It lasted for a good long while, and by the end of it, there were tears running down my cheeks. Lady Isabella, who sat not too far from us, wore a satisfied smirk on her face.

The reason was simple. It turned out that Lady Isabella wasn’t much of a combatant. She could fight, but at heart, she was an alchemist and an artificer. While I was skilled in both, I didn’t have the same passion for them as she did. This also affected the way she fought. Rather than rely on spells or martial techniques, Lady Isabella fought using magical items and trick pills.

Unlike regular pills, trick pills were meant for combat, though they excelled at disabling or hindering opponents rather than outright damaging them. Some of the ones Lady Isabella threw at Annabelle exploded and released toxic gasses, while others turned into gunk that clung to Annabelle’s body and made it difficult for her to move. This was all in addition to the magic items Lady Isabella used.

Annabelle, unused to fighting an opponent like that and already at a disadvantage thanks to her lower cultivation, lost within minutes. Unfortunately for her, that wasn’t the end of it. One of the pills Lady Isabella threw at Annabelle changed the color of her hair, turning it bright pink. It would fade away in a few days, but until then, Annabelle would walk around looking like an anime character.

Just in case I ended up fighting Lady Isabella myself, I had Aurora collect samples of the pills she used. Her affinity for Earth meant that she could do so without getting caught. Later on, I would analyze these samples so I could come up with countermeasures. Most of the pills faded away after Lady Isabella used them, to prevent opponents from doing this exact thing, but Aurora preserved them with her power.

At the moment, Lord Wilbur fought one of the House Rhodes retainers. I was still acting as the referee for the sparring matches, so I split my attention between the match and Annabelle. If something untoward happened, I would intervene.

“Now you’re a true isekai protagonist,” I said, speaking in English.

“I said shut up,” Annabelle said, also in English. Her scowled morphed into a pout as she scraped off the last of the gunk that clung to her skin and tossed it away. “I would have won if she hadn’t cheated. No one said that we could bring magic items and pills. I thought that the whole point of this gathering was to trade pointers.”

I cupped my chin in my hand and leaned against the table.

“It is,” I said, grinning at my beloved. “I think you learned a valuable lesson here today. You’ll face many different kinds of opponents out there. Not all of them will fight you in a straightforward manner. Some will utilize unorthodox methods. Learning how to deal with an opponent like Lady Isabella will help you later on.” I gestured to the lady in question. “Also, Lady Isabella didn’t cheat. From what I could tell, she made every single one of those magic items and pills herself.”

Annabelle’s pout turned melancholic and she looked away from me.

“Is that what you like?” she asked, sounding nonchalant despite her expression. “A woman like Lady Isabella? I know you’re an alchemist and an artificer yourself.”

My grin faded away as I observed Annabelle. I reached over and placed my finger underneath her chin, forcing her to look at me. My intuition told me that this wasn’t simple insecurity on Annabelle’s part. There was something deeper going.

For some reason, the look in her eyes reminded me of Dancing Lily. They were connected somehow, Annabelle and Dancing Lily. The question was, how? The obvious answer was that Dancing Lily planted a seed in me, back when I was Celestial Thunder, and Annabelle came from that seed. I already knew, or suspected at least, that I was Annabelle’s original host. In that case, this would make her Dancing Lily’s daughter. However, I didn’t think that was it. My intuition told me that the situation was a little more complicated.

Perhaps I could tease the answer out of Annabelle, or at least get a clue.

“Why?” I asked, grinning at her once more. “Are you thinking of taking up alchemy and magical crafting?”

Annabelle pulled away from my finger and looked away again.

“I don’t see why not,” she said with a shrug. “The only thing I’m good at is fighting. Master told me it was a good idea to develop skills outside of that. Besides, if I learned alchemy, we could spend more time together.” She nodded at Corie, who was talking with Lady Isabella. “I mean, look at Corie. You’re teaching her alchemy, and the two of you spend a lot of time together in your lab.”

“Are you feeling jealous of her? I thought you didn’t consider her a threat.”

“Would you hate me if I said yes?”

“No.”

“Then yes, I am a little jealous of her.” She snorted. “To be honest, I’m a little jealous of anything that takes your attention away from me.”

I tapped the choker around my neck.

“Isn’t that why you made this for me?” I asked. “So that no matter what, I’m always thinking of you?”

Annabelle didn’t respond, though eyes flickered to me for a brief moment.

“It works, by the way,” I continued. “Even when I’m with others, I’m always thinking of you. I don’t need the choker for that, but it helps.”

A small smile played on Annabelle’s lips.

“To get back to your original question, the answer is a little complicated,” I said. “You are the only woman I’ve ever had romantic feelings for. So, if you took up alchemy and magical crafting, then the answer would be yes. Not because I’m interested in women like that, but because of you.”

Annabelle blushed and let out a chuckle at that.

“You really know how to make a woman feel special.”

My grin widened. I turned away from her and watched the match between Lord Wilbur and the House Rhodes retainer, though I still kept most of my focus on Annabelle. Time to throw out some bait.

“If you’re looking to develop some skills outside of martial arts,” I said, keeping my voice light. “You have plenty of options. Cultivation isn’t limited to combat, alchemy, and magical crafting. Have you considered taking up dancing?”

For the barest fraction of a second, Annabelle froze. If I hadn’t been looking for it, I wouldn’t have seen it. A chill entered my heart, though I somehow managed to maintain my composure.

“Oh?” she asked. “Why do you say that?”

I faced her once more and grinned.

“You have great legs,” I said with a mock leer, before my expression turned serious. “In all seriousness, I think it would suit you. You’re already a good dancer, but there’s a difference between dancing because of social obligations and making it a part of your cultivation. I think you could take it even further, assuming it was something you wanted to explore.”

Annabelle took a moment to respond.

“I thought you didn’t like dancers,” she said in a quiet voice.

“Whatever gave you that idea?” I asked with a frown.

Annabelle looked confused for a moment, as if she didn’t know why she thought that, before shrugging.

“It just seemed as if you had no interest in that sort of thing.”

“I have no particular interest in dancers,” I said. “But neither do I hate them.” I paused. “I suppose you could say that I’m neutral towards them.”

“I see,” Annabelle said in a troubled voice.

I glanced over at the match. It looked like Lord Wilbur would win. I then reached over towards Annabelle, holding out my hand. Without a word, she grasped it.

“If you want to take up dancing, then go right ahead,” I said. “However, don’t  do it because that’s what you think I want. Do it because that’s what you want.” I gave her a soft smile. “The same goes for alchemy or magical crafting or any other vocation you want to pick up. Don’t change yourself for my sake.”

Annabelle didn’t respond for several seconds.

“I just wanted you to look my way,” she whispered, then blinked, as if she hadn’t intended to say that.

I gave her hand a brief squeeze.

“You already succeeded in that,” I said.

After that, neither one of us said anything for a long while. We looked towards the match again. It ended with Lord Wilbur’s victory, as he pressed the tip of his spear against his opponent’s throat.