2 Chapter 2: Teacher and Student
Snippet 1: Graviton
Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.
Chapter 2: Teacher and Student
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- Altair -
After I accepted Shizu's offer we ended up staying in that abandoned village for about 2 weeks. She said that she wanted to build up my foundation as soon as possible along with instilling some basic knowledge into my head.
She taught me as much as she could so that I could fight off some weaker Monsters fairly easily.
She ended up teaching me the basics of swordsmanship in those two weeks, and by basics I mean basics.
I was able to pick up on everything fairly quickly thanks to Wise Grimoire, but I never really saw myself as a swordsman, I've always been more interested in Magic.
But if one of the best swordswomen in the world offers to teach me swordsmanship, I'd have to be a madman to refuse.
Shizu was originally summoned to this world in Leon Cromwell's quest to reunite with his childhood friend, Chloe Auburt. Shizu, was summoned without a Unique Skill, basically dooming her to an early death.
Shizu was from the World War II era from Tokyo. Just before she was summoned she was bombed and was barely alive when Leon got to see her. She pleaded for Leon to save her life and he saw something in her. So he summoned the Greater Elemental Ifrit, healing her and preventing her from dying due to not possessing a Unique Skill.
I remember Shizu was taught by one of Demon Lord Leon Cromwell's subordinates, the Black Knight Claude. But even more importantly she was taught a bit by the Time Hero Chronoa, more precisely the Hinata Sakaguchi persona.
One of the youngest Saints in history, if not the youngest. She was someone who was so skilled that even the centuries old Dwarven Hero King Gazel was not sure if he would be capable of beating her.
Even Shizu was said to be comparable to Gazel in terms of sheer skill, and that man is a bonafide Saint.
Along with that she has taught and influenced some of the most influential people in this world, two of her most well known students are going to be Yuuki Kagurazaka, the leader of the Free Guild at some point, and a man with a bullshit amount of plot armor if you ask me.
Then Hinata Sakaguchi, the leader of the Western Holy Knights Order, and the Demon Lord Luminous Valentine's second in command.
Though the third and by far strongest person she has influenced is Chloe Aubert, otherwise known as Chronoa.
One thing I noticed is that Shizu has not mentioned Yuuki, or Hinata to me at all. I was quite suspicious of this at first so I asked her if she had taken in any other students.
It's safe to say that I have been brought to the Cardinal World years before the main plot starts.
There isn't nearly as much information about Yuuki that I know of, but I do know a lot more about Hinata. She was said to be around 18 when she arrived in the Cardinal World and she was about 23-25 when she faced Rimuru for the first time.
That gives me at least 5 years before the plot starts in earnest, a few years to not be considered complete fodder.
Evolution is a must, recruiting some helpful subordinates would be good too, but I can worry about all that later.
It's best if I build up my strength before I even consider making a faction of my own in this world.
Thankfully I have my memories to rely on, and thanks to Wise Grimoire I can easily recall any of my memories. Unfortunately I of course do not know everything about this world, not to mention there are likely differences between real life and fiction.
Currently I was following Shizu who was leading me to god knows where. Shizu said I was far from a master swordsman, but that I had made good progress in the time that we had.
I was a bit upset about that as if the progress I had made so far was considered 'just fine' by Shizu then how incredible were the true prodigies?
With Wise Grimoire, one of the ultimate cheats for this world I should not have any excuse to be merely mediocre.
That only motivated me further though. I was blessed to have a second life, even if this isekai experience was less than ideal I still gotta make the best of it. Even if I would rather stay away from any of the main cast, though my path may cross with those overpowered beings eventually.
The best I can do is be prepared so that I am taken somewhat seriously.
This is just the first step.
"Where are we going Teacher?" I asked.
We've been walking along this path for almost two hours now, thankfully thanks to my new and improved body I no longer need to worry about stamina all that much, at least when concerning traveling.
Shizu sighed. "I guess it was too much to ask for you to be patient huh?" She said with a slightly teasing smile.
I looked to the side with a pout on my face. We had grown closer over the last two weeks where she was teaching me.
After all, we weren't focusing solely on training, Shizu also taught me a bit about the world. She went into detail about the Western Council, the Eastern Empire, the Demon Lord territories, basically everything someone needed to know to be a successful adventurer.
I learned that there was a single common language used throughout the world, Shizu said that relying on Magic Sense to communicate won't help me when I talk to anyone who does not have Magic Sense as I will be able to understand what they are saying, but they will not be able to understand what I'm saying.
So she quickly got to work on instilling the language of this world into my head, something I was easily able to master thanks to Wise Grimoire.
I looked at the smugly grinning Shizu and sighed. She was not portrayed quite like this in the Light Novel or Anime, but of course there are differences.
Rather than the understanding and motherly woman I was expecting, the Shizu I ended up with is a teasing young woman in her prime.
Maybe since she hasn't quite gotten the experience of teaching a bunch of young children kidnapped from their homes she hasn't quite developed that aspect of her personality yet?
The only reason we were walking according to Shizu was because she wanted to appreciate nature or something. I'm quite sure she is capable of flying and is doing this to mess with me.
Shizu shook her head with a fond smile. "We are heading towards the Kingdom of Ingrassia to get you registered as an Adventurer and notify them that this mission has been completed."
I tilted my head slightly. "But couldn't we do that at any guild headquarters?"
The Mutual-Aid Association, while not as developed as the future Free Guild, still had offices all over the Western Nations, so I wasn't quite sure why we were making the trek all the way to Ingrassia for.
"We could, but there is someone who I wish to meet. He had asked me to meet him a little while ago, so I decided to do a quest while I was journeying to Ingrassia."
I nodded in understanding.
"Along with that, my friend can help you become an Adventurer without having to go through that bothersome exam, or having to do many quests to reach the rank that reflects your ability."
I tilted my head. "My ability?"
She giggled. "Ah, yes, you are quite strong you know? Especially for a Stray Otherworlder, your kind are known for being notoriously weak."
I scoffed at hearing her. "Of course the great Altair is the mightiest!" I made my grandstand.
"Fufufu, yes yes, please let me know when I am in the presence of this mighty Altair." She teased back.
I personally like this Shizu a lot more than the one I remember. She just seems to have more… life to her.
"Hmph, just you wait! One day you'll go around proudly telling everyone that you had taught the mighty Altair."
She gave me a smile. "I look forward to that day then."
The sincerity in her voice caused me to avert my gaze slightly. Not having many relationships in the Clover Kingdom made me a little… rusty you could say.
I've already been taught a fair amount about the current Adventurers Guild, or rather the Mutual-Aid Association of Adventurers.
The Mutual-Aid Association was the precursor to the Free Guild that Yuuki Kagurazaka would later develop.
And of course the The Mutual-Aid Association was not nearly as well developed as the Free Guild, for one the rankings are completely different.
Rather than the F to Special-S Ranking I remember reading about, the rankings go from Novice to Advanced.
That's it.
According to Shizu, Novice Rank is basically for common people who have no combat capabilities. Beginner Rank is for those who possess a moderate amount of combat capabilities. Intermediate is generally the rank of the average soldier, so a decent way above the norm. And then the issue pops up when Advanced Rank is brought into the picture.
Advanced Rank can be from someone who is able to take on a couple of soldiers to full on country busters.
Absolutely horrendous. I wasn't surprised when Shizu asked me if I really wanted to become an Adventurer, after all the death rates are incredibly high with such a horrendous ranking system.
It is quite impressive that Yuuki managed to reform the entire system.
He may be a morally dubious sack of shit, but he was incredibly intelligent and capable.
Of course there was also another ranking system for stronger Majins and Monsters, there is Hazard Class, Calamity Class, Disaster Class, and then finally Catastrophe Class.
These were rankings I was familiar with.
Hazard Class are basically town busters, Calamity Class can potentially go up to country level, Disaster Class is the rank given to every Demon Lord, and then finally Catastrophe Class is for those that can threaten the very world.
Only the True Dragons are ranked in Catastrophe Class, even though I can think of quite a few individuals who also deserve that ranking.
Guy Crimson for one.
"We have already entered the territory of Ingrassia, there should be a border town coming up soon. Why don't we stop there and take a little break? I'll even see if I can teach you a new Skill." Said Shizu.
I looked at her with desire in my eyes. Skills are always useful, no matter how useless one may seem at first.
I vigorously nodded my head. Skills are possible to learn, if one masters a certain ability without the Skill for it, and there is a Skill out there that correlates to it, then the Voice of the World will reward you with the Skill.
For example if I learned to perceive the Magicules around me, then the Voice of the World would grant me the Extra Skill: Magic Sense.
Of course this comes at a cost, if one does not have an equivalent level of internal Magicule Capacity equal to the Skills ability to fuel the creation of said Skill, then they cannot acquire it.
If I recall correctly it is easier to acquire Skills the stronger your soul is, which is where Humans vastly outdo the majority of Monsters. However Humans lack the Magicule Capacity of Monsters so they can rarely fuel their creation, while Monsters have the opposite problem, plenty of Magicule Capacity to fuel the Skills creation but weak souls so it's harder for them to start the process.
That's something that generally balances out at the higher levels though.
Enter freaks of nature like Rimuru Tempest, the power of a Human soul inserted into a Monster's body with its vast Magicule Capacity.
Fucking cheat.
"Ah, it's nice to have an eager to learn student sometimes." Shizu commented.
"What were your previous students like?" I asked. I don't remember ever really hearing about any students of hers other than those in Class S of the Freedom Academy, Hinata, and Yuuki.
"Hmm, well they weren't really my students in the same way you are. I simply taught them a little bit about how to live the life of an Adventurer. How to determine if a quest is worth it, how to learn if a noble is trying to deceive you. Those kinds of things. I was helping them more as a Senior in the same line of work than as Teacher and Student." She responded.
I nodded. "All of that is incredibly useful."
Shizu nodded satisfied. "Indeed, and I will be teaching you the same and more."
Great! All of that knowledge can only be helpful. I'm sure it will be quite difficult for a noble to deceive me with Wise Grimoire on my side but more knowledge never hurts.
Shizu and I continued to chat as we made our way to the border town. Who knew having a conversation with someone could make time go by that much faster?
We made our way to the town entrance where a couple of guards met us. Shizu put on her mask while I slowed my step for a moment so I could follow behind her. It was best to let her do the talking.
Before Shizu could even say a word, one of the guards ran up to her. "The Conqueror of Flames?!" Ah right, I forgot how recognizable the Anti-Magic Mask is.
Shizu nodded slightly.
You could tell from the guard's expression that he was excited.
"Welcome to our town Lady Shizu!" The guard proudly proclaimed.
"You don't need to worry about the fee or anything. Would you like it if I had somebody guide you to your desired location?"
Shizu lightly shook her head.
"Very well then. Please enjoy your stay." The guard said.
Shizue then walked past him without another word, I quickly caught up to her.
"Heh, you can play the cold heroine quite well." I teased.
I could hear her sigh through her mask. "It's something that I have developed over time due to necessity."
I nodded in understanding. "Fans can be tough, or so I've heard." God knows how bothersome I heard fans could be in my first life.
"Exactly."
Shizu seemed to know the town pretty well so I just followed her along.
Once we were settled into a private room Shizu took off her mask. This seemed to be one of the more extravagant places in this border town.
"Doesn't it get hot in there?" I asked, referring to the mask.
Shizu shook her head. "No, there are various enchantments on it to make the mask as comfortable as possible."
I nodded in understanding.
There was a knock on the door. "Come in." Said Shizu.
The door opened to reveal a black haired, well-dressed man.
"Would you like anything to eat My Lady, My Lord?" He asked. Woah, being referred to like that is a bit weird.
It seems this was one of the super fancy places huh?
Shizu gave her order and then turned to look at me. I was feeling a bit hungry, the thing is that I have no money.
"You don't need to worry about money Altair, you are my student after all." Said Shizu. Can she read my mind? No, if she could she would have already called me out on multiple things, most importantly my future knowledge.
I nodded thankfully towards Shizu. "Do you have any daily specials?" I asked.
The waiter nodded. He listed off a few of the specials.
"Can I have the earthen chicken with gravy?" I asked.
The waiter nodded and left.
I'm not expecting too much to be honest, but hopefully it's better than what I ate back in the Clover Kingdom. Food in the Clover Kingdom for a commoner like me wasn't all that good, it was mostly a bunch of bland food meant to just get you through the day.
This seems to be some fancy place so hopefully they can do better than that.
Once the waiter was gone Shizu moved her seat so she was sitting right in front of me face to face.
"You ready to try to learn this Skill?" She asked.
I nodded.
"Good. I am going to see if I can teach you the Common Skill: Telepathy. It allows two individuals to have a conversation through their thoughts." She informed me.
If I remember correctly, Telepathy is the lesser version of the Extra Skill: Thought Communication.
Though I doubt I have enough juice to learn an Extra Skill. My soul is strong enough but my internal Magicule Capacity is extremely miniscule.
I imagine it shouldn't be difficult for me to learn Telepathy with Wise Grimoire's help.
"It works by exchanging our thoughts through the exchange of Magicules, though there is a limitation with this Skill. You can only hold a conversation with one other person, so it is not as helpful in group situations." Informed Shizu.
I nodded along.
"Along with that it is easier to communicate with those the user has a personal connection to." Shizu finished.
"Now are you ready? I will be sending you a message so you can observe the interaction with your Magic Sense and attempt to replicate it."
'Wise Grimoire can you analyze and replicate it?'
'Answer. Yes.'
Nice! If you aren't cheating then you aren't trying. And I'm definitely going to be trying.
"I'm ready." I responded.
I could sense Shizu nudging some of the surrounding Magicules in my direction.
"He– Hell– Hello."
"I can hear you."
Shizu nodded. "Good, it took me a second to get into the habit of using Telepathy again."
I tilted my head. "You don't use it?"
Shizu shook her head. "No, there is a superior version I use called Thought Communication. Though you aren't capable of learning that as you are now."
I nodded.
"Now why don't you try and replicate what I just did. You paid attention with Magic Sense right?" Asked Shizu.
"I did." I answered.
Shizu nodded satisfied. "Good."
Common Skill: Telepathy acquisition successful.
Nice.
Hmm, Telepathy is as simple as it sounds.
"Can you hear me?"
"I can, good job Altair, I'm quite surprised that you got it on your first try." Shizu responded.
With that Shizu cut off Telepathy.
"Well done. If you can keep picking things up that fast then soon enough you might match me." Shizu praised.
"Haha, maybe someday." Shizu may have died quite early on in the story but she was not to be underestimated. She was contracted to the Greater Elemental Ifrit which is a Calamity Class threat on its own. Not to mention Shizu's own ability that she has honed for decades.
"Now you're humble." She commented with an amused smirk.
"You may not have been my teacher for long but I can still respect that you are far, far stronger than me as my teacher. I know I'm a ways off from reaching your level."
Theoretically I may be able to take her through the bullshit power of Graviton and Wise Grimoire, but when it comes to base stats Shizu is far stronger than me.
Shizu nodded. "It's good that you know your limits. I have a feeling that you will grow to match me sooner rather than later. At this point I've learnt that my feelings usually end up being accurate." I could tell there was a story in that last sentence, but before I got to ask we were interrupted by a knock.
It seems our food is here.
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Shizu and I made our way towards the headquarters of the Mutual-Aid Association, just like the Free Guild the headquarters of the Mutual-Aid Association is located in Ingrassia.
Maybe Yuuki just repurposed the old headquarters?
Shizu now has her mask on, it makes it easier for people to recognize her so we are bothered less.
That didn't stop all the stares though. Don't these people have better things to do?
Still, looking around it is pretty difficult to tell Ingrassia apart from a modern nation back on Earth.
This country isn't called the most modern nation in the Cardinal World after Tempest for nothing.
I'm surprised the Angels haven't attacked them yet seeing as Rudra has them attack any country that gets too advanced.
After all, the more advanced a country gets the harder they will be to conquer.
It didn't take us long to approach a fairly large building that seemed to be well maintained.
We walked through the doors which happened to be made of glass and automatically opened when someone was nearby.
I imagine this was done using Magic rather than sensors like back on Earth.
'Is that right Wise Grimore?'
'Answer. Utilizing Sensor Magic as well as Golem Magic it is possible to create a moving door.'
So I was right then.
We made our way to the front desk where a lady seemed to be busy with some paperwork.
"Do you have an appointment?" She asked without looking up.
"Yes, I am here to meet Heinz. He should be expecting me." Said Shizu.
Heinz? If I remember correctly, isn't that Fuze's father? I remember he was brought up in the Shizu Izawa side story.
Wasn't he also the reason Shizu ended up taking a break from adventuring, he was the reason she became a teacher to Class S, Yuuki and Hinata.
Shizu was losing control over Ifrit at the time, so Heinz suggested retiring to teach the next generation.
Is that what this meeting is about?
I know there are a few years until Rimuru shows up, but to think Shizu ended up losing more and more control over Ifrit throughout a period of years.
Maybe I can find a way to separate Shizu and Ifrit without Shizu dying?
But is that the right thing to do? Shizu was sick and tired of the world, at this point she didn't have much to live for other than her students. The sole thing keeping her going was to meet Leon Cromwell to ask him how he saved her as a child.
Is it right for me to save the life of someone who does not wish to be saved?
Thoughts for the future.
As I was considering that the lady looked up from her paperwork. The moment she saw Shizu her eyes widened.
"Ah! Miss Izawa, my apologies. You can go right up, I'll notify Lord Heinz."
Shizu nodded and took us to the elevator. Man, this place is far more advanced than I thought.
Magic when used with technology can take civilization to new heights. Now if only a certain dickhead in the Eastern Empire didn't keep attacking every 500 years.
But I guess that's just how this world works. The powerful do what they want and the weak suffer. In any world with tangible power something similar will likely occur.
After all, when someone can kill you with a wave of their hand, how are you going to enforce your justice onto them?
Yuuki's dream is stupid for this exact reason. An equal world? Such a thing is a myth even in the modern world let alone this world.
The only way to create an equal world is to oppress everyone beneath you, and in that case is it really an equal world?
Yuuki is absolutely delusional. He is incredibly intelligent, but he can't seem to understand that.
I turned to look at Shizu. "Is there a certain way I need to act? Is this some noble we are meeting?"
It's best that I don't cause unnecessary trouble for Shizu if I can help it.
Shizu shook her head. "No, he is not a noble but he is a friend of mine. You can act casually."
I nodded. "What position does he hold within the Association?"
"He is a Guild Master of one of the branch offices. He just came here today to meet me and ask me for a favor." I nodded.
I think it's safe to assume that this is when Shizu retires from being an Adventurer and becomes a teacher.
I'm going to have to meet Yuuki aren't I?
The guy with a Demon Lord occupying his body.
Fuuuuuck.
I'm seriously going to have to be careful.
He should have Anti-Skill and Creator by this point, something that already puts him leagues ahead of me.
Though maybe Graviton can be used against him as it only protects him from Magic, Skills and Arts. A combination of two of those three can work as well as things that he needs to survive as a Human.
I could cut off all the oxygen in the area, similar to what Guy Crimson did by burning all the oxygen in the area.
Of course when Guy Crimson did that Yuuki just used his Creator to evolve himself into a Saint, getting rid of the need for oxygen.
Fucking Hax.
The elevator opened. "Follow me, stay close."
I nodded and got into step behind her.
It didn't take us long to reach the end of the hallway, I could see a label on the site saying Meeting Room.
Shizu knocked on the door.
"Come in Shizu." I heard a voice say.
Shizu opened the door and walked straight in. Once I was inside I took a look around the room, it seemed to be a conference room of sorts, there was a long desk that could seat 12 individuals.
Sitting at the head of the table was an elderly looking man. That must be Heinz.
It was only the three of us here, a bit much for a meeting between 3 people.
Heinz got up and walked towards Shizu with his arms spread.
Shizu met him in the middle with a hug.
"Shizu!"
I could see a smile on Shizu's face. "It's nice to see you Heinz." She said as she pulled back.
Heinz then turned to look at me. "And who might you be?"
I took that as the signal to introduce myself. "My name is Altair. It is nice to meet you." I said with a short bow.
"Bah! No need to bow, one of Shizu's friends is one of mine." Heinz said with a smile.
"He forgot to mention that he is my student now." Said Shizu.
Heinz looked at me surprised. "A student of the legendary Conqueror of Flames huh? I look forward to seeing you develop young Altair."
"He has potential." Said Shizu.
Shizu then turned to look at Heinz. "Now what sort of favor did you need?"
"Ah." Heinz then turned to look at me.
Shizu shook her head. "It's fine, you can speak freely Heinz. I trust my student."
That got me to blush a little but I was able to fight it back.
I really should have socialized more. Do I even know how to pick up a girl anymore? How sad.
Heinz nodded. "Very well then. You have been losing control over Ifrit, correct?"
Shizu nodded.
"This all culminated in you falling unconscious after using your all to take down an Arch Dragon. Something you could have easily dealt with back in your hay day."
Shizu nodded. "That's right. I can feel Ifrit fighting back when I draw on his power. He waits for an opportunity to possess my body."
Heinz nodded. "That's why don't you think it would be a good idea to take a bit of a break from Adventuring? Put less stress on you, hopefully Ifrit fights back less when you stop drawing on his power nearly as much as you used to."
"I've thought about it." Shizu admitted. "But Adventuring is the only life I've lived, I wouldn't know what else to do."
Hearing that Heinz smirked. "Well I know just what you can do!"
Shizu sighed. "This is what you wanted right? Well, out with it."
"You are already the teacher to one student so why not become a teacher to multiple? The Association is opening a new school here in Ingrassia to guide future Adventurers!" Voice Heinz.
Shizu looked thoughtful. "That is not a bad idea. But I require a favor first and I would also like to know what kind of people I will be teaching. I do not wish to teach any noble scions."
Heinz laughed. "Yeah, I know you don't get along with those folk. Should you accept my offer, you will be teaching Otherworlders along with the extremely prodigious, it will be the very top class of the academy."
"Otherworlders?" Shizu asked, extremely interested all of a sudden.
Heinz nodded. "Yup, we've picked up some Stray Otherworlders along with some Summoned ones that were let go from their summoner's nation for various reasons."
Shizu nodded. "I see, how many would I be teaching should I accept?"
"Only two including your student there. I did say you would be teaching the most prodigious." Responded Heinz.
Shizu nodded. "Very well, I am willing to teach for a favor like I mentioned earlier."
Heinz nodded enthusiastically. "What favor?! Name it!"
Shizu then turned to me. "I would like you to make Altair an Advanced ranked Adventurer."
Heinz looked at me with surprise in his eyes. "Advanced ranked! Is he truly at that level?! He looks so young!"
Shizu nodded. "Yes, I can vouch for him."
Heinz nodded. "I'll trust you then Shizu, how old are you Altair?"
"I'm 15." I respond.
"15! What are you feeding this kid Shizu?!"
Shizu giggled lightly. "Ah, I couldn't tell you unfortunately. I found him like that."
Heinz shook his head. "Very well, Altair here will be an Advanced ranked Adventurer by the end of the day."
Ah the wonders of nepotism.
Shizu clapped. "Wonderful."
I walked through the doors to the Association for the second time today. Shizu had rented us some rooms to stay in until tomorrow. Tomorrow we will be moving into the Academy.
I walked to the front desk, there was a male here this time. He looked up at me with a smile on his face.
"Welcome! How may I help you today?"
"Hello there. I'm here to pick up my Adventurer Card, Heinz said it would be ready by the end of the day."
The clerk nodded. "Yes, I have your card right here Mr Altair. Advanced rank at such a young age is an incredible feat. Good luck with everything."
I gave him a nod and then walked back towards our room.
I knocked on the door to Shizu's room. "Come in!"
Shizu was sitting on a chair reading a book. "Did you need something Altair?"
I nodded. "Yeah I just had a question."
"Mhmm?" She asked.
"What is the name of my fellow student?" I asked, dreading the answer.
"Ah, let me see real quick." She pulled out a bunch of papers until she found the right one.
"Let me see, it says Yuuki Kagurazaka."
Fuuuuuuuuuck.
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Author's Note:
Chapter two is out now. Of course as is natural Altair does not want to meet Yuuki. That guy is plot armor incarnate.
We also get to learn a bit more about the world.
Anyways thanks for reading, leave a like if you enjoyed.
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