Vol 5. Chapter 42: I Didn’t Mean To

“Ha, huh??” Vinny’s eye twitched as he looked at Aesphyra licking her lips in front of him. “What kind of bizarre punishment is that??”

So now there was a reward for winning and a punishment for losing??

Aesphyra wouldn’t actually have sadistic tendencies, would she??

Was she playing things this freaky??

Stepping on him or whatever—an act like that was basically humiliating him, Camella Royal Capital’s notorious young master!

The thought crossed his mind, and Vinny’s gaze unconsciously fell onto Aesphyra’s legs, wrapped in those enticing over-the-knee black stockings. Her long, slender legs were perfectly proportioned, and the lace-trimmed tops of the stockings bit slightly into her flesh. That strip of snow-white bare thigh above them formed a stark contrast with the glossy black silk reflecting the light.

The black stockings outlined the perfect curve of her arches, setting off the girl’s bright, flawless hair. Those captivating, delicate jade feet were like smooth, tender dumplings wrapped in crystal-clear dumpling skins, letting one faintly glimpse the delicious filling inside.

“Gulp.” Vinny suddenly felt his throat go a little dry, and even his eyes and nasal cavity felt faintly hot and stinging.

Only after a moment did Vinny realize how badly he had lost his composure. He hurriedly withdrew his gaze, but the burning heat in his cheeks still exposed his panic completely.

“Oh my? It looks like Vinnia is even bolder than I imagined.” Aesphyra took in every bit of Vinny’s reaction, smiling brightly. “For Vinnia, this couldn’t possibly not count as a punishment, could it?”

“That won’t do. If it doesn’t serve as punishment, Vinnia might deliberately lose the match.”

“Don’t say weird stuff like that! Who would lose a match over something that ridiculous??” Vinny snapped, his face flushed scarlet. “Then what if I win?”

“If you win, then we reverse it. I’ll satisfy one request from Vinny. How does that sound~?” Aesphyra chuckled softly, even adding in an ambiguous tone, “Any request is fine~”

“Gah?!” Vinny froze. “You said any?”

“That’s right.” Aesphyra’s tone turned playful. “But Vinnia wouldn’t make some excessive request, would she?”

“Tch, what do you mean, excessive? I think that punishment condition you mentioned just now was already really excessive.” Vinny puffed out his cheeks, unconvinced.

“Oh, I see. Then our conditions can remain consistent. Vinnia can do that too. How does that sound?”

“What even is ‘consistent’ supposed to mean?” Vinny rolled his eyes at Aesphyra. “You’ve got really weird tastes, huh? What a pervert.”

“Eh? Isn’t Vinnia the perverted one?” Aesphyra tilted her head. “I only mentioned it casually as a joke, but I didn’t expect Vinnia to seem so expectant. You took it completely seriously?”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Vinny looked utterly confused. “What? So you were only joking?”

“What else~? Did Vinnia think it was real?” Aesphyra looked at Vinnia’s reaction in amusement.

“Tch, who was expecting anything? You were the one talking to yourself here the whole time. I hadn’t even agreed yet!” Vinny kept stubbornly denying it.

“Still, if Vinnia really can hit me once before the arena closes for closed-door training, I do have a very generous surprise reward for Vinnia.”

“Huh?” Vinny was instantly curious. “So what exactly is the surprise reward?”

“If I told you in advance, could it still be called a surprise?”

“So, does Vinnia accept?”

“Of course I accept. If winning gets me a reward and losing has no punishment, who wouldn’t accept pure free advantage?” Vinny raised his brows.

“Wrong. Losing does not mean there is no punishment.” Aesphyra shook her head lightly.

“Huh? What punishment?” Vinny hesitated.

“Just as I said before. Vinnia only needs to satisfy one request of mine. As for what that request will be...” Aesphyra’s tone shifted, carrying a hint of teasing frivolity. “Vinnia can start looking forward to it now.”

“Look forward to your head! And you’re saying I win if I only hit you once? Who are you looking down on? Less talking. Take my spear!” With that, Vinny charged forward with his spear and brought one strike chopping down at Aesphyra.

Aesphyra raised her sword and used the guard in an extremely standard motion to block the spear blade.

“Vinnia, the weapon in your hand isn’t a long staff. It’s a spear-halberd,” Aesphyra said. “I’m not saying your fighting style is bad. Your tactics have their own unique points. But rather than saying what you’re holding is a spear, it’s more like a long staff.”

“You can try bringing out the spear’s advantages.”

The spear’s advantages??

As Vinny hesitated, Aesphyra raised her hand toward him.

“Vinny, if your strength can’t compare to your opponent’s, you have to use your strengths and avoid your weaknesses.”

“Gulp.” Vinny looked at the training spear in his hands, unable to press it down even a fraction.

Aesphyra had blocked his attack with one hand. And he had never practiced any proper spear art, let alone inherited any family spear art. His attack methods were extremely simple, merely reaching a level that was just barely enough.

It might be enough against other people, but against Aesphyra, that little bit of amateur skill clearly was not worth looking at.

“Didn’t we agree to assume neither of us used magic?” Vinny muttered.

“If that is the case...” Aesphyra smiled. In the next instant, the longsword locking his spear blade suddenly chopped upward.

Seeing that, Vinny wanted to use his weapon to counter her, but Aesphyra merely flicked her sword. The spear in Vinny’s hand flew out of his grip, sailed away, and stabbed into the ground not far off.

Aesphyra’s move was like a parry-counter in a game. While attacking, it would drag the enemy’s weapon along and knock it away too.

“Vinnia, keep at it.” Aesphyra rested one hand on her sword and smiled softly.

“Tch! I was just careless for a moment. Don’t get so proud.” Vinny rolled his eyes at Aesphyra and trotted over to pick up his weapon.

“Now I’m serious!” The standoff began again.

Although Vinny kept acting disdainful toward Aesphyra’s words, he had remembered every single thing she said.

Bring out the spear’s advantages?

A spear’s advantage was mid-range combat. Of course Vinny knew that.

As he thought, Vinny watched Aesphyra and tried again. This time, he did not launch a wide, sweeping attack.

He had discovered a problem. Chopping attacks, the kind that opened and closed broadly, were far too easy to defend against. One only needed to block lightly.

Thrusting, by contrast, was different. A chop attacked a surface, while a thrust attacked only a point. Although the attack range became smaller, it was harder to defend against and more aggressive.

In the past, when he used [Frostfang] to kill enemies, most situations had been one against many. On top of that, [Frostfang] was a magic weapon, so it supported him killing enemies with those broad, sweeping motions. That had also been the most efficient way to kill them.

Vinny thrust the spear blade toward Aesphyra. This time, sure enough, Aesphyra did not use her sword to block directly. Instead, she chose to dodge. A thrust aimed at a single point was very hard to stop with a guard.

He maintained mid-range distance and launched thrust after thrust, preventing Aesphyra from getting close.

“Vinnia has found the correct way to use a spear-halberd.” Aesphyra dodged Vinny’s attacks while speaking.

For spears, thrusting was the most advantageous and lethal attack method. As for why Vinny did not understand thrusting technique, it was because he had no teacher at all. Without a teacher instructing him, it was easy to take many detours.

As the king of a hundred weapons, the spear had a natural advantage in mid-range combat. One inch longer meant one inch stronger. As long as distance was maintained, those holding blades or swords could almost never beat someone holding a spear.

Unfortunately, this was a magic world, and Aesphyra was no ordinary person either.

Just as Vinny gradually grasped the rhythm of attack, Aesphyra’s speed suddenly soared. In a few flashing steps, she closed the distance between herself and Vinny.

Shock appeared on Vinny’s face. He hurriedly raised his spear vertically, blocking Aesphyra’s horizontally slashing longsword like a courtyard pillar.

So fast!

As expected, that girl had been nowhere near using her full strength earlier.

Vinny withdrew, trying to open distance from Aesphyra again. However, Aesphyra saw through his intention with ease and followed his movement with one arrowing step.

And once they reached short range, the spear’s advantage could no longer be brought out.

Vinny simply gripped the front end near the spear blade and used it like a sword or blade to clash with Aesphyra.

Their weapons collided. Aesphyra lifted her leg and, catching him off guard, kicked toward Vinny’s abdomen.

Masters of swordsmanship often combined their swordplay with kicking techniques.

Seeing this, Vinny instinctively moved to protect his abdomen and intercept Aesphyra’s kick. But it was already far too late. If Aesphyra had really wanted that kick to land on Vinny, Vinny definitely would have taken the hit.

The problem was that Aesphyra did not actually kick him. She stopped at the point of contact, merely reminding Vinny that this strike had already hit him.

But Vinny had also instinctively moved.

And so, this scene appeared.

Vinny grabbed Aesphyra’s ankle.

“Uh.” Feeling the warmth from his palm and the smooth texture of the black stockings, Vinny froze too.

“Um, I didn’t mean to.” Vinny hurriedly tried to explain.

“If Vinnia wants to hold it a little longer, that isn’t impossible either~?” Aesphyra looked at Vinny, smiling without quite smiling.

“Aaah!” The meaning in and out of her words was naturally telling him to let go. After hearing that, Vinny hurriedly released her, then retreated a few steps with his mind in turmoil. His gaze drifted to the side, and he was somewhat afraid to look at Aesphyra.

Seeing this, Aesphyra withdrew her foot. Feeling the warmth still lingering on her ankle, for some unknown reason, her cheeks warmed a little too.

[Virtue +100.]

[Current Virtue: 889.]

Guh-guh-ga-ga.

Remembering the sensation just now, Vinny’s brain was still a little overloaded.

“I really didn’t mean it just now. I was trying to defend,” Vinny attempted to explain.

“Then did you defend?” Aesphyra asked with a smiling expression.

“I did. Ah, no, maybe I didn’t.” Vinny became a little confused.

“All right. As for weapon techniques today, we’ll stop here for now. Any more and I’m afraid Vinnia won’t be able to digest it.” As she spoke, Aesphyra tossed the training sword aside.

“Huh? If we’re not training this, then what are we training? Magic?” Vinny did not understand.

“Of course not. There’s no barrier raised here. How could this place withstand magic bombardment?”

“Uh, then what are you referring to?” Vinny grew even more puzzled.

“Does Vinnia still remember that at the beginning of school, we had a close-combat fight once?” Aesphyra’s lips curved into a faint, wicked smile.

“Yeah. What about it? Don’t tell me you want to train that??” Vinny could not help saying.

“Naturally, training must be comprehensive. It’s just like eating. Only by not being picky can you have balanced nutrition, right?”

“No? But I...” Vinny trailed off.

If he had a weapon, he could at least trade a few moves with Aesphyra. But without a weapon, he would be purely beaten by Aesphyra, wouldn’t he??

His hand-to-hand skills were terrible!

Although he had trained for over a year at Carillian Academy, it had only reached the level where he could casually fight other students. If he fought Aesphyra, that gap would be widened even further.

Vinny did not even know how many moves he could last.

“I’m saying, there’s no point in us comparing this, right?” Vinny pursed his lips.

“Is Vinnia scared?”

“Who said this young master is scared?” Hearing that, the blue-haired girl instantly bristled and immediately raised a hand to settle it. “Would this young master be afraid of you, you white-haired nut ball? If you want to fight, I’ll fight!”

“Then very well. What I said just now still counts. As long as Vinnia can hit me even once, Vinnia wins.”

“Fine, I know. Come on!” As he spoke, Vinny took up a stance.

Then he saw Aesphyra stepping forward with phantom-like footwork, rushing straight in front of him. Her first move was a spinning kick aimed directly at his face.

If this had been before, Vinny absolutely would have had his face stomped hard by Aesphyra.

Fortunately, his year of combat classes had not been for nothing.

Vinny reacted in time, leaning backward and dodging Aesphyra’s spinning kick.

However, all of this was within Aesphyra’s expectations.

The corner of Aesphyra’s lips hooked almost imperceptibly. She followed it up with a smooth low kick that landed on Vinny’s calf, knocking his lower body unstable. He lost his footing and fell.

Gah!

Seeing that his head was about to hit the ground, Vinny only hated that he had not tied a pillow to the back of his head.

At that moment, time seemed to stop.

Vinny discovered that he had frozen in the posture of someone about to fall to the floor. Then he realized a hand was supporting his back and had scooped his entire body back up.

After that, he felt a touch of coolness beneath his chin. He lifted his eyes and met those violet eyes, beautiful and glittering like stars.

“Vinnia, be a little more careful.” Aesphyra supported Vinny with one hand, keeping his body balanced, while her other hand pinched Vinny’s jaw. She looked at him with a smile that was not quite a smile.

Eh, eh, eh?!

Aesphyra’s lips curved into a wicked smile, as though she had finally avenged an old grudge.