Interlude: Kazuma's Agility Training First Part

"What? Are you serious?" Kazuma found it surprising to hear Moonlight's suggestion.

"Of course I am. I know I sounded harsh during the time we teamed up to deal with a minor Qlipoth, but it is the truth. And for someone new, you are too brash and too reckless in your approach. It is like you are eager to throw your life away rather than to defeat the enemy before you."

Kazuma couldn't argue with that. With how weak he is right now, he is more inclined to use more of his body to physically assault enemies. Although he is learning, most of his attacks are done with the addition of using weapons and dealing magic damage alongside them. Compared to the pros, he is still fumbling from the basics.

"And after hearing from Rena how reckless you were last night, I guess it best that someone will at least train you to use magic properly or use magic. The way you use magic with different weapons is fine, but what if you are unarmed? Can you do it as flawlessly as you do with a weapon?" Moonlight asked.

"How about you? You use a weapon as well, right?"

Moonlight ditched her sword to the floor and opened her palms, water enveloping it with a bubble-like structure. She clenches her palms into a fist and then the water's shape changes. One has a sharp knuckle form while the other is purely blunt.

"Even if I am unarmed, I can fight without any worries. These are ones that I usually use since I am used to melee combat, but I can also do various attacks that are also in range," Moonlight said as she formed her hands into a finger gun and fired a piece of water into the wall like a water gun.

"I only used normal water that can't do any damage as I don't want to damage the property, but I can change that to acidic and hurt my enemies if I wanted to."

Kazuma was amazed. Seeing the new ways to make the magic work seems endless.

"Now that you see it, let's make you do it as well. You already learned the basics and the theory, you should get some experience."

And before Kazuma can react, a swift punch is being thrown at him and he barely has enough chance to dodge. He managed to avoid the punch, but barely.

"W-wait! What's going on? Why are you punching me?"

"Try to fight back with me without using any weapon. Just your fists and magic."

Kazuma grumbled as he barely dodged her punches before he covered his hands in flames and proceeded to go counterattack.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Kazuma continues to punch Moonlight a few times but all of them missed the mark. One thing that he noticed is that against a swift enemy, he is in a very bad position.

"Is that all you got, Kazuma?" Moonlight started mocking Kazuma as she began to proceed to punch Kazuma who barely blocks her punch with his arms.

BANG!

He managed to block the punch but his arm ended up broken and the left arm that took all of the brunt hurt a lot than he expected.

"AAAAAGGGHHHHH!" Kazuma roared in pain as his arm was broken beyond recognition.

"Ah...I didn't control my strength. Sorry about that," Moonlight scratched her head before she snapped her fingers causing all of the pain that Kazuma was feeling to disappear in an instant.

"AAA...HUH? Wait...the pain is gone!" Kazuma grips his arms to double-check whether he is dreaming or not.

"Relax, I restored your arm to its former glory. I know healing magic a bit so healing minor injuries like that is nothing for me."

"W-wow..." Kazuma wasn't even expecting it either.

"Well, I see what you are lacking now, Kazuma. Let's sit down first and you listen.

The two sat on the floor and Moonlight started pointing out Kazuma's flaws.

"Kazuma, I can see that your control of magic is not that bad for a beginner who is green in magic. But you are lacking in one fundamental aspect that is vital for a magician like us who deals with abnormalities. You're speed is very mediocre to the point that you will not last against a fast abnormality in one go. You will die before you can even blink."

"My speed..."

Kazuma also noticed it himself when he started to face Moonlight. He tried to punch Moonlight a few times only for Moonlight to completely toy him by dodging his attacks and catching him off guard.

"Realized it now?" Moonlight grinned.

"Yes. My speed is nowhere fast enough to even handle you who is moving fast."

"Correct. Since you were not trained as a magician since birth and you just started the moment you received the guide, you are a civilian who knows a bit of magic. For civilians, that is a very big feat, but for us magicians, that is a suicidal feat."

"Magicians will need both their speed and strength to survive against enemies of the Qlipoth. Focusing on strength alone works well if you are also very tough and can withstand blows multiple times without dying or even getting injured. You will become a great and vital tanker from us magicians as a result. But Kazuma, you are not that. The elements you are using now focus on being an agile combatant. Lightning and fire are good elements to start for beginners, but they are something that you should also need to complement together."

"Which means I will have to train my agility?" Kazuma asked.

Hearing his words, Moonlight grinned.

"That's right. Here, take this mission. It's a beginner mission and has no time limit. It serves as a way of training your legs. Learn how to use your magic to your advantage, work using it, and handle quests like a pro."

Moonlight then tosses a rolled paper to Kazuma which he caught with his hands. Checking it out, he soon saw the mission details.

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Special Type Newbie Mission: Agility Training, Capture Quest

Mission Difficulty: Lilith

Applicable Ranks to Accept the Quest: Malkuth Rank

Quest Location: Shibuya

Mission Details: A newbie training quest to enhance your speed. A turbo granny is currently spotted in Shibuya during the morning, mainly at the Shibuya Crossing causing accidents whenever it passes by. Although not destructive, they are disruptive to the populace due to their hit-and-run tendencies. Defeating it in a race and subduing the Turbo Granny is necessary to complete the quest.

Reward: Agility Incense x5, 10,000 yen

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"Turbo Granny? Isn't that the tall tales that drivers usually say to other drivers at times? Like they saw a running granny as fast as their trucks running on highways? I heard they are spotted in specific highways according to their legend."

"Yes. They are real. And they are considered Yokai by people. However, magicians like us already know what they are."

"Qlipoth abnormalities."

"Correct. But the difference with this Qlipoth monster is that it has minimal damage done to the world and they are not a significant threat that should be disposed of immediately once spotted but they are still part of the monsters that have to be captured and passed over to the council."

"Isn't this troublesome? A Qlipoth interacting with the humans and causing havoc to the mass populace?" Kazuma was surprised by how nonchalant Moonlight was about this.

"Because this is nothing for magicians. These little Qlipoth are easily dealt with and some magicians considered "cleaners" are in charge of dealing with Qlipoths like the Turbo Granny if they become dangerous and commonly appear to the people. This is why magician trainees will be pitted against Turbo Granny deal with her extraordinary speed and capture her in the process which in return, helps gauge or push their speed to the limits. So, are you up to it?"