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(MoD) Chapter 5: Enhance! Project! Aim!
🕑 Added 2025-02-05 11:51:18 +0000 UTCChapter 5: Enhance! Project! Aim!
In order to train his Projection, Enhancement, and his Dexterity—which was now his most lacking statistic, all at the same time. Takauji had decided to get a little—creative, cooking up an impromptu training method for himself.
"Do I even want to ask what you're doing?" Murayama watched as her brother put on a pair of rubber gloves, and started rummaging through their trash, picking up a bunch of used soda cans and juice boxes.
"Don't worry about it, I'm honing my genius."
"And how exactly does grabbing a handful of trash equate to honing your genius?"
"It just does," he insisted. "I'm going to be in the backyard, so don't disturb me unless it's something urgent."
…Don't tell me he's developed a mental illness out of nowhere? What am I going to tell Mom? Murayama clasped her hands together, humming a silent prayer for Takauji's mental stability.
Once he was in the backyard, he started setting up the emptied cans and boxes at one end of the grassy expanse, arranging some of them a few feet in front of the fence, and others farther behind them.
He took a quick look behind him to make sure Murayama wasn't watching before enhancing each of the objects one by one, granted, even if she did spot him she wouldn't be able to see the magical side of what he was doing.
The knives themselves wouldn't remain either, since projections disappeared after a certain amount of time.
He walked backwards and calculated the amount of distance there was between him and the used beverages with his feet.
This should be about 20 feet, hopefully it's a good starting point. He took a deep breath, conjuring a kitchen knife in his hand that was much smaller in size compared to the one he had initially made, hence consuming less MP to create.
He took a deep breath, delighted upon experiencing the drastic improvement in his ability to focus he had obtained from increasing his intelligence—like his mind had acquired a newfound sharpness, not just regarding how much information it stored, but the speed at which it actually processed that information.
He then proceeded to enhance the knife, planting his feet and arching his arm backwards at an angle, focusing on the soda can that was closest to him.
[+4 DEX (11 → 15).]
As he had hoped, enhancing and projecting objects was a delicate enough task to warrant an improvement in his Dexterity upon doing so—and the passive trait that increased the growth of his Dexterity meant that the incremental improvements he made would be well worth it.
Training like this is bound to consume a lot of MP even with the minimizations I've made, however—I still have that passive trait that's improving my MP recovery rate, and this method is going to help me kill two birds with one stone, or technically three since Enhancement and Projection are separate skills.
Takauji kept his arm as stable as possible, straightening his posture to ensure that his balance was as perfect as it could be.
Thwack!
[+1 DEX (15 → 16).]
Although the knife did in fact hit the can, it didn't pierce through it—merely knocking it over instead.
Both the knife and can were enhanced, but my throwing form wasn't good enough. I'm letting it spin too much, I need the tip of the knife to directly clash with the surface of the can. I need more momentum, and much more accuracy.
He set the can back up, readjusting himself and taking what he had learned from the last attempt into account. Focus Takauji, focus.
Clack!
[+3 DEX (16 → 19).]
This time, the knife made its way halfway through the can's aluminum—even though it hadn't gone all the way through, actually piercing the thing was a huge improvement from, well, not piercing it.
[MP: 30/200]
I'll use my MP recovery time to think about how I can further improve my throwing form, and then I'll rinse and repeat until dinnertime. After that, I think it'd be best to spend the rest of the day Meditating. A higher MP pool would make this process a lot more efficient.
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
An hour and some change had passed by, Murayama much to Takauji's relief had opted to remain in the living room, spending most of her time reviewing the notes she had made about the Kendo Club's progress and some of the modifications she had decided to make to their training regiment.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
She furrowed her brow, looking at the clock and wondering why someone would be at their house at such an hour.
Strange, I don't remember inviting Katase over—and even when I don't she always messages me in advance before she comes over without an arrangement. She checked her phone, confirming that nobody had messaged her.
The only person in Takauji's inner circle was Hairo, and even that singular friendship was questionable. So she doubted their visitor was here for him.
Wait a minute! Maybe the Student President's here! She concluded, still confident that her brother had secretly gone out on a date with her when he said he had been training with Hairo.
She closed her notebook, getting up from the couch and walking over to the front door. Preparing herself before opening it, wanting to make sure she made a good impression on the Student President.
Until she looked through the peephole, that was. Himejima-senpai?! What?! When?! Where!? Why?! How?! She panicked internally, unable to compute why the black-haired beauty of Kuoh Academy, Akeno Himejima herself was at her house.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" Akeno asked, as if she somehow knew that Murayama was at the door.
Compose yourself Murayama! You need to make a good first impression! She swallowed her nerves, slowly opening the door and coming face to face with Akeno—who she still couldn't believe was at her residence.
"...Good evening, Himejima-senpai. Erm… Is there something I can help you with?" She fidgeted in place, even though she had resolved herself to maintain her composure, it was easier said than done when such a universally fangirled figure was standing before her.
"Good evening, you must be Murayama-chan if I'm not mistaken?"
Himejima-senpai knows who I am! I can't believe this! I'm not dreaming, am I?! She had a noticeable glimmer in his eyes upon hearing Akeno utter her name.
"Yes! That's me!" She hurriedly covered her mouth, realizing that she had raised her voice excitedly just a moment too late.
But much to her relief, Akeno decided to pay no heed to her little giddy outburst.
"I'm sorry to bother you at such a late hour," she bowed apologetically. "I just have some business with your brother that I was hoping I could attend to."
She's here for him?! Don't tell me… Is he two-timing?! She withheld a gasp, wondering when her brother had turned into such a problematic figure—or at least a more problematic one than he already was.
"There's no need to apologize! Please, come right inside." Murayama held the door open for her, seriously thinking about what possible reason Akeno Himejima could have to need to see her brother.
"Oh? Well this is certainly surprising," but before she could step inside, another figure had appeared at the Ashikaga household's walkway.
I knew they were already posted up around his household, but I didn't expect them to already have a teleportation point around here. It isn't possible for them to set up one on the same day as they discovered him, which meant that there was already one here beforehand.
The sound of their voice caused Akeno's face to contort for a brief moment, before returning to its usual laid-back state.
Well played Sona, you've been keeping a good eye on your boyfriend.
"Ara ara, I'm of the same opinion." Akeno replied, facing none other than the Student Council's Vice-President, Tsubaki Shinra. "I presume you also have some business with Ashikaga-san?"
"Yes, that'd be correct." Tsubaki turned to face Murayama, performing a courteous bow. "I hope my presence isn't too much of a bother, as Akeno just confirmed—I also wish to discuss something with your brother."
Three-timing! My brother's three timing! Since when did he turn into such a scoundrel?! Nervous beads of sweat started to form on the surface of her forehead. Murayama wasn't sure what was about to take place within her residence, but she had a feeling it wouldn't be anything good.
Even so, she wasn't about to turn away the Vice-President. The Student Council was responsible for allocating all the funding for the school's clubs after all, including the Girls' Kendo Club.
"You two can go ahead and make yourselves comfortable, I'll go call him to the living room." She ushered them inside, gesturing to the couch.
"We appreciate the hospitality," they both smiled, walking side by side as they stepped into their target's house.
"If I recall correctly, Sona made it crystal clear that you weren't supposed to approach Ashikaga-san." Tsubaki began, shooting an unamused look at Akeno.
"And if I recall correctly, Kuoh is under joint-management between Rias and Sona. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense for one to be able to dictate where the other can and can't go if you ask me." Akeno plastered on a wry smile, "Although, the fact that you haven't already taken an interest in him tells me that he really did only just awaken."
Tsubaki frowned, "How did you even find out in the first place?"
"He had just happened to be training in the gym where Koneko-chan usually is."
So it was just luck, Tsubaki grimaced.
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
Takauji started to wipe himself down with a towel, the exertion from the amount of training he had done in the past hour and a half starting to get to him.
I'm getting a bit of a headache, I think it might be from the amount of MP I've used in such a short amount of time. He opened his screen, deciding to review how much he had improved during his throwing session.
[Subclass: Novice Artificer (44/100).]
He pursed his lips, nodding to himself with a sense of approval.
Not bad, not bad at all. The level of my Enhancement or Projection still hasn't gone up though, so I'll need to keep working at it. But before that, let's see how much my Dexterity has improved.
[(Dexterity) DEX: 38]
[Skill Awakened! — (Neutral) Grease; Remove the critical friction from a flat object or surface. Applicable surface area, and degree of friction removal scales with Mana and Dexterity.]
Friction removal? Interesting, I already have a skill that's capable of manipulating physics beyond a movement technique. It's small scale, sure, but it's still a tool with immense potential if I apply it properly.
[Passive Trait Unlocked! — (Neutral) Sleight of Hand; Your ability to master martial art techniques, and skills that require a significant amount of coordination is drastically improved—the rate of progression is tied to your Dexterity.]
I've never studied a martial art before, but obtaining this passive trait might be my sign to do so. I was planning on having Murayama teach me some of her Kendo, so this should be a good help with that endeavor.
"Takauji! Explain yourself!" Murayama barged into the backyard, firmly planting her hands at her hips and shooting an accusatory glance at him.
"Didn't I tell you not to disturb me? And what's got you so uppity?"
"Don't give me that attitude! I want you to explain why Himejima-senpai and Shinra-senpai are in our living room looking for you! Right now!" She walked up to him, grabbing him by the collar and vigorously shaking him in search of an answer.
And while she was attempting to shake an answer out of him, she caught a glimpse of the destroyed soda cans and juice boxes laid across their backyard.
"Seriously, what were you doing out here?"
"So many questions," he grumbled in annoyance. "Maybe if you stopped shaking me I'd actually be able to answer them."
"Fine, but don't even think about lying to me." She folded her arms, reluctantly releasing him from her grasp.
He readjusted his glasses, "Like I told you earlier. I was out here honing my peerless intellect, as for why those two are in our house—I don't have the faintest clue."
"I told you not to lie to me!"
"I'm not lying," he sighed. "If it's of so much concern to you, then why don't we go figure it out together?" He started to walk back inside.
"I'm telling the President if I find out you're cheating on her!"
Clack!
A soda can was promptly thrown at her forehead.
"That hurt!" She rubbed her sore spot. Wait a minute, I don't remember him having a soda can in his hand? What did he just do? She pondered, looking back at the destroyed cans and boxes behind her.
He's definitely picked up some kind of strange hobby—it's probably just part of another competition between him and the President. Although, I'm not really sure what kind of contest consists of making soda cans magically appear in your hand.
"If you're going to show up at my house, then I'd appreciate a heads up at the very least. Shinra-san," he said, the two young women attempting to stand up once he approached them, but he gestured that it was unnecessary.
"I apologize for the lack of notice, but it's something quite urgent."
"So you say," he hummed, turning to face Akeno next. "I don't believe we've ever been acquainted with one another before, Himejima-san. Therefore I can't even begin to guess why you've taken the liberty to come here."
"I'm here for the same reason as Tsubaki, and for the same level of urgency. Ashikaga-san."
He frowned, a bad feeling stirring within him. "Really now? Then I'd appreciate it if the two of you didn't keep me in suspense any longer."
"Actually," both Akeno and Tsubaki glanced at Murayama, who was observing their conversation with understandable intrigue. "I think it's something better discussed in private."
━━━━
Now Takauji's actually starting to make some progress as a 1st Circle Magician, but there's still a long way to go, as well as an apparent issue that he has to deal with before he can get back to his training.
Red or blue? Which way will he lean?
Comments
ShadowXK
Blue, I'd like to see Sona win
Greed 2nd Sin
Very much hope for Sona but I can't deny how funny him pulling a "Souna? Nope, i'm good." Then ofcourse he doesn't know the Gremory much except a little of Koneko and then their public persona. Always intriguing when people do a humanity run though, tend to be my favourites. Looking forward to what you create!
