Chapter 14 : Recreate the magic

In the beginner stage, the protagonist needs to continuously improve their level through extensive practice.
And with each tier crossed, the talent and effort required multiply. One could say that entering the mid-tier is the watershed of the beginner stage, truly just the beginning.

Companion magic is not just about types that can be directly used; there are also types that can only be used when multiple conditions are met.

Both Schiller’s and the protagonist’s companion magic belong to this latter category.

That’s right, his companion magic is precisely “Replication,” which, to be precise, is a degraded copy of others’ skills.

For example, if Sheryl uses the Hohenzollern-style Swordsmanship – Advanced, under the right conditions, he can use Hohenzollern-style Swordsmanship – Intermediate.

It’s not a one-time consumable, but a genuine acquisition of the skill.

And as Sheryl’s own skills increase, his skills will also increase accordingly.

Truly a skill befitting a gigolo.

Schiller was a little excited when he discovered his magic.

After all, who wouldn’t want free skills? Not to mention it’s just a slight degradation in level.

If he could replicate several god-tier magics, would he still worry about insufficient combat power?

By then, not only the protagonist, but even the Demon God would be dragged by him to pair up for Yuri.

‘Unwilling? Hmph, go tell my magic that.’

Last night, his eyes gleamed, as if he had seen hope for the first time.

However, fate is cruel. The activation conditions for this skill are quite stringent, and he always felt a strange sense of incongruity.

This skill was too perfectly aligned with favorability.

Sheryl had changed into a sharp white swordsman’s uniform, her silver hair tied into high twin tails. She held a slender training sword, her wrist nimbly twirling it.

Only at times like this did she exude a quiet beauty.

‘As still as a maiden, as swift as a fleeing hare.’

“Heh!” She made a cute sound.

She gently raised her sword. The next instant, her figure had already vanished.

No, it wasn’t a disappearance, but rather a speed so extreme that he couldn’t react.

‘Mid-tier lower speed… truly not to be underestimated.’

He almost instinctively stumbled backward, his longsword subconsciously held horizontally in front of him.

“Ugh!”

In fact, during the kidnapping incident, Sheryl seemed to have been trapped by some psychological trauma, thus unable to unleash her full strength.

This might be related to the rumors of her being an illegitimate child.

‘…I should find an opportunity to investigate that later.’

“Clang!”

A crisp sound. Sheryl deliberately aimed for Schiller’s sword, but the force directly numb his hand.

The longsword instantly slipped from his grasp.

He staggered back two more steps before barely regaining his balance, his chest rising and falling slightly.

With just one exchange, the superiority was immediately apparent, and the victory was decided.

Compared to Schiller, who was panting heavily after only one or two moves, Sheryl appeared much more at ease.

“Again!” Schiller picked up his sword and got into position.

“Too slow, and your stance is completely wrong,” she said, picking up her sword and demonstrating the correct posture.

“Center of gravity forward, like this, exert force—” The next second, her sword was already attacking.

“!!”

The sword fell to the ground again.

Schiller gasped for air. He had called the protagonist overpowered earlier, but Sheryl wasn’t far behind.

“I won’t believe it!”

In the training ground, the clang of blades clashing was incessant.

“Damn it, the level gap is too big!”

Sheryl was attacking Schiller in a “teaching” manner, while he was completely passive and taking hits.

However, the bigger the gap, the more room there is for improvement.

“Hmph!”

When Sheryl tried her trick again, vanishing before him at an extremely fast speed,

This time, Schiller precisely saw Sheryl’s sword path. To say he “saw” it wasn’t entirely accurate.

He merely analyzed Sheryl’s attacks, which was what’s known as prediction.

A master at countering sudden bluffs.

“I won’t fall for the same trick twice.”

Sheryl smiled when she saw her attack being defended.

She withdrew and then completely changed her sword path.

Although her offense was sharp, she still avoided hurting Schiller.

In fact, even though there was only one tier difference, he found it difficult even to defend.

“Come on!”

‘At this point, if only I could roll to dodge.’

Sweat quickly soaked his back.

He felt his body as heavy as wood, merely following Sheryl’s sword by instinct.

Sheryl attacked while instructing him:

“Pay attention to your footwork when using the sword.”

“Don’t be used by the sword; use the sword.”

“Ha, ha, ha… again!”

Schiller gritted his teeth, dedicating his entire focus to this training.

He could feel every cell in his body screaming, but each block and dodge seemed to sharpen his body’s perception of the “sword” by a fraction.

If this were a life-and-death struggle, Sheryl would probably kill him on the first encounter.

He tried to recall the hazy basic sword moves from the game, clumsily attempting to counter Sheryl’s sword, searching for that slim chance of a counterattack.

Sweat blurred his vision, and heavy panting echoed in his ears.

Just as his sword was once again knocked away by Sheryl, he slipped and fell to the ground.

“Be careful!”

Sheryl exclaimed, instinctively reaching out to pull him up.

“Got it!” Schiller sprang up, picked up his sword, and closed in on Sheryl’s side. The moment was ripe.

“If I can’t win, I’ll temporarily avoid their edge!” Schiller affirmed his victory.

“Clang!” Sheryl twisted her body open at the last second, blocking the attack with the flat of her sword, then mercilessly disarmed him.

“…”

‘This cheat, able to react, defend, and counter-attack within a few tenths of a second, what am I even playing for?!’

“Phew, phew, I’m growing too, you know, Schiller? I won’t fall for it twice,” Sheryl’s sweat shimmered in the sunlight.

Schiller waved his hand, disregarding his image, and sat on the ground, panting.

“Honestly, I give up.”

As he prepared to rest for a moment, a slight pain in his arm made him wince.

Without knowing when, small cuts had started to ooze beads of blood.

“Let me see.” Sheryl knelt down, taking his arm in front of her.

“It’s nothing, just a scrape…” Schiller was about to pull his arm back, but felt a strong force preventing his movement.

“Uh, young lady? Lady Sheryl?”

“Does it hurt?”

Sheryl’s eyes were fixed on the spot, even getting a little watery, her hands fumbling as if wanting to touch the wound but daring not.

Just as Schiller was struggling to say “I’m fine,” the corner of his eye caught sight of Sheryl’s head—the three silver-white roses were trembling violently.

‘Oh no!’

An alarm blared in Schiller’s mind. ‘Favorability, why is favorability changing?!’

‘My favorability is moving, I’m not playing anymore!’

He ignored the stinging in his arm, abruptly looked up at Sheryl, ready to put on the most exaggerated performance to prove he was tough and fine, completely unharmed.

However, before he could even speak—

Sheryl gently pressed her lips to the wound, treating it like a fragile item, licking it softly.

“!”

Then, she swept her forelocks aside, revealing her blazing red earlobes on her neck. She looked up, turning her blushing face away.

“Don’t, don’t misunderstand, saliva has disinfectant properties!”

She had completely forgotten that there was disinfectant available right there.

“!” At that moment, a massive amount of magical power enveloped both of them.

There were three conditions for the activation of [Replication]; the skill could not be activated if even one condition was missing.

First: The skill owner personally imparts it.

Second: The skill owner has a certain level of favorability towards him.

Third: Mana exchange.

And mana remained in bodily fluids, meaning they had just completed the three necessary points.

Hohenzollern-style Swordsmanship was flowing into his mind.

And in the shadows of the corridor, Celia stood quietly, her eyes peering through the window, watching the unusually warm scene outside.

In her pupils, Schiller’s shy expression was infinitely magnified.

Her face was devoid of any emotion, only the golden hands of the pocket watch, in the unnoticed shadows, were unclear, like a mosaic.