CHAPTER 423: Training

The next day started as expected: Garm, Yoru and Kaito went shopping with Valeria. Ivy and Kasai accompanied Skadi and Cassie, while my remaining tier three joined Helena and myself in the training room. I also had a few tier twos around, like the shamans, assassins, Frank, Bob and Andy.

"Let's work on your ice darts filled with necrotic water." Helena suggested. "I think you want a few versions, like one that acts like a syringe and injects the water into a soft target after piercing, or one that shatters on impact and coats them in necrotic water."

"So I need to change the consistency of the ice." I said.

"I can help you with that. It comes down to the amount of mana you put into the ice but there are variations of the reinforcement spell." Helena explained. "Which you would know if you spent more time working on your water affinity."

"That's why I have a talented ice mage as my girlfriend, so I can spend more time necromancing." I replied.

Helena grinned mischievously. Then I heard something behind me and spun around while summoning a protective disk of ice. It formed in time and a fully grown Nyx collided with the shield, but her momentum was enough to knock me down. I landed on the floor, trapped underneath a smug looking feline who was licking the ice shield between us.

"To make things more interesting we can mix in some surprise defense training while I show you how to improve your ice magic." Helena said.

"Still better than clothes shopping…" I muttered.

Meanwhile Hatsumi was training Rose in close quarters combat. Rose had a short training sword while Hatsumi had her blood claws. Hatsumi wasn't just faster and stronger, she also had more experience and it showed. Poor Rose was getting pummeled quite a bit.

After Nyx let me up again Helena showed me how to form a shattering ice dart.

"You want to make sure that the water gets splashed over your target once the dart shatters." Helena said. "So you have to make sure that the back part of your dart is a bit more solid. Ideally you will have a tube where the front breaks and the back stays whole, to prevent the water from splashing in the wrong direction. A bit like something Cassie called a directed explosion, although we won't have an actual explosion here."

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"Hm, a tube does make sense I guess." I said.

"You do want the front to be more rounded so it flies better. Actually you can create a tip which isn't for piercing but to shatter the front when it contacts something. If your cylinder opens a bit further away the water can splash over a larger area." Helena explained.

"So you want me to form a more complex ice shape, while also creating water and infusing that with death mana?" I asked.

"Yes." She replied. "I can help you with the ice shape first. Actually, we might be able to do some joint casting where I provide projectiles and you fill them. We could do that at a larger scale. What if we shattered something in the air above enemies?"

"I guess that might work against a tightly packed army but keep in mind that just a few drops of necrotic water aren't going to kill someone." I said.

"Sure but they will hurt, and enough of it will rot them from the outside. We do have to consider enemy mages though and their defences." Helena admitted. "Maybe I can open up by freezing an area and keeping them immobilized."

"A lot of Andy's would be nice, they could just spit at them. Like some form of magical archer." I suggested.

"First we need corpses for that. Maybe Daddy can send us some, we will see." Helena replied.

Helena showed me some runes and then we did a few joint castings. It was amazed how good Helena had become with ice magic. I was also ambushed a few more times from Nyx with mixed results. Nyx could be really sneaky if she wanted to be.

"You know, there is something else we should train." Hatsumi suggested during a short break. "Protecting Koyuki."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"In recent battles Rose has stuck close to you and you have Kyan. We should train attacks where the three of you work together." Hatsumi suggested.

So far Kyan hadn't participated in my ambush defence training but he was inside my sleeve. His head poked out at the front. "Ssssure."

"Great!" Hatsumi smiled. "I will be the attacker and try to get past Rose to stab you."

"Well, you are doomed Koyuki." Rose muttered.

"While you do that, can I borrow your shamans? I want to test my ice against their death magic and try to see how I can harden it against such attacks." Helena asked.

"Sure." I said. Then I readied myself for the new training.

Hatsumi was frightening. I couldn't match her speed and neither could Rose. Kyan, however, was very good at partially reinforcing my body. And, as it turned out, he was sort of a weapon too. His scales were rather tough and I could parry with my hand if the attack hit Kyan. I was reluctant to use my undead, my friend, in such a way but Kyan himself insisted it was a good idea.

All in all it was a rather exhausting but productive day. At dinner we were joined by Valeria again, who had returned from her shopping trip.

"People react weirdly if you have a goblin dullahan butler and two large wolves with you." Valeria concluded.

"And a cat, you had Yoru with you as well." I pointed out.

"No, the cat is really not the issue there." Valeria said. "Although a cat sitting on one of Garm's heads makes him look a bit more harmless."

"You know, I have underestimated scarfs." Garm's right head said. "While I don't need them against the cold, they can look rather fashionable. They can be a bit loose for combat though but I think they will do nicely in a friendly environment."

"He does look good with a scarf." Valeria confirmed.

I just nodded. I was happy that they had a fun day.