Facing Miwa Ashikaga's teasing, Asagiri Utsunomiya just shook his head and replied casually, "Just reading for fun."
"Whatever you say," Ashikawa Miwa nodded noncommittally and said in a flat tone, then added, "Anyway, as long as you get first place in your grade in the spring exams, I don't care about anything else."
Then, Miwa Ashikaga looked at Asuna Yuuki and Megumi Kato, pointed to the various wooden practice weapons placed on the rack beside them, and raised her chin as she said, "Pick whatever you want. Which one of you wants to go first?"
"This..."
"Um..."
Noticing that both Asuna Yuuki and Megumi Kato seemed a bit hesitant, Asagiri Utsunomiya, who was reading the sniper rifle component description and usage guide, casually said, "Don't worry. Don't let Ashikaga-sensei's appearance fool you with her thin gold-rimmed glasses and stern, middle-aged woman's look. But she is a direct descendant of the Ashikaga shogunate, has been practicing martial arts since childhood, and is a noble warrior who can serve as a member of the Shuchi'in Academy board of directors. You don't need to go easy on her."
"Okay." Since Asagiri Utsunomiya had said so, Asuna Yuuki also made up her mind. She walked to the weapon rack, took down a wooden sword similar in style to her Exorcist Longsword, then slowly walked in front of Miwa Ashikaga and said softly, "Ashikaga-sensei, please choose the weapon you want to use too."
"No need," Miwa Ashikaga replied first, then bent her legs slightly and clenched her left fist and placed it at her waist while extending her right hand forward. Her breathing was very steady as she assumed a stance.
"Talk about me using a weapon when you can actually touch me."
Hearing this, Asuna Yuuki couldn't help but frown. Although her overall physical ability wasn't as abnormal as Asagiri Utsunomiya's, after the last dungeon, having killed so many Ordinary and Special Infected, and being strengthened by her exclusive Talent, she was no longer someone ordinary people could compare to.
Her weaknesses were strength and defense, but these so-called weaknesses were only relative to her specialized speed and agility. Not to mention at the high school stage, even compared to adult men, she was much stronger.
Even if Miwa Ashikaga was from a noble warrior family and had practiced martial arts since childhood, it was impossible for her to win against herself empty-handed, right?
Asuna Yuuki had a strong competitive spirit. Seeing Miwa Ashikaga underestimate her like this, she couldn't help but frown, gripping the handle of the wooden sword tightly and saying, "Ashikaga-sensei, let's begin."
"Please."
The moment Ashikawa Miwa said the word 'Please', Asuna Yuuki's figure flashed and she rushed in front of former. Although the latter only held a wooden sword, it carried an unstoppable momentum as she thrust towards the former's left shoulder.
However, in the next second, Miwa Ashikaga seemed to have anticipated Asuna Yuuki's attack. Before the wooden sword in Asuna Yuuki's hand could even reach her, she slightly shifted her body to dodge, then used a hand chop to lightly tap Asuna Yuuki's head, who hadn't yet retracted her force and was slightly off balance.
"You are very fast," Miwa Ashikaga remarked.
Seeing Asuna Yuuki almost fall, Miwa Ashikaga reached out and grabbed her left wrist. After Asuna Yuuki stood firm again, she raised her hand and pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses and said in a flat tone, "But your attack trajectory is too obvious. Although your speed is very fast, it's precisely because you used all your strength that you couldn't change your move the moment I dodged, resulting in a fatal opening."
As she spoke, Ashikawa Miwa walked to the weapon rack, also took down a wooden sword, then looked at Asuna Yuuki and slowly said, "Weapons are an extension of the user, but the martial artist themselves is also a weapon. Judging by your movements, you seem to be skilled at wielding a sword with one hand, but during combat, this doesn't mean your left hand can be completely idle."
At this point, Miwa Ashikaga switched to holding the sword with her left hand, then performed a graceful flourish with her left hand.
"Even if you are using a one-handed sword, you must practice hard to become proficient with both hands."
Asuna Yuuki did not reply, but just nodded very seriously, firmly remembering Miwa Ashikaga's words. She had realized that there was indeed a reason why Asagiri Utsunomiya had found this Class 1-A homeroom teacher to give her and Megumi Kato special training.
Miwa Ashikaga's overall physical ability wasn't particularly outstanding; at the very least, compared to Asuna Yuuki, who had been strengthened by the rewards from the Survival Game, she was the one at a disadvantage in terms of physical abilities. However, Miwa Ashikaga's combat techniques, her ability to predict enemy movements, and how to lure enemies into revealing openings, these combat techniques and methods were several levels higher than Asuna Yuuki's.
"Haa..." Asuna Yuuki adjusted her breathing, her eyes showing a blazing competitive spirit. She gripped the sword handle again and looked directly into Miwa Ashikaga's eyes.
"Ashikaga-sensei, please continue."
"Oh?"
Noticing Asuna Yuuki's expression, Miwa Ashikaga's usually calm expression finally showed a slight change.
"Interesting. It seems you are indeed a talent that can be molded."
◆◇◈◇◆
Several hours later.
It was completely dark outside, and in the lit dojo, Asuna Yuuki and Megumi Kato were so exhausted they couldn't even stand up. They were just kneeling on the wooden floor, their hair and body soaked with sweat, and even their clothes felt incredibly heavy.
"*Huff, huff!*..." Asuna Yuuki tried to force herself to stand up again, using the wooden sword in her hand as support, but Miwa Ashikaga stopped her.
"Today's special training ends here. If you continue practicing, you will cause damage to your bodies due to excessive physical exhaustion."
Miwa Ashikaga looked at the two girls, Asuna Yuuki and Megumi Kato, her eyes showing admiration and praise.
Truly moldable talents.
Both Asuna Yuuki and Megumi Kato had excellent physical abilities.
Asuna Yuuki's strength lay in her extremely strong competitive spirit. Even when she couldn't touch Miwa Ashikaga at all when they first started practicing, she didn't give up and instead became more tenacious with each setback.
Megumi Kato's advantage was her stable emotions and mindset, and she was truly difficult to read. Miwa Ashikaga couldn't decipher what this girl was thinking from her facial expressions at all.
Ashikawa Miwa initially took time out of her busy schedule to give these two high school girls special training because of Asagiri Utsunomiya's request. She didn't think this kind of thing had any meaning at first, but now, her thinking had changed.
Giving special training to these two talented girls, Asuna Yuuki and Megumi Kato, was definitely not a pointless waste of time.
"Their special training for today is over for now."
Ashikawa Miwa looked at Asagiri Utsunomiya, who was leaning against the wall, and slowly said, "Next, it's your turn."
Asagiri Utsunomiya stood up, stretched his shoulders, and replied with a smile, "Is it finally my turn? I was starting to get a little bored waiting."
"Okay, let me get the things needed for special training first."
Ashikawa Miwa turned around and walked into the partition behind the dojo. When she came out again, Asuna Yuuki and Megumi Kato were both shocked by what she was holding.
"These are... guns?" Asuna Yuuki murmured in surprise.
Miwa Ashikaga held a black handgun in her left hand and a rifle with camouflage coating in her right hand, instantly changing from the image of a martial arts master to a reborn middle-aged female soldier king wearing gold-rimmed glasses.
Such modern weapons appearing in this ancient and solemn dojo, the style was completely wrong, wasn't it?!
Seemingly sensing the confusion of both Asuna Yuuki and Megumi Kato, Asagiri Utsunomiya, who was slowly walking into the center of the dojo, said with a light chuckle, "Don't worry, that gun isn't loaded with live rounds, but rubber bullets."
"This..." Asuna Yuuki's brows furrowed slightly, her voice filled with worry. "Could the special training you mentioned be fighting Ashikaga-sensei who's holding a gun? But with bare hands, it's impossible to win, right?"
Before Asagiri Utsunomiya could speak, Miwa Ashikaga said indifferently, "That's hard to say."
Miwa Ashikaga placed the camouflage-painted automatic rifle aside, then pulled back the slide of the pistol, released the safety, and looked at Asagiri Utsunomiya, who was about ten meters away, before slowly speaking.
"A martial artist must be prepared to face all weapons. Guns are also weapons. Using honed skills and experience to bridge the gap in weaponry is also one of the mandatory courses for a martial artist."
Asagiri Utsunomiya heard this, chuckled, and said, "You're almost fifty, how can you still have chuunibyou?"
Miwa Ashikaga raised her hand, pushed her gold-rimmed glasses, and slowly said, "I'm only thirty-eight this year, not almost fifty..."
Just as Miwa Ashikaga was halfway through her sentence, she saw Asagiri Utsunomiya suddenly charging towards where she was standing.
Without any hesitation, she immediately raised the gun in her hand, aimed the muzzle at Asagiri Utsunomiya, and pulled the trigger directly. At the same time, a smile couldn't help but appear on her usually serious face.
That's right, this is a warrior!
Using any means necessary, even so-called despicable sneak attacks, as long as victory can be achieved, as long as they can be the one standing at the end, it's worth it.
*Pew!*
The second before Miwa Ashikaga pulled the trigger, Asagiri Utsunomiya, who was sprinting, suddenly shifted slightly to the side. In the next second, a solid rubber bullet grazed his cheek and flew past him.
"Hmm? Good judgment."
Miwa Ashikaga narrowed her eyes slightly and commended, then immediately aimed at Asagiri Utsunomiya's chest, and pulled the trigger again.
This time, Asagiri Utsunomiya still dodged slightly, but the solid rubber bullet still hit him on his right chest near the shoulder.
*Pew!*
Just by looking at the scene of Asagiri Utsunomiya being hit by the rubber bullet, Asuna Yuuki and Megumi Kato both felt their chests start to ache faintly.
Just when they thought Asagiri Utsunomiya would stop there, they saw that he didn't stop at all, not even making any sound of pain, as if he felt no pain at all, and continued to charge towards Miwa Ashikaga.
Before Miwa Ashikaga could pull the trigger again, Asagiri Utsunomiya had already grabbed Miwa Ashikaga's wrist and said, "Ashikaga-sensei, you lost."