"You wanna learn? I'll teach you."
With the Evil God of Fiery Fortune kneeling on the ground and sincerely admitting defeat, the videotape officially rolled to its conclusion.
The old film from the Waifei Peninsula left the girls' hearts pounding, and they immediately gathered together, chattering excitedly. Andrew, who had pulled over a small sofa to sit behind them, watched with satisfaction.
He never expected to see kung fu again after coming to this world. Although it differed in many ways, it offered a unique and refreshing experience.
This sparked Andrew's interest in this world's unique tokusatsu show, Starlight Knight. He hadn't realized it before, but a new world meant a vast, unexplored ocean of content was waiting for him to discover.
"Ah, a classic old movie like this never gets boring, no matter how many times you watch it."
Belle, who had been dozing off earlier, had unknowingly squeezed in shortly after the new movie started, turning a sofa meant for two into a cramped seat for three.
"The kung fu shown in there... if I ever actually faced that palm technique that falls from the sky, I couldn't take it head-on. That move would be incredibly effective against an Ethereal!"
Anby, who was originally sharing the sofa with Andrew, was sitting on the other side, staring intently at the screen even after it had faded to black.
Seeing Anby's serious and earnest expression, it was clear she was taking the things in the movie as gospel.
"Anby, the things in movies are fictional; you can't take them seriously. Pure martial arts probably can't achieve that level of power."
"Oh, it's fictional?"
Anby blinked. Her mind, which had been furiously devising contingency plans for such an encounter, instantly short-circuited.
She turned to look at Andrew, her small mouth slightly agape. Her usual expressionless face was stoic, but now it just looked dazed.
"Hmph, I wouldn't be so sure about that!"
"Huh?!"
This time, it was Andrew's turn to be surprised. He was completely shocked. Could it be that this world actually had something like inner energy?
Seeing the curious gazes of both Andrew and Anby fixed on her, Belle didn't keep them in suspense.
"Before Old Eridu fell, Yunkui Summit on the Waifei Peninsula was famous for its mastery of martial arts, sorcery, talismans, formations, fortune-telling, and divination. Unfortunately, after Old Eridu fell, they haven't been heard from much. It's a shame, you used to see them around from time to time."
"So that kind of thing really exists? Even sorcery!"
After being a warrior for so many years, Andrew had always harbored the heart of a ranged mage.
Although from Belle's description, their skills sounded more like a Taoist priest's than a mage's, Andrew still held a deep admiration for any profession that could cast spells with a flick of the wrist.
A tachi paired with magic, one hand holding the blade and the other launching projectiles... that was so much cooler, and easier, than just being a melee fighter hacking away one slice at a time, only to get slammed into the ground the next moment if you misjudged an attack.
If it wasn't for the pursuit of looking cool, who would insist on using a tachi in the real world? Weren't the gunlance and charge blade awesome enough?
He chose the tachi precisely for its style. In the world of Monster Hunter, it was, in every aspect, the most stylish weapon.
Whether it was cheesy or not was another story.
Back then, wasn't the whole point of getting flattened all over the place by a Tempered Diablos just for that moment in a group hunt when you could casually stop a dragon charge with what looked like a toothpick, followed by three perfect Foresight Slashes into a red spirit gauge?
As a longsword main, there was nothing more satisfying than successfully landing a Helm Breaker on a monster's head while it wasn't knocked down.
But that was all predicated on actually landing it. If you missed, all you had left wasn't a red gauge, but a red-hot temper.
But if he learned sorcery, everything would be different.
He could just raise his hand for an instant-cast flash spell to create a stagger, bind the enemy, and then immediately draw his tachi for a brutal Helm Breaker. Missing a Helm Breaker would become a thing of the past!
Why bother bringing different traps and throwing items for different resistances? Unnecessary, completely unnecessary.
No, wait. What happened to being a ranged mage? How did his thoughts stray into becoming a berserker with one point in a flash spell?
Could it be that Gandalf is the ultimate destiny for all mages?
But it made sense. He could totally pretend to be a ranged caster with no melee capabilities at first, letting his opponent exhaust themselves trying to close the distance.
Then, his opponent would watch in despair as this master mage pulls out something bigger than theirs (the tachi, I mean). The look on their face would surely be an endless source of delight!
Thinking of such a wonderful future, Andrew couldn't help but let out a soft hum.
Even though Belle said Yunkui Summit had vanished since the fall of the old capital, Andrew mentally filed away the name, planning to check it out when he had time to see if he could learn some proper magic.
A glance at the time revealed it was already one in the morning. Realizing it was getting late, he decided the girls needed to rest.
Andrew stood up and clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. Once all the girls were looking at him, he made the announcement:
"Alright everyone, it's getting late, time to rest. You don't want to be too tired to watch more movies, do you?"
Seeing the girls still looking reluctantly at the TV screen, Andrew reassured them:
"Don't worry, the movies aren't going anywhere. We'll have plenty of time later, so let's save whatever else you want to watch for then."
Hearing this, the girls finally, and reluctantly, got up from their seats and headed upstairs to the beds that Belle and Wise had arranged.
Even combined, the siblings' rooms weren't particularly large. After setting up all the beds, both rooms were completely full, and they even had to put a few beds in the workshop.
In order to make enough space for the Silver Squad, plus Nicole who also decided to stay the night because it was so late, the shop's space was now almost completely occupied.
Discovering there was no room left for him in his own home, poor Wise could only go back with Andrew to squeeze into his room at the blacksmith shop.
Fortunately, while Andrew's room wasn't huge, there was more than enough space to add a mattress on the floor.
After arriving in Andrew's room, a covetous Wise reached out to touch the Blazing Light Tachi. No man could refuse a weapon that was so damn cool.
Unfortunately, he had tried many times before and couldn't lift it at all. Even using all his strength, he couldn't make the weapon budge even a little.
Otherwise, Wise would have absolutely asked Andrew to borrow it, strike a few poses for some epic photos, and then find an empty field to leave no blade of grass standing.
It was strange. His physical fitness had clearly improved a lot. Even if he couldn't wield the tachi, it shouldn't be so immovable that it wouldn't even tremble when he used all his might.
It was getting late. Unable to figure it out, Wise decided not to dwell on it and lay down on the floor mattress Andrew had prepared.
The fatigue from the long day washed over him instantly. The day had been a bit too eventful, leaving him mentally and physically exhausted.
With no energy left to think about anything else, he fell into a deep sleep the moment his head hit the pillow.
____
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