Editing Unlimited Fafnir:Brynhildr Valkyries Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 5===

"Fictional... armament?"

—It was the first practical lesson. Changed into gym clothes, I was at an underground training site, tilting my head in puzzlement at the unfamiliar term.

"Indeed. As implied by its name, it is an fictional weapon formed using dark matter, pictured using your imagination. However, refrain from transmutation. All you are doing is shaping the dark matter to give it form."

Dressed in gym clothes, Lisa-san explained while generating dark matter in her right hand.

"Mumumu..."

Lisa-san closed her eyes and murmured while frowning. Next, the dark matter turned long and slender, taking on a spear-like shape.

"L-Like that. Keeping it in the form of dark matter is harder than imagined."

"Lisa-san, you are so amazing!"

Impressed, I exclaimed. On the side, Firill-san patted me on the shoulder.

"...Mitsuki, don't use Lisa as your role model. Look, the dark matter's form has not settled at all, has it? It will soon vanish."

Just as she pointed out, the spear-shaped fictional armament in Lisa-san's hand turned into bubbles and disappeared.

"I-I normally can do better!"

Looking at Lisa-san, who had gone red, Firill-san began to sigh.

"Sigh... Lisa is trying too hard again."

"I am not trying too hard..."

"By the way, we are supposed to doing warm-up exercises first. Haruka-san will be mad if you casually demonstrate poor models."

Saying that, Firill-san looked towards the control room. Inside the room behind glass, Haruka-san seemed to be saying something to Midgard's staff.

"Hmph... I could do better once I've decided on a name for my fictional armament..."

"A name?"

I looked questioningly at Lisa-san, who was murmuring in chagrin.

"Naming a fictional armament is necessary to give it a well-defined image. However, giving it the name of something that actually exists would end up restricting your imagination, possibly materializing it. Hence, it is customary to pick names from legendary weapons..."

"Lisa can't think of a name."

Firill-san interrupted Lisa-san and shrugged.

"Because... I am pretty much unversed in that area."

Lisa spoke quietly with regret.

"Then Firill-san, have you already named your fictional armament?"

Curious, I tried asking.

"...Yes. My fictional armament is called the Necronomicon."

"Oh, I have heard of that! It is the name of a legendary grimoire!"

"Correct, Mitsuki... Are you familiar with this kind of topic?"

Firill-san looked at me, somewhat surprised."

"Yes. They appear often in anime and games. I am also interested in myths from around the world."

I nodded slightly proudly.

"Ah... Do you want to name Lisa's spear?"

"Eh!? Me?"

"Yes, because she won't be able to decide at this rate. Is this okay, Lisa?"

After Firill-san asked, Lisa-san made a complicated expression.

"W-Well... I suppose I could consider it as a candidate if it has a nice ring to it."

"In that case—Hmm... Lisa-san, the fictional armament just now was a spear, is that right?"

I thought of names while confirming with Lisa.

"Yes, indeed. Of various skills I have studied, techniques of the spear have been my preference."

"Then... How about Gungnir? It is the legendary spear held by Odin, the supreme god in Norse mythology."

I suggested the first name that came to mind with the mention of spears.

"T-That does feel very powerful. Gungnir... I don't dislike the sound of that."

"You like it, Lisa?"

When Firill-san asked, Lisa-san nodded hesitantly.

"Well... Umm, I believe it is a noble name that befits me."

Hearing this reply, Firill made a thumbs-up sign to me.

"Great, Mitsuki. Lisa likes it very much."

"I-I am honored!"

I could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. Seeing me react that way, Lisa shyly avoided eye contact.

"A-Anyway, I will simply add it to the list of candidates! B-But... Thank you."

"Yes!"

I felt excited that relations were improving between Lisa and me.

"Lisa Highwalker, Firill Crest and Mononobe Mitsuki, the practical lesson is about to begin."

After talking to the staff, Haruka-san came over.

"I am the one in charge of instruction. First, I will explain to Mononobe Mitsuki, the newcomer, about fictional armaments—"

"Oh, Lisa went ahead and explained it on her own already."

Firill raised her hand and reported.

"H-Hold on, Firill-san!"

Lisa cried out frantically. Haruka-san ignored them and continued.

"Fufu, I see. Then let the training begin. Watch carefully, Mononobe Mitsuki."

Saying that, Haruka-san raised her right hand overhead. Then a black sphere—dark matter—appeared.

"Ama no Murakumo."

Haruka-san spoke sharply. Then the dark matter's outline began to shake, narrow and lengthen, stretching out.

I initially thought it would be a spear, but it was not.

It was a massive sword almost reaching Haruka-san's height. The blade glowed with faint violet light.

Compared to Lisa-san's fictional armament earlier, the level of perfection was on a completely different league. The outline was so stable that it seemed completely materialized to me.

"This is my fictional armament, imagined as a sword. If you perform transmutation while imagining the weapon being swung, powerful attacks will naturally be achieved."

Holding her fictional armament of a sword, Haruka-san glanced at the control room.

A deep rumbling was heard in the training site. A black cube descended from the ceiling. It was... probably a block of iron.

"I will now use transmutation to slice that iron block."

"Slice...?"

She was separated from the iron block by dozens of meters. I tilted my head in puzzlement.

"Mononobe Mitsuki, it must be hard to imagine, right? Well, a picture is worth a thousand words. Why fictional armaments are necessary... I shall demonstrate to you in this attack."

Haruka-san wielded her fictional armament in a horizontal stance and looked at the iron block afar.

The air tensed up. I gulped. Lisa-san and Firill-san were also silent, seemingly intimidated by Haruka-san's powerful presence.

"First Sword—Water Flash."

Taking a great step, Haruka-san swung her sword. Although there was no scabbard, what she performed was precisely an iai technique.

A blue trail flew out from the fictional armament—This slash bifurcated the block of iron.

"What..."

Seeing the iron block split into two, I could not help but exclaim in shock.

"What I transmuted just now was water."

Haruka-san turned to me and began to explain what she had done.

"Using water... to slice iron?"

"Indeed, compressed to high-density, water can even slice iron. Well, adding the kinetic energy of a 'slashing attack' is necessary to achieve it."

Allowing the fictional armament in her hand to dissipate in the air, Haruka-san smiled.

"A slashing attack...

"Indeed—If you use a fictional armament to perform transmutation, you will subconsciously picture the use of the weapon, won't you? This subconscious aspect is crucial. By focusing on the transmutation, you will increase your attack speed. It is also possible to apply high-end variations in your attacks."

Finishing, Haruka-san patted me on the head.

"It would be best if you could find a fictional armament suited to you. Do you have any experience in martial arts?"

"Umm, I do not have any special..."

Although I felt embarrassed, I still had to answer honestly.

"You do not need to have trained properly. Since you are using a fictional armament, no skill is required. If you have no experience handling a weapon, you can also imagine 'magic' like Firill Crest—"

"Oh... If it is just a little bit, I have been exposed to archery at school before during experiential learning... B-But I never succeeded in striking the archery target with the arrow..."

I brought up what I suddenly remembered.

"Don't worry, that's good enough. Try a bow first."

"Understood. But... Why do we need this level of combat power?"

I nodded while I asked.

With Midgard under the protection of such an airtight defense system, I could not think of any occasion when fighting would be necessary.

"Hopes are currently placed on Ds as trump cards in battles against dragons."

"Trump cards in battles against dragons..."

I gasped and repeated Haruka-san's words.

"The phenomena caused by transmutation can easily surpass modern weapons. We have the potential to deliver humanity from dragon disasters. Consequently, I hope you will hone your skills."

"Y-Yes... I will work hard!"

So this was training for the purpose of fighting dragons...

While feeling shocked by this, I generated dark matter on my palm.

What flashed in my mind was the blue giant that had approached my home town—Hekatonkheir.

I had been powerless against it, which was why Nii-san had to take everything upon himself.

...If I went through training, would I be able to protect things?

Looking at the sphere of bottomless black, I asked myself mentally.

If I could become strong, to be able to fight... That could become additional power to help me meet Nii-san, I suppose?

—No idea.

But right now, all I could do was overcome what was right in front of me.

With such feelings, I began to alter the dark matter's shape.

I transformed its appearance to a weapon capable of opposing "a certain something" that had taken Nii-san away, as well as opposing dragons—