"All right. Whisper, covering fire!"
At Yustia's clear cry, the owl let out a sharp hoot.
Flutter—
With a beat of its white wings, it rose into the air.
From a movement that had looked like nothing more than the struggles of a cute little bird, invisible blades shot forth.
An eerie sound sliced through the air and brushed past my ear.
Pat!
My body reacted before I could think.
I twisted my upper body sharply and shifted my center of gravity.
Weaving—a motion I had repeated tens of thousands of times in training.
The trail of wind grazed past me by a hair's breadth.
Kwaang—!
A dull explosion erupted behind me.
When I turned my head, dust was rising from the reinforced floor behind the spot where I had been standing just moments ago.
It had enough force to crush a cement block.
"……."
I gulped down a dry swallow.
A chill ran down my spine.
If I had looked down on it as just a fist-sized bird, my neck might have ended up as ragged as that floor.
'Wow, this is… no joke.'
Cold sweat seeped into my palms.
I'd imagined something like fireworks just because it was magic, but this was no different from live ammunition.
"That's pretty strong, isn't it?"
I smiled, pretending to be relaxed, but my heart was pounding.
That small, cute ball of fluff was a lethal weapon.
"Pa-aht!"
Whisper flapped its wings and somersaulted in the air.
"Go! Circling maneuver!"
No sooner had Yustia given the command than it changed its trajectory.
"Kwaaang!"
I dodged by a hair this time as well, but the next attack came immediately after.
"Now! Chain strike!"
At Yustia's gesture, wind blades poured down like rain.
I could avoid one or two, but dodging every attack flying in from all directions was beyond me.
"Thud!"
In the end, one lump of wind I failed to avoid slammed into my side.
"Ugh!"
With a dull impact, my body was shoved sideways.
"……Huh?"
I blankly rubbed my side.
I had definitely taken a direct hit, but it didn't hurt.
No, to be precise, it felt like being struck once with a heavy cotton bat.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes. It hurts… less than I expected?"
When I answered with a bewildered look, she let out a small laugh.
"Of course. We're practicing, so why would I hit you with the intention of killing you? And if Mr. Taesan, a top-tier summoned beast, were to collapse after taking one skill from Wind Whisper, who is only an intermediate spirit…."
She playfully covered her mouth and added,
"At that point, I think I'd faint from shock."
Yustia's eyes curved into crescents.
'W-well, true. This is a body that's supposed to go toe-to-toe with dragons.'
I scratched the back of my head awkwardly.
Only then did the tension leave me, and a smile spread across my lips.
"Then may I counterattack this time?"
"Oh, I'm looking forward to it. Please go easy on me, Mr. Taesan."
Yustia winked and stepped back.
In the air, Whisper was still flapping its wings, glaring at me.
"Hoo."
I let out a short breath, replacing the air sunk deep in my lungs.
For an instant, my field of vision narrowed, and I had the illusion that time in the world had slowed.
Kwaang—!
The floor beneath my soles was pressed to its limit, creating an explosive recoil.
"Whisper! Ascend…!"
Yustia's eyes widened, and an urgent cry burst from her lips.
Even her dynamic vision couldn't follow it.
It was an instant.
My body had already reached the very nose of the owl floating in midair.
An overwhelming burst of speed that seemed to mock even gravity.
Whoosh—.
My hand tore through the wind and snatched at empty air.
"……!"
I saw bewilderment settle in the owl's eyes.
It didn't even have time to flap its wings.
A small, warm ball of fluff was caught in my grasp.
Afraid it might burst if I put strength into my hand, I held it carefully, as if handling a newborn baby.
Thump.
When I landed lightly on the floor, silence settled over the room.
Trapped in my hand, Whisper merely blinked meekly.
"This counts as catching it, right?"
I grinned at Yustia.
She stood there with her mouth hanging open, looking back and forth between me and the owl in my hand.
"……Wow."
A moment later, Yustia exclaimed and clapped her hands.
"That was truly… an absurd speed. I can't believe it even after seeing it with my own eyes."
Her eyes shone with wonder.
"As expected, Mr. Taesan, you're far more incredible than I thought."
Yustia approached me with a bright smile.
"Whisper, are you all right? You were really startled, weren't you?"
When she asked with concern, the owl in my hand went "Booo" and nodded.
It seemed even it had been cowed by my overwhelming strength.
"Now, please let it go, Mr. Taesan."
I opened my hand wide and released it.
Whisper hastily flew up and hid behind Yustia's shoulder.
"Haha, did I hold it too tightly?"
I apologized with an awkward laugh.
"No, on the contrary, I was impressed by your ability to control your strength. To subdue it so gently at that speed…."
Yustia looked genuinely moved.
"At this level, it would be more than enough in actual combat. No, not merely enough—you could crush the Academy with it."
Certainty filled her voice.
Even as Yustia continued to marvel, her gaze soon turned cool and composed again as she continued her explanation.
"But that is precisely where a summoner's role shines. Overturning the absolute difference in weight class between summoned beasts—that is the very reason support magic exists."
She showed the back of her hand and chanted a spell toward Wind Whisper.
"Now, please try once more. Catch it at the same speed as before."
"Hmm, understood. I won't go easy on you."
I nodded and took my stance.
This time, I planned to snatch it exactly the same way—no, a little faster than before.
Pat!
With the sound of kicking off the floor, my body shot forward in an instant.
My vision narrowed, and the target, that white clump of feathers, enlarged before my eyes.
An obvious trajectory, an obvious speed.
Snatching it would be child's play.
That was when—
"Acceleration, Wind Shield!"
The instant Yustia's short, clear chant struck my ears,
Flash—!
A blue light burst around Wind Whisper's body as if exploding.
Just as my hand was about to touch its feathers, a powerful resistance struck my palm, like the same poles of two magnets repelling each other.
"……?"
And then something unbelievable happened.
Swish—!
The owl's movement, which had looked like a still frame, suddenly became twice as fast.
Slipping out of my grasp by a hair's breadth, it performed a roll in midair and dove toward the back of my head.
"Huh?!"
Startled, I hurriedly turned my head, but it had already taken my blind spot.
Peck!
"Ow!"
A sharp sting pricked the crown of my head.
Wind Whisper pecked my head with its beak, then flew up in an annoyingly smug manner and landed on Yustia's shoulder.
"Wow… what was that just now?"
I rubbed my tingling crown and widened my eyes.
It had clearly been caught earlier, yet in an instant it had shown reactions that surpassed my speed.
"This is the power of support magic."
Yustia smiled triumphantly.
"I raised its instantaneous reaction speed with acceleration magic, and used a wind shield to subtly impede your approach. It used that momentary opening to counterattack successfully."
She tapped Wind Whisper's beak and praised it.
"When facing an opponent with overwhelming physical ability like you, Mr. Taesan, it's important to strike at their blind spots with irregular movements like this rather than challenging them head-on. No matter how strong the opponent is, the moment they let their guard down, you can land a fatal blow."
"Huh… So a summoner muttering things from the side isn't just for show."
I was genuinely impressed.
It wasn't simply like a trainer in a game shouting, Tackle!
Combat in this world was far more strategic and complicated than I had thought.
And it was fun.
"Wind, Acceleration!"
"Fire Weapon!"
"Mind Focus!"
After that, we stayed in the training hall for several hours straight.
The sound of wind bursting from Wind Whisper's wings, Yustia's chanting, and my rough breathing filled the wide space.
Sweat poured down like rain, but I couldn't stop.
My mind was clearer and more awake than ever.
"Haa… haa…."
When the training finally ended, I sprawled out on the floor spread-eagled.
"Good work, Mr. Taesan."
Yustia approached and handed me a towel.
Beads of sweat had gathered on her forehead as well.
"Thanks to you, I feel refreshed."
I caught my breath and sat up.
My whole body ached, but it was a pleasant pain.
The sensation of pushing myself to my limits, something I hadn't felt in a long time.
Since coming to this world, this was the most alive I had felt.
***
After returning to my lodgings and finishing a shower, I heard a knock.
"Come in."
The door opened, and Yurika poked her head in.
In her arms was a white ball of fluff—Wind Whisper.
"Huh? Is this the stable where summoned beasts rest?"
Yurika widened her eyes and looked around the room.
The mischievous smile on her lips made her intentions clear.
"Yurika, this is most certainly a 'guest room.'"
When I replied with a small laugh, she shrugged her shoulders, pretending to be surprised.
"Oh my, I'm sorry. I heard a fur-shedding beast and a human were sharing it, so I thought it was a stable. Whisper, say hello. He's your senior."
She grabbed Whisper's wing and forced it to greet me.
As if annoyed, it went "Booo."
"I heard today's training was amazing. The young lady came back grinning from ear to ear."
Yurika said as she sat on the edge of the bed.
"Well, it wasn't bad. That one was more useful than I expected, too."
"The young lady praised you so much, Mr. Taesan, I thought my ears were going to grow calluses."
"Hm, she's exaggerating."
I pretended to be indifferent, but I couldn't help the corners of my mouth from lifting slightly.
"So does that one really have to stay here? Should I put a birdcage in my room or something?"
I asked, looking at Whisper.
It was dozing off on Yurika's lap.
"Puahaha! Of course not. I was just teasing you. This one is a proper spirit too, so it needs to return to the spirit realm to rest. If it slept here, would it get any sleep with the sound of you snoring, Mr. Taesan?"