Chapter 690: Shield Technique Training (2)

“Hah, hah, hah….”

‘Kkeu, kkeureureu….’

-Pashashak.

With a final death cry, the last Rock Specter crumbled into stone fragments before my eyes.

This happened a full two hours after Hye-eun’s area taunt.

“I-It’s over… done.”

-Plopp.

“Haa, haa…. Good job, Taekyung-ah.”

Unlike me, who had truly collapsed onto the floor, utterly exhausted, Hye-eun was calmly catching her breath while still sweating.

“As expected, it was a display worthy of her skill, having risen to A+ class Hunter for years relying solely on her shield abilities.”

“What are your thoughts on fighting with only a shield in actual combat?”

“It feels… a little frustrating, more than I expected.”

“Taekyung, your attacks are always with a greatsword or fire magic. So, I figured you’d say that if you were just holding a shield.”

“Watching you handle it, Hye-eun, it looked really decisive and overwhelming, but it’s not quite like that.”

I thought greatswords weren’t that different from shields, given that their width and weight allowed for simultaneous offense and defense, but when it came down to fighting with only a shield, it turned out to be a weapon with entirely different characteristics and usage.

Even when attempting an attack with the same amount of force, the shield was overwhelmingly weaker compared to a greatsword.

Of course, personal proficiency and skill level likely played a role, but even considering those factors, the inherent characteristics of the weapon itself were designed that way.

Defense over offense. A weapon whose main purpose is buying time rather than directly killing monsters.

To inflict the same damage on monsters using such means, it naturally required more than double the strength, or even greater proficiency or skill.

The fact that she suddenly summoned Rock Specters in droves as soon as training began was probably because Hye-eun thought it was the fastest way to raise skill proficiency.

‘Thanks to that, my skill proficiency itself seems to have grown tremendously in a short period.’

‘If she had just handed me a shield and pushed me into the middle of the monsters, I probably wouldn’t have grown this much.’

However, this training wasn’t simply about pushing my bare body among monsters; it was cooperative combat where I entrusted my back to Hye-eun.

It was also an opportunity to learn Hye-eun’s skills, the most competent shield-bearer I know, up close and personal.

There was no training more effective for me to learn skill application in actual combat.

‘Even Hye-eun, who can summon all sorts of shields, fought with only one Scutum from start to finish.’

‘She probably judged that it would be difficult for me to learn the techniques if she fought with a different shield than the one I use.’

‘Or perhaps she was trying to show the limits of what could be done with just a Scutum.’

Actually, when we compared the number of fallen monsters before us after the battle, the Rock Specters fallen before Hye-eun were about twice as many.

Despite using the same weapon in the same position, the skill gap was starkly evident.

This level could be considered the difference in our abilities as shield-bearers right now.

“Thinking about you fighting with such a weapon for years, I truly respect you, Hye-eun-ah.”

“N-not really, it’s not like I deserve that much respect! It’s j-just that I’ve handled the weapon called a shield much more than you have, Taekyung, so I’m just used to it!”

“Still, taking down about twice as many with just a Scutum, just like me, means you have a high understanding of all shields, Hye-eun.”

“Well, if we’re talking specifically about shields, that’s not exactly wrong, but…”

Shields the size of a Scutum weren’t primary weapons by Hye-eun’s standards.

The two she used most in combat were the greatshield, nearly 2 meters tall, taller than her own height, or the wrist buckler specifically designed for offense.

While she might have used shields of intermediate size, like the Scutum, when needed, her proficiency with them would fall far short compared to her greatshield or buckler skills.

Hye-eun showed that she could handle even such a weapon with such skill.

If she can fight like that with just one infrequently used medium-sized shield, then her proficiency with the greatshield or buckler she usually shows goes without saying.

And her skill in handling various other types of shields must be at least comparable to the proficiency she showed with the Scutum today.

If it were shield versus shield, it would take quite a long time to surpass Hye-eun.

Of course, if you asked whether there was a need to surpass her specifically in shield techniques, given she’s both a colleague and lover, the answer was no.

“Have you gotten a bit used to Shield Stamp? Seeing you earlier, you seemed to be following along quite well.”

“…I just clumsily imitated it. To be honest, the actual power couldn’t even match half of yours.”

“Since it’s your first time using it, that’s pretty good. Personally, I don’t think it was bad. You just need to pay attention to scattering the energy onto the ground at the moment you slam it down?”

“Hmm….”

“Since you probably won’t understand properly if I just explain it verbally, I’ll show you properly this time.”

Along with those words, Hye-eun lifted the Scutum she was holding with both hands, concentrating and releasing her energy.

Purple energy flowed out from her body as if leaking, coating the Scutum in her hand.

Soon after, as the shield she held fell to the ground, a considerably loud earth-shaking sound resonated around them.

-Kugugugugugung!

For just slamming a single shield into the ground, the sound effect was unbelievably loud and resounding.

The majestic sound and its power were enough to make even me tense up for a moment, evoking the image of a Rock Specter charging by rolling on the ground.

“If you gather energy to the maximum into the shield in your hand and slam it down, you can achieve this much.”

“…I see.”

“Of course, it’s difficult to gather this much in actual combat. Monsters wouldn’t just let you stand there holding your shield and gathering energy, and besides, gathering to the maximum is less efficient in terms of power than you might think.”

“Less efficient?”

“Energy doesn’t just gather by trying to hold it still. Gathering enough energy to fill the shield completely means a lot of energy leaks out during the process.”

“Ah. Indeed, energy doesn’t stay contained forever just because you want it to.”

“Slamming it down as many times as possible with moderate power is a much more useful method in actual combat. For this Shield Stamp and other attacks, how much energy you gather and at what point you release it right before use determines your capability as a shield-bearer.”

“The operational method is definitely different compared to swinging a sword.”

Unlike swordsmanship, which starts with the swinging motion and then imbues it with as much energy as possible before slashing, this was a weapon with a completely different method of energy usage.

As a characteristic of a weapon that requires simultaneous offense and defense, it was natural that the difficulty would be different.

‘Definitely, I did well to ask Hye-eun to teach me about shields.’

Not only my capabilities as a shield-bearer, but also aspects I hadn’t grasped, she taught them meticulously – she was truly the best teacher.

…Well, to reach this point, I did have to defeat a storm-like horde of Rock Specters.

“And for techniques like Shield Uppercut, where defense temporarily weakens, you must use them carefully. Keep in mind there’s always someone behind the main tank, and always remember there are enemies targeting the moments when defense weakens. Also, Shield Bash and Shield Charge are techniques used differently depending on the situation…”

Besides that, I listened intently to Hye-eun’s lecture explaining the overall content of the techniques used in the training until the very end, paying close attention to learn her skills as much as possible.

After finishing her explanation, Hye-eun first collected the monster materials from the floor, then took her stance again, holding the Scutum.

“Now you understand how to handle it efficiently, right?”

“Yeah. Your explanation was good, Hye-eun, so I understood easily.”

“We’ve rested enough, too. So, shall we test whether you’ve truly understood correctly, Taekyung?”

“…Huh?”

“I’ve told you how to fight, so this time it will probably be much easier than before, Taekyung.”

“‘This time’? No way, are we going to do more today, here…?”

“…Aaaaaaaargh!!!!”

Before I could even finish my question, Hye-eun let out a shout to lure the monsters, just like when we first entered this dungeon.

-Kugugugugugugung!!

At the same time, numerous Rock Specters, making me wonder where they had been hiding, once again came rolling towards Hye-eun and me with a rumbling sound.

My body, which had relaxed for a moment due to the recent battle, had no choice but to force itself upright and quickly assume a stance.

“Just do as you learned earlier! You know the first attack is Shield Stamp, right?!”

“…Yeah, I know.”

After forcing my internal energy to circulate through my body, which had already lost energy in the previous battle, I gathered energy into the Scutum once more and prepared Shield Stamp.

In front of the horde of Rock Specters approaching me, I slammed the Scutum down with a strong vibration.

-Kwaaang!!

-Kwaaaang!!

The moment I slammed the shield onto the ground, Hye-eun’s Shield Stamp sound was heard from behind my back as well.

The two Shield Stamps, extending forward from our positions, resonated through the floor, shattering the bodies of the closest Rock Specters into pieces.

Seeing that, I gained confidence in my shield-handling skills and assumed my stance once more.

Right, being a little tired didn’t matter.

If only there was a chance to learn from a proper teacher, I could endure that much anytime.