Now it was Sebastian’s turn to be asked about the Valour Skills by me.
It’s not like I did not try what Odeta had suggested, but it was clear that she got that skill instinctually after someone else taught her and it was difficult for both Tiara and myself to grasp her instructions.
Well… Tiara’s still trying to learn it through Odeta but I figured I might have better luck asking Sebastian instead after I was satisfied with groping Odeta’s abs.
Thus, I’m now in front of our Wrunch Butler about the skill while Odeta continued Tiara’s training.
“So Young Mistress wishes to learn Valour Skills?”
I nodded enthusiastically, “Yes, please! Is there a specific way of doing so?”
“Hmm… That would depend on the skill that Young Mistress wishes to learn. Is there one in particular that Young Mistress has in mind?”
“Umm… I don’t actually have one in mind. What skill would be good to start with?”
Sebastian gestured back to the mansion, suggesting that we should return inside first.
I followed beside him as he continued, “Normally speaking… For anyone just starting to learn such skills, I would recommend that one start with the basic Valour Skills first.”
“Ohhh~ Like what?”
“Something like Strength Boost, Agility Boost, Defense Boost or even Ability Boost might be a good start.”
“How do you get them?”
“Hmm… Under normal circumstances, one would just need to train your body and push your limits constantly to get the skills. Which brings a slight problem…”
“Eh? What problem?”
He led the way towards the staircase that led down towards the training room. And no, it wasn’t the kinky training room but the actual proper training room.
“The problem is that Young Mistress’s training routine should have easily allowed you to gain at least three of those Valour Skills I had mentioned earlier. We had all been under the impression that Young Mistress was able to use them so it was quite a surprise for us to know that this was not the case. Miss Odeta had gained all those skills due to this training regime.”
Eh? Wait… Really?
You’re telling me that those push-ups, sit-ups, squats and running were already supposed to help me gain Valour Skills?
Doesn’t that mean Mother had been training me for it since the very beginning? I guess she wasn’t just playing around back when she said she would make me stronger.
“In that case… Why haven’t I learned any of the skills yet?”
“That is the question we are facing now, Young Mistress. One usually obtains those Valour Skills because you have reached your limits multiple times and continuously pushed against them. I am sure Young Mistress has also reached that stage multiple times where you have to keep pushing yourself to surpass a physical limit and go beyond, haven’t you?”
“That’s right!”
“Hmm… Then this is indeed quite odd…”
Ehhhh… Don’t tell me this is like the [Screened] thing where I won’t be able to get it unless I’m aware of it?
He went towards one side of the training room to pull out several heavy looking weights.
“I believe you have used these yourself a few times before, Mistress?” He asked, holding one of the hundred kilograms or two hundred and twenty pounds weight up with a single hand.
I nodded, remembering how I had to resort to using weights to do my daily exercises since it started getting harder and harder to feel any strain while doing it anymore.
Like a ten kilometre run wouldn’t even be touching that ‘limit’ of mine anymore so I just strap on a bunch of the magic weights that could change how much they weigh on me before doing my exercises.
Sebastian looked at the weight in his hand before tossing it aside, “How often has Young Mistress increased the weights during your training?”
I shrugged, “Pretty much every other time?”
When I uttered those words, I was definitely not expecting Sebastian to look at me in surprise.
“Young Mistress has been increasing your weight constantly every time?”
I blinked at his surprise, “Yes?”
“Are you not fatigued? No… That’s not something normal… Unless you’re saying that your limits are constantly being increased all the time?”
Ah… Ok… I think I know the problem now…
The boon [Machine Learning] is helping me adapt to my physical training which leads to increasing my physical limits every time I train.
And since my stats keep increasing, I never actually hit the same limit multiple times to push it which was the base requirement to get a Valour Skill…
Oh damn… Does that mean that by picking this boon, I effectively locked myself out from getting any Valour Skills? That can’t be true, can it?
Wait, how about those attack types of Valour Skills? Those can’t be achieved through reaching some kind of physical limit right?
“How would one learn a skill like [Threefold Multi Slash]?” I asked.
Sebastian reached out and picked up one of the swords that was hung up on the weapon racks inside the training room, “For a skill like that, you simply need to practise the skill repeatedly until it becomes natural for you.”
He then moved towards a straw-stuffed target and adopted a combat stance.
He first swung his sword out in four consecutive slashes at a normal speed that I could see. He then did the same thing again, this time just a little bit faster.
He repeated that motion a few more times, each one being faster than the last one.
That was when he suddenly stopped and then only slashed his sword once before three more invisible blades flew out to strike at the stuffed dummy, leaving three clean cuts on the target.
So… In other words, I just need to keep doing an attack multiple times until I get used to it and it will turn into a skill?𝑂𝑽𝔩xt.𝕔𝓞𝑀
Oh! This means [Machine Learning] would actually be a great bonus to learning this! This is perfect!
“So to learn that [Threefold Multi Slash] skill, I just need to keep slashing the sword four times quickly until I reach the threshold needed to gain the skill?” I asked.
Sebastian nodded, “That is more or less correct. The Valour Skill [Threefold Multi Slash] is a skill where one would seemingly strike at something with a single swing but in reality, there would be three more swings of the sword that would follow the first strike.”
“Oh, so it’s not actually summoning invisible blades but you’re just making three more attacks blindingly quickly?”
“That is correct, Young Mistress.”
“Hmm… So doesn’t that mean if my eyes are good enough, I would be able to see you making those three extra strikes?”
“You would indeed, Young Mistress. I believe you already saw through the weakness of such a skill where it would not work against someone with good instincts or faster movement through Katsuki’s fight with that ruffian. Valour Skills are, at the end of the day, just physical attacks that have a little bit of magic imbued within them.”
I blinked at the Combat Butler.
“Wait… They have magic?”
“Yes, Young Mistress. They are skills that still require some mana to function so if you were to run out of it, you most likely will not be able to use any of your Valour Skills.”
“‘Most likely’?”
The Wrunch grinned, “If you are strong enough, even your normal skills would be equivalent to a Valour Skill.”
He then moved his hand slightly.
A second passed and the target was cut ten times before it fell into a pile on the ground.
Going by what he said, he did not use a Valour Skill to do that…
Damn, those stats of his were not just for show.
“But… If Valour Skills are just skills that you have gained and are able to do on your own… Why would it become a skill? If I got the multi slash skill from being able to slash multiple times proficiently, can’t I just do that instead of using it as a skill and consuming my mana?”
“Hahaha! Young Mistress is already asking the questions that would only be heard in advanced classes! As expected of our Young Mistress!”
I had to cover my face to hide my embarrassment.
He continued, “Hahaha! If Young Mistress would like to know, this is because using it as a skill not only puts less strain on your body to accomplish, using it as a Valour Skill would push it further than your physical limit would normally allow. So a Valour Skill like [Threefold Multi Slash] would hit harder and faster than if you were to attack four times in quick succession without the skill.”
Ah, so it’s like some kind of automatic attack enhancement or something like that? Or maybe you can just see it as an enhanced form of muscle memory?
“Is there a progression to these kinds of skills? Do I need to learn [Threefold Multi Slash] before I can learn [Fourfold Multi Slash]?” I asked.
Sebastian tapped his chin with a finger, “Hmm… Had someone else asked me this question I would have immediately said yes. But if it’s Young Mistress… I think you could even just go straight to trying [Sixfold Multi Slash] right from the start.”
“Eh? Why is it only because it’s me?”
“Hahaha! If someone were to want to obtain [Sixfold Multi Slash], they would need to be able to strike seven times consecutively at the appropriate speed. And if they can’t do it with four, then they most likely can’t do it with seven. But Young Mistress has already trained yourself to be beyond that right? It should be easy for you to just obtain that from the start.”
Ah… So it’s normally like a step by step improvement thing. Even if one were looking to try and get the higher Valour Skills, they would be training themselves to reach it which would unlock the lower level Valour Skills anyway.
But for me, I should already be able to do seven consecutive slashes quickly.
Well, now that I know this, it’s time to get some Valour Skills!!