CH 217

Blue’s donation chapter (5/5)



“Oh, no, I’m sorry. I got carried away.”



She scratched her head and apologized.



This person, she doesn’t feel bad at all.



“Oh, please …… give me a break. I can’t take this every time I train.”



“I thought it would be the body that wouldn’t hold up and not clothes?”



She glanced at Igarashi, who had stepped out of the shadows.



“……!”



Igarashi’s face turned red.



She was wearing a jersey instead of her usual uniform.



When she entered the shadows, she was wearing a uniform, but now she had changed into a jersey.



I’m not going to tell you why …… for the sake of her honor.



“Well, all jokes aside, honestly, you have to get used to this level of pressure. If you can’t withstand this kind of pressure, you will not be able to fight with the advance team or the Six Kings.”



Rebel glanced at Ichinose, Rikka, and Nishino.



They were all shivering violently and had a stiff expression on their faces.



Even though I was able to control it a bit, it still seems difficult to endure.



“For now, the four of you will have to start by getting used to my pressure.”



“That’s right….. Huh? What about me then?”



“Of course, we will fight at the same time. You can’t afford to waste time.”



With a thump, Rebel tapped the ground with the tip of her heel.



She bent and stretched a few times to check her body, and then looked at me.



“Don’t die, Kazuto.”



The next thing I knew, she was gone.



“……!”



Out of reflex, I took out a kunai from my item box, which I had made with my ninja tool creation, and blocked her attack as she came up behind me.



“That’s a good response.”



“Guh ……!”



Before I knew it, she had a wand in her hand.　



It was the “Sage’s Staff” that she had given me before.



It’s the most powerful weapon with a lot of buffs to improve skills and status.



(It’s a sorcerer’s weapon, but if Rebel uses it, it’s literally exceptional.)



The air is heavy.



It’s hard to breathe.



I had to focus all my attention and concentrate only on the person in front of me.



The pressure is so overbearing that it makes me think that if I don’t move, I’ll be dead in no time.



……This is supposed to be training, right?



Are you sure you’re not trying to kill me?



“Of course I’m going to try to kill you, that’s how I trained.”



It’s as if she read my mind.



“Easy to read, easy to read. You’re easy to understand, Kazuto, really easy to understand.”



That’s exactly what the others told me. Am I that obvious?



She spun her wand around with one hand to flatten the kunai, and then tried to sweep me off my feet with the handle.



I reflexively try to avoid it.



“Yes, points deducted.”



“–?!”



In one fluid motion, Rebel closed the distance between us and I was hit hard in the jaw with the bottom of her palm.



“You are focusing too much on your weapon. Look at the overall movement of the opponent.”



Gwan! My mind was shaken.



Sh…it, I have to focus, I have to move my legs.



“The next thing you know…”



The next moment, Momo tried to use ‘shadows’ to block Rebel’s movement.



“Woof!”



“Wawn?!”



She easily tore off the ‘shadow’.



“It’s obvious. Considering the difference in status, there’s no way you can restrain me like this.”



She then tried to counter-attack Momo.



“–But, as expected of Momo-chan.”



She kicked the ground and distanced herself from us.



Why?



I managed to look at Momo through my unstable vision.



Then I noticed it.



I noticed that Momo’s body was glowing slightly.



“It was Kiki’s ‘reflection’. You expected that your shadows would be broken and I would be able to fight back, so you prepared for it in advance. ….Hey, Kazuto. Could it be that Momo-chan is smarter than you?”



“…… I can’t deny it.”



I’m not going to lie, I think Momo’s fighting sense is greater than mine.



She’s smart, she’s fluffy, and she’s really great, thank you.



“I’m not going to let you forget about me.”



And then, Sora’s tail slammed towards Rebel.



A cloud of dust rose in the air.



“Hahahahaha! Die! Die!”



Sora’s….. forgetting that this is a training exercise, right?



As if to relieve the frustration of that day, she continued to relentlessly beat Rebel.



And so, the aftermath of this rampage changed the landscape around us in the blink of an eye.



“Ah…..”



“Natsun! Get behind me! Nisshi! Hold on tight!”



“Ah, ahh…….”



When I glanced behind me, I saw Rikka-chan defensively guarding the two of them.



A horn of light appeared on her forehead, and her brown skin was decorated with geometric patterns.



It’s the unique skill of Rikka-chan, who has evolved into a demon.



I’m sure her fighting skills have increased dramatically, but her expression doesn’t look good.



It’s probably because she can sense the gap in their powers that cannot be covered easily.



Right now, this is all she can do to stay out of the way.



“This is good. Even if it’s only this much right now, that frustration will serve as a springboard for the future.”



“Whoa!?”



Before I knew it, Rebel had appeared next to me, and I was startled again.



“Wh, when did you–“



“No, you should have at least noticed that……”



She kicked the ground with a loud thud, flew up into the air, closed the distance between her and Sora, and swung her staff with a big swing.



“Eeee!”



“Kugaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”



With a resounding crack of air, she punched Sora as hard as she could.



“You’ve been eating a lot of hay, are you getting dull? Flamme would have easily dodged and countered this.”



“You dare to speak my husband’s nameeeeeee!”



She immediately got up and opened her mouth wide.



Oi, wait a minute.



You… no way… are you going to use your breath attack here?



I mean, if we stay here, we’ll be caught in the crossfire.



“You’ve become better at telepathy. You’re a little more fluent now.”



“Eat this! You damn–“



There was a flash of light, and the breath attack shot out of Sora’s mouth.



But just before that…



“Hey, there is a rock above you.”



Rebel created a huge rock above Sora’s head.



It fell straight down and hit Sora in the head.



“Ahh– Ah… Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!”



The rock forced Sora’s mouth shut and extinguished her breath.



She belched out a plume of black smoke and passed out.



“….She isn’t dead… is she?”



“Don’t worry, she’s fine. I think.”



Maybe, you…..



“The moment a dragon shoots its breath, its body goes rigid. So, at that moment, if you shut their mouth, they will self-destruct on their own. It’s a rather well known method in the other world.”



Ooh, I see…….



“However, if you misjudge the timing, you will be killed instantly instead. So if you are a low level, you will die if you try to copy it.”



“That’s scary. I don’t think I can copy that……”



“What are you talking about? You can do this easily, can’t you?”



“No, that’s impossible…..”



Rebel looked unconvinced when I shook my head.



“……? People in this country are strangely humble, aren’t they? Is it a virtue to act like you can’t do something you can do?”



“No, such a thing… does exist… maybe……”



Especially for working adults.



How should I put it, even though it is obvious that you can do it, there is an impression that you should not show it….. If you’re a little too good at something, you’re immediately called out for being a jerk.



Well, in my case, on the other hand, Chief Shimizu would often ask me, “Why can’t you do this after working here for three years?” I used to get angry with Chief Shimizu. She would ask me if I had a sense of responsibility for my work and if I kept making the same mistakes purposefully. ……Oh, I feel sad when I remember that.



“Well, whatever. You should at least understand your own strength…….”



“Huh?”



With a whoosh, Rebel appeared in front of me again.



My kunai clashed against her staff, I tried to entangle her legs in the shadows, but she dodged once again.



I dodged, ducked, and somehow managed to keep up with Rebel’s movements.



“Look how quickly you responded to my movements.”



“No, wait ――a minute, fast――”



Why does she have time to talk in this situation?



Her figure disappeared.



For a moment it was right beside me, and then behind me again.



I can barely keep up with her even with my skills in full effect.



“You look like you are struggling to keep up.”



“That’s… because… you’re too… fast!”



If I try to create a wall with item boxes and keep my distance, she will immediately circle around me and close the distance.



Even if I try to use the shadows to restrain her movements, she’ll quickly cut the shadows and, in the first place, she is too fast for me to land a hit on her.



And because she is always so close, Momo also can’t use her skills properly.



It’s not easy at all.



(How can I fight back…..?)



It’s not like it’s a …… battle manga where you can see your opponent’s movements clearly, so there’s no way I can react to her quickly.



Ichinose and the others can not follow the movement yet, and Igarashi, who is hiding in the shadows, is not the type to stand out in the open and fight.



Is there anything else we can do, anything at all?



“Look, think, think, think. You can still go faster.”



“Guh…..!”



I started thinking hard and searching for a clue to fight back.



≪Your proficiency has reached a certain level.≫



≪Concentration has been raised from LV8 to LV9.≫



≪Proficiency has reached a certain level.≫



≪Prediction has been raised from LV7 to LV8.≫



I heard the announcement of my skill upgrades.



I could finally relax my thoughts a little bit and think better.



“Your concentration has improved. And your movements have also improved. Come on, we are not done yet. There is still more to be done.”



“Ah, wait….. wait!”



“No waiting. Look, look, you’re still not moving fast enough! You should at least force me to use my magic skills by the end of the day. And I’ll also make you aware of your strengths and the extraordinary potential that lies within you.”



“……?”



No, isn’t that a little too high a hurdle?



I was so busy dealing with her relentless attacks that I couldn’t even attack her properly that day.



“Well, let’s stop here for today. Tomorrow we’ll push harder.”



“……….”



I couldn’t even reply properly, I fell directly to the ground.



If I do this every day…. won’t I die before the battle?



I thought like that while enjoying Momo’s fluffy hair.



……By the way, at the end of that day’s training, Igarashi had changed from her jersey to her casual clothes once again. For the sake of her honor, I will not tell you why.



Later that day, Fujita and Towada’s team also returned.



They were ragged and bruised, but no one was dead.



They had succeeded in defeating the Named monsters with their own strength.



They must have improved their level considerably.



Fujita and the others looked much more confident than before.



Ah but, Nijo’s crying and hugging dirtied my clothes.



Still, little by little, everyone was starting to build their strength.



We hunted monsters, raised our levels, and repeatedly fought with Rebel――……



And in the blink of an eye, time passed just like that.