CH 24

I followed the man's lead to a training ground located at the back of the adventurer's guild.

There were wooden targets that resembled human figures for long-distance training and straw-like objects on the hard-packed soil.

There was also a square stage in the center of the training area that looked like a martial arts stage, which seemed to be the place where they mainly held mock fights.

The adventurers in the tavern were also following behind me as if they were curious about the match-up between me and Lovelace. You...... tagalong scum.

“We'll have a mock battle here. I'm going to teach your body what happens when you anger this D-rank adventurer, Lovelace-sama!”

As he said this, his ugly face turned into an even uglier grin, and I frowned inwardly but managed not to show it.

It was time for me to do what I do best. Well, it looked like the negative campaign was going to happen again.

The rules of the mock battle were very simple. You lost if you declared yourself defeated or if you were deemed unable to continue.

It seemed that Marian would be the referee, and she dashingly positioned herself at a certain position on the stage.

“Then, please fight each other fair and square.”

Both Lovelace and I nodded at her words and kept a certain distance from each other. Once the distance between us was established, I appraised my opponent's ability to get a good look at Lovelace.

[Name]: Lovelace

[Age]: twenty-eight years old

[Gender]: Male

[Race]: Human

[Occupation]: Adventurer (D rank)

Physical strength: 500

Magic power: 200

Strength: D+

Endurance: D

Agility: E

Dexterity: F

Mental Strength: D

Resistance: D-

Luck: F-

[Skills]: Swordsmanship Lv2, Martial Arts Lv2

(Hmm, that's a little low. You are going to fight me with this level of ability?)

I couldn't help but look twice at the results of the appraisal because of how low his abilities were. But it seemed that I hadn't misjudged him and that this was the full extent of his abilities.

I also checked the other adventurers, but none of them were particularly special and were at best on the same level as ordinary soldiers. Except for one person.......

It was at this moment that I was wondering what I should do now that I knew what he was capable of when Lovelace threw me something. It seemed to be a wooden sword for training.

“Hmmm, a weak, unskilled, loudmouth naive like you, using my bare hands is enough. Ora, bring it on!”

(How stupid can you be if you don't even use a wooden sword......)

I looked at him with disgust, not because of his ability, but because of his lack of manners as a person. He didn't understand the purpose of my gaze, and instead was flailing his thick arms around.

I sighed loud and clear so that Lovelace could hear me, and languidly picked up my wooden sword and took a basic sword stance.

“Oh, he's got a good stance.”

“But he's going up against that Lovelace. There's no way he can win.”

“The kid's dead.”

The adventurers around me were talking about me, but I didn't react and waited for the signal to start the match. At the same time, I manipulated the magic that was circulating in my body and temporarily blocked the magic that strengthened my body.

“Are you two ready? Then…let's begin!”

As Marian signaled the start of the match, Lovelace came rushing towards...... or not.

I predicted that the muscle brain types would rush in with all their might, but I was wrong.

Perhaps he thought I was checking up on him for not charging into him, but in a flustered manner, Lovelace provoked me.

“What's the matter? I give you the first move. Come at me quickly. Or have you just gotten scared now --- Oh?”

(It can't be helped then. I should be the one to make the first move here.)

Thinking that I would be wasting my time if I waited any longer, I kicked the ground and approached Lovelace while being careful of the person who was watching me.

“Oops. Whoa. You seem to know a little bit about swordsmanship, don't you? Come on, keep it going!”

Now, I should take your word for it and attack.

As Lovelace had said, I attacked him with my wooden sword. I unleashed basic sword techniques such as slashing, thrusting, and horizontal strikes, but Lovelace dodged them all.

He continued to defend himself for a while, but when I started to act like I was out of breath, he turned his defensive stance into an attack.

"Now it's my turn. Take this, you little b****rd!"

"Guha"

The fist that Lovelace threw hit me clean in my solar plexus. He threw me into the air and slammed me to the ground.

When he sensed that I wasn't going to get up, he grabbed me by the chest and forced me to stand up.

He cursed at me with an ugly look of superiority on his face.

“You little brat, you don't know anything about the world. Don't get carried away!”

“Ugh.”

Another fist slammed into my face, and I fell to the ground again. D*mn…. I want to fight back, but I have to be patient here. Patience.

“That's enough, Lovelace-san!”

“What? What are you talking about? This is about to get interesting, isn't it?”

Without listening to her words, he approached me, grabbed me by the chest, and lifted me up again. Then, in that state, he punched me as if to torture me.

Each fist pierced my face, chest, and stomach, transmitting the impact and converting it into a signal of pain.

Marian's screeching voice rang out as if she thought that I would be tortured to death if he continued.

“Enough of this! Lovelace-san, if you continue like this, I'll have to revoke your adventurer's license!”

“Tsk. Hey, kid. If you have learned your lesson, never get carried away again. If you want to live as long as possible!”

He then tossed me aside like I was a piece of trash. After witnessing this, Lovelace snorted and left the training grounds.

The other adventurers who had watched the two men settle their differences followed Lovelace as if they had lost interest. That adventurer also did the same.......

“Are you okay!? Rolando-san! Stay with me, stay with me!”

“I'll go get the healer!”

On the other hand, Marian, mistakenly thinking that the worst had happened, ran up to me and shook my body to check on my safety.

In the back of my mind, I wonder if it would be considered appropriate to shake a person who could be seriously injured, but for the time being, I was at her mercy.

Nicole was not pleased with the situation and ran off to call the guild's resident healer to treat my injuries.

(Everyone's gone......)

As soon as the other adventurers and the person I had been keeping an eye on were far away, I activated my body-strengthening magic and healing magic of water magic without chanting, healing my wounds in the blink of an eye and fully restoring them to their original state.

The healing of the wounds on my body was now complete.

In all likelihood, though, none of the wounds were caused by Lovelace, but rather by his own body being slammed into the ground......

“Rolando-san! Rolando-san!”

“......What is it? It's been really noisy for a while.”

“Ehh?”

The voice calling out for me was loud, so I answered it and Marian made a strange noise as if she didn't expect me to reply back.

In the meantime, Nicole brought in a healer. He seemed to be a middle-aged man in his forties, with no distinguishing features.

“I've brought him here. Huh?”

“I'm sorry, but I don't need to be healed.”

“Nicole-chan, is he the one that needs to be healed?”

I spread my hands out as if I didn't need to be healed. The healer saw this and cornered Nicole. His face was smiling, but he seemed to be angry because he had the same negative aura as Marian earlier showed.

As a follow-up to Nicole, I explained to the healer that it wasn't really a big deal even though I got hit pretty hard, and asked him to go back to his post.

Now that the trouble was over, I decided that I would get the money for the herbs tomorrow, and told Marian and the others that I was leaving.

“Rolando-san, who exactly are you?”

“You don't need to know that.”

In response to Marian's question, I left the training grounds through the back door, leaving behind some meaningful words. Because I knew that Lovelace would still be in the tavern when I came out the front.