Volume 2 - CH 6

At the same time, Jade was on the Guild Headquarters training grounds—rather, he was supposed to be, and he certainly had been a mere moment ago, but the surrounding scenery suggested otherwise.

He was standing in an interior space supported by four pillars, which, although it had no visible walls, felt claustrophobic and gloomy, and the damp air that had been trapped inside for many years carried the distinct smell of ether. In all respects, it resembled the deepest recesses of a dungeon, the room where a powerful boss resided, commonly known as the boss room. And there, in the dim light, stood a three-headed, four-legged monster—a Cerberus.

No matter how often I see it, it’s just like the real thing.

As Jade looked up at the growling hound, he attentively readied his shield. Teeth bared, the beast looked as if it might pounce on him at any moment, and yet it just stood there, motionless as a statue. Indeed, if this were the real thing, it would have, but to his and his party’s good fortunes the beast standing before their eyes, as well as the room they were in, was nothing more than sensory information, a simulacrum constructed by a Pseudographic Construction Array—more commonly known as a hologram—a sort of projector developed by the Guild’s science team using a relic as a base.

‘Whenever you’re ready!’ Jade called, and at that moment the Cerberus lifted its head as if the fire of life had been kindled within.

A hologram. It would, perhaps, be more accurate to say that the Guild, instead of developing it, had succeeded in resurrecting a relic that could project sensory data into three-dimensional space. It consisted of a pair of crystals, one storing the information, the other projecting it in a lifelike image. The information it could store wasn’t limited to just the visual but encompassed all five senses, and even included the monster’s movement patterns, vocal patterns, body toughness, and their combat strength. Nobody knew what advanced technology the Ancestors used to produce such a relic, and it stood as testament to the insurmountable gap in capabilities between the two cultures.

I’m not surprised that they were able to make that Demon God.

Behind Jade, the rest of his party stood ready: Rururi, the white mage acting as the healer; Loewe, the black mage acting as the rearguard; and Sybil, a young man wielding a longsword, as their newly-welcomed vanguard. Fifteen years old, he was still green behind the ears, but to make up for his lack of experience he had a real sense for battle that had seen him slay monster after ferocious monster. He was an up-and-coming adventurer who had fast made a name for himself as a longswordsman.

‘Beguiling Light!’ Jade chanted, and the bare blade of his sword began to glow with illusive mana-light. All six of the hound’s eyes turned to Jade as he plunged the tip into the ground. ‘I took its aggro!’ Jade shouted. And with that, the battle commenced.

‘Activate skill: “Ironclad Guardian”!’ As Jade cast his signature skill, which increases the target object’s defence by hardening it, his shield was shrouded in crimson skill-light. The next moment, the Cerberus lunged at Jade with a speed unimaginable for such a huge body, swinging its sharp-clawed forepaw at him. Effortlessly parrying the attack with his shield, Jade watched the enemy with a wary eye.

A Cerberus. Said to be the watchdog of Hades, this powerful foe can trample any monster that stalks the A-rank dungeons, and its strength rivals that of a floor boss. Step too close and it unleashes a flurry of ferocious attacks with its muscular paws and sharp claws, or rain down a torrent of elemental magic from each of its heads. A devious fiend in both close- and ranged combat, it is nigh-on impossible to attack its weak spot. On top of that, it moves fast and leaves few gaps in its defence. Blunt attacks are rendered largely ineffective due to the thick fur covering its body, and only bladed weapons can effectively wound it. Yes, Sybil the longswordsman was a good match.

‘Ignis!’ Loewe chanted, swinging his wand and releasing a condensed ball of sorcerous flame, leaving a bright trail of light in its wake as it hurled towards the hound. The ball burst into a fiery bloom in front of the Cerberus’ rightmost head, causing it to recoil, just as he had planned.

‘Have at it!’ Leaving not a moment’s pause, Sybil circled to its right flank and, twisting at the waist, swung his longsword horizontally. The air hummed as the sharp blade struck the beast’s weak spot, slicing cleanly through one of its thick necks. ‘Eat shit! How was that!? Did you see!? Did you see what I just did!? I took its head off with one blow, one blow!’ the young warrior cried in delight as he temporarily fell back into position. Jade felt the corners of his mouth curl into a wry smile at his youthful naiveté.

Though it had to be said that his offensive power was worthy of boasting. Longswords are notorious weapons for their size and weight, requiring the wielder to use both arms and their entire musculature to control, and to hit a nimble opponent like the Cerberus at just the right time and in just the right spot was a tricky feat. The longsword may look like a simple weapon for meatheads, but its lethal ability is largely dependent on the wielder’s ability. As such, most would take a long time to cut off the head of a Cerberus, but the fact that Sybil did it in one stroke was a testament to his skill, and was worthy of Jade’s praise: ‘You did well, Sibyl. Keep up the good work.’

With all that said, it was here that the real fight began.

GAAAAAAA! The Cerberus roared loud at the loss of one of its heads.

‘Ugh!’ Sibyl charged the enemy as before, but this time his attack was evaded, and sharp claws grazed his arm. The wounded hound had gone into an agitated frenzy, nearly doubling its attack power and speed. Detecting a hit, the hologram projected a crack on his shoulder guard, and illusory blood gushed out and splattered on the ground. Of course, this was only a projection, and there was no real wound on his body. However—

‘Rururi!’ Jade’s command echoed through the pseudo-dungeon. Although their fight was a mere imitation of real combat, that didn’t mean they weren’t taking it seriously. ‘Heal!’ the little healer chanted a beat later, and the healing light shot from her wand struck sibyl’s shoulder.

Hmm? For a moment, Jade felt that something was not quite right. Rururi’s reaction was slow. Normally, she would’ve cast her spell before he’d even had a chance to command her. Is she not concentrating because this is training? No, Rururi isn’t like that. However, this wasn’t the time to ponder this feeling of incongruity.

‘Sibyl! Once it’s gone berserk, it won’t flinch so easily. Be on your guard!’

‘Roger!’ the longswordsman’s reply was spirited, but with the Cerberus running wild his attacks failed to land this time around. ‘Fuck! Why can’t I hit!’ With each miss, he grew more and more desperate, and his attacks and manoeuvres became sloppy, resulting in more and more virtual wounds. This was not a good trend, and at this rate, he was going to get hit with something big.

This was the major flaw of using a hologram to stage a mock battle. Though the system can simulate lifelike wounds, it is ultimately just visual information; there is no real pain, and it’s easy not to treat each injury with the gravity it warrants. As such, the tension of a real battle is lost.

What to do? Order Loewe to switch to a different type of magic? As Jade racked his brain, something—no, someone—suddenly descended from the ceiling.

‘Huh!?’

Descended? No, they were moving too fast for that. Like a bird of prey swooping down from the skies to catch their quarry, the person dove into the hologram at ferocious speed, and as they made impact, the room shook and the floor cracked. ‘Eh, the Executioner!?’ Sybil cried in fright as the figure clad from head to toe in a hooded cloak appeared violently before him. Although they were in the middle of fighting the Cerberus, the Executioner—rather, Alina in the guise of the Executioner—walked up to jade and, threateningly, said: ‘There’s something I want to know.’

‘Um… We’re kind of in the middle of something…’ Jade stammered, but his words were cut short:

GAAAAAAA! The berserk Cerberus howled at the sudden intruder.

‘What?’ Alina turned around in annoyance, finally noticing the the Cerberus’ presence. Confronted with a monster so strong it could rival an A-rank dungeon floor boss, she wasn’t fazed, however, and clucked her tongue instead. ‘Get out of my way.’

S—she’s… Sensing the threatening atmosphere, Jade knew. She’s furious!

‘Stop the training! Withdraw the Cerberus at o—’ Jade tried to warn the science team controlling the hologram, but it was too late. For the Cerberus, that was.

‘Activate skill: “Dia’s Ruin”’ Alina chanted softly and held out her arm. A white magic circle appeared beneath her feet. Dimly glowing particles gathered in her outstretched hand, and a giant silver warhammer emerged. Embellished with silver ornaments down to the smallest details, it was an object of great beauty, save for the part that was shaped like a sharpened pickax. No, it was a dangerous weapon with deadly intent. Alina grabbed its handle and faced the Cerberus. ‘Get out of my way, you mutt!!’ She shouted, likely venting her anger, and brought her hammer down on the beast’s head.

The poor thing couldn’t even yelp.

Instead, a strange creaking sound echoed through the pseudo-dungeon, and the scenery of the chilling boss room began to ripple precariously. As the Cerberus skidded across the floor, it suddenly froze. ‘U—unmeasurable!? It’s no good, the hologram’s collapsing—aah!’ came the panicked voices of the science team from outside the unstable projection.

Yikes.

Seconds later, the strange sound ceased, and the gloomy, claustrophobic scenery shattered along with the Cerberus, revealing the desolate training ground and the evening sky.

‘Eh? In one hit?’ sibyl muttered, lowering his sword. He looked at Alina (whom he didn’t know was Alina) with a blank expression, while she herself, having destroyed not only the Cerberus but even the hologram itself, looked somewhat baffled around the completely altered landscape. ‘And with a blunt weapon?’

Blunt weapons are virtually ineffective against the thick fur of the Cerberus. Warhammers and the like should be the least compatible against it, but, well, as with all things in life, compatibility doesn’t mean jack in the face of overwhelming force.

Jade hastily placed a hand on Sibyl’s shoulder, who stood dumbstruck, opening and closing his mouth like a fish on dry land. ‘Sibyl, your first attack was outstanding. Had we continued like that, we would’ve won. I’m sorry, but we’ll have to call the rest of today’s training—’

‘I—in one hit… Not a bladed weapon, a blunt weapon… in one hit?’ But Sybil couldn’t accept what had happened and staggered backwards, head in hands. ‘I thought I was so good for taking just one head…’

‘Ah, no, the Executioner’s strength is just beyond the limits of human ability, so don’t worry about it.’

‘God damn it!!!! I must become stronger!!’ Sybil cried and ran off into the distance.

‘Well, I expected as much.’ Jade watched the young man’s retreating back and scratched his cheek, powerless to stop him. He felt sorry for the vanguard. If, hypothetically, an overwhelmingly strong tank suddenly appeared before him and killed the enemy he had been struggling against in one fell swoop, he might not be able to keep a cool head either.

Incidentally, Sybil left the Blades a few days later, saying he was going to train. In the end, they still didn’t have a vanguard.