Chapter 7
“You’ve decided to enter the dungeon, but you want to practice in real combat before that?”
“Yes.”
“Alright then.”
The knight nodded as if he understood after hearing my explanation.
“Understood, I’ll assist you as much as I can.”
‘Thank you.’
“A sloppy knight should consider this an honor.”
With confidence, the knight grabbed a wooden sword and headed to the sparring ground within the training grounds.
“First, go ahead and attack. I need to see your skills in action.”
“With this mace?”
“You want to hit me with that weapon?”
“Yes.”
‘Are you serious?’
“A sloppy knight—are you crazy?”
The translation might have made his words sound a bit harsh, but it wasn’t incorrect.
The knight was currently wearing the same cloth outfit he had on during training just a moment ago.
Honestly, one could almost consider him as wearing nothing at all.
If I swung that mace down on him without any armor, it would surely end in disaster.
His head would undoubtedly splatter like the wooden dolls I had been smashing.
Despite my bewilderment, the knight just smiled.
“Don’t worry, no matter how hard you hit me, I won’t get hurt. Just swing once.”
The knight confidently shrugged and told me to hit him.
Surely, a knight who had faced many battles wouldn’t be unaware of the dangers posed by a mace.
Was he genuinely confident he wouldn’t get hurt?
If we consider this from a game perspective, the knight should be just fine.
A knight from the count’s family is like a level 50 NPC in Soul Academy, while I’m currently a level 0 nobody.
It’s perfectly normal for someone not to be scared of a child, despite how desperately they might swing.
That was my thought process, but seeing a person in front of me made me hesitate.
The sensation of striking a wooden doll compared to hitting a person was entirely different.
Swinging a weapon at a person felt far more burdensome than I had anticipated.
“If you can’t even do this, it’ll be troublesome. You’ll need to kill actual living monsters once you enter the dungeon.”
I steeled my resolve at the knight’s words.
Right. I can’t be this scared.
Thinking about the scenarios in Soul Academy, I’ll have to face not just monsters but people as well, so I can’t hesitate over something like this.
If something truly seemed likely to go wrong, he wouldn’t even say something like that.
No matter how strong the knight might be, he’s still human and likely doesn’t want to be hurt.
I raised the mace.
The motion I had been practicing tirelessly for the past few days.
A move to swing the mace from above.
A head-smashing technique.
As I watched the mace move toward the knight, I felt completely certain that I had executed the technique perfectly.
However, that confidence shattered the moment the mace touched the knight’s skin.
It felt as if I had slammed into a massive rock.
No matter how desperately I swung, it felt more like I was hitting a rock that couldn’t be scratched at all.
In reality, the knight continued smiling, as if he hadn’t been hit, and it was my hand that ended up hurting.
“See? Nothing happened, right?”
‘Are you even human?’
“A sloppy knight—are you part monster?”
“That’s a bit much. I’m a pure human.”
Human? Really?
Are all the knights in Soul Academy like this?
Then how strong must Benedict, who commands those knights, be?!
…Next time he gets all creepy, maybe I’ll hold back a little longer.
“I was worried since you practiced alone, but your skills aren’t bad. Your mace-wielding is better than that of average soldiers.”
‘Really?’
“Hah, of course.”
There truly seems to be a difference between knowing the proficiency system and actually utilizing it, versus just training normally.
If a knight is saying it, it must hold some truth.
“But perhaps because you lack experience, it seems you hesitate a lot when attacking.”
That can’t be helped.
I’m merely an ordinary person from the modern world.
I’ve never harmed anyone with a weapon.
Of course, I’d hesitate.
“Keep attacking until you get used to it. But this time, I’ll also be attacking, so stay alert.”
‘Understood.’
“Go ahead and do as you please.”
I continued to attack as directed by the knight.
The mace, swung with all my might, sometimes hit, sometimes missed, but it posed no threat to the knight.
Dodging every which way! Oh really, how can I not land a single hit?
While I was lost in that thought, the knight suddenly swung his wooden sword.
The instant I saw that attack, my mind went completely blank.
What should I do?
I need to raise my shield!
I must move the shield to block it!
No sooner had I made that decision than a way to block the attack popped into my head.
Not just simply blocking with my shield, but inserting myself in the middle of the sword’s path, interrupting the attack while diminishing its power.
“Oh!”
Even the knight who had launched the attack couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration at my impressive movement.
I thought to myself this couldn’t just be due to my shield proficiency going up.
Sure, I had built up my proficiency while running, but it still wasn’t that high.
There’s no way I could pull off such an extraordinary move.
This must be the effect of a skill.
Surely the shield skill [Iron Wall] is providing a helpful effect.
I’m not certain why a skill that once reduced damage by 15% changed like this, but it’s the only guess I have.
“It’s much better than I expected.”
‘Indeed?’
“Hah, sloppy knight, what do you think of me? You don’t have much discernment, do you?”
“You still seem relaxed, so I’ll turn up the intensity a bit.”
Wait? No. Excuse me?!
I wasn’t the one who provoked you just now!
The Mesugaki skill translated that on its own, you know?!
This isn’t my fault! So, chill out!
Ugh!
Once again, I blocked the knight’s swung wooden sword with my shield.
I didn’t have a moment to think. I had to follow the instincts racing through my mind, or I couldn’t keep up with the sword’s speed.
Stop it!
Just stop it!
This isn’t sparring; it just feels like harassment!
Be honest with me!
You’ve been annoyed by my Mesugaki antics, haven’t you?!
You’re just letting it all out now!
Complaints began to build up but couldn’t escape my lips.
I was too busy struggling to block the knight’s swinging wooden sword to find the chance to voice my thoughts.
As the knight’s sword strikes grew fiercer, I ignored the instinct demanding my attention.
The shield lost its purpose, and without any obstacles, the sword flew straight toward me.
I got hit. At that realization, I closed my eyes without even realizing it, yet no shock followed.
As I slowly opened my eyes, I found the wooden sword halted right in front of me.
“You possess a talent for shield techniques. If this is your level while handling a shield for the first time, I can’t even fathom where you might reach with practice.”
The knight was definitely praising me with his words, but his eyes told a different story.
His assessing gaze clearly held a reprimand.
“However, it’s incredibly disappointing that you surrendered your defense and closed your eyes at the end. That was quite possibly the worst action you could take. If this had been a real battle, you would undoubtedly be dead.”
‘I’m sorry.’
“Hmph. And what do you expect me to do?”
I acknowledged this was fundamentally my fault and tried to apologize earnestly, but the Mesugaki skill had a different message to convey.
Even at a moment like this, I can’t just go saying I’m sorry?!
To my displeasure, the knight’s brows knitted slightly at my frustrated response.
“Let’s try again. Come.”
The knight’s training maintained a consistent intensity.
In other words, it was consistently tough.
There was no opportunity to swing the mace.
If I didn’t focus on moving the shield, I wouldn’t know when the sword would slip past it, meaning I had to concentrate all my senses on the shield.
Thanks to that, my shield proficiency was rapidly increasing, but I found it difficult to sense that with my body.
Each time I improved my shield movement, the knight only struck harder.
As I desperately blocked the increasingly violent wooden sword, I found myself completely exhausted after about thirty minutes.
It wasn’t that I had reached my physical limit.
Compared to my usual exhausting runs, this was nothing.
What truly tired me out was the knight’s unrelenting assault.
The strikes were so fast that they were nearly invisible, and if I missed even one, that sword would end up at my throat.
Even knowing he wouldn’t actually attack me, the aura of that sword was gnawing at my nerves moment by moment.
That’s because it contained a clear murderous intent, perceptible even to a novice like me.
I had a vague understanding of why the knight kept repeating such training.
He probably wants me to become accustomed to attacks.
He’s trying to help me respond without closing my eyes to any incoming strikes.
I had a dim idea of that, but I still couldn’t help but feel heated.
It felt like losing a bet with a friend, and for thirty minutes, I was left wondering whether to strike back or hold back.
I had every reason to feel irritated.
“Are you really giving up already?”
I won’t deny that it was beneficial training.
Thanks to it, my proficiency with the shield has undeniably improved.
Moreover, I’ve also grown accustomed to seeing you attack.
However, after continuously being on the receiving end, I began to feel an urge to land a hit of my own.
‘Are you seriously having a tough time, knight? Seriously saying something like giving up.’
“A sloppy knight, are you struggling? If it’s tough, you can just stop. If you’re a sloppy knight with less stamina than a girl, then—”
I laughed directly at the knight’s words, causing his expression to stiffen.
It was quite effective, given I had engaged with provocation in mind from the start.
This was a guy who never flinched at my words, yet here he was, his face hardening at such a trivial remark.
“I’m not struggling at all.”
‘Is that so? Well then, let’s do it again.’
“Then again! I have not given up, you sloppy knight!”
“Do as you please. I’ll accompany you until the end.”
The moment the knight made this firm declaration with a serious tone, I could feel strength surging within me.
Are you really angry?
Right?
You’re genuinely ticked off, aren’t you?
Otherwise, there’s no way the Mesugaki skill would activate like this.
The only buff it offers comes with a penalty; the angrier you get, the higher my stats rise.
I don’t even know how much they increase. I’m unsure if it’s a fixed value or a percentage.
I don’t know nearly enough about that Mesugaki skill.
But one thing I do know is this.
If I keep riling up this sloppy knight, my stats will increase even more, and the chances of landing a hit on him will be even greater.
Even if my physical stats improve, the difference between him and me remains overwhelming.
In terms of physical abilities. In terms of combat experience.
Thus, I must provoke him even more.
I need to make this sloppy knight lose sight of reason.
I have to maximize the effectiveness of the Mesugaki skill.
Who would have thought I’d express such sincerity?
Truly, you can never predict what will happen in this world.
“Sloppy Knight—tell me you’re not actually angry over what your lady just said, right?”
“No.”
“Sloppy~ A knight who talks back to their master is disqualified, you know?”
With each word I let slip from my mouth, I felt my body filling with more power.
The Mesugaki skill—the provocation effect is really no joke!
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