Chapter: 356
As I spent the second semester at the Soul Academy, the biggest lack I felt was the absence of proper combat experience.
You might say, “But how can you lack experience when you’ve been through a few battles?” But you see…
I’ve never once faced an equal opponent.
Before entering the academy, all I encountered were guys far stronger than me.
Even now, the monstrous knights that I can’t defeat focus more on teaching me than using all their tricks to win during duels.
Their teachings have helped me build my combat logic, but they didn’t help me develop the ability to engage in strategy during actual combat.
After entering the academy, the situation flipped completely, and now everyone around me is weaker than me.
Sure, Frey provided some sense of a weapon clash, but she didn’t pose a real threat.
Occasionally, events like Nakrad or Adri popped up, but they were way too strong compared to me.
It was impossible to deal with them conventionally. If I couldn’t endure, I was finished, so where was the strategy in that?
At that time, I was just desperately trying to survive, using the knowledge from the game to force my wins. I didn’t build meaningful combat experience at all.
Other fights were hardly different.
For me, combat was always about strong guys teaching me through clashing swords or trampling over those weaker than me. There was no room to be leisurely; I’d do anything to win, miraculously.
I had plenty of experiences of thrusting daggers into my opponents’ flaws, but barely any experiences of getting stabbed myself.
“If I had thought more seriously about this issue back when I faced that skeleton imitating Garad, I wouldn’t have lost to the Second Queen.”
Even when I fought the skeleton under the academy’s main building and got thwarted, I felt my lack of experience.
But I ignored my own problems, thinking other matters were more urgent.
It wasn’t that I was trying to ignore them.
I was busy facing the Evil God and being chased by the church’s inquisitor, then crafting dungeons. With endless tasks coming my way, I just kept pushing my concerns back until I forgot about them.
Thanks to that, I got totally wrecked by the Second Queen.
Looking back, it’s hilarious. I was so confident of my victory, and then in one blow, the match turned around.
“If you had just a few more months, the outcome would have been different.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
Realizing my lack once again, I pondered how to resolve it.
If it were just a matter of not having enough proficiency, specs, or being low level, I could’ve found a solution using my game knowledge, but this issue of combat experience…
“This can only be slowly built through real-world practice.”
“Can’t you just teach me a method? There’s got to be a secret for the Hero party!”
“I can tell you what to pay attention to, but it’s you who has to make the decisions in the blink of an eye during battles. If you can’t accumulate experience and unleash your skills, all advice will be meaningless.”
After discussing with Grandpa, the conclusion was that I had no choice but to go through many battles.
I need to face opponents who are on par with me or slightly stronger to get used to dueling strategies.
Arriving at this judgment, I decided to visit the arena of the Tersha Empire during this vacation.
That place, where numerous strong ones gather and fight desperately, was the best spot for accumulating real-world experience.
The Tersha Empire.
This barren land, burdened by the desert, was born out of countless wars.
The empire, as there was barely any land to farm or even a place for people to live, has survived by raiding grains and livestock from neighboring countries, and even after grabbing fertile land through countless wars, they never stopped invading their neighbors. It was as if war was their calling.
Thanks to this long history of warfare, the Tersha Empire revered personal strength to the extent that it directly correlated with one’s power and honor, more than any other nation.
The best place to feel this fanatic worship of strength was the empire’s arena.
In general, arenas are places where commoners or slaves are showcased while nobles laugh and enjoy, right?
But that’s not the case in the empire.
Here, the nobles would scornfully say, “Who do commoners think they are, trying to shine in the arena?”
Deprived of opportunities, the commoners would vow to one day stand in that honorable place while watching the nobles display their strength.
In such a crazy country, participants in the arena would stop at nothing to win unless it meant disgrace. They would do whatever it takes to achieve victory.
That’s why I chose the Tersha Empire’s arena as my training ground.
There couldn’t be a better place for accumulating combat experience.
…Plus, winning several times here could yield some sweet rewards.
Not that I particularly needed them now, but the instinct of being a “shoddy dog” couldn’t help but pursue maximum efficiency.
“No way! I can’t allow this! I won’t send you to that insane place, the Tersha Empire’s arena!”
However, the process of getting permission to head to the arena was rocky.
There was an unwavering opposition to throwing me among the empire’s lunatics.
At first, I thought if I threw a tantrum like before, they’d let me go, but this time was different.
Benedict firmly asserted,
“Papa, I hate you♡”
“I’ll never come back to this smelly room again,♡ and I won’t contact you through a crystal ball♡”
“As you wish, Papa, I’ll spend my whole life without saying a word to you♡”
Even amidst the relentless rebukes, he stood his ground.
His strong stance made me consider whether I should abandon efficiency and choose another means, but the nature of my sloppy instinct knew no compromise.
With the highest efficiency right before me, they wanted me to choose a second-best option?
I could never do that!
Even if I had to sneak out, I would definitely participate in the arena!
After making that resolve, I tried every way to persuade Benedict and came up with one clever idea.
What strips away a traveler’s cloak isn’t the cold storm, it’s the sun!
Benedict’s astonishment stemmed from only seeing my cold side.
If I showed warmth instead, surely he would melt!
“Oh, what a pity♡ I wanted to travel with Papa, but if Papa doesn’t want to go, there’s nothing I can do♡ I’m a good daughter so I’ll listen to Papa♡”
“…Travel? With me?”
“Oh~♡ What a shame~♡ I wanted to show Papa how I win, but if Papa doesn’t want to, it’s fine♡ I’ll just sulk in my room and mourn about Papa~♡”
“W-Wait a moment, Lucy.”
My prediction landed perfectly.
The doting father, Benedict, was enchanted by the mere mention of a journey with his daughter and accepted going to the arena.
“…Lucy, when did you get involved with the Newman family?”
After arriving in the Tersha Empire using the teleportation circle belonging to the Newman family, Benedict turned his head and stared blankly at the people from the Newman family who were bowing behind us before turning to me.
“It’s a secret.”
“Secret? It’s a daughter’s personal life that a foolish father doesn’t need to know.”
Explaining that I became a benefactor of the Newman family in exchange for saving a sick son was way too tedious.
I just knew I’d be bombarded with nagging. So, I decided to keep it secret.
Seeing Benedict realize he couldn’t press me, I preemptively jumped in before he could speak.
“Just in case…”
“Just in case, if you try to extract information from the sword, I will never forgive you.”
“…Lucy…”
“Haj! You too…”
“I won’t hesitate to cut you down the moment you blabber.”
“I’ll protect the secret with my life.”
Having reinforced that secret, I headed towards the arena with the dejected Benedict, the tight-lipped Karl, the bald knight following as a guard, and Erin.
As I walked through the streets, I noticed people glancing at Benedict and whispering among themselves.
If they were staring at me, I would’ve thought my favorability rating was going wild, but no, they were all fixated on Benedict.
“It’s because of the lord’s reputation.”
Did the bald knight catch onto my doubts? He spoke with prideful voice.
“It’s only natural that the people of the Tersha Empire, who worship strength, have an interest in the head of the family, who is always mentioned whenever they discuss the strongest on the continent.”
Thinking about Benedict’s transcendent strength, it made sense he would be popular in the empire.
It’s like if a famous celebrity suddenly appeared right in front of you.
“Wow! To think I can see Lord Allen in person!”
“Can I go up and talk to him?”
“I want to feel that calloused fist just once!”
“Don’t do that, you’ll end up in real trouble.”
“Why are you here? Don’t tell me you’re also participating in the arena?”
“…Hoping to participate in this round seems futile.”
“Well, you’ve got to try! Who knows! Maybe a miracle will happen and you can clash fists!”
As we moved further down the street, the commotion surrounding Benedict only grew larger.
Even I, who was already used to getting attention, felt a tingling sensation.
…If I’d known it would turn out like this, I should’ve just snuck away to come here. I came to gather combat experience, not to become a spectacle.
Fortunately, it was a relief that before the huge crowd could turn into an accident, a noble ruling the territory made his appearance.
He appeared with the weight of his family’s armed forces, dispersed the crowd, and then approached Benedict with a bright smile.
“Wow! Lord Allen! Who would have thought you’d really come here instead of just staying in the territory!”
“Lord Bardronel, I apologize for the inconvenience.”
“Haha! No worries! It’s my fault for not preparing properly despite having received prior notice!”
“However…”
“Never mind! More importantly, please introduce this beautiful young lady next to you!”
“This is my daughter, Lucy Allen. I thought you’d at least heard her name.”
“Of course! There’s mention of a new divine being born, who’s poised to bring glory to the kingdom, following the young lady of the Kent family. How could I not know her name?”
In the middle of his chatter, Bardronel twirled away from Benedict and beamed as he turned to me.
“Pleasure to meet you! Young Lady Allen! I’m Bardronel Adila! I’m the master of this territory!”
“Hello, I am Lucy Allen.”
“Hello, I’m the shoddy dog Count. I find your timid attitude of curling up that tail quite adorable.”
The moment my greeting translated to “Mesugaki” skill, Bardronel’s eyes glimmered with malice.
sigh Here we go again.
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