Ossan Boukensha – 139

Chapter 139 – Example

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“Keep repeating it until you can move quickly!”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”

Rowar and Nenreko’s voices echoed in the small training ground I made behind my house.
In the first place, it was difficult to raise your skills by much in just one month. However, I had prepared some ‘tricks’ that might allow them to impress the guild worker.

I didn’t know how skilled this guild worker even was. But he was surely above me. And so they could not hope to win after a little training. It would be a mistake to make winning the goal. No, they just had to show that they could deal with bandits.
In other words, they had skills you would use against armed humans.

“Alright, that’s enough!”
“Hah…”
“Ha…”

The two were covered in sweat as they sat down. While they could probably keep going, I did not want to push them to their limits. After all, they would now have to help me with requests around the village. If possible, I wanted them to get to know everyone here.

As for what I was teaching them, it was one of the most basic forms. As Rowar used a sword and shield, I showed him two patterns to parry an opponent’s attack. And for Nenreko, who used a spear, I taught him a thrust that kept the enemy in check, while also giving you an opportunity to attack.
Additionally, there was a lot of advice to give in terms of how they held and swung their weapons. Their posture, etcetera. Repetition of every movement, until they had every form and series of moves down perfectly.

“Rest now and then wash up. We’ll eat and then go into the forest.”
“Ugh… I don’t know if I can pick up my sword…”
“My legs are shaking too much to stand…”
“We have some killer ants to hunt. I’ll deal with the monsters. You two can carry our belongings and guard my back.”
“Yes…”
“Aye…”

They sounded exhausted as they answered. The two were staying at the visitor’s hut. And so while they went to get changed, I prepared food for the three of us.

“It’s simple, but not bad.”

Rowar said as he ate the cooked meat and vegetables.

“Don’t expect great cooking from me. If you have complaints, you can make it yourself.”
“No, it’s quite good. Yes.”

I generally made the same, simple food all of the time. Still, I had been baking it for ten years… Of course, since I put little effort or time into it, I did not expect to acquire any kind of cooking skill.

I let the two clean up after the meal, and I put on my armor. We did not plan to go too deep into the forest today. But since I had two people with me, I wanted to bring some prey back with us. Besides, it was best that they get opportunities to see me fighting.

And so we headed to an area, where hunter Ozlo said that many killer ants had been spotted. Perhaps stronger monsters would be better, if I wanted to show them an example, but it wasn’t like we could just choose whatever suited us best.
The two were carrying backpacks, and I did not want them to return empty-handed. And as their teacher, I needed to save face a little.

We continued into the forest until we reached the area. Sunlight shone between the leaves, and the chirping of birds was in the air. The forest seemed quite peaceful.

“They are here.”
“Yes.”
“I will go forward. But stay on your guard.”
“I know.”

The two had been Adventurers for some time now. And so they noticed the change at once. Killer ants only targeted prey that was a certain size and above. They did not chase after rats. The fact that small creatures lived here peacefully was likely because it was killer ant territory.

I unsheathed my sword and looked around. As expected, two killer ants appeared within seconds.
They raised the mandibles, snapped at me angrily. I rushed forward and slashed at the joints of its front legs. When it lost its balance, I moved around and slashed the other legs as well. Now it could not look up. Then I jumped back to dodge the other approaching one. And like that, I slammed my sword into the joint that connected its body. As their teacher, I could not show any sign of struggling.

Knowing that I was being watched, I was more careful than usual when swinging. What I learned through the experience of cutting open the ant queen head, was not a blow that could crack open something hard. It was precision. Like Thrusting your sword through the eye of a needle. That being said, in a real battle, your opponent is moving as well, so it is difficult to read the movement of the shell and cut through it. Still, it was possible with normal killer ants. But there was no point in risking it, when it would not set much of an example. It was better to target the joints.

Two years had passed, and I had been thinking about it a lot. This nameless sword skill was highly effective against insect-type monsters in this forest. It used just a little magic energy, and so it was possible to do it repeatedly during battle.

I took down the next killer and then turned around. Nenreko was sweating. Hmm. Perhaps he was tired, as most of his training had involved leg work. I suppose I should not make them walk too much.
After all, I was a caring and understanding teacher.

As I carved open the killer ants, a sour smell filled the air. Most swords would take damage from the acid, but it was no problem with Mine Breaker, when it was enveloped in magic energy. Eventually, more killer ants would come after catching the scent. This meant we did not have to go and look for them. We could just stay here.

And so I raised Mine Breaker, while taking into account the direction of the wind, and waited.

◆◆◆◆

What am I watching? Next to me, Rowar’s mouth was also hanging open.

He had probably forgotten that we were told to keep watch of our surroundings. Of course, I was no different.

The killer ant was raising its head menacingly. And yet Mr. Ajifu was approaching it recklessly. A killer ant was dangerous when in that offensive stance. Still, Mr. Ajifu was C-Rank. Surely he would not lose to an E-Rank monster. And so I decided to believe in him.

Unsurprisingly, the killer ant attacked. However, all it met was Mr. Ajifu’s swinging sword.

I gulped. While sharp, it wasn’t that fast. If anything, he swung faster during our training. His movements were so normal, but it also seemed as if he knew what the enemy was going to do.

I knew, because I fought killer ants regularly as well. It had been lured in, and he attacked deliberately at that moment. It seemed simple, but was not as easy to do.

In the meantime, as the killer ant fell forward, its other legs were cut off. By then, Mr. Ajifu was already facing the next one.

As soon as it came close, it too had its legs, feelers, and body torn to shreds. Mr. Ajifu did not do any fancy moves. His blade just swung smoothly, and the killer ant fell apart.
It was not even a battle.
This was more like the work of carving up the carcasses. Only they were still alive.

I had known that Mr. Ajifu was a skilled swordsman, who had learned the classic style. The way he had cut open the queen’s head was impressive. And I had seen him in the training grounds. However, I hadn’t realized there was this much of a gap between us.

The reason that we had asked him to teach us, was because most Adventurers fought in their own personal style. And it had seemed like a good idea to ask someone who had been taught in a real school. Also, it was easier to ask him, as we were friends.

In the guild, there had been people who thought that Mr. Ajifu had only been able to cut open the queen’s head, because she was not moving. They saw him as someone with skill, but he would not reach his full potential, due to his leg. If anything, most of them felt he was better off being a priest and healer.

However, now that I actually saw him fighting like this… Especially now that I am training to fight against people. I understood it. With the ability to target the joints so precisely. No matter how good your armor, it would mean nothing. If you fought one on one, even if you didn’t die, you would quickly lose the ability to fight.

A cold sweat dripped down my back as I watched.

Mr. Ajifu glanced towards with a look of satisfaction, and then he began to cut open the body of the third killer ant.

“What!?”

Part of the surprise was how skillfully he used his sword to rip open the shell while aiming for the acid sac inside, but… Rowar, who was next to me, was also shocked by the meaning behind it.

Suelbur Adventurers would never have done such a thing. Because the scent would attract other killer ants.

However, Mr. Ajifu showed no signs of moving away. He meant to gather them all here and take them on by himself.

To be honest, I had not thought there was this much of a difference between C-Rank and E-Rank. After all, we fought and defeated killer ants in our party all of the time.

But the truth was quite different. As the killer ants arrived, one after another. He turned them into materials. A group of killer ants were dangerous. They did not show fear, and continued to attack even when the others were being cut down. If this was our party, we would have run away by now.
However, Mr. Ajifu was quickly killing them as they appeared. As if to prevent them from forming too large of a group.

“This is crazy…”
“Yes.”

We could not take our eyes off of it. An Adventurer who was ahead of what we strived to be. And yet, he still looked like the same, casual Adventurer that he always was.

And that made it more scary.

◆◆◆◆

Eventually, the killer ants stopped appearing. Normally, I would not have taken on this many. After all, I could not carry all of the materials. Besides, these days, killer ants did little to raise my level. So there was no point in doing it.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s get to work then.”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”

…That was a good reply. While I may not have been able to show them much, since I was merely fighting killer ants, at least I had not embarrassed myself in front of them.

They then swiftly started to carve up the caracasses. That was a Suelbur Adventurer for you. In little time, they had filled their backpacks with materials. Things were so much more efficient when I wasn’t alone.
I could not carry so much, and it would also get in the way if I had to fight. Perhaps I should consider joining a party in order to earn more money.

However, once you were in C-Rank, most were already in a party. And if it was a D-Rank request, I could just do it alone. As I had worked solo for so long, I would probably seem like a jack of all trades and master of none in a C-Rank party.

On the other hand, Rowar and Nenreko had found their places in a party, and things were going smoothly for them. Damn it. I was jealous.

Even though I was acting like their superior now, a few years later, they might be asking me, ‘Huh? You’re still C-Rank, Mr. Ajifu?’ And so I should ensure that they’re in my debt while I can.

“Rowar, Nenreko. Just tell me if it’s too heavy.”
“I can carry this much just fine. More importantly, we want to continue our training when we get back!”
“But you trained this morning. You want to do more?”
“For some reason, I feel like swinging a sword. Right?”
“Yes. I want to become as strong as I can!”

What the hell? I didn’t know why, but their eyes were burning with excitement. Yes, they likely would pass me in the future.

“We-well… I don’t think you should overwork yourselves from the start. It’s important to rest and be consistent every day.”
“Then we just need to train hard every day! Now, let’s hurry up and return to the village!”

The two then quickened their pace. It must be nice to be so young. Though, I was young too, according to my status.

In spite of the burden, the two walked through the forest on light feet. What happened to being tired? At this point, I would have no choice but to continue their training.

Damn it. Being a teacher was not easy.

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