Chapter 56
HEL SCANS
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Luke watched at the back of Ban as he moved away with a limp.
‘Are there trolls among distant ancestors?’
It was a highly disrespectful inference, but a reasonable suspicion.
That durability makes no sense.
His weapon, the pike, is undoubtedly a large weapon.
A heavy weapon used to crush the tough skeletons of creatures that are resistant to slashing attacks.
Naturally, he controlled the strength, but getting hit repeatedly like this should result in swelling, much like a frog.
He recalled the moment just before.
“I’ve set the commission fee. You pay 1 gold each time you get hit five times. How does that sound?”
“Huh? Am I the benchmark for getting hit?”
“Do you know how difficult it is not to hit to kill?”
“Oh, I see. Got it.”
He earned 18 gold.
‘I thought I’d earn about 4 or 5 gold if I hit him.’
Even after taking hits in the 90s, he was fine.
His body was swollen, but he was sturdy enough to walk to the infirmary like that.
His tenacity and toughness were beyond expectations.
But most surprising of all…
‘How did he manage that?’
Even in the midst of an attack, Luke didn’t stop observing the other party.
It’s the mercenary’s code to do their best when they agree to receive payment.
‘Certainly, he stumbled at first.’
He was about to react as usual but suddenly froze.
But as the non-stop exchange of blows continued, Luke realized something was off.
‘… The sword is always there in advance.’
From a certain point, the sword was always ready near the point of impact.
Thanks to that, minimal defense was achieved.
Even if the body stiffened and strength drained midway, critical hits were avoided.
‘Like someone foreseeing a few seconds ahead.’
Pike is inherently a challenging weapon to handle.
Its attack range is significantly wider than ordinary weapons, and the effective range varies based on the grip distance, making it difficult to adapt to distances.
Due to the concentrated weight in the front, the attack interval is also short.
In other words, in the hands of a skilled practitioner like Luke, reading the attacks becomes incredibly difficult.
‘But he reacted to everything.’
Luke silently observed the footprints of Ban stamped on the training ground.
‘If there was no problem with him…’
…What would have happened to the match?
The expression on Luke’s face, who had been picturing the overall scenario in his mind, gradually hardened.
‘I can’t lose.’
Those cruel and harsh times spent on the battlefield.
The meaning of that shouldn’t fade away.
It was quite some time after Luke left the training ground.
* * *
‘It’s almost time to wrap up.’
The Extreme training dungeon was nearing completion.
The hero meticulously surveyed the surroundings, checking off items on the checklist one by one.
Various traps, guardians, gimmicks, and mazes were strategically placed, awaiting the children.
Next to him, Pia, covered in dust, sat down with a sigh.
“Wow, it ended faster than I thought.”
“Because we used advanced dungeon stones.”
“Huh, sometimes it’s dizzying to see the Principal and the professor spending money.”
“You have to spend it when you have it. What’s the point of hoarding?”
Pia nodded her head approvingly.
Of course, she also made money that she could never have imagined before.
But to keep up with their spending, she still had a long way to go.
Yussi generously handed money to the hero, and the hero, in turn, also used his own treasury for high-quality lessons.
How much was spent on this ‘dungeon practice’ this time?
Woo-woo-woo-
Pia looked at the dazzling light emitted by the ‘dungeon stone.’
It was hard to believe that this fist-sized rock constituted and supported this massive dungeon.
Even the price was hard to believe. However, the quality of the completed dungeon was exceptionally excellent.
“Still, I’m a bit worried about the difficulty. Usually, second-years start proper dungeon practices.”
“….”
“…Professor? Why are you like that?”
It was a rare sight.
The usually sharp and clear-eyed hero was staring blankly at the dungeon ceiling.
“Professor?”
The hero blinked.
‘What is this sensation?’
A very subtle feeling of déj? vu.
Feeling a sensation in the dungeon was not surprising for him, given the various professions, including mercenaries and adventurers, he had experienced.
He had considerable dungeon exploration experience.
However, the sensation currently tickling his memory felt like it originated from even earlier memories.
Dimly lit indoors.
Subdued magical lighting.
What exactly happened there…
“Professor!!!”
“What did I do there, anyway…?”
“Professor!!!”
“Oh.”
With Pia’s continuous calls, the hero snapped back to reality and turned to her.
Worried grey eyes were fixed on him.
“You must be tired. It’s been a while since the external affairs ended, and you’re already into dungeon creation, feedback from the kids…”
Before the hero could respond, Pia’s small hand rested on his palm and then withdrew.
“What’s this?”
The hero, looking at the small vial, raised an eyebrow.
“I tried making a fatigue recovery potion. I carefully selected only good ingredients. Well, since you have a good relationship with the Principal, you probably have many better potions, Professor…”
The situation of giving a gift made the conversation awkward and verbose.
Fatigue recovery potion.
In reality, it wasn’t an exceptionally useful item for him as a Doppelganger.
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“Thanks. I appreciate the thought.”
However, utility and gratitude didn’t necessarily correlate.
He opened the vial with a willing expression and swallowed the small potion.
As the bitterness filled his mouth, Pia grinned satisfactorily.
“Sigh, the kids should know how much you’re working, Professor.”
“I’ll be content if I put in effort in teaching.”
“Still, shouldn’t we look forward to ‘Teacher’s Day’?”
Pia’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Teacher’s Day.
It was an Empire-wide holiday at the end of the semester, derived from the birthday of Zero Requiem, who was also the mentor of the first emperor.
Among the professors of Rosenstark, how grand the celebration was subtly became a measure of pride.
“Ha…”
The hero suddenly chuckled at the memories of the past.
There was a time when they prepared a modest drinking table to celebrate Teacher’s Day and had a drink together with the ‘Original’.
Despite getting a smack for clearly revealing their intention to take it easy, it was undeniably a quite enjoyable moment.
‘Teacher’s Day, huh.’
There weren’t high expectations.
They didn’t do this to receive something.
Besides, the kids were extremely busy.
Would they even have the time to commemorate Teacher’s Day?
‘You have to have experienced receiving something like that to expect or not expect it.’
…Feeling like it was becoming verbose, the hero quickly cleared the area and stood up.
“Take another look. If you think of anything to add, let me know.”
“…Huh? Wasn’t it all over?”
“Thanks to someone, I got a burst of energy after it was all done.”
“Ugh, I should have given it to you after everything was finished.”
Pia followed the hero, who was leading the way.
‘Hmm, should I remind the kids about Teacher’s Day? But what does he like anyway?’
With such pointless thoughts in mind.
* * *
Leciel silently stared at the sword in front of her.
Shape Shifter.
The ever-changing sword took the form of her favorite longsword and shimmered gracefully.
‘Hmm, should I make it a bit larger?’
Thinking of the immensely large greatsword of ‘someone,’ she pondered for a moment before deciding against practicing with an unfamiliar weapon.
An important event was approaching.
There was no need to practice with a weapon she wasn’t familiar with.
“Phew….”
Sweat dripped down her rosy cheeks.
For the past few days, Leciel had set aside her beloved art and devoted herself solely to swordsmanship.
In fact, right after communicating with her grandmother, she had thought about giving up studying and grades altogether.
It was because she realized that the academy wouldn’t bother to acknowledge her unless she stood out a bit.
Perhaps if she rebelled, they might take notice.
She briefly considered rebelling against the system.
– How to rebel?
└ Don’t do it, idiot.
└?
└ If they say not to do it, don’t do it.
‘Not easy.’
She dismissed the idea.
Becoming a good-for-nothing overnight just because someone who had never tried meat said it tasted good was not a suitable option.
[PR/N: The analogy is supposed to show how it’s nonsense for you to do something just because some dumbass said it.]
Besides, she didn’t want to clean the bathroom twice for the same reason.
Cleaning the toilet with a fool was something she only needed to do once.
It was a moment of profound reflection.
…So, in the end, she continued as before.
Swinging the sword diligently, harbouring the determination to eventually defeat the hero.
It was a promise she made, hoping her grandmother would take notice.
She returned to the monotonous routine.
Bwoong-!
In that pitiful moment of desires and sudden memories, and the sword in her hand, which had nothing to do with each other, moved organically and smoothly.
She was in the midst of showcasing completely different swordsmanship, skillfully changing the form of the sword.
“Hmm.”
“…?”
“Hoo-hoo-hoo.”
A snort came from behind.
Leciel turned only her head without stopping the sword, and soon faced an amused face.
‘Blue fool. What’s going on?’
Cuculli’s large pupils stared at her intently.
Pupils longer than those of a human.
The mischievousness that always lingered within them seemed somewhat subdued today.
Cuculli casually spoke, as if delivering a greeting.
“Is this worth it?”
Leciel blinked her eyes.
Because it was a provocation she had never experienced in her life, she was slow to catch on, had it not been for the stinging sense of rivalry that pricked her skin.
“…Huh.”
Leciel’s sword came to a halt.
She was aware that Cuculli often fought with her peers at the beginning of the semester.
She was also well aware of the outcome, which was a legacy.
However, she honestly never expected Cuculli’s hostility to be directed toward her.
Leciel had considered the hero as her only competition, nothing more, nothing less.
The prospect of becoming the target of Cuculli’s rivalry, who had always been beneath her, wasn’t pleasant.
“Hey, what did you just say?”
“I said I thought it would be worth sticking around at this level.”
“Ha…”
Cuculli joyfully watched as Leciel’s brow twitched.
Unlike the angry Leciel, Cuculli was delighted.
‘This practical training is such a fantastic opportunity!’
The sparring sessions she had engaged in with her peers so far had not satisfied her competitive spirit.
They were filled with weak opponents, and friendly matches had their limitations in intensity.
“To bring a kid to this point… it’s a deduction.”
“Ugh! That’s unfair!”
“If you have a conscience, look at this face, bloated three times its size.”
At the beginning of the semester, she had dealt a bit roughly with Gerald and received a lump sum deduction from the hero.
For her, with a keen sense of smell, toilet cleaning was truly torture, especially with that foolish person boasting beside her.
‘Other kids went out and fought to their heart’s content, and I had to endure this injustice!’
But finally, the time had come.
A practical training where competition was possible.
If she could officially compete under the supervision of the hero, she preferred the strongest opponent.
There was no need to think about whom to face; it was never a consideration.
Today’s cute provocation was a device to enhance the flavor of the upcoming duel.
Cuculli bared her fangs and smiled broadly.
“Scared?”
Leciel’s pupils rippled once, as if flames were flickering.
“You can’t beat me.”
“Hmm, everyone will know that in a few days.”
Leciel didn’t react further.
She merely furrowed her brows slightly, turned abruptly, and left.
However, Cuculli vividly felt her anger.
She was delighted, as it seemed to indicate how intense their upcoming fight would be.
“Hehe, this is going to be really fun.”
With cheeks flushed with excitement and a swaying gait, Cuculli suddenly stopped.
“Well, what if we end up in the same group? What will I do then?”
… They couldn’t fight if they were in the same group.
Cuculli quickly derived an answer.
Well, if that happened, she would just have to clean the toilet for another month or so.
Smirking, Cuculli left the training ground.
* * *
And so, a few days later, the day of the dungeon practical training dawned.
HEL SCANS
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