chapter_0024

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
24

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
24

After dealing with the
annoying mage, I immediately took care of the nearby archer.

By then, the other goblins
began chasing me, but I had already accomplished my goal.

Without any long-range
attackers, I had nothing to fear in this brawl.

Alright. Let’s keep going!

When one goblin fell, they
still poured their hatred towards me.

When the second goblin fell,
hesitation crept into their movements.

And when the third goblin
fell, fear was etched among them.

It was utter chaos.

Some tried to attack.

Some tried to push their
comrades forward.

Some tried to flee.

Some recklessly charged
forward, having given up.

The confused goblins could no
longer be considered a group.

Goblins are the weakest when
they are isolated.

Taking them down individually
was a very easy task.

After taking care of the last
goblin, I swung my mace hard, shaking off the remnants clinging to
it.

Phew.
Initially, I only planned to hold my ground, but I ended up dealing
with them all due to the buffs of the [Mesugaki] skill.

Thanks to that, I levelled up
and passed the trial, so the result isn’t too bad.

As I recalled the words I spat
out during the battle, I couldn’t help but lower my head in shame.

What a madman.

Fine, even if it was
inevitable to use those words to maximise the effect of the
[Mesugaki] skill, that was really over the top.

What did I say? Sloppy? Trash
Goblins? Experience-fodder Mobs?

Even if I had become a
Mesugaki, the fact that such words flowed naturally from my mouth
made me disgusted with myself.

At this rate, am I going to
turn into a real Mesugaki someday?

When I imagined myself
casually spouting words like “sloppy” and “trash”
with a grin on my face daily, my hands trembled involuntarily.

That can’t happen.

A guy nearing his thirties
behaving like that is just pathetic.

Even if certain words get
translated due to the [Mesugaki] skill, I shouldn’t shout them out
with genuine emotion.

I despised myself for once
being such an otaku that knew exactly what a Mesugaki was.

If only I had known nothing, I
wouldn’t have been able to utter such nonsense with my own mouth.

Sigh.
Taking a deep breath, I steadied my mind once again.

In any case, the good result
is all that matters.

The training I did with
Possell paid off.

That guy really put me through
every possible scenario, so I was able to handle any situation that
arose during battle. For the first time, I felt grateful to Possell.

Though, thanks to the
[Mesugaki] skill, I can’t exactly convey my gratitude.

Hmm. But you know…

The trial ended, so why
haven’t I heard Grandpa’s voice yet?

Hey, Grandpa. Even if you’re
sulking, shouldn’t you let me go once I pass the trial?

There’s no damage to the
statue, and not a single goblin left to attack it. Why waste more
time here?

While I was thinking that, I
heard footsteps in the darkness.

They were heavier than the
light footsteps of the goblins.

If I had to compare, they were
closer to the footsteps of Possell or Benedict.

The instant I heard them, a
chill ran down my spine, and I hurriedly turned my head.

A massive figure began to
emerge from the darkness.

Its size was as immense as its
footsteps suggested.

Even Possell, who is enormous
for a human, was nothing compared to this.

It was only natural.

After all, it wasn’t even a
human to begin with.

Its skin was covered in brown
leather, and beneath it, muscles so overdeveloped they seemed ready
to burst through at any moment.

Its fists, larger than my
entire face, were threatening all by themselves. Its muzzle was
prominently protruding and its eyes were dyed in red.

And two horns sprouted from
its head – a Minotaur.

…Why is that thing here?

It’s not supposed to appear
here.

This creature should only show
up midway through the second year at the Academy.

Well, there are instances
where you might encounter it in Ruel’s Trial.

But that’s supposed to be when
you’ve reached level 32 and entered here.

My level is 4 right now. Four.

A level where you’d encounter
goblins or orcs in an appropriate dungeon for your level – level 4!

A level you’d hit in less than
30 minutes after starting the game!

Damn Grandpa.

Is this how you retaliate
because I picked a fight with you?!

You’re supposed to be the
voice of the hero Ruel according to the setup.

How could a hero who saved the
world and serves as a paladin of the gods stoop to such pettiness?

Huh?!

You son of a—

Rooooooar!

The Minotaur’s roar made my
body stiffen.

I felt the fear climbing up my
spine.

I couldn’t keep my eyes
focused on one spot. The trembling that began in my teeth spread
throughout my entire body.

Instinct screamed in my head.

Run away.

You need to run away.

If you don’t, you’ll die.

Look at that monster.

Look at the hot breath coming
from its mouth.

Look at those filthy teeth!

The monster is going to put
you in its mouth, chew you up, and swallow you whole.

You’ll be screaming in pain
and die before you even reach its stomach.

So run. Just run!

Quickly!

“Gasp.
Hah.”

Suddenly, the feeling of fear
vanished.

It was then that I realised I
had been holding my breath.

Damn it.

If [Overcoming Fear] hadn’t
activated, I might’ve suffocated to death on my own.

Just making eye contact with
it was terrifying.

Is this what they mean by a
difference in the very essence of existence?

Calm down.

I can’t defeat that thing.

No matter how hard I struggle,
it’s impossible.

With the power I have now, I
can’t even scratch a Minotaur.

If this were a game, things
would be different…

But this is reality.

This isn’t a game I control
with a mouse and keyboard.

Desperately, I regulate my
breathing and steady my stance.

Even if I can’t win, can’t I
at least hold out?

I managed to stall quite a bit
while fighting the goblins earlier.

The time limit to clear the
Trial of Guardians must be nearly up by now.

So, if I can just hold out a
bit longer against this monster, I should be able to pass the trial.

Yeah. Let’s hang in there a
little more.

I mean, I can’t run away now
that I’m here.

Do I want to see Grandpa laugh
at me for failing?

No way. Never.

I’d rather die than let him
see that grin. The Minotaur isn’t looking at me.

Its red eyes are fixed solely
on the Goddess statue.

If I leave it alone, it will
easily crush the statue with its massive hands.

And then it will come for me.

Haha. Damn it.

I just decided not to act like
a Mesugaki, but it seems I have to flip that decision right away.

Even though I might be
disciplined by that monster if I misstep, let’s not imagine such a
future.

Acting like a Mesugaki is all
about not thinking about losing and just going for it, right?

If I choose to be a Mesugaki,
I should act like one.

No matter how much it sucks, I
need to do it now.

“Hey!”

I shout, and the Minotaur
turns its gaze toward me.

As soon as our eyes meet, my
body momentarily freezes, but I quickly shake it off.

[Overcoming Fear] is working
well.

“What are you staring at,
you filthy creature? You stink♡ Disgusting♡ Nasty beast♡”

I can feel strength surging
through my body.

The taunt worked perfectly.

I don’t think the buff is that
significant since there’s only one target, but let’s take pride in
the taunt itself.

The Minotaur begins to turn
and move in my direction. Alright. It’s time to face my karma.

I raised my shield.

I’ve had more than enough
experience blocking and enduring.

Spending half of my days doing
similar things with Possell prepared me well.

It’s just a matter of
repeating that.

I can do this.

Keep your eyes forward.

Don’t get tense.

Tensing up will only slow you
down.

After all, that thing has a
bull’s head.

It doesn’t think.

It’s bound to recklessly
swing its fists.

Wouldn’t it be easier than
dealing with Possell?

So, it’s fine. There’s nothing
to worry about.

While repeating this to
myself, the Minotaur had already reached me.

For such a big guy, you’re way
too fast, aren’t you?

Take it easy, friend. Then
again, if you joke around like that, I might really get crushed in an
instant.

While I was thinking of such a
joke, the Minotaur swung its fist.

I couldn’t dodge it.

It was too fast to avoid.

Even [Iron Wall] would say the
same.

In that split second, I
hastily raised my shield to block the Minotaur’s punch.

Thud.

The moment the Minotaur’s fist
made contact with the shield, I realised something was wrong.

Huh?

My hand gripping the shield
was pushed back, and my body folded in half.

The feet that should be
grounded floated in midair, and an unbearable shock travelled from my
arm and side to my entire body.

There was no time to scream.

As I felt my body flying
through the air, I had only one thought.

I’m screwed.

…

I pulled myself together and
lifted my head.

The pain wasn’t as intense as
I had expected.

No, that’s not it.

I had just lost all sensation
in my body.

Wow.

Damn it. Can you really get
numbed by a punch?

A ringing sound echoed in my
ears.

Continuously. Madly.

As if I had been hit by a
flashbang.

When the ringing sound
slightly subsided, the pain started to creep in.

There wasn’t a part of my body
that didn’t hurt.

I felt nauseous.

It was hard to breathe, as if
something inside my organs was damaged.

I forced myself to suppress
whatever was trying to rise from my stomach and lifted my head.

Through my blurry vision, I
saw a massive brown figure walking toward me.

Oh, crap.

Am I supposed to hold out
against that?

Damn Grandpa.

If you’re going to kill me, at
least do it painlessly.

I tried to get up but
collapsed as my legs gave out.

For some reason, the sense of
omnipotence (strength) from the [Mesugaki] skill had disappeared.

Why is that?

Even though that Minotaur is
clearly enraged and targeting me right now. As I tried to get up from
the ground again, something touched my side.

At that moment, my vision went
black.

…Hhhhuh. H-hhh. Hhaaah.

It hurts.

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it, it
hurts so much.

Even lifting my head feels
unbearable.

There is no sensation in my
legs, making it hard to even imagine moving them.

Both hands, which should be
holding the mace and shield, feel empty.

Despite this, the sound of
footsteps approaching from afar is clear.

Am I going to die?

The word ‘death’ floated in my
mind, but it didn’t quite sink in.

Maybe it’s because I didn’t
expect it to come so suddenly.

But as I thought about it,
something in my heart seemed to crumble.

I’m going to die.How?

Trampled under the Minotaur’s
foot.

Torn apart by those gigantic
hands of that damned bull.

Chewed up by its brutal teeth.

And… And… And again.

There were countless ways I
could die.

Death stood before me.

My head felt like it was going
cold.

Though [Overcoming Fear] tried
to prevent the rising sense of doom in my spine, it was impossible.

Because the fear was surging
faster than [Overcoming Fear] could block it.

A frog standing in front of a
breaking dam, what could it do?

The footsteps stopped.

I forced my stubborn eyes
open.

I saw the Minotaur raising its
fist.

Seeing that, I closed my eyes
again.

Kooohhhh.

So, I am going to die like
this.

Boom!

At the moment I gave into
despair, I heard the sound of the Minotaur’s fist being blocked by
something.

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