chapter_0008

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
8

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
8

“You’ve decided to enter
the dungeon and want to practise real combat beforehand.”

‘Yes.’

“Exactly.”

The knight nodded in
understanding after hearing my explanation.

“Understood. I will help
you as much as I can.”

‘Thank you.’

“Sloppy Knight, you
should feel honoured.”

The knight confidently grabbed
a wooden sword and headed toward the training area.

“First, why don’t you
try attacking me? I need to assess your skills.”

‘With this mace?’

“You want me to hit you
with this weapon?”

“Yes.”

‘Are you serious?’

“Sloppy Knight, are you
crazy?”

The translation made my words
sound harsh, but they weren’t incorrect.

The knight was still wearing
the cloth outfit he had on during the earlier training.

Essentially, he was
practically unarmored.

If I hit him with the mace in
this condition, it would be a disaster.

Just like the training dummies
I’d been smashing, the knight’s head would be likely to break.

Despite my shocked expression,
the knight just smiled.

“There’s no need to
worry. No matter how hard you hit, I won’t get hurt. Go ahead and
swing.”

The knight proudly squared his
shoulders and urged me to strike.

Surely, having gone through so
much real combat, he must be aware of the mace’s danger.

Could it be that he’s
genuinely confident he won’t get hurt?

Thinking in game terms, it
made sense.

A knight from the Count’s
Family would be at least a level 50 NPC in Soul Academy, while I am
merely a level 0, a weak newbie.

No matter how hard I try, it
would be normal for him to barely lose health. Although I resolved to
think that way, hesitation arose when I faced a real person.

It’s completely different from
hitting a wooden training dummy.

Wielding a weapon against a
person was far more daunting than I had thought.

“If you can’t even do this,
it will be troublesome. You’ll have to kill actual living monsters in
the dungeon.”

The knight’s words hardened my
resolve.

Right. It wouldn’t be right to
get scared at this stage.

Considering the scenarios in
Soul Academy, not only would I have to deal with monsters, but there
would also be times when I’d have to face humans as adversaries. I
couldn’t afford to hesitate over this.

Besides, if things were really
going to go wrong, he wouldn’t be saying such things.

No matter how strong a knight
is, he wouldn’t want to feel pain.

I raised my mace.

The technique I had been
tirelessly practising for days.

Swinging the mace from above
downward.

Head Crusher.

As I watched the mace head
toward the knight, I was confident I had executed the technique
perfectly.

But that confidence shattered
the moment the mace touched the knight’s skin.

It felt like striking a
massive rock.

No matter how desperately I
swung, it seemed like hitting a rock that could not be harmed.

Apparently, the knight felt no
significant impact as he continued to smile, while the pain surged
through my own hand.

“See? Nothing, right?”

‘Is he really human?’

“Sloppy Knight, are you
part monster?”

“You’re too much. I’m a
pure human.”

This… is human? Really?

Are all the knights in Soul
Academy like this?

Then how strong must Benedict
be, who commands all of them?!

…Maybe I should tolerate it
a little more when he’s being disgusting next time.

“I was worried because
you practised alone, but your skills are quite good. You handle the
mace better than most soldiers.”

‘Really?’

“Of course.”

Knowing the proficiency system
and using it versus just training normally seems to make a big
difference. For a knight to praise this much…

“But maybe because you
lack experience, you hesitate a lot in your attacks.”

Well, there’s no helping that.

I was just an ordinary person
living in modern times. I’ve never had the experience of harming
someone with a weapon.

Of course, there would be
hesitation.

“Keep attacking. Until
you get used to it. But this time, I’ll attack back, so be careful.”

‘Understood.’

“Do as you please.”

I continued attacking as the
knight instructed.

The mace I swung with all my
might sometimes hit and sometimes missed, but it never posed a threat
to the knight.

Darting away like that! Ugh,
can’t I land a single solid hit?

At the moment I was thinking
this, the knight suddenly swung his wooden sword.

The instant I saw the attack,
my mind went blank.

What should I do?

I should raise my shield.

Move my shield and block it.

The moment I resolved to do
it, a way to block the attack came to mind.

Not just blocking with the
shield but inserting it in the path of the sword to disrupt the
attack and diminish its power simultaneously.

“Oh!”

Even the knight, who delivered
the attack, unintentionally let out a sound of admiration at my
excellent movement.

I thought to myself that this
wasn’t just because my shield proficiency had gone up.

Even though my shield
proficiency has increased from running around, it shouldn’t be that
high yet.

There was no way I could have
displayed such an amazing move otherwise.

It was likely due to a skill.

Could it be the beneficial
effect of the shield skill [Iron Wall]?

I don’t know why the skill
that originally reduced damage by 15% changed like this, but I
couldn’t think of any other explanation.

“You’re much better than
expected.”

‘Right?’

“Ha. Sloppy Knight. What did
you take me for? Don’t you have any eye for skill?”

“You still seem to have some
leeway, so I’ll go a bit stronger.”

What? Excuse me?!

I wasn’t the one who provoked
you just now, okay?

It was the Mesugaki skill that
translated that on its own!

It’s not my fault! So calm
down!

…Ugh!

I blocked the heavy sword
swing with my shield.

There was no time to think. If
I didn’t move according to my instincts, I wouldn’t be able to keep
up with the speed of the sword.

Enough!

Just fight properly!

This isn’t a spar; it’s
bullying!

Be honest!

You’re annoyed at me for
acting like a Mesugaki, aren’t you?

You’re taking it out on me
now, aren’t you!

Although complaints arose
naturally, I couldn’t voice them.

It was all I could do to fend
off the knight’s wooden sword, leaving no chance to speak.

As the knight’s strikes
became increasingly fierce, I missed my intuition’s cry*. (*Cry
here referring to the [Iron Wall]’s sort of intuition guiding
Lucy.)

My shield faltered and stopped
without a destination, leaving the sword’s path unobstructed.

It hit me. Without realising
it, I closed my eyes, but the impact never came.

When I slowly opened my eyes,
I saw the wooden sword stopped right in front of me.

“You have a talent for
shield techniques. If this is your first time handling a shield and
you’re already this good, I can’t even imagine how far you could
go with more training.”

Although the knight was
complimenting me with his words, his eyes said otherwise.

His eyes were clearly
chastising me.

“However, giving up your
defence and closing your eyes at the end was extremely disappointing.
That was the worst thing you could have done. If this were real
combat, you’d definitely be dead.”

‘I’m sorry.’

“Hmph. So what.”

I wanted to apologise since it
was clearly my fault, but the Mesugaki skill said differently.

Even in moments like this, it
can’t just say sorry?!

Seeing my annoyed response,
the knight’s brow furrowed slightly.

“Let’s try again. Come at
me.”

The training that the knight
directed maintained a steady intensity.

In other words, it was
consistently gruelling.

There was no opportunity to
swing my mace.

I had to focus all my
attention on moving the shield, not knowing when the sword might get
past it. It demanded full concentration.

As a result, my shield
proficiency rapidly increased, though it was hard to physically feel
the improvement.

The better I got at
manoeuvring the shield, the harder the knight swung his sword.

After desperately blocking the
increasingly fierce wooden sword for about thirty minutes, I was
utterly exhausted.

I didn’t run out of stamina.
Compared to my usual intense running sessions, this was nothing.

What exhausted me was the
knight’s relentless attacks.

The strikes came incessantly
and were hard to see. Missing even one would mean the sword would
land right in front of my neck.

Despite knowing the knight
wouldn’t actually harm me, the threat in each swing gnawed at my
nerves in real time.

Because the intent to kill in
those swings was so evident that even a rookie like me could sense
it.

I had a general idea why the
knight was putting me through this repetitive training.

He likely wanted to get me
accustomed to attacks so I wouldn’t close my eyes and could
properly respond regardless of the situation.

Although I vaguely grasped
this, it didn’t stop me from getting irritated.

It felt like when you lose a
game with a friend and they keep teasing you for thirty minutes
without (playfully) hitting you.

Of course, it’s frustrating.

“Are you already giving
up?”

I won’t deny the training
was effective.

Thanks to it, I significantly
improved my shield handling skills.

I also got much better at
anticipating your attacks.

But, yeah. Taking all those
hits, I started wanting to land a blow myself.

‘Looks like you’re having a
hard time, calling it quits.’

“Sloppy Knight. Is it
because you’re tired? If you’re having a hard time, you can give
up. I mean, if you’re a Sloppy Knight with less stamina than a
girl~”

The knight’s expression
hardened when I openly mocked him.

It seems provoking him had the
desired effect.

Usually, no matter what I say,
he never flinches, but now just that much caused him to react.

“I’m not tired at all.”

‘Really? Then let’s go
again.’

“Then let’s continue. I
haven’t given up, Sloppy Knight.”

“Suit yourself. I’ll keep
going with you till the end.”

As soon as the knight declared
in a stiff tone, I felt a surge of strength.

Oh, you’re really angry,
aren’t you? Yeah, you’re pissed, right?

Otherwise, my [Mesugaki] skill
wouldn’t have been activated.

It’s the only buff effect of a
skill full of penalties. The more my opponent gets angry, the more my
stats increase.

I don’t know how much they
increase. I don’t even know if it’s a fixed number or a percentage.

I hardly know anything about
the [Mesugaki] skill.

But one thing is clear.

The more I anger this Sloppy
Knight, the more my stats will keep rising, and the better my chances
of landing a blow on this Sloppy Knight.

Even though my body’s specs
have increased, the gap between the Sloppy Knight and me is still
overwhelming.

The difference in our physical
abilities. The difference in our combat experience.

That’s why I need to provoke
him even more.

I have to make this Sloppy
Knight lose his composure.

I must maximise the [Mesugaki]
skill’s efficiency.

I never thought I’d end up
saying such things genuinely.

The world truly is
unpredictable.

“Sloppy Knight~ Surely
you’re not mad just because your lady said something?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Pathetic♡ A knight who
argues with his master is disqualified from being a knight♡”

With every word I uttered, I
could feel more power surging through my body.

The [Mesugaki] skill. Its
provocation effect is no joke!

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