episode_0017

1.

Phew, calm down.

Tachibesus.

The master of the previous warrior party.

That is, Altina’s teacher.

Altina must have also faced this person.

The day has come when I will be able to directly spar with someone who has matched up with Altina… It is a great honor.

Also, you can learn a lot since you don’t have to worry about your opponent getting hurt.

“…….”

The instructor is looking on without saying anything.

I covered the figure with a handkerchief and erased the professor’s appearance.

“Why is he covering his eyes?”

“Huh? Why are you like that?”

“A red fox. A species that is hard to find in the empire.”

“Wait… Red Fox Tribe? Huh?”

I spread out a long handkerchief and covered my eyes like a blindfold, and there was a commotion around me.

Ignore it.

From now on, the only noise you’ll hear will be that of battle.

Tie the handkerchief in a tight knot behind your head.

Enough so that it won’t come off no matter how roughly you move it.

Of course I know.

If you don’t use your vision, you may end up with worse results in combat than if you didn’t wear the blindfold at all.

but…

My vixen instincts can’t handle that killing intent.

My intuition says so.

‘Maybe it’s necessary to cover my eyes.’

“Don’t start.”

The instructor opened his mouth without hesitation after seeing me finished preparing.

‘…I was right…! As expected, I’m fine!’

Whether it was Kariel or Ban, as soon as the words ‘let’s start’ were said, extreme mental exhaustion was evident.

Somehow my body became stiff and I became sluggish, as if I was moving through mud.

But I was free from that influence.

My body moved just as I thought, and my mental strength was not greatly exhausted.

However, I feel that the confidence of a strong person coming from that voice is pressuring me more than I thought.

Even so, it is only a weak feeling.

There is no further appreciation than that.

‘Whew… Let’s do it as planned. I can do it.’

I’ll start first.

Most of them used a method of showing their maximum through a single blow.

It must have been difficult for him to continue the attack after that blow because of his own stamina issues.

There were some who blurred the tip of their swords in front of that murderous intent, and there were others who really showed their best.

But… a battle doesn’t end with just a showdown.

You have to know how to beat your opponent.

We must conquer it.

I must learn to overcome even if my power is weaker than that of my opponent.

Prick up your ears.

Ears to replace my eyes.

As a water race, their hearing is twice as strong as that of humans, allowing them to hear the movements of others more clearly and accurately.

‘let’s go.’

The two weapons equipped on my hands are claws.

Three sharp, hook-like claws subdue the opponent.

My beloved weapon, and a traditional weapon of the Red Fox Tribe.

Sharp enough to crush and pierce prey at any moment.

Step on the truth.

-Paaat!

Sand splashes behind my feet and my body leaps forward.

The attack is developed following the blurry images in the darkness.

The instructor stood still and took the students’ attacks.

Without moving even a single step.

‘You can’t use the Holy Spirit and move at the same time! And that’s against a student!’

Pressure and defend with a controller that seems to devour the opponent.

In that case, even if a student who has been hit by the Holy Spirit swings his weapon with just one or more blows, he will just get tired and fall down.

But… what if the most important prerequisite is ‘not being subject to the Holy Spirit?

‘You can aim for the square!’

There is no reason to insist on a head-on confrontation.

You can get out of his sight.

Quickly charge towards the instructor.

Chloro advances to the end without killing his momentum, as if he were going to pierce the heart.

The posture is as low as possible, and it approaches quickly enough that it feels like a rapidly growing dot when viewed from the front.

“…hmm.”

I heard a rumbling sound.

Their ears perk up and they search for the source of the sound, not missing even the slightest clue.

-Ssuk

right.

top.

…slash down.

eve.

Direction, attitude, timing.

Find out everything with your ears instead of your eyes.

-Booo!

now!

He slashes his sword diagonally as if trying to strike the claw to the side.

Deliberately extend the claw on the left toward the source of the sound.

Before the sword can gain any more power, it counters attack with attack, strength with strength.

…I thought.

-Chaeaeaeaeaaeng!!!

“Ugh!”

Am I a little late…?

The instructor’s sword was much faster than I expected, and a strong impact was transmitted to my left arm as the sword pierced the claw.

-Wow!

The shock still lingers as Claw’s blade rustles.

‘It’s not over yet!’

Forcibly twist your muscles and squeeze out strength.

Lower your body as much as possible by hitting the floor with your right hand instead of your left hand, which is still in shock.

And pull the floor with the claw of your right hand.

The body instantly moves behind the instructor.

In an instant, he moves behind the instructor’s back and stabs his back with his left hand, which has adapted to the shock.

“Whoaap!!!!!!”

Stabbing with spirit.

Even at that moment, the instructor did not move a single foot.

He simply reacts by putting his sword into my sword path.

-Chaeaeaeaeng!

The sound of metal rubbing against metal continues.

The swords wedged between my claws maintain a taut tension as if they will not let go of each other.

‘What power…! I’m not pushed back at all!’

In this kind of competition, Claw can’t hold out any longer.

If that’s the case, there’s no reason to hold out.

After making a quick decision, he takes off his claws.

“…”

Quick release.

I let go of the strength as we were pushing hard towards each other.

Naturally, the instructor’s sword will move forward.

Remembering that image, he took out the dagger from his bosom and stabbed it with the same blade at the spot where the claw had been.

-Chae-ae-aeng!

“Huh…?”

The sword… isn’t twisted?

Wasn’t it originally supposed to hold the sword in place instead of pushing it away?

Expecting this number?

And there was no shaking at all?

crazy!

“Random thoughts.”

-Booo!!!

I hear the wind cutting through me more strongly than usual.

…with the sword facing my forehead.

now!

-Kwaaang!!!

This time my body fell backwards with a dull thud.

I blocked the attack by inserting my claw right in front of his nose… but I couldn’t help but feel the immense power, and the claw’s sword slash hit my face.

-Jureuk

Oh, coffee.

I can feel the blood flowing from my nose to my lips.

A bitter, earthy taste lingers on the tongue.

“How foolish. Why did you think of blocking it when you knew it was a black mask? Instead, didn’t you end up seeing blood? ”

“If it was a sharp blade, I would have died. If it was a nosebleed, I would have stopped it cheaply.”

“……You’re definitely too clever to be called a child.”

“Thank you.”

Bow your head and express your gratitude politely.

At the same time, he digs his only claw into the ground and pulls it, gaining strong momentum and extending the dagger towards the instructor.

“…The fox is really clever.”

After a short conversation, I continued my offensive and the instructor continued his defensive.

Stab, dodge, listen, read.

The sound of clothes rustling, the sound of swords being swung, the sound of swords clashing.

A world filled only with sound unfolds.

“Wow, is that the red fox tribe…”

“Isn’t that the longest you’ve lasted so far?”

“You’re as strong as me even with your eyes closed…”

The noise is knocked out.

Just focus on the battle between you and me, Instructor.

-Slurp…

The sound gets quieter.

The sword moves away from me.

-Boohoo!

Top, left, down cut

Timing to block with a claw and stab again with a dagger.

-Chae-Ang!

It’s blocked.

Next time, cheating.

Take a step back and identify the epicenter.

-Ugh.

frontal.

Throwing a dagger.

-visor.

catch.

Stab straight in.

trickery.

A new dagger slash towards the side.

failure.

Even as the fierce water fight continued, the instructor, unlike me, did not show any sign of losing his breath.

“Haah, haah, whoaah.”

In my ears I can hear my own rough breathing,

-Knock. Knock.

All you can hear is the sound of sweat dripping down your chin and eventually hitting the floor.

Oh, my head is spinning.

“Lower jaw.”

We annotate and interpret every stimulus in the world, and calculate without rest.

We embody one equation calculated in this way and apply it to battle.

That’s my fighting style, and the fighting style of the Shukeros family.

“Ughhh…”

My head, my head is throbbing.

Was it too much?

I don’t think I’ve ever thought about it this much.

Even as I hold my overheated head, I feel a strong desire to finish this calculation.

Like inertia, this calculation never stops.

“Kaaak, kaaaak.”

Cough, okay?

The calculation is complete.

Now, let’s apply this equation to deal with the enemy.

-Stop.

Cut something

It happened.

The flow of reason is interrupted,

Instinct takes its place

“Kaaa …

The instructor is in front.

Subdue.

Benda.

Stab.

Hunt.

He places the claw that remains on one side back into the ground and places his other hand on the ground as well.

Like a fox preparing to hunt.

It opens its mouth, shows its sharp fangs, and threatens its opponent.

Hearing, our only living sense, is the last to search for the source of sound to find its destination.

Ah, I can hear even the sound of breathing clearly.

This way, I think I’ll be able to hear the muscle movements as well.

Pull.

The thigh.

now.

It pops up.

Kill.

entirely.

uh?

I can’t hear you.

sound.

“…No.”

-Kwaaang!!!!”

“Kaaa …

By the time I started hearing the instructor’s voice and the sound of me being thrown, my body was already stuck to the ground.

Letting out a fox-like, squeaky moan.

“… It was great. As expected. It’s worth going in. ”

“…crazy.”

“The instructor…moved?”

“What, what? I didn’t see any movement?”

ah.

Did you hit me at a speed higher than sound?

You’re really going too far with students.

I feel like I’m finally coming to my senses.

I didn’t even have time to taste the bitterness of defeat.

“What the heck is Kaeng…”

I covered my mouth in embarrassment at letting out such a loud moan, and returned to my seat.

My face would probably turn red.

Ugh.

“Are you okay, are you okay, Taina!?!?”

“Oh, oh, it’s okay. The instructor adjusted the strength for you. It doesn’t hurt that much.”

“How, blood, blood! Aaaah! Our Tyna is going to die!”

What’s the fuss?

Ignis, who seemed more surprised than I was, tried to nurse me back to health, making a fuss and joking.

“Okay, wait, it’s not that serious…”

“No, Taina! You’re my only friend! Aaaah!!!”

Oh, that’s embarrassing!

Ignis sat down with me and cried, expressing her concern.

He was ready to take me to the infirmary even if he had to make me sit in a princess position.

Now, instead of worrying, I started to have a rational doubt that maybe they were teasing me… when I heard the instructor’s voice.

“…Ignis. Come out.”

I hear a word that stops Ignes, who was about to run towards me and hug me like a princess.

‘Ah, instructor… thank you…!’

Ignis said as he looked at me, who was in his arms, unable to hide his sad expression.

“Stop crying, Taina. I’ll get revenge.”

You, you, you!

I think I’m going to cry because of you!

I couldn’t bring myself to say those words and could only cover my reddened face with both hands.

Ignis gently placed me down in my seat, then picked up a greatsword that was slightly shorter than him and confidently walked towards the stage.

I opened my eyes and looked to the side, my surroundings had become a little quiet…

“…Oh my.”

“The warrior and… the princess… no, the princess and the princess…”

“Wakya Pya…”

Taina closed her eyes again.