How could something called a wooden sword be this beautiful?
It was nothing but a blunt lump of wood without a single edge, and yet, when it was in Garen’s hand, it was no longer a wooden sword.
Rather than a sword, it was like a meteor streaking across the predawn sky. Brilliant, swift, impossible to look away from—
A movement that seemed less like it was swung with strength and more like it might cleave through air, shadow, and space itself in a single instant.
Watching it was enough to make my mind go blank for a moment... It was truly, incredibly beautiful.
Why was I spouting this bullshit, you ask?
Because I was one step away from getting beaten to hell.
Thwack!
“Gah!”
The wooden sword slammed heavily into my side.
The breath was knocked out of me.
‘Goddamn it, fuck! This man doesn’t know the meaning of moderation, moderation!’
I gritted my teeth and took a step back, then immediately raised my sword again.
Garen was staring at me calmly, not a single breath out of place.
“You’ve gained speed.”
For a second, I almost got moved by that, but then the next words—or rather, the wooden sword—came down.
“Your stance has improved from before, too.”
Clack!
This time, our swords collided.
Before I could twist and deflect it, Garen’s wooden sword came in again.
Clack!
I barely blocked it, but my wrist rang with numbness.
“The problem is.”
Garen spoke in a low voice.
“You’re strangely fearless.”
I panted as I asked,
“Huff... huff... Is that... a compliment...?”
“No.”
Thwack!
I got hit in the arm.
“You’re afraid of dying.”
Clack!
“But you don’t fear the situation itself.”
I went in again.
I forcibly deflected the sword coming diagonally down from the upper right and dug inside.
Garen didn’t miss it.
“You were like that when I first saw you, too.”
“Huff... I was...?”
“You were the first guy who saw me and talked back instead of getting scared.”
For an instant, the tip of my sword wavered. Garen didn’t miss that opening and tapped my thigh with his sword.
Thwack!
“Focus.”
“Aaagh! Ow, it’s hard to focus when someone keeps talking to me while we’re fighting!”
Even as I said that, countless thoughts flashed through my mind and vanished.
After getting the Dimensional Archive, I’d seen way too much truly rough shit.
Strange and grotesque scenery, things that weren’t human, places where one wrong step meant instant death.
After seeing and passing through that kind of thing over and over, had I become able to just let most situations slide? Or was the passive mental protection or whatever guarding my mind...? I wasn’t sure either.
But I didn’t think Garen was wrong.
Only after we exchanged several more bouts did Garen lower his sword.
I let out a rough breath and planted the tip of my wooden sword on the ground. Today, too, my entire body was drenched in sweat.
“Being fearless... is a double-edged sword.”
Garen said as he picked up a water bottle.
“If used well, it can save your allies’ lives. If used poorly, you die first.”
“...I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Especially if you want to learn aura.”
At those words, my heart gave a small jump.
“Don’t die before the month is up.”
“Heh, how kind of you. I absolutely won’t die~”
“I’m not joking.”
I gave a faint laugh.
“Understood.”
I thanked Garen and put away the wooden sword.
✧ ✧ ✧
When I arrived in front of the guild, I saw Mari and Kaya.
Mari glanced at me and said,
“You’re a rag again today.”
“...The training was very beautiful, you see.”
“Getting beaten up was?”
“Correct~”
Kaya let out a hollow laugh, gave me a quick treatment, then jerked her chin toward the guild door.
“Let’s go in.”
“...Yes, ma’am.”
We stood in front of the request board.
“This time, let’s go with clearing out a goblin lair.”
I raised my head. Mari read it once too, then took down the request form without saying much.
“Not bad. If it’s just emptying out one cave, it’ll be over quickly.”
‘Quickly, my ass.’
It was definitely going to take fucking forever, but I didn’t show it.
When we went to the reception desk, Luce raised her head.
“Good morning.”
“Yes, good morning, Miss Luce.”
“Have you chosen a request?”
“Yes.”
Luce took the request form and unfolded it.
“You’re going a bit far today.”
“Yes, we’re going to empty out a lair.”
“This looks like it’ll take quite some time... You should bring lunch with you.”
Mari said briefly from beside me,
“We’ll pack something simple before we go.”
“That’s a relief, then.”
Luce set down her pen, organized the request form, and held it out.
“It’s been confirmed. Please be careful out there.”
“Yes, Miss Luce, you be careful at work too.”
Luce’s gaze lingered on me for a moment, then she smiled softly.
“Yes, have a safe trip.”
“We’ll be back!”
We left the guild and headed straight to the Sunset Hearth.
When we opened the door, a familiar smell washed over us.
From inside, Nia spotted us and waved.
“Oh! You’re really early today.”
“Yes, we’re going to clear out a goblin lair deeper in the forest.”
“Are you?”
At my words, Nia’s face stiffened a little, but she soon nodded.
“Wait just a moment.”
A short while later, Nia packed us several loaves of bread, dried jerky, and a waterskin. She hesitated for a moment, then held out another small cloth pouch.
“This is on the house. It’s meat salted and dried. It should be tasty.”
After saying that, Nia half-forcibly placed it in my hand. Kaya smiled gently beside me.
“Thank you!”
Mari took the bread and muttered,
“Why is this guy so sociable...?”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Nothing, forget it.”
“I am pretty awesome at sociability, aren’t I? Hehe.”
Mari looked at me with an expression of utter disgust and said shortly,
“What are you even saying? Let’s hurry up and go.”
“Okay.”
We went straight into the forest.
Nothing much happened near the entrance.
We dealt with three ordinary goblins loitering along the path, and a little farther in, an Iron-Tusk mother and its young popped out, so we turned them both into delicious roast meat.
In the past, even a short fight like this would have made my breathing grow rough, but now my body was simply preparing for the next move.
As we continued into the forest, the trees and grass gradually disappeared, changing into rocky terrain full of boulders and stones.
There was still nothing visible around us.
When we reached the cave entrance, a familiar smell rose up first.
The air was mixed with the scent of damp earth, rotting leather, and old blood.
When I first entered a similar place, it had felt like the inside of my throat was burning, but now it was different.
Mari floated a small flame over her hand. The round fire quietly drifted forward in front of us.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
The passage inside the cave was narrow and slippery.
Whenever the small flame flickered, the shadows on the walls writhed.
Just before we turned a corner, Mari flicked her fingertip, and a thin line of flame skimmed across the passage floor.
The very next moment, a shadow flinched and sprang out.
It was a scout goblin.
I stepped forward without hesitation.
Puk!
When I pierced its heart, it collapsed without even making a sound.
Like that, we dealt with them one by one, then stepped into an empty cavern.
There were no sounds or signs of movement. Even the Dimensional Archive was quiet.
“Hmm... There’s nothing here?”
Mari answered shortly.
“...No.”
At that moment, footsteps rushed in from all directions.
“They’re coming!”
Along with Kaya’s voice, a group of goblins burst out all at once.
Three ordinary goblins, two warrior types, two archer types on a high rock in the back, and farther inside, one shaman type stood there smirking with a skull staff in hand.
“I’ll take care of the archers first!”
Mari stretched out her hand.
In an instant, two fireballs formed in the air and shot upward at the same time. One scorched an archer’s face, while the other set fire to the lower half of another, making it scream.
At that moment, I collided with the main group in front.
I deflected an ordinary type’s club with my sword and immediately cut the leg of the warrior type beside it. In the moment it staggered, I quickly stabbed its neck and twisted the blade free.
I turned my body to dodge a rusty blade flying in from the right, then carved deeply through an ordinary type’s upper body.
Blood splattered, and the inside of the cave grew even noisier.
“Left!”
My body reacted before Kaya’s instruction had fully registered.
An ordinary type was quickly closing in with a dagger, so I took a half-step back to avoid it and pierced its left eye with my iron sword.
Puk!
At that moment, an arrow from an archer above grazed my shoulder.
“Urgh...”
Boom!
Mari’s flames exploded against the rock above. The surviving archer type was engulfed in fire and fell, screaming.
At the same time, Mari raised her palm and set up a short wall of fire in front of the shaman type.
The shaman type, who had been chanting a curse, flinched and stopped.
“I’ll watch the shaman!”
Mari shouted through gritted teeth.
The moment I heard that, I moved.
The remaining warrior type and one ordinary type rushed in again. I blocked one blade and kicked the other in the shoulder, shoving it back.
My body moved strangely well.
I immediately cut down the warrior type, then slashed across the neck of the last remaining ordinary type and brought it down.
“Now!”
Kaya shouted briefly.
At that moment, a fireball erupted from Mari’s fingertips and flew over the wall of fire, striking the shaman type square in the face. It screamed as it fell backward.
That was the last of them.
When Mari lowered her palm, the wall of fire died down.
Silence arrived.
The only thing we could hear was the rough breathing of the three of us.
“Haa... It’s over.”
Mari said like a sigh. And the moment she finished speaking, she leaned her shoulder against the wall and drew in a deep breath. The flame at her fingertips slowly went out.
“Miss Mari, are you okay?”
When I asked, Mari glared at me.
“Do I look not okay to you?”
“Do you need support?”
Mari immediately frowned.
“No. I don’t need it.”
“Huh? Really? Then that’s good for me.”
I turned away without lingering. Behind me, Mari muttered in an irritated voice,
“What the hell, seriously...”
Just then, Kaya swept her gaze over the inside of the cave one more time and quickly walked over to me.
“It looked like your shoulder got hit earlier. Let me see.”
“Ah, it only grazed me a little. It’s nothing.”
Mari pushed herself off the wall and looked this way.
“You got hit?”
“Uh... just a little.”
Mari looked at my shoulder, and her eyebrows shot up.
“You’re bleeding.”
“Come on, this much is fine.”
“That’s not fine!”
Mari’s voice rose higher than usual. The sight was a little unexpected, so I blanked out for a moment.
Without hesitation, Kaya grabbed my shoulder and pulled back the clothing around the wounded side.
“Eek, this is a bit embarrassing.”
“Be quiet.”
Because the arrow had sliced a long tear through my flesh, blood was flowing more than I’d expected.
Kaya’s expression hardened at once.
“Don’t move. Stay still.”
“...Yes.”
Her voice was low and firm.
Soon, a pale golden light spread from Kaya’s fingertips. As holy power seeped into the wound, the burning pain began to be pressed down little by little.
The hot, open flesh very slowly tightened, and the throbbing sensation sank layer by layer.
I gritted my teeth and steadied my breathing.
“Holy power... is the best...”
“So you still have the strength to talk nonsense. I’m not done yet.”
Kaya took a white bandage from her leather pouch. With practiced movements, she checked the wound once more, then wrapped it tightly from my shoulder down beneath my armpit.
When the bandage tightened, the wound throbbed, but the feeling of blood leaking out lessened greatly.
“Don’t use your right arm too widely today.”
“Yes... thank youuu.”
Mari frowned beside me.
“That’s why you should’ve been more careful.”
“No, that was because of the situation...”
“What situation? You didn’t even see the arrow coming.”
“No... how am I supposed to see that?”
“Shut up.”
She said that, but Mari couldn’t take her eyes off my shoulder.
Only after pressing the bandage down and securing it did Kaya take her hand away.
“This should hold for now. Let’s look at it again after we get back.”
“Yes.”
I carefully moved my shoulder. It still hurt, but the sensation of hot blood flowing like before was gone.
“Hmm... Miss Kaya, are you hurt anywhere?”
When I asked, Kaya looked at me strangely for a moment, then nodded.
“No. I’m fine.”
“That’s a relief!”
At those words, Kaya smiled slightly with a very strange expression.
Mari saw that and spoke as if sighing.
“You really are a handful.”
Leaving Mari’s grumbling behind, we searched through the cave once more. There were no living ones left.
We’d really taken down a lot this time.
After extracting the magic stones one by one and leaving the cave, the sun had already sunk quite far.
Beyond the forest, the sky was being dyed dark, and a cool wind passed between the rocks.
Thanks to Kaya’s first aid, the bleeding had mostly stopped, but the wound hadn’t fully settled down.
We sat for a moment on a rock near the cave entrance and had a late lunch.
The bread was dry, and the dried meat was salty, but it tasted strangely good. Kind of like eating rations after finishing some fucking brutal training.
Maybe it was because we’d emptied out an entire goblin lair, but even swallowing a mouthful of water felt good.
Mari was catching her breath with her back against the wall, and Kaya checked my shoulder once more as she closed the lid of her canteen.
“Come on, even if you look at it like that, I’m perfectly fine~ You treated it so well, after all.”
“...Even so, you need to get it treated properly once we go back.”
Kaya said that, but a faint smile rested at the corners of her mouth.
The road back to Bresen wasn’t smooth either. There were a few more short battles, but maybe because I was injured, Mari and Kaya seemed to push themselves a little harder.
Everyone looked tired, but our leather pouches were packed full. My shoulder throbbed faintly, but my steps were light.