Episode 36 2nd week strategy battle (3)
A scene where the calligrapher wears a transparent ghillie suit and I and the goblin beheader confront each other.
“Grrrr… … .”
As the beheader let out a low, threatening howl, the common goblins watched from afar, unable to intervene.
Just as the bastard was about to kick the ground and swing his rusty cleaver,
– Boom!
A magic bullet that flew in from somewhere hit me squarely between the eyebrows.
The face becomes distorted and the head is thrown back.
But the beheader put his head back in its original position. He’s a tough guy.
The bastard’s eyes rolled and he stared at where the bullet had come from.
“Sir, don’t look away and look this way.”
You have to keep the calligrapher interested so he can safely target your weaknesses.
He charged at the beheader, swinging his staff of earth (physical) and casting Hummingbird at the same time.
The staff and hummingbirds are targeting the guy from both sides.
“Grrrr!”
The beheader’s body blurred in place and split into two as if using a magic clone.
The cleaver also splits into two and attempts to cut through the staff and the hummingbird at the same time.
Since it’s a boss monster, it knows how to use skills.
‘I rather like it.’
I was planning on hitting only one of the two anyway, so if you spread the power like this, I’m grateful.
Just before that, he retrieves the staff, steps back slightly, and controls the hummingbird.
– Phagec!
The beheader swung his cleaver at me as if this level of paralysis was nothing.
As I lean back, a rusty blade passes by.
He dug into the road and hit the side with his staff, but it didn’t seem to cause much damage.
He’s a guy with skills and traits that are focused on physical abilities, but I just charged up my mana and struck him, so it’s natural that no damage is done.
– Boom!
The second magic bullet of the calligrapher that sticks.
Another hit to the face.
Even as his head was tilted back, the bastard’s wide-open eyes were staring straight in the direction from which the magic bullet had come.
“I told you not to look away.”
“Ghaaaah—!”
As I extended my staff and tapped the spot where the magic bullet had just hit me, the beheader got really excited and rushed at me.
He must be so angry that sword energy comes out in streams from the knife.
I used [Thief Step] and walked between his attacks, keeping a close distance.
– Boom!
Another magical bullet striking the head of the beheading goblin.
The bastard seemed to hesitate for a moment whether to deal with me or catch the calligrapher.
I’m the one getting angry, but the real threat is from the calligrapher.
He decided to grab the latter first, so he crouched down in place with both legs bent.
It seemed like he was thinking of making a big leap forward.
“I can’t go.”
[Use ‘amplify’.]
[‘Hummingbird’ rank increases (E->C)]
– Pats pats pats!
The beheader’s movements completely stopped after being hit directly by a C-class hummingbird.
— Boom—!
The fourth magic bullet hits the face,
The beheader begins to stagger, unable to control his body.
The bastard gathered all the mana he had, put it into a cleaver, and threw it with all his might towards where the calligrapher was hiding.
The flying knife tore through the area without mercy.
– Kagagagagak!
Swamps and damp lands are haphazardly turned upside down.
The air was trembling, revealing the figure of a calligrapher.
Even in the midst of all that chaos, the calligrapher stood motionless in his spot, aiming his rifle.
– Boom!
The fifth sniper hit.
The goblin decapitator bent one leg, then dropped completely to both knees.
“That… … ugh… … .”
And then he finally collapsed.
The flesh turns to ashes and scatters.
“Got it. Let’s go.”
“huh.”
We started running again.
The rifle instantly reassembles into dual pistols, firing blue fire.
– Tutututu!
“Keeruk? Keeruk!”
“Huh??”
Goblins are in disarray after the boss monster was defeated.
Some block the path, while others run away or jump into swamp puddles.
As the calligrapher passed by, he let the ones he could kill pass by, and ran straight towards the totem, taking out only the ones that approached him.
As they got closer, the calligrapher fired his magic gun and destroyed the totem.
[0:18 seconds remaining]
+ [Number of Goblins Killed: 11]
+ [‘Formidable Enemy’ Killed: 120]
—————
[2:29 seconds remaining = 149 points]
+[Clear Bonus: 500 points]
—————
[Total score: 649 points]
It was quicker than my first attempt, but it took a while to catch the decapitating goblin, so the time it took was similar.
Goblins are also small in number, as you only kill them as you pass by.
But this time, thanks to defeating [Strong Enemy], 120 seconds were added.
It went up by more than 100 points compared to the first attempt.
“It’s pretty short. I think it can be shortened even more.”
“… … .”
The calligrapher nodded silently.
However, there is a look of dissatisfaction on his expressionless face, knowingly or unknowingly.
I quickly figured out the reason, but it was not something I could bring up first.
I asked as if I didn’t know.
“why?”
“… … .”
The calligrapher hesitated and opened his mouth.
After waiting patiently, he finally opened his mouth to speak.
“… … There is.”
“uh.”
“… …Can you give me another special lecture on magic bullets?”
He feels that his magic bullets are lacking.
The Goblin Decapitator’s talisman was incredibly good.
It is normal for a close-range boss monster to be strong.
Still, the fact that it took five shots from the rifle to take down the bastard must have bothered the calligrapher.
Well, it’s not just five simple shots, it’s five shots that hit the vital spot, right on target.
The defense wasn’t particularly strong.
Because I was marking perfectly and exposing my weaknesses.
It took a long time even though it was practically like shooting at a target, so I think they thought it couldn’t go on like this.
‘I heard you have a secret competitive spirit.’
The [enemy] device was originally installed to frighten freshmen, or to use a more polite expression, to make them feel like they were against a wall.
Feel frustrated at least once.
Although the calligrapher also felt a wall when facing [a strong opponent], rather than being discouraged, he immediately developed a desire to overcome this wall and grow.
It’s a welcome thing for me.
If the learner is motivated, it becomes fun to teach.
“Then, should we stop the strategy battle here for today and go to the training center?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
* * *
Training center.
Today, instead of going to the Mana practice room, I went to a private shooting range.
You can summon any obstacle you need to shoot.
“We will now begin the third magic bullet special lecture.”
“and-“
The calligrapher welcomed him with silent applause.
“First, let’s see how far we’ve progressed. Right now, [Magic Bullet] is ranked E, right?”
“huh.”
“How much longer do you think it will take to get to Class D?”
You must have trained on your own since the last magic bullet special lecture.
The calligrapher was lost in thought for a moment and then opened his mouth.
“… … Tonight? Almost done.”
“That’s fast. Okay, let’s go with that. Today, we’re going to learn a new skill.”
“all right.”
A large piece of wood was placed as an obstacle a short distance away.
In one hand he made a magic bullet and held it, and in the other hand he curled his thumb and index finger into a shape that made him look like he was going to shoot a sledgehammer.
“Let’s say this is a magic gun.”
After inserting the magic bullet into the hole, he snapped his fingers against a piece of wood.
A magic bullet that flies without any force, hits a piece of wood, and rolls on the ground.
“This is your current state. The magic bullets are flawless, and the magic gun is also good, but you are still using it only as a tool.”
In terms of inspection, it is a state where one only ‘swings’ well-known swords and techniques.
If you want to get stronger, you have to go one step further from there.
Why, some say that the sword is a part of the body, and others say that the sword is an extension of the arm.
The relationship between the musketeer and the magic gun is not much different.
“See you again.”
I made another hammer and put a magic bullet in it.
This time, he aimed at the piece of wood, concentrated mana on his index finger, and shot it like a magic bullet.
– Exactly!
The flying speed and the sound it makes are all different.
The block of wood shook with the impact.
“It’s a skill called [Injection]. Let’s learn it.”
Gather mana in your hand and concentrate it on the area where you want to send it, that is, your index finger.
And when you flick your index finger, you also release mana.
It is similar to the principle when drones use their fingers to shoot wind.
“… … .”
The calligrapher awkwardly made a peck on the cheek shape.
Place the magic bullet between your thumb and index finger, concentrate the mana, and then bounce it.
– Ting
The magic bullet flew in a large parabolic arc to an unexpected place.
It’s not that he’s clumsy in aiming, but rather that he’s not used to the act of hitting someone.
I had to immediately revise my training content.
If this continues, it will get stuck in a dead end without any need for practice.
“… … Let’s try it without a magic bullet. If you know how to send just mana, it’ll be a success.”
The calligrapher was busy snapping his fingers in the air.
I managed to gather mana into my index finger without much trouble, but I had some trouble sending it out.
Even when I snap my fingers, the mana remains on my index finger, or I send the mana out a beat earlier than that.
While sending it is important, timing it is also important.
Ultimately, it is a skill used while firing a magic gun.
– Bam
After some trial and error, a small ball of mana shot out from the calligrapher’s fingertips and touched the block of wood.
There was more mana left in the index finger than the amount sent out, but even taking that into account, the progress was quite fast.
I nodded.
“You’re doing well. Keep going.”
“okay.”
* * *
By evening, the practice had progressed further.
Now, it is possible to send out mana without difficulty using a single blow.
From this point on, I decided to train using my own magic gun.
If you finish up to here, you will be given the [Injection] skill, and then you can move on to the D-rank magic bullet.
“But what should we do for dinner?”
“… … ?”
The calligrapher’s attitude became somewhat ambiguous.
I’m in the middle of training and want to continue concentrating, but I’m too hungry to skip a meal.
I’m in a state where I can’t do anything.
I had no choice but to run the errand for him.
“I’ll just go to the cafeteria and grab something to eat.”
“thank you.”
The calligrapher handed me his card, telling me to pay with this.
A heavy, thick black card with a glossy black finish.
* * *
I picked up several different types of bread from the student cafeteria.
Chocolate, sausage, cream puff, muffin, croquette… … .
This should be enough for a snack.
After grabbing a few drinks and turning around,
“Hello!”
My eyes met with Han So-mi’s, who was sitting at a table eating.
Seeing her smiling brightly and waving, it seems like she no longer has the train incident on her mind.
I also don’t have any ill feelings toward Han So-mi.
If you think about it, he’s just doing his job as a leader, and I’m the one breaking the rules.
Besides, I thought it would be good to at least say hello to each other as we were in the same class, so I waved to each other.
“… … ?”
When Han So-mi waved her hand, Song Cheon-hye on the other side turned her head as if to check who she was greeting.
She had a big smile on her face as she took a bite of the cake, but as soon as she saw me, she immediately changed her expression.
There’s no need to be so serious, right?
Anyway, I waved my hand to Song Cheon-hye while I was greeting her and then went my way.
“Hey! Over there!”
Song Cheon-hye approached me.
“why?”
“That’s… … . Please show me your hand.”
The supporters ate it all
