Chapter 2.05
Chapter 2 Part 5
Translator : PolterGlast
Proofreader : John4891
Mars took Nozomu to the outer suburbs of the city. The sun had already risen high, and its rays were gradually spreading the spring weather across the city.
Arcazam was surrounded by walls to prevent the invasion of demons and beasts that lived in the forests around the city.
The walls were built quite a distance from the city. This was because it allowed large-scale troop deployments in the event of a large-scale invasion, and also served as a storage area for supplies to maintain the troops.
Because it was located far from the city, the chances of being seen was quite unlikely, although not as low as in the forest.
There, Nozomu and Mars face each other.
Mars pulled out the greatsword on his back and suddenly dashed towards Nozomu.
"Kuh!"
Nozomu hit the side of Mars's greatsword while drawing his katana out, and at the same time dodged it by circling the opponent's side.
Mars's body was full of Qi, and he was clearly in a combat stance. It wasn’t the time to take this lightly.
"Wait, what are you doing!"
Nozomu didn’t understand why and asked Mars. Nozomu thought he would be questioned about things in the forest and about himself, but he never thought Mars would suddenly come at him with his sword.
"Nothing, I just want you to answer my question."
"Then why did you point your sword at me and attack!"
Mars didn’t answer Nozomu's question and started slashing. Nozomu was forced to intercept. The sound of 2 weapons clashing reverberated.
Mars used his enhanced physical strength to fire a series of attacks that made it look like he didn’t wield a greatsword.
He shot three consecutive slashes of vertical slash, horizontal low-strike, and reverse vertical slash. There was no delay in the movement of his slash, and it had sufficient power, suggesting that Mars's ability as a greatsword wielder was at a considerable level.
Continuous attacks with heavy weapons such as a greatsword were fairly advanced techniques. With half-hearted physical strength, he would be swung around by the weight of the greatsword, and he would never be able to release a flowing continuous attack.
However, Mars fired such powerful slashes at a considerable speed.
Nozomu dodged the first slash by turning his body sideways and crouching down.
In the final reverse slash, while raising the katana diagonally against Mars's blade, he stepped forward, changed the vector of the force that he received from diagonal to lateral, and moved to the Mar’s side while moving his own body in the direction he stepped in.
Nozomu used the momentum of Mars's slashes; however, Mars was also reading him. The greatsword interrupted the trajectory of the katana, and it was parried. The sound of metal was crisp.
Nozomu didn’t care that he was parried, and continued to shoot a series of attacks. There was a slight opening inside Mars's greatsword space, and Nozomu's katana almost reached him.
Nozomu's continuous attack was less wasteful than Mars’. Although he lacked speed and power, Mars could not counterattack because there was no chance.
Mars, who couldn't counterattack, had no choice but to use his greatsword dexterously to handle Nozomu's continuous attacks.
While holding his greatsword in both hands, Mars, whose hands were full, raised his body's Qi and released it at once. There was no name for this technique. It was just a release of Qi, but the release of Mars's abundant Qi delayed Nozomu's continuous attack, albeit slightly.
In that gap, Mars focused his attention on one hand and hit Nozomu.
Mars' fist, which originally had excellent power and was now strengthened with Qi, was comparable to the blow of a demon beast.
It was a blow that couldn't be ignored by Nozomu, who was under the influence of Ability Suppression and didn't receive much of the benefits of strengthening skill.
Nozomu blocked Mars's fist with his scabbard, and he flew backward to absorb the force.
The moment Nozomu landed, Mars was in hot pursuit. He closed the gap with a quick move, and activated the Qi technique "Dust Blade". The wind blade enveloping the greatsword came toward Nozomu, but just before the attack landed, Nozomu activated his instant move like Mars. He focused his Qi into his legs, strengthening them to the limit, and screamed at Mars at once.
"Naa!!"
Mars didn't expect Nozomu to rush in from the front.
It would be natural. Even though Nozomu had been attacking until now, he had always been focused on parrying more than attacking.
Nozomu rarely attacked even in mock battles.
This was because the instantaneous power required to attack was limited due to the influence of Ability Suppression.
Mars swung his greatsword down, and the force was so strong that Mars could not take any other action.
But, Nozomu's speed exceeded the speed of the greatsword that approached overhead and eroded Mars's opportunity. Nozomu’s unexpected movement caused Mars's sword to blunt slightly.
Before Mars's sword reached him, Nozomu invaded the inside of the greatsword's space. Nozomu hit Mars' arm, which was still swinging the greatsword, with his elbow.
"Guh!"
Mars's expression was distorted because he was attacked on a part which wasn’t protected by the gauntlet.
Mars released one hand from the greatsword and focused his attention on it, creating a mass of wind in his fist.
Mars released the mass of wind at a close distance to Nozomu.
Qi technique "Wind Mass Palm"
[A wind-type Qi technique that releases a mass of wind at once and blows away the opponent. It is a technique that can be applied effectively, such as increasing the striking force.]
The released wind blew Nozomu away, and the distance was widened onceagain. It was back to square one.
They stared at each other beyond the gap and measured the distance between them. However, only time passed without moving with each other.
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Mars’s POV
Mars was once again admiring Nozomu's skill.
(I see ... As I thought, he is better at pure sword skills ...)
Although I was overwhelmingly superior in power, I couldn't attack. After the first slash, I fired a series of speed-oriented attacks, but they were avoided or parried. If I tried to push it all the way, he would immediately release a counterattack.
My sword hunted him down, but I couldn't reach him.
I want to know. The reason he can be so strong like this, so I can also become stronger.
More, and more, stronger ……………….
Therefore, I have to know. About this guy who became incredibly strong ………….
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They turned their swords at each other, kept their eyes on the other, and remained ready for battle.
However, Mars sheathed his sword in, and dissipated his Qi while exhaling with "fuu".
"It was my fault. Suddenly slashing."
Nozomu doubted that Mars, who was so motivated to crush him, meant it, but for the time being, he also sheathed the katana.
"...I have something to ask you...When did you start entering the forest?"
Mars stared straight at Nozomu. His eyes clearly said he wouldn't let it go.
Honestly, Nozomu had no concrete idea about what to do after he killed a dragon. He thought it would be unpleasant to be known, but he couldn't think of what he wanted or should do with that power.
He realized that he’d been running away and knew it wasn’t good to stay like this, but he lost the purpose of "supporting Lisa's dream", and lost the reason for being in this school. He had no idea what to do.
The loss of this "purpose to become stronger" as well as the "escape" was also a concern for Shino, and now that he was aware of his own "escape", the loss of this "purpose to become stronger" became the biggest factor to Nozomu being unable to move forward.
That's why Nozomu had strong admiration for those who moved forward toward their goals, like Irisdina who said "I'll help if I find someone in need" and Somia who said, "I want to catch up to my sister".
"That's right... I started entering the forest from the first-year summer season. Well, at that time...Lisa...there were so many things going on..."
With Mars' pursuit, Nozomu decided to talk about something unimportant for the time being.
If he thought about it, the sign that Mars had been following him yesterday disappeared when he entered the forest, so Nozomu thought that Mars didn’t directly see the power of dragonslayer.
"...I’m shocked. Have you been entering the forest alone ever since Lisa left you?"
Mars was amazed at Nozomu who nodded and looked up at the sky. Because it was dangerous for students, the school didn’t allow them to enter the forest unless they met the requirements, and students didn’t want to anyway. Sometimes, some students got crazy enough to go and ignored the warning, but most of them were badly injured, or at worst, eaten by the demon beasts, never to be seen again.
After all, the students were inexperienced. No matter how high their grade and fighting ability were, they couldn’t survive unless they could make accurate judgments. That fact was made known to students each year at the expense of some reckless students.
"I'm quite convinced that you've cultivated that extraordinary precise movement and judgment in the forest."
Certainly, Mars was correct. After studying under Shino, he was constantly running through the forest and naturally, he was attacked by demon beasts.
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All of the demon beasts that attacked were low-ranked demon beasts. At the time, Nozomu had the same physical ability, but his swordsmanship, Qi technique, tactics, and judgment were all immature. No matter how low the rank of the demon beasts, there were no elements to win.
That was why it was important to know how to get away from any circumstances.
Enter the river to eliminate the odor, attach leaves on the body to mimic the surrounding, and climb the tree to get through.
Nozomu's skill on the battlefield was naturally acquired from his thoughts, judgements, and execution of various actions in order to survive in the forest.
The same was true for movements during the group mock battle Nozomu had with Mars’ entourage. Repeat one-on-one while constantly moving so as not to be surrounded.
This was acquired while fighting against the group of demon beasts such as Wild Dogs.
And the mock battle with Shino.
The battle with Shino who had extraordinary abilities. He would faint immediately if he acted even a little late, and if he made a mistake, he would sink to the floor.
He was in such an environment. Even though he didn’t like it, he had no other choice.
"So Mars, why did you call me here? No way, just because you wanted to hear such a thing. You suddenly started slashing at me, Oy"
Nozomu glared at Mars. Naturally, there was nothing wrong with Nozomu. It was a natural reaction. He was suddenly called and suddenly slashed.
"Uh, well, that is... what is it?"
Mars's tone becomes muddy. He may be aware that he had done something insane.
"???"
Mars suddenly stuttered.
As far as Nozomu could tell based on Mars' expression, he didn’t seem to know that Nozomu was a dragon slayer. He simply felt awkward about the sudden slashing.
When he saw that Nozomu had entered the forest, He didn't seem to have hesitated because he was convinced by Nozomu's sword and his power.
Nozomu was a little relieved because Mars didn’t seem to know he was a dragon slayer for the time being.
"In, In other words, what I want to know is..."
"Ahhhhhhhh! Onīchan, what are you doing !!"
"-Ge, This girl!"
The sudden loud ringing voice interrupted Mars' words. Turning toward the source of the voice, a girl with a face similar to Mars’ rushed over. She had an angry look on her face, and her gaze was focused on Mars. Looks like this girl is Mars' little sister.
"Onii-chan !! What were you trying to do by calling someone to such a remote place!!!"
"I-I didn't do anything! And, why are you here!"
"Onīchan went out in the morning with an agitated expression, so I thought it wouldn't be a good thing, so I followed him. Then, as expected, he is trying to harm someone in a place like this..."
The girl said so while lifting her eyebrows. Mars argued that she was out of her mind.
"That's not it! How is what I am doing a bad thing!!"
"It's a natural conclusion considering what onīchan has done so far! Just think how many times Auntie and I have bowed to the people who onīchan bothered!"
"Uh!"
It was true that Mars was recognized as a defect that couldn’t be touched by the people around him. Although he had the ability to be in the upper class, he was still in the 10th class, which showed how bad his daily behavior was.
On the other hand, Mars let himself be blamed now. Perhaps because he was weak against his sister.
Even if he argued a little, he would immediately be killed by the correct theory, and Mars himself knew that his behavior was bad and knew that he was annoying his family. Eventually he couldn’t argue anymore. His sister attacked him with one-sided statements.
"I was banned from my favorite shop because Onīchan went wild!"
"I was treated as a boss by a child of the same age in the neighborhood because of Onīchan!"
"I apologized to the neighbors all day and night because of Onīchan!"
Mars moaned "Gut!" or "Muu!" every time she talked. Each remark she spoke stabbed deep into him like a spear.
Eventually, it shifted to Mars's embarrassing past story.
"He was bedwetting longer than everyone." Or "He said he wanted to ride a horse, and when he jumped on a horse-drawn carriage, the horse was surprised and went out of control. It became a big catch for all the men in the neighborhood."
Mars couldn’t bear it anymore. Perhaps because of his shame in the past, he hung his head down and put his hands on the ground. Although he did it himself, it was still pathetic to see.
After confirming that Mars had sunk, the girl who was making fun of Mars came in front of Nozomu.
"I'm sorry. My foolish onīchan caused you inconvenience."
"A, no, I don't mind...Is your brother okay?"
"Yes. If I don't do this, my brother won't regret it. And because of him, I've had a lot of trouble. This is his natural punishment."
"I...I see…”
Mars, whose heart was broken, looked pitiful, and Nozomu tried to appease the girl, but the girl cut in as if to cast it aside.
Nozomu was angry at Mars who suddenly came at him, but no matter how bad he was, the girl had cast her brother away and abandoned him.
"Oh, I'm late to introduce myself. I'm Ena, the younger sister of a foolish brother who died there."
"Oh, thank you. I'm Mars classmate Nozomu Bountis."
Unlike Mars, she was a girl who greeted people properly and politely. She was a very mature girl, probably because her brother left her with many issues to deal with.
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience caused by my brother today. I'd like to apologize, so would you please come to my house? We have an inn with a bar so you can have lunch. "
She wanted to apologize. Nozomu said she didn't need to apologize, but Ena stubbornly said, "I have to apologize properly because of the inconvenience." He thought it would be a bad idea to refuse, so Nozomu decided to accept her invitation.
"Well it's okay, but what about Mars?"
"Oh, that's right. Onīchan, you're in the way, so walk fast!"
Ena kicked Mars. Mars got angry, exclaiming "What are you doing!", but he was depressed by his sister's glaring eyes. He followed her trudgingly.
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