36-36 Instructors at the training center (1/2)

I flicked the sword in front of me and kept running... and before I knew it, I was running right through that horde.

Oh no, I've gone too far.

When I stopped and looked back I saw an old man in fancy gold armor riding a horse with the same gilded harness.

I couldn't help but take notice of his bizarre outfit.

What is that old man...?

”...... who is that?

When our eyes met, the old man looked at me and asked me that question.

But there was no time for idle chatter and rest.

Immediately, the sword I had just flicked falls.

If the soldiers pick up their weapons and attack me at once, I'll be in trouble.

Hurry.

This is not the time to rest.

Pop as many as you can.

I jumped into the crowd again, running around frantically flicking my weapon.

All the opponents had not only swords but also strange shields.

They seemed to be using them to repel the falling swords, but I flicked them off as well.

On the way, I saw a huge black cylinder that was emitting a red light, and a white cross-like object that was also emitting a red light, so I just jumped them all up with all my might.

I know that what I'm doing now is just buying time - but it's much better than nothing.

With that in mind, I played through the objects in front of me and returned to the end of the line, where the shiny old man was.

”You're ...... you're ...... you're ...... you're .......

The old man looked straight at me and seemed to be muttering something.

To be honest, I can't really hear what he's saying because I'm barely breathing and I'm firing my weapon around, so I'm gasping for air.

With a frightened look on his face, the old man drew his sword from his waist and held it up to me from his horse.

However... the old man was clearly not built for battle. His arms were thin, and his hands were shaking as he held even that thin sword.

Perhaps he is not a fighter.

That sword is just for protection.

He's probably scared of me, thinking I'm a dangerous guy who's out to kill him.

Under the circumstances, it's understandable.

There's no need to play with the old man's sword for now.

No matter how you look at it, he's not even in a posture to wield a sword.

He's just showing his resistance to me.

So I ignored the gilded old man on the horse and ran to the soldier who had started to pick up the fallen weapons.

After I finished playing with the weapons, I found myself back at the end of the line, where the old man had been.

There I stopped for a moment and took a deep breath.

While running around and playing with my weapon, I don't have time to take a breath.

Sometimes I need to get some air like this or I'll collapse.

As I was desperately sucking air into my chest, my eyes met the old man's again.

But the old man from before had been knocked off his horse and was slumped on the ground with dirt on his face.

What happened to him...?

I wonder if the old man is okay.

I'm a little worried about him, but some of us are starting to pick up swords again.

No.

We can't let them have weapons.

So he dove back into the army, running around, flicking swords and shields from one side to the other...

The next time I came back to the same place to catch my breath, the old man looked at me with a look of horror on his face.

What's the matter?

What's going on?

Maybe I look like a very scary person in his eyes.

After a while, the old man's face became distorted and he looked like he was about to cry.

Wait, that's not it.

I'm not in this place by choice.

I want to get out of here right now.

The old man looked like he was going to die of fright, and I felt sorry for him.

Even though he was the aggressor, I was still a little worried about the trembling old man.

I tried my best to smile, hoping that he would at least understand that I had no intention of attacking him and that I had no hostility towards him.

”Yes...

It may have been a little awkward.

Because of the strenuous exercise, she was out of breath and her face was tense.

But I hope you can understand my feelings, even if just a little.

So I lifted the edge of my mouth as hard as I could.

Then the old man's face stiffened.

Apparently, the old man's trembling had subsided.

I don't know.

Do you think he understands?

I was a little worried that he really understood my feelings, but then again, in the distance, I could see the figure of a soldier with a sword in his hand.

No, I can't let them have a weapon.

So I ran as fast as I could to the soldier.

I was going to keep going at this pace until I got there.

But then my legs started to give up on me.

Come to think of it, I hadn't eaten much food after a light meal earlier in the day.

Besides, I had coughed up a lot of blood when I fought that poisonous toad.

I thought I could handle that, but then I was hit by Lean's full force blow after blow, and then I kept getting hit by that big dragon.

And on top of that, all this crazy exercise.

It's no wonder I'm reaching my limit.

I'd better hurry up and get out of here...

Just as I was thinking that, my knees collapsed.

”Oh...!

Oh no...!

I misjudged the limits of my strength.

But I can't stop here yet.

If I stop, I'll be beaten to a pulp here.

When your feet are ruined, there's no escape.

Low heels have their limits.

You can heal a wound, but you can't heal fatigue or hunger.

Oh no... I can't move my legs anymore.

I've been moving too hard, beyond my limits.

I can't breathe.

I'm running out of air.

”Gahhh...

My lungs must've been overworked.

He coughed up a little blood.

His movements slowed down.

Finally, he stopped.

My head became fuzzy and the scenery around me became blurry.

I got dizzy for a second and lost consciousness.

By the time I realized, I was surrounded by several soldiers with swords.

I can't run anymore.

I can't raise my arm to hold the sword.

I can't even move my legs...!

The soldiers who picked up the sword attacked me at once.

This is it.

This is where I'll be killed.

But I managed to buy as much time as I could.

I wonder if Leanne, Inez, and Rollo escaped safely.

At least, I hope they survived...

That's what I thought, I looked up at the sky and prepared to die.

”────?

But then I saw something like a star twinkling in the sky.

The countless lights that filled the sky were like meteors, trailing towards me, getting closer and closer...

”Shooting Star”.

A rain of glittering arrows rained down all around.

Strangely enough, they changed their trajectory as if they were undulating in the air, and one after another, they accurately shot the arms and legs of soldiers, rendering them incapable of fighting.

That was...

I've seen the same thing once before.

I'm pretty sure that was the technique of a [hunter] instructor.

It was a technique of a [hunter] instructor, who showed it to me as a last act of mercy for my reluctance to give up.

It is a great skill of the bow that can accurately shoot all targets on the ground from the sky.

The soldiers who were shot in the limbs groaned and crumbled to the ground one after another.

However, there were still some who picked up their swords and came at me with terrifying expressions.

I can't move my body at all... I'm going to be killed.

”Draggrave”.

But the soldiers around me were blown away by a sudden gust of wind.