Chapter 46
"All right, that counts as practical training, I suppose."
I was satisfied that I had gotten a feel for using the scythe and 【Light Magic】. That said, I have absolutely no intention of continuing to play like a magic swordsman—or rather, a magic scythe wielder.
Now that I know I can at least move around, I intend to go back to supporting everyone from the rear as usual. That suits me far better.
"Izam wielding a scythe was so cool!!!"
"You looked really natural with the scythe! 【Light Magic】, on the other hand, was incredibly awkward!"
Iris was writhing her tentacles in great excitement. That girl often had such masculine tastes. And Ruby! There was nothing wrong with a skeleton using 【Light Magic】! Sure, I was a little dark and wore an excessively suspicious silver mask, but still!
Now then, let's see what they dropped. I already know there probably isn't anything worthwhile, though.
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Broken Straight Sword; Quality: Trash; Rarity: C (Common)
A straight sword broken halfway through. Rust has formed across its entire surface.
It has no value as a blade and has practically become a blunt weapon.
Goblin Club; Quality: Trash; Rarity: C (Common)
A club used by a Goblin.
A crude item made by shaving a thick branch just enough to make it easy to grip.
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Wow, the forum was exactly right. If I remember correctly, there should also be a 'Goblin Liver' used as a 【Cooking】 ingredient. Apparently it has invigorating properties, but who would eat something like that?
"I knew it, but it's all garbage."
"The sword can be melted down and reused as iron, but that's all it's good for."
The experience isn't particularly worthwhile, and the drops are all garbage. In that case, there's no need to hunt any more Goblins. Let's move on. We'll aim to reach our destination today!
"Hey, hey, you can't be satisfied with that."
"Huh?"
Jigoro furrowed his brow as he said it. Um, why did he look so serious? Let's just get moving already.
"That's right. Your movements weren't bad, but only because your opponents were far too weak. You can't call that gaining practical experience."
"What?"
No, no, no, Genzouro, you don't have to join in too. And his voice was awfully serious, too.
"Izam, from here on, deal with every enemy using only 【Scythe Arts】 and 【Light Magic】. Alone, of course."
"Sure thing. I'll tell you what you did wrong."
"What? Huh? No, I..."
What? Why? What was going on? Why were the two of them trying to drill close-quarters combat into me!? I had no idea what was happening!
"Well, speak of the devil! There's one over there!"
"Go, Izam!"
"I mean, just because you tell me to go..."
"Hurry!"
"I know, I know!"
Why? How had things come to this!?
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Your 【Scythe Arts】 level has increased.
Your 【Light Magic】 level has increased.
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"Hmm, your reads are starting to look pretty decent."
"Indeed. However, your split-second decisions are still lacking."
Why had things turned out this way? Since then, I had been forced to fight groups of Goblins alone again and again. For some reason, I was only allowed to use 【Scythe Arts】 and 【Light Magic】.
Thanks to that, both Skills had reached level 4. Level 5 was almost within sight. That alone should tell you how much fighting I had done. I had been hunting the Goblins in this area as if I intended to wipe them out!
"Um, you two? Isn't this enough already?"
"No."
"Indeed. Even with a handicap, you still couldn't stand against us."
The two of them had one goal: to turn me into a suitable sparring partner. Before each fight, I would strengthen myself with 【Enchantment】 and weaken the two of them with 【Curse Arts】. Apparently, they wanted to raise me to the point where we could at least have a proper match under those conditions.
This was beyond unreasonable! And whenever I tried to refuse, they simply ignored me!
"Well, once Grandpa gets going like this, no one can stop him..."
"If only I had a humanoid form..."
The two of them wanted an opponent for humanoid combat, so Iris and Ruby apparently wouldn't do. They had set their sights on me some time ago, and now that they knew I could move reasonably well, they intended to use this opportunity to drill the fundamentals of close-quarters combat into me.
I had no intention of becoming a mage who charged into the front lines!? They wouldn't listen no matter what I said, so I was gradually giving up, but still...
Well, after recently learning just how terrifying 【Blunt Vulnerability】 was, I was forcing myself to believe that I was being taught how to deal with enemies that got close. ...Even though I was the one charging at them.
"But you're really only a little short."
"Indeed."
I still haven't earned a passing grade? How many more Goblins do I have to kill...?
"Training is fine, but we're almost at the boss area."
"!!!"
When Ruby pointed that out, the two of them suddenly looked as if they had received divine revelation. I knew exactly what they were thinking.
"Please, make them stop."
"That's right. There's a boss here, isn't there?"
"It was a Hobgoblin and its minions, if I recall correctly?"
However, the two of them paid no attention whatsoever to my objections. They ignored me completely. Sometimes I wondered: I was the leader, right?
"Izam, get through this boss fight without taking a scratch. Naturally, the conditions remain the same."
"Then I'll give you a passing grade."
Finish the boss battle without taking damage? In close combat, no less? What kind of absurd demand was that!?
No, think of it the other way around. If I earned a passing grade, I could escape this incomprehensible situation. Thinking of it that way, I suddenly felt incredibly motivated...!
"All right... I'll do it...!"
I gripped my scythe tightly and steeled my resolve. So what if it was a boss!? So what if it had minions!? I would show them the tactics I had developed under their Spartan instruction!
So absorbed in those thoughts, I failed to notice Iris and Ruby behind me, looking as if they wanted to say something.
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You entered the Field Boss Area.
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"Gegya, gegya!!"
"Gegyaa!"
"Geg, geg!"
We had finally entered the Field Boss Area. A figure of average height and build appeared, leading a long line of Goblins behind it. This was the Field Boss, the Hobgoblin.
For now, I would use 【Appraisal】. They hadn't forbidden that, at least.
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Race: Hobgoblin Lv10
Job: Apprentice Warrior Lv0
Skill: 【Fangs】
【Claws】
【Club Arts】
【Gluttony】
【Intimidation】
【Night Vision】
【Command】
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It had the same Skill lineup as a Goblin, minus 【Small Stature】 and plus 【Club Arts】 and 【Command】. It felt like a straightforward evolution.
"...A club. That's troublesome."
For someone like me with 【Blunt Vulnerability】, blunt weapons could all become potentially deadly foes. Looking at them, every one of them was armed with a blunt weapon. The Goblins still had their crude clubs made by shaving down wood, but the Hobgoblin carried a club resembling a nail bat, with sharply carved bones embedded in a wooden stick. Even with our level difference and my superior equipment, I would still take significant damage from that.
"First, I'll take out the minions!"
The forum had said that it was easier to defeat the boss first. However, that was when fighting with an appropriate number of people. Although all five of us had entered the Field Boss Area, only one of us was actually fighting, which was rather strange.
On top of that, we had added the restriction of defeating them without taking damage. In any case, unless I reduced their numbers, I wouldn't stand a chance.
I made it look as though I was charging straight in, then changed direction and leaped far to the left. My first target was the one at the far left!
"Hup!"
"Gegii!?"
I swung my great scythe without even using a 【Scythe Arts】 technique. How many times had I swung this thing by now? I had been drilled until I could perform the motions of slashing techniques without assistance!
"Gegya! Gegigii!"
"Gegyaa!!!"
Seeing me cut down one of the Goblins in a single blow, weapon and all, the Hobgoblin apparently decided to overwhelm me with numbers. It seemed to have judged me stronger than itself.
It had gained enough experience to evolve, so its intelligence was fairly high. Unfortunately for it, though, it had picked the wrong opponent!
"Light Ball!"
I fired a Light Ball from 【Light Magic】 while stepping backward. This was actually my specialty.
The Goblin that had been about to attack me had never expected me to use magic, so it was blown away without even trying to guard with its club. Naturally, it died instantly.
"Gegii!"
"G-gegyagyaa!!!"
When the Hobgoblin, their commander, issued an order, the four remaining Goblins obeyed immediately despite their fear. Before, they had relied on a frontal assault, but this time they scattered in an attempt to surround me.
"No, no, that's a bad move."
"Geh...!"
This time, I ran toward a Goblin that was still taking up position on the right and swung my great scythe with all the momentum of my charge. The poor Goblin was bisected as easily as if it were made of butter.
Surrounding me wasn't a bad tactic in itself. But I could kill any of them in a single blow. Besides, they were completely defenseless while forming the encirclement. That was why one of them had been cut down before it could put up any resistance.
The best move in that situation would have been to sacrifice two or three of them as meat shields and use them to take advantage of any opening while I dealt with the others. But that was no longer possible.
"Light Ball, Light Ball!"
I had magic as a means of attacking from a distance. I could attack the Goblins that were panicking after their failed attempt to surround me at will. The two Light Balls I fired struck their targets, leaving only one minion.
"Geh, geh, gegyaaaaaaaaa!!!"
The last one charged at me with a roar that sounded like a scream. It radiated a sense of despair, but I wasn't about to pity it. I mercilessly brought my scythe down, splitting it in two from head to crotch.
"Gegiiii!"
So now you come, Hobgoblin? Did you use all your minions as decoys after watching them get killed one after another? If so, you were quite the commander.
"Hmph!"
It seemed to be approaching from behind me, but unfortunately for it, I had a third and fourth arm. Those arms held an indestructible staff. Using it, I deflected the Hobgoblin's club.
Genzouro had drilled this deflection into me. When I once said, 'As long as I can defend myself,' he told me that I had to learn it if I wanted to protect myself despite being weaker than a warrior. Thanks to that, my training had gotten even more extensive... I had really stirred up a hornet's nest.
"Geg!?"
However, thanks to that Spartan training, I had become able to deflect most attacks as long as they had no feints or other tricks. I redirected the Hobgoblin's strength and made it stumble. I struck it across the face with the shaft of my scythe.
"Gegiii...!"
"Come, weak boss."
I pointed the tip of my scythe at the Hobgoblin lying on the ground and provoked it. Perhaps it understood my intention, because it charged at me with its club raised.
"Geaah! Gegii! Gegyaaa!"
It swung its club repeatedly, but every attack was just a simple, wide swing. Such brute-force attacks couldn't possibly catch me now!
"...That's enough."
I knocked its sideways swing upward from below with my scythe. Rather than meeting it head-on, I applied force from a different direction, which made even this possible for someone as weak as me. It was an application of deflection.
"I have no interest in toying with you. This ends... now!"
"Geh!?"
Then, with the return stroke, I cut through the Hobgoblin's neck, arms and all. With an expression that seemed to say it couldn't understand what had happened, the Field Boss Hobgoblin was defeated.