As the pain from the blows subsided, I returned to the dojo, only to be surrounded by people bombarding with questions.
"How did you get so strong?"
"How can soone so young have this much power?"
"I watch your streams all the ti!"
The truth is, there isn't a one-size-fits-all answer for how to beco strong. Everyone's path is different, so honestly, they should be asking the master—my grandmother, rather than .
I was born with an unusually high amount of magic compared to others. My grandmother taught how to use it effectively, and eventually, I beca an EX-level explorer through my mastery of shikigami arts and necromancy. So, most of what I can teach is just what my grandmother taught . I don't have as much personal experience as they might think. The path I walked isn't easily replicated by others.
What worked for might not necessarily work for anyone else.
"There's no shortcut to getting strong. This kid was just born strong."
"No, that's not true—"
"Shut up... This one just didn't know how to use the talent he was born with. As for you lot, you're lacking in talent to begin with, so you better make up for it through hard work."
Apparently, in my grandmother's eyes, I'm just so wild child with great physical abilities who learned modern combat techniques. It seems like the older folks around us accepted that reasoning, but the younger generation looked less convinced. My grandmother didn't say anything else, though, as she continued to sit there, overseeing the entire dojo with an air of authority.
I still wasn't sure why I was invited to the dojo today, but since my match with my grandmother was over, I might as well offer to spar with anyone who wants to test themselves. After all, it's part of the training for them to experience sparring against a high-level opponent.
In the end, I spent the entire day sparring with those who volunteered. Halfway through, I ditched the wooden sword and just sparred barehanded. But honestly, there wasn't anyone who made feel like I needed to put in much effort. That's probably for the best—if there had been, it would've been a whole different story.
Still, there were a few people whose movents noticeably improved while sparring with . Those explorers might eventually beco top-tier if they continue training. They've got potential, that much is clear.
"Hmm?"
As I was being driven ho from the dojo, I noticed a ssage on my phone. I had a few, but the only person who sends proper ssages is Asagawa.
[Sumr break is almost over, huh?]
[I realized I haven't been to the beach this year.]
[You've been in dungeons the whole ti, right?]
Ugh… how do I respond to this? I know what she's getting at. She's inviting to go to the beach with her, right? It's still incredibly hot, even at the end of August, so there's nothing wrong with going to the beach. The real issue is... can I actually go to the beach with Asagawa?
I an, can I really pull off that kind of extroverted activity? ... going to the beach with Asagawa?
[Just the two of us, by the way.]
That's unnecessary information. But then again, it would be even worse if she invited a bunch of classmates. I'd end up being the odd one out, awkwardly standing around while they chatted away. I've never had friends, but I imagine that's how it would go.
"How should I reply..."
Maybe I should just decline from the start? If I'm going to regret it afterward, I might as well explain why I can't go and politely decline. That way, I wouldn't make her feel uncomfortable.
[If you're not into the beach, we can go sowhere else, like the aquarium?]
[Let's go to the aquarium then.]
[You really don't like it, huh? That made laugh.]
Phew... I managed to downgrade this to a normal outing. Did I, though? Isn't the aquarium a classic date spot? Did she set up?
No, I'm overthinking it. Jumping to conclusions and letting my thoughts spiral like this is one of those bad habits introverts have.
[So, an aquarium date it is.]
Wait... maybe I've been played.
Ah, well. An aquarium, huh? The last ti I went was on a school trip back in elentary school. It's not exactly a place I'd visit on my own. It's not that I dislike aquariums, but who goes there alone just to look at fish?
After replying to Asagawa, thinking I was done, I received another ssage. Did she forget to ntion sothing?
[Heyyy, Tsukkun!]
[Please be brief.]
[If it's sothing trivial, I'm going to ignore it.]
I like to get ahead of things.
I really don't enjoy ssaging with this person. She tends to go on and on without any real substance.
[What do you even think of ?]
[This is about the next mission.]
The next mission?
I haven't heard about any upcoming missions, though... What's this about?
[I'm not aware of any mission.]
[Really? There's talk of making a final push to conquer the Sapporo Dungeon.]
[And apparently, they're planning to mobilize all EX-ranked explorers.]
Huh? Are they serious?
Japan, despite being a dungeon superpower, has never conquered another dungeon since Jinguji Kaede cleared the Takayama Dungeon. Compared to other dungeon superpowers, Japan hasn't been very aggressive about dungeon conquests, partly due to a lack of manpower.
It seems like the governnt wants to finally conquer one to show they're making progress. And it makes sense they'd choose Sapporo Dungeon since it's one of the more advanced ones in terms of exploration.
Experience more content on m v|l e'-
[Got it.]
[I'll check with Shinano for the details.]
[Not ?]
[I'd rather ask Aizawa than you.]
[That's so an! Tsukkun? Tsukkun??]
Alright, that's enough. She may rember important things, but she never rembers the details. I'll ask soone else.
But if this Sapporo Dungeon thing is real, it could be a huge deal. Conquering the Sapporo Dungeon would be humanity's first successful conquest of a dungeon with deep layers in a long ti. This could be Jinguji Kaede's last mission as an active explorer.
Guess I'd better prepare.
Reviews
All reviews (0)