Chapter 153
The Izbel Adventurer Guild was small as a building, but because the area surrounding the town was filled with abandoned mines and vast stretches of empty land, its outdoor training grounds were exceptionally well equipped.
At those grounds, young adventurers who had come early to watch the blacksmith tournament, along with newcomers who had only just become adventurers in this town, were gathered together. Sparring training meant to simulate real combat, led by Melt, was about to begin under the supervision of a female guild receptionist.
“Thank you all for participating in today’s combat training. Recently, the difficulty of gathering missions around Izbel has been increasing, and situations where real combat is expected have become more frequent. The guild believes it is urgent to improve everyone’s combat skills, which is why we have arranged this training session today.”
There were seven people gathered at the training ground.
Four young men roughly the same age as Lindblum’s trio of rookie adventurers, plus two men who were slightly older and seemed to have accumulated some real combat experience -and finally, one woman who had been introduced as a complete newcomer, having been an adventurer for less than a month.
“The person who will be sparring with you today and answering your questions is Melt-san here. She is an adventurer from Lindblum and a rising talent who advanced to Ruby Rank in only about two months after registering as an adventurer.”
“Hello! I’ve never really taught anyone before, but I can fight, so nice to meet you! If you want to spar, just say so! I don’t mind taking all of you at once!” (Melt)
Melt said this innocently, without any ill intent.
For a moment, everyone was taken aback, but the two men who seemed to have some combat experience quickly let irritation show on their faces and stepped forward.
“As expected of a Ruby, you sure talk big. Well, Lindblum gets tons of requests, so I bet ranking up is efficient there. Fine then, how about you start with me, miss?” “Sure! So, receptionist-san, what weapon should I use? This wooden sword? Or barehanded?” (Melt)
“Uh, um…then please use the wooden sword.”
“Got it! Then you use your own weapon, okay? If the weapon changes, it’s hard to tell movement habits, and it’s difficult to point out what needs improvement!” (Melt)
That offer came from nothing but pure goodwill. Wanting to give proper advice, Melt spoke with the intention of keeping conditions as close to real combat as possible, so she could point out areas that needed improvement.
However, if one only looked at the facts, it amounted to saying, “You use a real weapon; I’ll be fine with a wooden sword.”
It was an offer that could easily be taken as completely looking down on the opponent.
If those words had come from someone who clearly looked like a battle-hardened veteran, they might have been acceptable. But the person saying them was a cute-looking girl who couldn’t even be twenty yet.
She said it with a smile, without the slightest hint of seriousness.
And so…
The man drew the greatsword he had been carrying and lunged at her with a ferocity that didn’t feel like training at all.
“Mm… No good! Going for a big swing on your first move only works for surprise attacks!” (Melt)
“Gah!”
It happened in an instant. Just as it seemed Melt would be caught within the man’s attack range, she stepped in at once, moving in a direction where, because he was gripping the sword firmly with both hands, it would be difficult for him to release a slash. As expected, his attack was delayed, and Melt closed in, slipping under his guard and driving the two small wooden swords she held simultaneously into both of his shoulder joints, as if pinning them down.
With his joints completely controlled, the man dropped his sword mid-swing.
Melt then crossed the two wooden swords like scissors and pressed them toward his neck, as if about to sever it.
“See? Big swings at the start are no good. If possible, start with a thrust, okay?” (Melt)
“D-Damn it…”
“Hmph…”
His pride utterly shattered, the man picked up his weapon and left the training ground without another word.
The man left behind -apparently his partner- looked slightly apologetic as he spoke to Melt.
“Sorry about that. Even so, we ranked up early and reached Crystal, and we’ve beaten small monsters plenty of times. I’ll admit it…both of us got a little full of ourselves. We have never seen a real genius before. Neither of us.”
“A genius…? I wonder… But you know, before I became an adventurer, I trained alone for years. I fought a lot, practiced a lot, and then fought some more. Learning proper knowledge and fighting with it is important, you know? Please tell your friend: practice thrusts a lot. Then practice linking techniques from there. If he can swing such a big weapon, I’m sure he’ll get strong quickly.” (Melt)
“Yeah, I’ll tell him. Then…mind if I’m next?”
“Sure! Then use that sword, okay? Long swords are popular, huh?” (Melt)
Because Melt understood that the hostility directed at her wasn’t malicious at its core but only temporary, she passed along advice for the man who had left, as if she bore him no ill will at all.
Due to her complete lack of venom, the remaining man thought, Maybe I’ll comfort him first before passing that on.
“Then, please teach me.”
The man launched his attack with a proper attitude toward learning…
—————–
“Hah… I give up, give up! Even four of us together couldn’t win at all! And we’re about the same age!”
“Melt-san, how old are you anyway…? All four of us just turned seventeen last year.”
“Oh, I turn eighteen next month.” (Melt)
“That’s not relevant right now… I just turned seventeen last month…”
About an hour later, the four young adventurers challenged Melt together, were utterly defeated, and were now sitting on the ground, breathing heavily.
“I’m seventeen too, you know? …………Ah!!!” (Melt)
Suddenly, Melt let out a loud shout.
Everyone around her turned to look, wondering what happened.
“N-Nothing! A-Anyway, that’s the last spar, okay? You’re going to do it too, right?” (Melt)
She hastily covered it up and changed the subject.
The final sparring partner was the only woman among those gathered that day. She carried herself with a presence that made it hard to call her a mere newcomer, standing before Melt without a hint of an opening.
“It’s an honor to fight a Ruby Rank from Lindblum. May I use my own weapon as well?”
“Yeah, that’s fine! Ah, you use daggers like me!” (Melt)
“Yes, but only one. I’m still new, so I don’t have much money.”
She casually twirled the dagger in her palm as she spoke.
“Mm… Okay, let’s go!” (Melt)
“Oh? Are you sure it’s fine to stay with a wooden sword?”
“Yeah, it’s fine.” (Melt)
That was the moment…
The instant Melt finished answering, the woman had already thrust her dagger toward Melt’s neck…
…and then collapsed to her knees.
“Okay, my win! You’re really good! That surprised me! There’s nothing I’d fix!” (Melt)
“…I see. I’m honored to hear you say that.”
Every attack has a range.
As long as a weapon isn’t released, there is a clear limit to the effective range of its strike.
Gripping the very end of the handle, holding it with just the fingertips, dislocating arm joints to extend reach, forcing the shoulders’ range of motion wider, stepping in deeper than the limit.
Taking every secret technique, advanced art, and special skill into account, Melt still precisely judged the true range of the attack. She gauged the absolute limit where the blade could reach, and ensured it could not come any closer.
Instead of using her wooden sword, she balanced on one leg and kicked forward with the other.
As a result, Melt’s kick struck the woman’s abdomen an instant first, and the woman’s attack stopped just a few centimeters short of Melt.
…It was an optimal move born of an absolute eye for observation and kinetic vision in combat; a kind of extreme that even resembled Rue’s martial knowledge.
“Okay, that’s the end of sparring! I think you understand now: weak monsters are stupid. They’re probably dumber than animals, so you can hit them without thinking too much. But opponents who think will dodge, find ways to endure, and even pretend to run away. You must never let your guard down! Animals run away, but monsters think they’re stronger than humans!” (Melt)
That was how Melt concluded.
Despite a bit of friction and misunderstanding, Melt’s instruction that day ended with results that left even the guild receptionist completely satisfied.
…At least, on the surface.
—————–
After the newcomers dispersed, Melt received her reward for the instruction from the receptionist.
She was surprised by how much it was.
“Actually, the Izbel branch chief was watching that instruction, and he ordered us to pay you extra. He said, ‘Hiring someone of that level for such a reward would be far too shameful.’”
“Really? That’s kind of embarrassing! But…I did upset one person, didn’t I?” (Melt)
“Well…that was more my oversight, or rather something unexpected… Please don’t worry about it, Melt-san.”
Hearing that explanation, Melt smiled, clearly pleased.
But then she lowered her voice slightly and made a suggestion to the receptionist.
‘Could we talk a bit in the back of the guild?’ (Melt)
—————–
Melt was led past the reception desk, into the staff-only area of the guild.
Wondering if Melt had felt something during the training, or if she had done something inappropriate, the receptionist, who had been relying heavily on Melt due to the shortage of high-ranking adventurers, escorted her to the meeting room with a tense expression.
“Um… Was there some problem with how things were handled?”
“Huh? Ah, no. I just wanted to talk about something I don’t want others to hear. You’re the one who spoke with my partner, Seimu, right?” (Melt)
“Ah, Seimu-san! Yes, I was the one who handled that.”
“Mm. I was actually secretly listening to Seimu’s report back then…” (Melt)
As a beastkin, Melt could adjust the angle of her ears to accurately pick up surrounding sounds and voices even from some distance away.
With that, she continued.
“Rookie adventurers probably come to this town every year around this time, right?” (Melt)
“Yes, that’s right. Some of them even settle here. Thanks to that, even though this town doesn’t see much traffic aside from merchants, we can handle simple subjugation requests without asking other cities for help.”
Izbel wasn’t located at the literal edge of the nation.
However, being surrounded by abandoned mines, as well as steep mountains, dormant and extinct volcanoes, development had not progressed. There were no major highways extending beyond the town.
Of course, there were villages in the mountains, but few people visited them. While geographically it wasn’t the end of the continent, in terms of inhabited regions, it could certainly be called a frontier.
“Mm. The adventurers who stay every year, where are they now?” (Melt)
“Now that you mention it…they said they were moving their base to Lindblum some time ago.”
“I bet that happens every year, right? They come around this time every year, and then by the same time the next year, they’re gone.” (Melt)
“Now that you say it…that does seem to be the case.”
Nodding repeatedly as if something had clicked, Melt continued.
“Those newcomers who come every year; they probably have fixed terms so they don’t look suspicious. Anyone who stays behind is probably part of a bandit group. This year, it’s the woman who was with us earlier!” (Melt)
“What?!”
“She wasn’t a newbie. Her movements were those of someone who knows how to kill people. And that dagger she used… it clearly smelled of human blood. Not just a little…she’s killed a lot.” (Melt)
Yes, Melt pushed everyone to use their own weapons, and accepted this instruction job, all because she was listening in on Seimu’s report.
Her goal was to quietly earn achievements and secretly advance to Sapphire.
Though the motivation itself was somewhat childish: ‘I want to surprise Shizuma, who’s making my weapon.’
“If we capture her properly now and make sure she doesn’t learn that the guild is planning to subjugate the bandits, I think we can catch the boss too!” (Melt)
“…We’ll immediately investigate past newcomers, the timing of their transfers, and compare them with the transfer records to Lindblum. Melt-san…please keep this confidential for now. And please, don’t rush ahead and try to capture that woman yourself.”
“Got it! Then, see you tomorrow!” (Melt)
Watching Melt leave energetically, the receptionist let out a sigh.
“As expected of Lindblum’s promising newcomer… To think that even that cute demeanor was all a bluff… The woman definitely has her guard down…!”
And so, the guild-wide operation to apprehend the bandits quietly moved into action.
Melt didn’t know.
That Sapphire was a rank granted only when someone made a major contribution to the guild.
She simply thought: ‘If I catch bandits, I’ll be evaluated, so maybe I’ll get closer to Sapphire.’
But if she truly succeeded in capturing them, her achievement -trying to break through a long-unsolved mystery with what was likely the correct deduction- would be more than enough to merit a Sapphire Rank.
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