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Chapter 27 - Chapter 25 - Tag!

A few hours later, at Lord Gishie's household:

Alice peers out the window of her room, seeing her father and mother dressed up and ready to go to some sort of event. She realizes that they have been absent from home on the same day once a week. Going to events isn't uncommon as the Lord of the region, but something about this event seems secretive. She talks to her older sister about it, who has now been informed of the Seiei dojo's plan. Her older sister, Rika, uses physical enhancement to follow her step-father's carriage to a conspicuous location. Shady characters are gathering in a small stone building that looks innocent from the outside. She returns home to relay the information to Alice. Hard-rooted evidence hasn't been discovered yet, but something so suspicious warrants an investigation by the Seiei Dojo.

Meanwhile, at the Seiei dojo:

I'm now following Mito and Shiki to the training yard of the dojo. I don't know what sort of training I'm about to undergo, but I have to show them I'm no pushover. So I'll do whatever training they have for me, and then some!

Mito: "Okay new guy, Obo told me how your treasure works. You've been living your whole life with the weights on, correct?"

Adachi: "Precisely. I'm confident in my speed when I don't have the weights on."

Shiki: "In that case, let's first test your physical capabilities without the weights on! We know you can hold your own in combat, but above-average physical prowess isn't enough in a fight against an intelligent opponent. So, let's start with a game of tag!"

Adachi: "Tag? What's that?"

Shiki and Mito look at me with shocked and disappointed expressions.

Mito: "You've never played tag?"

Adachi: "I've never had friends my age to play games with!"

Mito playfully puts on an exaggerated expression of pity.

Mito: "That is just too tragic! Well, regardless, you're going to learn today!"

Mito and Shiki explain the rules of tag to me in a few seconds. It sounds simple enough.

Shiki: "That being said, the only people playing this game are you and Mito. I believe I'm too old to be playing such games! Pahaha-"

Shiki breaks into a coughing fit and recovers shortly.

Shiki: "Adachi will be 'it.' All you have to do is touch Mito. Easy, right?"

I nod and turn to Mito. He's entirely composed, not worrying about losing in the slightest. I suppose he's underestimating me.

Shiki: "Three, two..."

Mito is still relaxed, even bored! I stance myself to take off towards him, pouring midst into my legs.

Shiki: "...one, and GO!"

I explode forward at breakneck speeds, arm outstretched to tag Mito. I feel as if I'll touch him any second, but my hand meets nothing but thin air. Where has he gone?

I hear something land softly behind me. Before I can react, Mito whispers into my ear.

Mito: "You have all that speed and no idea how to use it."

I swing my arm around, trying to catch the voice that was just directly behind me moments ago, only to find that he's already a few meters away from me.

Shiki laughs and applauds loudly. It's just supposed to be a game, but I feel like my pride is being trampled on. All that training I did pales before Mito, who has been training for longer. I've been foolish to think that I could compare to anyone in this dojo right off the bat. I'll swallow my pride and train to become the best!

I continue pursuing Mito, who continues to stay a few steps ahead of me. As I desperately chase him, he lectures me about what I'm doing wrong. I'm almost out of breath, but he continues to talk while calmly evading all of my attempts. This is humiliating, but I must persevere.

Mito: "Honestly, I'm not much faster than you. All those years you've had the weights on clearly haven't been in vain. If you didn't have any wasted movement, you would have a shot of catching me right now."

Wasted movement? As I continue to pursue Mito, I observe his movement closely. Now that he mentions it, I can see the difference between us. Not only are his movements perfect, but he's also reading my movements! I'm projecting my next move every time it enters my mind.

On the other hand, Mito's movements aren't predictable. It's almost as if nothing is going through his head as he moves. He plays off his own momentum to boost his speed in specific directions. He acrobatically swings onto his arms and moves in ways that I've never seen before. This isn't combat... It's an art form!

I need to stop thinking just like Mito... no. Instead, I need to think more. His movements result from years of relentless training, which I can't replicate at this moment. He's allowing his body to react freely to the moves I'm broadcasting ahead of time. He knows how I'll move based on where my eyes point or how I position my body. All I have to do is send a false signal!

Now, the problem is how to send a false signal. Every time I plan a move in my head, I subconsciously project it for Mito to read. To trick Mito, I first have to trick myself. That's it!

I envision my next move in my head and fully believe I'm going to do it. Swinging my right arm forward, as expected, Mito has read my move ahead of time. Now it's time to improvise and allow my body to do what it wants without thinking. Following the momentum of my missed swing, I enable my momentum to continue in a circular fashion. Next, I pirouette on my right leg, allowing my left leg to continue my momentum.

I feel an overwhelming sense of liberation by allowing my body to do what it wants, free of thinking. Time slows down, and I observe my body moving on its own. My right leg leaves the ground as my left leg lifts above my head. Mito had only moved back far enough to dodge my arm, so he wasn't expecting my left leg to come from above.

Finally, he notices my leg coming from above his head. I've got him now!