Unexpectedly, Chiaki showed up for the afternoon training. Her attitude remained distant.
"Alright then, let's take it easy today. For now, let's start with Kei!" I felt a bit troubled and decided to focus on Kei's training. Since there were no other male members, I called him to ease the atmosphere.
"What's up?" he said with a foolish expression.
"First of all, fix that messy bedhead. You're so carefree," I said, even though I was worried about the relationships between everyone.
I approached Kei and whispered to him so that no one would notice.
"Kei-kun, I'm going to give you special instruction today."
"Huh? Is that going to be an extremely strict training session?"
"Don't worry. We'll take a break every hour, and I even prepared some snacks for you. If you need to use the restroom, feel free to tell me. I am a white-collar worker who works for a white company, as they say."
"That sounds suspicious."
"Don't make that face. I am tired both mentally and physically. If you reject me, I will become fatigued. I am not good at dealing with people. But don't worry, we'll take it easy today."
"Really?"
"Believe me! Trust me."
"Uh-huh."
As I moved away from Kei, who looked suspicious, I called out to Chiaki.
"Hey, Chiaki!"
"Hmm?"
"Watch over Hisui and Komachi for me. I leave it up to your discretion. Let me know if you see a silver shining pelican-like monster, but don't hunt it. That's the target monster this time. We are also watching ahead of you! Got it!"
Chiaki and I were awkwardly tense, and I ended up speaking quickly.
"Got it," was her usual unemotional response.
"...Maybe it's no use," I thought. My level of trust with her was probably close to zero. I should prepare myself mentally for her leaving the party.
Regaining my composure, I suggested, "Maria and Kei, why don't you come with me?"
"Sure thing," Maria nodded and smiled a little. Good, Maria doesn't give me too much trouble, so it'll be easy.
"Alright then, let's go!" I rallied everyone.
.
.
.
I instructed Kakko to imitate my swordsmanship in the early stages.
"It's sudden, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is. First, there are the joints, eyes, nose, groin, fingers, and skull, which are areas that can't be trained in humans."
"That's true. However, isn't it possible to strengthen or arm the body?"
"You can cover some of it with magic or weapons, but I'm talking about the areas to target. You see, Kei's strength lies in his stealthiness. Therefore, I think these vulnerable spots can be a significant advantage in combat against others. In fact, targeting weak spots is the essence of combat. Except for soft-bodied monsters or those with a hard skin or exoskeleton, the basic targets are the same as in humans. Especially in this dungeon, if you aim for the same vulnerable spots as humans, you can easily take down the low-level monsters."
"Special monsters won't appear here, and there are mostly beasts and reptiles."
"Exactly. I haven't learned any advanced techniques like swordsmanship. So, I've only been going for weak points or vulnerable spots. And that's how I can make those flowing moves."
"Really? With just that, you have amazing movements! You're a genius!"
"Don't praise me too much. I just know the enemy character's movements and imitate them from the game. The rest is just intuition. Maybe I have a natural talent for martial arts."
"Understood. There are patterns to the monster's movements. First, let me tell you about the movements of the monsters that appear in this dungeon."
I relayed to Kei the details of the movements of the monsters that appear in the Gunma dungeon. And I asked him to keep an eye on Hisui and Komachi, leaving the discretion to them.
"I instructed Kakko to imitate my sword technique in the early stages. 'There are parts that can't be trained in humans,' I said. 'It's sudden,' he replied. 'Yeah, it is. First, there are joints, eyes, nose, groin, fingers, skull, etc. These are the weak points that can't be trained.' 'I see. But if you strengthen or arm your body, wouldn't it be enough?' 'You can cover some of it with magic or weapons, but I'm talking about aiming for the weak points. Listen, Kakko's specialty lies in stealth. Therefore, in a battle against a person, taking advantage of these weak points can be significant, in my opinion. In fact, aiming for the weak points is the essence of combat. Except for soft-bodied monsters, those with hard skin or an exoskeleton, the weak points are generally the same as those in humans. Especially in this dungeon, if you aim for the same weak points as humans, you can easily deal with the weak monsters.'
' Special monsters don't appear here, right? There are many beast-type and reptile-type monsters.'
' That's right. I haven't learned sophisticated swordsmanship, so I've always focused on attacking the weak points.'
' Really? Is that why you move so gracefully? You're a genius!'
'Don't praise me too much,' I said. 'I just know the enemy's movements and imitate the game's movements. The rest is probably instinct. Maybe I have natural talent for martial arts.'
'Listen. There are patterns in the monster's movements. First, the movements of the monsters that appear in this dungeon are ...' I told Kakko about the details of the movements of the monsters that appear in the Gunma Dungeon.
'Why do you know that?' he asked.
'Oh, that's top secret.'
'...That information could be sold.'
'I won't sell this information. I love money, but I won't sell powerful information. Information is power.'
I had taught Kakko the basics of my sword technique.
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The training today was about to end.
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In the end, the Metal Peeler did not appear again this time, and the training speed was slower than yesterday.
That was expected.
However, this time, Kakko...
His growth rate has become remarkable.
Kakko's surprise attacks due to his shadow's thinness.
My basic swordsmanship "Shiki."
My basic martial art close hand to hand combat "Silat".
In addition, Kakko's wooden sword has the ability to drain magical power, which weakens the monster's inherent magic power and strengthens the wooden sword at the same time.
While demonstrating to kakko how silat martial art forms. A meta-movements practised as a single set all of a style's techniques and combat applications in an organised manner.
The combined effect between swordsmanship and martial arts made the monster's defensive power become so extremely weak to almost zero and Becaused of that it make more than double the damage of the judgment with the reinforced wooden sword, slaughtering them.
"A mere wooden sword... It's like a steel sword."
"Three have spawned!"
"Oh, yes."
Kakko swings his wooden sword and fixes his gaze on his target.
When Kakko held his breath, it created the illusion that he had disappeared. His presence seemed to fade away, as if vanishing into the mist.
I focused intently, determined not to miss a single movement or action. There were three monsters, each the size of a human, resembling large lizards.
Kakko used a special technique, the Art of Invisibility. Moving silently and gracefully, he approached the monsters as if on a leisurely stroll. Despite being within their line of sight, the monsters seemed completely unaware of Kakko's presence. The combination of the Shadow Presence rare skill and the Art of Invisibility made his presence virtually undetectable.
"Seriously?"
Despite my intense concentration, I lost sight of Kakko in the blink of an eye. I searched for him, using high-speed and parallel thinking to process my thoughts at an incredible pace.
"Found him."
Already, two of the monsters were dead. Only one monster remained. With a wooden sword imbued with spirit magic, he precisely targeted its weak points. He struck the eyes, severed the spine, and crushed the brain. It wasn't a swift feat. It was an ordinary speed.
An ordinary human's typical swordplay with martial art. However, his movements struck from beyond their perception, like the scythe of the Grim Reaper. The monster was sent to the afterlife without even realizing it had died.
"The Phantom Sixth Man. It has come to this. Truly terrifying."
I was delighted by Kei's growth and smiled broadly, grinning with glee.