“What is that monster?”
“I-I’m sorry, but it’s n-not a monster I know.”
“Tsk, useless.”
He struck the useless elf with the sheath of his sword. Eruya ignored the elf that was collapsed on the floor apologizing over and over again to study the beast.
Due to its size, facing it head-on appeared to be disadvantageous, but monsters were generally like that. And Eruya had killed numerous monsters without a problem. He felt foolish that he was scared even for a moment just because it was a beast he had never seen before. There was always need for caution, but being overly cautious and being scared was incompetence on its own.
“I’ll ask one more question. What makes you think you can win against me?”
“I can tell that you’re weak just from a glance…”
Eruya frowned and gripped his sword tightly.
“…Seems like your eyes are useless. Shall I carve them out for you?”
“You can certainly try. But my orders said it didn’t matter if I killed you here… So why don’t we start?”
That calm tone. It angered Eruya once again.
He wanted to swing his sword without saying anything, but running into the beast that did not seem worried at all would make him look like the weaker one. So he held back and scoffed at it.
“Then so shall it be, beast.”
“Then why are you just standing around like that? Do you not wish to prepare the elves over there?”
“No need. Speaking of which, don’t you want to prepare the lizards standing behind you?”
“Ah, it will be fine. They are only here to observe this king’s battle. Do not worry about them.”
“You’re brave to throw away your only chance of victory.”
“I am very grateful for your praise.”
Sarcasm didn’t work on it. Maybe it was intelligent enough to speak, but not that smart? While Eruya was thinking that, the beast twitched its whiskers and spoke.
“But I plan to kill you without any mercy, so I hope you fight with all your strength. As I said before, this is a test given to this one as well.”
“A test? A test for a watchdog?”
“Hmm~ It’s a test to see if I’ve improved as a warrior. Now, are you ready to start? I’ll leave the elves behind you alone and face only you for now.”
“As you wish.”
“This king’s name is Hamsuke! Go to the other world remembering the name of one who killed you! State your name as well!”
“…I have no name to give to a mere beast.”
“Then I shall erase you from my memory as a nameless fool!”
The gigantic figure leaped forward.
It was an unimaginably agile movement considering its size. A mediocre warrior would have been overwhelmed by the pressure of its approach and taken massive damage from the charge.
I’m different from those losers.
Eruya baited in Hamsuke’s charge and slid to the side without moving his feet.
It was the improved version of martial arts called ‘Shukuchi’, the ‘Shukuchi Kai’.
Originally, ‘Shukuchi’ could be used only to close distance with the enemy, however, this version allowed the user to move freely in any direction. The appearance of sliding without moving the feet looked strange, but it was extremely useful.
Dodging will shift one's center of gravity and break their balance. However, if one didn’t need to move in order to dodge, then one could attack immediately with the full strength of their lower body.
“Tyaaht!”
His sword swung down—
“—Kehut!”
Eruya flew back as if he had bounced off Hamsuke’s body.
It was an extremely hard body. What looked like fluffy silver fur felt strangely hard and metallic, and Eruya felt as if he had been hit by a mace. He nearly whited out from the impact.
The moment he hit the ground, Eruya unconsciously checked his whole body to see if it could move. He had minor bruises, but it didn’t appear as if he had any dislocated bones. He could fight on.
The fact he fell on the floor and allowed the enemy’s attack to touch him incensed him the most, but the warrior in Eruya told him that now was not the time to think of such things.
As soon as Eruya stood up, he located Hamsuke and prepared to receive its charge once again by extending his sword.
Something sticky flowed from his nose. When he wiped it, he confirmed it was blood as he expected.
“Bastard…”
Hamsuke watched Eruya, who was trying to stand up, with calm eyes. It would be more accurate to say that Hamsuke was observing him.
It was different from a typical beast’s gaze of ‘Can I eat it?’ or ‘Can I win against it?’. Those were the eyes of a warrior who was trying to determine the best method to fight from the blow they exchanged earlier.
I’m a test dummy to see if a monster grew as a warrior? Not someone else, but me?
It felt as unpleasant as ever, but considering its agility, he had to admit that it was not an average monster. Within a split second, this monster had predicted that he would try to flank its attack, and launched a jumping bodyslam. It was not a particularly powerful attack, but it could only have acquired that kind of response after training extensively.
“It seems so, indeed… If it keeps on like this, I would win easily. Ah, please don’t pay this king any heed. This king has never seen a human that could win against me.”
“You should save your words until the end. Unlike a mere beast, a warrior can use martial arts!”
He thought he would win hands down. That was why he was holding back, but now, he needed to be serious.
“Martial arts! 「Ability Boost 」, 「 Greater Ability Boost」!”
These were the martial arts he was most proud of. Especially ‘Greater Ability Boost’, which was not something a person on Eruya’s level could learn.
I’m a genius because I’m able to learn something like this! I’m strong!
He swung his sword and could feel how light and smooth the movement was. The sword moved exactly as how he imagined.