Chapter 25

"......What's coming?"

He asks the question, but Haruki already knows.

After the horde of monsters passes, what comes next is the one who incited them—the boss.

The monster that appeared looked like a Silver Wolf.

But it was twice as large.

It was about the same height as Haruki.

Moreover, it moved on two legs in a forward-leaning posture.

That's a rare breed of Silver Wolf—a Werewolf.

The moment he understood, Haruki turned his back to the enemy and ran with all his might.

There's no way he could win!!

The opponent is a monster that intermediate adventurers deal with.

A beginner adventurer can't handle it.

That's why Haruki ran with all his might.

But,

"---Gah!"

He was hit from behind and flew back about ten meters.

He crashed into the ground, rolling, rolling, rolling... until he finally stopped.

His bones... were fine.

None of them were broken.

But the shock was severe.

His brain was shaken, and his sense of balance was off.

The Werewolf caught up to Haruki's all-out sprint and came at him with a speed that sent him flying another ten meters.

If it wanted to, it could kill him with a single blink.

Like snapping a toothpick in half.

Yet, the Werewolf approached with an eerily calm demeanor.

Come on, stand up. Get up.

And fight!

As if saying that, the Werewolf looked down at Haruki with a majestic air.

Ah... this is hopeless.

Looking directly at the Werewolf, Haruki understood.

He could only understand because he had become a little stronger.

That his power was just a little bit stronger.

He had increased his Agility by 1... no, that's not enough.

Increasing his Agility by just 1 wouldn't surpass its speed.

Even if he could escape, what then?

If he could get outside, his chances of survival would increase.

But the Werewolf would also come out.

Someone else would die in Haruki's place.

Someone would die because Haruki ran away.

Someone would die because Haruki didn't fight.

Such a future was unacceptable.

Haruki put strength into his legs and stood up.

It took him a second to get into a fighting stance.

In that second, the Werewolf could have killed him.

But it waited.

As if it had encountered a long-time rival.

Or as if it was looking forward to the fight Haruki would show...

"When you look at me like that, it's not as scary as I thought it would be."

It's like looking at myself in a mirror.

Haruki, who often observes monsters, chuckled and smiled wryly.

The moment he drew his dagger, the Werewolf moved.

The Werewolf casually swiped its arm.

Haruki could only watch.

It was too fast for him to react.

The claws hit the dagger he had just raised.

A heavy impact.

He endured it purely by reflex.

His body shivered in response.

This is just a jab.

This is still just a jab!

He realized this from the movement of the muscles.

What a monster!

He could still barely see it.

He could catch the blur.

But it wouldn't blur any more.

Focus.

Focus!

He tried to control his consciousness, suppressing the panic that threatened to overwhelm him.

Observe, perceive, imagine, and defend.

He recognized the Werewolf's movements the moment it moved.

He recognized and perceived them.

Right!

The point was slightly off from where he had imagined.

His fist grazed his cheek by a hair.

The impact made him dizzy.

A brief blank moment.

When he realized it, Haruki was on his knees.

His arm strength was considerable.

If he took a direct hit, he would lose consciousness.

Cold sweat trickled down his temple.

The Werewolf looked down at him with a provocative gaze, as if to say, "Is that all?"

"---Grr!"

He gritted his teeth and stood up.

From there, one hit, two hits.

He took heavy attacks, barely avoiding them.

"---Grr!"

He was hit by a heavy attack and blown away.

Again and again and again.

He took hits, was blown away, rolled, and stood up, over and over.

"Ha... ha..."

His body was a mess.

Every time he was blown away, his heart screamed.

Run now.

Give up.

Leave the rest to the defense force.

If he left it to others, he wouldn't have to suffer so much.

He wouldn't be beaten up for a futile struggle.

So run away right now!

But Haruki shook his head.

He didn't know how many people would become sacrifices if he went outside.

An adventurer's job is to save people.

Haruki couldn't choose a path that would sacrifice someone.

Every time he took a hit, he desperately tried to engrain the opponent's preparatory movements and muscle movements in his brain.

He compared his predictions with the results and made adjustments.

To the opponent, it was a light attack.

But Haruki took the brutal hits over and over with his dagger.

He didn't feel alive at all.

His hands and feet became slower with each hit.

But---it was interesting.

Haruki was enjoying the situation.

Even in a life-or-death situation, he was smiling.

In fact, as the Werewolf seemed to be sizing him up,

he was also sizing up the Werewolf.

It was interesting.

There was nothing more enjoyable.

"Good. Very good!"

Was he crazy, or was he broken?

Haruki laughed every time he took a hit.

The opponent was strong.

Overwhelmingly stronger than him.

In contrast, Haruki was a mess.

He was almost dead.

Despite that, his body was heating up.

A power that didn't show in normal combat was surging through his body.

He was getting better and better at defending against the Werewolf's attacks.

The more he knew, the more he could see.

The more he did, the more accurate he became.

The Werewolf's movements were the most refined of any monster Haruki had encountered.

Preparatory movements. Muscle usage. Flexibility. Center of gravity. Protrusions.

Everything converged beautifully and efficiently to the result.

It was like a formula.

Because it was beautiful, the result was self-evident.

Even though the attacks were too fast to see, he could tell from the slightest movement beforehand.

How could he not enjoy this!?

The Werewolf increased its speed.

But Haruki could still keep up.

The Werewolf's attacks didn't even blur; they vanished.

But Haruki defended against them.

Just from the muscle movements a split second before the attack, Haruki could predict the Werewolf's target.

He felt like he could fight forever.

He was certain he could do something.

But it still wasn't enough!

It must have been the Werewolf's full power.

Even in a full defensive stance, Haruki was blown away when he blocked the attack.

He didn't have the strength to stop the Werewolf's arm power.

The distance between Haruki and the Werewolf was thirty meters.

The next time he stood up would probably be the last.

He had a premonition.

As if confirming his premonition, a strong killing intent emanated from the Werewolf.

Haruki took out his skill board and allocated one point.

Then he stood up with his dagger and put on his mask.

Seeing Haruki stand up, the Werewolf smiled.

As if praising the efforts of a comrade in arms.

And it seemed the Werewolf was also certain that Haruki was coming to kill him.

That the next attack would be the last.

The Werewolf's figure vanished.

"---!"

In the next instant,

the Werewolf was attacking right in front of Haruki.

But Haruki was already in a defensive stance.

He knew exactly where the next attack would come from.

All he had to do was follow it.

And it was exactly as Haruki had predicted.

The Werewolf swung its arm at top speed to slash Haruki.

Haruki smiled.

He slightly adjusted the timing of his block and deflected the attack with his right dagger.

Then,

"Ooohh!!"

Haruki thrust his left dagger at his predicted point,

with the same beautiful movement as the Werewolf.

It was the magic sword he had bought from Akane the other day.

Its sharpness had increased significantly while he was fighting the Black Raccoon.

- Skill

Imitation 0 → 1

Haruki imitated the Werewolf's movements and thrust smoothly.

The magic sword, which had grown during the fight with the Black Raccoon, pierced the Werewolf's chest.

He used the Werewolf's momentum.

Therefore, the magic sword pierced deeper than expected.

But,

"---Gah!!"

Haruki was hit by the impact and flew away with the Werewolf.

His mask flew off, and he lost his grip on his dagger and magic sword.

He crashed to the ground and rolled multiple times.

The pain was so intense, it felt like his limbs were torn off.

A brief blank moment.

Wincing in pain, he opened his eyes.

Next to Haruki, who had fallen to the ground, the Werewolf lay with the magic sword embedded in its chest.

Blood was gushing out of the wound.

The Werewolf's eyes were still moving.

But that was all.

It didn't try to stand up.

If he had stabbed its heart, it wouldn't be able to stand up.

The Werewolf looked at Haruki.

There was no hatred in its eyes.

Rather, it had a very human-like expression.

As if to say, "Oh well, I got beaten."

"...It was pretty fun. But I'm done with this."

Yeah, I know.

The Werewolf laughed as if making a joke and then closed its eyes.

Suddenly, an intense heat surged through his body.

A heat like never before.

Unable to even stand, Haruki lost consciousness.

Next time, Haruki's presence will finally grow.