"--Okay, 16 points." That's exactly 50 points. "
Without a sweat, the breathless tenge gently grumbles.
When I picked up the weapon case I had left nearby, I entered the case like an iron sword.
Around here, the dolls [Mannequins] who had accurately destroyed the brain and stopped their activities were rolling on the ground. The battle lasted just a few minutes, and in that short amount of time, Tenge had already defeated a herd of mannequins.
Tenji, who had just finished such a task, turned around and opened his mouth unfortunately.
"...... I got away. I haven't even heard your name yet."
The participants in the knitted hat that we finally met were no longer there.
After Tenge started the fight, he ran away without slowing down once. Now that I had finished the battle, I could hear him, but Tenji had no sign of him anymore.
(As expected, if you're a student at this level, you know exactly how to hide your breath. No, we have no choice but to give up on exchanging information with him.)
Unfortunately, as he frowned, Tenji began to look for the next point.
† † †
(No, no, no, no...)
He--Iguchi Ta Yohei--was terribly upset in his heart.
The garden blocks of a desolate house, where I kept my back, are all ready to breathe.
Even as the participants in the Explorer High School's black uniform started the battle, Iguchi Ta did not stop running. There was no way I could believe the strength of the black uniform, let alone trust that student who had never seen his face or his name. And for a moment, the weapon he took out was a cheap iron sword.
That's why Iguchi was in a hurry to jump into the dense garden of a house he found a short run away.
As she did so, she gazed at Tenji's proud sight and decided to stare at him from a distance.
It was upsetting him terribly.
(No, no, no... he's not at the top pro level anymore, is he?)
Unexpectedly, Inoguchi Ta was shouting that in her heart.
(Why do students at that level participate in the final qualifiers instead of the main election in the seed frame? And... is that how you fight an anonymous guy? I don't know what that means, the world is too wide.)
From the beginning to the end, Iguchi didn't see the battle of Tenji.
The actual time I was watching was only about the last twenty seconds.
Even though it was only a short amount of time, Iguchi noticed how far Tenji's performance was from that of a student.
The top Japanese guild that I plan to belong to from next year [Shirochuanghui [Hakuoki]], the professional explorers and Iguchi Ta have been trained several times. Honestly, it's been such a hard drill that I couldn't keep up with it from day one. I felt my weakness stain me.
The young man was doing such a top professional and colorless move right in front of him.
Honestly, there was a lot of unbelievable emotion.
(No? Well, if I wanted to do it, I could have defeated that many dolls? This time, I was injured and I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to compete in the main tournament, so I ran away. Well, I'm also practically a professional, or a man of my age who's said to be quite promising in the future. I can't afford to defeat you.....)
Suddenly, Iguchi Ta felt that she was very tiny.
I felt that without praising him who stood in the same ground, more and more excuses for him were coming to my mind.
(--No, this is my bad habit.)
Iguchi Ta, who was thinking of the excuse in her heart, quietly denied herself such a weakness.
In fact, Iguchi Ta could have won if he fought with his hips up without thinking about the upcoming qualifiers.
But to survive unharmed, that swarm of dolls was not sweet. It's not a difficult opponent to fight on its own, so there's no problem. If you do what the guild taught you to do, you can defeat it.
However, it is not easy to challenge a herd of that size by yourself.
Focus on one mannequin, and the other mannequins will be ambushed from behind. It wasn't just the back, it could be ambushed from anywhere in the world. Many-to-one is such a difficult hurdle that only a handful of the best Explorers in the guild can handle it.
(I know that Kurodaoki and the other main event seed athletes can do it, but... it's amazing that some players can do it in the final qualifiers. The world is still wide, huh. I wonder how many times my nose has been broken since I participated in this tournament.)
There is not enough equipment in Iguchi today to cover all 360 degrees by one person at all times.
But that's natural. In the first place, it's impossible, so professional Explorers team up with a few, a dozen, and dozens of others every day to prepare for a sudden ambush.
It would be cool to have many one-on-one, like a hero.
That's what a professional explorer is all about.
When I saw the younger youth of the same generation, let alone myself, doing it, Iguchi Ta's heart was broken in ugliness.
(After all, there is one who is superior even in the same generation. I was fooled around and decided to compete in the final qualifying round, so I had a celebration with the classmates... is that fundamentally different from me in the first place?)
Quietly, Iguchi looked up at the clear blue sky.
Ahhh, I'll be an explorer, too
That's how I feel about the regrets that came to me by now.
I want to ask myself why I didn't have a conversation with the young man I met earlier. It was time to become friends with the Explorer, who would have worked much harder than the same generation.
In addition to stepping up, the tournament was also a valuable place to get to know the eggs of the same generation of Explorers and deepen their friendships.
(The black uniform that wears a lot of dexterity, the iron sword that is close to the cheapest of weapons, the superior physical ability that would probably be awakened by a vocation, but that combat style that is backed by itself that does not rely on that ability... it's thorough. Is that the guy who's going to be a real explorer?)
Iguchi Ta, who was snooping, could not see through all of him.
In order not to easily show others their abilities in preparation for the main competition, I am properly devising to challenge this final qualification. Of course, Iguchi would have liked to be able to do that, but I also knew that I wasn't the kind of person who could have done enough to win the final qualifier.
"... let's talk about 'sorry' after the qualifying." I hope they don't hate me. "
Suddenly, I felt like a bit of a tiny person.
† † †
The final qualifier was already over three hours old.
A thread of caution once again stretched between Tenji and the ancient cage fire.
(I found it.)
Thank you, Koro-chan. Next time is the fastest way to go.
(You want to keep an eye on me?)
(That's right... let's do that for a while)
(I can't help it ~, it's a cherry tart)
The next thing he knew, Tenzi was going to raise his gear pretty fast and start running to where he wanted to go. Meanwhile, the ancient fire had to wait in front of the watermelon.
"I think I'll be there in about fifteen minutes. Let's hurry."
It was about three minutes after I started running.
(Third generation ~, it was taken from the side)
(Huh? Again?)
Tenji stops his legs unexpectedly and slaps his temples with his fingers as he clings to the wrinkles between his eyebrows.
Maybe it's the worst Tenji could have imagined.
First of all, Koro-chan--you know, sometimes I'm here. Humans have inspiration, too. He told me to be a little worried that he might look like him.
Until now, Koro-chan had never told this story to Tenji.
Maybe I didn't have to.
But this time I brought up the story for some reason. Perhaps Koro-chan's ability to sense crises made her do so, or perhaps she felt an unpleasant atmosphere inside the venue. Koro-chan speaks weirdly, but she doesn't talk too much.
(Perhaps Koro-chan's presence... has been revealed to someone?)
(I've always had an unpleasant atmosphere. The girl just now, "Oogo", looked me in the eye a little bit, and I was so scared that I couldn't speak to her.)
(Eh, did you say a girl?)
(Nnnhhhhh, it's a girl's [stomach]. I can't stay any longer.)
Listening to the words, Tenji's older student in a knitted hat disappeared from the brain choices he had just met. In other words, there was another participant besides Tenji and Iguchi.
Tenge honestly admired her without even knowing her face.
"There were some amazing people." A person who has enough inspiration to see Koro-chan, and can act covertly without touching Koro-chan's sense of crisis until now...... She's quite a player. "
The ancient cage fire was an infernal beast with similar properties to the illusion beast "Artemisia princeps" of the winter tree.
The Artemisia princeps are much weaker than other phantom beasts and have lived as weaker beings than the monsters around them. Therefore, the illusion beast evolved as its ability to sense in critical situations lived.
Koro-chan was in the same category when it came to the ancient cage fire.
In the world of hell, the ancient cage fire was extremely weak.
From the point of view of a strong man like Sake Brewer, he was nothing but a bait. However, Koro-chan has acquired the ability to escape the crisis desperately in order to survive. It was recognized by the second generation of the demon king, and its name was inscribed in the book of demons.
She may be quite a powerful person who can dive through Koro-chan's sense of crisis. I was also a little curious about the inspiration. Tenji couldn't help but wonder how she could see the ancient cage fire.
(Hey, Koro-chan. If you keep going like this, you'll keep taking points.)
(That's right. That stallion looked into my eyes.)
(I don't want to be left alone, but if I stay like this, my efficiency will decrease as well.)
(nnhh)
Suddenly, Tenji had a black smile on his face.
Nishi smiled in the same way as he noticed the ancient cauldron fire.
(Let's set it up from this side. I would like to see the face of that person if it is in a corner)
(Okay, I'm on it.)