Chapter 167 - The Path is Visible, but Progress is Distant
"—Haru-kun, did something good happen?"
"Huh? Is it that obvious on my face?"
"Very much so. Your expression seems much softer than usual."
"Ahaha... well, you could say I've made a connection with some people who might become new friends."
"Oh my. How wonderful."
"It's a wish come true, really, though it felt like it fell out of the sky... I just took advantage of their kindness, so it feels a little pathetic on my part."
"I don't think that's the case at all. Connections don't form around people who lack charm. And charming people are, more often than not, those who have put in some kind of effort."
"...Uh, oh, are you complimenting me?"
"I am. You are very charming, Haru-kun—and, I've caught you."
"That transition is lethal...!!"
Exactly ten steps into her turn as the chaser. Ui-san, having captured me as if it were a matter of course, offered a gentle smile. Defeated on two fronts, I hung my head in dismay.
How many times had it been? Dozens, hundreds—perhaps even thousands of defeats I'd accumulated. But looking up at them now, there was no longer any disappointment or despair in my heart.
It wasn't that I didn't feel frustrated by the fact that I had yet to win even once, but I was definitely gaining something from it all.
—I'm moving my body too much with just my thoughts.
And after she told me that realizing it for myself was the most important thing, I had been thinking about it constantly.
First, about this 'tag.' What was the purpose of this training? The answer was simple. It was, in a manner of speaking, training to think without rest.
With the restrictions of always alternating left and right feet, plus a step limit for both offense and defense, it forced me to constantly read my opponent's thoughts while moving at the fixed pace of 'walking.'
I wouldn't say winning or losing doesn't matter. But it isn't the main objective of this training.
Irori had called our match a 'demonstration,' and I suspect he intentionally made the outcome ambiguous... well, I can't say for sure.
But I think, maybe, that's what he was trying to teach me... or at least, I can't deny the suspicion that he might have been.
In any case, the answer itself wasn't wrong. When I arrived at that conclusion the other day, Ui-san herself gave me her stamp of approval.
So, what does this training accomplish? Or more precisely, what is the meaning of doing this training in the virtual world?
In short, it's the equivalent of running laps in the real world—it's stamina building for the virtual world.
Of course, that's not all. This 'tag' is a complex training regimen that also hones the skills for tactical exchanges applicable in actual combat... but the main point is that.
In the virtual world where mental fatigue can become physical fatigue, stamina equals mental fortitude. The goal is to forge that fortitude by continuously imposing a high-load thinking process without a break.
Next, what was I supposed to 'realize' by being assigned this training?
The most notable thing was the overwhelming difference in our toughness. Status has no bearing on virtual sensory fatigue, so this wasn't about my pathetic VIT:0 durability.
One hundred consecutive matches—Ui-san didn't even breathe heavily, while I was utterly exhausted.
Two hundred consecutive matches—Ui-san didn't even breathe heavily, while my consciousness was fading.
Three hundred consecutive matches—Ui-san didn't even breathe heavily, while I was well and truly dead.
Something was definitely off. Yes, the Sword Saint is a celestial being, but she's still a player, just like me.
Even if our level of training is different, the gap was just too immense.
There's no way my brain's stamina is a tenth or a hundredth of hers. It can't be.
Then why? It was here that the Sword Saint's words gave me a hint... or rather, they handed me the answer itself.
—I'm moving my body too much with just my thoughts.
In other words, I am controlling my avatar with my thoughts.
It was about the two outputs that form the core of [Shukuchi], the very essence of what makes Ui-san the Sword Saint.
She spoke of "Inner" and "Outer"—and it seems that somewhere along the line, I had begun controlling my avatar using only the "Outer" force.
Assuming that was true, there were plenty of instances I could recall from long ago.
In the many life-or-death situations I'd survived, I often experienced the feeling of my body moving on its own. I'd always thought my mind couldn't keep up, but it's not impossible to think that reflexively produced images were what drove my avatar.
On top of that, there were the high-speed maneuvers where, honestly, I often didn't even know what I was doing myself. I'd set a route in advance, then focus solely on controlling the avatar to follow it—wasn't that, in fact, the very definition of controlling the body with the mind?
Come to think of it, I've been getting tired way too quickly lately.
Each match in the selection tournament, the fight against Irori—even the match against Sora was, to be honest, incredibly tough.
And then there's this game of tag. Even if it's non-stop, how is it that I can't even stand after a little over an hour?
Where was the me who, for that same hour, fought a life-or-death battle against the impossibly superior [Angalta, God-Wedge Sword-King] without a moment's lapse in concentration?
Where was the me who, in the [Spiral Crimson Tower], completed a non-stop, full-sprint marathon that lasted two days, over fifteen hours in real time?
And that, I suspect, was the turning point.
The way my avatar control was optimized in that ridiculous dungeon was what Ui-san calls control via "Outer" output.
In a virtual world where the mind is stamina, I had been constantly controlling myself with thought—like a marionette, so to speak.
While other players were operating their avatars on automatic, I was the only one going beyond manual, expending an absurd amount of effort to puppeteer my own body...
—Yeah, of course that's exhausting. What am I, an idiot?
...So, then.
"Even though I've realized it, though..."
If you ask whether I can 'correct' it, it's not that simple.
I still get winded after a hundred matches, and I have no idea how to correct my fundamentals to switch my primary output from "Outer" back to "Inner."
Frankly, even if I say 'switch back,' what am I even switching back? It's not like there's a primary output to begin with, right? It's precisely because most people can't consciously control these things that the Sword Saint is the Sword Saint—
"You were able to realize it on your own—as I've said many times, that is what's most important. To have reached the answer in just two days... you've done wonderfully, Haru-kun."
...And so, two days ago, on the day after my training began, I had come to this realization and had already confirmed the answer with Ui-san.
And just like with the main purpose of the tag game, my answer was spot on.
Ever since then, the Sword Saint has been in a strangely good mood, and as you can tell from her choice of words just now, I can't help but feel her treatment of me has changed slightly.
It's like... she's gradually growing attached to the 'student who was just entrusted to her'—
"Much like Ri-na-san, I find people who put in effort to be quite agreeable."
With those words, her hands gently reached out and pressed on my shoulders.
"And... when I see such an earnest figure, one who accumulates effort and strives to move forward, it makes me want to support them."
My posture naturally straightened, and as I lifted my gaze, my eyes met with my 'teacher,' who was smiling just as she always did—or perhaps, even more gently than usual.
"Therefore, let us do our best—I will be with you every step of the way."
"—...U-Uh... Th-Thank you... I'll be in your care..."
...And if I instinctively averted my gaze, it wasn't because I was embarrassed to meet her eyes head-on—well, okay, it was because I was embarrassed.
It definitely wasn't because...
"...? Is something the matter?"
"It's nothing."
It definitely wasn't because she—the one reaching for my shoulders—
...was standing on her tiptoes, stretching with all her might, and the sight of it was just unbearably cute. That was, absolutely, not it.