kscans

Chapter 162 - Lesson One

"…Ssssssshhhhh—"

Morning. This guy exhaling a long, drawn-out breath like some weird breathing exercise in front of the mirror is by no means a suspicious person. This is just the fully-armored, real-world "Me Ver. 2.0."

I set my hair, something I'd never once touched in my entire life (I couldn't stand the stickiness of wax, so I compromised with hairspray).

I put on a pair of non-prescription glasses, another first for me (I realized the oval-shaped ones I'd bought with my own terrible sense of style looked awful on me, so I bought a new pair of square-shaped, half-rim glasses on the store clerk's recommendation).

And with my non-descript shirt, non-descript pants, and non-descript thin cardigan, I'd perfected my mob-character ensemble. My reflection was—

"Who is this guy…"

—so jarringly unfamiliar that it gave me a massive sense of unease. Which, in other words, probably meant this "disguise" was working to some extent.

In the end, I still hadn't managed to find out just how much attention my virtual world self, [Haru], had garnered.

Last night, after Gossan left, I'd continued hunting until just before 2 a.m., gathered a decent amount of materials, then logged out and went straight to bed.

Ultimately, I remained in the dark as I greeted the morning of my departure.

After orientation and recreational activities, the holidays were over, and today marked the true beginning of my university life, lectures and all. And I was filled with nothing but anxiety.

I couldn't even put into words what I was anxious about, but I was anxious all the same.

My avatar hadn't been broadcast to the real world in a major way yet, so I doubted I'd be found out so quickly… but I couldn't help but imagine the what ifs.

On top of that, I was already feeling anxious and restless about the new environment of being a university student—!!

"Aargh! I don't know anymore! I don't care!!"

I am the ninth-ranked member of Istia, the [Acrobat]!!

I won't let the nobodies of the real world get to me!!

"If something happens, I'll run…!! If something happens, I'll run…!! Alright, let's go, reality! Bring it on…!!"

…And with that, in a state that would surely disillusion any of my virtual acquaintances if they saw me.

I twisted the doorknob with grim determination and leaped out into the real-world field, fully prepared—!!

"—I'm not wearing shoes!!"

Calm down…!!

◇◆◇◆◇

"…Haru-kun? If you're not feeling well…"

"No, I'm fine… I just got tossed around by the rough waves of society a bit…"

Half a day later. After being so drained in the real world that I wasn't even sure which was my home anymore, I had returned home in the afternoon and immediately logged in to visit the Sword Saint.

I must have had a completely exhausted look on my face that I couldn't hide. Ui-san, who had graciously served me tea with a "how about some tea for now," was now looking at me with concern.

I mean, I guess it just goes to show how much I'd been consciously shutting out related information until now.

Once I started paying attention, the world was absolutely overflowing with information about [Arcadia]… And of course, among the topics of conversation about the virtual world that were buzzing everywhere, the name of a certain new title holder was also mixed in—

"Ui-san."

"Yes?"

"Training. Let's. Please."

…It was still too soon to face it head-on.

Fortunately, I had something to do right now. If I just focused on desperately dodging the Sword Saint's blade, I'd eventually run out of energy to even worry about my frayed mental state…!!

Though I was clearly acting strange, my enthusiasm for training must have gotten through. Ui-san tilted her head quizzically, but then,

"—Well then, let's start by warming up our bodies."

She said with a gentle smile, inviting me to the training hall.

"Bull—whoa!?"

Abandoning my counterattack, I threw myself into a purely reflexive evasion. As I flattened myself against the ground, a presence instantly closed the distance, and an unseen slash grazed the tips of my floating hair—

"First Strike—"

"Ngh…!"

The greatsword wavering before my eyes heralded the next fatal blow.

"[Flying Water]."

A surprise attack from straight ahead, with no discernible wind-up.

I started to react, but—

"—Yes, that's enough."

I was too late. The silver steel blade pressed against my neck stopped my movements… and with a deep exhale, I went limp.

"Damn it… I can't see it…!!"

The First Strike is too much of a hard counter for me…! I can't keep up with it, no matter what I do…!

[Flying Water]—a lightning-fast sword strike unleashed from a relaxed state with no stance. I've gotten better at sensing it right before it comes, but by the time I do, it's already too late to dodge. Honestly, it feels impossible to deal with.

…Well, it's not just [Flying Water], though. That one's particularly tough, but every other form is just as fatal to me—

"One thing at a time. There's no need to rush."

"Haha…"

Rushing… yeah, I can't deny that.

At the end of the day, there's only about half a month left until the main Four Pillar War event—

"…Right, one more time, please."

In any case, it's too early to be whining.

I stood up, bowed, and summoned the Bullet knives to both hands again to show my resolve. But Ui-san, after a moment of thought, sheathed her greatsword—the opposite of what I did—and stored it in her inventory.

"Huh…?"

"I'm starting to see some areas we can work on, so let's try something a little different."

As I tilted my head, she looked around the area—and then clapped her hands once, just like I'd seen yesterday.

No system notification… but I noticed the change immediately.

"Whoa, hey…!?"

The ground beneath me shook, and I felt a sensation like being lifted from below. Caught off guard, I stumbled—and embarrassingly, Ui-san, who had come close, had to support me.

"—Ah… s-sorry…!"

"It was my fault. I'm sorry for not warning you."

While I was taking critical damage from her close-range smile, the center of the familiar white, circular training hall rose up with us on it, creating a small platform about five meters in diameter. And it didn't stop there; a fence of bamboo and wood broke through the stone tiles, enclosing the area.

What resulted was a closed-off stage, the complete opposite of the open training hall from before—

"Now then… Haru-kun."

"Y-Yes, ma'am?"

I replied, hiding my agitation as I felt a sense of relief from her warmth moving away.

She took one, two, three steps back, reaching a distance where we could almost touch if we reached out. The Sword Saint turned back, her hands empty, and spread her arms—

"—Lesson one. Let's play a game of tag inside here."

Seeing the bewildered look on my face, she spoke with a rare hint of teasing in her voice.

Looking somewhat amused, she delivered the first 'training' assignment.