Pick Me Up!

“…That’s it for the explanation.”

I swallowed the water. Perhaps because I had been talking a lot, my throat felt dry.

The three of them looked at me with puzzled expressions. It seemed they didn’t fully understand. Jenna raised her hand and spoke.

“So, there are levels, stats, and skills, and thanks to these, we can become stronger quickly, right?”

“Exactly. When we talk about the ‘stats’ window, it’s referring to your specifications. You can guess your own strength by looking at those.”

“There have been times after a fight when I suddenly felt stronger. It must have been from leveling up.”

“It’s hard to believe. Even for any magician, such a thing would be impossible.”

Eolka muttered in a disappointed voice.

Levels, stats, skills, and status windows.

It wouldn’t be easy to accept. Gaining experience through monster hunting, acquiring skills through training, and growing. Even for me, who knew that this world was like a game, it was an unrealistic concept.

Still, I felt relieved.

Explaining something only visible to my eyes had been difficult to postpone, but now that these guys could also see their specs, there was no need to hesitate. They have to learn to accept it. If they won’t adapt to the rules of this world, they wouldn’t survive.

“This will be your role from now on.”

Being able to objectively assess one’s own status.

It was more helpful for growth than I had thought. If I hadn’t seen my status window, I would have had to take a much harder path. I finished drinking the water and said,

“You can explain it to others.”

“Where did you learn about this? We’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“I just happened to find out.”

“Just happened to? That’s suspicious… “

“Ahaha, Unnie! Oppa has been here right from the beginning.”

“That’s right. He has a long history.”

“That’s suspicious…”

Eolka narrowed her eyes and said,

“Well, if you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to. Everyone has at least one secret. The advice you gave was helpful, though.”

“That’s right, that’s right. It’s incredibly helpful. It’s become a part of who we are.”

“You’re really good at flattery.”

“It’s not flattery, it’s a survival strategy.”

Jenna began to tell how we met and how I had overcome difficulties.

The topic had shifted. Eventually, Aaron joined in. Eolka turned her gaze away from me but still listened to the conversation.

I smiled.

If they survive till the end, I plan to tell them everything.

Of course, that would be when the time comes to part ways.

The next morning.

Jenna gathered everyone and began explaining about the status windows. Those who quickly understood were mainly combat-oriented individuals. Sensing that they had become unusually strong due to some sort of power, it was only natural for them to believe that.

However, for now, they could only see their own status windows.

They couldn’t see the status windows of other heroes or system messages, only a small part of what I could see. Whether this was due to a lower research level or if I was something special, I still didn’t know. It would naturally become clear as time goes on.

Evening training that day.

“Up until now, the training we’ve done has been to improve our physique and gain skills, right?” Jenn asked.

“That’s right.”

Three arrows were fired.

Jenna pulled the bowstring far away. One step per movement. After mastering rapid fire, her shooting speed had become abnormally fast. I blocked and deflected arrows as I rushed towards Jenna.

Thud!

The sharp sound of metal friction echoed.

Jenna swiftly drew a dagger in an instant and blocked the blade with it.

“As I thought. Something was off.”

The blades clashed.

Jenna moved fluidly and swung her dagger, finding an opening. In the instant Jenna’s movement continued, she thrust her blade.

“Oh my!”

Jenna hastily retrieved the dagger and leaped backward in a midair somersault, then resumed shooting. The weapon transition was seamless, without a hint of hesitation. It was the effect of switching.

“It’s light.”

Arrows caught in the path of the blade fell like leaves.

There was no need to use a shield. The moment the arrow was released, its trajectory could be anticipated. I sidestepped and avoided three arrows with a single step. With a single swing, I broke two arrows.

“Unbelievable…”

In no time, Jenna’s quiver was empty.

I tossed her a new quiver full of arrows.

Jenna looked at me as if she couldn’t believe it.

The training ground was littered with the remains of broken arrows.

“Is that a skill too? Blocking everything.”

“That’s right.”

“It’s not fair. I can’t land a hit on you at all.”

“If there’s a skill for blocking, wouldn’t there also be a skill for piercing through it?”

Jenna tilted her head with a puzzled expression.

At that moment, I rushed at Jenna. My target was her slender neck, like that of a deer. Just before red blood would spurt, Jenna lowered her head. The blade grazed Jenna’s hair and passed by.

“You’re really trying to kill me!”

“That would be fine too.”

“Hehe!”

Several thrusts passed through Jenna’s body, but there were no fatal wounds yet to halt the duel.

I could slit her throat.

I could tear her abdomen.

Any fatal injury would do.

As long as I didn’t kill her with a single strike, it was okay.

In the past, Jenna would shoot arrows from a distance, and I would stand still and block them, but we had reached a stage where this level of training didn’t satisfy us anymore. To level up our skills, harsher conditions were necessary.

Real combat weapons, no rules.

Until the opponent was about to die.

After that strike event with the master, we decided on this training, it was designed for maintaining the sense of real combat, for more efficient training, and to not forget the real sensation after that long break. Those who hadn’t experienced proper combat looked at us as if we were crazy, but I paid them no mind. The results would show who would survive longer.

Spectators were gathered in a circle at the training ground, observing us.

“Am I some sort of entertainment for you?”

For a moment, annoyance welled up, but it wasn’t worth caring about.

I ignored them and continued the duel.

Ping! Piping!

Dodge and deflect.

Whether it was arrows or daggers, the natural course of action had been ingrained. The sword moved naturally even without intentional thought. My mastery of weapons had already gone beyond conscious level, approaching the realm of the unconscious.

Jenna evaded each sword strike with agile body movements, but she couldn’t prevent the wounds from accumulating. If she shot arrows, I blocked them. With a dagger, she couldn’t beat the reach of a longsword.

Jenna leaped backward, clicking her tongue.

“I can’t believe this!”

18 wins out of 19 matches.

That was the record of my duels with Jenna.