Training with the End Goal in Mind

After finishing our meal, we head back to training. Lately, Ast has been looking more relaxed. I wonder if things have gotten tougher for him now that Riza is gone. Still, as a father, it must feel like unloading luggage when his daughter's wedding arrangements are finalized.

After eating, I conduct makeshift glaive training. Today, someone got injured. With that in mind, we focus on the movements of the middle guard and strategize our approach. The main goal is to ease the burden on the frontline and fix the opponent's position through positioning.

Sweat drips down my face. My arms feel heavy, but I can still manage my positioning. I visualize and move accordingly. At the same time, I incorporate close-range wind magic into my movements. While large movements have become possible, precise ones are still challenging.

At the moment of impact, I imagine firing a booster from my arm to thrust forward. When sweeping, I use the boosters on the back of my hand to gain momentum and swing. We repeat this over and over, enduring the fatigue as I grow accustomed to it.

Finally, I collapse, exhausted. I pant heavily. "I'm just a salaryman..." I think, but then push through.

Soon, Riza comes out with hot water prepared.

"Thank you, Riza. You always help me out."

"No problem. But you're sweating so much—are you okay?"

"Yeah, I guess being heavier makes me sweat more easily."

We chat as we head back to our respective rooms. After cleaning up and relaxing together, we climb into bed and continue chatting.

"I have something to ask..." Riza says thoughtfully.

"What is it?"

"At night, are you doing anything? Sometimes Hiro isn't by my side."

I had thought she wouldn't notice since she sleeps so deeply, but I was wrong.

"Just a little practice. Don't worry, I'm not pushing myself too hard."

"Oh, okay. Good to hear. I was worried you might be sneaking around or something..."

I wonder if there's a habit of sneaking around at night... and her faintly mysterious expression makes me sense the complexity of being a woman.

By the way, there are brothels in town. While part of me wants to visit for medical reasons, I also think it's probably not feasible.

Tonight, after tucking her in, I slip out of bed. Time for magic training. The slow but steady growth is noticeable. All that's left is repetition and preparing for any unexpected situations.

In the meantime, I've been experimenting with various things using wooden pieces, but nothing has stabilized yet. It all depends on how the spear is modified.

After a while, I wrap up and turn on my phone. I can't help but worry about what will happen if it breaks.

Time to check the TODO list:

[x] Go get the shoes.
[x] Go get the knee guards.

As for Wadis, he's been busy with goblin extermination and hasn't been around. He mentioned doing group training, so maybe I'll talk to him then.

I crawl into bed slowly. Riza stirs slightly in her sleep, moving her mouth softly. She looks cute, like a little animal. I give her a gentle kiss before falling asleep.

In the morning, after breakfast, we head to the forest as usual.

"I think today we'll try facing more opponents than yesterday."

"How many?"

"More than double what we had yesterday."

The two of them make slightly displeased faces. But it's unavoidable. In the worst-case scenario, we might have to face eight times as many opponents.

"I'll do my best to support you, and if things get too dangerous, I'll use magic."

We head to our usual stream and walk to the wide open space from yesterday. Hmmm, can we really handle 24 at once...?

Using hover to move while utilizing 'alert,' we search for groups. This in itself is difficult. For now, we gather small groups together and look for more, but if they lose sight of us, they scatter. Gradually, we manage to gather around 20 into a group before giving up. The rest are following due to the surrounding atmosphere.

We move around to get them within our field of view and, once they're somewhat gathered, rush out of the bushes back to our position.

"About 20!"

The moment I shout, the group rushes forward. This is nothing like yesterday. Half-encirclement? No way. They swarm all the way to the back.

I use magic to prevent them from surrounding us but can't hold them off completely. By the time I've taken down six or so, a spear pierces through Fia's side and into her arm between the armor. Hurriedly, I take down the opponent.

"Light wound!! Still going!!"

It is indeed a difficult spot to defend. Plus, with her right hand not moving properly, she can't attack effectively. She desperately parries with her shield. Riza switches positions and steps in to support. She's thinking clearly for herself.

I quickly pull out the spear that was stuck.

"Hold on, I'll heal you!!"

"Guh..."

Due to the pain, Fia wavers slightly but holds her ground. I then perform a divine spell. Since I don't know her condition well, it's a vague image. Thinking of Dishia's tired face, I feel sorry for her.

『It's okay...』

Dishia is so considerate even in times like this. But seeing her stressed makes me a bit annoyed. Did adding the blood transfusion imagery earlier mess things up?

Regardless, I continue to use magic to take down those trying to flank us from behind. I faintly feel an over-return due to the divine spell earlier. It's tough, but I desperately swing the makeshift glaive. The main goal is to hold them off and buy time until I can use magic again.

Even though we've reduced their numbers to what we had yesterday, it's completely different. Anxiety makes our movements stiff.

"Yesterday's opponents were the same number. Don't panic!!"

I shout as I slash at enemies trying to flank us from behind with the makeshift glaive. It only causes minor injuries but serves as a deterrent.

"For now, fall back!!"

Even with the blade edge up, if we don't aim for weak points with momentum, it's just a deterrent. The rest is thanks to our improved equipment. We adjust where we strike and parry, while Riza attacks.

The numbers slowly decrease, and Fia regains her composure. The rate of elimination increases, and we proceed to take them down one by one.

When the last one falls, I don't know who was the first to drop to their knees. All three of us are gasping for air heavily.

"This is super tough, right?"

Fia mutters tiredly, being the first injured.

"It hurt a lot, but thanks!"

She smiles at me.

"We couldn't have done it without magic. Against this many..."

Riza looks serious too.

Yes, even if their numbers are less than the worst case, this is how tough it is. They won't swarm all at once, but somewhere along the way, things will turn into a chaotic battle. The battlefield isn't decided by individual quality—it's about numbers. No matter how weak each opponent is, overwhelming you with sheer numbers makes it difficult.

This reminds me of Japanese peasant uprisings as described in textbooks. It's scary to think about non-professional soldiers attacking. But seeing mobs on TV throwing stones, I can imagine the fear of being on the defensive side. If they come at you with hoes, sickles, or even swords in a group—it's terrifying.

"Any lessons learned?"

"Yes, the two of us got too close. We should have considered weapon range and movement distance to spread out more for better defense."

Riza answers immediately.

"Hmm. After getting injured, I guess I was hesitant. It takes practice."

Fia tilts her head.

Yes, they're able to come up with improvements in this state. Both of them have amazing vitality.

"I agree. As the middle guard, I felt cramped but did my best to hold on. I wasn't able to play the role of a deterrent..."

"How can we fix that?"

"Get used to it... both the pain and the situation. Everyone's body and mind are too rigid. Also, be careful with footing as more bodies pile up."

We gather the scattered bones and rotting remains, piling them in a corner. The stench is overwhelming, likely due to exceeding the forest's self-cleaning capacity. We look for another open area to move to. At least we need to try once more today.

While moving, we find and dispose of a goblin scavenging for food. Something caught my attention, so I opened its abdomen. Its internal structure is similar to humans, which disgusted me—not because of the contents, but because it's the same as ours. The stomach and intestines were opened, but there wasn't much inside.

"Maybe this one was being chased?" Riza asks.

"Yes, that's likely. If we find a group hunting together later, let's check again."

We continue moving, marking our path by carving trees. Along the way, we hunt any goblins we encounter. After moving some distance, we find another open area.

"Let's make this our base."

After confirming both agree, we begin circling around the area again. We gather groups and pull them together, giving light taps to those trying to escape—like herding kindergarten kids. I estimate their numbers through 'alert' as 19. Not bad, let's go with that.

"About 20!"

The moment I shout, the group rushes forward just like before. This time, the two of them call out to each other and spread out slightly to intercept. They slash once and quickly retreat, then charge again from the sides. They converge diagonally toward the center.

"Hiro, fall back."

Following the command, I take three steps back. At that moment, they spread out diagonally in front of me and charge again. The central group is deterred by the makeshift glaive, allowing us to sandwich those not being held back.

"Hiro, fall back."

Following the command again, I take another three steps back. They spread out once more and charge. Then, they move toward the center.

"Hiro, hold your ground from here."

The numbers decrease rapidly. This seems manageable now. We deter those trying to flank us from behind and use magic on those making wide circles. The two of them skillfully utilize their new armor parts and gradually advance.

"Hiro, fall back."

As I take three steps back, both of them also retreat slightly before charging again in unison. Their synchronized calls as childhood friends flip the battlefield.

Once the numbers are reduced enough, it becomes much easier. All that's left is to deter those trying to flank and eliminate them one by one.

After taking down the last one, we pant heavily but no one sits down.

"We have to keep moving and flipping the battlefield; otherwise, this won't work."

Riza says happily despite her heavy breathing.

"Yeah, I get Riza's movements now, so it's easier to coordinate."

Fia agrees too.

It's impossible to stand still against such numbers. The only way is to wear them down with movement.

While experience plays a role, something clicks. This was the moment of realization.