A little while ago.
Kageichi, who had been observing Kiraboshi as she desperately fled from the Ice Dragon, was unusually lost in thought, wondering if he had perhaps gone too far.
The Glacial Dragon Ice Ogre was a formidable foe, expected to be around level 40 to defeat, according to his memories from his previous life. Kageichi understood that it was too much for Kiraboshi, who was still around level 10.
Even so, there was one reason he sent her in.
He wanted Kiraboshi to experience a near-death situation.
He understood that this method was reckless.
In a white company, it would undoubtedly be considered power harassment, and he would be fired immediately. Kageichi himself didn’t particularly like this kind of approach.
On the other hand, life doesn’t always go smoothly.
Unreasonable events bare their fangs at unexpected moments.
As long as you live as a human, no matter how much you wish for safety and security, there will always be a moment of “what if.”
What you need at that time is—guts based on life experience.
Like a doctor who accepts a patient’s death as part of their job.
Like a soldier who maintains the front lines even when their comrades are killed.
An iron will to deal with the events in front of you, even if your heart is raging like a storm.
That is not something that can be taught in lectures or normal combat.
That’s why he thought Kiraboshi should experience a critical moment.
He understood that it was a trial that would make an average Hunter run away barefoot, but he still imposed this unreasonable situation on her.
(Well, I’ll help her when the time is right.)
If he treated her like this, it was only natural that she would hate him.
At worst, he was worried that she might not want to become his disciple anymore, but—
(To think she would jump into the enemy’s mouth and stab its tongue. And even use my rescue to her advantage.)
After rescuing Kiraboshi from the dragon’s mouth and hearing her story, what she did was reckless.
Of course, it was impossible for Kageichi to fail the rescue, but finding a way out with a suicide attack was beyond the norm.
There is a world of difference between thinking you can do something and actually doing it.
And she accomplished it as if it were natural. —The result was better than expected.
Kageichi couldn’t help but laugh.
He originally thought she was a decent talent, but… he would need to revise his evaluation upwards.
“…Sensei, are you laughing because my fighting style is too clumsy?”
“No. It’s joy because you were too excellent.”
“Really…? But I’m so beaten up.”
“It’s natural that there’s a difference in skill. I’m just watching how you resist in that situation, so it’s fine.”
And the result was there. It was enough.
While dropping her off in the snowfield, Kageichi checked his smartphone.
“By the way, Kiraboshi-san. It’s almost been the promised thirty minutes, what do you want to do?”
“Eh. What do you mean…?”
“My request was for you to fight the Ice Dragon for thirty minutes, I didn’t tell you to defeat it. I judged that it would be impossible in the first place.”
Kiraboshi blinked, as if she had just remembered.
Beside her, the Glacial Dragon roared and soared high into the sky.
It must have taken time to recover from the self-destruct technique she unleashed. Faint purple smoke leaked from the Glacial Dragon’s skin and mouth, indicating that it had taken some damage.
…Kageichi was planning to finish off the Ice Dragon and go home after this, but if that’s the case.
“If you want, how about we try to defeat it? That dragon… The Ice Dragon’s attack patterns are all based on visually confirming the enemy. Of course, it has attacks other than the Ice Breath, but its movements are not particularly fast.”
If she found a glimmer of hope, he wanted her to do it to the end.
Even with Kageichi’s support, she was able to take on a creature above her level alone. That experience would be a great one for her.
Results aren’t everything, but getting results leads to confidence.
Kiraboshi nodded and stood up.
Her magical power was badly damaged, but her spirit was strong.
“I don’t know if I can do it well, but I want to try my best.”
“Understood. Then I’ll be watching elegantly.”
“You say that, but you’ll help me when I’m really in trouble, right, Sensei?”
“I’m not that kind of softie.”
Kageichi Futsuu is not a good person.
But he’s not so heartless as to abandon someone who’s working hard in a positive way.
“Then do your best, Kiraboshi-san.”
“…Yes! I’ll do it!”
Kiraboshi once again rushed towards the Ice Dragon with her dagger knife in hand.
The Ice Dragon, having spotted her, roared and bared its fangs at the fragile human—Kiraboshi immediately turned on her heels and disappeared into the shadows of the labyrinth.
The subsequent development was nothing more than a rehash of what had happened earlier.
The Glacial Dragon Ice Ogre had a habit of landing on the ground when it lost sight of its target. Even though it was a monster, constantly flying with that huge body must have consumed a lot of magical power.
Aiming for that landing, she would strike and retreat.
The weak points weren’t just the mouth. She accurately targeted weak points such as the eyeballs, ears, and if possible, the back of the neck, and hid when the Ice Dragon flew into the sky again.
It took time, but it was a solid hit-and-away strategy.
On top of that, if Kageichi helped her even if she made a fatal mistake, the outcome was obvious.
Kageichi’s combat philosophy doesn’t need emotion.
He doesn’t need dynamic, stream-friendly skills, or gambles that lead to dramatic reversals.
He just repeats the normal action of inflicting damage on the opponent, and eliminates them. That’s how a Cleaner fights.
Kiraboshi jumps into the dragon’s mouth again. The Ice Dragon, having learned something as a monster, instinctively closes its mouth and tries to crush its prey.
But Kiraboshi backsteps at the last moment, then turns around.
She kicks off the ground and brings her knife down on the Ice Dragon’s eyeball.
The eyeball is harder than the inside of the mouth, so it’s deflected, but the accumulated damage will eventually ignite—and eventually damage the eyeball.
If you limit the vision of a monster that relies entirely on sight, then it’s Kiraboshi’s show.
She leisurely avoids the now inaccurate Breath, boldly attacks the mouth, strikes, and jumps back.
Without Kageichi needing to assist, Kiraboshi slowly tilted the battle situation in her favor, and eventually—
After about two hours of fighting, the Ice Dragon finally disappeared into purple smoke.
A palm-sized magic stone rolled across the ravaged snowfield, and Kiraboshi knelt down, panting.
…To think she could really defeat it.
Even though he supplied her with a magical power recovery potion along the way, it was amazing that she was able to continue fighting for two hours.
He was genuinely impressed, which was rare for him.
Kiraboshi raised her sweat-covered face, adjusted her cracked glasses, and suddenly.
“I managed to defeat it somehow. But is this cowardly way of fighting useful at all? In the end, I couldn’t do anything without Sensei’s help.”
“No. This incident will definitely be a great experience for Kiraboshi-san.”
It won’t improve her life right away.
But if she has this kind of experience once, it will definitely be useful when she faces adversity in life.
It’s the kind of “guts” theory that Kageichi hates, but it will be a great asset for Kiraboshi’s future.
“Anyway, you did a great job today. Good work.”
“…Sensei, you sometimes praise people, don’t you?”
“I sincerely praise people who have achieved excellent results. There’s no reason not to praise them.”
Besides, Kageichi himself enjoyed it.
Experience is everything.
For Kageichi, she was the first disciple he had ever taken in his life, so it was a good opportunity to gain various insights.
“Well then. Shall we go home? It’s getting late, so I hope your parents aren’t worried.”
Kageichi extended his hand, and she nodded.
The hesitation had disappeared from her expression, and Kageichi secretly felt confident that there would be no problems in the future—
“…Hmm.”
Suddenly, he felt a subtle magical power fluctuation and looked up.
Kiraboshi also looked up at the artificial, cloudy sky of the dungeon, and
Immediately after.
Kageichi frowned at the wave that reverberated throughout the dungeon, as if shaking it.
“Hyaa…!”
Kiraboshi knelt down as if a major earthquake had occurred, and while supporting her body, what was this—was the labyrinth creaking?
…This premonition, could it be.
“That’s strange. Is the Dungeon Boss activating?”
“Eh?”
“But the ‘Snowfield Ice Mountain’ is still an unexplored dungeon, and no one should have reached the Boss. It’s unnatural.”
The most likely cause is that someone encountered the Dungeon Boss of “Snowfield Ice Mountain” and awakened it…
Who on earth—no, it’s better to think about that later.
What we should be concerned about now is… the fact that something has stimulated the Dungeon Boss halfway and activated it.
If the Dungeon Boss is injured halfway and goes on a rampage, destroying the labyrinth, there is a risk of a Gate Crash at worst.
If the “Snowfield Labyrinth” crashes, the Rank S Dungeon “Nagi Plains” will inevitably suffer a Gate Crash as well, and the extent of the damage would be immeasurable.
……Good grief.
Why do troubles always pile up like this?
I was supposed to witness Kiraboshi’s growth today and fall asleep in a good mood.
“Honestly,” Kageichi muttered, handing Kiraboshi another Magical Power Potion.
“I am very sorry, Kiraboshi-san. I hate to bother you when you’re tired, but it seems an emergency job has come up. Well, to be precise, it’s not my job, but if I leave this matter unattended, it could cause me a great deal of stress in the future.”
Living a life of safety, security, and no stress, then getting into bed and welcoming the next day. That is the ideal life that Kageichi Futsuu aims for.
To embody that ideal, it would be best to dispose of any unnecessary things at this stage.
“Then, let’s go. I’m not one for overtime, but if it’s work, it can’t be helped.”
“What a pain,” Kageichi sighed, hurrying towards the Boss based on the map he had marked in advance.