Man to Man
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The footsteps were growing faster. Simon and his group sprang up from where they sat, warily scanning in every direction.
The monster that soon burst roughly through the surrounding brush was bigger than any Nusselack they'd seen so far.
"That's the boss!"
"…It's definitely big, all right."
It was a good two heads larger than the squat, dumpy ordinary Nusselack, and countless wounds covered its body. Where claws had raked across it, no fur grew back, leaving grim patches of raw, bare flesh.
Gruuk! Gurururuk!
The beast lowered its stance. Unlike its front, where a potbelly bulged out, its hindquarters looked gaunt and supple, its spine showing clear through the skin.
Its eyes were fixed on the golem core.
It must have sensed the surrounding Jet-Black churning while Simon was preparing the golem, and come running.
"Here it comes!"
The Nusselack charged. Simon dashed forward to meet it, calling out as he ran.
"Dick! Shield!"
"Okay!"
Dick hurled his enchanted shield to Simon. Simon grabbed its handle, drew it up to his chin, and collided head-on with the Nusselack.
BOOOOM!
"Whoa—!"
Simon lost the contest of strength and went flying backward.
The impact shook loose clumps of dirt from the golem's half-finished arm, which crumbled to the ground.
"Simon!"
Dick ran over with his sword drawn.
"Leave this thing to us and focus on finishing the golem!"
"Got it."
"I'll cover you!"
The moment Simon pulled back, Camibarez fired a Blood Bullet. The Nusselack saw the incoming projectile and lightly hopped sideways to dodge it. Watching that, Dick broke out in a cold sweat.
Its reflexes are way better than they look!
The Nusselack moved on the golem again. Dick ran head-on to block it—but a girl was already leaping into the air faster than either of them.
FWOOROROROK!
At her gesture, black flames poured down like rain. The fire blazed up, burning the surrounding grass to cinders, and even the Nusselack backed away from it.
"That's our dinner, I told you! Go easy on the burning!"
Dick's shout made Meilin flare up and whirl on him.
"That's what you're worried about right now? No, wait—even if we eat it, we're going to cook it over fire anyway!"
Swish!
The Nusselack began running in the opposite direction, away from the flames.
Meilin and Dick ran after it, and Dick nodded with a grave expression.
"Come to think of it, you're right. We could do it as a quick sear first—"
"Focus, you lunatic!"
"I'm always focused."
THUD!
The Nusselack slammed its foot down hard and vaulted high into the air, as if to leap clean over the two of them.
Seeing it, Dick pulled something out of his subspace and, spinning his body, flung it behind him in one motion.
SHAAAAA!
A wide, snow-white net spread through the air, blanketing the airborne Nusselack head-on.
Dick immediately activated his dark magic.
Enchant!
The entire net turned pitch black with Jet-Black. Dick moved with nimble agility, pulled out metal stakes, drove them into the ground, and hooked the net onto them.
"Move!"
Meilin gathered Jet-Black into her elbow and smashed it straight down on top of a stake.
With a whump! the stake sank deep into the earth.
"Owch!"
She winced, rubbing her elbow. Dick quickly looked up to assess the Nusselack.
The net drew taut, and at last the spent beast crashed down to the ground.
"Got it! We caught it!"
Zzzt!
But given how enormous the net was and how riddled it was with holes, there were sections where the enchant hadn't taken properly.
Like a ghost, the Nusselack found the torn spot, slipped through it, and charged straight at Simon.
"Dick, you worthless son of a—!"
CRRAAAAK-KOOOOOM!
Before Meilin could even finish, a deafening roar split the air, and the Nusselack's body went flying, bent like a bent vowel stroke. It smashed through several trees before tumbling across the ground.
Everyone stood gaping, staring after it.
"Did you wait long?"
Simon grinned, fist still outstretched. Above him, the huge mud golem held exactly the same pose.
"Bwahaha! Nice cover, Simon!"
"Finish it off, Simon. And Dick—you and I are going to have a talk later."
Guruk! Gurururuk!
The Nusselack, bloodied and sprawled in the dirt, suddenly scrambled to its feet and came charging again, bellowing with rage.
"Happy to have you come to us."
Simon took a fighting stance.
The Nusselack leapt at the mud golem with all its might, its claws elongating to three handspans in length.
Slash!
Three claw marks tore across the golem's body.
But that was all.
The mud golem had already raised its clasped hands high above its head.
"Ah, Simon," Dick said. "Remember, that's our dinner tonight, so go gentle—"
KRAAAA-KABOOOOM!
The golem's interlocked fists came down and drove the Nusselack straight into the earth. A haze of dust billowed up as the ground caved in deep.
"Oh dear."
"Eek!"
Dick and Camibarez hurriedly backed away.
Through it all, the Nusselack was somehow still alive, its whole body trembling.
This time the mud golem lifted its leg.
KRAAAA-KOOOM!
The follow-up stomp came down.
Watching, Dick nodded with a solemn face.
"Might as well just make it a minced-meat stir-fry."
"…Why are you suddenly so obsessed with the eating part?"
Hong Peng's task had been safely accomplished.
Having hunted down the boss and neatly mopped up the remaining stragglers, Simon's group was now resting on standby. They were chatting amiably among themselves when someone pushed through the brush toward them.
"There you all are."
A man with sun-bronzed, russet skin and a short crew cut, wearing a vaguely sullen expression.
It was Brad, Hong Peng's teaching assistant.
"Good work, everyone. The teleport circle is set up, so please proceed to where Professor Hong Peng is waiting."
"Yes, sir!"
It was finally over! Everyone followed behind Brad, their faces bright and cheerful. Beyond the brush, a magic circle lay spread across the ground.
"Thank you, TA sir!"
"See you on the other side!"
Meilin, Dick, and Camibarez stepped onto the circle one after another and passed through.
Just as Simon was about to step on last—
"Hold on."
Brad raised an arm and blocked his way.
"You. Let's have a word."
"…?"
"It'll only take a moment."
Simon turned to look at him.
"Well, if you have something to say, say it after we cross over."
"…"
Brad let out an irritated sigh and raised his right arm.
CRACK!
With a splintering sound, an entire tree toppled over. A haze of dust rose behind him.
"Hey."
Brad's eyes turned savage.
"I won't say it twice. Forget the TA and Kizen student nonsense—this is just man to man."
"…"
Judging by the atmosphere, he'd come fully intending to do this. Simon realized there'd be no slipping past it easily and nodded.
"Fine. After you, then."
The two stood facing each other a short distance from the teleport circle.
Brad set the mood, twisting his face into something menacing.
"Haaah, kids these days have no damn common sense. None at all. What's happening now is stuff I couldn't even have imagined back in my day. Honestly."
Brad pressed hard at his temples, swallowing his anger.
"If I've done something wrong, by all means, tell me."
"You're really trying to die, huh."
Brad's face contorted.
"Who the hell do you think you are, working Professor Hong Peng to the bone? What, teaching you survival skills? Hahaha! You ate your common sense for breakfast, didn't you? What is she, your personal tutor?"
Simon, the smile still resting on his lips, responded calmly.
"Matters between the Professor and myself are, I believe, outside an assistant's jurisdiction to weigh in on. Of course, I do sincerely apologize that you were called in on the weekend, through no fault of your own, to fetch us—"
CRACK!
Simon shut his mouth. A stone Brad had kicked had embedded itself in a tree right beside Simon.
The trunk was dented inward, and pale smoke was curling up from the wound.
"You think I came all this way to listen to that drivel?"
Brad pointed a thick finger at Simon.
"You're toying with Professor Hong Peng's heart. Right now."
"…Pardon?"
"Ha! No self-awareness at all, this punk."
Brad spat on the ground.
"Special Admission No. 1, and suddenly the whole world looks easy, doesn't it? I know she offered you a Direct Disciple position. And you've been dangling it, testing the waters, using her this whole time."
Simon stared at him, dumbfounded.
What on earth is this man talking about?
"You filthy little schemer! Do you have any idea how tender-hearted the Professor is? Dangling a discipleship to play with someone's feelings like—"
"There's been a misunderstanding."
Simon cut him off and corrected him.
"It's true the Professor offered me a Direct Disciple position. But I turned her down on the spot."
Brad's eyes went wide.
"You refused?"
"Yes. Not by hedging or leaving it ambiguous—I made my refusal clear. The Professor respected my decision, and said she was simply curious, on a personal level, how far I could go. And she told me that even without the discipleship, I should come to her anytime I needed help as her student. What you said just now—that I'm toying with the Professor's heart—is simply not true."
Brad said nothing, and Simon pressed on immediately.
"The cabin invitation before, too—it was the Professor who first proposed it, graciously enough. And to say it once more, I—"
"Hey."
The corner of Brad's mouth twisted.
"You're telling me to believe that? You're saying Professor Hong Peng is going out of her way to cook and clean for something that gets her nothing in return? You actually think that adds up?"
Brad thumped his own chest with a bang!
"I've served the Professor for five years. Five whole years! Nobody understands what goes through her mind better than I do! What does a one-month-old freshman know about it?"
Simon gave an empty laugh.
This is a mistake. He's the type you can't reason with.
No matter what he said, the man would just keep rattling on about how he was right, till the day he died.
Wait.
Simon felt the killing intent rolling off the man's body.
From the moment Brad had approached, he'd never intended to settle this with words.
"Put it on."
Brad pulled something out of his subspace and tossed it to Simon.
A protective suit.
"A High-Purity Protective Suit. On a completely different level from the ones used in Duel Evaluations or simulations."
"…"
"No need for either of us to keep blabbing. Let's just settle it with this."
Brad shook out his fist.
"If you can land even one hit on me before the suit's barrier breaks, this conversation never happened. And then I'll do whatever you want—an apology, compensation, my retirement, anything."
"And if I can't land a single hit?"
Brad faltered for an instant. Then he drew a deep breath.
"You accept Professor Hong Peng's Direct Disciple offer."
"…!"
Simon's eyes went wide.
Well, that's a surprise.
He'd assumed the man was just a typical fool blinded by jealousy. So it was that he valued Hong Peng above his own pride?
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, though."
Simon scratched the side of his head.
"Forcing your beliefs onto other people is, whatever anyone says, the mark of a low-class piece of garbage. And—"
Simon put on the protective suit.
"I have no intention of backing down from a fight, either."
Play along with his tune for a moment—then flip the whole situation on its head.
Simon's mind began racing at full speed.