The Wooden Doll Training Ground
In the middle of the training room where only Aria and Camilla remained, Siwoo and I locked eyes. “W-what are you trying to talk about?” Siwoo’s voice trembled. Well, for a shy guy like him, this was probably nerve-wracking. A boy and a girl meeting late at night… of course he’d be tense. I flashed him a bright, playful smile and took one step closer. Siwoo’s face flushed red and he looked visibly nervous, but he didn’t back away. He stood his ground, as if determined to prove he was a man. Maybe he wasn’t as much of a pushover as he seemed.
With a sense of proud affection, I leaned in close to his ear and whispered seductively. “Shouldn’t we check how big it’s gotten by now…? Follow me.”
“B-big…! Wait! We’ve only known each other for less than half a year. Isn’t it wrong to rush things like this…!”
“We’re going to the wooden doll sparring arena.”
The moment I revealed our destination, Siwoo’s face—which had been burning bright red—cooled off in an instant. “Ah.”
“What? What were you expecting?”
I grinned at him, and only then did Siwoo realize he’d fallen for my prank. He dragged a hand down his face and let out a long sigh. “It’s nothing.”
“Come on, it’s definitely not nothing. Your face was a total tomato just now.”
I giggled and poked him in the side. Siwoo, apparently sulking, subtly pushed my arm away. Ah, so this is what they mean by friends teasing each other… His reactions are genuinely hilarious. Still, if I pushed it any further he might get genuinely upset and storm back to the dorm, so I offered a half-hearted apology and led him toward the wooden doll training ground.
“…So, why exactly did we come here?”
“I told you earlier. I came to see how big you’ve gotten.”
“You’re talking about my fighting ability, right?”
“What other kind of ability would I be talking about?”
Why would I drag someone all the way to a sparring arena just to test their math skills? Siwoo really does say the dumbest things at the weirdest times. I shrugged and began adjusting the difficulty settings on the wooden dolls provided in the arena.
“Let’s start with Stage 4 as a warm-up.”
“…What? I barely managed to beat Stage 3 last time. Isn’t Stage 4 a bit much for a warm-up?”
Siwoo whined, begging me to lower the difficulty like it was unfair. But honestly, I was the one who felt wronged. Did this guy seriously not realize how strong he’d become?
“Stop talking nonsense and just get in there already.”
I grabbed the back of Siwoo’s neck and hurled him forward. He flew through the air with a cartoonish yelp and landed neatly inside the arena.
“Hey! You can’t just throw me like that!”
“It’s your fault for saying weird stuff!”
Whether we bickered or not, the arena doors soon sealed shut and a wooden doll rose from the floor. It was noticeably larger than the Stage 3 doll we’d faced before. Siwoo swallowed nervously, but honestly… I didn’t think a mere Stage 4 wooden doll would be stronger than a D-rank demon.
Boom!
When Siwoo’s vertically swung sword collided with the wooden doll’s arm, a deafening crash echoed through the room. The situation was clearly in Siwoo’s favor. He stood with his legs slightly bent, pressing downward, while the wooden doll was on one knee, barely managing to hold back his blade. Actually, “hold back” wasn’t quite accurate. It was more like it was being pushed back.
Siwoo seemed to notice his advantage too. His eyes widened as he glared at the doll and let out a sharp battle cry.
“Haaap!”
He sucked in a huge breath. The sudden rush of oxygen made his muscles surge with energy. The wooden doll, already struggling, couldn’t withstand the increased pressure and completely lost its stance. Naturally, Siwoo didn’t miss the opening. In a split second, he brought his blade to the doll’s head.
Siwoo, Stage 4 Cleared.
The sealed doors opened again. Siwoo stood there blankly, staring at his own sword.
“How was it? Easy, right?”
“…Yeah, I guess?”
Recalling the fight that had ended in essentially just two exchanges, Siwoo shuddered. “I can’t believe I was whining and begging to lower the difficulty… It must’ve looked ridiculous.”
Thinking back on it made the corner of my mouth twitch with amusement. But Siwoo wasn’t paying attention to my expression. His face grew serious as he asked me a question.
“Plea. Is it normal for a person to grow this much in just a month?”
“You already know the answer is no, don’t you? It’s just that your talent is ridiculous. Normally, students stay stuck at Stage 10 of the wooden dolls until graduation. Only the occasional genius manages to surpass Stage 10. From Stage 20 onward, only active heroes can handle them.”
“Stage 20 is active hero level? Then Stage 30 would be…”
When Siwoo tried to steer the conversation in that direction, I waved my hands and cut him off.
“No, that’s not what’s important right now… I’ll tell you about that later. Let’s focus on your growth instead of my story.”
“Ah, right…”
Siwoo seemed to snap out of it. He sheathed his sword and nodded.
“So, how easy was fighting the Stage 4 wooden doll?”
“Honestly… I think I could take on seven or more of them at once and still win.”
“Seven or more, huh…”
Seven or more Stage 4 dolls would probably be roughly equivalent to a Stage 6 or 7 doll in difficulty. “Then let’s try Stage 8 next.”
“What about Stages 5, 6, and 7?”
“Those would be too easy. No point wasting time and stamina. Better to start at Stage 8.”
Besides, the sky was already pitch black. Dragging this out would only cut into my sleep time.
“It’s getting late. Let’s finish up quickly and go to bed.”
“If that’s the case, we could just do this tomorrow…”
Siwoo grumbled but still followed me into the arena. The match against the Stage 8 wooden doll began shortly after. Unlike the Stage 4 fight, this doll was holding its ground against Siwoo’s strength and displaying clear swordsmanship. Siwoo was sweating buckets but still managing to block its attacks quite well. He’d said he could beat seven or more Stage 4 dolls, but watching this, I figured even ten of them wouldn’t be enough.
“Good thing I raised the difficulty by one more stage.”
I’d increased it because I worried Siwoo was underestimating himself due to his rapid growth, but he was keeping up without any trouble. No—his growth seemed to be continuing even now. The momentum of the fight was slowly shifting in his favor. What had been nearly even just moments ago was now Siwoo pressing the doll with a very slight but clear advantage.
And the match ended quickly. If they had been perfectly equal it might have been different, but once the momentum had swung this far in Siwoo’s direction, a wooden doll limited to a certain level of skill had no chance of winning. Siwoo’s wooden sword struck the doll’s forehead once more. The doll let out a mechanical groan and collapsed with a thud.
Soon after, the announcement of Siwoo’s victory rang out. Covered in sweat, he stepped out of the arena.
“Haa… I won…”
“Good work.”
I handed him a cup of water. With a dazed expression, Siwoo took it and gulped it down.
“So you can beat up to Stage 8, huh? Stage 9 still seems too much for now.”
“Fighting a Stage 9 right away would be…”
“I know. We’re done for today, so go back to your room and rest.”
Now that I’d confirmed his growth was progressing without issues, that was enough. At this rate, he’d be able to take down a Stage 10 wooden doll without much trouble before the first semester ended… With that level of skill, I could probably ask him to help with my plans.
“Nice…”
It was an incredibly satisfying result. Siwoo tilted his head at my mutter, but he was so exhausted that he seemed to let it go in one ear and out the other.
“Let’s head back to the dorm. I’ll walk you there.”
“Ah, thanks…”
When I reached out to the half-collapsed Siwoo, he gave me a comfortable smile and took my hand.
“Up we go!”
“Wait… what?!”
I swung his arm around and settled his body onto my back. In short, I gave him a piggyback ride.
“There we go.”
“Plea! Stop messing around and put me down!”
“Put you down? You can barely walk right now.”
Apparently unable to argue with that, Siwoo clamped his mouth shut. Look at him. Sweating like he’d been caught in the rain, insisting on walking all the way back to the dorm by himself? He’d probably collapse and fall asleep halfway there.
“So just shut up and let me carry you. Since I’m the one who dragged you out here in the first place, I’ll take responsibility for you passing out.”
“…Thanks.”
“What are friends for?”
Siwoo had been fighting to stay awake with sheer willpower. After thanking me, he immediately drifted off into a deep sleep.
“Oh right, I forgot to answer that question from earlier…”
The specific difficulty of Stage 30 wooden dolls that Siwoo had asked about. I hadn’t gotten the chance to finish explaining, but since he was asleep now, I might as well say it anyway.
“Hmm… You’re sleeping so you can’t hear me, but a Stage 30 special wooden doll is about the level of an average S-rank hero. Nothing too crazy.”
As expected, there was no reply. I looked at Siwoo on my back, let out a small chuckle, and carried him all the way to his dorm.