Brute Force Mock Battle
“It’s war, damn it~!”
When I came to the guild, Chuck was making some kind of noise.
Not limited to summer, he occasionally makes these kinds of sounds. Let’s ignore him.
“Mongrel! I’m talking about you, you bastard~!”
“Ah, me? What is it all of a sudden. I’m about to report on city cleaning right now.”
“Oh oh, acting like such a good boy~! Then I’ll wait until you finish your damn report quickly…!”
“Oh, you’ll wait for me. Sorry, I don’t know what your business is though.”
Well, I know it’s probably some stupid talk anyway.
I received the meager reward for city cleaning, and while I was at it, got a mug of ale from the guild tavern counter before sitting at Chuck’s table.
At the same table, elite members of “Sword of Harvest” are having a drinking party. Like Chuck, they’re young men in the category of skilled but mischievous types.
“Mongrel… I heard~…”
“Heard what? That I turned 30?”
“Seriously? Congratulations, you bastard. No, that’s separate! What I heard was about you giving a gift to Josette-chan to get her attention, damn it~!”
No, I don’t know about that… It was just a thank you for having her cast rod guides and reels for my fishing rod.
There wasn’t any romantic development either… She just said something like she’d appreciate it if I had any other interesting orders next time.
“By the way Chuck, who did you hear that from?”
“I got testimony that old lady Orietta from the shop across the street saw it~!”
“Another one of your mysterious old lady connections…”
“Chuck’s social network with old ladies is more of a ladies’ man quality than Mongrel’s.”
“That’s true. This guy is popular with grannies.”
“Shut up~! I want to be popular with young girls~!”
Chuck’s cry sounds somewhat desperate and pitiful. Well, the reason Chuck isn’t popular is because of certain aspects of his personality, so there’s nothing to be done about it…
“Hey Mongrel. I don’t really care about Chuck though.”
“Oi!”
“What?”
“A while ago, a ‘Reaper’ came to Legol, right? Apparently that jet-black war horse is still in the noble district.”
“Ah, that cool war horse. It’s been three days since they arrived, right? They’re still staying in Legol.”
The “Moonlit Grim Reaper” is like a special forces unit directly under the state. They’re usually bustling around the country constantly, and otherwise should be the type who stay in the royal capital.
“From what I heard, they’re apparently giving training to Legol’s guards and soldiers. I haven’t seen it myself, so this is just rumors. I don’t know what’s actually happening.”
“Hoh, the ‘Reaper’ is personally giving combat training. Nice, seems strict but there’d probably be things to learn.”
“Keh, I can’t be bothered with soldiers’ refined swordsmanship.”
“Kekeke… Chuck, you’re weak at person-to-person combat. You always lose when you have mock battles with the ‘Earth Shield’ guys.”
“Shut up! I’m strong against monsters, so it’s fine!”
Soldiers, and guards, inevitably emphasize person-to-person combat.
It’s natural since they’re assuming fights against criminals in the city, or battles with enemy soldiers in war. You can’t be a guard if you’re not strong against thugs.
Many members of “Earth Shield” have dabbled in that kind of swordsmanship, so of course they’re strong. Chuck is also quite – actually considerably strong, no doubt about it, but fighting styles for monsters are quite different, so it can’t be helped.
“Still though. How strong are the ‘Reapers’ actually? They’re cavalry, right? If they dismount from their war horses, wouldn’t they not be able to use those big great halberds?”
“Mongrel has that weapon too, right? How is it in that regard?”
“No, I’ve never used that weapon in actual combat, so I don’t know.”
“Eh!? Why did you buy it!?”
“For display purposes, obviously!”
“You idiot~!”
I got called an idiot by an idiot. The one who calls someone an idiot is the real idiot, you idiot.
“No, but I don’t think the ‘Reapers’ have that problem. I mean, they can hold a great halberd horizontally with one hand without it wavering even a bit. Their enhancement is first-class, and I heard they have six or more skills.”
“Seriously!? Even the strong guards only have about four skills~…!?”
“Can their magic power hold out with that many skills… ah, if they’re mages, they’d have decent magic power too…?”
“They’re monsters…”
They really are monsters, I think. They should have spear skills, axe skills, and scythe skills for the great halberd. They quickly switch between these and use the appropriate one for the right situation. They also have body enhancement to support large weapons and magic for long-range use. Honestly, I think they’ve got some kind of cheat ability. Those guys might be reincarnators. I might be a regular guildsman who just thinks he’s a reincarnator.
“Damn… but I’d like to try a mock battle at least once, you know~… I want to know what my current abilities are like~…”
“Oh, Chuck’s saying something quite admirable.”
“Of course! I’m going to Gold, Gold!”
“If Chuck’s going, I’ll go too! Well, I’m aiming for Silver 3 first though!”
“Even 3 is far away.”
These guys have surprisingly straightforward ambition, which is good.
I wonder why they don’t have the refreshing quality like “Earth Shield”…
“If I could make a ‘Reaper’ take a knee in a mock battle~! I might even get bonus points for my next promotion exam~!”
“Can you do it, make them take a knee?”
“Chuck can’t do it, but I could.”
“What did you say!?”
“Chuck should first be able to beat Mongrel before dreaming! Gahaha!”
“Mongrel, you bastard!”
“Hey, I didn’t butt into this whole conversation at all.”
“Fight me!”
Seriously, what flow led to this?
“I don’t mind… I’m free anyway…”
“Alright! Let’s go to the training ground~!”
“Don’t fall over since you’re drunk!”
“We’re gonna watch!”
It was a confusing flow, but this is how I ended up having a mock battle with Chuck.
“One good hit wins! Stopping just short counts too!”
“Well, the usual rules. Ugh… the rental armor stinks… I’m taking it off.”
“Oi oi! Put on the armor, Mongrel! You’ll get hurt!”
“It’s fine, Chuck’s attacks won’t hit me anyway, and even if they do, this sword doesn’t hurt.”
The training ground’s surface is well-compacted earth. It hurts a bit if you fall, but it’s not as tragic as brick or tile places in the city. You can step properly and it’s less likely to cause injury – a good balance field. Convenient for training.
“Mongrel… you’d better not underestimate me too much.”
“Oh, sobered up a bit?”
“Hey, hey, Mongrel’s provoking Chuck too much.”
“You two better not get seriously violent, okay?”
“We know.”
“…Mongrel! Is that wooden sword okay for you!? You can hold a shield or grip a longsword too!”
“What kind of training would it be if I held a different weapon than usual? Besides, with just a bastard sword, I’m the strongest man in the world, you know?”
A wooden practice sword with some cloth wrapped around a slender wooden blade. However, the cloth isn’t wrapped thick enough, and it hurts normally if you hit somewhat hard. If you seriously strike, it’s a proper weapon that could kill a person. At least it’s a better weapon than the crude clubs that goblins sometimes carry.
“…I’ve always disliked that cocky armament of yours… Mongrel, today I’ll teach you the strength of a longsword…!”
While I have a bastard sword-sized wooden sword of about 1 meter, Chuck has a longsword wooden sword. It’s probably 30cm longer than my weapon.
He doesn’t have a shield either, but a longsword operated with both hands while wearing gauntlets is excellent for both offense and defense. It’s orthodox armament befitting a swordsman of this world.
“Hey, look over there, Chuck-san is having a mock battle!”
“His opponent is Mongrel? Looks interesting!”
“Go get him Chuck! Show us Silver-level ability!”
“Mongrel, put on armor!”
“It stinks, so no! You guys should properly wash and dry it after use too!”
“What’s this guy saying!”
Chuck standing in front of me has already sharpened his mental focus.
It’s a thug-like sharp glare, but Chuck’s ability is the real deal. Even though he’s weak at person-to-person combat, he doesn’t carry a Silver recognition tag for show. Once the match starts, he’ll fiercely attack.
…It’s been a while. Standing in a normal mock battle arena, not as an examiner for promotion.
“Alright, please be careful not to get injured… Begin!”
At the referee’s voice, Chuck’s eyes widened.
“Uooorah!”
“Alright, come at me!”
Against an overhead strike, I also responded from above. A brute force clash of blades. His sword is bigger and longer. Speaking of the power of a single overhead strike, normally it wouldn’t be something you could win against. Normally.
“O, oooh…!?”
“What’s wrong Chuck! Are you drunk!?”
“You idiot, this much…!?”
But I’m strong. Even if Chuck came at full power, there’s no way he could win against me in a contest of strength. If we clash swords, I won’t lose! Since you’re using a longsword, fight with reach! Don’t fight on my turf!
“I don’t intend to make this a refined match!”
“Guh!”
I threw a front kick, but Chuck barely managed to guard with his knee.
The distance between us increased, and the match returned to square one. …The cheering around us is noisy. This isn’t a spectacle… well, I guess it is kind of like a spectacle.
“You bastard… using such ridiculous strength~…”
Despite the hot-headed dialogue, he seems to see the situation, straightening his sword posture to fight with reach. This time, instead of momentum, he’s slowly approaching while being mindful of distance.
“Hey hey, if you can’t make a Bronze 3 like me take a knee, fighting a ‘Reaper’ is just a pipe dream, you know?”
“…!”
Without taking the bait of provocation, Chuck quickly swept his sword horizontally from long range.
A fighting style that utilizes the longsword’s reach. Maintaining this distance sense, he could win one-sidedly. Normally. But I’m not normal.
“Man, Chuck, you really are weak at person-to-person combat!”
“Guh!?”
Against the opponent’s sword attack, I swing to hit his sword.
He probably planned to attack safely from a distance, but I won’t allow such lukewarm swinging with that mindset. I’ll smash into his sword and break his stance.
“Come on, let’s clash blades! I don’t have technique either! Let’s go with a strength contest, Chuck!”
“Gu, ooh…! You bastard…!”
I continue to close the distance while forcibly deflecting his attacks.
There’s nothing delicate like swordsmanship in this movement. I’m just closing distance while beating his sword with mine.
It’s a purely forceful tactic that relies on my strength.
…Well, I could fight more like proper swordsmanship if I wanted to, but everyone’s watching. I won’t do it.
“Take this!”
“Ah!?”
Chuck endured patiently too, but after about twenty exchanges, my horizontal sweep generously sent Chuck’s wooden sword flying. It’s not a distance where he could retrieve it. Now Chuck has no weapon.
“Match over! Winner: Mongrel!”
“Hahaha! How’s that, give up! I’m not weak enough to be beaten by a drunk youngster!”
“Damn! What kind of brute force fighting style is that! Seriously no technique or anything!”
“As long as you win, that’s all that matters! Hahaha!”
Chuck is barking while his numb hands shake, but well, it was a one-sided match. The content is super simple, plain flavor, but that’s exactly why the outcome is easy to understand even for the spectators.
“Mongrel’s strength is incredible.”
“You fight like that in your usual duties too, right!”
“Of course. Strength is power in this world.”
“Uooh… my hands are still numb…! What was that sword clash…! I didn’t feel like I could deflect it at all…!”
“Good work, Chuck. To think you’d lose… but it can’t be helped.”
“Mongrel’s brute strength as always…”
Well, I’m playing that kind of character, so it’s fine.
Actually, I have quite intellectual aspects too. I’m not a muscle-brain. Don’t misunderstand that!
“Chuck, if you want to beat me, you should study person-to-person swordsmanship more.”
“Damn… giving me reasonable lectures… I don’t want to hear it from someone who hasn’t mastered swordsmanship~…”
“Hahaha! Oh, since I won, buy me an ale.”
“Hah!? We never made that bet!”
“It’s tuition, tuition!”
“Don’t add conditions afterwards~!”
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