Academic City Alcazar

The city where the Solminati Academy was founded and is well known on the continent as a city of education. The school is located in the center of the city, and a spiderweb-like road is built around it. In the northern part of the city, there are political institutions such as the administrative agency that controls the politics of the city. Those political institutions are managed by aristocrats from each country.

The eastern part is a civic area, where many students' dormitories and ordinary citizens live, and the southern part is a commercial area where goods from various countries are gathered, making it the economic center of this city. There are also adventurer guilds where students can get jobs depending on their rank.

The western part is a craftsman district where many craftsmen gather, and craftsmen who utilize each country's techniques such as blacksmiths, doctors, etc compete on a daily basis.

The road stretched north, south, east, and west outside the city, and dense forest spread out beyond the road, blocking the entry of people. Various monsters appear in this forest, ranging from monsters that even ordinary people can win to those that veteran adventurers have trouble with.

However, powerful monsters live in the depths of the forest and do not appear around towns and highways. 

A hut was built in such a forest to keep an eye on it. A boy and an old woman exchanging blows in the yard of the hut. One of them is Nozomu Bountis, a school dropout. The old woman's name is Shino. The match is overwhelmingly won by the old woman. It is not comparable to the match with Mars at the school. He was able to outperform Mars's slash, but the match with the old woman is even more one-sided, and Nozomu is like the old woman's toy.

During the 3 times the exchange occurred, his posture was lost and he was hit. The old woman immediately pursued the rolling Nozomu and swung her katana without hesitation.

Nozomu focused his attention on his feet and exploded. One of the Qi techniques, "Instant Move". He accelerates in an instant, but the old woman immediately used the same technique to accelerate and deliver a slash. Going around behind the retreating Nozomu and slashes with a sword technique. He can't stop because of the momentum, so he turns his body around with one leg to counter the slash, but his posture collapses greatly.

The pursuit by the old woman approached there. Against the old woman's Power, Nozomu slanting his katana, deliberately relaxing his legs, and dropping his body. The old woman's pursuit does not hit his body, she slips and turns over with her laid katana. However, at the same time, the old woman's kick struck.

Nozomu judges that it is impossible to avoid it when his body is dropped. He puts power into his legs, flies back, simultaneously tries to repel it with katana's handle, but his body gets blown away. Nozomu, who was lying on the ground, didn't have time to regain his posture, and the old woman chased him and thrust her katana into his neck.

"……I give up"

"Hmm, there's still a long way to go.

The old woman said so and put down the katana. 

This old woman, Shino, is Nozomu's swords technique mentor. She met him when Nozomu was training in the forest. At that time, he was abandoned by Lisa and desperate for not being able to fulfill his vows, and he trained hard.

It was not training but escape. He tried not to think of his lover by training until his body was ragged. It all started when the old woman called out because she couldn't stand the harshness and meaninglessness.

"It's about time for dinner, Nozomu, prepare it."

"Yes, Shishō"

Nozomu answered the old woman's voice. Although his voice seems tired, he prepares for dinner with a clear expression. 

(It’s still dragging, but he is growing.)

She looked at him and muttered to herself.

When she met him, he was practicing in the forest, but he was in a very bad condition. His muscles were thin and his cheeks were burning from the repetitive exercises that didn't give him time to recover from the accumulated fatigue. The skin of the hand holding the sword was peeled off, its joints were inflamed, and his body was in tatters. It was so terrible that she tried to interfere, but there were no signs of stopping it. His face at that time was as lifeless as it looked, and behind his eyes were negative emotions that were even darker than he looked. When she saw herself in his eyes, she was very disgusted and immediately left the place. She decided to ignore him at one point, but over time she worried about him.

Karma flashed through her head, even if she tried not to think about it, and when she went to see the situation, he was attacked by a demon beast.

It was a Wild Dog that was attacking. It is a demon beast that lives all over the continent and usually acts in groups. The rank as a demon beast is low and could be subdued by ordinary adventurers, but it was a threat equal to a dragon to him who had reached the limit of exhaustion.

Nozomu's consciousness was stunned, his body was injured and bleed all over. He had no one around him to help. An ordinary person would give up in that desperate situation, but he did not. He fought the stray dog, even though he lost enough blood that he could have died of blood loss.

"I don't want to die"

"Don't give up"

Swordsmanship and tactics were still immature. However, his eyes, which had dark emotions, glowed with a clear and strong desire to "live" before he knew it.  When She saw him, she was cutting up the Wild Dog ​​that was attacking him. A week later, in front of her hut, she saw a boy holding a katana, not a sword. 

***

Nozomu’s POV

After dinner and cleaning up, I sit on the opposite of Shishō who is drinking tea after meals, and I also drink the tea.

I met Shishō and studied swordsmanship, and I learned various things until this day. I felt like I could see the light while struggling in the darkness.

Dumped by Lisa, I couldn't fulfill the vow, and no one around me. Escaping by continue doing absurd training every day, attacked by Wild Dog until tattered. In the border between life and death, I felt that "I didn't want to die" rather than the feeling that "I wanted to die" anymore. The feeling of "I don't want to die" became the feeling of "I want to live", and it became the feeling of "I will not give up".

I was saved by Shishō, became her disciple, and continued to practice.

It hurts to remember Lisa anyway. But now I feel lighter than before. 

It may be because there is Shishō now.

With that in mind, I see Shishō chewing on confectioneries with a big smile. I feel like smiling to see the appearance of Shishō who has demonic power, which is unsuitable for her age. 

"Why looking at people's face. Are you in love with me now?"

Immediately, I counterattack the cheerful Shishō.

"Please think about your age first before speaking. No matter how old I am, Shishō's age range is a bit too much!"

A shock ran down my spine when I said something like that. Shishō clenched her fist like a punch and fired a shockwave. What's more, this is the first time that the confectionery on the table didn't even blown away.

"Nozomu, What did you just say!?"

Shishō looked at me with an expression of a hidden dragon. I run for self-protection called apology, reflexively.

"No, It’s Nothing, I just fascinated by Shishō "

Shishō unnecessarily shows off advanced techniques even though she is only Tsukkomi. She retires in a place like this, but her ability is undoubtedly one of the best on the continent. I remember when Shishō saying, "Line up with the best swordsman in school." 

By the way, the best swordfighter in the school is Jihad Roundel. He is an S-ranked knight and a well-known swordsman on the continent. Such a person who is the same rank as Shishō. I wonder what kind of person is he. 

While immersed in such a sea of ​​thoughts, it is time to finish drinking tea and eventually, return to the dormitory.

"Then, Shishō. I will return to the dormitory.”

"Um, see you tomorrow."

"Yes, good night Shishō"

***

Shino’s POV

I looked at Nozomu's back and returned to the hut.

He became stronger. He is unaware of it because his physical abilities were suppressed by his ability suppression, and his sword skills have not yet reached my level, but he is quite close. Truly, it seems an unreachable place.

It is abnormal considering the growth in the past year.

From the start, he was more suited to using a curved sword than the straight sword used on this continent.

Rather than smashing with the power of his arm, he used his entire body to cut.

It was the efforts that made him stronger than anything else. Even if it comes from an escape from reality. In the beginning, He only did simple swings all day long and ran through the forest earnestly.

Naturally, he was attacked by a demon beast, but he managed to do it on his own. As expected, I took care of the leftover opponents so that He would not notice it.

Next is mock battle. Naturally, I devote all my skills on him to the point of not dying. He was knocked down without any help, and fractures, vomiting, and fainting were common. Now He can handle it, and it is unlikely that He will have a serious injury such as a broken bone. He has endured the training I imposed. An average guy would quit in less than a week.

With his current skills and without his ability suppression, there is no doubt that he will be able to beat me. Even so, the fact that he couldn't win mock fights and his grades at school didn't improve was largely due to his ability suppression. Limited in strength and energy, almost no magical power that even beginner magic couldn't be used. Strengthening with Qi and items has almost no effect, and enhancement magic was unusable.

In order to fill these flaws, He refined his skill and Qi control, but the skill He uses is inevitably one-point concentrated high power, and the killing ability is extremely high, so He can't use them in school simulation battles.

Muscular strength, which requires instantaneous power, is severely restricted by ability suppression, but fortunately, the person's basic abilities such as motor nerves and endurance do not seem to be suppressed, so He was able to train.

However, since the effect of strengthening such as Qi is so low, the effect will not be visible, and if the opponent strengthens, the opponent will surpass even his unsuppressed ability.

It doesn't work very well.

Another thing to worry about is that his future goals have not been set.

It is "for life", might be good, but it may not be like that in the future.

If you say "what makes you stronger", you need a "core in your heart". If you using power without the "core of your heart", you will eventually be swayed by that power.

His core has already broken once.

I don't know what he will do in the future, but I will teach him everything.

Don't let him regret it, like me.