I arrived at the training grounds for the recruitment test.
“Okay then, should we start the test?”
Bolton said lazily while scratching his neck.
“What’s the test?” I asked.
“Did you think that you’ll be doing a written test or an interview?”
Bolton grinned.
“The guards in this city need neither culture nor etiquette. Power. All you need is the ability to protect the people and the treasure of the city.”
“I see. That makes it easy to understand.”
I wondered what I would do if I was suddenly tested with culture and etiquette.
I was an orphan before I became an adventurer. I lacked that kind of thing. It is easier to live in a society where ability was everything.
“First, we’ll start with defense. You will face three soldiers. Also, Sieg, you are not allowed to attack.”
“Should I only stick with defense?”
“Yeah. For guards, the most indispensable thing is not offensive power but defensive power. You can’t be one without the ability to endure.
I have confidence in that.
Much more than being asked for attack power.
Three soldiers came forward. One held a sword, another a spear, and the last an ax.
“Treat this as a real battle. If you get hit once, you’re dead. If you don’t like it, you should desperately avoid it or defend against it.”
I pulled out the wooden sword attached to my waist with my right and held my shield in my left hand.
“Hey, hey. Were you listening to me? You should not attack. Then, you don’t even need to hold a sword.”
“Shouldn’t I be treating this as a real battle? Then, it would be strange if I don’t hold onto a sword. There isn’t an idiot who would jump into the middle of the battlefield with just one shield.”
“Ha~. That’s true. I hope you can afford to have one. The weight of the sword would limit your movements.”
After saying so, Chief Bolton raised his hand and lowered it to signal the start.
“Well then, let’s start.”
At the same time, the soldiers broke into a run.
The three people came for his right, middle, and left.
First, the spear-wielding soldier stabbed me from the right.
Bam. The tip of the spear flew with power.
I retreated backward to dodge it.
At the place I landed, the sword-wielding soldier swung down his sword from the left. I held out my shield, blocking the sword in front.
“–This is it!”
The last soldier in the middle waved his ax down.
It contained a blow with all his weight. This was an attack that a shield would not be able to bear.
Then I should just deflect it.
As the ax came down, I timed it properly and deflected it with my shield.
“!?”
The soldier, who held the ax, completely lost his center of gravity. He staggered backward, creating many openings. I put the wooden sword close to his throat.
“If this was a real battle, your neck would have been sent flying with this.”
The color of fear oozed from the soldier’s eyes.
“Staying calm in front of multiple enemies. Truly amazing. As expected of someone claiming as a former B-rank adventurer.”
Chief Bolton let out a fearless smile.
“Well then, next is this. Sieg, from now on, I’ll put a balloon behind you. Fight while protecting it from the soldier’s attacks.”
“Is this a defensive battle?”
“That’s it. Think of the balloon as the people in the city that you need to protect. If it breaks, it means that the people of the city are all killed.”
The soldiers looked at each other.
“Chief Bolton aren’t you being too unreasonable……”
“Such strict conditions were not imposed on us when we enlisted, right? Aren’t you being too tough on Sieg?”
“It’s because chief Bolton hates strangers and adventurers…”
“Hey, shut up.”
“““Sorry”””
“I’m warning you, don’t go easy on him. Think of that balloon as a monster. If you can’t break it, your loved ones will be hurt.”
“……Gulp”
The soldier’s eyes changed into a serious expression.
They rushed in all at once.
I step before the balloon and prepared to protect it.
I can’t attack from here, but if I deal with everyone all at once, I would be overwhelmed after some time.
Then…..there is no choice but to neutralize them while defending.
“Haaaaaa!”
The soldier thrust his spear, but I parried it with my shield.
The force of the spear was redirected back, causing it to fly from the soldier’s hands. The sword and the ax also came down on me, but I was able to timely parry them.
The sword and the ax were also sent flying away from the soldiers’ hands.
“Wh-what is this……”
“If his timing was off just a little, he would have taken a direct hit! How can you do such a dangerous parry over and over again so perfectly!”
This was the result of my daily training.
When I had just become an adventurer, I trained myself to death.
If it was a normal attack, I can even parry it with my eyes closed.
“……Okay, Now! It’s your turn!”
Chief Bolton sent instructions to somewhere.
In the next moment, the other soldiers who were standing by and watching began to run towards the balloon. They were only observers until now.
“…Ha. You wouldn’t know where the enemy will appear in an actual battle. If these guys break the balloon, you lose.”
“Ku, that’s dirty!”
“It’s humbling!”
“You can’t catch up with these guys at this distance. Sieg, it looks like this game is your loss.
“No. Not yet… [Iron Target]!”
I activated the skill on the spot.
Thereupon, the attacks that the invading soldiers made on the balloon were all distorted and came towards me.
I accepted them all.
“Wha……!?”
“Impossible……!”
The soldiers did not seem to accept the phenomenon that occurred.
From their point of view, the phenomenon, where the balloon did not break even though they had accurately hit it, occurred.
The only people who were aware of what happened at this time were me and chief Bolton. He exhaled in admiration.
“Hou. Is that a skill that collects all attacks upon yourself? I have seen many people use similar skills, but I had never seen this skill before.”
The smile on chief Bolton’s face disappeared.
“It seems that you are a much more amusing man than I thought.”
After saying so, he pulled out the sword on his waist and pointed it towards me.
“……Hey. Sieg. Next, fight one on one with me. Your true ability, I’ll determine it directly.”
I arrived at the training grounds for the recruitment test.
“Okay then, should we start the test?”
Bolton said lazily while scratching his neck.
“What’s the test?” I asked.
“Did you think that you’ll be doing a written test or an interview?”
Bolton grinned.
“The guards in this city need neither culture nor etiquette. Power. All you need is the ability to protect the people and the treasure of the city.”
“I see. That makes it easy to understand.”
I wondered what I would do if I was suddenly tested with culture and etiquette.
I was an orphan before I became an adventurer. I lacked that kind of thing. It is easier to live in a society where ability was everything.
“First, we’ll start with defense. You will face three soldiers. Also, Sieg, you are not allowed to attack.”
“Should I only stick with defense?”
“Yeah. For guards, the most indispensable thing is not offensive power but defensive power. You can’t be one without the ability to endure.
I have confidence in that.
Much more than being asked for attack power.
Three soldiers came forward. One held a sword, another a spear, and the last an ax.
“Treat this as a real battle. If you get hit once, you’re dead. If you don’t like it, you should desperately avoid it or defend against it.”
I pulled out the wooden sword attached to my waist with my right and held my shield in my left hand.
“Hey, hey. Were you listening to me? You should not attack. Then, you don’t even need to hold a sword.”
“Shouldn’t I be treating this as a real battle? Then, it would be strange if I don’t hold onto a sword. There isn’t an idiot who would jump into the middle of the battlefield with just one shield.”
“Ha~. That’s true. I hope you can afford to have one. The weight of the sword would limit your movements.”
After saying so, Chief Bolton raised his hand and lowered it to signal the start.
“Well then, let’s start.”
At the same time, the soldiers broke into a run.
The three people came for his right, middle, and left.
First, the spear-wielding soldier stabbed me from the right.
Bam. The tip of the spear flew with power.
I retreated backward to dodge it.
At the place I landed, the sword-wielding soldier swung down his sword from the left. I held out my shield, blocking the sword in front.
“–This is it!”
The last soldier in the middle waved his ax down.
It contained a blow with all his weight. This was an attack that a shield would not be able to bear.
Then I should just deflect it.
As the ax came down, I timed it properly and deflected it with my shield.
“!?”
The soldier, who held the ax, completely lost his center of gravity. He staggered backward, creating many openings. I put the wooden sword close to his throat.
“If this was a real battle, your neck would have been sent flying with this.”
The color of fear oozed from the soldier’s eyes.
“Staying calm in front of multiple enemies. Truly amazing. As expected of someone claiming as a former B-rank adventurer.”
Chief Bolton let out a fearless smile.
“Well then, next is this. Sieg, from now on, I’ll put a balloon behind you. Fight while protecting it from the soldier’s attacks.”
“Is this a defensive battle?”
“That’s it. Think of the balloon as the people in the city that you need to protect. If it breaks, it means that the people of the city are all killed.”
The soldiers looked at each other.
“Chief Bolton aren’t you being too unreasonable……”
“Such strict conditions were not imposed on us when we enlisted, right? Aren’t you being too tough on Sieg?”
“It’s because chief Bolton hates strangers and adventurers…”
“Hey, shut up.”
“““Sorry”””
“I’m warning you, don’t go easy on him. Think of that balloon as a monster. If you can’t break it, your loved ones will be hurt.”
“……Gulp”
The soldier’s eyes changed into a serious expression.
They rushed in all at once.
I step before the balloon and prepared to protect it.
I can’t attack from here, but if I deal with everyone all at once, I would be overwhelmed after some time.
Then…..there is no choice but to neutralize them while defending.
“Haaaaaa!”
The soldier thrust his spear, but I parried it with my shield.
The force of the spear was redirected back, causing it to fly from the soldier’s hands. The sword and the ax also came down on me, but I was able to timely parry them.
The sword and the ax were also sent flying away from the soldiers’ hands.
“Wh-what is this……”
“If his timing was off just a little, he would have taken a direct hit! How can you do such a dangerous parry over and over again so perfectly!”
This was the result of my daily training.
When I had just become an adventurer, I trained myself to death.
If it was a normal attack, I can even parry it with my eyes closed.
“……Okay, Now! It’s your turn!”
Chief Bolton sent instructions to somewhere.
In the next moment, the other soldiers who were standing by and watching began to run towards the balloon. They were only observers until now.
“…Ha. You wouldn’t know where the enemy will appear in an actual battle. If these guys break the balloon, you lose.”
“Ku, that’s dirty!”
“It’s humbling!”
“You can’t catch up with these guys at this distance. Sieg, it looks like this game is your loss.
“No. Not yet… [Iron Target]!”
I activated the skill on the spot.
Thereupon, the attacks that the invading soldiers made on the balloon were all distorted and came towards me.
I accepted them all.
“Wha……!?”
“Impossible……!”
The soldiers did not seem to accept the phenomenon that occurred.
From their point of view, the phenomenon, where the balloon did not break even though they had accurately hit it, occurred.
The only people who were aware of what happened at this time were me and chief Bolton. He exhaled in admiration.
“Hou. Is that a skill that collects all attacks upon yourself? I have seen many people use similar skills, but I had never seen this skill before.”
The smile on chief Bolton’s face disappeared.
“It seems that you are a much more amusing man than I thought.”
After saying so, he pulled out the sword on his waist and pointed it towards me.
“……Hey. Sieg. Next, fight one on one with me. Your true ability, I’ll determine it directly.”
