Evil Avalon - Volume 2 - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Kaoru Hayase - Part 2

Kaoru Hayase

“Here it comes!”

“Ready to heal whenever you need me! I’m good to go!”

I took up the front while Naoto and Sakurako brandished their staffs behind me.

We were on the sixth floor of the dungeon at a camping site for hunting a particular demon wolf called a warg. A demon wolf followed Yuuma as he ran toward us. The monster was faster than we’d expected, and we needed to lure* it by firing arrows from a distance to stop it from catching up to Yuuma.

*TIPS: Luring monsters is when adventurers use long-distance attacks or skills to aggro enemies and induce them toward them. Parties prefer to fight in safe locations where other monsters won’t disturb them, so they lure their prey to their chosen spot.

When luring demon wolves, one needed to ensure no other demon wolves were nearby, or the prey’s Howling skill would attract them. Taking on two wolves at once was too risky at our current level.

But it was Yuuma doing the luring, so we had nothing to worry about. He carried a bow on his back, a shield in one hand, and a one-handed sword in the other. Plus, he took on various roles within our party, from luring prey to dealing damage and functioning as a tank. His ability to succeed in all three roles proved his natural talent.

The demon wolf chased after Yuuma, growling with its fangs bared. But the scariest thing about the beast was that it was silent when it ran despite the hundred-kilogram bulk of its two-meter-tall body.

Once Yuuma had reached the safety of the camping spot, he turned around and blocked the demon wolf with his shield to buy us time. It couldn’t be easy bearing the brunt of this creature’s force, considering it had come charging at us at fifty kilometers an hour. But Yuuma’s strength and technique made it possible. I circled behind the wolf while Yuuma held it at bay and Naoto prepared to launch a magic attack slightly farther away; our formation would let us strike from all directions. We’d put Sakurako at a safe distance just in case. She fulfilled the most vital role in the party, healing us when necessary, so she didn’t need to get involved directly in the combat.

The single-minded frenzy of the wolf dissipated when it realized we’d lured it here to surround the creature. It growled as it observed us, switching to the defensive. Naoto broke the stalemate by casting Fire Arrow at the beast.

“Distract it!” I shouted. “I’ll use my skill.”

Switching to the basic job of Fighter had greatly improved my fundamental stats and enabled me to use weapon skills.

Yuuma kept the wolf’s aggro directed at himself by jabbing it with his weapon while defending with his shield so that it wouldn’t target the rest of us. I waited until the exact moment that the wolf took its eyes off me to activate Slash.

It was like a switch connected to my muscles suddenly flicked on. My body began performing the skill motions automatically. Then, I performed a powerful attack, far stronger than an ordinary person could achieve and comparable to a master swordsman. And my sword would slice through the wolf’s thick pelt like butter.

The warg somehow twisted away from my surprise attack from behind at the last second, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow. It was a reminder that the monsters on the sixth floor were no easy prey. My attack cut a gash in the wolf’s side up to its hind leg. The wounded wolf tried to limp away, but Yuuma closed in from the front with his sword and Naoto from behind with a dagger. Both plunged their weapons into the beast, which let out one final high-pitched whine before turning into a magic gem.

“And that makes ten,” I said. “We’ve got a good pace, but we should probably take a short break.”

It was a Saturday, so the four of us had come down to the dungeon early in the morning, and we’d already hunted ten demon wolves.

“I can keep going,” argued Yuuma, a fierce look in his eyes.

“No, we need a break,” said Naoto. “Now that we’re on the sixth floor, we can’t take even the smallest risk.”

The fight hadn’t lasted longer than a minute, but risking your life in a fight to the death was mentally draining. Plus, we’d be better positioned for further fights if we waited a while to regain mana and let my cooldown timer reset so that I could use my weapon skill again.

“I know it’s a little early,” said Sakurako, “but does anyone want lunch? I’ve made sandwiches with plenty of vegetables and yummy meat for today.”

“I am hungry,” I said. “Your sandwiches are always so delicious, Sakurako. I’d love some lunch.”

“Yuuma and I will get the tableware ready,” volunteered Naoto. “Yuuma, could you get the plates out?”

“I’ve brought some soup in this magical flask as well,” remarked Sakurako. “Could you pour some out for everyone?”

We sat for lunch and enjoyed our meal since monsters wouldn’t spawn near the campsite unless somebody led them to us. Sometimes other adventurers would pass by and leave when they saw that we’d arrived first because the space was only large enough for one party to hunt at a time. In other words, we had the campsite all to ourselves.

The large basket Sakurako had brought was filled with all sorts of sandwiches with colorful ingredients. Another bag had an enchanted flask with a spell to retain heat. The soup had been kept near boiling temperatures, so the vegetables’ flavors would have mixed in nicely and left a lovely smell.

Naoto let out a sigh of contentment and said, “It’s a nice, calming flavor.”

“There’s plenty to go around, so eat as much as you want,” said Sakurako.

The ingredients weren’t exotic, but the varied assortment of vegetables created a wonderful flavor. Additionally, the taste of the sandwiches was a perfect remedy for fatigue. It was so good that I almost forgot my table manners and wolfed them down. Fortunately, I retained my dignity as a young lady.

Embarrassed that I’d almost lost control of myself, I looked around to see if anyone had noticed, and saw Yuuma troubled. He’d kept up appearances after his loss to Kariya, pretending to be cheerful. I could see that his spirits had sunken too low to continue this facade. Yuuma’s visit to the First Swordcraft Club the other day must have been the final straw. I recalled that he’d scared the life out of his partner in yesterday’s sword fighting class, ruining his opportunity to practice.

Naoto had noticed the look on Yuuma’s face, stating, “We’re friends, and that means that any challenges we face are together. So, Yuuma, you don’t need to keep it in.”

Yuuma said nothing.

“What happened?” Naoto continued softly. “If you’re worried about something, let’s talk about it. You’re not the only one that wants to solve Class E’s problem. Kaoru, Sakurako, and I all want that too. You don’t have to do everything alone.”

Naoto was right. I also wanted to help, and Sakurako gave a big nod to show she did as well.

Yuuma exhaled and relented. Without raising his eyes to meet ours, and with frequent pauses and stutters, he opened up about how his loss to Kariya had affected him. That included what had happened at the First Swordcraft Club.

It turned out that he hadn’t been too upset about not beating Kariya. Yuuma had understood that he was inexperienced and that there were stronger students than him. Even though he’d lost so spectacularly, the loss hadn’t affected him too badly. What had hurt, however, was the thought that he was responsible for Class E’s current mistreatment.

Next he told us about his visit to the First Swordcraft Club... Which was an appalling story to hear. They’d told him that he’d need to win in a one-on-one fight to get into the club. His opponent had then thrashed him in front of a large audience, ridiculed him, and kicked him out. To make matters worse, his opponent had humiliated Yuuma by winning with a handicap; he’d gone through the whole fight without moving from where he stood and only using his right arm. Every club member had hurled abuse at him and ridiculed Class E. He’d felt like they had trampled on his proud ambition to become the strongest adventurer, and ever since then, he’d been feeling desperate.

There was a tear in Yuuma’s eyes as he spoke.

Some members of the Fourth Swordcraft Club had run into him as he was sullenly returning from the First, and they’d offered him a place in their club. He hadn’t replied to their offer yet because he felt that to accept would be to admit defeat, and he didn’t know what to do.

The rest of us sat quietly after hearing Yuuma’s sad tale, unsure what to say.

Part of me wanted to pity him, though I knew that the same thing could’ve easily happened to me instead, and it would be wrong to pity someone in the same situation as yourself. In fact, it would be wrong in any situation; the right thing to do was to face the challenge together.

“The Fourth Swordcraft Club...” I said. “I remember them from the club fair. The one on the stage wearing the hakama was their club president, right?”

“Yeah,” replied Yuuma. “It was her and the vice-president that spoke to me.”

The club fair was a bitter memory for Class E. However, the girl in the hakama who’d taken to the stage was another student fighting against the upper classes, and she’d spoken with conviction and zeal.

“I think we should go and see the people in the Fourth Swordcraft Club,” I suggested, wanting to know their activities and how they trained.

“It’d be good to hear what they have to say!” added Sakurako.

“I agree,” Naoto said. “We could stand to learn something from them, even if we don’t decide to join.” Naoto believed we could take inspiration from their methods to help us decide how to improve our class. They’d gone through the same ordeals as us, or maybe worse, so there might be helpful tips that we could learn from. “It’s unlikely that we’ll be able to progress to a higher class this year. But we should still try everything we can to improve. I will work as hard as possible in every way I can to grow stronger.”

“Right!” agreed Sakurako. “So we’ve got to prepare for the Battle of the Classes.”

“You mean the exam we have next month?” asked Yuuma.

The Battle of the Classes would be the first exam where our class would compete against the others. Of course, we didn’t stand a chance of actually competing against the higher classes in any meaningful way since we’d just joined the school.

I wouldn’t have known this before my last raid, but each monster on the sixth floor and below was a problem that required a unique solution. In every fight you were one mistake away from death. Progress would take longer; you’d receive more wounds, which slowed you down, and you’d need more experience points than before to level up.

And yet, the higher classes—even Class D—regularly raided floors farther down than the sixth. Those in Class E needed many hours of raiding experience before we were as powerful as them. Would one year be enough for us to catch up to Class C or even Class D? Although I didn’t find it likely, we had to try.

“An idea I had for strengthening Class E was to set up a new club,” said Naoto. “Though, we should wait to see what Oomiya hears back from the student council. Even if she gets them to approve the club, it’ll be another month until all the administration gets sorted out.”

Oomiya was attempting to negotiate with the student council to form a club. While most council members were nobles, I wouldn’t hope they’d listen to what anyone from Class E had to say.

And even if they allowed us to form a club, it would take a month to sort out the budget, the assigned teacher’s schedule, and other matters. The Battle of the Classes was only two weeks away, so we had little time to wait for a club to get set up.

“Which is why,” Naoto continued, “I think we should invite the people in the class who’re having the most trouble leveling up by themselves to a study session. There, we can help them practice sword fighting and magic.”

Naoto had already sent an email last night to the students who were having difficulty advancing past level 3, inviting them to practice after school and on weekends. He explained that he planned to open the sessions up to more attendees if other students wanted to join. Then, he asked us whether we’d be willing to help with the sessions.

His thoughtfulness and desire to help our classmates warmed my heart. Yuuma, Sakurako, and I wasted no time in volunteering.

“I practice kendo and can teach everyone some sword fighting,” I said. “I can’t help out with the magic, though. Maybe I could learn a thing or two.”

“I’ve been practicing with a bow and arrow,” Yuuma volunteered. “I’m not really good enough to teach others, but I can give it a shot.”

“I think, um, maybe I can help teach about healing magic,” added Sakurako.

The privilege to ascend to higher classes usually came through as a reward for individuals. But some of the school’s exams, like the Battle of the Classes, assigned a single grade to an entire class. It made sense that we should all work together for exams like that in order to get back at the higher classes, and I wanted to do all I could to improve the strength of the stragglers in our class.

“I hear that Majima has been trying to help the stragglers too,” said Sakurako. “He’s been taking some of our classmates into the dungeon and giving them lessons.”

“Hiroto Majima?” asked Naoto. “He’s pretty skilled with a sword. Maybe he practices kendo like you, Kaoru.”

I remembered him from his self-introduction, where he’d proclaimed that he was the son of a noble family and that he’d become a Samurai. Majima had invited Sakurako to raid with him, even though she had to decline the offer because we’d already planned to raid today. He hadn’t taken Class E’s treatment at the club fair well, but it sounded like he had picked himself back up and was striving for better once again, which I found admirable.

“Oh, also...” murmured Sakurako. “Have you heard the rumor going around?”

“What rumor?” I asked.

“You know Narumi?” she continued. “The second-year student Kusunoki seemingly came calling for him.”

“Kusunoki...?” I repeated. “You don’t mean Kirara Kusunoki, from the Eight Dragons?”

The Eight Dragons were the eight large factions that practically ran the school. The First Swordcraft Club and the student council we’d spoken about earlier were each one of the eight. Kusunoki was the girl that everyone was sure would be the next president of the Thief Development Club, another one of the Eight Dragons. She was a major figure in school politics.

Apparently, she’d come to our classroom, not accompanied by her large entourage, and called Souta away.

“Do Narumi and Kirara Kusunoki know each other from when they were younger?” Naoto asked me.

“Not that I’m aware,” I replied. “Souta and I are just commoners, and she’s a noble, right? I can’t see how they could’ve met anywhere but the school.”

Commoners and nobles might as well have lived on entirely different planets. The only places the two classes could have contact were exceptionally irregular places like Adventurers’ High.

“It’s interesting that she was asking after him herself,” remarked Naoto. “She could’ve just sent one of her entourage. Maybe there’s something here we could use to our benefit. Do you think you could ask Narumi what it’s all about?”

“I’ll ask him, but don’t hold your breath,” I replied.

Naoto clearly hoped that we could ask Kusunoki through Souta for help dealing with the student council and setting up a club. I couldn’t see Souta having any clout or connection with her. She’d probably stopped by the class on a whim and needed nothing too significant from him.

Now that I was thinking about Souta, I remembered how shocked I’d been when I saw him in the morning. Gone was the overweight boy that snacked at every possible opportunity. He’d lost so much weight that he almost looked like his old self. Repressed memories of the younger Souta, the first boy I’d ever fallen in love with, had come flooding back, and I’d felt tightness in my chest.

But I didn’t love him anymore... Or, at least, I thought that. My surprise about him had likely caused the tightness I’d felt.

Anyhow, losing so much weight wasn’t normal. I’d sneaked glances while we walked into school, and I could tell that he hadn’t just lost weight; he’d also gained muscle. The bits not covered by his uniform, like his neck and forearms, had been positively bulging. Perhaps he had hit upon a unique training method.

No longer did he leer at me or hound after me everywhere. Souta had changed so much in such a short period. There was no mistake about that. And yet, when I checked in the database on my terminal, he was still just level 3.

I would find a way to bring this and his relation to Kirara Kusunoki in our conversation on the way to school.