Chapter 346: After Training

As I dashed up the steep mountain slope, I spotted a log lying there. It looked like a tree that had naturally broken and started to rot, but wood is still wood.

I hurriedly processed it into Wood Blocks and erected a wall to block the path between two large rocks. Wood Blocks are harder than steel. It shouldn’t be broken easily.

“N-Now is my chance to gain some distance……!”

The moment those words left my mouth, a voice echoed from the other side of the wall.

“I am coming for you now!”

“H-He’s coming……!”

Hearing Dee’s shout, I was so startled I nearly jumped out of my skin. Keeping that momentum, I kicked off the ground and turned to face the climb ahead. To my surprise, Khamsin was already a hundred meters ahead of me.

“So fast!?”

I hurriedly scrambled up the slope, following the path Khamsin must have taken. That makeshift wall won’t hold him for long. I need to find other materials quickly……

As I climbed over a large boulder with that thought in mind, a violent crash and a tremor roared from behind me.

“Sei!”

Hearing that shout, I turned around in shock.

There stood Dee. He had completely ignored the wall I built and instead smashed the massive boulder to the left of it right in two. A fierce gust of wind blew, and fragments of the shattered rock rolled all the way to my feet. Standing amidst the swirling dust between the two halves of the split boulder, Dee grinned, showing his teeth.

“Hahaha! If there is no path, one simply has to make one!”

“You’re the only one who can do something like that!?”

It was no longer training; it was pure terror. With a laughing Dee chasing me, I ran up the mountain slope for my life. Despite the various rocks and cliff-like sections, I found myself scrambling up at a speed that surprised even me.

“Ooh! You have grasped the knack of mountain climbing, Lord Van! Wonderful speed!”

As he said that, I realized Dee’s smiling face was right next to me.

“Hieee.”

A sound escaped me, and I wasn’t even sure where it came from. No, perhaps I just didn’t have any air left in my lungs. Yet, even in this situation, Dee raised his sword without a care. He might have been swinging wide on purpose to make it easier for me to react, but seeing him raise that greatsword while sprinting up a steep slope with a happy smile made him look like a demon.

“Now then, how will you dodge this!?”

For some reason, Dee looked excited as he swung the sword down. The greatsword came at me with a roar, slicing through the wind. It was a blunted training sword, but at that size, it was basically a lump of iron—a lethal weapon.

“Gh!”

I desperately leaped to the side to avoid the greatsword. Because the sword swung down so close to my face, my hearing cut out for a moment.

“I’m gonna die! I’m gonna die!”

To absorb the momentum of my leap, I rolled on the ground, planted my hand on a rock about the size of my head to push myself up, and immediately started running again. Seeing that I had resumed the climb, Dee nodded lightly and looked further up the slope.

“Oh, Khamsin is doing quite well too! Alright, next is Khamsin! Here I go!”

“W-Whaaaaaa!”

Hearing Dee’s declaration of pursuit, Khamsin screamed as he scrambled up the mountain.

“Wahahahaha! Run, run! Here comes an attack! Ready your sword, Khamsin!”

“Kuh!”

Dee charged up the slope with ludicrous momentum, and Khamsin fled desperately. Or rather, Khamsin was plenty fast himself, and somehow, he was managing to hold his sword steady while climbing the slope. As for Dee, he was swinging his sword down repeatedly while bounding and leaping around.

Dust rose with the tremors, and amidst the roar of swinging swords and the violent clash of metal against metal, Dee’s joyous laughter echoed.

“……Alright, let’s go home quietly.”

That man is a demon. A demon of training, no doubt. In contrast, even if I am a genius, my physical abilities are merely those of an ordinary pretty boy. If I keep up with this terrifying training, I might just fade away like a fleeting blossom. That would be a loss for my territory.

Convincing myself with such arbitrary reasoning, I quietly started down the slope. There were many rocks, and some spots where one could slip and fall. I had to be careful.

“Hm? Hm hm hm?”

Just then, the voice of the demon came from above. I looked back fearfully to see Dee standing far up the slope, looking down at me with his arms crossed. Khamsin was lying limp at his feet.

“Ooh! Is it descent training this time!? Alriiight! Here I come!”

Misunderstanding the situation entirely, Dee shouted something strange, kicked off the ground, and leaped. It wasn’t quite a cliff, but it was a very steep mountain slope. Seeing Dee jump down it without a shred of hesitation was terrifying.

“Wahahaha! Now then, what is your next move!?”

Before I knew it, Dee had landed right in front of me in just two or three leaps. Seeing him laughing with his greatsword at the ready, I gave up on everything.