A hero who wants to help others wants to live a normal life - Chapter 49

Chapter 49   First Half of the Exam is Over

After several hours of moving through the monster-infested ruins, it was now past noon, and we were taking a lunch break while hiding in the shadows.

Some monsters roamed a little distance away, but there weren’t many in this area, so we likely wouldn’t be discovered easily.

I felt relieved to be temporarily away from those disgusting creatures. After all, those monsters were truly repulsive.

If you recall the previous mock battle, you’d understand how unsettling it was. The mix of beast and human elements in their bodies was grotesque.

Some of them had a balanced blend of animal and human features—maybe part animal, part human—or just animal ears, claws, or hands. That’s fine.

But when a human arm is attached to an animal, or just a mouth is stuck on somewhere, it’s simply disturbing. Some had exposed eyeballs, and others had eyeballs stacked on top of each other, making you question if those even functioned as eyes.

Basically, they were beasts standing about two meters tall—like giant dogs. However, each one had slight variations, which made them tricky.

While their abilities were generally the same, differences in appearance could result in differences in behavior. To avoid any costly mistakes, we needed to observe these creatures closely for any changes. And yet, the thought of closely observing such abominations was just… depressing, right?

“So far, everything’s been going well.”

Despite all that, the battles up to this point had gone smoothly. Nothing unexpected or out of the ordinary had happened, and we were able to take down the monsters carefully, one or two at a time.

I hadn’t been injured, and although Moriya, who served as the frontline, had taken some minor injuries, he didn’t seem too tired—actually, hardly at all.

“Yes, we’ve been able to fight at a better pace than I expected, thanks to you, Sahara. I appreciate it.”

“Well, it’s because the environment here is good. Climbing on top of the buildings gives a pretty good view, making it easy to spot monsters. If this were in a forest, I wouldn’t have been able to do my job as well since visibility would be limited.”

“Even so, your contribution in this situation is more than enough.”

By using my “hand” to leap across the ruins, I was able to track the monsters’ movements pretty well. Thanks to that, I could direct us where to go next and suggest safe spots for resting.

Also, we hadn’t been interrupted during any battles, so I think I’ve been doing pretty well for my first time as a scout.

“The other two are doing well too.”

Kujou addressed Rinrin and Moriya with words of gratitude, her tone a little more relaxed compared to when we started.

“Of course! I’m super strong after all!”

Well, she really is strong. Even in this round, she took down three monsters in one hit. Though, she didn’t do much for a while afterward.

“I’m glad we’re doing well. But considering the battles ahead, I’m starting to feel the strain. Even with the use of skills, fighting like this for so long takes its toll, and I’m beginning to feel the pain and fatigue. My hands are even trembling a bit now.”

Moriya said that, but he didn’t look particularly tired to me. Was he just putting on a brave face to keep us from worrying?

“…That’s understandable. In fact, thank you for everything so far.”

“The way you’re saying that almost sounds like you’re planning to abandon Moriya here.”

I shrugged and joked, even though I knew that wasn’t the case.

“I have no such intention. However, we do need to think about what to do from now on.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Forcing Moriya to keep fighting will probably lead to a breakdown eventually. Should I shift my focus from scouting to helping Moriya more?”

Even if he didn’t look tired, it was clear he actually was. It might be better to support him rather than risk him getting injured by pushing too hard.

However, Kujou thought for a moment and shook her head.

“…No, that might cause us to miss enemies. We’re managing to fight for now because the enemy numbers are small. If more enemies start interfering during battle, our strategy will fall apart.”

True. If we get interrupted during a fight, it’ll just make things worse. But it also wasn’t fair to keep putting all the burden on Moriya.

“So, what do we do? Should I increase the frequency of my attacks? Personally, I’m fine with that—in fact, I’m ready and willing!”

So far, Rinrin had only used her skills four times, roughly once every hour.

But if she wanted to, she could use them every twenty minutes, though at reduced power. That could be a viable option. It would remove our backup for stronger enemies, but it might be better than pushing Moriya too hard.

“That might be a solution, but… I’ll also increase my attack frequency. Up until now, I’ve focused on taking out enemies in one hit to conserve energy, but I’ll start mixing in more defensive moves. That should make things easier for Moriya and allow us to keep fighting without overexerting ourselves.”

Kujou? I mean, sure, she uses blessings instead of regular skills, so she can exert more effort than others. It makes sense that she could push herself a bit without it affecting her performance too much…

“And what about me? I want to fight more!”

“Rinrin, I’ll need you to use more magic than before, but I’ll also rely on you for support.”

“Support?”

“Yes. Since I’ll be changing my fighting style, I’ll naturally get more fatigued. I’ll need to take more breaks, so there will be times when I leave the enemies to you. I want you to handle those situations.”

“So basically, I get to be more involved? Sounds great! I’m in!”

I had some concerns about whether this change in strategy would work, but we didn’t have much choice. Besides, the leader had made a decision, so we just had to follow it.

“Alright, everyone. We’ve already completed half of the exam, but let’s continue giving it our best.”

And so, we moved into the second half of the exam.