Awakening to a Special-Grade Explorer
Vol. 5 - Ch. 224

"---Yay, another serving of delicious points. With these 16 points, I now have a total of 50 points."

Tenji murmured to itself, his expression so calm no one would be able to guess he had just fought a battle.

He picked up his weapon case he had left nearby and seemingly praising the iron sword for its service, he gently encased it.

The ground around him was littered with the inoperative mannequins, their heads destroyed with precision. It took Tenji barely 2~3 minutes to destroy that group of mannequins.

Having sorted himself out, Tenji turned around...and let out words of disappointment.

".............He ran away. What a pity, I didn't even know his name."

The contestant he finally met, wearing a woollen hat, was nowhere to be seen.

Tenji had just taken his stance to fight when that contestant disappeared somewhere, never once dropping his speed. Tenji tried to strain his ears after battle and search for his presence but he was nowhere to be find.

(Ah well, he should have known how to hide his breath or something if he had made it this far. But I really have no luck to find any information now huh.)

Tenji's eyebrows knit together at the disappointment and turned his steps toward the next point.

†　†　†

(Holy moly, what in tarnation......)

He, Yohei Iguchida, was shaken to the core.

After all the running and hustle, he finally leaned against the brick wall of a certain family's garden. Even as that black uniformed contestant from explorer high school readies himself for fight, Yohei didn't hesitate about escaping.

He just had no faith that the black uniform could make a dent in the situation. So little was needed to be said about a face or name that really doesn't inspire much confidence. Also, it was only for a glimpse but Iguchida was sure Tenji's weapon was a mass produced iron sword.

So Iguchida hurriedly jumped into the overgrown yard of the nearby house he found after running a bit. After securing his safety, he used his gaze that he was so proud of and watched at Tenji's battle from afar.

The glimpse of Tenji's strength had him shaken in his boots.

(Holy shit......I am sure that strength is enough to put him among first-class professional explorers.)

Iguchida exclaimed in his mind.

(Why in the world was someone of his calibre not starting as seed for the main tournament but the final preliminary? Also is that the fighting style of a nameless guy? I don't get it. But I guess, the world is truly a vast place.)

Iguchida didn't manage to watch the complete fight of Tenji. He only managed to catch the glimpse of the last 12 seconds of his battle. However those few seconds were enough for him to get the idea of Tenji's power level, which was anything but on the level of a student.

Iguchida had confronted the top class professionals during training, belonging to one of Japan's top guild <White Wound Radiance> that he was going to join next year. He could recall his bittership as he trained against them, even now, he also lost himself often. He keenly felt his own weaknesses sinking in.

But in the same vein as those professional explorers, that young man's actions were exquisite and precise. If anything, he even wondered if that was an illusion.

(No wait, I think I can destroy dolls as well if I try slightly hard. I was just running away because I was scared of getting injured and not being able to participate in the main tournament. Plus, I'm sure I am practically a pro......I mean, one of the promising candidates among other students. Toying around with those shouldn't be that tough......)

At that moment, Iguchida suddenly noticed his pettiness. Why was he here, trying to come up with an excuse for himself, while not even having the courage to praise the fellow contestant.

(---Ack, it's my old habit again.)

Iguchida, who was trying to make excuses for himself, quietly chided his own shallow self.

He could win as well if he was serious and didn't care about follow up challenges. However he also knew he wouldn't come out unscathed fighting those dolls. A one-on-one was no problem, he just needed to repeat what he had learned from the guild.

But it certainly wouldn't be an easy thing to fight one versus many with that group of dolls. A moment of lapse when focusing on one mannequin could give other mannequins the window to backstab him. No, with that number, it would be an assault from every angle.

This was a hurdle that only a handful of explorers he knew from guild could surpass it.

(I already expect Fuyuki Kuro and other seeded contestants to be capable of that but...is not it too much to leave such a contestant to be in the final preliminary? ---Still, he's amazing. I guess that's what they mean by the world is a vast place. Haha, it's really one blow after another to my pride ever since I have come to this tournament.)

Iguchida right now was incapable of fighting multiple opponents simultaneously. And he knew this as well. To begin with, even professional explorers were aware of this limitation and formed with other explorers to keep an eye on surprise attack,

For him, someone who could deal with a horde of targets at once was definitely a hero. It was this quality that made a professional explorer mass's idol.

So, when Iguchida saw a young man around his age, if not even younger than him, easily tackling multiple targets at once, a huge blow was delivered to his heart.

(Then again, what did I expect huh? Even if we're of the same generation, there would always be stars brighter than others. And compared to me, who came here after receiving a huge welfare from people around, and with a celebration party with classmates when I scored for final preliminary......or I guess, we're just born different at root level?)

Quietly, Iguchida looked at the vast, clear blue sky.

"Uh-huh~, I also want to be everyone's Mr. Popular Explorer "

At the same time, belated, but a sense of regret caught up to him; he couldn't help but chide him for why he ran away earlier, without exchanging even a single word with that young man. That young man was rare find, seemingly even a hard-working person than him, and here he missed the chance to befriend him.

This tournament, while being a place to polish yourself, was also a platform to deepen friendship with promising explorers of the same age.

(I really tripped here seeing that he was using the cheapest Iron word, plus that black uniform famed for being jack of all trades. I presume he must have an excellent strengthening ability from his calling, but that battle style seems like......he wants to rely on his natural abilities. No wonder he's put off~. I bet it's people like him that make the true embodiment of explorers.)

Iguchida quietly stared at Tenji's performance but he couldn't decipher everything.

Perhaps to cover up his true abilities until the main event, he seemed to have even made sure the abilities remain hidden in this final preliminary. Of course, Iguchida could have done that as well, but he knew where his stop lies and that was definitely beyond his skill.

"......Let's try to strike a conversation with a 'sorry' after the final preliminary. I just hope he's not disgusted by my action though."

Immediately, he once again recalled his pettiness.

†　†　†

Three hours had passed since the beginning of Final Preliminary.

Another thread of telepathic communication extends to Tenji by Koro-chan.

(Yo, I found it~. I will point that out.)

<Thank you, Koro-chan. I will be there ASAP.>

<Should I stay here to guard?>

<Well...I guess you should.>

<Good grief~, that will be one sakura mochi, alright?>

To prevent the previous situation from repeating all over again, Tenji geared up his speed and rushed toward the mentioned location. In the meantime, he had Ancient Caged Fire look after the situation around watermelon.

<I guess it would take 15 minutes around to reach, hurry up.>

It should have been 3 minutes since then, when he received another telepathic message.

<3rd lord~, it was taken away.>

<Huh? Again?>

Tenji unwittingly halted on his steps, his eyebrows scrunched up as he tapped on his forehead.

Perhaps......the scenario Tenji most feared was happening.

Ever since Koro-chan had revealed, "Well, it's a rare case but there are often humans with strong spiritual sense, right? I might be visible to them," the seed of apprehension had always been in his mind since then.

It also couldn't be helped that Tenji was hearing about this only now. Maybe, the situation never required him to bring that topic so Koro-chan probably never mentioned it.

But then why did Koro-chan wait to reveal this now? Was it its survival instinct, or did it feel some ominous aura at the gathering spot? Koro-chan's tone often appears funny but it wasn't the type to speak nonsense.

<Is it because......someone has already discovered you?>

<Hmm, there's always some creepy air around. I think...the dame from earlier gave me a slight look? I was scared so didn't connect with 3rd Lord.>

<Wait, did you say a girl?>

<Hmm~, indeed one was here. Though she's no longer here.>

When he heard the description, Tenji first ruled out that woollen hat student he met earlier. But if it wasn't him...then it seemed like there was another contestant beside them.

While he had yet to meet the stranger girl, Tenji was honestly amazed by her.

"She must be strong then if she also has a strong spiritual sense to notice Koro-chan. She even managed to hide herself from getting caught into Koro-chan's danger sense......I am against someone strong."

The Ancient Caged Fire was the hell beast with similar properties like Fuyuki's phantom beast 'Yomogi.'

Fuyuki's Yomogi was much weaker than any other phantom beast he knew, living amidst other monsters who were far more stronger. Perhaps it was the pressure and constant threat that had evolved Yomogi into a phantom beast with danger sense ability.

Ancient Caged Fire was much similar. It, too, was one of the weakest existence among other in hell.

From the perspective of a mighty being like Ibuki Douji, Koro-chan might just be like a mosquito. It was the constant threat of death and danger that pursued Koro-chan to awaken the danger sense. The second Hell King took a note of his existence and engraved its name onto the Book of Enma.

That girl should be quite specialised in secret maneours with how she had managed to slip under the radar of Koro-chan's danger sense. Tenji was also slightly curious about her spiritual sense, like how Koro-chan appears in her eyes.

<Hey, Koro-chan. It seems like we would only be preparing cake for others to take at this rate.>

<You betcha~. That dame is seriously stalking me.>

<It truly feels bitter to let others take your hard work huh. It's also affecting our point acquisition rate.>

<Yeah.>

Abruptly, Tenji flashed a callous smile. Catching up to the hint, Koro-chan, too, snickered in the same manner.

<But looking at it, it may turn out in our favour. Since we know she's tailing you, let's her to reveal herself.>

<Sounds nice~, count me in.>

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