Otherworld Company Chapter 7.2: Am I Nervous about My First Job? Oh, is it just me?

And back to the present.

I walked along a brightly lit passage with no windows or fluorescent lights and came to a crossroads.

In terms of size, there is plenty of room up, down, left, and right, even if I swing the Mineral Tree around.

Even if I were to fight, there would be plenty of room to maneuver.

“There is a crossroads here.” (Jiro)

Then, I write down the route in my notebook.

What I’m doing is mapping, and when I draw it, I’m doing it with my back against the wall so that I can see my surroundings, it’s a little disorganized, but as long as I know where I’m going, I won’t have any trouble finding my way back.

Click.

“I heard something.” (Jiro)

It might have been my imagination, but a dungeon is a place where anything can happen.

I made it a point to soak in every inch of my body to stay alert, even to the point of dying.

The instructors did give me the most of my physical training, but I wish they had been as gentle as Suela.

I closed my notebook and looked around, trying to pick up the sound.

“So is this my first battle?” (Jiro)

I’m not sure if they’ve noticed me, but for now, I hide myself behind a wall so that they can’t see me.

I picked up the Mineral Tree on my backpack and reminded myself to get it ready to go, and I felt a heavy weight on my hand.

I peeked out from the wall to catch a glimpse of a shadow.

There is distance perception, and within that, there is visual perception.

It’s a way of estimating how far away something is.

“More than 10 meters?” (Jiro)

Of course, I’m not used to this, so there’s no way I can tell the exact distance, so I have to guess as much as I can.

I have always had reasonably good eyesight, and I don’t wear glasses.

In addition, I feel that my eyesight has improved somehow with the Magic Crest.

I can see two small figures; one adult female figure and a small one that is a little taller than a goblin.

With numbers to their advantage and no information about my opponent, I feel a bit like this is a reckless attempt.

“Why don’t I get a bit closer?” (Jiro)

Perhaps because of the distance, I can’t understand the details of the other party by looking at them.

Maybe it’s a Soul, maybe it’s a Blood monster.

I observe them carefully not even trying to rush myself.

Their footsteps are gradually becoming clearer. They may be light in mass because the footsteps that I heard were quite light.

“It’s a type of golem with a weapon for a hand, is it made of wood? They are more like a duo of a puppet (doll) and mannequin than golems.” (Jiro)

Although it has the shape of a human, the material seems like wood at first glance, the face is smooth like fake skin, and the jewel is attached to them like they are a one-eyed child.

“That seems to be its weak point, but I guess it’s impossible to target.” (Jiro)

It seems difficult to aim for something smaller than a ping-pong ball with my huge weapon.

While observing, the distance closed to less than 10 meters.

“The medium-sized (mannequin-type) one seems to be quite dangerous, and since both, its hands are sharp like spears, it might really be dangerous if I am stabbed with that. I feel like I can easily defeat the smaller one (puppet-type), so aiming for that first.” (Jiro)

The mannequin-type’s medium-sized hands are sharp like spears from the elbows down, not for holding things, but for attacking.

Unlike the mannequin-type golem, the doll-type has both its hands shaped like a mallet. Perhaps its design is more for bashing.

The smaller ones can get wild but still be beneath me, but the medium-sized ones can be more fatal.

Then, it is safer for me to defeat the medium-sized one first.

I could run away, but I heard that there are a few of them wandering alone, so rather than looking for them, it might be better to prepare to be attacked to some extent while taking on several of them.

It took one more step and I measured the distance.

The sound of dry footsteps, like the thumping of wood and stone.

It was getting closer and closer, and I couldn’t help but swallow.

Thump!

I thought I heard a sound that was louder than usual.

My body subconsciously decided that I had been noticed, and I quickly moved away from the wall, and before I knew it, I was jumping towards the mannequin.

“Doooooo!” (Jiro)

I ran up to the mannequin and slashed it up from below with a horizontal cleave that felt like splintering wood in my hand and severed the medium-sized mannequin into the upper and lower halves of its body.

“Maaaaaaaaaa!” (Jiro)

As I swept down to cut the mannequin with the reverse blade, I cut off the smaller mannequin from the shoulder opening, separating it.

Slash.

Like before—following that slash, I make full use of my legs, pivoted, and slid as I move my body away from the smaller golem, then I caught the silhouette of the smaller golem jumping up in the air before attacking me.

“!?” (Jiro)

I raised my left hand up.

The iron plate of my gauntlet and the mallet of the enemy collided with each other, but my fist has been enhanced.

“So the [Intimidating Monkey Scream] didn’t work?” (Jiro)

In the previous training, my screams caused some reaction from the other party.

Whether it was to attract attention, stun, or frighten, there had always been an effect.

It didn’t work here.

“…” (Jiro)

In addition, it seems that separating the bodies, which should instantly kill any living creature, does not work for the enemies here.

It seems that the small-sized one that was split vertically returned to becoming magical power obediently, but it seems that doesn’t happen to the mannequin separated from its lower body.

On the contrary, it started to move with its arms as its legs.

“Is it a Teke-Teke?” (Jiro) [T/N: A Teke-teke is a ghost/vengeful/youkai spirit of a female run over by a train and lost her lower half. Google-sensei has some stories about her.]

Seeing that, I remembered Japan’s famous, unusually fast, hand-walking “youkai”.

“This is no time to be fooling around.” (Jiro)

My voice is loud, and the fight from earlier might have lured other enemies.

No way.

“There’s more?” (Jiro)

They have already come.

There are four, two mannequins, and two puppets.

It could be fatal if more reinforcements came here.

I might have to refrain from using [Intimidating Monkey Scream].

I heard a muffled sound, then the teke-teke, raised its sickle hands, and threatens me.

If I use my skill again, I will inevitably attract more enemies.

“So, the thing is, I should defeat all of these before more come.” (Jiro)

However, I dared to ignore the warning and reopen the path anyway.

It may have been a fatal decision, but I could have done it more efficiently if I had just gotten on with the job instead of dwelling on it like what I did at my previous company.

I laugh the negative thoughts away.

The muffled sounds remind me of the vicious smiles of the two demonic instructors.

“I don’t feel like losing.” (Jiro)

Compared to those two, I can see a clear chance of winning.

I’m going to try to stay tough in order to be stronger from within, and these words may come in handy.

I feel as if I can turn my weakness into strength.

Let go of your weakness, enjoy the danger, and

“Laugh it out.” (Jiro)

Only if you can laugh in the face of danger and walk through it is the way to become a strong person.

These are the words that those two instructors said to me.

Slowly inhaling through my lungs and diaphragm.

“Kiyaaaaaaaaaaaa!” (Jiro)

I shout and release all the air inside.

Even with my loud shout that seems to make the air vibrate, the opponent’s reaction is indifference, just walking up like an inorganic tool and running as it switches from normal movement to combat maneuver.

“Kaaa!” (Puppet)

I don’t know if it was just its breath spilling out of its mouth or if it was laughter.

But that was the signal for me to start running.

There is no such thing as running and fighting in kendo.

Kendo is a martial art for harnessing the mind, not a martial art for combat.

However, there are certainly some fundamentals that are useful.

If I am in a running position, I can get into sword distance and adjust the distance between the puppet and me, so that the mannequin’s attacks cannot reach me and I can attack it.

I jumped in the air and cut down the puppet that tried to cut through the air with a slice.

It is said that Kendo is made to be rational.

It is said that the footwork of kendo is based on the idea of moving on a flat surface rather than a three-dimensional one, making it easier to understand and apply.

I dropped my center of gravity and moved my legs as if I were gliding on the ground. Redirecting the sword that had been swung down, I lifted it up as I cut down the mannequin that had lost its lower body in a reverse slash.

I swallowed,

This is the famous technique of Sasaki Kojiro. [T/N: He’s a very popular swordsman in real life and both anime and manga adapted his story. Google-sensei has a lot to tell you about him.]

It’s easy to say, but it’s never easy to actually apply.

There were many things I did during my training.

One of the things I focused on was learning martial arts like this.

If I didn’t do it, I would just get beaten up, but I learned it in order to at least give myself a chance.

Of course, it was all self-study without a professional mentor, but the instructors seemed to enjoy helping me realize my goals.

I did not limit myself to kendo but reached out to what I could.

This is one of the techniques that I was able to successfully execute.

“Tsu!” (Jiro)

The same goes for footwork.

I was taught to use what I could without being limited to swords.

When I spun and kicked the mannequin that flew in the air toward the four enemies sprinting toward me. It flew parallel to the ground and crashed at the other enemies like knocking down pins on a bowling alley.

I guess the reason why it’s strangely effective is that it’s a technique that I’ve received so many times that it’s become ingrained in my body.

“Pursuit.” (Jiro)

I didn’t give myself time to be deeply affected.

Just one word, with a purpose, I hold the Mineral Tree on my right shoulder and attack the opponent toppled by the mannequin I kicked.

“Take this!” (Jiro)

I cut them all in a single slash

The blade that was swung down with such force I destroyed the mannequin and the puppet together.

The blade pierced the ground, probably because I swung it too viciously.

All that remains is a mannequin and a puppet, and of course, those two moved with machine precision and didn’t miss the opportunity.

A wooden spear soon approached my face.

“Ahhhhhhhhhh!” (Jiro)

Before I could make a decision, my body started to move.

First, I let go of the handle, raise my body, deflect the spear with my left hand, and grabbed and pull it towards me as I grabbed the opponent’s head with my right hand.

“Seiyaa!!” (Jiro)

Its face met with my knees.

If I can’t fight by just relying on a permanent weapon on a battlefield, I won’t be able to go through that training.

“Now take this!!” (Jiro)

Then, I struck the puppet that tried to attack me with a slash, no, with a kick towards the wall.

A certain sensation of crushing a body can be felt from the tip of my foot.

I lower my feet and scout my surroundings.

Most of them became magical power, and in the place where I fought only wreckage was left behind. As the last puppet that was kicked out of the wall disappeared, the place regained its silence.

Exactly for 10 seconds, while checking that The Mineral Tree was still near at my feet, watching the surroundings and I checked again that there is no incoming enemy

“Tsk, so tiring.” (Jiro)