Hard Work Will Never Betray Me (WN) - Chapter 127

Oscar was blown behind a bush, so I had to deal with the Jabberwock all alone. He is a tough opponent. His power and the strength of his attacks were within expectations, but his fighting style was insane. To be honest, if I can’t get used to it before my magic runs out, victory might be hard to come by.

　I’m also worried about Oscar’s safety. Now we’ll see how effective Markus’s trap will be. ……

　No, let’s stop. It would be a complete disaster if he died from pushing himself too hard here. What was the purpose of this training program? It is to strengthen us talented young people and to improve the military power and capability of the imperial government. If we die or suffer irreparable injuries here, it could rather weaken that military deterrent.

“‘…… Marcus!　You heard me. We’re retreating. Find Oscar and get him out. I’ll hold monster back in the meantime.

‘Okay, .’”

I give Markus the order to retreat with the communication tool.

“.. I guess we’ll have to wait and fight another time.”

　I tell the Jabberwock. I know he won’t understand, but it’s just a matter of how I feel.

I take out several throwing knives from my waist pouch (different from the inventory), add [shock] to the handles, and throw them.

The knives fly at high speed like missiles while emitting a shockwave, and pierce the Jabberwock and its surrounding area.

　The Jabberwock looks like he is in pain. But my goal is not to hurt him.

“Just stay there for a while!　–Bind the lasso!”

Wires of magical power shoot out from all the knives and entangle the Jabberwock. The magic wires could be turned into “magic blades” and cut through his entire body, but this time they will not. The goal is to keep him at a halt. If he runs away after being regeneration, there is no way to get rid of him.

‘Grrr!”

　The Jabberwock is screaming, his whole body in a frenzy. I’m driven by the desire to finish him off as he is, but I’ve put so much magical power into the “Binding rope” that he can never get out, and I don’t think I have enough power right now to break through his regeneration. I’m sorry, but I can’t do anything about it.

“‘Marx!　Was there Oscar?”

“‘Yes, he was. He’s wounded, but he seems to be alive”.

“‘Okay,  I’m on the way.”

After cutting off the communication, I hurried to Markus and Oscar’s location, relying on the response of the magic tools. They were not that far away from each other, but it was a considerable distance considering Oscar had been blew off this distance.

‘Oscar!　Are you okay?”

“Eberhard!　…… Oh, you’ re alive. I’m sorry, I’m dragging you down.”

“What are you talking about? I’m just glad you’re …… alive.”

“I’m not going to die like this!　……”

“Take it easy. It’s hard to be fully recovered, but I’ll give you some first aid and take a look at your injuries.”

“Yes, please.”

I walked up to Oscar and used my “diagnostic” magic on him. Oscar had multiple broken bones in his arm and ribs, but fortunately his internal organs and head did not seem to have been damaged.

“…… Only multiple broken bones…………. Good for you, you won’t die.”

:I’m not going to die. …… hurts!:

The bones are joined together by “gluing” and the recovery process is accelerated by “accelerating healing. The process of ” gluing” moves the bones to their original position in the body, so the pain is great unless you shut off the pain sense. This time, there was no time for pain blocking, so I asked him to endure the pain.

“bear with it.”

“I know, but …… it still hurts!’

The pain of a broken bones is something you don’t get used to. . I can’t stand that sharp pain. I broke a bone once a few years ago, and I learned the hard way that it”s not something you can get used to. I guess if you are excited and have an adrenaline rush, you may not feel the pain so much, but that’s just a matter of biology, you know?

“Oscar, can you walk?””

“Yes…… Thanks to you, I’m doing fine.”

“Then we’ll go a little further. We’re still close to the Jabberwock.”

I haven’t checked, but the Jabberwock may have a good sense of smell, and it may also have good ears. Or, in addition to the five senses, he might be good at sensing magic.

　Considering this possibility, I wanted to gain some distance from him. I didn’t know when my “lanyard” might run out.　

　We proceeded little by little through the forest of demons. I activate my “passive sonar” because I might be attacked by other demons on the way. Active sonar” has a more accurate detection radius, but the Jabberwock might notice us if we use it. You can’t use “active sonar,” which leaks out magic waves.

“Sorry you two I can’t …… be of help.”

“Marcus?”

　As we were walking, Markus apologized to us with a sad look on his face.

‘If I had set the trap properly, Oscar might not have been injured . ……”

“What are you talking about? You did your job as a scout, didn’t you?”

　It’s just first aid only, so the injury will still hurt, but Oscar is acting cool -hearted and encouraging Markus. I thought he was a lightweight, but he seems to have a lot of manly spirit. Well, I don’t deny that he is a lightweight.

“Oscar, ……. But…”

‘Then be stronger. Be more cunning and mean-spirited!　That’s all right.”

“Oscar is right. If you’re frustrated, use it as a push for further training.”

“I understand. I’ll get stronger. I’ll become a more vicious thief , capable of setting even more dangerous traps.”

‘That’s the spirit.”

　We encouraged each other and walked for a while to make up the distance. After about two kilometers, we decided to take a short break.

“We’ll leave after we’ve rested for five minutes. Until then, we’ll take a break.’

“Oh.”

　During this time we’ll get our gear and condition in order. Markus prepared to set up a trap at any time, Oscar used his recovery magic, and I drank a magic potion to accelerate the recovery of my magic.

“All right, let’s go.”

　We still have more than 10 kilometers to go to Marie’s location . The speed of the walk is slower than usual, but at this pace, we should be there by nightfall.

　We were ready to get going.

　—- But our progress was interrupted by a single step.

We were about to leave when I heard the following words: “………..

“Wait a minute, you’re kidding!”

“…………………….. What the.”

“…… Damn!’

　How can it be so strong, so regenerative, and not be caught in a “passive sonar”?　That would be cheating.

　When was the last time i felt a shiver? I look up at it , shaken by a feeling I haven’t felt in more than a few years.

　The “passive sonar” and “ligature lasso” had been on the lookout for him, but he was standing right in front of us with a ferocious smile on his face.

“—- Jabberwock. …… what a monster !”

　On one side, a mad beast with full-blown murderous intent. On one side, three exhausted humans with their wounded comrade.

　A desperate battle was about to begin.