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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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“ASEI! Youth!”
“Kieeeeeeek!!!”
Another day, another training session with Instructor Ebi.
“Stop there!”
“*Squeak!*”
Invisible chair.
Hold a 90 degree angle!
“Hold it for ten minutes! Go!”
“Aaack…!!”
The “Aaaack!” escaping from my mouth wasn’t agreeing with her words. It was just a cry of pain.
“You can do it! You can do it!”
ASEI! Youth doesn’t give up!
Instructor Ebi kept encouraging him. He barely held on for the ten minutes, and Instructor Ebi patted him on the back with a bright smile.
“You’re just in your first semester, but your potential is amazing. Chrono, you really are my disciple!”
I can see it!
Instructor Ebi started massaging his body.
“Have we measured your stats yet? If we do it again, we might be able to get over 400…”
“…No, thank you.”
“Don’t underestimate yourself.”
“I misheard you?”
His measurements. He knew what would come next. ‘Maybe, just maybe…’ No, it had to be.
He looked at her.
“In the second semester, we’ll participate in the body building competition!”
“NOOOOOOO!”
Stop the affection! He had just reached Level 7 of his relationship with her. If this continued, he’d be in a bodybuilding competition in the second semester. What? Getting stronger is a good thing? It was good if you were a melee fighter, and her route was essential for that type of character. But I was more like a rogue or a marksman! Besides, if I needed to do any close combat, it’d mean things had gone to hell!
“By the way, you can’t refuse. As a club leader, you must participate!”
“…When did I become club leader?”
“Today.”
“…”
She should just say she didn’t want him to run away. ‘Haaa…’ He at least got a reward for ranking up. He remembered Instructor Ebi’s reward being [Guts]. A passive skill that allowed him to survive a fatal attack. It’s more of a melee skill, but again, If he needed to use that, it’d be a sign that our party was screwed. ‘Should I run away now?’
He’d come to the club willingly, and if he said no, she couldn’t force him. His physical stats were already above the average student’s, so she couldn’t hold him much longer.
But he was already here, and it was kind of a waste… but not really. He didn’t feel like he needed to improve more.
‘I’m not coming back tomorrow.’
He made his plans, then stood up, when—
*BEEP!*
“!!, That’s… a distress signal!”
“Huh?”
A red light flashed and vibrated on the ‘bracelet’ that Instructor Ebi was wearing. A distress signal. The target was…
“Oh…”
A mission window popped up in the air. The mission…
“What the hell?”
Why were they in there? I mean, saving them was one thing, but…
“…How am I supposed to get there?”
[…Ah!]
Huh? Lord Chronos?
I looked up at the sky, and the world began to turn gray.
“Time… stopped.”
It wasn’t me, so it had to be Chronos. A white and black aura manifested in front of him, and a small gate opened.
“…Sigh.”
He should go, but it was going to be a pain. But if he didn’t, that would be the start of an NTR event.
“I have no choice.”
He decided to go first and think later. He entered the gate.
[Orc Slave Camp]
Or rather, the [Troll’s Food Storage]. A place where the boss, the Troll, bred the Orcs for food. The true boss would appear after killing too many Orcs. ‘But it’s going to be hard to find him.’
The number of Orcs you have to kill is absurdly high. That’s how difficult it was to make him appear, It was the definition of ‘Easter Egg’. Orcs were easy to kill, and the Orc King was also manageable at that point. But a Troll? That was a different story.
“This is a ‘Don’t kill too many’ type of monster.”
It was like those invincible ghosts that would appear when you grind in one place for too long. It was telling you to leave the stage already. And if you did, they would leave you alone. But if you raised your blade against them,
*Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!*
“Grahhhh!!”
…Then this was what you would get. A troll squashing you. Using its heavy body to crush its prey. If he hadn’t had a bracelet, he would’ve been dead. He looked around to see where the girls were.
“Ugh… aack…”
Mars lay on the ground, her joints twisted, coughing up blood.
“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry…”
Minerva was curled up on the ground.
“Hehehe… am I going to die…?”
Juno seemed like she was about to give up.
“…”
Merck was pretending to be dead. She had been with the protagonist for a long time and had built up her relationship, so she had managed to avoid a mental breakdown. But she was clearly trying to survive as she was slowly moving away from the chaos. A perfect display of a thief’s survival instinct.
‘I need to save them…’
But saving them was not the end. He had the task of killing the Troll, as well.
5. Defeat the true boss of the Orc Slave Camp, the Troll (0/1)
“…That thing?”
Chronos had ordered him to kill that thing. I alternated between the mission window and the Troll, worried.
“…Is it possible?”
He didn’t want to go but—
[…That thing?]
He looked worried. His eyes slowly narrowed.
[That thing…]
He was pondering. He was racking his brain, thinking of how to come out victorious.
‘Heh… hehehe…!’
Chronos was sure of it. His child would tear apart the abomination of the abyss and claim victory. After all, his child was a child like that.
There was something about him when he had faced Ares’s Apostle, or when he was stranded alone on an island, or when he was facing death in the ant’s nest. Chrono was always the same, viewing injustice as something ordinary and trials as something you must do, and because of that Chronos was even more certain that—
[…I have no choice.]
Yes, there was no choice. It was a trial he had made himself. But it wasn’t something impossible.
“Trust me. You shall not fail. You are the only warrior, the only apostle, and the only child chosen by me!”
Stand up! Look ahead! Don’t give in, don’t be afraid! I will always be behind you!
“Raise my name and crush my enemies!”
A divine word, advice and prophecy for his apostle. Chronos didn’t doubt for a moment that Chrono would not fail, when—
[—Run Awayyyy!!!]
“He’s running away!?”
“….Huh?”
Hermes exclaimed.
Chrono had run away. Or more accurately, he was trying to distract the Troll, so the other apostles could escape. The expression he had on his face was not that of an impassioned fighter, but one of a desperate human fighting to survive.
He wasn’t smiling, but rather, a mixture of despair, anger, frustration, and embarrassment.
“This… this lowlife…!”
He was speaking louder, but the situation had already gone to hell.
“Running away… pfft! Hahahaha! Indeed, when facing an overwhelming foe, it is wise to run!”
“Iit….! Youuu…!”
What Chronos saw in the mirror wasn’t that of a glorious fighter, but that of a human struggling to survive. There was no hero to be seen. Chronos cried out again.
“Fight! I command you!”
[This is impossibleeeeee!!!]
“You foolish idiot!!”
I made you my warrior but you smeared shit on my face!
“Running away… how unmanly.”
“Well, I think it’s fine? It’s better than dying!”
Hermes was being considerate, but—
“A man should die fighting!”
“…Looks like you only have a brain filled with muscles.”
“What did you say? Did you call me a gorilla with shit for brains!”
“I didn’t say that…”
Athena was indifferent, but—
[Get up! And run! If you stall for time, your teacher will come to save you!]
“Pfft! Puhahaha!”
“…”
Hera’s mocking laughter echoed in his ears. That was the last straw. His sanity broke.
“Okay.”
Run away, huh? Not a bad idea.
“Try to run away.”
Chronos reached out towards Chrono. A black aura seeped into the mirror.
“…Huh?”
Chronos spoke, passing along a divine word to his apostle.
“If possible, that is.”
