CH 95

[Psychos Attract Each Other, Yuri-chan!]

–Learning arts from an NPC was very simple.

You just had to watch the NPC demonstrate the art once, then you would instantly be able to use it, too.

Well, this was a game. If you had to put your life on the line to learn a technique, wouldn’t it just be a trash game?

But still…

“Bring it on, Master!”

“Well, if you insist! You’d best not regret it later!”

Master Tengu took aim at me with his bow and magical light began to gather at the tip of his arrowhead.

–Yup, I requested this gramps to use me as his practice target.

“I won’t! The best way to understand the nature of a technique is to take it on!”

“…That is certainly not wrong. Only by knowing the threat of the technique with your own body can you know how best to use it.

“Hmph, you must have a good understanding of combat because you are a villainous psycho. Those who came before you were all good people, but they did not know even that much…” Master Tengu let out a sigh of exasperation. Hey, who are you calling a villainous psycho?

…well, ever since I started playing this game, I’d only been fighting all the time.

I never formed a party, never took a quest, knew nothing about its worldview and lore, and only ran wild, fighting. Even on the production side of things, I only made explosive weapons.

But I couldn’t help it.

“I love fighting with everything I’ve got. Killing tons of enemies with one big move feels good and getting cornered just gives me the thrill. Using quick wit and fighting spirit to get out of a pinch and saying ‘I’m not gonna lose, oraaa!’ as I punch my opponent in the face—I can’t get enough of that pleasure.

“…So, to get more exciting fights, I’m gonna learn all of your arts!”

“Hah, you are a villainous psycho! Very well, then take all of them until you dieeeee!”

Master Tengu roared and unleashed his art!

The wind-clad arrow, Tenma School archery art ‘Gale Shot’, approached me–!

“I can shoot down such a half-baked attack! Let’s go, Pontaro!”

“Kishaaa!”

After nocking my familiar-possessed arrow to my bow, I shot the ‘Gale Shot’!

But…

“Futile!”

“Kishashaaa?!”

The moment the arrowheads collided, the arrow possessed by Pontaro was blown away!

And just like that, Master Tengu’s arrow pierced through my chest, making me roll over and over again on the ground…!

“Gh… I survived with ‘Tenacity’…!

“I see, so this is ‘Gale Shot’. Thanks to the wind that clad it, it’s less susceptible to other attacks.”

The arrow possessed by Pontaro was powerful.

Pontaro’s will made sure it always struck true and his Strength buffed its attack power.

Nevertheless the ‘Gale Shot’ repelled it effortlessly. It was strong, alright.

“Okay, next, keep shooting, Master!”

“Hmph, you don’t need to tell me for I am going to kill you! Tenma School archery art ‘Thunderclap Shot’! ‘Mountain-crushing Shot’! ‘Exploding Shot’!”

–And the trampling began.

Three arts unleashed mercilessly.

A lightning arrow so fast I couldn’t react to it, an arrow so powerful that it shattered the shields I summoned, and a dangerous arrow that exploded on impact struck my body one after another!

“Guhaa?!”

“There is more where that came from! Tenma School archery art ‘Flash Shot’, ‘Shadowkill Shot’, ‘Starshower Shot’!”

Another round of powerful arts shot toward me.

The moment Master Tengu fired them, a burst of light burned my eyes and following that, an arrow flew out of my shadow and pierced through me.

I groaned in pain and in that opening, the arrow Master had shot into the sky split itself into hundreds of arrows and then rained down on me!

“Guuuuu!?”

“And for the finisher! Tenma School archery art ‘Snakebite Shot’!”

Master Tengu attacked without a shred of mercy.

The arrow he shot turned into a magical snake that bit me hard!

And that wasn’t all. The snake’s tail was connected to Master Tengu’s bow, and as soon as he yelled “Contract!”, the snake contracted and pulled me along with it and then–

“Now die, Tenma School archery art ‘King Bison Charge Shot’!”

A melee archery art activated!

A magical giant bison appeared from Master Tengu’s bow and it head-butted me!

As a result, I was blown away and rolled on the ground again…!

“Ha… hahahahaha! Amazing! They even perfectly complement each other! I especially like the one that allows you to attack with the bow!”

My body was now in tatters. In fact, it was filled with holes from being pierced through by the arrows. If this was Irl, I’d have been dead.

If I took a screenshot of myself now and sent it to Grimm, I bet she’d scream cutely.

–As I was being occupied by such thoughts, Master Tengu gave me an annoyed look.

“You truly are a psycho… To laugh even when you are half-dead, are you so happy to learn my arts?”

“Of course. But it isn’t only because of that.”

“Hmm?”

Master Tengu tilted his head slightly.

What, he didn’t realize it?

“I’m happy not only because I can now use your arts, but also because you’re teaching me properly.

“Your ‘Flash Shot’, ‘Shadowkill Shot’, ‘Starshower Shot’ killing combo was brilliant and the way you used ‘Snake Bite Shot’ to pull me and then struck me with the melee art ‘King Bison Charge Shot’ was magnificent, too. I can really use them as a reference.”

Yeah. Both were combos that he wouldn’t use unless he really had the intent to kill.

If he had held back even a little and used his arts half-heartedly, I wouldn’t have known there were such ways to use them and would have taken a while to figure them out on my own.

“Thanks, Master Tengu. For taking me on seriously. I’m so happy that you were so merciless!” I spouted blood as I got on my feet and then smiled at my master.

For some reason, Master Tengu then began to make a confused face as he looked at me.

Wait, what’s wrong, Master Tengu? Hey, earth to Master Tengu~.

“You are… happy…? You are happy that I was… merciless… that I was… violent…?”

“Huh? Violent? Well, yeah, you are also kinda crazy, shooting someone in the middle of climbing a fricking cliff.”

Master Tengu was acting kind of strange.

He put his hand over his mask and began to tremble.

–Then.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

・Conditions met!

[Utterly hated by Tengu Hermit]

[Become Tengu Hermit’s disciple while still in a hostile relationship with him]

[Learn all Tenma School arts up to intermediate level while being utterly hated by Tengu Hermit]

[Do a specific act that lowers Karma Points: ‘Accept Tengu Hermit’s violent side’]

[Remain hostile with Tengu Hermit until the end without repairing your relationship]

All hidden conditions met.

[Tenma School Advanced Arts Acquisition Event] will now begin!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“Wait, what the hell’s this?! Isn’t this something that normally happens when you are well-liked instead?!”

I was taken by surprise by the message that popped in front of me.

Geez, I didn’t do it purposely, but it seemed that I had somehow met all the conditions for triggering a hidden event.

“Accept his violent side and become hostile with him, huh… I think I can guess what the event’s gonna be.”

Or should I say, it was clear from what was happening in front of me.

–Tengu Hermit, who had been just like your regular stubborn old man until now, began to show signs of ecstasy and madness.

“Ahh… not good… I cannot hold it in anymore…!”

A muffled voice escaped from behind his Tengu mask–!