Time passed very quickly.
When every day gradually became the same routine, time seemed to flow faster than expected.
Before he knew it, Subaru had already entered his second month of attempting to clear the second floor.
“Aah!”
Subaru gripped the sword he had chosen before and thrust it toward Reid.
His stance had finally escaped the messy awkwardness of a beginner, now carrying at least some resemblance to what a swordsman should look like.
“Still too slow.
Still not enough strength.
What, are you trying to swat a mosquito?”
Even so, Reid’s defense still could not be broken.
He held grilled meat in one hand and chewed on it in large bites, while the chopsticks in his other hand casually blocked every one of Subaru’s attacks.
“Second-rate… No, still third-rate, small fry.”
Reid yawned.
Then, as if he had grown bored, he swung his chopsticks with force, the enormous impact smashing Subaru’s posture apart.
“There’s no way I can be his opponent…”
Subaru collapsed onto the ground.
He really could not catch up to the man in front of him in swordsmanship, not even by a footnote.
“How about changing direction?”
Realizing that he probably could not reach Reid’s level in the field of swordsmanship, Subaru suggested something else.
“Big Brother Reid, does this world have things like magic?”
“Magic?
Ah, of course something like that exists.
You’re asking weird questions again, brat.”
“As I thought!
Then can you teach me something related to magic?
Maybe I’m actually a magic genius!”
After receiving an affirmative answer, Subaru immediately grew excited.
Since the warrior route was not working, he could try becoming a mage.
A super cool spellcaster who could call the wind and summon rain, raising a hand to bring down meteors and everything.
“Ah, that’s impure stuff.”
Reid casually tossed the leftover skewer onto the ground, scratched his ear, and continued, “I was born unable to use magic.
My mana all gets used to strengthen my body.
Even if you wanted me to teach you, all I’d tell you is—”
“Magic is flashy nonsense.
As long as your sword is sharp enough, even something like light itself can be cut down.
I’ll show you if you want.”
After learning that Reid could not use magic at all, Subaru’s mood fell back down.
Could he rely on Shaula to teach him magic instead?
She did not exactly look like the type who could teach magic either.
“You’re really cheat-level strong, Big Brother Reid.
If you were put in a game, you’d definitely be the final boss.”
“There you go again, saying stuff I don’t understand.
Why are you like that white-haired brat, always saying things I can’t make sense of?”
Reid seemed a little bored too, so he simply sat down on the ground.
Boring.
This place is way too boring.”
Reid muttered.
“Well, Big Brother Reid, you do look like someone who can’t sit still…”
Subaru agreed.
“It’s all your fault.
It’s because you’re too weak.
You’re so weak I can’t get interested.
If you were something like the strongest in the world and could fight me properly for a thousand days, then I wouldn’t be bored.”
“A monster like that can’t possibly exist!”
After seeing just how powerful Reid was, Subaru could not imagine what kind of person could actually exchange blows with him.
“Forget it.
I never expected a small fry like you to kill much of my time.
At least your cooking is excellent… That’s enough for today’s training.
Go back.”
Reid gave the order to leave.
“Hah… Got it.”
Subaru stood up and bowed deeply to Reid.
“Thank you for all your help during this time, Big Brother Reid.”
“Hey, hey, what are you doing now?
I don’t need thanks from some small fry.
Besides, I’m doing all this because I feel like it.
Saying disgusting things like thank you—do you want me to shove you into a toilet again?”
“No matter what, I’ve received a lot of help from you.
That much exists in my heart as something real… So I want to thank you.
I don’t want to waste that kindness.
And also—”
Subaru quietly moved closer to the staircase leading down.
“I’ve never been shoved into a toilet by you!
There isn’t even a toilet here!”
“Bleh—!”
Before Reid could say anything else, Subaru ran away as if his feet had been smeared with oil.
“Tch.
He’s fast when he runs away, at least.
His personality is just as awful as that white-haired brat’s.
Just where did this small fry come from?”
Reid stared at Subaru’s departing figure and muttered to himself.
“Whatever.
I can’t leave this place anyway.
No point thinking about it.
I’m sleepy.”
Subaru returned to the fourth floor.
If there were a progress bar visible to the naked eye, he was probably stuck at eighty percent.
As long as he cleared the second floor and reached the first, he would be able to leave.
Subaru was troubled.
If things continued like this, there would be no way for anything to move forward.
“Shaula… Did she go patrol the sand dunes?”
Subaru looked around and guessed that after not seeing Shaula nearby.
Speaking of which—
To Subaru right now, Shaula basically obeyed anything he said, right?
As long as it did not violate her core logic.
Subaru first went to the kitchen.
He looked at the large amount of dried meat hanging there, then glanced at a roughly made water container.
It was filled with water.
“If I find a reason to send her away… and secretly leave this place… As long as she doesn’t discover me, it should be fine, right?”
That thought naturally appeared.
It was not that Subaru was heartless.
Rather, he had been trapped here for two months, and he still could not see any hope.
His desire to leave had almost reached its peak.
As long as he went outside, surely he could rely on modern knowledge to live successfully.
After that, he could recruit more people, gather ideas, or launch another attempt on this tower.
There would be many more methods available, right?
Then he could free this place too.
He could save Shaula too.
But if he left without saying a word, Shaula would definitely be sad.
Inside Subaru’s heart, his thoughts collided with each other.
It was as if a tiny devil and a tiny angel were facing off.
“What’s wrong with it?
Going outside is for the sake of saving her better and finding more ways to solve this!” Devil Subaru said.
“But that breaks the promise!
Didn’t you promise to complete the trial and take her away?” Angel Subaru argued.
“The trial?
There’s no way to beat Reid anyway.
Isn’t it better to find helpers?
No matter how you think about it, that’s more useful than one person flailing around!”
“But then Shaula would be too pitiful.
She’s already waited so many years.
Are you going to abandon the promise too?”
“What’s wrong with that?
She’s already waited four hundred years.
A little more won’t make a difference.
We’re doing this to save her!”
“Enough!”
Subaru scolded the thoughts inside his own head and slowly calmed down.
“Tch… If it’s for saving her, then there’s no choice, huh…”
His heart felt bitter.
He covered his mouth with one hand, and his expression became terribly ugly.