Chapter 32: If You’re Giving Quests, You’d Better Have Rewards Ready

At the Sports Festival…!

Similar to this incident, Park Haengsin seemed to be planning to cause another dangerous situation at the Academy.

“Alright. I’ll contact you again with the details.”

—Click.

The Hunter hung up. As his gaze shifted upwards, Ruah, who had been eavesdropping while leaning over the railing, quickly hid herself.

She could confront him right now, saying she heard everything and demanding to know who was behind it all. But if she did, he would surely deny it.

‘I forgot to record it…!’

She regretted it belatedly, but the call was already over. Ruah had no evidence to present.

‘In that case, it’s better to leave him alone for now.’

Hide the fact that she was tracking him and let him act freely.

Follow Park Haengsin, gather decisive evidence, uncover the person behind it, and figure out what was going on.

That was the best course of action for now.

“Looks like I’ll be making more money. Hehe.”

While Ruah held her breath, Park Haengsin muttered to himself and disappeared downstairs.

She didn’t plan to follow him immediately. He’d likely stay quiet until the Sports Festival anyway.

Whatever conspiracy he was brewing, the Sports Festival was an event that also took place in the game, and Ruah knew it inside and out. It was practically her home turf.

‘It’s okay. Whatever tricks he pulls, I can catch him.’

—Of course, she would need some preparation as well.

Weekend.

With exams over and no students needing extra practice, the gymnasium was empty.

—Except for four women.

“Senior, are you alright?”

“Yes, no problem. It wasn’t that serious of an injury in the first place.”

“That’s a relief!”

It was Suah, Himari, Juju, and Ruah, all dressed in training clothes.

‘The long-awaited first training session.’

Ruah was full of energy. It was the first day of training the confirmed party members. Since she planned to fight the final battle with this team, it was crucial to start off on the right foot.

—And, this training was also in preparation for the Sports Festival in two weeks.

Since she couldn’t predict what Park Haengsin might do, she wanted to improve her party members’ skills so they could react calmly and effectively if they were in danger.

‘There are also events where we participate as a group.’

“Teacher! So what should we do first?”
—Clang!

Juju asked, bumping her gauntlets together. She was brimming with enthusiasm.

“I’ll set individual goals for each of you.”

Ruah recalled the training process she had planned the night before and then posed a question to Juju.

“Juju, what do you think your weakness is?”

“My… weakness?”

Juju tilted her head and answered.

“Well, I’m a bit of a picky eater. I don’t like vegetables.”

“No, not that… Like a habit you have in battle.”

“I don’t really know!”

Juju answered brightly. Unable to argue with her cheerful face, Ruah sighed softly, barely audible.

“It’s a trap that offensive tanks easily fall into. You’re no exception.”

“……?”

“It’s that you can only hold aggro on one target at a time.”

“Aha!”

Juju smacked her fist into her palm.

“That’s right! When I’m hitting, I end up focusing on just one enemy without realizing it.”

{In the previous Gate incident, this weakness hadn’t been prominent since there were two students acting as tanks, but in the future, there would be situations where the four of them would have to face multiple monsters. In such cases, if Juju couldn’t tank more than one monster, it would inevitably put a strain on the other party members.}

“Yes, if there are two or three monsters, you can do what you’ve been doing, but you need to practice dealing with a larger number.”

“Understood.”

Ruah took Juju to one side of the gymnasium. There was a large, four-legged object that looked like it was modeled after an animal. It was a target for practicing the accuracy of ranged attack skills, designed to move quickly when activated.

“Normally, it runs away when hit, but I’ve changed the settings so it chases the attacker for five seconds after being attacked.”

“For aggro practice…?”

“Right. I’ll activate five of them at once.”

—Whirr….

The targets, almost the size of adult bulls, simultaneously revved their engines. Their presence alone was quite intimidating.

“Juju, your goal is to keep all of them occupied for ten minutes.”

“So… I have to hit all five of them, every five seconds for ten minutes?”

“And you have to dodge them at the same time.”

Ruah touched the blunt part on the target’s head.

“Even though they look like this, they’ll hurt quite a bit if you get hit.”

Juju gulped and looked at the targets. Then, suddenly, she turned to Ruah.

“What happens if I do it?”

“You’ll become an excellent tank?”

“N-Not that… Is there, like, a reward?”

“A reward?”

Ruah tilted her head.

‘Isn’t the sense of accomplishment the reward?’

She hadn’t thought about rewards while planning the training menu last night. When Ruah practiced controls in “Hunter Hunting Academy,” she always thought, ‘Why would there be a reason to play games? You just play.’

‘But these three are practicing because I asked them to.’

In that case, it would be reasonable to offer appropriate rewards for the tasks.

“Well, is there anything you want?”

Ruah thought about what Juju might like. The most expensive deluxe corn cheese hot dog from the store? Training sandbags or exercise equipment?

“Uh… I…”

Juju glanced at Himari and Suah, then leaned closer to Ruah and whispered in her ear.

“The Sports Festival is coming up soon, right?”

“Right.”

“There are all sorts of stalls and event tents there… Could you go around with me there?”

“Huh?”

It was unexpected, but judging by Juju’s tone, she wasn’t joking.

“Sure! It’s no big deal.”

Ruah readily nodded. She could easily do that much. She would have to look around the venue anyway to thwart Park Haengsin’s actions.

“Th-Thank you! I’ll do my best!”

Ruah noticed a flicker of uneasy questioning in Himari and Suah’s expressions.

‘Are they worried that the training will be too hard?’

“It’s okay, it’s training you can definitely handle!”

“…Yes, I understand.”

“Did someone say something…?”

Their reactions were lukewarm.

Anyway, Ruah decided to offer rewards to the remaining two as well.

“Next, Himari!”

“Yes, Teacher.”

Ruah led Himari to the other side of the gymnasium. A sandbag she had prepared beforehand was there.

“You’ll practice your [Hoshikawa-ryu Battoujutsu] here.”

“I see.”

“But there’s a condition.”

—Thud!

Ruah placed something flat and wide on the floor. It was a small dolly with wheels attached to a flat platform, used for moving heavy objects.

“You have to perform Battoujutsu while standing on this.”

“What?!”

Himari was startled. She tried standing on the dolly, but she couldn’t easily maintain her balance and swayed from side to side.

“T-Teacher, lower body strength is crucial for Battoujutsu. I can’t perform Battoujutsu on something like this…!”

“No. I won’t change it.”

Ruah stepped onto the dolly instead of Himari. Perhaps because she was lighter, it swayed less.

“Himari’s Battoujutsu is powerful, but it has the drawback of requiring a stationary charge-up. This training is to overcome that. If you manage this, you’ll be able to prepare your Battoujutsu while dodging enemy attacks.”

“Th-That’s true, but…”

“Remember what happened at the Gate?”

“…”

Himari bit her lip. She seemed to be recalling the painful memory of not being able to cut down a single monster until they reached the boss room.

“I understand. I’ll do it, Teacher.”

“Good luck, Himari! Is there any reward you want if you succeed?”

“Um, is anything possible?”

Himari asked hesitantly.

“Anything too expensive would be difficult.”

“It’s not something that can be obtained with money.”

“Then what is it?”

Like Juju before her, Himari leaned in and whispered in Ruah’s ear.

“I want to be by your side at the Sports Festival.”

“…Huh?”

Wasn’t that almost the same as what Juju said? Did they coordinate their requests?

“Of course, it’s a natural thing for the ‘moon’ to do, but it would be even better if I had your permission.”

“Well, I can do that much… but Juju said the same thing.”

“Oh…!”

Himari seemed shocked.

“Then the three of us can go around together, right?”

“…”

Himari pouted slightly, as if she didn’t quite like the idea. It was quite cute seeing Himari, who usually didn’t show much emotion, like this.

“Actually, it would be better if it was just the two of us, right?”

As Ruah subtly changed her words, Himari’s expression brightened noticeably.

“Yes! That’s right!”

‘Easy to read.’

“Then, I’ll begin!”

Himari stepped onto the dolly with enthusiasm.

Ruah went to Suah, who was last in line.

“Sorry, did you wait long?”

“Unni, what did you say to them to make them so motivated?”

“A s-secret.”

Ignoring Suah, who narrowed her eyes, Ruah led her sister near the gymnasium wall.

“The task I’ll give you is nothing special.”

“Huh?”

“Here, take this.”

Ruah pulled something large and fluffy out of the bag she had placed aside and handed it to Suah.

It was a teddy bear.♥