Chapter 11: Preparation (2)

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 11: Preparation (2)

[Stage Clear: 9 points]

[Stage Clear: 6 points]

[Stage Clear: 11 points]

[Stage Clear: 7 points]

...

[Points in possession: 311]

Looking at the accumulating points, a smile naturally formed on my face.

I only glanced at the message briefly.

Khan cautiously spoke up.

"...Uh, can't I go to work too?"

I slightly turned my gaze to look at Khan.

Khan was sitting in front of me with his eyes closed.

I struck Khan's head with the training wooden sword in my hand.

Whack!

"No."

"Gah!"

Khan rolled on the floor after getting hit on the head.

"Hey, hey. Get back in position."

With a sob, Khan returned to his spot and closed his eyes again.

I hit him on the head once more.

Whack!

"Ow!"

Once again, Khan rolled on the floor after getting struck.

"Hey, didn't I tell you to use your Sixth Sense?"

What am I doing right now?

I’m raising the level of Khan’s Sixth Sense.

"But, it's not like it happens just because I want it to..."

"Back to position."

As I called Khan back to his place, I felt a gaze.

When I turned my eyes, I saw Mari staring blankly in this direction from one corner of the training ground.

"Who said it’s okay to daydream with your eyes open?"

"Eek!"

Upon hearing my rebuke, Mari quickly closed her eyes.

It seemed like she was about to enter meditation, but... before long, she hesitantly opened her eyes and asked me,

"But... others are all working while we're just training here... is this really okay?"

All employees, except for Khan and Mari, participated in the [Kobold Raid].

Khan and Mari also wanted to join, but that was out of the question.

"This is your job."

Khan and Mari had a more important task than just earning points.

‘If you guys get stronger, the company will also become stronger, so what else is this but work?’

The words came up to my throat but I held them back.

Khan, who had been listening quietly, turned his head slightly.

"But... what if we encounter another mutant like last time...?"

I understand what Khan and Mari are worried about.

Even for our elite team, it was a tough fight, so of course, the other employees would be concerned.

However...

"You don't need to worry about that."

I smirked.

'It’s not an ordinary stage.'

Even if there was a mutant, it was not a big problem as long as we knew the exact strategy.

"I've already taught Yon everything about the mutant and the strategy."

I had provided Yon with all the information about the [Kobold Raid] and trained him on the strategy.

Thanks to his extensive experience, he quickly memorized the key points and precautions I emphasized.

With Yon leading the employees, there was no need to worry.

"Wow. Did Yon really memorize all that information?"

Mari, who had been listening from a distance, muttered in amazement.

"Yeah, unlike some others, he actually uses his brain."

"Ugh..."

[You successfully defeated the mutant 'Kobold Warlord'. +17 points]

Sure enough.

It seemed that the employees had successfully taken down the Kobold Warlord.

'They're doing well.'

Of course, I didn’t favor Yon exclusively.

I had also provided Mari and Khan the same information about the [Kobold Raid], but...

They failed to memorize it.

It wasn't surprising in Khan's case, but I was a bit surprised that Mari also struggled with memorization.

‘Well, people aren’t perfect, after all.’

Everyone contributes in their own way, and that’s all that matters.

So, we just needed to focus on our tasks.

Whack!

"Ouch!"

Khan clutched his head and rolled on the floor.

In nine hours, he’s already rolled on the floor more than 300 times.

"Not focused, are you?"

This time, I pointed the wooden sword at Mari.

Then, I smiled sweetly.

"Mari, if you don’t like meditating, how about switching with Khan?"

"Eek!"

Mari, now pale, closed her eyes and resumed her meditation.

‘Not that I’d let her switch even if she wanted to...’

The skill Mari needs to acquire is ‘Focus,’ which is a sub-skill of ‘Immersion.’

It’s an abstract skill that can, for example, enhance firing speed with overwhelming concentration or allow one to climb an otherwise impossible cliff.

If a warrior needs a ‘strong body,’ an archer needs ‘focus.’

‘Focus’ is exactly what it sounds like — a skill that is gained through deep concentration and realization.

That’s why her training differs from Khan’s.

Whoosh—

While Khan was distracted, I swung the wooden sword down.

Bang!

A loud explosion-like sound echoed throughout the training ground.

The sword didn’t hit Khan’s head but the floor of the training ground.

‘Well, well?’

Khan had rolled to the side just as I brought down the sword.

"You dodged?"

"Yes..."

Khan stared blankly at the floor, seemingly unable to believe it himself.

I asked Khan how he felt.

"How did it feel?"

"I don't know. My instincts moved before I could even think..."

I nodded at Khan’s words and opened my mailbox.

I immediately checked the unidentified message.

[The Star of the Foundation has checked your skill.]

[Sixth Sense (LV. 2) has been applied to 'Administrator'.]

[Focus (LV. 1) has been applied to 'Administrator'.]

Success.

After 10 hours of training, the level finally went up.

With a satisfied expression, I turned my attention to Mari.

I swung my wooden sword with almost full strength.

Even though the loud sound echoed through the training hall, Mari didn’t budge an inch.

She looked as peaceful as if she were in another world entirely.

This was a technique made possible by having acquired the skill ‘Focus.’

Holding the wooden sword, I now turned toward Mari.

I shook her to wake her up.

“Wake up.”

“Huh?”

Mari opened her eyes.

I showed her the wooden sword.

“Watch this carefully.”

“Huh?”

After confirming that Mari was focusing on the sword, I swung it.

[Focus (LV. 1) has been activated.]

“Whoa!”

The wooden sword narrowly missed Mari.

“What are you doing, swinging that all of a sudden? That’s dangerous!”

Mari shouted, but in reality, it wasn’t dangerous at all.

Because...

‘This is what focus does.’

I was using Focus while observing Mari.

If it looked like she couldn’t dodge, I was prepared to stop the sword immediately.

‘It works perfectly.’

Mari had watched the sword all the way and dodged with minimal movement, just shifting her neck along the shortest path.

It was a completely different evasion compared to Khan’s instinctive dodging.

‘This will do.’

Once I finish Mari and Khan’s promotion ceremony tomorrow, the head office will surely see us as a perfectly polished S-rank company.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

A few minor accidents along the way should be forgivable.

‘I achieved more than I expected today.’

I returned the wooden sword to its place.

“That’s the end of today’s training.”

“Ah! Administrator, you’re ignoring me, aren’t you?!”

Mari growled and chased after me, but I didn’t need to pay her any attention.

‘It’s about time to let the employees rest, isn’t it?’

Just as I was about to leave with Mari and Khan...

Bang! Bang!

[Warning!]

[A Kobold Warlord is rampaging.]

[Durability: 60/100]

“Uh… Administrator, was that the sound coming from over there?”

Bang! Bang!

[Durability: 50/100]

The isolation room shook.

Khan, Mari, and the rest of the employees stared at it tensely.

But that was all.

I, too, glanced at the isolation room but soon lost interest.

“It’s fine. Everyone, head back to the dorms.”

I dismissed the employees.

There was no point in worrying; it wouldn’t change anything.

“But... it’s rampaging...”

“Exactly. If it escapes, we won’t be able to stop it with our current strength.”

Their concerns were natural.

After all, they didn’t understand how this game worked.

“Don’t get all worked up. That thing will need at least another day to break out.”

“Huh? But still...”

“If you’re really that uneasy, you can stare at it all day if you want.”

When I just walked away, Mari and Khan also took their eyes off the isolation room.

“You can all go rest now.”

Even the employees who had been earning points were dismissed.

“Oh, by the way. Make sure you get some dinner.”

[You purchase a cheap sandwich.]

A sandwich appeared instantly.

The day was far from over, but it was originally meant to be a rest day, so I planned to provide basic welfare at least.

‘You get the best results when you alternate between the carrot and the stick.’

Someone reached for the sandwich.

Most of the employees were near the [Kobold Raid], so it wasn’t hard to figure out who it was.

“Mari.”

“Yes?”

“You know what to do, right?”

“Wha—what do you mean?”

“Make sure everyone gets a fair share.”

I grabbed a sandwich and headed straight for the dorms.

I heard someone sniffle behind me, but... does it really matter?

* * *

The following day proceeded much like the previous one.

Mari and Khan arrived early in the morning while I was training in the training hall.

“Administrator, what should we do today?”

“First off, your promotion, right?”

Mari, Khan, and some of the other employees had qualified for a promotion to rank 7.

So, I was going to promote all the qualified employees.

“Uh, we have to go in there?”

Mari frowned as she looked at the promotion machine.

I had to admit, it didn’t look very inviting.

“I’ll go first.”

Khan stepped in, and Mari reluctantly followed.

A moment later...

Whoosh!

The two of them emerged from the promotion machine.

“Ugh. I feel dizzy.”

“...”

Mari and Khan collapsed onto the floor as if they were exhausted.

It was a far cry from their first promotion.

I had a rough idea why they were so worn out.

Could it be that they saw the omen?

“What did you see?”

Khan was the first to respond.

“A horde of Kobolds. We fought against dozens of them.”

Yeah, fighting off dozens of Kobolds would definitely be exhausting.

The fact that they didn’t pass out meant the training had paid off.

I shifted my gaze to Mari.

After hesitating for a moment, Mari spoke up.

“I saw... a dragon.”

“A dragon?”

No way.

Legendary and mythical creatures only appear at rank 3 and above.

'But Mari's promotion ceremony is just for Rank 7?'

It doesn't add up.

When I tilted my head at the mention of a dragon, Mari added further explanation.

“I didn’t really fight it… I just got caught up in the wind and spun around in the air. If it weren’t for the new technique I learned, I might have lost consciousness…”

She said this with a bright smile, but the words that came out of her mouth were nothing to be taken lightly.

'If she hadn’t stayed focused, she might have lost consciousness?'

This changes things.

I might have to put the other employees' promotions on hold for now.

'It seems I’ll need to adjust the plan a little…'

I was lost in thought for a moment.

“So, are we doing the same training as yesterday?”

Khan, having somewhat recovered, stood up and asked.

“Well, yeah.”

“I don’t think it’ll be much help anymore.”

He sounded confident, so I led Khan and Mari to the training area.

Boom!

The isolation room shook again as we moved, but…

[Durability 30/100]

“Wow, that one’s really strong, huh.”

We didn’t pay it much attention.

Once we arrived at the training area, I had Khan sit down in the same spot as yesterday.

“You're struggling because you're not training enough.”

With that, I immediately swung the practice sword.

Swish—

Khan, having become familiar with his sixth sense, easily dodged the sword.

“Like I said, this isn’t helping anymore…”

“Sit back down.”

I guess this is to be expected if he's gotten used to the sixth sense.

There’s another way.

[Sixth Sense (LV. 2) activated.]

[Focus (LV. 1) activated.]

“Sit back down.”

“I’m not sure if this will help, but alright.”

Khan reluctantly sat down again and closed his eyes.

With my focus and sixth sense heightened, my senses became razor-sharp.

Swish—

Wham!

“Ow!”

Khan clutched his head and rolled on the ground.

“Now, you'll have to keep taking hits until you're used to it.”

Watching nervously, Mari cautiously asked me,

“U-Um, what should I do?”

Mari’s training is simpler.

“You, stand on one leg, stretch your arms out, and meditate while keeping your balance.”

The goal is to stay focused even in situations where you’re distracted.

Even if I bother you, you must not lose concentration.

If you do…

“Oh, look! Cream bread!”

“Huh? Where?”

Wham!

“Ouch! You tricked me!”

Mari clutched her head and glared at me.

“I told you, don’t lose focus.”

I just shrugged my shoulders.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]