This is the Average of Martial Artist
Just how much has he been moving around using Blink?
I could feel my mana running low.
So I decided to take a short break.
If I kept pushing my mana like this, there was a high chance I’d suffer from mana exhaustion.
‘I heard it’s excruciating.’
I've never experienced it myself, but according to the people on the forum, mana exhaustion makes all the muscles in your body cramp up for a whole day.
That's why I always tried to avoid using up all of my mana.
I didn't want to go through that kind of experience.
With that thought in mind, I sat down for a bit to recover my mana, then quickly set off again.
Whoosh-
How long had I been moving?
“...Finally made it.”
I finally arrived at Koruntum.
You might wonder why I didn't just use Blink to get here quickly instead of taking the slow carriage. The thing is, using Blink consumes a lot of mana and concentration.
That's why I take the carriage.
Pushing those random thoughts aside, I started to sense the flow of mana around me.
Where could Cthulhu be?
“He said something about a cave… It must be deep inside.”
It was bound to be deep inside, like the dark magician's cave I found before.
After all, it wouldn't make sense for guys who hide underground and do weird stuff to be near where people live.
So I went into the forest.
Chirp chirp-
Crrrkkk-!
The sound of sparrows and goblins mixed together.
Koruntum was definitely teeming with adventurers, judging by the number of monsters around.
Not that I cared.
The monsters didn't attack me anyway.
They must have lost the will to fight just from the mana emanating from me.
I walked around, checking if there was anywhere with strange mana.
And that's when…
“...Hmm?”
I felt a spot where there was unusually little mana.
This world is made up of mana, so there should be at least a little mana in the air, but there was a space completely devoid of mana, as if something had hurriedly sucked it all up.
At that moment, it hit me.
It's around here somewhere.
Rustle rustle.
I started cutting down the surrounding grass, searching for the source that had absorbed all the mana.
How long had it been?
“Found it.”
I finally found it.
A cave entrance, suspiciously sealed off.
It was hidden with a barrier made by absorbing mana, but it couldn't fool my eyes.
So I easily broke through the barrier and entered the cave.
*
“Where the hell is he?”
It had been a while since I arrived at Koruntum, but it was hard to find the cave where Cthulhu was.
Where could he be?
‘..I didn’t misinterpret things, did I?’
Don't tell me Cthulhu was just messing with me.
I entertained the thought for a moment, but-
“..He’s not smart enough for that.”
To begin with, just the fact that he’s a martial artist means he's not that smart.
I'm sure he’s in Koruntum.
But no matter how much I searched, he was nowhere to be found.
Just as I was about to resort to extreme measures…
Clang-!
I heard the sound of a barrier breaking somewhere, and felt a surge of mana.
“Found him.”
It seemed like I wouldn't need to use extreme measures after all.
*
Screech screech.
“..This is unsettling.”
Something on the ground kept making a screeching sound.
Normally, I wouldn't go near a place like this, but I had to get there quickly, given the situation.
So I started moving faster.
Then, I felt a surge of turbulent mana from deep within the cave.
Cthulhu must be fighting the Legion Commander.
Tap-
I quickened my pace.
[Haste]
I even cast a spell to increase my movement speed.
How long had I been running?
Thud…
I saw the interior of the cave, utterly destroyed on a massive scale.
Cthulhu must have smashed this place up with his fists.
“...I really shouldn’t hold back.”
From the perspective of someone who prefers to fight from a distance, a martial artist like Cthulhu was a hard counter.
The last time I saw him, his whole body seemed tougher than Ogre hide.
It seemed like every single muscle was infused with mana, making him that durable.
Thinking these thoughts, I followed the path of destruction, a hole seemingly carved out by fists.
And a short while later.
“You bastard!”
I saw Cthulhu, covered in blood, fighting the Legion Commander.
But he didn't look to be in any real danger.
In fact-
-To think I’d meet someone like this in my lifetime…
It felt like the Legion Commander was the one being pushed back.
I figured I should greet Cthulhu first.
“Hello there.”
As soon as I greeted him-
“Huh? What’s up. Long time no see. But how did you-”
The moment he said that, the Legion Commander’s fist connected, sending Cthulhu flying into the wall.
“Oops..”
I felt a little bad.
I just wanted to say hi.
That must have hurt a lot.
As I was thinking that…
“Ptooey.”
Cthulhu spat out a mouthful of blood and got back into his fighting stance.
“Just wait a sec, it’ll be over soon. This guy’s a piece of cake.”
-...I was going to kill you quickly, but I guess not…
The Legion Commander, as if provoked by Cthulhu’s words, seemed to have his emotions stirred.
Watching them fight made my heart pound with excitement.
They were both employing a strategy of exchanging flesh for bone.
But here’s the surprising part-
‘..They’re both losing bones?’
Looking closely, they were exchanging bone for bone.
Meaning they were both in excruciating pain.
But neither of them showed any sign of suffering.
In fact, Cthulhu was-
“So, is that all you got? I thought you were stronger.”
-...Silence.
Smiling.
He was smiling while having his bones crushed.
A level of madness that a sane person like me couldn’t comprehend, let alone join in on.
If I intervened now, it would end quickly, but-
“Don’t interfere.”
Cthulhu had explicitly told me not to, so I just kept an eye out for anyone else approaching.
The chances of CocoNenne or Decadent arriving were high, now that I had broken the barrier.
With that in mind, I started setting traps around the area.
Thwack-!
Crack-!
Ignoring the gruesome sounds coming from beside me, I continued setting my traps.
From basic traps to advanced ones.
I was putting all the knowledge I learned at the academy to good use.
Ah, and there was one useful thing I learned at the academy.
Since mages sense their surroundings with mana, they are somewhat vulnerable to pure, mana-less traps.
So I took out materials from my subspace pouch and started setting up traps by hand.
“One here… and one there…”
After I finished setting all the traps, I leaned against the wall and watched them fight.
It was truly a breathtaking spectacle.
Is this what a street fight looks like?
It certainly was entertaining to watch.
As they continued their brawl, it became clear…
That the tide was turning.
The Legion Commander was being pushed back further and further.
The proof was in his desperate attempt to reason with Cthulhu.
-Don't you desire wealth and women…? I can give you everything. Make a pact with me, and it shall all be yours.
“Your mom.”
-...What did you say?
“Your mom.”
With those words, Cthulhu unleashed a furious barrage of blows upon the Legion Commander.
I was glad I hadn’t met Cthulhu in the real world.
To be beaten while being insulted like that, with his skills, I wouldn’t even be able to resist.
And then, a moment later.
Wham-!
Cthulhu’s fist landed squarely on the Legion Commander's jaw-
Thud.
And the Legion Commander collapsed to the ground.
I thought he might be faking it, but judging by the mana flowing from his body, it didn’t seem like he was.
“Ah, shit… I’m beat. Just gonna take a quick nap.”
Exhausted, Cthulhu collapsed to the ground.
He must have used up every last drop of mana.
‘..Cthulhu was really pushing himself.’
It seemed that even Cthulhu had a tough time against a Legion Commander.
Anyway-
“Ahem. Excuse me?”
I nudged Cthulhu, trying to wake him up.
But he didn’t budge.
In that case-
“Mind if I take care of this?”
The ownership of the Legion Commander’s corpse was still up in the air.
Still, it felt wrong to just take something that wasn’t mine.
I wasn’t a thief.
So I decided to put it in my subspace pouch for the time being.
Just incase someone else tried to steal it.
I’d give it back to Cthulhu later.
Really.
“Alright then.”
With that, I put the corpse into my subspace pouch and checked on Cthulhu.
‘He just needs to recover his mana and he’ll be fine.’
There were no major injuries.
A few broken bones, maybe, but with Cthulhu’s regenerative abilities, they’d heal in no time even if left untreated.
My task now was clear.
Moving Cthulhu was practically impossible.
It was extremely dangerous to move someone suffering from mana exhaustion.
That meant I had to stay here until he woke up.
That seemed like the most important thing to do right now.
As I sat there, waiting for Cthulhu to regain consciousness…
Wooong-
I felt a surge of mana in the distance.
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