Please Don't Be a Modern Person
"Just awesome," was all I could say.
“This is how you do it. Just keep spinning it like this. It’s harder than it looks, though.”
I wasn’t a huge fan of anime, so I didn’t exactly understand the principles behind this technique.
However, one thing was clear.
“...It’s surprisingly effective?”
It was definitely a technique inspired by anime, and it was quite effective.
It didn’t consume much mana and seemed structurally sound.
Cthulhu definitely had talent.
It was amazing how he could manipulate mana like this, even though he had never properly studied it.
As I was thinking this…
Cthulhu shot the mana he had gathered in his hand towards a nearby mountain.
And then—
Crack—!
The mountain split apart, the area where it once stood now flat ground.
“Whoa, that’s pretty damn strong.”
Even Cthulhu seemed surprised by the power, as if he hadn’t expected that level of force. He hadn’t even tested the power of the technique he created.
It was very typical of Cthulhu, when I thought about it.
But still…
‘There’s no way to block that.’
Looking at its power, it seemed impossible to block even with several layers of barriers.
Even though it seemed like he was just pouring mana into it haphazardly, it was actually a very delicate technique.
It was hard to believe that Cthulhu had created such a thing.
It seemed unwise to underestimate him.
While most martial artists were easy pickings for a mage, Cthulhu was different.
He was on another level.
‘I think I could win if I went all out, but…’
There was no need to fight Cthulhu seriously.
As I was thinking about this, I sat down on a nearby rock. I had been standing for a while and wanted to rest.
Cthulhu also picked up a flat rock and sat down.
“There are too many crazy bastards these days… I’ve been going around, trying to beat them up as much as possible, but there are still some idiots who don’t know their place.”
“I agree. I’ve also been trying to resolve problems wherever they arise, but… it seems like the frequency of incidents has increased compared to before.”
Half of what Cthulhu said was true, and half was a lie.
Cthulhu was the type of person who felt a thrill from defeating opponents stronger than himself.
So, while punishing bad guys was a good excuse, his true purpose was clearly to pick fights.
As I was thinking this…
“Hey, you wanna spar sometime? It’d be good for both of us.”
“I’ll have to decline.”
I refused outright.
As much as I liked Cthulhu, sparring was a different matter.
I didn’t enjoy getting hit.
If it was unavoidable, then so be it, but I wasn’t going to volunteer for a beating.
That’s why I refused so quickly.
Cthulhu would probably understand.
“Come on, man. Just once wouldn’t hurt. Where else are you gonna find an opponent like me?”
“Ahaha…”
I tried to laugh it off and move on.
However…
“Don’t laugh it off. Let’s have a match. I want to test out this technique on a real person.”
“I can make you a scarecrow, you can test it on that.”
“It’s not the same as a real person.”
“You don’t mean that you want me to lose, right?”
“Hey, it’s not about that, I just want to use this technique on a real person.”
I had a feeling this would happen once Cthulhu got to know me.
I had read his posts on the forum before, and he had a tendency to do this.
As I continued to refuse…
“Greetings.”
Someone appeared behind us.
The conversation came to an abrupt end, which was a relief.
If we had continued talking, I would have been forced to spar with him.
“Oh, hey. It’s Old Man Shinshil.”
“I told you not to call me that outside.”
“Right, my bad.”
Cthulhu continued to call Shinshil ‘Old Man’ even in real life.
They must have known each other’s identities for a long time.
It was a little awkward.
They were so openly revealing that they were travelers.
In their eyes, I was a resident of this world, not a traveler.
What kind of reaction should I show? As I was thinking about this…
“Anyway, what were you two talking about?”
“Oh, nothing much. I was trying to get him to spar with me, but he keeps refusing.”
Cthulhu said as he ruffled my hair roughly.
To be honest, it was a little scary.
It brought back memories of being bullied in school.
As I thought about this, I spoke carefully.
“I really want to spar with you… but I’m afraid something bad might happen.”
“Something bad?”
“What if I accidentally hurt you seriously?”
It was true.
I wasn’t refusing to fight Cthulhu because I was afraid of losing.
Of course, there was a chance I could lose if he fought strategically, but with my current stats, it wouldn’t be easy to defeat me.
He could get seriously hurt.
As I said this—
“...Hey, get up. Let’s do this.”
“I don’t want to do it until we figure out how to prevent injuries.”
That didn’t mean that fighting Cthulhu would be easy.
I would have to be prepared to get hurt as well.
So I tried to politely decline.
But then…
“I can take care of any injuries.”
“...You can?”
Shinshil suddenly jumped into the conversation.
I was a little taken aback.
I had tried so hard to avoid sparring, but Shinshil had just turned the tables on me.
It was ridiculous.
“Well, that’s settled then. Let’s do this.”
“Wait, hold on. Are you serious?”
“Of course, I’m serious. Get ready. I’ll give you ten minutes. And don’t hold back. I’ll know if you do.”
With that, Cthulhu began to warm up.
Shinshil sat still and began to meditate.
It was clear that we were going to spar.
Even if I wanted to run away…
‘Even if I run away now, I’ll definitely meet Cthulhu again later.’
There was no escaping Cthulhu.
And when I met him then, it would be awkward.
‘That’s true.’
It would be better to just get it over with.
If we had one proper spar, Cthulhu wouldn’t ask me to do it again.
“Sigh… Alright, I understand.”
I stood up and checked my wand again.
I wanted to make sure it wasn’t damaged, but it was fine.
It was full of mana.
My body was also in good condition.
I was stuck sparring with him.
‘Ah, this is annoying.’
I liked everything about Cthulhu except for this one thing.
Why did he always want to fight?
As I was thinking about this…
Murmur—
The people nearby must have overheard our conversation and started to gather around us.
It seemed like they were hoping to relieve their stress from the battle by watching us spar.
This was ridiculous.
How did I end up in this situation?
I only came here to help Lukphelton.
As I was thinking about this—
“Well then, shall we begin?”
Shinshil spoke up.
Cthulhu, who had been warming up, got into position.
The people around us naturally spread out and formed a circle.
I knew that this kind of culture existed in the Middle Ages, but I didn’t expect them to form a circle so quickly.
As I was taken aback by this, I began to prepare for battle.
I didn’t want to lose.
‘But did Cthulhu’s way of thinking really revert back to the Middle Ages?’
If he were a normal modern person, he wouldn’t expect to suddenly get into a fight on the street like this.
As I was thinking about how absurd this was, I thought about the magic I would use.
What kind of magic would be good?
Since this was just a spar, I couldn’t use magic that was purely for killing.
He might actually die.
As I was thinking about this—
“Then let’s begin.”
Shinshil announced the start.
Cthulhu took his stance and said to me,
“You go first. I’ll let you have the first move.”
It was a strangely provocative statement.
Letting me have the first move.
Objectively, I was the more skilled fighter.
So I said again,
“I’ll let you go first.”
Then—
“Okay.”
Cthulhu immediately nodded and in an instant, he closed the distance between us and threw a punch.
Clang—!
My barrier began to crack.
However—
“Oh, tough one, aren’t you?”
My barrier was stronger than before, so it didn’t break easily.
Of course, about four layers were shattered, but considering it had blocked Cthulhu’s attack, it wasn’t a bad result.
As I thought this, I activated a spell.
[Rat Spear]
He shouldn’t die as long as I didn’t aim for his head.
I activated the spell and cast the magic.
Whoosh—!
A Rat Spear shot out from thin air at high speed.
‘Will it pierce through?’
As I watched nervously, the Rat Spear flew…
Thud—!
And embedded itself in Cthulhu’s skin.
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