Team Leader (1)

When Bloed woke up again it was already late at night.

Looking around, he realized he was lying on a bed in the infirmary. Liu Ying, Rana, and the others were still unconscious on the beds beside him.

"You are awake, master." A voice suddenly called out at him. When Bloed looked up, he saw a beautiful silver-haired girl seated beside his bed.

"Regina," Bloed said with a wry smile. "Was I the first one to wake up?"

"Of course." Regina nodded. "Your injuries were the slightest. The others will take a bit more to wake up."

Bloed's expression turned strange. Certainly, thinking about it, when Regina knocked him out she did it by chopping at the back his nape.

But the methods Regina used to knock the other five out were a bit more… violent?

… Could it be Regina was showing him favoritism?

"… By the way, who did suffer the most serious injuries?"

"… It was Liu Ying. I accidentally used a bit more of strength when I hit her." Regina avoided Bloed's gaze while replying.

Yeah, it was confirmed. Regina was showing him favoritism.

Not just it. She was using the training as an excuse to vent her personal grievances.

Bloed did not know whether to laugh or to cry.

"… Is it alright to do this? Eve and the others did not mind?" He could not help to ask.

"Don't worry about it." Regina shrugged indifferently. "I only acceded the offer to help with your training because master was here. Plus, it's not like I held back when fighting you. Moreover, master, you are obviously the strongest of the six candidates. And if you go all out, even I need to use S-Rank-level strength if I want to defeat you."

"… It's not like I can simply go all out when I want." Bloed could not help but say.

If Bloed wanted to go all out, there was only one method he could use.

Using Overdrive to activate Leto's armament and forcibly using [Molecular Disintegration].

The thing is, Bloed could not use that ability freely.

When he was at C-Grade, Bloed could use it only for ten seconds before having to rest for three days.

Bloed had not tried it since he broke through B-Grade, but according to his calculations, the current him could most likely use it around fifteen seconds give and take.

Fifteen seconds seemed little, but if Bloed used it together with Leto's armor, spear, and shield, ([Eitr], [Gungnir], and [Svalinn]) acquiring so the ability to wield [Molecular Disintegration] more freely, he was confident he could defeat anyone but demigods.

However, the cost of using it was too great. Being defenseless for three days was too dangerous.

Thus, Bloed did not plan to use it unless he was completely out of options.

Bloed could not help but chuckle bitterly. How good it would be if he could use [Molecular Disintegration] freely?

Even with the output of a B-Grade, he would be as strong as a half-step demigod.

That is the power of an SSS-Grade attack type ESPer ability!

But there was no use thinking about the impossible.

Instead, it was better if Bloed used his time working in methods to strengthen himself.

Shaking his head, Bloed stood up from the bed to leave the infirmary.

"Where are you going master? You should rest."

"I don't have time," Bloed said and shook his head. "For the next week, most of my time will be busy with the training. Thus, I want to use the little time I have remaining working in my Body Strengthening Project. At the very least, I want to finish the first prototype before the competition for the mines."

Regina smiled and nodded. "I'll go with you then."

…

The next day at dawn, the group of six was again on the training grounds.

This time, though, they were here to start their lessons.

The first class of the day was outdoor survival methods. The goal of this lesson was to teach the group of six to survive in the wild for a long time.

To Bloed's surprise, the person in charge of this lesson was Javelin's father. Although thinking about it, there were many situations where an assassin needed to survive in the wild.

For example, in case he needs to escape from his pursuers after succeeding or failing a mission.

Before the lessons, though, Javelin's father moved his gaze through the group of six and chuckled.

"You truly were beaten badly last night. The entire fight did not last even thirty seconds."

Bloed could see awkward expressions in Liu Ying and the others. Even the usually ice-cold Atai was clenching his fist in frustration.

"… Miss Regina is a bit too strong." Rana said with a bitter smile, making the others nod.

Seeing their reactions, Javelin's father could not help but shook his head with a smile.

"In fact, your abilities in itself are not too apart from Miss Regina peak B-Rank abilities. Of course, she is much stronger than any of you in a one to one situation, but if three of you fight her with the same cultivation you should have a thirty percent chance of winning, and if the six of you fight together, your chances of winning should be around fifty percent at least. It should not be like last night where she swept through you and you were completely unable to resist."

The group of six was surprised.

"Then, why were we crushed like that last night?" Greta raised her hand and asked.

"It's simple, you know nothing about teamwork." Javelin's father chuckled. "Only with good enough teamwork can you defeat her. What happened last night was that Miss Regina fished you one by one, putting her strengths against your weakness. Moreover, only Mr. Bloed showed a little bit of team awareness, but even he could have done better."

Bloed nodded. He was aware of that.

Unfortunately, it was his first time fighting beside most of this group. The most he could do was to avoid interfering with their movements.

Seeing that the six of them seemed pensive, Javelin's father smiled and spoke up once more.

"… To be honest, you should not be too bothered by your defeat last night. The truth is that even if Miss Regina suppressed her cultivation to peak B-Rank, she is still a saint, and she is very strong. She is probably one of the strongest saints in the continent. Plus, her combat instinct is outstanding. You still need a lot to catch up with her. But all of you are young and talented. Who knows? Perhaps in several years some of you will become saints too.

"For now, though. Let's start with today's classes."

...

P4TRE0N: patr-eon.com/aidnovels