Chapter 6 - Charles Military Academy (4)

"Dorothy!"

"Right. Earth move to my will, imprison!" Dorothy pointed her Aether Staff at the enemy. Then, I saw the ground rise up, gripping the canine monster. "Ha!" I swung my sword diagonally upward, slicing the canine monster's head. "Not only are there combat robots, but this place is also infested with monsters. Isn't this getting a little bit too far for a test?" Dorothy commented.

"This is a military academy, after all."

Dorothy sighed, "True. Well, let's not dawdle here any longer. Don't want to be surprised like last time." I raised my head, looking around my surroundings. "Where should we go? From here, it looks like the path has branched into two," I said. Dorothy shrugged, "Let's just pick a random path. Since whatever path we choose will likely have some kind of enemy at the end," she said nonchalantly.

"Sure."

After that brief encounter, I led Dorothy and chose the left path. As we walked inside, we could hear that something had closed up behind us. And when I looked back, the path behind us was blocked by a wall. "Whelp, there goes the exit," Dorothy quipped. "No choice but to move forward now," I said with a frown. We proceeded to move carefully. Along the way, all I could see was just a white wall spanning across the way and the lit-up blue circuit on it. We walked for a couple of minutes, but I didn't see any end to it. "How long is this pathway?" Dorothy complained while massaging her calf.

Coincidentally, two mechanical combat robots fell from the ceiling right after Dorothy uttered her words. The area around us widened significantly while the path behind us was blocked by a white wall. The two mechanical combat robots were similar to what we fought initially. However, instead of having machine guns on each of its four limbs, there were chainsaws attached to its back. "What? Chainsaws? Whoever made these damn things are a masochist," I uttered. "Look out, they are coming," Dorothy warned. After she said that, I watched the two mechanical combat robots slide on the ground with the wheels below their four limbs. I unsheathed my sword immediately when I saw one of the mechanical combat robots closing in.

"Rise up, o' earth underneath. Become a wall that separates my enemy!" Dorothy waved her Aether Staff horizontally. Then, the surface area between the mechanical combat robots bulged up. All of a sudden, the ground below burst up, blocking the second mechanical combat robot from advancing. Upon seeing that, instantly, I moved closer to the first mechanical combat robot. It tried attacking me with its chainsaws, but unfortunately for the robot, I was a tad faster. Avoiding all its attacks, I went inside the mechanical combat robot's space with my sword gripped tight. "First Form: Severing." With a single sweep of my sword, I dismembered the mechanical combat robot's two limbs.

The mechanical combat robot immediately fell on one side as it lost two supporting limbs. "Earth, grant him a shield that will protect him from harm," suddenly, I heard Dorothy's voice echoing. After that, I sensed the other mechanical combat robot standing on the earth wall. It folded all of its four limbs, chambering them for a massive dive. And a massive dive it did, and its target was me. Fighting spirits arose inside me, and fires burned inside my eyes. "Bring it on!" I grinned as I held my sword sideways. Squinting my eyes, I focused. The mechanical combat robot's movements became slower. "There!" I held my sword with both hands while pointing the tip of my sword at the mechanical combat robot.

"The third form is where you strike your opponent with your power. Be it a continuous strike or a single strike, it does not matter. What matter is that your enemy will fall in the face of your blade. Like the ocean, we moved our sword with power," my father's voice echoed inside my head as I moved my sword forward. "Third Form: Wave!" I stopped the mechanical combat robot's advance with my sword. Then, I delivered a barrage of strikes and slashes at the mechanical combat robot, like the ocean sent out wave after wave. When my last slash hit the mechanical combat robot, it was already chopped to pieces before it fell down. "Phew, that was a little bit scary," I turned around only to see Dorothy with her mouth agape.

"Dorothy? Hello? Is there something wrong? If you keep opening your mouth, a fly will fly in," I joked. "H-ha—? I-I'm okay, I'm fine, there's nothing wrong with me," Dorothy said, blushing and flustered. I shrugged, "Well, let's move on," Dorothy nodded weakly, "Yeah, let's," she softly said.