Chapter 68

"Be careful! Ten, nine..."

He took Texas's phone, loudly reminded the two to be careful, and then began the countdown.

Even though she was very worried that the two of them would get hurt, she couldn't stop them and could only hope that they wouldn't get too carried away with their fight.

"Trace on─"

Holding Gan Jiang Mo Ye in his hands, the familiar feel instantly put Shirou into the zone.

Unlike before, this time both of them were holding their own weapons, and just their presence made the three people on the sidelines feel somewhat oppressed.

"I have a feeling that something's not quite right."

Croissant suppressed, swallowed and said to Exusiai beside her.

Before Exusiai respond, the two rushed towards each other as soon as Sora's countdown ended.

"You've gotten heavier?"

Texas immediately noticed that the sword in Shirou's hand seemed to have become heavier, or rather, that Shirou's strength had increased.

Texas had just managed to withstand Shirou's attacks with one hand, but now, even with two swords, she felt strained and even a little numb.

"Getting distracted is not good."

Shirou had no intention of going into details about this, and instead launched his offensive.

Some things are easier to understand by experiencing them firsthand rather than just hearing about them.

"Tsk."

Texas quickly retreated, realizing that she had been tricked by Shirou again.

However, that's how it is in real combat: a series of interconnected steps to lure the opponent into a trap and ultimately defeat them.

Texas, however, preferred to attack the opponent's vitals directly rather than thinking about these things.

What she learned wasn't combat techniques, but simply the art of killing.

After their brief exchange, having roughly grasped Shirou's fighting style, Texas changed her attack approach, no longer choosing to clash swords with Shirou.

"It's almost one-sided... Shirou is too ruthless!"

The spectator Exusiai, went from being worried to just watching the show. Although she didn't quite understand what was going on, it was clear that Shirou was completely dominating Texas. At least Shirou seemed to be handling the situation with ease, while Texas was already showing signs of fatigue.

It was less of a sparring match and more of Shirou toying with Texas.

It sounds a bit strange, but that's how it is from Exusiai's perspective. You could say Shirou is really cunning!

Finally, Shirou placed the back of his sword against Texas's neck, ending the sparring match.

"Ha ha..."

As the sparring session ended, Texas crouched down and adjusted her breathing.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Kong thoughtfully handed the two of them water.

"Tsk tsk tsk, I didn't expect that! Shirou, you usually seem so kind, how come you're so ruthless when you fight? You've been dominating Texas almost the entire time!"

Exusiai stepped forward and hooked her arm around Shirou's neck. Because Shirou was slightly taller, he had to squat down to cooperate with Exusiai.

"Is it that ruthless?"

Shirou himself was unaware of this; he had been almost entirely following Texas's lead. If he had been serious, he could have ended the battle much faster.

That would eliminate the point of sparring, and he was also quite curious about Texas's fighting techniques.

After a few rounds, Shirou had a pretty good idea of what Texas did in combat. Although she seemed to be holding back a bit, Shirou could still tell that Texas was just using simple... killing techniques.

"Could you please have some self-awareness? But Isv's assessment was definitely correct, Shirou, your combat skills are indeed quite impressive."

Croissant still remembered that Shirou's combat skills were praised as outstanding by Isv.

I originally thought it was achieved through archery skills, but now it seems that it was because the highest level was only "Excellent", so I only achieved the "Excellent" score.

It's like someone else gets 100 points because that's the highest score they can get, while you get 99 points because that's the only score you can get.

"It was really ruthless; I couldn't even bear to watch it."

Exusiai continued, handing the phone to Shirou so he could see for himself.

"... I'm sorry."

Looking at himself on the screen, Shirou understood why the others had said he was ruthless, and apologized to Texas.

"It's alright, but why did your strike become heavier?"

Texas, who had caught her breath, didn't care about any of that; all she cared about was why Shirou's strength had suddenly increased.

If it had been with the same force as at the beginning, she wouldn't have been in such a sorry state.

"That's because of the Projection, which is why I said it would be unfair if I used Projection."

Shirou had no intention of hiding anything, since he had already said most of what needed to be said last time, and this was just a minor oversight.

"This ability is too overpowered! Shirou, you're practically the protagonist or the final boss you'd find in a game."

Croissant that, based on Shirou's words and actual application, Projection was practically a bug, an inexplicable ability, and now they were saying it could enhance the user's power?

Could a game GM please handle this?

Croissant simply couldn't imagine how she could fight Shirou. You could say that in close combat, she might be able to use her shield to fight against his hammer and then surrender.

Needless to say, if you pull her further away, she simply can't withstand that giant mushroom.

The more Croissant imagined it, the more grateful she was that Shirou was one of her own.

Having such a bugged character on our side is quite reassuring, since the real trouble should be facing such strange and eccentric human enemies.

"Isn't it a bit too much to have a protagonist or boss like that?"

Shirou, who had been given an extra, eccentric title in Croissant's mind, denied what the other person was saying.

"No, I think it makes a lot of sense."

Exusiai released her grip on Shirou and said.

"Hmm, that's the kind of person who's hiding their true identity!"

Sora also joined the ranks of those who agreed.

Even emptiness...

As the three of them made fun of him, Shirou turned his attention to Texas, seeking the last line of defense.

"... Let's practice again when we have time. I'd like to learn some of your swordsmanship, Shirou."

Faced with Shirou's hopeful gaze, Texas chose to evade the question and abruptly changed the subject.

These people have such complicated thoughts; she's too lazy to think about them or get involved.

"Well, that's not a problem."

Shirou sighed and gave up struggling.

The protagonist, the boss, or the hidden character—at least that sounds normal, much more normal than characters like Mama Emiya.

"Texas learning Shirou's swordsmanship... ugh, just thinking about it is terrifying."

Croissant would occasionally spar with Texas using a blunt weapon, though she always ended up getting completely thrashed.

But the thought of Texas mastering Shirou's swordsmanship Croissant Texas want to light candles for their future enemies.

Besides Shirou, they also have to deal with Texas, who was trained by Shirou. Just thinking about it makes me feel sorry for them.

"It's not certain that I can learn it successfully, after all, my fighting style is quite different from Texas's."

Shirou gave a heads-up, explaining that his own fighting style was more conservative compared to his opponent's.

He himself isn't very good at teaching people.

However, Projection with other weapons should be somewhat helpful for Texas?

"That's true."

Croissant strongly agreed with Shirou's words. Everyone has their own preferred fighting style, and forcing a change is not a good thing, especially for someone like Texas who already has her own set of fighting methods, it is even more difficult to change.

But it's not a big problem; at least she won't be getting beaten up by Texas anymore! After all, with Shirou around, Texas has a better option!

She naturally dared not say these things aloud, for it would be terrible if Texas took her anger out on her after being thoroughly beaten by Shirou.

Croissant felt she had become even smarter and decided to buy some good food for herself on the way back to encourage her growth.

"Let's talk about the rest later. I'm going to run an errand; I need to buy some ingredients later."

Shirou hadn't forgotten his main purpose for coming here; he planned to train a little before heading straight to the market.

He remembered that Jie told him that a batch of good goods had arrived today.

Um... let's start with a bounty for the 7th anniversary.

As the title suggests, this is a giveaway event I'm rushing to capitalize on. jpg

Everything is the same except for the monthly pass.

Monthly pass 350+1 (Now one monthly pass equals two, and there's no limit, so I'm adjusting this to avoid dying on the way).

10000+1

Golden Treasure Chest +16

Silver Treasure Chest +5

Blade 150+1

25,000+ votes

I've already posted the screenshots in the group, based on the posting time, from today all the way to the 30th.

I'm mainly just taking advantage of the 7th anniversary event this time.

As for the concerns many people have about whether I'll be able to back out, I can only say that I just finished my last job, and the book is doing quite well so far, I can definitely make a living off it for a while.

Hmm, that's it. This should be the last time there's no limit to the bounty. There's still some pressure in setting up no limit.

Also, I know it's really ugly to open another event before the previous one has been paid out, but who can blame me for being unlucky and missing the event. jpg

That's all for now, gotta go back to writing. jpg

89. Do you want to do hehehe to me?

After finishing his training and memorizing the location of the training ground, Shirou prepared to go to the market, while the Penguin Logistics team went back to their dorm to continue lounging around.

Ahem... I shouldn't say I'm just slacking off, I should say I'm taking a break.

Originally, everyone planned to go with Shirou, but they gave up after Shirou persuaded them.

Shirou's reasoning was simple: everyone is usually very tired from work, so they should take advantage of any time to rest, and going back to take a shower would be a good idea.

The real reason was that Shirou was worried that the group would be targeted if they went to the market, since it was quite close to some gangs.

In the Lower City District, or rather the Slums, it's best to avoid letting Penguin Logistics staff get close if there's nothing wrong with it. According to them and Isv, there are many people there who frequently cause trouble for Penguin Logistics.

If it's a supermarket, he wouldn't mind. Although the group might just grab a bunch of snacks and cookies, the owner will pay for everything, so it doesn't matter.

As the old saying goes, the boss is generous!

"We need to hurry, I asked Jie to reserve a batch of fresh ones for me."

After parting ways with the Penguin Logistics, Shirou checked the time and realized it was getting late.

He remembered that he had other work to do that evening, and he couldn't let it drag on until the other person's time.

Jie, the seemingly fierce seafood stall owner, was someone Shirou thugs. After several exchanges, they exchanged phone numbers, and he promised to notify Shirou first if there were any good items.

Shirou naturally doesn't lose out in this situation, and Yoshi can also push the goods out, making it a win-win situation.

Shirou quickened his pace and soon arrived at the market.

Because it was a bit late when they arrived, some vendors had already started packing up, so Shirou quickly went to Zi's vendors first.