[The Final Day of Training]
"Boss. Here are the animals you've tasked us with hunting," said a raspy and menacing voice.
Hajime looked down at the pile of monsters in front of him and lifted his head back to the owner of the voice.
"Right, good job, I guess. But didn't I say you only needed to hunt one monster," he said in mild concern.
Another voice responded "Yes you did, but there were other monsters who dared to show hostility to us. So, we killed them," the rabbitman said with visible bloodlust.
Another rabbitmen said with just as much bloodlust "It was so satisfying and fulfilling to hear their screams of pain and suffering!"
It was at this point that Hajime thought to himself, 'Did I go too far?'
Before he could ruminate on that thought for too long, another rabbitman suddenly appeared behind him and spoke.
"Boss, I've got a report. An armored group from the Bear-man tribe have been spotted on the Great Tree's route. We suspect that they intend to ambush us," he said with firm reverence, which caught Hajime off guard a little.
"W-well done," he said a little awkwardly.
Despite the subtle stuttering, the rabbitman beamed with joy, "Please boss, those words are wasted on someone like me!"
Then another rabbitman came up and spoke behind Hajime, "Boss, if you wouldn't mind, why don't you allow us to deal with them ourselves?"
Hajime turned around to look at the rabbitman that addressed him and was once again caught off guard by the difference in aura and presence despite the familiar face.
"Uh, Cam? Is that really you," he asked uncertainly.
Cam smiled sinisterly and said with an edge, "Indeed. Though it feels as though I've been reborn. Not only that, we want to test out our power in dealing with those intruders. We promise not to show anything too pathetic."
"You're confident in yourselves," Hajime asked.
Cam nodded, "Yes sir," he said as he gave a salute.
Hajime sighed and waved his hand in dismissal, "Then I'll leave you to it."
With the green light given to them by Hajime, the rabbit men got fired up as Cam led them.
"Alright everyone! Let's go make some bastards spill some blood!"
The rest of the rabbitmen joined In on the bloodlusting energy and even proceeded to chant, "KILL! KILL! KILL!"
It was at this moment where Hajime had finally concluded in his mind, 'Yeah, I definitely took things too far.'
Just as he had that revelation, he felt the gaze of someone from behind him and sweatdropped. He turned around slowly to find Sargon staring at him stoically and pointedly, holding his cane in front of him with both hands. Hajime raised his hands in defense.
"Before you say anything, I didn't fully know that this specifically would be how things would end afterward."
Sargon raised an eyebrow at the excuse, but then closed his eyes, sighed, and shook his head. Hajime huffed and asked him, a little peeved.
"Did you know this was going to happen?"
Sargon shook his head, "No. But that doesn't matter right now. You've seen their eyes, right?"
It was Hajime's turn to close his eye and sigh, "Yeah, it's the main reason why I discovered I took it way too far with the training I put them under."
Sargon lowered his head a little, "Then you know what needs to be done," he said.
Hajime sighed and nodded his head while waving his hand, "Yeah yeah, I'll apologize," he said as he turned around in the direction of the rabbitmen.
Sargon once again sighed while thinking 'Good grief,' and walked back towards where Yue and Shea were having their final spar.
[A Few Minutes Later]
"Hiiiiiyyyyaaaa!"
Shea shouted while jumping up and carrying a large log, aiming it at Yue's back. Unfortunately, her shout had given away her location and Yue turned to face the oncoming attack as she recited calmly.
"Crimson Javelin."
As soon as she spoke, multiple flaming constructs in the shape of arrows formed and shot towards the thrown log, breaking it in the process. Somehow though, Shea ended up behind Yue a moment after the log had exploded.
"That was a distraction! I've got you now, Yue-san," she said seriously.
Yue however, was unperturbed, "Wind Wall."
The winds around her intensified for a brief moment and propelled her into the air at the last moment, which caused Shea to miss her surprise attack. As Shea tried to recover from her failed attempt at catching Yue off-guard, she heard her speak once again.
"Ice Coffin."
Light blue energy gathered quickly at her hands and then shot out towards Shea at fast speeds. Shea, although seeing the incoming attack, couldn't react fast enough to dodge, and thus was caught in the ice spell. As Yue landed gracefully on the ground, Shea shivered within the ice block.
"Bvrrrrrrrr! So cold! Yue-san, undo the spell, please," Shea begged.
Yue didn't immediately comply with the request and instead put her hands on her hips and let out a smug smile.
"I win."
Shea slumped her head in defeat and then looked up back at her instructor. That's when her eyes widened a bit.
"Hold on, Yue-san! You have a wound on your cheek!"
Yue stared at her blankly, then waved her left hand over her left cheek where the small scratch was, which disappeared after her hand moved away from it.
"What wound?"
Shea, shocked and baffled, said again, "I know there was a scratch on your cheek there! You can't just hide it behind your regeneration! Brrrrrrr! With that being said, hurry up and undo the spell already! I'm freezing," she bemoaned.
[A Few Moments Later]
"Achoo!"
Yue eventually relented in Shea's request to dispel her ice magic, though Shea still seemed to be shivering despite being out of the ice block. Shea, however, didn't let the cold stop her from speaking up with a little bit of hope.
"Y-Y-Y-Y-Yue-san. T-T-This should c-c-count as my win r-r-right? You are going to r-remember the promise you made on the first d-d-day of training, right?"
Yue sweat dropped at the question, but then felt the gaze of someone watching her. She turned to her left and saw Sargon staring her down with the same pointed look he gave Hajime. It was at this point Yue knew that she was going to have to swallow her pride and admit defeat, otherwise he'd never let this go.
Yue sighed and then said, "What's for lunch," before teleporting from the area.
Shea, as typical of her at this point, couldn't help but be gobsmacked at Yue's blatant refusal to acknowledge her victory. She then looked down in sadness, though before she could sulk any further, she felt a hand on her head.
Shea perked up and lifted her head to see who was petting her, only to find Sargon standing there with a smile.
"Don't worry Shea, I'm certain Yue's not the type of person to renege on promises or deals she has made and will keep the one forged with you," he said comfortingly. 'Even if it goes against her pride,' he thought with a wry smile.
Shea looked at him with wide eyes and a blush on her cheeks before turning her head away with embarrassment. Sargon, looking at Shea in this state, couldn't help but think with an amused smile,
'Hmm, how cute.'
"Now then, let's go catch up with Yue and Hajime," he said as he took his hand off her head.
Shea, although a little disappointed by the lack of contact, followed him quickly. When she got up close to him, Sargon spoke again,
"Before I forget, I've got some pointers to share with you in regard to your fight, if you're willing to listen."
Shea looked at him with expected and determined eyes, "Yes, please!"
Sargon once again looked back and thought once again, 'So adorable. If she keeps this up, she'll end up gaining a little bit more favor with me.'
As they walked, Sargon gave Shea some constructive criticism about her final fight with Shea.
"Firstly, I will say that you've certainly improved dramatically compared to the first day of training. Despite your low magic potential, you've quickly comprehended the concept of Body Strengthening Magic. The diversion and sneak tactics you used against Yue weren't bad at all, but your shouting constantly gives yourself away. Learn to keep quiet when sneak attacking your opponent and you'll have greater chances of landing your attacks instead of having them miss or blocked," he said sagely.
Shea smiled wryly and rubbed the back of her head, "I guess I do have a habit of shouting my attacks huh?"
Sargon shook his head while smiling, "You aren't the only one, and I understand the temptation to scream and shout, especially when you feel like you've gained the upper hand. Internalize what you intend to do and act accordingly. In other words, try not to commit any actions that'd mess up what you intend to do, understood?"
Shea nodded resolutely, "Yes, sir."
Sargon chuckled while shaking his head at her militaristic response. Shortly after, they arrived where Hajime and Yue were at, but there was also a 3rd person there standing in front of them, specifically a rabbitman.
"Hey guys," Shea said excitedly.
This caught the attention of the 3 people as they looked towards her, but when the rabbitman looked back, Shea was stunned.
"Wait, father?! Is that you?!"
Cam smiled, "Indeed, and it's not just me, The rest of the Haulia have been reincarnated thanks to the boss," he said as he pointed to the other rabbitmen who also sported similar changes.
This revelation, however, caused great anguish to Shea, "Noooooooooooo! Hajime-san! What happened to them?!"
Hajime, looking a little dreadful, responded, "It's just the result of their training. Anyway, Cam, you sure about this?"
Cam nodded respectfully, "Yes sir! It's visible to us now."
Hajime gestured with his hand, "Then lead the way."
Cam did just that while ushering Shea over. The latter, although still concerned over the abrupt change of her family, still obliged and walked in front next to her father.
Sargon walked over to his companions and asked, "Where are we going?"
Hajime responded, "Cam said the fog has been lifted and they're able to see the Great Tree now. We're going to go check it out and see if we can't get it done and over with."
Sargon nodded, "Very well, let's make haste."
After a few minutes of walking, Cam spoke, "Boss! The Great Tree is just up ahead!"
Hajime nodded, "Good. Stay on guard."
They then arrived at a large, dried up tree with a square stone in front of it. Yue went up to the square stone and noticed something,
"Hajime look. The crest of Orcus."
"It would seem this is the entrance to the Labyrinth, but what do we do now," asked Hajime.
Sargon walked around the square stone and noticed some holes in the back of it.
"Hajime, there's something back here on this stone. Summon the ring of Orcus."
Hajime did as suggested and summoned the ring, which he gave to Sargon, who then place the ring in the hole on the back of the stone. As soon as that happened, the front of the stone lit up and formed letters. The letters formed the words and sentences that read as follows:
"Four Proofs: The Power of Restoration. The guide of those bonds by destiny, to those who have everything, a new trial will be opened."
Hajime scratched his head, "Four proofs? What, does that mean we need to conquer more labyrinths in order to unlock this one?"
Sargon stared, "It would seem so."
Yue walked up to the stone and pressed her hand on it, but nothing happened, "Hmm, looks like the restoration power this labyrinth grants is different from the one I have."
Hajime sighed in annoyance, "Damnit. Then that means we can't even get in here right now. Guess we'll have to go through a few more before coming back here, huh?"
Sargon nodded, "This seems to be our only choice, unfortunately."
Hajime sighed once again before turning to the Haulia tribe, "Alright, well since we can't get in this labyrinth right now, we're going to go find and complete the other ones. Now that we've completed each other's ends of the deal, we're going to head out now. You should be able to defend yourselves competently now with the training you've undergone."
After hearing this news, Shea looked a little worried and concerned.
"Um, Hajime? Could I request something?"
Hajime looked at her with a raised eyebrow while Sargon and Yue had a knowing look,
"What is it?"
Shea spoke again, "I want to go with you on your journey! Please let me go with you 3," she said with expectant eyes.