Nurturing the Hero to Avoid Death-Chapter 10.1: I Had Outdoor Summer Training (Part I)

The sun shines brightly into the classroom.

Both the teacher who’s standing in front of the blackboard and the students who sit behind their desks wear their summer outfits and uniform, feeling nice and breezy.

Among them is a dude in a summer hoodie and flashy swim trunks. Moreover, the zipper is pulled all the way down, and he’s not wearing a shirt. Does this guy think he’s already on vacation? Showing off muscles when it’s sweltering. Go dive into the nearby river and never return. Apart from the fact that I don’t have as much muscle, I’m not jealous. T-that’s right. Damn it.

When I’m under particularly strong sunshine, my skin starts to burn quickly. So I have to wear a thin cardigan, long-sleeved shirt, and breezy long pants even during the summer. So I never get to have a nice tan, even though I’m usually outdoors. The girls are all jealous of my pale skin, but I’m not at all happy. It’s the color of light snow! Tell me what kind of man would be pleased about that.

I sigh heavily.

Ah… I’m depressed.

And now, summer has finally arrived. That event… also occurs in the summer.

I shift my attention back to the classroom. The teacher in charge is explaining an event that will occur in one week: “Summer outdoor training.”

As I listen to the teacher talk, I try to recall my excitement while playing Arcadia. Ah, that was a fun time. I didn’t have to suffer back then. Currently I am not excited, but rather anxious and afraid, stomach churning.

From my memories, this upcoming event is hard to beat.

Here’s an overview of what’s to come.

In the summer of their third grade, there will be a school event called “Summer Outdoor Training.” It’ll last for three days and two nights.

Basically, an event where people practice what they have learned up until now in a remote mountain, where they would not disturb other people. Sounds fine to me.

…The problem comes during the second night of training.

An event that’s always incorporated into these sorts of school-related summer activities—the test of courage.

It’s an event that makes you keenly feel that it was a pain to plan all the details out, so you just go with whatever, and the teachers are too busy to help out.

By the way, I hate it.

It’s too scary to go to the bathroom at night! But no one else is scared besides me!? Those who say they’re not afraid are lying.

But though I’m not fine with it, that’s not the problem.

The real problem is the three bullies. And Lian…

At Alfred’s recent height spurt, Lian and the three bullies would devise a plan to take down this person who’s growing fast like a high-speed highway.

When the teacher asks for help for the test of courage, Lian will undertake the troublesome supporting role.

But that was so that when it’s Alfred’s turn, they’ll pretend to scare him and push him off the cliff.

So scary. But sometimes kids do terrible things.

And Alfred, who was shoved off a dark cliff all alone, will cry out for help. The scenario that Lian and his three goons thought up is terrifying, where simple, clear, child-specific cruelty is glimpsed.

Still, I don’t think he’d be the type to cry… More likely, he’ll be quietly angry… How scary.

This is just the beginning. From here on is the main event that will cause my stomach to wreak havoc on me.

There’s a demon-repelling fence on this side of the cliff. So that area is relatively safe as long as you don’t cross the fence. Of course, if there’s a powerful demon or a bloody and ferocious demon, that’s a different story.

Read this at perpetualdaydreams.com

Also, there’s no such limitations on the other side of the fence.

It gets better. The place where Alfred falls is near a nest of demon dogs. Surrounded by tens of starving demon dogs, he must fight his way out alone.

By the way, I failed this event twice. If you don’t navigate well, you’ll be swarmed from all directions and chased down. And eaten alive.

Then… the words “game over” will appear on the screen mercilessly.

I shiver. If it’s just a game, then I can keep trying until I beat that part. But in this world, there is no redo button. If you die, then it’s just “Game Over” for you.

I’m troubled, thinking about how to avoid such a dangerous event. The problem is that if I do manage to avoid it, the storyline might diverge into something I have no knowledge of.

If we follow the plot, after Alfred defeats the demon dogs, he will receive an item that is integral to the main storyline. Nearby the den of demon dogs should be the scorched and weathered corpse of a priest. And next to the corpse should be a ring.

Goddess Faltie’s Ring of Divine Protection.

This event item is absolutely essential in order to obtain the Sword of Dawn and Twilight. Without the ring, you won’t be able to reach where the sword is held, let alone defeat the Goddess Faltie, who is the guardian of that sword.

Needless to say, it’s an extremely critical ring.

And without the Sword of Dawn and Twilight, you can’t take down the Demon King. So if I avoid the test of courage event, that means Alfred will not get the ring. Which in turn means he won’t be able to defeat the Demon King, leading the future to a bad end.

Now that I’ve thought about it, not avoiding this event is the best course of action.

However, after Alfred’s been pushed down the cliff… I’ll have to rely on him. Whatever he does, he has to clear the event in one try. Because if he dies, it’s over.

I can’t let him die. I have to think of a way to help him clear the event safely… but right now, I can’t think of a single thing.

Ahh. My stomach hurts.