Chapter 55: No Cheating, Okay?

The size of each of the ten paths differed considerably in size, and the three holes that Haku entered had plenty of room to move around.

There were quite a lot of glow worms, so visibility was quite good. There were no particular traps designed for him — not that there were any.

Suddenly, an arrow flew from a small hole in the wall. However, the arrowhead did not pierce Haku’s flesh. He had hardened his white fur, so it was bounced off and fell.

‘Mu, that’s dangerous, you know? I wish you would stop doing that’

As he walked on, complaining, a strange sound reached him from ahead, a cracking sound. A giant praying mantis, not much bigger than Haku, lifts its mantis and threatens him.

‘Ei’

“———!?”

Haku walks again, dismembering the limb of the giant praying mantis with a powerful body blow from the front. The path is straight, and the end is not yet in sight. Halfway through, Haku turns around and stops moving on the spot.

It was because he could smell a human behind him. His sense of smell was right, and what came was Wax, one of the Great Swords of Annihilation.

“Guess Chap’s smell mask ran out, that’s why you can sense my presence”

‘So, you guys were hiding somewhere in the open space earlier and came after us individually. But to fight you, of all people!’

Of all members, he’s the one Haku hates the most. He’s insulting the people Haku’s traveling with — Shion and Aria — after all. Calling them a coward and a failure of the society who shouldn’t be taken seriously because they’re traveling with a Familiar.

“So my words have touched the heart of the beast, too. I can’t help but be happy”

‘Haaah, you’re not going to retract your previous statement anyway, are you?’

“You knew already. The leader seemed wary of you a lot, but if it’s against a beast, the mighty me don’t feel like losing. Come here”

‘Well, then…’

“Wha——?!”

Wax was surprised by the unexpected force of the thrust. He immediately put his arms behind his back and took Haku’s body blow with his torso. His body was blown away about ten meters by the power that could kill even a giant praying mantis with a single blow.

Normally, the fight would be over right then and there, but Wax immediately got up and showed that he was not affected.

“It’s a hell of a body blow, but it’s nothing I can’t handle”

‘It’s probably body-enhancing magic. Hmmm, but ……’

The feeling when it hit the flesh was not that of a human. As for Haku, he hold his strength back from when he did with the mantis because he was dealing with a human. Wax, who didn’t know this, looked triumphant.

“GAHAHAHA!! The fox is losing! This mighty body of mine can even withstand flames!! Wanna try it?”

‘Nah, I’ll just attack like that again’

Haku attacked again, kicking the ground with all four feet with a dull thud. Wax did the same as before, putting his hands behind his back with the bracelets fitted and sticking out his chest.

The same phenomenon happens again as before.

“What’s the matter, White Fox? You’re way weaker than before. Now, it’s my time to attack”

Haku tolerates Wax as he runs to close the gap. There are several ways to get in his way, but Haku takes no action.

Both of Wax’s fists have turned to iron as he turns and tries to make a fist.

“No matter how strong monsters are in front of this iron fist, their bones will be crushed. Prepare yourself!”

Boom! Boom!

A heavy fist was struck in rapid succession, both shots hitting Haku in the torso. Wax let out a loud laugh at the perfect strike.

“GAHAHAHA!! This is my skill, Killer Iron Fist!!… Killer…”

Wax froze with his mouth open when he realized that he was being looked down upon coldly. Normally, when someone punches you from the side, you’d twist around a bit, but there was none of that.

In addition, he was puzzled as to why his fist, which he had supposedly transformed into iron, hurt.

‘Is it really body enhancement magic?’

Wax was startled by that comment.

“In a town, I visited before, there was a pickpocket who could turn invisible. He claimed to be a master of invisibility magic. But in fact, it wasn’t magic at all, it was the power of a piece of piercing”

As he said this, Haku set his eyes on Wax’s bracelet. He had been wondering about the earlier movement of his arm backward. His arm was also supposed to be hardened, but when he thought about what that move was for, Haku concluded that he wanted to protect the bracelet.

‘Kufufu, so you put two of them on and made them hard?’

“Damn it ……!”

Haku’s claw strike was precisely placed on Wax’s arm as he tried to escape. The bracelet, though made of metal, was easily broken. Both of them.

The look of despair on Wax’s face proves that Haku’s guess was correct.

‘Now then, let’s use body blow again’

“Wait, wait, wait. Don’t do that”

‘Okay, I’ll stop’

“Eh… Really?”

‘Yes. I’ll just use this instead’

BOOM! Wax, who had been hit squarely by the sharply swung tail attack, was blown away like a ball hit with a bat and bounced on the ground several times before collapsing.

When Haku approached him and looked into his face, muttering I’m hungry, Wax was blowing bubbles from his mouth and fainted.

‘If you had trained properly and not cheated, you might have had a different result. In the end, it’s not the tools you can rely on, it’s you. …… he’s not even listening. It’s working, but he’s not listening[1]. Pfft!’

Laughing at his joke, Haku resumed his journey on the third hole.

[1]Here are the words /// 効いてはいるけど聞いてない ///… since 聞いて and 効いて spelled the same while having different meaning… welp, I did my best

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