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Chapter 4.1: Hope And Despair (1)
Vol. 1 - Chapter 4.1: Hope And Despair (1)
The Thunder-Lance Charge training grounds, located in the vast estate of the Syness Castle.
In a clearing larger than the athletic gymnasium from Takashi's high school, Nephira introduced him to the many demons lined up.
"From today onwards, Suzuki will be part of the Thunder-Lance Charge as my familiar. He may look human, but he is a demon at heart. Everyone gets along with him."
(I--Is this really all right?)
Takashi was a little nervous, fearing pushback from the demons.
"Ah, I don't mind at all!"
"You are Nephira's familiar, aren't you? Then I'm not one to complain!!"
"Uhh! Congratulations on your enlistment!"
Demons and demonesses, as well as fiends of various races, all welcomed Takashi with open arms.
(What a relief! I knew it! My ability is amazing! That's right, even Excella praised me, so maybe I should have more self-confidence!)
Takashi was welcomed with friendly applause. However---
"Tsk. Why the HELL is a human in the Thunder-Lance charge?"
A low voice echoed. A serpent-headed fiend with a hideous face spat on the ground. He walked up to Takashi and brought his vicious face close to him.
"You are an EYESORE. Human."
"Ugh..."
Overwhelmed by the pressure, Takashi could not say anything back. Wh--Why? This had never happened before! All the demons had been kind to me!
"Enough, Gharaga. Suzuki is one of us from today onwards. Besides, this is my decision as the commander."
Nephila glared at the snake-headed Gharaga. Gharaga then snorted with a "phun" and walked away. Nephira let out a small sigh.
"Well then, Iron-Rank soldiers. I entrust you with Suzuki's training."
With these instructions, Nephira also left the training site.
After Gharaga and Nephila left, the remaining fiends split into smaller groups and began swinging their swords and sparring with each other.
While he was at a loss as to what to do, three goblin soldiers came close to him and smiled.
"Nice to meet you, buddy. For a short while, Suzuki, you're gonna train with us." 𝘣𝘦𝑑𝘯𝘰𝘷𝑒𝘭．𝑛𝘦𝘵
"Ple--Please treat me well."
He was intimidated by Gharaga earlier, so he hesitated a bit to reply. One of the goblin soldiers lightly tapped Takashi on the shoulder.
"Don't sweat it, buddy. Gharaga's head is missing three, or maybe four, screws."
"Yeah, right. He killed fellow demons in training before."
"And he thinks of humans as nothing more than food, ya' know. If he's hungry, he will snatch and eat anyone's slave or baby."
The goblin soldiers talked about Gharaga. Takashi was horrified as he listened.
(H--He is such a dangerous guy! Is that why my ability was less effective!?)
It was only due to his ability to be favored by demons that he overcame and survived during conquest day. If not for his ability, Gharaga might have killed him that day... Takashi was horrified at the thought.
"Well, Gharaga is an Adamantine-Rank Soldier. I don't think he'll ever train with Suzuki."
"Silver-Rank soldier...?"
"There are different ranks of soldiers in the Thunder-Lance Charge. Iron-Rank soldiers, followed by Bronze-Rank soldiers, and Silver-Rank soldiers. Above that, the Adamantine-Rank soldiers."
(So that means that Gharaga must be pretty strong...)
"Uhm. So, right now, I'm a Bronze-Rank soldier, huh?"
"No. Suzuki just joined, so he's a 'Stone-Rank' soldier."
"Stone-Rank!?"
"Hahaha. Everyone is like that at the beginning. But if you work hard, you can become an Iron-Rank soldier right away."
"Ya, or rather, we shouldn't be laughing either. We must become one rank higher as Bronze-Rank soldiers as soon as possible."
The Goblins continued by telling Takashi that the Meru-Kiru sisters were like division captains who united these soldiers and thus existed above and beyond the clouds.
"So, how does one rise in the ranks?"
"Excluding getting glory by war merit, the fastest way is dueling fellow members. If you challenge a Thunder-Lance Charge member to a duel and win, you get to switch ranks with him."
"I see! Dueling!"
"Hey, hey, hey. First, you must train, Suzuki."
The goblin soldiers laughed as if to admonish Takashi, who was feeling nervous. Takashi laughed no less than they did.
Soon, the goblin soldiers began to swing wooden swords. Takashi, too, received a wooden sword and watched and copied them.
While swinging the wooden sword, Takashi was thinking. His only strength was the ability to be loved by demons. Of course, that alone was not enough. He had to grow stronger and more powerful to survive this terrifying otherworld. Not to mention that he needed to raise his rank in order to save Excella and the others.
(Besides, if I train hard enough, I might even be able to increase my magic and attack power!)
When he was summoned as a hero, the king dismissed him as a poor candidate with low abilities. However, it is a trope in isekai novels that characters with initially low status will work hard to improve their level and become powerful. Although this was not Takashi's preferred genre as a lover of heartwarming isekai novels, he had, of course, read such novels on the Internet.
(All right-o! Let's leave aside heartwarming isekai novels for a while! From now on, it will be the underdog-isekai life!)
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