42 – #042 How to walk (3)
“Professor, isn’t that too fast?”
When I first saw the size of the ball, I expected that the speed would increase to some extent as it got smaller.
However, what I saw now far exceeded my expectations… No, to be honest, it was a sight that made me wonder if it crossed the line too much.
The ball running endlessly in a wide circle was accompanied by an unusual shockwave and roar.
That was the sonic boom phenomenon that occurs when an object jumps over sound, and the scene I saw every time my father threw a spear came into my eyes again, but I couldn’t afford to be soaked in nostalgia.
From now on, I have to catch the ball flying at low speed. That is while moving non-stop on the irregularly moving scaffolding.
“I have to give what I can do as an assignment. How do I do that?”
“From my point of view, it’s something that you can do well with your current level. It’s just that I can’t get the hang of it.”
With that said, Vivian jumped into the circle as if to watch what she was doing.
It wasn’t as much as the flying ball, but the speed of the circle’s movement was also quite fast.
So I thought that when Vivian stepped into the circle, she would just quickly grab the ball with her overwhelming physical ability and come out of the circle.
However, the scenery unfolded was a little different. Vivian was holding out from being bounced out of the circle, using only his physical abilities as much as I could now.
I even closed my eyes and moved on the circle relying on my senses other than sight.
Vivian’s image of doing somersaults, perhaps because she was bored with just moving circles, reminded me of a street acrobatics troupe.
Vivian, who had been moving from one circle to another with rare tricks for a while, came out of the circle lightly catching the ball that was moving at the speed of sound.
“How is it? Can you do it with your own body?”
“… ….”
Even if you want to deny it, you can’t deny it because you actually showed it. Even when she thought she had caught only one, Vivian found two balls stuck between her fingers.
As he threw the ball between his fingers into the circle, the ball began to move vigorously again as if it had been there before, and Vivian nodded his head towards the circle as if to say that it was now your turn.
“… ….”
Vivian simply caught the ball using almost the same physical abilities as me, but I didn’t think I could do it.
So, what I chose was a short-term battle. I don’t have the confidence to hold on in the circle that moves without rest, so let’s grab it as soon as possible and come out.
With that in mind, I tried to pull the ball up as much as I could from the beginning, but as if I had read that thought, the ball moved more violently to get out of my grasp.
“If you try to grab it by force, it won’t work!!”
“Noisy.”
Extreme concentration was required to jump between the circles, making it difficult to respond.
The strategy of ending with a short-term decisive battle has long since fizzled out, and it was barely possible to go back and forth in the circle, let alone catch the ball.
“Ah….”
I somehow managed to squeeze my mental strength and go back and forth, but eventually that also came to an end.
Trapped on my own, I fell face down and was kicked out of the circle ugly.
With my face on the ground, I spoke to Vivian, who was still smirking on top.
From noble mtl dot com
“… If you laugh, you will get angry.”
“Don’t laugh! It might be the first time!! Then teach me how to do it….”
“It’s okay.”
“Huh?”
It won’t be very persuasive to say this after failing ugly, but I feel like I’ll get the hang of it with a few more tries.
Rather than listening to the answer next to me, it would be better for me to realize how to do it alone for later.
“Is it because you’re angry?”
“Am I an app? It’s okay, so you can go in first and sleep. Because it will take a while.”
“Okay then… But if you just go, I’ll give you a hint because you’re a teacher. Think carefully about the movement I made in the circle. Because nothing is meaningless.”
“Then what is the meaning of somersault?”
“No, I just did it once to get in shape.”
“… ….”
*****
After that, Vivian left without saying anything, and I threw myself into the circle over and over again.
Then, over and over again, I put my head on the ground and stepped back into the circle.
To a stranger, it might look like he’s constantly using his hands for something hopeless, but a little while ago, the ball just barely grazed his hand.
It’s still a distant future to catch the two balls, but I’m moving forward little by little.
“Ugh… !!”
Perhaps the position of the bump on the face was bad, as the pain spread all over the face and blood flowed from the nose, tears leaked out involuntarily.
As I was about to go back inside, wiping the blood off my sleeve, someone from behind grabbed me by the sleeve and stopped me.
“Wipe off your nose before going in. I kept watching, but it wouldn’t work if I tried blindly.”
“Professor Marianne….”
Saying that, she handed me a cold wet towel.
Certainly, it wouldn’t work if I did it blindly, as she said, so I accepted her favor and wiped my nosebleeds with a wet towel and then wiped my face as well.
“Thank you.”
“What, isn’t it her job to support students who are working hard? Don’t worry. But it seems like you keep making the same mistake over and over again….”
“… It seems you’ve been watching for quite some time.”
“The sound is so loud, how could I not know? Now, look over there, aren’t there other guests besides the original girl?”
When I looked in the direction Marianne pointed, several professors were watching me with interest.
Looking at that figure, it seems that it has been around for a long time, but I didn’t notice it because I was so focused on this training.
“If it’s okay with you, would it be okay if the original girl wants to give her a little advice?”
“No, it’s okay…. I hate to say this after failing, but I know how.
“Oh… Then how can that vulgar woman tell you how she grabbed that gong using only her powers like yours?”
“… ….”
It was only when she fell to the ground and saw Vivien’s footprints on the ground that she noticed how Vivian had caught the ball with just as much force as I did.
Unlike mine, Vivien’s footprints were almost only on the tips of her toes, not to the point of lifting her heels, but almost to the touches of her thumbs.
No matter how mana-enhanced his body was, it was clear that moving at high speed for several minutes with just that much contact would put a heavy strain on his feet.
But why did Vivian move vigorously for several minutes and not show any signs of fatigue or strain on her ankles?
“At first, I thought it was just a physical difference. But that doesn’t prove that I can do it.”
“Okay, then what do you think the answer is?”
“The moment I landed, I let the impact on my ankle flow to the ground. Then you can keep moving with minimal strain on your ankles and knees.”
“That is correct.”
She realized that, and she kept trying, but she was troubled because she kept failing to catch her ball.
How to solve her stamina problem, but her catching a ball moving at the speed of sound while stepping on an erratic circle is still unresolved.
“I see where the blockage is. Then she recalled her words that sleazy woman had of her. Didn’t I tell her to take a good look at her behavior? How was she doing that girl?”
“Professor….”
She had her eyes closed at some point. She thought at first that she just said she could do this because of her bragging nature.
But if there was another reason, would that be the secret to catching the ball unlike me?
To find out the secret, I got up and stepped into the circle once more.
Then, more often than before, he slammed his face into the ground and got up again.
When I closed my eyes, my senses naturally focused on hearing, touch, and Vivian’s mana carved into the ground.
Thanks to this, I was able to feel the position of the ball flying at high speed and the circle engraved on the floor without looking at it directly, but this was not enough.
Expanding your senses with the feeling of becoming one with the world more closely.
“… ….”
*****
How much time has passed since then?
Two orange balls smaller than peas were placed in my hand as the morning sun just came out from over the horizon and tickled my eyes.
I don’t even know when this ball came into my hands. I must have kept my mind as sharp as possible, but when I woke up, it was already morning.
– Clap clap.
A small applause came from behind her and she turned her head to see the sleepy-looking Marianne again holding a towel and clapping as if she had been watching all night.
“Congratulations. Looking at the growth of the students, I feel like I am not worthy of my age and I am about to shed tears.”
“… I lost a bit of my memory, but am I the one who caught this?”
“Hmm? It must have been quite engrossing. I’ve been running around for hours, but isn’t it tiring?”
“Not really.”
Although it is said that he strengthened his body with ki, it was strangely normal that he would have put a considerable load on his legs and physical strength while moving so vigorously.
“Anyway, you finally did it. Congratulations again.”
“Ah, yes… thank you.”
Saying that, she handed me a towel, just like when Marianne had her nosebleed.
My face was drenched in sweat at the time, so I wiped it with a towel and let out a deep sigh as I brushed my bangs off.
“Whoa….”
“…… Uh?”