Pick Me Up!

Chapter 13: Laying the Groundwork (1) Part 2

For 1-star individuals without any special skills, if they are sent out randomly, it usually ends in a simple brawl. Naturally, in such cases, the survival rate of heroes hits rock bottom.

Thats when the concept of party composition based on the principle of balance emerged.

First, the swordsman takes the lead and assumes the role of a tank with a shield and sword.

The spearman assists the swordsman from mid-range, serving as a secondary tank and dealer.

And the archer takes the main role in sniping and dealing damage from long range.

If role distribution is carried out organically, not only combat power but also survival rates skyrocket. That is, if the roles are properly fulfilled.

Shall we see your skills?

I lifted my wooden shield and took hold of my wooden sword.

Aaron stood there, holding a spear, looking uncertain.

What are you doing? Arent you prepared to fight?

Fi-fighting? Arent you going to teach me first?

You expect me to teach you when Ive never even held a spear before?

Well then

I learned on my own too. You can learn on your own as well. Be grateful that theres someone to spar with. When I first came here I fought against scarecrows alone.

Aaron adjusted his stance, but his frightened expression was evident.

Hyah!

Aaron shouted with a strange vigor as he thrust his spear forward.

His body was filled with tension, and he closed both his eyes. As I took a step to the side, the spear cut through the air.

It wasnt a fight of life and death.

If he gets scared like this in a simple spar, how would he fare in an actual battle?

I swiftly pulled the spearhead toward me with my left hand, holding the shield.

Aaron stumbled and fell to the ground.

Ugh ugh

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Get up. Is this all youve got? If I were a monster, youd already be defeated.

I-Ill get up.

Its inevitable for his stance to be awkward.

To a skilled individual, even I would appear hopelessly clumsy. The problem lies in his mindset. Theres no drive. No desire to win. No cool-headedness in seeking weaknesses.

It only appears as if hes forcing himself to do it because he doesnt want to die.

An hour passed.

Hah, hah, hah

Aaron lay sprawled on the floor of the training camp. His chest moved up and down without a moments rest. In contrast, I had only broken a sweat.

Theres almost a double stat difference between me at level 7 and Aaron at level 1.

However, no matter how much my body and skills may be superior, its somewhat disheartening that he cant even touch me. Its not like the difference is overwhelmingly vast.

Get up. Lets go again.

I-I cant anymore

Well then, dont come tomorrow.

Aaron turned his body over and slowly got up. His whole body was covered in sweat.

Jenna said, Shouldnt we take a break?

Im not planning to carry your baggage. If you cant keep up, Ill leave you behind.

Ugh, ugh

Aaron held the spear unsteadily.

Do you have any family?

M-My younger sister is waiting.

Youre better off than me. I have no one.

I flicked my wooden sword.

If youre going to do it half-heartedly because you feel sorry, dont do it at all. If you come out like that, youll die at the hands of a monster. Itll be much more painful than dying through synthesis. Do you understand?

I I want to protect my sister

Protect her? You need to go back alive first!

Aarons gaze suddenly changed.

Thats more like it.

Im coming!

After the training ended, Jenna took the completely exhausted Aaron to the dormitory.

Although he still couldnt land a hit on me, Aaron achieved the feat of making me use a shield. He even started attempting techniques like swinging rather than just thrusting. It was progress. If he polished his skills a bit more, I wouldnt have to worry about him holding us back.

The next morning, Aaron joined the training ranks.

He was far behind us, huffing and puffing while carrying the sandbag, but he didnt seem to have any intention of giving up. He perked up whenever his sister was mentioned.

After lunch, we began the sparring session.

This time, Aaron sparred with Jenna instead of me. Jenna needed a secondary weapon in case she dropped her arrows or couldnt use her bow. Luckily, there was a decent wooden dagger available.

Spear and dagger.

There was no comparison in reach or power between the weapons, and Jenna had never handled a dagger before either, but she consistently overwhelmed Aaron.

Why is she a 1-star?

I felt that the ranking system was unreasonable.

After that days training came to an end, Aaron returned to the dormitory with a self-deprecating expression.

I went easy on him.

Dont get cocky.

I flicked Jennas forehead.

It hurts. Why did you do that? Im your first subordinate!

Did I ever ask you to become my subordinate? Tsk, tsk.

I stuck out my tongue and walked out to the plaza. Jenna hurriedly followed.

You know it was a joke! Youre such a bully.

Anyway, come with me. I have something to do.

What is it?

Youll find out if you come along.

I stood in front of the steel gate at the corner of the plaza. The plaque on the gate read Storage.

Iselle, open the storage.

[Wait!]

Creak

With an old sound, the gate opened.

We entered the storage. Inside, there was a large metal rack with hundreds of compartments. Most of the compartments were empty, but there were scattered items in some of them. At the entrance of the storage, there was a wheeled cart.

So its like this.

I pulled the cart at the entrance and pushed it towards Jenna.

Follow me with this.

What are you planning to do?

Stop asking questions.

I dragged the complaining Jenna and walked towards a corner of the racks. In the top compartment, there was a package wrapped in brown paper, resembling a bundle. I took out the package and inspected its contents.

[Iron Ore (C)]

Inside the package, there were iron ingots.

I placed the paper-wrapped iron ore into the cart. Looking at other compartments, there were also leather and timber. I selected a few and placed them inside.

[Han () has exported 6 Iron Ore (C), 3 Leather (C), and 4 Cardboard (C) from the storage.]

Before I knew it, the cart was full.

I took Jenna and walked back to the plaza.

Open the armory.

[Yes!]

The armory doors began to open.

What on earth are you planning?

We cant keep using old iron swords forever, can we?

We had the materials, the blacksmithy was open, and autonomous actions were enabled.

So naturally,

we had to make weapons.

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