The Ladder Again
“K-Kimishima, maybe I need to finish it off after all. It looks like I’m the one who climbed the Ladder.”
“Huff… huff…”
“Hm? Kimishima?”
When there was no response from Kimishima, I turned around and saw Kimishima, her face pale, staggering behind me. What’s going on? I supported Kimishima, who looked like she could collapse at any moment, and we both sat down.
“Are you okay? Did that monster get to you?”
“I’m… fine. But… let me rest… a bit…”
“Oh, okay… Take your time. Yes, water… Should I open your bag?”
While holding Kimishima, who seemed on the brink of losing consciousness, I leaned against a nearby tree. I opened Kimishima’s bag and took out her water bottle.
“Here, have a drink.”
“Thank you… I… might lose consciousness… again…”
I tried to give her some water, but Kimishima continued to move her hand as if searching while keeping her eyes closed, touching the tree. After a while, branches and leaves extended and covered us like a willow. Amazing. She seems to be getting used to it gradually. But I didn’t want to push Kimishima too hard in her current condition.
“It’s alright now. Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Yes…”
Once the tree camouflage was complete, I opened Kimishima’s water bottle and brought it to her lips. However, she didn’t drink from it and lost consciousness.
What’s… happening? Could it be low blood sugar or something? Her lips were turning blue. I lifted her hand to check her nails, and they seemed pale too. I checked her clothes to see if there were any signs of blood, but there didn’t seem to be any. Could she have been exposed to some kind of poison from that frog-like creature?
I didn’t know what to do and held Kimishima tightly as she shivered from the cold. Even though my own body was burning with heat, I couldn’t help but wish that my warmth could somehow comfort Kimishima.
….
….
30 minutes passed, and my body temperature had significantly dropped. But Kimishima was still peacefully asleep inside the makeshift tent of branches. While her complexion was still a bit off, her lips seemed to have regained some color.
Despite the phenomenon that seemed to indicate my own climb up the Ladder, I couldn’t celebrate at all due to Kimishima’s deteriorating condition.
“Hang in there… we’ll definitely make it out…”
In the distance, I heard the roar of a monster. I held Kimishima tighter in my arms.
….
….
How long had it been since then? Has it been 3-4 hours? The sun had already crossed its zenith. Kimishima was still asleep. What on earth was happening to her? I couldn’t help but think of the worst scenarios.
“Nh… nn…”
“K-Kimishima?”
“…Ah… Sensei… I’m sorry…”
“Don’t force yourself to talk. Do you want some water?”
I took out Kimishima’s water bottle and opened it. I gently brought it to her lips, and she took a few sips. Her complexion seemed to have improved. I sighed with relief, finally feeling a bit at ease.
“Take your time. With this sturdy tent, there shouldn’t be any problems.”
“Yes…”
After drinking some water and feeling a bit better, Kimishima closed her eyes again.
She opened them after another hour had passed.
“I’m sorry…”
“What are you apologizing for? Don’t worry about it. Don’t push yourself.”
“But I think I’m feeling better now…”
“I-Is that so? Your complexion has improved quite a bit.”
“I’ve been causing you so much worry…”
“No, don’t think like that. Anyway, I think I’ve climbed up another step on the Ladder. If my basic stats increase a bit more, it’ll be even easier.”
“Another step on the Ladder? Sensei, you’re fast.”
“Yeah. Wait a minute… Oh, my rank has gone up too. Look… wow. I’m around 9.8 million now, and the digits have decreased. Kimishima, you were in the 9 million range too, right? I’m about to catch up soon. Haha… maybe I’ve already caught up.”
had been worrying without understanding the situation, but Kimishima’s slight recovery lifted my spirits. I became more talkative than usual. Still, I couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed. Had I really been moving up the Ladder at such an invisible speed? I couldn’t tell.
“Hehehe… My rank is… maybe just a bit lower than 9 million. How much was it exactly…”
Seemingly feeling much better, Kimishima chuckled while raising herself up and checking her card on her arm.
“Huh…”
“What’s wrong?”
“Sorry about this…”
“Huh? Hey, what’s going on?”
“It’s just… my condition… it seems like I climbed a step on the Ladder too.”
“Eh? I-Is that so? No need to apologize…”
“…I climbed up to around 1.5 million.”
“Huh? Seriously?”
Yeah, in this world’s standards. Young people seem to be like that… But still, it’s a bit embarrassing. Is the difference in rankings really due to magic, or is it a physical difference? I don’t know for sure, but it’s quite tough to think that even after climbing up two steps on the Ladder, I’m still not at Kimishima’s level before climbing.
Moreover, Kimishima’s ranking after just one step up the Ladder seems like I’d need to climb two more steps to catch up. She mentioned that it’s relatively easy to climb up to two steps, and I wondered when she’d climb up next.
….
…
Time passed, and it felt like quite a long time had passed. We had been active since early morning, and there was still time until sunset. After Kimishima mentioned that she could move again, I thought it would be best to distance ourselves from the farm as much as possible. So, I started moving while nibbling on some portable food.
“Sensei?”
“…What is it?”
“Are you angry?”
“Huh? No, I’m not angry at all.”
“…Is that so?”
“…Yeah.”
I was shocked by the rankings, but I’m not angry. Kimishima would find it easier to escape now that she had climbed a step on the Ladder. There was no reason for me to be angry. Yeah, I’m not without shock, but…
“…Are you sure you’re not angry?”
“Huh? I told you, I’m not angry at all. If I were to get angry, it would be quite something.”
“Hehehe…”
“Hahaha…”
Hmm… Did I really look that shocked? I need to be more careful.
“…”
“…”
“…When you draw your sword…”
“Hm?”
“I can’t see it at all.”
“Eh?”
“It’s really fast. In the blink of an eye, your figure blurs, and the monsters are already cut down.”
“…I-Is that so?”
Huh? I meant, I was actually conscious of my speed when drawing the sword, but I didn’t think it was so fast that it couldn’t be seen… Was it really invisible?
“Yes. Sensei, I’m sure various things were concentrated in that split second when you drew your sword.”
“I-I guess so…but…”
“Physical abilities, magical power, even if my ranking is lower than yours or even if I were below 1 million. If you could condense and use them like that, you were probably much stronger than me in reality.”
“Much stronger?”
“I thought so!”
“Ahh…”
Hmm… Was it really that fast that it couldn’t be seen? I didn’t realize it myself. But more than that, I felt a sense of embarrassment about my own weakness that made me worry about my students.
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