Episode 14: Decisive showdown; the finals!

The guild secretary stood there menacingly; he really gave off the seasoned adventurer vibe. Shizuka and Taro were nervous about what would happen next, the man was well armed and his mana arm could compensate for any lack of mobility. Standing there, it appeared he had no openings in his guard

guild secretary: you girls of the white cloth, you can leave now, you’re not supposed to be fighting monsters yet, unless you wanna join in on a class of just how scary this old badass can be ha-ha!

based on Shizuka and Taro’s scared accounts of the “hand monster”, Sidra and Nagye knew they would not be of much help

Sidra: very well then. Taro, Shizuka, I pray for the goddess to bless you with power and courage

the two newbies jogged away, leaving only the “heroes” and the “monster” in the scene, the showdown was inevitable. Both parties stared at each other, waiting for the first move

guild secretary: hmm, you do well in not being hasty, but sometimes the best approach is to attack with overwhelming power!, hah!

one of the maces in his back was lifted by the mana arm he effortlessly formed, and was thrown like a spear towards Shizuka. She was quick to manifest her shield again, but she saw how it would be cracked like last time, remembered Taro’s shield tilt idea for half a second, and tilted the shield just before the mace impacted, deflecting it to one side. the shield unharmed

Shizuka and Taro: (it worked!)

guild secretary: oh?, then how about this!

The mana hand grabbed the second long mace and swung it from Shizuka’s more exposed side. There was no time to move the shield nor create another one, so Shizuka did a front flip jump above the swing to dodge it, landing in a sort of victory pose with arms extended and raised

guild secretary: you have some nerve to taunt a monster like that ha-ha! you truly are a damn genius!

Shizuka: (why did I do that?!, it was just by reflex and it might have made things worse!)

Taro: (she really is a damn genius, if there’s someone with cheat skills in another world, it’s her. but we’re on the defensive, if we stay like this, he’ll find a way to overpower us, we need an opening!, but his mana hand is in the way)

Taro got into pitcher position, aimed at the secretary’s bald head, and fired his mana enhanced rock throw. the secretary was quick to block with his shield, but that meant his vision was obstructed

guild secretary: (hmm?, that packed quite the punch, good thing I don’t underestimate anyone)

Shizuka: nice Taro!, I got this!!

Shizuka sprinted at the secretary, the hand could not catch up with her fast enough, she was closing the distance quickly

Taro: (he’s probably an expert in short range fighting, judging by his shield and short mace, in that case, we need to disrupt his guard)

Taro remembered playing a game with an annoying shield enemy that blocked all attacks and then countered. the way to beat him was by aiming at his legs, which were the only unprotected and vulnerable part

Taro: (I got this, we will win our first battle in another world!)

Taro aimed for the second shot; the target was the secretary’s good leg. He took a deep breath, enhanced himself with mana like never before, and launched his most devastating strike yet

the rock whizzed to the side of the target, the shot had failed

Taro: (no! shooting at the legs is harder than I thought, I really need to practice more, get it together!, Shizuka needs help!)

Shizuka was now face to face with the secretary, who rammed his shield against her, then swung his short mace, forcing her to dodge bending her back, matrix style. just when she was about to reposition, the mana hand got a hold of her

guild secretary: not bad coming all the way here, but don't think that’s enough to do something, hah!

Shizuka was thrown up in the air, she could only scream. Meanwhile Taro was grabbing rocks to make his next shots. before he could get into position, the hand caught Shizuka by the leg and swung her directly at Taro, knocking them both out

Taro and Shizuka: uwagh!

Taro: (I guess winning our first battle in another world is out the window… this really is not an anime…)

*--------------------------------------------

Taro was suddenly in a familiar place, he was inside a wooden house entrance, there was a pair of shoes lying on the floor. The background sounds were jarring at first, but then he remembered, it was birds and cicadas under the hot summer sun

Taro: Is this… am I in my parents’ home?

someone familiar greeted him, a voice he hadn’t heard in a long time

Taro’s mom: Taro? Welcome back, how was school?

Taro: (I was starting to forget the voice of my mother, has it really been that long since I was transported? And since I went to study in the city?, wait a minute, I’m wearing my high school clothes, did I travel back in time? or is this a memory? or a dream?)

Taro just stood there in disbelief, with a knot in his throat

Taro’s mom: what's the matter? looks like you saw a ghost, come in, food’s almost ready

before he knew it, Taro was at the table, staring at his food

Taro: (is this really a dream?, it feels so real though) umm, where’s dad?

Taro’s mom: hmm? he’s in the field, it's reaping season, don't you remember?

Taro: oh, yeah, I was just a little… the sun, it’s too hot, it made me drowsy

Taro’s mom: oh dear, are you really going out later like that?, you should take some extra water, and a hat

Taro: going out?, where?

Taro’s mom: oh, I thought you were going to play with Goro and the others again, you barely spend time in the house anymore, and there’s so much to do

Taro: (oh, yeah, I used to go play baseball with my friends after eating. I had also forgotten how much my mom nagged me about helping around the house, if she only knew all the chores I do for the church… Why did I not help her?, I’m pretty good with chores) what do you need to do today?

Taro’s mom: huh? well, everything, sweep and mop the house, water the plants, wash the dishes, clean your room. I just did laundry, but cooking takes so much time

Taro: I’ll take care of it?

Taro’s mom: huh? what do you mean?, the dishes? you should clean your room instead

Taro: yeah, the dishes, and my room, and clean the floor, and the plants

Taro’s mom: the heat really did rattle you; it's a miracle that you’re gonna help around the house finally

Taro very efficiently went about all the chores, he washed the dishes, left the floor sparkling clean, watered the plants, and headed upstairs to clean his room, which was all over the place, it was hard to walk with all the empty wraps, bottles, games, manga, model kits, and random things on the floor

Taro: (compared to the holy tasks, this is nothing, though I might take a bit longer here, there’s so many treasures!, I missed my room so much!)

Taro’s mom: Taro!, Goro is here, he’s waiting for you outside!

Taro: (oh!, he’s already here, I’ll finish cleaning later)

Taro sprinted out to see a very nostalgic sight, a teenager who seemed to have spent too much time under the sun, wearing a baseball team cap, a backpack, and a pair of aluminum bats

Goro: hurry up bozo, the others are waiting already

Taro could not contain his smile at seeing his friend again

Taro’s mom: Taro, don’t forget this. Here, for your hard work today, you earned it

She handed him a hat, a water bottle, and a bottle of the rare strawberry watermelon flavored ice tea. this was something that hadn’t happened before in his memories, it was like he changed the past

Taro was moved, about to break into tears, but he didn’t wanna confuse or scare them, so he kept his act straight, grabbed his bicycle, and rode with Goro to the baseball field

Goro: Taro look! the clouds look real dark today, perhaps we’re gonna play the finals under the rain!

Taro: (I remember this, today is the day we play the “final” match of a little tournament we organized, so many memories…) doesn’t matter, we will win!

Goro: yeeee-hah! let’s go!

they rode their bicycles like cowboys from hell and arrived to the field just in time

chubby guy: where were you? The match is about to start!

Goro: I was waiting for this bozo, don't blame me!

Many familiar faces were there, Taro’s team, and the other team, who had a very intimidating tall muscular guy that did not look at all like a highschooler.

Goro: woah, they really brought that guy, that's cheating!, That dude is a whole adult!

tall muscular guy: huh? but it's my second year of middle school!

the match had started, and things roughly played out like Taro remembered it. The teams were tied, tension could be felt in the air, not only from the scores, but also from the rain that was starting to fall.

chubby guy: no retreat! we’re not leaving till victory is ours!

suddenly, a huge thunderstrike hit a tree not too far away, followed by some more thunder, lightning, and a massive downpour

Goro: nah man we’re outta here!

Both teams scattered to seek shelter. Goro, the chubby guy, and Taro rode their bikes to a neat bus stop with rain protection, when they felt safe, they started laughing frantically

Taro: (I remember this, we were rescued by a police car because the rain was not stopping, and I had to call my mom from the police station, after that, she didn't allow me to go out and play if there was rain probability on the news. I wouldn’t say I became sad after that; I had a lot of anime and manga to catch up to, but living this day again, I wish it never ended…) I don’t want to go…

Goro: huh? what did you say?

Taro realized he spoke his mind out, but didn't back down

Taro: …I don’t want to go, I don’t want to go!, I don’t want it to end like this!

Goro: I get you man, we’ll get 'em next time!

as Taro said he didn’t wanna go, his voice cracked more and more, his friends were getting worried for him

chubby guy: calm down man, there’s always gonna be another chance

Goro: don't cry bozo, we’ll get them next time for sure!

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??????: Taro!, Taro!

Taro woke up to a darkened evening sky, the familiar smell of dry grass gave him context to where he was

Taro: (so that was … all a dream)

all the girls, including Ari, and even the guild secretary were around him, he was lying on the floor while Sidra was still casting her Healing Grace on him. when he touched his face, he noticed his cheeks were wet with something

Nagye: T-Taro, are you o-ok? you were crying, and-and speaking in tongues in your sleep

Shizuka: (he was probably having a dream like the ones I have)

Taro: y-yez, sorrri, just little, ow, mazter, really strong hehe

Shizuka: no kidding!, he wiped the floor with us!

guild secretary: told ya I’m a rough and tough badass ha-ha!

Ari: didn’t you go a bit overboard?

guild secretary: did I?, I thought I was going light on them, but hey, you can never let your guard down when it’s about these two prodigies. you guys didn’t do too bad

Nagye: I-I’m not looking forward to the next phase of the tr-training

Sidra: may the goddess protect us