Putting away the clay in his hand, Shirou stood up and walked to Ikki's bed, knocking on it.
"What's wrong, Shirou? Something up?"
"Come with me!"
After telling Ikki, Shirou turned and left. As a teacher, one must maintain a certain level of mystique. Ikki looked at Shirou's back in confusion. Although bewildered, he still jumped off the bed, put on his shoes by the door, and chased after him. Soon, Ikki caught up with Shirou, who was walking along a path.
"Out late at night, is something wrong, Shirou?"
"Don't ask too many questions, just follow me!" With no other choice, seeing that Shirou didn't intend to explain, Ikki could only follow behind him, moving forward. Soon, the two arrived at a familiar place.
"This is the place where we once had our match?" Looking at the surroundings, which had been restored to their original state, Ikki smiled knowingly. There was no trace of a fierce sword duel here. It was on that day that Ikki truly realized the formidable strength of his roommate.
Standing on the path where they had once battled, Shirou turned to Ikki and said, "You seem very concerned about Kirihara Shizuya now, even looking up videos of him online."
"That's right, Kirihara-kun is very strong, and his compatibility with me is very poor. His Noble Art completely counters me. I'm very troubled right now."
"Besides being troubled, there's also the nervousness of the upcoming match, right?"
"Nervousness?" Hearing Shirou's reminder, Ikki raised his hand, repeatedly clenching it into a fist. "Am I really nervous?"
"Of course. It's just that you're so used to being hurt that you can no longer detect this emotion!"
"Sorry, I don't quite understand!" Shirou shook his head helplessly, looking at the bewildered Ikki.
"Never mind, we'll talk about nervousness later! The current situation is that you're in a terrible state. It's gotten to the point where I can't stand it anymore, so I've decided to help you train!"
"Train?"
"How should we train?" Looking at Ikki, who was in a terrible state and couldn't even think straight, Shirou directly projected Oborozuki into his hand. "Of course, by simulating your duel with Kirihara Shizuya in advance!"
"Hunter's Forest!" With Shirou's shout, a forest landscape suddenly appeared before Ikki, enveloping him within it.
Standing on a high tree branch, Shirou calmly said, "Can you understand the current situation?"
"Ah, I understand!"
"Manifest, Intetsu!" With Ikki's summons, his Noble
Phantasm, Intetsu, appeared in his hand.
"Thank you for your help, Shirou. I will definitely gain something from this battle."
"It's great that you understand!" As soon as Shirou
finished speaking, an arrow came swiftly, striking Ikki's abdomen. However, Ikki, who had been contemplating how to deal with Kirihara Shizuya for a long time, instantly struck down the incoming arrow and then leaped towards the direction from which the arrow flew.
Seeing this, Shirou smiled slightly. "It seems you do have some ideas about Kirihara Shizuya in mind, but are your thoughts really correct? Have you considered the opponent's growth?"
"What?" Before Ikki could react, an arrow instantly sliced through the void, piercing his shoulder. Although it was a fantasy form, Ikki was not injured, only his stamina was depleted.
But this unannounced arrow still greatly reduced his stamina. "What's going on? Even the arrows are invisible?"
"That's right, this is Kirihara Shizuya's hidden technique, the arrow that vanishes without a trace."
"If this attack had been aimed at your forehead, you would have already lost!" Ikki's pupils contracted. He never expected to lose so quickly. But what followed was determination. Kirihara Shizuya would definitely not go for a kill shot right away; this wasn't because Kirihara Shizuya valued their friendship as classmates, but because he always liked to toy with his targets using his abilities. Moreover, this was just a simulation, not a real battle. If he lost too badly in a simulated battle and lost confidence, it would be putting the cart before the horse.
"Again!"
"Of course, again, but first, I must state that I won't toy with my opponent like that tasteless person. However, considering the continuation of the simulated battle, I won't attack your vital points."
"But you must understand, every time you get hit by an arrow, it means you've failed once!"
"Won't you miss?"
"Of course not. My archery, you need not question!"
"I understand!" Clenching the sword in both hands, Ikki continuously thought and observed the surrounding environment. He was contemplating his next move and observing Shirou's position.
In the face of this swift defeat, Ikki's nervousness immediately subsided. At this moment, all he wanted was to break through the cage before him. To find the light of victory. But could he truly break the current situation? No, he couldn't. In the original story, Ikki never broke through Hunter's Forest; instead, he broke through the hunter, Kirihara Shizuya. But now, his opponent was Shirou, not Kirihara Shizuya. He couldn't see through Shirou.
"Mmm!" Feeling his body being pierced, Ikki let out a soft groan. He could endure this level of pain. But what he couldn't endure was the voice coming from the Hunter's Forest.
"Fifth time!"
Fifth time, this was already the fifth time Ikki had been hit. In other words, Ikki had already failed five times. And in these five attacks, he had found no weaknesses.
"What exactly should I do!" Although heavily wounded, Ikki's eyes were still bright. He hadn't given up yet.
"Though your fighting spirit is admirable, reckless
bravery will ultimately fail to impress!"
"Do you have a way to break through this situation?"
"No!" Ikki answered frankly.
"How foolish, utterly foolish. If you can't think with your head, then experience it with your body!" With that, Shirou increased his archery speed. At the same time, it wasn't just his firing rate that increased, but also the arrows' flight speed. Faced with the arrows slicing through the air, Ikki became even more unable to cope.
Unseen arrows already covered his entire body.
Tenth time!
Twentieth time!
Fiftieth time!
Even in his fantasy form, Ikki was almost unable to stand. But as Shirou's arrows flew faster and faster, a flicker of inspiration continuously lingered in Ikki's mind, but he just couldn't grasp it.
"What is it?" Ikki kept failing to grasp that shred of inspiration. It wasn't until he was hit by that swift arrow, flying backward, and his vision went black, that he finally seized that sliver of insight.
"So, it's the sound!" Ikki, finally understanding what had been bothering him, suddenly enlightened. As the arrows flew faster and faster, their whistling sound became stronger and clearer. This meant that by relying on sound, he could track the arrows' trajectories.
Excited, Ikki immediately wanted to stand up and continue training. But at this point, he was exhausted and unable to stand. The fact that he hadn't passed out was a testament to his strong will.
"How can I faint here!"
"Ittou Shura!"
With the last shred of his strength squeezed out, Ikki, holding Intetsu, shouted loudly at Shirou in the forest,
"Again!"
________________________________________
--------More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter