After they finished the practice swings, the soldiers faced each other in sparring. Takashi nervously faced the goblin soldier in front of him.

"Hiya!"

Takashi shouted as he swung his wooden sword at the goblin soldier. Using the wooden sword as a shield, the goblin soldier easily blocked Takashi\'s attack. Then---

"Whoa! Suzuki, you\'re good!"

The goblin soldier fell down and landed on his buttocks. The surrounding goblin soldiers applauded Takashi in a friendly manner.

"So strong! Suzuki!"

"Good job! Suzuki!"

(No, no, no!! Wait, wait, wait!! Didn\'t he just fall over on his own accord?)

After that, the goblins didn\'t attack him first, but instead, when they were hit by Takashi\'s lanky attacks, they yelled: "Whoa" "You got me!" "You\'re a genius!"

(This discovery is amazing!! You will never become strong in this environment!!)

Disgusted by the goblin soldiers who acted as if they were playing with children, Takashi exclaimed, "Fight more seriously!!"

The goblin soldiers looked at him with puzzled looks on their faces, saying, "Eh, we are being serious."

(No, I appreciate the sentiment! But I can\'t improve my skills like this!!)

Then, a huge, hairy monster walked slowly up to Takashi. Brown fur covered its body even up to its face, leaving only its two golden eyes visible.

"Wha--What is with you? Are you going to fight me, by any chance?"

"..."

"He--Hey?"

"..."

The hairy creature with the appearance of an abominable yeti stared at Takashi silently. The goblin soldiers whispered in Takashi\'s ear.

"This guy\'s name is Gregorio. He doesn\'t talk much, ya know."

"He joined the Thunder-Lance Charge a little before Suzuki."

"But he is strong. He became an Iron-Rank soldier the very first day he joined."

(Does this mean, that if I defeat this monster Gregorio in a military duel, I too can become a Bronze-Rank soldier?!)

He was much bigger than Takashi, but his movements seem slower, partly because of his size.

"Gregorio. If you are willing, perhaps you could duel with me?"

Seeing his chance, Takashi asked Gregorio for a military duel. Still not speaking, Gregorio nodded in agreement.

(All right-o! I have the ability to be liked by demons! Maybe he\'ll go easy on me! If I win, I\'ll be an Iron-Rank soldier!)

With his wooden sword at the ready, Takashi faced Gregorio with high hopes.

"...Puh-uh!?"

Takashi was knocked off his feet several meters away by Gregorio\'s unreserved punch. Apparently, he had been cut inside his mouth by the hit. The taste of iron spread through his mouth.

Somehow, he managed to get up, but his wooden sword was gone. It had been blown away together with him. He tried to find it, but Gregorio, the hairy monster, was already standing in front of him. This time, Gregorio\'s knee gouged Takashi\'s stomach. Takashi groaned and crumbled.

This was the battle Takashi had hoped for, as he had been unable to get the goblin soldiers to fight him seriously. In reality, however, Takashi was frightened to face the monster seriously coming at him.

The goblin soldiers who were watching the duel were in an uproar.

"Tha--That Gregorio guy, is amazing..."

"Ah, ah. There aren\'t many people, besides Gharaga, who could have beaten Suzuki the way he did."

"I don\'t know if I feel sorry for him."

"He\'s a little crazy, too, right?"

He was knocked off his feet again and fell to the ground on his back. Takashi looked up at the sky in disbelief as he heard the goblin soldier\'s voice that said, "That far is enough!"

(Da--Damn! How weak am, I!? This is no good at all!)

Gregorio beat him severely, but Takashi\'s heart remained strong. In fact, he was so inspired by that day that he began to train even harder.

......

A few days passed after that.

After the goblin soldiers in his group left, Takashi remained alone in the training area, doing push-ups and swinging a wooden sword.

Skeleton soldiers of a higher rank passed by Takashi.

"Yo! You\'re doing a great job! Suzuki!"

"Hey, look. If you have time, I\'d like you to fight me."

"Ah, sure! Let\'s have some fun!"

"No, uhm... not for practice, but waging for rank..."

"By any chance, a military duel?"

"That\'s right, please."

"Yeah. Then, I\'ll do it..."

"...guha!!"

Takashi fell in agony as he was hit in the gut by a thrust of the wooden sword from the skeleton soldier. The skeleton soldier rushed over to him in panic.

"I--I apologize, Suzuki! Are you okay?"

"Ah, aah..."

A fellow skeleton soldier who was watching nearby called out in disgust.

"You\'re terrible, you know that? The other party is Suzuki. Go easy on him, will you?"

"Bu--But, you know! I can\'t afford to go easy on him in a military duel! Because rank is important!"

Hearing this, Takashi became convinced. He was now certain the demons cherished and adored him. However, it was just like loving a pet. No matter how cute his opponent was, there was no way he would cut corners in a serious duel where his own rank was at stake.

(I knew it! Only being adored by demons is not much of an ability! If this happens, the only way to rise in the ranks is by sheer force! I have to improve my physical strength and attack power!)

After everyone else in the training area had left, Takashi continued to work on his own training.