Adam’s Rhythm Blade and Luomei’s Forest Hunt

As Adam stepped onto the stage, stirring music began to play. Simultaneously, a number appeared directly before him, seemingly a countdown.

The moment the countdown hit zero, red and blue insectoid monsters materialized directly in front of Adam, darting straight towards him from various directions.

Following the rules, Adam raised his sword and precisely slashed at the flying insects.

The instant his blade touched them, the insects disintegrated into block-shaped particles.

Occasionally, translucent walls would also appear.

“Be careful not to touch the walls! While they won’t harm you physically, making contact will deduct points. And by the way, if you miss a monster and let it escape, that’ll cost you points too!”

Grinning Darby reminded him from the sidelines.

Hearing this, Adam shifted his stance, deftly dodging the incoming wall.

‘Is this truly just a rhythm-based sword game? They’ve simply replaced the blocks with monsters.’

‘In fact, this might even be better. Adam already harbored a deep animosity towards monsters, and their appearance only fueled his fighting spirit.’

At least for now, he seemed to be handling it with ease. Before the challenge was even halfway through, his score had effortlessly surpassed the threshold.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

Just as I believed the third challenge would be an easy victory, a piercing alarm shattered my illusion.

The scoreboard, which had been steadily climbing, suddenly changed.

It appeared Adam had touched a wall, resulting in a point deduction…

‘It’s just one mistake, though. As long as he performs normally from here on…’

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

The continuous alarms stirred a growing unease, and his score plummeted.

“What’s happening?”

I began to scrutinize Adam… He was now drenched in sweat.

Compared to before, the monsters’ speed had noticeably increased, and their density had suddenly intensified, creating a dizzying assault. Walls, which had only appeared on one side, now emerged from two, or even three directions.

This was particularly disadvantageous for Adam, given his larger physique.

Furthermore, the string of consecutive errors had likely rattled his composure, diminishing his judgment. His missed swings and wall collisions steadily increased, causing him to lose points repeatedly.

The more mistakes he made, the more agitated he became, which in turn led to even more errors.

Thus, he found himself trapped in a vicious cycle.

“Hee hee hee~”

Seeing Adam in such a state, Grinning Darby finally regained his playful demeanor from earlier, observing Adam’s predicament with a twisted chuckle.

This only intensified Adam’s pressure.

It was at this moment that a certain little squirrel stepped forward.

“Lord Howard! Please, please calm down!”

She shouted as loud as she could, her voice nearly hoarse, hoping to calm Adam’s agitated emotions.

“I believe in you! You can definitely do it!”

“Surprisingly, it actually worked.”

Upon hearing Luomei’s cries, Adam did indeed calm down somewhat.

His mistakes visibly decreased.

However, due to his physique, he still felt somewhat overwhelmed by the relentless, tidal wave of attacks.

Seeing this, Luomei spoke up once more:

“Don’t, don’t rush! Even if you lose points, it’s alright! Just make sure you get the points you’re *supposed* to get!”

Though Adam didn’t speak, he nodded in acknowledgment… He likely had no energy left to talk.

Yet… with Luomei’s encouragement, his score truly began to climb again.

Adam managed to intercept almost all the monsters with his sword, but the multi-directional wall attacks still left him helpless… He could only try his best to secure more monster points.

Fortunately, colliding with a wall didn’t break his combo. Even if it deducted points, his score could still increase.

This challenge truly wasn’t suited for him.

‘It seems it might have been better to have the Young Lady swap places with Adam.’

The Young Lady, with her slender figure and greater agility, would clearly be better suited for the third challenge.

However, before selecting a challenger, we had no knowledge of the challenge’s content, making it impossible to choose the most suitable person… In that light, Grinning Darby held a considerable advantage.

Under our anxious gazes, the music gradually drew to a close…

“Lord Howard, you can do it!”

Throughout, the little squirrel continued to encourage Adam.

As the last monster was struck down, the final score on the scoreboard settled.

‘…It was quite a pity, truly. He was just a hair’s breadth away from success.’

“Hee hee hee~ It seems you all have failed this challenge~”

‘That Grinning Darby finally found his chance to gloat…’

“I’m sorry…”

Adam, however, hung his head, utterly dejected… a stark contrast to Grinning Darby’s smug expression.

“No, no worries! You truly did your best!”

The little squirrel, as always, provided an abundance of emotional support.

“Yes, anyone could see that it was a mismatch of compatibility. It’s not your fault.”

I quickly chimed in.

“What’s done is done; there’s no need to be sad. We’ll simply win the next round back.”

Even the Young Lady, who usually had a contentious relationship with Adam, offered words of comfort.

“Hee hee~ Now then, please choose your challenger for the fourth round~”

Grinning Darby gave us no time to compose ourselves, urging us to begin the next challenge.

“This time, let me go!”

To our surprise, it was the little squirrel who volunteered this time.

‘I had thought it would finally be my turn this time…’

However, she was undoubtedly trying to comfort Adam in her own way, so I saw no reason to refuse.

“Hee hee hee~ Then please, step forward, young lady~”

Snap!

The scenery shifted once more… but this time, the environment Luomei faced was far more intricate.

The previously empty, desolate space was instantly filled with trees and flowers, transforming into a vibrant, lively landscape.

“The rules for this challenge are also quite simple~”

Snap!

With another snap of his fingers, a small green bird appeared in Grinning Darby’s hand.

Incidentally, he also conjured a small pile of grain and began to feed it.

“You merely need to catch enough of these birds within the time limit in the forest~ A total of three birds are required, with an hour to complete the task~”

The rules still sounded deceptively simple…

“However, please note~ These birds are extremely sensitive. The moment they sense a human or magic, they will immediately flee~”

As he spoke, a small flame ignited before him.

Before the flame could even stabilize, the bird vanished like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.

Indeed, it was not as simple as it sounded.

“The challenger simply needs to enter the forest to begin the task~ Of course, the timer will also start once you step inside~”

This time, the timer was a clock… starkly contrasting with the natural aesthetic of the forest.

“If you’re ready, you may now enter the forest~”

****

After taking a deep breath, she smiled at us.

“Well then, I’m going in.”

“Go on, you can do it!”

Bolstered by our encouragement, the little squirrel plunged into the forest.

“Hee hee hee~ And so, the fourth challenge begins!”

The clock began its countdown.