《Shujinkou Janai!》 Prologue Before I knew it, I found myself standing in a dungeon with a sword and a shield. [¡­¡­Eh?] I couldn¡¯t help but do a double-take at the sword in my hand. It¡¯s a double-edged Western sword commonly seen in video games, with a shiny, polished blade that could virtually reflect my image and a lion ornament at the hilt, which is very cool. It¡¯s cool and all, but¡­ that¡¯s not the main point here. [Eh? What¡¯s this? Eh?] I¡¯m just your average salaryman. I don¡¯t remember having anything to do with dangerous items like swords and shields at any point in my life. Moreover, this place I¡¯m standing at right now¡­¡­ At first glance, it looked like a cave that formed naturally from a hollowed-out rock surface, but upon taking a closer look, there were strange murals painted on key points of the wall and a mysterious light source provided just enough light to explore the area. No, even with that, I couldn¡¯t just convince myself that this is some unexplored historical ruins. There was a decisive thing that completely ruled that idea out¡ªI could see a large treasure chest with the lid open at the end of the passage. [Isn¡¯t this just exactly like a dungeon in a video game!?] My sudden outcry echoed pointlessly through the cave. I don¡¯t get this. I really don¡¯t understand what any of this was at all. (Wait! Wait a minute! I¡¯m pretty sure that yesterday¡­¡­) It was a day like any other. As per routine, I did my work and left the office as usual, and then¡­¡­ Ah, that¡¯s right¡­¡­ While I was waiting for the traffic light on my way to the train station, I found an interesting article while I was killing time on my phone. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªAn in-depth analysis of the classic RPG that¡¯s been buried in time¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª] When I was a student, I was really into an RPG called ¡°Brave&Blade¡± or B&B for short. It was quite a tragic game. Although it was a big project that the company invested a great fortune in, putting the future of the company at stake, it never took flight and fell flat due to various reasons. Drawn in by the nostalgia factor, I clicked on the link without a second thought. ¡ºFive things you need to know to get the most out of¡¸B&B¡¹¡» ¡ºA profound multi-scenario, multi-ending game that has been re-evaluated over time!¡» ¡ºWeave your own history with the History Junction System!¡» ¡ºReal-time sword-fighting battles where instincts and wits collide!¡» ¡ºHow to save your favorite characters from a Fatal Event?¡» ¡ºA hell for game challenge playthroughs?! A substantial amount of additional elements and changes.¡» The link opened to a web page that filled my entire screen with bright dancing words. Just the titles alone were enough to wash over me with a wave of nostalgia. The page also attached an illustration of two of the most popular characters in the game and ready in position for an intense clash. I couldn¡¯t help but smile at the sight of that. But right at that moment, from the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a girl in a sailor uniform who was also waiting for the traffic light suddenly move and I hurriedly put my phone away¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThe bright, blinding white light from the headlights of a car. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªA girl in uniform frozen in the middle of a pedestrian crossing. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡°Look out!¡±, someone screamed. [¡­¡­Ahh¡­¡­ That¡¯s right.] Why did I forget? I wonder if it¡¯s because I felt uplifted from seeing something I had missed. I did something uncharacteristic of me and jumped out onto the road to help that girl¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªAnd so, I was run over by a car and died. The moment the girl was pushed out of the way, I felt the world before my eyes being blown away in an instant. Before I knew it, my body was lying on the ground. It¡¯s dark¡­¡­ I wonder if that girl was safe¡­¡­ If only I could play B&B again¡­¡­ Such helpless thoughts popped into my mind, things that I wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything about anymore. And then, after that¡­¡­ In a pitch-black world, a flame was lit¡­¡­ <¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªYour wish¡­ I¡¯ve heard it.> Far¡­¡­ I heard a voice coming from the far distance¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªGyaaa Gyaa!!!] Feeling as if cold water had been suddenly splashed on me, a very realistic squawk came from behind me, snapping me back to reality. [T- The heck is it this time¡­¡­] I cautiously turned around to the sound and when I realized what it was, I stiffened. A green-skinned dwarf that was clearly not a human emerged from the depths of the cave. [¡­¡­Gob¡­¡­ lin.] My legs turned to jelly. Goblins were the weakest monsters in most games and their purpose was to serve as prey for players. I had never thought of them as scary and even actively sought them out for the EXP they gave. However¡­¡­ The thing I thought only existed in games was now looking at me with its dirty teeth bared, a crude club in one hand as its murky yellow eyes glowed with a vile light. I was completely shaken by this overwhelming presence. [U- Uwaahhh¡­¡­] I was so nervous I could barely breathe as my breath got caught. Both the sword and shield I held in either hand suddenly felt heavy. I thought to myself that I had to make a break for it but my legs wouldn¡¯t move. [Gyiii.] That goblin sneered, seemingly mocking me. Then, with a swing of the club in its right hand, the goblin lunged at me with a speed that did not match its body. [U- Uwaaaaah!] As the goblin¡¯s grotesque face closed in, convinced of its victory, it raised its weapon, ready to take a big swing at me. I¡¯m not kidding, the words ¡°I¡¯m dead¡± seriously surfaced in my mind. However¡­¡­ What actually happened was quite the opposite. [Gyaaa¡­¡­?] The moment it felt like the goblin had entered within range of my blade, my body moved instinctively¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª not moving backwards to retreat but instead charging forward. My body moved as if it was faithfully reproducing movements it had been trained to do for many years. I took a step to the side to dodge the club swinging down at me and with my right hand I drew my sword and cut off the goblin¡¯s head. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªEh?] The body of the tiny goblin lost all momentum and fell to the ground. Meanwhile, the club which had lost its owner bounced off the ground and rolled to the side. I couldn¡¯t process what had just happened. I could only stand there, stunned. [D- Did I do that?] I naturally had no idea how to wield a sword. For me to be capable of something like that¡­¡­ Someone like me isn¡¯t¡­¡­ However, the strange occurrences did not simply end there. The body of the fallen goblin glowed, and its flesh broke down into tiny particles. [Wha!?] The particles dancing in the air flew at my left hand as if being sucked in. A few seconds later, silence returned to the dungeon as if there were no goblins around, to begin with. [W-What on earth is this? It feels like a game¡­¡­] Then it hit me the instant those words left my lips. [Game¡­¡­? Brave&Blade¡­¡­?] In that game, I¡¯m sure there was a setting where the magic of a defeated monster is sucked into the left hand of the character who defeats it which is then converted into EXP. Nah, it can¡¯t be. There¡¯s no way that would be the case. However, when I thought about it, the appearance of the goblin and the design of the sword I wielded, it all gave me a strange sense of familiarity. If I connected it to the scenes I saw in the game, Brave&Blade¡­ I hurriedly raised the sword in my right hand to double-check. Staring at the blade that was so polished it could double up as a mirror, my eyes rounded in surprise at the reflection¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡°my¡± reflection¡ªthat I saw. [No way, you¡¯ve got to be kidding me¡­¡­] I was shocked because the face reflected on the blade should¡¯ve been ¡°mine¡± but it was one that looked nothing like¡±me¡±. It was the face that belonged to the in the illustration I saw right before my death. It was the face of , a character from the game . CH 1 [Eh? No, no, no, what the heck is this?] I muttered to no one in particular, as I faced the unfamiliar man in the blade. I died and now I exist as the game character ¡°Rex¡± in a place I¡¯ve never seen before. This means¡­¡­ it¡¯s that right? Did I reincarnate into the game world because that was the thing I thought about right before I died? No, no, no, how could it be something as dumb as that? Besides¡­¡­ Taking a hundred steps back, if something which only happened in anime or light novels like reincarnating in a different world happened to me¡­ (Why is it Rex of all people!!!) I screamed in my heart. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªRex Toren. A highly popular character with many fans¡ªmainly female players¡ªdue to his strong presence in the early events. Popular amongst female fans of the game, he would often be referred to as the ¡°Ikemen of the Shadows¡± alongside Ain, the Prince of Light titled by them as ¡°Ikemen of the Light¡±. I mean, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t get what they mean. This gruff demeanor and stern expression. This slender body and dark hair. If one asked if he was a person of light or darkness, it would be darkness; no questions asked. If one asked if he was one who treads under the light or lurks in the shadows, he would definitely be one of those who lurk in the shadows. Although Rex would often be mentioned because of that, from a game standpoint, he wasn¡¯t a very important character. He¡¯s just a sub-character that if you don¡¯t choose a specific start point, he won¡¯t even appear as a member of the group. Ability-wise, he starts off at an impressive level 50. That was by far the highest of all the characters you¡¯ll find in the early stages of the game. At around level 60 or so, one could already challenge and defeat the final boss, so I¡¯d say level 50 is about late to the final range. He¡¯s a well-balanced, all-rounder character that has not only mastered the way of the sword, but also magic as well as rogue skills and elementary alchemy. He played an active role in the early stages of the game due to his high level and versatility but¡­¡­ That¡¯s all there is to him, and he has no prospects for future usage at all! He¡¯s overwhelmingly weak compared to other characters at level 50 and the character itself also has low potential. In other words, he¡¯s just a common ¡°Support Character¡± that appears in the early game. In the beginning, he¡¯s like those old Paladins unparalleled in their skill with the silver spear but eventually becomes less and less useful as the rest of the team levels up. I knew that I shouldn¡¯t complicate things with my game knowledge further in times of emergency like this but I just wanted to say¡­¡­ Couldn¡¯t I at least be reincarnated as a Hero with more potential like ¡°Prince of Light, Ain¡± who was also in the illustration I saw before I died?! (N-No, this is not the time to say that!) Before I can figure out the situation, the most important thing now is my personal safety. I might have dealt with the goblin with the power of ¡°Rex¡± but let¡¯s not forget that I¡¯m just a small citizen born and raised in the peaceful country of Japan. I don¡¯t want to spend too much time in a place like this where monsters roam. (Judging from the story of the game and the monster I¡¯ve encountered, this should be the , the first dungeon of the starting city.) If I calm down for a bit and recognize that this is the world of B&B, I can very clearly see that this is a place I¡¯m familiar with. I can remember my way around here to some extent so I should be able to get out. First things first, I should escape to a nearby city and then think about what I¡¯m going to do in the future¡­¡­ Nearby city? [Ah¡­¡­] That sound couldn¡¯t help but slip out of my mouth. Even without a mirror, I could tell that my face had turned pale. The city nearest to the Cave of Trials was a large city , ¡°Rex¡¯s¡± hometown. Such a city definitely does exist nearby, but it might be a very bad idea to run there. Because, there¡¯s something only I know¡­¡­ If this really is the game world, then that city will soon be¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªdecimated in a monster attack!] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù ¡¾Start Select¡¿ Origin¢Ù ¡¶Young City Boy Dreaming to be an Adventurer¡· Difficulty: Easy Initial Class: Young Leo Initial Companions: Changes According to your Choice Affiliation: Adventurer¡¯s Guild Restriction: None in particular B&B is a game where you can choose from one of several origins and start the game in different locations and situations. During the first part of the game, you¡¯ll start with a quest based on the origin you¡¯ve chosen, and after the tutorial, you¡¯ll be free to continue your adventure. Among them ¡¶City boy who aspires to be an adventurer¡· where Rex appears at the center stage is one of the least difficult of the seven ¡°Brave&Blade¡± origins along with ¡¶Apprentice Knight of the Empire¡·. The tutorial is incorporated into the early storyline that is both easy to understand and to follow along, making it the most standard recommended route for beginners. However, while the difficulty is said to be low, that¡¯s only when relative when compared to the routes of ¡¶Betrayed Orphan of the Slums¡·, ¡¶Miko Sacrificed to the Darkness¡·, and ¡¶Noble¡¯s Child Kidnapped by a Monster¡·. The flow of the scenario itself is quite hard. The story of ¡¶City Boy who Aspires to be an Adventurer¡· begins with the Hero forming an impromptu party with three other boys and girls of the same age. The party heads to the which is the first step to success for new adventurers. There, they learn how to pick locks, disable gimmicks, and learn to fight as they make their way to the deepest part of the cave. Then, once they touched the ominous inscriptions on the wall of the deepest part of the cave, their first adventure would be over and they would be on the starting line as Adventurers. However, as the ¡°Hero¡± with the status, when he touches the inscriptions, the seal is broken and the demon sealed in the depths of the cave is resurrected. With the help of , a veteran adventurer who had happened to come to investigate, the party managed to escape death but the unsealed Demon left them with an ominous prophecy at the end. [Even if you try to defeat me, it¡¯s already too late. The drums signaling our God¡¯s resurrection have already sounded. Go back to your city.] Before the Hero and his party who hurriedly ran out of the cave were billows of smoke and screams coming from their home, magic flying through the air as the ground became tainted with the color of blood¡­¡­ ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªYou¡¯ve got to be kidding me!] Now I know why ¡°Rex¡± was in the dungeon. We must be at the start of the game, just before the event which ¡°Rex¡± has to save the ¡°Hero¡± from. (If I had run away to the city without thinking¡­¡­) In the game, the main bulk of the monsters that attacked the city was level 40 and level 55 . After the event where the city was attacked, Ash City was transformed into the monster-occupied . The player could even find level 60 late-game monsters in that city. Even Rex, who started off with a level of 50, is no match against enemies like that. (If that¡¯s the case¡­¡­ should I run away to another city?) I might survive if I do that. However, in that case, Ash City will certainly be destroyed by the monsters and the ¡°Hero¡± who did not receive Rex¡¯s help will be killed by the Sealed Demon. [Dammit! We¡¯re screwed either way!] Even if I put aside the whole moral issue, if the ¡°Hero¡±, an important character in the world of B&B dies here, the world may very well be headed for destruction. If that¡¯s the case, then there¡¯s only one thing I can do¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªAnd that is to [stop the ¡°Hero¡± before he triggers the event]! I¡¯ve been to the Cave of Trials many times before so I could more or less remember the routes albeit rather vaguely. If I move at full speed now, I should be able to catch up to the ¡°Hero¡± before they arrive at the deepest part of the cave where the was located. "" If I do that, the story might be broken but I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m just your average salaryman. Stuff like fighting isn¡¯t even in my area of expertise, don¡¯t even mention saving the world. Ah, that¡¯s right. When I stop the ¡°Hero¡± from undoing the seal, it might be a good idea to teach him some game knowledge and have him save the world. When I think about it like that, I can feel my pessimism being uplifted. (Anyway, I need to find the ¡°Hero¡± first¡­¡­) I had a landmark: the opened treasure chest I was greeted with when I awakened in the dungeon. That was a big hint for my location. (Fortunately, there¡¯s only one treasure chest in this dungeon which means that my current location is at the three-way junction just by the entrance. As such, I can see the shortcut to the , so the closest route to the goal is¡­¡­ this way!) Once I decide on the path to take, there¡¯s no time to lose. Relying on the hazy memories in my head, I ran deeper into the cave. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [¡­¡­This is bad.] Along the way, I didn¡¯t get caught in any traps nor was I met with any monster attacks which I was worried about. In B&B, once a monster has been defeated, it doesn¡¯t respawn until the next day. In other words, there is no doubt that I am following the path that the Hero¡¯s Party took. (It seems that they advanced faster than I expected.) Perhaps it¡¯s because my class was changed from an athletically inept salaryman to Rex, a veteran adventurer, I could really feel my physical abilities have greatly improved. Although I was traveling through the dungeon at a speed that¡¯s not only comparable, but even faster than it was in the game, I can¡¯t seem to find the Hero¡¯s party at all. This dungeon basically serves as a tutorial for the game, so there¡¯s little risk of death but there were still a fair amount of hidden doors and puzzles that took time to solve. I thought I¡¯d be able to catch up in no time since I know how the game goes¡­¡­ (If they¡¯re not in the next room, all that¡¯s left is the deepest part of the cave¡­¡­ the Sealed Room.) I tried to push my anxiousness to the back of my mind as I dashed into the room, to find that it was still empty. [D*mn it!] I couldn¡¯t help cursing, seeing the traces of a battle in the room. Someone definitely fought in here a while ago. (They¡¯re too fast! Could the outcome of an ¡°Event¡± be unchangeable by human will!?) I kicked the floor with all my might as if to shake off the ominous possibility that appeared in my mind. Passing through the winding passageway at a speed that was unimaginable back in Japan, I arrived at a wide, open space. (There they are¡­¡­!) In the large room whose walls were covered in horrifying murals all around, I saw a group of boys and girls standing at the end. And at the far end of the room, two boys were reaching for the seal¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªStooooop!!!] I shouted at the top of my lungs. However, my warning came too late. Though surprised by my sudden outcry, their hands had already touched the seal. The door through which the Ancient Demon was sealed. The seal, touched by the Chosen One is¡­¡­ The seal is¡­¡­ [¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Arehh?] ¡­¡­Nothing really happened. [W- Why¡­..?] There was no answer to my question. All there was was a deafening awkward silence that filled the room and piercing stares from the youngsters that seemed to stab a hole right through me. T/N: LazyCat here, I¡¯m just gonna have my paws mark this novel while I¡¯m at it. I will post at least 3 chapters a week, or well, I¡¯ll try. I¡¯ll be honest here, I just copied the previous TL¡¯s prologue and c1 chapters, edited it to how I format things and renamed the MC to sync with the manga. CH 2 (What the¡­¡­ What just happened¡­¡­) If the ¡°Protagonist¡± touches the Sealed Door with the qualities of a ¡°Hero¡±, the seal should be broken and the Demon inside should pop out. Yet, even when the boys clearly touched the Sealed Door, no change could be seen from the seal. (What is happening? Was I mistaken? However¡­¡­) These kids match the characteristics of the Hero¡¯s initial party at the start of ¡°Young City Boy Dreaming to be an Adventurer¡±. The initial party of the ¡°Hero¡± is a combination of the ¡°Hero¡±, a male mage, a female archer and a female priest. If so, then the boy with the sword who just touched the door is the ¡°Hero¡± of this world¡­¡­ No, would assuming something like that be wrong? What emerged was a possibility that I hadn¡¯t anticipated. Could it be¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThe ¡°Hero¡± isn¡¯t the !? In B&B, the player can freely choose the origin of the ¡°Hero¡± from among seven options, each with their own characteristics. Since ¡°Rex¡¯s¡± current situation matches the starting event of ¡°Young City Boy Dreaming to be an Adventurer¡±, I assumed that the Hero is the ¡°Young City Boy Dreaming to be an Adventurer¡±. "" However, even if the player doesn¡¯t choose the ¡°Young City Boy Dreaming to be an Adventurer¡± startpoint, it does not mean that Rex doesn¡¯t appear in the game. Rather, it should have been natural to assume that even if the player doesn¡¯t see Rex, he would act in the same way as the ¡°Young City Boy Dreaming to be an Adventurer¡± start. It makes sense to think that these kids also exist in the world as ¡°just new adventurers who aren¡¯t related to the Hero¡±. It does make sense, but¡­¡­ (Ahh! But in that case, it would be a real pain in the ass.) There are six other origins for the Hero, and those origins are scattered all over the world. Moreover, once the introductory event is over, I have no idea what actions the ¡°Hero¡± will take. There¡¯s no effective way to search for the Hero other than to go around the world and look for someone who feels like them. (No, it¡¯s not like I have any reason to go out of my way to search for the ¡°Hero¡± though¡­¡­) However, I feel somewhat afraid not knowing who the ¡°Hero¡± is. As I was pondering what to do, one of the boy adventurers, one of the boy adventurers, who had been watching me from a distance, stepped forward and called out to me. [Oi, old man!] [O- Old man!?] My voice inadvertently cracked upon hearing what he just said. (T- This d*mned brat!) Putting aside if he said that to the ¡°me¡± who was living back in Japan, ¡°Rex¡± was recognized as an ikemen by the Japanese gamers, and his age was set at 25. He is not old enough to be called ¡°old man¡±¡­¡­ No, perhaps, for people of his age, being in your 20s makes you an old man. However, even if I forgive you, the hundreds, or dozens, or perhaps, the few Rex fans around the country won¡¯t keep quiet! Just as I was about to yell at him, saying ¡°Take those words back!¡±¡­¡­ [T- That¡¯s rude, Rad-kun!] Intercepting the boy with bright red hair is a girl from the same party. The girl behind her seemed to be the archer, so judging from the composition of the party, she must be their healer. [U- Ummm! Rex-sama! You¡¯re the A-Rank Adventurer Rex Toren-sama, right!?] [Eh, y- yeah, but there¡¯s no need to call me with ¡°-sama¡±.] I understand that she¡¯s a polite girl, but I feel itchy being called by ¡°-sama¡±. When I answered her, she moved closer to me. [I- I¡¯m your fan! It¡¯s an honor to meet you! U- Ummm¡­¡­ Please shake my hand!] [Eh? I- I don¡¯t mind¡­¡­] Trying not to break character, I barely managed to respond to her sudden request. The healer girl, who had closed the distance even further, tightly grasped my hand. [¡­¡­The heck with that. I bet it¡¯s just that he¡¯s been adventuring for a long time. Is it really that great being an A-Rank Adventurer?] Looking displeased, the boy named Rad frowned, but that only invited more outbursts from the girl. [Of course, it¡¯s great! Listen here, okay!? Since he started being an adventurer when he was 15, he has finished more than a thousand quests, and his astounding quest success rate is even higher than 95%! Not to mention that he¡¯s done all of those quests solo, all alone! The solo quests that he¡¯s done are said to be several times more difficult than those completed by a party, and above all, they require total commitment! In other words, Rex-san¡¯s propensity to excel at everything made him achieve these feats! And finally! Last year, his achievements were finally recognized and he got promoted to an A-Rank Adventurer! This would mean that he¡¯s the third Solo Adventurer who has reached A-Rank in this country in 52 years, a truly historical achievement! No, if he makes it all the way up to S-Rank, that would make him the first in this country¡­¡­] [A- Alright! I get it already!] The wave of information that even I, the person himself, was unaware of left not only Rad, but me, speechless. ¡­¡­This girl¡­¡­ She definitely is one of them. One of those ¡°Adventurer Otaku¡± or something along those lines. (However, I see¡­¡­) Looking at it game-wise, Rex isn¡¯t that special of a character. His only features are his few appearances when the Hero goes through the ¡°Young City Boy Dreaming to be an Adventurer¡± route, and a high initial level. However, if you look at Rex from the in-game perspective, the story may be different. I wasn¡¯t really aware of it because the Hero Party easily achieves it in the latter half of the game, but at the start of the game, there were only a few characters whose level had reached over 50, and the same goes for Adventurers who reached A-Rank. At least, it must be special that a ¡°Young City Girl Dreaming to be an Adventurer¡± would look at him with starry eyes. Thinking ¡°Uwaahhh, she¡¯s the real deal¡±, I found myself unable to handle this girl who was clutching my hand as I scratched my head. I certainly don¡¯t like being made light of, but this in itself is also something I find troubling to handle. I feel like I¡¯ll catch a cold from the difference in warmth between this girl and that little sh*t Rad. [¡­¡­I¡¯m really sorry about my party members.] The other boy adventurer came over. "" [Nice to meet you, Rex-san¡­¡­ It would be alright to call you that, right? I¡¯m Nuku.] [Yeah.] The boy who introduced himself as Nuku is the one with the softest demeanor among the four, and with his blue hair swept back, he looked more like a successful merchant than an adventurer. He has a staff, and Rad, who is still scowling at me with eyes filled with suspicion, clearly looked like a swordsman, so this Nuku must be their mage. [And these are comrades who I¡¯m in a party with. This is Rad, a swordsman. The one who is now troubling Rex-san is Mana, a healer. And then¡­¡­] Nuku¡¯s gaze shifted to the other girl standing in the back of the room, who was vigilantly staring at me. Peeking out from between her luxurious golden hair and slender, well-shaped face are pointed ears. She¡¯s the typical Elf as imagined by the Post-Tolkien generation of gamers. [¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.] With the sharp atmosphere of a wild animal, she didn¡¯t respond to any of the two¡¯s gazes. However, I did see a small movement of her lips, seemingly muttering ¡°Rex¡­¡­¡±. [E- Errr¡­¡­ She¡¯s Prana, an archer. She¡¯s a bit socially awkward though¡­¡­] Hearing Nuku say this with a troubled smile, I nodded, telling him it was alright. I guess I should probably introduce myself too. [I think some of you already know me, but I¡¯m Rex Toren, an adventurer. I heard a report saying that a monster sealed in this place seems about to be released, so I came here to investigate.] [I- I see, that¡¯s why¡­¡­] And with this, I made a follow up to that shameful sight earlier. I was relieved to see Nuku seemingly satisfied with my words. Alright, I guess I¡¯ll give them a warning in a Rex-like tone. [It seems that there¡¯s no problem at the moment, but you might want to stay away from this place for the time being, especially when you¡¯re still beginners.] [Y- Yes! Everyone! Let¡¯s withdraw!] Nuku took my words in order and gave the order to return. But then, the red-haired boy just had to throw cold water on the mood around us. [Keh! Is that weak-looking old man really an A-Rank Adventurer!? Are you sure he¡¯s not just trying to trick us by pretending to be a veteran?] [Rad!!!] Rad wasn¡¯t fazed by Nuku¡¯s words of rebuke. Carrying his sword on his shoulder, he¡¯s looking at me with eyes that seem to challenge me. [¡­¡­Small dogs sure bark the loudest.] Adding to the chaos was the elf girl who hadn¡¯t spoken until now. [Prana! What did you just say!?] [¡­¡­I¡¯m just saying stray dogs are noisy.] The spearhead of Rad¡¯s attention immediately turned to Prana, and the two of them began to glare at each other, putting me to the side. Watching the two of them glare at each other and Mana, who was still holding my hand even after all that had happened, I inwardly sighed. (These guys don¡¯t feel like they have any sense of unity at all.) Turning towards Nuku, the only one left in this party with common sense, he apologized for them. Hearing him say such a thing¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Seems like you have it rough too.] There was nothing I could do except to say something like that to him. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù Somehow managing to put the place in order, I started making my way back along with the party of four beginners. [I¡¯m sorry to make you escort us¡­¡­] Hearing Nuku sounding apologetic, I shook my head. [I¡¯m on my way back too anyway, so I don¡¯t mind.] I answered in a nonchalant manner, but in fact, it isn¡¯t like my actions here weren¡¯t for my own self-interest. Rad the swordsman, Nuku the mage, Mana the priest, and Prana the archer. Putting aside their personalities, they are a well-balanced party. And while we¡¯re at it, they¡¯re event characters. In B&B, the names, abilities and appearances of the ordinary adventurers in the game are all randomly determined, but for the party in this event, their jobs and ability tendencies are fixed. Furthermore, although their qualities are determined at random, they are adjusted so that they are greater than average. They¡¯re the exact opposite of Re, who may be strong now, but has no expectations for growth in the future. There¡¯s no doubt that their future is promising, and if they are to survive in this world in the future, there¡¯s no better way to make a connection. [¡­¡­Tch!] There is Rad, who clicked his tongue behind me, but I wouldn¡¯t be so angry when I think of it as the selfishness of a kid a generation younger than me. [This way.] I lead the beginners back the way we came from. In most dungeons, once you get to the back, a shortcut would open up, so you can simply go deeper. However, the Cave of Trials is an exception, perhaps because it¡¯s not a place that players would visit many times. The enemies defeated on the way to the cave still haven¡¯t respawned, so there¡¯s no problem¡­¡­ [We still have some enemies we haven¡¯t killed huh.] Just as we were about to reach the exit, we saw three shadows on our way. They were Goblins, the weakest monsters that one would encounter just after you arrived in this cave. [There¡¯s three of them! Nuku! Support me with your magic¡­¡­] [No, let me take care of it.] I stopped Rad, who was about to step forward with sword in his hands, stepping forward as if to take his place. And then¡­¡­ (Can I use that here?) I consciously focus my attention on my eye. Thereupon, I used the Scout Skill: . (¡­¡­Now isn¡¯t this something.) It¡¯s surreal to see the status screen floating in the real world, but the good news is that I can use my skills just like in the game. In my first battle, I panicked and didn¡¯t get to try out my combat skills. I want to try figuring out at least once my specs here. And although I think this isn¡¯t very mature of me when the other party is just a brat, it¡¯s not a bad idea to show a little bit of my ability here. [O- Oi, old man, there¡¯s no need to get reckless! There are three of them!] [It¡¯s no problem, just step back.] I guess he really must be a good guy on the inside. Letting Rad¡¯s flustered words slide, I rushed over to the enemy before they were ready, pouring magic into my sword as my senses dictated. [¡ª¡ª¡ª-V-Slash!!!] At that moment, the properties of the magic clad on my sword changed. My arm and the sword in my hand, as if they were independent living creatures, left my control and began to move, drawing a brilliant V shape! [Gyaaak!] The downward slash bisected the Goblin¡¯s club that seemed to receive the attack, and the upward slash of the blade went for the kill. (Alright, I can use my Arts just fine.) Arts are special moves of Physical Attack-oriented jobs that can be executed in exchange for MP¡­¡­ Magic Power. "" In the game, you press the right trigger button and let the weapon absorb magic while inputting a set technique, but here, it seems that you can activate such skills by feel. [Gyaaaaaaahhh!] However, there was no time to be lost in thoughts. One of the nearby Goblins passed through the side of the dying Goblin and swung its club at me. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªLike hell that clumsy attack would hit me! This time, I imbued my magic through the small shield equipped on my left arm. Shields are also classified as weapons, but with it being equipped in my non-dominant hand, Arts can¡¯t be used through it even if I imbue my magic power in it. Instead¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªParry!!! Seemingly mowing down the enemy¡¯s attack, the shield clad in magic power repelled the Goblin¡¯s club. Although you need precise timing to properly make use of Parry, the opponent who is struck by the attack with the shield clad with magic is knocked out of its stance for a certain period of time. [Gyaaaakk!?] The Goblin¡¯s body sways defenselessly in the air. Taking advantage of the opening, I slammed my sword into its defenseless head. [¡­¡­Guwaaahh.] The Goblin, struck by a blow to its vital spot, instantly dies. It then collapses to the ground. With this, that leaves only one Goblin left. The last one left was a Goblin wielding a shortsword and a shield instead of a club. With the Goblin¡¯s shield cockily lifted up, we stood in a standoff. (Now then, what should I do?) The Goblin, perhaps wary of my attacks, kept its shield up and didn¡¯t attack immediately. As I watched the Goblin slowly move around me, I silently moistened my lips. (If I go in forcefully, I can defeat it.) The Goblin¡¯s stats, as seen from , is suitably low-level. With ¡°Rex¡¯s¡± current PATK, it would be possible to even mow down the Goblin along with its shield. However, I guess this would be a suitable time to try something new since there¡¯s an opportunity huh. [Hmph!] Exhaling a bit, I let my body sink down a little, and the next moment, I tilted my body to the right. (¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CHow about this?) Once again, I poured magic into the sword in my right hand. I used the same Sword Art: as before. This time, however, I tilted my body to the right and swung my sword with my own will, following the moves that have been drilled into my head. The blow cleanly passed underneath the Goblin¡¯s shield, drawing a bright slash line and cleaving the Goblin¡¯s body horizontally. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªV-Slash!!!] Of course, it doesn¡¯t end there. "" With my shout, my sword leapt up with returning thrust and sliced through the monster¡¯s body, passing through its belly. [¡­¡­Fuuu.] It seems like this too worked properly. As the Goblin in front of me helplessly fell with a huge cut in the middle of its body, I exhaled. [Rex-san, what was that just now?] But suddenly hearing Nuku, who had been watching the battle behind me, call out, I was secretly surprised. [¡­¡­Just now?] I asked him in return, when I realized what he meant. He was talking about what I had tried out just now, an Art¡¯s ¡°Manual Execution¡±. The arts are used automatically in front of you if you input the command, but you can also activate them by holding down the Special Move button and tracing the exact path of the Art by yourself. I mean, that was what it originally was. The main selling point of B&B is the realistic sword fighting battles using the motion controller, as if you were swinging the weapon yourself. Despite this, if you just press a button to perform a Special Move and watch the rest of the action go on its own, it feels like you¡¯re missing something. "" In fact, Manual Execution is more versatile, and accurately tracing the trajectory of a move gives you bonuses in power and range. For this reason, Manual is better for players to use, but I had never seen NPCs or monsters using Arts manually. Glancing behind me, I saw Rad, who had been calling me old man all this time, looking at me with his mouth half-open, looking startled. I dunno if it counts since I¡¯m just using borrowed power, but if I¡¯m to be honest, this does feel good. [¡­¡­The only thing I can tell you is that there are skills like that out there.] Trying my best to hide the grin that was about to creep out of my mouth, I pretentiously evaded their pursuit. I speeded up my steps so that no one could see my face, but I could afford to do so only until I saw the light from outside. [Red?] Red is indeed the color of sunset, but the time seems too early for that. I wonder if I spent too much time in the cave than I thought I would. Driven by a somewhat ominous feeling, we somehow found ourselves running for the exit. And there¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªEh?] As we exited the cave, we were at a loss for words. Even from here, we could see it clearly. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªTowards the western sky, Ash City was being consumed in flames. CH 3 I stood dumbfounded in front of the city burning bright red. (¡­¡­I see! I¡¯m so stupid!) When my brain finally grasped what was happening in front of me, the first thing that came to my mind was regret. I had mistakenly thought that the event of the attack on Ash City had also disappeared because the ¡°Hero¡± of this world wasn¡¯t the . However, even if they had chosen a different origin, the Ash City would still have been attacked and destroyed by monsters. In other words, the attack on Ash City would have taken place even if the ¡°Hero¡± hadn¡¯t broken the seal in the Cave of Trials. The release of the seal in the Cave of Trials was probably just a trigger, or perhaps, it just coincided with the monster attack, but there was no significant connection between the two. (If I just thought about it a bit more, I should have been able to see it coming!) I grit my teeth at my own carelessness. Just then, a gust of wind blew the smoke from the city away for a moment, bringing with it a burning heat and the sickening smell of something being scorched. [How awful¡­¡­] Hearing someone murmur behind me, I was in total agreement. The city, which was supposed to be solid and surrounded by high city walls, was under attack from above. Countless Gargoyles and Flying Devils covered the sky above the city just like black dots, while those Gargoyles also brought with them common monsters, dropping them from the skies. [Airborne drop¡­¡­!] Each of those gargoyles had the strength of a mid-game monster. In other words, they had the ability of a mid-level Adventurer. I understand, not only theoretically, but also through my senses, that the city couldn¡¯t withstand this monster attack. It was a nauseating sight. However, that wasn¡¯t the only thing that caught my eye. [O- Over there! Someone is¡­¡­!] [Wha!?] I hurriedly lowered my gaze a bit, and there I found someone being attacked by a Gargoyle. Seeing the Gargoyle¡¯s hand striking the person¡¯s chest, I felt my blood seething. [Tch!!!] [Rex-san!?] As I left everyone behind, with someone gasping in surprise, I hurriedly rushed out. (Why!? This place, this event¡­¡­ Ahh, dammit!!! I¡¯ll shelve that for later!) Forcing the chaotic thoughts aside, I imbue magic into my sword. [¡­¡­!] Tracing an ¡Þ-like trajectory with my sword, I activated an Art that increases my movement speed when activated. In that instant, I accelerated to a scary speed. Immediately, gaining the momentum of a severing wind, I approached my destination so fast that I felt like my legs would tangle up. (Ahh, dammit!) Although I just got killed for saving someone, I really didn¡¯t learn from my actions. However¡­¡­ [If it¡¯s just a Gargoyle!] With it so focused on attacking, its back is defenseless. Towards such a defenseless body, I unleashed a blow with all my might. (!) As if to pull a screw out of one¡¯s body, I unleashed a full-powered thrust. [Kyaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!] Gargoyles originally aren¡¯t the kind of enemy that the early-game Rex could defeat with a single strike. However, with a deafening scream, the Gargoyle I attacked disappeared. (The speed boost dash and the flank attack still work wonders huh. No, this isn¡¯t the time for that!) Taking my gaze off from the disappearing Gargoyle, I ran over to the person who was being attacked. [Are you alright!?] The person being attacked by the Gargoyle was a girl with bright blue hair. The girl, covered in scars, took one look at me, and for some reason, she had a relieved smile on her lips. [Thank¡­¡­ goodness. Rex¡­¡­ nii-sa¡­¡­] [Eh¡­¡­?] Hearing words I didn¡¯t expect, I froze for a moment. [The city¡­¡­ Monsters¡­¡­ Run away¡­¡­] After saying this, she closed her eyes, as if she had run out of energy. (I see, this is¡­¡­) After defeating the Sealed Demon in the game, the Hero party would find that the city was under the attack of monsters after they left the cave. And after that, you¡¯ll find a girl laying in front of the city. From what I¡¯ve read, she was Rex¡¯s sister who lived in Ash City, and if I¡¯m not mistaken¡­¡­ Her name should be Lecilia. Lecilia would tell Rex about the attack on the city and to run away before drawing her last breath. It was supposed to be an impactful opening that gives the players a sense of hopelessness but¡­¡­ (Like hell if I care about that now!) Concentrating on my left hand, I accessed the inventory, an item storage function that everyone had in game. Taking out a Healing Potion from my inventory, I poured it over the girl¡¯s wounds. [¡­¡­Ughk!] The unconscious girl softly groaned, but the painful wound quickly healed. By the time I had used up all the healing items I had on hand, her wounds were completely gone and her color had somewhat improved. (She¡¯s going to be alright with this, right?) In the game, when the Hero party went out of the game, there was no monster by Lecilia¡¯s side, and she was already on the verge of dying. Perhaps, the encounter with her was a little earlier than in the game because the fight against the Sealed Demon didn¡¯t happen. I guess that means my actions also changed events just a little bit huh. [Oi, old man! This is bad!] However, I don¡¯t have the time to think about that. When I looked up upon hearing Rad¡¯s words as he caught up with me, I saw the group of Gargoyles who had taken hold of the ramparts had noticed us and were making a fuss. [¡­¡­Let¡¯s run away.] I quickly turned my back on the city as I picked up the unconscious girl. [B- But, the city is¡­¡­!] [That¡¯s impossible.] The gates are tightly shut from the inside, and inside the city are hordes of monsters that even Rex can¡¯t beat. The option of going to help them is¡­¡­ [But that city is Mana¡¯s hometown! I¡¯m sure she has family and friends there¡­¡­] However, Rad¡¯s shout blew away such dry calculations. Seemingly having realized what he just said, he hurriedly looked back to Mana. She looked down for a moment, but she quickly and clearly stated. [¡­¡­Let¡¯s run away.] [Sorry.] "" I do feel guilty for her, but even if I go help them, I will only die in vain. We have to get away from here as soon as possible¡­¡­ [However! Which way are we going to run?] [Ahh¡­¡­] However, Mana¡¯s next words reminded me of the harsh reality. That¡¯s right¡­¡­ I remember now. I remember it clearly now. When you start out as , your initial Partner Character ¡°changes according to your choices¡±. We would need to make a choice here. There are two towns where we can go from this place. A small fishing village located at the end of the next fork, towards the road leading to the north, ¡°Umina¡±. A town located further east on the road leading back to the without turning at the fork, ¡°Rikushia¡±. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThe choice of our destination would determine our fate. In case we head east to Rikushia, we¡¯ll be ambushed by Gargoyles before we reach the town. Although I¡­¡­ Rex fought them back desperately, the Gargoyles had the number advantage and he would be unable to protect the entire party. The new adventurers, with the exception of the Hero, would be wiped out. However, if we head north to Umina, a Lv60 Doom Demon would pursue the party, and Rex would stay behind to hold it off. The new adventurers, including the Hero, would somehow be able to reach Umina, but Rex would be killed in his useless struggle. East or North, the ultimate choice. If I choose East, three of these young boys and girls with good futures will die, and if I choose North, I will die. Whichever choice you make, you will have to make sacrifices, and you will never be able to see the friends you abandoned again. [Goddammit. You¡¯ve got to be kidding me¡­¡­] Sweat began pouring out of me. What the heck is this? Wait. Just wait a damned minute¡­¡­ For Pete¡¯s sake, I¡¯m just a salaryman. I¡¯m just an ordinary guy living in modern Japan, surrounded by all the convenience of civilization. There¡¯s no way I can make such a life and death decision¡­¡­ [Old man! They¡¯re starting to move¡­¡­] Turning my attention on the city wall, I saw the Gargoyles about to take off towards us. We¡¯re running out of time. Gritting my teeth, I inwardly swore at the game writers who came up with this situation. (What should I do? Which option should I choose?) However, if we stay here, we¡¯ll just end up dying a dog¡¯s death. Everyone¡¯s eyes are on me. Making up my mind, I chose¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- CH 4 [We did it! I can see Rikushia!] [We survived!] [Quick, we have to tell them about what happened in Ash City!] As I looked at them rush towards the town, I glanced around with a somewhat wary eyes. Going through this path, I already knew what was going to happen next. From what I read from the strategy guides I have seen from the internet, someone in the party will surely die in this ¡°Burning City¡± event. This is an event that absolutely can¡¯t be avoided. That¡¯s why, I have ¡°chosen¡±. The path heading towards East¡­¡­ The path that would have them as the sacrifice¡­¡­ [Stop! If you get too far ahead¡­¡­] Making merry for their survival, the voice of their senior adventurer didn¡¯t reach their ears. And then, as if seizing that moment, the God of Death for them descends. [! Run! It¡¯s Gargoyles!] Jet-black winged beings poured down on them. Gargoyles themselves are just mid-ranked monsters, not the kind of opponent that newbie adventurers, and even a veteran adventurer of Rex¡¯s ability would fall behind in a frontal one-on-one fight. Still, with the distance between us, it would take no small amount of time to defeat the Gargoyles that attacked them and go to their rescue. And that was far too much time to decide ¡°their¡± fate. [S- Stop! I will be the Hero¡­¡­] [Help me! I don¡¯t wanna die¡­¡­] [I- It hurts! Mom¡­¡­] The screams of the newbie adventurers shook my eardrums one after another. I just watched them die, listening to their screams emotionlessly. [I didn¡¯t have enough time huh.] "" By the time Rex had cut down all the Gargoyles around him, the three newbie adventurers I had formed a party with had already turned into silent corpses. Only two remained in the party. With sad BGM playing, Rex and I mourned the corpses of our comrades who had been with us only a few minutes ago, before Rex and I entered the town of Rikushia. [¡­¡­This event really leaves a bad aftertaste in my mouth.] Mumbling such words to myself, I saved my progress in the town and turned off the game. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [¡­¡­D*mn it.] Standing in this crossroad, I remember something unpleasant. When I first played Brave & Blade, I chose , which was at the top of the list as the Hero¡¯s origins, and on my first run, I chose to have our party escape to the east towards Rikushia. There, seeing all my comrades die, I was dumbfounded. After that, I reloaded my game and instead opted to head North, and was surprised for the second time when I saw Rex die. Seeing all this happen, I searched the internet for a walkthrough, and deciding to head east to keep Rex alive and proceed with the adventure smoothly, I watched the event where my comrades died once again. If we proceeded east here to the town of Rikushia, the same thing would happen here. That being the case, I obviously won¡¯t accept heading towards a future in which we head north and I die. And so¡­¡­ [We¡¯re heading East! However, we aren¡¯t heading towards the town of Rikushia!] Whether it¡¯s east or north¡­¡­ I could see the confusion on these kids¡¯ faces who were waiting for which decision I would pick between the two of those options. Still, I told them clearly in a strong tone of voice, as if to shake them out of their confusion. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Let¡¯s head back to the cave.] If either choice will always have someone be a sacrifice, then I¡¯ll pick a third choice! ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [Old man! What¡¯s your plan running back to this cave!? If they block the entrance, we¡¯ll have nowhere to run¡­¡­] [It¡¯ll be okay. This cave has 2 entrances.] Responding to the question of Rad, who was running behind me, I ran towards my destination. This is a gamble. If this doesn¡¯t work, what Rad said could be the worst thing that could happen. However, if this succeeds¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Found it.] At first glance, the wall of the cave looks ordinary. However, one could see a 3 meter-high wall that is unnaturally protruding out From below, one can¡¯t see what was like above it but¡­¡­ (Is this climbable¡­¡­?) Feeling the eyes of the newbie party on my back, I stared at the cave wall. Fortunately, the cave wall has a gentle slope that was somewhat climbable. With my current physical abilities, I should be able to make it up there as long as I¡¯m careful about my footing. Besides¡­¡­ [Hmph!] The sword in my hand was thrust towards the wall, and although it felt hard, my sword slightly pierced the wall. In the game, when I attacked the wall, my weapon would just be bounced off and nothing happened, but it feels like that wouldn¡¯t be the case here. (¡­¡­Alright!) With my heart fired up, I took a little distance from the wall and re-gripped the sword in my right hand with a backhand grip. ¡­¡­Since I was sent from Japan to the Cave of Trials, I had been secretly thinking about trying ¡°this¡±. In the game, you can¡¯t take any action other than those that were pre-set. No matter how suspicious the title of a book may be, the player can¡¯t check its contents unless the ¡°Read¡± command pops out, and even if there¡¯s a tree that you think you can climb, you can¡¯t climb it unless the game is set up so that it was climbable. That was a matter of course in the game. However, what about in reality? [Hmph.] Letting out a small sigh, I started with a light dash, jumped up and ran up the cave wall. [With this!] Just as I was about to reach the limit of my starting dash, I thrust the sword in my hand into the wall, and using it as a handhold, I lifted myself up further. And then¡­¡­ [Finally reached it!] I managed to hook his left hand on the ledge and lifted myself up. Finally, both of my feet touched the flat ground and I breathed a sigh of relief. The protruding part of the wall. On top of it, there was the foothold I had been eyeing, and it was a rope ladder, rolled up in that place. (It¡¯s here, just as I thought.) The Dungeon is connected to another High-class Dungeon and when you conquer the , a shortcut would be opened up, allowing the player to come and go through that path as you please. ¡­¡­However, that¡¯s just ¡°in the game¡±. The shortcut is really a game-like procedure of ¡°lowering a rope ladder to the ground¡±. I thought I could climb that high without the rope ladder, so I gave it a try on the spur-of-the-moment. [This way. Come on, climb up.] Lowering the rope ladder, I beckoned the newbie adventurers to climb up. It took a lot of effort to climb the rope ladder with the unconscious Lecilia in my arms, but we all managed to make it to the top of the ledge. [T- To think that there¡¯s this route in this place¡­¡­] I looked sideways at Mana, the priest, whose eyes widened in surprise, while I kept my vigilance around us. This shortcut is connected to three places: the entrance of , the entrance of and the deepest area of the . There should be no monsters in the shortcut, but the recommended level for conquering the is 30. If we encounter a monster here, there¡¯s a high possibility that not only the newbie party, but even I would have a hard time against them. [Don¡¯t drop your guard yet. The Wyverns¡¯ nest is just ahead.] [W- Wyverns¡­¡­!] Nuku, the mage, was about to shout, but I hurriedly blocked his mouth. [L- Let¡¯s get out of this place!] Rad, who had been showing such a cocky attitude, turned pale, seemingly terrified of the Wyverns. Even if we don¡¯t keep our guard up, Wyverns wouldn¡¯t come to a narrow path like this, but Wyvern whelps also appear on the . It would still be best to be on the lookout. [¡­¡­This way.] Holding my breath, I lead the four newbies ahead. I still had Lecilia held in my arms, but with ¡°Rex¡¯s¡± trained arm strength, it¡¯s not a particular concern. The four people behind me didn¡¯t say any complaints, and perhaps, telling them about the Wyverns had some sort of effect, even that Rad was walking quietly with his sword at the ready. (Now then, since we¡¯re at it¡­¡­) While we were walking in silence, I checked my equipment again. (From the looks of it, I have the same initial equipment Rex had in the game. But to be honest¡­¡­ This equipment is shabby.) Of course, I was using more expensive equipment than Rad and the others, who were just starting out, but it was still not enough for a Lv 50 Adventurer. My only weapon, the , is a unique item and has a decent performance, but in the end, it¡¯s only so-so. (The problem now is the consumables huh.) Humans in this world have a storage area called in their left hand. When you focus your attention on your left hand, a list of the items in your inventory appears in your mind. (As I thought.) The last item in my inventory was the ones I used on Lecilia, who had been attacked by a Gargoyle earlier. I¡¯m supposed to be a first-rate adventurer, but I¡¯m not carrying enough recovery items. Aren¡¯t you quite negligent, Rex? No, I know that the items he¡¯s carrying was just in relation to the game progression but¡­¡­ [The exit is over here¡­¡­ but wait here for a moment.] [O- Old man!?] Pretending not to hear the voices behind me, I lowered Lecilia down behind a rock, and just in case, I readied my swords and continued on the path leading to the deepest part of the . I¡¯m not trying to fight any monsters. I just want to stop by a few spots since I¡¯m here. (If it¡¯s the same as in the game, it should be around here¡­¡­) Concentrating magic into my eyes, I used the Scout Skill: . The world became monochrome, and only the significant places would glow a faint blue. [Over there huh.] Putting down the weapon in my hand, I ran to the spot where the light was shining, and held my left hand there. Thereupon, the light on that spot was sucked into my left hand. If it¡¯s the same as in the game, that means ¡°harvesting¡± is now complete. The item should be stored in my in my left hand. At that moment¡­¡­ [What the heck are you doing at a time like this, you old man!?] A suppressed shout echoed through the cave. Rad, who had apparently followed me, had a frown on his face. [As you can see, harvesting. And also, watch your step. That water is poisonous.] [P- Poisonous!?] Rad, who had hurriedly ran away from the foamy waters, soon snapped. [W- What¡¯s the big idea here, harvesting in this situation!?] [It¡¯s exactly because we¡¯re in this situation. This is harmful for your body, but if you drink it, it¡¯ll boost your status. It should be useful for a fight.] [B- But that¡¯s poisonous, right?] [Don¡¯t worry, the here will negate the side-effects of the .] Even when I confidently said that, Rad still softly refuted me. [H- However, I¡¯ve never heard of something like that¡­¡­] [Of course, you wouldn¡¯t have heard about it. It¡¯s a valuable item after all.] Although volatile within 7 days of harvesting, it¡¯s useful as an alchemical ingredient and a strengthening item. It can only be obtained once every few months, but the is one of the best recovery items and sells for a very high price. If it¡¯s possible, it would be more useful to use it to raise money than to use it as an item. [However, we are in an emergency situation. We have to be prepared.] The same way as before, I harvested the from the small spring flowing near Rad¡¯s feet. [¡­¡­Don¡¯t put your sword down when you¡¯re in enemy territory, old man.] Looking up, I saw Rad picking up the weapon I had put aside and held it out to me. He¡¯s acting clumsily, but it seems like he¡¯s trying to compromise in his own way. [Thanks.] Saying this, I accepted the Brave Sword Rad held out to me. However, even as he handed me the sword, Rad¡¯s gaze didn¡¯t leave my sword. I noticed that his gaze was moving back and forth between my waist and his own waist, when it hit me. [Are you jealous of my sword?] [Wha!? I- It¡¯s nothing like that!] I felt the tense feeling I had loosening a bit when I saw Rad¡¯s honest reaction, as if I had hit the bull¡¯s-eye. [Let¡¯s see, if I die, you can take this sword with you.] [Don¡¯t say something like that! Also, I don¡¯t need it!] It certainly was like Rad to say things like that, but in the event of Rex¡¯s death in the game, the Hero was to receive the Brave Sword. It¡¯s not too far-fetched to say that in their current newbie party, Rad could possibly be the Hero¡­¡­ [I¡¯m just kidding, let¡¯s go.] That future won¡¯t happen. No, I won¡¯t allow that future to happen. With renewed determination, Rad and I headed back the way we came. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù Fortunately, we didn¡¯t encounter any monsters, and we passed through the without incident. "" The next city wouldn¡¯t be far from the . After walking for a while, we soon saw the gate of the city in our sight. [We did it! I can see the city!] Nuku, the mage, reflexively shouted. [Quick, we have to tell them about what happened in Ash City!] Prana, the archer, who seemed unusually distracted, said this was and was about to break into a run. However¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-It seems like things won¡¯t just be that easy huh.] There was a shadow flying straight towards us. However¡­¡­ It wasn¡¯t the herd of Gargoyles that flew in just before the party arrived in the town of Rikushia in the game. [T- That is¡­¡­?] It was only one monster that flew in. [Good grief. Can¡¯t you freaking give me a break?] Staring at the status revealed by , I swore as much as I could with my trembling voice. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThe Demon who is destined to bring ¡°Rex¡± to his death swoops down from the sky. CH 5 With a resounding crash, the huge body of the Doom Demon landed in front of us. The Doom Demon is a demon with a huge body of over two meters, with a dark black skin that looks very solid. (¡­¡­It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s going to be alright.) I started thinking about the possibilities. If we went to the town of Rikushia, Gargoyles would attack us, and if we went to the village of Umina, a Doom Demon would attack us. In that case, what if we went to other cities? The answer is probably this Doom Demon in front of us. (In the end, no matter which city we would go to, I won¡¯t be able to escape the events huh.) Actually, I don¡¯t know what would happen by choosing this path. Moving away from two options that would both lead to needing to sacrifice someone, I just thought that, being faced with this, it just doesn¡¯t matter anymore. [I¡¯ll leave her to you.] Entrusting Lecilia, who I had been carrying, to Lad, I took out items from my inventory. Sprinkling the I had harvested earlier on my body, I drank down the . I feel my body heat up and my strength begin to surge. With this, I¡¯ll be able to somewhat fight it¡­¡­ is what I¡¯d like to believe. [Go. You guys go to the city and call for help.] Fortunately, the Doom Demon landed opposite of the city. While someone is dealing with the demon, the others can escape into the city. [O- Old man!] [I¡¯ll keep him busy.] Remembering the game dialogue, I glared at the demon as it slowly made its way towards me. [I¡¯ll go! I¡¯m definitely coming back with reinforcements!] While the newbies were unsure of what to do, it was Prana, the archer, who quickly made her move. I¡¯m grateful for her cleverness right now. Though I say that¡­¡­ (Assuming things go as they do in the game though, I suppose it wouldn¡¯t matter how fast she moves.) I remember this event clearly. Fighting a vain battle, Rex¡¯s chest is pierced by the Doom Demon, whose body is clad in a sinister light, and as soon as he falls, reinforcements from the city arrive. This is simply a matter of convenience of events, so it wouldn¡¯t matter how long or short the battle between Rex and demon may be. I can¡¯t say that it will go exactly as the event goes, but it does mean I can¡¯t expect reinforcements. [O- Old man! I¡¯m gonna fight too!] [M- me too! I should at least be able to Heal you!] Hearing their words, while I kept my gaze forward, I shouted back to Rad and Mana. [Stop! You¡¯re no match for it!] [B- But!] [Five minutes! Just stand over there and watch for five minutes!] Saying this, I readied my sword. The demon was only a few meters away from me. I don¡¯t have the composure to mind about them. [ ! ] The demon¡¯s bright red eyes flashed, and its huge body moved. Pulling wide the humongous spear it wields in its right hand in a unique motion and its left hand thrust forward, it was a motion I¡¯m quite familiar with! (Generic Spear Art: !!!) Instantly seeing through its attack, I leaned my body to the right with all my might. Immediately after, I heard a thunderous sound of wind rushing past my ears. (Fast!) If I hadn¡¯t known that this attack was coming, I would never have been able to avoid it. Whipping my body that was cramping from fear, I clenched my teeth, stamped my right foot, and swung my sword at the enemy¡¯s outstretched arm. [Why you little!] The strike I unleashed with all my might, however, was repulsed with the demon¡¯s tough skin. (God freaking dammit! The stat difference is just too huge!!!) It was Lv 60, while I¡¯m Lv 50. Moreover, Rex is just a Level Fraud, as his actual ability value is about the same as a Lv 30 character. His equipment was so poor that it was hard to believe he was Lv 50, so there was no way he could win. A blow to the opponent¡¯s arm that ended in futility ended the once-in-a-lifetime chance. Finished with its thrusting motion, the demon twisted its spear and cleaved to the side. I, on the other hand, am out of position because of the unsuccessful attack on its arm but¡­¡­ (That doesn¡¯t mean I should just give up!) It didn¡¯t unleash an Art, but just a rough brandish of its claw to the side, having no core strength held within it. As if to find a flaw within it, I intercepted it with the shield in my left hand, clad with my magic. The difference in our power originally made it so that I wouldn¡¯t be able to stand against it. However, the system easily bridges that gap. (Parry!) If you imbue your magic into the weapon held in your non-dominant hand, it would become Parry instead of an Art. The timing for using Parry is pretty strict, but once Parry is executed, no matter the difference in ability, the attack will be repelled! [Grwahh?] As its attack was repelled, the demon let out an agitated cry. However, I didn¡¯t have the time for pursuit. Retreating once, I tried regaining my stance for a moment¡­¡­ (This is bad¡ª¡ª¡ª-!) In front of me, who jumped backwards to get distance from it, the demon showed movements it hadn¡¯t shown before. Lowered body. "" Holding one¡¯s spear wide, this is¡­¡­ (Exclusive Spear Art: !) An AOE attack with high power. And an attack that can¡¯t be parried! (If it was targeting where I moved back, I can¡¯t avoid it. In that case, it seems like I¡¯ve gotta take the plunge!) The decision was made in a split second. I leaned back in the middle of my backstep, and moved my sword with all my might. Normally, there are no Arts that can counter the that aims at the feet of the enemy. However¡­¡­ [D*mn it!] If you Auto-Trigger an Art, it will automatically use the technique toward the front. That slash line is the ideal way of using the Art, but it isn¡¯t¡¯ absolutely required to follow through that guideline. In the case of Manual Execution of an Art, all that is required for activation is the movement and angle of the weapon, and the orientation and starting point of the weapon in relation to the screen are not taken into account. So, if you activate an Art while the player or weapon is angled, the trajectory of the Art will also be ¡°tilted¡±. In other words¡­¡­ [Irregular¡­¡­ !] A slash line, generated from exactly at the foot of the player¡¯s body, intercepts the Wave Thrust out of its original position. Although my weapon was defeated in terms of power, bouncing my weapon away and making me receive damage, I was able to tide through the demon¡¯s attack. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThis is the strength of Manual Execution of Arts! With Manual Execution, where the starting point is not preset, the trajectory can be manipulated to some extent by changing the weapon¡¯s position or daring to tilt the weapon while activating the Art. From the top, from the bottom, from the side¡­¡­ You can even aim for an attack that deals emotional pain to the enemy, slashing to their right when you¡¯re looking at their left. [I¡¯ve still got more!] Perhaps surprised that its blow was blocked, it responded with a thoughtless strike, to which I responded with another parry. "" A big opening is exposed. However, I already know that even if I just hit it, I won¡¯t deal any damage. In that case¡­¡­ (¡ª¡ª¡ª-) Swinging the sword as if stroking the demon¡¯s flank, I ¡°unleashed¡± the Art so that it wouldn¡¯t strike its body. With the remaining momentum, I spun my body, and pulling back my arm, I drew a special trajectory in the air. I only have one target for attack. The demon¡¯s back, exposed and unprotected. [¡ª¡ª¡ª-!!!] As the demon was still unable to fully grasp the situation, my unleashed blow clearly strikes the root of the demon¡¯s wings. [Grwaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!] I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because of anger and pain, but it swung its arm towards me. Taking a step back to avoid it, I tried catching my breath at the moment. (Ahh, d*mn it¡­¡­!) My heart is pounding like crazy and my hands are trembling. However, without me noticing, a smile seems to be on my lips. I mean, that was the case, right? I can deal some damage even against a Doom Demon if I hit it from the rear with a high-damage Art. And since I inflict damage, that means I can defeat it! [Amazing¡­¡­] Over the Demon¡¯s shoulder, I could see Rad and the others staring at me in amazement. Naturally, my smile deepens. It certainly is fun to play the Unparalleled Warrior with borrowed power, but even though it was only a game, it felt great to see my accumulated efforts take shape. The feeling of euphoria while fighting next to the danger of death makes my heart soar. However, this isn¡¯t enough. I won¡¯t stop with just this! The demon looked at me with eyes that were clearly trembling with anger, and as if to show the magnitude of its frustration, it strongly gripped its spear in the air and sweeped it along the ground. It seemed to have learned that merely attacking will cause its attack to be parried, as it was trying to sparingly use its Arts, but that¡¯s useless. I already know what technique he will use. (Mid-Range Spear Art: ) While thinking of the name of the Art that the demon will shoot at me in my mind, I lean my body to the right, and at the same time, I swung my sword, which is filled with magic, from left to right. (¡ª¡ª¡ª-) The demon¡¯s spear pierces the ground and blows up the ground. However, it¡¯s meaningless if there¡¯s no opponent at the end of that strike. On the other hand, my sword, which was swung early, also failed to hit the enemy. However, that¡¯s okay. (Over-Art!!!) Putting magic into my sword as I bring my leaning body back, I unleashed a diagonal strike from upper right to lower left. However, this attack too didn¡¯t reach the demon. It may not have reached the monster, but faster than the demon, who has finished releasing its , could pull back its spear¡­¡­ (¡ª¡ª¡ª-!) My third and final assault, my real attack, had reached the demon¡¯s arm. [Graaaaahhhh!] My attack on its arm that had been repelled earlier made the demon scream in agony. As the demon held me in sight, not like the robotic look it had in the past, nor the glare of one who promises revenge, but as if it was looking at something it couldn¡¯t comprehend, I gave it a deep and profound smile. (That¡¯s right. You don¡¯t understand, do you? Things you don¡¯t understand are scary, aren¡¯t they?) This is a power that Rex doesn¡¯t have, but I myself possess. This is a technique usable only by those who see this world as a game, those who know how its system works. That¡¯s right¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª-This is the power that cost me 23760 Yen, tax included!] CH 6 The biggest reason why B&B, which was supposed to be a big title, was not a hit. The main reason is the use of the infamous stick-type controller as the recommended controller. The Dynamic Motion Z is a game controller that reproduces the player¡¯s movements realistically in the game through a dual system of high-performance gyro sensor and a special device installed in front of the display. Well, to put it simply, when this stick is swung in real life, the game character would reproduce the same motion of swinging a piece of stick around. Although the game character was just imitating your movements, no, perhaps because the game character was imitating your movements that the degree of perfection using that controller was amazing, it was supposed to take the immersive gaming scene by storm¡­¡­ but it didn¡¯t sell at all. Since the boom in immersion games had already passed and few game software titles could be released for them, they were completely ignored by all but a few game enthusiasts, and Dynamic Motion Z, along with the simultaneously released game software was buried in the dark recesses of game history. In the midst of such a situation, B&B was released four months later, trying to catch up with the boom of Dynamic Motion Z. Though in fact, the Dynamic Motion boom didn¡¯t exist, and if it had been released at least at the same time as Dynamic Motion Z, this game could have been the spark that ignited the boom. Expecting it to achieve such a thing after four months was just too cruel. The sword-fighting action, which is the selling point of the game, is completely predicated on the use of the Dynamic Motion Z, and without it, the fun of the game is reduced by half. That said, there were few users who were willing to go out of their way to buy the Dynamic Motion Z for the sake of B&B. There were other reasons that the product wasn¡¯t being sold as a set, but the biggest problem of all was the price: The suggested retail price of the Dynamic Motion Z was 7980 yen. In addition, the game requires both hands to operate the shield in your left hand or to draw a bow, so the total price is just a few yen short of 16,000 yen. If you add the price of the game software, it exceeds 20,000 yen. Looking at that price tag, people say that needing to buy it for 20,000 yen for a quality experience is stupid, because they could buy a game console with that money. But I bought it. ¡­¡­I¡¯ll say it again. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI bought it! With the money I earned from my part-time job, which I earned while suffering from a stomach ache due to my relationship at work, I paid 23,760 yen (including tax) for all the cables, protective sheets, and other peripherals, and I got the complete B&B set! And thanks to that, I¡¯m able to do this now! [Lightning, V-Slash!] While dodging the opponent¡¯s attack, I cut and slashed in a zigzag pattern, looking like a bolt of lightning. [Cross Raid, Cleave Strike!] As the demon unleashed a horizontal slash that seemingly intended to reach me, I leaped up and slashed it from above its head. [Divine, Stinger Thrust!] From the large distance between us, I closed the distance in a single breath and delivered a painful thrust. Before I knew it, the demon, which should have easily had me cornered, was already wounded all over its body. As if our positions had been reversed, it stared at me with bloodshot eyes. ¡­¡­Of course, there¡¯s a cause for these rapid attacks. One is that Manual Execution of Arts means that ¡°as long as you can accurately trace a move, you can activate even Arts that you haven¡¯t learned¡±. As long as you have enough MP to execute it, you can even activate Sword Arts that you¡¯re supposed to learn only at the end game, and even activate Arts from different weapon types. Well, it isn¡¯t that all Arts can be used through this method since many Arts include ¡°equipping a specific weapon type¡± as a condition for activation, but this will greatly expand your options. There¡¯s also another important factor created by Manual Execution of Arts. It¡¯s a technique called ¡°Double Art¡± which allows me to ¡°stack up the usage of Arts¡± by utilizing the skill . The Thief Skill: is a skill that increases the power of Arts by doubling the magic used in it, but if you perform Over-Art with Manual Execution, the system¡¯s determination of activation for Arts would occur again. The most obvious example would be the Art: , which is a set of two slash-type Arts: and the Art: could be activated by just stacking up the Art: . Arts originally can¡¯t be activated during the activation of an Art, but by utilizing Over-Art after the Vertical Slash and just before the Horizontal Slash begins, the system¡¯s determination of activation for Arts would be restored. By performing the Horizontal Slash there, the attack is determined as ¡°the second strike of Cross Slice¡± and ¡°the first attack of Horizontal Slice¡± at the same time, and the damage modifiers of those two Arts would then be calculated and combined in that attack. This is the reason why the demon, which shouldn¡¯t even be able to be wounded with my strength, has been inflicted with painful damage. (Though I say that, doing this really is reckless.) Double-Art is heavy on MP consumption. In addition to the fact that Over-Art itself doubles the MP consumption of Arts, using two Arts at the same time costs me nearly four times the normal MP usage. In addition, Arts have a cooldown time, and once an Art is used, it can¡¯t be activated for several tens of seconds to several minutes. If the user forgot their cooldown time, the Art won¡¯t be activated, leaving them open to being killed if they aren¡¯t careful. (If I hadn¡¯t buffed my Regeneration with an item, I would have run out of MP and died long ago.) Although I was fighting with desperate adjustments and deceptions, my MP was already running out. Above all, I was fighting for my life for the first time in my life, so my concentration was at its limits. Every time an enemy attack grazes the tip of my nose, every time I parry away a lethal blow, I can feel my nerves being sapped. The sense of omnipotence that once overflowed in me has now been overshadowed by exhaustion. Sweat poured down my forehead, dripping above my eyes and obscuring my vision. My head feels strangely light-headed, and yet, it feels heavy. I¡¯m feeling some sort of pressure, as if my stomach was being gripped, and even though it strangely didn¡¯t feel real, it felt as if I might easily make an irreversible mistake. (It¡¯s about time huh.) With my mind feeling hazy, I looked toward the Doom Demon, who perhaps because it had been badly beaten back many times, didn¡¯t seem to be attacking immediately. Only after the fight starts does a stalemate occur. (Even so, it must have taken some damage.) The enemy is just as exhausted as me, no, even more than me, and they¡¯re also injured. Their wings, their pride and joy, are in tatters, and wounds could be seen here and there on its body. If I could somehow strike a few more effective blows, I might be able to defeat it. However, the difference in strength was still obvious, and the fact remained that if I made the wrong move here, I would die. Unlike the first time when it was repeatedly making simple attacks, it was now wary of me. (Rather than poorly attacking, risking a mistake, it would be better to believe help will come and wait huh?) Just as this thought crossed my mind, I looked over the demon¡¯s shoulder and caught sight of Radd and the others. They were no longer fussing or looking surprised, they were just looking at me and my fight with the demon, seemingly praying for my victory. (Don¡¯t look at me like that.) It would be alright. I¡¯m not letting that thing get near you at all costs, and I¡¯m going to get out of here alive. ¡­¡­That¡¯s right. When this is all over, it might be a good idea to teach Radd and the others how to use Arts. It¡¯s going to be a challenge since there doesn¡¯t seem to be a practice mode or assist function in this world, but if it¡¯s something simple, it shouldn¡¯t be too hard to learn them. There doesn¡¯t seem to be a culture of Manual Execution of Arts in this world, but if I teach it, no, even if I couldn¡¯t teach it to others, there will come a time when people realize that ¡°you could do that way¡±, and someone will eventually develop it soon. Perhaps, I may have left a mark on this world that is much larger than I imagined. (¡­¡­A mark on this world huh.) I know that my mind is swerving off the moment and I¡¯m thinking about stupid things. However, even if it¡¯s just my delusion, I never imagined myself doing something as big as ¡°influencing the world¡± back in my former world. (Now is the time. This is where it all starts!) My consciousness was foggy, my head was a mess, but I knew that if I could just get through this, something would start to happen. Let go of this weakness. The Recovery Item I used before the battle had a 5-minute duration. If I didn¡¯t settle this before then, I would be in jeopardy. I won¡¯t say anything heroic like I¡¯m doing this to win. However, for me to survive¡­¡­ (I must attack!!!) Swinging my sword, I activated a technique that I had never used before. The higher the level of an Art, the more MP it consumes, and the longer and more difficult the required movements tend to be. Therefore, in a situation where I barely have any MP and the demon would kill me if I miss even one attack, powerful techniques could have been a hindrance. However, now that the enemy had become passive, it was a different story. (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-!!!) As the name suggests, this is a Sword Art that delivers seven slashes. As is the case with the other Arts, the later the attack, the stronger the power of the slash. Therefore, it would be better not to go for the attack immediately, and instead, strike out in a distance in front of the demon to increase the power of the attack first. My sword strikes missed for the first, second and third time, but at the same time I let out my fourth slash, I saw that the enemy, looking confused, held up its weapon and began closing rushing the distance between us. (Over-Art: !) As layers of Arts piled up above my sword, it brightly emitted light as it advanced towards the opponent. Our weapons began drawing near each other. Halfheartedly receiving the demon¡¯s spear, I strike with my Arts-layered sword¡ª¡ª¡ªnot! (One more!) I made a sudden halt and as I was swinging my sword, I took a step back. My sword and the demon¡¯s spear cut through the air without touching each other. This is good. Even if I could win the match, it would be meaningless if the Arts-stacking stops. The reason I showed my aggressiveness was a false offensive to buy time for that one swing. And so, with this time I earned¡­¡­ (!!!) I unleashed overlapping Over-Arts. The double Over-Arts quadruple the MP consumption, but instead increase the power of a normal Art by 2.25 times. Furthermore! (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-!!!) Triple activation of Arts! This is my trump card, my certain win power! I can feel the rapid decrease of my remaining magic. Even so, it doesn¡¯t matter. (I will settle things here!) My attack, strengthened by Tri-Arts, hits the demon¡¯s weapon and sends it flying. And then¡­¡­ [Oooooooooohhhhhhhh!!!] With an invigorating yell, I swung out a blow that sliced the demon¡¯s chest wide open. (¡ª¡ª¡ª-I¡¯ve won!!!) My Art isn¡¯t over yet. The demon, which had been knocked out of its stance, would have no way to prevent my next attack. All I had to do now was to deal the final blow of my Art and it would be over. Smiling at the prospect of my victory, I pulled back my blade¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªWhen at that moment, I saw the Doom Demon¡¯s body enveloped in a sinister red aura. [Huh?] I didn¡¯t know what just happened. It¡¯s just that, before I knew it, I saw the demon suddenly being nearby, pulling its arm out of my body, and there I finally realized that I had been pierced through my chest. [Ghakk¡­¡­] My sword spilled out of my hand. The victory that was supposed to be right in front of me also slipped out of my hand, and I fell to the ground. (How did this¡­¡­) I should have won. Just a few moments more and I would have reached the point where I could have beaten it. (Why did this¡­¡­!) Blood poured out of my chest, and at the same time, my strength drained from my body. Still, feeling reluctant to accept what was happening, I desperately raised my gaze. And there, clad in a red aura, was the figure of the demon looking down at the miserable loser. (Ahh, I see. This composition¡­¡­) The demon wrapped in a bright red aura, and Rex, whose body was pierced by the demon, fell down to the ground. It¡¯s not that big of a deal. It was simply the exact same scene from when Rex was defeated in the game. (F*ck. So it¡¯s a no-win event huh.) I¡¯ve seen enough games with events like this where the progression is the same whether the player wins or loses. If Rex wins here, there would be a contradiction in the scenery progression. And so, in the unlikely event that the God of RNG should happen to be on your side and Rex miraculously drives the Doom Demon to the brink of death, it was probably set up from the start that the demon would power up and kill Rex. [D*mn it¡­¡­) With the red aura around the demon¡¯s body dissipating, as if it¡¯s no longer needed, I swore. As I lose the last of my strength on my neck, which was barely looking up, my head falls face-first to the ground. (¡­¡­So this is it huh.) This is frustrating. But at the same time, I was convinced. (I guess I really am not cut out to be the MC of the story huh.) Even if you are reborn, someone who¡¯s mediocre will always be mediocre. Even if you¡¯re suddenly extracted from the ordinary and were given power, such power wouldn¡¯t change what you are. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI am not the Hero. Even if I tried to swagger about changing fate, trying to counter it with my game knowledge, I ultimately failed. ¡­¡­However. (That¡¯s why I won¡¯t let it end!) If the Hero dies, it¡¯s a game over. That would be the end of the game. But even if I die, the world would still go on. Because I¡¯m this mediocre of a person that I can ¡°hold out hope¡± to others. Sure, I will die here. However, I¡¯ve already laid out the groundwork. (You better be prepared, Doom Demon. You¡¯re definitely gonna¡­¡­) This is as far as upfront confrontations go. Soon, I would die for the second time. As such thoughts crossed my mind, the last thing that came to my mind was the faces of Radd, Mana, and the people I met when I came to this world¡­¡­ (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI¡¯m counting on you.) With that, my consciousness sinks into darkness. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThis time though, I couldn¡¯t hear any voices. CH 7 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CI wanted to be a Hero, the protagonist of a story. I had been quarrelsome since I was a child, and was treated as a nuisance at home and in the village. I was always compared to my brother, who was brilliant and smart, becoming a vicious cycle where I became more and more cynical. What triggered a change in me was a book. The book ¡°The Adventures of Radd, the Hero¡±, which my brother bought as a souvenir from the royal capital, was a perfectly ordinary tale of a hero written for children. A boy who was just a villager meets his friends, overcomes many difficulties, and eventually becomes a Hero. I was fascinated by the story, and it wasn¡¯t long before I found myself comparing myself to the Hero of the book and decided to become an adventurer. When I heard that my name ¡°Radd¡± was based on the Hero of the book, I was even more enthralled. I used the time I had been wasting to train. The training was hard, but fortunately, I was physically strong and physical activities are my strong point. I was happy to see the number of things I could do increase little by little, and more than anything, the feeling that ¡°I was moving forward¡± gave me strength. Gradually, the people in the village began to look at me differently. The villagers began to greet me, and eventually, I learned to use a sword from a retired knight and the habits of monsters from a hunter. The range of things I could do expanded even more. This was probably one of the reasons why¡­¡­ By the time three years had passed, there was no one my age who could compete with me, and I felt that I was taking the first step toward becoming a Hero. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù On my 16th birthday, I left my village and registered with an Adventurer¡¯s Guild in a nearby town, and on that day, I met three other people in similar circumstances and formed a party with them. Yes. It was like a miracle that four newcomers came together at that place, at that time. No, this must be fate, or so I thought. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThe Hero is loved by fate. It¡¯s one of my favorite sayings. The Hero of the story is always in the midst of a strange destiny, sometimes thrown into harsh circumstances, and yet they hone their powers. That¡¯s why, I¡¯m sure that my new life is also blessed by fate. With the four of us forming a team, we would one day become the best adventurers in the world. I was so excited that I had such thoughts in mind. And in fact, all of my party members were amazing people. Nuku, the Mage, not only could use magic, but he was always calm and always gave the best answer when the party was in doubt. Prana, the Scout, has a tough personality and someone I don¡¯t get along with, but she can assess situations faster than anyone else and has an uncanny ability to sense enemies. Then, there¡¯s Mana, another girl who is good at recovery magic. Mana is an introverted, timid fellow, but our first adventure in the cave blew that impression away. She saw through the traps in the with a keen eye like no one else and solved the riddles in no time, which I had no clue how to do. And yet, she didn¡¯t seem at all proud of herself, and when I praised her, she smiled with a slightly troubled look on her face. When I saw Mana¡¯s smile, I don¡¯t know why¡­¡­ but I felt my heart skip a beat. Anyway, I was thinking that our party was all great guys and that our adventure was going well. That is, until we met ¡°that guy¡± at the deepest part of the cave. "" ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù At the deepest part of the cave, we encountered a strange man. He was dressed all in black and started shouting incomprehensible things as soon as we met him. Apparently, he was an A-Rank Adventurer named Rex. I know that being an A-Rank Adventurer is great. But to tell the truth, he didn¡¯t look like such a skilled adventurer to me. He was too thin to be an experienced adventurer, and he doesn¡¯t have the presence of a strong person in his behavior. His delicate appearance might have been acceptable to win, but I felt that he was a bit thin. Even the C-Rank Adventurers who I had met in the guild before our departure looked stronger than us. Even his attitude was the same. I wasn¡¯t amused that Mana was praising that suspicious man so much that I swore at him, but that man, no, that old man didn¡¯t even refute me. Adventurers are finished when they get underestimated. If he won¡¯t refute my words, he definitely isn¡¯t an adventurer. (As I thought, this guy must be a fraud pretending to be an A-Rank Adventurer huh?) However, those suspicions I had were quickly dispelled. The Goblins we met on the way back, he used an Art technique that I had never heard of. The terrifyingly brilliant technique that took down a Gargoyle that had attacked the girl with a single blow. The prompt quick-wittedness that dared to take refuge in a cave in order to throw off our pursuers. All of these are actions worthy of an A-Rank Adventurer, or rather, they were beyond what I had imagined a skilled adventurer to be. Even though I was still saying curses, I was inwardly completely overwhelmed. And then¡­¡­ Just as we were about to finally reach the safety of the town¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CDespair descended upon us. A demon with a sinister aura. A winged demon, more fearsome than any monster I had ever seen or any warrior I had ever met. Even I, who had no ability to tell the ability of others, could tell how strong that demon was. Even at a distance, I could feel the strong pressure on my skin and the pressure of the spear it nonchalantly wielded. ¡­¡­The ¡°status¡± of our existence is just too different, so to speak. I don¡¯t think a ¡°human¡± could ever hope to compete with such a thing. Even if he is an A-Rank Adventurer, there is no way he could fight against such an opponent. Such imaginations were easily overturned. As if he could read the enemy¡¯s next moves with perfect foresight¡­¡­ Using unbelievable techniques, Rex managed to oppose the demon. (No way! He¡¯s stacking Arts on top of each other!?) Arts are already perfectly complete techniques. It was a power bestowed to everyone by God, so to speak, so using them in a different form never occurred in my mind. It was as if the common sense I had cultivated over the past 16 years rattled and crumbled. However, it didn¡¯t end there. There was an exchange of techniques I had never seen before, and an incomprehensibly sophisticated reading of each other¡¯s moves. Forgetting that I had said I was going to help, I just watched the battle of the heavens. ¡­¡­But eventually, even I realized it. Rex might be able to go toe-to-toe with the monsters with his superb skills, but it¡¯s like he¡¯s walking on thin ice, constantly balancing himself on a tightrope. Rex¡¯s moves certainly are outstanding. But on the other hand, he hasn¡¯t been able to overpower the demon even after all that fighting. If Rex makes the wrong move even for a moment, his life could be reaped in the blink of an eye. And yet, how¡­¡­ (How can you continue facing it¡­¡­!) As the demon cowered, its spear roared, and a blow that sliced through the air easily gouged the ground. If even one of these blows catches Rex¡¯s body, it will easily cut him in two. On the other hand, Rex¡¯s full force attack only made a small wound through the demon¡¯s skin. Normally speaking, the outcome of this battle is clear. Even so, from the times I saw Rex¡¯s face, I couldn¡¯t see any resignation at all. He is neither frightened nor was he unable to move, and on the contrary, he seemed to be basking himself in the madness of the battle. Rex, still being himself, was still in that despairing battle. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CAll just to protect us, a party of newcomers he has only known for a few hours! Seeing this scene, I recognized it. I realized it with my heart, rather than my brain. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CIf this world were a story¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThe main Hero would definitely be someone like him¡­¡­ Regardless of my inner thoughts, the mind-numbing battle continued. As if I had returned to the days when I was absorbed in reading books about Heroes, genuinely rooting for the Hero, I keep cheering him on in my heart, telling him to do his best and not to lose. ¡­¡­However¡­¡­ However, I guess deep down, I never doubted his victory. I think I believed that, as in so many stories, just like the tales of the peerless heroes, the Hero would end up defeating the villain. [¡­¡­Eh?] That¡¯s why, when a red light suddenly covered the demon¡¯s body and its arm pierced Rex¡¯s chest, my mind went blank and I couldn¡¯t think of anything else. When Rex slowly fell to the ground and his body stopped moving even a twitch, I finally realized it. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThe Hero had fallen before the demon and would never get up again. And¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Ah.] My eyes met with the demon, who had removed his gaze from Rex, who had stopped moving. At that moment, my body trembled. Rex, who had been trying to protect us, isn¡¯t here anymore. We must face this terrifying monster on our own. [¡­¡­Uwaah.] The demon, which had turned its back on Rex, now set its sights on us and approached. Shameful it may be, my legs trembled with fear and even though I knew I had to face it, I couldn¡¯t move my feet. However¡­¡­ [It will be alright.] The softly whispered words came from Mana, who was standing next to me. At that moment, just as the demon was about to step towards us. an arrow that flew from somewhere pierced the place it was about to walk to. [That arrow!] I immediately turned around. There, I saw the town guards and our friend, Prana, who had gone to call for help. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù "" The guards and Prana, while keeping the demon in check with her arrows, joined us on horseback. The number of guards who came was about 20 in all. The battle was reversed, 24 against 1. ¡ª-is what should be the case, and yet¡­¡­ [This guy¡­¡­] Against a single demon, and a fully wounded one at that, none of the guards were able to do anything about it. The demon doesn¡¯t have that red light around it anymore, and it looked like it was on the verge of dying. No matter how strong that demon was, if everyone in this place attacked it at once, it would have been highly likely for that to die. But even so¡­¡­ The difference in numbers isn¡¯t enough to make up for the overwhelming difference in power that had driven them to a halt. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CWhat if, being on the verge of death, it launches its final resistance toward us? ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CWhat if it still had a secret move that I can¡¯t even imagine about? Such fears kept them on their toes. They were glaring at it. They were just glaring at it. The men with their weapons at the ready and the demon continued that quiet tension, and then, after a long time that felt short¡­¡­ Flap! The demon moved its wings. [Is it going to escape?] Someone murmured. As if to say ¡°These people aren¡¯t worthy opponents¡±, the demon flapped its wings and was about to fly to the sky. If we are going to defeat this demon, this would be the best opportunity to do it. If we let it go now, this demon, healed from its wounds, will become an even stronger enemy, killing even more people. And yet¡­¡­ And yet, no one moves. No one can move. ¡­¡­No! [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI¡¯ll create an opening!] While no one else was able to make a move, I found myself saying such things. I could see my friends around me and the adult guards looking at me in surprise. That¡¯s reckless. That¡¯s absurd. That¡¯s impossible. Such silent complaints seemed to pierce my skin. (I know. I already know that. I¡¯m no Hero.) Compared to him, who was loved by the God and favored by fate, no matter how one looks at it, I¡¯m just an average guy. I am far from being the protagonist of a story, far from being a Hero. With the Hero gone, only ordinary people remain. In a story, this would have been the End, the last page of the book. However, this isn¡¯t a story, but reality. The Hero may be dead, the protagonist of the story may not be here anymore, but the world continues on. (After all, I witnessed it.) The sight of the Hero that I used to admire back in the day. The sight of the protagonist fearlessly standing against a powerful enemy. (I might die here.) It¡¯s a bit too much to ask for an average guy like me to imitate the Hero. However, the piece of the Hero that remained in my heart won¡¯t allow me to run away. After all, I just couldn¡¯t allow it. If that demon escaped, what he risked his life for would be in vain. I could not allow the brilliance he had shown me to end here. After all, I was fascinated by that battle. I had seen before my eyes that even humans with inferior strength can fight against powerful monsters. So this time, it¡¯s my turn. (Rex put his own life on the line to show us hope!) I¡¯m just an average guy, far from being a Hero. However¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªBut just for this moment, I¡¯m gonna be the Hero!!!) Gulping down these feelings within my mind, I ran towards the demon. (One strike! I¡¯ll give my all with this one strike!) Compared to Rex, who had read through and avoided dozens of attacks, this was a tiny, but too great of a challenge. Even so, I have no intention of backing down. [Uwooooooooooohhhhh!!!] The demon took an intercepting posture. Putting aside whether I succeed or fail, I stepped on the ground to leap into the gap between the demon and me, but at that moment¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªA sword sprouted from the demon¡¯s throat. No one could understand what happened. Everyone was frozen. In that moment of stillness¡­¡­ The demon¡¯s body shook and tilted at an angle. The sword was pulled out of its throat, and as the demon fell and disappeared, a man appeared behind it. [Told ya. ¡°You¡¯ve always gotta be ready for the worst-case scenario¡±, right?] The familiar-looking A-Rank Adventurer brushed away the that got on my clothes, giving me a triumphant grin. Seeing this, I felt warmth in the corner of my eyes, and I couldn¡¯t help mumbling in my mind. [You¡¯re so late, Hero¡­¡­] CH 8 [¡­¡­I won huh.] After confirming that the Doom Demon I stabbed with my sword from behind has completely disappeared, my shoulders finally relaxed. (I never thought I would die twice in such a short period of time¡­¡­) No matter how I see it, my life is being too tumultuous. As I look up, having such thoughts in mind¡­¡­ [Rex-san!] I saw someone running up to me. [Thank God! Rex-san, thank God!] It was one of the members of the newbie party, Mana, the healer. She touched me all around my body to make sure I wasn¡¯t dead, then came to her senses, pulling away from me, and looked up at me with tear-stained eyes. [I- I¡¯m sorry. Ummm, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re alive, but how is it¡­¡­] If I didn¡¯t know how it worked, I would also be surprised, but the secret for this isn¡¯t that big of a deal. Thinking about it for a moment, I answered. [It¡¯s the effect of the .] There were two items I used before the battle. The first is the , a strengthening item that temporarily raises all ability values and adds an Automatic HP and MP Regen buff, but the side effect is that after 10 minutes, all abilities are severely lowered. This item is risky when used by itself, but its disadvantage can be canceled out by using it in combination with the . The reason for this is that, unlike what its name suggests, it actually ¡°returns you to your physical state when you use the ¡±. In other words, it has an extraordinary effect of ¡°healing you by rewinding your time¡±. I know it¡¯s a meta way to describe it, but when you use the item, it saves your character¡¯s state at the time of use and automatically loads it 5 minutes pass. If you use it properly, you can reset it before the side effect of the appears, and in some cases, you can revive your character even after they die. [I- I didn¡¯t know such an item existed¡­¡­] Mana was shocked when she heard the explanation, but in fact, the wasn¡¯t regarded as a useful item in the game. After all, the has a major drawback. The most effective feature of the is its ability to ¡°rewind and revive¡± after death. However, this effect isn¡¯t available for the Hero. It¡¯s because, in the game, it¡¯s game over when the Hero dies, so even if you use the , the game is over before the item takes effect. (Well, thank God I was just a Sub-Character here.) I don¡¯t know if this world would also ¡°end in a game over when the Hero dies¡±, but either way, I am now the Sub-Character Rex, not a ¡°player¡±or a ¡°Hero¡±. Even at the verge of death, I was able to hold out hope that ¡°the would take effect and I would be resurrected¡±. Although I don¡¯t feel bad about the fact that I died once, fortunately, the memories I had been worried about, wondering if they¡¯d also be rewinded, seem to have been fully inherited, so I will just be happy for now. Anyway, I survived this sure-death event without dying¡­¡­ permanently. Just as I was about to go to Radd and the others, secretly feeling a sense of accomplishment, ¡°it¡± started. [Wha!? That is¡­¡­!] Radd¡¯s startled voice. All of a sudden, an image of a majestic woman appeared in the western sky. While everyone was amazed at the image projected in the sky, I watched it with deep emotions in my heart. Ahh, that¡¯s right. This was the first World Event, a common event to all the routes the Hero had picked. The ¡°Words of Beginning¡±, which marks the end of the Opening Event and the beginning of the adventure. Does my voice reach you? O¡¯ my beloved children all over the world, does my voice reach you? Do you hear my voice? After a thousand years, the sealed evil deity ¡°Rasulphi¡± is about to be revived. Once Rasulphi revives and regains their full power, you will have no way to resist them. This time, Rasulphi will see to it that their objective of ruling over the world is fulfilled. I beseech you. Your strength shall be indispensable for victory against the God of Darkness. Please destroy the statues brimming with evil miasma, which are hidden in the Twelve Dark Ruins. We have but two years¡­¡­ You are our only hope¡­¡­ Please¡­¡­ Please save the world¡­¡­ After saying these words, the image of light projected in the sky disappeared. [The Goddess of Salvation¡­¡­] Everyone present was awestruck by the sudden descent of a God and her oracle. Some of the guards who had rushed to the scene were so moved that they fell to their knees in prayer. I glanced towards Radd and the others. As Radd was just stunned, Nuku remained silent, Mana seemed to be filled with determination, and Prana looking disinterested, the Goddess in the sky vanished. I wonder what the real ¡°Hero¡± of this world is thinking when he sees this miracle. Is he trembling within upon receiving the mission to save the world, determined to help the Goddess? And¡­¡­ Just like them, I was also quietly making up my mind. ¡­¡­The me right now is weak. The Doom Demon certainly is a high-level monster, but there are countless monsters in the game that are stronger than it. And in order to prevent the resurrection of the evil deity, it¡¯s necessary to defeat powerful monsters and clear numerous events. That¡¯s why¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI¡¯m gonna leave all the bothersome stuff to the game¡¯s protagonist and enjoy my post-retirement days!!! ¡­¡­Yeah. I really think it¡¯s unreasonable to ask a guy who has been living and working in Japan for a long time to suddenly take a sword and kill monsters! We¡¯re not savages after all. Let¡¯s be more civilized here, seriously. I was on the verge of dying here, or rather, I was completely blown away by the fact that I had already died twice. I¡¯m getting swept away by the situation and making a few protagonist-like actions, but I originally don¡¯t have any reason to make any effort. Of course, I¡¯ll help those who can be helped by my power, and I will offer the bare minimum of support since I don¡¯t want the world to be destroyed. However, ¡°saving the world¡± and ¡°fighting monsters with your life on the line¡± should be left to the Hero. I mean, I¡¯ve had the opportunity to live again. So, I¡¯m going to live for my own sake! From now on, I¡¯m gonna keep my distance from the life of cut and thrust, and use the knowledge I¡¯ve gained from the game to have fun and do things the easy way! (I first need to earn some money, right!? You can manage anything in life as long as you have money after all! Then, I¡¯m gonna exploit my game knowledge to have other people be in a debt of gratitude, and live off the profits from the back!) The next step is to find out what to do next. With my tension rising, I even began to feel as if infinite possibilities were spreading before my eyes. The world being in danger or those battles against powerful enemies, I don¡¯t care a single bit about that. I¡¯m going to walk down my own path. After all¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI¡¯m not the Hero! ¡î¡¡¡î¡¡¡î On this day, Sword Emperor Era, Year 664: the 10th Day of the 10th Month. The whole world bore witness to the ¡°Goddess of Salvation¡¯s Oracle¡±. This was followed by the news of the fall of due to a monster attack, which sent tremors through the world. The centuries-long era of peace has come to an end, and just as in the myths of old, the era of ¡°courage and strength¡± has been unveiled. CH 9 The day that had been too long was over and night had fallen. The incident in Ash City had come to a conclusion. As a concerned party, I was interviewed by the Guard Force and the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, and thanks to them, I was able to obtain detailed information. The scouts went to Ash City after receiving the report of the attack, and it was confirmed that it had fallen into the hands of monsters. After that, the big guys discussed the matter, but they concluded that it was currently impossible to recapture Ash City. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CIn other words, on this day, a city completely fell into the hands of monsters. Perhaps, this is a historical event that will shake the world. After being released at night, I wandered around the unfamiliar town with a foggy head that still lacked a sense of reality, managed to find an inn, and slept like a log. The next day, I woke up in the afternoon, had a meal, and walked around the town. [So this is the Frelia town huh.] The Town of Freedom and Conflict, ¡°Frelia¡±. Although its history is not as long as that of the Ancient City, Ash, it¡¯s no less vibrant or large in scale. I had come here by chance, but I had always wanted to visit the arena here. Though I say that, my feet naturally led me to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. Despite what had happened yesterday, or perhaps, because of what had happened yesterday, the place was so lively that I couldn¡¯t help but stop at the entrance. The name ¡°Adventurers¡± is said to have come from anecdotes in which the Gods referred to ¡°those who were brave enough to risk their lives to fight demons¡±. In other words, everyone who fights monsters, and the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was crowded with people of various races, carrying various equipment. Normally, I would have been busy with the request board, but I¡¯m not with my friends right now, nor am I in the mood for that. Paying the reception desk, I headed for the Guild¡¯s training hall. The place was about half-full. With this, I thought I could train in a relaxed manner, but I found something unpleasant. [¡­¡­Geh.] I couldn¡¯t help but grumble. Hearing my voice, the Elf who had been continuously shooting arrows at the target, my party member, Prana, turned around. When she saw me, her eyes exaggeratedly opened wide. [¡­¡­How unexpected. I thought you were the type of person who never practices.] [Shaddup. I¡¯m in that kind of mood sometimes.] I tried to shoo her away, and she also didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of picking any more fights. After I watched Prana go back to her own practice, I took out my sword and readied it. [V-Slash!] I unleashed one of the Elementary Level Sword techniques, V-Slash. With a shout, my sword shot out in a V-shape, slicing through the imaginary enemy. (Tsk. This isn¡¯t it.) Up until now, I would have been happy seeing that, thinking that I had become a full-fledged swordsman. But now, I have ¡°his¡± Art burned into my mind, that series of blows that can only be described as divine. Compared to that, there was no way I could be satisfied with this shabby and slow Art. We parted ways with him¡­¡­ that A-Rank Adventurer, Rex, last night. It was inevitable that the inns stayed at by us, mere novice adventurers, and him, an A-Rank Adventurer, the most successful among adventurers, is different. He was also carrying that woman named Lecilia, who was still unconscious when we parted ways, so it was natural that he would choose a safe place to stay. I understand that. I understand that but¡­¡­ [Graaaaaaahhhhhh!] I somehow don¡¯t like it. Gripping my sword tightly, as if I was going to take out my frustration, I just let myself be absorbed in my training. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù (¡­¡­This really feels different.) Arts were the divine guidance bestowed upon us by the Gods. The skills that you have learned would be automatically activated by imagining them in your head and channeling magic into your blade. That is how I had been taught all my life. However, I had a feeling that no matter how many times I repeated this, I would never be able to reach his level. (¡­¡­Perhaps¡­¡­) Imbuing my weapon in magic and swinging a sword are both things I could do. If that¡¯s the case, by doing the same movement while putting magic into my weapon, I should be able to use that Art. It was an idea that even thought was absurd. However, as if guided by a revelation, I readied my sword and imbued magic into my weapon. And then¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CHahhh!] I swung my sword without relying on the God¡¯s guidance. (Eh¡­¡­?) It was a messy, incoherent swordsmanship that could not even be called a V-Slash. However¡­¡­ "" [¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­That feeling just now¡­¡­] Keeping my grip on my sword, I stood dumbfounded for a while. If you ask me if that was a success or a failure, I would say that was definitely a failure. And yet, for a brief moment, I certainly did feel the same kind of feeling in my hand when I was releasing Arts. [Ha¡­¡­ Hahaha!] I couldn¡¯t stop myself from bursting out laughing. I had taken a definite step towards reaching that Hero, Rex. (I¡¯ll be right behind you, protagonist! I¡¯ll catch up with you soon!) Putting away the smile creeping on my face, I began to wholeheartedly swing my sword. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CYa. You¡¯re really fired up, aren¡¯t you?] I turned around at the words calling out to me. [The heck. It¡¯s Nuku this time huh.] Arriving in this place was Nuku, the Mage who was the commander of our party. [I thought we¡¯re freaking getting a day off today. What¡¯s with you all, being enthusiastic with your training on your day off.] [Aren¡¯t you also the same way, Radd?] Hearing the words he said, I had no choice but to shut up. Seeing me like that, Nuku¡¯s expression was calm with a hint of melancholy on his face. [But well, I understand how you feel. Yesterday was amazing.] [¡­¡­Well, yeah.] I probably experienced more in that one day than I have in my entire life combined. Above all¡­¡­ [I¡¯m an Adventurer too. There¡¯s no way I wouldn¡¯t be excited to see a fight like that. ¡­¡­Right?] [Cheehh. You tell me.] "" It isn¡¯t amusing that he could see through me, but it¡¯s nasty how he was actually right. Realizing that I was at a disadvantage, I decided to change the subject. [Speaking of which, how is Mana? You know, her hometown is¡­¡­] [Ahh. If it¡¯s Mana, she¡¯s over there¡­¡­] When I looked in the direction indicated by Nuku, I saw that Mana had just arrived at the training site and was going to talk to Prana. From the look on her face, it seemed that the fact her hometown had been destroyed by monsters hadn¡¯t affected her as much as I thought. However¡­¡­ [Mana!] Before I knew it, I found myself running up to Mana. [Ah, Radd-kun.] Her modest smile made my heart skip a beat. Hiding my inner turmoils, as if it was nothing, I asked. [Ahh, ummm, are you alright? Umm, if it really hurts, you don¡¯t have to force yourself¡­¡­] [I¡¯m alright.] As if she had anticipated my words, she responded. [¡­¡­I didn¡¯t have anyone I cared about in that city after all.] [That means¡­¡­] I was curious and was about to ask deeper about it, when a voice spoke out at that moment. [Zero delicacy. You have exerted how much of a stray dog you are yet again.] It was Prana who interrupted with her cold voice from the side. As if she was doing it on purpose, with her hands still keeping on with her archery practice, she was staring at me with her freezing eyes. [Prana! You b*stard!] I was about to yell out in rage when Nuku stopped me. [Haahhh¡­¡­ Even after all that happened, you guys never grow.] [Ughhh¡­¡­ But this woman was¡­¡­] [I¡¯ve been watching for a while now, and Radd was also at fault there. Besides, we¡¯ve got an appointment with Rex-san tomorrow. Are you sure you want to be wasting your time doing this?] [¡­¡­Tsk.] What Nuku said was true. When we parted ways, we promised Rex to meet him at the guild in two days. Perhaps then, I would be able to ask him about that mysterious Art back then, and about that Art stacking technique. I don¡¯t know when the next opportunity I will have to ask a question like this to him. By then, I wanted to be sure of what I was feeling. [I¡¯m sorry, Mana. ¡­¡­Prana too.] [Ah, no, it¡¯s okay.] [As you should be.] I felt my face twitch upon the contrasting responses of the two of them, but clenching my teeth to stop myself from retorting anymore, I returned to my training. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [¡­¡­D*mn it.] Although I was the last of the four to stay in the training hall and train, my attempts to use the Arts on my own were not as successful as they could have been. (It¡¯s difficult to wield a sword imbued with magic power, and there¡¯s no way you can accurately trace the movements of the technique! Moreover¡­¡­) Even if my method was correct, how many techniques was he weaving in and out of each other? Even if I¡¯m right, how many techniques did he have to weave together to create that complex trajectory that can¡¯t be compared to a V-Slash¡­¡­ (D*mn it! How far ahead of me is he!?) I returned to the inn, disappointed, and was about to finish my meal and go to bed when¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI heard a knock at the door of my room. (The heck is this now, knocking at this hour?) I felt a sense of alarm. The inn has a lock on each of their rooms. However, if the other person was someone with harmful intentions, those locks won¡¯t buy you much time. [¡­¡­Who is it?] The person who answered my nervous question was one I didn¡¯t expect. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-It¡¯s Rex. I have a favor to ask you. Can you open the door for me?] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù I was wary of some kind of trap, but when I opened the door, I saw that it really was the adventurer in all black. I was relieved to know that it was just him, but deliberately kept my previous blunt tone. [So? Our appointment is tomorrow. For an old man to come all this way to visit me, whatever brought you here?] Seriously, I can¡¯t read what this guy¡¯s thinking. Heroes are usually self-centered and unpredictable. I don¡¯t know if that applies to all Heroes, but this guy certainly is quite unpredictable. On the other hand though¡­¡­ I was also excited to see what kind of adventurer he would get me involved in this time. [¡­¡­About that¡­¡­] Rex became silent, as if he was hesitating about something. What kind of outrageous things, beyond my imagination, could this overbearing guy say to me that even he would hesitate to say it? Bracing myself, I waited for his next words. After a long pause of at least 5 seconds, he finally spoke. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-I need to borrow some money.] For a moment, I wasn¡¯t able to understand what he said. [Huh?] [Like I said, I need to borrow money!] With a stronger tone, he repeated. Unfortunately though, it seems like I really didn¡¯t mishear him. "" As I was feeling puzzled, he pressed on further. [I- It¡¯s alright. Even just 1000 wen is enough, I¡¯ll pay you back three times as much right away! No, if you want, I¡¯ll pay you back 10 times, or even a hundred times!] [W- Wait a second!] I pushed away Rex, who was starting to desperately plead. I really don¡¯t understand what¡¯s happening at all. [You¡¯re a freaking A-Rank, old man, you should have a lot more money than I do! What the hell happened!?] [That is¡­¡­] When I responded like that, Rex seemed to be at a loss for words. [Is it something you can¡¯t talk about?] [¡­¡­No.] He shook his head. However, Rex still seemed unsure whether to speak or not. [¡­¡­It¡¯s a long story.] [Heehhh¡­¡­ I very much would like to throw you out of here, but I¡¯m really curious now and don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to sleep without hearing about this. Just say it.] I urged him to talk, and that seemed to be the last push he needed. After another long pause, Rex finally opened his mouth. [It all started a few hours ago, when I was walking around town¡­¡­] And with eyes that looked like he was staring far into the past¡­¡­ [I found a casino, and thought of peeking in¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-] After hearing that, I silently closed the door and locked him out outside. CH 10 ¡¾Approximate monetary value in the series, which can be easily understood with just one line¡¿ 1 wen = 1 yen [Alright. I¡¯m at full strength and got sufficient war funds. I don¡¯t see any factors that could make me lose.] I grinned in front of an establishment with a glittering neon sign that looks out of place in this fantasy-esque town. The signboard, decorated with multicolored lights, reads ¡°Casino Grand Lilim¡±. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThat was the day my life ended. The day that had been too long was over, and a new day opened up for me. It had been a crazy day for me, got caught in a car accident, my death, got reincarnated, my death after being reincarnated, then got resurrected again. But after a good night¡¯s sleep, I was able to recover physically and mentally. (To be honest, I¡¯ve learned my lesson from my behavior back then, feeling like I¡¯m walking on a tightrope. Let¡¯s just avoid the risk and go steady!) At that moment, I was just thinking I had to make plans for the future. However, when I stumbled upon an establishment on the outskirts of Frelia town, which I came to by chance, all of my plans were blown away. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CCasino . A ¡°wandering casino¡± that randomly spawns on the outskirts of a random town. It¡¯s impossible to predict which place it will appear in, and if you miss the right time, it will be a year before it appears again. It was such an excellent spot that a thread on a certain Forum says that ¡°If you find it early game, just go all out!¡±. There¡¯s no way I can miss this chance! (I could start with what little I have now. But if I want to make a big profit, the more initial expense I prepare, the better.) The casino doesn¡¯t open until the evening. So, I decided to make the most of the time I had until then. I went back to the , harvested and sold some , ran around town and sold everything I could sell from the small out ¡°Rex¡± had with him, raising 2.1 million wen in cash. I have a little bit of fear that if I lose this, I will seriously become broke. ¡­¡­However. (Well, there shouldn¡¯t be any problem.) After all, this is a recommended spot in the early game, which was even called ¡°The Casino where Beginners Never Lose¡± on the B&B forums. If you know the inner tricks of that place, it¡¯s a place where you can definitely make money!!! ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù Determined, I stepped into the establishment with a modern interior design, decorated with neon lights that don¡¯t fit a fantasy world. [Heehhh¡­¡­] It was nice and quite dim inside, creating an exquisite atmosphere that was both glittering and bewitching at the same time. I had seen this place through the game screen, but when I actually went inside, the atmosphere was even better than I had imagined. [Ara. Welcome.] As I entered, a woman standing in the back of the room approached me. She was a bunny girl with luxurious blonde hair and a great style. If things were going just as it was in the game, she should be the only employee in this casino. Even though I knew she would be here, I still felt overwhelmed when I saw her in person. I had seen them through the game screen, but seeing them live in person, her breasts were swaying even more than I had imagined. Ah, no, I don¡¯t mean that in a disgusting way, okay? [Fufu¡­¡­ Welcome to the world of dreams and desires, . I am your dream guide, Circular.] The woman who came up to me didn¡¯t even try to find fault in my impolite gaze, and smiled at me instead. I could smell the sweetness of her scent as she drew closer to me. [Is this your first time here? If you like, I can show you how to play in this casino.] [Sure.] After I curtly nodded, she walked with her hips wiggling seductively toward the two machines in the middle of the room. These, again, are completely out of place in this RPG world, but to put it simply, they are like vending machines. [First, here is the Token Vending Machine. Our customers are unable to use outside money here, so you buy tokens here and use them to play the games. The rate is 1000 wen for 1 token, but I wonder, do you have the money?] [There¡¯s no problem with that.] I answered, to which Circular smiled with satisfaction. [And here is the Price Vending Machine. Our customers may be able to buy tokens with money, but you can¡¯t convert tokens back to money. And so, you can use this machine to exchange your accumulated tokens for prizes. They are all premium prizes, you know?] This part was no different from a typical gaming casino. I nodded at her words again. [Ahh, but be aware that each and every one of our prizes ¡°can¡¯t be sold at a store¡±. This is but a dream world. Please enjoy yourself and don¡¯t think about making money. After that¡­¡­] Circular looked around us. Caught by her gaze, I checked out the four areas scattered around the room. [There are four different areas to play: ¡°Poker¡±, ¡°Roulette¡±, ¡°Slots¡±, and ¡°Blackjack¡±. All of the games here are designed to be played by one person, but would you like an explanation?] [No, I don¡¯t need one.] It was a smile that seemed to draw me in. However, with my will tougher than steel, I took my gaze away from her swaying breasts. [Ara, is that so? In that case, that¡¯s all for the explanation. ¡­¡­Ahh, no. There¡¯s one more thing I need to say.] There, as if she had just remembered something, the woman continued. [In order to prevent cheating, please be aware that ¡°the use of magic, skills, and items is prohibited¡±. Well then, may you have a pleasant dream.] Giving me one final wink, she walked back to the counter at the back of the store. Watching her back as she departed with mixed feelings in mind, I then turned my gaze forward. (First, let¡¯s check out the prizes.) Just like the casino¡¯s spawn point changes, its prizes also vary. In addition to the casino¡¯s own prizes, items that randomly drop in regular dungeons are sometimes on the list. Well, as Circular said, all the items on the list are Limited Items that can¡¯t be sold in stores, which means that 90% of them are cursed items. As for what prizes they have this time¡­¡­ [Oh¡­¡­] I couldn¡¯t help but let out a gasp when I saw the lineup. The most expensive item in the casino costs 1 million tokens, while the next most expensive is 500,000 tokens. (Metallic King¡¯s Sword in the 1 million token slot. A Shooting Star Ring, a Tricorn Hat, and a Barrier Ring in the 500,000 token slot! Aren¡¯t these all incredible items!?) It seems like luck is really turning in my favor this time. All the items I wanted were lined up there. And finally, I took one last look at the bottom, the items redeemable for 10,000 tokens. (Errr¡­¡­ a Ring of Lethargy, a Steel Sword and a Goblin Slaughter!?) I couldn¡¯t help clenching my fist. (Oi, oi, oi, am I in heaven or what!?) It¡¯s only lined up with items I really want. It seems like I¡¯ve become incredibly lucky. Perhaps, the wind really is blowing my way today. Now, I just have to see if I can win in the casino¡¯s games. Though I say that, I really wasn¡¯t that worried about it. (Alright! Time to earn myself a fortune!) Feeling excited, I put 100,000 wen into the token vending machine. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù Of all the games available, I chose roulette. [Ara, so you¡¯ve chosen to play the roulette. Place your tokens then touch the crystal. The roulette will then start automatically.] Nodding my head in understanding upon the distant voice, I looked at the table in front of me. Simply put, roulette is a game in which a small ball is thrown into a wheel, a disc with many numbers on it, and players would try to guess which number the ball will land on. The players would predict in advance which number the ball will fall on, and put their tokens in the table marked with where they want to bet. Normally, there are various complicated betting options such as the option of the ball landing on either red or black, the option of the ball landing on the first dozen, the second dozen or the like, but the roulette game at B&B is quite simplified, with only two options: placing your bet on a specific number or betting on whether it would land on an even or an odd number. (¡­¡­For the time being, let¡¯s give it a shot.) I chose the safest choice, the ¡°Odd/Even¡± column. I placed a token in the spot marked ¡°Odd¡± on the table. Then, as a sign that I¡¯m ready, I placed my hand on the crystal ball in the corner of the table. Just as I felt some sort of strange sensation for a moment, the table on which the tokens would place glowed, and at the same time, there was a clunk, and a ball was ejected into the wheel at the center of the table. [O- Ohhh¡­¡­] Next, the bottom of the table came loose and the token was sucked into the table. I don¡¯t care what happened to the token though, as my attention is focused on the wheel. The ball spins around and around the edge of the wheel, before finally entering the spot marked ¡°11¡±. 11¡­¡­ In other words, an odd number. Thereupon, two tokens fell out of a hole in the side of the table. ¡­¡­And so, just like that, if you guess an even or odd number correctly, you get back twice the number of tokens you bet, and if you guess on a specific number correctly, you get back 36 times the number of tokens you bet. Well, there¡¯s actually the number 0, which isn¡¯t counted as either even or odd, so the player would lose if they bet for odd/even and the ball lands in that, but well, I guess that¡¯s fine. (I guess I¡¯ll just stick with the odd bets for a while.) I tossed my tokens into the odd column again and touched the crystal ball. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù I continued to bet on Odd seven times in a row. The results were even, odd, even, odd, odd, odd, odd. Including my first bet, I won six and lost two, an overwhelming result. [Ara, amazing! Four wins in a row!] Before I knew it, Circular was standing nearby. [As expected of a first-rate Adventurer, your luck is also first-rate.] She gently brushed my shoulder, as if she was leaning her body on me, giving me a charming smile. However, I knew it. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThat the smile on her face was only superficial. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThat the outcome of this roulette wasn¡¯t based on luck. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CAnd that she¡¯s a Demon who steals the magic power of new Adventurers who come to the casino and kills them!!! (Unfortunately for her, I knew all that.) No charming smile, no false flattery, no casual breast touching while touching shoulders, none of it would work on me in the slightest. After all, I had read it. The truth of this world written in the Devil¡¯s Book¡­¡­ The forbidden book that allows you to know all the things that you aren¡¯t supposed to know. In other words¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThat thick Official Setting Material Book that came with the Pre-Order Bonus of B&B! If I close my eyes, I feel like I can remember it like it was yesterday. It was attached as an appendix at the counter, and it was obviously too big, too thick and too much of a nuisance, but I couldn¡¯t say I didn¡¯t want it, so I just accepted it. I just thought of putting it next to the table, but I remembered it when I spilled tea on it and read it after it had all dried up. I then found it five times more interesting than I had imagined, but the pages crackled uncomfortably every time I read it! In it, the setup in this casino was described in detail, including the details of the way she cheats. The games in this casino sucked a little bit of vitality out of the players every time they played. So, she prepares a sweet experience for new adventurers who come in clutching a small amount of money. In roulette, if one bets one token on an odd or even number, as in my current case, the cheaters will make it so that you would have an 80% win rate. Then, of course, motivated by the winnings, the Adventurer would naturally increase their bets, and they would continue to play again and again, losing track of when to stop. Since no magic or items are available in the casino, there¡¯s no way to recover either, so by the time they realize something is wrong, it would already be too late. The Adventurer, exhausted and deprived of their power, are feasted upon by that Demon, Circular. In fact, the first time I entered this casino for a game, I was easily caught and killed without what happened. I still remember the confusion and anxiety I felt at that time. However, that was only when you entered this place while playing blind. Once you know the story, it¡¯s not just something you won¡¯t be afraid of, as by taking advantage of the way she cheats, there¡¯s a method established to easily obtain valuable items even for the early-game players with just a single-digit level. And now that I¡¯m ¡°Rex¡±, I have physical and financial strength unmatched by early-game players. What I couldn¡¯t do as an early-game Hero, I can do now! I calmly made my calculations and planned my next move. (I¡¯m sure now that she¡¯s cheating in the roulette, and that it wouldn¡¯t be a problem for Rex¡¯s vitality even if I played a few games. I¡¯ll take a gamble on the next round, and if it works out, I¡¯ll start betting big.) Glancing at Circular, who is probably still under the illusion that everything is going well, a dark smile appears on my lips. (Sorry, Circular. It¡¯s a rule of thumb in the world that those with greed in their hearts are doomed.) The crafty schemer drowns in her own scheme. You will soon be ruined by your own trap! CH 11 [Ara. Welcome.] Seeing the man who walked into my establishment, I couldn¡¯t help but be curious. He was dressed in all black and carried an old sword at his waist. He was dressed like a veteran adventurer, but his behavior and mannerisms weren¡¯t of one. [Fufu¡­¡­ Welcome to the world of dreams and desires, . I am your dream guide, Circular.] Behind the smile on my lips as I introduced myself, my eyes silently assessed the customer. (I guess he¡¯s a third-rate pretending to be a first-rate huh.) His tone of voice is casual and cool, but there¡¯s still a hint of awkwardness in it. If it¡¯s this easy to guess what kind of person he is, I suppose he isn¡¯t that great of a person. The same is true for the way he glances at my chest. Of course, this isn¡¯t enough to be described as supporting evidence, but the first-rate are usually those who stand out, and they often show no interest or don¡¯t hide their interest with that kind of matters at all. (I guess this one¡¯s a miss huh.) I thought I would be able to eat some good quality magic, but I guess I would be left disappointed today. However, being able to toy with the inexperienced isn¡¯t so, no, being able to toy with the inexperienced was instead more to my liking. [Is this your first time here? If you like, I can show you how to play in this casino.] Putting on a mask of kindness, I approached the young man with a heartfelt smile. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù The man chose the roulette table. [Ara, so you¡¯ve chosen to play the roulette. Place your tokens then touch the crystal. The roulette will then start automatically.] (The roulette to heaven, that is.) I watched with a smile as the man placed his token in the Odd column and began to spin the roulette wheel. (Fufu. How cute. He¡¯s so clueless that he¡¯s playing the roulette of death.) This roulette is literally a devil¡¯s trap. The crystal ball used to spin the roulette has a mechanism that sucks the life out of anyone who touches it. The vitality taken from the customers who visit the casino. This is the food and entertainment for I, the Demon Circular. However, this alone may cause the customers to notice something unusual. For this reason, I had prepared a sweet, sweet nectar that drew them in. All the games, including the roulette, have tricks to keep the customers in the game and squeeze the magic power out of them until the very end. (Now, dance for me.) The mechanism is simple. When you touch the crystal ball, the table glows and reads the tokens placed by the customers. Then, based on that information, the wheel¡¯s tricks are activated. For example, in the current case, 1 token is bet on an Odd number, so the Odd-numbered slots in the wheel are enchanted with ¡°Attraction¡± Magic to attract the ball. The ball doesn¡¯t always go into the slots with Attraction Magic, but by doing this, the probability that the customer will hit an Odd number increases dramatically. Few would leave their seat while the game was being won. It¡¯s not good for the customers to lose too soon, but it¡¯s not good for them to win too much. (It¡¯s not that I¡¯m letting the customers live, but I don¡¯t want to kill them either. I need them to get into the game as much as possible and provide me with a delicious meal.) In that sense, this man was an ideal ¡°customer¡±. Every time the man spins the roulette wheel, good-quality magic power enriches me. Moreover, he was endlessly making Odd bets with only 1 token, and although he was winning overall, there were no significant fluctuations. What I didn¡¯t expect though was that the man showed no signs of fatigue, even though he had already been sucked off his vitality eight times. Perhaps, he may be a better Adventurer than I thought. (This is going to be a whole lot of fun.) Having changed my assessment of him, I approached the man noiselessly, like a snake stalking its prey. [Ara, amazing! Four wins in a row! As expected of a first-rate Adventurer, your luck is also first-rate.] I flattered him. However, he didn¡¯t seem to respond at all. (Hmmm. This is¡­¡­) I could tell from his reaction when we first met that it isn¡¯t that he¡¯s unaffected by my loveliness and charm. And yet, this reaction¡­¡­ While I pondered this, the man proceeds with the roulette. What he took out is still that dull-colored token. Tokens vary in value depending on the material, with Copper, Iron, Silver, Gold, Mithril, Rainbow Metal, Orichalcon and Adamantite¡­¡­ Increasing in value in that order. I myself have never seen tokens higher than Mithril being used, but anyway, what the man used was a single Copper token, the lowest value token and one I see the most. Just like before, he made a 1 point bet on the Odd using 1 token. This time, however, after touching the crystal ball, just before his bet was sucked into the table, he seemed to have changed his mind and tossed two additional tokens into the Odd column. (Ara¡­¡­) It wasn¡¯t very well-mannered of him to do that, but I didn¡¯t find fault about it. I won¡¯t expect any mannerisms or decency from Adventurers like him. Rather, this unprecedented move was a sign of a change in the man¡¯s mind. The man who had stubbornly bet only 1 token before now put in three times as many tokens. What does the fact that he did this mean? As two pairs of eyes watched, the ball spins in the wheel protected by a glass case. The Attraction Magic that had been set up worked correctly this time, and the little ball governed by destiny was attracted into the Odd-numbered slot this time as well. With a jingling sound, the tokens are paid back. Double the 3 token wager he did, 6 Copper tokens are spat out of the ejector. [¡­¡­In this case¡­¡­] His lips slacking to a smile and with the tokens in hand, I heard him mutter as such. I was about to give my opinion, when I heard the man¡¯s voice. [Sorry, you¡¯re kinda distracting, so could you please not stand next to me?] But I stopped when I heard what the man said. [Fufu, how unfriendly. ¡­¡­I understand, please enjoy yourself to your heart¡¯s content.] On the surface, I had responded calmly, but inside, my mind was in quite the shambles. (He might have figured it out! That this roulette has a trick in it¡­¡­!) Looking back, he had been acting strange from the beginning. A single small bet, as if he¡¯s trying to ascertain something. The way he often looked at me, as if he was checking my position. Those last self-assured words he said in the end, his attitude as if he was sure of something. If he was being vigilant about cheating on the table, that would make sense. Things would make sense then. This roulette trick isn¡¯t one that I freely decide on the spot though, but one that is automatically triggered in response to a pre-assumed situation. In other words, it¡¯s not something he can stop just by being vigilant. Suppose the win rate is manipulated to get customers hooked on a game that can kill them if continued too long though¡­¡­ In that case, there¡¯s a clear solution. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThey can bet a lot of tokens at once, win the game and redeem their desired prize before they¡¯re completely drained of vitality. The casino¡¯s goal is to steal magic power in the guise of the games, but the casino¡¯s prize is real. In fact, it could even be said that I was at a fatal disadvantage, since I used the magic power I accumulated to generate the prizes. (If¡­¡­ If that man had¡­¡­) If that man really had seen through the fact that I¡¯m cheating on the roulette table, and he¡¯s going to mobilize all of his own financial resources to smash this contraption using a high-value token, that would be¡­¡­ That would be¡­¡­ (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨Cso wonderful!!!) With ecstatic eyes, I watched the man walk toward the Token Vending Machine. I can¡¯t see the man¡¯s hand clearly, but I can see the magic flowing from the vending machine toward me. (Ahh, ahhh¡­¡­! Wonderful, this is so wonderful!) Money, which is imbued with human greed, though not as much as the vitality I stole from people, is also a source of sustenance for me. From what I felt, I realized that a high-grade token, perhaps worth a million wen, has been purchased. A gold token. (I¡¯m sorry I underestimated you. You really are the best.) Oh, intelligent and incredibly cute Adventurer-sama. (I bet you must be patting yourself in the back for a job well done, thinking you¡¯ve outsmarted me.) I do think it¡¯s commendable that he figured out the trick in the roulette table. After all, of the countless humans who have visited this place, there has only been a handful who were able to figure it out. But you see¡­¡­ (The purpose of my casino, my web is to have those lovely humans taste despair!) Standing behind the counter, I laughed. It¡¯s true that this casino had cheats to increase the odds of winning for those who have no money and no skill. However, that doesn¡¯t mean that the casino is inept against those who have both the money and strength. The casino¡¯s second and most important trick! ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThe moment a high-grade token is wagered and the payout exceeds a Gold token, the trick flips. The trick that ¡°attracts¡± the ball into the slot wagered and offers a win to the player turns into a cold devil¡¯s trap. The slots on which high-grade tokens are wagered are enchanted with a ¡°Repulsion¡± Magic, so that no ball will ever enter those slots. At that moment, the calm hope would turn to cold despair! (Fu¡­¡­ Fufufu¡­¡­ After all, our motto here is to keep the customers alive, not kill them. We don¡¯t want them to lose too soon, but we don¡¯t want them to win too much. That¡¯s why¡­¡­) At that moment, the time I¡¯ve been waiting for arrives. Unable to curb my curiosity, I looked at him from behind the counter. Back to the roulette table, the man held multiple tokens. And among them, I could see tokens shining in a golden hue. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C!] Sensing my excitement, the man¡¯s sharp gaze pierces me. Thereupon, with admirable movements, I lowered my gaze, as if I were afraid of him. "" I could still feel the man¡¯s gaze even with my face down. (Let¡¯s not lose our mind here, let¡¯s not be hasty¡­¡­) It would be meaningless to alarm the man here if he stopped betting. It doesn¡¯t matter where he bets, as long as it¡¯s the Gold token. With Gold tokens, the payout will cross the line no matter where he bets. All I have to do is just wait for ¡°that moment¡±. With my face kept down, I couldn¡¯t help but lick my lips. (Ahh! Faster! Faster! Faster! Faster!) The time when the prey is driven to the corner is the sweetest, happiest time of the day. Like a child in front of an exquisite feast, I heard the sound of the roulette wheel starting to move. Even though I couldn¡¯t see it, it feels like I could see it all happening. The wheel spun and spun, and the ball bounced, bounced and bounced, before eventually falling into one of the slots. (Here it comes!!!) Feeling the prospect of the incoming joy, I raised my gaze. Then, I looked at the man, trying to savor his sweet despair¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Ah¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª!?] At that moment, my vision was distorted. It was momentary dizziness. It wasn¡¯t that much of a shock, but because of that, I missed the decisive moment. I hurriedly stole a glance at the man¡¯s expression. (Eh?) There is no noticeable change in the man¡¯s expression. His tension seemed to have risen a bit, but that¡¯s about it. At the very least, he doesn¡¯t look like he just lost a huge stake. (Did he not bet the Gold tokens on the roulette earlier?) If it¡¯s this man, who had been opting for a wait-and-see approach up to this point, that could be possible. In that case, I could feel relieved. It¡¯s great that there was no decisive moment that I missed earlier. (¡­¡­However, what was that dizziness?) Putting behind the vague sense of uneasiness and doubt I had in mind, the wheel of fortune began to move again. Through the glass covering the wheel, the ball spins and spins, before dropping on a slot. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CGAKUUUN! My body staggered back with a powerful jerk. This time, what happened really wasn¡¯t just my imagination. (What is going on¡­¡­ It¡¯s like something is being drained from me¡­¡­) I shudder at that thought. No longer concerned about how suspicious the man is, I followed my hunch and looked at the table. Just as I had imagined, there were indeed Gold tokens placed on the table. However¡­¡­ (What in the world is that betting!?) The Gold tokens were placed in the Odd and Even columns, one in each. With that betting strategy, the ball would neither fall on Odd or Even, he¡¯d end up not gaining anything. No, on the contrary, if it fell on 0, neither an Odd or Even number, his bet would have just been taken away¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Ah.] But I quickly found the answer to my question. With a clunk, the roulette was started again. Then, I saw the man reach into the 0 area, and there, I realized. [Ahhhh, no, it can¡¯t be¡­¡­] "" If you bet a Gold token, the ball will never fall on the slot where you bet that token. So, if you bet on both Odd and Even, the ball will always fall to the 0 slot, to the only slot that was neither Odd nor Even. And it¡¯s immediately after touching the crystal ball that the token determines where the bet was placed. So, if you place your real bets on the 0 slot between the time you touch the crystal ball and the time the tokens are collected¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThe ball will always fall on 0 slot, and the player is assured of a 36 times payout. That is the perfect strategy for this roulette game. I felt like the ground I¡¯m standing on crumbling beneath my feet. (But how!? His earlier bet should have been the first time he made a high-grade token bet!) All the people who knew about this trick have been killed here. The only person in this world who knew of this trick should just be me. (Or perhaps, is he one of those!? Someone who has a devilish means to learn things they aren¡¯t supposed to know¡­¡­) [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CGhaaak!] My thoughts were forcefully cut short by the shock. And there, I finally realized what that shock was. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThe lack of magic power due to the repayment for the high-grade token. Everything in this casino is generated by my magic power. If the tokens are made of rare metals, instead of Copper tokens, they must take a considerable amount of magic power. Then, an ominous possibility loomed in my mind. (Just now, I¡¯ve been robbed of enough magic power to stagger back for tokens. But in that case¡­¡­) ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CWhat will happen to me if I¡¯m forced to generate prizes with those tokens? At the same time I came to that conclusion, it happened. The man moved with the spat out coins in his hand. He heads, of course, for the Price Vending Machine. [Wait¡­¡­!] A hoarse voice came out of my throat. I tried to run after him, but my legs were tangled and I couldn¡¯t get any strength into them. [Wait! Stop right there, human¡­¡­!] Far from the ladylike behavior I had displayed up to this point, I tried stopping him, no matter how unsightly and desperate I looked. However, it was already too late. The man tossed the coins into the vending machine without hesitation. [AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!] The pain of having my soul squeezed while alive! Screaming in pain, I unsightly fell down on the ground. (F- F- For such a thing to happen¡­¡­) Hundreds of years. No, for years even more than that, I have lived by feeding on humans. (And for a human to have¡­¡­) [UGYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!] The pain that struck again terrified me. (I¡¯ll die. I will die. No! I won¡¯t accept this! I¡­¡­ I will¡­¡­) I crawled forward. The man is just about to put an additional token into the vending machine. (If he puts that one in, it¡¯s over.) A rainbow-colored token that I myself had never seen before. I don¡¯t think I could withstand the magic power drained from the items generated by that thing right now. (What should I do? What¡¯s the best thing I can do?) Persuasion is probably impossible. However, even if I wanted to eliminate him by force, fighting is forbidden in the casino, and that restriction also applies to myself. So, even if I were to reveal my true form and attack him¡­¡­ (¡­¡­No, that¡¯s not it!) [AGRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!] With a cry, I exerted the last ounce of my strength. Unlike the screams of agony I had let out before, it was a warrior¡¯s cry. A cry filled with my determination to kill this person right now. The skin of the beautiful woman cracked open, exposing my steel-like skin from within. (Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on!!!) Of course, being in this form doesn¡¯t mean the man would be able to do anything against me. However, if the man reacts to this form and attacks me, I can kick him out of the casino for violating the rules! [GAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!] Hence, I howled. "" Trying to reach for the gleam of hope of my survival, I howled. (If he attacks me, I win. If he ignores me and inserts that coin, I lose.) The final game. The man finally moves in response to this decisive action. Thereupon, seemingly puzzled, the man looked at me¡­¡­ And quietly withdrew the token he was holding. (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CI won!) I screamed with joy in my heart. However¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CSeems like you¡¯re still pretty lively, so I guess I can still go a little further.] I had no idea what the man had said at that moment. It was only when the man walked away with the rainbow-colored coin in his hand and heard that abominable clattering sound that I understood. "" [Aaaahhh, a- aaaaahhhhh¡­¡­.] Perhaps, I would have been happier if he hadn¡¯t realized that. The man chose neither to redeem the last prize nor to defeat me¡­¡­ He went to go and refill the roulette with more tokens to squeeze every last bit of magic power he could from me¡­¡­ [Aaahhhh, aaaaaahhhhhh¡­¡­] The voice that leaked out of my mouth was no longer the cry of a warrior struggling to regain her footing or a dying demon begging for her life¡­¡­ It was a cry of lament. It was the groan of a beast that had realized its own mortality, but unable to admit it or resist it, a helpless groan. With the sound of the ball falling on the wheel, my consciousness also faded away. My weakened spirit couldn¡¯t withstand even the generation of an illusory coin. After losing consciousness, even I didn¡¯t know how much my own body, which had accumulated magic power over the years, could withstand the generation of items. All I knew was that I would never wake up again. Crushed by that man¡¯s desire, I will die. (Ahh, I was mistaken.) As I drew my last breath, I thought. (How in the world could I have thought he¡¯s third-rate? He, that man is¡­¡­) [A monster¡­¡­] The words uttered by the demon who fell to the ground dissipated into the air without being heard by anyone. In a corner of a town, unseen by others, the life of a Great Demon who had lived for several hundred years has ended. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù A few minutes later. The casino doors opened and a man emerged from inside. As he stepped out of the door, the building where he had spent just a few seconds earlier disappeared into thin air. By the time a few seconds had passed, there was nothing there anymore, as if it had been an illusion all along. [¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­] Staring at the place that used to be a casino, the man stood still for a moment¡­¡­ Then, with a somewhat melancholic expression on his face, he mumbled. [¡­¡­Ah, sh*t. I forgot to leave some money on hand.] CH 12 [Ahh. So, in other words, even though you won a lot after gambling like an idiot, you let yourself get carried away and used up all of your money for a bunch of prizes?] [¡­¡­Well, that¡¯s about right.] Persistently persuaded through the door, I ended up listening to Rex¡¯s story. Well, it was so complicated that I didn¡¯t really understand the details, but I could guess the gist of what he was saying. [That¡¯s why, could you lend me some money? I¡¯ll pay you right back.] Rex said this with a serious expression on her face, but frankly speaking, because of this one incident, my trust in Rex fell to zero. I don¡¯t care how good of an adventurer he is, I won¡¯t trust him with anything related to money. [Hey. I wonder if you¡¯d seriously pay me back.] [Of course. Have I ever lied to you?] [No, but even I won¡¯t be lied to by an old man I just met yesterday.] The fact that he repeatedly reminds me of this also makes him suspicious. [I just had a target in mind before. If you want, I can come back tonight to return it.] [I hope you¡¯re not going to gamble them away again.] I¡¯m feeling scared if gambling was a normal thing for this guy. What¡¯s even scarier is that I can imagine him both losing all the money I lent him and winning a lot of money back from a mere 1000 wen. Letting out a sigh, Rex looked at me, who seemed to have no faith in him¡­¡­ [I didn¡¯t mean to show you lot much, but I guess you leave me no choice. If you don¡¯t trust me with the money, how about you follow me?] [Eh?] I was surprised at his sudden suggestion, but this Hero just grinned. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-I¡¯m gonna show you real alchemy.] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [Geez, I wonder what you¡¯re up to now.] I was a little disgusted with myself for actually following him with such words. While I grumble my complaints, I¡¯m also somewhat excited to see what this man will do next. [We¡¯re here.] [¡­¡­Eh?] I couldn¡¯t help but let out a doltish voice. After all, the place we went to was somewhere I had been training just a few minutes before¡­¡­ [The Adventurers¡¯ Guild?] What does he plan to do in a place like this? As I had such a question in my mind, Rex went to the reception desk and handed the 1000 wen he borrowed from me. [You just used the 1000 wen here. What the heck are you even going to do here?] [I just told you earlier, didn¡¯t I? I¡¯m going to do Alchemy.] Rex said, before heading to the back of the guild. [That is¡­¡­ an Alchemy Pot?] I followed him to a huge cauldron. In addition to the training grounds, the guild also has facilities open to the public for use by Adventurers of various professions, which can be used temporarily by paying money at the guild. One such facility is this Alchemy Pot. The Alchemy Pot is a facility for Alchemists, and I knew that when you combine multiple items and pour magic power into it, you can synthesize them into a different item. [Old man, you can also do Alchemy!?] [I¡¯ve only dabbled in it.] As he spoke, Rex held up his hand over a metal tray in the room and dropped two daggers on it. [W- What the heck are those?] Knives with an eerie design, clad in a red aura. No matter how I look at it, those two definitely aren¡¯t ordinary equipment. [They¡¯re the prizes from the casino I just told you about. They¡¯re called . It¡¯s a fail drop of an equipment that comes out of treasure chests in dungeons, mainly from mid or late-game dungeons.] [Heehhh¡­¡­] [I¡¯ll say this now, but even though I said it¡¯s a fail drop, these are still Magic Weapons. This thing has more than 5 times the attack power than your sword.] [F- Five times¡­¡­] I can¡¯t help but exclaim. That being said, I can see that the knives on the tray are amazing. [C- Can I touch it?] [Sure, but I wouldn¡¯t recommend it.] [Why not?] At my words, Rex looked as if he just heard something really troublesome, and taking out a pen and paper from his inventory, he started writing something down. ¡¾Goblin Slaughter¡¿ A knife made of Orichalcon, made by a man who gave up being an Adventurer after being defeated by Goblins in the past. Due to a curse against Goblins, damage to Goblins is tripled and damage to other races is reduced to one-third. Also, Goblins injured by this knife have their abilities permanently reduced by 10% (Inflicts only once during battle). Because of its strong curse, this knife can¡¯t be unequipped once equipped. [No, how much does he want to kill Goblins!!!?] I exclaimed as I read the description. The guy who made this thing¡¯s desire to kill Goblins is too high. [I mean, this really is a freaking fail item!!!] Goblins are the weakest monster, and of course, there are stronger subspecies of them, but even their strength isn¡¯t that high. Above all, that damage reduction against Non-Goblins to one-third is too painful. If they can¡¯t even switch equipment due to the curse, they will be fighting at a much greater disadvantage. Even if that thing has five times as much attack as my current equipment, I would never want to equip that. [Just because he lost to a Goblin a long time ago, he had seriously started to detest Goblins. What¡¯s the point of all that if it¡¯s just to reduce a Goblin¡¯s abilities by 10%?] At the very least, a Movement Inhibitor-type ability would have been useful, but having this ability is nothing short of harassment. [Don¡¯t look down on that debuff ability though. Look, you can equip two of them. If you use two knives, that would be a 19% ability debuff.] [No matter how I look at it though, it would just be faster to kill them.] When I astoundedly said this, Rex only laughed, saying ¡°You¡¯re not wrong¡±. [Well, only Goblins appear in the west of Rikushia, so you can use it if you wanna hole yourself up there. The you can get at the far end of that cave is a rather useful item, and is a useful item in the early game.] As he made such a follow-up, the expression on Rex¡¯s face changed. [It¡¯s just, well¡­¡­ The main issue is what I¡¯m gonna do here.] Then, he picked up the tray on which the knives were placed and without hesitation, he threw the knives into the Alchemy Pot. [O- Oi!?] I hurriedly tried to stop him. The Alchemy Pot is only for synthesizing items. It¡¯s supposed to be used to make Healing Potions or to add effects to existing Potions. [Well, just watch.] As I felt as if something outrageous was about to happen, his movements without hesitation in it sent a shiver down my spine. [No way¡­¡­] I¡¯d never heard of the Alchemy Pot being able to synthesize equipment. If such a thing is actually possible, the world¡¯s common sense, the history, will change. While I watched with bated breath, Rex held his hand over the Alchemy Pot and sent his magic power. The Alchemy Pot then vibrates¡­¡­ [Weapons really could be synthesized¡­¡­] Hearing me mutter those words, Rex suddenly chuckled¡­¡­ [No, of course, that¡¯s not possible.] [Ehh?] With a poof, black smoke billowed out of the cauldron. At that moment, the two words ¡°Synthesization Failure¡± popped into my mind. If your Alchemy Skill isn¡¯t good enough or if the materials you put in are wrong, the Alchemy will fail and there will be nothing left but the trash left over by the alchemical materials. Moved by my tremendous premonition, I rushed to the cauldron. [T- The knives¡­¡­] I hurriedly looked into the cauldron, but I couldn¡¯t see the silhouette of a knife at all¡­¡­ There was that ill-shaped hunk of metal that bore no resemblance to the knives though. [O- O- Oi! They just turned into scrap iron!] No matter how much of a fail weapon that is, this is just cruel! When I reflexively snapped towards Rex, he responded. [Scrap iron? Where in the world are your eyes looking at?] [Eh?] Maintaining a relaxed attitude, Rex picked up that ¡°lump¡± and wiped its surface. That lump, which had had the black soot around it removed, was glowing with a mysterious radiance that was unlike anything I had ever seen before. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [T- Thank you very much.] With the weapon shop old man¡¯s rather frightening voice calling from behind us, Rex and I moved forward at a brisk pace. After he did that, Rex took one knife after another from his inventory and repeated the same process. After he finished doing whatever that is, he then hurried to the weapon shop and offered the owner, who was about to close his store, the failed results of synthesizing the knives, ¡°Orichalcon Lumps¡±. Although it had not been processed in any way, Orichalcon is a rare metal whose value easily exceeds Gold. That ill-shapen hunk of metal, the ruin of what once was an Orichalchon Knife, could be sold for a whopping five million wen each. While my eyes widened at the ridiculous amount of money being exchanged, Rex sold the Orichalcon Lumps without hesitation. The total amount was already over 100 million wen, although the shopkeeper finally cried out after the 22nd piece was sold. The sight of all that happening makes me feel crazy. (W- What the heck was that? This guy has been penniless until a moment ago, begging me for a mere 1000 wen. This is, this is just¡­¡­) As I left the store, my head still over the clouds from that unrealistic transaction that had just taken place before my eyes, Rex abruptly stopped. [Ahh, that¡¯s right.] Then, Rex, who was walking in front of me, tossed something toward me. "" I reflexively accepted it and found it to be a 100,000 wen Gold coin. When I realized that it was a hundred times more than the 1000 wen I had lent him earlier, I hurriedly called out to him. [Look, I promised you, didn¡¯t I?] Saying this with a grin, Rex walked away in a good mood without looking back this time. As I looked at his back, as he seemed to be really happy with the day¡¯s events¡­.. [¡­¡­That doesn¡¯t look like Alchemy at all.] I couldn¡¯t help but murmur helplessly to myself. CH 13 Where there was nothing, God first created ¡°a person¡±. However, the newly created ¡°person¡± was weak and soon died. God, thinking that this was boring, created six ¡°servants¡± by sharing his own body with them. As the ¡°servants¡± promised never to break their promises and never tell a lie, God promised ¡°the prosperity of the people¡±. Thereupon, the ¡°servants¡± began to teach the people what they were good at. The differences in teaching eventually led to great differences, and the ¡°people¡± were divided into six races. The ¡¾Oni¡¿, led by the ¡°Servant of Strength¡±, who had the power to overwhelm everything. The ¡¾Dwarves¡¿, following the ¡°Servant of Vitality¡±, who had tenacious bodies. The ¡¾Fairies¡¿, living together with the ¡°Servant of Agility¡±, who possess swift movements. The ¡¾Elves¡¿, taught by the ¡°Servant of Wisdom¡±, possess deep thoughts. The ¡¾Gnomes¡¿, advised by the ¡°Servant of Affection¡±, possess a gentle heart. The ¡¾Humans¡¿, guided by the ¡°Servant of Utility¡±, excel in all things. These six races joined forces and prospered greatly. The ¡°people¡± no longer had to die, except for when they reached their natural life span, and an era of peace had arrived. This was the Era of . However, the people, free of avarice, didn¡¯t seek for more and didn¡¯t grow at all. God, thinking that this was boring, created ¡°monsters¡± to threaten the ¡°people¡±. The endlessly surging ¡°monsters¡± devoured those who didn¡¯t know how to fight as they pleased. Next, God gave all the ¡°people¡± the ¡°ability to grow, leveling-up¡± by taking in the power from the ¡°monsters¡± they defeated and the ¡°ability to store things, inventory¡±, putting away parts of the ¡°monsters¡± in their left hand as items. The ¡°people¡±, who gained these abilities, fought desperately against the ¡°monsters¡± and God enjoyed the battle very much. However, the six servants grieved. They who love the ¡°people¡± became angry and begged God to make the ¡°monsters¡± disappear, but God would not listen to them. The enraged servants rebelled against God and finally killed them. The ¡°servants¡± divided the power they had taken from God into six pieces: ¡°five, water, wind, earth, light and darkness¡±. Each of them received a piece of God¡¯s power and became the new Deities that would protect the ¡°people¡±. The new Deities pledged to help the ¡°people¡± fight the ¡°monsters¡±, and the ¡°people¡± also pledged to be the ¡°Heroes¡± to dispel the ¡°monsters¡± as the blades of the Deities. Thus, the Era of arrived. After a long battle, the Deities and the people finally pushed back the ¡°monsters¡± and the ¡°Origin of Evil¡±. The Deities tried to destroy the ¡°Origin of Evil¡±, but then, the ¡°Humans¡¯ Deity¡± took the ¡°Origin of Evil¡± and incorporated it into themself. The Humans and their Deity conquered the other races with the ¡°monsters¡± they created with the ¡°Origin of Evil¡±. The Deities fell one after another before the ¡°Humans¡¯ Deity¡±, which became an Evil Deity, and only the Elves¡¯ Deity remained at the end. Holy and Evil, Light and Darkness clashed, and the battle lasted seven days and seven nights. The seas roiled, the sky creaked, and the earth became desolate from the fierce conflict. But in the end, after a battle so fierce that the world was split asunder, the righteous came out victorious. The Evil Deity was sealed deep in the bowels of the earth, and the Humans who had lost their patron were on the road to ruins, and the war finally came to an end. However, the Elves¡¯ Deity who had wielded all their power also fell into a deep sleep, and the Deities disappeared from the world. The Blessings of the Deities waned and the power of the ¡°people¡± weakened, but the number of ¡°monsters¡± also decreased greatly, so the world regained its balance. The Era of arrived. [¡­¡­However, with the return of the Evil Deity, the Goddess of Salvation will awaken from her long slumber and usher in the Era of once again.] Reading the last page, I closed the book. (As I thought, the condition of the world was just like in the game.) The book I¡¯m currently reading is said to contain the origins of the world. It¡¯s the Bible of this world, so to speak. In other words, this was a story within a story, a fake book of Genesis that the game staff randomly thought up, but as I don¡¯t feel that the Deities who appeared in the book are all assholes, it makes me feel like the book is telling of a mythological story. In addition, the text here is the same as the description of the setting of the world at the beginning of Brave & Blade¡¯s explanation book. If it was just as in the game, this ¡°Elves¡¯ Deity¡± is the Goddess of Salvation who called out to us the other day, and her name, I believe, is . The Hero of the game, along with his group, with the help of Feenares, are to defeat the sealed ¡°Humans¡¯ Deity¡±, the game¡¯s final boss, . (Though I say that, well, the conditions have been met so far. There¡¯s no room for doubt there.) It¡¯s been two days since I came to this world. Little by little, I¡¯m getting to know this world. First of all, I can say that this world is definitely ¡°the world based on Brave & Blade¡±. I have read fiction stories in which people are transferred to another world, but in such cases, there are several variations on the reason for the existence of that game-like world. For example, there¡¯s the coincidental type, in which ¡± a world similar to the game happened to exist in one of the countless parallel worlds¡±, or the reintroduction type, in which ¡°the world that was like in the Brave & Blade originally existed, and Brave & Blade was created based on that world¡±. However, those clearly don¡¯t apply in this case. The events that took place in the game are almost completely recreated, and above all, Japanese was the language being used in this world, and the same is true for weights and measures, as easily understood measurements such as ¡°meters¡± are being used. There¡¯s also the distortion of civilization. The cityscape and people¡¯s clothes are reminiscent of medieval Europe, but there are many modernized goods, services and items. On my way home from the weapon shop, I bought a notebook and a quill pen that never runs out of ink at the general store in order to plan out the future. It¡¯s reasonable to assume that the Japanese game called came first, and then this world was born derived from it. (But if that¡¯s the case, I don¡¯t understand why.) If that¡¯s the case, it would mean that this whole world was created and given to me, just for me alone. I mean, I could understand if I was, for example, a great man who saved the world, had a secret treasure from Egypt, or was acquainted with a God, then I could accept why all of this happened. However, no matter where you look or how you view things, I¡¯m just an ordinary guy with no great background or secrets. Even though I did a good deed of ¡°saving a stranger girl¡± at the end of my life, having a whole world created to make my wish come true is just too convenient. [Hmmm. But well, what¡¯s even the point of thinking about this?] The voice I heard just before I died said ¡°Your wish¡­¡­ I¡¯ve heard it¡±. I don¡¯t know if that voice was from God, Buddha, the Devil, or some other being, but it had such an overwhelming presence that they could easily pop a world into existence. It¡¯s probably nonsensical to try to guess the will of such a being. Instead, it would be better to think about the future. I took out my notebook from my inventory and spread it out on my desk. [First, my goals. ¡­¡­What should I do? What in the world do I even want to do now?] Speaking out loud, I asked myself these questions. The blankness of this notebook was both a sign of how unlimited my future is and how empty of a person I am. [In times like this, you would usually think of going back to your former world¡­¡­] Thus, I was about to write ¡°Find a way back to my former world¡±, but my hand immediately stopped. Of course, this doesn¡¯t mean that I have on regrets about Japan. I¡¯ve already given up on being able to get my job back, but I would really want to see my friends again. I feel sorry for my parents, and I have a lot of other unfinished business there. But if you ask me if my goal now is to find a way back to Japan, that doesn¡¯t feel right. (After all, I¡¯m completely dead over there.) I remember being hit by a car, so unless God¡¯s magical power or something made it so that that accident didn¡¯t happen, my body would have been lying on the road, covered in blood. A funeral would have been made for me, and I legally would be treated as dead by now. It would have been sad for those close to me, and my absence may make it difficult back at work, but that¡¯s all there is to it. It¡¯s sad to say, but the world will go on without me. I¡¯m sure the work will go back on track in a few weeks, and my parents will do whatever they can for my brother, who is much more capable than I am. Above all, I am now ¡°Rex¡±. I can¡¯t imagine how I will be able to live in a world where I have no family register, and my face and appearance being completely different. Besides, even if I returned to Japan, I would still be just an ordinary person. Even though I may just be a paper tiger, there was no small calculative thought in mind that I would rather live as ¡°Rex¡±, a successful A-Rank Adventurer. [Alright!] There was no wavering in my mind anymore. To be honest, it was obvious which way my feelings were leaning right now. I may regret this, and I may make a foolish choice. However, these are my honest thoughts right now. Picking up my pen, I opened up the first page of my notebook. There, in large letters, I wrote. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-I will live in this world!!! I wrote in a powerful, bold font. These are probably ¡°the words that signified my beginning¡±. Perhaps, this moment was another ¡°opening¡± that marked the beginning of my adventure in this world. CH 14 I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders when I decided to live in this world. Stretching out and relaxing my tense body, I glanced to the side. Laying on the bed a few distance away from mine, a girl with bright blue hair was sleeping. (I wonder what I should do about this girl.) The girl who is probably ¡°Rex¡¯s¡± sister, Resilia. The girl, who was saved from being attacked by a Gargoyle, is still asleep even after more than a day has passed. (T/N: Resilia, previously Lecilia. Renamed to sync with the name used by the manga translator.) When I brought her to the healer in town yesterday, they told me that her wounds are completely closed and that she will eventually wake up. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything I need to worry about, but since she was supposed to die in the game, there¡¯s a slight sense of uneasiness in me. I couldn¡¯t just neglect her or leave her to someone else, so I tossed her in the same inn as mine for the time being, but my head hurts thinking about what I should do now. I¡¯ve never even spoken to her before, but she¡¯s supposed to be my sister by blood, and she probably knows me very well. All these things make me at a loss and troubled about what to do. It would have been better if it was a little sister unrelated by blood that came out of nowhere, like those tropes that sometimes appear in games. In addition, since she¡¯s a character whose death is a definite event in the game, I have no information about her other than she seems to be Rex¡¯s younger sister. As far as I can tell from her sleeping figure, as to be expected from the younger sister of the ikemen Rex, her face is quite well-defined. Also, with her hair having a greenish color, I can guess that she might be good at wind magic, but that¡¯s about it. (If it¡¯s possible, it would be better to keep the fact that I¡¯m not the ¡°real Rex¡± a secret from her.) I don¡¯t like the idea of lying, but I guess it would be better if I were careful about the timing of telling her the truth, both to protect my secret and for her own sake. Her hometown has been decimated by monsters, and everyone she knows has probably been wiped out. Hearing that her last remaining connection, her brother is a different person on the inside would be too harsh for her. (¡­¡­The road ahead would be very difficult huh.) I suppose, taking such things into consideration, I should plan out the future a bit more. If I were the Hero of a novel or a manga, I might be able to get by with opportunism and talent compensation even if I just go ahead with momentum and groove. However, I¡¯m not the Hero, I¡¯m just an ordinary person. The world of B&B isn¡¯t so sweet that I can get through it haphazardly. Even if it¡¯s not this world, when you become a working adult, even if you don¡¯t want to, you would realize the importance of making plans in advance and managing your tune. Just setting a goal and making a schedule, even if it¡¯s just for the time being, will amp up your motivation, and even if you don¡¯t make progress as planned, it¡¯s very important to know exactly ¡°how far behind you are¡± and ¡°how much effort you need to put in to recover from that¡±. This is as important as the skill of deceiving someone, even oneself, with uselessly long sentences when asked with ¡°How is the progress?¡± . First of all, my ultimate goal, which immediately came to mind: ? Survive the Game Period of Two Years! I wish for a time when I won¡¯t have to say stuff like ¡°This isn¡¯t a dream¡±. If I just do things normally, Rex will die 10% of the time. I survived the opening event, so I think I¡¯ve already crossed a critical point, but I can¡¯t let my guard down. Besides, having this goal is practically tantamount to a ¡°game clear¡± since the world won¡¯t be free if the Evil Deity is revived anyway. To achieve this goal, what comes to my mind at the moment¡­¡­ I guess that¡¯s about all I could think of. First of all, ¡°1. Find the game¡¯s Hero¡± is absolutely necessary. If I don¡¯t start things from the top, things won¡¯t progress from here on out. The ¡°Hero¡± in the game is a very important character, known as the ¡°Chosen One¡± or the ¡°Child of Destiny¡±. "" Of course, they¡¯re essential for the events, but they¡¯re also essential because of their abilities. They have excellent qualities and special techniques such as the and , which are highly effective against Dark-Attribute Demons. They apparently also have the , a constant effect that increases the growth speed of his party. The reason I said ¡°apparently¡± is that in the game, the player was the Hero and could never be removed from the party, so the players aren¡¯t entirely sure what the growth rate of the party will be if they aren¡¯t in it. When I first met Radd and his party, the ¡°Hero¡± wasn¡¯t in it. If the protagonist in this world is the , Radd should be in the position of the Hero, but since the sealed door didn¡¯t respond when Radd and his party touched it, it¡¯s safe to assume that they aren¡¯t the ¡°Hero¡±. There are a total of 7 different origin stories of the Hero that can be selected in B&B. Since there was an announcement of additional origin stories in the DLC, there may be a possibility that there will be 8 different types. From among these, I must find the real Hero¡¯s background and find the Hero who I don¡¯t know what they look like or what abilities they have. The worst-case scenario is that ¡°the Hero doesn¡¯t exist in this world¡±, but let¡¯s not think about that for now. After that, ¡°2. Explore this world¡± is also important. What kind of place is this world and how is it different from the game? There are some things that go as I know, while there are some things that I don¡¯t know. For example, the Alchemy technique I used, ¡°throwing unusable items into the Alchemy Pot, making them fail the synthesization, and reverting them to their raw materials¡± is a technique that could have been used in a game, but it would certainly look quite strange if I thought about something like that happening in real life. On the other hand, the betting technique I used in the casino, ¡°betting tokens after the roulette starts spinning to counteract the cheating¡±, is a technique that couldn¡¯t be done in the game. In the game, the roulette button becomes inoperable the moment it¡¯s pressed, so it is impossible to bet tokens just before the roulette starts spinning. Thus, both ¡°what can¡¯t be done in reality but can be done in the game¡± and ¡°what can¡¯t be done in the game but can be done in reality¡± could be helpful. I shouldn¡¯t neglect the effort to understand what this world is like. After that, I would like to visit the in the City of Water. The names of the Heroes of the past who have done so much for the world are inscribed there¡­¡­ is the official explanation about that place, but in reality, it¡¯s a staff roll, a playful gesture by the staff. I don¡¯t think that a text like ¡°Programmer ¨C Yamada Taro¡± would exist in a fantasy world by chance, so if their name really is there, I should be able to confirm my hypothesis that ¡°this world was created based on the B&B game¡±. And then, as for ¡°3. Overcome all kinds of events¡±¡­¡­ If I could, I¡¯d find the Hero quickly, throw everything at them and retreat to somewhere else. However, I may not be able to find the Hero immediately, and there are nasty events called in B&B, and there¡¯s one, or even two¡­¡­ maybe three or four of them per character. For example, in the case of the famous , there¡¯s ¡°an event in which the character dies if you make the wrong choice or left unattended¡±, and if there¡¯s no action taken about that, he will be killed by his own brother in the middle of the second year in-game time. In addition, there¡¯s a larger version called , where if you make a wrong choice, a rebellion may cause the city to become a slum, the city to submerge underwater, the city to fly, the city to fall and be wiped out, or simply to be attacked by monsters and fall, or a mysterious army may form and turn against some of the characters. The terrain could change and the roads could become impassable, but anyhow, it would be quite disastrous. Even if I decided to live for myself, I can¡¯t afford to miss many of such events, so I¡¯d like to do something about them if I could intervene¡­¡­ The problem, however, is that the event flags are insanely complicated. The timing of their occurrence depends on both the progress of the game and the actual date, and they can also be affected by the status of the event and the characters involved. (First¡­¡­ Spit out some game knowledge.) Whatever happens, the game knowledge I know is my weapon that trumps all else. Some events are already beyond my memory, but there¡¯s no way to plan without putting it all on paper. Besides, people¡¯s memories are vague. Even this knowledge I remember now may be forgotten after some time. (¡­¡­It can¡¯t be helped. Let¡¯s do this.) Taking out another notebook, I began to write in it the details of the events and its conditions, relying on my memory. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù I spent a few hours pondering in front of my notebook. (I¡¯ve written something crazy¡­¡­) When I came to myself and looked at my notebook, I found that a tremendous amount of information had been written in it. My memory is a little hazy in some areas, but I¡¯m amazed at how I was able to remember so much about a game I had played several years ago. I was so absorbed in writing it down that I¡¯m starting to think that this is now some kind of prophecy book. If this gets into the wrong hands, I feel like this could be a big problem. (If this were a novel, this would get stolen by an enemy in the latter half of the story and become a big problem. I¡¯m quite familiar with tropes like that.) I¡¯ve gotta watch out and make sure no one sees this. It was at that moment when I thought like that¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Arehh?] Before I knew it, I realized that a shadow had covered my hand. My heart skipped a beat. A cold sweat broke out at the worst premonition I had in mind. That¡¯s right¡­¡­ I had completely forgotten about her¡­¡­ I wasn¡¯t the only one in this room. (No, wait. Let¡¯s take a moment here¡­¡­) Of all the time, it could have happened at a time like this. This shouldn¡¯t have happened. As I prayed that what I had in mind wasn¡¯t happening, I turned around. [Nii¡­¡­ -san¡­¡­] However, my prayers went unanswered. Standing there was a girl, Rex¡¯s younger sister, Resilia, with a ghastly expression on her face. [Ah¡­¡­] I can¡¯t think of a word of excuse. Spread out on the desk at the inn was a notebook with a series of events that clearly could only be future events, such as ¡°The Rebellion in Frelia Town¡± and ¡°The Assassination of the Prince of Light, Ain¡±. Then, her eyes scanned another notebook with a crossed-out ¡°I will return to my original world¡±, and when she caught the page with ¡°I will live in this world!¡± written in large, bold letters, I saw her expression become despairingly intense. Her face pale, she thrust her drawn sword before me and asked with trembling lips. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CRex nii-san, no¡­¡­ Who are you?] CH 15 [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI¡¯ll ask you again. Who are ¡°you¡±?] Resilia¡¯s gaze and her sword were fixed squarely on my forehead. The room of the luxury inn in the middle of the night is filled with a tense atmosphere. [What are you suddenly¡­¡­] [Don¡¯t play dumb. You think I don¡¯t know my own brother?] Underneath the tension, I could sense quiet anger in her tone. I was daunted by her will that seemed to tell me that she wouldn¡¯t allow me to evade this. [This is¡­¡­] In front of me, I could feel the power of the sword in Resilia¡¯s hand. The fact that I was at a loss for words seemed to have convinced her. [¡­¡­Alright. I¡¯ll tell you everything.] At this point, I just gave up. It wasn¡¯t that I was quite desperate about this matter. I did originally intend to hide this, but I wasn¡¯t going to keep it from her. I¡¯m not a softie, nor am I a saint, but I¡¯m not so rotten that I would lie to someone who wanted to know about her relative. It¡¯s just, you need to be prepared, Resilia. [First, I¡¯m not the Rex Toren you know. I was born in a different world¡­¡­] If this is how it¡¯s going to be, we¡¯re in this together. I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m going to have you bear these secrets of mine as well. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù I told Resilia the whole truth. I could have fooled her about all sorts of things, but I don¡¯t feel the need to do so. It wasn¡¯t just about my reincarnation. I told her about how if things continue like this, the Evil Deity will resurrect and destroy the world, about what I was thinking of doing from now on, and then, without hiding it, I also told her that her hometown, Ash City, had fallen into the hands of monsters. [¡­¡­I see.] I could have envisioned a number of different patterns of how angry or sad she would be after hearing all of this, but she just quietly mumbled something like that. It didn¡¯t seem like she was not shocked, but I was puzzled by her lack of reaction. [You don¡¯t think I¡¯m lying?] I couldn¡¯t hold myself back from asking her this. For some reason, Resilia nodded at the question, and sounding rather moved, she spoke. [That¡¯s a very ¡°typical¡± reaction.] I raised my eyebrows, not knowing what she meant, to which she added. [If we were to go to the church for a ¡°Tribunal¡¯s Ruling¡±, all the lies would be revealed. Knowing that, people from this world wouldn¡¯t make up such pointless lies.] [¡­¡­I see, that¡¯s why you described it as ¡°typical¡± huh.] So, she thought I was either from another world that didn¡¯t know about the ¡°Tribunal¡¯s Ruling¡±, or that I was acting like one huh. In fact, I did know about the ¡°Tribunal¡¯s Ruling¡± in the game¡¯s worldbuilding, but I hadn¡¯t thought of making use of it in this situation. I know the world of B&B from the game, but I must admit that there are some holes in my knowledge when it comes to the parts of the game that have little to do with strategies. [Besides, ¡°you¡± don¡¯t actually know anything about Rex¡­¡­ no, about my brother huh.] [What do you mean?] Resilia, her gaze looking rather distant, bluntly spoke. [It¡¯s been ten years since I last saw my brother.] [Eh¡­¡­] I was speechless at the words I didn¡¯t expect. [Ten years ago, my brother suddenly gave up everything and ran away from home to become an adventurer. At that time, it threw everything around us into disarray. ¡­¡­When those monsters attacked, all I knew was that my brother had shown up near the city. So, I frantically asked around and headed for the east gate.] [W- Wait a moment. But what you said earlier, about how there¡¯s no way you wouldn¡¯t know about your own brother¡­¡­] [Of course, it was a bluff. However, it seems like we found ourself the dunce.] Without even acting shy at all, Resilia actually said this. [So, even if a different person were inside of my brother, I wouldn¡¯t know what to think. After all, I don¡¯t know my brother either.] "" [That is¡­¡­] I don¡¯t know what to say. One of the most popular characters in B&B, . Despite his overwhelming popularity, not much is known about him. After all, he is¡­¡­ [However, there¡¯s one thing I want to know¡­¡­ What did my brother, what did do in the ¡°story¡± from your world?] I hesitated to answer that question. However, the one who decided to let her hear everything was me. As I gathered my thoughts, thinking about what to say, I calmly spoke. Rex is a Support Character right from the start. He was strong only in the beginning, but gradually, his strength began to be overshadowed. Not only that, there¡¯s a ¡°definite goodbye¡± in store for him. "" [Rex would stay with the ¡°Hero¡± to help them grow up to a certain degree, then say ¡°I have business to attend to¡± and would leave the Hero¡¯s side.] The condition is that either one year has passed since the game started or the Hero has stepped on one of the ¡°Twelve Dark Ruins¡±. Either way, Rex will disappear from the party for sure. And¡­¡­ [From then on, he would never appear before the ¡°Hero¡± again. But¡­¡­] I hesitated. I tried looking at Resilia, looking for a reason that could help me, but she didn¡¯t look away and just looked at me. [But what?] [¡­¡­If you go deep within the castles in the ruins of Ash City, you will find a corpse dressed all in black.] Perhaps, the ¡°business he had to attend to¡± that ¡°Rex¡± was referring to was to retake Ash City or something similar. However, what met him there was an extremely cruel end. B&B¡¯s famed will truly meet the end of a lone wolf, all by himself. [¡­¡­I see.] After saying this, Resilia didn¡¯t move for a while. However¡­¡­ [¡­¡­You must be thirsty after talking so much.] [Huh?] As I wondered why she suddenly looked up, she took out two beautiful glass bottles of water and started drinking from one of them. Staring at her, astounded at her sudden eccentricity, I wondered what she was thinking¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Here you go.] ¡ª¡ª¨Cand she held out the other one to me. [N- No¡­¡­] [Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not poisoned.] I was about to refuse, but her momentum compelled me to accept it. Swept along with her pace, I timidly took a sip. ¡­¡­The water was very much normal. [That¡¯s great.] Watching me take a sip of the water, she smiled. Wondering what she was so happy about¡­¡­ [That was Holy Water.] [Huh?] She said that so nonchalantly. [I heard how there are some Demons that can possess people.] [You¡­¡­] In short, she was being suspicious if I was possessed by a Demon. [It was just in case. Besides, this tells me that you have a less guarded personality.] She says the most outrageous things without hesitation. I thought she was just a heroic general mob from my impression from the game, but it seems that this girl is much more of a swindler than I thought. She looked at me for a moment, before she nodded her head. [¡­¡­I¡¯ve decided. Please let me accompany you for the time being.] [Wha!?] I couldn¡¯t help but be surprised at her sudden proposal. [Regardless of who you are, that body belongs to my brother. I can¡¯t just leave it alone.] [N- No, that might be the case¡­¡­] [You don¡¯t seem to be familiar with the general knowledge of this world, and it should be convenient for you to have someone by your side who¡¯s knowledgeable about the situation. Besides, the Toren Family is a warrior family so I¡¯ll be of some use in battle.] She spoke without hesitation. The look in her eyes showed that she was determined not to budge in this matter, but I also can¡¯t simply nod in agreement. [Wait a minute! This and that are entirely different matters! At the very least, I can¡¯t say anything about you fighting because I don¡¯t know how strong you are.] At least, she isn¡¯t even strong enough to beat a Gargoyle. In the first place, Resilia was an Event Character at the very beginning of the game, and as far as I¡¯m concerned, it¡¯s doubtful if she had a decent setting established. I don¡¯t intend to throw out Rex¡¯s blood relatives, even if it¡¯s temporarily, but there¡¯s no way I could send people who can¡¯t fight into battle. [Let¡¯s start with your level, or rather, tell me your status in detail first, and then we can go from there.] I tried to persuade her, but Resilia¡¯s reaction was strange. What came to her face was neither understanding nor repulsion. She just said, with confusion that she might have shown for the first time since we met¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªUmmm, what is this Status and Level?] CH 16 [You don¡¯t know what Level and Status are¡­¡­?] My mind went blank as I heard those unintelligible words. [No, I¡¯m sorry. To be precise, even though I don¡¯t know what the Status is, I do know what Level means. That was the numerical stage of your ¡°growth¡± after you defeat monsters, right? However, I don¡¯t know how to measure my level. I haven¡¯t experienced any growth though, so I don¡¯t think my level has changed yet¡­¡­] Resilia corrected her words, but those words felt more like a pursuing attack. It¡¯s no exaggeration to say that Status is the most important factor in an RPG. For something as stupid as not knowing that is just¡­¡­ (¡­¡­Arehh? Come to think of it, how do you look at your own Status again?) That¡¯s something so basic that I hadn¡¯t thought about it at all. Up until now, when I use my Arts or my Inventory, I had the feeling that my body somehow remembered how to use it, so I could easily use it even for the first time. However, when I think of ¡°looking at my own Status¡±, I don¡¯t have that feeling at all. (Could it be because I¡¯m not the ¡°Hero¡±? ¡­¡­No, rather than as a game character, was it something I could do because I was the player of that game?) It would probably be on the same level as the Save, Load, and also the Quest List and Help Function. That is information disclosed to ¡°the person operating the game¡±, not to the characters in the game who are actually operating and seeing the information. However, that would be troubling. If I don¡¯t know my Status, it¡¯s hard to know how much I¡¯ve grown, and it¡¯s hard to make plans against the enemies. But in the game, there¡¯s no way to know your Status other than opening the Menu¡­¡­ But as I had such thoughts in mind, I suddenly thought of ¡°something¡± and ran to the mirror. (Perhaps, if I use that¡­¡­) Guided by my premonition that felt almost convincing, I shouted in front of ¡°my reflection in the mirror¡±. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªInspect!] Thereupon¡­¡­ (Alright!) My ability values were displayed, the same as I had seen on the status screen. With this, I can feel relieved. (The technique to gauge the strength of the opponent, Inspect, works just fine huh. This ability normally can¡¯t target anyone but enemies, but it looks like you really can use it this way in this world huh.) It was a gamble to see if it would work on a real person, or if it would even work on my reflection in the mirror, but I¡¯m glad this worked. (Gotta say, Rex sure is weak.) Adventurers in the world of B&B generally increase each stat value by an average of 4 points per level. In that case, you can say that gaining 200 points at LV 50 is average, but in reality, Rex¡¯s starting value at LV 1 is about 20, which means that each of his status values is lower than a normal character. In addition, 4 is just the average, as stat growth would have irregularities to it such as ¡°a warrior having +6 STR/level, but would just have +2 MGC/level¡±. Therefore, even if the overall value is the same, at LV 50, it would be normal for there to be inclinations in growth such as ¡°300+ STR and 100+ MGC¡±. And of course, there¡¯s a big difference between having 300 STR and 200 STR, so although you could technically say that Rex is flexible, to be honest, he¡¯s very weak offensively. Furthermore, the average for ¡°ordinary adventurers¡± is 4, most of the main party characters in the game will naturally exceed that number. Furthermore, this disparity becomes even more pronounced in the later stages of the game. This is because although B&B is a game that allows players to change their Jobs to various Jobs, the conditions for Job Change still require a character¡¯s stat value. Even though the higher the Job is, the stricter the conditions for Job Change will be, having a higher rank Job gives them access to more powerful techniques and greater stat increase according to their Job. In other words, the stronger you are, the stronger you get, and the weaker you are, the further you fall behind¡­¡­ [Ummm, are you alright?] I finally came to my senses when Resilia called out to me. [Y- Yeah. There¡¯s no problem.] [Are you feeling sick? You should get some rest¡­¡­] Resilia, who was asking me that, lacks expression on her face, but she really seemed to be worried and called out to me in a concerned manner. However, that¡¯s needless worry. I may have taken a bit of psychological damage, but it¡¯s no big deal. (Now then¡­¡­) It¡¯s good that I could see ¡°Rex¡¯s¡± status, but I already knew Rex¡¯s status values from the beginning. The main issue here is checking Resilia¡¯s status. ( would probably work here but¡­¡­) The question is, what are her status values like? Even if she¡¯s LV 1, her current status values would give me a rough idea of her growth rate. As a rule, one¡¯s status value at LV 1 is equal to six times the growth rate per level. For example, if the average growth is 4, their status value at LV 1 would approximately be 24. (¡­¡­One¡¯s growth rate, a character¡¯s qualities, is the disparity in this world that can¡¯t be overturned.) Of course, there¡¯s a limit to what can be covered by affection and efficiency. I may have said that 4 is the average for Adventurers, but conversely speaking, there are many characters who aren¡¯t Adventurers whose growth rate was lower than that. The average growth rate of a person in a town, if I¡¯m not mistaken, half of the population would be around 2. (The borderline for her is 18.) If she has a balanced 18 points in each stat, making her have a growth rate of 3, she should be able to do well enough as a party member as long as she was a support. However, if her stats were less than that¡­¡­ (Sorry to say, but it might be better not to let her participate in battle.) Secretly making such a decision, I turned towards Resilia, who was looking at me with a strange expression on her face, and used . And as for her stat values¡­¡­ [¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Huh?] My mouth dumbly opened at the unbelievably high stats displayed in front of me. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù When I woke up, I was sweating profusely. [It was just a dream huh.] Probably because of the dream that felt real, I was in a terrible mood. In my dream, I was playing an MMO and followed the advice of a green-haired Elf to create a balanced character, but that character was useless in battle, with people around me saying ¡°Hey, you hear? I heard he actually made a balanced character¡±, ¡°Uwahh, what, he¡¯s trying to be one of them ¡°jack-of-all-trades, master-of-all¡±? Only clueless elementary schoolers are allowed to do that¡±, ¡°Heyya, trash chara-kun~~¡±. I know the cause of this. It was definitely Resilia¡¯s shocking status that I saw yesterday. It¡¯s simply extraordinary that she has such high numbers even when she¡¯s LV 1. Even in the game, I had never seen a character with that abnormal stat value. And that¡¯s not the only thing that stuck out to me. When I saw that status, I couldn¡¯t help but think¡­¡­ (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªIf only I had this power¡­¡­) Of course, I know that can¡¯t happen. However¡­¡­ [¡­¡­You¡¯re awake.] I turned my head at the voice, and there I found Rex¡¯s sister, Resilia. The memory of yesterday¡¯s events makes me feel complicated, but I try my best not to show it and called out to her. [Ahhh, ummm¡­¡­ Good morning. I¡¯m sorry for causing you trouble yesterday.] To be honest, I don¡¯t really remember what happened after that last night. I was so shocked it seemed like I ended up falling unconscious. [No. That aside, please wait a bit.] Brushing off my apology without moving an eyebrow, Resilia opened the door and walked away. A few minutes later, she returned with a bowl of what appeared to be a meal in her hand. [¡­¡­Here¡¯s some egg porridge. I¡¯m not sure if it will suit your palate though.] The way she held out the bowl to me was somehow gentler than yesterday. [I heard from the innkeeper. The day before yesterday, you were defending a beginner party, and though you were badly injured to the point of death, you defeated a Demon.] [Eh? Yeah, well¡­¡­] Depending on the interpretation, I guess you could describe that event that way huh. [You must have been fatigued. ¡­¡­Help yourself.] [Y- Yeah.] At her urging, I scooped the porridge with the spoon she handed to me and brought it to my mouth. [¡­¡­Delicious.] The taste is soothing not only to the body, but also to the soul. Even the boorish tsukkomi like ¡°Rice in a fantasy world?¡± seemed to be pulled into the back of my throat along with the umami of the meal. [Thanks. By any chance, did you make this, Resilia?] [¡­¡­Well, I was just killing time.] With her gaze to the side, she sullenly said. Apparently not wanting me to touch on this matter any further, I slowly ate my egg porridge. [Thank you for the¡­¡­ Whoa?] Before I had time to express my gratitude, she took the bowl as if she was snatching it away, and saying ¡°I¡¯ll clean it up¡±, she quickly turned to leave the room. However¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Speaking of which.] Her footsteps stopped just as she opened the door. And then¡­¡­ [Thank you for saving me.] [Eh¡­¡­?] [I didn¡¯t get the chance to tell you that yesterday.] After quickly saying that, Resilia left the room without looking back this time. But just as she was about to leave, for a brief moment, her side-profile seemed to have a slightly reddish tinge to it. The sound of her footsteps, rushing down the stairs, gradually faded away. [¡­¡­I¡¯m so pathetic.] A grown man like me shouldn¡¯t make such a young girl worry. Before that, even if it was only for a little bit, I hate myself for being so small-minded and jealous of such an unusual, but kind-hearted younger girl. From the beginning, I knew that ¡°Rex¡± was weak. And yet, saying ¡°On second thought, please come with me¡± the moment I actually saw the disparity between our abilities is just very uncool. (¡­¡­I need to change my thinking.) I¡¯ve been treating this as if I was still playing B&B, the game itself. I¡¯ve been saying that ¡°I¡¯m not the Hero¡± while acting like a Hero. B&B is an Action RPG, a game in which you play the Hero who takes the initiative to save the world and beat down all of the enemies. However, I¡¯m sure that¡¯s not the role I¡¯m supposed to play here. If I were to use an analogy, yes¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-I should think of this world as a Simulation Game instead. Rather than myself, I will train others, raising a group that can defeat the monsters and clear this world. That is the best choice, the optimal solution, that I can make right now. Even though it wasn¡¯t exactly myself, the answer to my final goal probably lies somewhere in here. (I¡¯m glad I met Resilia here.) If I had kept on with a half-baked thinking, I¡¯m sure I would have hit a much bigger wall someday. Now, rather than comparing myself to her, I felt like I could simply congratulate Resilia for being strong. "" [Resilia¡­¡­] And so, when Resilia came back, I could naturally ask her for this favor. Looking at her firmly in the eyes, I said the words that would answer yesterday¡¯s question. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-I want to borrow your strength. Would you fight alongside me?] At this sudden question, her eyes widened for a moment¡­¡­ [¡­¡­My sword is yours.] And saying this, she fearlessly smiled. CH 17 [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Why am I so strong despite being level 1?] On the way to our destination, I asked Resilia. I may have already settled my emotions, putting such things aside, Resilia¡¯s high ability is obviously abnormal. In B&B, you can increase the corresponding stat values by ¡°training¡± in addition to leveling up, but I have never heard that you could get such stat values even at LV 1. It¡¯s scary to rely on power from an unknown source, so if I could know the secret of her strength, it may be useful for us in the future. So, I decided to ask her about the secret of her power. [If it¡¯s about that, then I think I need to tell you about the Toren Family.] Not seemingly offended by my sudden question, Resilia began to speak, choosing her words carefully. Unexpectedly, it seemed like the story starts from the roots of ¡°Rex Toren¡± and ¡°Resilia Toren¡±. [The Toren Family has served as guards and swordsmanship tutors for the Ash Royal Family for generations. Such a tradition continued until my generation.] [What in the world is with the Ash Royal Family¡­¡­] [They are descendants of the Ash Kingdom, who sealed the Evil Deity together with the . They lost their real power, but they were living peacefully in the castle in Ash City.] [Ahh, speaking of which¡­¡­] There certainly was a setting like that. I remember hearing a little about the Ash Royal Family at an event related to the that worships the , an antagonistic force that comes to prominence in the latter half of the game. In the world of B&B, the setting of countries and government is rather vague, perhaps because of the worldview in which the Gods stand above the people. The form of the countries was similar to a federation of kingdoms, with each city and town having a certain degree of autonomy. [Although they had no real power, the descendants of the Ash Royal Family were considered the closest to the , and their lives were often targeted by Demons and those who were in league with such evil beings. We of the Toren Family honed our swordsmanship for them and devoted our swords and loyalty to them, and we¡¯re known as the . On the other hand, the training was severe and I hear that many had dropped out or failed.] [Perhaps, that could also be the reason ¡°Rex¡± left your home¡­¡­] [¡­¡­I don¡¯t know what Rex nii-san was thinking. However, it seems like that¡¯s how the world saw the situation.] She said so matter-of-factly. It¡¯s just, I feel like there seemed to be a hint of anger in it. [T- Then, if that¡¯s the case, is Resilia also¡­¡­] I was about to say something to divert the conversation, but I realized that I had made a poor choice of topic to divert to. If she was training to become a Guardian Knight, she already had someone she was supposed to be guarding that day¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Yes. I was also supposed to serve as the Second Prince as a Royal Guard.] I¡¯m not so sure if I did a good job hiding my expression when I heard that answer. [¡­¡­I see.] ¡°I hope he managed to survive¡±, aren¡¯t words that I could say lightly in this situation. After all, I knew who that guy is. I knew that the Ash Royal Family¡¯s Second Prince¡­¡­ was still alive. (D*mn it! That¡¯s how things were connected huh!) I prayed very, very hard that Resilia would never see ¡°him¡± again. After all¡­¡­ The sole survivor of the Ash City and Ash Royal Family. The who has risen from purgatory and vowed revenge against the Goddess. "" He¡¯s the strongest and most powerful Mage who makes full use of Dark Sorcery. The , the worst enemy who later leads the , and standing in front of the Hero many times and trying to lead the world to destruction, had introduced himself as the Ash Royal Family¡¯s Second Prince after all¡­¡­ ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [I guess the Toren Family have their own unique school of techniques?] Perhaps concerned that they were talking less to each other, Resilia responded in a cheerful tone. [Indeed. The Toren Family fighting style takes advantage of speed and uses Wind Magic for support. In fact, I was only initiated into the Hidden Techniques just the other day, so in a manner of speaking, it isn¡¯t as if I have ceased learning our school of techniques.] [H- Hidden Techniques¡­¡­] [I still have much to learn. But with that, I¡¯m a member of the ¡°Toren Swords¡±, and I can proudly call myself an .] [¡­¡­Eh? W- What did you just say?] Hearing a phrase that I couldn¡¯t ignore, I reflexively asked back. [Toren Swords?] [No, the other one.] "" [Ahh, you¡¯re talking about the ?] The moment I heard those words, I felt like an electric current ran through my brain. That¡¯s right! I thought I recognized something when looking at Resilia¡¯s Status! They were the stat values necessary to Job Change into the Swordman Line¡¯s Upper-Rank Job: . (Oi, oi, oi, oi, there¡¯s no way¡­¡­) A crazy hypothesis popped into my head. Resilia is a character who is supposed to die in an event, and she doesn¡¯t even have a battle scene. Therefore, there had been no need to set her stats, and she was probably initially set as a LV 1 character with no development at all. However, it was probably decided in Resilia¡¯s setting that ¡°she¡¯s the inheritor of the Toren Family¡¯s techniques¡±. So, if someone had set her occupation to , what would have happened? Of course, the default stats needed to meet the requirements to change into an , but if the program automatically raised Resilia¡¯s stat values to reach the ¡¯s lower limit¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThey¡¯d create the most powerful LV 1 character. This may just be my wild idea, but the more I think about it, the more I feel like I¡¯m getting the right, or at least close to the right answer. If only Resilia dies without a battle, there¡¯s no problem in the game no matter what kind of messed-up stat values she has. And so, it¡¯s very possible that it wasn¡¯t checked, or even if they did, it was just overlooked. (For real!? You¡¯re supposed to check stuff like this!!!) I swore at how noncommittal the development team of B&B, who was far away in a different world. (No, but this is a good thing.) While there¡¯s a reason to be happy that Resilia is strong, there¡¯s no reason to be sad about it at all. I don¡¯t feel envious of her cheat-like a person she is. Rather¡­¡­ (Isn¡¯t this quite useful for me?) Entities that are excluded from the game, irregularities like Resilia. This proves that if I could make use of them, we can benefit from them in ways that were unthinkable in the game. If we get the people the player originally wasn¡¯t able to ally with and those that weren¡¯t able to save in the game into our camp¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CI might be able to make the strongest army. I felt shivers running down my spine just at the thought of it. (Now isn¡¯t the situation getting quite exciting?) As I was secretly immersing myself in my imagination¡­¡­ [¡­¡­It seems like we arrived.] Resilia¡¯s quiet voice brought me back to reality. We had arrived at our destination. A place where even a cursory look around would reveal a sparse population of Goblins, commonly known as the . Today, we came here to raise Resilia¡¯s level. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù "" [¡­¡­Let¡¯s get started then?] Saying this, Resilia has a natural posture. She seems to be slightly nervous, but she doesn¡¯t appear to be overawed, nor does she seem to be atrophied from her first battle. Of course, her opponent is a Goblin. With Resilia¡¯s Status, it would be more difficult for her to struggle against it. However, it would be better to increase the odds of winning as much as possible. [If you¡¯re worried, how about I lend you a weapon? I have a great weapon that would be perfect for killing Goblins?] [No. This is my first battle, so let me use a weapon I¡¯m familiar with.] Hearing her shrug off my suggestion, I retracted my left hand which was about to pull out an Orichalcon knife. [Here I go.] It was indeed at that moment when she said this¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Wind.] I felt like I saw Resilia¡¯s green hair fluttering in the wind, and then, her figure moved a few away, close to the Goblin whose back was turned¡­¡­ [Fwooosh!] Immediately afterward, the Goblin¡¯s head was split into two halves by the slash that Resilia had unleashed. Naturally, there was no way the Goblin could survive with its head cut in half. Soon after, the pitiful creature turned into particles of lights and floated in the sky. [Well done.] I approached and called out to her, but she remained motionless, staring blankly at her sword in her hand. [Are you alright? I guess killing a humanoid opponent is¡­¡­] [Ah, no. This may not be the right thing to say after killing a living creature, but I was just deeply moved.] Seemingly oblivious to my confusion at her unexpected words, Resilia continued somewhat absentmindedly. [¡°The Toren Family¡¯s sword grows stronger with their wielder¡±. Saying that, we were forbidden to hunt monsters. That¡¯s why, fufu, it feels like my wish has been granted.] The small, bashful Resilia looked more like her age than before. It wasn¡¯t like I had done anything, but seeing Resilia happy like that, I naturally smiled too. As I was looking like that, Resilia huddled, seemingly as if she suddenly remembered something. [¡­¡­I¡¯m sorry. We still haven¡¯t started in the main topic of today¡¯s discussion, right? I got carried away on my own.] [No, don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m happy when you¡¯re happy, Resilia.] I feel really stupid for being jealous of such a girl yesterday. That¡¯s why I¡¯m also getting nervous about the results of our next experiment. [¡­¡­We¡¯ll probably get our answer with the next Goblin or the one after that. Are you ready?] [¡­¡­Yes.] At my words, the loose atmosphere Resilia had tensed. The purpose of visiting this place was only to increase Resilia¡¯s level. To be precise, our objective was to see how much her stats increase per level up. It should be obvious, but one¡¯s stats should increase with each level-up, and by comparing the stat values before and after leveling-up, we can determine the growth in ability, and by extension, Resilia¡¯s aptitudes. Therefore, the plan is to have Resilia level-up by defeating several Goblins and compare the difference in her stats. For example, all of my, ¡°Rex¡±, growth rates are 4, so if I were to level up, the difference between my old stats would be 4. And so¡­¡­ Strength ¨C 4 Vitality ¨C 4 Magic ¨C 4 Mind ¨C 4 Agility ¨C 4 Focus ¨C 4 The stat difference would be as follows. How much would the increase in Resilia¡¯s stats be? I understood the reason for the initial value, which was unexpectedly and abnormally high based on our conversation before coming here, but well, now that I understood, this experiment to investigate this matter became more important. Her having high initial values doesn¡¯t necessarily mean she has high growth rates. Rather, with the exceptional way the devs had dealt with her, it¡¯s even possible that Resilia¡¯s growth rate is 0. If Resilia¡¯s current Job is , the class correction should guarantee of about 2 points in each stat. However, if her aptitudes had been reduced to 0 due to a flaw in her settings, or if she had been set as an ¡°Ordinary Villager¡± instead of an ¡°Adventurer¡±, her growth rate could be as low as 3. As I gazed on with such concerns in mind, Resilia¡¯s sword, gushing like the wind, slaughtered two Goblins. And at that moment! [This is¡­¡­] Her body is enveloped in light. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CShe leveled-up!!! When the light subsided, there she was, not looking any different than before, but a little stronger. [Well then, let¡¯s take a ¡°look¡±.] [¡­¡­Please do.] Nervous, I feel like my throat is parched. Come to think of it, it has probably been a long time since I have been so emotionally involved in something that isn¡¯t about myself. (Please! I¡¯m begging you!) I¡¯ve put aside my jealousy. And so, I pray with an open heart! Not to make the strongest army, but just for her sake! If possible, an average of 4! No, even just an average of 3 is fine! Still, with her high initial values, she would be able to fight well enough. So, at least, just not less than 2¡­¡­ With that prayer in mind, I use on her again. Her Status displayed. And the increase calculated by subtracting the previous stat values would be¡­¡­ Strength ¨C 8 Vitality ¨C 6 Magic ¨C 3 Mind ¨C 5 Agility ¨C 9 Focus ¨C 5 [How was it?] As I unintentionally fell silent with a serious look on my face, a calm, with a hint of anxiety in it, called out to me. In response to that voice, I slowly looked up. And then¡­¡­ [O¡­¡­] "" [O¡­¡­?] With a lot of emotions gushing within my heart, I opened my mouth¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨COrorororororororororororo!] Unable to bear the extremely clear disparity between us, the emotions gushed out of my mouth like a white waterfall. The waterfall cascaded down into the meadow, creating a small pond of porridge there. CH 18 [¡­¡­Fumu.] Squinting my eyes as I walk, I use to every single person I pass on the street. Enjoying the Status Windows that appeared one after another, I nodded. ( really is great.) It¡¯s easy to learn because it¡¯s an ability that could be learned in the Scout Line¡¯s Initial Job. It¡¯s a general skill that doesn¡¯t consume MP, so you can use it even if you¡¯re under the effect of Silence or Berserk. And most of all¡­¡­ (Seeing people weaker than me is so refreshing¡­¡­!!!) By looking at the nondescript people in town, I feel the emotional wounds brought on by Resilia¡¯s high stats heal. Of course, even Rex being an A-Rank Adventurer isn¡¯t just for show. If you compare him with those of his level, well¡­¡­ They¡¯re hardly passable, but at the current time, Rex is more than strong enough. No, describing Rex as the strongest at the moment could no longer be described as an exaggeration. [You look like you¡¯re in a good mood, what are you doing?] [Ugh.] Hearing the voice of the girl beside me, Resilia, made me involuntarily stiffened. There¡¯s no way I could just tell her that she was too strong that I became depressed, so I¡¯m looking at the weak guys for mental stability though. [W- Well, it looks like my is special, so I was just testing it out.] It was an excuse uttered out of bitterness, but Resilia nodded in understanding. ¡­¡­Right. I asked Resilia about this, and she said that normal is known as a skill to measure how strong an opponent is compared to you, rather than something you use to look at the Status. This is definitely my Hero bonus! ¡­¡­is what I¡¯d like to say, but the roots of both my and their understanding of are probably just the same. As the in-game description of states, it¡¯s a skill that allows one to ¡°see through the strength of the opponent you¡¯re facing¡±. However, as someone who has been playing pc games on a daily basis for as long as I can remember and who has seen the Status Window in B&B, the game this world was originally based on, I have received the ability to ¡°see the strength of an opponent¡± numerically. On the other hand, the people of this world, who have no connection to anything digital, let alone games, ¡°see the strength of an opponent¡± through their senses, which brings this situation. And so, the session I was conducting to relieve myself of stress was unexpectedly rewarding. [There were a number of things that I noticed. For example, the man wearing a Mage¡¯s equipment over there.] I pointed to the Mage-looking man standing across the street in a way that he wouldn¡¯t notice me. [His ability points would be something like this.] [This is¡­¡­] Looking at the Status chart I had written down, Resilia¡¯s brows slightly furrowed. [You can see what I mean, right? His profession and aptitude clearly don¡¯t match.] Even though a Mage requires MGC and FOC the most, his ability trend is heading almost the opposite way. The growth rate of a person is basically determined by ¡°his own aptitudes + occupation correction¡±. For a Magic Line Job to have stats like this, his base MGC Stat must be quite low. (Well, that was just how it is in the game.) In this world, the aptitudes of ordinary adventurers are completely random. "" This may be the reason why there are many characters whose stats look like complete ¡°train wrecks¡±. There were those who looked like Warriors, but had unusually low VIT, and women who completely looked like Priests, but had high MGC and low MND. As Resilia nodded in understanding, I seized the opportunity to point at someone with my gaze. [In this world, physique and appearance aren¡¯t directly related to their aptitudes. That¡¯s why, for example¡­¡­] Saying this, I casted on the bearded large man who just dexterously passed by¡­¡­ ¡­¡­Ahh, unnn. This guy seems like he¡¯s growing up just fine like that. Rather, even though he¡¯s 16 levels lower than Rex, what in the heck is¡­¡­ N- No! I- I bet this guy is some kind of famous A-Rank Adventurer in the town or something. Even his name sounds strong, unnn, he¡¯s definitely someone like that. [¡­¡­Umm?] I wonder if she felt uncomfortable with my silence, as Resilia curiously looked at me. I shouted ¡°Anyway!¡± loudly to cover it up. [With this, I¡¯ve figured some things out.] It¡¯s true that there might be people in this world that have superior aptitudes. But from my point of view, who had been planning and training them with data in hand, the people of this world aren¡¯t good at character building¡­¡­ [If I give people advice, they would definitely be stronger.] And one more thing. I realized something else that I had been trying to escape from reality, but still, I couldn¡¯t help but notice it. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CI, Rex, am incredibly weak. Certainly, Resilia¡¯s initial value is, to put it bluntly, ¡°abnormal¡±, and her growth rate is miraculously high. It would be inevitable that I¡¯d end up being defeated by her. However, even compared to ordinary adventurers, Rex¡¯s abilities are just too low. Generally, a character¡¯s growth rates are decided based on their ¡°personal aptitudes and class correction¡±. In other words, you can determine a person¡¯s aptitudes by subtracting the class correction from their growth rate. In the game, a fortune teller, commonly known as the ¡°Aptitude Auntie¡±, evaluates a person¡¯s potential in six levels: ¡°Awful, Bad, Normal, Good, Great, and Genius¡±. For example, according to that evaluation, Resilia¡¯s aptitude, calculated without the correction by her Job, , are as follows. STR ¨C Great VIT ¨C Good MGC ¨C Bad MND ¨C Good AGI ¨C Genius FOC ¨C Normal Her excellence is obvious at a glance. An average adventurer would only have two each of Good and Bad, and the rest would just be Normal, so it¡¯s obvious that she¡¯s excellent. On the other hand, you have the , Rex, who traveled the world solo with only a sword, has the following aptitudes. STR ¨C Awful VIT ¨C Awful MGC ¨C Great MND ¨C Awful AGI ¨C Awful FOC ¨C Awful The incomprehensibility of the situation is obvious at a glance. All my aptitudes are low across the board, and even when all of them are added together, the value is about half that of an ordinary person. Above all, it¡¯s so incomprehensible that the highest stat value of Rex, who is supposed to be a swordsman, is his magic power, which is the most unnecessary stat for a swordsman. However, the mystery can be solved by looking at the correction values of Rex¡¯s initial class, . STR ¨C 3 VIT ¨C 3 MGC ¨C 0 MND ¨C 3 AGI ¨C 3 FOC ¨C 3 In other words, it must be that. My hypothesis is that the class correction for was decided first, and then they decided Rex¡¯s aptitude later so that when they were added, all the growth rates would be uniform. This is the exact opposite of Resilia, who gained extraordinary strength because the devs gave priority to her story. Rex is the most unfortunate of the unfortunates, the worst of the dev¡¯s victims, who was given the weakest of talents due to the sloppy tweaking of the devs. With aptitudes like this, the real Rex must have been a God to have been able to climb up to an A-Rank Adventurer. (¡­¡­But with this, my course is set.) Gathering and training allies, or focusing on myself, both have their own sets of worries. But looking at all the data I¡¯ve collected, my decision is already made. As it is, there¡¯s no point in training Rex any more than this. I¡¯ll just have to give up¡­¡­ (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CLet¡¯s start Rex¡¯s training over from zero!!!) ¡­¡­Well, how should I say this¡­¡­ Normally, giving up here and not fighting would be the smart choice. It¡¯s not like I needed to be strong. I¡¯m not saying that I need to be strong because I need to protect myself. After all, if that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m already strong enough as I am. It¡¯s also not in my nature to be on the front lines fighting monsters. (But you see¡­¡­) With all these unfavorable circumstances lined up in front of me, it¡¯s human nature to want to do the opposite. The gamer in me, whose fate had been sealed by society, was getting excited. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CWouldn¡¯t making this awful character (me) into a peerless warrior feel incredible!!!? I decided to look at this world not as an Action RPG, but as a Simulation Game. But then again, I¡¯m the type of person who likes to grin as I train my favorite characters in those Sim Games! ¡­¡­Of course, just having will alone won¡¯t change anything. But in fact, depending on how I did it, I think I could have done a little better. For example, if I¡¯d end up having an increase of 4 in all stats, including the class correction, it wouldn¡¯t matter even if I¡¯m not a balanced type. Actually considering it numerically, for example, if I could skew the Status increase just a little bit¡­¡­ STR ¨C 8 VIT ¨C 4 MGC ¨C 3 MND ¨C 3 AGI ¨C 3 FOC ¨C 3 ¡ª-into something like this, I wonder what would have happened? Although my other stats are a bit questionable, I can still be able to be an attacker in a party. The reason why Rex is so hopeless is that even though his stats are low, the stats are raised equally. So, what should I do then? The only way to do that is to give up on this Rex and start all over again. You originally can¡¯t revert your level once it¡¯s raised, and once your status had been set, it wouldn¡¯t change. However, I have a certain event in mind that would make that possible. Even so, it requires a lot of preparation. Even if I did that event and just increased my level, I would still end up with a Rex with the same Status right now. To change that fate, at the very least, I need to collect ¡°rare equipment that will correct the increased stat when leveling up¡±. I can think of an infinite number of other things that are needed, and that would never be possible if I was just following the storyline of the game. That¡¯s why¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CAnd so, I¡¯ll make the ultimate squad.] To save the world from destruction. To change the sad future from the original story. And most of all, to make this game of me, by me, training myself to be stronger! [¡­¡­I don¡¯t really understand, but it seems like you¡¯re having fun.] Resilia murmured, sounding somewhat astounded, but a little happy. (This time, I¡¯m suddenly feeling a little more motivated.) I felt as if the gears that had been misaligned were now perfectly meshing together. I¡¯m a normal guy after all. I get carried away when I¡¯m praised, a good-for-nothing philistine who envies other people and gets depressed. I¡¯m far from being the Hero of a story. That¡¯s why I¡¯m looking forward to seeing how far I can reach with just my game knowledge. And¡­¡­ In fact, I already have my first sacri¡ª¡ª¨C collaborators in mind. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨COiiiii, Old man!!!] [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CAh, Rex-san!!!] Looking in front of the Guild, there I found Radd and his four-people party of beginners. I walked up to them, widely waving my hand, I cut right to the chase. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CYou guys, any interest in becoming my pupils?] CH 19 (Oh no! I¡¯m running out of time!) The streets of Frelia were noisier than usual. A young man ran frantically through the hustle and bustle of the town. Bumping into several people several times, he somehow managed to run into the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and slipped into the training room on the second floor of the Guild, which he usually doesn¡¯t visit. (Uwaahhh, that¡¯s a lot of people¡­¡­) The training room, which is usually not looked upon by Adventurers, was now overflowing with young Adventurers. No, looking closely, one can see that there are even some veterans, famous high-ranked Adventurers whose names even he knew. (This training session should have been barely advertised, but wow¡­¡­!) It all started when one Adventurer said to the Guild Receptionist, ¡°I¡¯d like to teach the young ones the ropes of being an Adventurer, can you lend me a room?¡±. The Guild then gladly decided to lend him a room, and the Guild also invited participants to join. The result is this room full of people. (¡­¡­This is the influence of an A-Rank Adventurer!) "" However, he couldn¡¯t just stay impressed in place. They will never have a chance like this again. Knowing that he would regret it for the rest of my life if he stayed put, he resolutely entered the room. [E- Excuse me, please tell me through!] He managed to get in a position where he could see the lectern. The Adventurer who was going to be the instructor had already arrived, but it seemed like he had only just begun speaking. (Thank goodness! I managed to get here in time!) He can¡¯t sit on a seat, so he will have to stand and watch, but he doesn¡¯t care about that at all. He looked at today¡¯s lecturer standing at the podium. [Ahh, what. I just wanted to give some advice to a few people. Well, it looks like we unexpectedly have a good group of people, so let¡¯s get this started.] The somewhat troubled look on his face had a relaxed yet indescribable ¡°awesomeness¡± to it. (That man is the peak of the town¡¯s Adventurers! The who had defeated several Demons with his lion-like strength, even though his body was pierced through, was seriously wounded and he was on the verge of death!) They say that rumors are riddled with exaggerations, but once he saw the man standing in front of him, he couldn¡¯t believe that those rumors were exaggerated at all. The sharp eyes hidden behind his soft demeanor seemed to tell of his tremendous battle record. He would almost believe him even if he said he had already dived to his death many times, or even that he had died once and came back to life. [What I¡¯m about to tell you is my idea of ¡°how to become a strong Adventurer¡±. However, it¡¯s not just me, it¡¯s something that a lot of people, a really large amount of people have built together. So, please don¡¯t think that this idea is just my achievement. And so, I want everyone here today to spread this to as many people as you can.] His tone of voice conveyed that he wasn¡¯t doing this for his own selfishness, but was simply wishing for the safety and success of the other Adventurers. Perhaps, he¡¯s the kind of person who can honestly admire and recognize when someone close to him becomes stronger than he is. That, in itself, definitely makes one as great as being a successful Adventurer. [First, do you know what the most important thing is to becoming a top-notch Adventurer?] The first to respond to his words was a spiky-haired swordsman in the front row. Vigorously raising his hand, he exclaimed ¡°Power!¡±. [You¡¯re not wrong, but that isn¡¯t what I think. The most important thing to becoming an incredible Adventurer is an ¡°unrelenting heart¡±.] He looked around at the crowded room and grinned. [Think it¡¯s too simple? Think it¡¯s too uncool? But you see, as long as you¡¯re alive, you can keep on trying. And fortunately, we can ¡°level up¡±! No matter how unsightly you look or how badly things go wrong, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that we still accumulate ¡°experience¡± inside us.] It was a calm, but passionate speech. All the people in the room, who had been buzzing at the beginning, were now clearly listening to what he had to say. [That¡¯s why, there¡¯s no wrong path for Adventurers to follow. That¡¯s why, all you have to do is keep going. As long as you don¡¯t stop, the road will continue. Only those who keep moving forward, even if they look like fools or are ridiculed, will become a ¡°top-notch Adventurer¡±.] After he said that much, he scratched his head. [Whoops, got a little heated there. Just talking motivation must be boring, so I¡¯ll talk about some practical things. It is said that the Gods have given us Divine Protection in the form of six abilities, which are these¡­¡­] STRENGTH ¨C Power when fighting with weapons VITALITY ¨C How well you can take an attack AGILITY ¨C Speed of your action MAGIC ¨C Magic strength and frequency MIND ¨C Power of any magic attacks you take FOCUS ¨C Skill at using magic and techniques He frantically copied the words scribbled on the blackboard into my notepad. He knew that you were stronger when you leveled up, but he didn¡¯t know what power or effect they would have. As expected of an A-Rank Adventurer. Not only are they strong, but they¡¯re also smart. [A person¡¯s aptitudes are dependent on these six stats, but in fact, it¡¯s said that your species has a large effect on them as well. Like how Dwarves have tough bodies and Elves are good at magic. Well, most of us are mixed bloods and you can figure out to some extent which part of your blood is the most dominant by looking at which of your abilities you excel at. It¡¯s good to remember that.] As soon as he heard those words, buzzing could be heard in the room. Everyone looked at each other, and conversations like ¡°You look like a Dwarf.¡±, ¡°No matter how you look at it, I¡¯m clearly more of a Fairy!¡± appeared. He¡¯s slender and has pointed ears, so he conjectured that his aptitudes would lean more as an Elf. Having this thought, he started pondering if it would be good to stop being a Scout and aim for being a Wizard. [Ahh, calm down. I¡¯ll let you guys settle on that later, but for now, I¡¯ll talk about abilities now.] At the sound of his voice, the noisy room immediately quieted down. [Listen. You were bestowed six abilities, but all of them are equally important. ¡­¡­You¡¯re mistaken if you think ¡°I¡¯m a Warrior, so I don¡¯t need Magic¡± or ¡°I¡¯m a Mage, so I don¡¯t need Strength¡±.] His heart skipped a beat at those words. That was exactly what he had been thinking earlier. [That¡¯s a big misconception. Magic is necessary for a Warrior to use Arts, and you need Strength to equip strong equipment as a Mage. There¡¯s no such thing as ¡°useless ability¡± in this world.] That statement was truly eye-opening. If he were to be honest, just hearing that statement was worth attending today¡¯s training session. [Though I say that, the truth is that having balanced abilities doesn¡¯t automatically make you ¡°top-notch¡±. So, what are you supposed to do? That is¡­¡­] Thereupon, trying to bring suspense to his words¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Having a strong point unique to your own.] With a grin, he said. [And so, from these six abilities, you need to choose one to consciously raise to create a ¡°main ability¡±. And well, if I were to recommend one ability to prioritize, I would say ¡°Agility¡±.] Agility¡­¡­ Hearing this, the young man remembered what he had been taught earlier, about how Agility means ¡°one¡¯s speed¡±. As the young man thought it¡¯s kind of plain, seemingly as if he could see right through his thoughts, the A-Rank Adventurer said. [Well, I know why you¡¯re all making that face. It¡¯s because you think that rather than Agility, raising Strength or Magic is better because it¡¯s flashy and cool, right? Like, if you had twice the power of a normal person, you might be able to defeat a strong Demon twice as fast. If you have twice as much Magic, you might be able to kill more monsters than other people when you use magic. However, that¡¯s all there is to it.] Thereupon, he firmly said. [Double the Strength won¡¯t help you when you need to shoot magic, and double the Magic won¡¯t help you when you need to physically hit an enemy. However, Agility is different. If you are twice as fast, you can hit twice as many enemies and use twice as much magic. If things are going bad, you can escape faster than anyone else, and if your allies are in a pinch, you can rush in to save them. There¡¯s no situation in which it¡¯s bad.] He felt surprised by those words. It was indeed as the A-Rank Adventurer said. If they were to focus only on attack power or magic , it would be overwhelmingly impractical. On the other hand, being able to move faster than the enemy isn¡¯t worthless in any situation. [But well, this is something I only figured out recently. I¡¯m not very fast myself.] Seemingly embarrassed, the A-Rank Adventurer chuckled. In such a relaxed atmosphere, he spoke with a hand on his head. [Well, with that out of the way, I will end things with one last topic. The ¡°equipment¡± that protects us Adventurers.] The young man leaned forward when he heard those words. He had actually been wondering about this as well. He really would like to know what A-Rank Adventurers think about their equipment. Receiving the expectant gazes of the audience, he calmly began to speak. [There¡¯s this story, where two sword-wielding Adventurers started at the same time. They were both about the same level of ability, and had leveled-up several times before becoming Adventurers, hunting stray monsters. However, there was one difference between them. One was poor and one was rich. So, they differed only in the quality of the swords they carried.] The way the A-Rank Adventurer told the story made the young man secretly nervous. His family was poor, and compared to other people he knew who had become Adventurers at the same time, he didn¡¯t have very good equipment. What if the A-Rank Adventurer said ¡°You can¡¯t be a good adventurer if you don¡¯t have good equipment¡±? Filled with such anxiety, as if in prayer, he waited for the rest of the story. [One of them was holding a worn-out Iron Sword. The other was holding a brand-new Mithril Sword. The two of them crossed paths in the dungeon, and they both slashed at the same monster at the same time. What do you think happened?] It was obvious. If both of them have equal ability, the one with the stronger weapon would win. And so, he was sure that the one with the Mithril Sword would win¡­¡­ [The monster knocked the Mithril Sword away and only the Iron Sword was able to cut the monster down.] [Eh?] The young man couldn¡¯t help but gasp. After all, that would be strange, right? He never thought that the one with the weaker weapon would win¡­¡­ [Of course, it¡¯s not like the Mithril Sword was defective. Listen here, okay? Equipment isn¡¯t just about, having a more expensive and sharper weapon, the better. A strong weapon requires its wielder the ability to match it. It doesn¡¯t make any sense to spend money on something that doesn¡¯t fit your stature! No, on the contrary, it may even be your downfall!] Those were shocking words. He felt as if his values took a 180¡ã change. [Besides, I¡¯ve been thinking. I think that the Adventurer Know-hows has spread a bit and everyone¡¯s wearing the same gear. But you know what? Adventurers aren¡¯t slaves to the equipment! Strong weapon, weak weapon, that doesn¡¯t matter to an Adventurer! A truly strong Adventurer should work hard so that they can use whatever weapon they like, right!?] His every word, his passion, struck a chord in that young man. He had always felt inferior because his equipment was weak. He has even thought several times that his failures were due to his weak equipment. But now, he¡¯s clearly aware that it was just escapism, that he was being naive. Perhaps this argument may have sounded like a trivial argument to someone who had just spent a fortune to become an Adventurer, but those words had saved him. [¡­¡­Now then.] It seemed like the end of the lecture was approaching. As if the passion he had earlier was just a lie, the A-Rank Adventurer quietly nodded, before slowly looking around the classroom. [¡­¡­Well, I said a lot of things, and it¡¯s up to you to follow it or not. You can also forget it all the moment you leave this room.] The words, which seemed to turn everything upside down, caused a stir in the area. There were some people among them who chuckled at him, saying how he was being irresponsible with his words. However, this was needless anxiety. Amidst the buzzing of the hall, he reassuringly exclaimed. [I believe that Adventurers are free. Besides, I already said it at the beginning. Leveling up is our path forward. No matter what path we take, we will always end up where we want to be. So I say, you don¡¯t need to look for the shortest path. There are no shortcuts to getting stronger. Use trial and error, struggle, take a break along the way, fail, think, make mistakes, but by no means¡­¡­ should you ever give up!!!] Their hearts were shaken by his loud voice and even more by his passionate soul. The young man is convinced that what he had heard today and what he was taught were things would never forget. And not only that. At the end of the lecture, the A-Rank Adventurer said something that made him and many like him very happy. [Well, if that doesn¡¯t help, you can come consult me. Yes¡ª¡ª¡ª-] As the lips in the middle of his well-arranged beard warped to a grin, he slammed on his thick breastplate¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-To this Rank-A Adventurer, the !] CH 20 [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CYou guys, any interest in becoming my pupils?] Rex¡¯s sudden proposal attracted us without a second thought. I was a little disappointed to admit this, but I was impressed by his skills. I¡¯d be more than happy to receive his teachings, and Mana, umm, seems to like Rex a little bit. How could I refuse here? Besides, Prana, who always complains about all sorts of things, didn¡¯t object, Nuku, who surprisingly also had a great desire for improvement, happily got into the idea. Rex, who accepted our response as if it was a matter of course, said ¡°We¡¯re going to need a place where we can hold the lessons first¡±, before bringing us to the edge of the training area. [Isn¡¯t this the kind of thing you borrow a classroom or something for?] [We don¡¯t need that. Looks like this place is empty anyway.] When I looked at the area, I saw that it really was completely empty, far more so than it had been when we were training yesterday. Come to think of it, I think I heard something about a famous Adventurer coming to the Guild or something like that. [If you¡¯re also gonna give a lecture, then you should get some other beginners as well¡­¡­] Rex¡¯s cold stare stopped me from saying what I was about to say. His eyes seemed to think that knowledge is less valuable the more people know about it. [Sorry, but I¡¯m not gonna do that. I¡¯ll give you a fair warning. I¡¯m not going to talk about adventuring like some fun, rose-colored journey. These words are going to act as a binding curse.] [C- Curse?] [That¡¯s right. The curse known as ¡°Optimal Solution¡±, a curse casted by no one, and therefore can¡¯t be broken by any magic.] I tilted my head. There are times like this when I have no idea what this guy was saying. I¡¯m sure Rex could sense our confusion, but he didn¡¯t seem to mind it and just decided to continue. Seemingly as if he was trying to find the words to say, he asked. [Let¡¯s see. First of all, what do you think is the most important thing to becoming a ¡°top-notch¡± Adventurer?] [¡­¡­An unrelenting heart, or something like that?] [Heh.] Ah, this guy seriously just snickered at my words. [Everyone has different opinions on what is the best, but I think ¡°efficiency¡± is the most important.] [E- Efficiency¡­¡­] We looked at each other in surprise at that word, containing no dream nor aspirations, that came out of nowhere. [There are people who say that if you are 10 times weaker, you just need to work 10 times harder. But by that logic, you will never be able to beat someone who works 3 hours a day. After all, people¡¯s lives are finite and there are only 24 hours in a day.] [Well, that¡¯s true but¡­¡­] The image of an ¡°Adventurer¡± that we had always longed for felt like it was crumbling. [That¡¯s why, what I¡¯m going to teach you now is ¡°how to become a top-notch Adventurer efficiently¡±, never ¡°how to survive as an Adventurer¡±. I intend to cut out everything unneeded to what will ultimately make you strong.] I felt a cold sensation in my stomach. I was convinced that this guy, Rex, wasn¡¯t joking. [Well, that¡¯s enough preamble, I¡¯ll start talking about the specifics. I¡¯m sure you probably already know this, but when you defeat monsters, you can ¡°level up¡± and your ability values will increase. And the ability values are these.] STRENGTH ¨C Physical Attack and Equipment Limitations VITALITY ¨C Physical Defense and HP MAGIC ¨C Magic Attack and MP MIND ¨C Magic Defense and Recovery Magic AGILITY ¨C Action Speed and Stamina FOCUS ¨C Magic Acquisition and Skill Success Rate Written on the notebook Rex opened were six ability values and their specific effects. [It¡¯s also said that each ability value corresponds to a different race, and such a tendency can be observed for Adventurers who are called Heroes. But well, this has nothing to do with ordinary Adventurers. There are those who resemble Dwarves who have weak bodies, and those who resemble Fairies that are slow. Incidentally, there are cases where initial occupation and their aptitudes may not match, so this really can¡¯t be used as an indicator either.] [Eh!?] It was Nuku who raised his voice here. Perhaps, the knowledgeable Nuku had acquired some information about this matter. Rex, on the other hand, didn¡¯t seem to be bothered by his reaction and mumbled something like ¡°The aptitude values of random characters just depends on a dice roll after all¡±, but I couldn¡¯t understand what he meant again. [So, here¡¯s the main point. All of these six parameters are important, but if you raise all six of them evenly, you¡¯ll just end up as a trash character. Then, what is it that¡¯s important? That is¡­¡­] Thereupon, trying to bring suspense to his words¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-To cast aside your unnecessary ability.] With a cool-headed look on his face, he said. [W- Wait a minute! A Warrior needs Magic to use Arts and Mages need Strength to wield equipment! There¡¯s no such thing as an unnecessary ability¡­¡­] Nuku interrupted him, to which Rex nodded. [Indeed. It¡¯s true that there¡¯s no such thing as an unneeded ability. However, there¡¯s an ability that has low effect. I didn¡¯t say anything that Strength or Magic was the one you should cast aside. The first ability you should cast aside is ¡°Agility¡±.] We looked at each other again at this extremely irrational argument. Even those of us who don¡¯t know much about this sort of thing understand this. Speed is the most important ability in combat. And for him to say that we should cast that aside¡­¡­ [Of course, Agility, which affects all of your actions, is one of the most important abilities you should give priority to. However¡­¡­ Perhaps, because it had too much of an effect, it quickly reached a plateau.] [Plateau?] [What I mean is that the higher the increase of an ability is, the faster it will be for the effectiveness of increasing it to pale.] According to Rex, the most effective Agility one could have would be ¡°Agility ¨C 100¡±, which are apparently generally equivalent to intermediate level. The difference in speed between Agility ¨C 0 and Agility ¨C 100 is about the speed difference between an adult and a child. [From there, however, the effectiveness of increasing Agility on speed is halved. From 100 to 150, there isn¡¯t much change, and from 150 to 200, the increase is already within the margin of error. Putting aside if your aim for your specialty was as a Thief or an Assassin, if you¡¯re a Warrior or a Mage, you shouldn¡¯t raise your Agility too much. Unless you have a very low aptitude value, your Agility will also increase with each level up. If you¡¯re setting your aim for the future, it¡¯s better to limit the increase in Agility.] We exchanged looks at each other again, this time in a different way. A long-term training course that looks at oneself objectively. As far as I know, no one had ever thought of such a thing. [To achieve this, it¡¯s necessary to examine your profession and equipment, and equipment is especially important. The stronger your equipment, the higher the ¡°efficiency¡± will be.] Thereupon, Nuku let out an ¡°Eh?¡± again. However, Rex didn¡¯t give Nuku time to express his doubts and asked. [For example, Radd, if you had an Iron Sword, a Mithril Sword and an Orichalcon Sword, which one do you think would be the most powerful?] [It would obviously be the Orichalcon Sword, right?] Mithril is a higher grade of ore than Iron, and Orichalcon is a higher grade of ore than Mithril. Even children know this. [No. The most powerful one would be the Iron Sword, right?] However, Nuku shook his head and said. [What, why?] [Because you need the ability corresponding to a strong equipment. You currently still don¡¯t have the abilities necessary to use Mithril and Orichalcon equipment right now. That¡¯s why the Iron Sword would give you the most offensive power.] ¡°Right¡±, Rex affirmed his words, nodding his head. [What Nuku said is correct. He¡¯s correct, but Radd got the right answer this time.] Surprisingly though, he said my answer was right. [It¡¯s true that a lot of strong equipment requires you the ability to handle it. However, Magic Metal Equipments such as Orichalcon and Mithril-made weapons are light and easy to handle in relation to their power. Even with Rad¡¯s current STR, he isn¡¯t restricted by the Equipment Restrictions of the Orichalcon Sword.] [B- But when used by a newcomer, the Iron Sword is stronger than the Mithril Sword, as I read in a book a long time ago¡­¡­] [It¡¯s true that the Mithril Sword is weaker than the Iron Sword used by a newcomer. However, that doesn¡¯t mean they were being dragged down by the Equipment Restrictions.] [Eh?] In response to Nuku¡¯s confusion, Rex explained in a matter-of-fact manner. [There are two types of weapons, one that gives ¡°Fixed Attack Power¡±, which doesn¡¯t change in power no matter who wields it, and one that gives ¡°Variable Attack Power¡±, which changes depending on the power of a person possesses. When a beginner uses an Iron Sword, it will be stronger than Mithril Sword because Iron Swords have greater ¡°Fixed Attack Power¡± than the Mithril Sword¡¯s ¡°Variable Attack Power¡±. On the other hand, if the wielder¡¯s level goes up and they become stronger, the Mithril Sword, which has a greater ¡°Variable Attack Power¡± may even become stronger than the Orichalcon Sword, which is supposed to have a higher rating.] My head felt like it was spinning at his words. Until now, I have only measured weapons whether they¡¯re ¡°strong¡± or ¡°weak¡±. However, it seems that equipment isn¡¯t that shallow of a matter at all. [That¡¯s not all. Through Enchantments, there are some equipment that affects level-ups, while there are also others that increase ability values. Equipment selection is the most important factor in determining the strength of an Adventurer. And so, it¡¯s not about how the equipment doesn¡¯t match you. Don¡¯t compromise for irrational reasons like it not fitting you. If you can¡¯t handle it, figure out the reason why. If high-level equipment doesn¡¯t work, then try to get equipment of a level higher than that. I believe Adventurers need to be greedy in their pursuit to be the best.] Rex vigorously said. His logic is completely sound. It¡¯s completely sound but¡­¡­ [I understand where you¡¯re coming from but¡­¡­] Nuku tried saying something, but what he meant isn¡¯t really clear. What he meant isn¡¯t really clear, but even though I didn¡¯t say it out loud, I felt the same way as what he probably had in mind. Indeed, I think it¡¯s true that the way Rex describes is ¡°efficient¡±. However, I still believe that the strength of an Adventurer is their own strength. I couldn¡¯t shake off the question of whether it really was necessary to go this far. We Adventurers ¡°level up¡±. Even if we take a few detours, if we continue adventuring, one day¡­¡­ [Hey. Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re misunderstanding something here? ¡°Even if it¡¯s an ability I don¡¯t use, it¡¯s better to have it at a high level than low¡± or ¡°As long as I level up more, having an inefficient level will be okay¡±?] [Eh¡­¡­] I felt as if my breathing just stopped. It¡¯s not only because he had read our thoughts. It¡¯s because I have this feeling that Rex was going to say something outrageous, something that would destroy my sense of values to pieces. [The ¡°level up¡± system was made by the Gods and has strict rules. First of all, when you defeat monsters, you gain ¡°experience¡± and your level rises, but the higher one¡¯s level, the greater the sum of experience you would need to gain a level and the harder it would be to level up. ¡­¡­You do know what this means, right?] [¡­¡­Ahh.] Only Nuku seemed to have realized something. Looking pale, he looked at his own hands. [Looks like you¡¯ve figured it out. ¡­¡­All of you, imagine this. There stands a monster in front of you that is so strong that you can barely defeat it. If your level is lower than theirs, defeating them will raise your level and make you stronger. The next time you encounter them, you¡¯d be able to overwhelm them, right? But what if your level is higher than it?] After being told that much, I finally understood what Rex was trying to say. Along with the ¡°fear¡± he was trying to convey. [Beating a low-level monster will barely increase your experience. So, even pushing yourself to the limit to defeat that monster won¡¯t raise your level. Well, if you repeat the same thing tens or hundreds of times, maybe you can get to the next level. But what waits you beyond that level would just be the same old desperate fights against enemies of the same or higher level. Meanwhile, the ¡°lower-level¡± Adventurers who should have the same strength as you during that time would have defeated stronger enemies and obtained greater and stronger power. Do you get it? If you reach the point where you can¡¯t beat ¡°monsters of your level¡± your days as an Adventurer are over.] My throat felt parched. The image of an Adventurer full of dreams and hopes is crumbling before my eyes. [Throw away your naive ideas of ¡°everything will be alright as long as I keep leveling even if it¡¯s not matching my aptitudes¡±! Making the mistake of a poor level up even once makes the next level up that much further away. Defeating the enemy becomes more difficult and the amount of experience required increases. While a person who has good level-ups will be humming along beating monsters, you¡¯ll be covered in dirt and blood hunting the same ones!] Those were heated, passionate words, something quite unusual coming from Rex. Every word he said seemed to strike a chord in our hearts, freezing us to the core. "" [Listen here, okay? What we¡¯re fighting isn¡¯t only the monsters in front of us. We¡¯re being chased by the much scarier borderline of our ¡°Ideal Self¡±.] Upon those words, I felt as if something was creeping behind my back. Another me is always on my back with its eagle-like eyes. There, it always stood behind me, waiting for me to make a mistake. (A- Aaahhh¡­¡­) How many times have I leveled up? I leveled up without thinking, without researching anything, have I missed the opportunity to ¡°grow towards the right path¡±? That other me who is running behind me, how close is he right now? [I¡¯ll tell you plainly: Throw away the illusion of Adventurers being free! Always keep running the shortest distance! Never neglect your efforts to find shortcuts to become stronger! Only do the best, struggle, no detours, don¡¯t fail, think, don¡¯t make a single mistake, and by no means¡­¡­ should you ever compromise!!!] Clang, a dry sound rang out. Before I knew it, I didn¡¯t realize for a while that the hard sound was my sword falling out of my hand. (Why, what the heck is this¡­¡­) I thought all I had to do was work hard. I thought that if I ran forward, my gaze aiming for my goal, being a Hero, the goal would always be ahead of me. However, those thoughts were shattered by the Hero in front of me. I screamed in my heart, ¡°I¡¯ve had enough, please stop!¡±, but the man in all black didn¡¯t care at all. And then¡­¡­ [And even so, if you ever think of running from the path I¡¯m guiding you down, remember¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-] With all of us in his sights, he finished his lecture with his final words. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-The A-Rank Adventurer, Rex Toren is watching you.] The way his lips twisted in amusement looked like the devil itself had its gaze set towards us. CH 21 (Did I frighten them too much?) By the time I gave a light commentary on character building, Radd and the others seemed to be slightly depressed. The reason I spoke so passionately about this matter wasn¡¯t that I enjoyed pounding the weak-minded with the amount of knowledge I had. No, well, I did get carried away along the way, but what I said was true. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-B&B is easy to play, but difficult to master. The most obvious example of this is the difficulty design. When I first started playing B&B, there wasn¡¯t a lot of strategy information on the internet, and the internet forums were quiet about this game. And so, without any prior information, I just gathered and leveled up characters freely and happily and proceeded through the early stages of the game¡­¡­ and ended up getting stuck in the mid-game. This is because there¡¯s a big trap set by the devs in adjusting the difficulty of B&B. I didn¡¯t tell them about it because it would be too complicated, but B&B¡¯s experience system is somewhat complicated. To be precise, the system is such that ¡°the higher your total ability values, the more experience you need until the next level¡± and ¡°if your level is higher than the enemy, the experience you get when you defeat the enemy is greatly reduced¡±. Although I intentionally told Radd and his group that ¡°higher ability values are more important than higher levels¡±, this isn¡¯t really the case in the early game. Enemies in the early game are simply designed to be weak so that any character can defeat them with ease. Since most of the equipment is heavily leaning toward Fixed Attack Power, the enemies can be easily defeated regardless of whether someone has low or high ability values, so characters with ¡°low growth rate¡± can grow faster at this point in the game. However, this isn¡¯t the case in the mid or late game, when the enemies become stronger. The ¡°low growth rate¡± characters who have been leveling up so smoothly would soon find themselves unable to keep up with the enemy¡¯s strength inflation. Eventually, they can¡¯t even stand up to monsters of the same level as themselves, finding themselves at a standstill, unable to gain experience. On the other hand, the opposite is true for characters who have ¡°high ability values for their level¡±, in other words, characters who ¡°have high growth rates¡±. In the beginning, they would often lag behind in terms of level due to the large amount of experience they required, but if you take the time to develop them, they will easily overtake those who are stuck in the grip of strength inflation eventually gain power unmatched by their peers. It was indeed as they say, great talents mature late. (The scarier part of this is that the lower the growth rate, the sharper and stronger they get, so they don¡¯t realize this training method is wrong until it¡¯s too late.) And so, my first playthrough of B&B was terrible. I had about 30 characters on my roster, and the 2-year in-game time went by before I could even get anywhere with them. I was killed by the resurrected Evil Deity and it ended badly. And so, I was forced to play a second playthrough. In order to avoid a scenario like this, it¡¯s important to know your abilities and develop them systematically¡­¡­ (I guess this wouldn¡¯t really have the concept of expressing their Status in numerical values huh.) When I explained the value of Agility to Rad and the others, they didn¡¯t seem to get it when I explained it in numerical values, and only when I added that they were ¡°roughly intermediate level¡± did they seem to vaguely understand. No, the women don¡¯t look much different however, as Prana looked indifferent to all that¡¯s happening, while Mana just nodded in agreement to everything I said. However, if they didn¡¯t know their Status, I wonder how they decided their Jobs? As I suddenly wondered about this, I just decided to ask them honestly. [How did you guys decide your roles?] The sudden question made Radd and the others look at each in bewilderment. [I always wanted to be a Hero who defeated enemies with a sword¡­¡­] [I was never good at athletics, so I went with magic.] Rad and Nuku replied¡­¡­ [¡­¡­I thought I would be most useful in this role.] [Umm, I don¡¯t think I can swing a sword, so I thought it would be better to be in the back using Recovery Magic¡­¡­] ¡ª¨Cand Prana and Mana followed. (H- Hmmm¡­¡­) I can understand all of their reasons, but as a person who creates characters while staring at their Status chart, I can¡¯t help but have mixed feelings. (I guess I shouldn¡¯t have too many expectations.) Well, I heard that the guys, who could have been part of the Hero¡¯s initial party, will be slightly compensated when determining their stats, so they won¡¯t be extremely useless. They may not end up becoming that powerful, but if they aren¡¯t suitable for the job they picked, I guess I¡¯ll have to think about this again. Making up my mind, I took out my notebook from my inventory and looked back at Radd and the others. [I¡¯m going to go over your Status and aptitudes, and transcribe them here. When your name is called, come and pick it up. When I said that, Mana was the only one who responded with a cheerful ¡°Yes!¡±, while the other three just looked at me with a puzzled look on their faces. [Status is the numerical representation of your abilities. Based on this, we¡¯ll decide on a plan for the future.] Even after I said all this, Nuku only muttered ¡°No way, such a thing is just¡­¡­¡±, while the other two had complicated expressions on their faces, but well, it should be quicker to just show them. [¡­¡­Radd.] [O- Ohh.] I used on the red-haired swordsman, who responded even though he didn¡¯t seem to understand what was going on. (¡­¡­His stats really are easy to understand.) The ability value at LV 1 is equal to the increase of 6 level-ups. Deriving from that, at LV 4, he had leveled up 3 times, so 6 + 3 = 9. So, working backwards, divide this value by 9¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C STR ¨C 6 VIT ¨C 7 MGC ¨C 3 MND ¨C 5 AGI ¨C 4 FOC ¨C 3 Total ¨C 28 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Just like this, the growth rate per level could be derived like this. In addition¡­¡­ [Radd. What¡¯s your Job?] [Me? I¡¯m a Fighter¡­¡­] It was as I had expected. The three in the Hero¡¯s party all had a lower-ranked Job that suited them. If that¡¯s the case, it would be reasonable to assume that Radd would similarly have the low-ranked Job in the Warrior line. And I remember all the ability value corrections for lower-ranked Jobs. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C STR ¨C 2 VIT ¨C 2 MGC ¨C 0 MND ¨C 1 AGI ¨C 1 FOC ¨C 0 Total ¨C 6 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Two +2s, +1s, and +0s, bringing the total correction values of 6. This is the common growth value for low-ranked Jobs. Furthermore, if we subtract this from their growth value, we can see an individual¡¯s aptitude, qualities that are even said to be the ¡°performance of the character¡± itself. I do a quick calculation in the margins of my notebook, and then¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C STR ¨C 4 (Good) VIT ¨C 5 (Great) MGC ¨C 3 (Normal) MND ¨C 4 (Good) AGI ¨C 3 (Normal) FOC ¨C 3 (Normal) Total ¨C 22 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C I thought I would get dizzy the moment I saw that line of numbers. They¡¯re one step lower than Resilia¡¯s, but it¡¯s still 4 over the average 18 at 22! Although I feel that he¡¯s a little too balanced, he¡¯s got a high VIT, STR, and MND, which is almost ideal for a power-type Warrior. Oi, the heck is this!? Why is my growth total only 9!!!? I feel like shouting that out to the far-distant devs. [H- Hey. How was it? Is this good? Bad?] [¡­¡­I dunno. Figure it out yourself.] Remembering to write down Radd¡¯s abilities on a separate piece of paper, I roughly tore up the page with Radd¡¯s abilities and aptitudes and pushed it to Radd. ¡°T- These are my¡­¡­¡±, Radd said, looking somewhat moved when he received the page, but I stopped caring about him anymore. [Next, Nuku.] With the second person at the party, I¡¯ve gotten used to it by now. I¡¯ve already known the initial Jobs of all the other members except for Radd. In addition to his current ability values, I use the value of Nuku¡¯s initial Job, Mage, to quickly determine his base aptitudes. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C STR ¨C 2 (Bad) VIT ¨C 5 (Good) MGC ¨C 3 (Great) MND ¨C 4 (Normal) AGI ¨C 3 (Good) FOC ¨C 3 (Normal) Total ¨C 21 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C (G- Guhh¡­¡­) Even though the initial party will be slightly compensated for his abilities so that he can be active in their role, this guy isn¡¯t off the mark. His low FOC is a drawback, but it¡¯s at a fixable level. Rather, for a Mage, all you need to be a top-notch one is a high MGC, and he¡¯s already got it. [¡­¡­This is your current ability values and aptitudes.] [Y- Yes!] I handed Nuku, who looked unusually nervous, his Status sheet. Upon receiving the paper, Nuku no longer seems to have time to pay attention to his surroundings, standing still on the spot and staring at the paper with a single-minded focus. (¡­¡­Well, so be it.) For Adventurers, their aptitudes determine their abilities are their lifeline. The wise Nuku may have realized this fact more than anyone else. ¡­¡­Having the lowest of the aptitudes that determine the abilities of a person¡¯s lifeline, the heck would I know? [Then, the third one¡­¡­ Mana.] [Y- Yes.] Her raised voice seemed to indicate nervousness, but she¡¯s an Adventurer Enthusiast and she always has a knot of nervousness in front of me. Surprisingly, she may be the one who maintains the most normality among their party. (¡­¡­Well then.) So far, amazingly, all of them have above-average and almost-ideal stats distribution. I calculate what kind of aptitude she has with Priest as her initial Job, while holding back this pain brewing in my stomach. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C STR ¨C 3 (Normal) VIT ¨C 4 (Good) MGC ¨C 5 (Great) MND ¨C 5 (Great) AGI ¨C 2 (Bad) FOC ¨C 2 (Bad) Total ¨C 21 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C (Hmmm, this is¡­¡­) She¡¯s a level lower than the others because she¡¯s a healer, but those growth rates! This has turned out to be quite the incident huh? It¡¯s said that the ideal stats for a healer are MND, MGC, FOC and AGI in that order. It¡¯s good that her MND is high, but AGI, which she needs in emergencies, and FOC, which is related to Magic Acquisition and Chanting Speed, should be 4 if possible, or at least 3¡­¡­ (Well, this is within the levels that can be recovered with equipment upgrades.) Besides, at higher levels, there will be some variations in weapons and magic. There may be ways to take advantage of her high VIT and STR. I quickly kicked out my thoughts and wrote down the numbers, before handing them to Mana. Receiving the paper, Mana unusually has a difficult expression on her face. However, she only had this expression on her face for a short time. When she met up with Rad and Nuku, they showed each other their papers, and excitedly babbled with each other. [What do you think of my STR?] [Is it bad to have low MND?] Looking at them, I feel like I saw a little bit of my old self. I¡¯m not talking about Rex, nor the me of those days when I worked mindlessly like a cog in society, but the me of those days when I just sat in front of the TV and played games with a single-minded devotion¡­¡­ However, I shook those thoughts off my head. This isn¡¯t the time for sentimentality. [Last is¡­¡­] [Me.] Before I could finish, the Scout, Prana, came forward. (How surprising.) I had thought she was someone who had no interest in this sort of thing, but as she stood in front of me, her body had slightly stiffened. However, what I do here is just the same. Quickly casting to her¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C STR ¨C 4 (Good) VIT ¨C 3 (Normal) MGC ¨C 3 (Normal) MND ¨C 2 (Bad) AGI ¨C 4 (Good) FOC ¨C 6 (Genius) Total ¨C 22 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C (Oi, wait! What the heck is with this!!? Stop freaking around and bring out that cheat tool!) Desperately trying not to show my emotions on my face, I exclaimed in my mind. Just when I relaxed my guard a bit because of Mana¡¯s Status, another outrageous bomb was suddenly thrown. This is the ideal type of stats distribution for Scouts, or rather, for Archers. Especially her FOC aptitude¡¯s 6, ¡°Genius¡± is a special value, which should only rarely appear. As proof of this, even for unique characters with high overall ability values, the number of characters with ¡°genius¡± aptitudes could be counted with one hand. However, what the heck is this ¡°Awful¡± me supposed to do when random characters with ¡°Genius¡± aptitudes keep on coming out like this? [¡­¡­How is it?] And then, as I was frozen with the piece of paper in my hand with Prana¡¯s ability values written on it¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CAm I going to be useful?] Prana, who had moved closer to me before I knew it, asked me a question as if she could see right through me. [! I¡¯ll talk about that now.] I thought my heart would stop. It must be some kind of miracle that I was able to respond to her words as quickly as I did. I clumsily pressed the paper into Prana¡¯s hand and coughed, taking the party¡¯s attention. [I¡¯ve seen your Status and aptitude. The results¡­¡­] At my words, Radd, Nuku, Mana, and even Prana looked at me with expectant and anxious eyes. Clearly meeting their gazes, I spoke. [¡­¡­is better than I expected. Any of you have the potential to be top-notch, no, you can even be more than that.] As soon as I said that, the expression on Radd and the others¡¯ faces brightened up. Even Prana clenched her fists. [All of you have high overall values, all of them were fully improved in relation to your areas of expertise, and seemingly as if you were aiming for it, all of them have their unnecessary abilities. It¡¯s as if you were born to be Adventurers¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C] That¡¯s right. Even after adding the corrections, their aptitude values are so high that it¡¯s even impossible to consider this within the realm of probability. They¡¯re promising aptitude values that are incomparable to what Rex¡­¡­ to what I had. Even so¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Even if that¡¯s so, by no means could they reach what a ¡°true Hero¡± has.] At those words, I could see that Radd and the others, who had been so happy earlier, freeze. However, this is a stark fact. The ¡°Hero¡± chosen by the system, receiving preferential treatment from the world itself, absolutely dominates all others with their Status. Although the distribution of their aptitude values varies depending on Character Creation, the total number of aptitude values the Hero has is ¡°25¡±. No one in Radd¡¯s party, or even in this place, including Resilia, could match that number. And the ¡°Hero¡± astonishingly exceeds even the aptitude value of ¡°Genius¡±, an aptitude of 6 on a stat. Of all the characters in B&B, only the ¡°Hero¡± can have the aptitude of 7, the ¡°Ultimate¡± rating, which is just beyond normal evaluations. [That¡¯s why¡­¡­] I looked at Radd and the others. Radd, who is clenching his fists. Nuku, who is looking down in frustration. Mana, whose eyes moistened with anxiety. Prana, who is biting her lip, glaring at me. And then¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-I¡¯ll make you the number one party in the world.] I clearly declared. [¡­¡­Eh?] I wonder who it was that doltishly slipped that out. However, I couldn¡¯t stop grinning at the look of surprise on their faces. Yes. These guys aren¡¯t as good as the ¡°Hero¡±. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-But that¡¯s exactly why it¡¯s interesting. At first, no, at the moment I saw their aptitude values, I was thinking that I would train the ¡°Hero¡± and clear this game. However, when I saw these guys rejoicing and lamenting over their Status, I thought to myself. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-If I could make these ¡°Non-Heroes¡± stronger than the ¡°Hero¡±, that would be more fun. Even if I¡¯m told that this is just the same kind of contrarian thinking that I had when I decided to raise myself back from the start, only with more enthusiasm and vigor, it can¡¯t be helped. However, the odds are in my favor. I wasn¡¯t just being sentimental. If their aptitudes had been lower, or if they had trained far longer, I wouldn¡¯t have said such a stupid thing. However, here they are in front of me, still undeveloped, and even though their aptitudes aren¡¯t as good as those of the ¡°Hero¡±, it¡¯s good enough for the dream of being the ¡°strongest¡± to be visible. When I¡¯m presented with such perfect material in front of me, it would be rude not to jump on it, wouldn¡¯t it? [Didn¡¯t you hear me? I¡¯ll make you the number 1 party in the world. ¡­¡­So, what are you going to do? Are you going to receive my teachings? Or are you going to run away with your tail between your legs?] Radd was the first to react to my provocative words. [Screw that! Of course, I¡¯m with you!] With passionate words, he took the lead in the party¡­¡­ [I will go as well!] Mana, not to be outdone, rushed forward. [If I miss this opportunity, I will regret it for the rest of my life. I will join as well. Please let me participate!] Even at a time like this, Nuku was still asking politely¡­¡­ [Obviously!] Prana curtly spoke with an enthusiastic tone. Feeling their enthusiasm, my lips naturally lifted into a smile. [I must warn you, my instructions are very strict. Can you keep up with me?] [Of course! No matter what kind of training it is, no matter what life-threatening ordeal we have to go through, we¡¯ll go through it!] [Alright. Well then, here¡¯s my first instruction. All of you¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C] Everyone was full of hope and vigor, not a single one of them was shying away from the challenge. Not to be outdone by the motivation of the hopeful four, I also raised my voice and announced. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-For the next month, none of you are allowed to fight!] CH 21.5 21-5 - Character Data Summary A bonus for perverts who wanna compare numbers with a grin. Provisional Status and estimated aptitude values at Chapter 21 STR ¨C 1 (Awful) VIT ¨C 1 (Awul) MGC ¨C 4 (Good) MND ¨C 1 (Awful) AGI ¨C 1 (Awful) FOC ¨C 1 (Awful) Total ¨C 9 STR ¨C 5 (Great) VIT ¨C 4 (Good) MGC ¨C 2 (Bad) MND ¨C 4 (Good) AGI ¨C 6 (Genius) FOC ¨C 3 (Normal) Total ¨C 24 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Total ¨C 22 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C STR ¨C 2 (Bad) VIT ¨C 5 (Good) MGC ¨C 3 (Great) MND ¨C 4 (Normal) AGI ¨C 3 (Good) FOC ¨C 3 (Normal) Total ¨C 21 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C STR ¨C 3 (Normal) VIT ¨C 4 (Good) MGC ¨C 5 (Great) MND ¨C 5 (Great) AGI ¨C 2 (Bad) FOC ¨C 2 (Bad) Total ¨C 21 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C STR ¨C 4 (Good) VIT ¨C 3 (Normal) MGC ¨C 3 (Normal) MND ¨C 2 (Bad) AGI ¨C 4 (Good) FOC ¨C 6 (Genius) Total ¨C 22 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C ¡ý¡ý¡ý¡ý¡ý¡ý¡ý¡ý Bonus ¡ý¡ý¡ý¡ý¡ý¡ý¡ý¡ý ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C STR ¨C 3 (Normal) VIT ¨C 4 (Good) MGC ¨C 2 (Bad) MND ¨C 2 (Bad) AGI ¨C 3 (Normal) FOC ¨C 3 (Normal) Total ¨C 17 CH 22 A week had passed since I had taken on the task of mentoring Radd and the others. Today, in the noisy Guild Athletic Field, I watched over the new Adventurers as they ran. [Oiiiii! Your pace is dropping!] The two people in front of my eyes are the magic users of Radd¡¯s party. Mana and Nuku. [Run, run, run! Keep lagging behind like that and you¡¯ll get eaten by monsters when you need to run from monsters!] I had prohibited them from combat. In the meantime, I ordered that they train to improve their abilities in the city. [It¡¯s exactly when it¡¯s rough that you move those feet! Training is the only thing that will never betray you!] Even if they don¡¯t ¡°level up¡± by defeating monsters, your ability level will increase with corresponding training. The reason I chose to ban combat and focus in training is because¡­¡­ [The rate of growth depends on the aptitude of an individual and the Job they¡¯re currently in. This is a disparity that you can¡¯t do anything about. However, no matter how little talent you have or how bad you are at something, training is equal for all! The sweat you shed doesn¡¯t lie! You who keep on running, be proud of yourself! Love your effort! Even if the training doesn¡¯t show immediate results, your tempered heart will be able to save you in a pinch! So¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª] This old man next to me is so annoying! I frowned and looked at the big bearded man who had been saying incomprehensible things since a while ago. Thereupon, perhaps sensing my gaze, the bearded man looked at me as well. [Yo, you¡¯re the same line of work as I am, right?] The bearded man spoke to me in a friendly manner. I felt as if I had seen him somewhere before, but at least, I didn¡¯t know him well enough to talk to him in such a friendly manner. [Sorry, I¡¯m not going to answer a question from someone I don¡¯t know.] I think he¡¯s probably an Adventurer, but I don¡¯t know how to answer that question nor do I really want to talk to him. That¡¯s what I wanted to convey to him, but the man¡¯s reaction exceeded my expectations. [Hahahahaha! Certainly didn¡¯t expect that! Looks like even I¡¯m pretty disliked.] With his hand on his face, he said something unintelligible. Could it be, he¡¯s one of those dangerous guys? As I tried to secretly keep my distance from him¡­¡­ [I¡¯m warning you out of concern. I¡¯ve heard rumors about you.] [¡­¡­Huh?] [That you¡¯re an incompetent making hopeful beginners do pointless and inefficient training.] For some reason, the man said this to me while trying not to make eye contact. [There are occasionally such people. Adventurers who are so scared of adventure that they prepare themselves very carefully. But you know what? They¡¯re mysteriously the ones who fail to level-up. They may be perfectly prepared and better equipped than their peers who have entered the same dungeon, but for some reason, they level-up slowly. They disrupt the party, and as a result, they slow them down. Instead, the more ¡°adventurer-like¡±, reckless, daredevils are the ones who are steadily growing stronger and stronger.] Looking as if he had said his piece, the bearded man smiled. I had nothing to say in reply other than ¡°That¡¯s the exact mindset I had that led to failure the first time I played B&B¡±, but that¡¯s something I didn¡¯t say out loud. I don¡¯t know what the bearded man thought when he saw my silence, but he scratched my head. [Sorry, brud. I have nothing against you, but I¡¯ll be honest with you. I just recently started training some youngsters as well, so I can understand how you feel. For the off chance that it happens, you¡¯re trying to make those guys strong enough to fight the monsters so that there won¡¯t be any accidents.] Thereupon, a bitter smile appears on the man¡¯s lips as he looks into the distance, as if he¡¯s reminiscing something. [There are so many things that could have happened to an adventurer, making you think that if I had been more prepared at that time, or if I had trained more. I know how it feels to be overprotective of those you know. ¡­¡­However.] [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CIf you let your ego crush these young buds, I¡¯m not going to forgive you.] Suddenly, the man stared at me with eyes as sharp as a bird of prey. When I involuntarily took a step back at his sudden transformation, the man¡¯s expression returned to one of satisfaction. [¡­¡­Well, I¡¯ve given my warning. Whether you put this to rest is up to you.] After saying this, he left with a grin on his face. Looking at his back as he departed, I wondered. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CIn the end, who the heck is that guy? Left alone, I could do nothing but mutter in a daze. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [Mana. Is that guy an acquaintance of your party?] The reason the bearded man was so friendly to me might have been because he was acquainted with Mana and Nuku, not me. Having that in mind, I decided to ask Mana and Nuku, who was in the middle of their break, about that bearded man. Well, I asked but¡­¡­ [N- No. I¡¯ve never seen him before.] Mana looked at the bearded man and apologetically shook her head. [¡­¡­I see.] If that¡¯s the case, I guess he really was just your normal passing preacher uncle who wandered into the training grounds huh. Just as I was about to conclude that there sure are dangerous guys in this world, Nuku, who arrived behind Mana, brought me the answer. [That man should be the A-Rank Adventurer, Verteran-san, right?] Mana and I were both puzzled even when he said that, to which Nuku wryly smiled. [He¡¯s a member of this town¡¯s top party. He was surrounded by countless Demons, and although he was mortally wounded, he managed to defeat them, and that¡¯s why he¡¯s called the .] [A- Ahh, I see.] When I was randomly casting on people in the town before, there was only one Adventurer with a higher level of skill than the others, and I think that may have been Verteran. Rather, I would have known who he was if I just used , wouldn¡¯t I? When I used , I was shown a Status that certainly looked familiar. Certainly, his stats is by far the highest of all the Adventurers currently in town, but I can¡¯t help but wonder if this is all it takes for someone to be an A-Rank Adventurer. Well, the fact that Rex, with a 200 in all stats, can act solo as an A-Rank Adventurer, I guess this guy can call himself an A-Rank Adventurer if he fights in a party. [¡­¡­Will we be able to become as strong as him in the future?] Nuku softly muttered. He seems like an intellectual, but Nuku¡¯s surprisingly competitive. Perhaps, he may be getting depressed from the days of training. [That¡¯s impossible.] [¡­¡­I guess so.] He seemed a little crestfallen upon my words, but it would be troubling if he misunderstands my words. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CBecause you guys will far surpass him.] From the looks of it, Verteran¡¯s aptitudes probably aren¡¯t that high. Perhaps, he even took some detours in his choice of profession. I know I can¡¯t really say this as someone with the most inefficient stats, but at any rate, I see a great deal of ¡°laxness¡± in Verteran¡¯s Status. As far as I¡¯m concerned, I would never let these guys level up as inefficiently as him. [However¡­¡­] Looking at Nuku, who still seemed anxious, I spoke. [Listen up. Right now, there¡¯s almost no meaning in discussing whether someone¡¯s a veteran or a beginner. That¡¯s because ¡°the world has changed¡±, it¡¯s now only whether it¡¯s before the ¡¯s proclamation and after.] The maximum duration of the game is two years. Only two years. In contrast, there are many Adventurers in this world who have been Adventurers for more than 10 years, or even several decades. So, how were the ¡°Hero¡± and his group able to compete with them? ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CIt¡¯s due to the ¡°Goddess¡¯ Divine Protection and the increase in activity of monsters¡±. With the Evil Deity sealed away and the Elves¡¯ Deity put to sleep, the Divine Blessings bestowed to the people had been weakened. Furthermore, the number of monsters, which were supposed to be the material the people needed to ¡°level up¡±, has almost disappeared with the disappearance of the Evil Deity. And so, now that the influence of both the and the has returned, the situation is completely different from before. During the course of the game, the growth rate of Adventurers can be several or even dozens of times faster than before. Normally, the ¡°Hero¡±¡®s growth revision would have been added to the equation, and the result would have been even more dramatic, but that would just be asking for too much. [I¡¯ll tell you what. If you¡¯re still worried, just give me some time.] [Time?] It¡¯s easier for them to understand if they have a goal than if they¡¯re just vaguely chasing after strength. In that sense, that Verteran may be a reasonable goal. [One year, no¡­¡­ In half a year.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CSorry, Verteran. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CI have nothing against you either. It¡¯s just¡­¡­ I¡¯m not going to be picky with my choices if it¡¯s to make these guys grow stronger. That¡¯s why¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CIn half a year, I¡¯ll have you stronger than that guy.] I will have you be the ¡°bait¡± to make them grow! CH 23 A few minutes after I parted ways with Mana and Nuku, I was in the Guild¡¯s Meditation Room, facing Prana, and just sitting there in a very serious zen-like state. [¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..] [¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..] The silence continued. It had been like this ever since I came to check on her. Meditation is an effective training to raise both MND and MGC at the same time, but it doesn¡¯t seem to be very popular among Adventurers, many of whom are rather active people. I wasn¡¯t going to disturb Prana, who was meditating earnestly, but I didn¡¯t want to just stay here, doing nothing, so I started meditating with her and it had already been like this for several minutes. [¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..] [¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..] Within the silence without even the sound of wind, Prana and I continued to meditate side by side. It¡¯s an idle time, but I can¡¯t think of anything to talk about alone with Prana, so perhaps it¡¯s for the best. (How should I say this¡­¡­ I don¡¯t have a good grasp of her character.) I chose in my first playthrough of B&B, but when the choice was between choosing between the newcomer party and Rex, I naturally chose Rex and left them to die. From the guilt I felt at that time, I sacrificed Rex to party with them in my second playthrough, but unfortunately, I didn¡¯t get much of a chance to delve into them, as they weren¡¯t named characters. And so, my vaunted game knowledge didn¡¯t help me against Prana, and I¡¯m still unable to gauge the distance between us. (If she¡¯s as sensible as Nuku, no, if she¡¯d at least be as extreme as Radd or Mana, I¡¯d somehow have some clue about this.) I couldn¡¯t get a feel for how Prana was feeling, and she hasn¡¯t had much to say to me so far. Having such thoughts in mind, I continued to aimlessly meditate, however¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Wha!?] My eyes suddenly opened when I felt warmth on my shoulder. Thereupon, I saw Prana peering at me from a surprisingly close distance, her hand on my shoulder. [It¡¯s time for a break.] I was surprised by her casual words and checked the time, only to find that it had already been quite a while. [Y- Yeah. Sorry.] She seemed to be absorbed in her meditation, but it seems like she has kept track of time. She looked somewhat satisfied when she saw that I had opened my eyes, and immediately went back to where she had been sitting before. [¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..] [¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..] Even though we were no longer meditating, a period of silence began once again. Prana¡¯s posture, sitting upright across from me, isn¡¯t a bit different from before. The only difference now was her eyes clearly open, looking at me. [¡­¡­Hey, Prana. Why is it that you¡¯re following my instructions?] Trying to bear the awkwardness, I said something that I shouldn¡¯t have needed to ask. However, I had been wondering about this for a long time. The fact that Prana often snaps back at Radd gives the impression that she¡¯s strong-willed and had a rebellious heart. And yet, she took the initiative to go through this unreasonable training I suggested without once complaining about it. [Don¡¯t you have any doubts about me, like how the things I¡¯ve said were strange?] Prime example for this is this training she¡¯s currently doing. She is a good Scout and bow-user, and I had forbidden her to fight. I even had her Class Change to a Mage, which is the exact opposite of her aptitudes, and ordered her to meditate. I wanted to know why she followed such instructions without any complaints. [How come?] [How come, you ask¡­¡­] However, her response to me was a genuine question. [The logic you spoke of makes sense. There¡¯s no reason for me to reject it.] There was no wavering in Prana¡¯s voice as she said this. [Since training your abilities when they¡¯re low will have a high effect, then you should train before ¡°leveling up¡± through combat. If it increases the efficiency in raising your aptitudes, then changing your Class should only be obvious¡­¡­ Where¡¯s the problem?] On the contrary, she even looked puzzled by my question. Certainly, that is the reason why imposed this training towards them. Although often misunderstood in the game, it¡¯s an outright lie that ¡°unlike leveling up, training isn¡¯t affected by a person¡¯s own aptitudes¡±. The higher the predisposed ability is, it¡¯s obviously more likely to rise, even with training. The reason why it seems that even a weak ability can be easily improved by training is that the lower the current ability value is, the more likely it is that the ability can be improved by training. Hence, I think the optimal game solution is to ¡°train the ability with the highest possible growth value by Class Changing while it¡¯s still low level¡±, but I didn¡¯t think this would be agreed upon by people in this world who don¡¯t see things in the meta standpoint. [You should have more confidence in yourself, Rex.] On the contrary, Prana seemed to be admonishing me. [No book I¡¯ve read or person I¡¯ve talked to, no one has been able to teach us the answers like you have. We¡¯re very lucky to have gotten the best teacher.] They¡¯re words that aren¡¯t spoken that eloquently. However, that is why they were filled with a strong sense of reality. (¡­¡­This is troubling.) I couldn¡¯t stop a smile from creeping up my lips. I¡¯m not going to lie, it was never with the best intentions that I started training these guys. It was largely due to my own desire, and perhaps, it was to conduct an experiment. In fact, even now, after all that had been said, I think it would be difficult for me to say whether I would be able to give up all of my own goals for them. But apart from that, I¡¯m genuinely interested in seeing how far these guys can go. I was also beginning to genuinely want to see things through. (So I should at least train them so that they won¡¯t regret relying on me.) That¡¯s the least I can do, having brought these guys in. Also¡­¡­ [I¡¯m sorry. I may have been looking down on you, Prana.] [¡­¡­¡­¡­?] Not minding Prana even when she tilted her head, I bowed my head. While explaining the specifications of the training, I guess deep down, I thought that ¡°people in this world wouldn¡¯t understand the training¡¯s true meaning¡±. That¡¯s why, I couldn¡¯t believe Prana was continuing her training without question. I¡¯d met Verteran today too, but I¡¯d sensed that he was somewhat skeptical of us. Perhaps, I may have been a little influenced by his thoughts without realizing it. [It¡¯s not easy to look at things without prejudice. I¡¯m glad that Prana and the others were the ones I decided to teach.] Prana¡¯s eyes widened when she heard my words. Seeing her reaction, I realized that I had said something out of character and suddenly felt embarrassed. [Alright, I¡¯m going to go check on Radd.] I got up to escape from here. I¡¯m sure that guy had reached an impasse by now. I had to keep an eye on him. [¡­¡­Wait.] However, just as I was walking toward the exit, I was stopped by a voice. [Truthfully, I don¡¯t understand everything that we¡¯re doing.] [Prana?] Even when I called out to her, my tone asking her what she means, she continued. Seemingly as she¡¯s trying to think hard about this matter, she weaved her words. [I¡¯ve just chosen to trust you. After all, you are¡­¡­] Prana looked at me with eyes filled with a fragility that I couldn¡¯t imagine from her usual self. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨Cthe one who put your life on the line to save me.] Whispering this, a wistful smile appears on her lips. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [Ahh, what the heck is this?] I left the room to escape, and when Prana was completely out of sight, I held my chest. I could feel my heart beating so strongly that I could feel it clearly. For a grown man to be so flustered about a child, whose age was young enough that she could be called a young girl. Even though I tried to play it off like that, the look on her face as I was leaving stuck in my mind. (I didn¡¯t do anything to deserve such gratitude.) It¡¯s true that I had sought out a unique route to save Prana and the others and had risked my life in a mortal struggle against a Doom Demon, but half of that was just because of how the course of events turned out. My primary motivation was also a negative one: I just didn¡¯t want to take on the burden of human life and death. (Well, the me right now is an ikemen, and I think I was pretty cool in my fight with the Doom Demon.) Having these thoughts in mind, I suddenly realized something. (No, Prana went to get help, she wasn¡¯t there to see the fight!) If so, Prana is just genuinely thanking me for the fact that ¡°I desperately guided them and stayed as their rear guard¡± and that ¡°I risked my life to help them¡±. [¡­¡­Haahhh¡­¡­] A sigh escapes my mouth. It seems like my mind really had just gotten corrupted. (This is getting more and more out of hand.) Even if I¡¯m a helpless scumbag, that doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t help others. I vowed once again to at least do my best to help them. CH 24 I immediately knew where Radd and Resilia were training. People were gathered there, and some of them were watching the scene, forgetting about their own training. [Ooohhhh! V-Slash!] Radd, the leader of the newcomer party, shouted as he swung his sword at the training scarecrow. However, it seems that ¡°putting magic power in their sword¡± was a surprisingly advanced technique for them, and he was struggling quite a bit on the first day, but now, he seems to be doing it pretty smoothly. Although the trajectory of the V that he swung out was a little awkward, he just barely made the and his sword slash had a glow. However, what attracted the public¡¯s attention was the one near him. [V-Slash! Lightning Cut! Cross¡­¡­ Raid!!!] The sister of the me in this world, Resilia. I gasp as she performs the techniques in a flowing manner. Of course, she isn¡¯t moving for the sake of showing it off to others, and I doubt she even cares about things like that. The clothes she¡¯s wearing are just training clothes, and the steel sword in her hand is just a store-bought steel sword. Even so, her form is so beautiful and her poise so complete that it attracts people no matter what she does. Seeing her dance like a heavenly maiden and deliver sharp, caustic slashes, I realized once again. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CI¡¯m trash. Ah, no, I¡¯m not talking about me having a trashy sense of morality or anything like that. That¡¯s something I won¡¯t deny, but I¡¯m not really talking about that here. Rather, what I see in this world are characters in a work of fiction. They are residents of a 2D world who were created to be a certain type of person, born with blessed good looks and Status. In terms of specs, a mere game-loving otaku isn¡¯t comparable to them. So, I¡¯m not bragging. ¡°I¡± am inferior to them, and ¡°Rex¡± is no match for them. Let¡¯s start things up with this premise. If I were to compete with these guys on the same playing field and put in the same amount of effort, I would definitely lose. But even with that understanding, I still saw my advantage in the current situation. After all¡­¡­ [Radd. Resilia. That won¡¯t do.] Because as perfect as they look, Resilia and Radd still haven¡¯t mastered the Manual Execution of Arts. [At that speed, you need to be conscious of inertia and keep compacting it in mind.] With that, I draw my sword concisely and sharply, moving it so that it traces a precise path on the ¡°monitor in my head¡±. The sword flash made a perfect V-shape, stronger than Radd¡¯s and Resilia¡¯s, and produced a beautiful effect. Resilia watched my actions earnestly without blinking, while Radd grunted in frustration. [You¡¯ve warped the path of your blade so much, but why are your techniques so much better than ours?] [I can only say it¡¯s because I calculated it. Listen here, okay? It¡¯s not just about having the same movement as when the Arts are used, you¡¯re just trying to show the world the trajectory of your Arts.] I know this explanation makes no sense to me at all. However, even I can¡¯t explain it any better than this. Their movements are perfect as a reproduction of the technique, and in fact, I think they even reproduced it better than I did. However, the reason why it doesn¡¯t lead to the activation of the Art is that the specifications for Manual Execution of Arts are, for some reason, ¡°conforming with the game¡±. At first, I thought that ¡°if they could reproduce the movements of the player who used the Arts in Auto-mode, they could activate the Arts manually¡±, but I was wrong. It seems that in order to use an Art manually, it¡¯s necessary to reproduce with the weapon not ¡°the movements of the Activated Art itself¡±, but ¡°the movement of the controller when the player manually executes the Art¡±. Of course, both are the same in terms of ¡°tracing the trajectory accurately¡±, but the meaning is clearly different in games and in reality. If you think about it, if there was a game that sold ¡°enjoyable tennis as if you¡¯re playing IRL¡±, the movements of the controller wouldn¡¯t be exactly the same as the movements of the racket in real life. Before the technical aspects are taken into consideration, such a game would be very tiring and hard to practice. Not to mention, it would be a shitty game that can never be played in a small space. Being the best boxer in the world doesn¡¯t necessarily make you the best boxing game player in the world. Even in a physical game, the way in which the controller is moved creates a unique knack for it. For example, in B&B, the controller tends to be perceived more strongly when it¡¯s swung concisely and swiftly, rather than when it¡¯s swung with a large radius and with force. To take this to the extreme, if you swing the controller 50cm with a large swing and quickly swing it 15cm with just a snap of the wrist, the distance you are moving is completely different, but the movement of your in-game character may be the same. In order to fully utilize the Manual Execution of Arts, it¡¯s necessary to swing the weapon with this in mind, in short, ¡°assuming that the weapon I¡¯m currently holding is the Dynamic Motion Z (7980 yen before tax), and adjusting the speed and swing so that the imaginary motion sensor reacts properly¡±, a mysterious skill that no one in this world would possess would be required. This is a distortion created by the reconciliation of two different world aspects, the ¡°game¡± and the ¡°reality¡±. However, it is this loophole that will give me the ¡°advantage¡±. [D*mn it! How much training do you have to go through to be able to connect techniques like this?] Radd laments, but I guess it can¡¯t be helped. In addition to the main story mode, B&B has the that allows unlimited trail shooting of techniques and magic without worrying about MP. When practicing Manual Execution there, the trajectory of the technique you¡¯re trying to practice could be displayed, and a visual representation of how well the current move was reproduced could be seen. I was too blessed in those days that I could practice in such an environment. [You have time. You just have to learn it slowly. Besides¡­¡­] Radd¡¯s fighting style will probably be to lead the fight and draw the enemy¡¯s attacks, so he won¡¯t have much opportunity to put in a barrage of attacks. He may not be able to stack Arts using Over-Art, but Manual Execution of Art has many advantages and are worth learning. I don¡¯t know if it was because my persuasion worked or it was just that he was serious by nature, but Radd was seriously engaged in training for a while, before he eventually said. [¡­¡­Hey. Is it really okay for me to just swing my weapon?] [What do you mean?] I asked, to which Radd anxiously asked me. [The others are doing various types of training, right? However, for me to do just this for a month¡­¡­ I¡¯m worried that I¡¯m going to be left behind.] I was a little taken aback by his words. The one saying this is that muscle-head Radd. I thought he would be happy to just wield his weapon to his heart¡¯s content, but he seemed to be thinking about the current situation more than I expected. (I wonder what I should do?) I pondered for a moment. Radd needs STR more than anything else. That¡¯s why he¡¯s doing this training, which increases STR, simply because it¡¯s optimal, but I¡¯m sure that won¡¯t be enough to convince him. (¡­¡­Well, it¡¯s a little early, but I guess now¡¯s a good time.) I approached Radd, who was looking down with anxiety, and saying ¡°Here¡±, I held out my right hand. In my outstretched right hand is a sword. [O- Old man. This is¡­¡­] [You know this. My beloved sword, .] I nonchalantly said, to which Radd shouted, looking more agitated than I was. [I- I know that! More importantly¡­¡­] [You can already guess, right? I¡¯m giving this sword to you.] [Wha!?] As Radd was at a loss for words, I continued. [I¡¯ve told you from the start, didn¡¯t I? That ¡°if I die, I¡¯ll give you my sword¡±. I revived, but I did die. So this now belongs to you.] Saying this one-sidedly, I pushed the towards Radd. [H- Heavy¡­¡­] He staggered the moment he received it, to which I smiled "" [That¡¯s right. That is the sword of an A-Rank Adventurer. Don¡¯t think it¡¯s something you can just easily handle.] This was also the case for the ¡°Hero¡± first wielded it in the case of Rex¡¯s death. The entrusted to them couldn¡¯t be handled with just half-hearted STR. When you gain experience and become able to handle it, you can finally say that you have succeeded Rex¡¯s will. [I really am¡­¡­] Seeing him lowering his head down in dismay, I spoke. [I heard from Nuku. ¡­¡­You¡¯re going to become a ¡°Legend¡±, right?] Radd looked up in surprise at my words. [The one you¡¯re holding is a ¡°Hero¡¯s Sword¡± told in legends. You aspire to be a Hero, but are you going to run away from wielding one?] Radd bit his lip and looked at the . I couldn¡¯t tell what kind of conflicts were brewing in his mind, what thoughts were swirling in his heart. But finally, Radd looked up at me and glared at me. [That¡¯s a bad joke coming from you, Old man! However, I¡¯ll take on your taunting!] There was no longer a shadow of anxiety in his eyes. Only a glowing competitive spirit and enthusiasm could be found in them. [Wait and see, Old ma¡­¡­ Rex! I¡¯ll definitely become a Legend worthy of this sword! Just you wait and see!] As he shouted that, Radd began swinging the . ¡°Uooohhh!¡±, with a shout, he swung the heavy sword. However, the high STR requirement of the sword made Radd swing backward instead. He struggled to control it, sometimes falling down, but still, he continues to train single-mindedly. It was hard to say that his appearance looked flattering. However, his hard work and dedication feel like it strikes a chord with others. [¡­¡­Good grief. Such an embarrassing guy.] Tightening my lips that had shaped into a smile before I knew it, I turned on my heel. [¡­¡­Now then.] I turn one last time towards the two of them, taking one last look at Radd, before leaving the training ground. However, there was someone silently waiting for me at the entrance. [¡­¡­Resilia. Are you done practicing?] [If Nii-san is going somewhere, take me with you. I don¡¯t know what you¡¯ll do when you¡¯re left alone.] Chuckling at my eccentric sister, the both of us walked out of the training grounds. [Our destination is the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. We¡¯re going to go on a raid.] What we¡¯re about to do is new to me, even including in-game. I don¡¯t know if this will work or not. However, if they show this much seriousness, I can¡¯t be halfhearted about this either. Now, it¡¯s my turn to do my part. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI¡¯ve gotta show these well-behaved gamers how a modern gamer fights!] CH 25 The door opened with a squeaky sound, and the hustle and bustle of the building came rushing in. Without hesitation, we stepped inside the building, and at the same time, we could feel a number of impudent stares directed at us. (There are more people than usual here. I guess it was because noon huh.) All Adventurers are good-for-nothing wanderers, heavily drunk at night and finally getting up at noon to do their work¡­¡­. whatever Quest is available at that noon. That is why Adventurers gather at noon, or so I remembered an old man in some Adventurer Guild say back in the game. (¡­¡­We¡¯re getting a lot more attention than I thought we would.) We¡¯re not doing anything special. Still, as we moved forward, a wave of people naturally broke off and made their way in front of us. However, the kind of attention we¡¯re getting seems to be more malicious than favorable. I could hear bits and pieces of words like ¡°A-Rank¡±, ¡°incompetent¡±, and ¡°Demon¡± among those murmurs. (I guess this is that so-called cocktail party effect huh. This feels slightly different though.) However, it¡¯s okay. Whatever reaction they have, it¡¯s important that I caught their attention now. (This isn¡¯t my intention, but I guess it was a good thing I brought Resilia.) An A-Rank Adventurer dressed in all-black and a beautiful girl who has been the talk of the Guild¡¯s training grounds lately is walking side by side. Their reaction is probably justified. As for Resilia, I looked a little behind me and saw that she was following me without feeling timid at all. She has a strong heart. She and I proceeded through the Guild, our gazes focused. We avoided the counter where several people are lined up and walked without hesitation to the line where a bored-looking receptionist is taking care of things by herself. [Eh¡­¡­?] The receptionist, who had been blankly staring at nothing, suddenly saw me coming in front of her and her eyes widened. Incidentally, I know this receptionist from the game. I think she¡¯s called Erina, a Sub-Character that gives out some standalone events. She seemed to be shaken, but I could see the professionalism expected from her. She recovered from her confusion in just a few seconds, and looking slightly troubled, she spoke. [Errr, You¡¯re the A-Rank Adventurer, Rex-sama, right? I¡¯m sorry, but I think you¡¯re on the wrong counter. This is the counter where the public¡­¡­] [I know.] In a situation like this, it¡¯s highly likely that those who do the first move would gain a certain victory. I didn¡¯t let her finish, and with my left hand outstretched, I dumped a large number of gold coins onto the counter. [¡­¡­Huh?] The gold coins hit the counter in front of the receptionist, who froze with her eyes wide-open, and as they piled up on the hard desk, they made a sound so loud that it drew the people¡¯s attention. The sound startled not only those who had been watching us, but everyone in the room, and they all turned to look at me. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Including fees, 300 million for a Quest Commission.] My voice was the only sound that echoed in the rapidly quieting guild. [The Quest is ¡°Gathering of Useful Equipment¡±. Here is the Quest form.] [¡­¡­Eh, ummm.] I give the receptionist, who still doesn¡¯t understand the situation, the biggest smile I can muster. [Didn¡¯t you hear me? I¡¯m commissioning a Quest. ¡­¡­I¡¯m offering this much money. I¡¯m expecting the strenuous efforts Frelia¡¯s Adventurers would exert.] A few moments later, as if a spell had been lifted, the clamor just like earlier, no, even more than before erupted behind us. The receptionist, finally realizing the significance of the large sum of money piled up in front of her, said ¡°I- I will call the Guildmaster!¡±, and ran off to the back. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù Eventually, the Guildmaster arrived, and although I was chastised for careless behavior and the receptionist was glaring at me with tears in her eyes, saying ¡°How could an Adventurer let someone else collect their equipment¡­¡­¡±, my Quest was accepted without incident. (Well, if someone suddenly offered me 300 million yen in front of me, of course I would have been scared.) Even though prices are quite random since this is a fantasy world, the impact a large amount of money would have should be about the same. I may have done something bad to the receptionist. Thinking that I would follow up with her later if I had the chance, I leisurely left the still noisy Guild. On the way home, as if out of the blue, Resilia, who was walking next to me, asked. "" [I think I know your intentions are, but did you really have to go that far?] [Hmmm. I wonder.] I don¡¯t really like that kind of style of slapping people with money either. However, what happened earlier was a complete performance. All I needed was to get their attention and make them become aware that I had made that Quest. ¡­¡­I wasn¡¯t just playing around during the week Radd and his party was training. I was examining the game elements and steadily gathering money by converting Orichalcons and Mysterious Liquids to improve my equipment and funds. Having good equipment is essential for training. However, as I picked up what I needed along the way, I realized that I needed a larger quantity of items than I had imagined. I tried going to the Armor Shop and General Shop in town to see if I could get a good deal from them, but they seemed to be adhering to the game settings and their selection of items was basically the same as the early-game shops. I had no choice but to go to dungeons, but there was no way to get ¡°Iron Geta¡±, ¡°Spring-Loaded Armor¡± except from Random Drops, and among them, ¡°Black Cat Blessing Coins¡± were said to have 0.01% chance of being obtained, and I would lose my hair if I kept looking fo such items. I was agonizing about this matter when Resilia arrived. And then, when she saw the items and said ¡°All you listed seemed to be Trash Items¡±, when it hit me. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-¡°If it¡¯s a pain to gather them all by myself, I should just let other Adventurers gather them for me¡±! If what I was looking for were popular items that everyone was clamoring for, going through this option would have been difficult. However, if I were to believe Resilia¡¯s words, it seems that most of these items haven¡¯t been proven very useful to the average Adventurer in this world. If they were to obtain these items by chance, it was fully expected that they would give these up without any particular hesitation. [Then, couldn¡¯t you have the Commission Fee be a little cheaper?] [No, that would be asking for a disaster.] Say, they saw us using these items and realized that the items they gave us were useful. If I had commissioned these items for chump change, it would look as if ¡°we had scammed them¡±. However, if we had commissioned these for a lot of money¡­¡­ they should just be impressed and think about how ¡°they didn¡¯t know that these items had these kinds of uses¡±. [Well, I don¡¯t really know much about the subtleties with matters like that, but anyhow, what I need is speed to acquire these times. For that reason, I thought it was important to get the word out about this Quest, so I thought it was important to make a big impact.] That¡¯s why I put up the 300 million on the spot. That 300 million was only the total amount of the reward. In reality, the Quest was broken down into smaller pieces, and ¡°if the Adventurer brings even one of the items on the list, they will be paid a set amount based on its value¡±. [If they don¡¯t have everything they needed to complete the Quest, then that Quest would never going to be cleared.] [I was surprised when you started saying ¡°you¡¯re going to commission a Quest to collect equipment¡±, but it seems that you¡¯re thinking this through. I¡¯m relieved.] Nonchalantly saying rude things, Resilia nodded. Determined to return at her later, I took my gaze away from her for the moment. (Well, I think it¡¯s a very decent idea.) If it¡¯s in the game or if your life is on the line IRL, it¡¯s normal for people to take any means necessary to raise money to get their equipment. In fact, many MMOs and other games have systems that allow trading between players, and if Adventurers¡¯ Guilds aren¡¯t a game setting but an actual, natural establishment, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if equipment trading was adopted as a system elsewhere. (Is this also an adverse effect of the game-like factors of this world, or is it just a systemic way to binding things?) But well, the common practice in this world was that Adventurers themselves would almost never submit requests, and doing such a thing could possibly incur some animosity from others. Then again, it¡¯s possible that the cranky Adventurers wouldn¡¯t hand over the requested items but¡­¡­ [Well, it should be alright.] It¡¯s for this reason that I had that large amount of money. "" At least, since I paid the money in front of all those people and deposited it with the Guild, they can be sure that whatever problems they may have had with me, they will be paid. People can¡¯t go against the magic of money. Not all of them will be cooperative, but most of the items I commissioned will end up rolling into my hands. [¡­¡­You¡¯re making that dastardly face again.] Ignoring a certain little sister¡¯s words, sounding like a nagging mother, I smiled, confident of my plan. And thus, a few days had passed. That conviction would soon be proven correct. For the first three days, there was no activity, as if people were opting for a wait-and-see, but on the fourth day, one person delivered an item. Thereupon, as if the flood gates had been broken, deliveries poured in, filling the items on the list in the blink of an eye. In the end, it only took two weeks to get 90% of all the items from my list, a plethora of useful items obtained without me setting a single foot outside of the town. CH 26 (T/N: Downloadable contents, DLCs, are additional contents created for an already released game, ranging from cosmetic content, such as skins, to new in-game content such as characters, increase in levels, additional game modes, and larger expansions that may contain a mix of such content as a continuation of the base game. It can either be added for no extra cost or in a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain additional revenue from a title after it has been purchased, often using some type of microtransaction system.) The equipment made the progress in Radd and his party¡¯s training a step faster, but there was another new discovery I found, a factor that should never be overlooked when thinking about training. It was a brand new house that I discovered while walking on the outskirts of town (This is¡­¡­ the centerpiece of DLC #4! !) B&B is a game where you buy out everything, and of course, once you pay for it, you can play through all of the content. However, additional content is a different story. Sometimes, additional elements, called DLC or Downloadable Content, are released for a game, and B&B¡¯s devs just happen to have no money. What would happen if that were the case? That¡¯s simple. Anyway, a barrage of DLC was released for the devs to generate immediate cash income. The first DLC was an equipment pack. All of them had high performance for the Equipment Restrictions they had and the difficulty of obtaining them in the game. The most dangerous ones among them were so dangerous that they¡¯re still burned in my memory. The , a set of protective gear that boasts of an extraordinary defense power numerically, despite the fact that it doesn¡¯t look like it would have any way in protecting its wearer at all. The Head and Torso Equipment which for some reason had this¡­¡­ unusually elaborate standby motion. There¡¯s also the , which I feel like I¡¯ve seen somewhere, that they make a mysterious ¡°Buppigan!¡± sound effect every time they move. The , a hammer that is obviously designed and made of a material that doesn¡¯t seem to hurt when struck, but somehow boasts overwhelming power. The , a sword that holds the power of the force(totally not magic power) within it, that makes a vrmm-vrmm sound when swung. It was a sword that held quite the offensive power to it, in all sorts of ways. The , an OOPArt-type blunt weapon that is too much of a mistake in every way, boasts tremendous power and attack range. (T/N: OOPArt = out-of-place artifact.) These best-in-class equipment, which are outlandish in many ways, cost 600 yen, including tax, each. You could also buy all of them as a set, but the price was offered at a sh*tty set price that only lowers it to 580 yen per piece. However, this section is still good. The most powerful DLC equipment were either displayed in a museum or was found in the depths of the Demolished City, Ash, so that it couldn¡¯t be obtained until later in the game. However, as the 2nd and 3rd DLCs were released, the devs seemed to have lost their self-respect and when they released the 4th DLC, , it had become a tremendous balance breaker. This was, in essence, a house that could be used as a base, but its functions were dangerous. It has a recovery device that can instantly restore HP & MP, a transporter that can call up and send back characters that can join your group, a teleporter that can take you to specific spots around the world, a device that allows you to pay a certain amount to reacquire unique items that have been lost or become unobtainable, a device that allows you to transfer an Enchantment from one piece of equipment to another, and other broken features, which made it officially sanctioned as a cheat tool. Each of its functions was useful, but I especially wanted the ¡°unique item reacquisition function to obtain valuable items that I had to give up in tears due to route divergence, and the ability to transfer godlike Enchantments, such as that ¡°STR+34¡± placed on that sh*tty equipment. But when I saw the details on the DLC page, I was in despair. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThis DLC cost a whopping 4250 yen! That¡¯s the price for just adding this one house. And that additional fraction in the pricing of 250 yen, which isn¡¯t particularly cheap, shows how serious the game company is about this thing is. Well, since the company itself went out of business without fulfilling the announced 5th DLC, which included ¡°new origin/s for the Hero¡± and ¡°new schools of techniques¡±, I guess this is to be expected. (However, things would be a lot easier if I could get this house!) I ran to the house with joy. Besides, if this went along with the game logic, this house becomes the ¡°Hero¡¯s¡± property the moment the player purchases the DLC, transcending all logic. It¡¯s a mystery how a previously vacant lot suddenly became a house, and why the Hero suddenly has the ownership of it, but I guess that¡¯s how desperate the devs were. "" Anyway, there¡¯s a possibility that the owner of this house is the ¡°Hero¡±. If that¡¯s the case, then perhaps, I may be able to find the ¡°Hero¡± here¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Hmm?] But then, I noticed a signboard that I didn¡¯t remember seeing in the game. A signboard near the entrance of the house that reads ¡°For Sale: 10 billion wen¡±. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù (Well, I should have known.) Putting aside if this were a game, you can never be able to suddenly own a house in real life. Considering its performance, the price of 10 billion wen isn¡¯t so strange either. Collecting 10 billion wen right away is impossible at the moment. However, this discovery means more than just having a new goal in mind. [The fact that this house exists means that¡­¡­] It¡¯s very likely that the contents of the free DLC, announced at the same time as the first purchasable DLC, will also be implemented in this world. And that will be significant in my future character builds. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CBecause that DLC contains the ¡°addition of hidden dungeons¡± and ¡°further increase of characters¡¯ level limit¡±. The latter is particularly important. In the game before the DLC, once a character reached LV 99, no further ¡°level-ups¡± can be expected, and unusable characters have reached their peaks. However, with this DLC, the next level after LV 99 becomes ¡°LV 99+¡±, and although you can¡¯t track your level numerically and you don¡¯t have new techniques to learn, you can ¡°level-up¡± by one level as many times as you want by accumulating the necessary EXP. ¡­¡­Well, I once tested it by giving up on all the events and just leveling up, but the correction to required EXP became so high that I even threw my controller when I was asked for more than 10x the experience required for LV 98¡ú99. But well, that¡¯s beside the point. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CI guess there¡¯s hope for Rex too. If ¡°growth¡± has no limits, even Rex may have the possibility to catch up with others. If that¡¯s the case, I suppose I should first put more effort into successfully training Radd and the others. With renewed determination in mind, I left the house. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù Although it wasn¡¯t really the effect of the DLC, the training of Radd and the others has become even more rigorous. Nuku and Mana ran around the training ground wearing unbalanced Iron Getas, while Radd brandished his sword wearing Spring-Loaded Armor and even a weighted wristband on his arms, and Prana meditated wearing extremely lame spiral glasses that ruined her good looks. The severity of her lameness is just beyond description, and it was so bad that I couldn¡¯t help bursting into laughter when I went to check them, earning me a rapid fire of arrows from Prana. The eyes of the people around us became even harsher, and we felt that the criticism being directed toward us had become even stronger. But even so, Radd and his party never cut corners, and in fact, they seemed to be feeling good about their own growth. And¡­¡­ such feeling is right. The Iron Getas, weighted wristbands, and spiral glasses are equipment with a hidden effect: ¡°In exchange for lowering your current ability values, it increases your affinities¡±. Perhaps due in part to this effect, they were growing faster than I had expected. (If I could be greedy, I would have loaded them up with more equipment.) There are things you can do in this world that you couldn¡¯t do in this game. In-game, you can only wear a maximum of three rings, but in real life, you can wear rings for all of your fingers¡­¡­ is what I was thinking, but it didn¡¯t seem to be working that way. Just as mentioned in the flavor text in-game, it seems that ¡°if you equip the same equip type on your body, the magic power within it will repulse each other and both effects would be lost¡±, the effect seems to be the same as it was in the game. Each character has 9 equip slots in the game. The specific breakdown for this is as follows: Weapons: Right hand, Left hand Armor: Head, Torso, Arms, Legs Accessory: Up to 3 available slots Except for a few unique items, only equipment in the ¡°Armor¡± category can have a variable affinity value. If you want to equip your whole body with equips that increase the affinity value, you can have a maximum of four affinity value equips on your body. (This way, there¡¯s no problem with training. ¡­¡­But¡­¡­) In this case, we will have Adventurers who have high-affinity values but low current ability values, and that will bring adventuring to a standstill. There isn¡¯t really any benefit to lowering a character¡¯s ability value with equipment, as the experience needed to increase ability and level refers to a character¡¯s own ability value. The equipment that increases affinity value is one wing of my training plan. However, birds couldn¡¯t fly with just one wing. I would really need ¡°strong equipment¡± to compensate for the weakness brought by the other wing, the equipment that increases a character¡¯s affinity values. As far as that equipment is concerned, there¡¯s no other way but for me to get those myself. Fortunately, I have already overcome the biggest hurdle in my opinion to obtain those ¡°strong equipment¡±. Now, if I could just find the right item to increase the efficiency, I can go get those anytime but¡­¡­ ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù Time passed by slowly and gradually, and just when I was considering whether I should give up and start collecting the equipment without any revision items, the news I¡¯d long been waiting for arrived. [Nii-san. I just got a call from a woman from the Guild, saying that a has been submitted¡­¡­] [Alright!] When Resilia reported that when she came to the training grounds, I unintentionally broke down my role-play and raised a guts pose, even though we were in public. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C. This item, when used, increases the quality of items obtained for a certain amount of time. Since this item could never be substituted for any other, one-third of the reward money for the Quest I gave out, meaning 100 million wen, was put on this one coin, but even though almost all of the items were delivered, this one item still hasn¡¯t been submitted. Well, I suppose it was understandable. The can be obtained from any enemy or treasure chest, but its acquisition rate is an astonishing 0.01%. If you play the game normally, you may or may not see one of these before you complete the game, making it an extremely rare item. It was a matter of luck whether I could get one in such a short period of time, but as the number of people hunting these increased, so did the probability of acquiring it. Even though it appeared at the last moment, I could say that I won the best. There was not much time left. I better strike while the iron is hot. Quickly making up my decision, I called out to Radd, who was in the middle of training. [Sorry, Radd. I¡¯m gonna go out for a while.] [Wha!? G- Going out, what are you suddenly¡­¡­] [I¡¯m just going to get some equipment from the nearby dungeon real quick. I¡¯ll be right back.] However, it seems that my response didn¡¯t sit well with Radd. He snapped a question right back at my words. [Right back, you say. There¡¯s no nearby dungeon that drops treasure like that though¡­¡­] [] The moment he heard that, I could tell that Radd was at a loss for words. But well, I guess that¡¯s understandable. After all, the is one of the main objectives of this game, and among the , it¡¯s the one closest to this town and at the same time, the one guarded by the most powerful monsters. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CIt¡¯s the most difficult dungeon that even I couldn¡¯t clear when I was playing the game. CH 27 In the real world, I had been playing B&B, but I had never fully completed the game. No, describing it as completing might have been somewhat impertinent. I played B&B from the beginning four times and cleared the game twice, but I¡¯m not sure if I got the best ending. The reason for this is that B&B is a game that is ¡°easy to play, but extremely difficult to master¡±. The difficulty of B&B is exquisitely adjusted, in both good and bad ways, with a system in which ¡°the farther the game progresses, the stronger the enemies become¡±. The objective of the game is to defeat the last boss, , but this Evil Deity can be fought no matter how you play the game if you want to fight him. Pushing the logic to the extremes, even if you have been sleeping in an inn since the beginning of the game, the will automatically appear in front of the ¡°Hero¡± after two years and forcefully send him to the where Rasulphi lays dormant. Of course, there¡¯s no way that a player who hasn¡¯t grown strong enough can win against the Evil Deity who has been resurrected in perfect condition. So, the ¡°Hero¡± must strengthen themself and in addition, it¡¯s necessary to weaken the Evil Deity by destroying the Statues Clad in Evil Power, the ¡°divided power of the Evil Deity¡±, at the deepest level of the , but there¡¯s a trap laid here. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-The after-effect of the Evil Deity¡¯s power would be scattered around the world, making all the monsters in the world one step stronger. From a game system perspective, this is a nice gimmick. As the game progresses, the enemies get stronger and new changes are made to existing locations, making the game more challenging and since the enemies in the Twelve Dark Ruins would also naturally get stronger, this will allow for more strategies, such as taking on the most taking on the dungeons among the Twelve Dark Ruins your party¡¯s most incompatible with first. However, such a thing happening isn¡¯t something the world would be happy about. The more time passes in the game and the more of the Twelve Dark Ruins are conquered, the more difficult it becomes to live in the world, and the atmosphere of cities and towns becomes darker. Adventurers die, some stores go out of business, events occur that cause towns and cities to collapse, dangerous cults become more prevalent, and the changes are wide-ranging, increasing the difficulty of the game in this aspect as well. I think they did well from a story-telling standpoint, but seriously, I wonder how the devs could create such an ill-natured system. However, it¡¯s not necessary to conquer all of the . When you have cleared about half of them, 6 of the ruins, the last boss, Rasulphi, is weakened to a level that the ¡°Hero¡± and their party can stand against him. Even if the player¡¯s party fails in training and events a little, if they manage to conquer about 7 ruins within 2 years, it¡¯s possible to clear the game. However, clearing the game that way would probably just be the Normal End. Even after the player has painstakingly defeated the last boss, they will only see a whiteout screen with only a few words of thanks from the , followed by the staff roll with solemn music. Even the staff roll ends with an ¡± E N D ? ¡± message, seemingly implying something. I was expecting a character-theme ending story with the characters who became my comrades, so I was very upset when I got that ending, but I changed my view on things when I remembered that ending. (Perhaps, I need to master this game in order to see B&B¡¯s True End.) The key is definitely the Twelve Dark Ruins. There are two possible ways to achieve this: ¡°Defeat the Evil Deity in their strongest state without clearing any of the ruins at all¡±, or ¡°Conquer all the ruins, then confront the Evil Deity¡±. However, as for the former, I consider achieving that almost impossible. This is because the enemy monsters are so weak that you will not be able to secure a sufficient level of skill if you haven¡¯t conquered any of the ruins. So, after overcoming the first playthrough and the Normal End of the second playthrough, I set out to conquer all the ruins in my third playthrough. I made a chart in advance, took the best course of action with the little information I had, and managed to conquer up to the 11th ruin. However, the 12th ruin, the was impossible. The fact that the attacked us while my party was conquering the labyrinth was a factor in the failure, but the monsters in that place were simply too strong. While other ruins vary in difficulty depending on the order of attack, only the welcomes you with high-spec Lv 100+ monsters, no matter when you come to that place. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s because, in exchange, all encounters are treated as mid-boss battles, but the enemy placements are fixed and they were never resurrected, so this probably means that is practically the last dungeon. In the end, I gave up on clearing the game completely and finished the third round with another Normal End. After that, I started my fourth playthrough with the help of the DLC that had just been distributed, hoping to clear the game completely this time, but real-life matters made me busy. Naturally, I stopped playing the game and never touched it again. I don¡¯t know if I would have been able to clear the if I had continued my fourth playthrough. That¡¯s how difficult the was, a dungeon that was so different from other dungeons. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [¡­¡­And yet, you¡¯re following me as if it¡¯s a matter of course, Resilia.] [It may have been Nii-san¡¯s own choice to die somewhere, but that doesn¡¯t change the fact that that is Rex-nii-san¡¯s body.] I turned to look at Resilia, who was following a few distance behind me, and she returned it without even a smirk on her lips. [I¡¯ll say it again, but this is dangerous.] [I know, so I¡¯m coming with you.] She¡¯s stubborn. I guess this is what they meant when people describe how there are some people who won¡¯t budge about something even if a little bit. Seeing no recourse here, I had no choice but to concentrate on moving forward. Thereupon, taking it as if I had just given her permission, Resilia stood beside me. [You don¡¯t need to worry, Nii-san, I¡¯ll follow your orders.] I feel complicated, not knowing whether I should feel relieved or anxious to hear Resilia say such a thing. [Speaking of which, before you know it, you started normally calling me ¡°Nii-san¡± huh.] [I¡¯m not really comfortable calling you ¡°Rex¡± after all.] I don¡¯t know whether she¡¯s aware of it or not, but every word she says kinda have this sharpness to it. [¡­¡­Are you even alright calling other people ¡°Nii-san¡±?] [It¡¯s a little too late for that, don¡¯t you think?] [Guess so.] Hearing her calling me that doesn¡¯t fit in my mind well, but I guess calling me that makes sense in her mind. I was moving forward silently, but this time, as if to counterattack, Resilia spoke. [Even you, Nii-san, don¡¯t you think you¡¯re acting differently only towards me?] [That¡¯s because I don¡¯t have to act like Rex around you.] There really shouldn¡¯t be any reason for me to role-play as Rex, but there was this part of me that somehow makes me think of ¡°acting like I¡¯m Rex¡± to the people around me. But well, I¡¯d have to make an exception when it comes to Resilia. I wouldn¡¯t be able to imitate Rex to someone who knows that my true identity is that of a civilian from another world. Thanks to this, I¡¯m aware that I¡¯m able to talk to Resilia in a natural way without the need to act big at all. [In that sense, I guess we have a good balance huh.] [¡­¡­I don¡¯t know. I wonder about that.] Even as we exchanged such idle chatter, we continued on our way to the dungeon. Perhaps because it¡¯s the last dungeon before the last boss, there are no monsters around the , and since no ruins have been conquered yet, there are still no strong field enemies lurking around. We were able to find the entrance to the labyrinth without any difficulty. [It sure has an imposing atmosphere.] Once again, I gave a warning to Resilia, who was still talking nonchalantly. [Listen up, the purpose of this mission is only to secure ¡°useful equipment¡±. Not to challenge the dungeon or to defeat monsters. Absolutely refrain from any rash actions¡­¡­] [I know that. In the name of the Toren Family, I will not hold you back, Nii-san.] As she said this, there¡¯s no hint of the joking tone she had earlier. If this is the case, I suppose she would be alright. [I guess I should use it here.] I took out the from my inventory and flicked it with my finger. With a high-pitched clink, the coin melted in the air and at the same time, a golden light danced around me. [That was¡­¡­] [The coin¡¯s effect. Now, for a set period of time, it makes it so that ¡°all equipment acquired are Enchanted¡±.] Yes. This time, we were looking for equipment with powerful ¡°Enchantments¡±. B&B is a game whose Hack-and-Slash factor is quite prominent, and equipment obtained in dungeons and other locations have the probability of gaining additional value to it. One of these additional values is ¡°Enchantments¡±, which randomly adds one type of correction to equipment, such as ¡°STR+34¡± or ¡°MGC+11¡± to name a few. The Enchantment effect on the equipment is proportional to the strength of the dungeon. In other words, if it¡¯s in the highest difficulty level of the , we can expect to find the best enchanted equipment. [¡­¡­Let¡¯s go.] The effect of the Black Cat Coin lasts only for 30 minutes. I think that was plenty enough time, but I don¡¯t want to be too laid back and end up being pressed for time. I stepped into the ruins half a step ahead of Resilia. (It¡¯s not like I¡¯m copying Resilia, but this place certainly has an imposing atmosphere.) The ground I stepped on was making a cracking sound. When I took a few steps without minding it, ¡°Uuu¡­¡­¡±, I heard Resilia groaning behind me. Well, I know how she feels. The damp wind and the cool atmosphere. To put it bluntly, I felt as if the world around me had changed the moment I entered. [Beyond the door is the first enemy, the . It won¡¯t move unless you attack or touch the door, so be careful¡­¡­] I turned around while saying this, when I noticed something unusual about Resilia. She was kneeling on the spot and seemed to be unable to move with her mouth clamped shut. [Resilia!?] [You¡¯re okay¡­¡­ even facing¡­¡­ this overwhelmingly¡­¡­ thick magic power? ¡­¡­You really are¡­¡­ on a different¡­¡­ level, Nii-san.] Resilia seemed to be in pain, speaking in a broken voice. She seemed to be trying to act strong, but her face was pale. I also sensed a change in the atmosphere the moment we entered the labyrinth. However, it wasn¡¯t so much that I felt oppressed by the magic power, but it was a straining feeling moderate enough for me to walk around comfortably. (Is it because I¡¯m not from this world? No, is it simply because of my level?) I can think of many reasons, but now is not the time for that. After I used the coin, there was no way I could just come back here later. But unfortunately, I can¡¯t take Resilia with me while she¡¯s in this state. [Resilia, you can wait out here. I¡¯ll go in by myself like I planned¡­¡­] Saying this, I tried to move forward. However¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Don¡¯t.] Thereupon, my arm was grabbed from behind. I was about to brush her off, saying ¡°This isn¡¯t the time to be selfish¡±, when her next words brought me to a pause. [Please¡­¡­ don¡¯t go.] Resilia, who was clinging to my arm, looked desperate. She somehow managed to support her body, which was about to collapse, and was desperately trying to hold me back. [This place¡­¡­ is dangerous. If I¡­¡­ If I were¡­¡­ to lose you as well¡­¡­] There was no sign of the usual strong girl there. As she looked at me like a little child clinging to her parents, I¡­¡­ I¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Alright.] ¡­¡­I stopped my foot completely, as I was about to move forward. [Eh?] I smiled at Resilia, who was surprised that I stopped so easily. [I should have explained this from the beginning. I said I wasn¡¯t going to take on the dungeon, didn¡¯t I? Even if we don¡¯t go deep into the dungeon, we could already ¡°acquire the treasure chests¡±.] In front of Resilia, who looked like she had no idea what I was talking about, I operated my inventory. The item I chose was the that was on the casino¡¯s prize list along with the , a knife made of Orichalcon. I had no hesitation in selecting one of the that occupied my inventory thanks to the large amount I had exchanged for at the casino. type equipment itself is a very basic item that even Resilia has, and can easily be bought at the NPC stores. Naturally, it isn¡¯t a rare item. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-However, this is different. After all, that much is obvious, isn¡¯t it? There¡¯s no way that ¡°items that can be bought in stores¡± in a ¡°casino that only offers prizes that aren¡¯t for sale¡± can be normal. [Let¡¯s begin!] The moment it left my inventory, the revealed its true form. It instantly loses its sword shape, and its body grows larger and thicker. The brown body, which eventually opens in two, turned out to be a treasure chest with fangs! [Gyaaaaahhhh!] It screamed and tried to lunge at the nearby me, but the blow didn¡¯t reach me. It took the flash of my sword, which was already waiting for its action, and instantly transformed into particles of light. [¡­¡­Eh?] In front of Resilia, who mumbled in a daze, a bracelet fell with a clang to the place where the treasure chest monster was. The Dropped Item, this bracelet, which fell to the ground, was enveloped in a golden glimmer, indicating that it was an Enchanted equipment. CH 28 Mimics, while they were transformed into items, weren¡¯t ¡°monsters that had taken the appearance of an item¡±, but rather ¡°items that transform into monsters¡±. When the item is touched or attacked, an event is triggered. The dummy item disappears and a , a monster in the shape of a treasure chest, is created. On the other hand, the 10000-token prize slot in the casino is ¡°randomly selected from among the items available in a dungeon with a sale value of zero¡±. This means that, on the rare occasion, a Mimic disguised as an item will be given away as a casino prize. [Of course, you normally can¡¯t put a transformed Mimic into your inventory, but casino prizes are added directly into your inventory, so you can carry them around like this as an exception.] [Is that how it is? That¡¯s great.] Saying it in a languid voice, Resilia looked at me with a cold gaze. At one point, she was out of breath, but she quickly recovered after leaving the . Since then, she has been watching over me as I defeat Mimics, just one step away from the entrance to the dungeon. [I understand the principle of how the Mimic comes out of your inventory. However¡­¡­] Thereupon, Resilia glanced at the pile of equipment in front of me. [It seems like it was unfortunately a miss this time. Most of the equipment there are sold in stores.] Resilia said, sounding irritated. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s trying to hide her embarrassment over her earlier distraught reaction, but it makes me smile. [¡­¡­What is it?] [No.] As Resilia stared at me, I dismissed her by moving my gaze away, to which she nodded. [Well, you¡¯re right about them not being great pieces of equipment. Being Mimics in a strong dungeon doesn¡¯t make their drops stronger, nor does it change the item they drop. They¡¯re just Mimics disguised as a , so you would get drops befitting such a monster.] If Steel-type equipment were to be found in a high-level dungeon, it would be immediately obvious that it¡¯s fake, and vice versa. So, basically, the only thing I can get from defeating these Mimics are ¡°items that are as good as the item the Mimic was disguised as¡±. In short, in the case of these Mimics, they would only drop equipment that¡¯s about the same strength as store-bought equipment. [But that¡¯s fine. I¡¯m not after high-end equipment anyway. What I¡¯m after are ¡°strong equipment¡± that even beginners can wear.] The equipment dropped from a dungeon as high-level as would require you 500 STR or 600 MGC. Getting such a thing wouldn¡¯t help Radd and his party, who are nothing more than newbies. [And while these equipment are the same type as the store-bought equipment, it¡¯s different from the store-bought equipment in one respect. That is the ¡°Enchantment¡± that would come with the ¡°Black Cat Blessing Coin>.] [Enchantment huh. I¡¯m not feeling much of an effect from them though¡­¡­] However, Resilia¡¯s reaction was rather dull. I suppose it would be best to let her experience this herself. [Resilia, can you use Offensive Magic?] [¡­¡­That¡¯s out of nowhere.] When I asked her, Resilia looked reluctant to move, but standing from her place, she briefly chanted, ¡°Wind Cutter¡±. A blade of wind surged from her palm brilliantly struck a broadleaf tree about 10 meters away, and shaved a third of its truck before disappearing. [As you can see, it¡¯s only Low-rank Wind Magic, but I did master it.] [No, that¡¯s pretty strong from a Low-rank Magic.] The person herself doesn¡¯t see it as any big deal, but this is to be expected as her basic stats are on a different level. MGC is supposed to be her lowest ability, but it still flatly exceeds the MGC of a newbie Mage. [Then, errr¡­¡­ Here.] I used on the equipment lying on the ground, selected three appropriate rings, and handed them to Resilia. Resilia accepted the rings, but looked at it suspiciously for a while. [¡­¡­These aren¡¯t cursed or anything, are they?] [How little do you trust me. They¡¯re actually just the same as store-bought rings, just with Enchantments.] When I urged her to wear them, she reluctantly slipped the rings through her fingers. However, the moment the first ring settled on her slender finger, she raised an eyebrow, looking puzzled. [It feels kind of strange. It¡¯s a little tingly¡­¡­] As Resilia tilted her head, I pointed at a tree from a distance. [Now, try Wind Cutter again.] [What a slave driver.] "" Resilia grumbled, but she still chanted Wind Cutter. With the palm of her outstretched hand, the magical wind expands¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Eh?] ¡ª¡ª¡ªand the huge blade of wind she produced bisected the trees she was aiming at and reaped several trees in the back before disappearing into the distance. Seeing this, Resilia froze, not moving a muscle, until the torn trees fell to the ground. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CWhat in the¡­¡­ world is that¡­¡­] When she eventually turned towards me, her face was as pale as when she was exposed to the dungeon¡¯s magic power. Seeing her reaction that was better than I had expected, I couldn¡¯t help smiling. [I told you what they were, Enchanted rings.] [That¡¯s not possible! I mean, I¡¯m a melee fighter! This is almost like I¡¯m a magic user¡­¡­] However, there¡¯s no way that ¡°it isn¡¯t possible¡±. The theoretical upper limit of Enchantments added to monster drops is directly proportional to ¡°the level of the dungeon in which the monster was generated¡±, which is usually about ¡°half the level of the dungeon¡±. The MAX value for store-bought equipment, such as Steel-type equipment, is usually 10 at the highest, and would usually be in the single digits. Even if they increase STR or MGC, it would be impossible for the wearer to feel its effect. However, the equipment dropped by these Mimics are different. Following the system rules, the generation of the Mimic takes place where its transformation was released, so the Enchantment of its item drops would be based on the . The dungeon level of this stupidly difficult is ¡°99¡±. Therefore, the items dropped by the Mimics that are generated in this dungeon would approximately have +50 Enchantments. [The three rings I gave you have Enchantments of ¡°MGC+48¡±, ¡°MGC+62¡± and ¡°MGC+71¡± respectively. That would be a total of ¡°MGC+181¡± wearing all of them. That is equivalent to the MGC value that a veteran Mage of this world would reach in a lifetime.] And of course, it easily surpasses Resilia¡¯s highest ability. Equipping those rings, her stats at the moment aren¡¯t that of a Speed-type melee fighter anymore. She¡¯s more like a Mage who can also fight melee. [Nii-san¡­¡­ Nii-san, are you trying to say that these three little rings outweigh a man¡¯s lifetime of training?] I smile back at Resilia, who seemed to be struggling to face reality. [Of course, that¡¯s just the beginning. All people have 9 equipment slots. What do you think will happen if one were to wear Enchanted equipment on all those slots?] Of course, with the current stats of Resilia and I, we¡¯d crush through everything in our path. I might have to Class Change to fit the equipment, and I might have to configure all of my fighting styles from scratch. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨COne can be a slave to the equipment, and it would be no fun otherwise. Adventurers shine when they can handle equipment that just doesn¡¯t wear them. It¡¯s important for gamers to have the right equipment to match the characters they develop, and to develop their characters to match the equipment they acquire. [Besides, as I said before, the value of these equipment goes beyond just being ¡°strong¡±. Its true value lies in its versatility.] There are plenty of equipment that are weak but can be used by anyone, and equipment that are strong but can only be used by certain people. However, these Enchanted equipment are different. [These aren¡¯t something that only the well-trained and the chosen can wear. Anyone who has the ability to dive into beginner dungeons as an Adventurer can wear them.] [Whoa¡­¡­] As she shuddered, seemingly as if the rings she had casually put on had suddenly turned into frightening monsters, I spoke with a smile on my face. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThis is the power I was searching for. ¡°The pinnacle of leveling gear¡±!] CH 29 While I was happy to be able to boast about the equipment, Resilia seemed to be somewhat brooding after being aware of how great these equipment were. Our moods on the way home were in contrast. Resilia, who had been walking in silence for some time, eventually whispered. [Are you sure this is alright? Giving them such equipment, I mean.] [Eh? Ah, well, I did talk a lot about how great Enchanted equipment were earlier. In the end though, these are beginner¡¯s equipment, so they¡¯d eventually reach their limits.] Considering the actual operation, they can¡¯t use the armor ones because they would want to equip one with a higher grade after some level-ups, nor would they want to lower the grade of weapons too much because one¡¯s weapon-grade is related to its annihilation power. In the end, there would be room for only the three accessory slots for Enchanted equipment. [Besides, the performance of a single equipment may seem outrageous, but +50 ability values are only equivalent to 2 level-ups, right?] It can be said that three accessories can raise your stats by 6 levels, but that¡¯s as far as it goes. If they¡¯re fighting against enemies of their level, they may be able to overpower them, but if they¡¯re fighting, say, an enemy 10 or more levels apart from theirs, there¡¯s a possibility that they may not be able to do anything about it. [The biggest problem may be that for a while, even if they were to get new equipment, it would usually be weaker than the Enchanted equipment. It¡¯s a dream come true after all, to have your own strong equipment¡­¡­] It was while we were talking like this that I saw the gate to the town, and there I saw familiar faces lined up. [Oiiiii, Old man!] As we raised our eyebrows, wondering what was going on, Radd and his party noticed us and came up running to us. [For you all to gather up here, what¡¯s up?] [What¡¯s up your face, Old man! You said you were going to the , so we gathered here because we were worried!] ¡°I see¡±, I nodded in understanding. Apparently, the dangers of the are so widespread that even newbie adventurers are aware of this. [Well, seeing you like this, it looks like nothing happened. Don¡¯t make us worry like that. You¡¯re our¡­¡­ Master after all.] Ah, Radd suddenly turned bashful. As I had such a thought in mind¡­¡­ [I- I told him not to worry since it¡¯s Rex-san, and tried stopping him! However¡­¡­] [Doubt. Mana¡¯s also guilty of freaking out and coming along.] [G- Geez, Prana!] Mana and Prana simultaneously spoke, and the front gate suddenly became boisterous. [In any case, I¡¯m glad that nothing happened to you two.] The only one who could remain calm in that situation was Nuku. I guess this unevenness in their party makes it somehow balanced. (However¡­¡­) These guys are getting stronger. They did well to follow my absurd instruction of no combat and adventuring for a month. Their Status proves it more than anything. [Tomorrow will be exactly one month since we met.] As I muttered to myself, Rad and the others, who had been making a fuss, looked at me with puzzled faces. Once again, I looked at all of their faces and checked their abilities with . None of them had slacked off in their training, and they had grown beyond what I had expected. "" They have long surpassed the line that I had initially sought, and the growth of their abilities by training itself is slowing down. The concerns they would have about their equipment have also been resolved. If that¡¯s the case¡­¡­ [We¡¯re a couple of days ahead of schedule, but it¡¯s about time. The training ends today.] [That means¡­¡­] The edge of my lips lifted up to answer the question Radd timidly asked. [Yeah. ¡­¡­I¡¯m lifting the ban on adventuring.] As soon as I said this, Radd and his party cheered with joy. Even though I think they were exaggerating about everything, my lips have also naturally raised. [You still have a lot of training left to do today, so hold your horses there. Besides, we have a big event waiting for us before your adventure.] [What big event?] As they tilted their heads, I smiled. [Yeah. Tomorrow, we will meet at the at noon. With the culmination of all the training you¡¯ve done so far, you¡¯re going to .] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù In this world, and are literally miracles of God. In the Temple, where the remnants of God¡¯s power still live on, one receives God¡¯s Divine Protection by receiving their blessings. However, if you look at Class Change as a game system, there¡¯s nothing so complicated about it. [This is the first time I¡¯ve come here since arriving in this world.] We met up in front of the and entered with Radd and the others. As soon as I stepped through the door, I was almost instantly engulfed by the ¡¯s alien atmosphere. A pure white room with a solemn and tranquil atmosphere. There, statues of ¡°Heroes¡± dressed up in various costumes, too numerous to count, were enshrined. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Each of these statues represents a . Changing Class in B&B is simple and easy, all you had to do was ¡°touch one of the various statues inside that correspond to the Class you wanted¡±. "" If the conditions for Class Change are met, the statue glows and the Class Change is complete. Of course, if not, nothing happens. Not all temples in every town and city have statues of all Classes, and the Classes available vary from each place, with some statues of rare Classes existing only in the depths of dungeons, so there will be expeditions in the future for the sake of those Classes, but that¡¯s still a long way off. When ordinary Adventurers start out, they are assigned to a First-Tier Class such as or , depending on their aptitude. The game is designed so that when you reach about 10 levels worth of stats of that Class, you are ready to move up to the next Class. The higher the Class, the more powerful techniques you can learn, and more importantly, the more bonus points you receive when you level-up. For example, a Fighter, the Warrior-line¡¯s First-Tier Class, initially receives only a 6-point bonus, mainly in STR, but the , the Second-Tier Class, receives a 9-point growth bonus, while the Third-Tier Class, , receives a 12-point bonus. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-This was the purpose of the ¡°training¡± imposed on Radd and his party. The ¡°backdoor¡± method, so to speak, is to force a person to raise their ability value through training, and then, while they¡¯re still at around Lv 4, fulfill the requirements for changing to a Second-Tier Class, which are originally supposed to be fulfilled when they¡¯re around Lv 10. This is a foolhardy way of skipping Classes, which can only be accomplished with the excellent aptitudes of Rad and his party, and their untrained state at Lv 4. However, if they succeeded in this, they would be able to start their adventure with high ability values and higher growth rates. For this reason, Radd and his party had spent the past month doing nothing but tasteless training from morning to night. The eyes of those around them weren¡¯t kind, and the path that none of the senior Adventurers had walked before must have filled them with anxiety. Still, none of them dropped out, and everyone had earnestly and frantically weathered through their training. The fruits of their efforts are now coming to fruition. [¡­..Let¡¯s begin.] With my declaration, they began to move to where they wanted to be. Except for Radd, everyone had already decided in advance what Class they were going to have. Taking the lead in the Class Change was Nuku. With a serious expression on his face, he stood in front of his Second-Tier Class, , and gently reached out his hand to the statue. Thereupon, a large light then enveloped his body. ¡­¡­The Change Class was successful huh. At the same time, I looked back at the results of his training with . ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Nuku STR ¨C 25 (+7) VIT ¨C 37 (+1) MGC ¨C 72 (+9) MND ¨C 40 (+4) AGI ¨C 50 (+5) FOC ¨C 50 (+5) ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Even though it¡¯s a magic user-type Class, he is a strange Class that requires a certain amount of Combat-related ability values. Even so, he didn¡¯t make any complaints, but instead, steadily improved his ability values. I think it was the result of his efforts that he finally reached the point where he met the requirements. After successfully changing Classes, he looked at me with a smile that made no attempt to hide his joy, which was unusual for him, and deeply bowed. [H- Here I go as well!] Mana declared, touching the status of the Second-Tier Class of Healer-line, . ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Mana STR ¨C 27 (+3) VIT ¨C 38 (+6) MGC ¨C 51 (+3) MND ¨C 76 (+20) AGI ¨C 32 (+8) FOC ¨C 50 (+18) ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C (I never thought she¡¯d achieve the requirement while she was still Lv 3.) She was definitely the one who improved the most in this training. "" Mana started one level lower than everyone else, and because of the higher hurdle of MND value required by her Second-Tier Class, we thought she would have the hardest time in the party. However, she showed her natural talent in her ¡°prayer¡± training, which increased her MND and FOC. She completed the training with a level of concentration that set her apart from the others, with her MND and FOC values increased at a rate that was almost bizarre, finally meeting the required ability values. I had thought that Mana might not be very suitable for a healer based on her predisposition affinities, but it seems that I was greatly mistaken. You could say she¡¯s something of a Genius in an aspect that isn¡¯t shown in the data. [¡­¡­Unnn.] Immediately after, a light danced in the corner of the room. Without any particular warning, Prana touched the statue and completed her Class Change. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Prana STR ¨C 50 (+5) VIT ¨C 30 (+3) MGC ¨C 30 (+3) MND ¨C 30 (+3) AGI ¨C 55 (+1) FOC ¨C 86 (+14) ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C She originally had the ideal bow-user stats, and in contrast to Mana, she had the least difficulty in meeting the requirements for Class Change. Nevertheless, she didn¡¯t stop training and thoroughly increased her FOC, which is necessary for bow-users. I had thought she was a difficult person to deal with because my first impression of her was that she lacks affability, but I may have to revise that judgment. [¡­¡­And now, it¡¯s my turn, right?] And now, it¡¯s finally the last member of the party¡¯s turn. Radd slowly came up to me. [So, Old man. ¡°What¡± Class am I supposed to change to?] Just as he said, Radd was the only one who I haven¡¯t told what Class or what level of stats he should aim for. I had only asked him two things: ¡°Increase his STR¡± and ¡°be able to handle the Brave Sword¡±. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Radd STR ¨C 76 (+22) VIT ¨C 63 MGC ¨C 27 MND ¨C 45 AGI ¨C 36 FOC ¨C 27 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C What I have seen through is a certain resolute increase in his affinities, where only his STR is increased. It would take longer for one to raise a high ability value than to raise the low ones. And so, Radd¡¯s total increase in Status was the lowest among the four. However, that¡¯s good enough for this guy. (76 STR huh. He really did make it just in time.) Walking forward, leading Radd, I stopped in front of the statue of a Hero, who held out his sword majestically in the center of the . That Hero¡¯s name is¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Young Leo?] I nodded at the puzzled Radd. [Yeah. This is the Class you should choose.] When I clearly declared this, a startled shout came from the nearby Nuku. [P- Please wait! Isn¡¯t a useless Class with little to no effect¡­¡­] [¡­¡­Nuku.] However, mentioning Nuku¡¯s name, Radd stopped this topic and stared me right in the eye. [¡­¡­Hey, Old man. I can trust you, right?] I silently nodded. No further words were needed here. [Radd!] [¡­¡­Here I go.] As Nuku¡¯s voice echoed, Radd touched the statue. The light surrounded Radd and was absorbed into his body¡­¡­ but it didn¡¯t end there. [The sword is glowing!?] The sword that Radd had at his waist, the that I gave him, was covered with the light of . [¡­¡­Unsheathe the sword.] As if manipulated by my words, Radd pulled the out of its sheath. The second light was unleashed after that, the light of his second Class Change. The is classified as a Zero-Tier Class, with its stat compensation being only 2 in total: 1 for STR and 1 for VIT. The initial Class, , is the weakest Class, so much so that there¡¯s a serious discussion about how to survive the opening event and Class Change without raising your level. However, it¡¯s the only one of all Classes that ¡°Class Changes depending on an item you¡¯re equipped with¡±. By equipping a certain item and meeting its equipment restrictions, the evolves! [T- That was¡­¡­] After the light subsided, I tapped Radd on the shoulder, who was stunned, not knowing what just happened. [Congratulations on the Class Change, Radd.] The that Rex held. It has the flavor text that says it was once held by a Hero, the hidden treasure that can draw out the power of a young lion. Beyond the First-Tier Class , beyond the Second-Tier Class , and even beyond the Third-Tier Class ¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªFrom today onward, you¡¯re a .] "" The Fourth-Tier Class . That was the name of the new power Radd had acquired. CH 30 One of the reasons why people say that B&B is a difficult game is that it¡¯s both an RPG and a resource management game. The first and foremost resource that needs to be managed is ¡°time¡±. The player must defeat the Evil Deity within two years, and in order to do so, one must utilize their time efficiently. The world is vast, and travel, especially to different ¡°regions¡±, can take days of time. In addition, difficult dungeons and special towns are often located at the edges of the world, and it¡¯s only as the game progresses and the scope of the player¡¯s action expands that the time limit becomes tighter. Two years will pass in the blink of an eye if you don¡¯t plan ahead and explore dungeons in the same area in succession whenever possible, or take Escort or Transport Quests along the route in batches. The second most important resource that should be consciously managed to save time is the ¡°monsters¡±. There may be some people who are resistant to the idea of using monsters, the enemies of mankind, as resources. However, if we replace ¡°monsters¡± with ¡°experience points¡±, many people will be convinced by this ideology. In order to obtain experience points, one must defeat monsters. However, in B&B, monsters don¡¯t have an inexhaustible supply. Once a monster is defeated, it¡¯s replenished little by little when the date changes. If only 1 or 2 monsters are defeated, they will be restored immediately, but if, for example, a dungeon is completely conquered, it usually takes about 10 days for all the monsters in it to be restored. Therefore, if you stay in one place and wait for 10 days for the respawn just because it¡¯s a good hunting ground, you will reach the time limit of 2 years in a blink of an eye. At the very least, ¡°Adventurers¡± in the game are like migratory birds, flying around in search of a suitable dungeon. [And the stronger one is compared to their level, the more options they have for ¡°hunting grounds they can use to level up¡±. That¡¯s one of the reasons why I prioritize raising ability values over raising levels.] In B&B, you don¡¯t get many experience points even if you kill a monster that¡¯s lower level than you are. So, for example, if an average Lv 20 Adventurer wants to raise their level efficiently, they have no choice but to challenge dungeons of Lv 20 to 22, which are of the same or slightly higher level than them. However, if said Adventurer is Lv 20, but they have the ability of a Lv 25, the dungeons they can conquer will expand to Lv 20 to 27. That alone would increase the number of your options by several times. As a result, the time and effort required to move around and wait for the next move are reduced, and the Adventurer can level up even faster. [Well, this wo¡­¡­ Erhem, most Adventurers don¡¯t seem to know their own level though, so they may simply be going where it¡¯s easier for them to conquer.] When I explained this, Radd and the others¡¯ eyes lit up. Perhaps because they felt their own growth at the , I think the newbie party, especially Radd who became a , reacted well to this. To be honest, I had kept this a secret until this day, hoping for this kind of effect, but it seems that they have received it better than I expected, so I can¡¯t help smiling. (The Brave Sword has a requirement of 75 STR, so to be honest, he could have Class Changed three days ago.) I¡¯ll bring that secret to my grave though. Direction is important to feel one¡¯s growth, and all the more so that they would feel their motivation. [Ah, but Old man! Wouldn¡¯t that mean there are cases where you end up in a dungeon where there are no more monsters? How can you tell the difference then?] [¡­¡­Through Quests.] Even when his mood got better, it seems like he still calls me Old man. Even though I have a sour look at the way he called me, I answered his question. [In order to eliminate such conflicts, Adventurers receive Quests related to that dungeon at the guild. That way, the guild would know that this dungeon is under attack. Well, there¡¯s also the simple fact that the materials acquired from monsters are useful and can be used for various things.] [Heehhh¡­¡­ Various things, like what?] [Blacksmithing, Alchemy¡­¡­ all sorts of stuff.] To be honest, I don¡¯t know either. I mean, even in-game, the flavor text only tells me that ¡°they¡¯re used for various things¡±. I¡¯m going to have to forcibly push through this topic and deceive my way out of here. Urging him, I pointed Radd, who was still tilting his head, forward and spoke. [If you grasp what I mean already, let¡¯s go to the Guild and accept some Quest. Of course¡­¡­ I¡¯ll have you fully equipped for the adventure.] At my words, Radd, who had been in a good mood, frowned. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù When we entered the Guild, I could feel the stares from everyone in the Guild. Moreover, it wasn¡¯t the same mixture of good and bad as before. Most of them were curious looks at Radd and the others. ¡­¡­Well, I guess that¡¯s something that can¡¯t be helped. The way Radd and the others are dressed, they clearly don¡¯t look like they¡¯re about to go on an adventure, no matter how hard you try to look at them that way. His Spring-Loaded Armor creaking, Radd walked forward with weights all over his body. Although his outfit isn¡¯t so strange for a magic-user, Nuku, wearing spiral glasses, sometimes stumbles on his path. Mana, wearing a triangular hat that looked like party goods, is hunched under her white robe. Finally, my eyes met Prana, who was dexterously walking with her Iron Geta and rustic goggles. Looking at her, I desperately tried to muster up my words. [Ah. I think that fits you better than when you¡¯re wearing those spiral glasses. You look cute on those.] [Say anything more and I¡¯ll shoot you in the face.] Saying in a serious voice, Prana sped up her steps and left. [¡­¡­Haahhh¡­¡­] Even though I¡¯ve been trying to be nice to her, she¡¯s not very sociable. As I let out a sigh about this¡­¡­ [¡­¡­I think that happening should be obvious.] Taking up Prana¡¯s previous spot, I heard a brusque voice call out from behind me. It¡¯s Resilia. Incidentally, she is also dressed for an ¡°adventure¡± today. Even so, the fact that they¡¯re surprisingly acting like normal makes me feel like they¡¯re different. [I properly praised her though.] [The only people who would take that as praise were people with dead sensibilities or Nii-san.] The words she uttered sting quite a lot. In contrast to Radd and the others, Resilia¡¯s mood doesn¡¯t seem to be very good. [If you have a complaint, you can just speak up, you know?] When I tried to urge her, Resilia looked troubled. [It¡¯s not like I have a complaint. It¡¯s not like I think there¡¯s any unfair treatment or some sort of favoritism involved, and I think that was for the best. It¡¯s just¡­¡­] [Just?] After saying a string of noncommittal excuses, she answered in a small voice. [¡­¡­Even I have increased my STR to 130.] [Unnn?] After I thought about this for a few moments, unable to grasp what she meant, she continued. [Whatever, it¡¯s not like I said anything important. It was just a trick of the imagination.] Resilia forcefully dismissed the subject and strode away, leaving only to say that she would see how things are going with the others. [Hmm?] I don¡¯t really know what just happened, but if I had to guess, I¡¯d say she¡¯s feeling some sort of rivalry with Radd and the others. I can¡¯t say it¡¯s not entirely true, but it feels different somehow. (Well, she¡¯s the one who¡¯s been taking care of me the most since I came into this world. I suppose I should pay a little more attention to her.) Making up my mind to follow up on this matter with Resilia, I followed her to check on Radd and the others. Just as I approached the counter, Radd¡¯s cheerful voice echoed from their direction. [Errr¡­¡­ You¡¯re the D-Rank Adventurer, Radd-san, right? Your party name is¡­¡­] [ !] ¡­¡­Yes. Coincidentally, Radd and the others had chosen as the name of their party, the same as the title of the game. Radd laughed when I asked about this to him, saying ¡°When we were thinking of a name for our party, the moment I heard that name, it just kinda have this spark and we settled on it¡±, but it¡¯s a secret how I started questioning if he really is the Hero, getting the title card and all that. [Fufu. Now, which Quest would the like to undertake?] The receptionist in charge, seemingly moved by Radd¡¯s nervousness, asked Radd with a smile. Then, the commemorative first Quest for the reborn was spoken from Radd¡¯s mouth. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CWe will take the Quests for the !] As soon as this declaration echoed through the Guild, there was a moment of silence in the Guild. Then, like ripples, various voices spread out. [Lava Cave? Is he insane?] [Yeah, he must have some death wish or something.] [Nah, he¡¯s probably just all talk.] [H- Hey, I don¡¯t really think you should go to a place like that?] The only words whispered around were negative ones. However, when one thinks from their perspective, I suppose it isn¡¯t that strange. The recommended level in-game for the is Lv 15. It¡¯s a dungeon that a Mid-level Adventurer in this world would barely be able to conquer, and it¡¯s not a place that a newbie would choose to go for their second exploration. Erina, the receptionist in charge, had gone to great lengths to stop them, saying that this was no place for D-Rank Adventurers to fight, but Radd was adamant and wouldn¡¯t change his opinion. An Adventurer¡¯s ranking is only a guide, and the receptionist doesn¡¯t have the authority to refuse Quests that the Adventurers want to take. Although it took them longer than expected, Radd successfully obtained the Quests for the , and left the Adventurers¡¯ Guild with the stares of his senior Adventurers at his back. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù After leaving the Guild, I once again briefed them of the strategy in this dungeon and checked if they had their adventure necessities, before heading out of town for the . As we were walking outside, thinking that this had become a school trip led by a teacher, Radd anxiously spoke. "" [H- Hey, Old man. I wonder if it¡¯s really alright for us to accept these Quests.] I had explained the situation to them beforehand and they had agreed to it, but I guess his uneasiness returned when he heard all those people being opposed to this. As we walked toward the dungeon, Radd looked at me with concern. [There are naturally dangers in going to this dungeon. However, I¡¯m sure that if it¡¯s you guys¡­¡­] Just as I was about to reassure them, my right ear suddenly caught a strange sound. [Dodge!] [Nii-san!] Prana¡¯s warning and Resilia¡¯s shout were almost simultaneous, and a few moments later, ice arrows rained down from the sky. [Wha!?] I stopped Radd, whose eyes widened in surprise, with my arm. Though I say that, they probably didn¡¯t intend to hit him in the first place. The arrows rained down from the sky and pierced the ground one after another, seemingly blocking our path. [Who is it!?] In response to Prana¡¯s questioning of the intruder¡¯s identity, several figures emerged from behind a tree. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CI should have warned you already.] Standing in front of us were three veteran Adventurers wielding weapons. I hardly know any Adventurers in that town, but the man at the center of the group looks familiar. [Verteran¡­¡­] When I spoke his name, the bearded man looked at me with blazing eyes and held up his sword. His old greatsword, riddled with chips, is held up to me. [Sorry, but this is the end of the road. I¡¯m well aware of how illogical we¡¯re acting. However, we can¡¯t just stand by and watch youngsters die in vain because of some egotistical misunderstanding b*stard.] CH 31 [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CVerteran-san! There¡¯s a problem!] I was having a drink at a bar with my friend when a young Adventurer, whom I had often seen at the Guild, jumped in. [Calm down. Take deep breaths. Gather your thoughts before you speak.] [Y- Yes. Actually¡­¡­] According to the guy who rushed into the bar, Rex, a much-talked-about A-Rank Adventurer, came to the Guild with the newcomer party he was training. He had the newcomers accept Quests for the , and they went out of town. [That idiot!!!] I slammed my beer mug down on the table in exasperation. [B- Boss!] The Sorcerer, Juke, and the Thief, Ren, who were sitting next to me, rushed to stop me, but my anger was still uncontrollable. I had feared that one day this would happen. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-, Rex. A bombastic name and career for an Adventurer who can be summed up as ¡°a charlatan whose career doesn¡¯t have any substance to it¡±. For the past month, I have been assessing the man¡¯s behavior in my own way. Certainly, there was something to see in his escapade from the destruction of Ash City to his arrival here. Suppressing his breath even when he¡¯s mortally wounded, he struck down a Demon who let its guard down. Although the matter with Ash City was unfortunate, hearing that anecdote, I was happy to see that an Adventurer with a spine had come to this town. However, I was quickly proven wrong about my first impression. He professed himself as an A-Rank Adventurer just like us, but not once did he take on a dungeon. He just watched as he put the beginners through harsh training. In a bid for popularity, he gave out a bunch of gold for Adventurers to gather trash items for him. He even made the beginners wear those trash items while he laughed at them. Because I knew the heroic name of the , I was very disappointed. It would have been more plausible if I had been told that he had been replaced by someone else, with his appearance unchanged, but with a completely different person inside. Moreover, when I actually met him, I could tell. People who are top-notch, especially those who are at the peak, are always clad in their aspirations, a certain atmosphere around them referred to as aura. However, this man called Rex had the atmosphere of an ordinary person. He immediately shies away from my pressure, and there¡¯s nothing to be seen in his grit either. At the very least, he didn¡¯t seem like a seasoned Adventurer who had crept through life and death many times. (Thinking about it again, his career in itself was already strange.) In the first place, adventures are done at a party. A warrior, a magic-user, a thief, and a priest. It¡¯s only through the combined efforts of these comrades that a difficult task can be accomplished. No matter how hard they try and what tricks they use, there¡¯s no such thing as an Adventurer who can perform all of these roles by themself. Unfortunately, it probably means that this Rex was a terrible con man before he came here. (Quests for the Lava Cave aren¡¯t very popular. I guess he thought he¡¯d have a foil for himself if he somehow got them to accomplish this but¡­¡­) "" Certainly, a layman might think that even if one doesn¡¯t have the ability, they could accomplish Harvest Quests if they were lucky enough. However, that dungeon isn¡¯t such an easy place. If things continue as they are, putting him aside, that party he¡¯s leading there could be wiped out. (It¡¯s illegal to cross blades with a fellow Adventurer, but¡­¡­) The next thing I knew, I was sitting up with my beloved sword in my hand. [Sorry, Ren, Juke. I will¡­¡­] However, the words I was about to utter were interrupted by my two comrades. [Haahhh¡­¡­ You¡¯re as stand-offish as always.] [Sorry, but I¡¯ve already decided to follow you through hell and high water, Boss.] [You two¡­¡­] They are about to try to forcibly stop someone who hasn¡¯t clearly committed a crime. A bad move might result in them getting demoted or even kicked from the Guild. Even when that was the case, Ren and Juke willingly followed me without any hesitation at all. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-I¡¯ve been blessed with friends. I always have been. I may have been praised as the , , but I¡¯ve always had the help of those around me. I am ¡°immortal¡± because of them. That¡¯s why¡­¡­ [Let¡¯s go! I¡¯m going to borrow your power to the fullest this time too!] And I will not let anyone die this time either! ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù I heard from the town¡¯s gatekeeper that Rex and the others had already left for the Lava Cave. But fortunately, it seems that not much time has passed since their departure. We can still catch up with them. [Listen here, you two. Our goal is to tear off Rex¡¯s mask and wake up those chicks. If possible, don¡¯t hurt them.] [I know. Getting those chicks caught up when we wanna deal with that b*stard Rex is like putting the cart before the horse. We¡¯re only going after the b*stard¡­¡­] [That¡¯s wrong! When I say don¡¯t hurt them, that includes Rex!] Killing or being killed, if we go that far, will only start a cycle of hatred. Even if one of them gets injured, a deep grudge will be all that remains. ¡­¡­However. It may be a greenhorn-like idea, but Adventurers are simple beings. I believe that if we hit each other with all our might, we can be friends. [I don¡¯t believe that strength is justice. However, Adventurers are stupid creatures who yearn for the strong no matter what¡­¡­] He may have lost his way now, but he¡¯s an Adventurer too. If we could get him to surrender unharmed with overwhelming force¡­¡­ (We might even be able to convince him to return to the right path!) [However¡­¡­] [I know.] That¡¯s easier said than done. It¡¯s much more difficult to do away with an opponent unscathed than it is to simply knock him down. Even if that guy doesn¡¯t have the skills of an A-Rank, it doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯s incompetent as an Adventurer. It would be suicidal to take it easy on an opponent who was probably going to try to kill us. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-However, that¡¯s exactly what A-Rank Adventurer does!] The Adventurer I once admired, the Adventurer I once aspired to be, would be someone that makes the impossible possible. I looked at them with determined eyes, and my two dependable companions chuckled. [Well, I knew you would say that.] [Hehe. Well, that¡¯s how it is after all.] Saying ¡°Don¡¯t make fun of me¡± in response, we ran like arrows across the field. It was in a place near the town, a place where there were no monsters. Naturally, Rex and the others were easy to spot. However¡­¡­ [That b*stard¡­¡­!] The moment I saw their outfits, my vision turned red with anger. I¡¯ve already seen the equipment worn by the chicks Rex is taking with him. They¡¯re trash equipment they wore when they were training. All of them were inferior equipment that would impede one¡¯s movement just by wearing it. It¡¯s true that if you train wearing such things, you will feel like you have trained even if you do a little exercise. But even if it were possible to use those for training, those aren¡¯t something you should wear in a dungeon! I could feel the reason within me tearing away. Before I knew it, I found myself whispering instructions to Juke. [Juke! Aim at their feet! Hit them hard and knock them out cold!] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [Sorry, but this is the end of the road. I¡¯m well aware of how illogical we¡¯re acting. However, we can¡¯t just stand by and watch youngsters die in vain because of some egotistical misunderstanding b*stard.] After Juke had used his magic to rain ice arrows down on them and slow them down, we stood in front of Rex and the others. Each of their reactions was quite different. But no matter how they reacted, there was only one woman among the chicks who couldn¡¯t hide her inner fear and confusion, and she was shooting at us with a gaze as sharp as a piercing arrow. (She is ¡°strong¡±.) Not simply because of her ability, but because of her heart. Unlike the others, I could feel the aura from her. She steps forward to defend Rex like a mother cat protecting her kitten, only to be stopped by Rex himself. (What the¡­¡­?) Highly strung, the main culprit of this matter, Rex, the Adventurer clad in all-black, looked at us, rubbing his right hand with his left. I thought he was too scared to even speak, but there was something around him that felt strange. [Verteran, Ren and Juke huh. As I thought, I really don¡¯t know who the other two are.] Even though he said he doesn¡¯t know those two, he still clearly identified them by names. I felt an indescribable sense of eeriness at this moment. [The one who used that magic earlier was this Juke. Hmph, a guy who was in a Scout-line that Class Changed to a Wizard huh.] [Wha?] I was so surprised that I couldn¡¯t help but gasp. Indeed, when Juke was starting out, his Class was of the Scout-line. When Ren, a specialized Thief, joined our group, he Changed class to Wizard, but how did Rex know that? [You¡¯ve got quite the AGI in you. As for your FOC, considering your level, it¡¯s passable. However¡­¡­] Thereupon, he looked at the ice arrows that Juke had released, which were about to disappear in front of them with the passage of time, and sneered. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Your MGC isn¡¯t sufficient at all.] The fear I felt at that moment wasn¡¯t one I could really describe. I just found myself turning around and shouting at the other two. [Ren! Juke! He¡¯s up to something¡­¡­] [The point is, I just need to show my power, right?] However, my warning came too late. Rex slowly held up his right hand, and just as those three rings on his fingers dimly glowed¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-.] With his chant, ice ¡°spears¡± rained down from the sky. We just watched in amazement as the ice spears, which were so large and fast, violently pierced everything around us one after another. [That¡¯s impossible. Without a rod, unleashing such¡­¡­] I could hear Juke¡¯s voice shakingly mutter. The magic he used should have been the same Juke chanted, ¡°a magic that makes countless ice arrows fall¡±. Just with the difference of casters, to bring about this much difference in power¡­¡­ [D*mn it! He¡¯s a freaking magic-user! We didn¡¯t hear any information about this!] Throwing out curses, my other comrade, Ren, quickly moved. It was instantly apparent that this movement was a signal for him to unleash his signature move. [Ren!!!] [No can do, Boss! It would be dangerous if we don¡¯t kill him!] At the words said by Ren, who has survived many difficult situations up to now, my movements dulled down. On the other hand¡­¡­ [Ren huh. You¡¯re pretty fast, but you¡¯ve leveled AGI too much. You can¡¯t even open any treasure chests or locks like that, can you?] The Adventurer in all-black, our target, was gently stroking his golden ring and carefreely stating a lecture. Perhaps, that was the final push he needed, Ren finally decided to strike. [I¡¯m not gonna hold back! Eat this!] [Stupid! Attacking from behind is¡­¡­] I hurriedly tried to stop him, but it was already too late. Ren¡¯s right hand flashed. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-! Ren, a Thief with pinnacle skills, can throw two knives in a single motion. With a god-like technique that only a veteran Adventurer could use, those certain-kill knives were thrown at exactly the same time¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-.] ¡ª¡ª-but it was easily repelled by four knives thrown by the Adventurer in all-black. Ren, who had just thrown the knives and was unable to dodge it, had no way to avoid the knives heading towards them¡­¡­ [Ren!] ¡ª¡ª¡ªand before my eyes, Ren was thrown back by the four knives unleashed towards him. I hurriedly rushed to help him, but all four knives had pierced Ren¡¯s clothes and shadow without actually his body, rendering him incapable of moving. This should be¡­¡­ a technique only a Thief could use, . (You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me. To even think that far in that spur-of-the-moment situation¡­¡­) And in such a moment when I stood still, an opening reflexively opened in my guard. [Boss! Behind you!] Ren¡¯s warning jolted me back to reality. When I turned around, there he was. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-] The man in all-black instantly closed the distance of several meters between us. With a flash of his sword, the ring on his right hand glowed red. At that moment, I was prepared to die. However, Rex¡¯s attack cut through empty air and cleaved a spot about a meter in front of me ineffectually. I wonder if he misjudged the distance between us¡­¡­ "" [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-.] But the moment I heard that murmur, an extremely severe chill ran down my back. The other party is an all-rounder Adventurer with a one-handed sword. I¡¯m a Warrior with a two-handed sword, someone who had devoted all my time solely in melee battle. My rationality screamed at me to just smash through him with my overwhelming advantage in power. My instincts, however, were screaming at me to use my sword as a shield to protect my life. [D*mn it!] In the end, I found myself being overwhelmed and stepping back, I held my great sword in front of me as a shield. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-. This sword, which I had found by chance three years ago, has been my partner ever since. When I was surrounded by countless demons, when I had a one-on-one fight to the death with a sub-dragon, time and time again, I¡¯ve broken through difficult situations with just my sword. (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-I won¡¯t lose!) No matter what kind of attack comes, I will receive it and overwhelm this battle with my power. Even if I can¡¯t match him in speed, I¡¯m sure I have the edge in simple brute strength. Finishing my calculations in an instant, I prepared myself to receive Rex¡¯s slash and prepare for the impact. However¡­¡­ The impact I had imagined didn¡¯t even exist. Because what was waiting for me at the end of the flash of his sword¡­¡­ It was the Adventurer in all-black, staring at me with a very calm look in his eyes¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Huh?] ¡ª¡ª¡ªand my greatsword, its blade cut from the base. CH 32 [¡­¡­No way.] I watched in dismay as the blade of my flew through the air and plunged into the ground. When I cut down those demons, when I blocked the attack of the sub-dragon, my partner has been fighting with me without swaying a bit. The fact that it was so easily cut off completely stopped my thoughts. This¡­¡­ would definitely have been a fatal gap on the battlefield. However¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Have you had enough already?] The man standing in front of me doesn¡¯t even scold me for it. He just looked at me with cold eyes, as if to say that whether I was holding a weapon or not, it was the same either way¡­¡­ (No, I guess this actually was the case.) Even if he hadn¡¯t exploited an opening, if he just unleashed a strike right after cutting my , I would have been cut down without being able to avoid it. Or perhaps, if I had pushed further, it might have been able to cut me in two along with my sword. [¡­¡­Well, I surrender.] I let go of my greatsword that had been cut down, and sat down on the spot. [Boss!] I heard a voice behind me screaming, but my mind remained the same. [Don¡¯t you get it? We¡¯ve completely lost.] He surpassed Juke in magic power, surpassed Ren¡¯s throwing skill, and easily surpassed me in swordsmanship and prowess. If this is not defeat, what is? (That isn¡¯t all¡­¡­!) We were so intimidated by this man¡¯s strength that we forgot our vow ¡°not to hurt the other party¡±. It wasn¡¯t just Ren who had seriously thrown his knives. When Rex approached me, all I could think about was ¡°how to beat him¡±. My goal of unmasking this man and waking up the kids, as well as my determination to settle this matter without harming the other party, all of this had slipped my mind. ¡­¡­However, this man named Rex was different from us. When he intercepted the knives that flew at him, or when he neutralized me with his sword, he didn¡¯t hurt us at all. Of course, that may just be his ¡°composure due to the difference in our ability¡±. However, it¡¯s a fact that even when we suddenly attacked him, both sides were unharmed while we were suppressed. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-We were defeated not in strength, but also in heart. I looked him square in the eye, put my hands in the ground¡­¡­ [¡­¡­I¡¯m sorry.] ¡ª¡ª-and bowed my head. [What are you doing, Boss!?] [Boss!?] Ren and Juke shouted, but this is a matter of decency. [It isn¡¯t just about this matter! I underestimated you! I had decided that a solo A-Rank Adventurer couldn¡¯t exist and I treated you like a charlatan!] I was the one whose eyes were glazed over. Even though I said ¡°Adventurers are free beings¡±, I was the one trying to mold the Adventurers the most. I thought there was no such thing as a single Adventurer who could fulfill all the roles in a party. But this man, Rex, surpassed us in magic, skill and swordsmanship. This isn¡¯t something that can be described simply by ¡°him having high abilities¡±. As one gains experience as an Adventurer and ¡°levels-up¡±, one¡¯s magic power and dexterity will certainly grow to a level above that of others. For example, I have the magic power of a Mid-level Adventurer, but that doesn¡¯t mean I can use the same magic as those of the same level. Ability isn¡¯t the only requirement for a strong Adventurer. No matter how high your basic abilities are, they are meaningless unless you have the skills to put them to good use. In order to acquire such skills, one must be employed in a specific Class and study hard in that Class. If it¡¯s a simple skill at a lower level, it would have been all good. However, learning such excellent skills such as and require extraordinary effort. That¡¯s why it was an established tactic for Adventurers to stick to a single Class-line: ¡°If you¡¯re a warrior, stick to being a warrior¡±, ¡°if you¡¯re a magic-user, stick to being a magic-user¡±. Or perhaps, if they want to take more than one path, two at most is the best they can do. (And yet, this man has shown himself to be a magic-user, a thief, and a swordsman, and a master in every one of their techniques!) I¡¯ve been an Adventurer for decades, so I¡¯m painfully aware of how much endless training such mastery requires. (And for me to call such a person a charlatan, how pathetic¡­¡­!) Moreover, what is truly amazing about this man is that even after all that happened, I still can¡¯t feel the aura of aspiration from him. At first, I mistakenly thought that the reason for this was because ¡°this man is just a regular guy¡±. However, I was mistaken. Perhaps, this man of great skill has already transcended such a perspective. Even now, he has completely shut us down, not with an atmosphere as if ¡°we¡¯re fighting for our lives¡±, but in a natural, casual way, as if we were ¡°just playing cards¡±. (We were no match against him. We can¡¯t¡­¡­ even hope to stand against him.) Of course, the fact that he is a good Adventurer doesn¡¯t guarantee that he is a good leader. However, it¡¯s hard to believe that a man who has acquired so many skills through incredibly hard work would be so nonchalant with his training. And when Rex is so much more than we thought he was capable of, there¡¯s no reason for us to stop them. [If a man as strong as you were to go with them, we can rest assured that they will be in good hands. Even if it¡¯s the , you¡¯ll be able to protect them well enough¡­¡­] [Aren¡¯t you misunderstanding something here?] A cold voice interrupted my words. Hearing those words, I reflexively looked up and the Black Adventurer said something I couldn¡¯t believe. [Only these guys are going into the dungeon.] [Wha¡­¡­] I was at a loss for words at what Rex said. (Just sending those chicks to the Lava Cave is no different from suicide.) I wanted to say that, but for some reason, I couldn¡¯t say it out loud. The enemies in the Lava Cave are strong, and even the simplest Collection Quest isn¡¯t something that a newcomer can do. Even so, perhaps these disciples under his tutelage would be able to get around the slimes in the Lava Cave and fulfill the Quests? For a moment, I thought as such. [No, but¡­¡­ I guess this is just right. I have some things I want to talk to you all about, so you appearing here is just perfect. I¡¯ll have you lot follow us to the cave entrance. Also¡­¡­] However¡­¡­ However, it seems like I was still making light of him, no, them here. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-I¡¯m going to have you be the witness to my disciples¡¯ Quest Completion.] The man, who I thought had no expression on his face, twisted his lips to a grin. It was only a few hours later that I learned the true meaning of his words. ¡î¡¡¡î¡¡¡î Sword Emperor Era, Year 664: The 10th Day of the 11th Month. Exactly one month after the ¡°Oracle by the Goddess of Salvation¡±. Freria¡¯s Adventurers¡¯ Guild received news of a sensational incident. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-The newcomer party achieved the ¡°Boss Subjugation Quest¡± of the Mid-level Dungeon . The news, brought by the most respected Adventurer in Freria¡¯s Adventurers¡¯ Guild, , quickly spread among Adventurers in the town and around the world, surprising them to no end. The fact that this newcomer party, which had been together for one month and had explored dungeons only twice, achieved a ¡°First-Try Subjugation Quest Completion¡± was, needless to say, an unprecedented feat. This legendary accomplishment completely changed the direction of how the wind blows. The former notoriety was replaced by praise, and everyone was in pursuit of the secret of their achievement and the teacher standing behind this party¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-And thus, the world came to know ¡°Rex Toren¡±. CH 33 As soon as I stepped into the cave, the air around me changed. The heat and my shivering magic power that made my skin crawl shook my heart. [H- Haha!] I knew the meaning of the ban on adventuring and the one-month training, but that was that. Not being able to have adventures even though we¡¯re Adventurers, we were gathering a lot of murky thoughts. (But now, our adventure is finally about to begin! Our adventure starts here!) This was only our second time exploring a dungeon, and the dungeon we were going into was an overwhelmingly superior one over the first dungeon we went, the . Normally, I would have been tense and fearful, but I¡¯m feeling strangely calm. Both my lips and my thoughts were just like usual. Rather, the anticipation of adventure and battle were sharpening my awareness. [¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..] [¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..] I silently look at my pal, Nuku. Just by looking at each other, I felt as if our hearts were in tune with each other. Our conditions were perfect. Even in the midst of the air of this dungeon, we didn¡¯t shrink away and were still with a good sense of tension¡­¡­ [U- Ummm! What were you and Rex-san talking about when it was just two earlier?] [I¡¯m also curious about that.] [Nothing in particular. We were just going over the strategies.] The tension is¡­¡­ [B- But then again, the two of you were strangely intimate with each other.] [Resilia is a brocon after all.] [Please don¡¯t give me such a dishonorable title. For me, Nii-san is¡­¡­] [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Daaaahhh! Why did you guys come all the way to the dungeon if you¡¯re just gonna chat around!?] I turned around and shouted, and the girls, Mana, Prana and Resilia, who had been chatting with each other, looked at me as if I were some sort of rare animal, then Prana looked with a sigh, as if to say she¡¯s genuinely astounded at me. [¡­¡­Haahhh¡­¡­ Shouting in a dungeon, you sure lack common sense.] [Kuhh.] I wanted to say that of all people, I don¡¯t wanna hear that from them, but in fact, it is dangerous to speak loudly in a dungeon. I heard that monsters here don¡¯t have very good hearing senses, but just speaking loudly in itself isn¡¯t praiseworthy behavior in a dungeon. [W- Well, everyone makes mistakes sometimes.] [Even if you¡¯re the leader of our party, I¡¯d like it if you would be firm about this.] And now, for some reason, Mana, who I was supposed to be scolding, is consoling me. This kinda brings tears to my eyes. Thereupon, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Looking forward, I saw Nuku looking at me and shaking his head, seemingly telling me to give up, before pointing ahead with a slightly serious expression on his face. [It looks like one of them appeared already. Let¡¯s see how our training has paid off.] As if drawn by his actions, I followed his gaze. There, facing us, was a huge blue slime, its body moving sluggishly. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-It¡¯s a .] As soon as we saw the enemy, the expression on the faces of my comrades tightened. They quickly adjusted their positions and readied their weapons with such dexterity that it was hard to believe that they had just been peacefully talking with each other until now. Slimes are said to be synonymous to the weakest, second only to Goblins, but it should never be underestimated. Unlike Goblins, of which there are few types and most of the weak, Slimes vary greatly in strength depending on their habitat. And according to Rex, this one should be Lv 15. Aside from the Doom Demon, this is arguably the strongest monster we have fought. (However, it¡¯s not an opponent we can¡¯t beat. Yes, this one is, as I recall¡­¡­) Facing an unprecedently powerful enemy, I remembered Rex¡¯s teachings. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-The is a Mid-level dungeon. The dungeons that are referred to as Mid-level are very different from the beginner¡¯s dungeon that those beginners stay in. ¡­¡­Do you know how they are any different?] [E- Errr¡­¡­ T- The strength of the enemies!] When I impatiently tried to come up with an answer, Rex sarcastically sneered at me. [A hundred-point answer. ¡­¡­A hundred-point wrong answer, that is.] [T- The heck do you want!? More difficult dungeons would obviously have stronger enemies!] When I pouted in response, Rex began to speak as if admonishing me. [Listen here, okay? The is a hurdle for Adventurers, one which was even referred to as the ¡°Second Tutorial¡±. This dungeon is filled with all kinds of new factors designed to lure in and depress musclehead beginners like you who think ¡°you can just get by if you just level up and beat up anything in your path¡±.] [New factors?] I asked, to which Rex nodded, as if he¡¯d been waiting for me to say this. [Yeah. There are three hurdles that can¡¯t be breached by simple strength: ¡°status ailments¡±, ¡°attributes¡± and ¡°terrain damage¡±. If you don¡¯t have countermeasures against these three, you¡¯re going to go home crying.] Our expression naturally became grim, but then Rex smiled at that moment. [But well, don¡¯t worry. When it comes to the , the ¡°status ailments¡± and ¡°terrain damage¡± can be solved with only one piece of equipment.] "" Saying this, he pulled out a simply designed ring from his inventory and held it up in front of us. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-This ring is the trump card for conquering the , the .] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù Unconsciously checking the that had slipped onto my finger, I stepped forward. [Here comes the Acid! Dodge it!] I responded to Mana¡¯s voice by raising only one hand and narrowly avoiding the lump of strong acid spewed out by the large Slime. (That was close!) I was chilled to my core when I saw that the acid that flew past my body made a sizzling sound as it fell to the ground. I had been warned beforehand, so I managed to avoid it, but if I had been shot in the middle of a melee battle against it, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to avoid it. I managed to get close to the slime while my legs were tangled, and that¡¯s when it happened. Just as I thought the slime¡¯s body was shrinking, smoke began fuming out from its entire body. And it wasn¡¯t just smoke. It was green, toxic smoke. [Guhh!] I reflexively covered my mouth and took a step back. However¡­¡­ (I¡¯m fine. Haha! This ring is really incredible!) I didn¡¯t feel anything abnormal or painful while I was in that poisonous fog. This is the effect of this ring, the . This ring has the effect of ¡°using the wearer¡¯s magic power to create a barrier around you. In Rex¡¯s words, it¡¯s like ¡°a ¡°substitute¡± with its own armor and HP¡±. According to Rex, because it¡¯s an equipment effect, it¡¯s not affected by the magic seal system and is therefore convenient, but the fundamental protective effect is no different than charms. The strength of this equipment is dependent on your magic power, so even if a Warrior-type Adventurer like me were to wear it, the barrier is weak enough that a couple of pokes from a Goblin would break it. However, the true value of this equipment goes beyond a mere improvement in your defense. This barrier will take the brunt of all attacks while it¡¯s in place. Of course, this includes the ¡°status ailment attacks¡±, but as an inanimate object, the barrier is naturally unaffected by ¡°physical status ailments¡±, such as poison, paralysis, and silence. In other words, this barrier can be the best anti-status ailment equipment, ¡°preventing all physical status ailments until it takes damage once from the enemy¡±! However, status ailments that affect the mind, such as confusion and charm, can¡¯t be blocked by the barrier, but if it¡¯s against ¡°attacks that inflict status ailments¡±, the barrier would be broken before the ailment can be blocked, the barrier isn¡¯t effective against those instances. But against this slime¡¯s smoke attack that ¡°only inflicts status ailments¡±, it boasts an unbeatable defense. (I was skeptical when he gave us these, but well, it¡¯s amazing when we actually use them.) There are four types of status ailments caused by the smoke generated by that slime: ¡°poison, paralysis, debility and silence¡±. All of them are fatal, and without countermeasures, it may be impossible to continue battling against them. However, there are far too few equipment that could deal with all four of these status ailments among the usual resistance gears. (How in the world did he come up with this thing?) Such a thought ran through my mind for a moment, but I quickly shook it off my head. Taking a glance at the index finger of my right hand one more time, I quickly returned my gaze to the front. With this, I won¡¯t be afraid of the smoke, but just having protective means won¡¯t gain me victory. I look at the slime again. (This slime is blue, so I need to hit it with an Earth-attribute attack.) The name of this dungeon was derived from the Slime¡¯s seven different attributes. I only had a vague recollection of the attributes, but it was thoroughly drilled into me at the study session before we came here. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Fire is weak to water, water is weak to earth, earth is weak to wind, and wind is weak to fire. There are exceptions, such as light and dark, which are mutually weak to each other, but the basic rule is to remember these four attributes. There is also one other type of Slime that is colorless and nullifies Attribute-attacks, but is weak to physical attacks, but the other six types of Slimes nullifies the pure physical attacks. If you don¡¯t give your attacks an attribute different from theirs, especially an attack of an advantageous attribute, your attack will not be able to inflict any good damage. (Even if we raise our abilities with equipment and training, we are still inexperienced. In fact, I still haven¡¯t mastered a single Art that can inflict Earth-attribute damage.) Lack of experience, in every sense of the word. That is our weakness. [¡­¡­Suuuu.] Taking a deep breath in front of the enemy, I firmly head my sword, the Brave Sword I inherited from Rex. (I¡¯m still an average person.) Even after almost a month of training, I still couldn¡¯t master the ¡°Manual Arts¡±. Of course, being able to pile up techniques is still something far from my reach, but not even a fingertip of my skill could reach the realm of unleashing Arts at any angle or speed as freely as Rex did. It¡¯s just¡­¡­ I move my arms as practice, at a certain speed, following a certain pattern. The moving tip of my sword creates a virtual manifestation of a mountain, and with a single stroke of my sword¡­¡­ I slashed that mountain in half. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Earth Shatter!!!] The magic power of ¡°earth¡± gushing from my sword seizes the Slime¡¯s body. There, the huge Slime¡¯s body rippled, as if in agony. [How¡¯s that!?] Feeling the satisfactory response on my sword, I reflexively exclaimed. I couldn¡¯t do well at piling up techniques or adjusting the speed or position of my Arts. So, I decided to narrow down what I could and improve what I can learn. I¡¯m not going to desire the ability to pile up or arrange my techniques. I trained thoroughly only to perform my techniques from a fixed angle and at a fixed speed in front of my opponent. That also wasn¡¯t all. I did away with the diverse and complicated techniques, and limited myself to practicing only four techniques. Repeating these four techniques, each having the attributes of ¡°fire, water, wind and earth¡±, with simple perseverance, I trained them over and over again. There were times when I despaired at how slow my growth was. There were times when I resented my lack of talent. However¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-This is my own power!] The moment my technique struck the Slime, I felt that all my efforts had been rewarded. (What the heck was I worrying about!?) Looking at the Slime in front of me, I finally felt it. Even if I couldn¡¯t use them as freely as I want, being able to ¡°handle an Art that I haven¡¯t mastered yet¡± is already a tremendous weapon for a Warrior, irreplaceable by any other asset. I¡¯ve made it this far in just a month or so of training. It¡¯s still too early to give up on myself. Rather than that, I should have been more grateful for the opportunity to be exposed to such techniques, and for the good fortune of being taught them. I will become stronger and stronger. And for that sake¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-I¡¯m going to beat you!] CH 34 [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CAcid incoming!] At Mana¡¯s urgent cry, I forcefully moved my body, which was about to unleash my technique, to the side. The mass of strong acid flew past my side, I secretly felt chills down to my guts. (If I had just used my Art normally, I would never have been able to avoid it.) This is one of the advantages of Manual Arts. As the famous saying goes, ¡°Arts can turn a genius into an ordinary person¡±, Automatic Execution of Arts can¡¯t be interrupted in the middle of a move. However, Manual Arts allow geniuses to use their Arts while remaining geniuses. No, I guess it¡¯s more than that, because a genius like Rex can do such a god-like technique as ¡°using Arts while evading¡±. (The more I learn about this, the more I think how extraordinary this technique is!) Though I say that, my best moves still got thwarted. [Kuh. ¡­¡­Blaze Slash!!!] I had no choice but to activate my Fire-attribute Art. Although I really want to unleash only Earth-attribute attacks, which is the opponent¡¯s weak point, I can¡¯t ignore the cooldown time of Ats, even if they¡¯re manually executed. As I don¡¯t have any Earth-attribute attacks other than , I have no choice but to use skills of other attributes. (After we conquer this dungeon, I will definitely learn more skills!) Through actual battle, I was able to clearly understand why it was said ¡°the number of Arts one is capable of could be the strength of a warrior¡± which I had only vaguely imagined its meaning before. Now, I felt that I could work even harder than before to learn Arts. [Magic incoming! I¡¯m about to shoot!!!] Following the voice behind me, I jumped back from in front of the Slime. At the same time, Nuku, who was behind me, readied his rod and shouted. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CPlease don¡¯t break, !!!] The magical heat ray that was unleashed was as bright as the sun. The strike, one of the most powerful magic I¡¯ve ever seen, melts the Blue Slime¡¯s body. The secret lies not in a magic Nuku has mastered through his training¡­¡­ but in the rod, , he¡¯s holding in his hand. This equipment, which Rex obtained as a result of a Quest, can be ¡°used¡± by consuming the user¡¯s inherent magic power, ¡°MP¡±, to unleash the super powerful Fire-attribute Magic, . However, the equipment restriction is so high that Nuku, with his high MGC, must wear Enchanted rings that increase STR and MGC to use it, and its price is an astonishing 50 million wen. Also, it has the characteristic of ¡°having a 1% chance of breaking every time you use it¡±. I hate to say it, but the look on Nuku¡¯s face when he was informed of this fact was a sight to behold. However, even if it¡¯s a reverse lottery of 50 million wen per use every time, the power of that item is unparalleled. Although it wasn¡¯t a good match in terms of attribute affinity, it did more damage to the Slime than the super-effective . After the attack, which cost Nuku MP and stress, an arrow flew in from a far distance. The arrow that easily broke through the Slime¡¯s outer body and pierced its main body was, of course, nothing out of the ordinary. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThat arrow was an ¡°attribute arrow¡± that Rex himself had personally refined. It seems like it was basic for Alchemy to make arrows imbued with an attribute of magic power. However, its performance is determined by the value of the Alchemist¡¯s ¡°MGC¡±. The attribute arrows that Rex made by wearing ¡°9 Enchanted equipment¡± were imbued with such tremendous magic power that even Prana gasped. Prana accepted the bundle of arrows as if embracing it, saying ¡°she will use them with care¡±. And now, Prana is shooting the arrows with the power of ¡°wind¡± one after another, without being frugal at all. I was wondering what she meant by saying ¡°she will use them with care¡±, but I guess ¡°using it only when necessary¡± is her way of ¡°treating them with care¡±. As proof of this, every arrow shot from her hand pierced the Slime¡¯s body, without missing a single shot. And as for the last member of our party¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CAcid incoming! Watch out!] Mana is asked to work mainly as an observer to check the Slime¡¯s movements and detect Acid attacks. The Slimes only have two main types of attacks. Either they will exhale smoke from their entire body, which induces state ailments to those who inhale it, or they will shake their body and then send Acid flying about. The smoke can be nullified as long as we have the Barrier Ring, while the Acid isn¡¯t difficult to avoid if you watch for signs, as its preliminary movements are easy to recognize. However, it¡¯s possible to miss the signs if you are preoccupied with your attacks, so Mana, who has the fewest opportunities to attack, has taken on this role. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CHoly Bullet!] "" Though I say that, it¡¯s not that she doesn¡¯t participate in the attack at all, as from time to time, magic flies from behind her as if to help out along with the arrows of wind. That is the only offensive magic Mana has, . It¡¯s a mere beginner-level magic with no tricks or loopholes, but Light-attribute attacks are nevertheless strong. Although only a few people are suited for it, it has a slight over the four attributes of fire, water, earth and wind, and is strong against the Dark-attribute, making it a truly versatile attribute. It¡¯s the exact opposite of the Dark-attribute, which is weak against all four attributes and only thinks about standing against the Light-attribute magic. Or so, that¡¯s what Rex said. We always stay ahead of the curve with proactive measures, and we are always predominant in the battle against the , who was supposed to have the superior ability but could do almost nothing to us. However¡­¡­ (¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CAs expected, it¡¯s still tough!!!) Even after all these preparations, all these techniques, all these magics, we still can¡¯t defeat this one single Slime. I could feel sweat beads on my forehead from the heat. The long battle is nerve-wracking, and I¡¯m slowly losing my concentration. "" What is worse is the amount of MP we have remaining. Because we¡¯re using Arts that were originally far above our strength, the consumption of magic power is severe. (This is the difference in basic strength huh) It¡¯s relatively easy to recover stamina with magic, but lost magic power can¡¯t be easily replenished. The amount of MP that can be recovered over time is minimal, and all the potions to restore MP aren¡¯t for sale. Although we do carry MP recovery potions just in case, they aren¡¯t something we could just comfortably use. Besides, while recovery potions are powerful, they have the limitation that ¡°they lose their effectiveness if used consecutively over a short period of time¡±. Tactics that rely on MP recovery potions aren¡¯t viable in the first place. (I have a feeling that we have used 30% of our resources.) Out of the dozens of Slimes that have taken root in this dungeon, we have only fought one of them. However, to defeat that one slime, I feel like we have used 30%. But even so, we can¡¯t stop here. This Slime has the ability to self-regenerate, so a prolonged battle wouldn¡¯t be good. Besides, a prolonged battle may even catch the attention of another Slime. That¡¯s why I continue to unleash my Arts as hard as I can without worrying about my MP consumption. (Almost there! We should be almost there!) I see that the Big Blue Slime¡¯s movements are even slower than it was at first, and its outer body is covered with injuries that can¡¯t be hidden. If we push through here¡­¡­ [It¡¯s Acid! Please dodge!] I wonder if it was because I had such wicked thoughts in mind. I was so flustered that I left at Mana¡¯s words of warning¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Ah.] ¡ª¨Cand my feet getting caught with the difference in step, I tripped. That was the worst timing for that to happen. "" Acid was spat out toward me, and I quickly shielded my face with my left hand. [Guaaaahhh!] The Acid that splashed on my left hand entered through the gap in my armor and burned my skin. [Radd-kun!] Mana screamed. Frantically stifling down the pain, I stood up. It was fortunate that one of the Enchanted rings I had equipped increased VIT, and it didn¡¯t do as much damage as I thought it would. However¡­¡­ [Oh no! The barrier¡­¡­] The that had protected me all this time had already lost its effect. At the same time, a green mist is sprayed from the slime with great force. [Ghaaak!] There was no way for me to protect myself from the smoke billowing in all directions. The poisonous smoke entering my lungs seemed to burn me from the inside out. [I¡¯ll heal you! Move back!] However, even within the constant pain, I shook my head. Once the barrier of the is broken, it can no longer be reapplied during the battle. That means, right now, what I should do is¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªattack! I readied my sword in my tear-stained vision. In the midst of the pain that stirred up my thoughts however, the movements that had become ingrained in me didn¡¯t betray me. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C!!!] A satisfactory Art pierced into the Slime. The blow severed the blue monster¡¯s life, and the blue monster that had tormented us for so long finally ceased to live. After witnessing this, I frantically jumped out of the range of the enemy¡¯s poisonous mist and hurriedly removed the from my finger before putting it back on. Rex told us that once the barrier was destroyed, it wouldn¡¯t reappear for 10 minutes, but that by removing it during non-combat, you could reapply it quickly. When I felt the barrier reappear just as Rex said, I breathed a sigh of relief. There, my friends, worried about me, came rushing to my side. [Geez, that¡¯s bad for our hearts!] [You¡¯re being too reckless!] I bowed to the two of them and said ¡°Sorry¡±, before continuing with a ¡°but¡­¡­¡±. Turning around, the lifeless monster turned into particles of light, which were sucked in toward our left hand. Just as I thought the light had settled on our bodies, my heart pulsed strongly with a thump. There, I felt a familiar sensation in my body. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CI leveled up.] Power welled up from the depths of my body, and at the same time, I felt that the poison that had been eating away at me disappeared completely, and on the contrary, I felt my stamina and MP, which I should have lost, fill up. When level-up occurs, in its aftermath, vitality and MP are fully restored, and state ailments are also cured. This phenomenon is called the ¡°Level-up Recovery¡± and it was the main reason why Rex sent us to this dungeon ¡°now¡±. Levels apparently rise quickly in the beginning, but once you exceed Lv 10, the pace slows down as the EXP required increases. However, while our level is low and it¡¯s easy to make use of ¡°Level-up Recovery¡±, we can continue to move forward without needing recovery supplies. [Radd, are you okay? If you say it¡¯s impossible, we can turn back¡­¡­] [No, let¡¯s go.] I shook my head at Nuku, who asked me with concern. Rex had said it. This is a battle we can have ¡°because we are inexperienced¡±, and it¡¯s the ¡°shortest path¡± for us to grow. We¡¯re not the type of Adventurers that would let this ultimate chance pass us by. We haven¡¯t fought enough, and we haven¡¯t leveled up enough. I¡¯m not satisfied with just fighting one monster, nor do I want to leave any monster we could fight behind. "" [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CAll the EXP in this dungeon are ours!] CH 35 After defeating our first one, we hunted Slimes without making any major mistakes. Our biggest worry was that we wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up with our MP recovery as we continued to grow, but our fears seemed to be unfounded. The more we fought, the easier it became to kill the next one, and we were able to keep fighting without ever running out of MP. (I can clearly see it. With each increase in our level, the more different it was to our first battle!) I could clearly feel myself getting stronger with each ¡°level-up¡± I experienced. Perhaps, I¡¯m now a step stronger than I was before I entered this cave. (Even so, it¡¯s frustrating how I still don¡¯t feel like I¡¯ve surpassed the effectiveness of these Enchanted rings.) Before entering the Dungeon, we each put on two rings that increase our abilities. The effect was so amazing that it made our previous training seem silly. Though I say that, the compensation from the Enchantment isn¡¯t enough to fulfill the requirements for Class Change. In the case of the Brave Sword, the condition for equipping the sword can be met with the ring, but it seems that you can¡¯t become a until you meet the equipment requirement of the sword on your own. (Whatever the case, we have become stronger. However¡­¡­) That doesn¡¯t mean we should let our guard down. No, even if I wanted to, I couldn¡¯t. The pain I felt when I received the Acid attack and the time my barrier broke still lingered in my heart. And no matter how strong I get, the more I fight, the more I realize that without the protection of this barrier, we wouldn¡¯t have the strength to fight here. (¡­¡­Seriously, this really is a nasty dungeon.) As we proceed through the strategy, the more I realize that this isn¡¯t a good place for beginner adventurers. I couldn¡¯t help imagining average beginner adventurers, no, even ourselves, in a good shape after conquering a beginner¡¯s dungeon. We entered this cave unprepared, and seeing the Slime we encountered was so slow and sluggish, we approached it carelessly, thinking that this dungeon is no big deal. At such a moment, the Slime would spit out its poisonous mist. Exposed to a parade of status ailments such as poison, paralysis, and silence, even though we desperately attacked the Slime, our attribute-less weapons couldn¡¯t make a dent against it, and it would have been difficult for us to see through the Slime¡¯s attributes. We would end up naturally relying on magic for our attacks. Even so, if people like me who stand in the vanguard, don¡¯t draw the enemy¡¯s attack, our back line will be in danger. The status ailments we received would devastate our hearts, and the terrain damage would slowly drain our strength. When we decided to retreat due to our dwindling MP, we would end up being stuck by Slime reinforcements, our escape route blocked by Slimes that were supposed to be slow and sluggish¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Radd!] [Yeah.] Nuku¡¯s voice brings me back to reality. [You look terrible. Are you alright? If you¡¯re tired¡­¡­] [No, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m just imagining what it would have been like if we had made it through this place without meeting Master.] Hearing what I said, Nuku chuckled. [The heck is it now?] [No, I was just thinking about how you call the guy Old man in front of him, but Master when he¡¯s not around.] [¡­¡­Shut up.] Nuku is a nice guy, but I don¡¯t like how he sometimes says things like this, as if he can see right through people. [But well, I guess I really agree with what you were thinking. We were blessed with a Master. That¡¯s why¡­¡­] [I know.] What we can do for Rex, for Master, now that we¡¯ve received all this¡­¡­ That is¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Radd.] Thereupon, Prana, who had been out scouting, returned. [I don¡¯t hear any grating noises they make every time they walk. As we expected, there are no enemies left here.] [I see. Then, all that¡¯s left¡­¡­] Prana nodded at my words. [The last passageway¡­¡­ and the dungeon boss beyond it.] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [Attribute change, red! Fire-attribute!] At the sound of Mana¡¯s voice, I desperately stopped my arm that was in the middle of swinging. (Kuhh! My speed can¡¯t keep up!) Regretting that I had interrupted my Art, but feeling glad that I at least was able to resist unleashing it, I glared at the humongous Slime in front of me. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-. It¡¯s the boss of this dungeon and the one we¡¯re desperately fighting against. In fact, Rex had told us that ¡°there¡¯s no need for us to defeat this¡±. ¡°Even if we had defeated all the monsters in the Lava Cave and raised our level, depending on the pattern, it would still be difficult for the four of us to defeat this guy¡± or so Rex judged. After actually fighting it, although it was frustrating, I felt that it was just as Rex said. This really gigantic slime is a monster that is the culmination of all the Big Slime fights we have had. Its characteristic is that it changes its seven attributes one after another, just as the ¡°rainbow¡± in its name implies. When a certain amount of time passes or a certain amount of damage is inflicted, the color of its body changes and its weak attribute changes. Since it stops moving for a while immediately after its attribute changes, if you keep hitting its weak points one after another and keep inflicting damage on it, you should be able to defeat it¡­¡­ It was how it should be but¡­¡­ [No! I¡¯ve already used !] [I can¡¯t use Water-attribute magic here too.] Me and Nuku called out in response¡­¡­ [Three ice arrows left!] Prana¡¯s Water-attribute arrows flew in from behind and managed to hold the slime back. However, Prana¡¯s ice arrows would probably be used up at this point. (D*mn it, my strength is still slacking!) The more we fought, the more our weaknesses were exposed. First of all, in my case, I have so few moves that I can¡¯t fully digest the cooldown times. I had managed to compensate for this by using different attributes against normal Slimes, but unlike the normal Slimes, which only had one attribute, this one could rotate its weak points. And so, if we use a technique with a different attribute, we will not be able to use the same technique the next time it changes attribute. (Even if they aren¡¯t MP efficient, I really should have learned other attribute skills¡­¡­ Ahh, d*mn it! All I keep getting are more and more problems!) Swearing in my mind, I slashed at the slime, knowing it¡¯s futile. [Kuhh, !] There, Nuku¡¯s magic arrow pierces the Slime¡¯s body, but the giant Slime doesn¡¯t seem to be affected. However, that was to be expected. Magic doesn¡¯t have backdoor means like Manual Execution of Arts. Nuku is a magic-user who had only increased his ability value, and he had substituted his weakness of having few usable magic for his magic power with his equipment. If this wasn¡¯t the case, Nuku¡¯s strength would drop drastically. [Ice and wind arrows have been used up. I can¡¯t shoot anymore.] Prana reported calmly but regretfully. In the first part of our battle against this big Slime, Prana boasted of an outstanding stability, but she used too many attribute arrows to fill in the gaps for us. And as a pure archer, Prana has no way to launch attribute attacks on her own. [Holy¡­¡­! Acid incoming!] In response to that cry, I moved my body to the side. Mana¡¯s Light-attribute magic can consistently damage any form, but her role as an observer is more important. Besides, her attacks don¡¯t deal effective damage against the big Slime, and as long as she doesn¡¯t have magic-user as her main Class, she would lack firepower. And then, there¡¯s the problem that we all have in common¡­¡­ [D*mn it! MY MP is¡­¡­] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-We¡¯re running out of MP. Up until now, each of our battles was relatively short, and MP could be compensated for by leveling up, so we could keep fighting all the time. But in this fight against this Boss, of course, there are no breaks or level-ups we could make use of in the middle of battle. Naturally, we were beginning to run out of MP. And then, finally¡­¡­ [Radd-kun! We¡¯re running out of time¡­¡­ Hearing what she said, I gritted my teeth. ¡¶¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Five minutes.¡· That was what Rex told us before. ¡¶You can fight the Boss, but you will only be able to fight for five minutes. That is your time limit.¡· I understood the meaning of those words. We don¡¯t have enough MP to fight for a long time, and since we aren¡¯t that accustomed to fighting, we can¡¯t concentrate for that long. (I know! I know that!) But I¡ª¨C we really wanted to beat this Boss. Of course, if we beat this thing, we will level-up again, and we will be rewarded for our efforts. However, that doesn¡¯t mean much to us. We will surely become stronger from now on, and then the reward for this one Quest won¡¯t make much difference. So, even if we run away, we won¡¯t lose anything. Even if we don¡¯t beat the Boss, just the fact that we fought in the and fulfilled several Quests is already a great accomplishment, and there will be no one to make fun of us. (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-But just that won¡¯t do!) For the entire month we were training, people kept on talking behind our backs. We were even told to our faces that we were wasting our time and that we were pitiful. However, the most painful part was when they made fun of Rex. They can say whatever they want about us. After all, the one who knows about us getting stronger the best is us. I could endure whatever anyone said about us. However, saying those things about Rex is a different matter. He has given us so much, taught us so many great things, and yet everyone around makes fun of him, calling him ¡°incompetent¡± and a ¡± charlatan¡±. That¡¯s why¡­¡­ (We¡¯re going to change that!!!) It¡¯s great that we would make it out of a difficult dungeon alive, or that we completed the smaller Quests. "" However, that isn¡¯t enough to turn this bad reputation around in one fell swoop! (I¡ª- We will defeat this Boss and repay his kindness to us!) And yet¡­¡­ Despite my screaming heart, my body was heavy and the enemy was too powerful. Just when my heart was about to break, I looked to the side. [¡­¡­Ah.] At that moment, my eyes naturally met those of my friends. And at that moment, I felt my heart completely resonate with theirs. Even if we didn¡¯t say it out loud, our hearts were all shouting the same thing. (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-We don¡¯t want to give up!) I felt my lips curl up to a smile. [¡­¡­Green.] [Eh?] Briefly glancing at the surprised looks on my companions¡¯ faces, I spoke. [Stop attacking and wait till it becomes green¡­¡­ Till it becomes weak to the Fire-attribute.] [Wait! If we stop attacking, it¡¯ll regenerate its health¡­¡­] Nuku screamed in response, but I held up one hand to stop him. [I know, but our MP is running low. It¡¯s better than pointlessly wasting our MP by continuing to attack.] [That is¡­¡­] [The moment it becomes weak to Fire-attribute, the three of us will launch our Fire-attribute attacks. We¡¯re going to finish it off in one fell swoop before it changes attributes again.] Of course, if its weak point was hit, it will change its attribute immediately. If our timing is off and it manages to change its attribute, our attacks will have been in vain. [What guarantee do we have that green will be next?] [Let¡¯s hope for the best.] When I readily said this, Nuku let out a weak smile. Meanwhile, we waited for ¡°that moment¡±, brushing off the fumes and dodging the rain of acid that was spewing down on us. Finally, its color changed. The color was¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Green!!!] Our cries overlapped. [Radd gets it right every once in a while.] Nuku¡¯s exasperated voice made me smile, but I couldn¡¯t just be happy with this. This is truly our last chance. [We¡¯ll all attack together in five! Mana!] [¡­¡­Five!] Mana, who instantly understood my intention, takes the count. [¡­¡­Four!] I looked at Prana and watched as she picked up a bundle of Fire-attribute arrows. [¡­¡­Three!] Even as his face contorts, Nuku points his bright red rod at our longstanding foe. [¡­¡­Two!] And then, I too rushed toward the boss, just as fast as the two of them¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Five minutes have passed, so I¡¯ll take it down now, okay?] The wind rushed past me at about the same time as I heard that voice. [Eh¡­¡­] By the time I realized that the wind was ¡°the fifth member of our party, Resilia¡± who had been watching us from behind, she had already reached the Boss. In her right hand flashed a metallic-colored sword with the air of a king. With two bright red rings in her fingers, she clutched the sword that Rex had equipped when he fought Verteran and the others. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-!] Clad in a red afterglow, the fairy danced. The burning heat of her strike scattered the Slime¡¯s body, and it irresistibly changed its color to one of earth. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-!] Clad in lightning, the fairy danced. The Slime¡¯s body trembles, and its body turns red. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-!] Clad in ice, the fairy danced. The Slime¡¯s body trembles, and its body turns blue. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-.] And with the dance of the fairy, the earth broke apart. The Slime, which stood still like the scarecrows in the training ground, felt like it wasn¡¯t the strong enemy we had struggled against so much. Naturally, the color of the Slime changed again¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Ah.] There, my voice unintentionally leaked out. After all, the color of the Slime changed from blue to colorless, one that is weak to ¡°physical attacks¡±. And that was the signal for its end. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-!!!] As a triumphant sound resounded, Rex¡¯s signature certain kill Art exploded into the colorless Slime¡¯s body. With the sound of something bursting, the Slime¡¯s body splashed around the depths of the dungeon¡­¡­ ¡­¡­Marking the end of the battle. The light emanating from the motionless Boss is sucked into our left hands, and as a premonition of our level-up, our wounded bodies are healed. The battle has ended. It¡¯s just¡­¡­ "" [¡­¡­E- Errr.] The end happened so abruptly that we couldn¡¯t even react. N- No, Resilia was a party member of this time, and her level was even lower than ours, so there was no problem at all in terms of formalities. This would probably wipe out Rex¡¯s bad reputation, and we¡¯d also gain EXP. That¡¯s why, there¡¯s nothing wrong with this. There¡¯s nothing wrong¡­¡­ with it¡­¡­ but¡­¡­ errr¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Now then.] Quietly brandishing her sword to the side, Resilia looks back to us. While all of us strengthened our backs, with more passion than when she had just slaughtered that monster, she said in a determined tone. [We¡¯ve already made Nii-san wait for two hours and forty minutes. Let¡¯s go back as soon as possible!] At that moment, my eyes naturally met those of my friends. And at that moment, I felt my heart completely resonate with theirs. "" Even if we didn¡¯t say it out loud, our hearts were all shouting the same thing. (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-This woman really is a brocon!!!) CH 36 [¡­¡­Haahhh¡­¡­ I¡¯m tired.] Radd and others¡¯ dungeon attack went without a hitch. About that, it was largely as expected, but some unexpected things could happen, such as Verteran and his group¡¯s appearance before they entered the dungeon. Frankly speaking, I think they handled it well. After the battle, Verteran apologized for some reason I don¡¯t understand, and I was also able to witness the accomplishment of the Quest, which, from the results, was a great victory. However¡­¡­ I just want to say one thing. (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThere¡¯s no way I can beat the three of them!!!) The number of moves their side can use is a threat in itself. Rex¡¯s ability is only a hair above that of Verteran¡¯s, and if all three of them attacked at the same time, I would surely lose. I managed to get by by switching Enchantment rings for each opponent and doing my best to give the impression of a strong person, but I don¡¯t want to fight them again. As I buried my face in my open notebook and groaned, I heard the door open and an astounded voice rang out. [How sloppy. Come now, if you want to sleep, stand up there and properly lay down on the bed.] Surprisingly taking my arm as she said this was my little sister, Resilia. [Are you my mother or what?] [I¡¯m your little sister.] Nonchalantly responding to her, saying ¡°Alright already¡±, I shook off her attempt to pick me up by my arm. [I¡¯m not going to sleep yet, so it¡¯s fine. Rather than that, is Radd and the others alright?] [What do you mean by that?] As Resilia tilted her head, not understanding what I meant, I hesitated for a moment before speaking. [Ah, you see. They couldn¡¯t beat the Boss on their own, right? I thought they might be depressed.] The fact that they had Resilia with them just in case and how Radd and his party couldn¡¯t beat the Boss was just as expected. However, people aren¡¯t beings that can give up on something so easily. I was a little concerned that those guys might be discouraged¡­¡­ [No. Rather than depressed, it¡¯s more like he¡¯s on fire. ¡°This adventure has shown me what I¡¯ve been lacking! I¡¯m gonna continue on the path of the Warrior and catch up with Rex someday!¡± or so Radd-san said.] [Huh? The heck is that guy talking about?] Not only were they more positive than I had imagined, it seems like they¡¯re still overestimating me. At their pace, Radd¡¯s main ability value would overtake mine at about Lv 20, and if they go up another 10 levels or so from there, they will easily surpass me in total ability values. In the first place¡­¡­ [I don¡¯t really intend to go on the path of a Warrior though¡­¡­] [Is that so?] Resilia reacted to the words I reflexively muttered. This is bad, or so I thought, but I couldn¡¯t swallow the words once I spat them out. I had no choice but to tell Resilia what was going on to some extent. [You may get mad when I say this, but my, no, ¡°Rex¡¯s stat distribution¡± is terrible.] [¡­¡­I can see that.] [You noticed!?] The unexpected response shook me quite a bit. Because I never wanted to tell this woman that I¡¯d soon lose to her in terms of status, I thought I had kept it under wraps. [You wear your emotions on your sleeves, Nii-san. Moreover, there¡¯s today¡¯s battle. Radd-san and the others seemed to be gawking about it, but I know that with ¡°your¡± skill and your equipment, you had to be stronger than that.] [I- I see¡­¡­] It seems that she had seen through me. At least, it was a relief that Radd and others haven¡¯t found out about it. [Well, to be honest, there are some things I¡¯m sulking about.] I, Rex, don¡¯t have the stability of Radd, the hidden strong points of Mana, the specialized strength of Prana. Almost all of my ability values are the lowest, and because the devs are trying to keep Rex a balanced character stat-wise, even the only stat that¡¯s high, MGC, is inferior to Nuku¡¯s and Mana¡¯s. However, I changed my mind. For that one part, more than most people, that possibility is¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªYes, it¡¯s because I have ¡°nothing¡±!] Hearing what I said, Resilia stared at me before speaking. [That¡¯s not a line you just wanted to say, right?] [T- That¡¯s not it!] Flapping my hands in a panic, I pushed my notebook into her hand. [This is a compilation of my knowledge from my gaming days. Ahh, I¡¯ve also included an explanation so that even people who don¡¯t know anything about it can read it and understand, so if I¡¯m gone for any reason, Resilia could¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C] [Even if you say it like a joke, I will still get angry.] I was serious when I said this, but hearing the blat of anger from Resilia in the middle of my words, I stopped talking. Perhaps because of her circumstances, Resilia is sensitive to the death of others. I think she had already acknowledged the contents of the notebook though, so it should be alright to stop it at that. [A- Anyway, as I¡¯ve summarized here, there¡¯s only one way for one to ¡°reset your stat distribution¡±.] That is my possibility. "" With an average ability level, Rex can ¡°re-shift¡± to any skill level. Swordsman, Thief, Magic-user, Monk, whatever I want. However, if I want to make the most of Rex¡¯s aptitudes¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI¡¯ll completely tear apart the fighting style that ¡°Rex¡± has been using up till now. If I can reset it, I¡¯m going to make use of a magic-centric fighting style, that so-called ¡°pure magic style¡±.] At my declaration, Resilia¡¯s eyes quietly widened. [That¡¯s why, rather than being Radd¡¯s senpai, I¡¯d be more like Nuku¡¯s senpai, no, I¡¯d even be more like his kouhai then.] I jokingly said that, but its meaning was probably heavy for Resilia. It was the furthest choice from the ¡°all-powerful swordsman¡±, one that would definitely destroy the image of her brother in her mind. However, that didn¡¯t mean I could just compromise on ¡°myself¡±. For a few moments, Resilia just kept silent and closed her eyes, not saying a word. But when she eventually opened her eyes, she gave a small smile. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI think that¡¯s very much like Nii-san.] With those few words, I felt a little saved, as if I was pardoned. That was the case but¡­¡­ [Ahh, though I said that, it¡¯s not going to be easy.] I spoke as if I could do it, but there are many obstacles to ¡°resetting my stat distribution¡±. [To reset my abilities, I need to make use of the ¡°trial of the Soul¡± event that is extremely difficult and only gives you one chance to try.] [Extremely?] [Yeah.] I nodded without hesitation. This ¡°Trial of the Soul¡± event doesn¡¯t require you a certain requirement of story progress. This in itself helps the who is caught in a trap, but even if you leave it unattended, he will tear through the traps on his own. And because it¡¯s an event that doesn¡¯t need to be cleared and isn¡¯t important to the storyline, it doesn¡¯t matter how high the difficulty level is. [To be more specific, I can only take one other person with me, and we have to defeat a Lv 50 Boss with a severely weakened body.] [Lv 50¡­¡­] Of course, the Boss in the is a real formidable foe. Although higher in level, it¡¯s probably superior to the Doom Demon, whose strength was reduced for the event production with Rex. [To be frank, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be much of a force in that event. ¡­¡­That¡¯s why, I need strong allies that are willing to put their lives on the line to challenge it with me.] I think I was aiming too high. First of all, the hurdle of strength required is very high. Even if they had that kind of strength, what I am saying would sound ridiculous to the people in this world who don¡¯t have my game knowledge. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThat¡¯s why I started to train Radd and his party. I began to train them, to hone their strength, and to bind their behavior with a favor so that they would challenge the trial with me. That is selfishness and a trial I¡¯m one-sidedly imposing on them. If people back in my world see my actions, I could be accused of still feeling like I¡¯m playing a game and looking at the people around me as if they were mere data in a game. But at my words, Resilia laughed. [I think you should tell that to Radd-san¡¯s party about that.] [Eh¡­¡­?] As she came up to the opposite conclusion as mine, she quietly turned on her heel. [I will excuse myself here today. I feel like swinging my sword.] Even though it was already almost nightfall, Resilia said such a thing and opened the door out of the room. And¡­¡­ [Ahh, and when you go to sleep, make sure you sleep in your bed.] With a last minute nosiness, she left the room. I waited patiently as her footsteps faded away downstairs. [¡­¡­Haahhh¡­¡­] When I couldn¡¯t feel her presence anymore, I finally let out a sigh. I know Radd and the others are ¡°good guys¡±, and I¡¯m aware that I myself am starting to have my own feelings for them in my own way. However¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªIt¡¯s because they¡¯re all that type of person that I can¡¯t talk to them about this.] I quietly mumbled. What I told Resilia isn¡¯t a lie, but it¡¯s not everything either. What is rational and the best solution for someone isn¡¯t necessarily the best for everyone. If she knew the details, she would stop me, and there¡¯s a good chance that even Radd and the others would reject me. [Now then, who will I choose? Or perhaps, should I just give up on this once and for all?] I mumbled and looked down at my notebook. Scribbled on the opened page was a certain technique in B&B. ¡¾Stat Distribution Reset Technique through Trial of the Soul¡¿ This is a technique of pseudo-¡°stat distribution resetting¡± by using the ¡°Trial of the Soul¡±, a series of events that could occur after the event after a certain amount of time has passed since the game begins. The main advantage of this technique is that it allows you to correctly redevelop a character that you failed to develop, but there¡¯s merit in executing this even if you had optimal training, because you can always significantly increase the total amount of ability by having the necessary equipment and planning ahead. Since it can only be performed once throughout the game and the complexity of the procedure makes it impossible for anyone other than the player to perform it, it wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that it is, in effect, a player-only strengthening event. However, the difficulty of accomplishment is high in proportion to the magnitude of the effect. The ¡°Trial of the Soul¡± event itself is extremely difficult to complete, requiring only 2 people in the party, with additional restrictions in place, to defeat a Lv 50 Boss. It¡¯s difficult to achieve with normal training conditions, so if you¡¯re aiming for this event, it will be urgent to select and train the participating character, in addition to strengthening the player themselves, from the very beginning of the game. However, the biggest thing to keep in mind is that you should always choose ¡°a character that you don¡¯t intend to have on your main party¡± for the trial. Ideally, the character should be ¡°strong enough to just barely clear the trial if you fight with them, but no room for growth beyond that¡±. This is because this technique is only a technique to adjust the ability value of a character, and if the player¡¯s ability value is increased in this way, the ability value of the companion they would bring with them will be severely decreased in exchange. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªTaking into account the difficulty of the ordeal, how much of the best ¡°sacrifice¡± can you choose¡­¡­ That is the most important point of this trial. CH 37 One night passed after the dungeon attack, the 11th Month of the 11th Day. Me and Resilia were leisurely walking to the Guild. [What are you planning to do today, Nii-san?] [Hmmm. I¡¯m going to check everyone¡¯s Status today, and then I¡¯m going to disclose their new training menu.] Yesterday, Radd and his party had successfully completed the dungeon attack, but we had no time to check their status growth because of the Quest Completion reports and other things. The new training menu should be a great way to motivate them and show them how much they¡¯ve grown in the dungeon. [A new training menu?] [Yeah. Before going into the next dungeon, I wanna give them training appropriate for their Class. Well, it would have been easier for them to defeat the Slime if they had done this training first¡­¡­] However, there¡¯s meaning in giving them a hard struggle here. I basically rely on game knowledge and see the world in a game-like way, but I don¡¯t underestimate the existence of the ¡°parameters invisible in reality¡±, such as ¡°combat experience¡± and ¡°motivation¡±. The reason I came to believe this is because of Radd and his party¡¯s training. In retrospect, the increase in their ability value is extraordinary. "" I don¡¯t know the exact value of the increase in their ability values during training, but it seems to me that Radd and his party¡¯s growth was much greater than the growth of the characters in the game, where the ¡°Hero¡± compensation is supposed to increase the training efficiency in the party. I hypothesize that this may have something to do with the ¡°quality¡± of the training. The training in-game is mechanical and uniform. If people of the same ability and affinity were to do the same training, the results will always be the same. However, this world is both a game and a reality. If training in the game is the result of ¡°very standard training with very standard enthusiasm¡±, it¡¯s not inconceivable that training with even greater enthusiasm and of a higher level would produce greater efficiency than in the game. In other words, my theory is that the growth that occurred as a result of this training was the result of a combination of the digital ¡°game efficiency¡± and the real-life ¡°motivation and skill¡± of the individual. [The motivation to train really is different when you know what you¡¯re lacking than when you¡¯re just doing as you¡¯re told.] This is also the reason why I didn¡¯t allow Resilia to participate in the battles back when they were conquering the Lava Cave. I¡¯ll say this clearly, Resilia is strong. At Lv 1, she has the stats of someone with a Third-tier Class¡­¡­ that is to say, she has the ability values of an average Lv 20, so even in the Lava Cave, she isn¡¯t inferior to the others. And more importantly, with that level of ability value, she can swing her equipment to attack without having to devote enchantments to defense unlike Radd and his party does. Equipped with 2 rings and a small shield with carefully selected STR enchantments, her STR exceeded 300 and she was able to use my strongest sword at the moment, the . The way Verteran and his group frequently muttered ¡°The times are changing huh¡± holds quite the impression in my mind. Verteran, who is a trusted member of the Guild, assured me that Radd and his party had accomplished their Quest to destroy the Boss. Of course, no one was denying it without listening to our side at all, but judging from the quality of their stares at me, they were probably dubious that Radd and his party had really conquered the Lava Cave. (Well, whether they believe it or not, I don¡¯t really care either way.) They¡¯ve used up the boost from the level-up growth, but Radd and his party¡¯s level should have increased enough to make up for it. Radd and his party¡¯s abilities would eventually become apparent, and it would only be a matter of whether they did so sooner or later. Among Radd¡¯s Brave Blade party, the kind-hearted Mana seemed to be especially worried about my bad reputation¡­¡­ (Well, it¡¯s probably the opposite¡­¡­) At least, even though I may be the one who¡¯s right in this matter, perhaps because this is the game world, the guys in town, even the mobs, are mostly just nice guys worried about them. I guess I can no longer worry about a future where they¡¯d suddenly change their attitude quickly. I honestly feel a sense of superiority no matter how much they talk about me behind my back, and when I think I that I can mentally sell my favor to people like Verteran, who misunderstood me on his own and apologized on his own, and who felt guilty when they learned the truth, I really want to say ¡°More! Say more!¡±. (Well, maybe that¡¯s just because I have a bad character.) At least, in that aspect, I wish Mana would take a cue from Radd and Prana. I¡¯m sure they wouldn¡¯t even raise an eyebrow at me no matter what I said. Anyway, what I would be doing is still the same. While feeling the eyes looking at me from afar, I went to the training ground and went to where Radd and his party waited. [¡­¡­Hmm?] However, when I entered the training grounds, I immediately noticed something unusual. There was someone unfamiliar beside Radd and the others. (Is she quibbling with them over yesterday¡¯s matter?) Having such thoughts in mind, I went closer, but there was something strange going on around them. The girl talking with Radd and the others was a young Adventurer, perhaps a little older than Radd and his party. Judging from the quality of her equipment, she¡¯s probably around Lv 10. She is dressed in a rather sensational leather gear, not so much as those bikini armor, but it¡¯s as if she were a ¡°female fantasy warrior¡±. She looks tough, and it¡¯s not surprising that she had the intimidating aura of a beautiful senpai¡­¡­ but from a distance, I could tell that they don¡¯t seem to be in that kind of mood. No, it¡¯s more like¡­¡­ [Ah¡­¡­] As Mana saw me and turned her head to me, the woman who was picking a quarrel with Radd and the others also seemed to have noticed me. After a slight hesitation, she ran up to me. [Y- You¡¯re the Rex that Radd was talking about¡­¡­ Ah, no, you¡¯re the A-Rank Adventurer, Rex-sama, right?] [I certainly am Rex but¡­¡­] Even though she clearly isn¡¯t accustomed to using honorifics, her respect, or rather, her desperation clearly felt from her voice. While I was having trouble coping with the situation, she bent her body and bowed her head significantly, not caring that she was in public. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CPlease! Could you please tell me about my talents!?] CH 38 [S- Sorry, Ma¡­¡­ Old man. I slipped it out¡­¡­] It was Radd who bowed his head and apologized. The woman who charged toward me at the training ground was an Adventurer named ¡°Maisie¡±, and even though it was just for a few while, she and Radd had been acquainted with each other before he became an Adventurer. Perhaps because of their friendly connections with each other, when I started training Radd, she heard the bad rumors about me and went to give him some advice, and that¡¯s when Radd told her a lot of things about me. [I was stupid and believed those rumors at that time but¡­¡­] A few weeks after that, yesterday, Radd and his party defeated the Boss of the Lava Cave. The first time she saw him, Maisie thought they were still young chicks, less powerful than her and the others, but all of a sudden, that happened. [That¡¯s when I realized it. That when Radd that ¡°He¡¯s the best teacher in Frelia¡±, he was telling the truth.] [Wait, Maisie-san!?] Radd was flustered by her sudden revelation, but it gave credence to Maisie¡¯s words. [Hoh. Radd said that huh.] [T- The heck are you looking at¡­¡­] When I egged him on, his mouth twitched. I¡¯m glad that he unexpectedly recognizes me like that, but egging him more like this would probably make him really pissed at me. [My party and I have been adventuring for nearly two years now, and we¡¯ve been to the once, but we saw that clearing it was just impossible, so we ran away.] [And so, you were grasping at straws.] I said, to which Maisie fluttered her hands. [I- I know this is a selfish request! Even I¡¯m not so shameless as to ask you to teach me like you do to Radd! It¡¯s just, I want to know my talent. My initial Class was Fighter, but I didn¡¯t feel like I fit in. I changed jobs over and over again and tried to do my best in various aspects¡­¡­ But in the end, no matter what I did, it just doesn¡¯t feel right¡­¡­] As if to suppress her frustration, Maisie bowed her head once more. [And so, could you please at least tell me what talents I have, or if I had any talent at all! If an amazing person like you were to tell me I don¡¯t have any talent, I feel like I would be able to give up! That¡¯s why¡­¡­] Even an onlooker could see that Maisie was asking me so desperately. Her enthusiasm is palpable but¡­¡­ (I knew it¡­¡­) I tried using at her, but that didn¡¯t tell me anything more than ¡°she kinda strayed off in her life¡±. The only reason I was able to discern the aptitude values of Radd and his party was that I calculated backwards from their abilities. This was possible because Radd and his party have never experienced a Class Change, and moreover, to put it bluntly, it¡¯s even possible that what I wrote are miscalculations or misunderstandings. If I could make her level-up, I could determine her growth rates by the difference, but with the ability values of a Lv 11, it would take some time for her to do so. [Nii-san. Looking into that girl¡¯s abilities will take time, and there¡¯s no merit to it. It would be better to say no here¡­¡­] The nearby Resilia softly whispered. That is certainly a good argument. However¡­¡­ [Okay.] I answered without thinking too much. [Eh? Is it¡­¡­ really alright?] The one who was most surprised by my response was Maisie, who had asked me to do it. She looked at me with a blank stare of disbelief. "" [Yeah, but we can¡¯t do it here. Come with me.] I said, to which Maisie responded with a resounding ¡°O- Of course!¡± I chuckled inwardly at that. (I can use this as a test case¡± for Radd¡¯s group.) I had actually been thinking of doing this along the way, but with opportunities like this rolling in, it should be alright to move my plans up a bit. [We¡¯re heading to the arena. It¡¯s going to be a bit of a walk.] I left the training grounds with these words, and for some reason, Radd and the others followed behind. I was going to ask them to do some independent training but¡­¡­ Well, fine. [Is this really alright? It would be dangerous if she leaked information about what Nii-san can do.] [I¡¯ve already spoken to Verteran about this anyway. It¡¯s too late worrying about stuff like that now.] When I responded like that, Resilia raised an eyebrow. I feel like I heard her whisper something like ¡°As expected, if I¡¯m not by Nii-san¡¯s side¡­¡­¡±, but Resilia was just being too worried. [It¡¯s alright. This is something I had already planned for?] [Planned?] [The world is too weak for average Adventurers. That¡¯s why, I¡¯m planning to speed up the era a bit.] I smiled at Resilia, who still looked anxious at my words. [Well, taking on dungeons and beating monsters isn¡¯t the only way to fight. There¡¯s an adult way of fighting in this world.] Well, it isn¡¯t really as big a deal as it sounds, but saying it like this makes me sound like a guy who had considered a lot of things in mind. As we approached the arena in the distance, I led the group, trying my best to look confident. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù Located in the center of Frelia, the is one of the town¡¯s most famous landmarks as well as one of the Gods¡¯ Relics, a facility where people can enjoy dueling each other under various rules without risking their lives. (Come to think of it, the tournament is coming up soon.) In B&B, the ¡°Tournament for the World¡¯s Strongest¡± is held in the 6th Month and the 12th Month, where you can enjoy battles with not just Adventurers, but also various famous NPCs. It¡¯s not simply a matter of being able to fight opponents that you wouldn¡¯t normally be able to fight, but it¡¯s also very important from the standpoint of strengthening your character, as in addition to the huge prize money that is awarded to those who remain in the top ranks, there are also skills that can only be learned by becoming the Arena Champion. However, now is the off-season for that tournament. The Arena is filled before and after tournaments, but in the morning and at lunchtime, there are a few people making use of the Arena, and if you apply, you can have mock battles within your party. [I¡¯ve never been to the Arena before.] Even if they said that, it¡¯s not like regular Adventurers would have much chance to go here, but nevertheless, Radd and the others fidgeted as they looked around. However, what really caught their attention was the huge stone statue standing proudly at the entrance of the Arena. [This guy¡¯s cool. I wonder if he¡¯s an Arena fighter?] When Radd curiously tapped the stone statue¡¯s base, Mana immediately came out and explained. [This is the statue of the First Champion! He¡¯s a Legendary Gladiator who had never lost a single match in the 30 years since the World Tournaments began, and remained undefeated until his retirement, despite being regretted by those around him! Ah, by the way, the current champion is a distant descendant of this man!] [As expected of Mana. You really know a lot.] Being an Adventurer Maniac, she would also be familiar with the trends in the Arena Tournaments huh. When I called that out, Mana tapped her fingers together, and confessed with her face bright red. [Ah, uuu, that is¡­¡­ I- I just read that from a sightseeing magazine¡­¡­] That¡¯s kinda¡­¡­ making it sound like she¡¯s not an Adventurer Maniac, but a simple country bumpkin. Well, putting such suspicions aside, Maisie¡¯s nerves seem to have eased a bit when she saw what Radd and the others were like. [¡­¡­Maisie. Are you ready?] [Y- Yes!] She still looks a little nervous, but well, it can¡¯t be helped. Urging her, we went inside the Arena. [Look. I said I¡¯d check your aptitudes, but there is a condition before that.] [A- A condition?] [It¡¯s nothing big. All you have to do is go up to the Arena and stay still. Yeah, however¡­¡­] I looked at Maisie¡¯s equipment from top to bottom. It doesn¡¯t appear like she had any gear that would change her ability values, but they could also be Enchanted equipment. Just in case¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªTake off all your equipment.] As soon as I said that, Maisie¡¯s shoulders shook and I could see the blood drain from her face. [Y- Yes¡­¡­ I¡­¡­ understand¡­¡­] Perhaps thinking that she had come this far so it can¡¯t be helped, she nodded with a resolute expression and walked to the stage. (Perhaps, did she think she would be beaten up after she took her equipment off?) Well, her misunderstanding should be cleared up when she enters the stage. With that thought in mind, I was about to get on the stage too¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI- I misjudged you, Old man!] A voice suddenly shouted from behind me. [¡­¡­Eh?] I turned around to see Radd standing there, his shoulders shaking as he was seemingly suppressing his anger. Not only that, there was also Nuku who looked astounded, Prana¡¯s cold gaze was piercing at me, and Mana who was pouting. And then, there¡¯s the last one member of the group¡­¡­ [Nii-san, so this is the adult way of fighting huh¡­¡­.] With a look of disdain on her face, I finally understood what Maisie and the others had misunderstood. In B&B, character graphics change depending on their equipment. Some of the equipment, especially the stylish ones for the fashion conscious, simply changes the armor, but graphically changes the clothes inside as well. That is just for the convenience of it being a game, but what would the process be like if that were to become reality? Perhaps, there were some equipment that was treated as ¡°one piece of equipment¡±, including the clothes and underwear behind it. And if it¡¯s that kind of equipment, it¡¯s naturally worn directly on the skin, so what would happen if she were to take it off¡­¡­ [A- Ahhh¡­¡­] I felt like my blood was draining out of my face. Putting myself in Maisie¡¯s shoes, let¡¯s reflect on my earlier words and actions. I told her that I had a condition to assess her aptitudes, and calling her into the Arena, I demanded that she take off her equipment and stay still. This, depending on how you look at it, no, I don¡¯t even need various perspectives to¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªY- You¡¯re mistaken! That¡¯s not what I meant!] And so, I had to desperately persuade the crying Maisie, who was trying to get naked in the corner of the Arena. CH 39 The unfortunate difference in common sense regarding equipment has somehow been resolved. As for the way Resilia and the others were looking at me, I had a feeling that the situation hadn¡¯t been fully resolved, but I guess it was a lost cause if I kept being bothered about it. It really is a bad idea to bring them to the Arena on the spur of the moment. Having just thought of something at that moment, I asked Maisie to go out, change her clothes and Class Change, while I got things ready. Frelia¡¯s Arena has several venues, and the one we rented was a relatively small one used for preliminary rounds of tournaments. However, even though this Arena was small, this was still a God¡¯s Relic. In addition to the function of ¡°preventing people from dying even if their HP reaches zero¡±, there are other special features that aren¡¯t found in other Arenas. The most famous feature is the ability to summon the illusions of registered monsters to fight, but what is important this time is the special rules for dueling. The rules can be set in great detail, such as whether or not the Inventory can be used, how much HP must be lost before the player is defeated and so on, but there¡¯s something interesting in the ¡°Dueling Format¡± section. (The format is a level-adjusted match. As for the other settings, I¡¯ll just randomly fill them up.) When I finished setting up, the stage in the Arena lit up, seemingly ready to go. Maisie returned at just the right moment. [U- Ummm¡­¡­ Is this okay?] However, her tone was different from usual, and she sounded somewhat unsure. [Yeah, that¡¯s good. Well then, let¡¯s begin.] [I- I understand.] Seemingly not feeling well, her demeanor was as quiet as a borrowed cat, but there was a reason for that. When she stepped onto the stage, she didn¡¯t have her usual biki¡­¡­ her distinctive armor and weapons, and was instead equipped with normal clothes that provide no defense. To call her a female warrior now, her impact is somewhat lacking for that. [I¡¯ll ask just in case, but you¡¯ve Class Changed too, right?] [Y- Yes. Ummm, I¡¯m a as you instructed¡­¡­] Holding my notebook and quill in my hand, I asked her, to which she nodded in a frightened manner. Maisie, looking restless, seems like an ordinary town girl, and the honorifics she must have been unaccustomed to sound kinda fit her appearance now. Incidentally, the is the only Class weaker than the , which has only two additional aptitude values, and is the ultimate weakest Class with no growth compensation or learnable skills. In a manner of speaking, the equipment and Class, which are the lifeblood of an Adventurer, have been reduced to their weakest, which of course has its meaning. [Alright, your name is Maisie, Class is ¡­¡­] [U- Ummm!] As I was idly jotting down words in my notebook, Maisie impatiently asked. [U- Ummm! What should I be doing now? I- I guess I really should strip after all¡­¡­] [No, I just finished.] [¡­¡­Eh?] [Look, these are your abilities.] Thereupon, I pushed the page with her ability values to Maisie, and only dumbfoundedly muttering ¡°Hwoehh?¡±, she stiffened on the spot. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù Honestly speaking, the method to reveal them is quite simple. The , just as its name suggests, is a duel of the ¡°souls¡±, disregarding one¡¯s ¡°body¡±. In other words, it¡¯s a rule designed for ¡°a duel between characters of different levels¡±, in which the characters fight based on ¡°their aptitudes¡±, without regard to ¡°their current growth rate¡±. Characters who participate in this rule are ¡°forcibly changed to Lv 25¡±, regardless of their current level, and their ability values at that time are based on their ¡°current growth rate¡±, with no effect on their previous training or Class Changes. To be more specific, her Status would be ¡°if she grew at her current Class from Lv 0 to Lv 25 at her current growth rate¡±. And she¡¯s currently standing on the stage with ¡°equipment that provides no growth compensation¡± and ¡°Class with no growth compensation¡±. In other words, the only thing that determines her current Status is ¡°her own aptitude¡±. Hence¡­.. Her Status in the is now easy to understand and reflects her own aptitudes. Her ability value at Lv 25 is equivalent to 30 times her growth value. So, if we divide her ability value by 30¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- Maisie STR ¨C 2 (Bad) VIT ¨C 2 (Bad) MGC ¨C 4 (Good) MND ¨C 4 (Good) AGI ¨C 2 (Bad) FOC ¨C 4 (Good) Total ¨C 18 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- In this way, I can easily determine their aptitude values. [This is my talent¡­¡­?] However, Maisie herself was puzzled by the talent evaluation I gave her. She stood there looking confused as she looked at her current ability evaluation, trying to check towards me with her gaze over and over again. ¡­¡­Well, that¡¯s not unreasonable. Having such ability values with those base aptitudes, she herself must have fought mainly as a warrior-type. I can understand why it would be hard for her to follow if she was suddenly told ¡°Mage is the most suitable Class for you¡±. [M- My head understands. I know that you, no, that Rex-sama isn¡¯t lying¡­¡­] Maisie¡¯s voice trembled as she talked to herself. [B- But! But you see! My initial Class was Fighter! I did Change Class before, tried becoming a Thief and a Soldier, but somewhere, in the back of my mind, I thought I really must be more fit as a warrior¡­¡­ But then, suddenly being told that my talent is more towards magic, I just¡­¡­!] I walked over to Maisie, who had crouched down on the spot, holding her body with both hands. Words of comfort and encouragement will be meaningless now if she herself isn¡¯t convinced. That¡¯s why, there¡¯s only one thing I should say here. [If that¡¯s the case, you should just try it out?] [Eh?] As Maisie looked up at me like a lost child, I smiled. [Did you forget? This place is originally for that purpose.] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [Haahhh!] I watch Maisie fighting on the stage from the audience. What she¡¯s fighting isn¡¯t me, but a monster illusion. This is one of the functions of the . You can¡¯t gain EXP or items here, but you can enjoy fighting against monsters without the danger of death or worrying about your HP and MP. Incidentally, this was a new feature implemented as the second DLC of the game, and although it was necessary to purchase paid DLC to fight some of the cool additional monsters, but as expected, I didn¡¯t bother buying this one. [Gaaaaaahhhh!] The monster attacking Maisie is an . The is a monster that falls between the beginner and intermediate levels, and she should have no trouble with it, but she now continues to fight in the state. In addition to a slight reduction in STR, she¡¯s holding a and a that can be borrowed from the Arena. She was still unable to settle the match because of her equipment, which was easy to handle but had less performance than Iron equipment. [Take this!] However, even though her abilities and equipment had changed, the experience she had acquired as a warrior remained the same. She continued to safely handle the Orc¡¯s attacks, and in the end, she managed to cut down the Orc¡¯s HP without a scratch. [I did it!] I gave her a thumbs up as she turned around with a smug look on her face. Perhaps her mood was getting better, Maisie smiled and rubbed her nose with her sleeve. However, the crucial moment begins here. Her expression quickly became serious, and gently placing the sword and shield she had been using outside the stage, she instead took the rod she had placed next to it. At the same time she readied her rod, an illusion appeared from the other side of the stage. At the sight of it, she backed away for a moment, seemingly faltering. [Maisie!] I shouted, and she immediately raised her rod toward the Orc. The she holds in her hand is only of the lowest class in performance, just like her sword and shield. However, it has a special ability that allows anyone who holds it to use the basic magic, . She has probably never used magic in her entire life. Unlike when she was holding the sword earlier, her face was tense. Still, she stretched out her arms as best as she could toward the approaching Orc and shouted. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª!] At that moment, a huge burst of flames shot out from the tip of the rod, engulfing the body of the Orc that was about to Maisie in flames. The Orc writhed in pain upon the sheer power of the flames and was unable to escape. [Eh¡­¡­] The person who shot the magic was the most incredulous about the result. However, this result is quite natural considering her Status. Right now, the level of her MGC is double that of her MGC. If the level of her equipment is the same, the difference that appears was palpable. [Gaaaaahhhh¡­¡­] While she¡¯s perplexed, the Orc desperately escapes from the flames and staggers toward Maisie. However, from its appearance, by all accounts, it¡¯s dying. [F- Fire!] Maisie¡¯s hand was shaky and her aim was off, but it was enough against the dying Orc. The , as powerful as her first shot, consumed the Orc. [Ah¡­¡­] Without even time to scream a cry of despair, the Orc illusion readily vanished. The enemy that she had taken so much time to defeat with the sword only took her two shots. While there was indeed a difference in instantaneous firepower between magic and swords, the difference between her wielding the two of them was clear. Even without knowing the detailed specifics, Maisie knows that draws out the power of the individual and that doesn¡¯t provide any status compensation. That¡¯s why, this victory is an unchangeable ¡°proof¡±. Clang! The rod Maisie was holding slipped out of her hand. [I really do¡­¡­ have the talent for magic¡­¡­] Looking up to the skies, drops of tears trickle down her cheeks. I don¡¯t know whether those tears were tears of joy at the discovery of her unexpected talent or tears of sorrow at the days of idleness she spent not knowing about this. However¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªRex-sama. I¡¯m going to be a Mage.] Her face, after she wiped away her tears and turned towards me, was very, very radiant. CH 40 As the temporary confusion subsided, the excitement seemed to prevail in Maisie¡¯s mind. [This is amazing, Rex-sama! Of course, there¡¯s your ability to gauge another person¡¯s strength, but for the Duel to actually be able to be used like this¡­¡­] Maisie, who seems to have given up using honorifics other than calling my name with ¡°-sama¡±, was full of praise for me. The is often used as a test run for character builds in the game. It¡¯s not such a far-fetched idea to use it to check the aptitudes of a character, but it may be a surprising idea to local Adventurers, who only think of the Arena as ¡°a place to fight in¡±. (Or perhaps, could the inhabitants of this world need some external stimulus to make them behave in a way they don¡¯t in the game?) It¡¯s an interesting point, but verifying that would be for later. Just as I was about to move to the Temple, Maisie shouted ¡°Ahh¡±, and asked me with a serious expression on her face. [U- Umm, Rex-sama. Could I tell my party members about how you helped me check my talent? Of course, I¡¯ll tell them to keep it a secret, so¡­¡­] I wondered what she was talking about because she sounded so serious, but of course, that wasn¡¯t going to be a problem. I was reflexively going to answer ¡°Okay, but I thought for a moment. [¡­¡­No. In that case, just bring them over here.] [Eh?] [Since we¡¯re at it, I¡¯ll take a look at those guys too. Of course, you don¡¯t really have to¡­¡­] As I was about to say that, Maisie jumped up. [I- I¡¯ll get them! I will bring them here! I¡¯ll drag them out here with a noose around their necks, so wait¡­¡­ Please wait!] As soon as she said this, she was already running outside. From her expression, it seems like she really was going to bring all of them here. [¡­¡­Perhaps, have I been hasty?] I¡¯m sure things are going to be busy after this, so I started explaining the training menu to Radd and the others who had been following me up to this point. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù And so, the next day. The 12th Day of the 11th Month. Resilia and I were walking leisurely toward the Guild. [Today¡¯s definitely the day I¡¯m going to check up on Radd and his party.] In the end, after that ruckus with Maisie yesterday, she had gathered all her party members and returned in only about 20 minutes since then. What was unexpected was their reaction. Some of them were obviously still in their loungewear, but none of them complained, and were instead feeling thankful. It was unexpected, but since they¡¯ve already gathered, it can¡¯t be helped. I sent them all out of the Arena again, had them equip the appropriate equipment and Class Change to , and then used the to check their aptitudes, and after giving them some advice about their Jobs after going to the Temple, the day was completely over. Well, in the meantime, Radd and his party were working on their own training, so there was no loss of time, but still, I feel guilty for disregarding them. [That¡¯s why I said you should have turned her down.] Resilia threw out her complaints, but I shook my head. [No, that was a good experience. I got a lot out of it.] I was able to firmly establish a method of looking at other people¡¯s aptitudes, and I clearly understood the usefulness of being able to look at one¡¯s Status using . It¡¯s easy to forget when you¡¯re playing the game, but in addition to being able to determine a character¡¯s aptitudes, the advantage of being able to ¡°see the exact Status in numerical form¡± is surprisingly significant. This was especially noticeable with Class Changes. Apparently, people in this world only have a vague knowledge that ¡°if you work hard as a Fighter, one day, you will become a Swordsman¡±, and they don¡¯t make any calculations about the required ability values. When I showed them their ability values in numerical form and told them the Class Change requirements for their next Class, their reaction was so great that it kinda scared me. [I was able to confirm that a lot of my game knowledge is applicable to this world. So, I think I¡¯ll actively spread information about the ¡°Quantification of Aptitudes and Current Abilities¡± and ¡°Class Change Requirements¡±.] To be more specific, I will be doing the official work through the Guild to determine the Status and aptitudes of those who want to take part in it. I¡¯m still trying to work out the arrangements in this matter, but I¡¯ve already talked about this to the Guild. [Are you really okay with that?] [Of course, that would diminish our advantage a little, and since we¡¯re introducing a new concept, it won¡¯t be easy.] Someone might go ballistic that their aptitudes and their abilities can¡¯t be so low, and the clear visibility of their aptitudes and abilities might lead to discrimination and bullying of some sort. [I plan to align with the Guild and make adjustments with that. Well, we just got a big connection with them after all.] More trouble may occur, but I¡¯m prepared for some friction. It¡¯s just that, its advantages for me more than make up for it. It was¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Information on Adventurers?] [Bingo.] At the very least, I¡¯m currently the only one who can ¡°quantify¡± Status¡±. It means that Adventurers from all over the world will come to me to check their Status. [I might be able to discover Adventurers with undiscovered great potential, characters who were famous in the game before a certain event occurs or perhaps¡­¡­ I might even be able to find the ¡°Hero¡±.] And so, yesterday, I asked for a little ¡°favor¡± as remuneration from Maisie and her party, who was feeling apologetic about the fact that ¡°they had nothing to give me back for teaching them great things¡±. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CActually, I¡¯m going to start a business judging aptitudes. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CSo, I want you to spread news of what I did today, to the extent of what they¡¯re capable of. I dub this the Grassroots Publicity strategy. In the first place, I have a bad reputation in the public. Even if I were to force myself to advertise about this, there¡¯s a good chance that no one would show up. So, I¡¯m going to have Adventurers actually try it out, and gradually gain recognition for it. It was a roundabout but sure-fire plan, or so I think. [Y- You really told them that?] Resilia¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. Well, the subtleties of matters like this were still unknown to the young Resilia, so I suppose it can¡¯t be helped. [Sure, I could have gotten some remuneration from them, but those guys are still Lv 11. Rather than forcing myself to accept a small reward, I decided to use it as a stepping stone for the future.] [N- No, that¡¯s not what I meant¡­¡­] While Resilia still doesn¡¯t seem to be fully convinced, I groaningly convinced her. [It will be alright. Numerically looking at the Status certainly looks simple, but those who understand it can see its usefulness. Besides, the effect of word-of-mouth is surprisingly significant. Well, I think it will take time to see the effect, but by repeating steady activities like this, it will make quite a difference¡­¡­ Hmm?] I was so engrossed in the conversation that before I knew it, I had arrived in front of the Guild. Opening the door just like usual, I found that the number of people in the main hall somehow seemed small. (What, did they have some kind of big-time Quest?) I tilted my head, but there was no way I would get an answer from them. Not caring about that anymore, I headed for the training grounds. [Nii-san! Please wait, Nii-san!] While Resilia strangely looked flustered, I went out to the training grounds. Then, there I found a big crowd. And the moment I entered the training ground¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CStare. All eyes were suddenly on me. [Eh¡­¡­?] I prayed that they were just directing their attention to the wrong person, but my fleeting hope was crushed the next moment when they all rushed toward me like an avalanche. Wondering what was going on, they came rushing toward me, as if they were trying to overtake the others¡­¡­ [Rex-san! Please tell me my abilities!] [Wait right there! Don¡¯t cut in the line! I¡¯ve been waiting here since three in the morning!] [Hey! I want to be an , how do I¡­¡­] [I- I¡¯ve always been your fan! P- Please shake my hand!] [How much is it? How much do I have to pay? I¡¯ll pay you how much, just tell me my Status¡­¡­] Like beasts swarming around their prey, they pull me from right to left, trying to somehow get my attention. As I was surprised that there were this many Adventurers in this town, they surrounded me, saying all sorts of things, but I had no time to react. [No, hold¡­¡­ Wait¡­¡­ Calm¡­¡­] Jostled by the waves of people surging towards me, unable to move¡­¡­ [¡­¡­I told you so.] For some reason, the only thing that clearly resounded in my eardrums was Resilia¡¯s exasperated voice. CH 41 A week has passed since the attack on the . I have been busy with the Status appraisals, but the hectic situation has finally calmed down. Because of this, Radd and his party hadn¡¯t attacked any dungeons since then, but after conquering that cave, Mana had reached Lv 10 while the rest had risen to Lv 11 in one fell swoop. My guess was that ¡°they wouldn¡¯t be able to exceed the Lv 10 barrier¡±, but perhaps the EXP of the Boss was that many. Anyhow, now that they had gained enough ability values, the next step would have to be grinding Skills. Skills roughly fall into two categories: ¡°Unique Skills¡± and ¡°Class Skills¡±, the former of which doesn¡¯t require training. Unique Skills are acquired by leveling up or through events, and many of them, such as the ¡°Hero¡¯s¡± various Light techniques, ¡¯s , are powerful and strongly accentuate the characteristics of a character. ¡­¡­In fact, also has a Skill Category called the , which only I can use. At Lv 50, I¡¯m able to use the , a Skill with a really cool name. It¡¯s a stylish skill that attacks one enemy by swinging the sword in a crisscross pattern, creating a cross made of dark flames, but it¡¯s so useless that I shuddered about it. It¡¯s a technique that is so low-powered, slow to activate, and can¡¯t be manually activated because it¡¯s not an Art, and it consumes a lot of MP. And yet, despite its many disadvantages, at the end of the motion, Rex would stylishly turn around, making me wanna smack his head and yell at him for making light of combat. And most of all, that technique¡¯s Attribute had to be ¡°Dark¡±! "" The Dark-Attribute isn¡¯t effective against the four Attributes, ¡°Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth¡±, making it ineffective to most enemies other than the Light-Attribute monsters such as Angel-type monsters that appear rarely in the latter half of the game. Furthermore, when used against Undead-type monsters, which tend to appear in the early stages of the game, it has the worst characteristic of ¡°conversely recovering their HP¡±. It¡¯s a complete show-off technique. A garbage skill that takes the royal road of trashiness, looking cool when only seen once, but ends up being a burden when used in a serious situation. He may be the Dark Hero who stands in the shadow of the ¡°Hero¡± of the Light, but I can only say that Rex is really unfortunate. I mean, he was seriously made to fall off the main party in all the circumstances. W- Well, Rex aside, those who have inherited the characteristics of their race through being of pure blood or their ancestry may also receive a , which allows them to use their race¡¯s Skills as their level increases. Random characters may also have random Unique Skills, but this is quite rare. On the other hand, anyone can learn ¡°Class Skills¡± by becoming a specific Class. However, there are conditions for this. For example, just because you become a Mage doesn¡¯t mean you can use Mage Skills right away. After you become a Mage, you will have to fight a lot of battles to gradually become familiar with the Skills and be able to use new techniques and magic! ¡­¡­is the official explanation and the common sense of this world. However, it isn¡¯t really necessary to actually engage in combat. If you repeatedly use the ¡°Basic Skills¡± available at the moment you become a member of that Class, your Class Proficiency Level will increase, and you will learn the higher level techniques and magic set for that Class. The official explanation isn¡¯t really wrong, as Class Proficiency itself can be increased through combat, but considering the Acquisition Speed of new skills through this method, it isn¡¯t very efficient. This is why I suggested to Radd and his party that they should ¡°practice their Skills¡±. It was a simple and uninteresting training, but surprisingly, Radd and the others agreed to the training. Apparently, Radd and the others had a lot on their minds after their first dungeon attack. I was surprised at how open-minded and serious they were about the Skill grinding. When I peeked into the Guild¡¯s training hall, the first thing I saw was Radd. Radd, who relies on Manual Arts for firepower, is an exception in his group and doesn¡¯t need to raise his Class Proficiencies much. In order to increase the number of techniques he can use with Manual Arts though, he was training as before, but with more enthusiasm than ever. Feeling the difficulty of using Manual Arts himself, Radd chose to have his body memorized as a style. Therefore, even though he isn¡¯t fast, he¡¯s steadily increasing the variety of techniques he can use. Most of all¡­¡­ Radd had a Status that made me instantly know is strong the moment I used on him. That much should be given. In addition to his naturally high aptitudes, he has the high-level Class , and out of his four Armor Slots, he wears armor that increases his growth potential in three of the four slots. Of the ¡¯s party of four, Radd has the highest growth rate. Even without doing anything too fancy, he should be able to function as the core of his party if he continues to grow like that. Next is Nuku. I had him put aside his training as a magic-user for now¡­¡­ and had him do training as the Special Class, . Even if he had mastered Mage magics, the available with the is far more powerful. Therefore, his immediate goal is to acquire the skill, which can be learned as a , to ¡°reduce the probability of item destruction¡± so that the rod will not break even if the is used. The possibility that 50 million wen might be destroyed seemed to be considerably stressing his mind, as even now, he continues to train with a ghastly expression on his face. In addition, if he becomes more proficient as a Chemist, he can even learn the most powerful technique , which ¡°inflicts super-special damage to surrounding enemies according to the weapon¡¯s Fixed Attack Power, but the cost of the weapon being destroyed. When I told him about this though, Nuku turned pale and he ran away. It¡¯s the best technique for and , which have high Fixed Attack Power, and since it¡¯s a Skill that doesn¡¯t reflect the user¡¯s ability value, it can be expected to be quite powerful even in the early stages of the game, but it¡¯s probably too much to ask Nuku, who has a weak stomach, to use it. Incidentally, if I try to use on Nuku, I will see the following Status. Comparing this to Maisie¡¯s Status when I used on her before¡­¡­ You can see that there¡¯s a rather harsh difference in each entry. I don¡¯t intend to blurt it out loud, but it¡¯s a value that makes one realize how correct my training plan is. Next to her is Prana, who is single-mindedly shooting at her target. Since I haven¡¯t given her any special instructions other than the Attribute Arrows, she¡¯s currently trying to acquire Bow-user Skills simply to increase her firepower. And as for her Status¡­¡­ She is superbly specialized in ¡°FOC¡±. This is probably due not only to the fact that she has the highest FOC aptitude, but also to the fact that she¡¯s wearing growth equipment on all of her four armor slots, unlike her three other party members that are wearing only up to three pieces. The FOC stat in B&B really feels like the DEX in other games, greatly affecting the attack power of the bow. It can be said that she¡¯s growing steadily as a main attacker. And then, the most peculiar among the four is Mana. It¡¯s still fresh in my mind that during the one-month training period, only one of their party performed ¡°prayer¡±, which all of them had been doing as training, in a different dimension and achieved a frightening level of efficiency. I was curious and asked her about it, and she told me that not only was her ¡°Class¡± a Priest, she also had the way of life of a priest. [I- It¡¯s not that impressive. I¡¯ve just been doing this since I was born.] As she said such a thing without hesitation, I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m seeing some sort of dark side behind her or not. "" She was the only one who had left the Skill grinding early and continued to pray during this period. [The reason I am here, the reason I was able to meet you, all of it was because God willed it after all.] As an atheist, I can¡¯t say anything when someone declares something like that. I have always been interested in knowing about matters of faith in a world where Deities exist, but at least as an actual phenomenon, her MND stat is growing at an alarming rate, even from my point of view. Of course, prayers are still considered a training exercise, so the efficiency of her MND growth will probably drop soon, but I really want her to keep going at it. After checking on all four of them, I returned to the Guild building and headed for the reception desk. [Ah, thank goodness. Rex-san, the Guildmaster is waiting for you in the inner room.] When I got to the reception desk, the Guild¡¯s receptionist, who I have recently become friends with, told me this and took me behind the counter. [Well then, I will show you to his room.] I was uncharacteristically moved as I watched the receptionist say this with a smile on her face. (Thinking about it again, their attitude towards me has changed quite a lot.) I¡¯m no longer the A-Rank Adventurer who people kept at a distance, where even the receptionist looked at me with a suspicious look. Now, I can feel the respect in the way people look at me and if I go to the Guild, I¡¯m even allowed to go to their inner rooms like this. ¡­¡­However, the one whose status changed the most isn¡¯t me. After the news of the attack on the broke, there was an even bigger incident in Frelia¡¯s Guild. The three leading Adventurers in Frelia, Verteran and his party, retired from active duty. After gathering as many Adventurers as he could, Verteran politely explained that he had made a mistake in what he had been telling them, bowed his head in front of them and apologized. At the same time, he announced that he was retiring from adventuring. Some were surprised, some were angry. However, while most of the people there tried to keep him from retiring, he stubbornly refused to budge, saying ¡°This is the only way for me to take responsibility¡± and ¡°This is something only I can do¡±. Verteran¡¯s ability levels certainly weren¡¯t very high by game standards. Considering his level, it¡¯s fair to say that he didn¡¯t have much room for growth. (But if he hadn¡¯t met me, he would have continued on as an Adventurer.) Frankly, I¡¯m feeling a lot of pressure because I have changed one, no, three people¡¯s lives. [Is something the matter?] The receptionist in front of me asked, to which I realized that I had been brooding on this matter deeper than I had expected. [¡­¡­No, it¡¯s nothing serious.] I shook my head and chased the stupid thoughts out of my head. That¡¯s right. That may have happened, but that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m going to stop now. Everything has yet to come, and this and that has just begun. There¡¯s no time for me to look back. [Guildmaster, I¡¯ve brought Rex-sama.] The receptionist¡¯s voice urged me on, and I stepped into the room. [Oh¡­¡­] Just as I raised my gaze, I saw the Guildmaster¡¯s eyes met mine. The large-statured, bearded man looked at me and raised his fist in greeting, to which I returned the gesture. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-You¡¯re late, Rex.] [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Thanks for waiting, Verteran.] We exchanged grins. CH 42 [Well, I was originally approached about this matter a long time ago.] The man who spoke was Verteran, a former A-Rank Adventurer who had suddenly become Frelia¡¯s Guildmaster after retiring from adventuring. The man who recommended him for the Guildmaster position was the aging Guildmaster, who was also a former Adventurer. [The Guildmaster is the ¡°face¡± of the Guild. According to the old man who preceded me, Guildmasters are of course responsible for practical work, but it¡¯s more important to be well-known and to have a good personality.] ¡°Especially in times like these¡±, added Verteran. For example, in the event of an incident such as a monster attack, the Guildmaster must take the lead in organizing the Adventurers. If the Guildmaster is some unknown person or someone who isn¡¯t trusted by the Adventurers, a catastrophe could ensue. [It seems that my predecessor has high opinions of me. Even though I told him that I had no intention of taking over the Guild, he still made a few moves, such as introducing me to various people as a potential successor, and giving me the opportunity to meet the Guild members through small Quests.] ¡°Well, I thought it was just an unwelcome favor at that time¡±, Verteran said, scratching his cheek. [You weren¡¯t planning on being the Guildmaster?] [Well, I thought of it as an option for the future. It¡¯s just, there were still many things I wanted to do as an Adventurer. As long as I didn¡¯t screw up and someone died in my group, I was going to stay on the job for another ten years. ¡­¡­That is until I met you.] Thereupon, he sighed deeply. Looking at me in the eyes as if he was reminiscing about something, he spoke. [Every single thing you told me was a shock. My whole life was turned upside down in that one day. I regretted it, knowing that I had caused so much trouble for the youngsters with my vague knowledge. But¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª That¡¯s why I want to bet it all on you.] Leaning his body forward on his seat, he declared. [There are guys who wonder why I became the Guildmaster even though I admitted my mistakes. However, they got it backwards. It¡¯s because I admitted my mistakes that I became the Guildmaster. What difference does stopping do after you apologize? If you want to make amends, you have to move forward.] For a moment, Verteran¡¯s eyes glinted sharply. [Your knowledge will shake the world. Even without me doing anything, I¡¯m sure it would eventually spread across the world. ¡­¡­But while I¡¯m here, I can do something to make your knowledge spread faster. I¡¯m certain that I¡¯m currently in the best place to help you right now.] [Thanks for that.] The incident that had spread across the world because Maisie spread the word. There were many miscalculations, but I now recognize that the main cause was the difference in values between me and the people of this world. Everything is different between this world and Japan. The values of the inhabitants of this world, this ideal world ¡°as pictured by its developers¡±, except for the monsters, are far apart from mine, and the people of this world, who really put their bodies on the line, have a different attitude toward adventuring from me, who just presses buttons in front of the screen. But well, once I understood that, this matter was quickly settled. If you don¡¯t know about something, consult someone who does. After repeated discussions with Verteran and the Guild¡¯s receptionists who were actually doing the paperwork, we started the Guild¡¯s semi-official ¡°Status Appraisal¡± and ¡°Aptitude Appraisal¡± services with the full cooperation of the Guild. There were countless decisions to be made, but I guess the most important ones were: ¡°The fee is based on Guild Rank¡±, ¡°Appraisals will be held once a week, on an application basis¡±, and ¡°participants must prepare their Classes and Equipment in advance¡±. As for how it¡¯s set up, it was filled with my hope of a very reasonable price with as less of a burden on me as possible. First of all, the program is meant to help new Adventurers who aren¡¯t originally suited to the path they are taking. So, I decided to charge a modest fee for newcomers, and a reasonable fee for high-ranked Adventurers with lots of money. I would only appraise on the ¡°Light Day¡±, which was something like a Sunday in this world, and the Guild would take care of everything, including payment of fees, guiding participants, and taking up space in the Arena. All I had to do was simply appraise the client, write down the results on a piece of paper, and hand it to the person in front of me. This would be much more efficient than if I had done it alone. According to Verteran¡­¡­ [You may not get it, but the benefit to the Guild is immeasurable. This is a project that already has the approval of all of our Guild staff, without me having to push for it. Listen closely, okay? Your time is a valuable commodity to mankind. Leave everything that anyone else can do to us.] I thought he was being very arrogant since he was saying this with a straight face, but if they were willing to do this, there was no reason for me to refuse. The rest is just a matter of detailed income distribution and measures to be taken in case the event is canceled due to my circumstances. Moreover, they always take a course before the first ¡°Status Appraisal¡± and listen to a thankful talk like ¡°the Status isn¡¯t all there is to a person¡¯s strength¡± or ¡°your aptitude is just that, it doesn¡¯t dictate a person¡¯s path¡±, and worked out a lot of details, such as making a contract that said ¡°we will not force them to show their Status to others¡±. Their ability to adjust to new situations, in which the content of the discussion is immediately implemented, can be said to be a positive effect of the loose worldview of this pseudo-fantasy world, where the social system is, in a sense, less developed than in modern Japan. Furthermore, in this world, there are Gods¡¯ Relics and magic, and there are spells that can make contracts and detect lies. Having such a thing in a world could make its society utopian or dystopian, but whatever the case, it¡¯s certainly easier for those who make the rules. [Well, I¡¯ve ¡°seen¡± all the special first-time applicants for this past week, so I¡¯ll be free for a while.] I look back at the memories of that time I had to use a lot of times in the Arena, and with my mind filled with optimism¡­¡­ [Rex. I¡¯ve said this many times already, but you can¡¯t ignore how valuable your ability is.] Verteran astoundedly shook his head. [I¡¯ve already had you look at my abilities numerically, and for an Adventurer, this is much more addictive than alcohol or cigarettes. At least, if it were me, I¡¯d want to check every time I level up.] [To make sure the results are as expected?] [Of course, even if the results are as expected.] If he¡¯s that sure about this, I have no choice but to shut my mouth. Including the times I was playing games, I have been in a position to see the Status at all times, so I don¡¯t really feel anything about it at the moment, but for people who couldn¡¯t see their Status, I suppose it would be very stressful. [Besides, if I wanted to see if training had any effect on my abilities, I could only go for a ¡°Status Appraisal¡±.] [That may be right.] ¡°Besides¡­¡­¡±, Verteran lifted a notebook from his desk. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThere¡¯s no way people would pull away from something amazing like this. The clients requesting for you to look at them would only increase.] In the notebook is a list I compiled of the conditions for Class Change and growth compensation for Classes up to the Third-Tier. The reason I was able to write such a thing was of course¡­¡­ not because I remembered the conditions for Class Change for all Classes that existed in B&B. This is also a benefit brought by . In fact, the ability values of the statues in the temple for Class Changing are the requirements for changing your Class to that profession. In other words, by using on the statue, I can instantly find out the ability values required to change to that Class. Well, for some special Classes, it may be necessary to have ¡°certain abilities to be not exceeding a certain level¡±, or items or titles may be required, but since most of these are for the Fourth-Tier and subsequent Classes and there are no statues for them in the temple, they aren¡¯t relevant at this time. On the other hand, the growth compensation can be determined to some extent with some rules, and for some of the ones I don¡¯t remember, I changed my own Class and verified them using the . In fact, Rex can Class Change to all Classes up to the Third-Tier, and he has learned all the skills of each of them. Even so, he was easily outclassed by other people of the same level, but there¡¯s no one better suited for verifications like this than Rex. Clutching the fruits of my blood and sweat, Verteran leaned forward with his desk and vigorously declared. [We now knew exactly what the requirements for new Classes are, which until now we have only vaguely understood. Once you publish this, it¡¯s going to change the world! And every Adventurer would come to have you do a ¡°Status Appraisal¡±! That I guarantee!] Both Class Change Requirements and Status are useful information, but it is when the two are combined that their true value is revealed. For example, if you were told that ¡°the Class Change requirement was 120 STR¡±, it¡¯s natural that you would want to know how much STR you have. [D*mn it! Frankly, I¡¯m jealous of all the beginner Adventurers out there! Knowing my own abilities and comparing them to the Class Change Requirements, deciding which path to take would definitely be fun!] [No doubt about that.] I agreed with those words without a second thought. Improving your character¡¯s abilities as you look ahead to your next Class. That was a big part of the fun B&B brings, and something I had experienced firsthand. (People in this world neglect Class Change too much.) That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been thinking even when I was playing B&B. Even if you find an event character who joins later in the game, or even a random character with good aptitudes, most of them aren¡¯t as good as they could have been. This is because the Class selection AI for NPCs is lousy, and by the time they can join your party, they have leveled up in a fatally nonsensical way. I have seen many, many cases where a character who has top-notch talent as a warrior and could have reached the Fourth-Tier in the Warrior-line if I had raised them, but for some reason, they had a magic-user Class as some sort of SubClass. I intend to open up the Ruins and accelerate the world. To do this, I don¡¯t want the Adventurers to stay useless. In the future, I plan to set up something like a ¡°Class Counseling Service¡± in the Guild to help those Adventurers who are too muscleheaded. However, that¡¯s still a long way off. [¡­¡­But is this really okay?] Verteran, who was getting excited, looked at me with a mysterious look on his face. [If you hadn¡¯t spread this information and kept it in your inner circle, you would have had an advantage over other Adventurers. And yet¡­¡­] [That¡¯s a needless worry.] I shook my head, not needing him to continue. [I¡¯ll say this so that you won¡¯t make a misunderstanding, but I¡¯m not some sort of saint like you. I¡¯m not going to do anything that isn¡¯t in my best interest.] [B- But¡­¡­] I laughed ferociously at Verteran, who was still insisting on this matter. [I¡¯m saying revealing this much is nothing to worry about. With this information, the other Adventurers can follow us as best as they can. However, we¡¯re going far beyond that.] I said with a hint of bravado, to which Verteran raised his hands in the air, as if to say ¡°there¡¯s no helping it¡±. Then, after a moment¡¯s pause, he sat deep in the Guildmaster¡¯s chair and murmured to himself. [I don¡¯t know what you think about yourself but¡­¡­ You really are more of an Adventurer than anyone else.] His words echoed softly in the quiet room, and for some reason, I felt a hint of loneliness in them. CH 43 [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªD*mn it all!] With those words, Grey slammed his mug down on the table. The C-Rank Adventurer, was in a state of rage. As if he were cursing everything in the world, he glared at everyone around him. It was unknown how many failed Quests they¡¯ve had, and how far he is from being promoted to a B-Rank Adventurer. The bitterness of ale, which he had loved so much, does nothing to soothe his troubled heart. [How the heck did those idiots from become B-Rank instead of us!? The Guild must have been paid off by those guys! Don¡¯t you think so too, Ken!?] Grey turned to , a Samurai drinking quietly in front of him. [¡­¡­They are strong.] He succinctly said, seemingly not planning to go along with his words. Replying with ¡°You¡¯re a boring guy!¡±, Grey poured more alcohol on his mug. [Grey. I think you should stop drinking already¡­¡­] The party¡¯s healer, , admonished Grey, who was clearly drinking at a high pace. This should have been a scene just like their usual, but it ended up being different today. [Bah, don¡¯t you act all high and mighty! I almost died today because you didn¡¯t heal fast enough!] [T- That is¡­¡­] Zemina shrank back as Grey shouted. [Don¡¯t just shut your trap there! Say something!!!] [That¡­¡­ is¡­¡­] She is always like that. She thinks that if she just trembles and plays the victim like that, she will be the only one that isn¡¯t at fault. [It¡¯s your fault! It¡¯s because of you that I¡­¡­!] He was so frustrated that he involuntarily raised his hand toward her, but that¡¯s when it happened. [¡ª¡ª¡ª-Stop it, Grey.] Someone grabbed his hand from behind and stopped him. The leader of Grey¡¯s party, . [Don¡¯t stop me, Bene! She¡¯s¡­¡­] Grey shook off his hand and tried to hit Zemyna again. However¡­¡­ (Strange. Why can¡¯t I shake him off?) Grey¡¯s hand, which he had put all his strength into, didn¡¯t even move a twitch. Bene¡¯s body was one or two times smaller than the large-statured Grey. In fact, when they first met, Grey was more powerful than Bene. (It¡¯s just because I¡¯m drunk.) Grey concluded this and tried to shake off the hand holding his arm with all his strength once again. But still, Grey¡¯s arm wouldn¡¯t move. [Grey!] As this shout resounded, his right arm was abruptly released. Feeling his mind lag from the suddenness, ¡°Don!¡±, an impact struck his face. [¡­¡­!] His vision was in a state of flux, he found himself lying on the ground outside the tavern. [Bene, you¡­¡­!] The moment he realized that he had been knocked down, blood rushed to his head. (Unforgivable! I¡¯ll beat you up!) He clenched his fists and tried to stand up, but his legs weren¡¯t strong enough. He glared angrily at Bene, who was coldly staring at him. Before Grey could say anything, Bene threw something at him as he crawled on the ground. It was a wooden plaque with Grey¡¯s name on it. [Tomorrow, when you sober up, take that to the Guild¡¯s Class Consultation Window.] [¡­¡­Huh?] Grey¡¯s mouth slacked open at the sudden, unintelligible words. [I heard you can receive the ¡°Class Change Support Program¡± there.] [Bene? What are you suddenly¡­¡­] The moment he understood what those words meant, feeling even more humiliated than when he was punched, the shock made his eyes see red. ¡­¡­Class Change Support. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-That is to say, he, their shielder, is not needed¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-That he¡¯s being told that he¡¯s just a liability to the party! Faster than the furious Grey could rise to his feet¡­¡­ [It should take about 10 days. Until then¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-] Bene turned his back, seemingly ignoring Grey who was on the ground¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-You don¡¯t have to come back to the party.] ¡°Bang!¡±, the door to the tavern slammed shut. Even so, Grey still couldn¡¯t get up. [D*mn it!] ¡°Gan!¡± he struck the ground. [D*mn it, you¡¯ve gotta be kidding me! You¡¯ve gotta be f*cking kidding me!] He staggered out of that place, dragging his body, which was immobile due to his drunkenness and the damage to his emotion. (After being told something like that, did they seriously think I¡¯ll just take that Class Change Support thing and like a d*mned dog wagging its tail, go back to that party with a different Class!?) [I¡¯m done! We¡¯re f*cking done!] Mumbling to himself, he walked away from the tavern. This is the little shop that he has been frequenting since their party was formed, a place filled with memories of their party. Now, even if only for a little while, he wanted to get away from this place. Passersby on the street are mumbling something to themselves, avoiding Grey. [D*mn them all! Every one of them¡­¡­] They don¡¯t know anything! They don¡¯t understand sh*t! [I am¡­¡­] He stamped on the ground in frustration, but his foot slipped on the wet ground. He lost balance on the spot and fell miserably to the ground. [¡­¡­Gahh!] Perhaps the spot he fell on wasn¡¯t a good one, he lost strength in his body. He also felt like he heard some giggles from behind him. [I know! I know about this the most!] Still on the ground, Grey shouted. (I know I¡¯m a helplessly useless person. That I¡¯m an incorrigible scum that doesn¡¯t deserve to go on an adventure with them!) But¡­¡­ [But, this is all I have! The shield is all I have¡­¡­!] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù Bene, Zemyna and Grey came to Frelia dreaming of becoming first-class Adventurers. Bene, who could handle anything, became the attacker, Zemyna, who used magic, became the healer, and Grey, who had nothing to offer except his strength and toughness, became the shield that protects the two of them. At first, things were going well. Bene wasn¡¯t as strong as Grey, but he was good at finding the weak points of monsters and could use some magic to assist him. Zemyna¡¯s Recovery Magic was effective, and by using Offensive Magic in between, she was able to defeat enemies that are only weak to magic. And then, there¡¯s Grey who stood in front of them, desperately defending against the attacks of the monsters. Even Bene told Grey, that ¡°being their shield is Grey¡¯s calling in life¡±. It is a tough and unglamorous job to be the shield that takes the full brunt of the enemies¡¯ attacks. However, Grey found his role rewarding. He innocently believed that he could go anywhere with the two of them. When did the gears start to go haywire? Ken, a taciturn but skilled swordsman, joined the group, and after clearing several beginner dungeons, first Bene, then Zemyna changed their class¡¯ Second-Tier one after another. At that time, Grey was still able to congratulate them with a smile. But even though he continued to be an Adventurer, conquering dungeons, advancing, advancing, advancing, and finally reaching the level of an intermediate Adventurer, Grey remained on his initial Class, . No matter how much time had passed, Grey wasn¡¯t able to become a . The difference between the Initial and Second-Tier Class is gradually becoming apparent. He was given priority for armor. He levels up just like the rest of his party. However, he was finding himself unable to parry enemy attacks and letting them pass behind him more often than not. He doesn¡¯t want to admit it. It is only with his endurance that allows the clumsy, tottery Grey to stand alongside the two of them. (What am I going to do when my only redeeming feature is gone?) On the days they didn¡¯t go to the dungeon, no, even after the days they did, he went to the Guild¡¯s training grounds and trained hard. Every time he trained, every time he leveled up, he went to the temple to see if he could become a . However, all of it was in vain. Even after conquering an intermediate dungeon and being promoted to a C-Rank Adventurer, Grey wasn¡¯t able to become a . And that day, after conquering the dungeon and leveling-up, he headed for the temple with hopeful thoughts in mind¡­¡­ Bene had turned into the Third-Tier Class, . Grey doesn¡¯t remember what he said to Bene at that time. He drank more and more. He continued to train, but it was obvious that he was less committed than before. He was often dragging the two of them down in the dungeon, and as a result, he drank more and more, which made it even harder for him to concentrate on the dungeon. It was a completely vicious cycle. Even though he himself knew this, he couldn¡¯t get out of it. In this hellish spiral, Grey struggled, drowned¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-And today, he lost everything. He staggered to his feet with his hands on the wall. (Maybe this was for the best¡­¡­) In the first place, it was a mistake to have a dunce who couldn¡¯t even change to a Second-Tier Class following them, no matter how long they had been working together. (¡­¡­Let¡¯s go back to the village and find another job!) Then surely, they will be able to look back on today with a smile someday. That¡¯s right. This would be where his life starts. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-That¡¯s what he thought¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-That should have been what he thought¡­¡­ Grey¡¯s feet naturally found itself heading toward the place he had always gone to. [Excuse me¡­¡­] Heading toward the figure behind the counter, Grey held out the wooden plaque he was clutching and said in a trembling voice. [Is this the Class Change Consultation Window?] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [¡­¡­It¡¯s morning huh.] Waking up, he frowned at the headache that immediately hit him. Looking around and finding himself in unfamiliar surroundings, he saw what appeared to be the Guild¡¯s nap room. [I see. Yesterday¡­¡­] It seemed that he got drunk, stormed into the Guild and knocked himself unconscious. [¡­¡­Totally not cool.] He clearly remembered that he went to the place called Class Change Consultation Window. There, as prompted by the staff, he told them about being his party¡¯s shielder and how he used up the good graces of his comrades. Still, he remembered frankly talking about how he wanted to somehow repay them. [Uwaaaaaaaaahh!] He couldn¡¯t help holding his head in his hands. (Even though I was drunk, what the heck am I¡­¡­!) Fuming about this matter, Grey rolled around in bed¡­¡­ [Ah, you¡¯re still sleeping? You can¡¯t be like that on your first day, you know?] The door suddenly opened and a woman dressed as a Guild Staff entered the room where Grey was. (If I remember correctly, this woman¡¯s a receptionist named Erina¡­¡­) Erina tossed her luggage to Grey, who was trying hard to be aware of what was going on. [Eh? This is¡­¡­] What was handed to her was a white robe obviously worn by a magic-user or a priest, and a number of unidentifiable items. Erina sighed in dismay at the puzzled Grey. [Why is your head still in the clouds? The ¡°Class Change Support Program¡± is about to start.] [¡­¡­Huh?] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù (¡­¡­How humiliating.) Grey was then made to wear a white robe and a toy-like triangular hat, and was put through the ¡°Class Change Support Program¡±. He protested that he couldn¡¯t dress so shabbily, but the reluctant Grey was offered a reminder written in his own handwriting. On it, in Grey¡¯s handwriting, was something along the lines of ¡°I agree to undergo the Class Change Support Program and will follow any instructions given to me¡±. (Yesterday¡¯s me, what the heck are you doiiiiiiiiing!!!?) Drunk and smashed, Grey had apparently agreed to take the Class Change Support Program before he knew it. (How disgraceful.) And what he was made to do in his incomprehensible outfit was to ¡°pray¡± at the training center. It was the most out of character for him, a shield specialist, and it made him squirm in his hips. As far as Grey knew, he had no talent for magic. He knows from the bottom of his heart that there¡¯s no use in doing this. (But¡­¡­) He remembered what Bene had told him. He said that he didn¡¯t have to come back to the party until he had received assistance from the Class Change Support Program. On the flip side, it means that if he makes it all the way through the program, he can be without them again¡­¡­ [D*mn it! What kind of sissy thoughts am I having now!?] He took this program because he signed a contract. Breaking the contract to the Guild means death as an Adventurer. So, he has no choice but to accept it. That¡¯s all there is to it. Putting a lid on the thoughts welling up within his mind, Grey simply immersed himself in his prayer. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [D*mn it, this really doesn¡¯t make sense¡­¡­] He wakes up in the morning in the Guild¡¯s nap room, pray and then sleep in the nap room again. The only break he had was his mealtime. (Whoever decided on this program must be crazy!) For a week, Grey had been living a life he could only complain about. For the next seven days, Grey had been praying in that inexplicable outfit. As expected, after doing only that for all that time, it seemed as if he was getting the hang of praying. But even so, it wasn¡¯t as if anything had changed drastically within him. It was at that moment that he regretted going along with their incomprehensible whims. [That was¡­¡­] In the training area, he spotted a former party member, Zemyna. He reflexively hid in response. (What the heck is she doing here!?) Swearing in his heart, he looked back at his own outfit. A white robe that was too soft for a shielder, and a colorful hat that looked like a joke. Even if it kills him, he wouldn¡¯t let himself be exposed to wearing such a thing. (D*mn it!) He was just about to head out for a meal, but his timing couldn¡¯t be any worse. Unfortunately, Zemyna was located near the prayer room, and it was unlikely that he would be able to enter the room without seeing him. (Haven¡¯t you done enough already? Stop showing in front of me anymore! Don¡¯t make me suffer any more than this!) Perhaps, Grey¡¯s wish was answered, as Zemyna looked around for someone for a while, before eventually looking away. He was relieved that she didn¡¯t see him, but at the same time, blazing determination flared up in Grey¡¯s heart. (I¡¯ll stop! I won¡¯t put up with this stupidity anymore!) Roughly inhaling, Grey went to the receptionist Erina. And then, prepared to let out his pent-up frustrations¡­¡­ [Ah, you¡¯re just right on time! I was looking for you because you weren¡¯t in the dining hall! We¡¯ve successfully found the receiving party for Grey-san!] [¡­¡­Huh?] Hearing the words she suddenly said, Grey was tossed around even further. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [Y- You guys are¡­¡­] The ¡°receiving party¡± that Erina introduced to Grey was one he had a close relationship with. [It seems like you don¡¯t need introductions, but I¡¯ll do it just in case. This is a party active in Frelia, . Even though it was just for a short time, you will be working together for the next three days.] The B-Rank Adventurer party, . Although they had started at about the same time as Grey¡¯s party, they had been promoted to B-Rank Adventurers before Grey¡¯s party. A few days ago, it would have been unimaginable for Grey to partner up with these young adventurers, who he one-sidedly recognized as rivals, even if it¡¯s only for a short period of time. No, to begin with, regarding this matter¡­¡­ [For me to have actually been made to Class Change to ¡­¡­] He doesn¡¯t remember it at all, but it seems that he had Class Changed to of his own volition on the first day when he was drunk. (¡­¡­Well, considering that, I guess things make sense now huh.) Prayer is something that trains your ¡°MND¡±. And the Class that requires ¡°MND¡± is healer. (In other words, the Guild wants me to be a healer.) ¡°What a waste of time¡±, or so Grey thought. Remembering Zemyna, who was a natural in being a healer, he knew he didn¡¯t have what it takes to be a healer. However, since he had already gone this far, he just thought of seeing things through. Pushing aside the various thoughts in his mind, he shakes hands with the leader of the party. As for why accepted Grey, an amateur healer, their original healer had to leave the party for a few days due to unavoidable circumstances, and they were approached by the Guild to have Grey as their substitute and for them to earn some pocket money during that time. [I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t have any experience as a healer. That¡¯s why¡­¡­] [It¡¯s alright. We¡¯ve heard about the circumstances. Let¡¯s talk about it and get things going little by little.] And thus, Grey¡¯s new challenge with a rival party that was more understanding than he imagined started. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù There was no way he could be a healer. Grey, who was thinking as such, was half right and half wrong. Grey indeed had no aptitude as a healer. The magic he could use was only the most basic . And since his ¡°MND¡± isn¡¯t high, the amount he can heal is insignificant. ¡­¡­is how it should have been, but as soon as he put on the ring lent to him by the Guild, his heals became as effective as those of a skilled healer. (It¡¯s so effective that it¡¯s creepy.) The effectiveness was completely far apart that Grey couldn¡¯t help but think so. However, he isn¡¯t so naive of an Adventurer that he¡¯d think he can become a top-notch healer like this. Recovery Magic for status ailments wasn¡¯t available to Grey, who was an impromptu healer, and there were times when he couldn¡¯t use his Recovery Magic immediately when he needed them, or conversely, ran out of MP at the critical moment because he used them too frequently. That day, the day Grey parted ways with his party. Grey recalled how he had rebuked Zemyna, their healer, for being slow in healing. (She was using Recovery magic with proper distributions. And yet, I had¡­¡­) He regretted it, but it was already too late. After that, Grey continued fulfilling his role as his temporary party¡¯s healer, but his new role was just so different from a shielder, and the result was a reminder of how well Zemyna had been conducting herself. At the end of the day¡¯s adventure, Grey suppressed the humiliation within his heart and apologized to for his inadequacy. [No, without the healer, it would have been impossible for us to even dive into a dungeon of this level. We¡¯re grateful that you joined us. Thank you.] All of them bowed down to him. His heart warmed, but at the same time, his miserableness seemed to stab into his heart. (D*mn it! Against such people, I had¡­¡­) But now, cutting corners was no longer an option. After that, Grey continued to accompany them on their adventures, standing in as their healer, and then, on the third day¡­¡­ For the first time since Grey joined this program, he ¡°leveled up¡±. The Adventurers of were happy about it and congratulated Grey in a rough, Adventurer-like style. However¡­¡­ However, Grey was¡­¡­ (¡­¡­This feels the worst.) Behind the scenes, he was biting back his despair so hard that his lip was chipped. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [D*mn it all! You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me! You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me!!!] He had already taken off his white robe and his clown hat. The only thing controlling Grey¡¯s body now was the anger that welled up inside him. [Even though I haven¡¯t been able to help out at all! Even though I was just taking advantage of their kindness!] And yet, here he was, ¡°leveling up¡±. As if he was a proper Adventurer, he received EXP, remuneration for an Adventurer¡¯s efforts. When the invited him to join them for ¡°a drink as a farewell party¡±, he one-sidedly said goodbye to them and ran off. The Guild had chosen Grey to have this kind of life huh. Thinking that, Grey could no longer stay still. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡°I guess this was obvious¡±, whispered what little reason remained in Grey¡¯s head. Incapable of being a shielder, with nothing else to his credit, the only way for him to survive as an Adventurer is to somehow become a parasite to others. On the other hand, if he¡¯s a healer, he doesn¡¯t have to fight the enemy directly. If he has plenty of items and acted as a substitute healer, even the incompetent him can do it and there¡¯s minimum demand for it. [Don¡¯t f*cking mess with me!!!] However, such a thing wasn¡¯t Grey¡¯s idea of an ¡°Adventurer¡±. That he was so eager to hold on to his adventuring career that he thought of continuing to be an Adventurer even at the detriment of the party¡­¡­ And above all, Grey was deeply angry with himself for accepting such a lousy proposal on the first day. [Ah¡­¡­] But perhaps, because blood had been rushing to his head¡­¡­ The Guild wasn¡¯t the place Grey had gone back to. [The Temple¡­¡­] Grey recalled how he usually stopped here every time he leveled up. It seems that all his previous actions made Grey subconsciously lead his feet toward this place. [¡­¡­Tsk.] Grey knew that he wasn¡¯t calm right now. That being the case, Grey thought of spending some time here to cool off his mind. Having decided this, Grey went through the Temple¡¯s gate with his feet stamping on the ground, as if to vent his frustrations. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù With a bang, the door to the tavern opens. At the same time, upon seeing the sudden arrival of Grey, Bene, Ken, and Zemyna¡¯s eyes widened. Seeing them react like that finally made Grey realize that he had stepped into this place on impulse, without preparing the words to say. [Ah¡­¡­] He didn¡¯t know what to say. He could think of large numbers of words he would tell them when they didn¡¯t meet, but none of those came to mind. [¡­¡­I did it.] That¡¯s why¡­¡­ The words that had been occupying Grey¡¯s mind leaked from his heart. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI¡¯ve become a Guardian!] Grey found himself shouting that to his former friends. After he said it, he regretted how out of place that was. Telling his former comrades, who have already reached their Third-Tier Class, that he Class Changed to a Tier-Two Class is¡­¡­ Just as he was about to run away from such negative impulses¡­¡­ [Congrats! Congratulations, Grey!] [Z- Zemyna!?] The usually calm Zemyna jumped on Grey, as if to cling on him. That¡¯s not all. [You did it, Grey!] Bene, who was always so calm and collected, looking disheveled, came up to Grey¡­¡­ [I¡¯m really, really happy for you! ¡­¡­I- I just¡­¡­ I just couldn¡¯t stand to see Grey pushing himself to tatters. Ahh, d*mn it! Sorry, even though we really should be celebrating with a smile.] He congratulated Grey with what looked like a tear-filled smile, as he desperately wiped away the tears that were spilling out of his eyes. [¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­] The taciturn Ken said nothing. He just grinned and gave a thumbs-up. (¡­¡­I see.) It was only at that moment that Grey finally realized. The troubles that he thought he had been able to hide were, in fact, leaked to them. The party members who he thought abandoned him had been waiting for Grey¡¯s return for a long time. [I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry, everyone¡­¡­ Thank you.] And once he became aware of this, it was no good anymore. Grey and his party clumped together, hugging each other on the shoulder and crying like children. The tavern owner shook his head in exasperation, and the other patrons became very lively and cheered for them, but Grey and his party didn¡¯t care about that. The four reunited cried, brought out a ruckus and celebrated¡­¡­ It was the best day of their lives. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù Some time later¡­¡­ Grey¡¯s party was certified as B-Rank. Grey¡¯s Class Change and the increase in stability in the way he handled his shield may have been a factor to this, but most of all, Grey thinks that the main reason was that the teamwork of the party improved and they were able to stand more in equilibrium. (In the end, the Class Change was just a catalyst. I was being too sulky and lost sight of what was important.) However, he was able to realize this because he was able to Class Change, and it somehow made him think that the world isn¡¯t so simple. He had checked with the Guild after that, and it seems that the purpose of the ¡°Class Change Support Program¡± was to ¡°make Grey Class Change so that he could become a Guardian¡± from the start. He was later told that the reason Grey couldn¡¯t become a Guardian wasn¡¯t because he lacked the ¡°VIT¡± needed by shielders, but because he lacked the ¡°MND¡± that is normally used by healers. Grey is naturally extremely low in MND, and such people often fail to become higher-ranking Classes because of it. Therefore, he had to equip himself with equipment that could easily raise his ¡°MND¡± and concentrate on developing his ¡°MND¡± through training and level up in order to be able to Class Change to Guardian. Grey was surprised about this and complained to Erina that she should have said so if that were the case, but when she said ¡°he was briefed about the contents of his training on the first day, and that¡¯s why she thought he acknowledged it¡±, so he could only be at a loss for words. In the end, the problem could have been solved if Grey had been sober, or if he had followed what Bene said and gone to the counter the next morning, so everything that happened was all on Grey. Since then¡­¡­ He and Bene started talking more often than before, and they started discussing party management and growth plans together, something he used to leave to him because he had no interest in it. Bene said ¡°he¡¯s grateful for his help because he was anxious about handling all the matters by himself¡±, but Grey still hasn¡¯t been able to keep up with the amount of knowledge Bene has. Hoping to be of help to the party in that area as well, he started studying about this. As for Ken, Grey¡¯s relationship with him was still the same as before. However, there were times when they would talk about things over drinks, and recently , he told him that his name is Shin, not Ken, because the way their people named themselves in their hometown was the opposite of the way in Frelia. But well, hearing that Ken would always be Ken in Grey¡¯s mind, Ken silently chuckled. And then¡­¡­ There was the last member of Grey¡¯s party, Zemyna, but there was a big, big change related to her. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThe Adventurer named is no longer in Grey¡¯s party. The turning point came just before the party was promoted to B-Rank. After Zemyna made a proposal, which Grey had accepted, their party roster was rewritten. That is¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªGrey!] Grey looked back at the woman who came running toward him with a smile. As she waved towards him with a big smile on her face, on her ring finger was a ring that Grey had given her. The woman¡¯s name is . She is a member of ¡¯s party and the one he loves. According to Bene¡¯s story, Zemyna had been thinking about Grey for a long time. The reason he saw her at the training ground was that she was worried about him leaving the party and came to check on him. [Good grief. Grey¡¯s thickheadedness made her quite the worrier.] ¡ªor so Bene said. According to Zemyna¡¯s wishes, their wedding was to held at the tavern. The small but warm wedding ceremony was a great success, with the always grumpy old man, his friends in the party, and those who had helped them, as well as the guys from the , were all invited. [¡­¡­Zemyna.] [Hmm?] [Umm, thanks.] When he told her how he felt from the bottom of his heart, she sweetly giggled¡­¡­ [Our story¡¯s just beginning, you know?] ¡ªand she whispered so. [¡­¡­You¡¯re right.] In those 10 days, Grey¡¯s life, which had seemed to be at a standstill, changed dramatically. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI¡¯m glad I had the courage to go to the ¡°Class Change Consultation Window¡± at that time. Looking back on those days, Grey thinks so from the bottom of his heart. If Bene hadn¡¯t recommended the ¡°Class Change Consultation Window¡± to him, or if he hadn¡¯t decided to take the ¡°Class Change Support Program¡±, I would never have become the person I am today. After taking the program, his life started moving again. The counselors¡¯ accurate analysis and the best guidance with the clients in mind. Thanks to those 10 days, he gained more than just strength. He was able to Class Change to Guardian, succeeded in getting the promotion to B-Rank that he had longed for, confirmed his bond with his comrades, and tied the knot with the best woman in the world. All of this was possible thanks to the ¡°Class Change Consultation Window¡± and the ¡°Class Change Support Program¡±. And it¡¯s not just limited to him. The Guild¡¯s ¡°Class Change Consultation Window¡± is open to all Adventurers who are struggling. Just like Grey, you may be the next one to find happiness. Now, everyone¡­¡­ let¡¯s try it out!!! ¡î¡¡¡î¡¡¡î [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI wanted to create such a manga, and deliver it to the Adventurers¡¯ homes every month. I think it would definitely be a good advertisement, and it would help explain the program since this would make it easy for them to imagine what it¡¯s like. Ahh, by the way, ¡°Class Change Support Program¡± is hard to remember, so we should change the name to something catchier, like ¡°Honed Blade Seminar¡±¡­¡­] Verteran listened to my proposal, which I had even prepared a booklet for him, with a doubtful expression on his face. [Hoh. And? Who¡¯s gonna draw this manga?] Those decisive words immediately cut me off. [Heck, I¡¯ve told you about this already, but the program is already well-known and lots of people avail our services! In fact, there are so many customers that we¡¯re about to burst out! If you have time to talk about incomprehensible things, just do your job!] And thus, my ¡°Manga Propagation in Isekai Project: Honed Blade Seminar¡± came to a halt without ever seeing the light of day. CH 44 The usual Guild¡¯s training grounds. This time, I was able to meet the members of without any interruptions. [Sorry, I haven¡¯t been able to watch over you guys much lately.] It had already been two weeks since their party cleared the . The first week of work on the Status Appraisal was supposed to be over already, but as soon as the information about Classes were released, the situation reverted back to the way it was a week ago. In addition to being busy with the Status Appraisal itself, I had to adjust the conditions with the Guild, verify and compile accurate information, educate the Guild personnel, and write a promotional manga. It was Radd who responded to my apology. [It was no problem. If you become famous, it¡¯s a benefit to us too, Old man.] When he said that while adopting a rather formal attitude¡­¡­ [You can just say that you¡¯re happy Rex is being praised.] [O- Oi, Prana!] ¡ª¡ªPrana immediately made fun of him. Seeing Radd and Prana¡¯s exchange for the first time in a while, I even feel somewhat relieved. [T- That aside, Old man. What are you going to have us do today? If you called us all the way up here, we must be doing something special, right?] Radd hurriedly changes the subject, but his tone conveys a hint of vigilance. (Radd is more perceptive than I thought.) In addition to training, Radd¡¯s party and Resilia had been going around conquering reasonably strong dungeons. Thanks to that month of training, Radd and the others have maintained a high ability level compared to their level. They know which dungeons have trap functions in it, and if they¡¯re just going to normal dungeons, they don¡¯t need my supervision anymore. ¡­¡­Yes, if they¡¯re going to ¡°normal dungeons¡±, that is. The amount of EXP required for growth jumps after Lv 10, so even if they conquer a reasonably strong dungeon, they won¡¯t gain many levels. In a normal RPG, you can spend many days in the same dungeon or even become a recluse in that dungeon, but in this world, monsters don¡¯t immediately respawn after death. You would need to go to another dungeon until enough monsters have respawned, but the main dungeons in the area have already been cleared. The usual strategy would be to move on to another area, but that would be a waste of travel time. So, I¡¯m thinking of using one of my favorite tricks in the game to shore them up. [This time too, I¡¯ll have you guys go on a dungeon attack, but it will be a little more challenging. That¡¯s why I¡¯m going with you.] [A dungeon of a level that Old man has to come huh. ¡­¡­Heehhh, I¡¯m pumped up!] Radd exclaimed at my words, and the other members of the party also seemed more fired up than fearful. [Well then, we¡¯ll start by looking for a Quest at the Guild, right?] [No.] Sounding accustomed to adventuring, Radd said, but I shook my head at that. [We¡¯re not going to the Guild. The Guild wouldn¡¯t have any Quest in the dungeon we¡¯re heading to now. After all¡­¡­] Seeing Radd and the others looking blankly at me, I told them while trying to hide the delightful smile trying to creep up my lips. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThe place we¡¯re heading to was ¡°a dungeon the Guild hasn¡¯t found yet¡±.] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù (If I remember correctly, after you pass through this thicket, behind it is¡­¡­) Searching behind the thicket from my memory, I easily found it. A gaping entrance to the abyss. It was a new path leading to a new dungeon that no one had probably ever found in ¡°this world¡±. [¡­¡­This way.] I called out to Radd and the others who were waiting for me. [For a dungeon to be in this place¡­¡­] [Seriously. For a new dungeon to be this close to the town¡­¡­] Seeing the entrance to the cave spread out before them, Radd and the others were surprised. [I see, it¡¯s one of those that you¡¯ll never know about unless you get close to it. How did you find such a place, Rex-san!?] Nuku, who has the most inquisitive mind among the group, said excitedly, but I couldn¡¯t only wryly smile inwardly. (Well, it¡¯s a dungeon that I¡¯ve been through so many times that I¡¯m sick of this place.) I feel sorry that I¡¯m somewhat deceiving them, but I don¡¯t say it out loud. I just glance to the side and my eyes meet those of Resilia, the only one here who knows what¡¯s going on, and we both exchange a wry smile. In B&B, many dungeons start out undiscovered, except for those that are important to the storyline. Most of them have entrances hidden in obscure places like this, but they¡¯re easy to find if you have knowledge about them in the game. Rather, the most important part is after the discovery. [So, Old man. Is it alright not to tell the Guild about this dungeon?] It¡¯s the option to report the existence of this dungeon or not. They were rather perplexing options, as either choice has its advantages and disadvantages. If you report the dungeon to the Guild, you will receive a reward based on the importance of the dungeon, and you would be able to receive Quests related to that dungeon from then on. In this case though, other Adventurers will start exploring that dungeon, which will reduce the number of monsters in the dungeon and may result in the contents of treasure chests being taken. On the other hand, if you explore it in secret, you can monopolize the monsters and treasure chests in the dungeon and get a lot of EXP and items, but you won¡¯t receive additional rewards from Quest accomplishments, and because of the large number of monsters, it takes extra effort to defeat and conquer only the Boss-type monsters. In this case¡­¡­ [We¡¯ll report it after we explore it once.] Unfortunately, with the passage of time, most undiscovered dungeons are discovered and reported by other Adventurers. No matter how much you hide them, you can¡¯t monopolize them forever, so the logical way of doing things here is that even if you don¡¯t immediately disclose them, and after you explored the dungeon once, you should report them and receive the reward. (Well, I didn¡¯t find this dungeon by myself to begin with.) The game field of B&B is vast. It¡¯s quite impossible to find a dungeon by walking around in such a large field, so players¡¯ first playthrough is usually spent visiting dungeons that have been discovered by other adventurers. However, the locations of undiscovered dungeons are fixed, so if you make a note of the location of a dungeon you discovered in the first playthrough, you can become the discoverer in the second and subsequent playthroughs, as if you had discovered it yourself. [Hehe, then we¡¯ll have the first touch on everything here!] While Radd was innocently saying such things with excitement¡­¡­ [Is this going to be alright? It¡¯s a dungeon no one¡¯s entered yet, right?] In contrast, the cautious Nuku was a little worried, but there¡¯s no problem regarding that. [Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already explored it, I just haven¡¯t reported it to the Guild.] [Ahh, I see. In that case¡­¡­] As Nuku breathed a sigh of relief, I continued speaking within my mind. (Well, in-game, that is.) The game and this world are nearly identical, but not exactly the same. Even if I knew about this place in-game, it¡¯s not a good idea to be too relaxed. [However, this dungeon isn¡¯t simple. The monsters¡¯ level is 25. The enemies are mainly Skeleton-type monsters, and they mainly lay in wait for surprise attacks. It¡¯s not a place that should be explored at your level.] [Lv 25¡­¡­] The party gulped at my words and clutched their weapons with serious expressions on their faces. Radd and the others¡¯ Status has already grown to exceed that of a typical Lv 20 Adventurer. However, even with their superior ability levels, it would be difficult to conquer this place. But this time, there was no need for them to earnestly conquer this dungeon. [So don¡¯t think about clearing the dungeon this time. Your goal is to level up. We¡¯ll defeat as many weak monsters as possible, and pull back when we reach our limit.] When I declared so, the nervous Nuku and the others seemed somewhat relieved. On the other hand, Radd was brimming with fighting spirit¡­¡­ [Hey, Old man. You said ¡°we¡¯ll pull back when we reach our limit¡±, but that means you don¡¯t mind if we just beat them all up, right?] [Yeah, of course. ¡­¡­If you can do that, that is.] [Heh! Don¡¯t come crying when you see how much we¡¯ve grown!] Looking at him talking so boldly, I inwardly hold back the smile creeping up my lips. (Sorry to trick you but¡­¡­) Unfortunately, the dungeon attack this time isn¡¯t going to be as lukewarm as Radd and the others are imagining. Of all the dungeons I¡¯ve been to, I chose this one over the others simply because it¡¯s undiscovered and untrodden, making it convenient for leveling. What¡¯s more, this is the most famous ¡°grinding spot¡± in B&B, which is even said to have ¡°fundamentally changed the exploration strategy of B&B¡±. [Alright! Now that everything is decided, let¡¯s see how far we can go!] I followed Radd and the others, who were oblivious to my intentions, as they headed for the dungeon in high spirits, and entered the dimly-lit cave. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªNow then, let the hellish level grind begin! CH 45 We stepped into the newly discovered cave and had gone a few steps inside, when Radd turned towards me and asked. [Speaking of which, a newly found dungeon wouldn¡¯t have a name yet. In that case, until a name for this place has been decided, let¡¯s call this place ¡°Great Tomb of Radd¡± or something¡­¡­] [It¡¯s the .] It would be troubling if they start calling this place with that strange name, so I couldn¡¯t resist interrupting. [I¡¯ll say this now, but that¡¯s the official name. I got that through .] [Tsk. This place already got a name huh.] There¡¯s no room for carelessness or openings. After making sure no enemies had come out yet, I stopped. [That aside, before the exploration, I¡¯ll give you this.] I took out a device that looked like a flashlight, a cylinder with a switch attached to it. However, the tip of the cylinder had a hole in it, so it was different from a flashlight. [What is this, a weapon?] [It¡¯s a . I heard it¡¯s a magic tool that sends out decoys.] As Radd tilted his head, the knowledgeable Nuku explained. This is one of my favorite items, so I¡¯m glad to see someone else knows about it. [As Nuku said, this is an item that creates a clone of yourself to attract the attention of your opponent. It can only be used when you¡¯re not in combat, and the decoy that appears will break if it takes even the slightest damage, so it¡¯s not overly reliable, but it can be used repeatedly. For example, if you put a decoy behind the enemy lines, they will all head for it, and you can have the advantage of a preemptive attack.] When I eloquently explained, Radd and the others nodded in understanding. I had thought that this kind of clever technique wouldn¡¯t be understood by the muscleheaded Radd, but that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case. He¡¯s surprisingly interested in gimmicky items like this, as he started playing around with his Decoy Gun¡­¡­ [I see, that sounds interesting! Errr, do I just press this?] [Ah, wait, that is¡­¡­] I rushed to stop him, but it was already too late. The moment Radd pushed the blue-lit button, something glowing shot out of the cylinder he was holding and landed on the wall deeper into the dungeon. And from that wall, a pure white figure that looked exactly like Radd grew out of it. [Uwahhh¡­¡­] [¡­¡­Creepy.] The bizarre sight of a white person that looked just like Radd sprouting from the wall made everyone involuntarily back away. Prana¡¯s line in particular, which she seriously blurted out, made Radd feel depressed, but well, he¡¯s getting his just deserts. [I may have said you can use it as many times as you want, but it still has its weak points. Once you use it, it takes 30 minutes to use it again.] [Ugh.] Moreover, the cooldown is set for each person, not for each item, so it doesn¡¯t matter if you have more than one Decoy Gun. Prana looked at Radd with a reproachful gaze. [And now, that¡¯s because you used it without thinking.] [G- Guh, ummm¡­¡­ Sorry.] I feel a little sorry for Radd, but I guess that too is an experience in their adventuring life. The Decoy Gun may have been a useful item, but it has its limitations. [Also, only one decoy can be brought out at a time. So, if you put it out in the middle of nowhere like this, don¡¯t forget to destroy it, or you won¡¯t be able to use another Decoy Gun ever again.] [Geh!] Hearing me say that, Radd rushes to break the decoy that has sprouted out of the wall. As I watched this with a smile on my face, I was thinking about something else. (You can sprout decoys even out of walls in this world too huh.) In the game, you can only fire decoys on the ground, or rather, in areas where your characters can move. When you point the Decoy Gun at a place, you would see the point where you can expect it to land, but the game specifications were set so that if you point it in a place where people can¡¯t move, the pointer turns red and you can¡¯t fire the Decoy Gun. In fact, back in the game, I was using the specs to check if the terrain was moveable, but thinking about this again, there were no restrictions on character movement in this world. There are no sharp rocks or little ledges that would unnaturally make it off-limits like in games, and with some ingenuity, you can even climb walls and roofs. (Thinking about it that way, this world would be a god-tier game¡­¡­) In this world, things like Alchemy, Events, and Technique Specifications, which are unnatural in the real world but were possible only in games, are also possible in this world. In addition, ¡°things that were restricted in games but are possible in the real world¡±, such as climbing walls, are also possible in this world. At least for me, it¡¯s a combination of game and reality. If it was ¡°God¡± who sent me to this world, I think ¡°they¡¯re the type who knows their stuff¡±. When they find a bug that is to the user¡¯s advantage, they would hurriedly put out a server maintenance and fix it at an uncanny speed, but they would freaking leave the bugs that are to the user¡¯s disadvantage for a long time. I hope the Japanese game makers will learn a thing or ten from this God. Well, whatever the case, with everyone equipped with their new toys, we¡¯re ready to go. With Radd back after destroying his decoy, we finally started walking deeper into the dungeon. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù I walk in the lead with my Decoy Gun at the ready. Incidentally, in addition to the Decoy Gun, I had tried all possible means to search and obtained several other items for this exploration. The most important of these items is probably the ring I¡¯m wearing right now. This is another piece of equipment that was added at the same time as the first DLC, and as the name suggests, it has a special curse-like effect: ¡°While it¡¯s equipped, the level doesn¡¯t increase¡±. It doesn¡¯t have any other effect, so it doesn¡¯t make you stronger, but it¡¯s an indispensable item for me who was aiming to adjust my stats. (Well, I, who is already Lv 50, will never be able to increase my level in a dungeon of this level¡­¡­) If your level is too high compared to the enemy, the amount of EXP you gain will be drastically reduced. Furthermore, if more than one person participates in a battle, the amount of EXP gained is revised according to the participant with the highest level. In other words, just me participating in their battles would reduce the amount of EXP gained by the others, so if possible, I would prefer not to meddle in their battle. [That is¡­¡­] After advancing through the cave, we arrived in a large room. Dismembered human bones were lying around the room here and there. Thereupon, Nuku, who seemed to have realized something, looked at me. [If I remember correctly, you said Skeleton-type monsters appear here, right? If that¡¯s the case¡­¡­] [Yeah. When you get close to those bones, they would suddenly move and attack you. Be careful.] [Ahh! So that¡¯s where the Decoy Gun comes in!] Nuku, who seemed to have understood the plan, ejected a decoy toward the center of the room. The moment the Nuku decoy appeared in the center of the room, the mass of bones, which until now had been made to look like mere skeletons, simultaneously began moving. The disguised skeletons leaped up with surprisingly agile movements, and the four skeletons that had been lying around the room simultaneously swooped in at the decoy. The decoy, which had no defensive capabilities, was naturally obliterated with a single strike. The four skeletons, which had lost their target, now turned to look at us. [U- Uwaahhh¡­¡­] Nuku and Mana let out a frightened cry, but this is the nasty part of this dungeon. The enemies are cleverly placed, and if you aren¡¯t careful, the enemies may end up gaining a preemptive strike on you. [Don¡¯t be flustered. Lie in wait and intercept.] Fortunately, most of the Skeleton-type monsters here are orthodox melee types. The theory is to take a position in a narrow space like the entrance of this room and destroy them one by one. First, you attack the Skeletons that are coming in our direction¡­¡­ [!] ¡ª-and greeting the approach of the Skeletons is Nuku¡¯s magic. This magic, which can be used with the , is exceptionally powerful even at this level. In B&B, Undead-type monsters are generally vulnerable to fire, and a direct hit from attacks with that attribute will slow down these Skeletons¡¯ momentum. [!] Immediately striking at that moment was Mana¡¯s Purification Magic. The magic, which inflicts great damage on Undead-type monsters that are weak to the Holy-attribute, is powerful only because its effect is limited. The Skeletons, completely stopped in its tracks, tried standing on their feet¡­¡­ [.] Prana¡¯s Offensive Skill explodes. Moreover, what was unleashed by the skill were that I had made. The Skeletons, whose weak points were continuously being aimed at, were unable to put up any resistance. In the end, only one of the four Skeletons made it to us. And prepared for its arrival was the Radd, with his at the ready. Radd calmly repelled the Skeleton¡¯s attack with his shield. [!] He unleashed a powerful Fire-Attribute Art that he had not yet been available to him when they conquered the . The scorching hot blow quickly gave a second death to the living dead. [D- Did¡­¡­ we win?] [Yeah. Congrats.] The tense atmosphere around them finally relaxed when I called out to them. [We had surprisingly managed even against more powerful opponents.] [The enemies in this dungeon are weak in comparison to their level.] However, of course, that isn¡¯t all there is to them. [But think about it. What do you think would have happened if everyone had just walked into the room and been ambushed from all sides by Skeletons?] When I said that, Radd and the others turned pale. The reason why the battle went well earlier is because of their ranged attacks, allowing them to cut down the enemy unilaterally from a long distance. If they were suddenly attacked from close by, they wouldn¡¯t be able to use those ranged attacks, and Nuku and Mana would have no choice but to engage in melee combat. I wouldn¡¯t say that they would lose the battle, but it would have been a tough fight. [From this point on, it¡¯s not just about your strengths. Your strategies would be very vital.] Upon my words, Nuku looked at his Decoy Gun and spoke. [I thought this was a bit plain at first, but this Decoy Gun is amazing! The next room too, with these Decoy Guns¡­¡­] Smiling upon the sight of the birth of the new Decoy Gun Believer, I nodded. [That¡¯s right. You can use decoys on the Skeletons like you did here, or I could use to check. But well, if you already know there are enemies in there¡­¡­] As I said that, I threw a Molotov cocktail into the next room. The fire instantly engulfed everything around and burned through the mere bones and Skeletons alike. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªYou can also do this.] While everyone looks at the Skeletons tottering their way out of the burning room, Nuku lets out a dry laugh. CH 46 As we moved on through the dungeon, the difficulty of the dungeon increased. The Skeletons are becoming more and more sophisticated in their disguise, and the number of Skeletons appearing at one time has increased from the initial four to the current eight. However, the payoff is also just as great¡­¡­ [Ah, I leveled up!] [M- Me too!] Radd and the others had just reached the halfway point of the dungeon, and all of them had already leveled up. [Seriously? We¡¯ve only been in this dungeon for less than an hour¡­¡­] [I¡¯ve already told you. The enemies here are brittle, but they give a lot of EXP.] Of course, the monsters are good for leveling up, assuming that you have the means to respond to their surprise attacks and have an advantageous attack method against the Skeletons. It isn¡¯t as fast as their first exploration, but thanks to the Level-up Recovery, they¡¯re able to go deeper without depleting their MP. In the beginning, I was involved in the fighting too, but that stopped happening once Radd and the others got the hang of battling in this dungeon. So far, I would say everything is going well. ¡­¡­However, it¡¯s precisely when you get used to it that B&B lays out its traps. [¡­¡­Stop. It¡¯s an ambush.] [Eh?] Radd and the other gave me a dubious look when I suddenly stopped them in the middle of nowhere, but still obediently stopped. The room we arrived in was a little spacious, but empty. Radd and the others tried looking around, but didn¡¯t seem to find anything out of the ordinary. [Isn¡¯t it that you had some sort of mistake? I can¡¯t find anything here¡­¡­] [No¡­¡­ Look up.] Lured by my words, everyone in the room looks up. [Uwaahh!] A scream rose from Radd and the others¡¯ mouths. The center of the ceiling of the room, which was fairly high, was covered with several Skeletons. [They were probably placed there to fall down when you walk directly under them.] [For there to even be such a trap¡­¡­] It¡¯s a trap set up after making everyone pay attention to the ground all this time. The dungeon is dimly lit, so if you were to normally explore it, you would probably overlook it. However, once you find them, this situation becomes an advantage. [Calm down. The fact that they are all in one place makes it easier to deal with them. Aim at them from a long distance, and finish them off when they fall.] [Y- Yeah.] The group was still shaken up from discovering the Skeletons on the ceiling, but Radd and the others were Adventurers that were competent enough. They shot down the Skeletons and dealt the finishing blow to them one after the other. [Take this!] Radd swung his sword down at the last Skeleton struggling on the ground. Even as they had won without injuries though, the sweat on Radd¡¯s forehead didn¡¯t go away. [Old man, how did you even notice those things up there?] [With this.] Saying this, I showed them my Decoy Gun. The device, which had never been used in this dungeon run, now had a blue light on its switch, indicating that it was ready for use. [But you see, the moment I stepped into this room, this light turned ¡°red¡±.] The Decoy Gun, just like the escape item ¡°Recall Plume¡± is an item that ¡°can¡¯t be used while in a state of combat¡±. So, I was taking advantage of that limitation. While I have it out at all times, if I find myself in a situation where I can¡¯t use it, that paradoxically proves that ¡°the enemy is nearby¡±. For me, the Decoy Gun isn¡¯t an item that can only get the enemy¡¯s attention once every 30 minutes. It¡¯s more like an excellent ¡°exploration item¡± that can be infinitely used in any dungeon. After hearing my explanation, Radd looked as if he couldn¡¯t believe what he had just heard. [W- What the heck is going on inside your head¡­¡­!] [I was just using whatever I can get my hands on.] And because it allows for that kind of ingenuity and tricks, I consider B&B and this world as a ¡°god-tier game¡±. Besides¡­¡­ [¡­¡­The real surprises are yet to come.] [Eh?] Shaking my head at Radd who asked back, saying it was nothing, I hurried them on. And then¡­¡­ [¡­¡­We¡¯ve arrived. This is our target.] Soon after, we finally arrived at our target location. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù It was a place with a distinctly different atmosphere from the other rooms. It was larger than any of the other rooms we had been in, and at the far end of the room sat a large door. [That door. Is that a puzzle?] As Radd murmured, the door at the back had a meaningful pattern painted on it, and in front of it was a lever. Next to the lever, there were four rotating relief carvings, two on the left and two on the right, embedded in the door. [It¡¯s a typical trapdoor, isn¡¯t it? I think the door opens when setting the four relief carvings in a specific combination and pulling the lever¡­¡­ but the problem is, so far, there¡¯s nothing that could give us a clue to the pattern¡­¡­] Nuku is analyzing with a troubled look on his face, but I moved forward without minding them. [O- Oi, Old man?] [You guys wait right there.] I stopped Radd, who was about to follow me, and made my way to the lever. [¡­¡­I told you to wait though.] [I¡¯m waiting here by Nii-san¡¯s side.] Sighing upon Resilia¡¯s irrational remark, without hesitation, I put my hand on the lever. [W- Wait, Old man! You still haven¡¯t set up the mechanism¡­¡­] [Yeah. But that¡¯s enough already.] I shake off Radd¡¯s words and pull down the lever with all my might. Immediately after that, a grating warning sound echoed through the area. And the strange phenomenon didn¡¯t stop there. [B- Bones were coming out from the ground¡­..!] Bones started popping out from the ground here and there in the room. Using the extracted parts of the bones as footholds, they gradually pulled up and revealed themselves. [Skeletons! But this number¡­¡­] As Prana had warned, what emerged from the ground were Skeletons. Their numbers were a total of ¡°16¡±. The number of Skeletons was four times as many as the four Skeletons we first encountered, and they were about to appear on this spot. [Can you really just absent-mindedly look at them spawning? If you don¡¯t whittle down their numbers before they completely come out, you¡¯d end up being in trouble.] [T- This b*stard! Everybody! Unleash your ranged attacks! We¡¯ll weaken them as much as we can before they come out, and then we¡¯ll cut their numbers down!] Radd shout brought everyone back to their senses, and their mortal struggle began. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [D*mn it. They¡¯ve got outrageous numbers.] Breathing heavily, Radd and the others managed to fight off the Skeleton horde on their own and stood their ground. Although Resilia and I helped them out a bit, it was mostly Radd and his party that fought them off. They had become much stronger than I had expected. [You did great. To be honest, I thought it would be more of a struggle at first.] I clapped my hands at them, and perhaps offended by my attitude, Radd exclaimed. [O- Old man! When you do something like that, couldn¡¯t you have warned us beforehand¡­¡­] [Ahh, sorry about that. However, you better get used to it. There are still lots of enemies ahead after all.] I said and went to the center of the room once more. Seeing this, Radd¡¯s face turned pale. [O- Oi. Oi, Old man! No way¡­¡­] [Yes way.] The ¡°trap¡± in this room is the reason why this is said to have changed the strategy of B&B. Normally, once a monster has been defeated, it won¡¯t respawn except after waiting for a certain set amount of days. Adventurers usually systematically defeat a limited number of monsters to level themselves up. In such a world¡­¡­ This is a miraculous device that can bring forth an inexhaustible supply of monsters at the flick of a switch. It¡¯s common in games that monsters attack as a penalty for wrongly activating a device. It¡¯s also common in games that the same trap is triggered every time a mistake is made, since the penalty for disarming a trap can be solved by a random guess. However, the combination of those two has caused quite an outrageous situation that shouldn¡¯t have happened in B&B¡¯s system. As a result, this device allows the player access to ¡°infinite EXP¡±! Even though the game wasn¡¯t widely known for its strategies, this technique was picked up by internet message boards and information sites that publish game tricks, and it quickly spread among the players of B&B. And thus, the trap became famous as the most famous level-up spot in the history of B&B. [Well then, let¡¯s go.] Lightheartedly saying this, I put my hand on the lever again. [W- Wait right there, Old man!] [R- Rex-san! That is¡­¡­] While Radd and Mana flusteredly tried calling out to me, I hummingly pulled down the lever. Immediately after that, a grating warning sound echoed through the area, and then¡­¡­ And then¡­¡­ [¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Arehh?] Nothing happened. No matter how long I waited, no bone sprang up from the ground. It was just the inorganic relief carvings staring accusingly at me. And so it went, in deep, deep silence¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Well, I guess that should have been obvious.] The words Radd mumbled gouged my heart. CH 47 Unwilling to give up, I pulled the lever again and again without correcting the puzzle, but still, no monsters appeared. I didn¡¯t want to admit it, but there was no room for doubt now. In the world, it seems like the infinite generation of monsters by traps doesn¡¯t seem to be possible. [H- However, this means that we can try the trapdoor¡¯s gimmick without any worries! Let¡¯s do our best to find the clue to the puzzle¡­¡­] I silently rotated the relief carvings, and aligned the pattern with the ¡°snake, lion, bird, and the cracked carving (It¡¯s damaged so you can¡¯t see what¡¯s carved on it, but it¡¯s supposed to have the sun pattern¡±, and pulled the lever. Thereupon, the door opened. [Y- Yeah¡­¡­] Ignoring Nuku¡¯s perplexed voice, I just quietly thought about the cause of this incident. Why was the infinite grind through trap activation not possible here in this world? I don¡¯t know the cause. ¡­¡­However, I can imagine why. First of all, there¡¯s very little chance that the EXP grind method had been destroyed by an update from itself. One assumption is that if this world was created based on ¡°the game I had¡± or ¡°my memories¡±, it would be strange to have any more additional factors in it. But more importantly, the developer of B&B went bankrupt soon after announcing the 5th DLC. It¡¯s almost certain that what I was playing was the latest version of B&B. If so, it¡¯s possible that the specifications were changed by ¡°God¡± when this world was transformed from a game to reality. There have already been previous cases, such as climbing a wall, where something that was restricted by the game specifications in B&B became possible in the real world. This is a benefit of the game becoming a reality, but the game becoming a reality could also go the other way around. In short, I hypothesize that ¡°things that were possible in games but not in reality¡± would be plucked off in this world. That trap is probably a mechanism where ¡°if you make a mistake in this trap, the monsters hidden in the ground will jump out¡±. That¡¯s why the phenomenon that ¡°monsters spring out infinitely every time you step on the trap, which occurs only in the game, is extremely unnatural from a realistic point of view. Therefore, that would explain, to some extent, if it was modified to ¡°enemies would spring out only once¡± in this world. No, there have been many unnatural things in the past, but this time, I think it means that this infinite grind trick already crosses the ¡°acceptable line¡±. (How much is safe and how much is out? The scary part is that I don¡¯t know where that line is drawn¡­¡­) Though I say that, I have spent more than a month in this world so far, and this is the only time that the game¡¯s specifications didn¡¯t work. Blindly trusting game knowledge had its dangers, but I suppose we can verify this without being too nervous. [¡­¡­I guess that¡¯s that.] [Nii-san?] All I know at the moment is that the ¡°infinite grind by using traps¡± can¡¯t be used. It¡¯s still too early to give up. Raising my gaze, I declared to the puzzled Radd and his party. [We¡¯re not going to explore this dungeon anymore. Let¡¯s move to the next place!] Like hell I would let myself stumble here! This time, I will make sure the infinite grind will succeed! ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [Are you sure we¡¯re in the right dungeon?] Resilia, who had cut down monsters with a single slash, asked me that. The dungeon we moved to is called the , a dungeon with a recommended level of seven. It¡¯s the kind of place where Adventurers who have cleared a beginner¡¯s dungeon would normally come next, and of course, the enemies here can be defeated by everyone here with a single shot, and even if they defeated the monsters here, they don¡¯t provide any EXP. [Yeah. What we¡¯re aiming for this time is a ¡°Secret Boss¡±.] [Secret Boss?] It seems like the concept of Secret Bosses isn¡¯t very popular in this world. [I¡¯m talking about a hidden enemy with a strength that doesn¡¯t fit the dungeon.] Saying that, I advanced along with the others while mowing down the enemies. Considering the beginners following me, it would have been better not to defeat too many monsters, but we might have to go through this place many times. Apologizing to them in my heart, I mercilessly crushed the monsters in our path and reached the dead end of a side road. [Is this¡­¡­ a grave?] Stuck there was a cross with a crown of flowers on it. A large metal cross is propped up against the ground, like some kind of grave marker. I approached the cross without hesitation. [O- Old man!?] Tightly gripping the cross in both hands, I rotated it. As I rotated it one revolution to the left and twice to the right, I heard a click, and the ground behind the cross made a noise. [A- A hidden staircase¡­¡­] While Radd and the others were surprised, I strode down the staircase. At the end of the stairs is a large circular room, in the center of which stands a knight in full body armor. That is our target this time. Looking into its empty eye sockets, reflecting nothing back, I used . *insert enemy stat board ¨C knight of sorrows* The corners of my lips naturally turned up at the sight of this Status. Standing before us was the most powerful enemy since the . ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù When I went down the stairs and met the knight¡¯s eyes, Radd¡¯s body tensed up, as if his body was paralyzed, and he timidly looked at me. [O- Old man. Even I can tell. This guy¡¯s pretty strong, aren¡¯t they?] [That monster over there is a Secret Boss after all. If we talk about Status, it¡¯s a few levels higher than the Boss of the we went to earlier.] Radd gulped. [Don¡¯t worry. They won¡¯t attack unless you enter the room, and they don¡¯t have a long-range attack. You¡¯ll be safe here.] In the end, this is a beginner dungeon. It¡¯s not set up to run over players who just happened to find the hidden passageway without question. He only attacks at close range, and his movement speed is slow. Even if you accidentally get close to it, you can safely escape by leaving the room and leaving the combat state. [And besides¡­¡­] While I explained that to them, I switched the rings I¡¯m wearing on my fingers to ¡°VIT¡±-oriented ones. I don¡¯t intend to let myself get hit by its attacks, but it¡¯s still better to have a safety margin in case of any unforeseen accidents. [There¡¯s no need for you guys to fight that guy.] [Eh¡­¡­?] [This guy is famous for summoning a Lv 30 when their HP falls to a half and a quarter. Everyone¡¯s target this time would be defeating those summons and raising your level.] As I said this, Resilia, who had been watching the situation quietly, vigorously interrupted, looking as if she was about to snap. [You intend to fight that thing alone!? I won¡¯t let you¡­¡­] [No way. I won¡¯t fight it. I will just escape from its reach and run around in circles.] [Eh¡­¡­?] I moved forward, passing by the side of Resilia, who looked blankly at me. [Well, you¡¯ll see if what I said works or not. I shouldn¡¯t be in any danger, but if there is, it wouldn¡¯t be too late for you to come and help.] With that, I step into the circular room. Thereupon, the knight standing in the center of the room, their eyes letting out a gloomy light, slowly swung the sword in their hand to the side. [It seems like they¡¯re ready for battle.] This would be the first life-and-death battle I¡¯ve had for a while. My heart beats faster with a pleasant tension. (I guess I¡¯ll give it a try.) I pulled out a Molotov cocktail from my inventory and tossed it at the knight. As my throw doesn¡¯t miss and hits the knight, their body is engulfed in flames¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Well, I knew this would happen.] But the knight didn¡¯t move an inch. With the gloomy light within its eyes, it simply stepped towards me as if the flames of the molotov didn¡¯t leave them any scratch. That happening is something I expected. If this Secret Boss had the same setting as in the game, long-range attacks won¡¯t work on this guy. You would have to stand in this guy¡¯s arena, and fight them in a close combat match. The only way to subdue this knight is to engage in a desperate melee battle. (If that¡¯s the case¡­¡­) I will just move as I planned. Keeping my distance without panicking, I waited for the opponent to move. The knight approached my way step by step. If you are caught off guard by their slow movement here and get within range of their sword, you will certainly be hit by a slash that will wake you up. That¡¯s why, I will not underestimate this guy. I watch the knight cautiously, and when they come close to a certain distance, I run away by circling the perimeter. Thereupon, the knight will slowly approach me, and I will circle around the perimeter again to keep my distance before their sword gets within range. Such a pattern repeated over and over, tens and hundreds of times, and then¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CJust like that, an hour had passed. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù (¡­¡­I think it¡¯s about time?) My body moving with a sense of purpose, I lead the armored knight to the back. Then, just after I reached the innermost wall, it happened. [Ohhh¡­¡­ Urwwwooohhhhhhhhhhhhhh!] The knight raised their sword with a frightening yell. (¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CNow¡¯s the time!) This was the only opening the knight would show. Running by the knight¡¯s side, I cut through their line of sight and moved behind them. I am tempted to strike the knight in the back, but I won¡¯t be able to damage them during their ¡°Summoning Motion¡±. I shook off the temptation and walked back to where Radd and the others were waiting, and there, I turned around to see that the knight was still in its Summoning Motion with their back to us. I fire my Decoy Gun so that it catches the guy¡¯s attention, and there, I could finally breathe a sigh of relief. With this, we finally have some time for conversation. [W- What in the world is going on?] [Look.] Radd asked, to which I pointed toward the knight. There, at this moment, the had brought forth a magic circle on the ground, from which a was about to be summoned. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CSpawn Generation, success!!!] This is the ¡°infinite grind¡± secret plan I thought about! If the idea of infinitely generating monsters springing out of the ground is considered unnatural, then why not try a more natural way to generate the number of monsters? This is the method I had come up with. The summon squires when their HP decreases, once when their HP becomes half and once when their HP is a quarter, and even if they regain HP, they will not be summoned again. However, there¡¯s one more condition under which the would summon his squires. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThat is when they¡¯re ¡°in a combat state for an hour¡±. Since it¡¯s quite easy to run away from the knight, even a novice player who can¡¯t even damage the knight can keep on fighting it. However, since the battle won¡¯t end indefinitely, perhaps to bring about a requiem to those players who want to cheese this knight, squires would be summoned each hour the battle drags on. (T/N: Cheesing means you employ a cheap tactic to complete a task without much trouble. Without the summons, you can slowly trickle away the knight¡¯s HP with its 0 DEX stats.) Unlike the HP condition, there¡¯s no limit to the number of squires it summons, so just by running around like this, the number of enemies it spawns would rapidly increase, and you would be able to defeat any number of them! [For the time being, I¡¯ll wait another hour and see what happens. If it summons a squire again, the experiment will be a complete success¡­¡­] With a big smile on my face, I turned toward the others¡­¡­ [Well, what a good job we did today. I mean, we already leveled-up.] [Yes. Fighting all those higher-leveled monsters gave us juicy EXP.] [I can¡¯t wait to take a bath.] But talking about such things, Radd and the others looked like they were returning above ground. [Eh, wait, eh¡­¡­?] I looked at Mana, the last remaining conscience of Radd¡¯s party, and perhaps feeling my gaze, she flinched, and looked at me and her party members several times¡­¡­ [E- Errr, ummm¡­¡­ W- When we get back, let¡¯s have a consolation party!] She bowed her head and walked up the stairs after Radd and the others. As I was stunned at her response, Resilia came in front of me. As expected, at the end of the day, it is only my little sister whom I can rely on. [Thank goodness. Resilia, help me convince them too¡­¡­] When I called out to her, Resilia sweetly smiled at me¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CCome on now. Let¡¯s go home, Nii-san.] ¡ª¡ª-and grabbing me by my collar, she started dragging me to the stairs. [Hey, w- wait! We can spawn out enemies, generate infinite amounts of them¡­¡­] [Please stop with the stupidity. You have a lot of work to do, Nii-san. If you waste hours in a place like this, the Guildmaster will scold you again.] I tried to shake her hand off, but the fact that what I¡¯m wearing now were VIT-oriented rings turned out to be a disaster. Even though I resisted her quite earnestly, Resilia¡¯s hand didn¡¯t move a twitch. Helplessly being dragged along like a kitten in the mouth of its mother, my body climbed up the stairs in no time at all. Before long, we caught up with Radd¡¯s party who had been moving ahead of us. [Old man¡­¡­ You know, even though he¡¯s so smart, he had times like these when he¡¯s being an idiot.] [Mhmm. That¡¯s rude, Radd. Rex is cute that way.] Receiving warm gazes from Radd¡¯s party for some reason, I was forcibly dragged away from the dungeon. And thus, just one more step to fruition, the ¡°Second Infinite Grind Operation¡± ended up being postponed. CH 48 [¡­¡­The time has come.] A week has passed since the visit to the , which has become a bittersweet memory for me. I had summoned Radd and the others to complete the infinite grind this time around. This time, in anticipation of a long-term battle, I prepared a large number of items, including HP and MP Potions, Regen Potions, and Sacred Ashes that would momentarily stun Undead-type monsters. I also prepared special equipment for this battle, and headed into the dungeon in high spirits. [H- Hey, Old man! This place is¡­¡­] I began our journey without telling them where we were going, but before we reached the dungeon, Radd and the others seemed to realize our destination. [Yeah. We¡¯re heading to the .] Nodding in affirmation to their question, I left the surprised Radd and the others and moved forward at a brisk pace. Our destination is, of course, the hidden room where the awaited. Turning the cross, we descended the stairs and intently headed deep into the room. [Wait right there! We¡¯ve already established before that training here is¡­¡­ Eh?] Radd¡¯s mouth, which had been protesting, stopped the moment he looked into the knight¡¯s room. [W- What the heck is this¡­¡­!] That is because the room where the knight should have stood alone in the vast space has completely changed. It had now become a hellish attraction with more than 150 squires wriggling about like packed sardines. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [W- What in the world is going on?] In response to the puzzled Radd, I said ¡°Look over there¡± and pointed above the heads of the groaning squires. [That is¡­¡­ Rex?] As Prana had whispered, a white figure in the shape of my image was growing out of the ceiling of the hidden room. [C- Could it be¡­¡­] I lifted the Decoy Gun in my hand and showed it to Nuku, who seemed to have realized what was going on. [Yeah. That¡¯s the ¡°decoy¡± I set up a week ago.] Well, it was just a simple trick. The knight summons when they stay ¡°in combat for an hour¡±. And since the condition for the knight to be in combat is ¡°the presence of an attack target in the room¡±, a decoy can satisfy that condition. However, in the game, there was no great significance in putting out decoys. In-game, the decoys were limited to the places where the character could move, so the knight would end up defeating it immediately. In this world though, decoys can be fired at walls and ceilings. [The knight and squires were completely specialized in close-quarters combat and had no means of attacking at long range. That means¡­¡­] [They can¡¯t attack the decoy in the ceiling?] I nodded to Radd, who astoundedly murmured. Looking back at the room, I could see that the squires crowding around the room were swinging their swords, which unfortunately couldn¡¯t reach the decoy on the ceiling. [Well, I wasn¡¯t quite sure if the ceiling was considered as part of this room.] As a result though, the ceiling decoy was also determined as an attack target. Since decoys permanently exist until they are destroyed by someone¡¯s attack, that knight will continue to summon without rest. Even after we leave this room, or even when we¡¯re eating or sleeping, they will continue to be in a state of battle all the time. I sent out a prayer to the , which had become an infinite summoning engine and was probably at the center of that circle, although it was buried in the squires¡¯ bodies and couldn¡¯t be seen. [P- Please wait! If that were the case, wouldn¡¯t it have been better if Nii-san had only fired the Decoy Gun from the beginning, instead of entering the room before?] [The Decoy Gun can only be used in situations where the enemy hasn¡¯t spotted it. So, I can only shoot that while the knight was in its Summoning Motion and their sensing ability is lowered.] As I brushed Resilia¡¯s question aside like that¡­¡­ [S- So that¡¯s how it is. I¡¯m sorry, even though Nii-san thought that far¡­¡­] My little sister, who suddenly became surprisingly honest, hung her head down in shame. ¡­¡­Well, let¡¯s tell Resilia that I was actually thinking of continuing to run around the knight like last time if that thing with the Decoy Gun didn¡¯t work. [That aside, let¡¯s start with the crucial moment.] When I said this, Radd¡¯s party, who had been staring blankly into the room, simultaneously looked at me. [The goal this time is to level up. We can¡¯t just have them gathering over there, right?] [D- Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡­] I spoke to the shuddering Radd with a grin. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThe squires over there, an estimated one hundred and sixty or so. Clear them all up by the end of the day!!!] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù The battle that followed was a brutal one for Radd and the others. In the first place, 160 higher-leveled monsters aren¡¯t opponents that can be beaten in a normal way, but fortunately, the knights who are distracted by the decoy won¡¯t change their attack target unless they are attacked. So, I had them fish out the countless squires one by one, drew them in, and beat them all up. This process was repeated a hundred and sixty times. There were times when they struggled with unfamiliar formations, times when the battle line almost collapsed due to the knight summoning an additional squire during their battle, and times when they almost lost heart in the face of a battle that could never end, but in the end, Radd and the others steadily defeated them. And finally, when the last squire fell and all the squires disappeared from the room¡­¡­ Radd and the others had reached Lv 28. CH 49 [Let¡¯s begin! Gravity!] Alongside his call, Nuku casted a spell towards a squire. The squire is capable of nullifying all long-range attacks. Naturally, Offensive Magic is no exception to this, but there were some magic that are capable of piercing through blocking abilities like that. , which Nuku used, is a magic learned by the Fourth-Tier Magic-user Class, . It¡¯s a rare magic that slows down the target¡¯s movement speed, and bestows upon them , which seals their Movement-type Skills The weighed down squire clearly slowed down, but when they judged that they had been attacked, their target shifted from the decoy to Nuku. [Leave it to me!] Thereupon, leaping into battle was Radd. He stepped forward with his sword and the large shield prepared for this purpose. At that moment¡­¡­ [Shield Up!] Mana casts Reinforcement Magic on Radd from behind. A phosphorescent glow covers Radd, and at the same time, the squire comes up to him and brings his sword down. [Gotcha!] However, Radd remained unperturbed. With a shout brimming with fighting spirit, he used to block the slash with the shield in his left hand. Like , is a special action that is triggered by imbuing magic power to the equipment on your non-dominant hand. In game terms, both actions are triggered by pressing the Special Action-button, but if you hold the button down while holding a shield, you can use , and if you move the shield while tapping the button, you can . The timing to use these two skills is critical, but you can aim for a reversal with , while is more stable but less effective. However, even if it¡¯s just , if your timing of using it is right, it can cause the opponent to stagger, albeit slightly. When the squire staggered back from a well-placed attack, a blonde girl rushed in. [Hmph!] With an exhale, Prana thrusts out her spear. With long-range attacks ineffective against the squires, Prana cast aside the bow and took up the spear. Weapon damage is basically compensated by ¡°STR¡±, but some weapon types are also affected by other ability values. Among these, the spear, like the bow, gains strength more from dexterity, making the correction depend more on your ¡°FOC¡±. Prana¡¯s precise, peerless stab, which was made in her reputation as a Sniper, passed through the gap in the squire¡¯s armor. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-! ! !] The armored squire writhes in silent agony, and of course, that is an opening that Radd and his party would overlook. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-!] Not caring if their opponent is armored or not, if Radd strikes, Prana won¡¯t yield as she thrusts her spear. Even so, when the squire exerted the last bit of pride within it and raised their sword¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-] ¡°She¡± had already prepared, waiting for the right moment to strike. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-.] Her voice quietly echoing in the room, a deadly blade pierces the squire¡¯s back. The armored squire gazed in wonder at the blade protruding out of their chest for the last time, before collapsing and disappearing within particles of light. Standing behind them was Resilia. She gazed emotionlessly as the fallen squire disappeared in the air. (Even if they¡¯re just the Boss¡¯ lackies, for them to be able to deal with them this easily¡­¡­) The number of squires that had been generated over the week was once again wiped out by Radd and the others. However, as long as the centerpiece of this monster generator, and the decoy remains, squires will continuously be summoned indefinitely. Radd¡¯s party was groggy after defeating more than a hundred squires, but after a night¡¯s sleep, they were soon back on their feet. As they said ¡°Let¡¯s beat them all up until we reach Lv 30¡±, they are now on ¡°another round¡± for the infinite grind. They were having a hard time at first, as the front line would sometimes collapse, but now that their abilities have improved and they remembered the pattern of the enemies, the enemies are now no different than sitting ducks. Dealing with them at a gradual pace of one every few dozen seconds, at last¡­¡­ [I- I did it! I leveled up!] Mana, who was the one with the least amount of EXP she was able to gain in the party, said this, and everyone reached Lv 30. Upon her words, Radd and the others cheered. [Old man, we did it! We have now become full-fledged Adventurers!] Seeing Radd¡¯s party running up to me, looking so happy from the bottom of their hearts, I trembled. Of course, that trembling wasn¡¯t due to the excitement of seeing my guidance come to fruition¡­¡­ (What the heck are these stats, it¡¯s too strong!) I couldn¡¯t stop my body from shaking as Radd and the others were growing up too fast. The scariest thing was that Radd and the others were still Lv 30. They were still 4 levels lower than the Lv 34 Verteran. They were still 20 levels lower than the Lv 20 me. And yet, their Status was¡­¡­ There¡¯s hardly any chance I could win against them! (Moreover, it¡¯s not just one of them that is like this!) Although I have an overwhelming advantage over Radd in terms of ¡°MGC¡± and ¡°FOC¡±, stats that he intentionally suppresses in favor of his other stats, and slightly ahead in ¡°AGI¡± and ¡°MND¡±, but when it comes to ¡°STR¡± and ¡°VIT¡±, which are important for a warrior, I¡¯m almost a hundred point behind. To put it simply, the difference between our PATK and PDEF would be close to 1.5 times. It¡¯s such a despairing difference that I can say with certainty that if I were to fight him in a fistfight, not only would I lose, it would be such an overwhelming loss that it couldn¡¯t be called a match at all. And the fact that Radd, who aims to be the party¡¯s tank and attacker, is a balanced type in this group, with modest ability values in terms of attack power, brings about even more despair. Since the rear-guard can lean their stats toward attack to a certain extent, each of them has strong ability values. Both Nuku and Prana have stats that easily exceeded the 300 mark, and Mana¡¯s ¡°MND¡± had finally reached the 400 mark. (D*mn it, this difference between us is just too much!) Because of her frequenting the Guild¡¯s prayer room so much, Mana gained the nickname brimming with chuuni-ness, . In the game, the Hero would also be called by a nickname according to their fighting style, so perhaps, the residents¡¯ love of nicknames may have been reproduced from the game. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThe is the strongest in the early-game. I never thought that beings that shatter such an established theory would appear so soon. It has only been two months since the Goddess of Salvation¡¯s . Even by game standards, the pace of surpassing Rex within two months since the start of the game is just too fast. (No. No matter how you look at it, this would be because of me huh¡­¡­) My mind had been so focused on setting up an infinite grind system that I didn¡¯t think much about the consequences of doing that. [Old man?] When I saw the curious looks on Radd¡¯s face as he ran up to me, I hurriedly tried to maintain my composure. (¡­¡­It¡¯s alright. It will be alright.) The secret of Radd and the others¡¯ strength lies in ¡°the increase in ability level by equipping growth correction equipment¡± and ¡°superior abilities through early acquisition of advanced Classes¡±. Their biggest drawback is that ¡°the strength of their equipment couldn¡¯t keep up with their strength because growth correction equipment must be equipped¡±. On the other hand, I have no need to pay attention to the growth correction of my equipment, and there¡¯s plenty of room for me to overturn the difference in ability values in actual battles. Besides, I still have the transformation in the form of the ¡°trial¡±. This isn¡¯t the time to be panicking just yet. [Y- You did well.] Covering up the thoughts violently blowing around in my chest, I smiled and congratulated Radd and the others. That seemed to put their minds at ease as they smiled again. [R- Right? Well, ummm¡­¡­ It¡¯s thanks to the Old man that we¡¯ve become this strong. How should I say this¡­¡­ Ummm, we¡¯re grateful to you. Thanks.] [Y- Yeah.] As Radd unusually showed his honest emotions¡­¡­ [I think so too! If it weren¡¯t for you, we would never have been able to become this strong! Thank you very much!] Mana bowed her head with sparkling eyes. With them thanking me so upfront, even I don¡¯t think I should have too many discouraging thoughts. (Let¡¯s calm down a bit.) By training Radd and the others, I should have already factored in the fact that they would temporarily, yes, temporarily, become much stronger than I was. I was a little taken aback and shaken by their Status, but I would have done the same thing even if I had known this was going to happen. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªRather, this makes it so that I can finally do what I¡¯ve always wanted to do. The reason I decided to train Radd¡¯s party was to get access to dungeons that Rex couldn¡¯t conquer with his current strength, and acquire rare items that someone with his strength wouldn¡¯t be able to get his hands on. In that sense, you can say that things are finally ready. [It¡¯s time for the real deal and for me to ask you all to lend me your strength.] This time, saying this with a smile that isn¡¯t filled with bravado, Radd¡¯s party waited for my words, their eyes shining in anticipation instead of displeasure. (Seriously, these guys are too good for me.) I felt guilty about taking advantage of their goodwill, but still, I won¡¯t act reserved. I¡¯m proud to say the considerable returns were prepared for us, and I¡¯m confident that doing this will lead to saving the world. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CStarting tomorrow, we will be diving into the .] Now, it¡¯s time to begin the full-scale attack! Sorrowful Verteran CH 50 [We will now challenge one of the . However, our objective for the time being isn¡¯t to conquer the ruins. It¡¯s to gather rare items.] Up until now, Radd and the others have become strong by running through the shortest distance. While their ability levels were low, they raised their Status through training. At Lv 4, they Class Changed to a Second-tier Class, dived into a higher-level dungeon, and quickly crossed over the Lv 10 mark. After that, they continued to grow steadily, and most of the party members had now reached their Fourth-tier Class, which is considered the highest Class tier for normal Classes that you could obtain before Lv 15. This time, through the infinite grind system, their levels were raised to Lv 30. [However, this marks the end of the shortcut.] At least, I haven¡¯t found a good grinding spot in the later content that would destroy the balance of the game, and all the Classes with tiers above Fourth-tier are ¡°Unique Classes¡± with special conditions. The advantage they have earned up to this point will not disappear, but their growth rate will certainly slow down. Moreover, the more the game progressed, the more the difficulty of B&B increased at an accelerating rate. Up to this point, the game has used methods that can¡¯t be called straightforward to enhance one¡¯s strength, but the devs allowed for those kinds of secret walkthroughs to appear to some extent, so I think they¡¯ve set the difficulty level based on that. This world is a nuzlocke that doesn¡¯t allow do-overs. This isn¡¯t a situation where I can just relax yet. [The more difficult the is, the more rewarding it¡¯s expected to be. With the way you guys are now, even your base stats can probably allow you to wear equipment with a B-Rank Equipment Restriction, and with Enchantments, you can probably even wear A-Rank gear. If possible, I hope we can acquire useful Unique Equipment¡­¡­] [W- Wait a moment, Old man! What are those B and A Equipment Restrictions?] I started explaining to them in detail, but then Radd asked to wait and asked a question. [¡­¡­Ahh. Speaking of which, I haven¡¯t talked about the Evaluation Ranks before.] It seems like I¡¯m getting a little ahead of the explanation. I¡¯ve got the specifications of the game so much in my head that I tend to talk to other people on that basis, which I suppose is one of my definite flaws. [There is a standard for measuring the strength of each ability called . The ranks are progressively raised with 1 to 4 being Rank E-, from 5 to 14 being Rank E, from 15 to 29 being Rank E+, 29 and above being D-, so on and so forth. That¡¯s right. As for you guys right now¡­¡­] Taking out my notebook, I found the ability values of Radd¡¯s party and added the Evaluation Ranks to it. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- Radd STR ¨C 284 (B) VIT ¨C 297 (B) MGC ¨C 105 (C-) MND ¨C 227 (B-) AGI ¨C 218 (C+) FOC ¨C 183 (C+) Rank Total ¨C 57 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- [It goes something like this.] When I unfolded my notebook, Radd and the others all came to take a peek. Nuku nodded his head in understanding. [I see. With this, we can see more clearly what we¡¯re good at and what we¡¯re bad at than we could with just numbers. That¡¯s why it¡¯s called an ¡°Evaluation¡± Rank, isn¡¯t it?] [Yeah. If you want to measure your general strength, this might be easier for people to understand.] I¡¯m more of a data guy, so I prefer seeing the actual number values, but I suppose this would be a matter of taste. [And so, the equipment¡¯s Ability Value Restriction is determined based on this rank. For example, the that you¡¯re carrying right now has the Equipment Restriction of ¡°D+ STR¡± which means that you will not be able to use it until you have 75 STR.] [For this sword to be actually structured like that¡­¡­] Realizing something he didn¡¯t know all this time, Radd stared at the Brave Sword in his hand. [In fact, the effectiveness of training and the amount of EXP required to level up is also calculated based on this Evaluation Rank, not the ability value itself. Considering the Equipment Restrictions, it would be better to have a higher rank, but raising it too high is also a problem.] [Ahh, I remember that! The less you have in your unneeded abilities, the faster it will be for you to level up!] [Well, that¡¯s what it all boils down to.] Incidentally, the higher the Evaluation Rank, the more ability values are required to raise the rank, so even if the Rank Total of ability values are the same, the Rank Total is usually lower when the total value of the abilities is raised inclined to a certain direction in mind. Using Rex as an example, where all ability values are raised perfectly evenly¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- Rex STR ¨C 200 (C+) VIT ¨C 200 (C+) MGC ¨C 200 (C+) MND ¨C 200 (C+) AGI ¨C 200 (C+) FOC ¨C 200 (C+) Rank Total ¨C 54 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- Despite the large difference in my combat power from that of Radd¡¯s, the difference between our Rank Total is just 3. Furthermore, if we look at Prana, who has the most extreme Status among Radd¡¯s party¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- Prana STR ¨C 248 (B-) VIT ¨C 150 (C) MGC ¨C 124 (C-) MND ¨C 124 (C-) AGI ¨C 248 (B-) FOC ¨C 388 (B+) Rank Total ¨C 54 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- Her ability values were clearly higher than mine, yet the Rank Total is exactly the same as mine. This means that the EXP penalty on her will be the same as mine. I hate being confronted with Rex¡¯s misfortune once again, but I¡¯ll just leave it at that. [As I said before, if you¡¯re keeping your eyes to the future, it will be more efficient to improve your strong points while the Magic-users suppress their , and a Warrior suppresses their , as well as their and . Some of the rare equipment may increase certain aptitudes while decreasing others, so those equipment will be one of our goals for this Item Gathering.] With this, I told them everything about the next adventure. Well, that¡¯s what I was thinking, but Radd seemed to still have something more to say. [¡­¡­I understand what our goal would be. It¡¯s just, the is the front line for Adventurers, right? I¡¯m not really sure if that¡¯s a place we could fight in right now.] Even as muscleheaded as Radd is, it seemed like being told to fight in that place had scared him. Seeing him acting like that though, I exaggeratedly sighed. [You know, how about you look at your Status one more time.] [Eh? Y- Yeah, unnn.] When he¡¯s caught unprepared, he¡¯s always been quite obedient. As he looked at the page with his Status on it, I spoke. [You can tell, right? If it¡¯s just Status alone, you¡¯re already more powerful than me.] [Ah¡­¡­] Seeing Radd seemingly realizing that for the first time, I grinned. [You should be confident. There aren¡¯t many people who have better Status than an A-Rank Adventurer. You¡¯re not just a novice anymore. You could already be considered as one of the town¡¯s aces.] [I- I am¡­¡­] Radd muttered in a daze. Well, of course, you wouldn¡¯t really feel it when someone suddenly says ¡°You¡¯re our ace¡± after only two months as an Adventurer. However, compared to a certain Japanese commoner who suddenly became an A-Rank Adventurer in one day, I think his transition is a rather quiet one. [Old man, let¡¯s do this! With the power I got from the Old man, I¡¯ll do all I can!] [Haha! Well, I¡¯m going to participate in this exploration this time. Dungeon enemies are first come, first serve. If you just look at them in a daze, everything might end with you not doing anything, you know?] [Heh! Like hell I¡¯m gonna let an old man beat me!] I exchanged banters with Radd, who had regained his composure. As I thought, it feels more reassuring if Radd is back to his old cocky self. [Well then, let¡¯s go.] [Yeah!] Leisurely calling out to everyone, we set off. This is the first time we would be conquering one of the since I came to this world. There, in the , the evilest Boss I¡¯ve ever faced awaits, along with vicious rare items. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù It was about 30 seconds after we entered the dungeon. [¡­¡­Something¡¯s coming.] Prana, the one with the best hearing among the group, detected the presence of a monster behind the corner. [Finally.] Radd looked a little nervous as he held up his sword, but I slightly poked him in the head. [O- Ouch!?] [I told you not to worry. You guys will be alright.] [E- Even if you say that¡­¡­] Even though you look really displeased, I¡¯m sorry to say this, but Radd really doesn¡¯t get it. There¡¯s really no need for Radd to be nervous or worried here at all. After all¡­¡­ [I¡¯m not gonna give any of them to you guys.] [¡­¡­Ehh?] As soon as I see the monster, I swing out the Metallic King¡¯s Sword held in both hands. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-!] My body, which had gained a Speed Buff from the effect of the Art, ran as if I¡¯m hovering above the ground, and approached the enemy with a snap. [Wha, Old man!? H- He¡¯s so fast!] I felt Radd chasing me from behind, but there was no way he was going to make it in time. The speed correction due to the AGI stat is generally capped at 200. In that case, the rest could be compensated by Arts, but Radd still hasn¡¯t mastered many Rush Arts that are useful for movement. (Two groups of 7 Zombies. Let¡¯s start with the left one.) When I could clearly see the enemy, Radd and the others who were lagging behind me completely disappeared from my mind. Adrenaline took over my mind, only the intoxication of battle and the combos I¡¯d built up throughout the years of gaming were running through my mind. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-.] I swung the first blow, and without stopping on my feet, I held a nukiuchi stance¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-!] In just an instant, I invoked an overhead Battou Art. Even though I was double-handing my weapon, which isn¡¯t even a katana, but a sword, all that difference was meaningless in front of Manual Arts. (First would be you!) In place of a greeting, the blow, combined with the second strike of my Gale Sword, decapitated the head of the leading zombie. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù The are part of the main objective of B&B, containing the main content of its story. They¡¯re dungeons prepared for the ¡°Hero¡±, and unlike other dungeons, NPCs were basically never able to clear this dungeon. The difficulty level is naturally adjusted accordingly, and even in its initial state, the Ruins are at a level where even the Top Adventurers in each town and city, in other words, characters like Verteran, will have a hard time. That is to say¡­¡­ (Hyaaaahhhaaa!!! This¡¯ll be a massaaaaaakkaaaaarrrrr!!!) There¡¯s no reason for me, who has stronger base stats than Verteran and has superior equipment and Arts at my disposal, to struggle here. To begin with, the initial level of monsters in the Ruins was Lv 25. With the way they are now, they aren¡¯t the kind of opponents that Radd¡¯s party would have a hard time with, and on the contrary, fighting them wouldn¡¯t bring them much EXP. That¡¯s why¡­¡­ (I don¡¯t have to be so reserved in fighting them!) I can fight them without being concerned about efficiency! (Next!) With the momentum from my Movement Arts, I ran past the fallen Zombies and activated my next Art. [!] I swung my sword toward three Zombies in one strike. The blow accurately hits the three Zombies but¡­¡­ (Tsk, it¡¯s too shallow.) As expected, the firepower of a single Art isn¡¯t enough. Immediately deciding to stack for my Over-Art¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-!] I slew the three Zombies with my sword. (With this, on to the remaining four Zombies.) My lips naturally lifted up in delight at the pleasure of slaughtering monsters so quickly. Bluntly speaking, there¡¯s no reason why I shouldn¡¯t fight here, but I actually don¡¯t have any reason why I should fight either. That¡¯s why, honestly speaking, this is just me relieving my stress. Of course, I certainly like those close fights against formidable enemies in games, but I would like to excuse myself from ¡°battles that would be risking my own life¡± in the real world. However, I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s something I should say is quite fortunate or not, but I have a very bad personality. That¡¯s why¡­¡­ (¡ª¡ª¡ª-I really love using my overwhelming power to trample down enemies to my heart¡¯s content!) Shouting inwardly, I performed intricate movements to counteract the momentum of my brandished sword¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªDivine Stinger!] With my usual combo, I pierced one of the Zombies that had finally started to move. And then¡­¡­ (Alright! On to the final seven!) It was just as I was aiming my sword at the last horde¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª.] A cool voice echoed from the depths of the darkness. [ .] The head and torso of the Zombie I was aiming for were simultaneously cut in two. The monster crumbles and disappears, and from behind it, an indifferent mutter resounds. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-That¡¯s eighth.] When I hurriedly looked to the right of that voice, I saw that the other horde of monsters, which should have just been there, had already completely disappeared. I shuddered. (Of course, when I said it¡¯s first come, first serve, there¡¯s no way she wouldn¡¯t come out.) I turn my gaze once again at the back of those disappearing monsters. There, just as I had guessed, was the person I had expected would appear¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-That ends it, right? Nii-san.] Calmly sheathing the two ninjato in her hands was my little sister, a cheeky grin on her lips. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- Resilia HP ¨C 638 MP ¨C 187 STR ¨C 382 (B+) VIT ¨C 274 (B-) MGC ¨C 142 (C) MND ¨C 254 (B-) AGI ¨C 525 (A+) FOC ¨C 209 (C+) Rank Total ¨C 64 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- CH 51 The moment I saw an enemy, I kicked off the ground. I should have kicked off almost simultaneously as the time the enemy was found. However, the nearby Resilia is slightly faster in stepping out. This isn¡¯t so much a difference in our AGI, but a difference in our reaction time. In other words, it¡¯s probably a difference in the specs as a person between me and Resilia. (However!) Our first strike against the monster came at the same time. This was due to the difference in the reach of our weapons. Compared to my ¡°Metallic King¡¯s Sword¡±, the ninjato that Resilia wields has only about half the reach. (I¡¯ll regain the advantage here!) I was able to regain the difference between the slight delay and kill monsters with a single killing blow but¡­¡­ [Third!] [Got the fourth.] I was still one step behind in the number of monsters destroyed. (Tsk! This is the power of an Evaluation Rank A+, with just the base stats of 500!) Just as I reflexively turned towards Resilia, she also turned her gaze towards me and our eyes met. She seemed to be in a good mood as she smiled when her eyes met mine. [This really fits me to a tee. I¡¯m glad I had made up my mind and changed to this fighting style.] [Y- Yeah. That¡¯s great, isn¡¯t it?] [Yes. With this power, I will not fall behind even against Gargoyles. I will be the one protecting Nii-san now.] At my recommendation, Resilia changed her main weapon from ¡°sword¡± to ¡°ninjatos¡±. This is due to her strong point in terms of her Status. As a Warrior, she possesses unrivaled power, but her greatest affinity isn¡¯t her ¡°STR¡±, which is the most important affinity for a Warrior, but ¡°AGI¡±. When you consider the situation as a Warrior, the ¡°AGI¡± stat becomes almost meaningless when it exceeds 200. I personally think that it can even be called a ¡°failure stat¡±. However, that is only if you train as a Warrior. That¡¯s why Resilia made her choice. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CShe chose to abandon her ¡°STR¡±-specialized Warrior Class and became an ¡°AGI¡±-specialized Assassin Class. Weapon attacks basically gain their Attack Power from ¡°STR¡±, but when you look at the weapon details, the ability value referred to differs depending on the type of weapon you wield. In extreme cases, for example, with bows, STR affects only about 30% of the Total Attack Power, while the remaining 70% is determined by the wielder¡¯s dexterity, or rather, their ¡°FOC¡±. The same also goes for the most popular equipment, , as 80% of the Total Attack Power depends on the ¡°STR¡±, with the remaining 20% being affected by the wielder¡¯s ¡°FOC¡± and ¡°AGI¡±. For heavy weapons such as Axes and Greatswords, the Attack Power is determined solely by ¡°STR¡±, but when it comes to Daggers and Shortswords, the Attack Power correction is completely reversed, with ¡°FOC¡± and ¡°AGI¡± at 40% each for an 80%, while the remaining 20% depends on ¡°STR¡±. The , however, is a very special type of weapon, with 80% of its Attack Power depending on the wielder¡¯s ¡°AGI¡± and 20% on ¡°STR¡±. Therefore, ¡°AGI¡±, which had been considered a disadvantageous stat because the increase in speed it provides would soon reach its cap, could be utilized by using . I glance at the attire of the nearby Resilia. [Is something the matter, Nii-san?] [Nothing.] Now, Resilia has taken off her old spring-filled armor and is dressed in a ninja outfit. This is evidence that she has switched her focus on Affinity-Increasing Equipment from ¡°STR¡± to ¡°AGI¡±. For a stat that was called a failure, there¡¯s a lot of equipment that improves the ¡°AGI¡± affinity gain. Resilia, who decided to change her fighting style, swapped out of her previous STR-Increasing equipment and changed all four of her equipment to AGI-Increasing Equipment, and by Class Changing to , which specializes in AGI, her combat power drastically increased. The Class is one of the easiest ¡°Unique Class¡± in the game to Class Changed to. Fourth-Tier and higher Classes that aren¡¯t bound by any Class lines are called ¡°Unique Classes¡±, and in order to Class Change to these Classes, one must not only raise their Status, but also fulfill special conditions. Many of these conditions are strict, but the Class is one of the easier ones to fulfill. To become a , one must Class Change to the Fourth-Tier Warrior Class and Fourth-Tier Thief Class , and learn all of their skills. Warriors specialize in STR and AGI, while Thieves specialize in AGI and FOC, so if you train in one of the Class lines, you can quickly meet the Class Change requirements for the other. After that, if you just find the Ninja statue hidden in the temple, the Class Change is complete. Of course, these conditions are hidden from the player at the beginning, so it¡¯s quite difficult for a first-time player to Class Change, but this is a benefit of having game knowledge. Comparable to how easy it is to Class Change into it, the Class is one of the weaker Unique Classes, with a Growth Total of 18, but by training in this Class, you can learn a very important skill that can be considered broken for melee combat. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThe skill, which is synonymous with the Class. is a seemingly simple skill that has the effect of: ¡°When the same weapon is equipped on both hands, your non-dominant hand can wield it the same way as the dominant hand¡±. However, this skill is in fact the most important component that makes ¡°Dual Wielding¡± possible. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù Melee Combat styles fought with one-handed weapons can be roughly classified into three categories. One is the Balanced-Type, in which the weapon is held in one hand and a shield in the other. This is the most balanced in terms of offense and defense, and Radd who also serves as ¡¯s tank falls into this category. Meanwhile, the other two styles specialize in offense. Holding a one-handed weapon with both hands, ¡°Doublehand¡±, and holding a one-handed weapon in each hand, ¡°Dual-Wield¡±. In B&B, Doublehand increases Attack Power by 30% while reducing Equipment Limits by holding the one-handed weapon in both hands, while Dual-Wield doubles the number of strikes by having similar weapons in each hand. It¡¯s easy to assume Dual-Wield which doubles the number of strikes is stronger than Doublehand which increases Attack Power by 30%, but it isn¡¯t as simple as that. For example, if the Attack Power of your weapon is 100 and the opponent¡¯s Defense is 0, the damage will be 100 x 1.3 = 130 for Doublehand and 100 x 2 = 200 for Dual-Wield, making Dual-Wield stronger in this case. However, if the opponent¡¯s Defense is 100, then Doublehand would naturally be stronger because no matter how many times Dual-Wield increases the attack rate, the damage would still be 0. There¡¯s also the issue of Arts. If you hold a weapon in your non-dominant hand, when you press the Art-button, you will unleash either Guard or Parry instead of an Art. Even if you have weapons in both of your hands, if you can only use Arts with your dominant hand, the Attack Power isn¡¯t much different from when you have a weapon and shield equipped. For this reason, the in-game theory was at least, when making NPCs specialize in attack, it was to ¡°avoid Dual-Wielding and make them Doublehanded¡±. However¡­¡­ Even with that, as long as the conditions are right, Dual-Wield is absolutely stronger than Doublehand. After all, the situation here is quite simple. One Dynamic Motion Z (7,980 yen before tax) is all you need to fight Doublehanded, but to be able to take advantage of the Dual-Wield style, you have to buy two Dynamic Motion Z (7.980 yen before tax)! And the guys who developed the game here are quite the suckers for real money! ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CTherefore, only under the condition that you have already purchased two Dynamic Motion Z (7,980 yen before tax), Dual-Wield will be able to overwhelmingly surpass Doublehand! What is needed on top of that is the Ninja¡¯s Skill. The seemingly meaningless effect of ¡°being able to use the weapon in your non-dominant hand the same way as the dominant hand¡± means, in essence, ¡°being able to use Arts with the weapon in your left hand¡±. By acquiring this skill and using two Dynamic Motion Zs (a total of 15,960 yen before tax), one can activate separate Arts with each hand. Furthermore, if one reaches the level of , which is considered one of the strongest Warrior-type Classes, and acquires the skill, the strength of Dual-Wield dramatically increases. In such a situation, the Attack Power of Dual-Wield is of course something that couldn¡¯t be matched by a Doublehand user. No, even if you don¡¯t consider that skill, just Dual-Wield¡¯s ability to allow the use of Arts in both hands makes its advantage unshakeable. This was proven by what was actually happening in front of my eyes. [ !] [Kuh! !] I desperately chased after Resilia as she launched two Arts with the weapons in each of her hands, but with twice as many moves in her arsenal, the difference in firepower and annihilating power was unimaginable. (D*mn it! That¡¯s already on the level of a cheat!) In addition, although Resilia hasn¡¯t become a , in the process of Class Changing to , she learned one of the Skills: . This has allowed her to finally be able to stack Arts, which has always been my forte and greatest advantage. Since two weapons are used to unleash double the power of an Art, the damage would roughly be a (x2) x 2, which makes her damage four times that of a normal Art. There¡¯s no way I can win a damage race against her like that. (I did try Class Changing to Ninja but¡­¡­) I didn¡¯t adopt the Dual-Wield style. No, it¡¯s more like I couldn¡¯t. My main weapon is the Metallic King¡¯s Sword, and I only have one of this. In order to use Dual-Wield, I have to equip ¡°the same weapon in both hands¡±, which means that I would have to settle for a lower-grade weapon. If I use two weapons that are weak for my Status, the power of each of my blows would be too low and I won¡¯t have enough firepower. Once again, I can¡¯t help but feel how abnormal Resilia is, who can do tremendous damage with mass-produced Ninjatos that have no special effects. (D*mn you, Stat Monster!) I inwardly cursed at Resilia, but the person herself seems to be in a good mood. Rather, she¡¯s in so good of a mood that she walks up towards me, and with a wicked look on her face, she speaks. [Doing something like this together with Nii-san isn¡¯t so bad, don¡¯t you think?] [I- I guess so.] I answered so, but I couldn¡¯t help but feel like the smile was cramping. Gazing at Resilia¡¯s back as she headed deep into the dungeon with an ever-so-joyful look on her face, I clenched my fists. To protect the pride of the Strongest in the Early Game and the dignity of an older brother, I can¡¯t afford to lose here. Secretly strengthening my resolve, I proceeded deeper into the dungeon, looking for my next prey. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [Here they come!] At the sound of Prana¡¯s voice, I started moving at the same time as Resilia, who I knew would immediately move. If I engage in melee combat here, what awaits me will be the same result as before. That¡¯s why¡­¡­ (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C!) Temporarily switching my sword to a one-handed grip, I threw an Orichalcon Knife, with my left hand. The had excellent ability values, but it has the special effect of ¡°Triple Damage to Goblins and Reduced Damage to other races by a third¡±, and has a fatal flaw of ¡°once equipped, it can¡¯t be removed¡±, making it almost useless. However, it¡¯s already known that these special effects can be circumvented by using the skill without equipping it. This way, it can deal consistent damage to non-Goblins, and there will be no tragedy of not being able to change equipment. In addition, the weakening effect on Goblins also applies when it¡¯s used as a projectile, so I can be relieved fighting against Goblin-type enemies. [!] At the same time as I threw the , I returned to holding my weapon with Doublehand and released my skills as usual. The opening blow accurately killed the Zombie I had been targeting, and at the same time, the Zombie in the back who had been hit by the also fell down. Fighting in such a position doesn¡¯t allow me to throw another projectile, but this allows me to defend my initial advantage¡­¡­ [Got four!] [Three. It seems like I lost this time.] For the first time since entering the dungeon, I succeeded in beating Resilia in the number of kills. (This is the advantage of that didn¡¯t have!) The Dual-Wield style, in which weapons are equipped in each hand, isn¡¯t suitable for Weapon Swapping or using items due to its characteristics. In this respect, although Doublehand occupies both of your hands, you can move your left hand away from your weapon for a moment to immediately change equipment or use supportive items, giving Doublehand users a high degree of freedom. This was how I won my first advantage, but Resilia isn¡¯t so naive that this would be enough for me to win this match. I could only defeat the enemy by throwing a projectile as a preemptive strike. When the numbers in a horde are small, I can push through with that advantage, but when the number of enemies increases, the advantage would be to Resilia, ,and a back-and-forth match would ensue. I was unable to close the gap in the number of defeats we had earned in the beginning, but I was steadily advancing through the battlefield, and just when we were getting close to the goal, the moment I had been waiting for arrived. [ ¡­¡­Eh?] The momentum of Resilia, who had been defeating monsters at a high pace up until now, suddenly stopped. (It¡¯s here!) That is the biggest drawback of Dual-Wield. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CShe ran out of MP! Even at the best of times, Resilia¡¯s MP consumption is quite high for a melee fighter. In addition to the fact that is a skill that consumes twice as much MP, she¡¯s using big moves that she shouldn¡¯t be able to use with Manual Arts, so it¡¯s eating up her MP at a rapid pace. There¡¯s also the Dual-Wield, a fighting technique that uses both left and right hands and handles twice the number of Arts as usual. Naturally, it would make her MP consumption double the normal amount. Furthermore, since the cooldown of the Arts themselves are based on the person, not on the weapon, her left and right hands would have to perform different techniques. As it isn¡¯t possible for her to use only the most MP-efficient techniques, this increases her MP consumption. This wasn¡¯t noticeable because the fights she had been participating in before were more like spotting for Radd¡¯s party, but it was obvious that this would happen if Resilia, with her low ¡°MGC¡±, continued to fight with all her might. [Kuh!] Though I say that, Resilia¡¯s ability is very high even without Arts. Even now, she calmly gives up attacking with Arts and is reliably defeating monsters with her normal attacks. If I just continue doing things normally, I won¡¯t be able to earn enough time to make up the difference in the number of monster defeats we¡¯ve had. That¡¯s why¡­¡­ (This will be the time when I win this match!!!) Holding a in my left hand, I raised it high above my head and shouted. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C!] At the same time, a bright white light burst out from the knife I held above my head and spread around the monsters. The is a skill that, in exchange for the destruction of a weapon, inflicts super-special damage to the surrounding area in proportion to the weapon¡¯s Fixed Attack Power. In exchange for an Orichalcon Knife worth 5 million wen, a torrent of magic power that shoots only hostiles strikes the nearby monsters and obliterates them. [¡­¡­Fuuu.] When the , having lost all its power in my hands, crumbled to dust, all the monsters in its place were gone as well. With a smile of satisfaction on my face, I turned to Resilia. [Fourteen destroyed. With this, it¡¯s a tie.] [I let my guard down. However, there will be no next time.] With a smile on the edge of her lips, Resilia took out an MP Recovery Potion from her inventory and gulped it down without hesitation. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CJudging from the atmosphere of the dungeon, the next hoard will be the last one. That means, the conclusion of this match will be made there. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù This is a matter that neither of us could stop any longer. Speeding through the dungeon as if on impulse, we searched for our final prey. Finally, the time had come. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-!] [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-!] The two became aware of their presence at about the same time. There were seven enemies in the hoard. Which means, the one who kills more will be the winner! We kicked the ground and readied our weapons simultaneously in perfectly synchronized movements¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C!!!] Right at that moment though, with Mana¡¯s voice coming from behind us, everything was all over. [¡­¡­Eh?] In front of us, who were standing still flabbergasted, the bodies of the 7 Zombies twisted, seemingly writhing in pain, before turning into light and vanishing. [Ah¡­¡­] Before I knew it, the prey we were supposed to defeat could no longer be seen anymore. , as the name suggests, is a magic that extinguishes the Undead. It has the disadvantage that it doesn¡¯t work on superior monsters or Bosses and doesn¡¯t give the user EXP, but it¡¯s immensely effective against Undead monsters. This magic certainly is effective against the Undead in this dungeon, but ending this matter with that is just too cruel. Intending to voice out our protest, we turned towards Mana¡­¡­ [What are you¡ª¡ª¡ª] [What in the world are you two doing!?] The words we were about to say were drowned out by Mana¡¯s unprecedented furious tone. Looking unusually angry, in a single breath, she started shouting. [That knife and MP Recovery Potion are both very valuable! Why in the world are you using them here!?] [Ah, no, ummm, errr¡­¡­] Now that she mentioned it, I couldn¡¯t find the words to reply. I glanced to the side and saw that Resilia was also looking down awkwardly, seemingly embarrassed. [Geez! Moreover, just the two of you charging on and on through the dungeon and abandoning us, flirting and flirting while you¡¯re alone! This is not a date spot!] [N- No, it¡¯s not like we were playing around¡­¡­] I helplessly tried explaining, but Mana¡¯s momentum doesn¡¯t seem to be abating at all. Feeling hopeless, I reflexively tried turning my gaze towards Resilia¡­¡­ [Do you not hear me, Rex-san!? I¡¯m talking exactly about that!] But I got scolded by Mana for that instead, making me hurriedly adjust my seating posture. And thus ended the long and unproductive battle between me and Resilia. The title of ¡°the Strongest in the Party¡±, which the two of us desperately fought for, shone brightly above Mana¡¯s head. CH 52 [So that¡¯s this place¡¯s Boss¡­¡­] At the sight of the horrifying Undead Sorcerer in the distance, everyone gasped. There was no more of that flippant atmosphere between us before. This may not be the right way to say it, but half of the journey through the dungeon up to this point feels more like a game. However, what we are about to face is different. Ahead of us is the Boss of one of the , the , the deadliest enemy that can be the biggest obstacle in a situation where there are no do-overs. After all, the Elder Lich is a master of ¡°Instant Death Attack¡±, which can kill even a character with full HP with a single strike. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù B&B is a severe game where you can lose your characters. A player who loses a comrade in battle will never be able to regain them again. But in regards to this aspect, your comrades will only really die in battle if they¡¯re killed in a very serious situation. Well, I knew about this because a character I had suddenly got hit in the chest and died on the first day I got them, but such a thing doesn¡¯t really happen unless you fight a very superior opponent. Unlike the ¡°Hero¡±, whose HP becoming 0 immediately results in a Game Over, your comrade characters won¡¯t ¡°die¡±, but ¡°faint¡± when their HP reaches 0. Thereupon, if a character continued receiving hits to their HP, when their HP exceeds a certain limit, they would ¡°die¡±, but until then, it¡¯s possible to help them if you have a way to recover their HP. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-However, the ¡°Instant Death Attack¡± used by Lich-type monsters is different. This said attack is a Status Ailment that affects the body, not actually dealing damage, and if no countermeasures are taken against it, the victim can be killed in an instant from any situation. Although equipment to resist Instant Death does exist, it¡¯s difficult to obtain them at this stage, and even if such equipment were available, what they did was just resist, not completely nullify Instant Death. One way to resist Instant Death would have been the which Radd¡¯s party used in the Lava Cave, but the Elder Lich¡¯s Instant Death Attack causes damage and Instant Death at the same time, so it can¡¯t be used in this case. Furthermore, the Elder Lich itself is one of the most powerful enemies among the Ruins Bosses. Even without the Instant Death, if you just fight it normally, your party will probably be annihilated. However¡­¡­ [The opponent is Undead. If we attack it now, we can exploit its weak points and surely win.] That is why we have to defeat this Boss ¡°now¡±. The later the Ruin is in the order of attack, the stronger the Boss will be, and this Boss is no exception to that. As you progress through the Twelve Dark Ruins, the remaining Bosses become stronger and tougher, their weak points disappear, and they summon troublesome mobs or unleash powerful special moves. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-They¡¯re a powerful enemy, so don¡¯t fight them now. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-It¡¯s because they¡¯re a powerful enemy, that you must defeat them now. Of course, there¡¯s a risk in this plan. [You remember the plan, right? If my attack doesn¡¯t work¡­¡­] [You want us to abandon the Old man and escape, right? I know.] Radd said in a tone that suggested that he didn¡¯t understand at all. I know he isn¡¯t happy hearing about a strategy where you abandon your comrades but¡­¡­ [Listen here, okay? This is very important. I can get out of here on my own. However, if you guys are too late to do that, we won¡¯t be able to escape.] [¡­¡­I know that already.] Radd replied in a slightly better voice than before. However, he wasn¡¯t the only one who wasn¡¯t happy with my plan. [Nii-san. I really think that rather than Nii-san, it would be better if I hold the vanguard¡­¡­] Resilia, unusually showing a hint of anxiety in her eyes, complains to me. However, I shook my head at her words. [No. You don¡¯t have enough MDEF.] The Unique Class has the devastating characteristic that the higher the AGI stat, the higher the defense, making them strong against physical attacks even if they¡¯re lightly armed. But for this reason, they don¡¯t have much stat compensation in magic-related stats, and with the enemy¡¯s attacks being difficult to evade, they¡¯re weak against Lich-type monsters. [But still, compared to Nii-san¡­¡­!] [Besides, I¡¯ve fought with Liches before. I¡¯m better suited for this role because I can predict its attack patterns to a certain extent.] [That is¡­¡­] Hearing that, Resilia couldn¡¯t refute anymore and slumped down, falling silent. [¡­¡­It will be alright.] I said to her, trying to relieve the seriousness of the situation. [It¡¯s certainly a formidable opponent that I alone wouldn¡¯t be able to match, no matter how hard I try. Even Resilia, who has the greatest offensive power among the group, would be no match against it¡­¡­ But you see, I am not alone.] My gaze narrowing, I looked towards the five weirdos who had been following me up to this point. [Me and Resilia. Radd and Nuku. Prana and Mana. If any one of us were missing, we would not be able to defeat it. No, even if we are all here, we wouldn¡¯t stand a chance if we don¡¯t work together. However, if the six of us are working together¡­¡­] I consciously formed a ferocious smile¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-A small fry like that can¡¯t even be considered an enemy.] I blurted out the kind of big words that only I could say in this world. For a few moments, everyone was silent, seemingly dumbfounded by my words. [¡­¡­Fufu.] However, what broke the silence was Prana¡¯s chuckle. [That¡¯s certainly just like you, Rex. I believe in you.] When Prana said that, looking amused like usual¡­¡­ [Keh! Good grief, we¡¯d be troubled if Old man keeps on saying absurd things!] Seemingly taking that opportunity, Radd said with a stiff expression on her face. At this moment, my stubborn little sister finally relented. [¡­¡­I understand. In exchange, please make sure you¡¯d be absolutely safe. If you get hurt, I¡¯ll get angry.] [You can count on me.] Nonchalantly saying this, I stepped forward. I turned to the Boss, wordlessly placing my trust in Radd and the others behind me. Radd and the others were no longer intimidated. Everyone in the room now believes in our victory. However¡­¡­ (D*mn it! My knees are shaking!) The most crucial one in this battle, me, doesn¡¯t feel the same way as them. I was the only one who noticed that the foot that took a step forward doesn¡¯t have the strength of conviction within it. However, I guess that¡¯s just obvious. It won¡¯t matter how strong my Status is, I¡¯m still just a commoner on the inside. I have a different nature and resolution from Radd and the others who had been in this cut-and-slash world by themselves. There was no way I wouldn¡¯t be scared of running into an enemy who could kill me in a single shot. Thinking about it again, the reason I had been so excitedly defeating small fry with Resilia on the way here, which even I think was strange behavior, was probably because I was subconsciously trying to forget the pressure of this Boss battle. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-There¡¯s one thing I didn¡¯t tell Radd and the others. Even though I told Resilia and the others that I know about its ¡°attack patterns¡± and so on, there was no need to think about its first move. The always releases its most deadly magic at the beginning of a battle instead of a greeting attack, offensive magic with an Instant Death effect called . In other words¡­¡­ (If I don¡¯t deal with that, I might die.) has a 30% chance of Instant Death. You can either think that you¡¯ll be fine through it 70% of the time, or you can also think that there¡¯s a 30% chance you¡¯ll suddenly die. (Ahh, d*mn it! Things weren¡¯t supposed to be like this!) When I came to this world and fought the Doom Demon, I should have decided never to fight for my life again, that I would just settle into a position where I could just sit back and let the others do the fighting. And yet, here I am, at the very front line, playing a role that I could only see as a poor one. (However, it can¡¯t be helped. There¡¯s no other choice.) I absolutely need the items this guy drops, and this role is too heavy to leave to someone else. Besides¡­¡­ [Rex-san! If it¡¯s Rex-san, I know you can do it!] Mana cheered me on, to which I responded with a thumbs up. Standing at the very edge of the Elder Lich¡¯s detection range, I swung my one-handed sword in my right hand. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-.] The opening salvo of the battle is a high-level Art that has high mobility among the many Arts. This Art, which even Resilia has not yet mastered, isn¡¯t practical because it requires too many preliminary movements before the main strike, but the speed of its strike is extremely high. I moved through the wind at a speed never experienced before. In the midst of this unreal speed, I saw the Elder Lich, who had noticed me, pointed its bright blazing red rod at me. (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-!) I can feel the deadly magic power gathering at the tip of the red rod pointed at me. I can feel it. I¡¯d be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t afraid. However! (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Even I have times when I want to be cool!) With a voiceless cry, I unleashed my final strike. The blow cleaves the empty space in front of the Lich, and seemingly snickering at my action, the Lich spun its spell. [" Now, all that¡¯s left for me to do should be to buy some time for them to come running in¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Nii-san!] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CWhen a familiar set of azure hair lined up next to me. (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-This woman!) Resilia arrived earlier than I had expected. I would have been able to safely make this Lich flinch if this were a game, but things don¡¯t just go according to what it was like in the game. (I told her to wait at the entrance until we could see if the Sacred Ash would work, but this woman¡­¡­!) She probably jumped out before I could even see if the Sacred Ash was effective. I was inclined to scold her for ignoring the plan, but honestly, I was grateful that she¡¯s here now. Just as the Elder Lich pointed its rod at me, seemingly about to cast its spell once again, Resilia brandished her hand. [Gyyyyyaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!] Released from her hand was, of course, Sacred Ash. Just as the Elder Lich was thrown back again¡­¡­ [Tei!] Prana, who had approached the Elder Lich without a sound, casually threw another set of Sacred Ash. [Doryaaa!] Thereupon, in comes Radd with the Brave Sword in hand¡­¡­ [Take this!] Running in while gasping for air, Nuku rushed to the scene and threw another set of Sacred Ash at the Lich. And then, the last to arrive was¡­¡­ [Mana, we¡¯re counting on you!] [Yes!] Proving stronger than anyone else against Undead was the Healer, Mana. Against the Elder Lich, who could be said to represent all Undead, she naturally casts not a Holy-attribute offensive magic, which the Priest Class excels at more than anything else¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-!] But her main specialty, Recovery Magic! [Gaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!] The Lich, exposed to the healing light, writhes in agony. Just as the Undead have the nature of being healed by Dark-attribute attacks, they receive damage after receiving Recovery Magic instead. And then, Regeneration is a continuous Recovery Magic that heals the target by HP%. It¡¯s a powerful effect against the Elder Lich, a formidable foe that¡¯s normally out of reach! Its eyes, distorted with hatred, turned towards Mana¡­¡­ [ [Eat this!] [Fuu!] [Tei!] [Doryaaa!] [Take this!] [Ei!] [Death Tou¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-] [Eat this!] [Fuu!] [Tei!] [Doryaaa!] [Take this!] [Ei!] [Abyss Ga¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-] [Eat this!] [Fuu!] [Tei!] [Doryaaa!] [Take this!] [Ei!] [Darkn¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-] [Eat this!] [Fuu!] [Tei!] [Doryaaa!] [Take this!] [Ei!] [Black¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-] [Eat this!] [Fuu!] [Tei!] [Doryaaa!] [Take this!] [Ei!] [Moon¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-] [Eat this!] [Fuu!] [Tei!] [Doryaaa!] [Take this!] [Ei!] [Sou¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-] [Eat this!] [Fuu!] [Tei!] [Doryaaa!] [Take this!] [Ei!] [Da¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-] [Eat this!] [Fuu!] [Tei!] [Doryaaa!] [Take this!] [Ei!] [¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­] [Eat this!] [Fuu!] [Tei!] [Doryaaa!] [Take this!] [Ei!] ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡­¡­¡­ With a breathless series of Sacred Ash throws, we completely blockaded the Elder Lich¡¯s movements. And thus, one of the deadliest Bosses was extinguished by the continuous damage of without being able to use magic even once. CH 53 [GYAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!] The deafening screams of the Undead echoed through the dungeon. As one would expect from the Boss of one of the , the special effects shown from their defeat are quite elaborate. As I breathed a sigh of relief while watching the lengthy cutscene of the ¡¯s destruction, I noticed the complicated expression on Radd¡¯s face. As our eyes met, Radd spoke as if to make excuses. [No, it¡¯s just, I had understood this when I heard the plan. Seeing all of it happen though makes the fight kinda disappointing.] [You defeated someone you couldn¡¯t beat in a proper fight. You should be proud of yourself.] Radd still doesn¡¯t seem to be satisfied, but this was still a great victory. There aren¡¯t many dramatic victories like this, but petrification can decide a match if it works just once, being silenced can make you do almost nothing, and the first one of the Ruin Bosses has a very weak resistance to begin with, so it¡¯s easy to make a perfect match. Besides, even this Sacred Ash Stun Lock isn¡¯t as easy as it sounds. In fact, in the game, if an NPC for some reason interrupted another NPCs action and lost their footing, it was often the case that the party was unable to regain their footing and end up getting wiped out. [Of course, well, I¡¯m aware of that. It¡¯s just, I think anyone would be able to do this even if it¡¯s not me¡­¡­] [That¡¯s not the case. Not many people can act without being intimidated by the Elder Lich, and not many people would believe in my ridiculous plans.] When I said this, Radd¡¯s eyes widened a bit¡­¡­ [W- Well, I guess I¡¯ll just be happy if you go that far, Old man.] He looked somewhat unsettled as he said this and turned his head away. I don¡¯t know whether he¡¯s being honest or cynical, but that¡¯s not the point right now. [That aside, it¡¯s now time for the item we¡¯re looking for.] [Eh?] As Radd was looking at me like an idiot, I pointed to the back of the room. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Did you forget? We came here to get an item, remember?] The Bosses of the always drop Unique Items when defeated. The , which is one of the top-ranked Bosses among the Ruin Bosses, drops two types of equipment, both of which are among the most powerful in the game. Whether it¡¯s a rod or a diadem¡­¡­ Depending on which of the two drops, it will have an impact on the strategy for the future¡­¡­ [Oh¡­¡­] At that moment, the completely dissipated, and in its place, the equipment rolled off with a clang. Dropping in the place was the diadem the wore just a few moments ago¡­¡­ and their rod. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Two drops?] Contrary to my expectations, two end-game class equipment fell into our hands at the same time. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù (I never thought we would get both!) Since only one of the items dropped by the Bosses could be obtained in the game, players sometimes had to go through the arduous process of defeating the Boss repeatedly to carefully select the item drop. However, defeating a Boss once and then defeating it again for the item lottery was such a stressful factor that even the strategy boards complained about it, and in this world, there was no way for me to just save-reload the game. I don¡¯t know why I was able to get these two items, but since both of them were originally owned by the , the world may have corrected this situation by stating that it was wrong that only one of its items could drop. Anyway, this is a happy miscalculation. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-A diadem that contains the mysteries of an Undead Sorcerer, . ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-A rod of hellfire that consumes everything in its path, . Both of them are Unique Items with tremendous effects that live up to their exaggerated names. Since we¡¯ve obtained both of these, I could call this dungeon attack a great success. I picked up the equipment with a relieved look on my face and immediately threw them into my inventory. [Nii-san!] Thereupon, Resilia let out a warning shout. Upon her voice, I looked up too and turned my gaze in the direction where Resilia was looking. [T- The wall is¡­¡­] The wall at the back of the room, which should have been a dead end, was moving with a loud noise. The wall continued descending, seemingly being sucked into the ground with a roar, and by the time the sound subsided, the true deepest part of the dungeon that had opened up behind it was exposed. [Urph¡­¡­] The room, which existed as if it was hidden, was filled with deep darkness. The presence of darkness was so visible that Mana involuntarily pressed down on her mouth. And then¡­¡­ In the center of that dark room was a pitch-black statue that seemed to be simmering with boundless malice. [O- Old man¡­¡­] [Yeah. That is the .] That is the mark of the resurrection of the Evil Deity , who wants to take over the world for themself. The first time we saw the goal of the Adventurers of this world, we stood still for a moment. But then, light suddenly filled the back room. [W- What is it this time!?] Radd screams. In front of the confused Radd and the others, the light converged to a humanoid form. [That is¡­¡­] Radd¡¯s shuddering voice echoed. When the light subsided, a translucent female being floated in front of us. She had no hostile or malicious intent toward us. She just gazed at us and smiled. However, I could understand Radd¡¯s surprise. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-The female being before us was just too beautiful. She had golden eyes filled with deep compassion and thoughtfulness, a nose bridge that wasn¡¯t possible for a human. Her golden hair, luxurious and lustrous, and the ideal curves of her ears peeking out from it. And then, there¡¯s her modest, yet somehow seductive, well-shaped lips. [The ¡­¡­ Feenares.] A name that no one is supposed to know yet leaked out of my mouth. No one, including the Goddess herself, seemed to hear my voice, or perhaps, even if my voice could reach their ears, I may have actually not spoken out any words. And so, while everyone was mesmerized by the Goddess¡¯ grandeur, unable to move¡­¡­ ¡¶¡­¡­I had been waiting.¡· The Goddess¡¯ tiny lips softly spun a sound. ¡¶My dear Children of Light, I have been waiting for you for a long time.¡· As if she met someone she cared about once again, she smiled and opened her arms, seemingly welcoming us. ¡¶Come, now is the time to show your courage. Touch the statue that has stored up evil power. Dispel the darkness¡­¡­¡· The words she spun shook our eardrums with a majestic resonance. As if guided by her words, I looked at the statue filled with malice that sits in the room filled with darkness. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-This is the Main Story of . The conquest of the doesn¡¯t end with the defeat of the Boss. It¡¯s completed when one of the party members touches the at the deepest level and destroys it. Destroying the will allow Feenares to regain control of this place and lower the power of the resurrected Evil Deity by one level. In exchange, the world will be polluted by the evil miasma leaking from the , and the monsters will become one level stronger, but this is also necessary from a game strategy standpoint. The stronger the enemies become, the more EXP they give you. Ironically, in order to gain the power to overcome the Evil Deity, the main cause for everything, the evil power released by the Evil Deity is necessary. However, we must be careful when we destroy the statues and the members who touch them. When the statue is destroyed, the Goddess will give you abilities as a ¡°reward¡± according to the dungeon you have conquered, but only the person who ¡°touches¡± the statue will receive the benefits. The reward should be an all-around increase in attribute aptitudes and ability values, and in the case of this dungeon, as I recall, the ¡°MND¡± stat is increased. The value is related to Recovery Magic and MDEF. If I were to raise any one of them, it would of course be¡­¡­ [Re¡­¡­ Old man.] I was called out by a voice that sounded nervous, and I came to my senses. I turned around and saw Radd standing there with a somewhat awkward look on his face. [Is this really alright?] I didn¡¯t bother asking what he meant. With what goes next after the Boss is defeated already determined in advance before we even entered the dungeon, everyone agreed with what¡¯s next. [Yeah. I¡¯ll leave it to you.] I nodded, and looking apologetic, Radd looked back at his comrades before walking forward. [L- Let¡¯s do this.] Radd called out in a slightly trembling voice. Thereupon, his comrades naturally gathered around him. Seeing our actions, the Goddess watched us with gentle eyes and then¡­¡­ ¡¶It seemed like you have already decided. Come, show your courage and touch this statue. With this, one more plot of the Evil Deity will be thwarted¡­¡­ Eh? Why are you stopping and taking out an item? I- I¡¯m glad you feel that way, but you need not mind me. In the first place, this body doesn¡¯t hold any substance, so I don¡¯t need offerings or anything like that. Rather than that, you know? Quickly touch the statue¡­¡­ Eh? Ahhh! Looking closely, isn¡¯t that a !? Y- You can¡¯t! If you use that by mistake, that item brings you back at the dungeon entrance! You¡¯ve come all this way, and doing that would make it all for nothing! Hah! Q- Quickly put it away! Ah, could it be that you got afraid of this room? I- It¡¯s alright, you know? It¡¯s a little dark, but the darker it is, the more it uplifts the mood. It¡¯s dark in a good, sophisticated way, and the black stuff doesn¡¯t have an immediate effect on a person¡¯s body! C- Come on, it¡¯s not scary, okay? It¡¯s not scary. Ah, wait! The guy in black over there! Why are you waving your hand like you¡¯re saying ¡°bye bye¡±!? This isn¡¯t the time for bye byes! Heck, nothing even started yet! Rather, this is when¡­¡­ Ahh, you can¡¯t! Stop right th¡ª¡ª¡ª-¡· And thus, after successfully defeating the Boss and obtaining the items, we repatriated from the dungeon with an Escape Item. Our first exploration of the ended with great success. CH 54 After defeating the with brilliant tactics and escaping from the dungeon with the Goddess watching over us, we immediately wen to the other to retrieve items from that dungeon. The are dungeons with the concept of ¡°the difficulty level changes depending on the order of attack¡±. This is because the game progresses by defeating the Dungeon Boss and destroying the statues in the back of the dungeon, so the monsters in the other ruins also become stronger¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªIn other words, if we don¡¯t destroy the statues and completely conquer the dungeon, the other Ruins will remain in their initial state, no matter how many items we scavenged from the Ruins. Currently, the monster level in the is Lv 25, which is the initial value. We can easily advance through any of the Ruins and collect items. Furthermore, most of the treasure chests in the Ruins have fixed contents. The earlier we get them, the better, because the items are the same whether we come when the monsters are strong or weak. (What I most especially wanted though was to collect the items dropped by the Bosses.) Unfortunately, the Bosses are strengthened ¡°when the other Bosses are defeated¡±, so it¡¯s not possible to ¡°get the Bosses¡¯ item drops while they¡¯re at their weakest¡±. This specification seems to be a countermeasure prepared by the devs, as the beta testers probably thought the same thing as I did. It¡¯s possible that this may have changed due to the realization of the game specs, but it was too risky to try it out on the spot, so I could only tearfully give up on this idea. Also, due to the distance problem, we were only able to collect items from Ruins in the same area as Frelia so far. We had talked about visiting the Ruins in other areas, but that has been put off for the time being at the request of Radd and the others. Even so, were able to obtain a number of valuable items, including the items dropped by the . We were going to unveil those items today. [Just the two of you? Where¡¯s Prana and Mana?] The only people in the Guild¡¯s usual training hall were Radd, who was swinging his sword with single-minded devotion, and Nuku, who was practicing his chants with a solemn expression on his face. When I tilted my head and asked what was going on, Nuku answered with a wry smile on his face. [Prana is going to participate in the Tournament, so she took Mana with her to register.] [¡­¡­I see.] This is why Radd and the others were hesitant to move to another area. The ¡°Tournament for the World¡¯s Strongest¡±, a fighting tournament with a really mind-boggling name held in the Twelfth Month is going to be held soon and the registration for that tournament is going to start exactly today. [Even so, I¡¯m surprised. I thought Radd and Nuku would be more willing to participate there.] When I pointed this out, Nuku and Radd exchanged looks, looking awkward, before they quietly confessed. [Ummm¡­¡­ We actually lined up in the arena before the sun rose and registered as soon as registrations opened.] [Ahhh¡­¡­] It seems that their enthusiasm were a step ahead of my expectations. Rather, the truth may have been that Prana heard about them registering and saying she wants to register too, she took Mana with her. [You guys sure are looking forward to that tournament.] When I calmly said this, Radd, whose face blushed a bit, still exclaimed filled with enthusiasm. [O- Of course I am! This is my chance to see how much I¡¯ve grown as an Adventurer! Besides¡­¡­ Joining the tournament doesn¡¯t increase your levels, so I don¡¯t have to wear this dorky armor.] Looking at his Spring-Loaded Armor, Radd whispered in a low voice. It seems like he was really concerned about the tackiness of his equipment. [Old man! We owe you a debt of gratitude for bringing us up to this point. However, when we clash in a match, don¡¯t take it easy on us! You should also give it your all¡­¡­] He was shouting something filled with enthusiasm, but his words were off the mark. [No, I¡¯m not going to be in that tournament.] [¡­¡­Eh?] Radd stiffened at my simple reply. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [W- Wait right there! I trained hard, thinking that my Mas¡­¡­ thinking that the Old man was going to be there¡­¡­ I had thought up a lot of strategies for when I would fight you, Old man!] [I never said I was gonna fight there though.] It¡¯s not like I liked fighting, nor is there merit in participating in this time¡¯s tournament. Radd still looked like he wants to say something, but saying ¡°Rather than that¡­¡­¡±, I forcefully pulled him back into our earlier conversation. [If that¡¯s the case, then the equipment we gathered will come in handy right away.] The rules of the tournament are the same every time, simply put: ¡°Bringing your opponent¡¯s HP down to half results in their defeat, equipment may be brought in, consumables and access to inventory are prohibited¡±. Not just a character¡¯s personal ability itself, as the strength and compatibility of their equipment will have a big impact on their victory. Also, since no EXP is gained in the tournament, there¡¯s no need for them to wear equipment that increases their affinities. Therefore, it¡¯s instead necessary to put on equipment that considers the competitive strength of the player first and foremost, which is completely different from the past where the growth rate was the first consideration. [That especially goes for Nuku.] [Me?] When I called his name out, Nuku¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. [The equipment of the we defeated the other day. Those are equipment for Magic-users. It has its quirks, but if you can master it, it will be a great help for you.] Saying that, I took out the two boss drops and . [Ummm, what are the effects of these items?] For some reason, Nuku seemed to be shying away from receiving them, so I wrote down their description in my notebook and showed it to him. ¡¾Lunatic Circlet¡¿ A diadem created by an insane sorcerer who has collected his refined mysteries. Its forbidden power is said to bring its wearer both great luxury and tragic ruin. The wearer gains unparalleled magic power, but if a mortal touches it, their mind would instantly be corrupted and they would fall into the Status Ailment: ¡°Insane¡±. While under the effect of ¡°Insane¡± state, the wearer¡¯s MGC is doubled, but they would lose all resistance to magic, and when they use magic, there¡¯s a 50% chance that their magic power will go out of control, causing self-inflicted damage commensurate with the power of the magic they casted. This status ailment is permanent and can¡¯t be removed while the item is equipped. [Isn¡¯t that equipment a complete minefield!?] Radd, who looked into my notebook, reflexively exclaimed. [I did say it has its quirks, right?] It¡¯s true that the more MGC you have, the more damage you will suffer if your magic fails, so a Magic-user wearing this equipment is in danger of death every time they use magic. However, the MGC doubling effect is just extraordinary. If it works well, it can lead to a tremendous boost in the wearer¡¯s combat power. [Besides, it has another hidden effect.] [Hidden effect?] Seeing Radd looking curious, I whispered. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThis is just like the , a Unique Class Change Equipment.] Radd¡¯s current Class, , can be Class Changed to by equipping the and meeting the Equipment Requirements while in the Initial Class: . Wearing this as a will allow you to Class Change to the Unique Class, . [The Class has the highest offense-related stat compensation among all Classes, even more than the Class. When considering firepower training, it¡¯s the first candidate, making it one of the strongest Classes.] [Strongest!? Ah, well, of course, that would make me a little interested.] It seems that even Radd couldn¡¯t resist when he heard the word ¡°strongest¡±. Grinning at Radd who is acting like a childish boy, I turn over the page of my notebook. First, the compensation values of the Class is like this: ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- Brave Blade STR ¨C 3 VIT ¨C 3 MGC ¨C 0 MND ¨C 3 AGI ¨C 3 FOC ¨C 3 Total ¨C 15 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- A well-balanced Class in which all abilities except MGC are increased by three. However, the is the opposite of that. [¡­¡­Look.] Finding the page, I showed it to Radd. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- Lunatic Blade STR ¨C 7 VIT ¨C 0 MGC ¨C 7 MND ¨C 0 AGI ¨C 0 FOC ¨C 0 Total ¨C 14 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- [Isn¡¯t that being a bit too extreme!?] Hearing Radd shout once again, I chuckled. The reaction upon seeing this Class¡¯ description really is the same as always. [Well, this Class is rather difficult to use for both physical and magical types since it raises both STR and MGC at the same time, while the other abilities don¡¯t go up.] [Old man¡­¡­] Radd was giving me astounded looks. Looking at it again, I saw that not only Radd, but also the nearby Nuku and Resilia, who was standing behind me, were giving me somewhat cold looks. [W- Wait! This one would be simply amazing.] Feeling that the wind wasn¡¯t blowing my way, I hurriedly put the other piece of equipment in front of me. Gleaming in the sunlight is a rod with a bright red gemstone attached to its tip, or something brimming with chuuni-ness. [It¡¯s a high-performance version of the that Nuku is using right now.] [Is that so!?] I nodded in agreement to Nuku¡¯s eagerness, and explained the situation. [Like the , it can unleash powerful magic when ¡°used¡±, and its Fixed MATK revision is also higher than its Variable MATK. Therefore, it¡¯s more powerful at lower levels than in the later levels where the user¡¯s MGC is at its peak. The earlier you acquire it, the more useful it is.] However, the overwhelming difference between the and the is their performance. [This rod has a MATK that even the can¡¯t compare. The Fixed value of this rod is the highest among all the equipment as far as I know. The magic that can be unleashed by ¡°using¡± it is also very powerful, although it requires a large amount of time to charge and unleash. ¡­¡­Incidentally, the cost would also be just aas great.] The prepared for the Lava Cave attack is worth 50 million wen. Nuku had been using it fearfully using it¡­¡­ [It¡¯s a Unique Item, so you can¡¯t really buy it in the first place, but if this were sold, how much do you think the price would be¡­¡­] [H- How much is it?] As Nuku timidly asked this, I grinned. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªA billion wen.] The moment he heard that, Nuku¡¯s throat hitched up. I¡¯m not sure if he¡¯s just being a guy with common sense or just him having the mind of a cheapskate commoner, but even though he has become stronger, Nuku sure is easy to pick on in a different way from Radd. [By the way, here¡¯s the rod¡¯s description.] On a new page of my notebook, I wrote the description of the . ¡¾Crimson Inferno Rod¡¿ A unique rod made of the finest materials and created with the most blasphemous techniques. The jewel attached to the tip is said to contain the souls of dozens of sorcerers, and by releasing its magic power, it can unleash blazing sorcery as powerful as the breath of a dragon. It boasts the highest performance and ease of use as a magic catalyst, and even the most inexperienced wielder will be transformed into a person as great as an expert sorcerer if they had this rod in their hand. However, one must not forget. Those who forget to learn and work hard, simply indulging in easily acquired power, holds no future. [¡­¡­Hey. There¡¯s something ominous at the end.] The stunned Nuku didn¡¯t seem to notice, but Radd pointed out the last part of the description. [W- Well, you see, this rod has a little drawback.] [Drawback?] [While it¡¯s equipped, your affinity for the ¡°MGC¡± stat is lowered.] [Then this thing is also a freaking minefield!] Radd roared for the third time, but well, the world isn¡¯t always so convenient. Incidentally, the attack magic that can be used with the rod also has a drawback: in exchange for being extremely powerful, one shot consumes 200 MP, making it the most fuel-inefficient magic that even the current Nuku can¡¯t fire 2 shots without additional items involved. [E- Even so, your affinities don¡¯t matter when in tournaments, and since its attack power compensation when equipped is high, even if you use it in tournaments¡­¡­] I didn¡¯t give up and still recommended the rod. [N- No. I¡¯ll pass.] ¡ª¨Cbut Nuku had completely pulled away. [I want to test my own abilities in the next tournament. So, using rather extreme equipment that I can¡¯t really use in a real battle against monsters is just, ummm¡­¡­] He was finding it difficult to find the words to say, but in short, he didn¡¯t want to wear equipment that felt like gold plating. Seeing the situation, Radd lets out a sigh. [Old man, I really don¡¯t know if you¡¯re really smart or just stupid.] Now ain¡¯t that plain rude. With that in mind, I was about to rebut him but¡­¡­ [However¡­¡­] Radd continued with a smile. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªIf it¡¯s Rex, you would probably be able to use that kind of equipment to your advantage and do some crazy stuff with it!] [¡ª¡ª¡ª-!] Unable to look directly at the dazzling smile he sent me, I involuntarily turned my head away. [¡­¡­Old man?] Avoiding eye contact with Radd, who looked at me with a puzzled look on his face, I deliberately turned towards the exit of the training grounds. [Come to think of it, Prana and Mana sure is late. I¡¯ll go check how things are going on their side for a bit.] [Eh, no, it¡¯s not like they¡¯ve already¡­¡­] Ignoring Radd, who seemed like he was about to say something¡­¡­ [If Nii-san is gonna go, I¡¯ll also¡­¡­] Shaking away Resilia, who looked like she was about to follow me¡­¡­ [I¡¯ll be back soon. You can train here in the meantime.] After saying that, I ran away from the training ground as if to escape from this place. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù Quickly leaving the training grounds and crossing the Guild¡­¡­ [I¡¯m already too old for this¡­¡­] Finally alone, I cursed. I¡¯m aware that I have behaved in a disgraceful manner. However, I just couldn¡¯t remain there. [¡­¡­D*mn it.] Remembering Radd¡¯s unadulterated look of respect, I couldn¡¯t help cursing. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI wonder how much longer would I be able to hold that gaze¡­¡­ There¡¯s not as much of a gap between me and Radd¡¯s abilities as Radd and the others think. No, I could even say that he had already overtaken me. The reason I don¡¯t participate in that tournament isn¡¯t simply because I¡¯m not interested. In fact, winning that tournament is one of my main goals in the game, and there¡¯s no reason why winning the tournament wouldn¡¯t be beneficial. But even when that was case, the reason why I didn¡¯t participate was very simple. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡°I don¡¯t have a chance to win¡±. Rex may have been the ¡°strongest in the early game¡±, but that only means that he¡¯s the strongest character who joins your party at the beginning of the game. Some of the characters who only enter the spotlight events or don¡¯t join the group at all in the first place are such monsters that far surpass Rex¡¯s abilities at the start of the game. By rule, tournaments don¡¯t allow underhanded means that exploit system loopholes. No matter how much in-game knowledge I have, the tournament isn¡¯t something you can win with just my level of ability. [¡­¡­Haahhh¡­¡­] Sighing heavily, I switched my thoughts. That said, there¡¯s no point grumbling about this and that. Now that I have told them I will go look for Prana and Mana, even if it was only just an excuse I used, it will seem strange if I don¡¯t go look for them. While I was closing my eyes at the heavy cross ¡°worst growth potential¡± which I carry on my shoulder, my feet were leading me toward the Arena. And just as I was about to see the Arena¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªStay away!] I heard the familiar voice of an Elven girl. (This saves me the trouble of looking for them.) As I turned the corner, I saw Prana glaring ahead and Mana huddling herself behind her, seemingly frightened. I had thought of this from hearing her voice, but it seems like they met trouble. (Good grief. They must have balls of steel.) They are both beautiful women, so perhaps, someone may have been trying to woo them. I don¡¯t know what kind of guy they were involved with, but I suppose I could chastise them to relieve some stress¡­¡­ It was when I approached the two of them with this thought in mind¡­¡­ The sight of that person standing in front of Prana made me hold my breath. [Wha¡­¡­] The words that were about to come out of my mouth got stuck in my throat. The foot that was about to move forward naturally stops, and on the contrary, it even seems to back away. [Rex-san!] Even though Mana found me and called out my name, I still couldn¡¯t move. Thereupon, the well-trained body standing in front of Mana slowly turned to face me. (¡­¡­Ahh, that¡¯s right.) My hands trembling against my will and my legs cowering felt as if what was going on was someone else¡¯s problem. Now is the time when the tournament is about to begin. If that were the case, I should have considered the possibility of this kind of encounter. I couldn¡¯t move even when his gaze as sharp as a sword shot at me. It¡¯s just, after I faced ¡°him¡± did my dried-out lips finally spat out those few words. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª.] And then¡­¡­ My , which had become a conditioned reflex, informed me of my despair. There stands the World¡¯s Strongest Warrior. CH 55 In B&B, there are characters who have become known as the because of the overly preferential treatment the game has for their abilities. The first is the very popular character who can be called the face of B&B, . He, who has been named ¡°Cheat of Cheats¡± because of the game¡¯s preferential treatment towards him, is by far the most talented of all the characters in the game, has an Exclusive Class that is too strong by any stretch of the imagination, a wealth of events prepared for him, and a handsome first prince of a large country. Truly a perfect cheat. His abilities don¡¯t just make him a jack of all trades, and was instead truly making him almighty, and in a sense, he¡¯s Rex¡¯s perfect counterpart. The second is the leader of the and the players¡¯ greatest antagonist in the latter half of the game, the . The has a nasty habit of ¡°getting stronger as the player progresses through the game¡±, so the strength of the himself varies, but when he gets strong, he gets so crazy strong that it makes player scratch their head in wonder how to defeat him. He¡¯s also one of the main culprits that made me give up the idea of completely capturing all Ruins in my third playthrough. The third is the leader of the Gnome Country, the heroine, . Although she has a high Level and Status, her initial abilities aren¡¯t as impactful as the other two. However, as the Priestess of the , accomplishing the Event: God¡¯s Awakening dramatically increases all of her abilities, and she suddenly becomes one of the strongest. The growth of her MND is especially tremendous, making her a candidate for the Number 1 Healer in the world of B&B. All three of them have ¡°destructive performance because they won¡¯t become your comrade¡±, and are unrivaled in their respective fields. However, in one-on-one combat, they are perhaps one step behind the others. The fourth of the Four Heavenly Cheaters though, is the ¡°strongest in one-on-one combat¡±. He¡¯s the champion who had never been defeated in the Arena, the , Nirva. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù (What the heck is he doing here!?) Feeling despair, as if I¡¯d stepped into a bottomless swamp, I looked at the Sword Saint¡¯s Status. No matter how many times I look at it, it doesn¡¯t change. A tremendous, almost violent, ability value that I have seen over and over again in the game. In contrast to that, my Status¡­¡­ It¡¯s even ridiculous to compare it to. Although I can add a few stat points here and there through Enchanted equipment, the difference between our stats is just so great that doing all that isn¡¯t even worth it. No matter how much odds I think I have, there¡¯s no way I could beat him. (D*mn it! He still has the same cheat-like Status!) When we look at Nirva¡¯s Status, you would first notice his unorthodox high level of 70, but that isn¡¯t the basis of Nirva¡¯s strength. For example, even if Radd, who has a similar Status trend to Nirva, were to level up to Lv 70, he wouldn¡¯t be able to reach that level. The current Radd is considerably stronger than a normal Adventurer. This is because his ability increase per level is large. For example, if we consider a typical Third-Tier Adventurer, the overall average of their affinities would be 18, with an additional Class affinity revision is 12. For the most part, their abilities would increase by 30 per level. Compared to them, Radd, in addition to having a much higher than normal base 22 affinities, quickly secured a 15 Class affinity revision by Class Changing with the Brave Sword, which he has learned to use through training. With the addition of three affinity-raising equipment, he¡¯s able to increase his abilities by a whopping 40 points per level. The difference of 10 points between 30 and 40 per level is the fruit of Radd¡¯s efforts and his greatest strength. Each time Radd levels up, he will outperform the average Adventurer by 10. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªHowever, Nirva easily surpasses this. His base affinity value is an impressive 26, comfortably surpassing Radd¡¯s 22 and even the Hero¡¯s 25. In addition, he has the strongest melee-type Class that gives him an additional 24 Class affinity revision, and as if to push it even further, a Fixed Exclusive equipment he has equipped gives him an additional 4 affinity revision, for a total value of an astonishing 54. For every level up, Radd was outperformed by Nirva by 14. And the real cheat is that Nirva is a ¡°Sword Saint by birth¡± in the literal sense of the word. Normally, the stronger a Class is, the stricter the conditions for Class Change it will have, so the theory is that as one levels up, one moves up to a higher Class. For example, the might make the player start out as a , which only has 2 affinity revisions, or as a , which is an Initial melee Class like had, and as is usual in RPGs, they would gradually move up to a higher Class such as or . In particular, Unique Classes such as and boast the highest degree of difficulty in Class Changing, requiring at least the equivalent of a Fourth-Tier Class and meeting special requirements. However, it was a different case for some unique characters such as Nirva and Ain. Even though their Class in-game is fixed, they are assigned to a Unique Class as their Initial Class, regardless of the conditions for Class Change. Before Radd even became a , Nirva was already born with that additional 24 affinity revision , and if he had already acquired that +4 affinity revision equipment early on, he has also been growing at a 54 ability increase per level since he was a Lv 1, compared to Radd¡¯s with its 6 affinity revision. Past. Present. Future. The strongest in all of them. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThat is the being known as . ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [¡­¡­Rex?] As if guided by Prana and Mana¡¯s gazes directed at me, Nirva calmly turned around and caught me in his vision. Even though he had done nothing yet, the pressure of his gaze almost made me take a step back. (¡­¡­Calm down. Calm down.) Soothing my thumping heart, I keep Nirval in my sights with all the mental strength I can muster. (We¡¯re in the middle of a city. No matter how strong he is, he can¡¯t do anything reckless.) In the world of B&B, the power of an individual can become so strong that, for example, if a high-level Adventurer wants to do something, an average person can never resist. Even so, society is still able to function even with such people around because of the existence of , an NPC-only Class that wields overwhelming power only over those who have committed crimes. Criminal characters can¡¯t damage Judgment, and on the contrary, Judgment¡¯s skills can penetrate all criminals¡¯ defenses and exert damage and apply permanent debuffs against criminals according to the severity of their crimes. Being lawless just because you¡¯re strong is suicide, at least in a city like Frelia, where Judgment patrols in large numbers. (That¡¯s why, it¡¯s okay. It should be okay.) Still, the intimidating pressure from facing an opponent who can kill you with a single slash if he wants to is still there. Seeing me, who lacked the nerve to face me, Nirva snorted and looked back to Prana and Mana again, as if he lost interest in me. [S- Stay away!] Ignoring Prana¡¯s warning, he walked up to them. Mana looks at me, asking me for help. As expected, ignoring their situation would hurt my conscience. With a feeling of desperation, I step in between Nirva and Prana. [Wait. What do you think you¡¯re doing?] I wasn¡¯t sure if my voice was trembling or not. Still, I had caught Nirva¡¯s attention. [Scram. I¡¯m only interested in that woman.] The pressure Nirva exerted made reflexively falter. I am Rex, the A-Rank Adventurer who knows no fear. Telling myself that, I stared straight back into Nirva¡¯s eyes. [I¡¯m sorry, but these two are my disciples.] Saying that while exerting the best bluff I could¡­¡­ [Nonsense.] But as if to trample on it, those words were cut off with a single word. [I- It¡¯s not nonsense at all! Rex is a splendid¡­¡­] The one who responded to those words wasn¡¯t me, but Prana and Mana. However, I stopped whatever they were going to say with a hand. To be honest, I did feel annoyed. As a person who still feels lingering regrets from my lack of strength, I too have the desire to win against this guy at least once. However, the fact is that Nirva is by far the superior one here, and clearly, there¡¯s no chance for me to win now. In any case, we need to get through here¡­¡­ [First of all, you calling them your disciples is laughable. Especially since you are that weak.] [Wha!?] With his follow-up words, the Sword Saint¡¯s gaze shoots through me. [As worthless as a swordsman you may be, you yourself should know it. The difference in strength between me and you.] [That is¡­¡­] I unfortunately couldn¡¯t say anything back at those words. The one who knows the difference in strength between Nirva and I the most was me. I have the ability to visualize a person¡¯s Status, and knowing Nirva¡¯s specs in game, I understand the difference better than anyone else. However¡­¡­ [People have talents, and that is what determines their status. And now, not to mention the ability to properly wield a sword, you don¡¯t even have that talent. This, I declare to you.] The Sword Saint looked at me condescendingly and said. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªNot a day will come where you will ever be able to stand as my equal for all eternity.] I felt a jolt, as if someone slapped me at the back of my head. Even though nothing had been done to me, I faltered and everything in front of me felt like it was plunged into darkness. Looking at me like I was a pebble on the side of the road, Nirva took another step forward. However¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Wait right there.] I stood in front of him again. [What do you think you¡¯re doing? I told you already. Weaklings like you are of no use to me.] [It¡¯s true that I¡¯m weak right now. However, that doesn¡¯t mean I will remain weak in the future. I will definitely surpass you.] However, it didn¡¯t seem like these words resonated in the Sword Saint¡¯s ears at all. [Your mouth can speak whatever you want. However, such a thing is¡­¡­] [Then, all I have to do is just prove it.] And so, as if to interrupt Nirva¡¯s words, I spit out decisive words. A part of me yells at me to stop, but there¡¯s also a part of me that urges me to have at him. In the end, the latter won. I pulled a glove out from my inventory and threw it at Nirva. [Let¡¯s settle this in a ¡°Soul Duel¡±. ¡­¡­There¡¯s no way that you¡¯re gonna run away from my challenge, right, Sword Saint-sama?] Those words were a declaration of war from which I couldn¡¯t turn back. CH 56 Niva wasn¡¯t the least bit perturbed by my offer of a duel. [Hah. Hahaha! ¡°Soul Duel¡± huh. I don¡¯t mind. ¡­¡­But.] Thereupon, Nirva moved his finger and pointed toward Prana and Mana. [If I win, I will have that woman.] [Wha!?] As I became flustered upon his words, a sadistic smile appeared on the Sword Saint¡¯s lips. [What¡¯s the matter? I thought you were going to prove your potential? Or perhaps, was your claim of defeating me just all talk?] [That is¡­¡­] I was at a loss for words. Me challenging Nirva here was 100% my ego. There¡¯s no way I could involve Prana for such a thing. Just as I was about to withdraw from the duel¡­¡­ [R- Rex-san won¡¯t lose to the likes of you!] Those powerful words came from behind me. [Mana¡­¡­] Mana, who had been shrinking in fear behind Mana, glared at Nirva with strong will in her eyes. And it isn¡¯t just her who had such thoughts in mind. [Me too. If it¡¯s Rex, I believe he will win against you.] Even Prana looked at me with a trusting gaze and said. She declared as such. [¡­¡­It¡¯s a done deal then.] Seeing this, Nirva smiled with satisfaction. Even if I guessed this was what he was aiming for, it¡¯s already too late. The duel had been decided, and me withdrawing from the duel isn¡¯t an option anymore. [¡­¡­Alright. But in exchange, if I win, you have to swear not to reach your hands to them again.] [That¡¯s fine. However, is that all you want?] For a moment, I didn¡¯t understand what he was trying to imply. As if enjoying my current state in amusement though, Nirva continued. [I asked if that level of reward is enough for trying to achieve a miracle such as ¡°defeating me¡±.] He was full of confidence. In response, I only clenched my teeth and shook my head. [That¡¯s fine. All I want right now is to beat you.] [¡­¡­Houu.] To tell the truth, it was a tempting proposition. However, I didn¡¯t want to add noise to this match by being greedy here. This is just purely to achieve victory. I refused Nirva¡¯s proposal. I wonder what he saw in my expression. Nirva smiled like a wild beast and turned his back on us. [I¡¯ll make arrangements for the Arena. Come in 10 minutes.] With these words, Nirva walked away without a care, seemingly unconcerned with us behind him. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [Rex!] [Rex-san!] Prana and Mana rushed to me with apologetic looks on their faces. [I¡¯m sorry. I had unnecessarily¡­¡­] Mana was about to say something, but I shook my head. I was also greatly responsible for this happening. However, apologizing to each other won¡¯t make this situation any better. [We can¡¯t lose time for things like that. I must prepare for that battle.] The is a level-adjusted match. No matter how high or low the level of a player is, everyone who enters the Arena is at a Fixed Lv 25. That¡¯s not all. As I had inferred from looking at other people¡¯s aptitudes, the ability values in the are recalculated from Lv 0 based on the person¡¯s affinities, or more precisely, their growth rate, regardless of their current stat values. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CIn other words, ¡°Pseudo Stat Reassigning¡± is possible there. In fact, the structure of the that I¡¯m trying to use to reassign my stats works just about the same way. In other words, before the battle, what kind of Class, what kind of equipment is chosen, and how to climb into the stage for the decisive battle. The battle has already begun from that point on. (Though I said that¡­¡­) In order to fight Nirva in B&B, there had only been two methods: either win through the Tournament for the World¡¯s Strongest or clear 11 of the and challenge the final Ruin. The Tournament route is relatively easy, but even that requires all of the world¡¯s fiercest competitors, and with my current abilities, I can only say that it would be difficult to accomplish. Even for the Hero, who has the ability to overcome difficulties, defeating Nirva would be an extremely difficult task. Nirva is Lv 70, has the best affinities, and is equipped with the best equipment. He isn¡¯t someone that can be fought with early or mid-level abilities, but the Arena is completely one-on-one with no obstacles around, and the rules are such that your abilities are easily reflected as they are: ¡°you can bring your own equipment, you can¡¯t use your inventory and the match ends when your HP falls to half¡±. The kind of leniency that is required is almost non-existent. The only hope would have been using Status Ailments like how we stun-locked the , but Nirva is so careful about this aspect that his equipment nullifies all Status Ailments with a 95% probability. However, if all else fails, I have no choice but to put my faith in that. Wielding a and a , both of which have a Petrification Effect, I would gamble on that mere 5% chance and aim for petrification. Of course, equipping weapons with the Petrification Effect doesn¡¯t always mean it would always inflict the Status Ailment. On top of needing to have that Petrification Effect activate, I would also need to get past his 95% resistance, so I would need a mind-boggling number of attempts. Moreover, since saving wasn¡¯t possible during the Tournament, if you lose to Nirva, the player would have to go back to the first round of the Tournament and start over again. It was something that no sane person in their right mind could do, but they had to do that much to win against the Absolute Nirva. (However, I can¡¯t use that method now.) I didn¡¯t have those petrifying weapons yet, and even if I did, I couldn¡¯t throw myself into such a low-priority gamble. I can¡¯t Save or Load in this world, and even if I was able to challenge him to a rematch, I wouldn¡¯t be able to win the tournament and get to the decisive battle with Nirva with my current abilities. No, in the first place, if losing here means Prana would be taken away, there¡¯s no other choice but to win here. [I definitely can¡¯t lose.] I instructed myself. The only advantage I have is that I got him to agree to a . This should reduce the opponent¡¯s advantage considerably. Even so, the difference in our strength is just hard to overturn. A long-term battle against him would be disadvantageous. (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CIf I want to have a chance of winning, it would be in a short battle.) Everything about him is better than mine. I shouldn¡¯t think I could easily hit him with a decisive strike. If I¡¯m going to aim for victory, I should do it before he gets serious. I have to bet everything on the first blow. If that¡¯s the case¡­¡­ [Prana, Mana. You go to the Arena ahead of me. ¡­¡­I¡¯m going to the .] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [Mediocre as you are, let¡¯s just say I¡¯m glad you came instead of running away.] Ignoring Nirva, who laughed ferociously and started trash-talking, I stepped into the stage where the decisive battle was to be held. As my cloak fluttered behind me, big enough to cover my entire body, I asked Nirva. [What are the rules?] [It¡¯s a , just like you wanted. Other than that, it¡¯s the same rules as the tournament.] As expected. The rules may not have been ideal, but Nirva might not be willing to admit his defeat unless the match conforms with the tournament rules. In that case, this is good. [Are you ready?] Nirva stepped into the stage, and as if to consider that a foolish question, he unclasped the two greatswords he carried crosswise on his back, and held one of them in each hand. Those greatswords were originally meant to be something that could be held with two hands, but Nirva¡¯s Skill: allows him to hold them with one hand, and his Skill: allows him the ability to Dual-Wield. On top of that, his Skill: allows him access to use two Arts at the same time. This is the that is synonymous with Nirva, the culmination of his Dual-Wielding fighting style. However¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Mhmm?] Frowning slightly, the Sword Saint casually threw away the sword in his left hand. Then, he re-gripped the sword in his right hand with both hands. (Alright! It went just as I thought!) Each of the held by Nirva is a weapon of tremendous strength, which is why it¡¯s subject to a tremendous level of equipment restrictions. Even so, Nirva could normally handle it with one hand with ease, but because his level was reduced to less than half due to the effect of , he was caught in the equipment restrictions. Nirva was able to quickly respond to it, switching to two-handed and clearing the equipment limitation, but now he was no longer able to Dual-Wield. He has a number of powerful Unique Skills, but most of them are based on the premise of using Dual-Wield. Perhaps, other than the Basic Technique: and the Self-Recovery Skill: , all of his other Unique Skills should now be unusable. [Clever. However, is that it?] Nirva still maintained his relaxed attitude. But when I climbed into the stage and removed the cloak that concealed my body, exposing my equipment, his eyes widened. And then¡­¡­ [Stop messing around! You dare challenge me with such equipment!?] His confusion was quickly replaced by anger. However, I suppose that too is understandable. I wasn¡¯t wearing a helmet or armor for melee fighters, but instead a hideous circlet and armor for magic warriors, which were obviously inferior in terms of defensive capabilities. The most important thing is that in contrast to Nirva, who changed from Dual-Wielding to doublehanding due to equipment restrictions, I had one magic rod in each of my hands. [¡­¡­I¡¯m not messing around.] But here in the , the ability is calculated once again according to your current Class and equipment, regardless of how you leveled-up up to that point. If that were the case, there would be no need to build up a Swordsman in a foolishly honest way. ¡°¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CIf it¡¯s Rex, you would probably be able to use that kind of equipment to your advantage and do some crazy stuff with it!¡± As I¡¯m reminded once again of how Nirva dismissed me calling them my disciples as ¡°Nonsense¡±, I held the in my right hand toward Nirva and declared. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CI¡¯m going to defeat you with this!] CH 57 The Class I chose for this duel was . It¡¯s a glass cannon Class that overemphasizes offensive stats while casting aside defensive stats, attained by equipping the , a drop item from the . The has the highest MGC affinity revision of all Classes at 7! Furthermore, the also has the effect of raising the MGC affinity value in exchange for lowering the MND affinity value, so when combined with Rex¡¯s relatively high base MGC affinity, I have an astounding MGC affinity value of 12! Well, since the has the effect of lowering your MGC affinity, it actually lowers down to 11, but even so, it¡¯s still an incredible figure. In addition, I wore the risky equipment I obtained at the casino, , which increases my AGI by 150 just by equipping it, but lowers my AGI affinity¡±, and I put on the Magic-users¡¯ armor , which greatly increases not only my defenses, but also my MAX MP. With all these changes, my Status is now like this. (It¡¯s this! This is it!) Naturally, due to the lowered level and my Status leaning offensively, my defensive capabilities had sharply decreased. However, I would still lose even if I have proper defenses, so it would be the same anyway. Just in this match, I can cast aside all defensive capabilities as I want. And to compensate for this, I strengthened my offensive capabilities. In fact, even though my level was reduced to half of what it was before, my STR and MGC, both of which are related to a person¡¯s offensive capabilities, were higher than when I was Lv 50. In particular, the increase in MGC, which I originally had a high base affinity with, had now tremendously reached a whopping B+. (That¡¯s right. Even Rex can achieve this if his stats had been properly optimized. When it comes to the offensive aspect, even against someone like Nirva, who likes the incarnation of a cheat, Rex won¡¯t lo¡­¡­) As Nirva¡¯s Status was revealed by my , I gritted my teeth. (Even so, this doesn¡¯t mean I would lose!) To show my actual Status, I would also have to include the effect of my Enchanted rings. Putting on my rings, I wore one AGI ring to cope with Nirva¡¯s speed and two MGC rings. Factoring these rings in¡­¡­ My MGC greatly exceeds Nirva¡¯s STR and VIT! (How¡¯s that!? With this, even Nirva can¡¯t help but recognize my power¡­¡­) I looked at the Sword Saint standing in front of me with anticipation, but Nirva just looked at me with cold eyes. [¡­¡­What a boring farce. Let¡¯s get this over with.] Nirva moves forward and takes his starting position. I was annoyed by his attitude, as if to say he doesn¡¯t see the point of taking me into consideration, but I moved forward as well. Taking my place in front of Nirva, I suddenly thought. (Arehh? Was this guy always this big?) Even though I was standing straight, my vision was shaky, and the figure standing in front of me seemed to expand two or three times. My heart was noisily pounding. Sweat beads flow down my hand as I grip my rod, making me clasp my weapon tighter. Prana and Mana are cheering me on outside the ring, but somehow, they seem awfully far away. (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªNo! Don¡¯t be overwhelmed!) Frantically shaking my head, I regain my senses. Even if it¡¯s a Sword Saint, he¡¯s a human just like Rex, just like me. Besides, no matter how much of a cheat and fighting genius Nirva was, he wouldn¡¯t know the specs of the drop items of the Bosses in the . (I will win! I will win this!) In the midst of the agitation raging in my mind, a deafening electronic ¡°Biiiiiiiii!¡± signaled the beginning of the duel. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù (T- The duel began!) Even though my heart hadn¡¯t gathered itself, I quickly braced myself for the start of the match. However¡­¡­ (¡­¡­He didn¡¯t move?) Nirva, even after the match began, held his two-handed sword in front of him, showing no sign of attacking. His emotionless eyes just looked at me, as if to say ¡°just go ahead and attack¡±. Realizing that I had just been made light of, I felt anger brewing in my head. (Quit messing around!) On impulse, I pointed my off-hand rod at Nirva. This rod is the . Just like the in my right hand and , this allows anyone to activate magic by ¡°using¡± it. The only difference is that it¡¯s just a cheap item sold in stores. The MATK compensation it brings isn¡¯t that great, and the magic it unleashes is the most basic of the basic Fire Magic: . It would be foolish to challenge the World¡¯s Strongest with such magic. However¡­¡­ [Fire!] The fireball that was unleashed was as big as, if not bigger, than a fireball shot by a skilled magic-user. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThis is the power of the . The description of the , the drop item acquired from the , reads as follows. The wearer gains unparalleled magic power, but if a mortal touches it, their mind would instantly be corrupted and they would fall into the Status Ailment: ¡°Insane¡±. While under the effect of ¡°Insane¡± state, the wearer¡¯s MGC is doubled, but they would lose all resistances to magic, and when they use magic, there¡¯s a 50% chance that their magic power will go out of control, causing self-inflicted damage commensurate with the power of the magic they casted. Even though this equipment strengthens your MGC, there¡¯s a 50% chance of self-destruction if magic is used. At first glance, this looked like one outrageous landmine of an equipment. However, this condition occurs only when ¡°the person themself chants magic¡±. When magic is invoked by a tool such as the case with this , no self-destruction occurs at all, and the user can simply enjoy the effect of increased MGC. The fireball was so huge that even I could only say that it was a masterpiece. Not really trying to aim that much, it flew right in front of Nirva. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªWorthless.] Just as it felt like Nirva¡¯s sword moved, the magic was cut in half. [He cut the magic¡­¡­?] The stunned voice of Prana in the audience showed how out of the ordinary the act was. However, the person who had caused such an unorthodox action put his sword back in front of him as if nothing had happened, and looked at me with the same cold gaze as before. (As I thought. I knew this would happen.) Nirva¡¯s weapon is called . It¡¯s a sword that can literally slay ¡°magic¡±. Half-hearted magic attacks are meaningless in front of the Sword Saint. (However, that is why I chose the as my off-hand equipment!) If we can cut them down, let¡¯s see how he¡¯ll do in the face of numbers. [Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!!!] I move off-hand rod up, down, left and right with minute movements, continuously activating Fire. I try not to be monotonous and aim for unexpected places as much as possible. However¡­¡­ (D*mn it, what a guy!) The Sword Saint remains unmoved by the countless fireballs. He only slashed those that would hit his body with precision and showed no sign of moving. (¡­¡­No choice but to do that huh?) I glanced at the rod in my right hand. With the , I can invoke magic far more powerful than what the could unleash. However, this requires a three-second charge before it can be used to unleash its magic. If I were to be attacked during that time¡­¡­ (No, there¡¯s no time to hesitate!) My MP is decreasing even while I¡¯m unleashing this barrage of Fires. If I continue like this with an endurance battle and my MP runs out, with me having no means of attack, then my defeat will be decided. I thrust out my right arm and put magic power into the rod. (Please! Please, please!) Meanwhile, the barrage of Fire from my off-hand weapon continues. I aim at a place that would block Nirva¡¯s view as much as possible, hoping that it will at least be a smoke screen that will divert his attention away from my right arm. Shoot! Shoot! (¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CAlright!) Did he not notice my aim thanks to the barrage? Or perhaps, he was aware of it and just dared overlook it. Either way, it doesn¡¯t matter. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CMy rod is fully-charged. There¡¯s no reason for me to lose my presence of mind. I firmly aimed my right hand towards the Sword Saint and called out its name. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C.] At that moment, a dragon roared at the tip of my right hand. An explosion of magic power so strong that you could feel it. The heat, which couldn¡¯t be neutralized by my fully extended right hand, felt like it was burning my face, and the manifested magical hell flames rushed through the air. Everything is consumed in the face of the magic, which is so intense that it can be compared to a Dragon¡¯s Breath. The flames, which seemed to burn up the entire world, opened its jaws to greedily engulf the Sword Saint, who still wasn¡¯t moving from his initial spot¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CIn the end, it was just this much huh.] The world was cleaved in half. [¡­¡­Ah?] For a moment, I didn¡¯t know what had happened. The greatest, most powerful magic I had ever unleashed with my current MGC raised to the highest possible level, even to the point of using unfair equipment. That was only one swing. Even though I knew that my magic had been cleaved by the Sword Saint in half with one swing of his sword and pathetically fizzled away, my mind refused to comprehend it. [You¡­¡­ Monster¡­¡­!] I couldn¡¯t help letting out a complaint. Seeing me like that, Nirva just looked at me like I was a pathetic insect. [I suppose this is it huh.] He sighed. After such a one-sided declaration, Nirva breaks his earlier posture for the first time. Calmly holding his sword in front of him¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C.] I couldn¡¯t even follow what happened with his eyes. Before I knew it, he was right in front of me, and at that moment, the match was already decided. Without any hesitation or delay, the merciless blade swung down¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CAnd a high-pitched sound of metal clashing echoed in the stage. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CWhat?] In front of me was the startled Nirva, whose attack was parried by the rod I held in my left hand. Seeing this, I feel slightly satisfied. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CArts can turn a genius into an ordinary person. I remembered the line Radd mentioned in passing. It¡¯s not easy to handle Nirva¡¯s overwhelming attack speed and reaction time, and the only thing that I can parry without fail is this , which I have parried dozens and dozens of times in the game. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThat¡¯s why the only thing I had been aiming for from the beginning is this one. The impact of the dual-wielding rods, the extremely magic-oriented build, and the magic attacks using the rods are all a cover to distract this guy¡¯s attention from this parry. They are all just fodder to induce Nirva to naturally turn my off-hand weapon into one I¡¯m able to use to parry, and at the same time, make Nirva¡¯s ¡°first strike¡± to . This was a chance of a lifetime opportunity. I thrust the rod in my right hand at Nirva, whose posture crumbled by my parry. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CHowever, even though he was surprised, Nirva¡¯s face shows no sign of impatience. The rigidity caused by the parry is very slight. I don¡¯t know if he thinks I won¡¯t be able to fire this magic in time or that even if I could cast this magic, he could withstand it. (That¡¯s what makes you so naive.) I, who knows his strength better than anyone else, would never attack him with such a blunt attack. Sending my magic power with all my might into the rod¡­¡­ [Don¡¯t tell me¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C] As if he has realized something, a shiver runs across Nirva¡¯s face. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThe item that was broken in a duel will not return after the match ends. However, that¡¯s exactly why! This insane attack can be a devil¡¯s bargain that not even the Sword Saint can predict! (Taste it to your heart¡¯s content, Sword Saint-sama. Take this billion wen strike!) And thus, I shouted. The name of the one and only skill that boasts of overwhelming annihilation capabilities at the cost of item destruction. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C!!!] In that instant, magic power spurts out from the tip of the rod, blasting everything in sight white. An overwhelming torrent of magic power so powerful that overshadows even a Dragon¡¯s Breath. However, if Nirva had been in perfect condition, he probably could have avoided even this. Or perhaps, that strike he made with his could have cleaved even this . However, the rigidity caused by parry turned even the strongest Sword Saint into a helpless scarecrow. This time, Nirva¡¯s face, which was covered with a look of astonishment and dread, was soon swallowed up by the flash of light. [Well¡­¡­ done¡­¡­!] As a faint voice from behind the light, the sound of the buzzer announcing the end of the match told me that the legend of the had finally been broken. CH 58 Here¡¯s a Character Introduction for those who apparently already forgot the story and the characters! ¡¾Rex Toren¡¿ The Lone Wolf Adventurer, strongest comrade character in the early game. In his body though is a modern Japanese who was reincarnated as ¡°Rex> in a game-like world after protecting a young girl who was about to be hit by a car. He is very knowledgeable about the game ¡°Brave & Blade¡± which resembles the world into which he was reincarnated, because he has played the game quite a bit. He is now very happy after acquiring his new Class . ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D Sword Saint Lv 50 STR ¨C 200 (C+) VIT ¨C 200 (C+) MGC ¨C 200 (C+) MND ¨C 200 (C+) AGI ¨C 200 (C+) FOC ¨C 200 (C+) ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D ¡¾Resilia Toren¡¿ The young lady of a family of swordsmen for generations, she is a genuine Swordswoman with an overprivileged Initial Class and a natural fighting sense¡­¡­ turned Ninja. In the game, she was supposed to die during the attack on the city, but Rex saved her life. She learns of Rex¡¯s secret by chance, and from then on, she acts as Rex¡¯s little sister and chaperone. She honestly hates to lose. ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D Ninja Lv 30 STR ¨C 382 (B+) VIT ¨C 274 (B-) MGC ¨C 142 (C) MND ¨C 254 (B-) AGI ¨C 525 (A+) FOC ¨C 209 (C+) ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D ?Team: Brave Blade A party of four members: Radd, Nuku, Prana and Mana. They¡¯re a rookie party just formed, but under Rex¡¯s guidance, they have all achieved rapid growth. ¡¾Radd¡¿ Brave Blade¡¯s wrecking ball and this series¡¯s heroine (¡á). He has longed to be a hero since he was a child and sees the ideal hero in Rex¡¯s way of being, but he¡¯s unable to honestly admit it. Recently, he was seen talking to his Brave Sword by Prana¡­¡­. which turned into a rather awkward situation. ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D Brave Leo Lv 30 STR ¨C 284 (B) VIT ¨C 297 (B) MGC ¨C 105 (D+) MND ¨C 227 (B-) AGI ¨C 218 (C+) FOC ¨C 183 (C+) ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D ¡¾Nuku¡¿ The brains behind Brave Blade. He doesn¡¯t stand out much in the main story, but he is a behind-the-scenes force that supports the team with his wealth of knowledge and calmness. He wears fashionable clothes. ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D Arc Mage Lv 30 STR ¨C 96 (D+) VIT ¨C 183 (C+) MGC ¨C 348 (B+) MND ¨C 186 (C+) AGI ¨C 199 (C+) FOC ¨C 225 (B-) ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D ¡¾Prana¡¿ A cool Elf who serves as the party¡¯s scout and long-range attacker. She is a blonde-haired, slender-built archer, a typical Elf at first glance, but she¡¯s a maverick who left her village with a yearning to become an adventurer. She often keeps her distance from those around her with her sharp tongue, but she is exceptionally fond of the members of Brave Blade, especially Mana, whom she praises as ¡°always considerate of those around her and can be trusted for her modesty in attitude and chest¡±. ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D Bowmaster Lv 30 STR ¨C 248 (B-) VIT ¨C 150 (C) MGC ¨C 124 (C-) MND ¨C 124 (C-) AGI ¨C 248 (B-) FOC ¨C 388 (B+) ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D ¡¾Mana¡¿ Brave Blade¡¯s Healer. She is very religious and prays every day, earning her the nickname ¡°The Praying Little Saint¡±. She knows more about Rex than Rex himself. ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D Carnival Lv 30 STR ¨C 96 (D+) VIT ¨C 159 (C) MGC ¨C 302 (B) MND ¨C 406 (A-) AGI ¨C 153 (C) FOC ¨C 223 (C+) ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D ? City People ¡¾Verteran¡¿ Known with his alias ¡°Immortal Verteran¡±, he¡¯s a former veteran A-Rank Adventurer. He was the head adventurer in Frelia City and was planning to continue adventuring, but when he met Rex and the others, he felt confident that ¡°if it¡¯s him, he could support them well¡± and retired from adventuring. Thus, he began his second life as the Guildmaster of Frelia¡¯s Adventurer Guild. His favorite food is yakibifun. ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D Guardian Lv 35 STR ¨C 171 (C) VIT ¨C 189 (C+) MGC ¨C 92 (D+) MND ¨C 104 (D+) AGI ¨C 181 (C+) FOC ¨C 166 (C) ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D ¡¾Nirva¡¿ The Champion of the Arena known as the , and wielding two swords, he mows down his enemies with his herculean strength. He¡¯s strong. ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D Sword Saint Lv 70 STR ¨C 975 (SS) VIT ¨C 975 (SS) MGC ¨C 300 (B) MND ¨C 450 (A-) AGI ¨C 825 (S+) FOC ¨C 525 (A+) ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D ¡¾Maisie¡¿ One of Frelia¡¯s Adventurers. She used to be a Warrior, but she recently Class Changed to Wizard on Rex¡¯s advice. As one of the people who followed Rex the longest, she¡¯s well respected by the city people. ¡¾Erina¡¿ Frelia Guild¡¯s receptionist. In the game, she¡¯s a character who even has her own events. CH 58.1 Here¡¯s a Character Introduction for those who apparently already forgot the story and the characters! ¡¾Rex Toren¡¿ The Lone Wolf Adventurer, strongest comrade character in the early game. In his body though is a modern Japanese who was reincarnated as ¡°Rex> in a game-like world after protecting a young girl who was about to be hit by a car. He is very knowledgeable about the game ¡°Brave & Blade¡± which resembles the world into which he was reincarnated, because he has played the game quite a bit. He is now very happy after acquiring his new Class . ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D Sword Saint Lv 50 STR ¨C 200 (C+) VIT ¨C 200 (C+) MGC ¨C 200 (C+) MND ¨C 200 (C+) AGI ¨C 200 (C+) FOC ¨C 200 (C+) ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D ¡¾Resilia Toren¡¿ The young lady of a family of swordsmen for generations, she is a genuine Swordswoman with an overprivileged Initial Class and a natural fighting sense¡­¡­ turned Ninja. In the game, she was supposed to die during the attack on the city, but Rex saved her life. She learns of Rex¡¯s secret by chance, and from then on, she acts as Rex¡¯s little sister and chaperone. She honestly hates to lose. ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D Ninja Lv 30 STR ¨C 382 (B+) VIT ¨C 274 (B-) MGC ¨C 142 (C) MND ¨C 254 (B-) AGI ¨C 525 (A+) FOC ¨C 209 (C+) ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D ?Team: Brave Blade A party of four members: Radd, Nuku, Prana and Mana. They¡¯re a rookie party just formed, but under Rex¡¯s guidance, they have all achieved rapid growth. ¡¾Radd¡¿ Brave Blade¡¯s wrecking ball and this series¡¯s heroine (¡á). He has longed to be a hero since he was a child and sees the ideal hero in Rex¡¯s way of being, but he¡¯s unable to honestly admit it. Recently, he was seen talking to his Brave Sword by Prana¡­¡­. which turned into a rather awkward situation. ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D Brave Leo Lv 30 STR ¨C 284 (B) VIT ¨C 297 (B) MGC ¨C 105 (D+) MND ¨C 227 (B-) AGI ¨C 218 (C+) FOC ¨C 183 (C+) ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D ¡¾Nuku¡¿ The brains behind Brave Blade. He doesn¡¯t stand out much in the main story, but he is a behind-the-scenes force that supports the team with his wealth of knowledge and calmness. He wears fashionable clothes. ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D Arc Mage Lv 30 STR ¨C 96 (D+) VIT ¨C 183 (C+) MGC ¨C 348 (B+) MND ¨C 186 (C+) AGI ¨C 199 (C+) FOC ¨C 225 (B-) ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D ¡¾Prana¡¿ A cool Elf who serves as the party¡¯s scout and long-range attacker. She is a blonde-haired, slender-built archer, a typical Elf at first glance, but she¡¯s a maverick who left her village with a yearning to become an adventurer. She often keeps her distance from those around her with her sharp tongue, but she is exceptionally fond of the members of Brave Blade, especially Mana, whom she praises as ¡°always considerate of those around her and can be trusted for her modesty in attitude and chest¡±. ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D Bowmaster Lv 30 STR ¨C 248 (B-) VIT ¨C 150 (C) MGC ¨C 124 (C-) MND ¨C 124 (C-) AGI ¨C 248 (B-) FOC ¨C 388 (B+) ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D ¡¾Mana¡¿ Brave Blade¡¯s Healer. She is very religious and prays every day, earning her the nickname ¡°The Praying Little Saint¡±. She knows more about Rex than Rex himself. ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D Carnival Lv 30 STR ¨C 96 (D+) VIT ¨C 159 (C) MGC ¨C 302 (B) MND ¨C 406 (A-) AGI ¨C 153 (C) FOC ¨C 223 (C+) ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D ? City People ¡¾Verteran¡¿ Known with his alias ¡°Immortal Verteran¡±, he¡¯s a former veteran A-Rank Adventurer. He was the head adventurer in Frelia City and was planning to continue adventuring, but when he met Rex and the others, he felt confident that ¡°if it¡¯s him, he could support them well¡± and retired from adventuring. Thus, he began his second life as the Guildmaster of Frelia¡¯s Adventurer Guild. His favorite food is yakibifun. ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D Guardian Lv 35 STR ¨C 171 (C) VIT ¨C 189 (C+) MGC ¨C 92 (D+) MND ¨C 104 (D+) AGI ¨C 181 (C+) FOC ¨C 166 (C) ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D ¡¾Nirva¡¿ The Champion of the Arena known as the , and wielding two swords, he mows down his enemies with his herculean strength. He¡¯s strong. ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D Sword Saint Lv 70 STR ¨C 975 (SS) VIT ¨C 975 (SS) MGC ¨C 300 (B) MND ¨C 450 (A-) AGI ¨C 825 (S+) FOC ¨C 525 (A+) "" ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D ¡¾Maisie¡¿ One of Frelia¡¯s Adventurers. She used to be a Warrior, but she recently Class Changed to Wizard on Rex¡¯s advice. As one of the people who followed Rex the longest, she¡¯s well respected by the city people. ¡¾Erina¡¿ Frelia Guild¡¯s receptionist. In the game, she¡¯s a character who even has her own events. CH 59 [ [ [ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CNirva! Nirva! Nirva! Nirva! ] ] ] The arena shakes as the calls for Nirva¡¯s name echoed all around the Arena. (He¡¯s as popular as usual.) I sat in a corner of the Arena¡¯s spectator seats, watching everyone¡¯s excitement as if I were a stranger, and chuckled to myself. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C. He¡¯s the Champion of Champions who has never lost and has always reigned as the Champion ever since he appeared like a comet in the world of tournaments and had beaten the Ranker of that time in his first match. And¡­¡­ (I can¡¯t believe I had actually beaten such a guy.) ¡­¡­He¡¯s the guy with whom I had a duel a few days ago and won. Of course, the opponent isn¡¯t just the strongest ¡°in the early game¡± and was a true ¡°strongest¡± warrior. He was a Lv 70 Sword Saint with the Status that would literally destroy me. I was able to win because I used a strategy that, in every sense of the word, can only work once: we fought in a that would limit the other party¡¯s strength, created an opening that would prompt him to activate his offensive skill , and sacrificed the Unique Boss drop to defeat him. Nirva¡¯s acknowledgment allowed me to Class Change to . (Well, it made me start to lose all interest in the tournament, which I never was interested in.) What is taking place in front of my eyes right now is the world¡¯s largest tournament festival in the world of B&B, . Radd¡¯s party had repeatedly encouraged me to participate, but the greatest merit for winning the is that you can fight against , and where victory could allow you to obtain the Class . Now that I had obtained the Class through an unexpected encounter, I had no motivation to compete anymore. Though I say that, this was still a big day for Radd¡¯s party, who were supposed to be my disciples. I had been watching the tournament as a spectator, but that too is also about to end. Now that the finals were over, all that remained was the final Exhibition Match. This is where the winner of the tournament could face Champion Nirva. Incidentally, Radd and his party¡¯s results were that they all passed the qualifying round. The magic-user duo of Nuku and Mana unfortunately lost in the second round. Prana put up a good fight, but she wasn¡¯t blessed with a good matchup and regrettably lost in the quarterfinals. As for the last remaining Radd¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Nii-san.] I looked up when I felt the nearby Resilia tugging my sleeve, and saw that Radd had come to our side before I knew it. Radd looked at me somewhat blankly, but eventually bowed his head. [My bad, Master! Even though you taught me a lot, I still lost¡­¡­] I don¡¯t know if his defeat really hit him hard or not, but as he lowered his head, going as far as to call me Master, which he wasn¡¯t accustomed to doing, I mercilessly slapped his back. [The heck are you talking about. Be proud, you¡¯re Rank-3 in the world.] ¡­¡­Yes. Radd, the last remaining member of the Brave Blades, was making his first appearance in the tournament, but he won against the best of the best and made it to the finals Unfortunately, he was one victory short of winning the tournament, losing in the finals, but it was more than enough for a boy who had become an Adventurer only a couple of months or so ago. Rather, I was instead frightened of how he wasn¡¯t satisfied with this performance. It may have a name that sounds as stupid as , but in this world where entertainment is scarce, this event has more prestige and buzz than the Olympics in the real world. If word of his success spreads, there will no longer be anyone who doubts Radd and his party¡¯s abilities. [T- That¡¯s right! I think you have done well enough, Radd-kun!] Mana, perhaps feeling the same way as I did, gave powerful words of encouragement¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Just because you advanced farther than me, feeling down for being defeated here makes you look so brazen.] ¡ª¨Cand Prana followed up with encouragement (?) of her own. On the other hand, Nuku firmly looks at Radd and gives his calm assessment. [Looking at the battle from the side, it does seem like defeating your opponent isn¡¯t impossible, so I can understand your frustration. However, I still felt that the other party was a step better¡­¡­ Next time. We will be stronger than today, so let¡¯s just try it out again next time.] I guess Radd felt it when it was his best buddy who said that. [¡­¡­I guess you¡¯re right. I need to be stronger than this.] Nodding in agreement, Radd sat down on the vacant seat next to me. At the other end of our line of sight was General Sergen, known with his alias , Radd¡¯s opponent in the finals who had defeated him. [¡­¡­Well, it was just as Nuku said. The you right now are still not ready to take on that guy.] Saying this, I casted on the General standing on the Arena stage. Although he isn¡¯t as strong as the Force of Nature Nirva, he has a high Status that easily overtakes Rex, who was considered the strongest in the early-game, both in terms of level and ability value. I thought generals would need to be brighter in strategy than in individual strength, but well, I guess thinking about it doesn¡¯t really matter that much. Generals in RPGs are usually the strongest in the military after all. Sergen was a Unique Character that appeared in the game when a major battle event occurred, and he was often involved with the player, so I remembered his appearance well. [However! If it¡¯s just our ability values, I¡¯m not that far off¡­¡­] While he vehemently argued, I used on Radd. In fact, Radd¡¯s ability values are high. He currently doesn¡¯t have her equipment equipped, but if he were to pump up those stats with Enchanted equipment, he would surpass Sergen in terms of simple ability values alone. However, in terms of the quality of their equipment, Radd is completely outclassed, not to mention the general¡¯s combat experience. Besides, there¡¯s one more important factor for his loss. [Even if your ability values are the same, your levels are just different.] [Our levels?] Radd tilted his head. I suppose it¡¯s not strange that he¡¯s confused. In the way of battling against monsters, I had been teaching them that ¡°the most important thing is to have a high ability value in relation to their level¡±. Considering it with common sense, you would think that even if their level is higher, it would be meaningless if you have around the same ability values. [¡­¡­Look at that and you would be able to tell why.] They would better understand it if they see the reason themselves. When I shifted my gaze to the Arena stage, General Sergen¡¯s was just about to emerge from the entrance on the other side. At the same time, earth-shattering shouts echoed in the arena and the swordsman I had met only once a few days before, but whose presence I couldn¡¯t forget, entered my line of sight. Just as usual, his Status is so high that it gives one the chills. General Sergen was also strong, but this guy was just of a different caliber. However, General Sergen wasn¡¯t intimidated by Nirva¡¯s appearance, but rather, he bared his fighting spirit and shouted. [Sword Saint! I acknowledge your power! However, as the Chief of the Army, today is the day I will wrest the title of the strongest from you! Kraaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!] That is a tremendous fighting spirit that¡¯s hard to believe in a person who¡¯s already past their 40s. Moreover, it¡¯s not just his fighting spirit. [W- What the heck is that¡­¡­] The fighting spirit overflowed from Sergen¡¯s body, so much so that Radd was unintentionally shaken¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C!!!] ¡ª¡ªand became a visible aura that covered Sergen¡¯s body. This was his secret move, which Sergen has been preserving. This is a skill that can only be acquired by Unique Characters through level-ups, . [An increase in level doesn¡¯t just raise a person¡¯s ability values. Some select humans and purebloods of certain races learn their own Unique Skills as their level increases.] An example of this is that offensive skill with the worst usability that Rex had learned, Dark-attribute Skill: . However, the most highly regarded Unique Skills are Buff Skills like the one Sergen just used, rather than offensive skills that can just be substituted by Arts. Sergen¡¯s Unique Skill: can be activated only once a day for only a minute, but it has a simple yet powerful effect of ¡°increasing one¡¯s ATK by 1.5 times and DEF by 3 times¡±. It¡¯s such a powerful effect that it can even overturn the difference in Status that would normally make it impossible to compete. [He wasn¡¯t even serious when he fought me!] Radd frustratedly said, but in the event in-game, Sergen lamented that as a man of the military who prides himself on being the shield that protects the people, he sometimes lags behind adventurers and other fighters. He had probably put his all into this match from the beginning. Once the match began, he was truly determined to move forward aggressively and unyieldingly. And that choice of the way of fighting was probably the right one. The effect of his Skill: is tremendous. On the contrary though, without the effect of his , Sergen¡¯s chances of defeating Nirva are almost nonexistent. How close can Sergen narrow down the distance between him and Nirva while under the effect of Nirva, who had closed the distance between them at a tremendous speed, swung both of his greatswords. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CAnd then, that was the end. With that, Sergen¡¯s body, which should have gained three times the defense from was blown away and crashed to the ground¡­¡­ The General collapsed in the center of the stage and didn¡¯t get up again. The loser¡¯s figure disappeared from the stage, as if melting into the floor, and Nirva quietly sheathed his sword, as if this was something he had expected. Nirva then looked at the referee, who finally remembered his role and declared. [M- Match over! The winner, Champion Nirva!] There was a moment of silence. After that, explosive cheers filled the Arena. [ [ [ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CNirva! Nirva! Nirva! Nirva! ] ] ] Once again, the unquestioned Champion of the Arena showed his overwhelming power and grabbed the victory. To the average spectator, it would have seemed that way. But for those who know a little bit about fighting, there¡¯s more to it than that. [H- Hey. Just now¡­¡­] [Y- Yeah.] Amongst the cheers that erupted, soft whispers faintly reached my ears. In any case, I myself am also surprised. I¡¯m sure that the average Adventurers who know nothing about its existence would be even more surprised. [P- Please wait!] As if to prove my point, the commentator, who was broadcasting the match, hurriedly stopped Nirva, who was about to return to the entrance. [F- First of all, congratulations for the magnificent victory!] [That was the result of my hard work. It¡¯s a natural conclusion.] A blunt response. However, the commentator didn¡¯t blame him. [A- As expected of Sword Saint-sama. However, ummm, please accept my apologies if I was just mistaken. That attack just now¡­¡­] Thereupon, seemingly having gathered his determination, he asked. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CFrom how I saw it, it looked as if you used different Arts with your right and left hand at the same time.] Handling two Arts at the same time is a privilege originally reserved for players. I had never seen an NPC do it. However¡­¡­ [Yeah. That¡¯s right.] Nirva calmly nodded. He actually said that so straightforwardly. At that moment, Nirva launched different Arts with his left and right hands, breaking through Sergen¡¯s defenses. No, that¡¯s not all. [M- Moreover! Those Arts you did before were activated at a different angle than normal Arts! H- How is it that such a thing is¡­¡­] The commentator forgot his position and excitedly approached Nirva. However, Nirva just shook him off, seemingly finding explaining things to the commentator troublesome. [I didn¡¯t invent this swordsmanship technique, and I myself had just learned it. If you want to ask, go ask him.] [E- Eeehhhh!? T- There¡¯s someone who had the skills to teach Sword Saint-sama a swordsmanship technique!? That is¡­¡­] At that moment, I wondered why¡­¡­ I thought I just saw Nirva standing in the distance, his mouth twisting into a teasing grin. [R- Resilia! Let¡¯s leave this place right now¡­¡­!] [The one who taught me this swordsmanship technique was that man.] But before I could get up from my seat, a bad premonition coursing through my back, Nirva¡¯s finger was precisely on me. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThe only man in the world who has ever defeated me in a one-on-one duel.] At the bombshell dropped by Nirva, the eyes of everyone in the arena were fixed on me. CH 60 The duel with the Sword Saint began with an unexpected encounter. After the world-wide event, the Tournament for the World¡¯s Strongest ended, we returned to our normal peaceful life. ¡­¡­Or so it should have been¡­¡­ [H- Hey, Old man. That just now¡­¡­] [Don¡¯t say it. I already know, so don¡¯t say it.] When we headed to the Guild¡¯s training ground as usual, there stood Adventurers with sparkling eyes, seemingly waiting for someone. (D*mn it! This is all Nirva¡¯s fault!) Nirva¡¯s comment at the had made me the talk of the city as ¡°the man who defeated the world¡¯s strongest swordmaster in a duel and taught him swordsmanship¡±. (What a bunch of nonsense! I bet he was just too lazy to teach the technique to others himself!) I remembered the teasing smile Nirva had at that moment. In the first place, even though he claimed ¡°he learned that swordsmanship technique from me¡±, that¡¯s not true at all. All I had shown him was the fact that ¡°manually executing Arts is possible¡±, and I hadn¡¯t given him any hint as to its practical use. However, just a few days passed and Nirva not only became able to manually execute Arts on his own, but also developed the technique of changing the angle of an Art and even demonstrated the application of activating another Art with both hands. (That guy is the real deal.) As to be expected from a person called genius in this world¡­¡­ His imagination and technical skills are far superior to ordinary people like me. Rumors that I had won a duel against such a monster, which is something I had only managed to somehow achieve with my game knowledge, is something that would only make me troubled. And so, on behalf of Nirva, who had left on his own, I desperately tried to explain myself. I told them that my victory over Nirva had been in a match that was under special conditions, how that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m stronger than him at all, and that I had only shown him that swordsmanship technique. [And yet, what the heck is this¡­¡­] There were so many Adventurers in the training grounds that it was ridiculous to even count them, obviously waiting around as if they were looking for something. As I lament my current situation, which isn¡¯t going the way I want it to, the nearby Resilia, whose expression was the same as always, told me matter-of-factly. [Your half-hearted denial backfired. Thanks to all your denying, it instead gave credibility to how ¡°the parts you didn¡¯t deny are true¡±.] [¡­¡­If you already knew that would happen, I wish you had stopped me then.] When I helplessly retorted, Resilia shrugged her shoulders. [You certainly are trying to make them doubly sure, but I think the result would have been the same. That was just how big of an impact that Sword Saint¡¯s technique had on them.] In other words, when Nirva pointed at me, the end result was already decided. This ain¡¯t funny at all. [Rather than that, what are you going to do, Nii-san? I¡¯m sure they will also notice our arrival soon.] [That is¡­¡­] I have already decided to disclose the information about Manual Arts through the Guild. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m unwilling to teach them, but I¡¯m afraid that I might not be able to cope with teaching so many people at once. Letting out a sigh, I called out to Radd and Resilia over. [It can¡¯t be helped. Change of plans.] The impact of Nirva Dual-Wielding Arts was so strong at that place that it seemed to be the only thing that attracted attention, but it seems that those with discerning eyes should have already figured out that the Arts used by Radd are different from the norm. That¡¯s why, considering that the training ground where Radd and Resilia always train their swordsmanship had been overtaken by them, it would be better if the swordsmen group of me, Radd and Resilia didn¡¯t go to that place. Besides, I happened to know a certain ¡°trial¡± that can be conquered only by front line-type characters. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CWe¡¯ll have some special training, Radd. Today, I¡¯m going to make you a full-fledged treasure hunter.] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù As I wade through the grasslands, trying to remember the path we¡¯re supposed to take, I call out to Radd. [To be honest, I¡¯ve been thinking that it¡¯s about time we got you a new Class.] Radd¡¯s current Class is . A special Class that can be Class Changed by wearing specific equipment with the peculiar Class . Although it¡¯s a Class that you could Class Change to relatively early, its growth rate is equivalent to that of a Fourth-Tier Class. It was a very tasty Class while your level was low, but now that his level has exceeded 30 and his bare minimum ability values had met the requirements for Class Changing to a Fourth-Tier Class, he doesn¡¯t have much to gain from anymore. No, due to the fact that it¡¯s a balanced type where everything is almost average in growth, may be more difficult to handle than other Fourth-Tier Classes. [Speaking of balanced types, , which could be accessed in the future, isn¡¯t much different. Well, the Class is a Unique Class that is designed to be equivalent to a Third-Tier Class. It¡¯s a little more scrambled than , but it has more bonus affinity values than the .] [Heehhh¡­¡­ Arehh?] Radd was listening to my story with a nod of his head, but then he tilted his head. [But Old man, didn¡¯t you say how ¡°when you reach Lv 99, your level may not increase anymore, but you can still raise your ability values as much as you want¡±? If you can just make up for your shortcomings by working hard at Lv 99, then wouldn¡¯t it be better to just intentionally suppress the growth of ability values with a weak Class to speed up the level increase and learn powerful techniques earlier¡­¡­] I see his point, that¡¯s a natural conclusion you¡¯d arrive at. But sadly, that¡¯s unfortunately not realistic. [First of all though, it¡¯s reckless to try to raise your level when your ability value hasn¡¯t grown enough. Even if you suppress the growth of your ability value a little by using a Class with low affinity given, the amount of EXP required won¡¯t change much. Above all¡­¡­] [Above all?] [When you reach Lv 99, the EXP requirement correction is inflated. Well, it still depends on your ability values, but you can consider that raising your ability values by a level after reaching Lv 99 requires at least several to 10 times more EXP than raising it from Lv 98 to Lv 99.] [T- Then¡­¡­] As Radd¡¯s face turned pale, I ruthlessly declared. [It¡¯s going to be even harder to overturn the ability value difference after Lv 99 than it was before it.] [U- Ueeehhh¡­¡­] Everything beyond Lv 99 should just be treated as a challenge to improve oneself even further. It¡¯s essentially not of nature that would make existing gameplay easier. [Well, that¡¯s why Classes with high growth rates are important.] I pulled a frowning Radd to the side and continued on. I was anxious because I had only visited this place in my gaming days, but fortunately, I found the place I was searching for quickly. [¡­¡­We¡¯re here.] [Here? I can¡¯t see anything though.] As Radd spoke this, I placed my hand on a rock surface that appeared to be a dead end, and the wall illusion disappeared, revealing the passageway through it. Inside it was a blatantly well-maintained path. This is definitely man-made. [¡­¡­Just as usual, you find stuff that you usually wouldn¡¯t have. How the heck do you even find places like this, Old man?] I just shrugged at Radd¡¯s question and went inside. [¡­¡­Speaking of which, you¡¯ll achieve your other wish here too.] [My other wish?] [Yeah¡­¡­] I walked unhesitatingly through the as it appeared and turned my gaze toward the path marked as ¡°The First Trial¡±. As I used on the statue of a knight on a pedestal in the center of the room, which looked as if it was about to start moving, I spoke. [Come on, you should be pleased. You¡¯ve got a practice partner that will never break even after endless pounding.] CH 61 We arrived at the interior of the . As I smiled at the sight of Resilia and Radd curiously looking around, I recalled the ¡°setting¡± of this building that I had read about in the past. [This place was built by a legendary Treasure Hunter in cooperation with the Gods to bequeath his power to the future generation of Adventurers. So to be precise, this isn¡¯t a dungeon. This is a Temple, just like the in Frelia.] [This is¡­¡­ a Temple huh.] Looking at the walls with a somewhat solemn atmosphere, I continued. [Since this place isn¡¯t a dungeon, you won¡¯t find any monsters here, and the only thing you can acquire here is the Class . There¡¯s no EXP to be acquired, nor are there any hidden treasures. However, the Class is useful for exploring and learning a number of useful skills.] The produces a decoy that emits a non-damaging shockwave that attracts enemies¡¯ attention. The , which increases the distance from which items can be collected, making it possible to collect from multiple gathering spots at the same time. The , which increases the amount of multiple items that can be collected at one time by 30%. The , which is like a skill variant of the Decoy Gun, is useful for both keeping enemies away and gathering them in one spot, and that enemy gathering ability was directly related to increasing your income. Although none of these skills are essential, there¡¯s no doubt that learning them will make dungeon exploration much more comfortable. It¡¯s a Class that is essential to have at least one of them in your party. [H- Hey! That¡¯s great for exploration, but I¡¯m aiming to become a Warrior¡­¡­] [Don¡¯t worry about that. Even though most of the abilities of the Treasure Hunter Class lean toward exploration, inside they were more of a martial artist who was better at fighting than unlocking locks and solving riddles. There is an anecdote about the Treasure Hunter this statue is based on, with him storming a dungeon heavily armed with his sword and spear, using his strength of arms to overcome traps and gimmicks. Just as I had mentioned earlier, its affinity compensation itself is more combat-oriented than that of .] [W- What¡¯s with that¡­¡­] I had also been wondering about this when I first heard it, but this was actually the way it was set up, so there¡¯s nothing I can do about it. [Anyhow. With that, there are no ¡°monsters¡± here, so there¡¯s no danger to your life. In other words, this place is more like an attraction.] [Attraction?] I smiled back at Radd, who curiously asked about the word which he seemed to be unfamiliar with. [¡°A place you play around in¡±. That¡¯s why, go have as much fun as you want.] Saying this, I walked up to the center of the Temple. There sits a large pedestal, and on a plate on the pedestal were carved these words: ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªHe who desires to inherit my power and will. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªIf you desire to gain my power, take the Key Without Fire and overcome three Trials. When I held up my hand, the pedestal emitted a pale light and a small magatama with a string attached fell softly into my hand. [Is that the ¡°Key Without Fire¡±?] I nodded my head in affirmation to Resilia, who looked at the thing in my hand with interest. [Yeah. Our goal for the time being is to complete two ordeals and make this a ¡°Complete Key¡± but¡­¡­] That should be enough for the finer details for now. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªWell, just watch. I¡¯ll teach you how to ¡°play¡± here.] With that said I stepped out into the first ordeal. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù ¡¾Trial One¡¿ Slip through the blade of my knights and light the Fire of the Beginning with the key. On the floor before the fork in the road, there was a plaque that read something like that. The words ¡°my knights¡± seemed to be insinuating something, but the true identity of what these words insinuated was quite obvious. On both sides of the three-meter wide passageway, stone statues of knights were lined up in a row. (How nostalgic. I used to go here a lot back when I was playing the game.) If it were my first time here, I would have been terrified, wondering which of these stone statues would move, but I unfortunately have been here long enough to be able to guess without using . As I glanced further into the room, I saw that at the far end of the row of stone statues was a pedestal similar to the one in the center of the previous room, from which a red light was leaking. The goal was obvious at a glance. [Now then¡­¡­] I took a step toward the goal with Iron Swords, initial equipment, ready in both hands. Thereupon, as if they were waiting for me, the third stone statue from the front started to move and disembarked from its platform with a heavy thud. As a moving armor, it was similar to the , which I had used for infinite grind in the past, but while that was metal armor, this was more of a stone statue in the shape of a knight. The weight between this and the Knight of Sorrows is different. The stone knight, who looked slow and heavy, waved the halberd in their hand with a vigor that was hard to believe coming from someone that only had 1 STR. Looking at its stats again, they really are quite extreme. All of their defensive stats are high, but their offensive stats are low. When it comes to STR and ATK, they¡¯re no better than the weakest monster, Goblins. Considering the numbers alone, they would seem harmless, but of course, that isn¡¯t the case. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªIn this ordeal, the challenger can¡¯t take any damage. This is because the moment damage was judged to have been received by the challenger, the ¡°key¡±, the magatama shatters, taking damage on its own. In other words, looking at it in another way, ¡°this trial makes it so that the challenger must not take any damage, no matter how weak the damage may be¡±. This condition is rather severe. Avoiding is fine, but guarding is not. Guarding reduces the damage you receive, but it doesn¡¯t nullify it. On the other hand, you also can parry them with your weapon. Since all the enemy¡¯s attacks are by Arts and Skills, intercepting them with a normal attack will cause damage. And so, the correct answer here¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª!!!] I intercepted the stone statue knight¡¯s Spear Art with an Art of my own. When Arts collide with each other, they offset each other out and the weaker one gets repelled. And since the enemy¡¯s PATK is just 1, if our Arts clash, my Art will surely win! The knight staggers as his weapon is repelled. However, I didn¡¯t bother giving follow-up attacks. The opponent¡¯s DEF is 999. If I just strike them with a superficial attack, I would be the one who would be stiffened. [! !] Reading the trajectory of the attack, I crushed the target with my Arts. After repelling the knight¡¯s Arts for the third time, the knight¡¯s spear glowed red. (However, I¡¯m sorry. I know what that is too!) I, who was waiting exactly for that moment, took a step forward. And then¡­¡­ [¡­¡­.!] As the Spear Skill was knocked back, the stone statue knight staggered. The red Arts that are released after three repels are impossible to offset. So, before that stone statue knight could activate it, I knocked back the main body to destroy the activation itself. From there, it was just another monotonous task. [! !] Just like solving a chess problem, I activated my Arts and pushed the opponents to the back of the passageway. I wonder how many times, no, how many dozens of times have I used my skills? [! !] The red signs were crushed by the wind pressure ahead of time, pushing the stone statue knights halfway down the passageway. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªDodon! With a sound that seemed to resonate in that room, another stone statue took its step on the floor. [Well, seems like the real challenge starts now.] As I watched the other knight approach with their halberd at the ready, my lips curled up to a smile. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù The only sound in the Temple was the clash of weapons against weapons. Two stone statues lined up on either side of the passageway thrust their halberds at me as if they were breathing in unison. But even so, I didn¡¯t collapse. Even though there are two statues, I have one weapon in each hand. [In other words, it¡¯s practically one against one!] My left and right-hand Arts launched separately, the weapons of the knights to my left and to my right were simultaneously shot away. While thrusting my sword into the knight glowing red on my left, I brushed away the halberd of the knight on my right. While flicking away the Art of the knight on my left, who is overextending with their overhead strike, I blew away the knight on my right, who was beginning to glow red. As my hands moved as if they were independent creatures, the both of them managed to deal with the enemies on both sides. If I misread the recasting of an Art, I would lose, and if I fail to discern the trajectory of the enemy¡¯s attack, it will still lead to my loss. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªRepel, repel, repel, push. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªPush, repel, repel, brush away. The rapidly changing battlefield and the exchange of techniques almost burned out my brain. But then¡­¡­ [Haha! Hahahaha!] I found myself laughing in delight. My thinking speed accelerated, and I could feel my brain pumping with adrenaline. I had been longing for a situation like this since I had a chance, where I would use all my skills to slay powerful enemies. One where even if I were to lose, I wouldn¡¯t lose my life. It¡¯s just a game for fun. [How can something like this not be fun!?] Laughing with all my heart, I brandished my swords. I overpower, repel, brush away, blow away, and repel again¡­¡­ [Arya?] And there, at that moment, the flow of swords, which had been continuing without stopping, staggered. It seems like my mind wandered a bit too much as the tip of my sword struck one of the dummy stone statues. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªKashan! Thereupon, receiving a blow from a stone statue¡¯s halberd, the magatama I¡¯m wearing on my chest shattered noisily. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [What a dry bunch, these guys are.] The moment the magatama shattered, the stone statues lost interest in me and moved slowly back to the pedestals they had been on. I was tempted to harass them, but no matter what I did, no damage would be dealt to them, and the passageway would be returned to its initial state at the next challenge anyway. There would be no point messing around here. Letting out a sigh, I stowed away both of my swords and returned to the central room where Radd and Resilia were. [Good work, Nii-san.] It seems like both of them had been watching me the whole time. As the two of them greeted me in unison, I felt somewhat embarrassed, so I coughed and explained. [Well, just as you saw, the enemies here are perfect for practicing Arts. It¡¯s easier to improve your Class proficiency when you actually have something you¡¯re practicing on.] However, they didn¡¯t respond to my words for a while. After a long period of silence, Radd spoke with seriousness in his eyes. [¡­¡­Seeing what happened made me think of this again. Ummm, Old man. Your swordsmanship really is amazing.] [I- Is that so?] Hearing the words spoken by Radd, who was usually not straightforward, even I am not sure how I would react. Radd looked down for a moment, but quickly looked up and declared with his usual competitive spirit. [However! I¡¯ll definitely catch up with you someday, no, I¡¯ll even overtake you!] His eyes carrying his straightforward will collided with mine. ¡­¡­If it was the me from before, I would have acted like a grown up and told him ¡°I see. Do your best.¡±, then end the topic with that. However, as for what I feel right now¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Sorry.] I looked back at Radd, who was staring straight at me, and clearly declared. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªSorry, but I don¡¯t intend to lose. I¡¯m also aiming to be the ¡°strongest swordsman in the world¡± after all.] I wasn¡¯t lying when I said I hoped to live a leisurely life in this world. However, when I got the Class that I had given up on for so long, I felt the desire within me surging out. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m the ¡°Hero¡± or anything like that. I just have a little game knowledge, and I¡¯m neither a genius nor a prodigy. However, I still have the desire to become the ¡°strongest¡±, even if it¡¯s just within my dreams. I guess my words came as a surprise to Radd, as his eyes widened and he looked at me for a while¡­¡­ [T- The heck is with that. The Old man just now looked even cooler than usual but¡­¡­] Thereupon, tilting his head for a moment, he then returned my declaration with his innately rebellious eyes. [I¡¯m not going to lose!] I gazed towards his blazing eyes. I thought it was out of character for me to say things like that, but I also found myself enjoying it. [It¡¯s my turn next! I¡¯ll definitely catch up with you!] Without hesitation, Radd held out his hand to the pedestal. He gripped the magatama, the right to challenge the ordeal, and headed toward the ordeal. And the propagation of his heat didn¡¯t end there. [It would be troubling if you leave me out.] [Resilia¡­¡­] Resilia quietly announces in front of the pedestal where Radd is no longer present. [It¡¯s not like I¡¯m interested in being the strongest. However¡­¡­] The same aloof demeanor. The only difference, however, is in her eyes. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI will be the one who will protect Nii-san. For that reason, I will be stronger than anyone else¡­¡­ stronger than even Nii-san.] She said this with as much fervor as Radd, looking at me clearly. [¡­¡­Putting that aside.] [Hmmm?] Just as I was tilting my head at Resilia, who stayed in front of me even after giving that declaration¡­¡­ [He¡¯s going to take a while to finish, so why don¡¯t you teach me some more Arts until Radd gets back?] [Here?] When I asked her back, she subtly looked away, before he continued speaking quickly. [I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to find a way to get some training in with Radd, but it¡¯s not often that I get the chance to train with you on a one-on-one basis, so since there¡¯s an opportunity¡­¡­] [But is it okay for you to have your rival teach you their skills?] [That is¡­¡­ Well, if I want to be strong, I think I shouldn¡¯t fuss over whether those skills were learned from a friend or a foe.] Seeing her unconcerned, yet somewhat desperate look on her face, a small chuckle leaked out of my lips. [Of course, if Nii-san doesn¡¯t want to, I won¡¯t force you¡­¡­] [No, that¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s do it.] To be honest, I¡¯m feeling a sense of crisis around Resilia and Radd, whose abilities are rapidly improving. Still, I¡¯ll do my best to make those around me stronger, and I just decided I¡¯ll be stronger than that. [In return, I will not be making any compromises.] [Of course! That¡¯s exactly as I wanted!] And so, as we began our first training session alone in a long time¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª [D*mn it! I lost in an instant¡­¡­Ah, eh, u- ummm¡­¡­ W- Why are you staring at me like that?] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªRadd, whose magatama easily got destroyed and returned within 10 seconds of the start, kept getting stared at by Resilia as if she were looking at an irreconcilable enemy. CH 62 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI¡¯m going to lose my mind¡­¡­ I sighed to myself as I looked at the shattered jewel around my neck, and staggered back to the center of the room. Then, picking up the magatama for the umpteenth time, I staggered my way back to the trial. While I was stumbling my way to the first trial¡­¡­ [¡­¡­You do it like this, how about it?] [Nii-san¡¯s Arts are beyond amazing as always that it¡¯s disgusting.] [You¡­¡­ I was going to tell you about a great combo that leads from here, but I guess you don¡¯t need it.] [Even though I gave you my honest compliment, saying that is rather vexing. I think Nii-san should be more open-minded¡­¡­] I can hear Rex and Resilia happily training from behind me, making me feel even more miserable. (D*mn it, they¡¯re just freaking flirting¡­¡­! That siblings are too close to each other!) Holding back the outburst of anger that¡¯s about to leak out of my body, I step out for the first trial. As I watched the first stone statue begin to move, landing on the ground with a thud, I put all my strength into the shield in my left hand. At first, when I saw Rex engaging the stone statue knights in battle, my blood was surging with excitement, the desire of fighting like that filling my heart¡­¡­ but I lost in just an instant. Even so, I went back to the first room, took a magatama and charged again, and when I couldn¡¯t protect myself from the knight¡¯s attack, the magatama gets broken and every time I did that, Resilia looked at me like I¡¯m some sort of sh*tty trash¡­¡­ I repeated that about 10 times, when I finally realized it. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªIt¡¯s impossible for the me right now to fight with these guys. Hitting their Arts with my own Arts is easy to say, but actually doing it wasn¡¯t that simple. I have to watch the enemy¡¯s swinging motion and predict the trajectory of the enemy¡¯s attack. From there, I have to select the appropriate Art in an instant and strike back based on the enemy attack¡¯s trajectory. However, there are many cases where I can¡¯t respond by using ordinary Arts as they are. Especially when the stone statue swings its halberd from above, few existing Arts have a trajectory that can interfere an overhead attack. For example, if I unleashed a normal to intercept the overhead attack, the enemy halberd would have passed cleanly through the middle of the ¡°V¡± and hit me directly on the head. In that case, it would be better to adjust the angle of the so that it would collide with the path of the enemy¡¯s overhead attack, but I had only practiced ¡°manually executing¡± the Art at the moment and hadn¡¯t tried shifting the angle very much. I could have done it if I had spent some time in the training hall to develop an image of the Art and perform it at my own pace, but it was impossible for me to calculate and arrange the trajectory of the Art in the short time before the enemy¡¯s attack. Even if I succeeded once or twice by a fluke, once I used an Art, I wouldn¡¯t be able to use it again for a while. The more attacks I defend, the less cards I have in my hand. (Even though it¡¯s frustrating, I¡¯m still not skilled enough to compete with these guys.) After realizing this, I decided to abandon the appearance of the statue and switched to a strategy of running past the stone statue knights to the pedestal. However, since their halberds have a wide range and fast reactions. When I tried to run through the side, I was shut down because I couldn¡¯t avoid their halberd. When I tried to run forward while their halberd was blocked by an Art, I was hit by a spear on my back and retired from the trial without a chance. I returned to the center room to retrieve the magatama, only to have Resilia look at me as if I¡¯m some sort of stray Goblin, which had been a pattern for the past few times. However, the previous challenge shed a light on this situation. It was true that I was no match for Rex in terms of our ability to use Arts. However, there¡¯s one thing I have that Rex does not. I¡¯m talking about my ¡°shield¡±. (I certainly can¡¯t use Guard against these guys. However¡­¡­) As I gradually increased my speed and rushed towards them, the stone statue knight waiting for me drew its spear. (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªA thrust from the right!) Reflecting on my luck that the easiest thrust attack came, I plunged into the spear as if I was going to run into the attack myself¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªParry! At the crucial moment, I mowed down my shield to shake off the spear. The spear and my shield engage for a moment, and sparks fly. However, the equilibrium is only momentary. Snapping away the stone statue knight¡¯s spear, I knocked it off balance. [Alright!] The answer I arrived at is Parry. Only the timing of the shield strike is tough, but if I succeed, I can keep my opponent off-balance slightly longer than if I had used an Art to cancel it out. However, I can¡¯t let my mind wander here. With my shield still held out in a swinging posture, I ran past the side of the stone statue knight without stopping my running momentum. Immediately after, the sound of something cleaving the air behind me sent chills down to my guts, but I managed to keep my distance. (Run! Keep running!) I told myself. There are two stone statue knights. If I get caught between the two of them, one guarding the front while the other flanking my back, I wouldn¡¯t have any chance of winning, so I have no choice but to make my move before the one behind catches up. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªDodon! The second knight lands on the ground ahead of me as I run desperately. (This is the moment that decides my victory!) In my attempt before the last, I tried to go through the side while the knight ahead was stepping on the ground and lost because I was hit in the back by a spear. In my previous attempt, I tried to stop and make sure to use Parry on its attack before advancing, but the first knight rushing from behind pierced my back and I lost. (I can¡¯t ignore it, nor can I stop in place. In that case¡­¡­!) I had no choice but to move in a way that satisfied both of those two conditions: stopping the enemy and moving fast. Tossing aside the shield in my left hand, I grabbed the magatama on my chest as if I was ripping it off. With a shout, I unleashed the only Art I can manually execute that has a knockback effect: . Blowing away the stone statue knight, which is now stuck in a landing position, I twisted my body into the opening created. The stiffness caused by the knockback effect lasts only a moment. I can feel the knight who has regained its balance behind me readying its spear. (REEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCHHHHH!!!) However, a moment before the stone statue knight¡¯s spear catches me in the back. My outstretched left hand was holding out the magatama to the light of the pedestal¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThe magatama lit up. And when the light subsided, one of the two black holes in the magatama glowed with a brilliant light. [Did I¡­¡­ do it?] I timidly looked behind me and saw that the stone statue knight, who was about to thrust its spear into my spear, had suddenly stopped moving. As I watched with bated breath, the stone statue knights turned on their heels as if nothing had happened and returned to their position, motionless as if they were ordinary stone statues. [Ha¡­¡­ Hahaha¡­¡­ I did it!] Finally convinced of my victory, I swung the light-filled magatama and rushed back to the first room. [Master¡­¡­ Old man! I finally did it! I cleared the first trial!!!] At first, Rex¡¯s eyes just widened as I ran up to him, but then he grinned. [That was great, Radd. In that case¡­¡­] Thereupon, he pointed to the other side of the earlier trial¡­¡­ A corridor with almost the same layout as the ¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªNext up are four enemies. Do your best.] At the same time, as if reading the moment, two stone statues of the began to move and landed on the ground with a thud. CH 63 To put it simply, the was a copy of the , only with twice as many stone statues attacking. In the , only one of the stone statues moved, but in the , you would have to face two of those stone statues, and as you advanced further, two additional stone statues would apparently begin to move, making it a total of four stone statues you would have to face against. When I saw the two stone statues approaching at the same time, I felt nothing but despair, but the strategy should almost be the same as before. Faced against the initial two stone statues, I moved closer to one of them and parried its attack. If I tried to go through the side of the one that got stiffened, depending on my position and my attack, the other knight¡¯s attack may be blocked by the parried knight¡­¡­ and I may manage to get through. All I had to do was to hope that this luck of mine would happen twice in a row. (¡­¡­I don¡¯t really like depending on this kind of luck-driven approach though.) Though I say that, I don¡¯t really have any other good ideas. It would be heartbreaking to do the and have to start all over from the again if I failed, but by the time my failures can be counted in both hands, even though I felt exhausted, I managed to pull off a successful pattern and light another fire in my magatama. (¡­¡­With this, only one trial left huh) With a slight smoldering feeling in my heart, I returned to the central room, holding the magatama that had regained its original form after lighting up its two fire slots. [Don¡¯t tell me, there¡¯s no way the last trial would have triple the number of stone statues, right?] I returned to the path with a little doubt in my mind, but it seemed that I didn¡¯t have to worry about that. Just as in the and , the place where the last trial is located can be accessed from the central room. The only difference was that this trial was closed by a large door. Also¡­¡­ ¡¾Final Trial¡¿ Waiting at the end of the Dragon¡¯s Path Show your Courage, Offer to me the Perfect Key A huge door leads to the final trial. On the floor directly below that door, such words were embedded in powerful strokes. [¡­¡­The Dragon¡¯s Path huh.] I couldn¡¯t imagine what it would be like inside, but I could guess that this trial would be completely different from the previous two. Driven by a somewhat ominous premonition, I followed Rex¡¯s instructions and held up the magatama to the door, and the huge double-sided door opened with a low thud. [Wha!?] What I found there was a completely different room from the previous two trials. It was an endless, bottomless abyss, and on top of that abyss was a snake-like winding path of only about 10 cm wide. [¡­¡­I see, so this is the Dragon¡¯s Path huh.] This certainly is worthy of its name, a path for a ¡°dragon¡±¡­¡­ a snake that soars above the sky. Suppressing the excitement in my excitement, just like an Adventurer, made a proper observation of the situation. The path, about 10 cm wide, snakes its way to the far end of the room. On the wall at the far end was a carving that appeared to be a dragon, and directly below it was a pedestal with a familiar shape. Considering the trials so far, the goal of this final trial must be to place the magatama there. There was no foothold accessible other than the ¡°Dragon¡¯s Path¡±, and the path basically continued without narrowing or thickening from its initial width, with the only exception of a one-meter diameter platform in the middle of the room. That is probably the halfway point of the path and a resting spot at the same time. When I looked down, I only saw endless darkness ahead, and even though I was told that my life wasn¡¯t in danger, I felt an instinctive fear. [That ¡°Show your Courage¡± part talks about this huh. Walking through this certainly takes courage, doesn¡¯t it?] This place makes me feel a sense of danger, making me think that even if I know I won¡¯t die, I sure as hell don¡¯t want to fall¡­¡­ (Surprisingly though¡­¡­ This looks possible.) With this trial having a different nature from the previous two, I could feel this place resonating with me. It¡¯s true that the path is narrow, and it¡¯s rough how everything is over when I slip, but I¡¯m confident in my sense of balance, and I¡¯m not afraid of heights, probably because I grew up in the countryside and climbed trees a lot. Perhaps, if the previous trials were to test the combat skills required of a Treasure Hunter, this final trial is to test one¡¯s nimbleness and judgment in exploring an unexplored area. However, this makes it more convenient for me. (I¡¯ll clear this in one shot!) If I fail here, I would have to start all over again from the First Trial. It would mean that I would have to complete those 2 extremely difficult trials again. And most of all¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI don¡¯t want to be glared at by Resilia anymore! For Resilia, and for the tranquility of my heart, I slapped my palms filled with fighting spirit on my cheeks and took my first step on the Dragon¡¯s Path! ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [¡­¡­This makes it half of the path huh.] Mumbling so, I wiped off my sweat. Walking through the narrow, meandering path was more strenuous than I had imagined. When my gaze ended up below me, toward the endless abyss, I felt dizzy, and when an arrow suddenly flew from the wall halfway down the path, I thought it was over. However, I guess my reflexive ducking at the sound paid off. The trap arrow passed just a little ahead of me in the nick of time, and I had narrowly evaded it. There were several arrow traps from that point on, but knowing that there are traps ahead, there was no way I would fall into the trap. Despite the time and attention whittling away at my psyche, I managed to make it to the circular foothold in the middle of the Dragon¡¯s Path. (However, I will not let my guard down.) From the foothold, I looked around at the walls, and I figured out where the latter half of the arrow traps might be. The Dragon¡¯s Path itself, as far as I could see, appeared to be free of any traps. (Almost there. I¡¯m almost there¡­¡­) I stare at the pedestal, both feeling near and far from where I am, as if I were looking at a foe. The design of the pedestal, which is more rugged and simple than the previous trials, appears to me to be more sacred. I¡¯m well aware that I¡¯m starting to feel hasty now that the goal was in sight. Fortunately, there¡¯s no time limit for this trial. I was conscious of the fact that I was going slowly and surely, taking tens of seconds to complete a few steps¡­¡­ That¡¯s when it happened. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªDodon! Behind me, I heard a sound. It was a sound that I had become so accustomed to hearing over the course of the day, but one that I should never have heard just now. That was the sound of a man-sized chunk of stone that had landed on the ground. [You¡¯re joking, right¡­¡­] My voice trembled. Sweat slides down my forehead. Shouts like ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right!? This can¡¯t be happening!¡±, and a feeling akin to resignation, telling myself ¡°Ahh, I knew that guy would appear here¡± also appeared in my heart, but they were all jumbled and mixed up in my head. I slowly turned around. I looked back to the place where I had rested until a moment ago and felt relieved that I was almost there. At the halfway point of the Dragon¡¯s Path, there was a stone statue knight kneeling on one knee. (Where the heck did that come from¡­¡­!?) When I looked overhead, I saw a red magic circle floating in the air, looking as if it had just spat that thing out. (That is also possible!?) Reflexively swearing to myself, it happened at that moment. With only the movement of its neck, the stone statue knight looked at me with a glare. [Hyiihh!] Not even the slightest thought of fighting it had crossed my mind. Even back in the previous trials, the stone statue knights aren¡¯t opponents I could properly fight against. However, the stone statue knight glaring at me now was clearly a Boss monster. It¡¯s one size larger than the knights who participated in the past trials, and holding a huge spear in his right hand and a rugged sword in his left, giving it the air of an expert. Worst of all, I was on a narrow foothold where I could hardly move, while my opponent was on a perfectly circular foothold. There was no way I could win here. [D*mn it!] I struggled to move my feet, trying to get as far away from the knight as possible. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªAfter all, I was so close. When measured in a straight line, I was only a few meters away from the knight. If only I could somehow shake this guy off and get to that pedestal, that would be enough to make all the hard work I¡¯ve exerted worth it¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Ah.] However, I saw it. The stone statue of a great being standing behind me held the large spear in its right hand aloft, as if it was carrying it on its shoulder. [Sto¡ª¡ª¡ª-] I couldn¡¯t even react. The huge spear, flying with a thunderous roar, pushed my body to the side and easily shattered the magatama¡­¡­ [U- Uwaaaaahhhhhhh!!!] Losing my balance, my body fell off the Dragon¡¯s back and fell into the deep, deep abyss. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù I wonder how long have I fallen? Probably 10 seconds at most. Or perhaps, it may have actually been a few seconds. When I came to, I was magically teleported and was lying on my back in front of the pedestal in the central room. I had been hit so hard and fallen from such a height, yet I was without a scratch. However, I couldn¡¯t get up from this spot. [¡­¡­Doesn¡¯t this make it look like a coward?] A swear reflexively spilled out of my mouth. However, I know more than anyone else, that those words were that of a sore loser unwilling to accept defeat. (D*mn it!) Looking back, I had been caught in the trial¡¯s trap from the very beginning. I struggled through the first two trials, but the last one somehow went well. That makes it look like I was doing better than what the trial, what the creator of this place had in mind. However, that was the whole point of this trial. The challenge was to show the wary challenger through the an obstacle that would take some time but wouldn¡¯t be difficult to break through¡­¡­ They let the challenger avoid an arrow trap flying from the wall, a trap that even a first-time challenger could just barely evade, and misled them into believing that this trial was mainly a trap-oriented one and not a battle-centric trial¡­¡­ It would then let them rest at the midway point for the final finish, giving them hope that they will be able to finish the trial anytime soon¡­¡­ (They threw the biggest bomb at the most effective moment, when I¡¯m most relaxed!!!) It¡¯s in those moments when people see hope that they are more likely to break. Besides, the longer they spend and the harder they work to get there, the stronger they feel that they can¡¯t fail at that moment. There was no way people could perform at their usual level of ability in that situation, where one misstep means falling, without shrinking away. (All of my actions had been manipulated!!!) I struck the ground. Understanding that I¡¯ve been played for a fool, I¡¯m feeling frustrated. ¡­¡­However, even so¡­¡­ I just couldn¡¯t muster up the will to go through that trial again, nor the vision to overcome it. (D*mn it¡­¡­!) I remained in the same posture as when I had just fallen from that abyss, sprawled out on the floor, staring at the ceiling. At that moment, a shadow cast over my face. [You got harshly defeated, Radd.] It was Rex. [¡­¡­Shut up.] I hid my face with one arm and bluntly replied. Master¡­¡­ Rex is the only one I don¡¯t want to see me in this state. [I¡¯m just thinking of a strategy right now. Don¡¯t interfere.] I lied. The only thing filling my chest was a sense of defeat, and no strategies were in my mind. However, I didn¡¯t want Rex to think that I was that pathetic of a person. [I see¡­¡­ In that case, you won¡¯t mind if I take on this trial this time, right?] [Eh¡­¡­?] The unexpected words made me reflexively move the arm that was covering my face. Looking up, there was Rex with a fearless smile on his face. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI don¡¯t know if this will help you or not, but I¡¯ll show you my own way of going through the trial.] Upon those words, I look beyond the closed door with the face of the Hero I look up to in mind. CH 64 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Rex will challenge the trial. When I hurriedly got up at that unexpected suggestion, Rex chuckled, seemingly embarrassed. [We actually have no more time left because I have business with the Guild by afternoon. So, I will clear this in one go.] Hearing his words, I gulped. How many times have I failed and how much time have I spent until I reached the third trial? And yet, Rex says that he will clear this in one go. [You don¡¯t have to make a face like that. I decided to come here for reasons other than training being difficult back in the city. To be honest, the trial here makes learning Skills here comparatively easier.] Happily laughing, saying ¡°Well, it may be a bit unfair¡±, he reached out to the central pedestal and got his magatama. Then, not even holding his weapon, he walked towards the . Lighthearted, as if he was just going on a stroll, it doesn¡¯t look like he was about to challenge a difficult trial. (¡­¡­No. It¡¯s not that he doesn¡¯t look like it. For Rex, this trial probably really isn¡¯t that much of a challenge.) A trial that I had continuously struggled and despaired. However, such a difficulty was something that this Hero could complete while humming a tune. ¡­¡­Understanding this, I felt pride and a rather incomprehensible murkiness in my heart. I¡¯m not sure if he¡¯s aware of these emotions I have or not, but Rex leisurely stepped into the trials, looking as if he was just about to conduct his lectures. [The role of Active Skills and Arts are quite similar, but Arts have various advantages, such as the ability to arrange the movement of the technique if it¡¯s manually executed, or the ability to use a technique that you originally haven¡¯t mastered yet as long as you remembered the movements. However, some Skills have effects that can¡¯t be substituted by Arts.] With a thud, the stone statue knight landed in front of Rex and started running toward him. However, the expression on Rex¡¯s face didn¡¯t change at all, as he continued explaining about Skills¡­¡­ [The Skill I¡¯m going to show you now is one of those useful Skills. This is something like a Sub-Technique of ¡¯s Unique Skill: , and from what I know, it¡¯s the most user-friendly Counter Skill. Its name¡­¡­] Finally, the knight came within before Rex¡¯s eyes, and just as the knight¡¯s halberd strike was about to reach Rex¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-!] The next moment, Rex suddenly appeared behind the knight. [Eh¡­¡­?] It wasn¡¯t a matter of quickly moving behind the knight¡¯s back or anything of that level. The moment I thought the knight¡¯s attack had hit him, Rex¡¯s figure was gone and his body suddenly moved behind the knight. The knight completely lost sight of Rex for that moment, and just as Rex pulled back his right arm¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-!] As a thunderous roar resounded, as if metal had been pierced with great force, the knight¡¯s body was blown away, tumbling on the ground. The fact that this was the result of a palm strike from Rex, who was behind it, was something I realized after the blown away knight fell to the ground about 2 meters away. [That just now¡­¡­] When I asked in a hoarse voice, Rex simply answered. [The earlier one was a Skill that can be acquired from the Class: , . The moment you are hit by an attack, you can instantly move behind the attacker. It¡¯s difficult to use, but it¡¯s powerful. The next move I used was , a Skill acquired from the Class: . It¡¯s not very powerful, but its attack channeling speed and knockback distance are excellent. This is the first time I¡¯ve used these in this trial, but I guess these can be useful.] Rex happily smiled as he said this. Thereupon, I noticed something even more unusual. [Arehh? The knight¡­¡­ isn¡¯t getting up?] The knight who was hit from behind by Rex¡¯s offensive skill and blown away is still lying on the ground, and has stopped moving. There¡¯s no way that attack could have dealt a fatal injury, as Rex has said earlier that the Skill wasn¡¯t very powerful, so this situation doesn¡¯t feel right. "" [Yeah. When they¡¯re moved out of the trial room, they end up standing still for some reason. If you pull them to the very edge and then push them out of the corridor, you can neutralize them for the duration of the trial.] [So that¡¯s how it is¡­¡­] I couldn¡¯t wrap my head around all these surprises. Even the question of where he had gotten this information hasn¡¯t crossed my mind, making me think that it¡¯s too late to ask that now. Rex takes his eyes off the motionless stone statue knight, who has fallen to the ground, and returns his gaze to the goal of the trial. [The other one can also be dealt with by using and , but that¡¯s not very artistic now, right?] Rex then exaggeratedly flicks the magatama to his left hand, and for the first time, pulls out a weapon from his inventory and holds it in his right hand. In his hand though was an Iron Sword, his weakest weapon. Wondering what he was gonna do with a weapon like that, Rex, holding his weapon at the ready, lowered his posture¡­¡­ [Take a good look, Radd. This is the ¡°other solution¡±!] With such a proclamation, he fiercely pushed forward to the end of the passageway, swinging his sword. (¡ª¡ª¡ª-Fast!) Seeing that speed made me wide-eyed in surprise. If you just look at our ability values, Rex has an AGI stat of 200, while I have 238. I should have slightly higher AGI than him, but if I were to believe Rex¡¯s lecture from two months ago, the difference in AGI will only have a significant effect on a person¡¯s movement speed up to when they have 100 AGI. And if one reaches 150 AGI, your movement speed will be almost at the maximum, so I should be able to say that our conditions were practically the same. And yet¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C !] Rex weaves his speed-increasing Arts and runs through the passageway at a speed that would be unthinkable under normal circumstances, and one that I could never have achieved. His speed completely left behind the reaction capabilities of the stone statue at the back, which finally started to move¡­¡­ [And with this, goal!] Just as the other stone statue landed on the ground with a thud, Rex was already holding the magatama in his left hand over the pedestal. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [As I thought, Nii-san¡¯s Arts really are perverted.] [Why the heck can¡¯t you just honestly praise people¡­¡­] [Can you please not speak as if I¡¯m twisted? I would never say this to anyone other than Nii-san.] In front of Rex, who returned to the Central Room and exchanged banter with Resilia, my face stiffened. I was both admiring and jealous at the same time of Rex, who had easily cleared the trial that I had struggled so hard in. [How was it? Was it at least a little helpful?] [That is¡­¡­] And so, when Rex approached me with a smile, I couldn¡¯t help but sharply snap back at him. [Old man¡¯s technique certainly was amazing! However, something like that won¡¯t work in the ! What are you going to do then!?] I regretted reflexively getting belligerent at him. I wondered if my words had somewhat offended him, but for some reason, the one who awkwardly moved his gaze away was Rex. [Well, yeah, using the same method for the next trial is certainly not impossible, but it would be difficult¡­¡­ but.] When I raised my eyebrows at his strange, brusque words, Rex embarrassedly looked away and spoke. [There is, in fact, an easier way to clear this trial.] [¡­¡­Eh?] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù While Rex advanced down the passageway with a somewhat apologetic look on his face, the two stone statue knights close in with their weapons. Even from where I stand, I could see the heavy weight of the two statues¡¯ halberds. If you get hit by such a thing, you will not get away with just a few bruises. Well, that¡¯s what I thought¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Seriously¡­¡­] Even when the two halberds were about to hit him, Rex didn¡¯t move. With only that apologetic expression on his face, he kept walking as if the knights hadn¡¯t attacked him. Naturally, the knights¡¯ pursuing attack struck his back, but the result was still the same. Seeing this sight reminded me of Rex¡¯s earlier words. [The surefire winning strategy is this.] I¡¯ll never forget what Rex pulled out of his bag as he said this. The item that allowed us to clear the dungeon which brought about our impressive debut in Frelia, . . [The only condition for the magatama to break is that the person holding the magatama is just to have received damage. Therefore, if it¡¯s only the barrier of the that has received damage, the magatama will not be broken.] I understood the logic behind this. However, it¡¯s strange how this barrier ended up being the winning strategy. [However, the problem is that that thing has a durability limit, right? A barrier like that would break in a heartbeat¡­¡­ Ah.] [It seems you¡¯ve also realized it. The barrier would usually be broken with a single attack. However, the enemies here only have 1 ATK. That¡¯s why¡­¡­] [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-¡°As long as he has that ring equipped, their attacks will never reach him¡± huh.] I repeated the line that Rex spoke earlier. In the room of the , the events went exactly as Rex said. The four knights desperately attacked Rex, but their extremely poor attacks never got past Rex¡¯s barrier. As if he was treading through an empty field, Rex advanced through the trial room with ease, and with that apologetic look on his face, he easily held the magatama over the pedestal. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù When I saw Rex return after completing the trial, that flutter I had in my heart wasn¡¯t here anymore. Seeing the earlier scene was just too much for me, and the envy I had earlier flew away. [¡­¡­Geez. No matter where it is, the old man will be the same.] [The heck is with that.] We exchanged the usual banters. This time though, I feel myself smiling naturally. (Come to think of it, it certainly has always been like this. I was attracted by this part of Master.) He would do unimaginable things, blowing away people¡¯s expectations and common sense. I finally remembered that this was the true nature of the Hero I admired so much. [But well, if this is the case, the final trial would be as good as finished huh.] It¡¯s true that the ¡°Dragon¡¯s Path¡± is troublesome, but without that knight¡¯s interference, it would be nothing more than a troublesome obstacle. It would take some time, but you would certainly be able to clear it with this. [¡­¡­No.] However, Rex shook his head at my words. [Only for the final trial that the will be useless.] [Eh? W- Why¡­¡­] [If you had seen what it¡¯s like with , you would understand. Only that one in the final trial is different from the other stone statues. It has nearly 200 STR, and it has a powerful weapon. If you get hit by its attack, a barrier on the level of will be broken in an instant.] [Then¡­¡­ What are you going to do?] As I was feeling bewildered by the sudden fact, Rex gave me a reliable smile. [I told you it would be fine. What do you think is the purpose of showing that technique back in the first trial?] [Ah¡­¡­] Now that he mentioned it, that certainly is the case. If he could have gotten through the trial with just the Barrier Ring, he wouldn¡¯t have bothered using his skills there. [From here on out, make sure you won¡¯t blink. Watch me carefully.] After saying this, Rex stood in front of the door of the without hesitation, and held up the magatama in his right hand. The huge door opens little by little, and from behind it, the final and most difficult trial is revealed in all its majesty. [I¡¯ve always been weak with narrow paths. That¡¯s why, I¡¯m going to take a short cut.] Saying this, Rex held out a in his left hand. He then casually pointed it at the pedestal in the back and pulled the trigger. (He¡¯s going to distract it with a decoy? However, what would doing that¡­¡­) Leaving me puzzled, a decoy in the shape of Rex was generated just in front of the goal pedestal. And then, right after that¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªDodon! With a dull thud of dropping stone, the stone statue knight descended to the central scaffold. (I see!) The decoy was created at the back, not to attract the attention of the enemy, but to fulfill the condition for the knight¡¯s appearance and make it spawn in the central scaffold. Thereupon, the spawned knight targeted not the decoy in the back, but Rex who was holding the magatama, widely brandishing its spear. Rex, on the other hand, is completely unarmed, not holding a stance and had even put away the decoy gun he was holding in his left hand. At first glance, the situation appears hopeless. However, just as the spear thrown by the knight seemed to have caught Rex¡¯s body¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª!] Rex¡¯s image flies behind the knight. This is the strategy Rex has set up. By daring to spawn the knight early and induce it to throw its spear, he makes a shortcut toward the halfway point of the Dragon¡¯s Path. And when he arrives behind the stone knight, he would of course use¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª!] Immediately after, a flash and a thunderous roar resounded. An offensive skill with a high knockback performance bursts into the back of the stone statue knight! ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CIt¡¯s true that these stone statue knights have infinite VIT and can¡¯t be defeated by ordinary means. However, that is only if the battlefield is a mere room. No matter how much VIT they have, what will happen if they are knocked down into the bottomless abyss? The answer to this question was about to be demonstrated by the Hero. The knight who was struck in the back, defenseless, who was just pitching forward immediately after throwing its spear, was helplessly blown away¡­¡­ [Wha!?] I was instinctively surprised. A normal knight just like those in the first two trials would have been pushed into the abyss no matter what. However, this knight was able to brace itself and stay on its feet at the last moment. Showing its determination as a Boss monster, it stuck its foot on the edge of the circular foothold. However, its stance was already broken, and half of its body was leaning forward into the abyss. It¡¯s obvious that with just a little more, just one more push, that thing can be pushed out of the scaffold. [Go, finish it off, Master!!!] Before I knew it, all my doubts and fears, everything I held in my heart had been forgotten and I found myself shouting towards Rex. Whether it¡¯s my lack of ability or the outburst of anger I had, just at this moment, I¡¯ll let it all go. Showing me exciting new scenes, sights no one has ever seen, I shouted. Then when I moved my gaze up, the sight I saw in front of my eyes¡­¡­ There was Rex, completely off balance from the recoil of his own skill, he was about to fall off the Dragon¡¯s Path. [¡­¡­Eh?] Of course, even if he¡¯s a Hero who has vast amounts of experience, there¡¯s no technique that would allow him to return his body that had already been flipped mid-air back to the ground¡­¡­ [U- Uwaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!] And there, while Resilia and I attentively watched over him, Rex fluttered his limbs as he fell into the abyss. CH 65 [¡­¡­That last skill was unnecessary.] Thereupon, Rex, who fell just short of completing the , said somewhat refreshed. [I forgot that unlike Arts, there¡¯s this stiffness after the activation of Skills.] Sitting on the ground where he had been teleported, he said, ¡°I knew it would be a bad idea to swerve away from the walkthrough chart on a whim¡±, and chuckled. His attitude with the earlier events though, acting as if nothing had happened, made my heart falter for some reason. [¡­¡­Aren¡¯t you frustrated?] When I reflexively asked him that, Rex looked at me with a face that seemed to say I asked him something unexpected. I couldn¡¯t help being irritated with him playing dumb with what I meant. [If it¡¯s ability, you definitely should have enough of that! And yet, the way it ended, aren¡¯t you frustrated, Old man!?] After Rex¡¯s eyes widened at my words, he opened his mouth to say something¡­¡­ but in the end, he swallowed his words and shook his head. [Even I would like to try again if I could.] [In that case¡­¡­!] Bracing myself for his next words, Rex just shook his head once again. [But unfortunately, I have a meeting with the Guild. That¡¯s why, regardless of what I think, time¡¯s up for me.] [No way¡­¡­] ¡°You can just leave that aside and try again¡±¡­¡­ were words that I couldn¡¯t say here. Unlike me, Rex is an important person for the Guild. If Rex¡¯s knowledge is widely spread among Adventurers, the world will drastically change. That change his knowledge brings is probably more important than his personal activities as an Adventurer. Even I know that much. I know that but¡­¡­! [And so, I¡¯m going back to the town, but what about you two?] [I¡¯m going back, of course. I don¡¯t think I need the Class.] After Resilia answered without a pause, a silent question pierced through me. [I will¡­¡­] If it¡¯s this trial, it¡¯s not that I need to stay for it today. I can do it anytime, tomorrow or even the day after that. There¡¯s no point in being stubborn here. However¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Then, how about you stay here for a while, Radd?] [Eh?] When I hesitated to answer, Rex suggested so. I was shaken because he had seen through me, but Rex¡¯s eyes just gently looked at me. [If you¡¯re bothered about something, don¡¯t hesitate to do it until you¡¯re satisfied. I¡¯d be happy if you complete the for me.] [Something Old man can¡¯t do, I will¡­¡­] I never looked at it that way. However¡­¡­ As soon as I heard that suggestion, I subconsciously clenched my fists. [¡­¡­It seems like you got your answer.] I think Rex knew what was going through my mind. However, that didn¡¯t feel bad at all. Looking at me as if he were looking at something bright, Rex suddenly gave a wry smile. And then, after Resilia and he quickly finished getting ready to go back¡­¡­ [Don¡¯t forget to take a break and do your best without overdoing it. Other than that¡­¡­ Let¡¯s see¡­¡­] As we were about to part ways, seemingly as if he just remembered something before he left the temple, he looked at me and spoke. [If¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [D*mn it!] I don¡¯t know how many times I¡¯ve failed. I¡¯m on the floor, staring hatefully at the ceiling and swearing for what felt like the umpteenth time. [Why!? Why can¡¯t I escape from that thing!?] Since I had learned to use after watching Rex¡¯s playthrough, I no longer failed in the first and second trials. But even after dozens of attempts, I still couldn¡¯t reach the pedestal at the back of the room, having lost against that last stone statue knight. [No matter how you look at it, this is just too difficult.] The foothold was so narrow that it was impossible to evade or even step forward to attack. And yet, even though that special stone statue knight is similar to the knights in the previous trials in terms of attack patterns, it¡¯s more skillful and stronger. [With that thing around, clearing through this thing is¡­¡­] ¡°¡ª-impossible¡±, is what I¡¯d like to say, but I just bit my lips close, holding myself back from saying it. When I say that word out loud, it would really make me feel like it¡¯s all over. (¡­¡­Did Master know this was going to happen to me from the beginning?) Rex¡¯s final words just before we parted ways came back to my mind. I had not yet clearly realized how difficult it would be to overcome this trial, in which even Rex had failed, so I listened to his words absentmindedly. With a wry smile on his face, Rex said this. <¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThe reason why you came here for.> [Even if you asked me what I came here for¡­¡­] I was just following Rex¡¯s lead. If I had to say one, it would be that ¡°it was because it was hard to train back in the town¡±. Or perhaps, if it¡¯s a more direct goal, it would be ¡°to gain the Class¡±. [Hmmm?] For some reason, those answers don¡¯t really seem to fit. (Shouldn¡¯t the answer be simpler?) If I think about this without all the unnecessary details and other people¡¯s intentions, then what is it that I¡¯m here for? The answer came easily when I stripped away all the unnecessary thoughts. [¡­¡­It¡¯s for me to become stronger.] I was shocked by the words that I myself had spoken. Springing up my feet, I raised my body up. This certainly is the case. How could I have forgotten? I came here to become strong. And yet, what is it that I¡¯ve been doing all this time? In the , I avoided fighting with the strong enemies, the stone statue knights, just to clear the trial. In the , I gave up even trying to be creative, and just left it to luck and hope that I would pass the trial. What about these last few runs? I just copied Rex¡¯s strategy, took the easy way out, and then complained and whined when I failed only a dozen times. [This isn¡¯t right! All of this just isn¡¯t right!] When did I become such a soft and rotten person? Now I understand. The reason why I felt so frustrated when I saw Rex not being disappointed in his failures was that I wanted him to always be the cool guy I admired, the guy who never gave up until he overcame all obstacles. [What the heck. I¡¯m demanding other people to be like this when I¡¯m like this¡­¡­.] I didn¡¯t want to be someone who just admired the Hero. I wanted to be the Hero myself¡­¡­! I stood up and slapped my cheeks, psyching myself up. The intense pain helped to clear my head a little. [Not yet, this isn¡¯t the end! I¡¯m just getting started!] I can regret as much as I want later. For now, I just needed to keep pushing forward. And the path for my advance forward had already been shown to me way earlier. (Rex¡­¡­ Master really knows everything¡­¡­) Pushed by the passion gushing up from my back, I retrieved the magatama and firmly holding my sword and shield, I stepped into the . ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù (One, two, three¡­¡­ One, two, three¡­¡­) Counting the beats, I danced with the stone statue knights. It¡¯s a dance in the midst of a dangerous battle, responding to my partner¡¯s halberd with my sword and shield. (I¡¯m finally getting the hang of it!) I have lost hundreds of times since I took off the and stopped running away from the stone statues. When I took off the ring which allowed me to easily pass through the , let alone reach it, I couldn¡¯t even escape from the first stone statue of the , and my magatama was broken over and over again. I felt so pathetic. I felt so miserable and frustrated many times. However, I never ran away. That is my true ability right at this moment. I realized that this was the ¡°right path¡± that Rex had shown me. I understand now. The true intentions of this trial and Rex¡¯s reason for bringing me here. (These stone statues are ¡°teaching aids¡± to beat that knight in the last trial.) The final knight was so strong that I couldn¡¯t even fight it properly. However, after being dropped into the abyss again and again, I realized something. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThat knight certainly is strong, but its strength is ¡°just an extension of the stone statue knights in the previous trials¡±. I became spoiled, and when I was confronted by that stone statue knight in the final trial, I just sulked and complained, saying ¡°I can¡¯t win if I suddenly needed to fight a guy like that¡±. However, it was the opposite. It was I myself who had made that trial unattainable by failing to prepare to fight against it. The knight was certainly a formidable opponent, and I felt I was no match for him. However, imagine this. What if Rex hadn¡¯t rushed into the fight at that moment, but had followed the Dragon¡¯s Path and confronted the knight near the central scaffold? It may be a meaningless question to ask now. But if that had happened, Rex would definitely not have lost even to that knight. Looking back, Rex had ¡°stopped¡± to fight with the knights of the for a long time. He only moved forward to close the distance when he blew away his opponent, but he didn¡¯t move his feet during the entire exchange of blows. The sign by the gate of the said it. ¡°Show your Courage, Offer to me the Perfect Key¡±. I had been mistaken about this from the start. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThis wasn¡¯t a trial to ¡°escape from the knight¡±. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CIt was a trial to hone my strength and ¡°defeat the knight¡±! After realizing this, I carefully faced the trials in order, starting with the . What I kept in mind wasn¡¯t to rely on luck or flukes. Rather than trying to break through, I should put more emphasis on developing my ability. Strangely enough, as soon as I made such a decision and began to fight, I began to understand, albeit somewhat, how to fight the knights, which I had thought to be hopeless. The important thing isn¡¯t to stick to a pattern. It¡¯s to connect my actions to the next without pause. No matter how unsightly I might end up, I should just keep on fighting. I had already lost all sense of time, and since the light from outside didn¡¯t reach inside the temple, I couldn¡¯t even tell what time it was now. Still, after following Rex¡¯s advice to take breaks, eat and spend all other time fighting the knights, I was finally able to apply my techniques against a single knight. Of course, I¡¯m still not in Rex¡¯s realm. Fighting two knights is far from having God-like techniques, and I was still too caught up in dealing with just one knight. The Arts I use to offset the enemy attacks are clumsy and awkward, with no regard for the power of the technique. The only techniques I can use to blow them away are which I had learned beforehand and one other technique I learned to use by imitation. I still haven¡¯t studied under the Class , so I naturally couldn¡¯t use the that Rex used as a decisive move. "" But even so¡­¡­ I feel like I have finally reached the starting line. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C !] With a scream filled with my determination, the knight in front of me was blown away. Looking at the stone statue that was thrown out of the trial area and stopped moving, I slightly nodded. [¡­¡­Time to advance.] This is the beginning of the true trials. And it¡¯s time for my revenge against that knight! ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù After that, in what felt like a really, really long time¡­¡­ While I was so focused that my sense of time had faded, and I no longer knew how many times had passed since then¡­¡­ As I looked at the spear wielded by the large knight in front of me, I knew clearly that now was the moment of truth. Stamping my feet on the Dragon¡¯s Path, which I couldn¡¯t even walk on, I used the Arts expecting my defeat. [!!!] While it felt like my nerves were being grinded, the battle continued. If I lower my guard for even a moment, I will lose this battle, but I could feel my sword driving the opponent back little by little. And then¡­¡­ (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-It¡¯s here!!!) The stone statue knight¡¯s spear glowed an ominous red. The red aura is a sign of the use of a powerful technique. The enemy¡¯s powerful techniques aren¡¯t abilities that can be offset even by Arts. It¡¯s either you thwart them before they attack or avoid it somehow. However, I¡¯m currently in the Dragon¡¯s Path. Evasion is impossible for my current situation, so the only way out is to move forward. [Uwoooooooooh!!!] On an unstable foothold, in a situation where I would fall if I failed, I stepped my right foot forward! If I couldn¡¯t beat it, it would be the end of the run anyway! In that case, I have no choice but to take this chance! [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C !] Just before the knight¡¯s technique was about to go off, I stepped forward and delivered the strike I had been holding in reserve for this moment, driving it right into its chest¡­¡­ [Ah¡­¡­] The knight¡¯s legs finally lose their footing and its huge body is sucked into the abyss! Thereupon, the knight¡¯s figure quickly disappeared from sight. In the suddenly quiet room, I just stood there, stunned. After a few seconds, I finally came to my senses. (Not yet. It¡¯s still not time to cheer. I still haven¡¯t reached the goal yet!) I had eliminated what I thought was the biggest obstacle of the trial. However, I wouldn¡¯t know if there were still traps from here on out. Curbing the enthusiasm welling up from within me, I cautiously continued down the Dragon¡¯s Path. However, despite my vigilance¡­¡­ I was able to walk right up to the pedestal without incident. [Ha¡­¡­ Hahaha. I¡­¡­ did it.] With trembling hands, I picked up the magatama that was hanging around my neck. The feeling of accomplishment that surged through me was incomparable to what I felt when I first cleared the and . Thinking of all the hard work I had expected up to this point, my eyes were burning with excitement. Firmly clasping the magatama in my right hand, I spoke to the Hero whose name I didn¡¯t know. [¡­¡­I don¡¯t know anything about you. However, I, we will inherit your power and will. So, rest easy and go to sleep.] Then, in the end¡­¡­ As if to pray to someone¡­¡­ Feeling reluctant to part with the long battle I had¡­¡­ With all my heart, I put the magatama in my right hand to the pedestal. Thereupon, the magatama that dwells two flames within it glittered under the light of the temple¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Eh?] Even after seconds, dozens of seconds pass, nothing happened. [What does this mean?] I showed my courage by defeating the knight, and arriving in the deepest part of the Dragon¡¯s Path, I offered the perfected magatama. I did nothing wrong in the procedures. I shouldn¡¯t have done anything wrong¡­¡­ And yet, no matter whether I moved the magatama around, attached it to the dragon sculpture on the pedestal, or hit it against the pedestal, there was no reaction. (¡­¡­Why is this happening?) This happening is strange, right? If the pattern were the same as before, I could just hold the magatama over the pedestal at the far end of the trial and¡­¡­ (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªNo, wait. What the heck is this?) At that moment, my heart froze as a bad premonition crept into my mind, as if a chilly hand grasped the back of my neck. There, I finally realized. The pedestal that I had thought was the goal¡­¡­ I had subconsciously thought this would also be this trial¡¯s goal, but it had a different shape from the one in the central room and the ones in the first and second trials. First of all, the size of this pedestal is different. The pedestals used for the earlier goals weren¡¯t this wide. The decoration was also different. The base used for the goal had a more elaborate pattern. Even the materials used are different. It was so different that I¡¯m now finding it difficult to find how exactly this thing is similar to the previous pedestals. However, that brings up a new question. This pedestal is completely different from the pedestals that had been used as goals of the previous trials. Even though it¡¯s so different¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CHow could I have thought that this pedestal was ¡°familiar¡±? My thoughts felt like they¡¯re sinking into a bottomless swamp. But then, as if to cut off those thoughts in an instant¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CDodon!!! Behind me, a heavy sound resounded. [Eh¡­¡­?] My mind went black. I have to turn around right now. My reason was telling me that, but my body won¡¯t move. [How did this¡­¡­] I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on anymore. What did I do wrong? Where did I go wrong? My heart filled with a plea to get me out of this situation, I slowly turned around. And there, the last thing I saw was a large stone statue of a knight standing still, posed as if it just threw a projectile. [¡­¡­Ah.] And a huge stone spear, drawing near my face. CH 66 We were almost at the town of Frelia, when I looked back and squinted. (Radd should have made it to the pedestal at the far end of the room by now.) In the end, I regretted a little that I didn¡¯t give Radd more advice. I was originally planning to give him a little more advice, but when I tried looking at his direction even a bit¡­¡­ [Nii-san, stop having your gaze loiter around.] ¡ª¡ª¡ªMy scary little sister would throw out her complaints, so it can¡¯t be helped. Well, Resilia herself knew that there was that guy who teaches well, and more than anything else, with Radd¡¯s eagerness to improve, he would get stronger on his own. Heck, it¡¯s me who has to work even harder so that he doesn¡¯t overtake me too soon. [¡­¡­Even so, that was a little surprising.] As I was walking while thinking about such things, Resilia, who was walking next to me, calmly spoke. [Surprising? What is?] [That Nii-san would round up and leave the trial halfway through. If it¡¯s Nii-san, I thought that even if you have to rush full speed on the way back, you would force yourself to make time to try the trial again.] "" I was wondering what kind of image she had of me to think like that, but well, I couldn¡¯t exactly deny her words. But for just this one time, her guess is quite off. [I don¡¯t have to do that. Errr¡­¡­] Looking around, I happened to catch sight of a group of alchemical materials, commonly called ¡°Magic Flowers¡±, growing on a nearby hill. It¡¯s a good place to earn me some coins. [Let¡¯s take a small detour.] Saying this, I ran toward the field of Magic Flowers. If it had been the me in the past, I would have used to look for a harvesting point in advance, but I don¡¯t even need to do that now. As I step into the middle of the flower garden, I raise my left hand high in the air and declared. [¡ª¡ª¡ª-Harvest!] Thereupon, white light floated up from various flowers and was absorbed into my left hand. [Wha¡­¡­] The light that flew towards my left hand from all the harvesting points within a few meters radius around me, and in just a few seconds, was all the flowers that could be collected, absorbed into my inventory. Ahh, incidentally, even if I were to uproot them, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry, since they will grow back with the magical power of fantasy. [W- What is that?] [You can already guess what it is, right? It¡¯s the effect of the ¡¯s Skill, .] I said with a grin. ¡­¡­Yes. My current Class isn¡¯t anymore. I had Class Changed to . [Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡­] It seems that Resilia had also realized it. [In that case, Nii-san! You already went to that temple and completed the trial beforehand!] [Eh¡­¡­?] Receiving an answer that I didn¡¯t expect, I hurriedly explained it to Resilia, who had been awkwardly looking at me. [No, that isn¡¯t it! I became a during that challenge before we left.] [But at that time, you fell in the middle of the , didn¡¯t you?] [No. At that time, I did go to the far end¡­¡­ No, I had touched the end goal of the trial.] As it seemed like Resilia still doesn¡¯t have a clear idea of what I¡¯m talking about, I asked her a question. [Do you remember the text that was written in front of the door of the , Resilia?] [As I recall, it reads ¡°Show your Courage, Offer to me the Perfect Key¡±.] [Correct. Then, what was our purpose for going there in the first place?] [That is, to get the Class, right?] She was looking at me with a gaze that seemed to ask if I¡¯m making a fool of her or not, but I didn¡¯t get discouraged and asked her just one more question. [Then, how do you usually get a new Class?] [If you find the ¡°Heroic Statue¡± of the Class you want to become, you touch the statue, and when you meet the requirements, your body will light up¡­¡­ Ahh, I see.] Resilia¡¯s voice changed from doubt to understanding halfway through her words. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThe stone statue that appeared in the , the only statue in that place holding a spear and a sword, has the likeness of a Hero. In other words, that was the .] I nodded in agreement with Resilia¡¯s words of understanding. The sword-spear dual wielding is a characteristic of the before his death. If you had some information about the Hero, seeing that statue would have given you a big clue. [Even if you don¡¯t know anything about him, you would find out about the statue¡¯s name when you try to use on it. Ah, by the way, that¡¯s also the reason why the last statue is the only one that doesn¡¯t have 1 STR.] The Status of a Class Change Statue has the ¡°ability values required to change to that Class¡±. And so, while the statues that appeared in the previous trials were extreme opponents with 1 ATK and 999 DEF, while only the last statue has a Status within common sense. And once you know about that, there¡¯s nothing difficult about it then. [Then, the words ¡°Show your Courage, Offer to me the Perfect Key¡± is¡­¡­] [Yeah. The last thing you need to do is to approach the that falls in the middle of the trial and touch it with your hand holding the magatama.] The last time I used the against the statue, I wasn¡¯t trying to knock it back and send it down the abyss. I was just thinking it would be best to use that skill to get my right hand holding the magatama to touch the stone statue the quickest. ¡­¡­Well, I haven¡¯t really thought about what would happen after I touched it, which is why I fell right after I accomplished my goal in the trial. But there, Resilia furrowed her brow, seemingly having thought of something. [However, please wait. If that¡¯s the case, then what about that pedestal at the far end of the room? Wasn¡¯t there a pedestal at the end of the Dragon¡¯s Path?] That is certainly the most tricky point of that trial. However, that too can be understood if you observed the pedestal properly. [That pedestal is different in design from the pedestals placed at the goal of the previous trials. It¡¯s just, that isn¡¯t the only thing that is unlike the other trials.] [What do you mean?] [There¡¯s that, you know? Dozens of designs were in place in both the and . There are those pedestals where the stone statue is placed on both sides of the passage of the trials.] And since there¡¯s no way to be sure, this would just be my guess, but I¡¯m sure that when the door to the is closed, that would just be standing properly at the ¡°end of the Dragon¡¯s Path¡±¡­¡­ That is, on the pedestal at the far end of the room, waiting for the challenger. Then, when it sees that the has been cleared, it would hastily hide behind the ceiling with magic and wait in standby, which makes me think of the statue as some sort of moe character waiting for that person to clear its trial. [¡­¡­Well, there are other minor hints here and there, but that¡¯s about it with the trials¡¯ tricks.] After hearing all my explanations, Resilia loudly sighed. [That is¡­¡­ is quite nasty.] She said with a frown. [It¡¯s a trial created by a . That¡¯s just the way it is.] Upon my words, Resilia shook her head. [The trial certainly is, but I¡¯m also referring to Nii-san. Did you think it¡¯s alright not to tell Radd about this?] [Well, I was on the fence about whether I should tell him about this or not.] When Radd pressed me to see if I wasn¡¯t frustrated, for a moment, I thought of answering honestly that ¡°I¡¯ve already completed the trial¡±. But in the end, I decided not to say it. [I¡¯ve already given him enough clues, and it¡¯s better for him if he were to solve something like that himself. Besides¡ª¡ª¡ª] [Besides?] At the quizzical look Resilia has on her face, I put on a 100% pure smile¡­¡­ "" [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-I spent two hours trying to solve that riddle when I saw it for the first time. I would be frustrated if he were to solve it that easily!] I blurted out my true thoughts. Incidentally, after that¡­¡­ Radd, whose linguistic capabilities lagged because of anger, stormed into my room, shouting ¡°You b*stard! You b*stard!!!¡±, twelve hours after we left him at that temple. CH 67 That day, I was greeted by a training ground filled with more people than ever before. [Oh, here he is! It¡¯s Rex!] [Idiot! Bow down that large forehead of yours!] [This way! Please give us your guidance!] I couldn¡¯t help but facepalm at their enthusiasm. (D*mn it, it really went just as I thought!) In the past, Nirva¡¯s comment had brought a flood of Adventurers to the training grounds, but the number of Adventurers this time had exceeded even that. The only reason for such a ruckus is definitely that. The ¡°Adventurers Correspondence¡±, a newsletter published by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, had taken the liberty of making a report about me. (Verteran, you b*stard! I¡¯ll never forget this!) If this was in modern Japan, I would have shouted ¡°I¡¯ll sue you and win my case!¡±, but it would be unreasonable to expect privacy or compliance in this loosely pseudo-medieval world. (Well, since I was able to get them to reserve a time where I would teach them Manual Arts, I was able to pull myself out of the situation where they¡¯ll haunt me more than necessary for the rest of the time, so I can only think of this as a step forward.) With a sigh, I strode willingly toward the group of Adventurers calling out to me in their hoarse voices. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù After giving a light lecture, or rather, a cautionary tale to the entire group, the staff and I split up to take a look around. As I was giving some people some advice and giving light demonstrations, I spotted a familiar face in the training area. I walked up to him and called out. [You¡¯ve also come today huh. Is it really okay for you, the party leader, to leave your party so often?] The handsome swordsman looked back at me and chuckled at my words. [I have a day off today, and besides, you yourself know it. There¡¯s a couple in my party who are, ummm, too close with each other. When those two make that pink space around them, I really feel out of place.] [Ahhh. By the way¡­¡­] He once asked for some light advice about his party members. That problem seems to have been resolved but¡­¡­ [The two of them have been supporting each other for a while now, and they take your party¡¯s adventures very seriously, so it¡¯s all good, you know?] He scratched his cheek, looking troubled. The problem, apparently, is that them being too close with each other is also a problem. Thinking about how people have happy troubles in life, I shrugged my shoulders. [Rather than that, since there¡¯s an opportunity, please teach me properly. For me, a Magic Swordsman, Manual Arts is something indispensable.] Giving me a friendly smile, he said something like that. Indeed, his stats show that he¡¯s an all-rounder warrior. His attack power is somewhat lacking, but he has more MP than a normal warrior, so he can unleash his Arts repeatedly, and for the sake of mobility, it can be said that he¡¯s compatible with Manual Arts which allows him to use Arts while moving. [Though you said that, you¡¯ve already learned the forms, right?] [Even still, I don¡¯t know how well I¡¯m doing.] I used to think that Manual Arts could be used by anyone in this world as long as they realize that they could manually execute their Arts, and that they would develop on their own without anyone having to teach them. I still think that¡¯s true in one respect, but apparently, it¡¯s not that simple. I was playing in the Practice Mode, which is a game mode specialized for Arts Practice, with ¡°no MP consumption, no Arts Cool-Down Time, Arts Trajectory Assist, and Achievement Level Display after each Activation¡±. Conversely, when ordinary people in this world practice Manual Arts, they have to do it in a hellish environment where ¡°every time you use an Art, you consume MP, making use of the same Art takes time, you have to think about the trajectory of the Art by yourself, and even if the Art is activated, you can¡¯t really tell how successful it was¡±. [Frankly, I envy your disciples.] [Disciples?] [You know, I¡¯m talking about them. Radd-kun and Resilia-chan.] I¡¯d like to say that they aren¡¯t my disciples, but I don¡¯t really have to deny it. I shrugged my shoulders as usual and just let it go. [If it¡¯s you, you can judge the degree of perfection as an Art just by swinging without even activating the Art. With just that, I¡¯ll be able to learn Manual Arts many times faster than training by myself, and above all, I¡¯d appreciate it if you could demonstrate as an example.] [A demonstration huh¡­¡­ You could just try using it in Auto Arts for that.] When I said that with a laugh, he shook his head. [I¡¯ve realized this after attending your classes several times. ¡°If you swing the sword in the same way as when you used it in auto, it will be established as an Art¡± is a fact. However, your demonstrations are a little different from Auto Arts, and I think the way you do it leads to the ¡°correct answer¡± for Manual Arts.] ¡°Am I mistaken?¡±, his eyes seem to ask me that. [I think your disciples are doing well in their Arts. However, I think that¡¯s probably because they¡¯re following your example as their ¡°form¡±. However, you are different. Your skills aren¡¯t something I can understand. No, perhaps you may have mastered something like ¡°the feeling of Manual Arts correctly¡± that no one in this world could understand.] He has sharp eyes. The external explanation is that Manual Arts are ¡°activated by wielding the weapon in such a way as to reproduce the trajectory of the Arts¡±. That explanation isn¡¯t actually wrong, but it isn¡¯t exactly accurate. If you want to perfectly activate Manual Arts, you need to ¡°swing the sword as if you were swinging the controller to recognize the trajectory of the Arts¡±. And the only one who can understand such a thing is me, who knows that this world is a game. (With a situation like this, I may not be able to have free time for a while.) With these resigned thoughts in mind, I continued to perform his desired demonstrations of various Arts until the time for my instructions ended. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [I¡¯ll see you later. Make sure to get along with Grey and Zemyna, okay?] [Yeah. I¡¯ll come visit again.] I said goodbye to Bene, the Magic Swordsman, who waved his hand back to me with a refreshing smile. This ends my Manual Arts instructions, but it doesn¡¯t mean my job is over. "" [¡­¡­After this, I¡¯m going to the Arena for Aptitude and Status Appraisal.] As I strolled into the Arena, looking fed up with everything¡­¡­ [Good work, Nii-san.] [Resilia¡­¡­] I¡¯m not sure where she had been hiding until now, but Resilia appeared out of nowhere and started walking by my side as if it were a matter of course. I wonder if she¡¯s acting as my escort. Thinking that she was quite diligent, I just dismissed it as her acting like usual and we proceeded on our way to the Arena. [However, this is quite unexpected. I never thought Nii-san would actually take the Guild¡¯s request so seriously. I thought you would just throw it right away and go somewhere else.] [You think so? I can get paid without even stepping out of the city. If you just take out this unnecessary fame, this would have been my ideal life.] When I said this, for some reason, Resilia just astoundedly shook her head. [I can¡¯t believe the words Nii-san is saying. Nii-san may say that you think safety always comes first, but your actions so far have proven that you are an Adventurer at heart who likes to plunge yourself into danger. [You make it sound like I¡¯m a dangerous guy¡­¡­] When I voiced my dissatisfaction, Resilia gave me a cold gaze that seemed to ask me if I¡¯m not aware of it myself. I gently lowered my gaze. [¡­¡­Well, putting that aside, I¡¯ve explained this before. I¡¯m taking this job for a reason other than it being safe.] When Resilia tilted her head at my words, I answered. [¡­¡­It¡¯s to scout someone.] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [Okay, next person please¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª] Guided by the voice of the Guild Staff, a nervous-looking Adventurer steps forward. [I- I¡¯m in your care!] I gave him a noncommittal nod and activated Thereupon, while writing down his Status that I could see through on the paper in my hand¡­¡­ (His Affinity¡¯s total value is 19. His abilities are more like a warrior¡¯s, but his MND being unnecessarily high isn¡¯t quite ideal. ¡­¡­Hmmm, he¡¯s quite normal.) I make my comments in my mind in regards to the calculated Status. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThis is the reason why I had taken over this job. Teaching Manual Arts and examining a person¡¯s Affinities are both jobs that I do with Adventurers. In the process, I¡¯m able to identify capable Adventurers. My actions aren¡¯t something I can really admire from the standpoint of privacy and compliance, but I don¡¯t intend to abuse it, so I¡¯d like it if people would excuse me from all the complaints. (I was hoping to find someone with a promising future, but I can¡¯t seem to find one.) Radd¡¯s party, who are Semi-Unique Characters, all had a total of more than 21 Total Affinity Value, partly compensated for by the game. However, among the randomly generated Adventurers, it was rare to find one with more than 20 Total Affinity Values. No, there were a few Adventurers who had a total of 21 or 22, but unfortunately, they were all from high-level Adventurers. (The lower the level, the more efficient training them will be and the less solid their connection with others are, the easier it will be to scout them.) In that sense, I would say that Radd and his party are just perfect. (In any case, we¡¯re short of hands.) What I want isn¡¯t only manpower, but also collaborators. (¡­¡­I need some pawns.) The world is huge, especially since if we want to move to another area, it can suck up days or even weeks of our time. That¡¯s why, I need someone who can see what¡¯s going on in other areas and gather information on my behalf. As if she were my shadow, Resilia follows me everywhere I go. She knows my secrets, and she certainly is my best ally in this world. However, it isn¡¯t as if Resilia does what I tell her to do. For example, when I asked her to gather information on a neighboring area¡­¡­ [I understand what you¡¯re saying. ¡­¡­but I refuse.] She immediately rejected my suggestion without any hesitation at all. [I have no intention of parting ways with Nii-san. I have to protect Nii-san, no, Rex Nii-san¡¯s body.] When she said it like that, I couldn¡¯t say anything. Of course, if Resilia finds herself in a situation where ¡°she must do it no matter what¡±, she will act separately from me. However, as long as there¡¯s some leeway in the situation, she doesn¡¯t want to be separated from me, or rather, ¡°Rex¡¯s¡± body. (Haahhh¡­¡­ I wish I could find someone who would listen to anything I have to stay without prying into my secrets.) Even though I¡¯m the one thinking that way, I feel like thinking like that was the worst. Putting a stop to all the daydreaming, I put my attention back on the job in front of me. As I shook my head to shake off these stupid thoughts¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CI¡¯m Lily. Pleased to meet you.] A cool voice shook my eardrums. [Eh¡­¡­] I felt my heart beat strongly. The voice was filled with nervousness and trepidation, somehow inviting a sense of protectiveness from people. (Could it be¡­¡­) I raised my gaze¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-And there she stands, the embodiment of a man¡¯s ideals. Well-formed, but with a gentle beauty that would somehow make one feel affectionate. Long and lustrous hair, flowing down her back. Large, motherly breasts that were clearly visible even through her clothes. Modest, yet graceful figure with a dignified atmosphere. I don¡¯t even have to use to know it. I already knew her name, her Affinities, her Abilities, and everything about her. And the moment our eyes met¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª!] She smiled. A smile that is both angelic and demonic, a smile that seemed to invite a person down the abyss. (Ahhhh¡­¡­) This might have been the first time. The first time I thanked the God who sent me to this world. I slowly lowered my head. I can¡¯t let people see my face right now. After all¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-I found it. The best pawn.] I¡¯m sure there¡¯s definitely a very, very dark smile on my lips right now. CH 68 [¡­¡­Fuuuuu.] I take a deep breath and resume the breathing I had unconsciously stopped. Erasing the expression off my face, I pretended as if this would be just like usual. Fortunately, I know Lily¡¯s affinity values without having to confirm them. While pretending to do the calculations, I think about what I¡¯m going to do from here on out. Unlike Status, the Affinities of a person doesn¡¯t change. If this is the case, there¡¯s a high possibility that Lily will only attend this Affinity Appraisal this one time. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CI can¡¯t let her go at this moment! I quickly write down the numbers and letters as I remember them, trying not to let out the impatience welling up inside me. Then, just as I was about to hand it to Lily, who had come near me¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Ahh.] The paper slipped out of my hand, fluttering in front of Lily¡¯s eyes. After a moment¡¯s delay, the face of Lily, who reflexively bent down to pick up the paper, and my face, who hurriedly chased after the paper, came close to each other¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CI know your ¡°secret¡±.] ¡ª¡ª-and I whispered as such into Lily¡¯s ear. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù Without any unexpected events happening, I was able to finish my Affinity Appraisal job. Then, I persuaded a reluctant Resilia to ¡°leave me alone to verify an event¡±, and came to the front of a fine dining restaurant on the outskirts of Frelia. Convincing Resilia took an unexpectedly long time, but thanks to my hasty arrival, there was still some time before the appointed time I wrote on the Affinity Appraisal paper. As I was feeling relieved to see that the other party hadn¡¯t arrived yet¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Rex-san, right?] I heard a voice echo from the shadows of a building. I should have known it was indeed her, but the sight of her secretly made me breathless. [¡­¡­Lily Harmonix.] There stood the character, who for better or worse, had moved my heart the most in B&B. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù ¡¾Lily Harmonix¡¿ Initial Level: 5 Class: Bard Age: 19 years old Birthplace: Citadel Linesta And her specialty is¡­¡­ [Ummm¡­¡­ Isn¡¯t it about time you told me? What do you mean by you know my secret?] [Hmm? Ahh, my bad.] As I was once again recalling her data from my gaming days, Lily, who was sitting opposite me, complained to me anxiously, and I came to my senses. I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s something she could consciously do or not¡­¡­ However, even when I was being careful about it, when I saw the way she clenched her fists in a frightened manner, I naturally felt a desire ¡°to protect her¡±. Even me, who knows ¡°her¡± true nature feel that way, so I think B&B¡¯s development of Lily was quite well done. [¡­¡­First off, thanks for going out of your way to come here.] After meeting up with Lily, I told her that ¡°it¡¯s not something we should talk about here¡± and we moved to a private room in the restaurant. When a young woman is invited to a private room by a man she has almost never met before, their natural reaction would have been to become wary. I thought Lily would be reluctant to accept my invitation, but surprisingly, she readily agreed and went inside the restaurant. (No, but¡­¡­ I guess it may just be the way it goes.) There may have been a unique system in place in this world, where committing a crime isn¡¯t worth the risk, or it could be that there¡¯s a certain amount of trust in this restaurant, which was often used for meeting events by reputable people even in B&B. Or perhaps¡­¡­ Shaking my head, I shook off these thoughts and looked at Lily. (Indeed, I know Lily¡¯s ¡°best-kept¡± secret.) However, as to how I could make use of this secret in the most effective way, I scrutinized this cautiously. [Ummm¡­¡­?] Hearing Lily anxiously asked me again, I stopped thinking. The one with the overwhelming advantage in the current situation is me. There shouldn¡¯t be a problem if I play through this by the ear to some extent. [I can indeed see other people¡¯s Affinities with my , but in fact, I can see more than just that. I can also see other things.] [What do you mean?] Lily asked in a slightly hoarse voice. [Those words mean exactly what it means. I can see a lot of things with my . I can see a person¡¯s name, their Class, and techniques and magics they¡¯re good at.] I didn¡¯t miss the slight tremor in Lily¡¯s shoulders when I said the word ¡°magic¡±. [T- That is¡­¡­ Is that true?] Of course, I¡¯m lying. However, it was true that I knew what Lily was capable of. [I¡¯m not going to lie about this. To prove it, I guess I¡¯ll say what you¡¯re good at.] [Eh¡­¡­] Pretending not to notice Lily stiffening, I continued with a nonchalant expression on my face. [Lily Harmonix. Class: Bard. Your specialties are and . And also¡­¡­ .] As soon as I spoke those last few words, I could clearly see Lily¡¯s face stiffening. After a few moments of silence, Lily spoke with her trembling voice. [A- Are you going to turn me in to the town¡¯s guards then?] Lily¡¯s trembling voice sounded like she was really scared of me. (If this was an act, she really is quite remarkable¡­¡­) I spread my hands out in a deliberate attempt to reassure her and intentionally spoke in a laid-back manner. Concealing my true motives in mind¡­¡­ [Ahh, don¡¯t get me wrong. I¡¯m not trying to persecute you for it. Besides, although Dark Magic is frowned upon, it¡¯s not a crime to learn it. Well, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to use Sleep Magic or Confusion Magic on people though.] In this world where committing a crime isn¡¯t worth it, it can be said that if it¡¯s just limited to the crimes between humans, you can say that this world is a lot safer compared to Japan. But even if that were the case, there were still drunks who can¡¯t be helped with, and when you¡¯re tangled up with such people, you could get away with casting light Sleep or Confusion Magic. This is what ¡°Lily¡± herself said in the game. [I- I know it¡¯s not a good thing to do. However, for a woman traveling all on her own, there are some things you can¡¯t just get away with peacefully, so ummm¡­¡­] Lily was trying to desperately talk her way out of it, but I soothed her down. [Like I said, you don¡¯t have to worry about it. I¡¯m not trying to persecute you for it, but rather, the opposite.] [The opposite?] Lily looked puzzled. [I¡¯m not doing Affinity Appraisal just for the sake of others. By doing these appraisals, I could gather information on talented people. In other words¡­¡­] [You¡¯re scouting me?] She should have been quite dumbfounded by my earlier words, but as I had expected, she really is quite quick-witted. [H- However, I¡¯m not that good as an Adventurer, and even when it comes to fighting¡­¡­] I know that. What I need now is someone who can collect information in town. For that reason, what I need isn¡¯t combat power. It¡¯s a person¡¯s sociability skills. Their quick-wittedness. It would be even better if they have one of the ¡°tricks¡± to lighten the mouth of the informant when needed.] She seems surprised by my unexpected suggestion, but her responses seem to be more positive than I had imagined. Here, I gave her a little bit more push. [I know this is bad, but I did some research beforehand. With a personality that can¡¯t leave troubled people alone, everyone has a good reputation of you. This too is a rare talent.] Of course, I¡¯m just bluffing here. [That is¡­¡­ I- I¡¯m just being normal. The people I¡¯ve met have all been very nice¡­¡­.] However, my words seemed to be more effective than I thought, as Lily pressed her hands on her cheeks. [That¡¯s exactly why I want to ask Lili for this. For the sake of saving the world, will you lend me your strength?] [I- I¡­¡­] Lily showed signs of hesitation. Well, I guess that¡¯s to be expected. Lily, who is a ¡°thoroughly good person¡±, shouldn¡¯t be able to refuse this invitation without a reason. However, I slowed down my assault here. [Sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to trouble you. It isn¡¯t as if you need to make a decision here today.] [Eh¡­¡­] [You would need time to think and understand each other¡¯s intentions. ¡­¡­I was being too hasty. In any case, since we¡¯re in a very expensive restaurant, let¡¯s have some good food and alcohol.] I tried to say that, but I knew without even asking that putting aside the meals, she would probably refuse the alcohol. In worldviews with medieval settings, it¡¯s often the case that people can drink alcohol at a young age, but perhaps because the devs wanted to be seen as a company that endorses underage drinking, this world was just like Japan, as ¡°you have to be 20 years old to drink alcohol¡±. So, Lily would surely be apologetically declining my invitation for that, citing her age Well, that¡¯s what I thought¡­¡­ [Ummm, I usually refuse to drink alcohol because I¡¯m not old enough yet. However, the truth is I turned 20 a little while ago. That¡¯s why, if it¡¯s just a little bit¡­¡­] After some hesitation, Lily responded as such. [This would be your first drink then? Well, it¡¯s an honor then.] I grinned at her words, but I¡¯m inwardly seething with anger. "" (You f*cking liar! I know you¡¯re still nineteen!) In the first place, her event begins in which Lily brushes away a persistent male Adventurer who was making her drink, insisting that ¡°she¡¯s only 19 years old¡±. I heard that this random event will stop generating in the fourth month of in-game¡¯s second year, so my knowledge of the game proves that Lily is still 19 until then. I knew I shouldn¡¯t let this woman bother me, so I just ordered some of the dishes and alcohol I¡¯d seen in the game. As for the name of the dishes, they are all stuff that I have heard of in modern Japan, so I don¡¯t think these meals aren¡¯t much different from those. After finishing the order, I asked casually. [You¡¯re from Linesta, right, Lily? Do you have a family there?] [Yes. I heard that my parents used to travel around, but after I was born, they already have a store set up in Linesta. I¡¯m also thinking of going back home sometimes, but I enjoy traveling.] [I see. What about siblings? Do you have any?] [I don¡¯t have any. ¡­¡­Fufu. I wanted a kind older brother though.] The sidelong glance she made as she spoke words that seemed to insinuate something almost took my consciousness away. So that she wouldn¡¯t notice my thoughts though, I kept my sanity in check by clenching my fists and poking my fingernails into my palm. Lily isn¡¯t a very flashy-looking girl. Although she has a face that could be described as beautiful, most characters in fiction are beautiful. Compared to the most beautiful women, such as the , she even looks somewhat plain. Her clothes are neatly covered even around her neck, and together with her long skirt that reaches almost to her ankles, giving her a chaste atmosphere around her. Despite this, the reason why she is so eye-catching is probably because of her perfect manners. Her elegant and graceful mannerisms are somehow soft, inviting motherly and protective feelings at the same time. Her movements are calculated not to attract women¡¯s emotions though, but men¡¯s. Regrettable it may be, but I must also say that her breasts, which are so large and full that they would be unnatural for a game character, are also effective in attracting my gaze. If I let my guard down even a little bit, I would be lured into a deep rabbit hole from which I wouldn¡¯t be able to escape. As if to intensify her attacks, Lily leaned forward. [Even so, this indeed feels like a dream come true. Rex-san¡¯s name resounds even in other cities after all.] [Please stop with that. I¡¯m sick and tired of the fame that isn¡¯t suited for me. [Fufu. Isn¡¯t that fine? The fame makes you look even cooler. . I could even write a great poem with such a subject.] Wait a moment! Seriously, that¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve heard all that! [Please give me a break. That name is too heavy for me.] [I suppose that¡¯s something I can relate to a bit. I was teased a lot about my name when I was a kid. ¡­¡­However, I wouldn¡¯t have become the person I am today without this name, so I guess it was all for the best.] Those were just empty chatter, like playing into a charade. Though I say that, I couldn¡¯t deny that I was enjoying this exchange. (However, this is a good sign.) Lily is more eloquent than I¡¯ve ever seen in the game, and her demeanor shows that she was in a good mood. Perhaps, the emotions I could feel from her currently were just ¡°acting¡±, but I didn¡¯t care. Just now, she spilled out a ¡°piece of truth¡± that ¡°she¡± normally would never say. She must have thought I wouldn¡¯t be a problem if she just dropped this information, didn¡¯t she? She must have thought I wouldn¡¯t understand if she put it that way, didn¡¯t she? (With her like that, she had at least ¡°let her guard down¡±.) Lily must be distracted. She must have felt relieved that what I was holding was just ¡°her learning Dark Magic¡±, something that couldn¡¯t be fatal against her, and not ¡°a secret she really wanted to hide¡± that could potentially threaten her. What happens when you combine that situation with a bout of alcohol with someone who probably hasn¡¯t had drank it before? [Since we¡¯re at it, how about we have a toast?] Picking up a glass of wine that had just been served to us, I smiled towards Lily. Fortunately, I¡¯m a rather good drinker. Of course, I¡¯m not on the level that can be described as a heavy drinker, but I do know my limits as a member of society. If I can glimpse behind Lily¡¯s ¡°mask¡± even a little while being careful not to show any openings¡­¡­ (Perhaps, it won¡¯t be long before the decisive moment comes.) Covering up my innermost plans, I raised my glass to Lily. [To our future.] [C- Cheers.] Modestly extending her own glass towards the glass I held out to her, we lightly clinked our glasses. [Ah, it¡¯s delicious¡­¡­] Looking at Lily as she drank from her glass and her cheeks blushed red, I moved my wine glass towards my mouth, covering up the smile that was about to warp my face. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù It¡¯s scorching hot. Something stinging hot swirls about, rushing around like a whirlwind. Gorororo. Gorororo. The rumbling of the earth echoed around, curiously coming out from my ears and soaring to the heavens. My consciousness was caught in the air, flying in weightlessness, fleeting up to the empty skies. In the midst of all this, my mouth was the only one that asserted its presence. [Liiiiiiike I shaiiiid! I¡¯m a nwormal pershon! Not someshwing shtupid like a Hewo! Heeeey, you lishening, Lily! Lily-chaaaaaaaan!] Life feels so good. After all, the world is in space, and the space is¡­¡­ space? [R- Rex-san? Are you alright?] Ah, that¡¯s right. There exists within that space is a fairy. [Lily shuwe is cuuuuute! You¡¯re the cucheeeest in the woooorld! Jyapan¡¯s nyumbah one!!!] At my words, the nearby fairy whispers. [I- I understand. I understand already. That aside, can you walk, Rex-san?] [Can I walk? Cyyyaaaan I wa¡ª- wor¡ª¡ª wekk¡­¡­] I tried to step forward. However¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-There¡¯s a trap!!! "" The floor suddenly turned slushy like mud, making me slip off my foot. I¡¯m Rex, so of course, Rex knows all about traps. That¡¯s why, responding to it with the most obvious answer, I evaded the trap¡­¡­ [Boing?] My foot slipped and my legs swung to the side, but my falling head was caught by something soft. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªA slime? As my head flickered with the answer to my question, I reached out my hand and grasped the truth of the world. I should have grasped a very wonderful feeling just now, but it turned into a pink elephant and fluttering its ears, it flew away¡­¡­ [Rex-san! Your inn! Where¡¯s the inn where you¡¯re staying?] Inn? The elephant disappeared into the rainbow, and in its place came a beautiful fairy asking me something. In response to it, I¡­¡­ uhh¡­¡­ I should¡­¡­ uhhh¡­¡­ What am I doing again¡­¡­ There should be something¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­¡­¡­. ¡­¡­¡­ [Rex-san? Rex-san?] [Nhuah?] [We¡¯re here. Can you properly lay yourself down by yourself?] [I can still¡­¡­ Talk more with Lily¡­¡­] [Yes, yes. I¡¯ll lower your body now, okay?] Bomf, I felt myself sinking into softness. Sinking and sinking¡­¡­ The cold lake feels very comfortable~~ [¡­¡­Geez. What a helpless person.] At that moment, I felt something warm touch my cheek¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªGood night, Rex-san.] Before I could ascertain what that is, my consciousness¡­¡­ ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù Shuko, shuko. Shuko, shuko. Shuko, shuko. I was awakened by a strange sound echoing in a steady rhythm. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C!] As soon as I woke up, I felt a dull pain in my head and frowned at the stink of alcohol coming up from my body. (I see, I ended up getting smashed yesterday huh¡­¡­) As the memory of yesterday comes back to me, I cover my face with my hands. (I freaking blundered!) I was supposed to be looking for an opening, but I ended up exposing one. Still, I didn¡¯t say anything fatal¡­¡­ I think. I shouldn¡¯t have said anything like that, so it should be okay. Besides, just a few words. At a moment like this, I just want to say a few words. (You freaking Rex! Why the heck are you so weak to alcohol!!!?) Acting like a cool character, but seriously? You¡¯re weak to alcohol? Just after the first drink, I could already feel my consciousness turning dodgy. As I groaned at this unexpected blunder¡­¡­ Shuko, shuko. Shuko, shuko. Shuko, shu¡­¡­ The steady rhythm that I had been hearing all these time stopped. And then¡­¡­ [Hyihh!] My voice reflexively leaked out. She was there. In the midst of this dark room with no lights on for a long time, she had been sitting in the corner. [Resilia¡­¡­?] Within the dim room, Resilia¡¯s beautiful, too beautiful face turns around and catches me within her vision. And there, I noticed it. And at that moment, I realized something. The true identity of that sound that had been resounding in the room. That was the sound of Resilia¡­¡­ sharpening a knife. [¡­¡­Ahh. You¡¯re awake.] Her body swaying a bit, as if gliding through the darkness, Resilia rises to her feet. Incidentally, at that moment, the knife she was holding glints dully in the faint light. [R- Resilia? Y- You¡¯re mistaken. This isn¡¯t what it looks like¡­¡­] Even though I said that, I don¡¯t really know what she¡¯s mistaken about or what exactly is the situation in her eyes. However, I feel like I must say something here. Well, that¡¯s what I was thinking, but I couldn¡¯t get the words out of my mouth. [Hey, Nii-san¡­¡­] She drew closer. With a face devoid of emotion, her eyes not reflecting light, she approached with the ominous silver-colored knife, and one step at a time, she drew closer¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CLast night must have been fun huh.] Letting out a scream, I instinctively leaped back and tumbled down the bed. CH 69 [¡­¡­See you later then.] With that, she smiled softly and turned on her heel. [Lily Harmonix¡­¡­] As I watched her back as she left, which never lost its neat and tidy appearance at any time, I found my mouth speaking her name for no reason. [D*mn it. Those b*stards devs doing a great job¡­¡­!] I spit out words that I don¡¯t know whether they are hateful or complimentary. (¡­¡­Well, I guess I could say things are going well for now.) I would say that my second encounter with her ended with a generally satisfactory result. Judging from the way she reacted to today¡¯s events, which was favorable from the very beginning, it doesn¡¯t seem like she has a bad feeling toward me. I had wondered what would happen after my unexpectedly unsightly behavior at the bar last time, but it seems that my actions at that time had a positive outcome. (At least, her flag hasn¡¯t been broken yet.) If that¡¯s the case, I want to bring her into the fold at all costs. Of course, not because of her looks, but purely because she¡¯s useful. I look at the data in my hand. There, her affinities were clearly written. ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D STR ¨C Normal VIT ¨C Normal MGC ¨C Bad MND ¨C Good AGI ¨C Bad FOC ¨C Great ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D If I were to only look at this, she doesn¡¯t look like a powerful character at all. She has a total affinity value of 19. Although higher than the average of 18, it¡¯s quite common compared to Unique Characters which has about 20. In addition, the allocation of her stats is also complicated. Her high FOC makes her suitable for a thief, but her AGI is low, and her MND is high, so it would have been good to have her go through a Healer path, but her low MGC drags her down. However, there¡¯s one Class System that can take full advantage of this strange stat distribution. Those are the . This Class requires only ¡°FOC¡±, which is necessary for their performances, and ¡°MND¡±, which nurtures a rich sensitivity, allowing her to take full advantage of her high FOC and MND. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Bard. This is a Class that is quite unique among the many Classes in B&B. They themselves have almost no combat power, and their main job is to strengthen allies and weaken enemies by playing their instruments and singing. Its greatest feature is that it has a wide range of effects, and unlike the magic of Magic Users and Priests, their Skills don¡¯t consume MP. Hearing all that may make it sound like a great Class, but it has the weakness of being vulnerable because you can¡¯t do anything else while playing, and there¡¯s also its weakness of taking a stupid amount of time to master its essential skills compared to other Classes. As it has a very slow Proficiency Gain, being on the level that makes you doubt if it¡¯s being buggy, and the possibility of having stones thrown at you if you let others hear you play while you¡¯re still an unskilled musician, it¡¯s a very severe Class. Of course, I gave up on Bard Skills right from the start and didn¡¯t even bother Class Change to it. In that sense, she is a rare person who has been a Bard from the beginning and has the skills to play well, but that¡¯s not all. The first Limited Edition of came with a very thick booklet. In the end of the booklet, there is data about her in the Character Section. And there, her secret was casually written down! ?Unique Skill ¡¾Lorelei¡¯s Voice ¨C Acquisition Level: 1¡¿ Special abilities that only Unique Characters have, . She has the ability to ¡°charm anyone who listens to her voice¡±. I don¡¯t know how it works against monsters, but it¡¯s a great skill for negotiating with Humans. (As expected, we must definitely recruit Lily!) While we can handle the combat if we try our best, many events require negotiations with NPCs. With Lily on our side though, I will be able to leave all those events to her. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù With renewed determination, I started moving aggressively the next day. I usually walk around the neighborhood, leveling up and collecting items, but in between, I always go to visit Lily. I would frequently give her gifts and listen to her requests. Her attitude gradually softened, and by the fifth time we spoke¡­¡­ [This might be a brazen request¡­¡­ But from now on, can we call each other by our first names? Of course, without the ¡°-san¡± or ¡°-chan¡± suffixes!] Or so she said. [This woman! She¡¯s so cunning! She¡¯s so d*mn cunning!] I cringed on the spot, but I agreed immediately. No, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m easily seduced or anything like that. Unnn, it¡¯s just that nodding to everything like this is probably better for her to let her guard down. I repeated these excuses in my mind, not having any clue who I¡¯m making excuses to, before finally, when the number of conversations I had with Lily was about to exceed 20, the turning point came. No matter how much I asked her what she wanted, she never asked for anything herself. When I met up with her and just like usual, asked her if she wanted something, after prefacing it by saying ¡°It might be a little different from something I want but¡­¡­¡±, Lily looked at me seriously and said. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-There¡¯s something I really want to tell you. Will you accompany me to a dungeon?] CH 70 Lily suggested that we go to a special dungeon called . This place¡¯s gimmick was that the dungeon itself was imbued with special magic power, so normal equipment and magic couldn¡¯t be used, and the players had to fight with specially prepared weapons and equipment. The difficulty level was surprisingly low. Although your equipment was forced to be downgraded to almost the same level as Initial Equipment, the strength of the enemies was at a beginner¡¯s level. As I had stated earlier, being that ¡°you can¡¯t use techniques or magic¡±, it¡¯s true that you couldn¡¯t use magic, but due to the devs¡¯ policy of favoring B&B¡¯s selling point, the Manual Arts (or perhaps, giving favorability to those who use Dynamic Motion Z), you could use Arts if you activate them manually. And above all¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-I will start my performance!] Her ¡°musical performance¡±, which was similarly not restricted by this dungeon¡¯s ¡°magic prohibition¡± policy, made combat easier. She doesn¡¯t swing her weapon at the enemies even when they appear. She would simply hold a harmonica to her mouth in a graceful manner and play a tune, sometimes wildly, sometimes sadly, she would play her harmonica in a variety of ways. That is how a fights. The Bard is a Second-Tier Class, and although it¡¯s an advantage to be in this Class at the Initial Level 5, its stat compensation is exceptionally low compared to the others. The total stat compensation of a Bard is 8, giving you an additional 2 for MND and FOC and 1 for other abilities, making it almost useless in face-to-face combat. It¡¯s truly a Class that specializes in performing for others. However, that was already enough. Although she can¡¯t attack while playing, me being the attacker was already enough. The buffs that she keeps on giving me increases the speed of monster subjugation, and the pleasant melody she plays raises the tension just by listening to it. As an effect that doesn¡¯t appear in numerical values, I could somewhat feel like my attacks were being integrated with a good rhythm. Just by being able to listen to her play, I have no doubt about her usefulness as a companion. Just like that, we proceeded along with no problems, and there were no gimmicks or factors in the dungeon that we struggled with. The dungeon is filled with mechanics that could be easily cleared if two people cooperates, for example, two people pressing a button on both sides from the same time, or while one person pressing a switch floor, the other person pushes the switch floor behind the door so that the person who had been pressing the first switch could pass. (Frankly, this dungeon is a disappointment.) There¡¯s no factor that would make you struggle, either in terms of ability or tricks. Moreover, knowing her ¡°secret¡±, I already knew what she wanted to tell me. Circulating these villain-like thoughts like that, I moved ahead smoothly, desperately fooling my racing heartbeat just by walking next to Lily. After we had gone through all the gimmicks and were approaching a long passageway, Lily, who had been leading the way, began to tell her story. [My parents traveled all over the world when they were young.] She says as she proceeds through the cave, facing forward. [That¡¯s why, they told me stories of their various trips and wonderful places.] As I looked at her profile, the thought ¡°she¡¯s beautiful¡± inadvertently popped into my mind. Even if I kept on thinking how such a person was just a fictitious creation by someone, Lily¡¯s expressions and gestures kept on stealing my gaze. [Of all the things they talked about, the one they talked about most passionately was the view of the deepest part of this dungeon.] She walks in her usual graceful manner, and in her hand, I see a Video Recording Crystal. Well, in short, it¡¯s a video camera. It¡¯s an item that is typical of this game, a mixture of modern and fantasy. [This is also where they ended their journey. My parents visited this dungeon all on their own for the last time, and my father confessed his feelings to my mother in the midst of the most beautiful scenery.] Thereupon, she looked at me, and saying ¡°They¡¯re quite the romanticists, aren¡¯t they?¡±, she laughed. [However, they¡¯re quite mean. I had been asking them what the view was like, but my parents just smiled and didn¡¯t answer me. And then, they would always just answer me with the same answer. ¡°You have to go and see it for yourself¡±.] Saying this, she turned around again and moved her gaze forward. [That¡¯s why, I¡¯m¡­¡­] She was about to say something, but she decided not to finish her words and closed her mouth instead. The long passageway has come to an end. At the end of the path, there was a small circular space. [Is this¡­¡­ the deepest part of the dungeon?] She sounded puzzled. The place we arrived in was a small room surrounded by inorganic rock walls, and no matter how you looked at it, this place isn¡¯t a beautiful sight at all. However, there was a pedestal made of stone in the center of the room, seemingly asserting its presence. In that pedestal, there were two hollows in the shape of a person¡¯s handprints. "" [Is it telling us to put our hands in there?] Dubiously looking at the pedestal, we put our hands into the hollow. At that moment¡­¡­ [Eh!?] The ground beneath us disappeared. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-It¡¯s a trap! By the time I thought that though, it was already too late. The floor of the room disappeared in an instant, and my vision was sucked into the darkness. A shuddering chill ran down my back as I felt my body falling. My vision drifted away, my body involuntarily shrunk, and then¡­¡­ ¡°Bam!¡±, the falling stops. [¡­¡­Are you alright?] Hearing Lily¡¯s voice coming from behind the darkness, I breathed a sigh of relief. It seems that she¡¯s safe. (Even so, I didn¡¯t expect that there would actually be a trap in this place. I let my guard down.) I wonder how many meters we had fallen? I tried looking up, but behind this darkness, I could no longer see where we had fallen from. I was about to turn to Lily and ask her what happened but¡­¡­ [Eh?] Lily¡¯s surprised voice made me turn my gaze to the front. What I saw there certainly wasn¡¯t a scene I would imagine seeing from a place like this. [What in the world¡­¡­?] Deep in the dungeon, in a place where no one ever steps into¡­¡­ The space was filled with pure white flowers that emitted a pale light, brightly decorating the place. "" It was like a paradise of flowers. Pretty white flowers were blooming everywhere, and gentle light was rising from them. [I have heard about this before¡­¡­ that flowers imbued with strong magic power sometimes emit a faint light.] Perhaps, this may have been a miracle born of the dungeon. It¡¯s a spectacular view that can be experienced for the first time within the darkness, where the faint light of the flowers is noticeable in the space with dense magic power deep inside the dungeon. For a while, I gazed at this beautiful sight without speaking any words. [I see. So that¡¯s how it is. This is why¡­¡­] At that moment, I heard the nearby Lily¡¯s murmurs. When I turned to look at her in response to those words, I noticed tears falling down her cheeks. [A- Arehh? I¡¯m sorry, ummm, I shouldn¡¯t have¡­¡­] Transparent teardrops were trickling down her cheeks. The moment I became aware of this, ¡°my¡± body moved of its own accord. "" I hugged her shoulder. Her confused face, still wet with tears, yet it doesn¡¯t diminish her beauty, looked picturesque. My heart was racing. No matter what excuses or rationalizations I made, I was attracted to her. And the situation forces me to make the ultimate choice. (What should I do? What¡¯s the best thing to do here?) Her moist eyes, wet with tears, seemed to dull down my senses. Nervous, my mind filled with various thoughts, I gulped. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Should I ¡°confess¡± to her or ¡°comfort¡± her? Both answers seem right, but both of them feel wrong too. Should I push here, or should I wait and see? To be honest, I¡¯m afraid to push forward here. However, to make her become our comrade, I probably have to make her fall in love with me! Besides¡­¡­ Besides, the current me isn¡¯t just some dull nerd! I¡¯m good-looking enough to be the star of my own movie, the Hero admired by the masses! That¡¯s why¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªLily. I love you.] I choose to move forward. That¡¯s right. Telling her ¡°It¡¯s okay to cry¡± here are just extremely weak words to say at this moment. A place of memories. Just the two of us. A spectacular view. Tears. It¡¯s hard to imagine a better setting than that! [Eh¡­¡­?] At my words though, she looked surprised. [W- wait. I- I was¡­¡­ ah.] Long eyelashes and moist eyes. Her face, somewhat fragile, dominates my vision and my heart. [¡­¡­Ah.] With a long exhale, she slowly closed her eyes, and then¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªDon!!! My vision suddenly shook. [Huh?] "" My voice reflexively leaked out of my mouth. Just as her face rapidly blurred out of my vision, I suddenly blacked out. No, even though I understood that what I was currently looking at was the ground of the cave, I have no idea what had just happened. My vision aimlessly wandered about. As I struggled to get up, cold words poured out of her mouth. [Arehh? I kicked him with the intention of crushing his balls, but he can already move. What, is his VIT as large as an Orc¡¯s? Gross.] The moment I could understand the meaning of those words, my mind went blank. Feeling like what just happened must have been a mistake, I looked at her with a feeling of reluctance¡­¡­ [Well~~ I knew I was right to meet up with you in a dungeon with equipment restrictions. As expected of Hero-sama! You have great skills, amazing, amazing!] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThe words of praise were so light that they seemed to poke a person¡¯s nerves. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CAn unpleasant voice that seemed to really make fun of a person. I don¡¯t understand this woman standing in front of me. Or perhaps, I just didn¡¯t want to understand. [Nfufufu.] But in front of the dumbfounded me, she smiled and slowly raised her leg¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Gan! With a crash, the brown color of the ground spreads out in my vision again. It wasn¡¯t until I heard her voice that I realized that she had stepped on me as I was crawling on the ground. [You¡¯re still acting like the victim! You sure piss me off. ¡­¡­You do know what¡¯s going on here, right? Hey! Hey! ¡­¡­Hey!!!] Every time she raises her voice, her foot and her curses mercilessly stomp on my head. Even still, I¡¯m a Hero. There was no way I was just going to yield to the violence of a woman who wasn¡¯t even a warrior. Little by little, the ground moves away from my vision. As her face became reflected in my raised sight, I unconsciously glared at her¡­¡­ [You still got an impertinent look on your face. ¡­¡­Ahh.] Thereupon, looking as if she thought of something, she deliberately clapped her hands. [Ahh. Could it be, were you thinking that if it¡¯s just a delicate woman, you should be able to overpower me with the strength of a man?] As if she found something funny. She brought her hand to her mouth and giggled. [Ahh. I see, I see, sorry~~] After such a meaningless apology¡­¡­ [Wha!] She put a finger on the buttons of her own clothes, moving them above her clothes that were pushed up by her ample breasts. As if to release them, she started undoing the buttons of her clothes¡­¡­ [However, too bad. That¡¯s impossible! After all¡­¡­] With a smirk on her face, she stripped off the front of her dress at once without any sign of hesitation! [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-!] I reflexively almost closed my eyes. However, as it turned out, I didn¡¯t have to. [¡­¡­Eh?] After all, behind her clothes wasn¡¯t the spectacle I had been expecting to see. The moment Lily unfolded her clothes, two blue things fell off her chest. When I realized that the crumpled-up semi-circle-shaped objects that fell to the ground were stuffing made of slime, I finally realized the truth. She is¡­¡­ No, this person I had always thought was a girl¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CAfter all, I¡¯m also a guy.] CH 71 [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CAfter all, I¡¯m also a guy.] The shocking line from Lily¡¯s well-arranged lips pierced my heart strongly and deeply. My breathing hitched. My head was shaking so violently that I felt like I was going to lose control of my body. I wanted to deny it. I wanted to scream that this can¡¯t be true. However, even I understood the situation. No matter how I tried to explain it, Lily, whose breast-like stuffing had fallen out, is completely a male. However, however¡­¡­ I don¡¯t understand. Why did she, no, he¡­¡­ [You look like you¡¯re asking why. ¡­¡­I don¡¯t even want to talk about it, but well, whatever. You see, the name ¡°Lily¡±, that¡¯s my real name.] I was more than a little surprised when I heard him say that. "" I know the Status of a person by using on them. However, the name displayed on the Status is often ¡°the name the Character introduced themselves as¡±, not necessarily their real name. From the time I found out that Lily was a man, I thought that her real name was something else. I don¡¯t know about the conventional naming sense of the people in this world, but it should be basically the same as a Japanese¡¯s. And yet, why would he, a man, have a name like ¡°Lily¡±¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Ah, yep, that. That¡¯s the reaction people have.] Lily¡¯s face twisted in displeasure. The cold expression she has as she looked down on me was tinged with even more contempt. [I have talked with you about it before, that ¡°I didn¡¯t really like my name¡±. I was bullied a lot as a child because of my name. The boys in the neighborhood kept on telling me all sorts of things, like ¡°It¡¯s disgusting to have a female name even though you¡¯re a guy¡± or ¡°Whoa, the girly guy arrived!¡±. There were even times when people I met for the first time said ¡°Even though you have a girl¡¯s name¡­¡­ What, it¡¯s a guy huh.¡±] As Lily talked about her past as if it were some sort of pleasant memory, I couldn¡¯t stop the shiver running down my spine. [I thought ¡°What¡¯s wrong with a guy having the name Lily!?¡±, but I was too weak-minded to actually say anything back then. I hated my parents. Why did they give me such a name? At my question, they simply answered me.] Thereupon, as if she was finding something amusing, she continued with a smirk. [My mother had a miscarriage before she had me. She said it was a girl, and the name they were supposed to give that baby was ¡°Lily¡±. As I was stunned by the story I heard for the first time, my mother hugged me and said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the hardships you had to face because of your name. However, we named you Lily not because we don¡¯t love you. We just wanted to give you the name of the most beautiful being we know¡±.] Before I knew it, I had forgotten the situation and was listening to Lily¡¯s story. [When they said that, I couldn¡¯t say anything. I simply went back to my room and stared in the mirror, seeing myself that¡¯s neither manly nor feminine, and not even beautiful, I felt like I was the most miserable being of all. ¡­¡­But at that moment, I thought. ¡°In that case, I will just be beautiful¡±.] The moment Lily said that, I felt like the atmosphere around her changed. [I borrowed my mother¡¯s clothes and dressed as a woman for the first time. All those clothes were too tight for me and I didn¡¯t know how to put on makeup, so to say the least, it was a lousy outfit. But still, when I looked into the mirror, I saw a ¡°beautiful girl¡±.] Lily¡¯s tone was filled with fervor. [I don¡¯t think I can put into words the emotions I felt at that time. I was more beautiful and prettier than anyone I¡¯d ever seen in my age group, and I was convinced that I could become even more beautiful. That¡¯s when I made up my mind. I was going to make me, no, ¡°Lily¡±, the best girl ever!] The narrative becomes smoother and smoother, and even I am getting caught up in that bizarre world. [Everything after that became simpler. I gathered girls¡¯ clothes in an inconspicuous way and found a way to make Lily look beautiful¡­¡­. After that, in the blink of an eye, that moment came. When I said to my parents, ¡°I want to travel like you two¡± they gave me permission right away. That day, I left the city where I grew up¡­¡­ and was reborn anew.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CYou¡¯re crazy. That was my first thought when I saw that madness. However, even so¡­¡­ [After that, the world, no, everything turned upside down. The men who had been making fun of me started blushing red at the mere sight of me and choked on their words, and the women who had been talking behind my back could only bite their lip in defeat. Among other things, it was hilarious to watch me, my best ¡°Lily¡±, lead men around by the nose. What could be more fun than that?] Lily, her cheeks uplifted and talking about her crazy ideals, was indeed beautiful. [¡­¡­But you see¡­¡­] All of a sudden, the tone of his voice changes. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªGan! Once again, I was stomped on the head. [People like you would sometimes pop out! Idiots who don¡¯t freaking know their place! Don¡¯t you freaking get it? You men are just tools to glorify me! And you freaking see, saying stuff like that¡­¡­] The overpowering smacking sounds echoed. His angry voice incessantly rained down on me within my shaky vision. [They¡¯re freaking disgusting! Even though you don¡¯t freaking know I¡¯m a man, telling me you like me, leaning forward and expecting a kiss, spouting out love! All of you are just horny monkeys all the time!] As expected, even I¡¯m running out of patience. I did confess to him without realizing he was a guy. However, that doesn¡¯t mean I deserve to be told all these things by this guy. No, in the first place, the one who tricked me was him! Making all that fuss, saying he¡¯s a man, the one who should be troubled should be me! [Hnfufu¡­¡­?] The situation changed once again. As if in response to the voltage of my anger, I pushed aside his foot that had been trampling me and slowly pushing him back¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-What do you think this is?] However, the moment Lily, who seemed to be enjoying himself, showed me ¡°it¡±, my movements stopped. [A Video Recorder¡­¡­ Crystal.] Those words astoundedly escaped my mouth. As the madness she has somehow disappeared somehow, Lily grins, seemingly enjoying my reaction. [It seems like you¡¯ve figured out the situation here. Everything that has happened, it¡¯s all been caught here. It fully reflects the pervert who came up to the reluctant me with his gross confession and tried to kiss me forcibly.] I feel as if my eyes are becoming completely dark. With a clang, my vision drops again. [¡­¡­Arehhhhhh? You suddenly lost your fire, what¡¯s wrong with you? You¡¯re the Hero, aren¡¯t you? You can easily defeat a bard like me, can¡¯t you? Hey? Hey, hey?] He¡¯s being unreasonable. I want to say something back to him. However, I couldn¡¯t say anything. In the midst of the storm of violence brought upon by an unreasonable outburst of anger, ¡°I¡± was silently curling myself up. [Hey, how do you feel now? You came to this trap dungeon with all your ulterior motives against a man, and you left all your oh so powerful equipment behind! How does it feel, being set up and trampled like this? Hey? Heeeeeeey?] Scorn. Ridicule. I wanted to scream, tell him to stop. To not break the ¡°Lily¡± in me anymore. [First of all, haven¡¯t you ever thought it was strong? ¡°I don¡¯t need the loot~~. Seeing the scenery in my parents¡¯ memory is the best reward~~¡±] However, I can¡¯t say anything. Without being able to say anything back, Lily looked toward me¡­¡­. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªA woman like that doesn¡¯t exist, idiot. Stop daydreaming, virgin.] At that moment, something snapped inside me. [Uwaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!] Screaming meaninglessly, I scratched my head and felt like tearing off my hair, and then¡­¡­. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-I turned off the console. ¡î ¡î ¡î [Uwaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!] Screaming meaninglessly, I felt like tearing my head off. (Black history¡­¡­. I¡¯m being reminded of my black history!!!) A few years ago. I was still a college student, living a life immersed in B&B. If you ask me, I was a rather cynical person who took the stance that ¡°getting emotionally caught up with game characters isn¡¯t cool,¡± but I fell deeply in love with one of the B&B¡¯s characters, . It was a time when there was hardly any information on B&B, and never realizing that Lily was a man, that¡¯s how I ended up with the worst ending. (D*mn it! D*mn it, d*mn it, d*mn it!) Years have passed since then, but I still haven¡¯t forgiven ¡°Lily¡± and the evil devs of . After all, that¡¯s just not fair! No matter how you look at him, from all distances and angles, the guy looks like a woman, and most of all, his voice actor was a woman! That event where a character looks and acts like a girl and then suddenly insists, ¡°Too bad, I¡¯m actually a femboy!¡± I freaking hate it! In fact, I wasn¡¯t Lily¡¯s only victim. He has become loathed by most of the B&B players, making her the worst character for most players by far. After all, the player¡¯s encounter rate with that guy is quite high. Lily¡¯s encounter events are so major that it¡¯s said ¡°it¡¯s rarer not to meet that event¡±. To be more specific, by the middle of in-game¡¯s 2nd year, an event occurs when Lily enters the tavern while the both of you were in the same town. Thereupon, you will witness Lily being entangled in trouble in the tavern. A weak girl who gets tangled up with a drunkard, a situation that no one but the most distorted people would abandon. And then, once you got involved with Lily, it would be natural for the player to wish he¡¯d come to join your party, and faced with such a situation, Lily drove all the players who thought so into that hell. Some might argue that if he was just a transvestite, he would have been normally supported by female players, but to be frank¡­¡­ the character designs of femboys aimed at men and transvestites aimed at women are apparently fundamentally different. Except for her ¡°being a man¡± setting and her breasts being just slime pads stuffing, Lily is completely female in design, and her voice is also female. As a result, he became the character disliked by most of the players, except for a few players who claimed to be men of culture, apparently awakening to some sort of weird fetish. Some of the players like me were heartbroken, and there were even stories of quite a few complaints being sent out to the devs. I might have done the same thing if my sorrow hadn¡¯t outweighed my anger. (However, that¡¯s all over now.) The chance for revenge has come. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªJust you wait, Lily. This time I¡¯m going to make you crawl on the ground and watch your unsightly apologies!!! As I sat in a seiza and wrote my reflections in front of Resilia, who was glaring at me with her arms crossed, I fearlessly smiled. CH 72 [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CRex-san!] With graceful steps that seemed to express his joy at meeting me, Lily rushed towards me. What a frightening trick. If I hadn¡¯t known that behind that face is a man, moreover, a sh*tty b*stard with the worst personality, he may have also deceived me. However, I calmly eluded him with a smile and used on this ¡°girl¡± rushing towards me. (I see, level 8 huh.) Lily¡¯s Initial Level should have been 5, so it seems that he has leveled up a bit. Gaining only 3 levels after more than 2 months we met, this growth rate would have been very slow by player standards, but even in B&B, NPCs level up at a slower rate. Moreover, this is just about right for a , a Class not suited for combat. His MND and FOC are still high, but all of his other ability values are less than half of Rex¡¯s. With this difference in ability, I can be assured that I will not lose even if Lily tries to surprise attack me. [I¡¯m sorry. Did I keep you waiting?] [No, I was so excited today that I came too early.] Lily, unaware that his combat skills are being scrutinized, gives me a friendly smile with a performance that¡¯s as perfect as usual. While inwardly clicking my tongue at his thoroughness, outwardly, I calmly exchanged conversation with him. [Ahh, I see. By the way, the place we¡¯re going to today is¡­¡­] [Yes! The final destination of my parents¡¯ travels, !] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù (So far, so good huh. Now then¡­¡­) Our exploration in the was going too smoothly. The difficulty level of exploring is low, and this dungeon doesn¡¯t really have any factors that could be considered difficult, either in terms of combat or tricks. Furthermore, I already know Lily¡¯s ¡°secret¡±, so I have an overwhelming advantage over ¡°her¡±. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CHowever, no, that¡¯s exactly why I¡¯m not going to let my guard down here. I¡¯m not in a position to have conceited thoughts like ¡°I¡¯ll definitely win against him¡±. I¡¯m just an ordinary guy with knowledge. In contrast, even though it was through the screen, the opponent is a demon who has driven many gamers to hell. I better take on this challenge just like a challenger would. To begin with, it had been a series of failures before we reached this point. The encounter with Lily itself wasn¡¯t what I had in mind from the beginning, and the way I handled the situation after I made contact wasn¡¯t admirable. What was most unexpected was how yesterday, when I, or rather ¡°Rex¡± was too weak to drink alcohol and got drunk in an instant. Even the events after that were quite dreadful. Lily apparently left a kiss mark on my cheek while I¡¯m dead drunk last night. Being kissed on the cheek by a man is pretty shocking in itself, but the really bad part came after that. When Resilia saw that kiss mark, she mistakenly thought that I had lied about ¡°event verification¡± and secretly went to the red-light district. [I am not angry that Nii-san went to¡­¡­ that kind of establishment. I¡¯m just grieving the fact that you tricked me just for that.] Resilia said, looking like she was in a really bad mood. I don¡¯t know if that kiss mark was just a prank or not, nor do I know if he was quite farsighted to even anticipate Resilia¡¯s reaction, but in any case, he had done something outrageous. I still shudder just remembering the intensity Resilia had at that time, but anyway, the misunderstanding was cleared up through sincere persuasion. I had managed to repel Lily¡¯s disturbance tactics. (Well, ¡°event verification¡± isn¡¯t a lie.) I haven¡¯t just been training for the past two months. In addition to verifying events, I had also been ascertaining the ¡°specifications¡± of this world. Due to the unexpectedly hectic Guild-related work and ¡°certain circumstances,¡± the verification didn¡¯t proceed as far as I had originally planned, but there¡¯s one thing I¡¯m certain about. (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªAs I had expected, ¡°events¡± do occur in this world!) To be precise, I found that when the circumstances had been set up similarly to an event, things would start to move in the same flow as the event. And so, using that aspect of events, I¡¯m trying to take it a step further this time. [Even so, I was really surprised. I had no idea that Rex-san would invite me to explore this dungeon¡­¡­] Then, as we made it through one of the dungeon¡¯s gimmicks and approached a long corridor, Lily, walking next to me, looked up at me and smiled happily. [If you¡¯re that happy, I guess it was worth it for me to invite you.] ¡­¡­Yes. The one who initiated the exploration for this dungeon this time isn¡¯t Lily, but ¡°me¡±. Using the excuse of having him help me with work, watching how the Adventurers were doing lately, I approached Lily and suggested a ¡°joint dungeon attack¡±. And among the dungeon candidates we¡¯re going through, I included the As a result, Lily took the bait. She immediately agreed to help me clear the . (The event originally should have occurred after you¡¯ve had more conversation and spent more time with Lily but¡­..) If today¡¯s exploration follows the same sequence of events as in-game¡¯s event, then this could prove that ¡°accomplishing events early¡± is possible in this world. And¡­¡­ [In fact, my parents traveled all over the world when they were young.] The time to verify the proof was already just around the corner. [That¡¯s why, they told me stories of their various trips and wonderful places.] His steps seemed to bounce as he walked, and if it had been someone clueless, they would have easily believed that ¡°she¡± was enjoying this exploration from the bottom of his heart. However, in response to his smile, I also responded with a ¡°smile from the bottom of my heart¡±. [Of all the things they talked about, the one they talked about most passionately was the view of the deepest part of this dungeon.] Saying this, ¡°she¡± walks with the same graceful manner as usual, and in his hands, I can see the Video Recorder Crystal. The item that once plunged ¡°me¡± into the depths of misery. But upon seeing it now, my mind was currently at peace. [This is also where they ended their journey. My parents visited this dungeon all on their own for the last time, and my father confessed his feelings to my mother in the midst of the most beautiful scenery.] Thereupon, ¡°she¡± looks at me, and saying ¡°They¡¯re quite the romanticists, aren¡¯t they?¡±, he laughed. [However, they¡¯re quite mean. I had been asking them what the view was like, but my parents just smiled and didn¡¯t answer me. And then, they would always just answer me with the same answer. ¡°You have to go and see it for yourself¡±.] Saying this, ¡°she¡± turned around again and moved his gaze forward. [That¡¯s why, I¡¯m¡­¡­] With those last words, it marked the end of the bitter-sweet time hiding my thoughts in obscurity. [¡­¡­It seems like the time to ¡°see it for yourself¡± has come.] Lily laughs like an angel at my words. [I¡¯m looking forward to it. ¡­¡­ However, I¡¯m a little disappointed. I was hoping for this adventure with Rex-san to last a bit longer.] A hundred point words and smile. Pretending to be smitten with more generous lip service than he had been in the game, he goes to move towards his final trick. [Is it telling us to put our hands in there?] Lily says anxiously. The moment we both touched the device at the same time, the floor came loose and moved us to the place of reckoning. [Ah¡­¡­] What I found at the end of the place we were thrown into was a beautiful landscape that was truly out of this world. Deep in the dungeon, in a place where no one ever steps¡­.. Pure white flowers, glowing with a pale light, were in full bloom, vibrantly decorating the space. It¡¯s like a paradise of flowers. Pretty white flowers are blooming everywhere, and gentle light rises from them. [I see. So that¡¯s how it is. This is why¡­¡­] As if he witnessed a dream come true, tears began spilling down Lily¡¯s cheeks. [A- Arehh? I¡¯m sorry, ummm, I shouldn¡¯t have¡­¡­ Ahh] Thereupon, I hugged ¡°her¡± shoulder. ¡°Her¡± confused face, still wet with tears, yet it doesn¡¯t diminish his beauty, looked picturesque. [Rex-san¡­¡­?] Watching Lily, looking up at me with a surprised look on his face, letting clear drops trickle down his face, I could honestly think ¡°she¡± was ¡°beautiful¡±. By nature, men and women are ¡°different creatures¡±. To begin with, the two genders have different skeletal structures, the quality of the muscles is different, and this naturally changes posture and even the way one moves. For example, if it¡¯s through a single person, it¡¯s easy to deceive a person by showing only a specific posture or angle, but it¡¯s difficult to lie about one¡¯s gender without feeling completely comfortable in their daily life. Of course, frankly speaking, there¡¯s no doubt that Lily looks female because his design, including his skeletal structure, was originally designed for a woman. However, it¡¯s also probably true that ¡°she¡± is making unimaginable efforts to make himself look like a woman, even if this is dictated by the game¡¯s setting. The effort he exerted to show such a self to others is indeed commendable. However¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CSorry, but it¡¯s time for him to wake up from this dream. No matter what excuses or rationalizations he makes, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that Lily has deceived and hurt people just for his own selfish desires! (¡­¡­Finally, the time has finally come.) For the record, I think I could have crushed Lily right from the moment we met. In the game, Lily caught me by the neck because he has my weakness, that confession video he had recorded, but I now have nothing like that restricting me. He must have deceived many men besides me, and if it was revealed that Lily is a guy using the value of my name, ¡°Rex¡±, that¡¯ll be the end of him. And yet, I took the time to come all the way here and set things up, to overwrite the bitter memories of the past! (¡ª¡ª¡ª¨Cfollowing the same sequence as the event, at the very moment that this guy thinks he got me will be when I overturn things!!!) No matter what excuses or rationalizations he makes, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that Lily has deceived and hurt people just for his own selfish desires! (¡­¡­Finally, the time has finally come.) For the record, I think I could have crushed Lily right from the moment we met. In the game, Lily caught me by the neck because he has my weakness, that confession video he had recorded, but I now have nothing like that restricting me. He must have deceived many men besides me, and if it was revealed that Lily is a guy using the value of my name, ¡°Rex¡±, that¡¯ll be the end of him. And yet, I took the time to come all the way here and set things up, to overwrite the bitter memories of the past! (¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CFollowing the same sequence as the event, at the very moment that this guy thinks he got me will be when I overturn things!!!) This has always frustrated me. Not only for being tricked, set up, and being insulted by Lily. I was also frustrated with the ¡°game me¡± who couldn¡¯t say or do anything about it, only shrinking in response to that guy¡¯s actions! If it really was ¡°me¡± standing there, there could have been lots of ways out of that situation! If I could just speak what I wanted at that moment, I wouldn¡¯t have been so vulnerable with the unreasonable words of that unreasonable b*stard! If¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨Cif this was not a game! That had been a wish that everyone thought about when faced with that situation, one that would normally never come true. However, a few strange turns of fate turned that ridiculous wish into reality. (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThis world is a godly game.) If there is a creator of this world, he really understands the thoughts of his players. It¡¯s a convenient world for me, where I can do ¡°the things I could only do if it wasn¡¯t a game¡±, while retaining ¡°the things I can do only because it¡¯s a game¡±. That¡¯s why, I will ¡°alter¡± it. This event I¡¯m helpless about, my cursed past, and my black history¡­¡­ (I will write it all anew!) Deciding to look Lily squarely in the eyes, and instead of the confession, I threw words of condemnation at her! [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI know your ¡°secret¡±.] His response to me was only his confusion. [¡­¡­Eh?] However, I didn¡¯t mind. That is one of my expectations. This is one of those reactions within a large number of simulations I delusioned in that dark room. Reacting like that wouldn¡¯t stop me. [Lily Harmonix. Bard. Initial Level 5. Your specialties are , , and . And you have a Unique Skill, .] When I read out these words to him in a matter-of-fact manner, for the first time, Lily became shaken. [Y- You¡¯re mistaken! My voice does indeed have mysterious powers! However, abusing it isn¡¯t something I¡­¡­] Lily is mumbling something, but whatever it is doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯m not interested in listening to his request. [Nineteen years old, from Linesta Citadel. Your parents are former travelers. The name ¡°Lily¡± comes from the name that was supposed to be given to your older sister who had been miscarried. Because you were given a female name, you were bullied and spent an unhappy childhood, but in the process, you awakened to the hobby of cross-dressing.] [Eh? Cross-dressing¡­¡­? W- What are you saying¡­¡­] As expected, after holding it this much, I could no longer maintain my calm pretense. [Stop with the acting already.] [Acting¡­¡­] [I know about it! That you¡¯re a man¡­¡­!] Lily, seemingly as if he had been falsely accused about something he didn¡¯t expect, looked quite flustered. [W- What are you talking about? Y- You¡¯re making a misunderstanding! I have, u- umm, breasts so¡­¡­] Looking as if he definitely doesn¡¯t want to be found out that he is a man, acting like the ¡°ideal woman¡± Lily has in his mind, not speaking about such things, he begins to make his appeals. However, those were the words I was waiting to hear. [Ah, yahhh!] In response to those words, I silently clutched Lily¡¯s ¡°breasts¡±. The unreal volume of softness pushing back against my hand confirmed my suspicions. [S- Stop that! Please stop it¡­¡­!] However, Lily still refuses to give up, so I¡¯m giving him the final words! [Then I¡¯ll bring out the proof that those breasts are fake!] [Hyiihh!] Ignoring Lily, who¡¯s still acting scared, I put my hands on Lily¡¯s clothes. Unbuttoning his clothes¡­¡­ isn¡¯t something I didn¡¯t bother doing. Entrusting it to Rex¡¯s specs, I tore off Lily¡¯s clothes as hard as I could¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Eh?] At that moment, I was stuck there, unable to move an inch. After all, what I saw there was not what I expected to see. [Wha? Eh? Huh¡­¡­?] There was not a shadow of a stuffing to be found there. Instead, behind his¡­¡­ No, her clothes were just ¡°those¡± two flesh-colored bounties, larger and more shapely than any I¡¯ve ever seen in my life, exposed before me as if they were flaunting their presence¡­¡­ [¡­¡­You¡¯re terrible.] The soft voice that reached my ear brought me back to myself. Lily¡¯s bright red face lowered, she covers her chest as if to protect herself from me. [A- Aaaaaahhhhh¡­¡­] I don¡¯t know what happened. However, I knew exactly what I should do here. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-I¡¯M REALLY SORRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYY!!!] And thus, my black history was rewritten with something even more atrocious than what it was years back then. CH 73 [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-In other words, you heard about the information I was ¡°a man who had dedicated his whole life to act like the ideal woman, a heinous villain who enjoys deceiving many people for that sake¡±, and actually believed I¡¯m a man?] [T- That¡¯s right!] I desperately hung on to Lily, who looked as if she¡¯s questioning what the heck I¡¯m talking about. No, objectively looking at the situation, I would also think I would question someone who spouts such things the same way, and I definitely wouldn¡¯t believe me. [¡­¡­H- Hey. Lily, you¡¯re, ummm, actually not a man?] [Of course I¡¯m not!] Lily furrows her brows, looking quite vexed. Such a Lily, no matter where you look at her, clearly only looks like a woman. However, this is strange. On the first day we met, I talked to Lily and was convinced that she was a man. What the heck was that all about then? [W- Wait! T- Then, the reason why you were surprised when I told you I knew your secret¡­¡­] [It was because of my Dark Magic and my voice.] [Uuuu¡­¡­.] Indeed, Lily clearly looked shaken when I mentioned her and Unique Skill. I assumed from the start that that was just an act, but it would make sense if she was actually frightened back then. [H- However, what about your sibling? I heard about how your elder sister was miscarried¡­¡­] [Like I said from the start, I never had any siblings. Besides, I don¡¯t think my mother would have miscarried a baby before me. She said she got pregnant with me at the end of their trip, and that¡¯s why they settled in our current home.] [T- Then, what about the reason why you lied to me about being old enough to drink when we first met?] [I didn¡¯t lie though? I turned 20 earlier in the 9th Month¡­¡­] [Eh?] One by one, my escape routes are being crushed. My mind went blank. At that moment, I clung to the last bit of hope that came to mind. [T- That¡¯s right! Your name! I heard at that time that ¡°you were bullied because of your name¡±, didn¡¯t you? What about that?] Even if I can¡¯t explain my other reasons, this is something that can¡¯t be explained unless Lily is a man! As she received my expectant gaze, Lily tilted her head curiously. [Bullying? I don¡¯t remem¡­¡­ Ahh!] Lily nodded as if she had remembered something. Thereupon, Lily took out an instrument that she had used many times during the dungeon exploration¡­¡­ Her ¡°harmonica¡±. (Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡­) As if to confirm my hunch, Lily shyly smiled¡­¡­ [Rather than bullied, it¡¯s more like I was teased back when I was a child. ¡°Ahh, Harmonix is playing her harmonica!¡± However, that teasing became the reason why I got interested in music.] At her words, I had almost forgotten I¡¯m roleplaying Rex, stifling the urge to throw a tsukkomi back at her. However, there were no more words of rebuttal I could present to her. Everything makes sense. It¡¯s just, even so¡­¡­ (However, that¡¯s strange! That is just strange!!!) At least, the Lily in the game was definitely a man. There¡¯s no doubt about that. Lily¡¯s story was explored in considerable depth from all angles by her¡­¡­ his victims who sought help and the self-proclaimed men of culture. However, there was nothing that suggests the possibility that ¡°Lily was actually a woman¡±, and diverging from that event was virtually nonexistent. In order to get Lily to join the party, the player would have to walk up to him after he had tricked us. As a result, along with the extremely excessive words, ¡°Haahhh¡­¡­ You really are an irredeemable pervert. This honestly feels really disgusting, but if I just think of you as some sort of accessory, I guess it isn¡¯t that bad. If you really want to devote yourself to me, do your best being my footrest.¡±, he would join the party. His attitude would not change from that point on, and there was apparently no sign of a surprise twist, like when you thought he was a woman, but in fact, he was actually a man, is what you thought, but he¡¯s actually a woman. That¡¯s why, if this world is just like how it was in the game, Lily is definitely¡­¡­ [It doesn¡¯t seem like you trust what I¡¯m saying. In that case, would you mind if I tell you something?] Seeing me still looking unconvinced, Lily brought her face close. [What is it¡­¡­?] Lily didn¡¯t look angry anymore. Rather, looking at me as if she were looking at someone so pitiable, she spoke. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªYou aren¡¯t in some sort of fictional world. A person like that doesn¡¯t exist in real life.] My knees buckled at that. It was like she violently struck me with an incredibly sound argument. I understood everything the moment I heard those words. (I see. That certainly was the case.) Because I had thought this world was the same as that game, this was something I had never questioned. However, if I don¡¯t look at this world metaphysically, thinking of the situation this way would have been natural. A man who looks like a woman, or a woman who looks like a man, those people exist in literary creations. In reality, however, it¡¯s unlikely you would encounter such people. And that ¡°In-Game Lily¡±, a man who has a body that is completely identical to a woman, from the skeletal structure to his voice¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThere¡¯s no way that such a person exists in ¡°reality¡±. ¡°This world¡± is both the game and a reality at the same time. For example, the Skeletons which should have been infinitely gushing out in the back in the game, stopped spawning from the trap after it has been activated once. Although this world is just like a game, things that are ¡°too unrealistic¡± are corrected. Therefore, in this world, unnatural things such as girls looking like boys or boys looking like girls are doomed to be removed. As a result, , who was a man in the game, has become a woman. No, with Lily¡¯s age in ¡°this world¡± and how she says she had no older sister, the Lily in ¡°this world¡± might actually be the older sister of the in-game Lily, who had been miscarried. In other words, the person I had always resented and wanted to get back at from my game days didn¡¯t even exist in this world from the start. [¡­¡­Have you finally been convinced?] At Lily¡¯s words, I naturally nodded my head. [¡­¡­Yeah. I¡¯m sorry. I was out of my mind.] I apologized firmly once more¡­¡­ But then, I suddenly realized something. (¡­¡­Arehh? Isn¡¯t this situation really bad?) If Lily was really a woman, my actions earlier were clearly me barking up the wrong tree. It would mean that I was a pervert who ripped her clothes off because of some unintelligible tirade. And now, Lily has a Video Recorder Crystal in her hand¡­¡­ (Isn¡¯t this situation just as bad¡­¡­ no, even worse than what it was like in the event back in the game?) I broke out in a cold sweat. [Ummm, Rex-san. I have a favor to ask you.] [Y- Yeah. W- What is it, Lily?] As I somehow managed to respond to her in a shaky voice, Lily giggled¡­¡­ [Won¡¯t you hire me?] [¡­¡­Eh?] She made a proposal that I had not expected at all. What in the world is she thinking now? When she saw my alarmed look, Lily told me it was alright, before holding my head in her embrace. [Wait, L- Lily!?] Feeling the soft things I had just seen earlier being pressed against my face, I panicked. [You¡¯re so pitiful. For you to actually believe such a ridiculous story, you must have been that cornered.] [Eh? Eh? Ehh?] [Don¡¯t you remember? That day, back when you got drunk, Rex-san told me a lot of things. You got lifted up in a position that didn¡¯t fit your stature, but you couldn¡¯t rely on those around you, and unable to go back to this place called ¡°Jyapan¡±, you had to work hard all this time alone.] I turned pale upon hearing those words. The me back then, what the heck and how much have you said!? [However, it¡¯s alright now. I will support you from now on.] [N- No, Lily¡­¡­] However, I couldn¡¯t express my rebuttal to her words. [I¡¯m not like that Resilia, who is always restricting your actions, or that Verteran, who is always pushing you to work, or that Mana, who only respects you and doesn¡¯t see you for who you really are.] While I was feeling confused with all that was happening, Lily looked at me with moist eyes. [After all, I am, only I am the one who¡¯s really on your side, right?] As my head was getting messed up by her softness and her sweet scent, there was one thing I¡¯m sure of. (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªAh, she¡¯s one of those types who will fall for absolutely hopeless men.) And thus, on that day, the ¡°best chess piece¡± has come to my possession. CH 74 [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CFire Enchantment! Melt!] It was these words from the young Magic-User Nuku that signaled the beginning of the battle. The quiet corridor was immediately transformed into a battlefield, and the situation began to move at a dizzying pace. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨COooooooohhhhhhhhhh!] Charging forward head first before the group was Radd. With a yell, he ran through the corridor and raised his beloved sword in his hand. The flame-clad strike caught the , a monster covered in bandages all over its body. As I watched him from the side, I involuntarily smiled. (That guy¡¯s really getting good at this.) Even I, who am a bit fussy when it comes to Manual Arts, couldn¡¯t find fault in the accuracy of his sword flash. Radd¡¯s Arts were somewhat awkward in the beginning, but after the Treasure Hunter¡¯s trials, he suddenly became more proficient, and he¡¯s now able to consistently deliver a blow that makes me hum. [I¡¯m not done yet!] "" And, the current Radd doesn¡¯t just stop there. Running past the mummy, who flinched after being hit by Radd¡¯s Art, he let out a scream¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª!!! It was a signal for another onslaught. Radd, who had completely moved to the mummy¡¯s blindspot, struck the bandaged monster with an additional strike, whose attack power has been boosted by . A perfect clean hit. The scathing flash, caused by the Fire-Attribute, the mummy¡¯s weak point, burned the monster¡¯s bandages and the monster, who had no emotion nor sense of pain, staggered. ¡­¡­However¡­¡­ [Radd!] Nuku sharply warned. Even as it staggered, the monster had raised its hand. The burning bandage wrapped around it then stretched out towards Radd. [U- Uwaaahhh!] Completely unlike the expert-like movements he had a moment ago, Radd barely avoided the bandage reaching out to him. However, that completely turned the tables. The mummy, which was supposed to have been attacked by Radd, turned to Radd with movements that showed no sign of damage. ¡­¡­However, that is something that¡¯s just expected. The monster they are currently facing, the , is a Lv 42 Undead Monster. For Radd¡¯s party, whose levels are still in their early 30s, the Greater Mummy is overwhelmingly superior. It isn¡¯t an opponent that they can easily defeat just by a series of well-placed strikes. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CYou¡¯re as thoughtless as ever, Radd.] However, within such a predicament, a certain someone¡¯s cold voice changed the atmosphere of the battle. The party¡¯s Elven Archer, Prana. Putting an arrow to her bow, she quietly murmured. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª.] At that moment, her figure blurred into three. And then¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Hmph!] With a flash of her fighting spirit, her arrows were shot from her bow with the speed of a gale. Three arrows, following the exact same trajectory, shot through the bandages that were about to attack Radd, sewing the monster¡¯s body to the ground. [T- That was great! Thanks, Prana!] [Next time you do that, I¡¯ll shoot you along with the monsters.] Prana, who had just returned Radd¡¯s thanks with a scathing remark, glanced to the side. [I¡¯ll leave the rest to you.] [Yes!] Advancing forward with a cheer was a petite girl clad in a nun¡¯s habit. The girl¡¯s body, however, was glowing white, overflowing with magic power. Mana points her staff at the monster, which has yet to break free of its restraints. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThis settles it! !!!] At that moment, a light so bright that makes one cover their eyes surges into the small space. A pillar rises up around the monster¡¯s body, burning its body and our eyes. [Kuh!] And when the light finally subsided, the bandaged monster was nowhere to be seen. ¡­¡­The battle has ended. [Alright! Another one destroyed!] As Radd smiled in a carefree manner, looking at him with an astounded expression on his face, Nuku breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his staff. [In the end, I didn¡¯t have a part to play in the battle.] Nuku¡¯s shoulders drooped with a look of half relief and half disappointment, but he was mistaken at that. [No. The reason the battle went so smoothly was probably due to the magic Nuku casted at the start of the battle. Be confident in yourself.] [I- Is that so?] Perhaps, it was surprising that I complimented him straightforwardly, as Nuku¡¯s face blushed red, before he cleared his throat and settled himself. Watching Nuku, I used . If you remove the correction for the Ability Value-enhancing equipment that Nuku is wearing, his Status should be¡­¡­ (His level has gone up again. With this, he had already completely surpassed me in every stat aside from STR.) About 10 days have passed since that slapstick drama with Lily. After the tumultuous year that caused many turmoils has ended, this world welcomed the start of a new year. While I was struggling with Guild business, Radd¡¯s party, Brave Blade, never stopped working hard, and they were definitely getting stronger. Among them, Nuku was probably the one who tried the most new things. He, who had been a forcibly-cultivated Magic-User, has decided to steadily increase his strength. The result was a Class Change to , a user of Interference Magic and Support Magic. He, who had been so focused on Offensive Magic, has decided to branch off and learn Support Magic. In this party, which tends to face their enemies with an aggressive stance, I think he¡¯s a really sensible and good guy. And so¡­¡­ [Indeed. You¡¯re much better than the guy who ran off on his own and almost killed himself.] As I¡¯m talking with Nuku, Prana suddenly appears with a smirk. Just like Nuku, she has also decided to branch off in order to make herself stronger. Her current Class, is just like , a Unique Class that can be obtained by achieving certain conditions. However, it¡¯s a Class System that isn¡¯t under the Bow-Users, but under the Thief-type Class, which specializes in melee and ranged attacks. The Skill used by Prana in the battle just now can be described as ¡¯s Secret Technique. This Skill allows the user to create two clones of oneself at the cost of a large amount of MP. Although the cost is heavy, the clones have almost the same ability values as the Skill user, and move in exactly the same way as the Skill user to fool the enemy. With clones that have stats the same as your own, one would think it¡¯s an extremely strong ability that gives you triple the actions, but unfortunately, those clones are actually more for distractions and aren¡¯t really that suitable for attacking. In addition to having only 1 HP, those clones have the sad characteristic that if it hits something, it will take damage and disappear in an instant. Because of this, even if you have them attack, those clones will disappear the moment their weapons hit an enemy. Even if their attacks hit the enemy though, the damage is so low that it¡¯s no different from an invalid attack. However, this doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re a ranged weapon-user who doesn¡¯t come into direct contact with the enemy. Rather than by the melee Thief-types who were originally intended to use this technique, this technique can triple the attack rate of those who use ranged weapons, such as bows and projectiles. (Though I said that, I usually don¡¯t opt to use this Skill because the effects of Skills won¡¯t get carried on to the clones¡­¡­) The clones only mimic the user¡¯s movements, so it doesn¡¯t copy the effects of magic or offensive Skills. No, as per usual, this Skill also favors those who can use Manual Arts as their effects are applied normally, but if you use an offensive skill with your bow, the clone¡¯s portion of the effect won¡¯t be activated and it will be just a normal attack. And so, unless you have a special fighting style where you prepare a lot of arrows with special effects while buffing yourself and opt for dealing damage with normal attacks, tactics surrounding this Skill aren¡¯t often employed¡­¡­ [¡­¡­What?] Perhaps sensing my gaze to her, Prana looked back at me. [No, it¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s just, your timing for covering fire, I thought it was great. As to be expected of Prana.] [¡­¡­It¡¯s not that great. I¡¯m just doing as I always do.] I answered to her half seriously, and the other half to divert the topic from my gaze, but Prana just responded curtly. Looking away while holding the magic power-filled Attribute Arrows that she carefully collected, it doesn¡¯t look like she¡¯s gonna respond to me anymore. I don¡¯t think she hates me, but I just can¡¯t seem to mesh well with her. As I was feeling at a loss about her¡­¡­ [I think Prana-chan is happy that Rex-san praised her.] Thereupon, as if to intercede at that moment, Mana, Prana¡¯s best friend and the party¡¯s Healer, walked up to me and said. Whether it¡¯s in a good or a bad way, this girl seems to be the most ¡°normal¡± in . However, I know that she isn¡¯t just that simple of a person. (Her stats are as outrageous as usual.) While Nuku and Prana have expanded their options, Mana has gone straight toward her strong point. Her aptitude for praying is extraordinary, as evidenced by her nickname , Rex Toren. A character whose growth potential has been cast aside in exchange for his blessed Initial Level. With ability values of only 200, he was often the target of memes on the internet. However, 3 months have passed since I was sent to this incomprehensible world. Through my various experiences, I myself have clearly grown. Taking off the rings that increased my abilities, I turned to myself in the mirror. Thereupon, facing the unfriendly guy with a black color theme staring back at me, I activated my Skill. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C.] Do you see this, Rex? This is the culmination of the 3 months I had been risking my life. This is my, the current Rex¡¯s power!!! CH 75 (¡­¡­Seriously, this is hopeless.) Looking at my Status again, I heavily sighed. In B&B, you get almost no EXP even if you kill an enemy of a lower level than you. And my¡­¡­ Rex¡¯s Initial Level is 50. In other words, with a Status that is inferior to that of Radd¡¯s group at Lv 30, if I don¡¯t defeat opponents of Lv 50 or higher, I won¡¯t be able to earn much EXP. In fact, the only opponents of the same level or higher that I have defeated in the past 3 months are the Lv 60 Doom Demon that I first defeated and the Lv 70 that I fought in the Arena. I naturally didn¡¯t gain any EXP from the fight with Nirva, so the only EXP I got were those from the Doom Demon. And although the Doom Demon was a higher level than me, due to the game¡¯s specifications, even though there was a minus in EXP gain for defeating a lower-level monster, there was no such thing as a bonus increase in EXP gain for defeating a higher-level monster. That Doom Demon should be considered a Boss-level monster, but I couldn¡¯t even earn enough EXP to get to Lv 51 from it. ¡­¡­However, even if I can¡¯t expect to get stronger by leveling up, there¡¯s still one more way to increase my abilities. That would be the ¡°Ability Improvement Training¡±. You can raise your stats without relying on level-ups by doing training corresponding to that stat, such as practice swings for STR and meditation for MGC. "" It¡¯s still fresh in my memory how Radd and the others once increased their ability values by an average of 30 points in a month through this training. However, there¡¯s a pitfall in this path. ¡°The higher the affinity of the ability to raise¡± and ¡°the lower the current value of the ability you want to raise¡±, the higher the effect of this training will be. In fact, Radd, with his STR of 54, by doing nothing but swinging his sword for a long time, increased his STR by 22, while Resilia, with her STR of 126, who had trained the same way as him, could only increase her STR by 4. In that case, I think it goes without saying what the result will be for me, who doesn¡¯t even have a higher STR aptitude than Resilia, and whose current STR is 200. That¡¯s why, to begin with, I gave up on improving my own abilities through training, and only occasionally went out with Radd and the others. (Even so, I¡¯ve only done some swinging while teaching others the Manual Arts, but I managed to get it up by 1 huh¡­¡­) Only gaining 1 after 3 months isn¡¯t much to talk about. At least, it didn¡¯t change my conclusion that it was too costly and impractical to raise my ability values through this method. (Seriously, this is just too much even for a Hard Mode, Rex.) Knowing that there was no point to it, I complained to the sour-faced Rex in the mirror. [Old man, the heck are you doing, looking that long at that mirror? Let¡¯s move on already.] Thereupon, Radd, who seemed to be in a good mood, called out to me from behind, and I had no choice but to stop escaping from reality. Putting on my STR-increasing rings again, I turned to Radd. [I know. That aside, be prudent. Remember, the enemies here have higher stats than you.] [Bring it on! No matter what the enemy is, I¡¯ll buy enough time so that Mana can use her magic!] I almost sighed when he gave a response that showed he doesn¡¯t seem to understand the situation, but I guess Radd has leveled up enough not to say he would defeat the enemy himself. After leaving behind the mirror, we continued forward. The cool, underground air around this place, whether I like it or not, makes me tense up. [¡­¡­I suppose this would be the next room huh.] After a short walk down the stone corridor, we came upon a battered door. Fortunately, the dilapidated and crumbling door was slightly ajar before we even did anything about it. It helps that we don¡¯t have to be on the lookout for locks or traps. After nodding my head at Nuku¡¯s words, we stepped into the room. "" The space was deserted, with inorganic stone walls. There was no furniture or decorations other than a rotting piece of wood propped up against the wall, and a wooden coffin sitting quietly in the center of the room. (This room¡­¡­) Looking at this room, I started tracing the hazy memories in my brain and reflexively stopped¡­¡­ [¡­¡­What, it¡¯s just a dead end huh.] With a lackadaisical voice, Radd slipped past me and stepped past me and carelessly stepped into the room. (¡ª¨CNo!) A faint memory in the corner of my mind rings an alarm in my mind! [Radd!!!] At that moment, the coffin bursts open from the inside, and a torrent of darkness overflows from within. ¡°Something¡± black scattered with such force that it collided with the ceiling. Whatever that is looked like a single clump of something, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a group. The identity of ¡°those things¡± that split and spread out on either side of the ceiling, staring at us with their red eyes¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª! They¡¯re bloodsucking bats!!!] With a shout, I pulled back Radd¡¯s body and stepped forward to his previous position. These bats, in exchange for their low ability values, are monsters that are numerous, erratic in their movements, and difficult to catch. As I didn¡¯t have much of a hard time fighting them in-game, I didn¡¯t recall them right away. (Not good! They¡¯re a bad match against the party!) If you have battles where you have inferior ability values, these quick and numerous opponents are more dangerous. If you fight them with the right abilities, you can easily handle them if you¡¯re able to ignore their bombarding attacks and enough firepower to oonga-boonga burn everything, but with how Radd and his party currently is, even the attacks from these mobs can be fatal. Besides, unlike the ones they have been fighting, these guys aren¡¯t Undead. Mana¡¯s Light Magic, which is the main firepower of the current party, can¡¯t be used as a trump card against them! [Old man!? This won¡¯t do! Fighting against this number is just¡­¡­] Holding back the flustered Radd who was about to step forward, I consciously exclaimed confidently. [Don¡¯t underestimate me too much. This is a good opportunity. I¡¯m going to show you guys the ¡°grown¡± me¡¯s power!] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù A swarm of bats flitting about the room. I don¡¯t have time to count them, but there must be a dozen or so in that cluster. If all of them came rushing at us at once, we would be in danger. [Let¡¯s start with this guy!] With a shout, I threw as a greeting. Two of the daggers hit the bats but¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Haha. Of course, this would happen.) The bats that received the projectile attacks were momentarily disoriented, but they soon continued as if nothing had happened. (Does this mean that the strength of the enemy has already caught up with the advantage I gained through game knowledge?) The is a powerful piece of equipment obtained at the casino. It has a mysterious special effect that makes it ¡°strong against Goblins, but weak against non-Goblins¡±, but that can be circumvented by using them as projectiles with the Skill: without equipping it. In other words, against enemies in this level, even the which I worked hard to acquire aren¡¯t very strong weapons. (¡­¡­However, that doesn¡¯t mean this would be the end.) Taking out another in my left hand, I held it out towards the bats with the in my right hand. (Haahhh¡­¡­ Geez. I wasn¡¯t planning on fighting this time.) Sweat dripped down my body from the tension I¡¯m feeling. With my dagger in my left hand held at the side, I swayed and swayed, following a rhythm in my mind. (¡­¡­The important thing here is the timing.) What¡¯s troublesome about bats is that they¡¯re small targets and their movements are erratic. It originally would be easier to kill them with ranged magic or sniping, but we don¡¯t have enough firepower to wipe them out that way, and we can¡¯t take that option now that we¡¯ve been squeezed into this small room. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-They¡¯re coming! As if it had grown impatient, a bat came towards us. "" I swung my sword to intercept it. ¡­¡­However! The little black imp moved away from the trajectory of my sword, moving in a way that you could call ¡°slippery¡±. This is the bat¡¯s greatest strength. Because of their movements, Arts that are linear and can¡¯t change the trajectory of the attack midway can¡¯t catch these guys. [Aaaahhhh!] A voice filled with despair rang out from behind. However, it¡¯s still too early for that. I stopped the slash it was about to send to me. And then, taking a step forward¡­¡­ [Naive!] Thrusting towards the fleeing bat, I caught it in my attack. The bat, pierced by the Metallic King¡¯s Sword, struggles to escape once¡­¡­ [¡­¡­That¡¯s the first one.] It immediately became particles of light and returns to the air. The second bat, taking advantage of the opportunity, rushed in a roundabout trajectory, but it was cut down by my sword. [What¡¯s up? Is that it?] The taunts I threw may not be quite effective, but as if a dam had been burst, the bats surged forward. Even so, I didn¡¯t mind. The current me isn¡¯t just a gamer who can¡¯t swing a sword without relying on Arts. I have the swordsmanship of ¡°Rex¡± lying dormant inside me. [Four, five, six¡­¡­] When the bats falling to the ground exceeded half of the enemy¡¯s group, I accelerated my sword further. Left and right, up and down. "" Sometimes anticipating the bats¡¯ erratic movements, sometimes chasing after them, sometimes overpowering it with the difference in our reach. [¡­..Amazing.] By the time I heard such a murmur from behind me, there were only two bats left, fitting about aimlessly in the center of the room. (Long-term battle wouldn¡¯t be good. In that case, I¡¯ll settle this here!) Catching the beat with the dagger in my left hand, when the two bats¡¯ bodies were lined up in a straight line, I immediately stepped forward. [Hmph!] I closed the distance of about 2 meters in an instant. And then¡­¡­ [This ends it!] With the momentum of my approach, I cut down the last two remaining bats with the sword in my right hand. (¡­¡­I¡¯ve somehow dealt with them huh.) Watching the two bats disappear, just as I was about to let out a sigh of relief¡­¡­ [Rex-san!] Mana screamed. At that moment, I turned around only my head, only to see a monster blowing away the wood that had been propped up by the side, swinging its claws my way. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-An ambush! I regretted how the bad premonition I had the moment I entered the room slipped out of my mind, but it was already too late. Approaching my way was a Werewolf with overwhelming speed, . Its deadly claws were at my throat in a single breath, and there was no time to evade it. As an attempt to resist, I desperately pulled back my arm, waiting for the inevitable collision to occur. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C! The next moment, I had now ¡°leaped¡± behind the Werewolf. The Skill acquired from the Sword Saint Class, . Borrowing the power of this extremely unreasonable skill that allows me to ¡°instantly teleport behind the attacking opponent the moment their attack hits me¡±, I swung my sword at its unprotected back. [¡­¡­Sorry.] As the monster lost sight of me, not having any reason why it would avoid an attack coming from behind¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-.] As the poor monster was hit by my strike, in a single breath, the upper and lower halves of its body were separated, drawing its last breath. CH 76 [¡­¡­Phew.] Somehow managing to handle the surprise attacks of the bats and the werewolf, knowing that I can really be relieved now, I breathed out a sigh. Returning the Metallic King¡¯s Sword in my right hand, I shake my empty left hand. [Are you alright, Rex-san!?] Thereupon, pushing aside Radd, who was dumbfoundedly standing around at the entrance of the room, Mana rushes over to me. [It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m alright.] As she approached with a twitching face, seemingly as if she was suppressing the urge to reprimand me, I gave her a composed smile. Mana herself finally seemed to be relieved after seeing that. [I- I¡¯m glad. When I saw the monster attack Rex-san from behind those wood planks, I thought my heart was gonna stop¡­¡­] [Don¡¯t worry. If it¡¯s just opponents of that level, it¡¯s still within my assumptions.] I answered that way for appearance¡¯s sake, but of course, that¡¯s a lie. I was so frightened when it suddenly appeared, and if Mana hadn¡¯t warned me, I might have been killed. (Moreover, I have used up much more than I thought¡­¡­) I reflexively protected Radd earlier, but I made up my mind not to do stuff like that again. Battles of attritions aren¡¯t my cup of tea. I like to take a safer margin and enjoy a moderate thrill in situations I know I can definitely win. I like those kinds of easy, leisurely games. [T- That aside, Old man! What the heck was that strength!?] Radd, who was still standing at the entrance with his mouth agape, came at me with all his might. Thereupon, he rushed to me with great energy. [Of course, I knew that Old man was strong! But I didn¡¯t know you were that strong! I mean, your STR should be¡­¡­] [Lower than yours, right?] I completed the words Radd hesitated to finish. Seeing Radd looking awkward at that, I grinned. [As to why I was able to fight that much, let¡¯s see¡­¡­ You can say it was the power of my Skills.] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù I knew that, given Rex¡¯s situation, it was hopeless for me to level him up and train. However, that does not mean that I have given up on becoming stronger. And so, what I looked for was the strength that did not depend on your basic ability values. [First of all, I¡¯m better equipped than you guys.] Unlike Radd and the others, who have to wear weak training equipment to improve their aptitudes, since I have given up on leveling up, I can choose my equipment based on performance. In particular, the ability ups of my Enchanted equips were allocated to STR, abandoning defense, so it compensates for my lack of ability, at least in terms of attack power to some extent. Besides, I used the biggest prize at the casino, the . Unlike , even in this level range, this is clearly a strong late-game class offensive equipment. But if it was just that, it wouldn¡¯t be any different from before. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-What has changed is my Skills. To be more specific, it¡¯s because of a ¡°Passive Skill¡±.] If neither leveling up nor training can be effective for me, then what else can I do? I aimed for growth through ¡°Skills¡±, which are learned by mastering a Class. To become proficient in a Class, one should continue to use the Active Skills learned in that Class, but the higher the rank of the Class, the harder it is to become proficient in it. Since Rex is a pervert who has mastered the Skills of all the lower-ranked Classes, I only need to learn the Skills of the Unique Classes such as , and . However, the important thing to remember here is that you can improve your proficiency even if you just do it in your spare time. An easy example of this would be Prana¡¯s Skill. The Initial Skill acquired by this Class is . This is a simple technique that allows you to instantly swap a weapon in your inventory with your current weapon, but it¡¯s very useful for raising your proficiency. While many Offensive Skills require you to hit an enemy to increase your proficiency, this one allows you to gain it simply by swapping weapons. You can just keep swapping weapons under the desk while listening to a long conversation, and in situations where you¡¯re swapping a weapon of the same kind, most people wouldn¡¯t even notice that you have changed weapons. You can do this while doing your work, so improving your proficiency feels more like a side job. What also demonstrated its unexpected power was the ¡¯s only questionable Skill: . This Skill allows you to ¡°emit a wave that removes sleep and drowsiness from surrounding characters¡±, and of course, that Skill can be useful in certain situations, but it was regarded as a questionable Skill due to the lack of opportunities you can use it and the fact that such a Skill isn¡¯t really something required by a . However, the true value of this technique lies elsewhere. It¡¯s certainly questionable when considered in a combat scenario, but its low cost per use and short cooldown makes it easy to use repeatedly. Above all, the increase in proficiency was determined by ¡°the number of people affected¡± by the technique, so it had the hidden advantage of gaining more proficiency by using it in places where there were many people! Even if that¡¯s the case though, this advantage was rarely demonstrated in the game. First of all, there weren¡¯t that many places with that many people in the game, and secondly, in the game, it¡¯s a Skill that can¡¯t be activated if there were no sleeping characters around. However, in this world, that restriction is longer in place, and when I tried it, I was able to activate the Skill regardless of whether or not the people around me were awake. And at the same time, I have acquired a stage where people can gather around me by themselves. ¡­¡­Yes. Lectures and guidance on Aptitude Appraisals and Manual Arts. Aiming for those who swarm for those teachings, I used the and blew away their sleepiness without permission. [Old man¡­¡­ Did you seriously do all that while giving such serious speeches¡­¡­ Even though I was slightly moved by those speeches¡­¡­] [I- It¡¯s fine, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯m just blowing away people¡¯s sleepiness, no one¡¯s hurt or anything.] After silencing Radd, who was looking at me with flabbergasted eyes, I continued my explanation. In any case, due to this ¡°indiscriminate Haki terrorism¡±, my Class¡¯ proficiency level, which was originally supposed to be difficult to raise, increase dramatically. It would have taken me several months to gain proficiency if I just used it in a proper battle, but I was able to do it without any difficulty while in the city. That¡¯s an exploit I couldn¡¯t stop myself from smiling at. And so, I, of course, managed to learn , which is an essential Skill for Dual-Wielding, which ¡°allows your off-hand to gain the effect of a technique performed with your main hand¡±. Even that wouldn¡¯t have learned this super-powerful Skill at this point in his career, and it would be much later when you can acquire the strongest Sword-related Passive Skill that further accelerates the degree of destruction the Class brings. [¡­¡­Sword Extremity?] As Radd parroted my words, as if I had been waiting for that reaction, I spun my words. [It¡¯s a Skill with a simple and clear effect. This Skill ¡°doubles the damage of sword attacks¡±.] [¡­¡­Huh?] Possessing late-game class combat power, . By winning one-on-one against him, you would be able to gain the Class, and after fighting in that Class for dozens of hours, you should be able to obtain this Skill. The strength of this Skill is truly outstanding. It is, by all accounts, a broken OP Skill. It has a performance that could break the game. [Ah, incidentally, you can learn a lower-tiered version of this Skill from the Class, which gives you a ¡°Sword damage increased by 30%¡±.] [Eh? Really!?] Unfortunately, Skills like this don¡¯t stack. Learning that Skill myself would be meaningless now, but it would obviously be useful for Radd in the future. [That¡¯s why, in this case, growth compensation isn¡¯t all there is to a Class. You don¡¯t have to be in a hurry. Little by little, you can strengthen yourself, one step at a time¡­¡­] As I patted Radd on the shoulder, telling him that, I thought this would conclude this matter but¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Please wait.] Resilia spoke up. "" Looking at me quizzically, she asked. [Nii-san. What happened to that knife in your left hand?] [¡­¡­You know I learned , right? I put it away in my inventory, you know? Here.] Saying this, a new instantly appeared in my empty left hand. However, Resilia¡¯s gaze never wavered. [To begin with, if you only use the sword in your right hand, then you should be able to attack more with Double-hand instead of holding another weapon in your left hand. In that case, why did you carry a weapon in your left hand that you didn¡¯t even wield, Nii-san?] [¡­¡­It¡¯s for support. I didn¡¯t get a chance to use it earlier, but I might use it when I¡¯m actually in a pinch.] There was a short pause before I managed to think up an answer. At my answer though, Resilia¡¯s eyes became even sharper. [Besides, isn¡¯t it strange?] [What is?] In this atmosphere filled with tension, Resilia asked. "" [The effect of that certainly is powerful. However, is it really possible for you to defeat a Lv 40 monster so easily with just that effect?] I was at a loss for words when she pointed this out. Indeed, is a powerful Skill, but it¡¯s meaningless if you don¡¯t have the base strength for it. Since it only raises ¡°Damage¡± and not ¡°Attack Power¡±, it has no effect on strong enemies that you originally can¡¯t damage. In other words, if I didn¡¯t have a way to deal damage to a Lv 40 monster even without , I wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat them with a single blow. I thought I had somehow managed to deceive them by talking at length about how I learned the Skill and its effects but¡­¡­ Resilia and I exchanged a look. Our gazes exchanged a silent battle of some sort. As we gazed at each other like that for a while¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Alright already. If all that much was already revealed, it can¡¯t be helped.] I looked away from the silent staring battle before Resilia did. [W- What does that mean?] At Radd¡¯s confused question, I told him the truth. [It wasn¡¯t purely by my own strength that I defeated those monsters. It was the power of my weapon.] [Your weapon¡­¡­?] As Radd tilted his head again, I sighed and resigned myself to talking about the ¡°real reason¡± for my increased power. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù It¡¯s true that I had learned Skills to strengthen myself, but I never thought that I could fight monsters around Lv 40 with my current low Status. And the first thing that comes to mind when I think of a way to fight that doesn¡¯t depend on Status is to imitate the past. [Well, to tell the truth, my attack power is no match for such a monster. However, there¡¯s one technique that¡¯s effective even against that , right?] [Nirva¡­¡­ Could it be, are you talking about !?] The Skill allows you to unleash a powerful ranged attack in exchange for the destruction of your weapon. Even if ¡¯s offensive power, used as a projectile with , there was a possibility that , which has a higher damage multiplier, could deal serious damage against them. [H- However, wait right there! There¡¯s no way you can just use a ranged attack in such a small space! Besides, for Old man to actually use such a technique¡­¡­] [Yeah. Until now, I couldn¡¯t use there, and if I just used as it was, it wouldn¡¯t have much meaning. But now, I have another option.] As Radd looked at me with a questioning look on his face, I spoke. [I told you that I¡¯ve improved my proficiency in Class and learned , didn¡¯t I? Do you remember what that Skill does?] [E- Errr, it ¡°allows your off-hand to gain the effect of a technique performed with your main hand¡±? Eh? Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡­] As Radd¡¯s eyes started widening, seemingly remembering something, I slammed the surprising fact to him. [That¡¯s right. The power of the that I used with my left hand also has the effects received by the weapon in my right hand!] No, learning about this surprised me too. I was wondering what kind of process led to that effect, but since it actually happened, it can¡¯t be helped. And one more thing. If you match it with a small trick, where you interrupt by putting away the weapon while in the middle of activating , a mysterious combo is born. By timing it correctly, the moment the sword in my right-hand hits the enemy, my left hand would unleash . Immediately, I would use to retrieve the exploding knife and replace it with a new one. In this way, without triggering the ranged attack, the power of the would instead be added to the sword in my right hand. What is important here is that the attack power of the sword wouldn¡¯t be the same as the power of the , but instead, the power of the would be added to the sword¡¯s original attack power. Moreover, in this case¡­¡­ [Since it has now turned into a sword attack, the attack power of my is amplified by .] If the attack power of the Metallic King¡¯s Sword has been increased by the high-powered and the attack power of the sword is doubled, it¡¯s no wonder that I can easily defeat the bats with a single blow. If there¡¯s a problem, it would be that werewolf at the end¡­¡­ [That thing wasn¡¯t as fast as the bats. I¡¯ve added Arts on top of that . By the way, monsters have this weakness that allows you to deal more damage when they¡¯re attacked from the back. No matter how strong they are, they wouldn¡¯t be able to put up any resistance when they¡¯re attacked on their weak point.] As I spoke in a matter-of-fact manner, Radd leaned forward, seemingly excited. [That¡¯s amazing! If you fight like that, even Old man can beat Lv 40 enemies, right? In that case¡­¡­] Radd speaks with glee. However, he¡¯s mistaken. That isn¡¯t the case. If such power could be produced with no risk, I would have told them about this method from the beginning, and I would have bragged about it even more. However, there¡¯s no such thing as free power increase in this world. [Sixteen¡­¡­] [Eh?] [That¡¯s how many I lost in that battle.] Even though I interrupted it, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that you would sacrifice a weapon to use . Of course, the on my left hand will disappear. The same which I could have sold for 5 million wen by alchemy. In other words¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CEvery single one of those attacks is equivalent to wasting 5 million wen!!!] As expected, being in a pinch, I used it unsparingly, but I almost felt like screaming every time I swung my sword, and during the fight, I was mysteriously nervous and couldn¡¯t stop sweating. [I thought I would have 30 left that I could use in case of emergencies, but I ended up only having 27 left!] I have cut down the last 2 bats once, so I was able to save some money, but even so, this brings me to a deficit of 80 million wen. And that, too, in a battle that lasted less than 30 seconds. (Aaaaaaahhhh! I shouldn¡¯t have shown off and cooperated with Radd and the others at that time!) But in this case, putting the bats aside, there¡¯s a danger that someone might have been killed by the surprise attack from that werewolf, so well, I suppose I really had to do my best facing that situation on my own¡­¡­ As I was anguishing about such things, I saw a small shadow standing in front of me. [¡­¡­Rex.] My name was quietly called out. The Elf girl, Prana, was staring at me with emotionless eyes. As I waited, unknowingly gulping down my nervousness, she opened her tiny lips¡­¡­ [I think I¡¯ll name that technique .] [Stop!!!] ¡ª¡ª¡ª-and confronted me with the ominous name of a technique that would likely take root hereafter. CH 77 [¡­¡­Ugh.] As he peeked into the next room, Radd let out a groan. In that room was, once again, a coffin. Just like the place where the previous bat attack took place, a coffin lay in the center of the room, and the memory of the most recent ambush made his body alert. [No, this is¡­¡­] [Eh? Old man!?] However, what I saw in the coffin made me step into the room without a second thought. Passing by the side of the surprised Radd, I was first to reach the coffin. [¡­¡­It¡¯s as I thought huh.] Unlike the coffin that contained the bats, the lid of this coffin was already open. And what was inside was someone¡¯s clothes. Inside the coffin, only the clothes spread out in the shape of a person remained, as if the clothes had been left behind while the person who had been wearing them had completely disappeared. Other than the clothes, there¡¯s also one more thing¡­¡­ [Is that¡­¡­?] There was a strange object propped up against the left side of the clothing, just to the left of the chest area. As I silently approached the coffin, I pulled it out without hesitation. [Rex-san. Is that¡­¡­ a weapon?] As Nuku caught up to me and asked, I nodded. [Yeah. It¡¯s the . A weapon that specializes in stabbing and is said to be particularly effective against certain Undead.] As I was looking at the knife in my hand, I heard a rumbling sound from outside the room, as if something heavy had been moved. Lured in by the sound, I went outside and saw that a stairway to the basement had appeared where there had been none before. [I guess that knife earlier had been some sort of switch huh?] [We¡¯re finally on to the next floor huh. My sword is ready!] We had accomplished the minimum objective of this exploration. Considering the group¡¯s current strength though, it would be best not to go any deeper. [Wha!? Old man! I¡¯m still good to go!] Radd spoke out his frustration, but I shook my head. [If you go down to the lower floor, the enemy will get stronger. I¡¯m not saying you guys can¡¯t win with your current abilities, but the risk is too great. Remember the surprise attack in that room?] [Uuu¡­¡­ H- However, if Old man would just fight as you did earlier¡­¡­] [Don¡¯t just go telling me to break my weapons. Heck, even if you exclude that, fighting with me won¡¯t allow you to gain EXP. That¡¯s like putting the cart before the horse.] Even though the monsters over there have higher stats, the actual level of the enemy is about Lv 40. If I, a Lv 50, take part in the battle, the EXP that Radd and the others will gain will be drastically reduced. [That is, well¡­¡­ you¡¯re right but¡­¡­] [I think you should clear Guild Quests for the time being and raise your Class Proficiency. It¡¯s enough that you¡¯ve managed to challenge up to this point.] When I managed to persuade Radd and we were about to reach an agreement, a voice supporting Radd came from someone I didn¡¯t expect. It was from the glasses-wearing intellectual boy, Nuku. "" [However, I¡¯m also a little curious. Why are monsters living in a place like this? Could it be that there¡¯s something even more terrifying in the deepest part of this place¡­¡­] [Nuku!] I shouted in a loud voice to stop Nuku, who started talking fast, seemingly driven by anxiety. [You shouldn¡¯t thoughtlessly say things too much. There are plenty of places where monsters have settled in and accidentally turned them into dungeons. You can go deep into a dungeon and may still find nothing.] [However¡­¡­] As Nuku seemed like he was about to say something again, I covered up his voice with my own. [Besides, you can just come here anytime you want, right?] When I put my strength into saying that, Nuku looked as if he still wanted to say something, but swallowing those words, he nodded. Even as I felt Resilia¡¯s gaze on me, looking like she also wanted to say something, I just returned to the path we went through. Due to the specifications of B&B, once a monster is defeated, it will not revive for a while. Without any obstacles in our path, we climbed some sets of stairs before we finally reached the ground. Opening up a hidden door, we are back inside a familiar building. "" As the natural light seemed to burn my retina, I couldn¡¯t help squinting my eyes. [¡­¡­The sun is already setting huh.] Being underground would really mess up a person¡¯s sense of time. The blood-red color coming in from outside the window announced the near arrival of evening. [¡­¡­It kinda feels like we¡¯ve just moved to another world.] Hearing those words, I look behind the window. The town of Frelia is just the same as it always has been. As if they have no connection to monsters or conflicts, the passersby are walking down the street with peaceful expressions on their faces. ¡­¡­Yes. The building we were in stands in the town of Frelia. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-This is a special dungeon that exists within a town. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [Ah, welcome back, everyone. Are you hurt?] As we walked out to the entrance of the building, a voice called out to us from the side.] [¡­¡­Roze.] I softly called her name. Long white hair and eyes filled with gentle light, there stood a fragile woman. She¡¯s the owner of this building. [We¡¯ve carefully subjugated the monsters on the 1st underground floor in this expedition. With this, there should be no chance that monsters will come out above ground.] At my blunt words, Roze¡¯s eyes widened for a moment, before thanking us with an elegant bow. [Adventurer-sama really is quite great. Guessing that a hidden door leads to a dungeon at a glance, defeating the monsters inside in no time at all¡­¡­] When she finally looked up, it seemed that the light of aspiration was shining within her eyes. [¡­¡­That¡¯s the kind of work we do.] As for me, I just disclosed the facts that I knew in the game as if I had deduced them. Being evaluated for such an action, as expected, even I would feel awkward. As I reflexively moved my gaze away¡­¡­ [Yes, Rex is amazing.] For some reason, Prana was puffing out her chest, to which Roze giggled. [Even so, this is indeed quite surprising. I didn¡¯t expect monsters would make a den in the basement of the house where I had been living normally until now¡­¡­] [Do you have any idea why that hidden door was built, Roze-san?] Brimming with inquisitiveness, Nuku curiously asked, but Roze just shook her head. [I just inherited this building from my uncle. That¡¯s why, I didn¡¯t know the details of its past¡­¡­] As Roze shakes her head while saying this, there¡¯s no indication that she¡¯s lying. At her response, Nuku responded ¡°I see¡± before withdrawing regretfully. [I was surprised that there were monsters there, but I¡¯m happy that everyone came to visit me. ¡­¡­This building is a little too big for one person after all.] [Roze-san¡­¡­] Hearing the words Roze sadly revealed, Mana became at a loss for words. Then, as if she realized something, Roze put on a smile and cheerfully made a suggestion. [Since there¡¯s an opportunity, how about we have some tea? I would love to hear about your adventures.] As she said this with a forced smile, we nodded without hesitation. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù After that, we sat around a table drinking tea, and by the time we parted from Roze, who looked lonely as she watched us leave, the sun had completely set. We hurried home along the dark night road, relying on the light from the street lamps. [Even so, we really are getting stronger, aren¡¯t we!? Even that bandaged guy would have been absolutely no match for us just a few minutes ago!] [I think it was Nuku-san¡¯s Support Magic that did the trick! Being able to grant attributes to attacks brings about quite the impact in battles!] [Well, it¡¯s for that reason I learned it. ¡­¡­If a certain someone just had stayed on his guard, we could have won that battle a little more safely though.] [I- I said I¡¯m sorry already!] As I felt myself somewhat relaxing at the cheerful conversation Radd and the others exchanged, I suddenly stopped. "" As if to turn away from the lights of the city, I looked back at the path we had just taken. The House of Roses, standing out beneath the moonlit night, seemed to be trapped in deep darkness, in contrast to the houses filled with light. (¡­¡­Sorry, Nuku.) I know what that building really is, and what is under the lower floors. However, that¡¯s something I can¡¯t tell them¡­¡­ I can¡¯t tell them that this building is the epicenter of Frelia¡¯s collapse¡­¡­ And that one of the six who follow the Evil Deity, beings who will destroy the world, is sleeping in there¡­¡­ CH 78 If the Evil Deity, the strongest enemy and ultimate goal of , is positioned as the game¡¯s Last Boss, then the Six that exist in this world are the Mid-Bosses in the game. Hearing about this, the who were keeping the Evil Deity within the deepest level of the may be the first to come to mind, but the are different from them. While the are ¡°Dormant Bosses¡± who exist in fixed locations to intercept the player, while the are ¡°Active Bosses¡± who appear in front of the Hero through events. In a different sense from the Evil Deity, the Demon Lords are very troublesome enemies that imposes a time limit on the game. The , who remain motionless from the depths of the dungeon and mechanically all corners, were simply extremely strong monsters, acting as mere stage gimmicks in the game. They are simply a hurdle to be overcome by force, and there¡¯s no room for emotions to interpose around their existence. However, the are different. They are ¡°characters¡± that have their own will, wisdom, and their own goals, that is to bare their fangs on mankind. (The Demon Lords are actually quite popular among the users though.) I have a lot of hatred for these guys, because I have been repeatedly burned by them, but I heard that there are a few fanartists who have been drawing fanarts of them. (Well, all of them have sharp abilities and personality, and they¡¯re well-defined characters.) They are monsters evolved by the power of the Evil Deity¡¯s ¡°Origin of Evil¡±, and are literally the ¡°Lord of Monsters¡±, ruling over their respective species. Depending on which they are, they may have a large number of subordinates in tow, or they may use the characteristics of their species to attack in their own unique way. And the who sleeps beneath the is the best example of such a Demon Lord. Known as ¡°the One who Converses with Death¡±, this is a Vampire, an Undead monster that sucks human blood and turns them into monsters. As legend depicts, the is capable of transforming people into his own kin by sucking their blood. In fact, the resurrected will gradually turn the inhabitants of Frelia into vampires as time goes by, and by the time you realize it, it will be no exaggeration to say that the town will be destroyed. And so, this event must be prevented at all costs. ¡­¡­That is something I must do at all costs but¡­¡­ Thereupon, I spotted the person I was looking for in my field of vision and broke off my train of thought. At the end of a busy intersection, I walk up to an old woman standing in front of a small grocery store. [Can I talk to you for a moment? I¡¯d like to know if anything has changed recently.] The old woman¡¯s eyes widened in surprise for a moment as I spoke to her, but then she quickly realized it¡¯s me, to which her expression dropped. [Oya, it¡¯s you again. Even if you ask me that many times, nothing has changed. All¡¯s right with the world. This too goes along the guidance of the . Hohoho.] "" [I see. ¡­¡­I¡¯m sorry for the trouble.] Lightly bowing my head, I left the place, gritting my teeth. [As expected¡­¡­] The one I just spoke to is a mob with no particular background, but a convenient character who can tell the progress of events and history by the content of the conversation, a.k.a. ¡°Granny Hohoho¡±. And what I can clearly read in the earlier conversation¡­¡­ (The Era¡­¡­ The World Events have not progressed in any way!) The dialogue from the Granny is something you can visit and hear right after the game starts. From there, the content should change if the Era progresses or there are signs of major events, but it hasn¡¯t changed at all since the initial state of the game. [It¡¯s already been 3 months since the game started. What in the world is the ¡°Hero¡± doing!?] I was so frustrated that I couldn¡¯t help sighing in annoyance. If this world works just like in the game, after 3 months from the start of the game, there should have already been a number of World Events, and the Era should have progressed accordingly. And yet, I see no sign of that happening at all. (D*mn it! We¡¯ve only got 2 years until the revival of the Evil Deity! If I had been the Hero, by now¡­¡­) I bit my lip, stopping myself from continuing those thoughts. However, after examining the events from various angles and taking various actions, I¡¯m convinced of one thing. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-The World Events can only be triggered by the ¡°Hero¡±. This is the ¡°certain reason¡± why I have not actively embarked on ¡°clearing¡± this world for the past 3 months. Even in this world, Events can be triggered by creating ¡°game-like situations¡±. That¡¯s a fact I¡¯m definite about, but among the factors involving ¡°game-like situations¡±, it seems that ¡°the existence of the ¡°Hero¡±¡± is a very important factor. The most obvious example is the ¡°Stargazing Event¡± that occurs when the ¡°Hero¡± first visits Frelia Plaza. When the ¡°Hero¡± arrives at the plaza, a wrinkled old woman suddenly appears¡­¡­ [Your star! Show me your star!] Shouting this, she approaches the ¡°Hero¡±. Looking at the ¡°Hero¡±¡®s face¡­¡­ "" [Ohh, t- this star¡­¡­ What light! It¡¯s as if you are possessed by the Goddess of Light herself¡­¡­] Saying something that seemed to suggest something, she staggered around¡­¡­ [With the light you hold, will you be the key to saving the world or the catastrophe that destroys it¡­¡­ Hihi! Kuhihihihi!] Because it occurs early in the game, this event has firmly placed itself into my memory that I have even memorized the old woman¡¯s lines, but this event has not happened to me, Rex, in this world, who has been in and out of the plaza many times. ¡­¡­Well, of course, that won¡¯t happen. The reason why the old woman was so excited and why she said those lines was because the ¡°Hero¡± was the ¡°Qualified Person¡± chosen by the , in other words, they¡¯re the . If I, a mere Adventurer and not the had walked by that spot, nothing would have happened. And so, I once thought that just like in the game, the Events could only be triggered by the ¡°Hero¡±, but that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case. Just like the conversation I had with Lily in the cave, I was able to trigger Events that had nothing to do with the main storyline, such as those that involve the likability of characters without any problem. However, that was understandable. That Event occurred because Lily went on an adventure ¡°with an Adventurer she¡¯s close with¡±, and whether that Adventurer was a ¡°mere Adventurer¡± or the had no effect on the content of the event. And that, perhaps, is the essence of the problem. Most of the World Events, which can be called the Main Story, involve the ¡°Hero¡± being ¡°the Champion chosen by the Goddess¡± in the flow of the story. That is why the ¡°Hero¡± is absolutely necessary to cause World Events that change the world. (However, I didn¡¯t expect the ¡°Hero¡± would be this immobile¡­¡­) The reason why I have remained quiet, in addition to the reason that I¡¯m prioritizing the expansion of forces, is that I was waiting for the ¡°Hero¡± to trigger a World Event. If the ¡°Hero¡± is the only one who can cause a World Event, then conversely speaking, you could say that the ¡°Hero¡± is in the place where the World Event took place. (Especially the ¡°Encounter with the ¡± Event. If they had triggered that event, there¡¯s absolutely no way a rumor about it wouldn¡¯t circulate¡­¡­) The World Event ¡°Encounter with the ¡± is the first Event triggered by the ¡°Hero¡± for most players. This event is a typical ¡°Sure-Loss Event¡±, in which ¡°when the ¡°Hero¡±¡®s activity level exceeds a certain level, the suddenly appears during dungeon exploration and a battle ensues. The seems to be the lowest in the ranking among the , but even if that were the case, it isn¡¯t an opponent that the early-game ¡°Hero¡± would normally be able to defeat. However, when they¡¯re in a pinch, the Hero¡¯s appears, and they successfully defeat the enemy. This is a trope that is common in the early stages of shonen manga, where ¡°the Hero suddenly encounters a super-powerful enemy who¡¯s supposed to appear in the latter half of a story, but surprised by the awakened potential of the ¡°Hero¡±, the enemy retreats¡±. If this world is the same as in the game, the world would know that the have returned, and at the same time, the ¡°Hero¡± would be thrust into the center stage of history for the first time. Therefore, rather than searching without any clues nor plans, I thought I would rather settle down in one place and try to locate the whereabouts of the ¡°Hero¡± based on the rumors¡­¡­ "" (But no matter how you think about this, the situation staying like this is bad.) In the game, if an important World Event is left unattended for a certain period of time, that event will ¡°spontaneously activate¡±. The Event will go on its own without the ¡°Hero¡± knowing about it, and will end up in the worst possible way in the branches that exist in that Event. One typical example of this is , a Chain Event occurring in the ¡°House of Roses¡±. The trouble with this Chain Event is that they progress on their own without needing the ¡°Hero¡±¡®s involvement, and by the time they realize that this event has been active, it¡¯s already too late. The exact time varies depending on how the game progresses, but if you leave it alone for about half a year, an incident will occur in which Roze, the owner of the building, will be attacked by a vampire. A few months after that, the will be completely resurrected, and about 3 months after their resurrection, vampires lurking in the town will cause a rebellion, and Frelia will collapse. (Still¡­¡­ There should be plenty of time until that happens. I knew the sequence of the events beforehand, and using my knowledge, I had already stepped foot into the basement of the , which would normally be inaccessible because of ¡°Era division¡±. That¡¯s why¡­¡­ D*mn it!) I couldn¡¯t help cursing. I know. In fact, I already know what to do about this event. It¡¯s easy enough to stop that ¡¯s resurrection. There¡¯s no need to do anything complicated. It¡¯s so incredibly easy and simple. All it takes is the sacrifice of one person, and it will be over soon. (This is why I didn¡¯t want to see her.) After all, if I actually see her, if I had personally spoken to her, I will end up being emotionally attached. I wouldn¡¯t be able to make ¡°that choice¡±. And so, I avoided talking to her as much as possible. I didn¡¯t make eye contact, and only threw out the bare minimum of words in a matter-of-fact manner. Even so¡­¡­ I still can¡¯t get rid of that lonely profile, her eyes that look longingly at ¡°adventurers¡±, from my mind¡¯s eye. And¡­¡­ [Ummm! Are you, by any chance, the adventurer yesterday?] It was, as if by some miraculous, or perhaps, nightmarish coincidence. "" A lively voice calls out from behind me. Turning around, my spine shivers with a sense of foreboding. [I knew it!] In my field of vision, her long white hair flutters in the wind, and the smile blooming on her modest lips seemed to be glowing. (Aaahh¡­¡­) Within my heart, I sighed. Turning around, I saw the person I least wanted to see right now¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Roze.] She, who was burdened with the fated sacrifice for the , was there. CH 79 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThe image I have of her, Roze, is of her in bed, only her upper half raised, with a fragile smile on her face. This is because, although she¡¯s in good health now, as the Event progressed, a Vampire¡¯s ¡°curse¡± is placed on her and she becomes so weak that she can¡¯t move from her bed. Because I have seen her in that weakened state for too long, my image would inevitably be drawn to that rather than to her in good health. (Roze was a character I had to care about constantly once the event started.) The event she¡¯s involved in, ¡°Frelia¡¯s Vampire¡±, is a Chain Event that¡¯s so long that it¡¯s difficult to keep track of, and the players are very divided in their evaluation of this event. First of all, in the First Era, that is, in the early stage of the game, no major events occur when visiting the ¡°House of Roses¡±. You can only meet and talk with a woman named Roze, who lives there alone. However, if you advance the Era by conquering the and completed other events, after visiting the when the Second Era arrives, an event will occur there. The ¡°uncle¡± who raised Roze returns and tries to take her away. The player is given the choice of stopping him or to wait and see, but the result is the same no matter which option you choose. Even if you do battle him, there¡¯s no way for the party to win against the ¡°Uncle¡± in the early stages of the game, and even if you do win, it will be meaningless. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CAfter all, the opponent is a Vampire, an Undead monster. Putting aside what will happen if you choose to wait and see, even if you reduced the ¡°Uncle¡±¡®s HP to zero, he will just calmly revive, use the ¡°Demon Lord-sama¡¯s Relic¡± to carve a ¡°Curse Imprint¡± into Roze, and then leisurely left. Roze, who had had a dubious pattern magically engraved on her chest, however, outwardly showed no signs of abnormality. However, late that night, as a group of concerned Adventurers attended to her, just as the date changed, the pattern on her chest pulsated black, and she suddenly began to groan. As she groans in distress, her eyes turned red, long fangs sprouted from her mouth, and losing her senses, she attacks the ¡°Hero¡± and their party! [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Adventurer-sama?] At that moment, my memory and the real Roze mingled together, and I involuntarily took a step back. But of course, there was no need for me to be so frightened. There was no imprint on her chest as she looked at me curiously, her eyes not red and her mouth not having fangs. No, in the first place, even if she were to attack me, I would easily gain the upper hand in the first exchange. After she comes to her senses, rather, that¡¯s when the Chain Event really begins¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Please stop with the Adventurer-sama. I have a name, Rex.] I said this while shaking my head, as if to shake off the illusions in my mind, and after a pause, Roze happily smiled. [Fufu. I understand. You have finally told me your name, Rex-sama.] Hearing her words, it was me this time whose eyes widened in surprise. [Have I not told you my name? However¡­¡­] [Of course, I know who Rex-sama is. After all, you¡¯re famous. You¡¯re very popular among the children at the orphanage.] At those words, I finally remembered that Roze¡¯s in-game setting was that she was helping out at the orphanage when she was healthy. [These days, playing the role of Rex-sama is very popular among the children¡¯s pretend Adventurer game. Everyone has this twinkle in their eyes¡­¡­] However, it was Roze-san, who was telling me that, that seemed to be the one with a longing glint in her eyes. [Do you admire Adventurers?] [Eh¡­¡­?] When I asked her this, she froze, seemingly startled. However¡­¡­ [I suppose I do.] The expression on her face seemed to indicate that she had comprehended the fact that she was being confronted with the truth. Briefly glancing at her slender hands, she looked up to the skies and fluently spoke. [I was born weak, and my body isn¡¯t very strong. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll spend the rest of my life in that building within the town. ¡­¡­Perhaps, that may be the reason why. I was just dazzled by all of you who are active freely outside the town.] Hearing Roze as she looked outside the town with somewhat distant eyes, I secretly used . (This thing is as blatant as usual.) Unlike random characters, the initial ability values of Unique Characters are arbitrarily determined by the devs. There are many characters whose initial ability values are determined by ¡°Initial Growth Value x Number of times ability value is increased¡±, such as Nirva, but there are also many cases where characters are made stronger or weaker for the sake of the setting or Events related to them. For example, if the HP of someone who has to be escorted in an Event is as thin as paper, the difficulty level of that Event will unnecessarily increase, or if a former General-type Character who retired from active duty due to physical decline has a higher ability value than an active General-character, it would bring a contradiction to the story. The fact that all of Rex¡¯s ability values are 200 is an example of this, and it is possible to tell if he has undergone such ¡°adjustment¡± or not by whether or not his ability values are very high¡­¡­ (In Roze¡¯s case, this is enough for me to tell that she¡¯s one of the ¡°adjusted¡±-types.] HP and MP are critical in her event. And so, it¡¯s likely that her ability values were adjusted so that it would take that solid 50, which makes it easier for both sides, the players and the devs. After all, in her ¡°cursed¡± state, the amount of HP and MP remaining determines her ¡°remaining time¡±. If it were any more than that, it wouldn¡¯t be consistent with the cutscene of her Event, and I too have many times wished Roze would have some more HP and MP¡­¡­ Hmmm? ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-At that moment, just like a revelation, a thought came to my mind. It was a very silly thought. However, as I watched her look up at the sky, somewhat wistfully, my mouth naturally moved. [In that case, should I test that out?] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [Wow! Amazing! You can see the whole town at a glance from here!] [Yeah¡­¡­] Outside the town, on a small hill. As I looked at her brightly cheering, I was still shuddering faced with this deviation from the game. (I never thought I could take her out so easily¡­¡­) At least, as far as I could tell from Roze¡¯s monologue in the game, she has no history of having been outside the city. And so, I had been wondering if she had some kind of compulsion that would keep her from going out of the city. But to my surprise, I was able to get her out of the town with surprising ease. The town¡¯s gate guard almost gave me a face pass when he saw me, and when I told him that I was going to show her out of the town, he just smiled cheerfully, with a face and voice that didn¡¯t seem to be worried at all, before sending us off with a smile. (Well, I may be rotten, I¡¯m still an A-Rank Adventurer.) Perhaps, I may have gained more trust from the townspeople than I thought. Thinking of such things, feeling like escaping reality, I watched over her. [Please look over there! I went to that church today! For that church to look this small from here¡­¡­!] Acting in a way I¡¯ve never seen in the game before, her innocent, childlike glee, I¡¯ve also resolved myself. (In for a penny, in for a pound. If I¡¯m gonna do this, I¡¯m gonna take this to the extreme!) Approaching Roze, who was happily overlooking the town, and immediately searched through the items in my inventory. In this world, there¡¯s a clear distinction between ¡°Adventurers¡± who are born with high affinities and have an initial ¡°Class¡±, and ¡°Civilians¡±, who have no Class and low affinities. In the game, Adventurers are adventuring on their own and gaining levels along the way, but ordinary people remain at their Initial Level all the time. No matter how much time advances in the game, they never, ever become stronger. ¡­¡­I guess it¡¯s no wonder. Unlike Adventurers, who already have an average of about 20 abilities at Lv 1, their initial abilities average about 6. It would be suicidal for them to challenge monsters with abilities like that. And if they can¡¯t beat the monsters, their level will not increase, and of course, they will not become stronger. In this world, the wall that separates ¡°Adventurers¡± from ¡°Civilians¡± is a big one. However¡­¡­ [I¡¯m sorry, but I would be troubled if you think I¡¯ll be satisfied with this.] ¡­¡­I¡¯m going to break down that wall today! I don¡¯t know if it will work. However, I at least have the knowledge and the preparations to take on that challenge. [Rex-sama?] As Roze looked at me curiously, I pushed protective gears, several rings, and a ¡°magic wand¡± to her. Then, as Roze reflexively received them, I smiled. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªLet¡¯s begin Rex¡¯s Adventurer Experience Course.] Now! Let me teach you about the concept of power leveling! CH 80 If a powerless Civilian with no experience in fighting monsters had to defeat a monster, what would be their best opponent? Was it the standard weakest monster in RPGs, the Slimes? However, that is a bad idea in . Slimes in B&B certainly aren¡¯t strong, but they aren¡¯t weak either. They are larger than most people think, and since they¡¯re one of the Faceless-types, they are rather powerful. Many of them have special abilities in terms of combat, so they aren¡¯t enemies one would recommend for amateurs. Thus, fighting them is rejected. In that case, one would think of the other representative of Small Fry Monsters, the Goblins, but fighting against their kind is actually quite the hurdle for beginners. It is true that Goblins are weak, but people have this psychological hurdle when fighting against humanoid monsters. This is the conclusion for most experienced people, so there¡¯s no doubt about it. In addition, the fact that these monsters fight in groups and that each individual has a different weapon is also a negative point for novice fighters, who just want stability. Putting aside those who have the spirit to become an Adventurer, they aren¡¯t enemies that should be faced by amateurs who just want to raise their level. What we should be looking for would be an enemy that doesn¡¯t fight in groups, is moderately weak, and is stable, having no randomness in its behavior. In other words¡­¡­ [That would be our first target.] [That¡­¡­?] Roze tilted her curiously, but I could understand how she felt. The place that I just pointed to was an area that only had sparse trees in it¡­¡­ or so it looks like. [Well, I¡¯ll just show you what I¡¯m talking about. ¡­¡­Fire!] Even if I¡¯m rotten, what I unleashed was still magic from a Lv 50 person. Even if it was just an Elementary-level , its power was extraordinary, and the fireball that flew out immediately closed the distance of about 10 meters, and landed on one of the sparsely growing trees. [R- Rex-sama!? What are you suddenly¡­¡­] Roze got flustered by my sudden violent action, but I calmly pointed at the tree that was hit by the fireball. [Take a good look.] [Eh? Ahh! T- The tree is moving¡­¡­] The tree burning after I had shot it with a fireball was shaking, seemingly in pain. [That¡¯s a Plant-type monster that has been in camouflage, .] [S- So that is¡­¡­ a Treant¡­¡­] Perhaps having heard the name before, Roze gulped when she heard that name. I¡¯m also happy with the fresh reaction. This Treant is a Lv 5 Plant-type monster with a bad disposition, disguising itself as a tree and preys on Adventurers who pass by it. Its attack and defense capabilities are outstanding for its level, and if you¡¯re ambushed from behind while moving through the field in a hurry in the early stages of the game, a single blow can kill you (which guarantees you the death of one character). However, this is only the case when you approach them unprepared. Treants have excellent mimicking and offensive abilities, but their mobility is next to garbage. In addition, their PDEF may be high, but their MDEF is low, and they¡¯re extremely weak against Fire-Attribute attacks. And so, you can just burn them with Fire from a distance like this¡­¡­ [¡­¡­There, done and dealt with.] The Treant desperately struggled and tried to get closer, but before it could even walk 5 meters, it couldn¡¯t stand the flames anymore and stopped moving, turning into particles just like that. (If it¡¯s through this method, she should be able to do it.) Treants certainly have a high level at 5, but it moves slowly, and if you have the means to attack it from long-range, you would definitely have the preemptive attack, and since the lower-level Treant-type monsters don¡¯t have any long-range attacks, as long as you have enough firepower, there¡¯s no factor in which she would be attacked. That especially goes for Roze, as with her high Initial MGC, this would be the perfect opponent for her. [Amazing¡­¡­] Perhaps because this would be the first time she saw a battle up close, Roze exclaimed in admiration. It¡¯s nice knowing she¡¯s impressed, but it¡¯s a little too soon for that. [I¡¯m sorry to say this while you¡¯re impressed, but next up is your turn.] [Eh¡­¡­] Saying this, I pointed Roze to a direction with my chin. Roze¡¯s eyes widen at that, and she immediately shakes her head. "" [T- That is¡­¡­ B- But I¡¯m just a Class-less Civilian, and I don¡¯t have that kind of amazing magic¡­¡­] [For who¡¯s sake do you think I gave you those equipment? Don¡¯t worry, you can do it.] I know I just said that so nonchalantly, but that was just because I know it¡¯s true. Roze got even more shaken by my words, but her attire has completely changed from a few moments ago. She had been a simple town girl, but now, she looks like a full-fledged Magic-User, wearing a pure white robe, a triangular hat, and a bright red ring that looked like flames were burning within it. No, rather than just looking like a Magic-User, she actually has the stats of one. This equipment has a high MGC compensation, giving her a total of over 150 MGC. At least, in terms of MGC, the current Roze is so strong that a novice Magician is no match for her. In her right hand is the key weapon in this battle, the . This is a piece of equipment that can use Fire Magic by ¡°using¡± it, and is the key to making use of Roze¡¯s high MGC, who is essentially incapable of using magic. If she can do this well, she should be able to one-sidedly defeat Treant, but I haven¡¯t compromised on defense either. Since she couldn¡¯t increase her defense much with her armor, I have made her equip more defensive accessories. First, a to prevent unforeseen accidents while taking advantage of her increased MGC. In addition, to prevent being burned from self-inflicted fire, I chose to have her equip as her second accessory. For the last choice, I was tempted to have her equip , which greatly increases her PDEF at the expense of her MDEF, but just in case, I instead opted to have her equip , which can protect her from both physical and magical attacks. It was a perfect lineup, with no gaps in any way. At least, as long as I¡¯m watching over her properly, even if there are some unexpected situations, Roze won¡¯t suffer a single scratch. No, one would instead think that I¡¯m overdoing it when she¡¯s only fighting against a slow Treant, but the more prepared I am for danger, the better. Even though I think I did a splendid job, I suppose there¡¯s nothing strange with that. Nevertheless, Roze still seems unsure. [H- However, how do I tell the difference between a Treant and a normal tree¡­¡­] At the panicking question of Roze, I answered with a grin. [You don¡¯t have to worry about that. First, you try burning them.] [Eh?] [If it moves when it burns, it¡¯s a Treant. If it doesn¡¯t move and turns to ash, it¡¯s a regular tree. Easy, isn¡¯t it?] [B- But that¡¯s just¡­¡­ B- Burning a tree even though it¡¯s not a monster is just¡­¡­] In front of the bewildered Roze, I couldn¡¯t hold back the chuckle I¡¯d been holding in. [I¡¯m just kidding. My can allow me to check which ones are Treants, so you wouldn¡¯t accidentally hit a normal tree. I¡¯ll give you instructions, so you can just attack, Roze.] [R- Rex-sama!] However, that seemed to relieve some of her tension. [Look. The second tree over there from the right is a Treant. ¡­¡­Can you do it?] When I pointed to the Treant, which I spotted with my , she slowly nodded her head. Fortunately, the Treant doesn¡¯t move unless you get close to it. She¡¯s got a lot of time to prepare herself. She took a deep breath to calm herself and closed her eyes. Thereupon, she snapped her eyes open and uttered the magic words. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªFire!] In that instant, her wand shot out a magical fireball that was comparable to the one I had shot, striking the Treant. Covered in a huge blaze, the Treant squirms and stumbles as it struggles, trying to get closer to us, and then¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CDon! It fell to the ground with a loud thud, not moving again. [I defeated it¡­¡­? I did?] As Roze stood there in a daze, I put my hand on Roze¡¯s shoulder. [You¡¯ve done well, Roze. Congratulations on leveling up.] [¡­¡­Eh?] And thus, in an incredibly easy way, Roze was able to subjugate a monster and level up for the first time. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù Once she accomplished it once, the rest was quick. Even though she looked like a carefully-raised lady, she had a yearning to be an Adventurer. What a person she was. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Fire! Fire! Fire!!!] She adapts quickly, and while I give instructions by the side, she launches her fireballs at the Treants. Looking closely, I can see the edges of her lips lifted, and she seems to be enjoying herself¡­¡­ [Roze! Let¡¯s stop here.] [Fir¡­¡­ Eh?] I stopped her there. Thereupon, Roze looked at me with the expression of a dog who was being told to wait in front of its favorite treat. No, I¡¯m glad she¡¯s happy, but I think she¡¯s going a little overboard. I use on her. (As I thought, I¡¯ve raised her a little too high.) She has no Initial Class. I¡¯m not really sure since I never had a chance to increase the level of a Civilian NPC in the game, but to be precise, she should be considered as someone with the Class, which has no compensation. Of course, it¡¯s more effective to level up NPCs with Classes that properly give them growth value compensation. I don¡¯t think she needed to be as desperate at becoming stronger as Radd and the others, so she doesn¡¯t need intensive training, but if she can aim for it, we might as well do it. (To be honest, Roze¡¯s base growth values aren¡¯t so good.) I was wondering if being a potential vampire would make her different from the other Civilians, but at least, in her current state, she¡¯s no different than a normal person. As for her MGC and MND, she¡¯s equipped with a growth value-increasing gear, so her growth value without those should be¡­¡­ ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D STR ¨C 0 VIT ¨C 2 MGC ¨C 3 MND ¨C 2 AGI ¨C 0 FOC ¨C 1 Total ¨C 8 ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D Which makes her total growth value just 1 lower than my growth value of 9. (No, even if he¡¯s rotten, Rex is still an Adventurer! Unfortunately for you all, there¡¯s no way he would lose to a Civilian!) It was hard for me to suppress my mouth from lifting up when I realized that¡­¡­ but putting that aside¡­¡­ (Can a non-Adventurer Class Change?) The question that came to my mind was a very intriguing one. Fortunately, the requirements for the Initial Class are very lenient. A needs to have 20 STR and 10 VIT, while needs to have 20 MGC and 10 MND. And for Roze, it would be the fastest to achieve ¡¯s requirements of 20 MGC and 10 MND. With that aim in mind, I especially had her equip gears that increase her MGC and MND affinities, but I kinda let her do her own thing a bit overboard. While he looked worried about what I¡¯m going to say, I called out to her. [It¡¯s time for some fun. Would you like to try Class Changing?] At those words, she repeatedly nodded her head. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù The trip back was surprisingly uneventful, and we made it back to town without incident. As I followed Roze, who was walking 30% faster, but seemed as graceful as usual, we headed to the . And then¡­¡­ [Ah¡­¡­ It looks like I was able to Class Change.] In an anticlimactically easy way, she managed to Class Change to . And then¡­¡­ [Fire!] I¡¯ve achieved enough results today, and since the Era doesn¡¯t advance because of the ¡°Hero¡±, there¡¯s no need for her to rush to level up. Having that in mind, I suggested that we call it a day, but Roze wanted to go back to the Treants¡¯ hunting grounds and continue leveling up. [Next one¡­¡­ is that one over there.] [Yes! Fire!] It seems that she has now gotten familiar with her movements. Her Fire Magic, which has become more powerful with the increase in level, strikes the Treant and turns it into charcoal. In the midst of such a bleak scene¡­¡­ [Thank you very much, Rex-sama.] [Eh¡­¡­] Roze suddenly bowed her head to me. [This feels like a dream come true. Just yesterday, I never thought that I, who thought I couldn¡¯t do anything, would go outside the city and face such a terrifying monster like this.] [Roze¡­¡­] She is a character burdened with a tragic fate. [Of course, I¡¯m not conceited to think that I can just become an Adventurer with my power. However, I¡¯m happy. I¡¯m happy to know that there¡¯s something even I can do. I¡¯m also happy that there¡¯s a wonderful person near me who has shown me that. Roze¡¯s gaze was tinged with definite enthusiasm from within it. Faced with such a gaze, I looked away, as if to escape from it¡­¡­ [¡­¡­It¡¯s just a whim.] [However¡­¡­!] [That aside, it seems like you¡¯ve leveled up again. Just to make sure the Class Change is effective¡­¡­ Hmm!?] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThat¡¯s when something unusual happened. [This is¡­¡­ impossible¡­¡­] Those words unintentionally leaked out of my mouth. [Rex-sama¡­¡­?] I didn¡¯t even have the composure to reply to Roze¡¯s voice. The I used was in order to hide my embarrassment. However, Roze¡¯s Status displayed there was clearly abnormal. Didn¡¯t she Class Change to ? No, this is just not possible. I myself saw her touch that statue and Class Change, and saw that statue light up! She must have definitely become a . There¡¯s no other possibility than that. And so, her current ability growth value, if you were to exclude her gear, would be a total 14, her base growth rate being 8, and adding up Magician¡¯s growth correction value of 6. That should have been her current growth value. And yet, how did this happen¡­¡­ ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D STR ¨C 1 VIT ¨C 3 MGC ¨C 6 MND ¨C 4 AGI ¨C 2 FOC ¨C 4 Total ¨C 20 ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D [How the heck did it grow this much!?] If it¡¯s like this¡­¡­ If it¡¯s like this¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Doesn¡¯t this mean even Roze¡¯s aptitudes have overtaken mine!!!? CH 81 As for the mystery of Roze¡¯s growth value, I was able to guess the reason by asking her to accompany me in verifying it. First of all, in regards to Roze¡¯s aptitude values, I had her raise her level to 6 and Class Change to several other Classes. After checking her growth value, I found that her true aptitude values really were 14, which is 5 points higher than mine. After all, her growth value was 14 when she was a , a Class with no growth compensation. This is an unquestionable fact. Then, why did she, whose affinity values were supposed to be 14, only have 8 affinity values in her initial state? Perhaps it was because in her initial state as a Civilian, that is, ¡°in her ¡°Classless¡± state, a negative correction would be applied to her growth rate¡±. As proof of this, I forcibly brought out Erina, a Guild Receptionist back at work, saying that ¡°investigating this might allow us to find out important information pertaining to Adventurers¡±, and tried leveling her up and having her Class Change the same way, with the same results as Roze. Compared to when she leveled up before Class Changing, the growth value when she leveled up with Class has 1 point more for all abilities. In other words, the assumption that the Initial Class for Civilians was was incorrect. If we consider a person who has no Initial Class as having the Class , the growth compensation for would be a -1 in all abilities. The fact that the ability values of Civilians in town were lower than those of Adventurers was due in large part to this Class¡¯ growth compensation. (No, was it the other way around?) Perhaps, it¡¯s not that the state of being Classless gives them a negative correction, but that the Class Correction for everyone else is just 1 all-around stat higher than commonly perceived. Or perhaps, when a normal person gains a Class, the affinity of the person themselves gains an all-around increase by 1. There¡¯s no way for me to know for sure, and knowing which one is the right answer won¡¯t change the result. All I can say is that Civilians can gain an all-around increase in their growth values by 1 when they acquire a Class. (This¡­¡­ may have been a bigger discovery than I thought.) There is a big gap between the abilities of Adventurers with an Initial Class and Civilians without a Class. The average aptitude value of ordinary Adventurers is 18, and when the correction of the Initial Class is added to it, they would have a growth value of 24. In contrast, the average aptitude value of average Civilians is 6, and since they don¡¯t have any Class growth correction, their growth value would be 6. That was¡­¡­ a 4x difference between the two. However, it turned out that even Civilians can reach the average growth value of 18 once they Class Change to an Initial Class. This being the case, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if some of the Civilians would want to become Adventurers. Moreover¡­¡­ (Rex, you f*cking b*stard¡­¡­ Your stats are even lower than the majority of the Civilians?) Going by these calculations, the average affinity of Civilians is 12. This is less than the average for Adventurers, 18, but even if it were lower, it still easily exceeds Rex¡¯s 9. I wonder if the devs had some personal grudge against Rex. I thought I was already over with Rex¡¯s affinities, but when I was confronted with the numbers, I felt like my head was spinning from the sheer disadvantage I¡¯m getting here. I don¡¯t know if it was out of concern for me, but after verifications and discovering this, even Roze didn¡¯t say she would continue to raise her level. The sky had already begun to darken with the coming of dusk, and we decided to disband for the day. [Rex-sama. Thank you very much for today.] [Yeah. ¡­¡­Is it really alright not to send you home?] As I reflexively asked her that again¡­¡­ [It¡¯s alright. I have the equipment Rex-sama has given me after all.] Roze held up the and smiled proudly. She was feeling apologetic for receiving all that stuff, but I decided to leave that set of equipment that I had given her today with her for a while. I had intended to just give it to her, but Roze didn¡¯t agree, so we agreed that I would lend them to her while I accompanied her to level up. Parting ways with Roze, who was in a good mood, I walked with Guild Receptionist Erina along the road at dusk. [I¡¯m sorry for calling you out of the blue.] [Yeah, you should. Seriously, Rex-san, do you think I¡¯m some handyman you can call anytime?] Hearing Erina complain as such¡­¡­ [Like I said, I¡¯m sorry, okay? It¡¯s just, I haven¡¯t forgotten who put together that PR paper.] [Uuuu¡­¡­ I- In that case, let¡¯s call it even with this.] When I struck back at her about last time¡¯s Adventurer Correspondence, she immediately folded. Heh, easy-peasy. [Also, this matter, no one but Verteran should¡­¡­] [I know. I¡¯ll make sure this information won¡¯t be leaked out to others. ¡­¡­Haahhh¡­¡­ You sure discover the most outrageous of things, don¡¯t you, Rex-san? My stomach hurts thanks to you.] Erina gloomily sighed after saying that, but saying ¡°But¡­¡­¡±, she immediately looked up. [¡­¡­Well, that¡¯s a good thing, isn¡¯t it? She seemed happy.] Those were words I didn¡¯t expect. As my eyes reflexively widened at those words, Erina¡¯s eyes narrowed, clearly looking displeased. [I¡¯ll say this now, but I¡¯m not some work machine that doesn¡¯t bleed or cry. Well, as a Guild Employee, I do feel like I¡¯ve found out something outrageous¡­¡­] After she had spoken out in such a reproachful tone, she turned her head for a moment in the direction of where Roze had left off. [Her name is Roze-san, right? I have also seen her several times¡­¡­ Somehow, I¡¯ve always thought that she was a lonely person. That¡¯s why, well, this being the case, I thought it would be great.] Ending with the words ¡°Though I¡¯m not entirely sure¡­¡­¡±, Erina turned away and continued walking. As for me, my heart felt a little warmer. ¡­¡­If the future goes just like in the game, then Roze would face a great deal of suffering ahead of her. After being inscribed with a ¡°Curse Mark¡± by the ¡°Uncle¡± who had raised her, the Vampire Lord¡±, that night, she would turn into a Vampire and attack the player¡­¡­ Although she quickly regains her sanity, her future is filled with despair. After that event, a Healer who diagnosed her spoke. This ¡°Curse Mark¡± is a guide, a marker, for the caster to cast their real curse. The casting of that curse would take place at midnight, the moment the date changes, and this attack can¡¯t be avoided or prevented. The attack of this curse is harmless to the human body, but it¡¯s a fatal ¡°poison¡± to those who have a certain factor. That factor is, of course, the ¡°Vampire¡± factor. Every time she receives the attack of that curse, her physical and mental strength are shaved, and if either of those two is reduced to zero, she will be unable to resist the curse and will become a Vampire. Furthermore, according to the Healer, if she becomes a Vampire, she wouldn¡¯t be able to oppose higher-ranking Vampires, so she might lose her free will. And there¡¯s only one way to lift the ¡°Curse Mark¡±. That is, to defeat the one who casted it. In order to save Roze, the ¡°Hero¡± and their party must travel around the world in search of a way to alleviate the curse and find the source of that curse. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThat¡¯s the introduction to the ¡°Vampire of Frelia¡± event. (From that point on, Roze will end up bedridden in her home.) The damage caused by the curse can¡¯t be healed by medicine or Recovery Magic. That¡¯s why, even if she didn¡¯t become a Vampire, she would continue to live in a weakened state for the rest of her life. (However, if she had raised her physical and mental strength, in other words, her HP and MP, just like she did today¡­¡­) Relatively speaking, that would mean the effects of the curse should be lessened. Even if she does receive that curse, it may even be possible for her to live a normal life. (Another option would be to get the ¡°Katashiro¡± first and prepare it in case it was needed to take away that curse.) You can¡¯t avoid the curse, but there are ways to disperse it. To do this, you have to make an item called ¡°Katashiro¡±, but it takes a lot of work to create it. (T/N: Katashiro are human-shaped dolls, usually made of paper, but sometimes of wood, straw, or metal. In Shinto rituals and folk customs, these dolls are used as human substitutes to transfer sins and impurities, i.e, the curse, during exorcisms. After the exorcism, they are thrown into the river or sea, or burned.) You have to get rare materials from various places, and you can only make one at a time. Moreover, they burn up after a while, so if you don¡¯t make a new one as soon as the katashiro is gone, Roze can¡¯t stand the curse and will turn into a Vampire, devolving your playthrough into the route where Frelia collapses. And so, collecting them now should make some difference. (However¡­¡­) That would just be symptomatic treatment. Using that isn¡¯t a fundamental solution to the problem. If you really think of a way for Roze¡¯s sake, as expected, it would be best to avoid the future of her being ¡°cursed¡± itself¡­¡­ [Until here is fine. I¡¯m going back to work, but what about you, Rex-san¡­¡­] [Eh? Y- Yeah.] Was it because I was preoccupied with my thoughts? Before I knew it, we had reached the intersection near the Guild. The town was noisy at dusk, with Adventurers heading out to the taverns after a hard day¡¯s work, the other townspeople hurrying home, and old ladies cleaning out the front of their stores. [Rex-san?] Erina curiously tilted her head at me who was standing still in that spot. [Hey, Erina. About Roze¡­¡­] I opened my mouth, intending to tell her about Roze, but at that moment¡­¡­ [AHHHH¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª!!! The heck are you doing, Old man!?] A loud, tactless voice overrode all my thoughts. [¡­..Geh.] Looking to the side, I saw Radd and the others had just returned from their adventure. Clad in tattered gear, Radd and the others were causing a racket for some reason. Among them, I could see Resilia¡¯s eyes, glaring at me with a displeased look. (It looks like I had bad timing. It seemed like they had just finished reporting to the Guild.) Since the exploration in the was interrupted, there was less need for me to accompany Radd¡¯s party on their adventure. And so, I asked Resilia to support Radd¡¯s party, and had them go on a hellish quest to gain proficiency and EXP in combat. [E- Even though we felt like dying while conquering a dungeon, you¡¯re here having fun on a date, Old man!?] Thereupon, Radd came up to me and shouted in a voice that seemed to echo all around me. His voice seemed to be sharper than usual, perhaps, it may be because of that. I had set a course for today¡¯s Quest, a course that I thought they should be barely able to complete in this Era, but perhaps, it was a little too tough to do in real life. [P- Please calm down, Radd-san. It¡¯s not like I was on a da¡­¡­ U- Ummm, doing that kind of thing with Rex-san. We were in the middle of a work-related matter¡­¡­] Erina-san, who seems sharp but is extremely vulnerable to unexpected developments, flusteredly explained, but she doesn¡¯t make much sense. And sure enough¡­¡­ [Work-related matter? Then, why are you wearing casual clothes?] [Ehh? Ah, no, this is¡­¡­] As Resilia appears from behind the party, quickly pointing out the inconsistency in her words, Erina became confused. No, since it would be a problem if she had to fight in her work clothes, I simply had her change her clothes when I had her level up, but Erina was completely flustered to explain that. In any case, I decided to offer a helping hand. [Well, calm down, both of you. You shouldn¡¯t be making so much noise in the middle of the street.] [T- That¡¯s right, Radd. I¡¯m sure there must have been a reason¡­¡­] [H- However!] Me and Radd tried to pacify him, but Radd still wouldn¡¯t let up. Other than him though¡­¡­ [I- I¡¯d also like to hear more about this!] [I demand full disclosure.] [It¡¯s good to be young. Hohoho.] Mana and Prana came rushing in from behind, and for some reason, seeing the situation, Granny Hohoho also appeared with her usual laugh. The situation was getting confusing. [A- Anyway, let¡¯s go back to the inn. Alright?] [You aren¡¯t just trying to run away by saying that, are you?] For some reason, Resilia has been less trusting of me lately. As her eyes stared at me, the voice of heaven echoed. [Hohoho. I know you have a lot of things to talk about, but things are a bit dangerous lately. I think you¡¯d better follow the young man¡¯s advice.] The unexpected support gave me a boost. [T- That¡¯s right. I¡¯ll definitely tell you the situation, so for now¡­¡­] As I was about to say that much, the words being spoken in my mouth stopped. For a few seconds, I forgot to breathe. The words were spoken so naturally that I didn¡¯t notice them for a moment. However¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CWhat did ¡°she¡± say just now? Filled with uneasiness in my heart, sweat beaded on my forehead. My mouth is dry, and I can¡¯t breathe properly. [Old man?] [Nii¡­¡­ -san?] The words spoken by Radd and Resilia don¡¯t register in my ears. Soothing the alarm bells ringing within my heart, I turned to the only outsider in that scene, she, who was always standing at the crossroads, like the living encyclopedia of this city. [Excuse me, can I talk to you for a moment?] Restraining my racing heart, I asked. Just like usual, just as usual, just as ¡°that choice in the game¡±, I spoke out that line. [I¡¯d like to know if anything has changed recently.] She, Granny Hohoho, is neither surprised nor displeased by my sudden question. She simply, as if a switch within her had been flipped, answered mechanically as usual. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªOya, it¡¯s you again. Things are a bit dangerous lately, you know? I¡¯ve heard that there are monsters roaming the streets that suck human blood. Well, this is just a rumor I heard. Hohoho.] Before she can finish her sentence, the sound of the bell announcing the coming of the night echoes from the distant sky. And driven by the sound of the bell, I find myself running as fast as I can toward a certain building on the outskirts of town. CH 82 I run through the town at dusk. [¡­¡­D*mn it! What the heck is with this timing!?] Swearing like that won¡¯t change anything. While the lingering sound of the bell within my mind urges me on, I stomped on the cobblestone pavement, as if to kick myself forward. (Calm down, calm down!) I told myself such. The old lady¡¯s line is evidence that the ¡°Era Division¡± has advanced to the Second Era, and that the flag for the Vampire Event has been raised. However, just because the flag has been raised doesn¡¯t mean the event will start immediately. Running towards her like this would more likely be just a waste of time. However, no matter how many times I told myself that, my legs showed no sign of stopping. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªFor flickering within my mind was the smile on Roze¡¯s face when we parted ways. There was a time when I thought I could just come to a clean decision. It¡¯s an undeniable fact that I had hoped to accept just sacrificing her, settling all these worries away. However, seeing such a face, I¡¯m not strong enough, nor am I rotten enough to calmly cut her off. As the townspeople suspiciously looked at me as I ran through the night, trying to reach that building as quickly as possible, I reached for my sword with my right hand¡­¡­ [Old man! You¡¯re too fast! Hold back a little!] A boy¡¯s voice suddenly called from behind me, making me reflexively slow down. [Radd!?] Turning around, I saw a red-haired boy frantically chasing after me. No, it isn¡¯t just him. I could also see Resilia and Prana, who were rushing a little ahead of Radd, and then a few distance behind them were Nuku and Mana. [Why the heck are you all¡­¡­] [Isn¡¯t that quite obvious!?] Before I could even finish my sentence, Radd responded. [If you¡¯re in that much of a hurry, Old man, then something dangerous must have happened, right!? We could already fight as we are now. That¡¯s why¡­¡­ Let us return the favor, even if it¡¯s just a little bit.] [Radd¡­¡­] At those really unexpected words, I couldn¡¯t immediately find the words to respond with. Moreover, Resilia, who naturally took her place by my side, threw out her words mixed with a sigh. [You know, Nii-san. The direction you¡¯re running to, this must mean this matter is related to Roze-san, right? Rather, trying to exclude me with whatever¡¯s going on, what in the world are you planning to do?] With a look of dismay and a scowl on her face, Resilia condemned me. [That is¡­¡­ I guess you¡¯re right. My bad.] It seems like I had lost my composure. Looking at them again, including Prana, Nuku and Mana who have caught up, I speak briefly. [Come with me. ¡­¡­I need your help.] [Hehehe¡­¡­ Ou!] With Radd¡¯s reliable words on my back, this time, I ran forward without worries. "" ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù We had caught sight of her just as she was in the front yard of her building. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Roze!!!] I shouted, and holding the in her arms as if it was very important to her, she turned around in surprise. [R- Rex-sama? Moreover, everyone¡¯s here too¡­¡­] Apparently, I had caught up with her just as she was returning home after parting ways with me and Erina. She was still dressed as she was when we parted ways, and the only thing I could see on her face was pure surprise. No matter how I look at the situation, it doesn¡¯t look like there was anything unusual going on. (¡­¡­I was just¡­¡­ being needlessly anxious huh.) The timing of the old woman¡¯s words was just too great that I guess I got ahead of myself. Letting out a sigh, my shoulders relaxed. I¡¯m not in a game, but in reality. "" It was only logical that I, who wasn¡¯t the Hero, wouldn¡¯t come across a crucial scene just because I came rushing to it. (I must apologize to Radd and the others for being flustered and rushing here.) With that in mind, I turned to Radd and the others, when that happened¡­¡­ [Rex!] Prana¡¯s sharp voice brought my consciousness back to the front. [Wha!?] Turning back to the front, as if to weave its way from the opening in Roze¡¯s awareness, with her gaze turned away from the building¡­¡­ Something black gathers behind her. [Bats¡­¡­?] The same jet-black bats we once encountered under the building¡­¡­ In the blink of an eye, several of them gathered together to form a singular shape. All of those events happened so quickly, lasting less than a second. The black clump, which used to be bats, in the blink of an eye, transformed into a tuxedo and a cape, and when Roze noticed the noise, she turned around to see a man in his forties standing there, dressed in a pitch-black tuxedo. [Uncle¡­¡­?] In response to her surprise, the beautiful yet horrifying monster bowed with a theatrical gesture and smiled gracefully. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThe time has come. Now, I¡¯ve come to receive you, Roze.] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [Uncle? What do you mean by receive me¡­¡­] Standing alongside the confused Roze, I gently held out my hand and moved her behind my back. [¡­¡­I¡¯m sorry, but I won¡¯t give her to you.] [R- Rex-sama!?] I said, glaring at the Vampire in front of me, to which he exclaimed in curiosity. Thereupon, as if he¡¯s finding the situation amusing, he exclaimed. [You must not know this, but she and I have the strongest bond people can have. We¡¯re ¡°family¡±. My apologies, but unrelated people should just¡­¡­] "" [¡­¡­I know. All of it.] I spat out, interrupting the Vampire, and pulled a book out of my inventory. Thereupon, I held it out in front of me, as if to show it to him. [That is¡­¡­] [It¡¯s a diary I found in the study beneath the building. It carefully describes everything, from your motives to the goals of the incident you¡¯re causing. This is yours, isn¡¯t it? Werther!] At my words, the man¡¯s composure collapsed for the first time. At the same time, the expression on Roze¡¯s face, who was listening beside me, was also dyed with astonishment. [Vampire Lord? Uncle, what is he¡­¡­] However, Werther didn¡¯t answer Roze¡¯s question. [You¡­¡­!] He just glared at me with eyes that seemed to promise death. However, I¡¯m not stupid enough to be intimidated by something like that now. [For the sake of the revival of a , you intend to cast a curse on Roze, don¡¯t you? I¡¯m sorry, but I won¡¯t let you do what you want.] Werther didn¡¯t reply to my further denunciations. [Curse? Curse huh. ¡­¡­Fufufu, aHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!] He just covered his face with his right hand, seemingly nonplussed, before he lowered his head and started laughing¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Don¡¯t you dare get conceited, you mere human!] The next time he looked up, all that could be seen on his face was rage. [Uncle¡­¡­] Perhaps, that ugly, repulsive expression on his face isn¡¯t one he has shown to Roze before. From his right hand, waved in anger, are claws extended bright red and gleamed in the moonlight like blades. [Stay back, Roze.] [H- However¡­¡­] Stepping forward, as if to protect the confused girl, I silently held my sword at the ready. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CFrom here on out is a Monster Extermination Quest. This is what us Adventurers do.] CH 83 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThe ¡°Vampire of Frelia¡± Event is a long-time event that spans multiple Era Divisions. In the First Era Division, we meet Roze, in the Second Era Division, Werther would cast his curse on Roze, and in the Third Era Division¡­¡­ A clue to the solution to that incident could finally be found. It¡¯s the rumor of a ¡°Curse-Breaker¡± with strong power. Thinking that she might be able to somehow deal with the ¡°Curse Mark¡± on Roze, the ¡°Hero¡± and their party went to search for this Curse-Breaker. After a great deal of effort, they find her, and with her katashiro, she is able to trace the curse backwards and detect the ¡°source of the curse¡±. And after a ritual has been performed, the location of the ¡°source of the curse¡± has been shown. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThat is, the . It isn¡¯t exactly the same as that fable BlueBird of Happiness, but the result of traveling around the world in search of the source of the curse was surprisingly back at the starting point. After hearing this information, the party talks to Roze, and she mentions how ¡°she once saw her uncle heading underground¡±. And so, the dungeon that is finally opened by investigating the building¡¯s study is a special dungeon that extends underneath the . To begin with, the are monsters given power by the Evil Deity. Although they have obtained unparalleled power through their demonic powers, their existence, which is tied to the Evil Deity, wouldn¡¯t be possible without the Evil Deity themself. Therefore, after the Evil Deity was sealed away, the entrusted the ¡°Demon Lord¡¯s Relic¡± to his subordinates and went into a long sleep, deep beneath the . Werther¡¯s diary also contains a copy of that ¡¯s will. After¡­¡­ the light awakens¡­¡­ Stand¡­¡­ before me¡­¡­ And offer me¡­¡­ the heart. As time has passed since it was written, the letters have been blurred here and there, but in essence, the message is ¡°After the oracle of the , if you offer the heart, I will be resurrected¡±. In other words, from the beginning, the had planned to resurrect himself after the awakened, that is to say, when the seal on the Evil Deity was about to be lifted. Werther¡¯s words, ¡°The time has come¡±, must have meant that. Naturally, as the ¡°Warrior of Light¡± who travels to protect the world, the Hero couldn¡¯t allow such a thing to happen. "" And so, after learning of Werther¡¯s goals, the ¡°Hero¡± and their party confront Werther beneath the ! They are to defeat Werther and prevent the resurrection of the ¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-but B&B is a game that takes that to a whole new level. There is one more twist in this scenario. At the end of that scenario, the dying Werther bursts out in loud laughter and declared out curse-like words. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-The ¡°Curse Mark¡± is just the key that releases the technique contained in the ¡°Demon Lord¡¯s Relic¡±, and it¡¯s not he who has been casting those curses. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-In other words, in order to stop the surge of curses assaulting Roze, one must kill the real caster of the curse, the , not himself. (¡­¡­You gotta be kidding me.) Werther¡¯s face in the game, disappearing with a look of satisfaction on his face from the bottom of his heart, overlaps with that of the Werther standing in front of us now. I can still vividly recall the despair I felt from the subsequent battle against the , as if it were only yesterday. I don¡¯t want to go through that again. (I will definitely finish him off here.) I won¡¯t let the situation turn out just like in the game. If I could defeat Werther here, I would be able to stop the whole series of events. I tighten my grip on the hand that holds my sword. [¡­¡­Old man.] Without me needing to say anything, Radd and the others lined up beside me as if to protect Roze. I felt my head cool down a little at the sight of them. ¡­¡­Werther is a formidable opponent. The underground floors beneath the , which can only be entered after the Third Era Division. He was the Boss monster waiting close to the deepest part of the building, and there was no reason he would be weak. However¡­¡­ (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªWe have a chance to win against him.) While Undead has powerful characteristics, they also have many weaknesses. The battle against Werther is a clear reminder of this, and in a manner of speaking, you could really feel that the battle against him is a gimmick battle. In particular, Werther, who has high survival capabilities due to his vampiric characteristics, has low endurance according to his data. If we simultaneously overpower him, the current us should be able to cut down his physical strength. (Moreover¡­¡­) I glanced behind me. Unexpectedly, even though it was at the last moments, I had given ¡°that¡± to ¡°her¡± just in case. It¡¯s an equipment with a pun-like name, filled with factors that you would want to throw a tsukkomi at, but the effect of that thing itself is real. If it works properly, it has a good chance of turning the tide of events away from what it was like in the game. (Alright!) ¡­¡­Taking a deep breath, I exhaled. This isn¡¯t something I can fail, so I need to stay calm. With removing my gaze from Werther, I spoke to Radd and the others, who had become stronger from all their adventures. [Radd, Nuku, Prana, Mana. He¡¯s a strong enemy, but not one we can¡¯t beat.] Putting my will into those strong words, I believed that my intent would be fully conveyed to them. [This isn¡¯t the first Undead we¡¯ve had to fight after all. Remember that who can use Instant Death Magic? If you fight calmly as you did then, we will definitely win.] [Ah¡­¡­] The first to react is Nuku, sounding as if he was surprised¡­¡­ [Hehe. Now that¡¯s just like you, Old man.] The next one is the nearby Radd, who let out a laugh, as if he found something amusing from the bottom of his heart. He too is acting just like usual. Filled not with enthusiasm, we waited for the battle to begin with our weapons at the ready. And then¡­¡­ [¡­¡­How unpleasant.] With Werther¡¯s words, the battle began. [How dare you lump me with a mere Lich!] His outstretched hand is filled with Dark-colored Magic. It¡¯s ranged magic! [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªSpread out!] I shouted, and we scattered in six directions. And then, a beat later¡­¡­ [Blood Bomb!] The Vampire¡¯s red magic blow struck a few distance away from my face and gouged into the ground. [Ghuuuhh!] With the blast occurring behind me, I dashed forward, feeling as if my body was sent flying. Swinging my empty left hand, as if to keep my balance, I closed the distance to Werther. [Tsk! Stay still, worm!] From there, two, three magic projectiles flew toward me. (I already know that attack!) Reading the projectiles¡¯ trajectories, I evaded all of them while on the move. [!] My right-hand makes a complicated trajectory as I run. Thereupon, finally catching Werther¡¯s body within the reach of my sword¡­¡­ [, what appeared in my left hand was a bag of pure white powder. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªAn Obstruction Item exclusively used against Undead, . Werther is assaulted by the Obstruction Item with a special effect against Undead, which we had once used in the battle against the . [Guh, stop messing around! This is¡­¡­] Unlike the , which had no resistance to any Status Ailment, Werther, a Boss in the latter half of the game, could only be stopped for a brief moment. However, that was already enough. [Now, do it!] I didn¡¯t even have to utter that cry. The words I had said before the battle had already conveyed what I wanted to do and what I actually wanted to accomplish. Within the moment that Werther was momentarily stunned¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-!!!] Radd, wielding a sword covered in flames¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-!!!] This time, Nuku, steering his magic¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª-and Prana, who has increased her number of attacks with her clones, unleashes their most powerful strikes. Before finally¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThis settles it! !!!] The Ultimate Weapon against Undead. The , Mana, unleashed an extremely powerful Light Magic that pierced through the Vampire¡¯s body! "" [GRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!] It was a crude cry that couldn¡¯t be believed to be coming from a Vampire that puts on an air of elegance. Amidst such cries, the ground exploded with the force of concentrated magic, and we were sent flying away. The first to recover was Radd, who got the best STR among everyone. [Did we do it!?] Tumbling on the ground, this guy seriously had to raise that flag. Even so, the answer to that¡­¡­ [YOU MERE HUMAAAAAAAAAAANS!!!] As jet-black colors filled the white and spread all over our field of vision, the deafening sound of wings resounded. [Bats!?] The light pierced through Werther wasn¡¯t due to the power of Mana¡¯s magic. Werther, who didn¡¯t want to be directly hit by that magic, transformed himself into countless bats at the moment the magic hit him and avoided that magic. [Guh! !] I tried to slash at the bats with the Art I had interrupted in my right hand. [Foolish! Such an attack will not catch me in this form!] These bats were on a different level of skill movement from those beneath the . The uniformity and linear movements of the Arts aren¡¯t enough to catch the bats that were moving erratically. [How unsightly you are, human. Repent your foolishness and die!] And so, as I continued my futile efforts, the bats rushed to me¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CNah. This is enough.] This is the moment I was waiting for. With my right hand still swinging my sword, I held up my left-hand high. And held in my outstretched hand is a dagger, ! [Take this!] If the power of the on my left hand can get transferred towards the Arts in my right hand¡­¡­ It would make sense that the power of the Arts from my right hand could also be transferred to the ¡°technique¡± in my left hand! [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-!!!] A flash of light. An amount of light that surpasses even Mana¡¯s Light Magic enlightens the town dyed in the darkness of the night. And when the retina-burning flash subsides¡­¡­ The bats¡­¡­ Werther¡¯s body had already burned to the point that he was no longer able to retain his original form. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù (¡­¡­We¡¯ve somehow dealt with him huh.) Because it was a sudden battle, I didn¡¯t have the time to change my equipment from what I had been wearing when I was helping Roze level up. (I thought it would be tough with just one ATK+ ring equipped, but we had unexpectedly pushed through.) Werther¡¯s trump card, his Bat Form, allows him to avoid all attacks, and is the strongest means of evasion. However, as taking on that form increases the number of targets that can be attacked at the same time, into bats that have defenses that were substantially lower than his base form, this would also be the best chance to crush him. As I breathed out a sigh of relief and retracted the weapon I had been gripping tightly¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-I had underestimated all of you.] The voice of the monster, which should have disappeared, echoes from the darkness of the night. And as if in response¡­¡­ [Wha!? This is¡­¡­!?] With the sound of something slithering around us, what seems to be Werther¡¯s remains gather from the surroundings. Just as if we¡¯re watching a video being played backward¡­¡­ What should have been reduced to mere pieces of flesh just a few seconds ago, is now taking the shape of a humanoid being, just like playing an unsightly puzzle. [¡­¡­No¡­¡­ way.] The words Radd mumbled melted into the darkness. The wriggling mass of flesh then formed hands, legs, and a pair of beautiful eyebrows. [I am a Vampire, a being who rules the night. Even if you wield thousands of weapons and mastered thousands of magic, I could not be killed. No matter how many times I am killed, no matter how many times I am burned, I will rise again and again and again¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª] [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªNo. You¡¯re already finished.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªPrick! Something sprouted out from Werther¡¯s chest. [Wha¡­¡­] Blood spurted from Werther¡¯s mouth. At that moment, Werther saw ¡°that thing¡± protruding from his chest, and looked at it in disbelief. [What in the world? This is¡­¡­] ¡°It¡± was too strange to be called a blade, and it looks too rustic to be called a weapon. The whole thing, from the handle to its point, is made of wood, so it would be ill-suited to call it a knife, and rather, it would be more appropriate to call it a ¡°stake¡±. [It¡¯s apparently called .] Resilia, who had disappeared in the midst of the fierce battle, with a perfect backstab, had thrust ¡°that weapon¡± into Werther¡¯s chest, replied solemnly. Its name holds a double meaning to it, as ¡°regret (kui)¡± could also mean ¡°stake(kui)¡±. This is the fruit of the obsession left behind by a man who had his wife and child killed by a vampire, and died filled with disappointment and regret. Not to mention its shape, even the material used in this mysterious weapon makes it the one and only weapon to defeat Werther in the true sense of the word. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-The Vampire, with the wooden stake driven into his heart, dies. The future, following the words of legends, was able to accomplish it. [Urghaaak¡­¡­ My body¡­¡­ My body is¡­¡­ ] Werther¡¯s body, which should have boasted extremely powerful regenerative capabilities, begins to crumble from the tips of his fingers. His black hair quickly turns gray, and his skin becomes wrinkled and dried out. (This certainly doesn¡¯t feel very pleasant but¡­¡­) This is the only way to beat him. From the beginning, I knew that Werther couldn¡¯t be killed by normal means. After all, at the time he casted that curse on Roze, even if the ¡°Hero¡± and their party won the battle and reduced his HP to zero, he would just regenerate. And so, , which was originally supposed to be entered yet¡­¡­ I was allowed to collect the essential equipment to defeat ¡°Werther, an enemy who appears in the latter half of the game¡±, on the underground floor. And then, while it hasn¡¯t fully recovered and regained all its HP, I can have Resilia, who is the best at removing her presence, conduct a surprise attack with the , which will fulfill the condition required for Werther¡¯s death. (This changes the future. This also brings about the possibility of an ending that¡¯s not in the game¡­¡­!) Perhaps, I may have overstrained my nerves, as the moment I relaxed my guard, I wobbled and almost fell over. [Rex-sama!] The one who noticed my state first was Roze. She, who should have been shaken by the transformation and final moments of her precious ¡°Uncle¡±, still cared for me with all her might and tried to run up to me¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Eh?] But at that moment, a blood-red magic circle surfaced beneath her feet. (Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡­) The night of nightmares never ends. At the end of my gaze¡­¡­ Werther, wrinkled and coughing up blood, glared at me¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThe last of my magic power, I offer for your sake, -sama!!!] In his hand was a red, pulsating Cursed Object, the ¡°Demon Lord¡¯s Relic¡±. CH 84 [What in the world¡­¡­!?] As the dying Werther held up the ¡°Demon Lord¡¯s Relic¡± and it let out a strong pulse, the air around us changed. [Kuh¡­¡­!] The air feels so dense with magic power that I could hardly breathe. ¡ª¡ª¡ª-This is a . This is just the remnant of its magic power contained in the ¡°relic¡±. The pressure of its presence was definite enough to make one think that Werther, who was standing in front of it, was nothing more than a small puppy in front of the real ¡°King of Monsters¡±. [Kuh¡­¡­!] The words ¡°Forced Event¡± flickered in my mind. Beneath Roze¡¯s feet, the magic circle lets out a suspicious light. Even knowing how dangerous that magic circle is, no one could move. Radd and the others stiffened, cold sweat seemingly flowing down their backs, while Mana knelt down on the spot and clutched her chest, gagging from the sheer density of magic power. Even Resilia, who had shown much versatility, froze with a look of astonishment on her face. And I too, have also¡­¡­ [This won¡¯t do. That is¡­¡­ Just that is something¡­¡­!] Within this world where gravity seems to have increased, I desperately reached out my hand. At the end of my outstretched hand was the magic circle that had just emerged¡­¡­ and the memories of this event back in the game. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù The final and greatest secret in the ¡°Vampires of Frelia¡± Event will be revealed after Werther is defeated. After the was driven into his heart and attentively watched as Werther disappeared. The ¡°Hero¡± and their party were faced with a scene they had never imagined when they headed for the deepest part of to challenge the for the decisive battle. What I said to Nuku when we explored the , about how ¡°even if we go to the deepest part of the dungeon, there will definitely be nothing there, that wasn¡¯t really a lie. There was nothing at the deepest level. To be more precise, what had been there had already left. [¡­¡­An empty coffin?] At the deepest level was an ornate and opulent coffin placed in the center of a large space. However, the lid of the coffin had already come off and there was nothing inside. What was going on? No, for the me back then who didn¡¯t know what was happening, I was confused in front of the screen. The only clue to the truth was left on the screen. On the floor in front of the coffin, there was a message that seemed to have been carved by the . After the light awakens¡­¡­ Stand before me¡­¡­ And offer me my heart. It was the ¡°¡¯s Will¡± that I had seen in the past. However, I could clearly read the part of the message that was blurred in the diary. The message was the same as what I had first guessed, but what caught my attention was the last sentence. [¡­¡­¡±Offer me my heart¡±?] Until that moment, I had always thought that this part of the will said ¡°Offer me the heart¡±. In other words, in order to revive the , I thought that Werther was after Roze in order to offer ¡°her heart¡± to the . He could bring Roze as she is, or having turned into a vampire, he could take away her will before bringing her as a sacrifice. In any case, I thought that by bringing Roze before the and offering her as a sacrifice, the would be revived. ¡­¡­However¡­¡­ If the heart that would be offered isn¡¯t ¡°someone else¡¯s heart¡±, but the ¡°¡¯s Heart¡±, then this changes the story. Where in the world is the ¡°¡¯s Heart¡±? No, in the first place, if the had been sleeping in this coffin, then where in the world is the ? ¡­¡­The answer to all of these questions, however, was right in front of me. My gaze unconsciously turned to the coffin in which the was said to have slept in. When I saw the short string of words written there, I finally understood everything. The empty coffin of the ¡­¡­ On the surface of that coffin, there were those words carved on it¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Here lies . ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù is the Unparalleled Vampire King. And for a True Vampire who has conquered even the light of day, the only thing she fears is a stake through the heart. Therefore, just before she lost her power, the conducted a very bold plan. In other words, she removed her ¡°heart¡±, the source of her power and at the same time her greatest weakness, from her body and entrusted it to her trusted brethren. This was, even if someone finds her body sleeping beneath the , she will not really be killed. And in preparation for the time when her heart was to be returned to her body, the used her final power to cast a spell on her heart. That is the true nature of the ¡°¡¯s Relic¡±. The ¡¯s body was taken out of the coffin a step ahead of the heart. The ¡¯s body, who lost her power and memory as the due to the loss of her heart, is the current Roze. What the party had thought was a ¡°curse attack¡± wasn¡¯t one at all. It was more like a transplanting operation to affix the ¡°¡¯s Heart¡±, which had its appearance changed with a technique, into the ¡°¡¯s Body¡±. It¡¯s not a curse effective only against Vampires, but only a part of a predetermined plan¡­¡­ It wouldn¡¯t matter to the Vampires that ¡°her temporary personality when they had lost her memories¡± would disappear in the process. And once the ¡°Curse Mark¡± is engraved, there¡¯s no way to stop the ¡°curse¡± except by the death of the one who casted that curse, . Therefore, there had only been two possible endings to this story. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªEither I kill Roze, the , with my own hands¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªOr overlook the ¡¯s resurrection and watch as Frelia turns into a town of the dead. The option of overlooking it can¡¯t really be chosen. Leaving her alone is synonymous with acceptance of her resurrection, and even if you had never seen Roze in your playthrough, she will still awaken as the . "" There¡¯s no option to prolong her life. The ¡°curse¡± on Roze grows stronger with each passing day, and it¡¯s impossible for her to resist the ¡°curse¡± until the very end. Thus, the player is forced to make a choice. Will you kill her and save the world, or will you abandon the world and save her? No, if we define the extinguishing of her personality as ¡°death¡±, then ¡°her¡± fate has already been decided. She stands in a pre-arranged tragedy, and the player has only one choice: how to conduct ¡°her¡± death. This is the reason why the players have different assessments regarding the ¡°Vampires of Frelia¡± Event. The story is well-crafted and the dialogue is emotionally rich. A tragedy that is both sad and engaging. Some say that this Event is ¡¯s greatest masterpiece. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªHowever, I hated this sh*tty Event. Once you get to the Second or Third Era, the emotions and sentiments fade. If you¡¯re aiming to clear the game, you can¡¯t let Frelia collapse. If she was gonna die anyway, it made no difference whether she died early on or later. With such an excuse in mind, I would fulfill her request to kill her, one that she made immediately after she received the ¡°Curse Mark¡±. Unsympathetically, mechanically, I killed ¡°her¡± as a matter of course, but still, a certain thought lurked deep in my heart. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªIf only this were not a game¡­¡­ If I could act as I pleased, I could defeat Werther and save Roze before she received the ¡°Curse Mark¡±. [D*mn it¡­¡­!] Under this heavy pressure that makes me feel nauseous, as if it had been soaked in a sea of mud, I desperately moved my sluggish body. I was close¡­¡­ I was so close¡­¡­ The opportunity to change her fate is just around the corner. There¡¯s no way I can just give up now! A few meters of distance, she¡¯s so close, yet so far away. Just like a star, she stands a distance away from reach but near enough to be visible, but still, I reached out towards her. However¡­¡­ [Ahahahahaha! -sama! Roze-sama! Please grace us with your presence once again¡­¡­!] With Werther¡¯s mad loud laughter, the light of the magic circle intensifies. Half of the Vampire¡¯s body has already crumbled, his right leg and left hand already turned to ashes. And yet, his right hand is still outstretched, and his insanely sharp eyes haven¡¯t diminished in the slightest. The ¡°Demon Lord¡¯s Relic¡± shatters with a flash of bright-red light, and a huge sword of blood rises from it. I remember this scene¡­¡­ I remember the image of that sword piercing her body leaving an imprint on her chest that will literally never disappear. This was the moment of despair that settled her future. And yet, my feet just won¡¯t move. Even within this distance of just a few more steps, no matter what I do, I¡¯m unable to close that distance. And then, just before the sword of blood begins to move¡­¡­ I see Roze¡¯s gaze catch mine. [Rex-sama¡­¡­ Help¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C] But at that moment, the blood-colored sword, its tip pointed toward the center of the magic circle, towards Roze¡¯s chest¡­¡­ [ROZEEEEEEEEEE!!!] I called her name frantically, and then¡­.. [¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Ah.] Right in front of my eyes¡­¡­ I watched as the sword of darkness ruthlessly pierced my chest and carved a ¡°Curse Mark¡± on it. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù Feeling lethargic, my body collapses. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThe ¡°curse¡± has been connected. There¡¯s no point in making a fuss about it now, and it will not be reversed. The dense magic power that surrounded the place had already disappeared. Still, I didn¡¯t even have the energy left to stand up anymore. Slowly, the red light subsided¡­¡­ The vision that had been dazzled by the flash gradually returned to normal, and I can gradually see my surroundings. [No way¡­¡­] What could those words of lamentations delivered on the wind mean? Guided by the voice, I quietly looked around. There¡¯s Radd and Nuku, with their eyes wide open, and then there¡¯s Prana and Mana, who were still seated on the ground. Resilia was biting her lip, as if she had realized something, while Roze was holding her chest, looking like a lost sheep, still unable to comprehend what had just happened. Unable to move, everyone absentmindedly stared at the center of the magic circle. And finally¡­¡­ I turned my gaze to Werther. The mad vampire, who had finally lost all of his limbs, was lying on the ground, but still, he obsessively remained in this world to confirm the establishment of the ¡°curse¡±. His current appearance overlaps his final moments in the game. Even with the stake on his chest, withering and vomiting blood, he, who had a satisfied smile on his face¡­¡­ [Why¡­¡­] However, the overlapping with the game stops there, as the expression on his face was different from the one in my memories. As if he had seen something impossible, Werther dazedly stared in my direction¡­¡­ Towards ¡°me¡±, who was sitting on top of the magic circle, with the shining ¡°Curse Mark¡± in the middle of my chest. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-WHY THE HECK ARE YOU IN THERE!!!?] With a cry of astonishment, outrage, and unconcealed despair, the rest of his body crumbled to ashes and scattered with the wind¡­¡­ And fluttering along with it, shattered after doing its job, was the I was wearing in my right hand. CH 85 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªTick, tock, tick, tock¡­¡­ I stared blankly at the systematically-moving hands of the clock. The second hand advanced at an unnervingly slow pace, slowly but surely making its way toward that moment. Finally, the second hand caught up with the minute hand, that moment when all the hands overlapped with each other, pointing straight up¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CHere it comes!] A black haze overflows from the pattern engraved on my chest! [Rex-sama!] With a sad voice, Roze, who was sitting next to me, squeezed my hand. The black magic power that appeared branched out into multiple branches, and just like a snake seeking its prey, the branches once again collided with my chest. This is exactly the same behavior as the ¡°curse¡± attack back in the game. In the game, Roze was groaning in pain as soon as she received this attack but¡­¡­ [¡­¡­I can¡¯t really feel anything.] As far as I¡¯m aware, there¡¯s nothing strange that happened with my body, except that I felt a little shock at the moment that black haze hit me. Having this mind, I immediately performed to my reflection in the mirror. There was no decrease in my HP and MP, which had been my concern, and my Status remained the same. Reflected back in the mirror were my familiar array of abilities that I¡¯ve seen multiple times already. [No abnormalities huh.] As I nodded my head, feeling satisfied, Roze embraced me with a force as strong as a body slam. [I¡¯m glad! I¡¯m so glad!] [I told you there was no need to worry about it.] Returning a wry smile to Roze, who exaggeratedly repeated ¡°I¡¯m glad¡±. Incidentally¡­¡­ (UWAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!! I¡¯M SOOOOOOOOOOOO GLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!!!) I was inwardly screaming with all my might, just like, or even more than Roze. No, of course, I knew that in theory, there wouldn¡¯t be any problem. This ¡°Curse Mark¡± is a pinpoint target for the Vampire Factor, or more specifically, a target pointing to . Unlike Roze, ¡°Rex¡± is just an ordinary Adventurer, so that marker shouldn¡¯t have any effect on me. Even in the in-game event, the Healer held up her hand to the black haze that had been activated, and calmly assessed that ¡°It was harmless to the human body¡±. Recently, however, my game knowledge may still prove to be useful, but it isn¡¯t absolute. It wasn¡¯t impossible that an anomalous pattern would occur, like the ¡°Curse Mark¡± would have an effect on me and I would end up awakening as the new , or that the attack would swerve towards Roze even though the ¡°Curse Mark¡± was on me. (This is why I didn¡¯t want to go with this option.) When I leveled Roze, I had thought of giving her the , which made it possible for me to use this last resort. The has the effect of ¡°exchange positions between characters equipped with the same ring¡±, probably derived from the ¡°castling¡± in chess, a special maneuver in which the king and the rook would move and somewhat swap places. There are lots of things I¡¯d like to say about it, like isn¡¯t that just a pun, or that castling doesn¡¯t exactly allow you to swap positions, but it can¡¯t be helped if the ring has such an effect. The effective range isn¡¯t very long, and the ring itself is disposable, so it isn¡¯t very useful, but it was the only way I could think of to break that situation after that Event starts. (In fact, if I hadn¡¯t used it, that would have been a way down the game over-lane.) I never thought that stabbing the into his heart wouldn¡¯t stop the activation of the ¡°Curse Mark¡±. Should I consider that I had underestimated the game¡¯s power in forcing their events, or should I praise Werther¡¯s obsession in this matter? Nevertheless, I somehow managed to get through it with the power of that ring, and considering the future, being able to clearly prove that ¡°I can overturn the flow of events¡± can be said to be a great harvest. As I was secretly smiling to myself¡­¡­ [¡­¡­I¡¯ll bear a grudge for this, Nii-san.] From a position where Roze couldn¡¯t see, Resilia muttered quietly into my ear, and for all sorts of reasons, I felt chills down my spine. Even before this incident happened, I had told Resilia everything, except for this secret trick with . If I had told her, she would stop me, and I felt like she would insist on taking on this role instead. On top of that, after the battle with Werther was over, I handed the to Resilia again. I thought that, just in case, if I were to become a Vampire, Resilia would be the only one who could stop me, but it feels like it would be difficult to cover this up later. [Ummm, Rex-sama? You look pale, are you alright?] [Y- Yeah. Of course.] While trying to hide the cold sweat running down my back, I¡¯m just glad that Roze and the others were safe. But then, at that moment, Roze¡¯s face clouded over. [What¡¯s wrong?] When I asked her so, she shook her head a bit. [No, I¡¯m glad everyone is safe. ¡­¡­However, I just thought that if Uncle was gone and you all went back to your adventures, I thought this place would be lonely again.] Saying ¡°Though it may be selfish of me to say this¡­¡­¡± with a self-deprecating smile, she turned her gaze to the side. [I think what Uncle did and is about to do is unforgivable. However, for me¡­¡­ He had been a truly kind person.] At the end of her gaze was the book she was always reading. Gently reaching for the book, Roze fondly stroked its cover. [This book is something Uncle bought for me. Moreover¡­¡­ He even went to the trouble of making caramel candies and treated me to them.] Her eyes were distant, as if she were looking at a memory lost forever¡­¡­¡­ a memory that was about to disappear¡­¡­ For reasons I didn¡¯t know, I felt a pang of pain in my chest. [When I asked him why he was so good to me, he laughed and told me: ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re special¡±. Thinking about it now, he might have been like that not because of me, but because of the presence of the deep within me.] Seeing the sad smile on her lips, I realized something. It¡¯s true that I was able to prevent the awakening of the by receiving the ¡°Curse Mark¡±. However, that did not change the fact that she was a Vampire and the She will have to leave with the fear that she may suddenly change for the rest of her life. In this building, all alone¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Roze.] The moment I realized it, almost unconsciously, I called out her name. [Rex¡­¡­ -sama?] As Roze looked at me, seemingly frightened, I simply spoke. [The Vampire who wanted to revive the had fallen, and his ambition was thwarted. However, that doesn¡¯t mean that everything has been resolved. The ¡°curse¡± on me may have some sort of effect in the future, and I can¡¯t say for sure that there won¡¯t be anything else in the future that would awaken the within you, Roze.] [Yes¡­¡­] Lowering her head, Roze slightly nodded. [I can¡¯t say that this ends everything regarding this matter. That¡¯s why¡­¡­] Thereupon, I looked around this place, too quiet of a building, having too wide of a room for one person to live in. And then, to her who looked like a sinner awaiting judgment, I spoke out the words of judgment. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThat¡¯s why, can we continue to visit you from here on out?] Hearing this, her eyes opened wide, as if she couldn¡¯t believe what she just heard. However, when she looks over at us and sees that we aren¡¯t lying, she wipes the tears away from her eyes. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªIt would be my pleasure!] Thereupon, blooming just like the biggest rose, Roze smiled. CH 86 [Fu¡­¡­ Fuhehehehe.] Looking at the ring glowing red on my finger, , laughter leaked out of my mouth. This ring, as its name suggests, has the effect of ¡°preventing level advancement while equipped¡±, but to be precise, it¡¯s an equipment that ¡°prevents you from receiving that final 1 EXP for level up¡±. And when the EXP is accumulated to the last minute, it¡¯s made to glow red as if to prove it. In other words, it seems that I was now about to reach Lv 51. Vampire Lord Werther, a Boss appearing in the latter half of the game, is at Lv 51. In addition to the higher-leveled Doom Demon, which I defeated in the opening event, I guess I finally earned enough EXP to level up by defeating Werther, a Boss Character of the same rank as it. (It¡¯s been a long time since I reached this moment¡­¡­) When the becomes red, EXP is not distributed to the person who has this equipped, but only to the other members of the party. And so, even though I don¡¯t plan to level up for a while, just knowing that I can level up makes a difference. (¡­¡­Ah, I can¡¯t get too carried away.) The Era Division has moved from First to Second, and the number of things we can do has definitely increased. Moreover, I¡¯ve been able to prove that ¡°it¡¯s possible to interfere in Events other than Character Events, allowing the possibility of ¡°changing the contents of Events¡±. ¡­¡­At the same time though, the factor of uneasiness I had in mind also increased. The Vampire Event occurred immediately after the event flag was raised. An Event Flag being raised was, in other words, an Event that occurs when the ¡°Hero¡± encounters them. Therefore, if my theory was correct, the Event wouldn¡¯t have occurred even if I, who wasn¡¯t the ¡°Hero¡± went to visit Roze, and Werther would only come to visit her when the Event duration has ended. In reality, however, Werther came on the same night that that Event had been triggered, and I happened to be the one in there. Either my assumption that the Main Event doesn¡¯t progress even if someone other than the ¡°Hero¡± visits was incorrect, or perhaps¡­¡­ (Is there a possibility that Events occur automatically in this world from the moment an Event Flag is raised?) I don¡¯t know for sure. However, it would be better if we could estimate the timing of Events as much as possible, and to always move ahead of the curve. (For that sake¡­¡­) When I arrived at today¡¯s destination, a certain restaurant, I saw a shadow running toward me. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Rex-san!] [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Lily.] Waving her hand with a smile towards me was . A Bard whose identity has been corrected in this world, changed from a transvestite to a real woman. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù Whenever I met with her, I somehow always made it a point to use the private room of this restaurant. It would be bad for her if I met her in a conspicuous place and started a strange rumor, and I somehow, it¡¯s just my hunch, but I have this feeling that it would be better if she doesn¡¯t meet Resilia too often. No, I think it¡¯s probably just unfounded fear on my part, but there isn¡¯t really any reason to force the two of them to meet at the moment. I enjoyed my meal with Lily, who seemed to be somewhat excited, and banqueted into our meals for a while. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CRegarding the search for that person, I was still not getting any results.] After chatting for a while, she cut straight to the chase. Lily isn¡¯t a great fighter, but she¡¯s definitely better than me in terms of information-gathering ability and connectivity with others. "" And so, I asked her to help me ¡°search people¡±. I asked her to find three people. The first was the Kingdom¡¯s Second Prince, , an innocent, puppy-like shota. The second was the future , the Second Prince of the former Ash Royal Family, hiding a large burn on his face with a mask¡­¡­ or so it was rumored to be, but he was actually a normal, handsome youth under that mask. Both of them could only be encountered after they became enemies in the game, but if we could make contact with them at this point, it might not be impossible to bring them to our side. I had asked her to search for them with this in mind, but unfortunately, I had very little information about them, and the only thing I clearly knew from the game was their faces. And so, I was at least hoping she would find out something about the third person. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThe ¡°Hero¡± of the game. Even though the Era Division has progressed and the situation has changed, the search for the ¡°Hero¡± is still my top priority. After all, without the ¡°Hero¡±, I wouldn¡¯t be able to proceed with Events in a stable manner, nor would the world be able to win the battle against the . After all, the ¡°Hero¡± is the most important person in this world. However, searching for the ¡°Hero¡± isn¡¯t an easy task. There are a few things I know about the ¡°Hero¡±, but those clues haven¡¯t really led us to him. The following is a list of characteristics of the ¡°Hero¡± that remain regardless of the origin¡­¡­ First is this basic and absolute requirement. Since B&B was popular among women for its genre, I can¡¯t help but think that it would have sold well if it had a female Hero, but the only option for the ¡°Hero¡± character is male. Well, if you can choose whether the Hero character is male and female, it would complicate the Event branching and dialogue differences, so it can¡¯t be helped. Perhaps, if the production company had more money and more people, such a future might have been possible, but it would be unreasonable to ask such a thing of a company that went bankrupt shortly after. This is my biggest clue in finding the ¡°Hero¡±. Considering that Rex has an affinity value of 9, and the average Adventurer has an affinity value of about 18, this difference in affinity value gives him a devastating strength. Random characters who got a high roll and Unique Characters that are important to the story may have an affinity value of over 20, but even then, the highest value they could have is 22. There¡¯s hardly any character who reaches that 25 Affinity Value. However, this is something that no one but me, whose ability values can be seen numerically with my can tell, and the drawback of this clue is that it isn¡¯t very useful in a search left to others. Though I say that, there¡¯s no doubt that he will be an excellent Adventurer with a high probability, so I was thinking of searching for him from that direction. The ¡°Hero¡±, the chosen by the ¡°Goddess of Salvation¡±, learns a variety of Light-Type Unique Skills like . His abilities are distinctive and powerful, so they should be easily recognizable by those who see it¡­¡­ Unfortunately, however, it¡¯s not so easy to say whether this info is useful in the search for him. He will not learn the Skill until after he encounters a , and I¡¯m not sure if the ¡°Hero¡± has met a by now. The face of the ¡°Hero¡± is determined by the player¡¯s character creation, and he doesn¡¯t have a Default Face. The Hero is supposed to be basically good-looking, but the Character Creation has many Face Parts options, so there are many variations that can be created. The age of the ¡°Hero¡± is often set as a teenager, but it¡¯s possible to create a character with a face that makes you think he¡¯s in 40s, or even have ridiculous faces like the face of a monster or a kabuki actor. It would be impossible to identify the ¡°Hero¡± from his face. For the aforementioned reasons, it¡¯s difficult to find the ¡°Hero¡± by any means other than by . ¡­¡­However¡­¡­ I had a ¡°clue¡± in mind that might be able to help me find the ¡°Hero¡±. In the first place, if you think about it normally, it¡¯s hard to imagine a situation where a World Event doesn¡¯t occur after 3 months, and it¡¯s also hard to imagine that the Second Era Division will arrive without the ¡°Encounter with a Event occurring. However, there is one clue that such circumstances have given me. There¡¯s one special ¡°Hero Origin¡± that could cause such a situation. It would be the starting point of the . The Origin is the so-called ¡°Hard Mode¡±, unlocked after the game is cleared once. The story begins with the player being captured by the , and having to escape from a mysterious ritual that begins in a week¡¯s time. Even if you manage to escape successfully, you will be constantly pursued by cultists. This makes it difficult for the ¡°Hero¡± to use the Adventurers¡¯ Guilds and stores in towns and cities, making your playthrough feel more like a survival game, but that isn¡¯t the only reason this Origin is so tough. The most important characteristic of this start is that ¡°the game starts a year later than the other Heroes¡±. The goals that should have been achieved in 2 years had to be done in half the time, so to put it bluntly, it was an almost impossible game. I once tried out this playthrough, but after escaping from the cult and continuing the adventure for a while, I felt helpless and readily gave up on that run. Also, if you choose this Origin, you would start in the Third Era Division. Incidentally, World Events up to Second Era Division are forcibly judged as failures, so you¡¯d be stuck with failed events like Roze¡¯s for example. Well, leaving that aside, only if the ¡°Hero¡± is the , there is a possibility that the Era Division will advance even if the ¡°Hero¡± isn¡¯t active at all. "" And if the ¡°Hero¡± is indeed the , then it would be easy to identify him. From the conversations in the story, it¡¯s clear that the ¡°Hero¡± is a former noble and has a younger sister named ¡°Linda¡±. And so, I asked Lily to search for noble families with a girl named Linda in it¡­¡­ (It turned out to be a failure huh? No, not much time has passed, so I can¡¯t really say it now.) It takes time for people in this world to move from one place to another. In this world without telephones or the internet, information is carried by the people, and it usually takes at least a month for information from far away to reach us. [I¡¯m sorry. Even though you had been expecting news¡­¡­] Lily bowed in apology, but I shook my head. [No, I had originally been hazy with the person I¡¯m looking for. You¡¯re already doing a great job, Lily.] [Rex-san¡­¡­] Besides, I wasn¡¯t too disappointed. There wasn¡¯t much that could be done in the First Era Division, but now that the Era has progressed, there are plenty of actions that be taken. [¡­¡­If we can¡¯t find them, we just have to smoke them out.] When I murmured so, Lily thought for a moment before speaking, sounding as if she was probing something. [While collecting information in this town, I¡¯ve unintentionally come across information about Rex-san. On the outskirts of the town, you had apparently bought an abandoned house near an orphanage, cooperated with the Guild to install scented sachets for repelling monsters all over the town, and ordered your apprentices to keep on subjugating Bee-type monsters in the field¡­¡­] Lily¡¯s words made my eyes widen a bit. I never expected she would gather that much about my actions. As I thought, asking her for her cooperation wasn¡¯t a mistake. [Rex-san, what on earth are you planning to do?] Lily asked, to which I shrugged my shoulders and answered. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CNot much, it isn¡¯t that big of a deal. It was just a little pest control CH 87 [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C!] Unleashing a single swing of flames, I knocked out all three bees at once. Only, one bee was out of range of my slash but¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C.] Our party¡¯s prided sniper, Prana, a Scout/Archer, easily killed it. [Alright! Easy-peasy!] Looking around, there¡¯s no sign of further reinforcement for the bees. Convinced that we had finally annihilated all of the Killer Bees, I struck a triumphant pose. [Even though we¡¯re up against weaker enemies, you shouldn¡¯t let your guard down too much.] I was calmly chided by my partner, Nuku. Being watchful of everything is this guy¡¯s strong point. It¡¯s just¡­¡­ [Yeah, that¡¯s what I thought at first too, but you know¡­¡­] It¡¯s been three days since we started exterminating bees. In the beginning, we had to fight carefully against these bees that moved fast and were numerous in number. However, these bees, monsters known as , including the subspecies, are all much weaker than us. Rex told us that the lowest level of these bees was about Lv 10, and even the highest level was about Lv 20. They are only about half our level. They can be killed with a single attack, and we take almost no damage from any kind of attack. Their poison and paralysis are a threat, so we can¡¯t really afford to get hit by their stinger attacks, but if we play our cards right, they aren¡¯t opponents we can¡¯t lose against. [Besides, continuously fighting them is getting boring.] [You think so? I don¡¯t really mind this that much.] Saying this, Nuku smiled with satisfaction. [We got tasty drops, and there are lots of enemies, so it¡¯s a good way for us to improve our proficiencies. If you consider them as partners to improve your strength, there¡¯s no better partner for us.] "" [That¡¯s true, but these battles are a little plain¡­¡­] In response to my muttering of complaints, Prana exaggeratedly let out a sigh. [The heck is with you?] When I instinctively snapped at her, Prana looked at me with ice-cold eyes. [Monsters are supposed to be finite. However, you should question yourself why are we fighting so many monsters that you have gotten tired of it.] I was at a loss for words at the sharp point she made. She has a sharp mouth, but she¡¯s strangely sharp. I mean, her mind is regrettably faster than mine. However, it¡¯s annoying to keep silent when she¡¯s acting like that around me, so I retorted. [If it¡¯s strange that there are so many enemies, then what¡¯s the reason? Are you saying that these monsters just increased on their own?] [I don¡¯t know? However, I¡¯m sure getting rid of all these weaklings isn¡¯t just a training exercise.] [How the heck would you even know that!?] When I said that, Prana glanced sideways. Looking toward the direction of her line of sight, I also inadvertently agreed. Standing there was our companion and Rex¡¯s younger sister. A ninja who wields two swords. [¡­¡­Rex expressly sent her on this adventure. If there¡¯s nothing going on, Rex wouldn¡¯t have sent her to accompany us.] I hate to admit it, but Resilia¡¯s strength is higher in rank than ours. In that case, there¡¯s something out of place in the fact that Resilia came along in exterminating these bees that even we could easily defeat. [Ummm¡­¡­] But there, Mana, who seemed to be just silently thinking about this herself, spoke. [It was written in a book I read a long time ago, so I only vaguely remember it¡­¡­ but what Radd-kun said may be correct.] [Eh?] Mana does say crazy stuff like these sometimes. That part of her is also mysteriously cute¡­¡­ Ah, no, that¡¯s very informative. [Normally, monsters are born from magic power. However, according to that book, there are some insect-type monsters that are born from a ¡°Queen¡±.] [Then, could it be¡­¡­] When I asked, Mana solemnly nodded. [Yes. Somewhere out there, there may have been a ¡°Queen Bee¡± who gave birth to all these bees.] At those words, I gulped down. My earlier words, about these bees being weak, are based on the ¡°current us¡±. If it had been us who were just starting out three months ago, no, if we hadn¡¯t been lucky enough to meet Master, we would have been easily defeated by these bees. And now, if there was an entity that could give birth tens or hundreds of such bees, it would be a tremendous threat. Moreover, Mana¡¯s story didn¡¯t end there. [Besides, the threat of the ¡°Queen Bee¡± isn¡¯t limited to its ability to increase the number of its allies. It was written in the book that the Queen boasts strength that was incomparable to that of an ordinary bee. Having known this, Rex-san sent out Resilia-san to accompany us. ¡­¡­Am I mistaken?] Those last words were directed to Resilia, who was standing a short distance away from us and looking in the direction of the town. Having been questioned, Resilia moved her gaze away from the town and narrowed her eyes. [¡­¡­I suppose being too perceptive could also be a problem.] [Then, as she had said¡­¡­] At my words, Resilia clearly nodded. [Yes. Nii-san mentioned the possibility of a Queen Bee being born. Moreover¡­¡­] Her gaze moves behind us, piercing through a conspicuous large tree standing on the hill. [I was told only one spot nearby where the Queen Bee may live in. I was also told that if your party wants to face it, I can bring you there.]] [¡­¡­Eh?] That is a suggestion I hadn¡¯t expected. [Nii-san said that the chance of the Queen Bee being there wasn¡¯t very high. However, if by some chance your party ends up fighting the Queen Bee there, we would have to face a difficult battle.] The words Resilia spoke were exerting pressure on us. An enemy that would make us face a difficult battle, even with the help of an Adventurer as powerful as Resilia. Having this thought in mind, I involuntarily shivered. [Even if that¡¯s the case, will you still go?] However¡­¡­! [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-That¡¯s obvious!] [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Of course we will.] [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-W- We will go!] [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Obviously!] The voices of us four overlapped. We didn¡¯t hesitate for even a second. This Queen Bee isn¡¯t an enemy that we can take lightly. However, us Adventurers have always been idiots who run into danger ourselves, and even the seemingly smart Nuku, Mana and Prana are no different. Besides¡­¡­ (I¡¯m Master¡¯s¡­¡­ I¡¯m a ¡°Hero¡¯s¡± disciple.) I don¡¯t know what Master thinks about this matter, but that is what I think, and that is something I¡¯m proud of!) [He knew you all would say this.] With a smile, Resilia started to walk with steady steps. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªIn that case, follow me. Let¡¯s go meet the head of these bugs.] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù In conclusion¡­¡­ We never encountered the Queen Bee. No, it isn¡¯t that our trip was completely fruitless. There was a huge hive there, completely different in scale from anything we had ever seen before, and it wouldn¡¯t have been surprising if there really had been a Queen Bee there. [¡­¡­Eh?] However, it had fallen into a gaping hole in the ground, crumbled to pieces. [Eh, what the heck, eh¡­¡­?] The end came so quickly. What are the odds that there¡¯s a hole under the Queen Bee¡¯s hive by chance, and the hive just falls into it? I have no idea what was going on, but in any case, the resulting hive, which had been dropped from a considerable hive, was shattered into pieces. If there was anything inside, it was probably no longer alive. [¡­¡­It doesn¡¯t seem like we¡¯re of any use here anymore. Let¡¯s go back to town.] As we¡¯re unable to hide how shaken we are from the unexpected ending, it was Resilia¡¯s calm voice that brought us back to ourselves. Leaving us still in a state of surprise, she quietly walked back to town. After we exchanged glances with each other for a moment, we quickly rushed after Resilia. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù As Resilia led the way at a brisk pace, around the time I was wondering if we were about to see Frelia town¡­¡­ [The sun was still high in the sky. Is it alright if we pack things up so early?] Nuku murmured worriedly as we walked. Indeed, we were returning much earlier than planned. I can understand why he¡¯s curious about this. However¡­¡­ [Hmmm, well, isn¡¯t it fine? It¡¯s Resilia who was taking the lead in returning anyway.] I don¡¯t really care either way. In fact, it¡¯s true that the incident with the Queen Bee dampened my enthusiasm, so it¡¯s a bit hard emotionally to go through another boring bee extermination session. Besides, the ¡°Queen Bee¡¯s hive falling into a hole¡± is probably a situation that even Rex hadn¡¯t anticipated. And so, I felt it would be better to go back to town and meet up with him as soon as possible. ¡­¡­I wonder what the other thinks though. Having that in mind, I suddenly became curious and looked behind me. For some reason, Prana seemed somewhat highly strung and wary of the surroundings, while Mana frowned, as if she had something she was worried about. [What¡¯s wrong, Mana?] Mana lifted her face at my words, but her face still looked gloomy. "" [Ummm¡­¡­ I feel like the book about the Queen Bee also contains other information, something very important. It¡¯s just, I can¡¯t remember¡­¡­] Even the worried Mana is so cu¡­¡­ No, being her comrade, I¡¯m worried for her, but I don¡¯t really think she should worry herself about something that¡¯s already passed. [I don¡¯t think you should worry about it too much? I mean, it seems that the Queen Bee is already dead anyway.] [I¡­¡­ suppose so.] At my encouragement, Mana smiled awkwardly, but her expression still didn¡¯t clear up. When I opened my mouth again, about to cheer her up¡­¡­ [Radd! Something¡¯s wrong in town!] Nuku shouted something in an unusually distraught tone. As Prana put an arrow to her bow, Resilia told us that she would be going on ahead, before running ahead of the party. [Wha!? O- Oi!] Not knowing what was going on, we followed suit. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù At first, I didn¡¯t understand what was going on. However, as we became closer to Frelia town, something became undeniably visible. [What the heck is that¡­¡­] Looking closely, I can see some kind of black stain stuck to the exterior walls here and there. [Kuh!] Suddenly, Prana, who was running next to me, drew her bow and fired an arrow at the black stain on the outer wall. [O- Oi!] I reflexively yelled out to stop her, but my voice was cut off when the arrow hit the black stain and that black thing peeled off. [What the heck is going on!?] As I couldn¡¯t understand what was going on at all, those words reflexively leaked out of my mouth. However, the answer came from an unexpected source. [¡­¡­Huh?] Just as we were about to arrive at the town, the ground in front of us bulged. And then, at the same time¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-I remembered now! It¡¯s their natural enemy!] Mana¡¯s voice came from right behind me. Normally, listening to her voice is something I wouldn¡¯t mind doing whenever the situation, but I couldn¡¯t pay attention to it now. The ground beneath our feet explodes, revealing a black hole in the ground. No, it wasn¡¯t just a hole that appeared. [ had natural enemies other than people! In the air and aboveground, in the trees and underground! Even though they live in different habitats, they¡¯re natural enemies that fight for their kind¡¯s survival and would continuously fight each other!] The first thing that stuck out of the hole were two slender ¡°sticks¡±. It wasn¡¯t until after the creature emerged from the hole that I realized that the black, ¡°stick¡±-like objects were ¡°that creature¡¯s¡± antennae. [¡¯s natural enemy! Another insect-type monster that is in a fierce territorial battle with the bees, and its name is¡­¡­!] I could understand what their natural enemy was without even needing her to say it. Those black ¡°things¡± about 50 cm long crawled up one after another from the hole in the ground. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªA body covered with hard carapace. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªA uniquely constricted form. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªLong, slender antennae and limbs. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªAnd strong jaws that bite and crush their prey. Those things, crawling out of the hole¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª! Murderous ants that kill and eat people!] CH 88 [Oya, it¡¯s you again. Things are a bit dangerous lately, you know? Maybe it¡¯s just my imagination, but I can feel something moving under the ground. Earthquakes are becoming strangely frequent, so I hope it¡¯s not an omen that something bad is about to happen. Hohoho.] After the routine talk with Granny Hohoho, we were discussing future work at the Guild when ¡°it¡± happened. With a bang, the Guild door burst open and a man came tumbling into the Guild. He didn¡¯t seem to notice the strange stares from those around him and spoke with a ghastly expression on his face. [O- Outside! Outside, a- a- a- a- a¡­¡­] The man, perhaps because he was quite agitated, repeated his cryptic words as he pointed outside, and taking a deep breath, he exclaimed. [Ants!!!] The noisy Guild instantly quieted down at the simple and unintelligible cry. While everyone stopped moving in confusion¡­¡­ [So, they¡¯ve arrived!] As my lips twisted to a grin, I quickly darted out of the Guild, passing by the man¡¯s side. As I stumbled out of the building, the scene was exactly as I had imagined it would be. "" The streets of Frelia were full of energy. Holes could be seen here and there, and from those holes was something black¡­¡­ A large number of huge ants, with a total length of 1m including their antennae, were crawling out. Upon witnessing their appearance, the townspeople screamed and ran for cover. However, that wasn¡¯t all. The ants that emerged from the ground bent over and pointed their butts at the buildings and people in the city, shooting yellow mucus from their bodies. Those who failed to flee simply watched in amazement as the liquid flew in parabolas. Then, with a swoosh, it hit the buildings and the ground where people were hiding. [What is that? The ants¡¯ bodily fluids?] [Uwahh! Acid¡­¡­ They¡¯re aciiiiiid!!!] The scene felt like a picturesque depiction of hell. That¡¯s why, I must first seize control of the situation before panic sets in. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-!] As the name of the magic suggests, fireballs began raining down on the ants from my hand. These ants, , are fearsome monsters to the average person, but they¡¯re only Lvl 10. They aren¡¯t tough opponents for Adventurers with some experience, and they¡¯re no match for an A-Rank Adventurer like Rex. Waiting until all eyes were on me, I quickly shouted. [Calm down! Those who can¡¯t fight, get inside the building! Adventurers, join me in exterminating the bugs! Even though they aren¡¯t powerful monsters, there are still a lot of them! It¡¯s time to earn money!] With the realization that the ants aren¡¯t opponents that they can¡¯t defeat, and with a direction given to their actions, a bit of order is restored to the chaotic situation. Among them were people murmuring things like ¡°It¡¯s Rex!¡±, ¡°So he¡¯s¡­¡­¡±, etc. And as if to support everyone from that situation, the door to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was opened with a bang, and a familiar figure bursts out of the door. [This is Verteran of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild!!! We Adventurers will take care of the ants! Everyone, get them!] He shouted like some bandit leader about to loot some village, but in this case, the clarity of his words paid off. Perhaps unable to ignore his shout, the Killer Ants all simultaneously turned to Verteran. Thereupon, with a savage outcry, the Adventurers rushed out, opening the battle between the Adventurers and the Killer Ants. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [Mast¡­¡­ Old man!] It was a dozen or so minutes later that I met up with Radd and the others who had returned from outside the town. The ants that had overflowed into the city had been roughly cleared away. [Yo. You¡¯re back early.] As I lifted one hand in welcome, Radd began to talk in an agitated tone. [Yo, your face! What the heck is going on here!?] [As you can see, it¡¯s an ant attack. ¡­¡­Well, don¡¯t worry. We¡¯re way past the turning point.] There are still a fair number of ants on the walls around the town, but there are only a few of them left in the town. They will soon be exterminated by the hands of the enthusiastic Adventurers. (However, there¡¯s no doubt about it now.) Unlike the interception team back in the game, the quality of Frelia¡¯s Adventurers has improved. Maybe it¡¯s because the NPCs are actual humans now and their judgment of the situation is more reliable, or perhaps because I provided them with information related to Classes and Manual Arts. Whatever the case, the situation seems to be coming to an end at a speed unmatched by the game. (Well, I did prepare a lot of things beforehand.) When I knew that Frelia would be attacked by ants, the best spawn point they could have would be a certain abandoned house on the outskirts of town. So, I took steps in advance, bought the abandoned house, and put a lid on it so that holes couldn¡¯t drill out of it. The ants may have dispersed to other holes as a result of this, but the situation should have been much improved by not having so many ants in one place at one time. In addition, I had placed boxes throughout the city with that would disable low-level monsters for a few seconds, which also worked well. Thanks in part to this, there have been no casualties so far, although there have been some minor injuries among the townspeople. Looking at me with a complicated expression on his face, Radd asks. [I- In that case, does that mean the town has been taken care of?] [So far, that is.] Radd¡¯s face tightened at my words. [That means¡­¡­] [There¡¯s no way that this many monsters could come out of nowhere for no reason at all. Behind all these, there should be a ¡°Queen¡± who is responsible for giving birth to so many ants.] As I said this, the memories of the game came to mind. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-World Event: This is an Event that occurs during the Second Era, and depending on how the game progresses, either this or the , in which bees will come to raid the city, will occur. The condition in which one would occur would be the subjugation of the species hostile to them. Simply put, subjugating the ants will cause an increase in the number of bees, and subjugating the bees will cause an increase in the number of ants, and when the scales tip to a certain point, this event will occur. Although it¡¯s possible to delay the outbreak to some extent by defeating ants and bees equally, the count rises as time passes, and a raid from either species will inevitably come. And so, my intention was to control the occurrence of the raid by defeating the target species with all my might. Furthermore, if I could complete this event to the end, and even defeat the ¡°Queen¡± with my own hands¡­¡­ (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-I might even be able to find the ¡°Hero¡±!) I¡¯m not sure if Radd sensed something from my appearance, but when I patted his shoulder, he backed away. [Rejoice, Radd. Fortunately, I¡¯ve already figured out where the ¡°Queen¡± is and how to get there first.] Well, we¡¯ll have to be a little reckless for that, but I guess it¡¯s a little too late to be worrying about things like that now. In other words¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Now, it¡¯s time for the ¡°adventure¡± you¡¯ve been waiting for!] CH 89 [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThis is Guildmaster Verteran speaking! Sorry for rushing you all into this, but let me explain to you about our Emergency Quest against the !] As soon as the raid on the town was safely contained, the Adventurers gathered in the Guild¡¯s training hall, with the town guards taking care of the situation Standing in front of the board he brought from the conference room, Verteran raised his voice. [First of all, it wasn¡¯t just Frelia that was attacked. At the exact same time, the Royal Capital and Niebuhr were also attacked by ants.] Verteran¡¯s announcement caused a stir among the Adventurers. However, as if to cut that clamor in half, Verteran spiritedly shouted. [However! Thanks to this information, we¡¯ve broken into the enemy¡¯s stronghold! Frelia, Royal Capital, and Niebuhr, all three of these places belong to separate regions. If there¡¯s one place where they can attack from all at the same time, they would only come from one place! A great mountain range that spans all three regions, from the !!!] With a bang, Verteran taps the mountain in the center of the map on the board. [We believe that the enemy is based underground in the and is digging huge tunnels toward the three town and cities. Hereafter, these tunnels will be called the , and in cooperation with the Guilds from the Royal Capital and Niebuhr, we hereby issue the !!!] As soon as Verteran spoke these words, the Adventurers let out a ground-shaking cheer. (Seriously, people here sure are a good-natured bunch.) Well, it may just be for the convenience of the story, but the inhabitants of B&B are overwhelmingly good people, with the exception of in-game Lily. It¡¯s nice to know that there are no twisted people stirring up trouble at times like this. [The act as the dividing line between the regions. It would take us 3 days to go there by horse-drawn carriage. In that case, we¡¯ll invade through the entry route the ants used and spend ten days advancing to the base of ¡­¡­or so it would normally have been.] Thereupon, Verteran meaningfully looked at me. [Through the help of a certain Adventurer, we have found a way to reach the mountains in one day. Yeah, a path that might even allow us to reach that place today.] Once again, the training grounds were engulfed in a ruckus, and in the midst of it all, Verteran smiles. [¡­¡­Hey, you lot? Don¡¯t you want us to take down these d*mned ant Boss faster than those in the Royal Capital and Niebuhr?] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù An hour after the start of the mission¡­¡­ We were at the foot of the . [I never thought you¡¯d actually shorten the distance from 3 days to 1 hour¡­..] As he stood in front of a large ant hole at the base of the mountain range, Radd muttered to himself. [Old man! What the heck were you thinking when you came up with this idea!!!?] [Well, I remembered there was an ant burrow here.] I replied, subtly averting my gaze. Immediately after that meeting, Verteran asked for anyone who wished to raid the ants¡¯ nest. Surprisingly, almost all of the Adventurers present volunteered, but as expected, we couldn¡¯t bring them all. We needed people to defend the town, and unlike those who had invaded the town, the ants underground were of a higher level. If we took the novices with us just because they¡¯re motivated, it would be no different from bringing them to their deaths. With Verteran and my , we selected the best of the best and formed an assault team. Without much preparation, we all went to that abandoned house, the biggest ant entryway in town, and plunged into the . ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªAnd there, we all used the . This , as it turns out, is the result of an Event that expanded and merged the , one in each of the attacked areas. Even though they have merged to form the , they are still three according to the system. In other words, if you use a at the moment you enter the , you will warp to the original entrance of the in Frelia region, not to the entrance of the hole you entered. (And the burrow in the Frelia Region is the closest to the mountain range.) The other two are relatively close to the respective cities. Only in the Frelia area can this warp shorten the distance significantly. Compared to the other cities, we can save 9 days of time, which will give us a big advantage in our Quest to defeat the Queen. (And by defeating the ¡°Queen¡± here¡­¡­ I may be able to find the ¡°Hero¡±.) In this Quest, you get a reward for each ant you kill, but defeating the Queen gives you a big reward and a grand award ceremony. However, the ¡°Hero¡± would normally not be well-trained enough to defeat the Ant Queen here, and there are no strong characters in Frelia, so either the Royal Capital¡¯s Elites led by Ain or a team of Star Adventurers from Niebuhr will defeat the Queen. That¡¯s why, watching those who subjugated the Queen be commended and gain public recognition, most ¡°Heroes¡± will be thinking about how they¡¯ll like to be Adventurers like them someday¡­¡­ Within the award ceremony, there¡¯s a presentation where the Adventurer who won the recognition would throw a flower bouquet, just like those bouquet tosses in weddings, and it would fall to the ¡°Hero¡±. I didn¡¯t pay much attention to this aspect in the game, but if the game proceeds just like it was in the game, it¡¯s possible that this will reveal who the ¡°Hero¡± is. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThis is the main reason why I triggered the instead of the Bees¡¯. One factor that might be an obstacle in this case is whether or not the ¡°Hero¡± is participating in this Quest in the first place, and since the actions that the one who subjugated the Ant Queen at the award are random, whether or not they will successfully throw a flower bouquet¡­¡­ (First of all, if the ¡°Hero¡± is an Active Adventurer, it¡¯s quite unlikely that he will not show up for this event.) The Royal Capital, Frelia, and Niebuhr have many low-level hunting grounds. The probability of the ¡°Hero¡± being in these three areas at this time of year is quite high. And the solution to the question of whether the one who subjugated the Ant Queen would throw a flower bouquet is simple. (We can just subjugate the Ant Queen ourselves.) I think that if I ask Radd, who knows nothing about the situation, to throw the flower bouquet¡­¡­ The Event Correction will be applied and the flower bouquet will end up in the ¡°Hero¡¯s¡± hands. (Then again, I wasn¡¯t wasting my time taking on Guild business either.) According to the plan I made when I first came to this world, only our party would rush toward the Ant Queen. I never thought that such a game-like plan would be accepted by others. (And for all the Adventurers to be rushing with us here¡­¡­) The biggest reason may have been because of my connection with the Guildmaster Verteran, but it seems that I myself have gained the trust of the other Adventurers in town, as they carried out my ridiculous plan without complaining. (I¡¯m feeling kinda guilty because I had an ulterior motive, but well, how should I say this¡­¡­ This doesn¡¯t feel too bad.) As I was sitting alone thinking this, Radd¡¯s flustered voice jolted me awake. [O- Oi, Old man! They¡¯re all heading inside the Burrows already! We have to take the lead and defeat the Queen, don¡¯t we!? You can¡¯t be this laid back!] Even though this guy was dumbfounded just a while ago, thinking that he sure is active, I waved him away. [It¡¯s alright. I told you I¡¯ve got it all figured out. We don¡¯t have to go heading straight. We¡¯ll take a ¡°special path¡±.] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù (¡­¡­Unnn. It looks like the other Adventurers are doing a good job of attracting the enemy.) As we continued through the almost empty , I nodded to myself. I apologize for using the Adventurers who have gone on ahead of us as a diversion, but the fate of the world may depend on whether or not our party can defeat the ¡°Queen¡± here. Of course, if we defeat the ¡°Queen¡± here, this ant raid will stop all the same, so I¡¯d like it if you please excuse me from all the complaints. [I- Is this alright? It looks like we¡¯ve already gotten quite a distance from the leading group though¡­¡­] [This way is better. It should be around here¡­¡­ Found it. Here it is.] In response to Nuku¡¯s question, I pointed to a strange hole that had formed at the edge of the ground. The hole, which could only be found if you look closely, looked like lips made of soft and flabby material, and to be frank, it looks disgusting. [W- What is that thing?] I replied to Mana¡¯s words, who was clearly repulsed like I am. [It¡¯s an exclusive transportation route for ¡°food¡± to the antlings.] [O- Oi! You talking about ¡°food¡± for ants here, don¡¯t tell me¡­¡­] [As you can imagine, I¡¯m talking about ¡°humans¡±.] As this is a large-scale World Event that most players will be experiencing for the first time, the event is designed to be enjoyable for players of all levels, and the penalties for failure are quite cordial. Players who have not yet developed their skills can earn money just by killing weak ants at the entrance of the , while those who have developed their skills can get huge rewards by defeating the ¡°Queen¡±. And even if a player gets to the center of the and loses, they would still have a way out. If defeated by a high-level ant, the ant will not immediately kill the ¡°Hero¡¯s¡± party. When his HP reaches zero, the ¡°Hero¡± will be knocked unconscious, carried by ants as ¡°food¡±, and thrown into this hole. Of course, after the ¡°Queen¡± is defeated, he will be rescued by the skilled Adventurers, but the place where he will be rescued is right in the center of the . [In other words, this ¡°food¡± transportation route will be a direct pathway to the Queen.] The moment I proudly said that¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI see, so that was the case.] Something is suddenly thrown on the ground, and a cloud of smoke rises. [W- What the heck is that!?] Radd¡¯s shaken voice. As if to overshadow it, a man¡¯s voice echoes. [For you who had come up with this amazing strategy, your movements have been rather slow. This being the case, we were wondering what was going on, but it seems like it¡¯s right of us to think you had come up with something again.] This voice¡­¡­ A faint memory rings an alarm in my mind. [Nii-san, duck! Wind Thrust!] Before the fragments in my memories could take shape, Resilia instantly made her move and blew the smoke away. When the smoke cleared, there stood Adventurers I had seen in the game. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CUncharted Explorer Team, !] When I exclaimed, one of the three Adventurers¡¯ lips quirked up a grin. [I¡¯m glad to see that the well-known Rex-sama remembers our name. But well¡­¡­ We¡¯ll get ahead of you this time!] Without waiting, they acted. The three men, the flipped over, and using magic to destroy the entrance to the ¡°food¡± transportation route, they jumped into it without hesitation. [Wait¡­¡­ Kuh!] The moment they jumped in, they used a smokescreen once more, not forgetting to stall for time. By the time we managed to clear the smoke, they were already gone. [Tsk! Let¡¯s get after them!] [A- Alright!] Snapping awake Radd and the others who had been stunned by the sudden turn of events, we too darted into the transportation route. (I didn¡¯t even think they would show up here.) The is a team of Adventurers who should only appear in the latter half of the game. Their role, in a nutshell, is the leverage role for the Mob Adventurers. As the game progresses, the difference in level and ability between the existing Adventurers and the players becomes more and more pronounced. This means that there are no more Mob Adventurers to engage the players in in-game events and stuff like that, so one of the teams consisting of high-level Adventurers that are introduced in the latter half of the game is them, acting as leverage for this role. (Of course, if this were the real world and not a game, they would obviously exist right from the very beginning!) Their levels, I believe, should be in the 40s. To put it simply, it¡¯s like they¡¯re ¡°leveled-up Verterans¡±, as even though they aren¡¯t as strong as Cheat Incarnate Sword Saint, sadly, their stats are probably better than Rex¡¯s. I don¡¯t think they¡¯re opponents I can¡¯t win against in a direct fight, but they¡¯re powerful enough to take on the ¡°Queen¡±. After passing through the transportation route, the place we arrived was indeed the ant nest. Moreover, what was waiting for us in the nest was a large number of baby ants. [T- Those guys, they pushed all the ants toward us!] The may be cunning and play dirty, but they aren¡¯t so vicious that they would aim to kill people. They probably woke the ants up thinking that enemies like these were something we could easily handle. [I¡¯ll definitely beat them to tears later!] The fact that I¡¯m roleplaying as Rex slipping off my mind, I shouted and used Fire Magic to decimate the antlings. I was able to exterminate most of the ants with that, but it would be troublesome if we were attacked from behind while we were on the move. I also burned the eggs I saw on the spot. [Old man! We have to hurry¡­¡­] [Calm down! It¡¯s still okay!] I¡¯ve faced the once in my fourth playthrough, but that was almost a gimmicky battle. The ¡°Queen¡± is a monstrously durable creature, and the ants are constantly hatching from the eggs around her, giving her non-stop reinforcements, so it¡¯s a tremendous battle of attrition. To defeat the ¡°Queen¡±, they would need the overwhelming power of Ain or Nirva class, or the ability to annihilate multiple amounts of enemies, or ¡°advance preparations for this battle¡±. I don¡¯t think they would be that prepared for this battle. [We¡¯re almost at the deepest point!] I shouted, burning down the ants that stood in our way with all my MP. And then¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Voices?] The long ears of Prana, who was running beside me, twitched, Just a fraction of a second later, the sound reached my ears as well. The sound of metal clashing and a man¡¯s shout. It¡¯s the sound of battle!] [They¡¯ve already started! We should also¡­¡­!] Radd, who was running in the lead, hurriedly increased his speed. [Wait! We need to get ready first¡­¡­ Kuh!] Even with everyone¡¯s current strength, the ¡°Queen¡± isn¡¯t so easy of an opponent that she could be defeated without any measures. I wanted to avoid rushing into battle without a break, but with a situation like this, it can¡¯t be helped. [Let¡¯s go! Don¡¯t let your guard down!] With that shout, I ran after Radd, and I too jumped into the deepest part of the nest where the ¡°Queen¡± awaits¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Eh?] The sight that my eyes met froze me in place. [¡­¡­What the heck¡­¡­ is this¡­¡­] Such words came out of Radd¡¯s mouth as he arrived at the entrance of the room. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThe room, which was supposed to be the site of the decisive battle between the Adventurers and the ¡°Queen¡± was stained red with the blood of both sides. The Ant Queen, who was supposed to be no match for the best Adventurers, had her limbs dismembered and her body scattered on the ground¡­¡­ as if she had been torn apart¡­¡­ Beside her were the three members of the , who should have been moving just a moment ago, lying on the ground as still corpses. And¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CAhh, d*mn weaklings. I thought I¡¯d play around with them to pass the time until the ¡°Hero¡± arrived, but fighting weaklings like this would make me bored.] I could hear it. A voice that should never be heard in a place like this reaches my ears. ¡­¡­The center of this tragedy. In the center of the blood-soaked room, ¡°he¡± stood. [Wha¡­¡­] As if this disastrous scene is nothing, as if he doesn¡¯t feel our fearful and hostile stares, he nonchalantly looked back at us. [S- Screw you! W- Who the heck are you!?] Even as his voice trembled, Radd shouted desperately. At those words¡­¡­ [Me? I¡¯m ¡°The First to Visit¡±, the ¡°Harbinger of Calamity¡±.] The man, dressed in rags and with eyes tinged with madness that he could not hide, lifted the corners of his mouth with a grin¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-The First Demon Lord .] I squared off against a . CH 90 (No way! No way! I don¡¯t understand why this is happening!) Standing in front of the , whom we weren¡¯t supposed to meet in a place like this, no, whom we weren¡¯t supposed to meet at all, my mind was in chaos. (Why!? How could this happen!? Why, of all places, would the First Demon Lord be in a place like this!?) I had certainly been suspicious that the hadn¡¯t been sighted, as I had hoped that the ¡°Encounter with a ¡± Event would occur soon. However, I never hoped that he would appear like this. (Why would the appear in front of us and not the ¡°Hero¡±!? This would never have happened in the game¡­¡­) I was about to assume so, when I remembered the words the said. (No, that¡¯s not it! I was thinking of it wrongly in the first place! Right from the start, the never appeared in front of us. He is just ¡°on his way¡± to appear in front of the ¡°Hero¡±.) This is a joint operation of three major regions. As we have already confirmed, there¡¯s a high probability that the ¡°Hero¡± is participating in this operation. And just because it wasn¡¯t mentioned in the game, even though he¡¯s a , he wouldn¡¯t have the power to accurately pinpoint the exact location of the ¡°Hero¡±. He must have gathered information in some way, and arrived at the ¡°Hero¡± as a result of that search. In that case, what if he met a Human Adventurer, a ¡°mob character¡± who was not the ¡°Hero¡± or anyone significant at all, on his way to the ¡°Hero¡±? The answer is simple. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªHe would crush them without hesitation. Whether it¡¯s the dismembered ¡°Ant Queen¡±, the bleeding , or we, who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. (D*mn it! There¡¯s no way this is happening! You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me!!!) Biting my lip, I tried my best to suppress these overflowing thoughts. (If it¡¯s just the or the ¡°Ant Queen¡±, I could have handled them! And yet!!!) No matter how unexpected the situation turned out to be, their strength had always been different from ours to begin with. It¡¯s highly possible that we could manage even by just brute force, but in the worst case scenario, we could have escaped. However, if it¡¯s against this guy¡­¡­ Only those weren¡¯t things we can do against a ! The I reflexively used, just as expected, isn¡¯t effective at all. (This won¡¯t do! There¡¯s no way we can win against that!) In the battle with Werther, once I felt the aura of a , I realized it. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThese beings, they¡¯re on a different level than us. In the game, the ¡°Hero¡± and his party managed to defeat the because they had the ability as and the . As proof of this, the battle with Bling in ¡°Encounter with a ¡± is depicted in the game as a full event battle. Bling, the , is the weakest of the , but themselves are powerhouses of the endgame class. If we were to fight properly under the rules of the game, he¡¯s an opponent that the ¡°Hero¡± of the early game is no match against. The overwhelming difference in strength was compensated by the cheat-like Anti-Demon Lord Correction ability of the , and the successful surprise attack by its sudden activation, but even so, it could only make the opponent retreat rather than defeat it. No, even with that much of an advantage, if they had fought normally without the event activation, the ¡°Hero¡± and his party would have been killed easily. And of course, we, who aren¡¯t ¡°Heroes¡±, wouldn¡¯t have the by our side, and its surprise attack event wouldn¡¯t occur. (We¡¯re so dead!) I bit my lip. Even with the odds against us, we had to make it through this situation with the cards in our hands. [¡­¡­Away.] [Eh?] Feeling irritated at Radd who still doesn¡¯t grasp the situation, I give the order with all my might. [Everyone run away!] [W- What are you talking about, Old man?] I shouted, but my sense of urgency didn¡¯t seem to be conveyed to Radd. I wanted to convince him, but I don¡¯t even have the time to catch my breath at the moment. [Huh? Like heck I¡¯m going to let them run away, idiot!] [Kuh!] I reflexively held up the Metallic King¡¯s Sword against the oncoming being, but then I realized how pointless doing that would be. (No, this is wrong! I shouldn¡¯t think I can fight him properly!) Only the can fight the on equal terms. That is the basic rule of this world. In that case! [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-¡­¡­ !] Coordinating with the Art from my right hand, the Orichalcon Knife unleashed from his blind spot, released from my left hand at the best timing, captures Bling¡¯s body as if he¡¯s soaking it in! ¡­¡­However¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Oi. Were you expecting such a paltry attack to do something to me?] My most effective throws bounced off the surface of Bling¡¯s body. (The difference in our abilities is too much!) My Orichalcon Knife, with the correction of the Art from my right hand, was thrown while the enemy was unguarded. However, there was a difference between our abilities that couldn¡¯t be surmounted even with that. [You done? If you are, it¡¯s now my turn.] [Kuh!] Still, since there was no way to win against it with a head-to-head battle, this was the only thing I can rely on now! [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C] Knowing that I wouldn¡¯t hit the target, I weaved techniques with the sword in my right hand, but those were just preparations. Accelerating my speed, in the blink of an eye, I thrust not my right-hand sword, but my left-hand knife at Bling, who had closed the distance between us in an instant. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª!!!] In exchange for destroying the equipment, I¡¯m able to unleash a one-time special attack, a trump card among trump cards. As the shockwave generated from my hand¡­¡­ [Tsh!] Barely making through Bling¡¯s defenses, his body is flung slightly backward. (Alright!) Even though it was only slight, I was still able to deal damage! "" I had involuntarily clenched my fists, but the glimpse of hope produced a momentary opening in my guard. [You¡¯re so annoying!!!] The enraged Bling held out his right hand to me. As soon as my brain realized that this was the same action I had once seen in the game, I leaped sideways. [Gah!?] The impact grazed my left side, and a sharp pain shot through me. (Such power even though I was only grazed¡­¡­) A shudder crawled up to my mind, but this isn¡¯t the time to be frightened. [Watch out!] Hearing that cry, I looked up and saw Bling, who had closed the distance, swinging his repulsive ornate knife at me. There was no time for me to evade. [Kuh! !!!] I¡¯m anxious about the remaining amount of knives I have on hand. Even so, I used my to knock Bling away and buy myself a few moments of respite. [Nii-san!] [Rex-san, we¡¯ll back you up!] Hearing the voices shouting from behind me, I involuntarily turned around and shouted back. [Don¡¯t! All of you escape right now¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª] However¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CDon¡¯t take your eyes off your opponent, weakling.] That moment was too big of an opening in a battle against a . [¡­¡­Ah, eh?] I felt a burning sensation in the pit of my stomach. Looking back to the front, I saw the ¡¯s face right in front of me. With his dirty dark-green skin and his wildly ragged teeth sticking out of his mouth, he smiled seemingly as if he was finding the situation truly amusing. [With this, that¡¯s a game over.] His vicious smile shifts upward. No, that¡¯s not it. It was my body tumbling forward. [¡­¡­Nii¡­¡­ -san?] I heard Resilia¡¯s voice from behind me. I should have responded to that voice, but my legs felt as if they held no strength. I was on my knees, holding my bleeding abdomen¡­¡­ [I- I¡¯ll heal you!!!] I heard Mana¡¯s flustered voice, and for a moment, a warm glow enveloped my wounds. [W- Why!? Healing Magic doesn¡¯t work!?] The laughed at the sound of Mana¡¯s shaken voice, as if he was enjoying himself from the bottom of his heart. [Ahahahaha, of course it doesn¡¯t! My knives are chock full of ¡°curses¡±. You¡¯ll never be able to heal that wound with such weak magic.] [No¡­¡­ way¡­¡­] Opposite Mana, who lost strength on her knees, her voice trembling¡­¡­ [Unforgivable!] [You b*stard! How dare you do that to Master!] From behind, I can feel the presence of the trembling Resilia and the others rushing forward. [Stop¡­¡­] However, even when I tried stopping them¡­¡­ [D*mned gnats. You¡¯re annoying.] They were suppressed by one casual swing of the ¡¯s hand. A shock blasted out from the swung arm, he blew Radd and the others over my head. (What¡­¡­ is this? What¡­¡­ the heck is this?) It was only a few dozen seconds. In a battle that lasted less than a minute, we were trampled by a single monster. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CFrustrated? However, this is ¡°reality¡±.] As if he had read my thoughts, the laughed. [No matter how much you small fries struggle, the status of our existence are just too different. After all, you weaklings only exist merely to be trampled underfoot by us, the powerful.] I had heard this cheap line back then, but hearing it this time seeped into my brain with definite reality. And then, with the austereness of an executioner, he slowly spreads his hands in front of my face. [Nii-san! Stop! Nii-san!] [No! Rex-san! Stoooooooooooop!!!] Resistance was futile. The desperate cries coming from behind me wouldn¡¯t have any effect on the inhumane . Holding up his hand, the gathered more than enough magic power to kill me¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-With this, it¡¯s time to say goodbye.] Just before the fatal blow was finally dealt to me though¡­¡­ [W- What is that!?] A light that covered my entire field of vision separated Bling from me. (Warm¡­¡­?) As if the suffocating feeling I had been having was a lie, it had been mitigated. My limbs, which had lost their strength, regained their vitality, and my blurry vision could once again gleam the images around me. And when my vision finally cleared, what I saw in front of me¡­¡­ [¡­¡­A sword?] I heard someone muttering nearby. Whose voice could that be? "" However, that no longer mattered. [¡­¡­Haha¡­¡­ Hahahaha!] A laugh naturally escapes from my mouth. [Y- You b*stard! What are you laughing about!?] Even though I heard Bling¡¯s agitated voice, I still couldn¡¯t stop myself from laughing. After all, what¡¯s floating in front of me is the Sword of Fate that has saved me many times in numerous events, the sword I¡¯ve seen the most in B&B. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C. The Sword of the Chosen One, made to purge darkness and defeat evil. It was shining above my head as if waiting for me to take it in my hand. CH 91 [D*mn it! What the heck is that sword!?] The voice of the distraught wasn¡¯t as relaxed as it had been a moment ago. However, that¡¯s understandable. The floating before my eyes. I know best how much of a cheat it is. Although it has the restriction that it can only be used once every in-game 24 hours, the strength and versatility of the surpass all weapons. Even though it has the form of a sword, it can be equipped no matter what Class the ¡°Hero¡± is in, and it can be used with all kinds of Arts, including sword, spear, and even whip. It can even be used as a magic activator in place of a rod. Furthermore, since its power is greatly revised based on the ¡°average value of the wearer¡¯s abilities¡± rather than specific abilities such as or , it¡¯s a truly ¡°strongest¡± weapon that never weakens no matter what build you choose, and never becomes obsolete even in the latter half of the story. And of course, that isn¡¯t all. [Nii-san!?] Ignoring Resilia¡¯s surprised voice, I slowly raised my body. With each second, no, with each moment, I can feel the wounds that should never heal, caused by the ¡¯s cursed weapon, being healed little by little. This is a Monster-Extinguishing Sword that the Goddess of Salvation gave to the Hero to defeat the darkness. It exorcizes curses simply by its presence and exerts unparalleled power against monsters belonging to the darkness, especially against ! [¡­¡­Everything starts here.] Power welled up from the depths of my body. My soul, not my head, seemed to shout, that I could do anything now. (Ahh, good grief¡­¡­) A smile naturally appeared on my lips, which until just a few seconds ago had been stained with despair. With a grin on my lips, I reached for the . I don¡¯t know why the that only the ¡°Hero¡± can use, manifested here. However, the fact is that this sword is here, emitting anti-monster and healing light. It¡¯s a weapon used by the Lv 10 ¡°Hero¡±, who was on the brink of death, and drove off the . If I, a Lv 50 person, were to use it, I would be able to drive off the before my eyes with ease. For a common, simple member of society like me, I¡¯ve had a continuous string of ups and downs. Like a painting of someone receiving a deus ex machina while in a hopeless situation¡­¡­ It¡¯s almost like¡­¡­ As if¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThe hand reaching out to the sword stops. [Nii¡­¡­ -san¡­¡­?] Unlike before, Resilia¡¯s voice sounded dubious. Once again, I stare at the shining sword and my own hand reaching out for it. (¡­¡­Arehh?) Suddenly, a question was raised in my mind. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CI wanted to be the ¡°Hero¡±? However, the time I was frozen was only for a moment. There was still a in front of me who wanted to take my life, and I had the trump card that might be able to defeat the being before my eyes. In that case, there was nothing for me to hesitate about! This time, with a firm will, I reached for the sword floating in the air¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CHow stupid!] I snapped that sword away as hard as I could. [Wha¡­¡­?] Everyone, even the enemy Bling, was taken aback, and everyone¡¯s eyes followed the path where the has fallen as it tumbled on the ground. The , which had been snapped away, rolled to the end of the pathway and was soon out of sight. [What was that? What are you¡­¡­] The looks at my incomprehensible behavior with astonishment and a slight sense of awe. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Even I am aware that I¡¯m doing something stupid. It¡¯s true that if I had taken that sword, I would have recovered to the point where I could move as per the events, and I could have dealt a blow to the . If I had done that, the , shaken by my unexpected power, would have used Teleportation Magic to inform the other of the existence of the , and retreat. That would have gotten us out of this trouble. I know that. I know that but¡­¡­ [But that¡¯s just boring, isn¡¯t it!?] Being the Hero guided by fate, the person everyone longs to be, that just doesn¡¯t suit me. I don¡¯t need to be the leading actor in this world. Even if I can¡¯t be the Hero, even if I can¡¯t be the Brave Hero admired by others¡­¡­ If I can just live freely in a corner of the world, craftily, having some skills to get through in life, that¡¯s all I need. That¡¯s right, I¡¯m¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI¡¯m not the ¡°Hero¡±!] With my declaration, I discarded the ring on my right hand. The afterglow leaking from the discarded ripped through the air, and as if to follow it, I took a ¡°Steel Sword¡± out of my inventory and threw it into the air. In the blink of an eye, the thrown sword transforms into a ¡°box-shaped monster¡±¡­¡­ [Wha!?] Even the others¡¯ surprise was just an instant. As Bling¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment, I immediately slashed my sword down the mimic I summoned. The change it brought came quickly. As soon as the mimic disappeared, power filled my body, and the pain that had continued to torment my abdomen disappeared in an instant. [That¡¯s impossible! That can¡¯t be! How did you recover from those injuries¡­¡­] [I didn¡¯t ¡°recover¡± it. It¡¯s just that ¡°my HP returned to its maximum¡±.] The wounds inflicted by the can only be healed through the use of the Anti-Curse effect of the or through the passage of time. However, if a character levels up, their HP will ¡°return to its maximum value regardless of their current state. That¡¯s all there is to it. [Now then. Against someone like you, I wouldn¡¯t need to use that sword.] In exchange for the that I had discarded, I put on a ring that increased my and stowed the in my right hand into my inventory. In exchange, I quickly transferred the knife from my left hand to my right hand and dexterously spun it around. As he watched my actions, the ¡¯s eyes lit up with maniacal fury. [Are you f*cking looking down on me!?] [Enough with all that nonsense. Come and get me.] Bling¡¯s eyes were filled with murderous intent, and he leapt at me with leg strength that no human could ever match. He certainly is fast. He¡¯s fast but¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C.] In fact, he isn¡¯t as fast as a person aided with Arts. I activated my Arts, but without hitting Bling, I just went behind him. (Earlier, I had been completely overwhelmed by the occurrence of this ¡°event¡±.) As I quietly exuded remorse, I threw the knife I had newly taken out at Bling¡¯s unprotected back. [Where are¡­¡­ Gah!!!] I threw 3 knives. The Orichalcon Knives, which also carry the power of , leave a slight wound on the back. [¡­¡­73, 66, 59.] Murmuring to myself to make sure, I threw additional knives at Bling, who turned around even more agitated. One of the 3 knives bounced off his body, but the remaining 2 grazed his skin, wounding him. [¡­¡­53, 48.] Damage has definitely been dealt. However, the ¡¯s will to fight didn¡¯t wane at all with that level of wounds. [You b*stard! Stay still!] He lunged at me while shouting, but I could no longer see him as a threat. "" As I readied new knives in each hand¡­¡­ [Parry!] I calmly dealt a blow to the , who was so furious that the thought of using techniques slipped off his mind, and counterattacked with both knives. [Like hell that works!] My knives struck him squarely on his nape, but it was only able to deal a small cut. Discarding the two weapons that are now useless, I threw them away and handling Bling¡¯s next attacks, I counterattacked again. [I told you it wouldn¡¯t work!] As he brushed away my attack, not caring about the cuts I made on his arm, I escaped from the recklessly large brandishes of his knife and taking a step back, I threw my knives again. [Are you one of those one-trick ponies!? That¡¯s useless!] Of the 3 knives I threw, one grazed Bling¡¯s skin and one pierced his arm, but he seemed unconcerned as he swung his arm to repel my knives, charging at me with the force of a rampaging bull. However, his attack could no longer hit me. Lightly moving my body, I composedly avoided Bling¡¯s knife. "" [¡­¡­23, 21.] As a passing blow, I slashed Bling once with each knife in both hands. As the battle drags on, I grow calmer and calmer, while Bling¡¯s confusion deepens with each passing moment. [Why!? Why can¡¯t I hit you!?] He yelled as he swung his arm, but it flew off far away from me. Meanwhile, 3 more of my thrown knives pierced his side. [I am a ! A mere human shouldn¡¯t be able to overwhelm me¡­¡­!] The 3 knives that I threw this time accurately caught the ¡¯s right arm. [S- Something like this won¡¯t¡­¡­!] The wounded , protecting his right arm, switched the knife to his left hand and swung, but there was no way he was going to hit me. [That makes 10! Perfect!] Casually dodging his attacks, I swung both of the knives in my hands in return, leaving a deep wound on the ¡¯s hand. As the staggered in response, he began scratching his head¡­¡­ [D*mn it! D*mn it all!!!] He suddenly howls into the sky and acts differently. Thereupon, he stops attacking, glares at me, and backs away. [¡­¡­I¡¯ll admit. I¡¯ll acknowledge that you¡¯re a ¡°threat¡±. I admit that you¡¯re my ¡°enemy¡±.] The eyes that had been dominated by frenzy regained a hint of controlled reason. The hatred in the eyes glaring at me remained strong, but the was trying to control it. [I¡¯m retreating, but don¡¯t you get the wrong idea. I didn¡¯t lose to you. I will definitely come back and kill you.] These were the words I had heard on the screen during the ¡°Encounter with the ¡± Event. As if following a predetermined destiny, as if performing some cliche play, he declared. His wounded body staggered, but his fighting spirit remained undiminished. As the glares at me, he holds his arm above his head and weaves his magic. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Until then, enjoy what little life you have left. !!!] Saying a sharp parting remark, Bling casts his Teleportation Magic. However¡­¡­ [What!? Why can¡¯t I go back!? Return! Return! Return!!!] Even though I screamed in a half-crazed state, the magic wouldn¡¯t activate. However, that¡¯s to be expected. [Your abilities are too low for that.] [What?] Looking at Bling, who seemed to be unable to comprehend what was going on, I held out one of the knives I had been using. [Did you know? This knife is called .] [What are you suddenly saying now¡­¡­!?] Not caring about Bling¡¯s growing rage, I play with the knife in my hand. [It often has unsatisfactory effectivity, except for one thing. Only when fighting ¡°a certain species¡± can it show its outstanding power. Do you know which species it is?] [Don¡¯t¡­¡­ tell me¡­¡­] At my words, the ¡¯s body trembles. The are monsters evolved by the Evil Deity, and they¡¯re literally the King of the monsters, ruling over their respective species. And when speaking of a certain ¡°weakest¡± green-skinned creature in , there¡¯s only one answer. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CIt¡¯s .] Yes, the moment I said it¡­¡­ The in front of me, , staggered greatly. [It has another effect in addition to dealing more damage against Goblins. It has the effect of, once during the battle, permanently ¡°reduces the abilities of the Goblins it damages by 10%¡±.] [Shut up.] Bling¡¯s not even trying to hide his agitation any longer. As if his earlier relaxed attitude was a lie, the stares at me with eyes that are clearly tinged with fear. [Do you think the 10% is nothing? However, this effect stacks when you use multiple . If getting hit once gets your stats to 90%, getting hit twice would lower your 90% stats to a 90%, 81% of your original stats. Getting hit thrice would lower your stats to 73%, 4 hits lowers it to 66%, and 5 hits lower it to 59%.] [I said shut up!] Finally unable to hold back anymore, Bling bared his teeth and howled. However, I ignored him and grinned wickedly as I looked at the 25 knives scattered all around me. [Then, I wonder how weak a Goblin can be after being hit with so many knives?] [SHUT UUUUUUUUUUPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!] The weight of those words, the truth contained with them, the , who had lost everything, couldn¡¯t bear it anymore. [¡ª¡ª¡ªYOU B*STARD! YOU B*STAAAAAAARD! UGYYAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!] There was no longer any semblance of his initial dignity or intelligence. He lunged toward me with gusto, but his movements were unfortunately sluggish. [And with this, this makes it the 26th. And with it, here comes the real¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C] As he attacked me with no skill at all, driven only by his fury, I swung my right hand at the ¡°weakest monster¡±¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CGame over.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª-and the I wielded had done exactly what its name said it would do. CH 92 [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThat was a rough day.] As I finally arrived back at my old inn in Frelia, I deeply sighed. Of course, engaging in a battle with a , where I¡¯m so close to death, is rough, but dealing with matters after that was also rough. In the first place, the reason we were able to get to the ¡°Ant Queen¡± in one day was that the official entrance was near the mountains where the ants nest, so we could immediately arrive there with a . Conversely, if we used the to try and return to Frelia, we could return only to the vicinity of that mountain, making it have little use in returning to the city. It took three days for a carriage to come from Frelia to the entrance of the ants¡¯ nest, and another three days to ride back on the carriage. In the end, including the clean-up, it took more than a week for us to return to Frelia. (I would say it was a blessing in disguise that we got to keep our lives, but to be honest, I would have liked it if we could gain a few more from that.) This time, it wasn¡¯t the Adventurers who defeated the ¡°Ant Queen¡±, but a . This makes it so that the seat of the person who contributed to this operation was vacant, and in addition, the ¡¯s revival would come to light. Even though we had managed to defeat the , there were still many more who had probably resurrected. Naturally, as it was undecided who contributed to the operation the most, the award ceremony wasn¡¯t held, and the identity of the ¡°Hero¡± remained unknown. (If I had just held the , all of these worries would have been erased¡­¡­) Just to be sure, I also searched around the area where I had slapped away the after defeating Bling, but there was nothing there anymore. Moreover¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CManifest yourself, Sword of Light.] I held my hand out to the air and mumbled, but naturally, nothing happened. (As expected, it¡¯s not possible huh.) According to the event in the game, the ¡°Hero¡± who drove away Bling with the would be able to call up the on his own after the event. But apparently, that doesn¡¯t apply to me. (If I had obediently grasped the at that time, perhaps¡­¡­) I thought about it for a moment, but I shook it off my head. If I had picked up the sword and proceeded with the event just like it was in the game, I might have been able to drive Bling away at that moment. But if I had done so, that would have retreated and reappeared in a later event, more powerful than before. And at that time, the number of casualties his presence brings would be incomparable to this time. (The choice I made back then is definitely not a mistake.) And if I recall, the situation in which the appeared was slightly different from the game. Of course, the fact that the appeared in front of me, who wasn¡¯t the ¡°Hero¡±, is one thing, but there are other unnatural points as well. First of all, the isn¡¯t an item, but an ability. It¡¯s the embodiment of the power of the ¡°Hero¡±, the , and the description of the states that it¡¯s ¡°a technique that gathers the power to crush evil into one¡¯s own hand and creates a sword of light¡±. In the game, the way the event goes was that light gathered in the ¡°Hero¡¯s¡± right hand, from which a sword of light was gradually generated. However, that didn¡¯t generate from my right hand, but appeared in front of me from the beginning. In that case, if I consider it that someone else had generated that to help us out of that situation, there was no one in the distance to hand that sword over, and even if the ¡°Hero¡± was hiding somewhere, manifesting the and letting it float in the air is beyond the scope of the power of the ¡°Hero¡± in the game. Everything about that situation is just irregular. No, speaking of irregularities, then the fact that we, who aren¡¯t ¡°Heroes¡± nor part of his party, being part of the ¡°Encounter with a ¡± event is also¡­¡­ (No. Could it be¡­¡­ that that was the reason?) We, who originally couldn¡¯t use the , were involved in an event that required the . And so, in order to ¡°make the event go smoothly¡±, the world may have made the appear in front of me and tried to make the events consistent¡­¡­ Thinking about it that far, I shook my head. If I overthink in a situation where I don¡¯t have all the information, I would just end up thinking deeper and deeper. However, there¡¯s one thing I can say for sure¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThere¡¯s ¡°something¡± in this world that is different from the games I know! From now on, I shouldn¡¯t just blindly trust the knowledge I have of the game. I need to carefully discern what is the same and what is different from the game. (Anyway, I must hurry to strengthen our side first.) Against Bling, I¡¯m lucky enough to have a large number of special items, which I could gain the advantage in the battle. However, if it was the other that had appeared, we would have been helplessly killed. (However, that situation brought out some factors that turned things for the better.) By unequipping the during the battle with Bling, I leveled up from 50 to 51. Moreover! When I looked at my Status after the battle, to my surprise, my level had risen to 52. This makes me feel like the 3 months without an increase in level was just a lie, but I guess that¡¯s to be expected. Even though he¡¯s the weakest, he¡¯s still a . The EXP he generates must have been on a different order of magnitude. (Besides, with the Great Insect Raid over, the Era Gauge must have progressed quite a bit. After a little more progress, when the Era Division changes and conditions have been met¡­¡­) That event, the ¡°Prince Ain¡¯s Disappearance¡± Event should occur. If that happens, I will be able to ¡°reassign my Status with the Trial of the Soul¡±. (Now is a time where I shouldn¡¯t hurry myself and be careful with my future steps. It¡¯s almost certain that the ¡°Hero¡± was in the . While in parallel with searching for him, our priority now should be fortifying our bases¡­¡­) [Nii-san!] With a bang, the door of the inn opened. When I turned around to see what was going on, there stood a breathless Resilia. [Resilia? It should still not be time to go to the Guild yet¡­¡­] When I turned around, saying these words to her¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-One of the has apparently been conquered.] I stiffened involuntarily at the words that were suddenly spoken. [¡­¡­Huh?] My head couldn¡¯t comprehend what she just said. After all, that¡¯s just not possible. The is the main content of the game. Naturally, in the game, NPCs never cleared these ruins on their own, and since the , which we neglected after defeating the Boss, wasn¡¯t cleared anytime soon, I assumed that it was the same case in this world. That¡¯s right. If there¡¯s an entity that can do such a thing, it would be¡­¡­ [It might sound hard to believe, but the one who had cleared it was a solo adventurer who, three months ago, was completely anonymous. According to witnesses, he was¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª] "" Thereupon, Resilia paused for a moment, seemingly thinking about her words, then looking at me with eyes that seemed to bring up something to me, she spoke. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨Cwas to have used a dazzlingly shining sword that could dispatch monsters with a single stroke.] The hands of the clock, which had begun to move, wouldn¡¯t stop. Whether I liked it or not, I will be caught within the vortex of history that had begun to gush violently. CH 93 [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Oh. You¡¯re early.] When I opened the door to the office, Verteran looked up from his papers and said these words to me. However, I didn¡¯t have enough composure to return his greeting. Going straight to the point, I asked him a straightforward question. [I heard the news from Resilia. Is it true that one of the has been conquered?] ¡­¡­The report that ¡°one of the Ruins had been conquered¡± came as a complete surprise to me. The first World Event was the attack of which took place during the Great Insect Raid event. Having dared to ¡°go against the flow of the event¡±, I succeeded in killing the on the spot, even though he was supposed to have run away. The fact that I was able to kill , it¡¯s even more important. And so, when I learned that it was the Adventurer Guild¡¯s Guildmaster, Verteran, who had passed on that information to Resilia, I came to Verteran to acquire information he may have on hand. [It¡¯s true. ¡­¡­No, I don¡¯t know exactly how it happened, but an unthinkable phenomenon have been confirmed.] Verteran must have felt something from my impatient question. Hearing him verify its authenticity, a serious expression appears on my face as I nodded. It¡¯s just, I felt something out of place with the way he answered. [An unthinkable phenomenon has been confirmed? You didn¡¯t receive their report for the conquering of the Ruins?] In response to my questions, Verteran said ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it step by step¡±, and sat back deeper in his chair. [First of all, it was the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in the neighboring region of that informed us that one of the Ruins had been conquered.] [Through the Guild¡¯s communication device huh.] Unlike modern Japan, this world has neither the Internet nor telephones, so the transmission of information is slow. However, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild has communication devices that allow them to communicate with other Guilds in other cities, and I knew that the Guildmasters talked with each other in case of emergencies, such as the . [From what I heard, five days ago, from the Ruin near Niebuhr City, light suddenly swelled up and spread out to the extent that it engulfed the entire continent before disappearing. This was confirmed by almost everyone who was in Niebuhr City at that time. No, not only that, some of the residents here in Frelia even said that they saw something shine in the west.] [I see.] In the game, no one but the ¡°Hero¡± ever conquered the . I don¡¯t know what was going on outside while the player conquers one of the , but it was possible that that light would spread to the world. [And so, a party of adventurers who thought that light was suspicious went to the aforementioned ruins and found all the monsters there had been wiped out. It means that the dungeon down to the deepest level has been conquered.] [In that case, it really wasn¡¯t the person who conquered the ruins who reported it huh.] [Yeah. And so, even if there¡¯s information about a solo guy who conquered the ruins or that they used a shining sword, those were just information from eyewitnesses.] [What the heck is with that¡­¡­] Normally thinking about it, conquering one of the would be a great achievement for an Adventurer. If they had conquered it, everyone would have been gladly running to the Guild so that they could report it. [¡­¡­You¡¯re the last person I want to hear saying that.] For some reason, Verteran looked at me with dismay. I reported to Verteran that I had defeated a , but I asked him not to announce that it was me who defeated that . Although he had no choice but to announce that the had been resurrected and that the that had been sighted was already defeated, but I asked him to create a scenario in which several parties encountered the during the campaign to defeat him, and relying on our numbers and barely winning, albeit at the cost of some lives, we had managed to defeat the , who had just resurrected and hadn¡¯t completely regained his strength. This wasn¡¯t because I don¡¯t need any more prestige, but simply because I realized that I would never be able to win a battle against Bling, the weakest of the by a straight-forward battle. Circumstances won¡¯t just be easy when dealing with the remaining , as they aren¡¯t opponents who you could just prepare dozens of special items to fight against. If that¡¯s the case, I want to avoid getting a reputation for defeating a and become targeted by them. However, it¡¯s also true that Verteran went into a lot of trouble just to keep my name out of record. Avoiding Verteran¡¯s resentful eyes, I continued with my questions. [So, did you have any other information on the guy?] [The guy apparently didn¡¯t like socializing. It seems that the people over there are also desperately searching for his identity, but it seems that even they don¡¯t clearly know his name. However¡­¡­] Thereupon, Verteran leaned forward on his desk, and seemingly as if he was about to tell a secret, he spoke. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-I heard he had already left Niebuhr City and is on his way somewhere else.] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [Nii-san, what do we do now?] [¡­¡­Let¡¯s see.] After I left the Guild, Resilia asked. I honestly feel like my thoughts are going in circles, but I guess I¡¯ll sort out the situation for the moment. First, one of the was conquered five days ago. It was right after we defeated a , when we were still underground in the Ant Burrows. That would explain why we didn¡¯t notice it. Moreover¡­¡­ (Speaking of which, I think the ants have gotten a little stronger by the end.) With the Queen dead, the ant raid is over, but that doesn¡¯t mean the enemies in the ant colony are wiped out. I was killing the ants I could see to pass the time until the carriage that would pick us up arrived, but I had the impression that the ants had gotten tougher than expected. If I interpret this as ¡°because the level of the enemy monsteres had increased due to one of the ruins being conquered¡±, then it would certainly make sense. (The next thing I¡¯m curious about is that ¡°shining sword¡±. As far as I know, the only weapon that fits that description is the . No, if they had imbued Light Enchant on an ordinary sword, the eyewitnesses could have misinterpreted it, but the chances of that being the case aren¡¯t that high. And if the ruins were conquered 5 days ago, that would be after defeating the . In other words, after the appeared in front of me. Perhaps could it be that because of that half-baked ¡°Encounter with a Event, the ¡°real Hero¡± who was on Niebuhr¡¯s side became able to use ? Is such a thing even possible? (¡­¡­Either way, not checking on him isn¡¯t an option.) Verteran said that the Adventurer left Niebuhr. And there are only two areas that can be reached from Niebuhr. Frelia, northwest across the mountains. And also¡­¡­ With the map in my head, I turned to Resilia, who was waiting for my next words. "" [Resilia. Let¡¯s go prepare for a trip.] [Nii-san?] As it seemed like she was unable to keep up with what I¡¯m saying, I clarified. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-This would be our first expedition. After this, we¡¯re going to the Royal Capital!] CH 94 The world of is divided into several ¡°regions¡±. Each ¡°region¡± usually has one large city as its center, as was the case with Frelia or Niebuhr, with one or two towns or villages and several dungeons located far from the city. The problem is that the distances between each ¡°region¡± are so great that it takes time to move from one town to another. Although B&B has a time limit of 2 years, it takes at least a week to get to another region. One factor that can dramatically shorten this time is the warp function of the 4th DLC¡¯s , but unfortunately, this isn¡¯t available for us yet. As expected, the 10 billion wen needed to buy that house isn¡¯t ready yet at this stage, and even just buying that doesn¡¯t mean it could help us go anywhere we want. There¡¯s only one warp location that would be open upon purchase. Other than that, you have to get there by yourself once to turn on the house¡¯s warp function. (Though I say that, this matter really isn¡¯t just something I can ignore.) If ¡°someone¡± who had conquered a ruin in Niebuhr sets out on a journey, their first destination will be one of the two choices: here in Frelia or the Royal Capital. And if the choice is between those two, it¡¯s more likely that they¡¯ll go to the Royal Capital. The Royal Capital is naturally the city that represents its ¡°region¡±, and its location is in the middle of the continent. In that sense, , the Royal Capital, is the very center of this world. Naturally, there are many useful facilities and dungeons there, so I had hoped to visit there someday. I guess I should consider this a good opportunity to do that. If the swordsman who conquered the ruins left Niebuhr 5 days ago, we don¡¯t have much time to spare. I wanted to leave as soon as possible, but I couldn¡¯t just leave on a moment¡¯s notice. It would take about 10 days to travel between Frelia and Bring City by carriage. There were many things that needed to be done, such as canceling our lodgings and other work for the Guild. On that day, before I could go on that trip, I had to scramble around the town. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù And so, it was mid-afternoon. The expedition to the ants¡¯ nest had brought related work to a standstill, which was rather beneficial in my case. After somehow managing to coordinate the Guild¡¯s affairs, I arrived at the training grounds to find Radd and the others waiting for me, in a state that clearly looked different than usual. Radd was almost crushed by a big bag on his back, Nuku was holding a lot of books and his glasses were shining brightly for some reason, while Mana was checking a book titled ¡°Traveler¡¯s Guide¡± covered with sticky notes, nodding her head for some reason. The only one who was acting as usual was Prana, who was still wearing the same light clothes she usually wears. [¡­¡­So, what¡¯s that about?] I asked, Radd snorted and answered. [Food! We had a hard time on the way back from the ants¡¯ nest because we weren¡¯t prepared for it! That¡¯s why, I made sure we were prepared!] [Ahh¡­¡­] Back in the Ant Queen Subjugation quest, Radd and the others charged in unprepared for the long journey, so they had some trouble on the return carriage. I had no particular problem because I had been buying supplies, which I¡¯m not sure when they could be of use, and putting them in my inventory, a habit I have had back in the game, but they¡¯ve reflected on that incident huh. Inventory is very convenient, but it has the drawback that you can ¡°only put in items that existed as items in the game¡±. If you prepared only food that wasn¡¯t considered as an item, you¡¯d end up with that much baggage huh. Moving my gaze to the side, the nearby Nuku spoke, looking a little embarrassed. [Umm, I also had a lot of free time on the carriage, so I was hoping to have some books to read along the way.] I thought the number of books he got was unusual, but I guess that¡¯s just how much he read on a 10-day carriage trip huh. Meanwhile, Mana, who was holding the ¡°Traveler¡¯s Guide¡± book in her arms, looked at me. [I- I¡¯ve never been on a real trip before, so just to make sure I won¡¯t trouble everyone¡­¡­!] Having bought such a thing with everyone in mind, I thought she was admirable. It¡¯s just¡­¡­ [Ahh. Well, sorry.] Feeling somewhat apologetic, I scratched my head. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CRather than using a carriage, I was planning to have us walk to the Royal Capital.] [¡­¡­Eh?] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [¡­¡­Alright. Here we are.] After getting everyone¡¯s bags cleared up a bit, we left the Guild, heading for the . Naturally, our first destination¡­¡­ wasn¡¯t Frelia¡¯s gate. [Eh? This place is¡­¡­] Just before the ants¡¯ raid, the Guild had purchased this abandoned house. [H- Hey, Old man! I thought we were going to the Royal Capital!? If you¡¯ve still got other things to do¡­¡­] I stopped the bewildered Radd, who was about to rant again, with my hand. [Hey, why do you think I held this house for?] [Eh?] In front of Radd¡¯s blank stare, I entered the abandoned house and pushed open the large lid on the floor. The lid shifted dramatically, revealing a hole leading underground. As for what this place is, everyone probably doesn¡¯t need me to explain anymore. [D- Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡­] As Radd¡¯s face scrunched up in a frown, I nodded. [Exactly. Our journey starts here. We¡¯ll use this ants¡¯ nest to get to the Royal Capital.] CH 95 [O- Oi, Old man! I thought you said you had all the ant holes sealed up! If by any chance the ants come through here to the town¡­¡­] As he looked at the hole in the center of the abandoned house, Radd raised his voice. His concern is understandable. Although no one was killed as a result of the quick response, the monster raid on a supposedly peaceful town left a shadow over the hearts of the people. If the ants were to spring up because of this hole that remained, they worry that something irreversible might happen this time. However¡­¡­ [Don¡¯t worry. This hole has long since been sealed up.] [Huh¡­¡­?] I beckoned Radd, who had frozen up at my words, to look into the hole. [Eh? Isn¡¯t this¡­¡­ connected to the cave?] As Radd tilted his head in confusion, just as mentioned earlier, the end of the hole has long since been filled in. All that remains now is a few meters of the entrance to the hole that once led to the . But for my purposes, that was already enough. [Come on, stop with those faces and come here already. You¡¯d think you can¡¯t use a here, right?] Leading everyone into the hole, which led nowhere, I activated a . ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [T- This place is¡­¡­] The original entrance to the ¡°Ants¡¯ Burrows¡±, which we had come to earlier, was reached by . [H- How? The cave wasn¡¯t supposed to be connected¡­¡­] Nuku, who sees things logically, was wide-eyed and confused, but well, that¡¯s understandable. The is an item that ¡°teleports the user, when used in a dungeon, to the point designated as its entrance¡±. To explain things to the extreme, there isn¡¯t really any need for the entrance to be connected to the place where the is used, but this is something that people with no knowledge of games would not understand. [Now, we¡¯re going to walk a bit from here. There¡¯s a possibility that there are still ants in the area, so stay alert.] Without further ado, I urged Radd and the others to move on. Well, even though I told them to be on the lookout, I had already cleaned up the ants in this area once. B&B¡¯s system makes it so that there¡¯s a finite number of monsters, so a day passing wouldn¡¯t make this place overflowing with ants. We followed the same path we had taken before to the ¡°food¡± transportation route, where we had been caught off guard by the Hounds in the past. [We¡¯re almost there. Don¡¯t stray away.] After briefly calling out to them, following the same passageway, we stepped into the center of the Ant Burrows. [H- Hey.] [Hmm?] Hearing that call, I looked to the side and saw Radd standing next to me. He was looking up at me, seemingly anxious. [By any chance, are you planning to advance through the Ant Burrows and get out from the entrance in the Royal Capital? No, I think it¡¯s amazing that we were able to reach the border of the region in an instant, but it¡¯s about a week¡¯s distance from the mountain to the Royal Capital by carriage, right? In that case, wouldn¡¯t it be better if we just used a carriage¡­¡­] After hearing his words, I finally realized what Radd is misunderstanding. [Well, I guess it would be alright to do that around here.] Instead of correcting him, I took out an item from my inventory. That is¡­¡­ [A ? Eh, but won¡¯t that just send us back to where we came from¡­¡­] [Now then, I wonder about that?] After returning a smile to the bewildered Radd, I used the . As a dazzling light wrapped around us, when we opened our eyes again, we were standing in a different place than before. [This place is¡­¡­ the entrance to the nest, right?] Rather than go into a lengthy explanation, I think it would be better if I just prove my point. I just answered Radd¡¯s puzzled question by pointing to the entrance of the cave. [You¡¯ll know where we are when you check out what the outside is like.] [¡­¡­Well, if Old man says that much, I guess I¡¯ll take a look.] After looking at me with a skeptical gaze, Radd still obediently walked toward the outside of the cave. And then, when he brought his face outside, he let out a loud cry. [H- Haaaaaahhhhhhhh!?] However, I guess that¡¯s understandable. As his mouth opened and closed, he frantically pointed his finger outside. There, in the distance, was a place that would have taken 10 days to reach even by carriage from Frelia, the in all its glory. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [I- I can¡¯t believe this. We¡¯ve actually reached the in less than 30 minutes¡­¡­] Looking quite dizzy, Nuku voiced his surprise. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s just he, who sees things logically, couldn¡¯t believe what had just happened or not, but he was frequently shaking his head. However, the logic in all these events isn¡¯t that complicated. [I told you that the entrance to the Ant¡¯s Burrows is different in different regions, right? So, even when the whole place is referred to as the Ant Burrows, if you use the on the Frelia¡¯s side, you¡¯ll be teleported to the vicinity of their mountain, but if you use the after proceeding to the Royal Capital or Niebuhr¡¯s side, you¡¯ll end up teleporting to a location near the respective cities.] The biggest reason I chose the Ants instead of the Bees for the Grand Raid Event was to search for the ¡°Hero¡± at the award ceremony. However, that¡¯s not the only reason I chose the Ants. The dungeon created by the Ants in the Grand Raid Event can be easily reached from Frelia, and therefore can be used as a shortcut to move from one area to another. [Well, the only time you can use this shortcut is when you go from to the or , but not when you want to go back.] [E- Even so, just being able to shorten a round-trip¡¯s travel time by half is revolutionary.] When I informed them so, Nuku, who still looks like he¡¯s still in shock, frantically answered. Though I say that, it seemed like it was just Nuku who was that shaken. Prana, who was quietly walking beside me, was unperturbed, saying ¡°I had predicted this when we came to the abandoned house¡±, while Mana seemed surprised for a moment, but she immediately put away the ¡°Traveler¡¯s Guide¡± she was carrying and began reading through a book titled ¡° Sightseeing Guide¡±. Seriously, she may have been the most brazen in their party. Meanwhile, Radd, who had been the most shaken before, seemed to have gained some sort of incomprehensible understanding, saying ¡°Well, that¡¯s certainly just like Mast¡­¡­ the Old man.¡±, and Nuku himself also seemed to have calmed himself down. In any case, we have only just arrived at a place where we can see the , a field where monsters can appear. We had better not let our guard down. However, the monsters that appear near the city aren¡¯t very strong. On the way from the Ants¡¯ Burrows to the , we had several encounters with monsters, but they weren¡¯t that strong of an opponent for Radd and his party, who had increased their level. (¡­¡­However, it was obvious that the level of the enemies had increased.) I remember the monsters in the area around the . When I looked at the enemies we encountered with , I could see that they weren¡¯t enough to be a threat for the current team, but there were certainly monsters that would never have appeared in the game¡¯s initial state. It seems safe to say that the level of monsters in the world has risen by a level since one of the has been conquered. But other than that, there was nothing of note, and we easily made it to the city, the center of the world, and set foot in it for the first time. [S- So this is the Royal Capital¡­¡­] [W- Whoa! Amazing! Look at that! That signboard magically floats!] Watching Radd, who was looking around like a country bumpkin, and Mana, who was excitedly waving Prana¡¯s hand around, I pleasantly smiled, but my mind was still thinking of my next plans. [Leave the frolicking for later. Let¡¯s go to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild first.] Using the time before our departure, I asked Verteran to write a letter asking the Adventurers¡¯ Guild here to cooperate in the search for the aforementioned ¡°Ruin Conqueror¡±. I don¡¯t know what kind of person they are, but as long as they¡¯re an Adventurer, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll eventually come to the Guild. And once I found someone who looked like them, it would be my win. (The current me now has a ¡°trump card¡±.) That didn¡¯t just leave us with EXP. If I only had that, I would surely¡­¡­ Ah, I suppose it would be bad to think too deeply while walking huh. I almost bumped into someone in a corner. [Oops, I¡¯m so¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C] [Ahh, my apolo¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª] We both bowed our heads lightly and tried to continue on our way but¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Huh?] [Arehh¡­¡­?] I stiffened. When my eyes met his, we both froze with our mouths half-open, as if we had seen something strange. An indescribable silence. However, the one who broke free from that moment of silence was the other guy. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Rex! If it isn¡¯t Rex, it¡¯s been a while!] With a pleased expression on his astoundedly good-looking face, he happily called out my name. (Oi, oi, what kind of coincidence is this?) Luxurious golden-colored hair that even a woman would be fascinated at, and a sweet mask with a kind smile on his lips. I¡¯ve personally never seen his face before, but I¡¯ve seen it so many times in the game that my mouth naturally spoke his name. [Ain¡­¡­] It¡¯s only been 2 minutes since I arrived in the for the first time. And here, I met Rex¡¯s friend and the most important person in the , no, in this country, he who is known as the , the . CH 96 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C , Ain Brightis. To describe him in a few words, he is the ¡°other protagonist¡± of . In the game, he¡¯s involved in numerous world events, influencing the course of the world, and even outside the game, he¡¯s a very important figure in every sense of the word, depicted extensively as ¡°the face of the game¡± on the game package, in the key visuals on their website, and in many other scenes. And he is, to my horror, equipped with enough specs to make me think he deserves such a treatment. He has the appearance of a handsome man, with a combination of brightness and elegance. He is kind to all, and has a great personality that is devoted to protecting the people. He¡¯s the first prince of a great country and the next in line for the throne, a status that is beyond reproach. His overwhelming ability is to the extent that even calling him a genius seemed halfhearted, and it would be more befitting to refer to him as a cheat. Among the many characters in B&B, there¡¯s probably no character more suited to the word ¡°perfect¡± than him. No, there¡¯s just one point I¡¯m wondering about. Even though I won¡¯t say it¡¯s something to complain about, I just have this question related to his friendships. (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªHow in the heck did such a perfect superhero be best friends with someone like Rex!!!?) I exclaimed in my heart. Ah, no, of course I like Rex as a character, and I think that Ain and Rex are like light and dark, a picturesque combination. Furthermore, I know that this world has a very loose social status system, as evidenced by the fact that royalty is wandering around here by himself. But even so, one¡¯s the prince of a country while the other is an adventurer. Before I point out how the two of them can get along with each other, I don¡¯t understand how a connection between the two of them has been made. In the game, if you met Ain with Rex in your party, Ain would talk to Rex in a friendly manner. However, the relationship between Rex and Ain was never revealed in the game. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªRex?] As I just stayed stiff at his call, Ain gave me a quizzical look. (W- What should I do? What is the correct way to respond with him here?) I understand that Ain and Rex were close. However, what stance should I take when interacting with him? As I was about to open my mouth in a desperate attempt to speak, feeling cornered¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CPlease wait a moment, Prince Ain.] As if to protect me, a green wind breaks in between me and Ain. [Hmm? You are¡­¡­] In response to Ain, who narrowed his eyes at the sudden intrusion, the intruder, Rex¡¯s sister and the only accomplice who knew about my situation, gave him a seamless bow. [It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you. I am Resilia, the eldest daughter of the Toren Family.] [Ahhh. Then you must be Rex¡¯s¡­¡­] [With all due respect, I have something to inform your Highness.] Interrupting the Prince¡¯s words, Resilia spoke with an atmosphere a little tenser than usual. After doing that, she glanced at me, no, to Radd and the others who were behind me, and seemingly concerned about them, she started saying outrageous things. [In fact, ¡°Rex-niisan¡± has lost his memory of the past.] [¡­¡­What did you say?] It was a bolt out of the blue. As both Ain and I were confused by her unexpected words, only Resilia was calmly staring at Ain. [That was¡­¡­ Could it be, back when Ash City fell?] Ain asked, but Resilia flatly shook her head. [No, it was much earlier than that. Nii-san touched upon unknown magic in a certain ruin, and it seems that he was able to obtain knowledge from another world that people originally couldn¡¯t obtain. In return for that knowledge though, he had lost most of his past memories.] Ain looked at me surprised, but I¡¯m just as surprised as him. Heck, I¡¯m completely wondering what in the world this woman is talking about now. However, the fact that Resilia came up with such a fictional story probably means that the relationship between Ain and Rex is so deep that I, who don¡¯t know anything about Ain, would probably end up getting exposed. I had no choice but to go along with her story. [Y- Yeah. That¡¯s right.] I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s thanks to the poker face I¡¯ve maintained throughout the times I¡¯ve been roleplaying as Rex or not. However, I somehow managed to nod without changing my expression. [There¡¯s no way that could be possible¡­¡­ or so I¡¯d like to say, but with how reckless the previous ¡°you¡± had been, that happening certainly is quite likely.] It must have been a shock to him. Holding his forehead, the expression on Ain¡¯s face couldn¡¯t hide his turmoil. [Having lost his memory, does that mean you don¡¯t remember me either?] [I don¡¯t remember. ¡­¡­Sorry.] Even though I¡¯m feeling guilty, I affirmed his words. In response, Ain weakly murmured ¡°I see¡±, but as expected, it seems like he couldn¡¯t just accept it. Looking at me with sharp eyes, he asked. [However, it seems that that story of you losing your memory hasn¡¯t circulated to the public. I hadn¡¯t even heard a rumor about this. You didn¡¯t think to make it public?] Before I could respond, Resilia answered his question. [I stopped him from telling the others. If the story of Nii-san, an A-Rank Adventurer, losing his memory were to become public, it could cause people to become concerned. Moreover, I can support him to some extent, as I am his sister.] [Is that so¡­¡­ I see, so that¡¯s why.] I wonder what kind of feelings he had that sorted out his thoughts? Ain, who seemed to be pondering about something, nodded, while Resilia, standing in front of me, was watching him with a tense look. [¡­¡­Yeah. I suppose this being the case would be better.] Raising his head, Ain spoke with a hearty, refreshed look on his face. [I don¡¯t mean to sound cruel, but you losing your memory might not necessarily be a bad thing.] [Eh¡­¡­?] My eyes opened wide at Ain¡¯s unexpected words. [I think the you back then had this part of you that was bound by some sense of mission, and you have been pushing yourself too hard. Compared to that, the you right now, well, you seem to be having fun.] [Ah¡­¡­] At his words, a reaction came from the nearby Reslia. I suppose I had some idea what he meant by those words. Rex gives off a blunt and unsociable atmosphere, but if you only look at his actions, you can even say that he is rather devoted. At the Opening Event, he saved a rookie party he had no connection with, and for their sake, he even gave up his life. Even if he had survived that event, he would keep on doing difficult Quests from various places, sometimes for a cheap price, sometimes even without compensation, to save those in need. I don¡¯t know what was driving him to do all that. However, Ain¡¯s description of ¡°Rex being bound by some sense of mission¡± strangely fits enough. [Thank you¡­¡­!] I guess Resilia, who knows Rex better than I do, had something on her mind about Ain¡¯s words. Resilia deeply bowed her head. After waving his hand in embarrassment, stopping Resilia from bowing, Ain laughed. [Of course, as your best friend, it feels unfortunate that you have forgotten about me too. However, it¡¯s not like this ends our relationship. That¡¯s why, I¡¯ll say this.] Stepping forward, Ain holds out his hand to me. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªNice to meet you. I¡¯m Ain Brightis.] From his unclouded eyes, I could tell what Ain¡¯s intentions were. Shaking off my momentary hesitation, I held his hand. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªNice to meet you. I¡¯m Rex Toren.] Our hands tightly clasped together. [¡­¡­¡±Rex Toren¡± huh. That¡¯s a nice name.] [I see. I think my name is nice too.] It¡¯s an irreverent way of talking to a prince. However, those words somehow slipped out of my mouth, as if the Rex within me was the one saying it. Ain looked stunned for a moment, but he immediately showed a happy smile from the bottom of his heart. [As I thought, I think you and I are going to get along just fine.] Ain cackled in a manner that¡¯s unlike a prince, and then, as if to replace the dampened mood, he began to speak in a cheerful tone. [Even so, knowledge from another world huh? That¡¯s interesting. I¡¯ve heard about it too. Did you learn from that information about the ¡°Class Change Requirements¡± and ¡°Manual Arts¡±?] [Y- Yeah. That¡¯s right.] As I was unable to keep up with the switch of his thoughts, Ain¡¯s eyes shone happily towards me. [I knew it! I¡¯ve especially heard about from the stories General Sergen had told me. I¡¯ve been looking forward to it for a long time!] [General Sergen? Ahh, you mean that guy from the Tournament for the World¡¯s Strongest huh.] General Sergen defeated Radd, who wielded , in the finals of the Tournament for the World¡¯s Strongest after a fierce battle, and then lost in an exhibition match against Nirva when he used Manual Arts. He would certainly be someone who would know the power of firsthand. [That¡¯s right! Since you¡¯re here, it¡¯s fine as long as while you¡¯re around, but can I ask you to teach people?] [Eh?] I involuntarily asked back at his abrupt suggestion. However, it seems like I really didn¡¯t mishear what he said. [Of course, the country will take responsibility and pay for your teachings. I¡¯ll make sure you won¡¯t regret it.] [Wait a moment. What do you mean, the country? Who in the world am I supposed to be teaching¡­¡­] Sensing that this was going to be a big deal, I hurriedly interjected. However, it seemed like it was already too late. [Who, you ask, isn¡¯t it obvious?] Thereupon, Ain winked mischievously and spoke. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-The best force of the Royal Capital, the Sword of Brightis Kingdom, the .] CH 97 [I ask you to teach the Knight Order. Simply put¡­¡­] In the game, you would only see them during large-scale World Quests, but they are very powerful. They are the symbol of the Elite in the world of B&B, so I wonder if they would really accept the teachings of a mere adventurer. [Ahaha. It¡¯s actually quite simple to deal with that. If I just tell them, they will never say no.] Ain assured in a calm tone, quietly containing his confidence. Of course, they would. I mean, a prince would have absolute authority over the Knight Order¡­.. [Sorry, but we have our purpose for coming here. We¡¯re looking for someone right now. I don¡¯t have much time to¡­¡­] [I see. If you came to the Royal Capital at this time of the year¡­¡­ then you came here to look for the , right?] [Wha¡­¡­] I was a little shaken when he calmly guessed the answer right. And that moment of being shaken seemed to be enough to convince Ain. [In that case, this makes things quicker. If you teach the Knight Order, I¡¯ll cooperate with you in the search for the . The relationship between our Royal Family and the Guild isn¡¯t bad. At the very least, you should be able to expect full cooperation from the Royal Capital¡¯s Guild through us.] [Are you sure it¡¯s alright to make this decision so easily?] When I asked so, Ain nodded without hesitation. [To tell you the truth, we have already started collecting information on the . Even for our Royal Family, it¡¯s a problem that the identity of the person who conquered the ruins is unknown. However, we just wanted to make sure that this Conqueror isn¡¯t a dangerous person, and have no other intentions. If you have business with him, we don¡¯t have any reason to stop you.] [I see.] It doesn¡¯t look like Ain is lying. Even if we were to rely on information from the Guild here, it seemed like Prince Ain would be more likely to get more results than asking for their cooperation by showing him Verteran¡¯s letter. [Of course, I¡¯m not planning to hold you back the whole day and have you teach them. Just do what you do back in the Frelia Guild for the Knight Order while you¡¯re here.] It seems like Ain is aware of my activities in Frelia. If he said that far, there¡¯s no reason for me to refuse. [¡­¡­Alright. If you¡¯re alright with me giving priority to my objectives, I¡¯ll accept your offer.] [Alright, we¡¯ve got a deal then. Let¡¯s talk about the rest of the details with the others.] Thereupon, Ain laughed like a young boy, and beckoned the petrified Radd and the others, having them join the conversation. Radd, invited by Ain, twitched for a moment, before they timidly approached. [I¡¯m sorry for making you guys wait. I¡¯ve been waiting to talk to Rex for a while now. ¡­¡­You guys must be Rex¡¯s disciples I¡¯ve heard about.] Before I could interject, telling him that they aren¡¯t my disciples, Radd, looking tense, responded. [Y- Yes! M- My name is Radd! I¡¯m the leader of , and I¡¯ve recently reached C-Rank!] [Yeah. I¡¯ve heard about it. Even though it was your first time participating in the Tournament for the World¡¯s Strongest, it¡¯s amazing how you got runner-up. Sergen praised that you¡¯re a promising young man.] As Ain gave him a soft smile, Radd was at a loss for words. [T- That is¡­¡­ Everything is just the result of Mast¡­¡­ Old m, ah, no, Rex-san¡¯s teachings¡­¡­] [Hahaha. Even still, being the runner-up in the Tournament for the World¡¯s Strongest is something to be proud of.] After saying so with sincere eyes, Ain glanced at me. [However, there¡¯s no doubt that Rex¡¯s teachings were effective, ground-breaking even. That¡¯s why I just asked Rex to teach the Knight Order.] At Ain¡¯s words, Nuku leaned forward. [K- Knight Order, you mean the ? For him to be teaching them¡­¡­! Is that true, Rex-san!?] Nuku, who seemed to be unusually unable to hide his excitement, came up to me. As I stood in the back of the party, Ain winked at me again. (T- This guy¡­¡­!) He¡¯s using Radd¡¯s party¡¯s adoration to fill the outer moat so that I won¡¯t say no. However, in front of their sparkling eyes, I felt uncomfortable denying them. [¡­¡­Well, that just happened.] I said this without making eye contact with them, to which Radd and the others exclaimed in admiration. [That¡¯s amazing, Old man!] [I- I¡¯ve thought that Rex-san¡¯s teachings were worth that much. However, for you to actually be invited by the Knight Order¡­¡­!] They¡¯re quite excited. Apparently, for the boys of this world, stuff related to Knight Order was something they yearn for. [Well then, let¡¯s not wait around any longer. I¡¯ll guide you to the Knight Order¡¯s training ground. While we¡¯re at it, you guys should check it out too.] [I- Is that alright?] Radd and Nuku immediately jumped on Ain¡¯s suggestion. Ain is not only good-looking, but he also seems to have a knack for winning people¡¯s hearts and minds. In a short period of time, he has made the hard-to-please Radd and the cautious Nuku completely comfortable with him. [Ah, b- but as expected, asking a prince to guide us is rather awe-inspiring¡­.. A- Also, I know it¡¯s a little late to ask this, but is it really alright to walk around the city alone without an escort?] [Ahahaha! I¡¯m certainly a prince, but I myself isn¡¯t worth that much.] Even though he was excited, Nuku is a guy that really got his sensibilities in place. Hearing the question he anxiously asked, Ain laughed off his question. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThe qualifications of the Brightis Royal Family isn¡¯t blood, but aspiration. The fact that we aren¡¯t bound by our bloodline is one we are proud of.] The prince, who is also known as the , vigorously declared. [Do you know the story of the founding of Brightis?] [Errr, it¡¯s said that in this world devastated after a great world, a man who obtained a treasure called the united the people, and they naturally became a country¡­¡­] Ain nodded in affirmation to Nuku¡¯s stammering answer. [The , which is said to be the treasure bequeathed by the , can only be owned by a person who truly cares about the people and desires their development. In fact, a prince four generations before had his evil thoughts detected and was burned to death by the .] Even though he was nonchalantly speaking about dangerous things, his tone didn¡¯t change at all. [Even if I die, the country will not be shaken. Someone with the same aspirations as I am will definitely take over. Because I have such convictions in my heart, I can act freely, and at the same time, this fact guarantees my safety.] I¡¯m not sure if they understood what he just said or not. However, the two guys just listened to Ain¡¯s words with an overwhelmed look on their faces. [Well, I myself have also been training. I¡¯m not going to fall behind some random enemy.] Watching the two of them, Ain, perhaps realizing that he had spoken a little too much, playfully flexed his arms and clenched his fists. Radd and Nuku chuckled in response but¡­¡­ (Considering Ain¡¯s abilities, that was 100% something he could seriously do.] Being called ¡°Cheat of All Cheats¡± is no joke. Even if he was attacked by a group of monsters or bandits, Ain would be able to defeat them even when yawning. Ah, incidentally, ¡°Ain being not worth that much¡± is a big lie. Ain is a key figure in many World Events, leading the way in the battle against monsters himself. His life or death, as a matter of course, has a great impact on the accomplishment of those World Events. Perhaps, in this country, his position as a ¡°prince¡± itself isn¡¯t worth that much, but when such a talented person is in a position to command people, the cheat individual named ¡°Ain¡± does in fact have great value. However, they, who have no way of knowing such a thing, just continued talking happily. [I wonder if you guys are interested in Knight Order? This is a great opportunity. Shall I tell you about the Knight Order on our way to the training grounds?] [R- Really!? B- By all means!] As I stared blankly at the three of them walking away while chatting with each other, I noticed Mana, looking at Ain and the others at a distance. (Arehh¡­¡­?) For Mana, who is a big fan of Adventurers, I thought that Ain, who is a prince and a top-notch Adventurer, would be the object of his admiration, but what could have caused this reaction from her? Having such a thought in mind, I walked up to her and asked. [Mana, aren¡¯t you going to talk to Ain? It¡¯s probably not everyday that you get the chance to talk to a real prince, you know?] [N- No. I¡¯m fine being here.] Even though she said that, Mana¡¯s eyes were firmly following Ain. Could it be, she was holding herself back from approaching him? [I guess Mana would become nervous when it comes to royalty huh?] [No, ummm¡­¡­] Mana was fidgeting, her body wriggling about, but after I gave her an urging look, she started talking as if a dam had been broken. [I- Indeed! The moment when you two shook hands was very precious¡­¡­ It was like I¡¯m witnessing a historical moment! However! That¡¯s exactly why it¡¯s not right to lower the purity of that moment by adding a foreign entity like me to it! I would rather just be a picture on the wall and appreciate such a happy world¡­¡­!] [O- Oh¡­¡­] It seems like I had flipped a switch that I shouldn¡¯t have touched. Averting my gaze from Mana, who felt like an aggravated fan, I talked to Prana, who was walking a little further away. [H- How about you, Prana? Aren¡¯t you going to hang out with them? I think you¡¯d be able to have some valuable talk¡­¡­] [I¡¯m not interested in the Knight Order or princes.] [I- I see.] The conversation was over in an instant. I turned my eyes to the last member of the group, Resilia, thinking of asking for her help, but she seemed to be thinking about something, and I don¡¯t really feel like I could expect a decent response from her. (¡­¡­I should have joined that side too.) Well, that¡¯s what I was thinking, but it¡¯s kinda hard to join that happy circle they have now. With secret regrets in my heart, I trudgingly followed Ain¡¯s lead. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªPrince Ain has arrived! Salute!] At the command of General Sergen, the knights who had been training in the training hall in groups saluted toward Ain with perfect coordination. [Yeah. At ease.] Ain accepted it as if it was a matter of course, and let them settle down in a manner that was also natural. No matter how much he tries to act like a commoner, actions like this really make you realize that he is royalty. Thereupon, as if to pull us along, Ain naturally went to the center of the knights and spoke smilingly to General Sergen, who probably just happened to be there for the training and seemed to be teaching the knights. [I came here today because of one thing. I had requested ¡°him¡±, this guy over here, to teach all of you.] [Hou¡­¡­?] General Sergen¡¯s eyes narrowed, and at the same time, the eyes of the knights in the training hall turned to me. However, none of those gazes were very friendly. [Let me introduce you. This is Rex, the wielder of that ¡°miraculous technique¡±. Rex Toren.] [¡­¡­I¡¯m Rex.] Ain¡¯s grandiose introduction pushed me to briefly say only my name. However, even though I pretended to be calm, my heart was pounding. [Oi. They don¡¯t seem to be welcoming though?] In the rain of these needle-like gazes, I whispered to Ain. [Hahaha. Everyone is so confident in their abilities. They don¡¯t like outsiders invading their group.] But Ain, who wasn¡¯t bothered by my complaint, readily admitted as much. [Stuff like that could just be blown away by the usefulness of . If you demonstrate it and show them how strong it is, none of them will be left complaining.] [That¡­¡­ may be true but¡­¡­] I thought doing such a thing is unreasonable, but at the same time, that way certainly is convincing. Certainly, for the people who make a living out of fighting, the appeal of is irresistible. [I¡¯m glad we¡¯ve quickly reached a conclusion. Well then, let¡¯s show them what it¡¯s like immediately.] [Y- Yeah.] Just as I was wondering if I should show off some good-looking Arts that would impress the Knight Order¡­¡­ [Let¡¯s do this then, Rex.] For some reason, Ain, standing in front of me, tosses me a wooden sword and a small shield for training. And in his hand, for some reason, was a wooden sword that was identical to mine¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Let¡¯s have a three-round match. I can¡¯t wait to see this sword technique I¡¯ve heard about.] [¡­¡­Eh?] Before I knew it, holding a sword and a shield, I¡¯m facing the strongest prince with his weapon at the ready. CH 98 [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CPlease wait, your Highness.] General Sergen, who was present at the time, stopped Ain and I from suddenly starting a fight. I breathed a sigh of relief at the intervention of the dependable, mature general. (W- Well, normally thinking about it, this would certainly be something they¡¯d stop.) I was about to be swept away, but why is a prince speaking like a battle maniac, saying stuff like ¡°You don¡¯t know how strong he is? Then, let¡¯s battle it out.¡± At least, there¡¯s no need for Ain, the prince, to take the trouble of being my opponent in this match. (Thank goodness¡­¡­) Ain is the ultimate Cheat Character. He¡¯s a little lower level now, but even still, the current me is no match against him. Ain pouted in displeasure at General Sergen who intruded on the topic but¡­¡­ [Sergen. I¡¯d like it if you don¡¯t stop this, this matter is¡­¡­] [No, I don¡¯t intend to stop you. However, if you¡¯re going to battle, I would appreciate it if you would use the .] Respectfully speaking, General Sergen pointed to a corner of the training ground. (¡­¡­Arehh?) The story was beginning to take a disturbing turn, but before I could even think of saying anything¡­¡­ [¡­¡­I see. I guess that¡¯s true. Let¡¯s take this over there then.] While I¡¯m feeling dumbfounded about what was going on, I ended up getting whisked off to the . ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù (How did this happen¡­¡­) In front of the , the new location we had moved to, I hung my head down. The is a place often used for training by knights, where ¡°magic, consumable items and inventory aren¡¯t available¡±, and ¡°contestants are thrown out of the stage if they are hit by even a single blow¡±. In other words, it¡¯s something like a simplified version of the Arena. Indeed, well, this might seem like a simplified version of the arena, but it¡¯s also a way to determine one¡¯s superiority in swordsmanship. However¡­¡­ (Why the heck do I feel like a visitor intruding on an enemy home ground!!!?) Around the stage of the , the sharp-eyed knights are waiting for the start of the battle seemingly without blinking. It seems that General Sergen has called out and mobilized all the currently available knights here. I thought he had done something unnecessary, but I can¡¯t be angry at him for acting out of goodwill. Incidentally, the reason we¡¯re just standing around like this is because we¡¯re still waiting for the knights to gather. [¡­¡­Rex.] As I was inwardly holding my head in my hands, a voice called out to me from the side. When I turned around, with her peculiar pointed ears and her face that poorly expresses her emotions, making it so that I couldn¡¯t read what she was thinking at all, she was directly looking at me. [Prana huh. What¡¯s the matter?] [I sneaked here.] My companions were supposed to be sitting nearby the , but it seems that she had sneaked over here on her own. I thought she was just here on a whim and came to check things out, but perhaps, seemingly as if she had something she wanted to say, Prana was staring at me for a while, not moving on her spot. [¡­¡­Prana?] When I called out her name, she murmured something. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªIs it true that Rex has no memories of the past?] My shoulders involuntarily twitched at this unexpected question. I could feel sweat pouring down my back. [Could it be, were you guys able to hear our earlier conversation?] Resilia intentionally kept her voice down, but I feel like her voice got a little louder halfway through the conversation. (This is bad. If Radd and the others heard what we were talking about, it could get complicated.) As for my circumstances, there wasn¡¯t really any reason to hide them so aggressively. However, whether I push with amnesia or tell them that I have been reincarnated, I don¡¯t know if they will just believe me¡­¡­ However, as I began to worry, Prana shook her head. [I think I¡¯m probably the only one who heard it. I have better ears than Radd and the others after all.] Lightly brushing her pointed ears, Prana reminded me that she was an elf. Even Resilia didn¡¯t seem to have taken into consideration the Elf¡¯s keen sense of hearing. [I see. How should I say this¡­¡­ I guess this is to be expected of you huh.] [Not really. If you perk up your ears, Rex should be able to hear things of that distance and volume.] No, I think that was absolutely impossible, but I understood that this wasn¡¯t what we should be talking about right now. Above all, Prana¡¯s serious eyes seemed to tell me that I can¡¯t skirt away until I answer. Unable to escape from her eyes, I nodded my head in affirmation. [¡­¡­It¡¯s true that I don¡¯t remember my past.] In truth, I don¡¯t know much about Rex himself, but I didn¡¯t have the courage to go that far. [Since when?] I hesitated slightly to answer her continuous questions. It may have been better to dramatize it to keep the consistency of our explanations but¡­¡­ [Since a little while before I met you guys.] In the end, I answered honestly. [¡­¡­¡­¡­Is that so.] Thereupon, Prana looked down, seemingly in deep thought. [Prana. If you have something¡­¡­] However, when I was worried and tried to speak to her, Prana simply raised her face and spoke before me. [It¡¯s alright, I was just curious. I¡¯ll keep this a secret from Radd and the others.] [That would be helpful¡­¡­ but¡­¡­] I wonder if the momentary expression she had, seemingly as if she had been brooding about something, was just me overthinking it. Although I feel like her mind was still caught by something, Prana said that she didn¡¯t care about me losing my memories anymore and ended that topic. [My business with you ends here. ¡­¡­More importantly, is this alright with you, Rex?] [Is what alright?] While I was unable to keep up with the sudden change in topic, Prana sent her gaze to the , coldly moving her gaze at the knights still busily moving about¡­¡­ [I don¡¯t think Rex really needs to be in this fight.] And there she spoke as bluntly as usual, and I couldn¡¯t help chuckling at that. [It can¡¯t be helped. This is necessary to show my ability, and besides, quitting after coming this far is just unsightly.] Moreover, if you think about it calmly, it¡¯s not such a bad idea. In this , even if you lose, you won¡¯t get hurt or die. Ultimately, I would lose nothing even if I were to lose, and regardless of whether I win or lose, if I can show the usefulness of , I can achieve my goal. [¡­¡­Besides, with the rules in place, I might be able to meet him.] When I whispered so, Prana asked in surprise. [Is the prince that strong?] [Yeah.] It seems like there¡¯s still some time before the knights gather. Since this could kill me some time and have Prana grasp the current situation, I decided to let out my complaints to her. [Since we¡¯re at it, I guess I¡¯ll explain the situation to you, Prana. About how much of a Cheat Character that guy is.] ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [First of all, when it comes to base abilities, his abilities far exceed others by a wide margin. I¡¯ll say this now, but there¡¯s no one on his level that can compete with him.] [You describe him that much?] [Yeah. He¡¯s just that great.] Taking out my notebook, I flipped to the area where everyone¡¯s ability values and started writing. [First, here¡¯s what Prana¡¯s abilities look like now.] Prana¡¯s ability hasn¡¯t changed since the last time we raided the Ant Burrows. The reason is that the enemies in that Burrows were only those with lower levels than the party, so they didn¡¯t gain enough EXP, and as for the , they didn¡¯t participate in the battle, so they didn¡¯t receive any EXP. Even so, Prana is the one who specializes in attacking the most among Radd¡¯s party, . Even though she isn¡¯t a Unique Character, it¡¯s amazing that her main ability, , has reached an A- rating at Lv 34. When I praised her for that¡­¡­ [It¡¯s all thanks to Rex.] Without trying to show off or acting haughty at all, she straightforwardly spoke such words. [I- Is that right?] [Yes.] I was so shaken by that surprise attack that to cover up my thoughts, I moved my thoughts away from it and wrote down the following Status in my notebook. [A- And so, here¡¯s my current Status.] I had been hesitant to show my Status to Radd and the others, but this would be a good opportunity to do so. I showed Prana the Status I had measured just before we departed from Frelia. After the battle with the , my level went up by 2. My Class at that time was , which I had Class Changed to to increase my Skill Level. Unsurprisingly, I have the same Class as Prana now. I can¡¯t say it was the best Class when increasing my abilities, but I think it wasn¡¯t a bad Class in its own way. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªHowever, even in light of that level-up, it still pales in comparison to Prana¡¯s Status. In terms of Status Total alone, my 1200 and Prana¡¯s 1400 actually don¡¯t have that much of a difference. However, the difference between our combat power is like heaven and earth. Although we can¡¯t really make a simple comparison because of the difference in our fighting styles, the ability that is most related to my offensive power only has 209, while Prana¡¯s has 440. Roughly speaking, my attack power doesn¡¯t even reach half of Prana¡¯s. [This is the weakness of someone with equal distribution of stats. It depends on the situation, but basically, All-Rounders like me can¡¯t compete with the Specialized-types.] [In other words, the prince is a Specialized-type, so Rex can¡¯t beat him?] At Prana¡¯s guessing question, I shook my head. [It would have been nice if that really was the case.] Letting out a sigh, I used on Ain, who was standing across from me and looking our way with a smile. And the result is¡­¡­ *insert Ain 2* [¡­¡­Huh?] This may have been the first time I¡¯ve ever heard Prana sounding so speechless. Reminiscing the faint joy I had felt when I first saw it, looking at Ain¡¯s ability value right now only made me feel half in despair. He¡¯s currently still Lv 45, but his ability values are exactly 3 times that of Rex¡¯s when he was at Lv 50. He, who is the Ultimate Balanced-type, is the Ultimate Balance Breaker of the game. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CThat guy, you see. He¡¯s a cheat b*stard who has ability values that surpass even the Specialized-types.] CH 99 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-A born genius. This is probably the best way to describe Ain. Even the player, the loved by God, can¡¯t compete against Ain if they were to fight on the same level. The secret of his overwhelmingly high status is his ¡°talent¡±. In other words, his ¡°Affinities¡¯. For example, Prana, who is one of the best Adventurers in the world has the following affinities. ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D STR ¨C 4 (Good) VIT ¨C 3 (Normal) MGC ¨C 3 (Normal) MND ¨C 2 (Bad) AGI ¨C 4 (Good) FOC ¨C 6 (Genius) Total ¨C 22 ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D Her overall value is high, and among her abilities, the growth of her , which is an essential ability for Bow-Users, has a shining 6. This is an almost ideal affinity line-up for Archers. On the other hand, Prince Ain, who is a cheat beyond ideals, has the following affinities. ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D STR ¨C 6 (Genius) VIT ¨C 6 (Genius) MGC ¨C 6 (Genius) MND ¨C 6 (Genius) AGI ¨C 6 (Genius) FOC ¨C 6 (Genius) Total ¨C 36 ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D No, that¡¯s just stupid¡­¡­ is what I¡¯d like to say, but that¡¯s seriously his affinities. While ordinary Adventurers are unable to put their minds at ease whether they have low 16s or high 20s, Ain is looking down at them from otherworldly heights of 36. Even the most powerful Sword Saint only has 26, which shows just how out of the ordinary Ain is. To begin with, this ¡°genius¡± affinity isn¡¯t just something you can get from a bargain sale. It¡¯s very rare, as is evident from the fact that Prana is the only one among Radd¡¯s party who has the ¡°Genius¡± affinity of 6. Even for Unique Characters, who tend to have higher ability values than Random Characters, and out of all the characters that specialize in something, they were so valuable that you might only have one of them in your roster. Furthermore, the devs preferential treatment of Ain doesn¡¯t end there. Ain was born with the Unique Class , and since the correction value of this job is equivalent to the user¡¯s original affinities, Ain is in a ridiculous state of ¡°ability increase by 72 per level¡± from the moment of his birth. Combine this with a high level befitting a prince¡­¡­ This is the reason for his monstrous status which can only be described with the word ¡°Cheat¡±. [I get that he¡¯s strong. However¡­¡­] Prana, who had been silently listening to my explanation, asked me. [¡­¡­Does he not have any weakness?] [He does.] Surprised by my immediate answer, Prana¡¯s eyes widened for a moment, to which I casually continued. [Ain¡¯s weakness is that he¡¯s too strong.] Hearing me say that with a straight face, Prana frowned. [¡­¡­Are you kidding?] [No. Look at the value of his Rank Total.] I pointed to the last column of the Status in my notebook, showing his Rank Total. [We talked about this before. One¡¯s abilities have evaluation ranks such as S or A+ attached to them, and its total determines the necessary EXP you need to reach the next level. And¡­¡­] I showed the earlier table to her again. Prana¡¯s Rank Total is 58, while Ain has 96. [The higher Ain¡¯s abilities are, of course, the higher his Ability Total will be. In other words, Ain¡¯s growth rate is very slow.] Ain doesn¡¯t become the player¡¯s companion until the end-game, but he does become a temporary companion. Even when they were at the same level, only Ain¡¯s level rose at an abnormally slow rate, making you feel the strength of his ability revision. Even Ain is not perfect. [¡­¡­Rex.] [Hmm?] Though I say that¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªWhat does that weakness have to do with this match?] I couldn¡¯t respond to Prana¡¯s question, which was thrown toward me like a straight ball. Trying to shake off that astounded look she directed at me, I hurriedly spoke. [W- Well, don¡¯t worry about it. Under these rules, how high his ability level is doesn¡¯t really matter.] Ain¡¯s original fighting style is closer to that of a Magic Swordsman than a pure Swordsman. Magic Swordsmen are magic-oriented DPS who use both of their and to slice the enemy by imbuing their magic power into their swords. Ordinary Adventurers may end up being dragged down by the lack of either of the two, but Ain, who has a level of strength that exceeds that of Specialized-types, doesn¡¯t have to worry about that. Because he¡¯s able to unleash attacks with far more power than focusing on being either a physical or magic damage-dealer, Ain¡¯s magic sword boasts an unbelievably powerful edge. However, magic can¡¯t be used in the . In that case, Ain is only a ¡°strong swordsman¡± in this match. (Besides, I have fought in Sudden Death fights in arenas like this back when I was playing the game.) The emphasis of matches like this is different from regular matches, which is simply a test of overall strength. The most important ability in this format is , which is related to the speed of movement, but the influence of this stat almost comes to a halt when it reaches 200. As far as speed is concerned, me and Ain are considered to be evenly matched. In this rule, a person¡¯s durability is completely meaningless, and the power of techniques is not that significant either. If you hit a fast and weak attack first, you win, and if you succeed in parrying once, the game is decided at that point. [That¡¯s why, I have a chance to win.] Just as I was concluding my speech, a voice called out from behind me. [¡­¡­Rex-dono. The match is about to start.] It was General Sergen. I¡¯m not sure if he was waiting for our conversation to settle down or not, but when I turned around, it seemed that preparations in the had already been completed. [¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.] The sheer volume of people and the pressure of the room brought back the tension I had forgotten thanks to Prana, but there was no way I could run away from here. [Alright.] Nodding my head, I started walking away. [¡­¡­Do your best.] Returning the soft pep talk from behind with a wave of a hand, I climbed into the stage where the prince is waiting. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù Amidst the gazes of the knights and my comrades, I climbed into the ring and faced Ain. Even in the midst of the crowd, Ain maintained his elegant posture. He even smiled at me with a face that showed no sign of feeling pressured. [¡­¡­I never thought I¡¯d have to fight you.] It¡¯s not like anyone could listen to our conversation here anyway. Throwing away all honorifics, I swore at him. [You think so? Ever since I heard the rumors about you though, I¡¯ve been wanting to fight you.] Seeing Ain seemingly having my fun, my suspicions began to grow. [¡­¡­Don¡¯t tell me, the reason you asked me to teach them was just that you wanted to have this fight?] [Now then, I wonder about that?] As if to dodge my question, Ain closed one eye, but that answer doesn¡¯t deny my question at all. It might not be a lie that he wanted to ask me to teach the others, but this would mean that the process leading up to this fight was within his calculations. [Ain. I¡¯ll definitely beat you up later, so prepare yourself.] [Ahaha, for argument¡¯s sake, I¡¯m still a prince, okay? I¡¯d like it if you do that anywhere else but my face.] It was an exchange that couldn¡¯t be considered a conversation between a prince and an Adventurer, but strangely enough, such an arrangement between us fits perfectly. (Seriously, how did these guys become friends?) Light and shadow, yin and yang. Rex and Ain are that different, one could describe them as polar opposites. On one hand, there¡¯s this shining and bright prince dressed in all white. On the other hand, there¡¯s this clumsy and unsociable adventurer dressed in all black. Two people of opposite status, personalities, and even abilities, facing each other like this, bantering lightly and laughing with each other. This in itself should have been strange, but I currently felt as if this was just natural. [¡­¡­Can I have your attention?] The miraculous moment was brought to an end by our impending clash. General Sergen, on behalf of all the knights, asked. [This is the last confirmation. This is a three-bout contest where you are free to use any weapons, but magic is forbidden. You win a match by hitting the opponent¡¯s body or making the opponent fall outside the arena, and the winner is the one who wins twice first. I suppose there wouldn¡¯t be an objection to this?] We nodded at the same time. [I have no problem with that.] [¡­¡­Yeah.] At our words, the General acting as the witness steps out of the ring, and this time, we face each other alone. The air tingles. Tension ran through the , as if the harmonious atmosphere between us just now was a lie. ¡­¡­Nevertheless, I held onto the weapons I held in my hands without hesitation. After all, I¡¯m not just an Adventurer, I¡¯m a member of the modern society. I¡¯m not arrogant enough to pretend that my sword skills are superior to Ain¡¯s. However¡­¡­ (If you want to know about it that much, I¡¯ll show it to you. The power of the !) Along with the impulse being withheld, the atmosphere of the shook with its release. And when the tension between us two reached its peak¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Match¡­¡­ start!] With General Sergen¡¯s declaration, the confrontation between light and darkness began. CH 100 A collision between black and white. Despite the tense atmosphere, our weapons were swords and shields that were no different than children¡¯s toys. Even so, both of us knew that this fight wasn¡¯t just a game. In response to me who rushed forward as soon as the match started, Ain remained calm. Before the distance between us closed though, he made his move. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-!!!] At the same time as he shouted, Ain¡¯s right hand was raised wide. (¡­¡­As I thought! He¡¯s fully accustomed to fighting!) The technique that Ain just unleashed is an unusually long-ranged attack for one-handed sword wielders. It¡¯s a simple technique of swinging down from a greatly raised sword, and a blade of wind flies out from the brandished sword. This blade of wind has very low power, and even if it hits, it doesn¡¯t stiffen the opponent at all, so it¡¯s not used very often in normal combat. However, it can be effective in this situation where a hit gains you a win regardless of the power of the technique. The greatest advantage of this technique is that using it doesn¡¯t hold any risk. In this match, if the attacker launches a half-hearted attack and is parried, that settles the match in an instant. However, if you attack from a safe distance, you don¡¯t have to worry about receiving a counterattack, and above all, even if that blade of wind got blocked or parried, there wouldn¡¯t be an opening in your defense. If it works, it would be to his advantage, and if it fails, there¡¯s no risk to him. (¡ª¡ª¡ª-However!) That is, if you don¡¯t take into consideration. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C.] Shouting out the name of my technique, I leaped forward, dodging the blade of wind. [Wha!?] [He can evade while unleashing his Art!?] Leaving aside the surprised exclamation of the gallery, I ran to Ain in one go. This is the true value of Manual Arts. If the ability to move freely as long as the trajectory of the sword is secured is added to the movement speed correction of the Art itself, even the distance provided to you by the is no longer a safe zone. [Kuh! I¡¯m not done yet!] However, Ain isn¡¯t an opponent who can simply be beaten by that. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª !] Ain, who had just barely released himself from the stiffness brought by the automatic use of an Art, read the trajectory of my Art and seemingly as if my attack fell into it, he parried my attack. It¡¯s a perfect hundred-point move that you can¡¯t accomplish unless you have the trajectory of all the Arts in mind in advance. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªHowever, overturned that. Pulling back my sword just before it collided with his shield, Ain¡¯s parry mercilessly strikes empty air. This is another advantage of . Unlike conventional Arts, which moves automatically, merely moves your sword manually, so you can interrupt your Art at any time. [Kuh!] As the swipe of his shield simply slices through midair, Ain¡¯s face contorts as he realizes his blunder. If I took the advantage of this opportunity and attacked at once, this would settle the match already. However, this is a stage where I show the usefulness of and ¡¯s strengths. Daring to pull my weapon to the side, I unleashed another Art! [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C!!!] Shield Break is a technique that draws the sword wide to the right and swings it out to the left in a powerful strike that, just as its name suggests, is especially effective against shields. This Art couldn¡¯t be parried and guarded against, and if it catches a shield, it flicks away the opponent¡¯s shield. In this rule where parrying is strong, it¡¯s a useful card. [Dealing with something like this is¡ª¡ª-!] In a duel with these rules, this technique is something that can¡¯t be avoided or defended against without prior knowledge, but of course, Ain would naturally know of this technique. As if to evade my Art, Ain raised his shield up, and seeing through my sword¡¯s trajectory, he moved his body back¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Eh?] And as his body was struck by a ¡°blade of wind¡± extending from my sword, he disappeared from the . Then, after a moment of silence¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªMatch over! Winner, Rex Toren!] As all of the knights gawked in surprise, my victory was loudly announced. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù Even after the results of the first battle were reported by General Sergen, the knights¡¯ murmurs didn¡¯t subside for a while. I suppose that¡¯s understandable. Even though I may have been an A-Rank, Ain, the knights¡¯ idol and the perfectly flawless genius, had been defeated by a mere adventurer. (Suck it up! We did it, Rex!) Most of the knights here probably didn¡¯t doubt Ain¡¯s victory. However, I won. I also did it in such a way that everyone could clearly see the intricacies of that bout. I found it troublesome to have too much fame, but still, it somehow annoys me that Rex was seen as lower than Ain. At least, with this, there would be no one among them that would dare underestimate ¡°Rex¡±. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªYou got me. I never thought that the last was a bluff.] As I smiled with satisfaction, Ain approached. It seems that Ain is the only one who understands the cause of his defeat. [Should¡¯ve expected this. You¡¯ve already realized it huh.] [Of course, I¡¯m the one who received that last blow after all. The last attack was actually an , wasn¡¯t it?] As soon as Ain revealed the answer, the surrounding knights became noisy again. ¡­¡­This is the third advantage of the . The Art unleashes a blade of wind and Art flicks away the opponent¡¯s defenses. These two techniques are completely different in nature, but the trajectory of the Arts themselves are very similar. The difference is the direction in which the sword is drawn. In other words, with , which allows you to freely adjust its angle, it¡¯s easy to both release an like a and a like an . [D- Deceiving others by calling out a different technique! How cowardly!!!] At that moment, one of the knights who had been watching the battle shouted. Starting with those words, words criticizing me sprung up one by one. [You know, I¡¯ll say this just in case¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-] I open my mouth to rebut them, but at that moment¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CSilence.] His voice wasn¡¯t particularly loud or intimidating. However, the moment that Ain¡¯s chilling voice rang out, the noisy knights instantly quieted down. [Did you seriously not understand what happened? Rex went out of his way to teach us a valuable tactic. We should be grateful that we learned of this trick before it was used against us in an actual battle.] [M- My apologies.] The first knight who had spoken out hung his head down, at a loss for what to do under Ain¡¯s sharp gaze. (S- Scary¡­¡­!) At the intensity of his voice, I was trembling without showing it on my face, but seemingly having lost interest in him, Ain immediately looked away from the knight and turned around to face me. [Fufu. This is fun. So this is . allows such ways of battle huh.] His face had the same joyful smile as before. Even after showing so much technique and its usefulness, Ain¡¯s heart hasn¡¯t broken in the slightest. Understanding this, I readied my sword with a fearless smile. [That isn¡¯t all there is to it. There are many more possibilities with .] Even after I boasted as such, there¡¯s no one here anymore who disregarded it. Ain showed a heartfelt, happy smile at those words¡­¡­ [That¡¯s great! Show me more! Your power, and ¡¯s power!] And thus, the second match began. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù (He began hesitating to attack huh?) Although the match had begun, Ain¡¯s movements were stiffer than in the first match. While we have a distance between us, he didn¡¯t shoot an as he had done earlier, and he seemed to be somewhat at a loss for an offensive move. (Well, you could say that that was the right choice.) It¡¯s just, for me, the best chance would be when the opponent uses an Art. The automatic Arts can¡¯t be canceled, and if you read their trajectory, they¡¯re easy to parry or guard. There isn¡¯t much merit in initiating an attack from my side. (Of course, Ain himself knows that.) Now then, I wonder what kind of action he will make now? I feel like it would be the trickiest if he just sealed using Arts altogether, but I wonder if he had the resolve to do that? The time when our patience slowly runs out, but at that moment, the light of determination lights up in Ain¡¯s eyes. [¡­¡­Hmph!] A step that seems to pierce through the opening in my consciousness. It was all just half a moment, but Ain swerved through that opening when my reaction was delayed. To my astonishment, Ain suddenly unleashed an all-or-nothing attack! Pulling his right hand holding the sword to the side with all his might, that movement¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-!] I used this technique as a bluff. (Using this technique in this situation, as to be expected of him! However!) I also know the trajectory of major Arts by heart. While trying to move my shield away from his Art¡¯s trajectory, I backstep with plenty of space away¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-but that¡¯s when I noticed the smile on Ain¡¯s lips. A shiver ran down my spine. The moment I realized that the trajectory of the sword aiming at me was too similar to the trajectory of my own sword earlier, I activated my Art with all my might. (¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C!!!) It was an instant thought. It¡¯s too late to pull the shield back to the front now. Just before the ¡°blade of wind¡± that flew out from Ain¡¯s sword hit my body, I somehow managed to move my sword in front¡ª¡ª¡ª- [¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Huh?] Next thing I knew, I found myself lying on the ground. (What just¡­¡­) The wooden sword I should have been holding is gone, only the shield remaining in my left-hand tells me that what has happened so far isn¡¯t just a dream. Raising my body, I ignored the numbness in my right arm and the dull ache in my back. In my blurred consciousness, I can see in the distance the figure of the prince, raising his sword majestically in the center of the stage. The cheers of the onlooking knights shake my eardrums. And then¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªMatch over! Winner, Ain Brightis!] Hearing the loud announcement, I finally knew that I got defeated. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù As time passes and my thoughts become clearer, I now realize the abnormality of the situation. (If I remember correctly, I should have interrupted Ain¡¯s with my at the moment it was about to hit me. And yet¡­¡­) Normally thinking about it, this situation happening wouldn¡¯t have been possible. Looking at it again though, there¡¯s only one answer that comes to mind. [Blown away huh? The sword I used to block and my whole body out of the stage¡­¡­] As I staggered up to the ground, I saw the wooden sword lying a few meters away. (This is¡­¡­ the 3 times difference between our STR.) The Art Ain used was . Moreover, what had hit me wasn¡¯t the tangible part of his sword with relatively high power, but the ¡°blade of wind¡±, whose power could only be considered as some bonus. In response to this, I used , which should have been reasonably powerful, but I was pushed back and was even sent flying out off the stage. [H- Hahaha¡­¡­] A dry laugh leaked out from my mouth. The difference in our fighting power is just too unreasonable. However, there¡¯s just that one thing that I still can¡¯t agree with. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªAt that time, Ain definitely manually executed . I wonder if Ain had been practicing even before meeting me. As far as I know, Ain isn¡¯t the type of person who would tell such a lie. But if that¡¯s not the case, what in the world¡­¡­ Having such thoughts in mind, I returned my gaze to Ain, and saw a scene that filled me with more despair. At the end of my gaze, Ain¡¯s sword shines¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C.] Ain¡¯s sword slices through the air. [You¡¯ve gotta¡­¡­ be kidding me.] He definitely just manually executed . It¡¯s also a perfect one, just like the trajectory I used in our first bout. [Hmmm. As I thought, trying to reproduce it after just seeing it once is difficult.] With those words, I finally knew the truth. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CAnd for the first time, I understood the meaning of the word ¡°Genius¡± that has been attached to his being. It isn¡¯t that Ain learned how to use before. He just learned how to use it by watching me use it during the match. [¡­¡­H- Haha. That¡¯s just cheating, isn¡¯t it?] I no longer knew what kind of expression I had on my face. Seeing me like that, Ain, who was on the stage, tilted his head in wonder. [Rex? The match isn¡¯t over yet. Let¡¯s start the final bout.] And then, he smiled. Innocently¡­¡­ Cruelly¡­¡­ Such a perfect, flawless smile, without any other intentions or malice behind it¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI¡¯m looking forward to it. I wonder what techniques you¡¯ll show me next?] At that moment, I knew that my heart was about to break. With a clang, my shield drops from my left arm. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI couldn¡¯t win. If even an is that powerful, the moment our Arts will collide, my weapon will just be knocked away and just like before, I will be sent flying out of the stage. The only way for me to win was to avoid having my attacks collide with each other, directly attacking Ain¡¯s body. However, I no longer had the only advantage I had, . On the contrary, every time I show him a technique, he gets stronger! [¡­¡­Rex?] Silently picking up my unequipped shield and the sword that had fallen on the ground, I headed over to the equipment compartment. (¡­¡­Come to think of it, there¡¯s no need to force myself to fight.) This fight doesn¡¯t really have any special prizes like that time with Nirva. In the first bout, the Knight Order should have been able to tell how amazing is and how useful it is. So, my objective has already been achieved. In fact, if I had won that second bout, considering how these guys adore the prince, it might just bite my ass later. [There we go.] As I threw my shield into the row of training equipment, I inwardly nodded to myself. Even Ain wasn¡¯t a completely insensible guy. If I told him that we shouldn¡¯t play out the third bout and end this with a draw, he would back down. Yeah, that would definitely be the best! Concluding that in my mind, I roughly showed my left hand into the wooden sword case. Then, with light steps, I returned to the front of the stage¡­¡­ [Sorry.] ¡ª¡ª¡ªand apologized to Ain. [¡­¡­Heh? What¡¯s that supposed to mean?] Ain asked curiously. Well, looking at how I¡¯m equipped, it¡¯s only natural for him to act like that. That¡¯s why, I answered proudly. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI mean, we can use any weapon we want, right? If that¡¯s the case, then using two swords should be no problem.] As I said this, I held in my hands not the sword and shield I had been using earlier, but two swords instead. In other words, I¡¯m Dual-wielding. The reason I went to the equipment closet earlier was to put back the shield I didn¡¯t need and pick up another sword. Naturally, there was no way I¡¯d just give up on this fight. Certainly, there was no merit in fighting here, and there would be something to be gained by settling this with a draw. Even still, I will fight, and I will beat Ain. Why fight for no gain? Of course, that goes without saying. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CLosing is frustrating after all!!! The consequences of my actions here, showing the possibilities of , to heck with that now. I¡¯ll just go fight in this d*mned match and beat this guy! [¡­¡­Hehe.] Even though I¡¯m holding my swords for the most ridiculous reason ever, for some reason, I¡¯m filled with the greatest desire to fight I¡¯ve ever felt. With that single thought of beating the composure out of this guy¡¯s face, I strongly gripped my swords. And thus¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Round three¡­¡­ Start!!!] The fateful final match has begun. CH 101 When the match began, neither side made a move at first. Just like that, the two sides continued to spend time slowly measuring each other, as if both of us were on the lookout for the other¡¯s next action. A development similar to the second match. However, the true state of the situation is almost the opposite. Ain, who was already able to use , with his extremely superior strength, had an overwhelming advantage over me. When our attacks collide, the difference in power between us will almost determine my defeat. In other words, Ain needs to match my attack with either a sword attack or a shield parry, while I need to get through both of them or I will lose. Moreover¡­¡­ [I know Dual-wielders are quite rare, but that doesn¡¯t mean I didn¡¯t have the experience fighting against them.] As we continued to glare at each other, Ain happily spoke. [Being able to attack with both hands certainly is strong. That especially goes with the Sword Saint¡­¡­ As you yourself have fought the Dual-wielding Nirva, you should know the intensity of his overwhelming firepower. It¡¯s just, unnn, I at least don¡¯t think Dual-wielding was better than using a sword and a shield.] [What are you trying to say?] When I asked, consciously showing no weaknesses, Ain lightly lifted his shield, seemingly showing it to me. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-You can¡¯t use Parry, right?] When he pointed this out, I was at a loss for words. The Skill: , which is essential for adopting the Dual-Wielding Style, has the effect that ¡°when the same weapon is equipped on both sides, the weapon in the non-dominant hand can be handled in the same way as the dominant hand¡±. This allows one to use the left-hand weapon in the same way as the right-hand weapon, but at the cost of not being able to use and techniques that aren¡¯t usable with the dominant hand. Especially in interpersonal matches like this, being able to use Parry is a trump card. This not only meant that one of the cards that would decide this match in one shot wasn¡¯t accessible to me, but it also meant that I don¡¯t have another option but to evade Ain¡¯s attacks. [¡­¡­I wonder about that? I might not have the Skill, you know?] Although I barely uttered that, Ain¡¯s smile didn¡¯t falter. Ain isn¡¯t the type to actively deceive people, but that doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯s naive enough to get caught by other people¡¯s tricks. [There¡¯s no way a swordsman of your caliber wouldn¡¯t know that. And yet, why did you persist in going through this match while Dual-wielding? Perhaps, were you aiming for a tactic that can only be used if you have two weapons where, for example, you can¡¯t use it unless you had to give up one weapon¡­¡­] I shudder at his extremely accurate foresight. I should make sure Ain doesn¡¯t think any more than he already has. [Let¡¯s end all these tedious talks!!!] As if to interrupt Ain¡¯s thoughts, I ran forward. (With a situation like this, it can¡¯t be helped! In any case, I¡¯ll just make the first move!) Ain is better than me in swordsmanship, ability, and Arts-handling. So, if I had the chance to win, it would only be through a surprise attack. [Heehhh¡­¡­ Then, how about this?] However, the distance between me and Ain is too far. Before I could close the distance to Ain, Ain swung his sword and slashed it at an angle. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-.] I shuddered at the sound of his calm voice. The only technique I¡¯ve shown Ain so far was . And yet, he has already developed at an angle he shouldn¡¯t have seen yet, correcting the angle on his own. (You d*mn cheat! Even those Copy-Users in shounen manga have a little more modesty than you!) I swore at him inside my mind, but that didn¡¯t really change the situation. At the same time as he released a wind blade from his sword, Ain rushed towards me. [Kuh!] He may act casually, but it¡¯s a well-thought-out and nasty attack. The wind blade, which was fired at an angle, is much harder to avoid than the vertical that was fired in the first match. If I force myself to avoid the wind blade, Ain himself would probably follow up with a blow to me after my posture gets broken. But now, I have abandoned my shield and taken up a second weapon. I can¡¯t nullify the wind blade with my shield, and even if I tried to cancel it out with my sword, I would lose outright due to the difference in our power, as proven by the result of the second match. In that case¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª!] "" I abandoned both evasion and defense. Instead of escaping from its trajectory, I increased my speed and plunged myself toward the wind blade and Ain coming from behind it. [Wha!?] As I raised the sword in my right hand, exposing my body unprotected, the wind blade slammed into my chest¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª.] The next moment, I leaped behind Ain. This was my absolute trump card. It¡¯s the most powerful evasion technique against an attacker. Even though my body moved to a different location, the speed of my swinging arm remains the same. With my accelerated right sword, I swung it down on Ain¡¯s unguarded back¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C .] As if anticipating this, Ain twisted his body and intercepted my sword with his shield. No, it isn¡¯t as if he had anticipated my actions. The timing of his movements can¡¯t be explained though, that is unless he had moved his body before I activated my . Ain knew about Nirva, who could also use the Skill. And so, realizing that there was no way I would take the attack without a plan, he predicted that I would evade with . My arm that swung down didn¡¯t stop. The strike from my right hand struck Ain¡¯s perfectly timed ¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Eh?] I flung away Ain¡¯s shield. Feeling elation from my plan working, my lips distorted to a grin. This is something Ain, no, anyone in the world would never know. The only person in the world who possessed the Skill was . And even Nirva himself had not mastered this skill in the true sense of the word. The trick was simple. I used my right hand to use the while activating with my left hand. Due to ¡¯s effect, which enables you to ¡°use a technique performed with one hand to be applied to the other hand¡±, not just my left-hand weapon, but also my right-hand weapon has the effect of breaking through shields. (I could do this!!!) With the certainty of victory at hand, I deactivated the Arts on my left hand and thrust my left-hand sword at the Ain, impatient visible on his face. [Not yet! !] However, Ain didn¡¯t just let himself get defeated. With the fastest attack Ain can muster, his sword struck forward, intending to mow away my thrust. Because of the direction of my attack, my body is leaning forward and I couldn¡¯t dodge his attack. Before my attack can reach Ain¡¯s body, Ain¡¯s will reach my sword¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª .] My sword parried Ain¡¯s sword. [Wha¡­¡­!?] This time, Ain¡¯s face was dyed with astonishment. In exchange for the ability to use Arts with my left hand, the Skill should have made it impossible for me to use Parry with my left hand. That¡¯s why, I shouldn¡¯t have been able to parry him here. Ain must have thought that was the case. And in fact, he thought right. ¡­¡­That is, if only I had not let go of the sword in my right hand beforehand. The condition for , which allows you to use Arts with your left hand, is that you must have the same weapon in both hands. In other words, the moment my right-hand lets go of the wooden sword and becomes bare-handed, ¡¯s requirements aren¡¯t met, and instead of being able to use Arts with my left hand, I¡¯m able to use Parry. (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThis is my surprise attack. A killer full course for the clueless!!!) Even if he outclassed me in terms of ability, I¡¯m still ahead in terms of knowledge about Arts. And so, I¡¯m going to make use of his cluelessness and the holes in their knowledge to suppress him down! [Kuh!] But still¡­¡­ Even though he was hit by many unexpected things, had his shield and even his sword blown away, Ain¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t give up on the match. I have no weapon in my right hand right now. So, I would pick up the weapon within the opening my Parry had opened up, and start the battle again. Perhaps, that is what Ain thought. However¡­¡­ (¡­¡­Sorry, Ain.) I will not be picking up the sword. Instead, clenching my unarmed hand tightly and firmly¡­¡­ (I told you this when I found out you set this match up, didn¡¯t I?) Thereupon, drawing my right arm like a bow¡­¡­ [Don¡¯t tell me, wait¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C] Before the flustered Ain fished saying those words, telling me to stop¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI said I¡¯ll beat you up for this!!! And thus, my clenched fist struck the white prince square in the face. CH 102 [¡­¡­I¡¯m tired.] Leaning back against the railing of the luxurious balcony, I muttered to myself. After the duel with Prince of Light, Ain¡­¡­ After spending the whole day at the training grounds dealing with the knights, I was invited to the royal palace as it¡¯s apparently ¡°already late today¡±, a reason I didn¡¯t quite understand. The guest room of the royal palace was a luxurious and impressive room, but I have always been a commoner by nature. I couldn¡¯t sleep peacefully in this room too luxurious for me, so I wandered out of the room and ended up on this balcony overlooking the royal garden. [¡­¡­Haahhh¡­¡­] I had somehow ended up accepting the role of teaching the Knight Order, but I wonder, isn¡¯t this an unexpectedly difficult task? The reason I came here in the first place was to search for the ¡°Hero¡±. I came here to find that Adventurer who conquered one of the ¡°Twelve Dark Ruins¡±. How did I end up in a duel with the prince and am now teaching the Knight Order? (All of this is because of that cheat b*stard, isn¡¯t it?) He¡¯s not only the prince of a country, he¡¯s also the strongest fighter, the most broken character in . As I look up to the heavens, gazing at the starry sky, remembering that b*stard¡¯s refreshing, hateful smile¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªYa, Rex. I knew you would be here.] Speak of the devil and he shall appear huh. Prince Ain, the culprit of all these events, nonchalantly came in. [After doing all that, how the heck do you have to face to show here?] The duel was a set-up of his, but to be honest, what was more difficult was the events after I won that duel. Even though it was just a match, having rules and all that in place, the knights saw the prince they respected be beaten. Of course, there was no way they could sit still. The knights were in a frenzy, and in the midst of that explosive atmosphere, the prince did everything in his power to spur them on. [With this, none of you should doubt his ability. Well then, you all should take his lessons. ¡­¡­Ahh, that¡¯s right. Since it¡¯s still just the first day, how about a duel like mine to show your capabilities to him instead?] I will never forget how the color of the eyes of those knights changed when Ain said that. As expected, being knights, they only followed the one-on-one rule, but it was traumatic how they all rushed to defeat me. And like that, a 100-man battle against the knights began. Having to simultaneously fight against knights who were all at a high level was quite rough. That especially goes with General Sergen, who had casually mixed in with the ordinary knights. I¡¯m not sure if he had been secretly training since his defeat by Sword Saint Nirva in the Tournament for the World¡¯s Strongest or not, but I felt my blood child when he suddenly launched his Manual Arts. Well, I still won against all of them! Suck on that, you b*stards! However, Ain just laughed happily at my sarcastic words. [Ahahaha! I¡¯m just letting off steam, okay? I¡¯m just venting! Moreover, I have a grudge against you for punching me in the face.] [It¡¯s not like you take any damage from the though.] In the first place, there¡¯s a huge gap in ability between me and Ain. Due to the system of the , if you get hit with an attack regardless of whether or not you take damage, you will be defeated, but even if that were true, it would be doubtful whether damage was actually inflicted. Ignoring my scowling, Ain walked up next to me as he pleased and leaned his back against the balcony railing. Thereupon, with a manner uncharacteristic of a perfect prince, he stretched his body out with his arms held wide. [Well, today was really fun. I don¡¯t know when I¡¯ve had so much fun.] [That¡¯s a total load of annoyance for me though.] [Ahaha! I¡¯m sorry about that already! I¡¯ll make it up to you, okay?] At my quick reply, Ain laughed again, as if he couldn¡¯t hold it in. I thought Ain was a rather serious person back in B&B, but today, he seems to have a big smile on his face. After laughing for a while, Ain leaned against the railing and began to talk quietly. [Just between you and me, there are very few people I can call ¡°friend¡± from the bottom of my heart.] [With that character of yours, it¡¯s no wonder.] When I jeered at him, Ain laughed happily again. [Ahaha. Character and status, of course I have those things.] Thereupon, as if he was thinking about something, Ain looked up at the sky. And with his face looking up above, he spoke. [Saying this may sound like I¡¯m boasting¡­¡­] [Unnn.] [But me, you see¡­¡­ It seems like I¡¯m too amazing.] Those words would have sounded sarcastic if anyone else had said them. However, when Ain, the perfect prince, said it, his words strangely felt persuasive. [Even back in the past, I could do anything. Whether it was my studies, swordsmanship or magic. Everyone praised me when I did something, but everytime I did something, I felt like the distance between me and them was widening little by little.] I don¡¯t know what kind of face Ain has on his face as he looks up at the sky. However, I hadn¡¯t really thought of checking it. [But you see, one of the few people among them who were my equal was the you back then.] [¡­¡­I see.] I¡¯ve always wondered about this back when I was playing the game. Rex and Ain. How did these two who had no common point get to know each other and became close? I still don¡¯t know the details about this matter. What I know is that the bond between the two of them was probably deeper than I had imagined. [¡­¡­Rex.] All of a sudden¡­¡­ Ain¡¯s face, which was facing the sky, looked back down. His eyes were fixed on me, looking me in the eye. [As expected, you and the you in the past were different. Even though you look the same, I feel as if I¡¯m talking to someone else.] [¡­¡­Of course, that happens when you lose all your memories.] It¡¯s no wonder Ain feels this way. The current me is really a different person than the old ¡°Rex¡±. However, that¡¯s just something I couldn¡¯t reveal to him. I felt a prickle of guilt in my chest, but Ain reached his hand forward. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-But knowing that, I want to be friends with the ¡°current you¡±.] I looked at the prince¡¯s face. Held within it were eyes that were completely unclouded. [Fighting with you in earnest, light-heartedly bantering like this. That¡¯s nothing like the old you. ¡­¡­However, unnn. I had fun.] ¡°That¡¯s why¡­¡­¡±, Ain continued¡ª¡ª¡ª [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Will you be my friend?] ¡ª¡ª-and gently held out his hand toward me. (I am¡­¡­) Looking at his hand held out to me, I slightly hesitated. Even though he¡¯s an annoyance, I don¡¯t dislike him. No, I can¡¯t deny that, at the very least, after talking with him here, I started to feel some kind of familiarity with ¡°the person named Ain¡±, not the strongest prince in the game. If this had been the game instead of reality, I would have taken his hand right away. However, I shook my head in response. [Sorry, but you overestimate me. I¡¯m not some guy who can just stand next to someone much better than me and laugh with them without being jealous.] I know I¡¯m not that great of a person. I don¡¯t want to be friends with someone who would have misunderstandings like that. [I see. I guess you¡¯re right, I may have been asking too much. But still¡­¡­] [That¡¯s why¡­¡­!] As if to interrupt Ain whose shoulders dropped down¡­.. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI¡¯m gonna be stronger than you!] I said it out loud and clear. [Rex¡­¡­?] This time, it was Ain who got speechless. Astoundedly looking at me, he froze with his eyes wide open. Even though I¡¯m the one saying this, I know I¡¯m talking nonsense. Certainly, Ain is the strongest cheat b*stard with perfect specs in the world of B&B. He¡¯s got an Affinity Total of 36. Not just Rex, who only has 9 affinity points, even the ¡°Hero¡±, who has 25 affinity points can¡¯t keep up with him in terms of overall strength. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªBut if it¡¯s not ¡°total power¡±, but ¡°combat power¡±¡­¡­ There¡¯s one thing that allows me to exceed him. Even if it¡¯s only for one aspect, there¡¯s a way for me to beat even this strongest cheat, and to acquire even greater strength. The best solution, no, the only solution is the . ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªMaking use of the , I can reassign my abilities to become an ¡°STR-Specialized Swordsman¡±. That is my only option to surpass Ain, who has the ability that far surpasses others throughout the game. Of course, I don¡¯t think I can easily surpass Ain. I need to prepare carefully to reassign my abilities in the , and I currently am not the ¡°Hero¡±, but Rex, in this world with specifications that are very different from those back in the game. (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªHowever, the possibility exists! I can surpass him!) That¡¯s why, I will not give up. As Rex, who lives in this world, and as a gamer, who once devoted his youth to B&B. With the intention of definitely surpassing this guy, I held out my hand to him this time. [¡­¡­You got me. You really never cease to amaze me. However, haha.] After chuckling, Ain held out his hand once again. And then, with an expression like that of a mischievous brat, not suiting his refreshing image at all¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Seems like it¡¯s gonna be a lot of fun from here on out.] Under the light of the dancing stars, we shake each other¡¯s hands. This time, I¡¯m sure¡­¡­ In this world I¡¯m thrown in without knowing why, it was this moment that I made my first ¡°friend¡±. CH 103 Two men, side by side without a word, gazing at the stars in a daze. It was a meaningless and completely useless time. However, such a time also seemed quite nice. [Ahh, come to think of it¡­¡­] [Unnn?] It¡¯s just, while I was gazing at the stars, I remembered that there was something I wanted to ask Ain. [That time when we met back earlier in the day, why did you immediately believe it when we told you that I¡¯d lost my memory?] It may sound strange for me to say this, but claiming amnesia is so absurd that it wouldn¡¯t have been strange if he laughed it off. The fact that he believed it so easily was something that stuck in my mind for a long time. [When you ask that question, that¡¯s kinda equivalent to telling me you really did lose your memory though.] [What do you mean?] I asked again, to which Ain shook his head. [That isn¡¯t something I can explain to you. Your sweet little sister is going to get mad at me.] [Sweet huh.] Hearing his description that didn¡¯t match the Resilia I knew, I just nodded. However, Ain didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of getting into this topic any further. Looking at me with eyes that seemed to be looking at a younger brother who failed in school, he spoke, seemingly admonishing me¡­¡­ [You have to take good care of girls, okay? The other day, Roserette also¡­¡­] After saying that much, he pauses and shakes his head. [Ahh, that¡¯s right. You¡¯d forget who she is too. Roserette is my¡­¡­] [Fiancee, right?] I said, to which Ain shyly smiled. [What? So you knew of her huh.] [Of course, this story is well-known after all.] "" ¡­¡­Yes. Even back in the game, it¡¯s well-known that Ain has a fiance named Roserette, the daughter of a Duke. You would think that having a fiancee character would decrease their popularity, but on the contrary, it was the opposite case for . Many women thought that Ain was cute when he talked about his fiancee, apparently liking how he takes good care of his lover. Well, I can guess why Ain¡¯s popularity didn¡¯t drop much even though he had a fiancee. For one thing, it¡¯s not like you could choose a female Hero in B&B. And as for the other reason, depending on how events unfolded, Roserette¡­¡­ [Now then, unfortunate it may be, but I¡¯ve got to go. I have a busy morning tomorrow.] While I was absorbed in my thoughts, Ain took his back off the railings. It seems that the time for chit-chat is over. [Being a prince must be rough huh?] Hearing the words I said, still leaning against the railings, Ain calmly laughed. [I¡¯m not usually that busy. However, the will occur soon. I have to prepare for it.] [¡­..] My heart skipped a beat at those words. [The is a rite of passage that the royalty of Brightis must undertake. We are to challenge a designated dungeon with only the prescribed equipment and perform the ritual in the deepest part of this dungeon. It¡¯s said that if one overcomes this trial, you will inherit the ¡°power¡± that has been passed down through the royal family.] I know that. I know it better than anyone else. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªAfter all, it¡¯s the trigger for the . Hereafter, Ain will challenge the , and having been caught in the trap of a , he will go missing. It will be a few weeks later after Ain disappears that he escapes the trap by himself. That is the only period during which the ¡°Hero¡± can challenge the . Thinking of this though, I feel like my throat is parched. I¡¯m going to use the to become stronger than Ain. I had just vowed to do this earlier. That¡¯s why, he would need to undertake the . That is something I can¡¯t stop him from doing, nor was it something that I must stop. And yet¡­¡­ [Is it something you absolutely have to do?] I found myself asking that in a muffled voice. At my words, the prince gives me a carefree smile. [Ahaha, do you also think that such a trial is old-fashioned? It¡¯s true that a king doesn¡¯t necessarily need the strength of an individual. However¡­¡­] With a calm expression on his face, Ain turned around and looked at the lights of the city visible from the royal palace. [The current era requires it. If I had the power, I might be able to protect that many people. That¡¯s why, I¡¯m going. Even if anyone tries to stop me.] [¡­¡­I see.] I answered, gently moving my gaze up to the heavens. In the game¡­¡­ The is an Event that creates no risk for the player. Even if you go to Ain¡¯s rescue and bring upon the , or even if you don¡¯t, there¡¯s no disadvantage for you in the game. Even if you disregard this event, Ain will not die and will just come back stronger on his own. However¡­¡­ If we¡¯re talking of non-game related disadvantages, then it does occur. As is the case with the , the , which is the basis of the , is conducted in pairs. For this reason, Ain challenges the with ¡°the woman who is to become future royalty¡±, his beloved fiancee, Roserette. And if the ¡°Hero¡± neglects this event and doesn¡¯t take the or fails to successfully complete the ¡­.. (¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Ain¡¯s fiancee, Roserette, gives her life to break through the enemy¡¯s trap.) The stars in the sky spin round and round. The weight of life, the harshness of this world that I had almost forgotten, almost crushes me. However¡­¡­ [¡­¡­Ain!] As Ain walked away, I called out to his back. [No matter what happens, don¡¯t give up. Until the last moment, don¡¯t give up and fight. If you do that¡­¡­] [If I do that?] As I curiously turned to me, I arrogantly declared. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-I¡¯m gonna help you.] Ain, who received the words I seriously said with a dumbfounded look on his face, gave me a genuinely amused smile¡­¡­ [I¡¯ll be counting on you then, buddy.] And with a clear smile on his lips, he went back to his room. [Haahhh¡­¡­ This isn¡¯t like me but¡­¡­] On that deserted balcony, I looked up to the heavens once again. (I just gained one more reason why I can¡¯t lose here. That¡¯s all there is to it.) I am a selfish and self-indulgent person. As long as it involves matters related to my own selfishness, I¡¯m not going to let anyone die. With this determination in my heart, I reached for the skies. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CWithin the starry skies visible through the gap between my fingers, stars twinkled and shone, looking as if they were artificially created. CH 104 [Stance ready! !] [!] A spirited cry echoes through the training grounds in the Royal Capital. The people who are shouting with the swing of their swords, their voices seemingly echoing throughout the city, are the members of the . The speed of their attacks varied slightly, so it couldn¡¯t be said that they were all in perfect coordination, but they were all wielding their weapons in unison and in an orderly fashion. [Next! !] [!] The weapons wielded by the knights were imbued with flames. As I watched them, having been given such a lengthy title as , I was deeply moved inside. After all, what the knights are using all at once now isn¡¯t just Arts, but . This scene was proof that my instructions weren¡¯t meaningless. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-It seems like everything¡¯s taking shape now.] As if he had read my mind, the one who approached and called out to me was General Sergen. In response to this veteran warrior who pretends to be simple and tough, but has quite a mischievous spirit, I crossed my arms. [You all have really given me a hard time for this after all. It would be troubling if they couldn¡¯t at least do this.] I was nervous about casually talking to the older General, but if I talked to the prince in a casual manner and used honorifics with the General, that would just be inviting trouble. While maintaining a brusque attitude as I roleplay as Rex, I think back over the past. The duel with Prince Ain on the first day here in the Royal Capital. At that time, I wondered what would happen after that consecutive 100-man battle against the knights, but from the second day onward, my instructions to them went surprisingly normal. No, normal may not be the right word for it. As their eyes that had glistened with murderous intent on the first day were now glistening with motivation, they approached me. As expected of a Knight Order, they were well-disciplined and they didn¡¯t say anything unreasonable to me, but they held so much intensity that I sometimes felt like that enthusiasm was getting close to mayhem. [I suppose it was only when they actually crossed swords with a user of the can they begin to see its usefulness.] General Sergen said something like that, but I¡¯d like it if he¡¯d stop projecting that consecutive 100-man battle as some sort of beautiful story. In any case, although it was hard to tell from the murderous atmosphere they had on the first day, the in the game was a group of elites with excellent fighting skills and personalities, admired by the citizens. [Just between you and me, we have already seen results in actual combat. They can only use about 3 techniques at the moment, but that alone makes a clear difference in the speed at which they can eliminate monsters.] Regarding instructing people in regards to Manual Arts, I have a certain amount of know-how after teaching Radd and the other Adventurers. Due to the short period I¡¯m able to teach them though, I thoroughly instructed the knights on the three types of techniques that they would probably use the most. Like Radd back then, they can now only unleash them at a constant speed in front of them, but even so, the power and application of Manual Arts are incomparable to Auto Arts. The power brought by the sacrifice of 23,760 yen (tax included) isn¡¯t just for show. [I regret that I couldn¡¯t invite you sooner. If anything, we can have the ¡°Temporary¡± in your title removed and have you officially be the Knight Order¡¯s Instructor¡­¡­] [Sorry, but I have something I need to do.] Surprisingly, there were a few people among the knights who asked me to continue teaching them. I¡¯m happy that they¡¯re highly evaluating me now, but I¡¯m instructing the knights only for the purpose of searching for the ¡°Hero¡±. Besides, I still have more problems to worry about. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [¡­¡­Now then¡­¡­] As the knights saw me off, I left the training ground. The instructions to the knights basically last until mid-morning. However, I usually stay at the training ground for a while to improve my Class Proficiency and to continue teaching those who need it. (¡­¡­I need to stop being wishy-washy and make up my mind.) Today, however, I will not be able to train or teach others. Telling Resilia, who had always been following me like she was my escort, that I needed to think about something alone, I opened my handwritten notebook with B&B¡¯s information written in it. After confirming that no one was around, I read the pages again, which I had read so many times that opening up to this page became a habit. ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D ¡¾Stat Distribution Reset Technique through Trial of the Soul¡¿ This is a technique of pseudo-¡°stat distribution resetting¡± by using the ¡°Trial of the Soul¡±, a series of events that could occur after the event after a certain amount of time has passed since the game begins. The main advantage of this technique is that it allows you to correctly redevelop a character that you failed to develop, but there¡¯s merit in executing this even if you had optimal training, because you can always significantly increase the total amount of ability by having the necessary equipment and planning ahead. Since it can only be performed once throughout the game and the complexity of the procedure makes it impossible for anyone other than the player to perform it, it wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that it is, in effect, a player-only strengthening event. However, the difficulty of accomplishment is high in proportion to the magnitude of the effect. The ¡°Trial of the Soul¡± event itself is extremely difficult to complete, requiring only 2 people in the party, with additional restrictions in place, to defeat a Lv 50 Boss. It¡¯s difficult to achieve with normal training conditions, so if you¡¯re aiming for this event, it will be urgent to select and train the participating character, in addition to strengthening the player themselves, from the very beginning of the game. However, the biggest thing to keep in mind is that you should always choose ¡°a character that you don¡¯t intend to have on your main party¡± for the trial. Ideally, the character should be ¡°strong enough to just barely clear the trial if you fight with them, but no room for growth beyond that¡±. This is because this technique is only a technique to adjust the ability value of a character, and if the player¡¯s ability value is increased in this way, the ability value of the companion they would bring with them will be severely decreased in exchange. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªTaking into account the difficulty of the ordeal, how much of the best ¡°sacrifice¡± can you choose¡­¡­ That is the most important point of this trial. ¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D¨D With a slam, I closed the page and plopped down on the spot. [¡­¡­Haahhh¡­¡­] This is my biggest concern at the moment. It¡¯s a matter of decision for me to re-train Rex with ¡¾Stat Distribution Reset Technique through Trial of the Soul¡¿. However, I would need to bring a ¡°sacrifice¡± in this ¡­¡­ no. Calling them sacrifice is a bit misleading, so I suppose I¡¯ll call them ¡°collaborators¡±. I still haven¡¯t decided who to choose as my ¡°collaborator¡±. (If I think about this in terms of ability, I actually have three choices.) The only people who are strong enough to overcome that trial and are willing to go along with me in such a suspicious-looking trial are Radd and his party, , or Resilia. However, the doesn¡¯t really reassign abilities as desired, but rather ¡°adjusts the abilities of the character¡± according to a set of rules. Considering the effect of reassignment I wanted, the ¡°collaborator¡± should be a person with high STR. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CIt would either be Radd, Prana or Resilia. The three of them were my ultimate choice. (If I want someone¡¯s cooperation without needing to tell them the details, it would be Prana, right? However, being the person she is, there¡¯s this part of Prana that I just couldn¡¯t read.) It seems that no matter who I ask, they will be willing to accept, but I¡¯m afraid that no matter who I ask, they will show their disapproval. No, to begin with, I still have some doubts about whether I should really ask one of the three of them. I have to admit¡­¡­ After taking care of them for such a long period of time, I do have some feelings for them. You could say it was just me being greedy, but there¡¯s this part of me that wants my comrades to be stronger than others¡­¡­ However¡­¡­ (Uwaaaaaaahhhhh!!! I wonder if the best ¡°collaborator¡± won¡¯t just fall down from the sky!!!?) In desperation, I involuntarily looked up to the heavens. [Ya, Rex. I¡¯ve been looking for you.] As if they were seriously waiting for that moment, a voice called out to me from behind. But when I turned around, what I saw wasn¡¯t God¡¯s help¡­¡­ [It¡¯s just Ain huh. Sorry, but I don¡¯t have the time to worry about you now¡­¡­] There stands a handsome prince with a wide grin on his face, looking as if he just succeeded in an outstanding prank¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Let me introduce you to her. She is Roserette, the love of my life.] ¡ª¡ª¡ªand standing beside him was his fiancee, who was burdened by a fatal event, doomed to her death. CH 105 [It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Rex-sama. My name is Roserette.] [¡­¡­I¡¯m Rex.] I was at a loss as to how to Roserette, who came out from behind Ain and gave me a polite greeting. The other party doesn¡¯t have the mischievous temperament like Ain does, and is instead like a pure noble lady. I¡¯m glad that the game has a setting where people are very casual with nobilities and social status, but even without that, I wouldn¡¯t know how to deal with a friend¡¯s fiancee. (And right now, I¡¯m still thinking about the matter regarding the ¡°collaborator¡±.) The timing of their appearance is so perfect that for a moment, I was hoping that a convenient collaborator might have come along, but unfortunately, the only people who arrived were Ain and Roserette, the only people who can never be my ¡°collaborator¡±, as they¡¯re already involved in the matter itself. (¡­¡­Besides, she¡¯s a little too weak.) Though I know it¡¯s rude, I glanced at her and used . Being the daughter of a Duke, even though she isn¡¯t particularly in a combat-oriented Class, she¡¯s strong enough for me to doubt the fallacy of Rex¡¯s title ¡°strongest in the early-game¡± again. However, it¡¯s sad how I¡¯m saying this myself, but that power is merely a Rex class. That level of power isn¡¯t enough to be considered a ¡°collaborator¡±. In order to clear the in the best possible condition, one would need to defeat a Lv 50 Boss. I won¡¯t go so far as to say she has lacking ability¡­¡­ but it¡¯s true that no matter how you look at it, her abilities are just not enough. Well, if she was strong enough to defeat a Boss on her own, she wouldn¡¯t have lost her life in the game. [So, you came all the way to brag to me about your fiancee?] [Well, I guess that¡¯s the main reason. Hearing the words I sarcastically uttered, Ain easily affirmed. Hearing that, Roserette behind him blushed and said ¡°Oh my, Ain-sama, you jest¡­¡­¡±, but if you wanna go flirt, do it somewhere out of my sight. [It seemed to me like you¡¯re troubled about something though. In that case, why don¡¯t we walk around the city and amuse ourselves with something¡­¡­ is what I thought.] [You know, If you understand that I¡¯m troubled with something¡­¡­] I tried to tell him to just leave me alone, but what Ain said next surprised me. [Ahh, no. This isn¡¯t actually my idea. The one who suggested this is that cute disciple of yours.] [Disciple?] As I questioningly looked at him, who spoke such words, Ain shook his head. Thereupon, Ain pointed to the side, and there I saw Mana, the Healer of Radd¡¯s party, hiding behind the shadows of a pillar and peeking in our direction. ¡ù¡¡¡ù¡¡¡ù [T- This is amazing! For me to actually witness Rex-sama and Ain-sama walking side by side in person! Amazing, amazing¡­¡­ this is so amazing!] Bringing along Mana, whose mind started lagging and could only spout amazings, I walk around the city. She was so stimulated that her way of calling me returned from ¡°Rex-san¡± to ¡°Rex-sama¡±, but I probably shouldn¡¯t point this out. Putting aside fangirling for Ain, I don¡¯t understand why she adores Rex so much, but well, being looked up to by someone honestly doesn¡¯t feel bad. Incidentally, our positioning as we walked side by side was Roserette, Prince Ain, me, then Mana. With how much of a fangirl she is, I thought of having her walk next Ain but¡­¡­ [N- No way! I can¡¯t do that! Walking in between t- the two of you¡­¡­ it¡¯s just too awe-inspiring!] For puzzling reasons, I was declined. I¡¯m still concerned about the fact that her eyes were fixated on us while ignoring the cityscape, but she seemed to be happily smiling, so I guess she¡¯s having a good time. If that¡¯s the case, it would be better for everyone if I also enjoyed walking around the Royal Capital. [The Royal Capital sure has its unique liveliness.] The people in Frelia, the City of Liberty, also had a certain liveliness, but the people in the Royal Capital seemed a bit more relaxed, or rather, sophisticated. (To begin with, going to a game world and personally seeing a fantasy world is something you would normally never be able to do.) Although I had no choice but to go on this stroll, walking through this fantasy city made me feel that I have a luxurious and precious experience. [I¡¯m glad you liked it. I¡¯m very proud of our city, so hearing you enjoy it makes me happy.] [Y- Yeah.] Though I was inwardly drawn to Ain¡¯s pure ikemen smile and he spouts annoying lines as he breathes, I had somehow nodded my head. He may be a battle freak or overly fond of his fiancee, but at times like this, it makes me realize that he really is a prince. [You¡¯ve been immersed in training the others since coming here, Rex, so you probably didn¡¯t have much time to look around the Royal Capital, right? As someone who invited you to teach them, I¡¯m a little concerned.] [Well, it¡¯s not like this is my first time here in the Royal Capital.] Although I have to choose my words due to me supposedly having amnesia, I¡¯m sure that even Rex has stopped by here a few times. "" And since ¡°I¡± as a play have been to the Royal Capital many times, having it as my home base, I can say that I know every nook and cranny of the city. [You seem confident. In that case, do you two know where we¡¯re headed?] [Errr, if we go in this direction¡­¡­] In the game, I didn¡¯t use this path much since it¡¯s far from the street where the Guild is located, but ahead of here¡­¡­ [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªIt¡¯s the , right!?] Before I could arrive at the answer, Mana, leaning her body forward, answered with a twinkle in her eyes. [The Plaza of Love¡­¡­?] [Yes! It¡¯s the best meeting place in the Royal Capital, a very nice place in front of a big clock tower!] At her words, a scenery finally appeared in my mind. [Ahh, I remember now! It¡¯s that place with the big warrior statue, right?] I have this faint memory of trying to climb up the top of that statue to see if I could get a new job if I touched it. [Rex¡­¡­] [Rex-san¡­¡­] But at my words, Ain and Mana looked at me as if they were looking at something pitiful. [I think you must be mistaking it for a plaza in the Dwarven Country. The has the statue of a male and female lovers.] [Eh¡­¡­] While I inadvertently froze at those words¡­¡­ [The statue of a woman praying and a man holding a sword to protect her! Ummm, I thought it was beautiful, just like AIn-sama and Roserette-sama¡­¡­] As if to deal with the pursuing attack, Mana spoke passionately. Speaking like a complete know-it-all, ahh, this is embarrassing. I should have paid a little more attention to the things other than the characters¡¯ Status and Skills, details that are outside the system. [E- Even so, Mana sure is knowledgeable. Where did you learn all this?] When I asked this, as if to escape Ain¡¯s astounded gaze, Mana fidgeted and held her hands to her mouth. [That¡¯s, ummm, it was written in the guidebook¡­¡­] Come to think of it, Mana had been reading a tourist guidebook when we arrived in the Royal Capital. I may have been a bit narrow-minded with my fixation on ¡°strength¡±. Looking around the city again, I realized that I should pay more attention to a place¡¯s tourism and culture from now on. [Arehh¡­¡­?] The city was strangely quiet. Before I knew it, the people who had been walking around were all gone. It was as if we had wandered into another dimension without realizing it, and I really feel as if something was out of place. [Rex?] Ain¡¯s voice reached my ears. However, I couldn¡¯t even respond to him. After all, I had found the cause. Ahead of us, by the small river flowing between the streets¡­¡­ "" A figure in robes stood on the small bridge across it. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CYou are Prince Ain huh?] The tone of the voice from the man in the robe sounded clear. Upon hearing it though, I couldn¡¯t suppress a shiver running down my back. (This can¡¯t be! Why!? Why did this happen ¡°now¡±!?) I¡¯m feeling a strong sense of deja vu. After all, I know ¡°this scene¡±! That¡¯s right, this is¡­¡­ This ¡°event¡± is¡­¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C¡°The Assassination of the Prince of Light, Ain¡± event!!! CH 106 ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CRelic Brightis, the . That was the name of the boy who killed Prince Ain, one of the most powerful characters in the game. Relic is the illegitimate son of the king and the younger brother of the First Prince, Ain. Although the game doesn¡¯t tell the details of his life, Relic himself doesn¡¯t know that he¡¯s the son of the king, and at the start of the game, he¡¯s living in a slum with his sister, a girl named Sana. He was spotted by the Assassins¡¯ Guild that lurks in the darkness of the Royal Capital and using improvement in life as bait, he and Sana were taken in and that was the beginning of his tragedy. Instilled hatred for his brother, whose circumstances are too different from his own, and brainwashed into thinking that Ain is evil, Relic murders his brother in a fit of rage. Such is the details of the assassination event. This is one of the most depressing events in B&B, and if Relic isn¡¯t stopped, Ain will die and Relic will be executed as the assassin who killed the prince. If Relic is stopped though, a full-scale war against the Assassins¡¯ Guild will break out as a result of this incident. In the end, Relic would be killed as an assassin, leaving behind the words ¡°Flowers¡­¡­ to Sana¡­¡­¡±. Later, the player will be able to find Relic¡¯s diary in his private room in the Assassins¡¯ Guild, from which you¡¯d be able to learn that Relic was duped by the Assassins¡¯ Guild, but well, let¡¯s leave that aside for now. The problem is that this event can¡¯t happen at this point in time. This event should have occurred in the second half of the game, around the 2nd year point. It hasn¡¯t even been 6 months since the start of the game, so there¡¯s no way that Relic would show up here. (D*mn it! One after another, why the heck are things going awry¡­¡­!) I almost ground my teeth, but that doesn¡¯t really change the situation. After all, even as I think about this, the situation progresses in front of the confused me. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CYou are Prince Ain huh?] Even as his identity was suddenly questioned, the Prince of Light Ain was unperturbed. [What if I said I am?] Stepping forward to defend his fiancee from harm, he responded in an imposing manner. However, only I know that that was a bad move. Indeed, Ain is strong enough to strike down any opponent. Yet, if the player doesn¡¯t intervene in this event, Ain will die 100% of the time. [No, Ain¡­¡­!] It was originally impossible for Ain to lose against a human opponent. At least at the start of the game, the only human who could defeat Ain in a one-on-one match would be Nirva. However, Relic himself, being Ain¡¯s younger brother, has excellent affinities and has been trained as an assassin. Moreover, shaken that his opponent was a brother of his, whose existence had been kept a secret, Ain ends up being killed by him. [¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CIn that case, allow me to put your strength to the test!] At the same time as he spoke, the robed man, no, the robed boy kicked off the ground. [Kuh!] My body naturally moved. Drawing his sword, I leaped in between Ain and Relic. [Rex!?] [Stay back!] Shouting back at Ain, who sounded surprised by my actions, I received the boy¡¯s attack. [Kuh!] Despite his slender appearance, his sword is fast and heavy. I somehow managed to ward off the fact that I¡¯m about to be overpowered with the sword skills that are ingrained in my body. [Oooooohhhh!!!] The second and third exchanges are followed by a barrage of blows, which ¡°Rex¡± barely manages to parry according to this body¡¯s memories. However, I¡¯m completely outmatched by strength. However, there was something that was kind of out of place. (Why is Relic using a sword?) As I recall, Relic used a poisoned knife to assassinate Ain. Moreover, the knife used in itself was quite a good one. However, what Relic is wielding in front of me right now is a Steel Sword. The same store-bought item, mass-produced and wielded by Adventurers. That doesn¡¯t fit the character of a man trained to be an assassin, nor does it even fit the equipment that appears in the events of the latter half of the game. (No, speaking of that subject¡­¡­) To begin with, even the dialogue is different. The line ¡°You are Prince Ain huh?¡± was indeed the same as in the game. However, after Ain named himself, the next line should have been ¡°In that case, allow me to take that life of yours!¡±. There are still other things I found out of place. The swordsmanship of this ¡°assassin¡± is so rough that it¡¯s hard to believe that he¡¯s used to fighting against people. That¡¯s partly the reason why I¡¯ve still been able to handle him so well, but it¡¯s just unnatural considering the premise that he was educated in the Assassins¡¯ Guild. Even though he¡¯s clearly outclassed in terms of physical specs, I don¡¯t feel much of a sense of danger fighting him. Before I can think further though, his body moved. [That¡¯s enough!] A flash of fighting spirit. I naturally, as my body leads me, brandished my swords and struck the ¡°assassin¡¯s¡± sword by the side. [Wha!?] The ¡°assassin¡¯s¡± sword was knocked away and rolled on the ground. The current situation really feels out of place, but now, I can finally take a breather. Having such a thought in mind, I was about to lower my sword¡­¡­ [Rex-san!!!] Mana¡¯s voice was filled with a sense of urgency, and I hurriedly looked up. Thereupon, I saw the ¡°assassin¡± who had supposedly lost his sword, holding up his right hand, as if to invoke something. (Magic!? No, that was¡­¡­) As I felt a tremendous pressure released from his right hand, the hood that was hiding the ¡°assassin¡¯s¡± face came off. What peeked out from it were his dazzling white hair¡­¡­ and a face that bore no resemblance to Ain¡¯s brother, Relic. However, the real surprise came after that. [Could that be¡­¡­] The magic power gathered in the ¡°assassin¡¯s¡± raised right-hand forms a single shape. There, the weapon of fate that I¡¯ve seen many times in the game, and had saved my life once in this world. [¡ª¡ª¡ª-The Sword¡­¡­ of Light?] Of all the people, the weapon of the has unmistakably appeared in the hands of this ¡°assassin¡±. The sudden event made my mind go blank, and I involuntarily stopped moving. However, that was an opening that should never be shown in battle. [¡­¡­Ah.] As I gazed at the ¡°assassin¡¯s¡± right hand, the Sword of Light swung down towards me in a straight line.