Chapter 52: Where is this? Who am I?
Hundreds of graduates were summoned into the small colosseum. Having heard “You are the final remaining three” after coming to face this unexpected event, they were still in the midst of confusion—how is this three people? I don’t remember receiving a reward?
But they had no need to try hard to think on solving these question. After all, I was going to help them quickly leave starting now!
“Kugh?!”
“Kyah?!”
The power of Ma.s.sacre(SS) which contained the Sword Ki of Holy Sword 2, enveloped in a black and white whirlwind, swept through rows of the graduates.
As timing would have it, my Job changed at the same time.
→Slaughterer(Slaughter=Ma.s.sacre↑)
My Slaughter was at SS-rank, thanks to which the effect of Ma.s.sacre(SS) greatly increased. Approximately 15% of my relatively overwhelming attack struck the graduates in an entire area. Only a small minority of the graduates were capable of withstanding this attack with pure defensive ability, while the rest managed to live because of special effects such as ‘area damage reduction’. Whatever the case, there weren’t many who survived.
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
The formerly great number of graduates had become reduced in mere moments, and the colosseum which had felt as crowded as the heart of a marketplace became quiet.
“I, I give!”
“I give up!”
Pop! Pop! Pop!
The survivors who hadn’t been taken care of with Ma.s.sacre(SS) shouted “I give up!” one after another as they made their exit from the festival’s closing ceremony colosseum. Theirs was a correct decision befitting of sc.u.m.
“Let’s see…”
I took a sweeping glance around myself. One, two, three, four… only seven remained including myself in the rather empty colosseum.
“Haargh!”
Correction: only six remained now.
Slash-!
I cut down the fellow who had come attacking my back in a nice vertical line. He seemed to have been quite confident, seeing how his Job was a.s.sa.s.sin, but even Job perks were meaningless when the disparity in Status was this great.
“Really! At least keep your trap shut if you’re gonna make a surprise attack.”
Did he think everything would work out with spirit and tenacity?
“Taagh!”
“Yah!”
The next opponents to come at me was a beautiful couple. Their attires were a neat match too. Although they didn’t seem to have a fusion technique wrought by the harmony of Yin and Yang, their hot gazes towards each other were out of the ordinary.
It was the power of love which couldn’t be fully described with words!
“Use that on the bed, will you.”
Since the crime of being detestable didn’t apply, I was going to stomp on them easily. A couple was a combination that had far more flaws than synergy.
For example, even the individual skills of this couple weren’t similar; the man was far stronger. That being the case, I aimed for the woman.
Ting-!
The man blocked Holy Sword 2 which was launched thrusting forward in a straight line.
Stagger~
But the balance of his body was broken due to pushing himself over the limit to protect his beloved woman.
“The power of love. It’s good.”
For tightening the noose around your own neck, that is.
I had known from the beginning that things would turn out like this, which was why I followed up with another move as naturally as flowing water.
Smack!
I landed a punch on the man’s lower jaw.
“Uugh…!”
But his head stopped in the midst of bending backwards.
“Oh?”
The man whom I had expected to fall flat on his back held on with persistence.
Fwip!
He even retaliated while his mind was still in a dazed state, swinging his sword which almost slipped from his hand.
He fought under pressure because he knew the woman behind him would be next if he was defeated. His mentality was truly easy to understand, and as such, I once again aimed for the woman using Holy Sword 2.
“How cowardly…!”
Crying out in outrage, the man grit his teeth as he blocked the blow, while I twisted the trajectory of Holy Sword 2 and directly slashed at him from shoulder to neck.
Splurt-!
Crimson blood sprayed out from the cut, but it all disappeared before long.
Pop.
“Hahah. It’s a complete game.”
This meant that it was a festival in the end, a fun celebration. You would revive on Earth with your Level slightly decreased upon death. It was in no way different from the restarting of a role-playing game. This being the case, I didn’t feel much interest—I had done nothing more than humor some graduates who didn’t have a single bit of seriousness in them.
“I, I give!”
The woman, who had turned deathly pale the moment the man died, immediately fled.
Pop.
“Is there now… four left?”
I only had to deal with one more.
The remaining time was 8 minutes. That was plenty. But who to take care of so that I would be known as just and upright…
There was no need to ponder over who to pick.
“Hah! What a truly bad fellow you are! Going for a frail woman first? Can you still call yourself a heroic man like that?! I’ll carve into your unscrupulous bones what a true man is about!”
There was a man who approached me while taunting in this manner. His bold strides and eyes burning with fiery zeal were filled with the confidence that he would win.
Truthfully, I couldn’t at all understand his behaviour. Just what was it that made him so puffed up?
Answer: Maybe he’s like that from comparing your Statuses?
Miss Trainee Teacher, who had been remaining silent so as to not become a hindrance, abruptly stepped in to answer.
Compared our Statuses?
First, I examined the man.
▷Race: Arch-Human
▷Level: 999+
▷Job: Pugilist(Tenacity=Boxing↑)
▷Skills: Boxing(SS) Endurance(S) Tenacity(S) Agility(S) Indestructible Body(S)…
▷Condition: Elated
He was on the level of soybean flour that might barely be a match for one or two of the demon worshipers back at the great temple. He apparently came at me believing in this degree of ability.
‘Miss Trainee Teacher, how does my Status look like?’
Race: Arch-Human
Level: 999+
Job: Slaughterer(Slaughter=Ma.s.sacre↑)
Skills: Divinity(SSS) Fabrication(SS) Swimming(SS) Summon(S) Interpretation(A)…
Condition: Saintess
Miss Trainee Teacher was doing work!
It was my first time seeing my secret friend exerting herself.
Pout: I helped you throughout the festival though!
In any case, my Status that was visible to others was extremely ambiguous. If you only looked at the Job ‘Slaughterer’, then I would seem like quite the fighter, but my Skill set was the example of a scammer who went around beaches and island villages, taking advantage of innocent fishermen and female divers.
Apparently, only the Skills I had learned during the Hero Festival were shown. It was understandable for that self-styled ‘real man’ to be so puffed up. However…
Smack!
Wham!
It wasn’t like my capability decreased just because it couldn’t be seen.
You take one! I’ll take one too!
I rotated my body while pretending to swing Holy Sword 2 sideways with my right hand, and launched a right roundhouse kick which carried that centrifugal force. We both attacked the other’s face, and the fight was settled right away.
“Kugh?!”
“Didn’t you say you were a real man?”
My kick had landed exactly on the lower jaw of the self-styled ‘real man’, the result of him being careless from having dodged Holy Sword 2.
The awkward fist of the ‘real man’ failed to reach my face and landed on my shoulder, which only ended up breaking his wrist. Whether it be ability or guts, he wasn’t my match.
“I giii-…”
Smack-!
I didn’t give him the chance to say “I give up”. He would recover completely after returning to Earth, in any case. The key was to give him a blow that would carve into his soul an experience that couldn’t be forgotten even after going back.
I punched my fist deeply inside the fellow who had sung about being a real man, and activated Dark Energy(SSS).
Whooosh~
I delightfully churned up the inside of his head, praying that he would suffer from nightmares every single night.
Pop!
“This makes three.”
While listening to the various bulls.h.i.t spouted by the graduates had taken up more time than the actual fighting, there still seemed to be about 6 minutes remaining. I only needed to wait from here on.
The people who had survived excluding myself were both women. It looked like with the men expressing to their heart’s content the combat instinct of a male, only the females had remained as a natural result. Feeling it too boring to simply do nothing, I decided to examine the Statuses of the two survivors.
▷Race: Arch-Human
▷Level: 999+
▷Job: Sorcerer(Vigor=Sorcery↑)
▷Skills: Vigor(SS) Sorcery(SS) Swordsmanship(S) Immunity(S) Interpretation(A)…
▷Condition: Nervous
This was an extremely rare Job—Sorcerer. If magic belonged to the realm of geniuses who had it easy with 99% talent, then sorcery was a pursuit of knowledge where one made progress through 49% effort, 49% funds and 1% inspiration. The specialty of a Sorcerer was magic branding. Normally, Magicians also dabbled in sorcery like it was a cultural study.
There were, however, occasionally pure Sorcerers like this woman. Their Skills and attire would be completely different from Magicians; dagger, hot pants, cape, long boots, suspender… the outfit of a traveller easy to move in. But hung like tools on her belt that was worn around her hips in a bewitching fashion were rows of various scrolls. Bottles of medicine were attached in cl.u.s.ters to her suspender and long boots as well. They must have all been self-created with sorcery.
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“Don’t be so tense. I won’t eat you.”
I gave that Sorcerer woman a rea.s.suring smile, though she grew the more nervous for some reason.
“Did you hide your Status using sorcery?”
The Sorcerer who asked me this was completely ready for battle. In her right hand she held a magic branded dagger, in her left a magic containing scroll, while small medicine bottles were inserted between each s.p.a.ce of her fingers. These weapons were of the disposable-type like grenades that were prepared in advance, but in return, the combat power wrought by them would easily overwhelm a Magician of equal Level and Skills.
“Lady. Your question is much too stupid.”
Perhaps she hadn’t been taught the lesson not to overly believe in another’s Status in the fantasy world. Statuses couldn’t be seen from Level 999 and above. As long as you paid attention to this, you could develop the ability to roughly measure an opponent’s capability.
“The festival this time around. You did something, didn’t you?”
The Sorcerer woman who had her eyes narrowed like a sly snake tried giving me a leading question; however, having already lost interest in her, I didn’t answer. The woman took no notice of this and continued to talk.
“The message about being granted a large amount of EXP if three people unite and cooperate. Although you did slaughter hundreds by yourself, the system will probably find no problem with that. Did you spare the two of us aiming for this reward?”
The woman beside the Sorcerer was nothing much to speak of.
▷Race: Arch-Human
▷Level: 999+
▷Job: Swordsman(Stamina=Swordsmanship↑)
▷Skills: Swordsmanship(S) Stamina(S) Agility(A) Sword Ki(A) Interpretation(A)…
▷Condition: Nervous
When only looking at her Status, she was the inferior version of Sword King Alex. But seeing how this level of capability seemed to amount to the top 1% on Earth in spite of this, I was truly at a loss for words.
Now not even a minute of the time limit remained.
The Sorcerer woman I was ignoring was still talking.
“You might have not heard of my real name, but you must have heard of Yōma… Ugh! Ignoring me till the end, is it. Fine! My memory is on the extremely excellent side. I’ll clearly remember your face. I’ll use all the means at my disposal and find you for sure, so let’s meet again on Earth and talk.”
… Was she a stalker?
She did have a wonderfully good figure, though. It was enough for me to be willing to spare at least a night for her after the festival ended, unfortunate though it was, I wouldn’t be on Earth.
d.a.m.ned teaching staff! Hope you all get cursed!
▷10 minutes have pa.s.sed. The final remaining three gathered in the festival chose unity and cooperation. A large amount of EXP will be granted to you all who have made a difficult decision. Congratulations, truly!
EXP hadn’t meant that only our Level would increase—the proficiency of all my Skills rose evenly.
“Hah! Now this I didn’t know.”
I let out a wry laugh after checking my Status, because even the Skills which I had no way of improving had risen in proficiency as well.
Infinite(F)→Infinite(E)
Festival(F)→Festival(E)
And this wasn’t all. Divinity, which could be said to be the greatest fruit of my labor in this festival… I had been continuously regretting how I couldn’t make it go over SSS-rank despite receiving the cooperation of the angels, yet the closing ceremony put a stop to that.
Divinity(SSS)→Divinity(MAX)
MAX-rank. This was my first time witnessing a MAX-rank even in all my 11 years spent in the fantasy world.
‘Let’s take a close look at the Skil-…’
▷The awards ceremony has ended.
‘My! How hasty.’
I decided to check the effect of Divinity(MAX) back at the continents of Fantasia.
“Good going, everyone.”
“You, I’ll make sure to find you!”
Pop! Pop!
The two women disappeared first.
In response to the Sorcerer woman sending me a wink right before returning to Earth, I had given her the middle finger. Thinking back to her expression at that moment truly… made me grin.
▷Beginning re-test.
That repulsive light swiftly enveloped my body.
Resisting… was unfortunately beyond me.
▷The teaching staff are holding a meeting on what to do with you.
▷A specialist instructor will be dispatched.
▷A specialist instructor will be dispatched.
▷A specialist instructor will be dispatched.
▷There is no specialist instructor to be dispatched.
*
*
*
I aroused myself from a slightly fuzzy state of mind. It was about time to have become gradually used to it, this being my 6th time, but it seemed I was suffering a great backlash due to my increased number of Skills, like when Demon King Pedonar suffered from the reduction in Level. Now this was a problem I had to contemplate a bit seriously.
“Brother! Eat your meal!”
The wannabe cute voice of Lanuvel didn’t fail to sound by my ears. Calling our Sir Hero over and ove-… Mm?
“Brother?”
“Mhm, Brother Jobless. Get up quickly~ Come on~”
I wasn’t lying on a highest quality bed of the royal palace, made with feather and cotton fillings. Lanuvel shook me awake as I lay on a bed for commoners which comprised of sheepskin roughly stretched over a wooden board…
“Lanuvel?”
“Mhm! I’m your adorable little sister, Lanuvel, who doesn’t resemble you in the slightest, Brother!”
“… That’s the sort of setting it is, huh.”
And it seemed the tutorial explanation that went “Save this world from the resurrected Demon King!” was outright skipped.
“Setting?”
I marveled for 10 seconds at my patience and self-restraint in not breaking Lanuvel’s neck as she tilted her head to the side in feigned cuteness.
I stood up from the creaky bed, and took in my surroundings.
A shabby-looking house interior.
A shabby smell.
A shabby little sister.
Even the stabling of the Dumpling Kingdom’s palace would be more magnificent than this place.
I opened wide the only window in the house.
And as expected…
“Hahahah! Right. There’s no rule saying that you have to import a Hero.”
I had ended up being treated as a native of this world.