Chapter 2 – I"m a Hero!? (2)
"Hoo······."
He had mapped out a golden plan to bring about a tranquil future for himself, but his plan went awry from the start. All the fault lie in the fact that Artpe was chosen to be a hero. The future in front of him was a confusing and chaotic mess.
"Why me!"
"This is all very splendid, Artpe! Isn"t it!"
Maetel stuck close to him, and she was all smiles. On top of her head, Artpe could see words that could be only seen with his eyes.
[Name : Maetel]
[Race : Human Female]
[t.i.tle : Hero]
[Level : 1]
[Strength : 8, Agility : 12, Stamina : 11, Magic Energy : 10]
"No matter how I think about this, this doesn"t make any sense…"
That"s right.
This time around two heroes were chosen.
"I had faith that Artpe would become a hero. Artpe is smart!"
"I believed "you" would be the only one to become a hero."
This was what happened in his previous life!
Maybe this was the 1,000 year anniversary of creation of this world, and this was some kind of a ma.s.sive event where two heroes were given instead of one!
Yes. The fact that there were two heroes meant that the probability of success in killing the Demon King had gone up. That was a good thing.
Still, why did he have to one of the heroes! The fact that he was the hero"s childhood friend was already dangerous enoght, yet now his situation had worsened!
"Please wait a moment. We"ll contact the palace, and we"ll take both of you to the capital"
"Palace! Are we really going to a palace!?"
"Yes. I"ll be back soon."
"Yes!"
"······uh?"
Why were there two heroes? Why did he become a hero!
He wrapped his hands around his head as he faced the nightmare-like reality in front of him. When he raised his head, he discovered the priest in charge of the Baptism Ritual moving quickly towards the exit. The sight evoked an ominous feeling within him. Artpe narrowed his eyes as he asked Maetel a question.
"What did he just say?"
"He"ll contact the palace, and we"ll be taken to the capital!"
"The capital!?"
"Yes, the capital! It is a shiny city!"
Maetel"s voice was filled with happiness and delight. She sounded super sweet. Artpe heard her overly sweet words, and it caused his expression to sour in real time!
In his previous life, he clearly remembered what happened to the hero when she went to the capital. He shouldn"t be wallowing in despair as he stood by doing nothing! If they didn"t get out of this situation, they will be ruined!
Artpe decided not to ruminate over his situation right now. He could dwell on his own misfortune at a later time. The important thing right now….
They had to run away!
"Capital! Palace! Being a hero is really great!"
"You are completely mistaken. The palace isn"t as grand a place to be as you think."
Why did humans treat heroes well? They wanted to trot out the heroes to face the Demon King. It didn"t matter if other humans gave them nice clothes and food. When the time came, they would push the two of them out into the streets. They would expect the heroes to kill the Demon King. Basically, the two of them were akin to domesticated pigs that would be fattened and eaten later.
"Well, let"s talk about the problem we face right now. "
"Pork is too expensive to eat!"
"The quality of the fodder they are trying to feed us stinks! It is pathetic!"
Did she understand what Artpe was trying to convey? When she heard his words, her pupils shook for the first time. It was as if the world was about to fall on her head. She asked in a serious manner.
"Wa. The food at the palace isn"t tasty?"
"It is the worst."
Artpe was firm with his words. It had already been several hundred years since the fight between a hero and a Demon King. Of course, the palace had a manual in regards to how to develop a hero. However, it was very outdated! It was trash! Even the common soldiers of the Demon Army would ridicule the manual if they saw it!
"In truth, the hero"s development was delayed, because she followed their manual."
Maetel"s potential was remarkable. In only a year, her level had increased from level 200 to level 374. Even if the Demon King continued to provide a constant stream of fodder, her growth rate was unbelievable.
Such an amazing hero had lived in the palace for several years, yet her growth rate had been absurdly low. If the Demon King hadn"t paid attention to her, she would have never reached the Demon King"s castle!
Therefore, if the two heroes were dragged into the palace, the only thing waiting for them was a terrible loss! It would be game over for them!
"Humans are the biggest enemies of other humans. I want you to remember this, Maetel."
"Ah, all right. Humans are the biggest enemies of other humans… The food at the palace tastes bad…."
This was the moment when the hero realized humanity was her enemy.
"So what should we do, Artpe?"
"Don"t worry about it. I thought of a way to nurture… I know how we"ll develop ourselves. I know things are a bit messed up right now, but… Tsk. It can"t be helped. Let"s do this my way."
His original plan was to gather all the skills and magic in this world. He planned on giving it all to Maetel. However, he had also become a hero now. Their enemy didn"t have a single target anymore. The target had split into two, and Artpe didn"t want to die. This was why Artpe had no choice, but to come to this conclusion.
"From now on, you"ll learn about weapons. I"ll learn magic. The rest… We"ll appropriately split it up between the two of us, and learn it."
"Yes!"
A hero was able to learn skills and magic from all Cla.s.ses. This special characteristic made the Hero Cla.s.s a cheat Cla.s.s. Moreover, there were a good number of unique skills and special skills hidden around the world, and they could only be mastered by the hero Cla.s.s.
Normally, it was foolish to learn magic and weapons at the same time. It slowed one"s development in both fields. However, the hero had to swallow the bitter pill of learning both fields, since the hero was pushed to learn all the skills and special moves that could only be learned by the hero…
"However, there are two heroes now."
The most fundamental problem had been solved. The two of them could choose one"s specialty field ahead of time. Each skill they gained could be maxed out. This would simplify their plan on how they would dispose the Demon King!
"….this is hogwash! Ooh-ahhhhh! Why am I a hero!"
"Artpe. A hog doesn"t wash itself!"
"Don"t undercut me so coldly at a time like this!"
This wasn"t his original plan! He planned on developing Maetel into a great hero, and he planned on eating the crumbs off the table from the back! He would have to fight the bone chillingly strong Demon King! s.h.i.t!
"Ooh-ahhhhhhhh. Please tell me this is all a dream!"
"This is really like a dream, Artpe. Artpe and I are heroes…. Together…."
Maetel"s idiotic reaction didn"t allow Artpe to escape from reality. If he dropped the ball, the Private A of the Demon King"s army might be able to kill them! Artpe let out a big sigh as he flicked Maetel"s forehead.
"Ouch."
"You have to get ahold of yourself from now on. A hero becomes the center of attention for the humans, but at the same time, the hero becomes the target of every demon within the Demon race."
"It"s all right. I"ll protect Artpe!"
"Yes. I like that you are courageous."
He was a little bit late in realizing this, but…. This girl was a bit of an idiot.
How was she able to learn magic and healing spells? After much consideration, he realized Maetel had only used her sword in his previous life. He hadn"t seen her use anything else.
Even as he lost, he had thought the hero was acting cool when she held back from using any magic. However, Artpe was mistaken. The hero had been an idiot, and she hadn"t been able to handle any difficult magic!
"Eh-whew. Maybe this is for the best. It seems the G.o.ds are pretty smart."
It was said a diamond on a dunghill is still a diamond. Artpe had the experience of living as a Demon, so he was more adept at manipulating magic compared to most humans. He was made into being a hero, and at the very least, he was better at using magic than Maetel. This meant their chances of beating the Demon King had gone up.
If he didn"t have this idea to cling onto, his stomach would be churning from pain.
"I reincarnated for nothing······."
"Huh? Reincarnated?"
"It"s nothing. Let"s get ready to escape."
"Escape?"
When Maetel made a retort, Artpe didn’t say anything. He just pointed out the window.
"Artpe! Let"s talk for a little bit!"
"We gave you bread yesterday!"
"I have an item left behind by your father, Maetel! Why don"t you come out here for a brief moment.?"
This was a hut where Artpe lived by himself. This was no where near the center of the village, yet the people of the village were all gathered in front of his hut. It was a scary sight.
"Ah. He said my father left an item behind! I"ll be right back."
"They are liars. Stay by my side."
"Yes!"
Artpe stopped Maetel from getting up. She almost fell for the most basic trick. He let out a sigh. He would have to turn away the people, and he would have to escape the village with Maetel. His immediate future looked bleak. At that moment, Maetel"s naive voice asked a question.
"So why are so many people gathered outside? Normally, they are very chilly towards Artpe and I."
"Since we are heroes, they probably want to create a tie with us at all cost. Still, they are only level 1 starter village people ABCD."
Artpe was an orphan of unknown origin. Maetel had lost her mother when she was young, and her father was a traveling merchant.
The villagers weren"t heartless enough to let the two die. They helped the children get by, but they were considered to be a drain on their resources. This was why the villagers had treated them as if they were undesirables.
However, the two of them had suddenly become heroes!
Until now, the people of this village had treated them poorly, and those memories were flashing through their minds. This was why they had all gathered here to leave a positive memory behind in the two children"s minds.
"If they had something useful, I would take it, but…."
There was no hidden treasure or skill in this village. He had checked with his Read All Creation ability.
Basically, he had nothing to gain from the villagers. This tow had no special characteristics aside the fact that the heroes were born her. This was basically a quintessential starter"s village!
"Nothing good will come from getting involved with them. Even if we received and completed a request, they probably would give us some gra.s.s as a reward."
"I"m good at eating gra.s.s. When I was young, father taught me which gra.s.s I could eat."
"I’m not going to eat gra.s.s. I"m not a cow. Are you a cow?"
"No!"
"Then you shouldn"t eat it from now on."
"Yes!"
He didn"t care about the worries of the villagers. They didn"t interest Artpe. The fact that he was a hero now was annoying, so he didn"t feel the need to get involved in other people"s business! The only things he needed was money, level, skills and spells!
"This is why we have to run away. If we stay put, we might be dragged away to the castle."
"I also don"t want food that tastes bad!"
Maetel let out an energetic shout as if she agreed with Artpe. However, she soon asked a question in low spirits.
"If father comes back to find me missing, he"ll be sad. If I go stay at the castle, I can contact him. I can"t do that if I go with you."
"You are sharp in regards to some topics…. Well… Mmmm."
At this point in time, Maetel"s father had died in a remote part of the continent. Artpe had been in charge of investigating her, so he was sure of it.
However, he couldn"t just tell her that her father was dead, because it was so in his previous life! Artpe"s existence might have changed Maetel"s father"s fate, but that possibility was very low. However, he didn"t feel the need to attack Maetel mentally at this point in time.
This was why he made up a reasonable-sounding excuse.
"We"ll leave behind a letter. Your father knows that you are close with me. He"ll probably come looking for you at this hut."
"Artpe. I know how to read letters, but I don"t know how to write…."
"It"s all right. I know human…I know how to read and write the Kingdom Language."
"That"s amazing!"
When Artpe raised his right hand, a blue light appeared at the end of his index finger. This couldn"t be called magic. It was the most basic mana technique called Mana Manifestation. It was possible to engrave letters into the wood using the hot mana. Maetel"s eyes became brighter. Artpe grinned as he confirmed something with her.
"Does your father know the Kingdom Language?"
"Of course!"
"All right, hero. Do you have anything you want to tell your father?"
"Yes, I do! So…."
Artpae transcribed all of Maetel"s words on the wall of the hut. He let out a sigh as he stepped back. He thought this was pointless, but if he could keep her morale up, it was worth it.
"I"ve gone through the trouble of doing this. You should come back alive, and search this hut out."
He grumbled as he gave his wish, and he grabbed Maetel"s hand.
Kyahh!
Maetel let out a bashful sound, but he ignored it.
"Let"s run away."
"Y…yes!"
"Aht, Artpe!"
"Maetel!"
The two of them charged out of the hut"s door in an energetic manner. The villagers rushed forward. Artpe didn"t know when the priest would be coming back, so he didn"t have the time to deal with the villagers. Artpe chose the weakest looking villager. He glared at the Villager D as he spoke.
"We have to go to the restroom."
"I…I"m sorry."
Village person D backed off. Villager A, B, C and E followed D"s example as they also backed off!
This was the moment he had been waiting for. He ran as he pulled Maetel behind him. Villager D looked at the children"s back. It seemed the two of them really had to go to the restroom.
However, the two children was never seen again. They didn"t return to the village.
The heroes succeeded in running away.