Chapter 57

Chwa-ra-rak!

A flower bloomed, spreading a thick scent of blood.

No, to be precise, the process of red blood splattering along someone's sword path was so fast that it looked like a flower had bloomed.

The soldiers and heroes who were ambushed from behind lost their lives unknowingly or collapsed to the ground with serious injuries.

There was only one person standing on two legs.

‘…Is his goal to monopolize the achievements?’

Usually, when hunting a named character, if a single unit defeats the enemy, it is possible to give all the achievements to the one who played the biggest role.

On the other hand, if multiple units participate in the subjugation, it is impossible to monopolize the achievements, so sometimes, guys who stab their own allies in the back like that appear.

A middle-aged man staring at me with a greatsword dripping with red blood hanging loosely.

His long, fiery red hair, and the old scar that ran across half of his face, or perhaps his scowl, gave him a very fierce impression.

The man put a cigar in his mouth.

A small flame that bloomed in mid-air lit the cigar.

It was proof that the man was a hero with the fire attribute.

“The scar on his face…. Red hair…. Be careful.”

Count Dman's voice, coming from behind, had hardened.

Count Dman placed his hand on my shoulder.

The undisguisable tension was transmitted through the trembling.

At the same time, a warm energy flowed into my body through his hand, and I felt my exhausted body recover a little.

If I wasn't mistaken, the magic Count Dman just used was fatigue recovery.

A magic that, true to its name, had the insignificant effect of recovering fatigue, yet consumed a surprisingly large amount of mana, showing the height of inefficiency.

It was considered one of the greatest luxuries mages could display.

The fact that he used it in this situation meant that the opponent was so strong that even this small effect was deemed desperate.

“We have to protect the airship from the enemy's bombardment, so we can't provide much help. For now, we have no choice but to trust you.”

“Do you know who the opponent is?”

“A named character.”

“……”

“And not just any named character, but one who is active in Letipus, a battleground of a different level compared to a remote place like Ahinlab. He's called the Devil of Letipus.”

A battleground….

Letipus….

That must mean this man is the hero of the player who commands the medium-sized airship.

Being a named character meant he had sent at least five people, or a renowned mage, to Valhalla, and that he was just as accustomed to battle.

“I heard you defeated one of Odin's heroes.”

The opponent asked in a low voice.

His pronunciation was a bit unclear, perhaps because he had a cigar in his mouth.

Nevertheless, there was an undisguisable sense of intimidation.

“It just happened.”

“My commander is in need of fame right now. That's why he went to the trouble of coming to a remote place like this. To be honest, I was wondering how much honor could be gained by destroying a fortress in a backwater like this…. But a guy like you seems like a decent accomplishment.”

“…Hoo. All sorts of things are getting tangled up. This is why I hated making a name for myself.”

The man in front of me was a formidable enemy.

At least Level 3.

If he was a hero that the opposing player had intensively nurtured, I couldn't rule out the possibility that he was Level 4… a so-called monster.

If I didn't give it my all, I would be eaten alive.

‘The natural recovery authority… is it still not back yet?’

It was a shame, but I had no choice but to do my best as I was.

“Kenith Ingrid of the Scarlet Unit. Soldier of the Alliance. State your name.”

“Rian Kaltz.”

“I’ll remember it.”

The man, Kenith, kicked off the ground.

His eyes, glaring at me, grew fierce, and his muscles swelled.

‘A power-type fighter?’

A wide, sweeping blow.

Since his weapon was a greatsword, its power and range were bound to be overwhelming compared to my sword.

Countering it with my sword would be foolish, and dodging also carried risks.

The best course of action was to trust the performance of my shield and respond with strength.

I didn't think I could withstand it with one arm, so I used both hands.

Craaash!

The greatsword and the shield collided.

A heavy weight was transmitted through the shield.

My arms went numb, my shoulders felt like they would dislocate, and the deck of the airship, which had to absorb the shock, creaked as if it would break at any moment.

But that was all.

Literally, it was difficult to endure, but not impossible.

My body, of course, and the shield were both fine, without a single dent.

“……?”

Considering the opponent's muscles and the weapon he was using, I felt that his strength was weaker than I had expected.

When I thought something was strange, what I saw was the faint smile on the man's, on Kenith's, face.

Instantaneously, the force exerted on the shield intensified.

Before I could react, my arms were pushed back.

The moment I judged the opponent's strength to be weak, it seemed I had unconsciously relaxed my strength to conserve stamina for the fierce battle ahead.

Otherwise, there was no way I would be pushed back this easily.

I hastily twisted my body, but it was too late.

The sharp blade left a wound on my chest that was by no means small.

“……”

“…You seem to be used to pain.”

Kenith increased the distance.

It looked like an action to get the timing right for a single blow, but looking at his eyes and attitude, I understood now.

That guy, despite looking like he would charge in relying solely on brute force, was a very cunning fighter.

The reason he was stalling for time by increasing the distance now was probably to drain even a little more of my strength through bleeding.

‘…I made a mistake.’

The price to pay for a single mistake was too great, but on the bright side, at least my head was still attached.

I hadn't been careless.

Was it called the curse of knowledge?

I had thought too much and made the wrong judgment.

Had I become too timid because my regeneration ability was gone?

That might have been the reason I started thinking so much.

‘Since when did I start thinking about winning without getting hurt….’

An arrogant and conceited bastard who couldn't even complain about injustice if he died right now.

That was me now.

Rian Kaltz.

It felt like just yesterday that I was thinking it would be fine as long as I survived, even if it meant giving up an arm or a leg.

It seemed I had gotten complacent just because my abilities had improved a little.

“Ririsa.”

“Ye-yes!”

“I need support. Shoot aggressively even if you don't have a clear angle. I'll find a way to dodge.”

“…I understand.”

With Ririsa's nod, the battle, which had entered a brief lull, resumed with the firing of her first arrow.

Needless to say, Ririsa's arrow was not a great threat to the opponent.

Even as he lightly twisted his body to dodge, Kenith's eyes were fixed on me.

I kicked off the ground.

Kenith swung his greatsword in time.

A downward strike.

It was a very precise and calculated blow that kept a distance so that my sword couldn't reach, while he himself was clearly aiming for my shoulder.

If I blocked, I would be crushed due to my unstable posture, and if I dodged, he would launch a fatal combination attack, taking advantage of my unbalanced posture.

‘In that case….’

I kicked off the ground even more forcefully.

I was curious to see how Kenith would react.

“You crazy bastard…!”

He chose to abandon his attack and retreat.

Well.

If he had gone ahead with the attack, his attack would have cut off my arm, but my sword would have pierced his heart.

A very rational choice.

Swish.

Kenith's sword cut my shoulder.

But because he had taken a posture to retreat, there was almost no power in the attack.

I was wounded, but it was light enough to be ignored for now.

I wondered if he knew that all the enemies I had faced so far had done the same thing.

Predicting the opponent's natural follow-up reaction, I took another step forward.

And I swung my sword.

“Kraaagh!”

The attack landed squarely.

I had succeeded in creating a long wound on his upper body, similar in severity to the one I had received.

Thud!

A strong impact hit my side.

Kenith's kick had landed squarely on my unguarded side.

All the air in my lungs was expelled.

The single breath needed to take in the air that had escaped.

Ririsa's strike flew in to buy me that gap.

“……”

For a fleeting moment, I could read the hesitation in Kenith's expression.

He couldn't decide whether to dodge the attack or to endure it and focus on me.

That hesitation created an opening.

I corrected my posture and charged in once more.

Kenith, finally coming to his senses, also spat out the cigar he had been holding and rushed at me.

Ririsa's arrow lodged in his shoulder.

But the resulting stumble was very small.

Fwoooosh!

Intense flames engulfed Kenith's sword.

The splendor and accompanying intense heat were incomparable to the flames used by that Level 2 hero whose name I couldn't even remember now.

A dry wind that had heated up in an instant rushed in like a tidal wave.

At the same time, a few days ago.

The memories of that day flashed before my eyes like a panorama.

* * *

“Hoo…. It’s done.”

With a sigh tinged with fatigue, black powder flowed from Selina's hand like grains of sand.

Who would know that this dry, murky powder was the Trace of the Dragon Vein that had been scattering brilliant light in all directions just a few dozen seconds ago?

Even I, who had witnessed the process of change with my own eyes, couldn't believe it.

The mana that had been the source of that brilliance had now flowed into my body.

I found myself clenching and unclenching my fists without realizing it.

“How is it?”

“What?”

“A huge amount of mana flowed into you all at once. Mages also experience a similar situation in the process of gathering mana, and less skilled mages sometimes feel headaches or dizziness. I wanted to know if the nurturing system also has such side effects.”

“Not really.”

There was no dizziness, and far from a headache, my head even felt clearer than before.

My stats must have increased considerably, but I didn't feel any tangible difference.

I would probably only be able to feel this part when I had an opponent.

“Hmm…. As for this part, I need more cases to see if it’s because you are special, Rian, or if the nurturing system doesn't come with that side effect.”

“Is that important?”

“The nurturing system still has areas that are unknown to the Alliance. If I write a paper on this and present it, the unit's operating funds will increase.”

“That's important.”

“It is. So, Rian. Won't you help me with my research a little? The most important part of the nurturing system for the Alliance is collecting the types of authorities and recording their performance.”

In other words.

She was asking me to absorb the authority of the Dragon Vein and reveal the newly acquired authority to her as well.

As a mage who could handle the nurturing system, she could have checked it herself, but the fact that she was asking for permission was so like Selina.

When I nodded, Selina quickly used the nurturing system to display Rian Kaltz's information in the air.

“Your overall abilities have increased significantly. It was like this before, but the increase in mental strength is particularly large.”

“You can say that again.”

When I played D&K, the most difficult hero to nurture was a mental strength specialized hero.

Of all things, I had to be specialized in mental strength….

Leaving my disappointed and complicated feelings behind, I followed Selina and shifted my gaze to the bottom of the system message, to the part where the authorities were written.

“……”

“……”

A brief silence, as if prearranged.

And we stared at each other.

Because what was written there was that unbelievable.

‘This time, it’s my turn.’

Was it my imagination?

It felt like a familiar voice I had heard somewhere before was ringing in my head.

And.

Possessed Authorities: Eye that Seeks Truth, Second Claw, High-Speed Regeneration, Poison Resistance Lv1.

Second Claw: Absorbs the surrounding mana with the first strike, and releases it along with one's own mana in the second strike.