Ep 8

One of the black market entrances had collapsed.

This was no natural phenomenon. It was a sign that an uninvited guest, one so powerful that even the hidden guards in that pitch-black tunnel could not stop, had barged in.

It should have been normal to be helplessly buried alive when a tunnel 5 floors underground collapsed, but the uninvited guest wasn’t one to be so easily dealt with.

The tunnel ceased to fall apart as if had never collapsed to begin with.

Squirm, squirm.

It was all because the dirt, rock and such that were indiscriminately falling from the cracks in the tunnel ceiling had begun to move as if they were living creatures.

‘An Earth Elemental.’

It was a pure soul which existed within great nature.

Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, Heart—!

They were ethereal creatures of this fantasy world which were said to be capable of facing even the Demon King Fedornar if all five elements were gathered as one.

Someone who had become intimate with these Elementals would be able to wield miracles more incredible than even the spells of magicians with but a simple request.

Just like what was happening now.

Rumble—!

Instead of collapsing, the tunnel grew even wider than before. The tremendous mass of dirt and rock that were pressing down from above were being pushed outwards in reverse and being solidly hardened.

It would be difficult to achieve this with just a couple of Elementals. There had to be a dozen at the least. This level of affinity wasn’t possible for just anyone. If there was one race capable of so skillfully employing Elementals—

“It must be an Elf!”

“An Elf Elementalist has broken in!”

“Stop that Elf! Guards! Guards!”

—it couldn’t be any other than the Elves who were considered as a higher form of humans.

The guards who were hidden in various places throughout the black market moved in perfect unison. They mobilized their entire force as the Dark Commerce would suffer a loss of reputation if their patrons either were injured or died.

The average Level of the guards was 150, higher than most knights of the kingdom. It was a testimony to how many hellish encounters they had survived through and as befitting of guards under the Dark Commerce, they were all the fiercest of the bunch.

On the other hand.

“Everyone attack!”

“Let us save our brethren!”

The intruders were a large number of Elves.

They were donned in battle vests unique to Elves which boasted enhanced defensive capabilities, woven out of layers of layers of a silk spun from a special silkworm. Their main weapon was the bow, only intermittently using Elementals or their swords.

Their average Level of 200 was higher than the black market guards. But this place was the center of enemy territory and they were decidedly at a numerical disadvantage.

Yet despite it all, the Elves weren’t pushed back in the least.

“Elementals—!”

The reason behind this was the presence of a certain woman in their midst who had cried out loudly. She had longer ears than the other Elves. Her outfit was no different from the others yet the atmosphere surrounding here was different.

And it was only natural that was so.

▷Race: Arch-Elf ▷Level: 284 ▷Job: Shaman(Blessing=Elemental↑) ▷Skills: Elemental(S) Elegance(A) Charm(A) Archery(B) Blessing(C)… ▷Status: Composed

An Elf royal had come all the way to grace this filthy black market with her presence. And what’s more, she was a familiar face.

That strange, nasty hobby of hers remained unchanged from the 1st Playthrough—in order to save her brethren, she would push even more of her people into danger.

Elf Queen Silvia.

Although she was no more than a princess at present, after the death of the current Elf King due to a coup d’état, she would give up her adventuring to return to her homeland and inherit the throne.

So that made her the future Elf Queen.

Her Level was still low as she had yet to set out on her adventures, but as someone born gifted, the rank of her Skills were no inferior than they were in her prime—they were extremely high. In particular, Elemental(S) was a total beast.

“Uaargh?!”

“Sa-, save me~!”

“It’s fire!”

Every time the Fire Elementals in the form of snakes spat flames and pounced, the guards would be frightened out of their wits as they screamed. They tried using magic to somehow fight back, but the number of Elementals was overwhelmingly high.

The Elves who had accompanied Princess Silvia as her guards were also strong. Their skill in the bow was superb, sniping the enemy magicians in the rear who were chanting spells.

“Sir Wolf-Mask! This way!”

The professional attitude of the black market staff who prioritized the evacuation of their guests even in the midst of this situation almost brought tears to my eyes.

While on the other hand…

“Hero-nim. Shall we also help out in the rescue?”

Lanuvel suggested this as if mocking their efforts.

Hum—

Lanuvel summoned a half-transparent shield with magic. She was using it to diligently block the fireballs shooting over from everywhere.

Her expression wasn’t one of fright or of panic. She had an honest gaze that spoke of wanting to help the Elves who broke in and teach the black market a lesson. She had been feeling uncomfortable all throughout the auction proceedings, and now it seemed she had finally exploded.

I could understand that noble sense of justice very well.

“You should just go and wait in the safety zone.”

“Eh?! How come?!”

Even though I had said so many times not to talk back…

“Helping out in the rescue you say? Are you dumb? What about the mercenary we saved just moments ago? Should we just leave him to die like this? Goodness! To think you’d abandon a comrade who’ll be sticking with us from now on! I’m telling you, that’s not how you live life.”

“Ah…”

All of the other patrons aside from us had already escaped, but a significant number of slaves whose movements were restricted by shackles had ended up meaninglessly dying due to getting swept up in the ongoing battle.

I gave Lanuvel a push from behind.

“As the Hero, I’ll handle things on my own here. Go wait at the safety zone along with our new comrade. And take good care of the money bag.”

“Aww… Okay.”

Lanuvel was forced to go, and the mercenary who didn’t want to die obediently followed under her protection.

And then there was just me.

Just as planned.

“Auctioneer!”

“Gasp! Sir! Why aren’t you runn-…”

“Just answer what I’m going to ask. That Elf is my possession, correct?”

The auctioneer gave an exact answer even in the midst of his panic.

“That is indeed so. Although paying in advance is the basic rule, the Elf without doubt belongs to you, sir, as you have clearly won the bid in this situation. From now on, the right to decide the fate of this Elf lies with you, Sir Wolf-Mask. And so, please come with me to the safety zone. The Elf will not resist much as she has been fed anesthetic.

The auctioneer was no fool. On the contrary, he belonged to the ranks of extremely clever elites. He had realized the truth that this Elf slave was the objective of the Elf intruders, and had also figured out the battle wasn’t going in their favor.

He had no time to take care of an Elf who was drugged and cursed—and that was why he decided to pass over this burden over to me, the patron.

“I’ll say, you’re quite the able man.”

His reply had been exactly the one I was waiting to hear.

“You overpraise me.”

At the end of those words, the auctioneer drew the sword by his hip. It turned out that this man who had been like a clown atop the auction stage was all along the true hidden expert of this black market. On the other hand, the black market elites who had devoted themselves to moving the patrons with poor protection over to the safety zone began to assemble one after another.

I could guess what would happen in the future.

The future Elf Queen would be captured alive here, and then be reduced to a slave. She would be openly displayed for sale in this black market without so much as a scratch inflicted on her even despite this mess she caused. She wouldn’t suffer vulgar acts of revenge such as being violated or being beaten.

That would drop the value of the merchandise, after all.

And after making the sale, a part of the profit would be sent to the bereaved families of the guards who had been killed.

Although that would be quite the interesting development in its own way…

“Hello, Miss Elf.”

I started talking to the Level 851 Elf who was the origin of this incident.

“You are…?”

She had managed to immediately size me up even in her clouded state of mind. It seemed she had instinctively realized I was no ordinary human.

“I’ll get straight to the point. Silvia will surrender if you remain alive. Do you get my meaning?”

The future Elf Queen hadn’t been defeated in battle. In the situation where all the other Elves who fought alongside her had died and only she stood strong, the higher-ups of the black market took this Elf here as hostage.

Overcome by the guilt of having driven her subordinates and friends to their deaths, she gave up on fighting and was caught. And then she was sold as slave.

I had heard the gist of this story from the person involved herself.

“… Yes. That child is tender-hearted.”

It seemed this Elf had properly understood what I meant. Despite her enfeebled state, drugged and cursed, she could manage to show an expression of composure that spoke of the resolve to die and be sacrificed. It was the kind of determination impossible for me, someone who feared death.

She was like a fireworks going out in a final, beautiful blaze of glory.

I roughly hugged the slender waist of the Elf with my left arm, and with my right supported the back of her neck and held her head fixed.

And then I kissed her deeply.

“Mm…”

“Mmph?!”

Thump thump. She made a weak attempt to resist using her powerless fists, but lasted only a moment. When I gently tickled the end of her pointy ear, as if by reflex, she hugged both her arms around my back in a groping manner and began to respond to my kiss.

We sucked on each other’s tongue and saliva, indulging deeply in the act. She was clumsy as if this was the first time in her life doing such a thing, but she was immensely passionate.

Through her actions, the feelings in this Elf’s heart was transmitted to me, deeply.

She was worried for Princess Silvia. She didn’t want the princess to surrender for somebody like her. She didn’t want her to experience the miserable life of a slave for even a moment. I could feel that sincere hope from each and every movement she made.

Thanks to that, I was able to enjoy myself as well.

Thank you, really.

Crack-!

The two wide-open eyes of the Elf gently closed. Her neck broken, her slender limbs went limp to hang loosely.

It hadn’t been difficult due to the demon’s curse which had reduced roughly 90% of her Level.

I parted my lips from hers as if savoring the final aftertaste, and then neatly lay here on the ground.

I had killed a Level 851 Elf.

“The game system really is fantastically retarded!”

And then I felt an immense power well up within me.

▷Race: Arch-Human ▷Level: 165 ▷Job: Hero(EXP 500%) ▷Skills: Interpretation(A) Murder(D) Blessing(E) Trading(E) Sword Ki(F)… ▷Status: Exultant

This amount of progress would have easily taken a year had I taken the normal route. However, my Level had experienced an explosive increase in one go by killing a Level 851 Elf. What’s more was that this Elf had blessed me as she died.

Is this humming I hear coming from me?

“Hnn~ Hum~𝅘𝅥𝅮”

Things like talent or lineage weren’t necessary. Anybody could become strong so long as you killed the strong by whatever method or means.

Hmm. But I suppose you would need a bit of effort and luck to kill them?

In any case, it was an opportunity that was open to anyone and everyone.

A beautiful fantasy world, brimming with dreams and hopes!

Of course, it was only nice when I was doing the winning.

“Sir Wolf-Mask?! How could you do such a thing to your…?!”

The auctioneer was shocked; he couldn’t understand the reason why I had killed an Elf I had paid a fortune for. He had been wearing that look of shock from the moment the Elf and I had started sharing a hot kiss in the midst of this chaos.

It was understandable for him to be confused.

“There’s no problem. I’ll pay up the correct amount.”

The reason being that what I did was the very epitome of waste from the perspective of others. Rather than killing a powerful Level 851 warrior to raise your level, it would be overwhelmingly more beneficial to win that warrior over and have him as your subordinate. No, in the first place, the truth that this Elf was Level 851 wasn’t even known in this black market.

But I was the Hero. I had the perk of a five-fold experience bonus.

In short, it meant that what I did was no different than killing five Level 851 Elves. And that wasn’t the end of it either. There were still plenty of ‘experience’ remaining around—

Whistle-!

An arrowhead grazed past my cheek.

It was shot by an Elf archer. I had been identified as an ‘enemy’ from the moment she witnessed me killing the Level 851 Elf from quite close-by.

She had a pretty face that was twisted by fury and sorrow. And it wasn’t only that archer who was enraged.

“How dare you do such a thing to Master…!”

The future Elf Queen cried out as if weeping.

Apparently, the Level 851 Elf I had killed was her mentor. Seeing how the mastery of Elementals was largely influenced by natural talent, perhaps she had learnt archery from that Elf.

The other Elves who had been in the midst of battle began to glare at me as well. The look in their eyes was rather turbulent, so much so that they would have charged at me all together had it not been for the black market guards standing in their way.

“Really now…”

Shiing-

I picked up a sword, its shape unclear in the darkness, which had fallen to the ground. It wasn’t a heavy great-sword which I favored, but a bastard sword which was halfway between a one-handed and two-handed sword. Still, it was perfect for casual-use before tossing away.

My current Level was 165. The things I couldn’t do as a Level 4 had now become possible.

For example:

“Now then! It’s time to get slashin’ for my dream!”

I did as much work as I was paid to do.

So there would be no occurrence of the Elf Princess ending up a slave. Grin.

============================ ==

Dash!

I slightly bent my knees before kicking off in a sprint. But dispiritingly, my Level 165 body began screaming out in protest from the start. I had thought this would get a little better if my Level rose but compared to my prime when I busted the Demon King’s ass, Level 4 or Level 165 was small fry level all the same. But this was all relatively speaking as well.

▷Race: Elf ▷Level: 189 ▷Job: Archer(Archery=Piercing↑) ▷Skills: Archery(D) Accuracy(D) Foraging(E) Resting(E) Swordsmanship(F)… ▷Status: Battling Hard

This was the status of the Elf archer who had wounded my cheek. Her skill set was lacking in focus and even her reaction to my approach was poor. She didn’t try to create distance as if thinking her arrow shots would only naturally make their mark.

The Elf released the bowstring of her bow.

Twang—

The arrow shot forth in a straight line accurately targeting my vital as I charged forward. It was such a straightforward attack that it put me on the verge of laughing.

Oh, come on. I can see where your eyes are looking.

Ting! Swip! Ting!

I either dodged the incoming arrows or parried them with my sword. Perhaps it might have been different had those arrows, which drew a parabola as they came flying, contained a fantasy-like element such as changing trajectory or accelerating by influence of a Wind Elemental or magic, but these kinds of ordinary arrow shots were no different than child’s play. What’s more, she was even telling me where she was targeting with her pretty little eyes.

“Ho-, how…?!”

The Elf belatedly retreated with a face of disbelief. Her decision of swiftly abandoning the bow and drawing the dagger by her hip despite her panic was impressive. It was just that her response was mistaken.

Fwrrsh!

Also taking into account the Fire Elemental which was targeting my side, I vertically slashed down my raised bastard sword.

“Hieek-?!”

The Elf hurriedly raised her dagger horizontally above her head to block, but it failed to stop the momentum of the sword which carried the entire weight of my body. I lightly ignored the burns inflicted on my back and waist by the Fire Elemental; so long as my bones and tendons weren’t injured, it would have no effect on battle.

Splat-

“That’s one for starters.”

The Elf whose pretty little head was split apart like a watermelon crumpled down.

She hadn’t even shown anything worthy of being called Swordsmanship. Since she had chosen to use a dagger, whether it’s purpose was for self-defense or just carrying around, she shouldn’t have retreated and instead made a deep lunge towards the chest of this Big Brother right here. Daggers had shorter range than longswords after all. But that charming little Elf had attempted to create distance instead of closing it—a clear lack of experience.

This meant that she had never fought against a human before. Or that she had only ever shot arrows gracefully from afar.

Clang.

I threw away the bastard sword on the spot as its blade was damaged from splitting the skull of an Elf which had the hardness of a Level 189. It wasn’t damaged to the point of being entirely useless, but I had just found a better weapon then.

Tak!

Out of the air, I caught the dagger which had left the hand of the Elf who was now a bloody heap. The dagger was a stiletto which had a distinctive fine blade and extremely sharp point—it was the weapon of an assassin specialized for stabbing.

Although I was one to prefer heavy two-handed armaments that were like siege weapons, this stiletto was a bit of an exception. There wasn’t a single chip on its blade despite having clashed with the bastard sword. Perhaps it was a superior item which was made with quite the effort?

“Bastard! You killed her…!”

Immediately afterwards, an Elf male attacked me from behind while bellowing.

“There’s an even bigger fool over here?”

While I had long noticed it from the chilling flow of air touching my skin, shouldn’t you not scream if you’re going to sneak attack? It was such a blatant move that for a moment I could have suspected it to be a diversion or mind game.

The weapon of my attacker was a rapier which had a long and thin blade, a longsword which suited a feeble-looking Elf male. It was completely opposite to my preferences, but I wanted it as well.

The opponent was right-handed, so I gripped my stiletto in my left hand.

The Elf drew near aiming for my back with his rapier. I spun my body like a top while holding the stiletto in a reverse-grip and then brought it to meet the rapier at a slant.

Tik, tidik!

Blue sparks arose, caused by the friction of metal against metal. In that state, I slid the stiletto up from the end of the rapier’s blade to its hilt like riding a train rail.

And finally…

“Hi there?”

“Huk…?!”

I had drawn close enough for a certain two sweaty men to share a hot embrace. The dagger had fallen into my hand at an extremely advantageous timing. The eyes of the Elf male who knew this fixed itself on the stiletto—he was wary of the dagger’s next course of movement.

He was truly an easy to understand friend. And because of this, while just barely holding in the laughter which threatened to burst from me, I tightly curled up my right hand which had been lonely from having nothing to hold into a tight fist.

And then I returned his kindness with a hard punch.

Smack-

“Guegh?!”

My right fist landed a direct hit on the tip of the pretty boy Elf’s slender chin. His jaw was sent spinning and his head slumped backwards. This friend had apparently been hastily attempting something using his left hand as well, but I was too busy to pay attention to that as well.

With a quick movement, I grabbed the Elf male who was out of it by the throat and then moved him to and fro like a shield, using him to block the arrows and Elementals’ attacks flying at me.

Puk, puk, smack, boom, puk…

This friend was sturdier than most shields due to his high Level and he had the distinctive slender physique of an Elf so he was even light. Moreover, he had yet further value as he was still alive.

The arrow shots decreased in frequency.

“Elf buddy, let’s switch weapons.”

“Kagh-?!”

I deeply stabbed the stiletto into the Elf male’s belly. He wouldn’t die easily as I had avoided any major arteries.

In my left hand I held the rapier I had exchanged with him as a sign of friendship and in my right I wielded the friend I just made like a shield and charged in.

The other Elves who were surprised by our camaraderie didn’t know what to do. They were hesitant to attack their own kin who was still alive, and so I decided help them make a decision a little.

I slashed out with the rapier in my left.

“Kyagh-?!”

“This makes two.”

The cute head of a young Elf girl holding a staff flew up into the air and as a result, a dozen or so Elementals vanished from this battlefield like they were illusions. That was payback for my well-done waist from the fire before.

Splrrsh-!

Blood shot up from the severed part of the girl’s neck like a fountain. And right next to her corpse, another pretty little Elf, drenched in the blood of the cute one whose head had gone missing, was babbling her friend’s name as she wailed in grief.

I thrusted my rapier into her open mouth.

“Kyagh-?!”

“What a great singer. Three.”

I had ripped through her hindbrain which was the part of a brain responsible for controlling respiration, heartbeat, digestive functions and so on, so she would have no hopes of surviving that.

And this friend of mine in my right hand was about to reach his limit too.

“It’s time for me to forget this short friendship of ours. Four.”

Crack.

I snapped the neck of the Elf male I had used well as a shield since his EXP would disappear if he died naturally from excessive blood loss.

After I retrieved the stiletto which was exchanged as a sign of friendship, his corpse was set afire by a ball of fire shot by a Fire Elemental.

Ordinary corpses were Level 0. Apart from the bodies of races which were sturdy from birth, corpses were no more than lumps of flesh that couldn’t be used as shields. In particular, Elves were as fragile as dog bones.

“Kill that human-!”

“Unforgivable!”

The enraged Elves aimed their bows and staves at me all together, but I wanted to advise them that their actions were very much rash.

I wasn’t the only one here. The black market guards were facing the battle with clear heads despite the death of their comrades. They were pushing back the intruders so hard that even the furious Elf princess couldn’t pay me attention.

In contrast, the Elves were easily swayed by their emotions. This was because the Elves who possessed long lifespans spent hundreds of years together with the people around them; their neighbors, comrades, friends and the like. They would live as a community for a long time and naturally grow to become like family.

This was a strength and at the same time a weakness. And at present, this weakness was standing out clearly.

“Blockade the exit!”

“Provide cover for Sir Wolf-Mask!”

“Hurry with assisting the flank!”

The black market guards began to press the attack—the Elves had revealed too many openings as a result of losing their calm at the grotesque death of their comrades who were like family.

The Elves began to collapse one after another like dominoes.

“Ahh! Damn…!”

I felt like I was about to cry of regret each time I witnessed the miserable end of an Elf who fell down like dry straw.

“My precious EXPs…!”

My EXPs were lessening at every passing moment, and the Elf princess’ state of mind worsened the more it went on. She went on a wild rampage alongside the Elementals like a crazy bitch souped up on chemicals.

But even so she was strong.

Today would have been the day I died had I not raised my Level further. This wasn’t the time to be fighting with caution.

I should battle with the resolve to lose a finger or two at least.

My growth was only starting now.

* *  *

… Every word has power, was it said? I really did get a finger sliced off. For that I received a nice bit of EXP as compensation.

“Dirty bastard, shooting off Sword Ki after feigning weakness.”

I picked up my right forefinger, which had been cut off in my attempted bare-handed blade block, from the dirt. My conceit had almost cost me my neck instead of a finger. I used the clean battle vest of one of my attackers, who had become a cold dead body about 10 seconds before, to meticulously wipe off the dirt on the severed part of my finger.

Tok.

And then I very carefully stuck it back where it was originally connected.

It felt slightly crooked, but I was probably imagining it.

“Haagh, hah, hurgh… Are you a demon?”

The future Elf Queen, who had survived by herself just like in the 1st Playthrough, asked me this as she took ragged breaths.

The look in her face had gone from fury to fright. It seemed she was truly mistaking me for a demon.

“That’s a sad thing to say when we’ve both done a share of the slaughtering.”

History had changed because of my interference.

The black market side which had failed to take a hostage didn’t manage to get the rampaging Elf princess to surrender and in the end, suffered losses close to a wipe out.

You could tell how many humans in the Level 150s had died just by looking at the princess’ changed Level.

▷Race: Arch-Elf ▷Level: 288 ▷Job: Shaman(Blessing=Elemental↑) ▷Skills: Elemental(S) Elegance(A) Charm(A) Archery(B) Blessing(C)… ▷Status: Fractures, Bleeding, Exhausted, Self-Reproaching

Her Level had gone up by a whole 4.

And as for me?

▷Race: Arch-Human ▷Level: 203 ▷Job: Hero(EXP 500%) ▷Skills: Interpretation(A) Murder(B) Throwing(C) Berserk(D) Taunt(E)… ▷Status: Regenerating, Turmoil

My Level had increased by 199 in this black market alone.

… As for skills? They were a trifling change so it was nothing to pay attention to.

I had clearly witnessed the effect of the fivefold-EXP Hero perk this time round. My Level had shot up and I had grown stronger with every Elf with the average Level of 200 that I killed. I had to give thanks to the encouragement and support of my Elf friends who had become EXP for my dream.

Wouldn’t I be able to have the Demon King at my mercy within 6 months if I raised my Level at this pace every day?!

Now there was only one EXP remaining. An old comrade whom I couldn’t let escape ever.

Silvia’s was exhausted, had suffered fractures and was bleeding. And these conditions were all at a serious degree which meant the black market elites had absolutely whittled down her life.

It was now hard for her to even take one step forward. However, she still had her strongest method of attack at her disposal.

“Demon! You’ll die here together with me! Elementals of Earth!”

The Elf princess cried out in a fierce voice.

It seemed she had no intention of abandoning the corpses of her comrades and friends, who had followed her to their deaths, and running away.

The corpses of Elves were traded for a considerable price. Like how virgins symbolized ‘purity’, the blood and bone of Elves were often used as magic catalysts that held the meaning of ‘eternity’—in the form of meat that was cut up like you would have at a butcher’s.

It was impossible that Silvia who loathed humans didn’t know about this. And that was why…

“You intend on turning this place into all of our graves? What a riot. You’re the one who invited your comrades and friends to this hell of an ant’s nest. Isn’t that right?”

This princess planned on causing this black market to cave in using the Earth Elementals, taking herself down along with it.

“Demon! It’s your fault! Things wouldn’t have come to this if not for you! We would have won! There would have been no problem if we won!”

“Don’t involve your comrades without even being prepared to suffer defeat. That’s called causing trouble. And you’ve been insisting I’m a demon from a while ago, but…”

I slowly drew nearer towards her, and I took off the wolf mask which was stained with the crimson blood of Elves.

Rumble… silence-

The Earth Elementals who were about the collapse the black market stopped their destruction. They didn’t move an inch even when the Elf princess desperately begged them to. Was it because they didn’t want her, their friend, to die?

That wasn’t it.

“Why are you protecting this demon-?!”

Silvia fell into confusion at this unknown situation.

Betrayed by the Elementals whom she had unconditionally trusted until now. I smoothly stabbed my stiletto into the Elf princess’ heart who was at a loss because of this betrayal. And after that, I told her the reason behind it.

“Elementals, you see, consider the great Hero far more important than your fake friendship, using them like murder tools while calling them friends.”

Elementals loved nature. And to protect nature? They couldn’t do without the Hero-nim slaying Demon King Fedornar. It would be a huge problem for them if the Hero ended up buried alive before that happened.

“Hero…?”

Silvia asked this with wide open eyes as if hoping I would tell her I was joking.

“Let’s not meet for the 3rd time, Silvia.”

Thud.

The future Elf Queen had become a stepping stone for the great Hero.

You should be honored!

* *  *

▷Perplexed: so you massacred the Elves? It is said that the union of anger and revenge gives birth to the daughter called cruelty. That daughter is troublesome and difficult to handle. Good is as heavy as lead, whereas evil is as light as a feather. It seems it will be difficult for you to graduate even if you defeat the Demon King at this rate.

The indignation of it all! My dear respected Professor Morals!

Those violent Elves were the first to attack me!

▷Verdict: Forbearance brings peace while impatience spawns regrets. Would it not have been resolved in a good way had you tolerated it? Patience and time is capable of much more than power or anger. Student Kang Han Soo. Do not rush but instead look around you calmly. What do you see?

… EXP? I think I’m capable of killing Sword King Alex now

---

▷Dismay: Do not view weak comrades as EXP! A dwarf sitting atop a giant’s shoulder sees farther than the giant, and a pope and farmer together can know more than they could alone. Try building harmony with a smiling face even if others may not be to your liking. This is homework.

And so Professor Morals left me with a difficult homework and left. He said he would come back after two days this time, I think?

“I should think on it a little during that time…”

“About what?” Lanuvel, who had picked up those words meant for myself, asked me with a tilted head.

“And what about you, Lanuvel. What are you doing here?”

“Me? Assisting Hero-nim!”

“I remember leaving you to clean up the aftermath at the black market though. Just the matter of sending the Elves’ corpses back to their home shouldn’t be so simple?”

The corpses of Elves had many uses as magic materials. If they were simply left at the black market, somebody would cut them up into parts and sell them off to magicians at a high price like meat from the butcher’s.

This was the one thing that had to be prevented—I couldn’t let others reap the fruits since I was the one who did the work!

I had to rack my head quite a bit in order to solve this problem.

The bereaved families of the black market guards who had fought together couldn’t be neglected, and moving so many Elf corpses from somewhere 5 floors underground to the royal palace would also take work; thus, I proceeded in the direction of fully utilizing the gold in my money bag and purchasing the Elves’ corpses at a low price, paying the handling fee to an associate of the black market to safely deliver them to the palace.

“How did the negotiation go with the Elf King?”

“I told the whole story using a magic orb so it went well. A group of envoys from the Elf country are expected to visit the kingdom before long, bringing with them the payment which Hero-nim strongly insisted on.”

“I see. That’s the most important thing.”

I had spent every penny I had in order to take over the Elf corpses from the black market. It would be a real headache if somebody didn’t fill up my money bag again. The people of villages and cities wouldn’t provide free shelter and clothes just because I was the hero who was going to save the world—it would be fortunately enough if they didn’t try to overcharge me as they would to tired and weary travelers.

If you didn’t have money for traveling, you would easily end up starving to death unless you took up mercenary work and labored like those heroes in novels or comics.

3 days had passed in this fantasy world.

Everyone had the wrong idea about my Level, thinking I was Level 4. And that was why even the Elf King couldn’t even imagine that his own daughter had picked a fight with the Hero and ended up killed in return, and there was no one who remembered my deeds in the previous incident as the black market guards were wiped out. Even Lanuvel thought the matter had ended in mutual destruction.

“Hey, Hero. It’s been going around that you’ve switched profession to an undertaker.”

… These kinds of rumors were truly trifling issues.

Alex, who had been training the palace knights at the training grounds exclusive to the palace, had come over after spotting me to taunt me.

My hazing would take place in these grounds two days later. Alex was apparently impatiently waiting for that day.

You and me both!

▷Race: Human ▷Level: 291 ▷Job: Swordsman(Stamina=Swordsmanship↑) ▷Skills: Swordsmanship(S) Stamina(A) Iron Wall(B) Resistance(B) Fortitude(C)… ▷Status: Expectant

Sword King Alex was born to be the vanguard, or in English, a ‘Tanker’.

People held the misconception that a swordsman can only be amazing if he possesses swordsmanship that can figuratively cleave apart the world, but in reality the kind of swordsman that was wanted on a battlefield was one that could slay their enemies for a prolonged time while protecting their allies.

The reason why Alex would later be called the ‘Sword King’ was because he was not only capable of protecting his allies like an iron wall, but he could also carry out solo missions. He possessed a swordsmanship and endurance that even if he were dropped in the middle of enemy territory, he could leisurely return without being encircled.

The stronger version of a Sword King was a ‘Hero’.

“Correct. I’ve switched job to an undertaker. To ready your coffin, Alex.”

“… You could even defeat the Demon King with that tongue of yours.”

“Who knows.”

Looking back on my 1st Playthrough, Demon King Fedornar had a better way with his words, vexing though it may be. I was completed defeated in the battle of silver tongues.

But this time for sure I was going to win!

“Hero. I could skip those two days and start guiding you even today. You shouldn’t be going sniffing around in markets if you want to receive my forgiveness even a day sooner, no?”

“I’m not in a hurry, so scram.”

My Level would be brought to light when training began.

The one thing I wanted to avoid happening was the Elf King suspecting me, so it wouldn’t do not to act like someone Level 4 on the outside.

I planned on creating an excuse for my Level before long. I just had to hide it until I made it seem as if I had entered the ancient ruins of some deep forest and raised my Level.

‘Haven’t I grown quite a bit?’

I had put Professor Morals’ teachings to practice and was earnestly ‘enduring’. If it was the me of the past, I would have already cut Alex’s throat in a fit of anger, but now I had grown to the point where I could let his taunts pass like ‘water’.

Could it be that I’m a genius?

“Hero-nim. So what’s your plan for today?” Lanuvel asked warily.

Had yesterday’s events at the black market been such a shock to her? I found this hard to understand. It wasn’t as if I had piled up a mountain of corpses, after all.

“I should strike up a friendship with our new companion.”

“Ahh… that mercenary.”

I had been forgotten about it from yesterday due to the Elf matter, but the mercenary slave who was supposed to be turned into my EXP was saved and brought to the palace.

“Has his health recovered somewhat?”

Seeing as how Professor Morals did warn of not viewing weak comrades as EXP, I planned on using the slave as a luggage carrier or the like.

In the 1st Playthrough I had even adventured to the remote parts of Fantasia in search of legacies of ancient civilizations, legendary relics and such, but this time around I had no intention of wasting time wandering about.

I was going to choose my destinations only as necessary to my needs.

“Yes! He’s been hugely motivated ever since hearing that he’d become the Hero’s companion instead of a slave! I hear he’s eating so much to the point of frightening the palace chef and quickly recovering his stamina!”

“That’s a relief.”

It was a recovery speed that matched that of a Level 286. The effects that came with Levels survival-style in Fantasia were incredible. In exchange for being unable to concentrate and increase a desired status ability like in a role-playing game, you would gain an overall enhancement: lifespan, resistance, agility, strength, regenerative ability, five senses, magic power… There was no end to the list.

Hah! Really pisses me off the more I think about it. The Level I raised over 10 years resetted in just one trip back in time.

This return to the past had convinced me of something—a fantasy world was just fantasy in the end. I had confirmed the truth that all of the teaching staff and the mastermind behind them could reset my Level and Skills whenever they pleased if they so wished.

Magic, sorcery, martial arts, Elementalism, Engraving, Blessing… Fantasy skills that I could obtain with a little effort as someone with the fivefold-EXP perk. All of those weren’t ‘my things’. They were nothing but a figment of imagination that would disappear upon the intervention of some transcendental entity. Science was the one and only truth and power.

From now on I planned on drastically moderating my gathering of equipment as well as reducing my reliance on them since they would serve no meaning if they were confiscated upon my return to Earth, and this included the holy sword unique to the Hero. There was no way all the Heroes returning to Earth after defeating the Demon King would be given a portable nuclear weapon, unless it was with the intent of destroying Earth.

“Hm! There’s not as many places worth going to as I thought…”

Nothing much would remain of the fantasy world when excluding the fantasy part. Earth was overwhelmingly advanced in all aspects of science and technology. The one branch of science worth mentioning in this world was called ‘Magic Engineering’, while the rest were mainly a dubious fusion of science and magic. It wasn’t the kind of power I sought.

“Hero-nim. Where are you going today?” Lanuvel asked in a cutely serious tone.

Too tired to even tell her not to act cute, I instead calculated the distance to our destination in my mind.

“… It’s not a distance that can be traversed back and forth in a single day. It would still take two days even if we used the kingdom’s spatial transfer magic circle. We have to hurry the preparations for the journey starting today. We’ll set off as soon as we receive the payment from the Elf envoys.”

I didn’t have even the slightest thought of walking on my two feet. I intended on traveling swiftly and comfortable even if it costed a bit.

Wyverns, carriages, spatial transfer magic, large sailing ships, magic trains… There were quite many methods of getting around if you looked for it. And the biggest advantage of all these? The chances of being held back by running into a villager who brought danger on themselves by leaving the safety of their village or perhaps encountering some suspicious individuals become drastically lowered.

Time and safety could be bought with money—this was my firm belief.

“We’ll probably require His Majesty the King’s royal sanction if it’s far away.”

“He’ll approve. What that Dumpling King wants is something I know very well. He’ll obediently give permission so long as I promise to come back for sure after finishing my business, though it’s uncertain whether Alex will tag along as a monitor.”

“Is it a ruins?”

“No. We’ll be going to meet a mighty being.”

A great, grand and mighty being. If my spiritual mentor was the pub bartender Tony, the one I was going to meet was the mentor who granted me my physical power.

“An Elder Dragon…?”

“It’s an insult to compare that person to those flying lizards that can’t even amount to their own ages. That’s all you need to know.”

“Huuh~”

Lanuvel gazed at me with an interested look.

“… What?”

“I just found it curious that Hero-nim has someone you respect. You look down on others as if you know everything, after all.”

“I look down on them because they deserve it.”

The very idea of respecting these savages of Fantasia was a stretch in of itself. Imperials, royals, nobles and great merchants were no exception either. Would you be able to view as equals those who didn’t even invent flush toilets using their fancy magic and instead lived in a filthy manner?

It wasn’t as if they weren’t capable of it. These people didn’t do so because they felt it unnecessary—a difference that was not in civilization but in cultural awareness.

Afterwards, we talked about the items to be prepared for the journey, but there had been no need for me to take the lead on this topic because Archaeologist Lanuvel, who would go around searching for famous ruins and ancient temples, was extremely familiar with traveling. She lived up to being the ‘Hero’s Companion No.1’ who received the oracle.

Though it would be even better if she didn’t habitually act cute.

“Hero-nim, His Majesty is looking for you. I am to tell you that the group of envoys from the country of Elves, Elfheim, has just arrived.”

It was then that a palace knight approached us with swift footsteps to deliver a message.

Not even a day had yet to pass, yet the people of the Elf country had arrived. Perhaps it was only natural as their dearly precious princess had passed away.

As for me, I was happy with not having had to wait.

“Let the Dumpling—ahem! Let His Brilliant Majesty know that he may deal with them as he will. I just need to receive the money.”

“The envoy group requests to meet you, Hero-nim.”

“Ask His Majesty to refuse them.”

This should make that Dumpling King beam with a smile.

“It seems that will be a bit difficult, as it turns out the first prince of Elfheim has accompanied the envoy group…”

“Balls.”

A disgustingly powerful middle-boss was calling for me.

There was no way I couldn’t go.

* *  *

Arch-Elves.

These Elf royalty theoretically lived forever.

Anti-aging was a basic feature that came along with all Elves and because they became completely immune to illnesses if their Level rose even a little, it was a truly rare occurrence for them to die outside of being murdered. What’s more, there weren’t even that many powerful individuals who could kill these Elf royalty.

This was due to the characteristic of Levels. A Level that was raised once wouldn’t go down even with the passing of time. While there were the occasional cases of Levels being stolen or lost under the effect of certain special powers, they would never deteriorate spontaneously. And then there was the fact that Elf royalty lived forever.

What’s the relation between those two things, you might ask?

It meant that Elf royalty would eternally grow stronger as their EXP piled up like layers of sediment. Of course, Skills could fall in rank or be forgotten and lost in the passing of years, but these would also rise steadily in proficiency like Levels as long as they were constantly polished.

And thus, this kind of monster would be born.

▷Race: Arch-Elf ▷Level: 999+ ▷Job: Swordsman(Swordsmanship=Cutting Force↑) ▷Skills: Swordsmanship(SS) Sword Ki(S) Regeneration(A) Elementalism(A) Majesty(A)… ▷Status: Satisfied

Level 999 was the limit of what could discerned using the Hero perk. If the Level was any higher than that, it would be shown as above with a plus sign.

Level 1000 would be shown as 999+.

Level 5000 would also be shown as 999+.

Thus from that point on, you had no choice but to estimate an opponent’s combat ability by relying on luck and instinct.

In the past, wary of this ‘invisible Level’, I had only trusted the widespread rumors around me and invested long years into training and adventuring. However, Demon King Fedornar had turned out to be far weaker than I had predicted.

In comparison to what I had experienced at that time, this handsome Elf was far higher up on the danger scale; the reason being that he wasn’t an opponent I had properly prepared myself to fight against like with the Demon King. And that was why I called him a ‘middle-boss’.

His history went as follows:

The incumbent Elf King enacted a national isolation policy. He cut off contact with the humans who occupied the middle continent of Fantasia and remained within the Elf country, maintaining seclusion for hundreds of years. And harboring opposition towards this, the first prince caused a rebellion. He murdered his own father and inherited the throne.

If memory serves correctly, his name was…

“I am Nasus. It is an immeasurable honor to meet the widely rumored great Hero of legend. I also do not know how to express my thanks regarding your protecting my sister and fellow countrymen… Ah! Leave aside the stiff title of prince and just call me Nasus. Hero-nim is qualified to do so.”

… He was an extremely likable individual.

It wasn’t like all Elves were violent like Sylvia.

“A pleasure to meet you, Nasus. I sincerely wish for a beautiful world where humans and Elves will live in harmony akin to our meeting.”

“That is my wish also.”

“Cheers!”

“Hahaha!”

Ain’t nothing wrong with becoming friendly with the middle-boss, right?

Today as well, I put Professor Morals’ teachings to good practice.

---

Creak-

The door was cautiously opened a crack along with the sound of its rusted hinge, and a freckled girl poked her head out to ask me a question.

“Who are you to be looking for our Mollang?”

It was the daughter of this village’s chief. Although I had gotten along rather well with her in the 1st Playthrough, a trip back in time didn’t suit a normal person like me; after all, even the good memories made with good people would all become illusions.

The village chief’s daughter was far younger than I remembered her. She was now a sweet little girl, not a respectable lady. This was only natural since I had met her 9 years later from now in the 1st Playthrough. She was a married woman at the time and was always hugging her infant son. And…

Wobble-wobble~

The perpetually wobbling ‘great being’ was also with her, hugged tight to the girl’s chest like a pillow, instead of the infant son who would later be born. Lanuvel, who had peered over my shoulder on tiptoes to take a look, murmured dazedly, “The great being is a slime…?”

Slime. A jelly monster which appeared in countless fantasy games. These slimes which looked like round steamed buns were lumps of EXP most commonly encountered even in this fantasy world. They lived wherever, ate whatever, and their reproductive ability was excellent as well. The reason why the sewerage systems in Fantasia’s cities, which were of pitiful standard compared to those of Earth, didn’t get clogged and could be maintained for prolonged periods of times was also thanks to slimes cleaning them up.

I said to Lanuvel in a serious tone, “Don’t look down on it for being a slime. This personage is no ordinary slime.”

“Yes, that’s right! Mollang can wobble!”

It was just as the girl had said.

Ordinary slimes jiggled—they couldn’t wobble like this great being.

“… Eh?”

“Lanuvel, your eyes are rott… No, nevermind. It should be faster to show you rather than explain. Little Miss, can this big brother here hug your cute and lovely friend for a moment? I only need just a brief moment.”

I was dressed splendidly like a noble as usual. The sharp-witted girl shot a furtive glance towards the village chief and his wife, who were watching us with bated breath from the back, before giving a reply.

“You won’t harm our Mollang, right…?”

“I promise.”

I carefully received the great being.

Wobble-wobble!

The great being violently wobbled as if being wary of me, a stranger, but it soon calmed down as the girl comforted it with caressing touches.

Wobble-wobble…

Hugging the great being, I closed my eyes standing as if to meditate. I serenely felt that wobbling sensation.

Yeah! This is the feel!

The slime was the most perfect living organism that I knew of. It could freely undulate its jelly-like body, eat anything without discrimination and digest it quickly. The most surprising thing about it, however, was that it had no ‘brain’, and yet it was capable of expressing itself in a wide range of manners, jiggling all the while. This meant it was a spiritual kind of existence that wasn’t confined by its body.

But on the other hand, what of humans?

Their movements were restricted apart from certain moveable joints. It was impossible for them to play dead like a lizard or sever a part of their body to run away. Their body when aged didn’t recover. There were many kinds of animals they couldn’t eat, they couldn’t even dare to think of consuming rotten or contaminated food, and their body would malfunction if they didn’t drink water for even a single day.

Humans were extremely imperfect creatures.

Wobble-Wobble~

Therefore, we needed to study. That’s how humanity had survived until now and that would remain unchanged from now on as well. Now, a one-dimensional-minded foolish human would struggle to attain powerful fantasy related things: martial arts, magic, elementals, psychic abilities, Demon Sword, Holy Sword, divine power, power of a god, game status abilities, heart of a dragon, Elf wife…

But I thought differently.

The power of humans originate from nowhere else than ‘science’. The advancements made by humanity on Earth confirmed that fact—breaking the boundaries of Earth and stepping into the cosmos!

A majestic notion that can’t even begin to be imagined from a fantasy world view. There are no Murim experts who battle on Mars, are there? In other words, science is a study that had different boundaries.

“This big brother will show you something fun.”

There are people who look down on fitness trainers, but the diet and training planned out by those trainers aren’t based on the occult, but on science. It is a refined study, a science of health. It fundamentally boasts high efficiency as well as improvement of beauty, and helps lessen the negative side and after-effects of over-exercising.

What I was about to do from now was the same.

‘Automatic system control.’

All living things live because they can’t die. To give a very simple example—no matter how we desperately beg, “I Want to die!” at the end of a horrifying torture or despair, our hearts wouldn’t stop beating. It’s my body yet it won’t act as I want. This is because of an automatic system. In fancy talk, it’s called:

The autonomic nervous system.

This nervous system works to maintain the homeostasis of basic bodily functions such as respiration, metabolism, body temperature, digestion, secretion and reproduction. Getting aroused at the sight of a pretty woman, salivating at the smell of something tasty, heart pumping when you exercise a lot… these subconscious behaviors are all influenced by the autonomic nervous system.

What would happen if this system disappeared?

The instant it did, you would die as your heart and lung stopped as if somebody had ordered, “Freeze!” and that is why all living things couldn’t control their autonomic nervous system as they pleased—except for the slime.

“Huh?! Hero-nim’s muscles became bulging!”

“Goodness! Hero-nim, what kind of balance is that?”

Slimes knew how to control their entire body as naturally as breathing. It was such a natural thing that they weren’t capable of teaching others how to do the same. However, there are always exceptions.

Wobble-wobble?

This great being alone, who wobbled all day long, could tell the method simply as it wobbled adorably. It wasn’t as if it wobbled intentionally, but that’s how much its ‘wobbling’ contained the fundamental rhythmic movements unique to slimes.

I didn’t learn it seriously in the 1st Playthrough. Because my mind and body had been exhausted to the extreme after spending 9 years adventuring in Fantasia, I had realized late just how great an existence Master Mollang was.

It was going to be different this time, however. I was ready to learn in this 2nd Playthrough. I accurately understood Master Mollang’s teachings and engraved them in my soul.

“Thank you! Master Mollang!”

Wobble-wobble?

The great being wobbled left and right as if it didn’t know at all the reason for my thanks. I could understand that, seeing as I had learned this technique of my own accord:

Customizing.

It was impossible to learn it through theory in books as you would with magic or martial arts. There was no other way than to personally feel these rhythmic movements yourself and realize it—you just had to wobble hard!

You might ask: How do you describe this?

The answer would be that it’s a profound study that can’t be explained with words or writing.

“Hero-nim! Hero-nim! How did you do it?” asked Lanuvel with sparkling eyes.

I firmly pushed away Lanuvel, who was acting cute in a low-key manner and trying to cling onto my thickened forearm, and asked in return, “Have you heard of growth hormones?”

“… What?”

“Nevermind if you don’t.”

Endocrine glands are the organs which regulate hormones such as the pineal gland, hypothalamus, pituitary gland, thyroid, parathyroid glands, adrenal gland, kidneys, pancreas, ovaries, testicles and so on. The hormones secreted by these endocrine glands control bodily functions. The growth of people were also influenced by these hormones.

Growth hormones are secreted from the pituitary gland, and it promotes the production of Insulin-like growth factor 1(IGF-1) which increases the growth cells of bones, cartilage and the like. These two hormones were not only related to the enhancement of muscles, ligaments and tendons, but even in breaking down fat which is the raw material for hormones. The secretion of hormones are normally stimulated through anaerobic exercises. But what if… this could be freely controlled?

Ripped and ready!

You’d easily be able to create an awesome body. One that’s to your liking, that is.

▷Race: Arch-Human ▷Level: 204 ▷Job: Hero(EXP 500%) ▷Skills: Interpretation(A) Murder(B) Physical Strength(C) Agility(C) Resistance(C)… ▷Status: Growing

A bit of time would be needed in order to raise the Skill ranks to their maximum, but it was literally only a matter of time. I only had to wait from now on.

▷Baffled: This is the fruits of your journey? I cannot understand even after seeing it. A slime being a great mentor? This is the first news of its kind. The hard shell of an almond needs to be removed in order to obtain its seed. Who would put in the effort if you could gain skills without trying?

‘Professor Morals, why are you asking me that?’

Whether other people rolled to the left or right wasn’t of my concern. And shouldn’t one speak the facts correctly? As someone whose 10 years of effort vanished into thin air due to an unwanted trip back in time, nobody had the right to talk about effort to my face—even if that may be a god!

▷Quiet: Yes, you are right on that. I sincerely apologize on behalf of all the teaching staff. Student Kang Han Soo is the first to achieve S-grade in combat ability, though your F-grade in character is also a first… Even though you were disqualified, it is true that we trampled over your amazing efforts under the pretext of a re-examination. I shall not argue right or wrong on this topic from this point on. Once again, I apologize.

‘Ah, okay…’

To think Professor Morals apologized!

▷Laughter: To learn from your mentor, to learn more from your companions, and to yet further learn from your disciple—this is the principle of the world. And yet I had forgotten about this for a long time. How could I not, seeing as a re-examination due to F-grade in character is unprecedented throughout our school’s history. Student Kang Han Soo, thank you.

Professor Morals took his leave after throwing me an insult-like compliment. He said he would come find me at an unexpected time.

Wobble-wobble—!!

“Ah, shoot! Sorry! Master Mollang!”

I hurriedly returned the great being, who was wobbling in an irritated manner, to the village chief’s daughter, and then gave her a generous reward as thanks. Surprised at the sum of money, the village chief intervened.

“Sir! There’s no need to give so much…!”

“It’s fine. If it really bothers you that much, then take good care of Master Mollang’s meals. That will be enough.”

I had just completed my objective in spending two days coming to this remote countryside in the northwestern corner of Fantasia’s middle continent—I had obtained the power of science.

This wasn’t a Skill, but a Technic. A byproduct of knowledge and experience. Whatever I did whenever and wherever, I would be myself. The french philosopher, Descartes, had said this:

Cogito, ergo sum. I think, therefore I am.

This fantasy world was questionable, and in reality might even be just a crappy dream. But I couldn’t deny my own existence as well, see how I was capable of thought like this. Even going back in time couldn’t affect this.

“Hero-nim! I want to hug Mollang as well”

“Me too… Ahem-hem!”

Lanuvel and Luggage Boy mimicked me, unable to contain their curiosity. I waved my hand as I let them do as they liked. There was no reason to stop them at all, after all. Merely, I felt a little apologetic.

Wobble-wobble…

The great being’s suffering began.

‘Master Mollang, please endure it a little even if those fellows are bothersome!’

“Come back before it gets dark.”

I only told Lanuvel and Luggage Boy to come back to the inn after having touched Master Mollang to their heart’s content… if they were still alive by then, that is. The reason for this is that a human who doesn’t even have a notion of the autonomic nervous system will 100% die upon realizing Master Mollang’s teachings. That human’s heart and lungs would cease working and they wouldn’t even know why.

It could perhaps be described as falling into water without a plan? The victim would flounder about before suffocating to death.

But anyhow.

▷Race: Arch-Human ▷Level: 204 ▷Job: Hero(EXP 500%) ▷Skills: Interpretation(A) Physical Strength(B) Agility(B) Resistance(B) Five Senses(B)… ▷Status: Awakened

The ranks of my Skills were evenly increasing in an explosive manner to a level beyond my constantly evolving body. The incomplete version of Master Mollage’s teachings were amazing enough to give the Demon King a  good pummeling, but the complete version was exhibiting an efficiency far beyond my expectations; an extremely welcome thing for me. As for what was left to do now?

“A place to create an alibi for my 204 Level, but…”

I couldn’t not take ‘achievements’ into account even while doing so, the reason being that in order to return to Earth, I needed high grades in all four subjects of my ‘examination’ aside from taking down Demon King Fedornar.

Combat ability, achievements, reputation, character.

Putting aside combat ability, since if it was low you wouldn’t even be able to slay the Demon King, I had no need to pay attention to achievements in the 1st Playthrough because I had spent 10 years going here and there, poking my nose into all kinds of matters; my achievements had piled up by themselves. But this 2nd Playthrough was different. I was certain to get an F-grade on my achievements at this rate.

“That’ll be troublesome.”

I didn’t want to see the Elf princess, whom I had so painstakingly killed, once again. Even I would feel chills to see Sylvia in healthy shape after having confirmed the kill, and it would be wearisome to repeat the same adventure for the 3rd time as well.

Fortunately, there was one young dragon secretly living near this area. It’s Level and Skills were extremely low as it neglected to hunt due to its gentle nature. In the 1st Playthrough, it was like a pie in the sky because all of my companions had opposed to killing the whelp. Those dastardly so-called companions had held back the Hero from becoming strong. In this 2nd Playthrough, however, no one could interfere in my ‘graduation’.

Dragon Slayer!

Could there be another achievement as certain as this in a fantasy world?

But that wasn’t all. A dragon itself made for good prey, but its heart was also a mass of EXP. Your Level could make a leap in an instant upon consuming it. This would become the best alibi for me who was known to have a low Level. Moreover, this was a regular hunting.

Perfect.

“Even Professor Morals wouldn’t have a problem with this, right?”