Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: How the Rank 1 Hero Protects the World
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“Damn it…….”
A curse was on the tip of my tongue, but I clamped my mouth shut before it could escape.
……This was becoming a habit.
My best friend of the past ten years had been a priestess, and whenever I was about to swear, Ariadne the priestess would smack my mouth with her palm.
So forcing myself to watch my words had turned into a habit……
But come to think of it, was it okay for a priestess to resort to violence?
Anyway.
I glared at the text floating in front of my eyes.
Glare as I might, nothing changed. The message saying “loading” still hung there.
We needed to clear the dungeon right now, and the system window was stuck like this? If it was going to be a mess of question marks, what was the point of opening it?
This was starting to make me really anxious.
No way…… Surely I hadn’t actually been scammed, had I?
I could accept that my body, honed over ten years in Tartarus, had vanished after five years bedridden. I didn’t want to, but there was no helping it.
But what about…… my skills? My levels?
Fine, say I could rebuild those. It’d just take time, but since I was still me, it wouldn’t take too long to recover.
Of course, I hated the idea, but let’s say that’s how it was.
Truth be told, the so-called ‘status window’ the system displayed only showed things like muscle mass, agility, and mana.
Excluding mana, it was all physical specs.
But my body here in Korea had been bedridden for five years, so it was below average in strength or anything else—completely ordinary at best.
So judging purely by my current body, all my stats should show as worse than a normal person’s…… But after fighting while staring at that damn system window for ten years, I’d learned the system was more flexible than it seemed.
If everything was determined by the numbers on display, a lv.1 could never beat a lv.10 no matter what, and someone with 10 stamina could never kill someone with 50.
But reality was different.
Mental strength, willpower, reflexes—everything not shown in the status window combined to decide real-world victories.
Sure, mental strength alone couldn’t let you ignore level gaps and slice through everything…… But it was certain you couldn’t claim overwhelming victory based solely on status window numbers.
And ‘traits’, especially ‘skills’ that emerged from individual experiences, couldn’t be quantified at all.
In other words, even if my physical specs were those of a sickly invalid worse than a normal person and the status window numbers all dropped, my past ten years were etched into my bones. Those memories and experiences wouldn’t vanish.
So whether my body weakened or I had to reawaken my skills from scratch, I was confident I could recover it all.
But……
“What about…… the items in my inventory?”
I didn’t care about the rest. No, that wasn’t true. I did care, but I could compromise on those.
“But this crosses the line. Who said they wanted to come here?”
“Y-Yes, Ye-na?”
Woo Seong-yeon, lost in a daze, startled and looked at me, but I ignored him. I had no spare attention for this guy.
“You need a conscience. You leave the status window like that crap—don’t tell me you deleted the inventory too?”
I’d survived Tartarus those ten years with ruthless tenacity.
Collecting artifacts, gathering gear suited to my skills and traits, not quite legendary elixirs but potions and antidotes to survive anything short of instant death……
How had I scraped all that together?
And now it was gone overnight? Those items I’d…… I’d gathered like that?
If they took my items too…… For real……
I gritted my teeth.
“I’ll just die then…….”
That was when it happened.
- Inventory data transfer complete.
- Would you like to check your inventory?
What was with this perfectly timed message?
I narrowed my eyes and glared at the words floating in the air.
The system window timing its messages to read my mind like this wasn’t new.
But this was too blatant, even for it……
“Uwaaaaaah!”
As I pondered the system window’s message, a massive yell erupted from beside me.
I jumped and turned to Woo Seong-yeon.
He was clutching his messed-up face with both hands.
I thought a monster had appeared. Woo Seong-yeon, venting his turmoil with a shout, collapsed to the ground in a dazed expression.
“What the hell is all this? If we die here, no one will even know I’m dead…….”
“Didn’t you tell anyone when you left?”
“I told you, I’m a job seeker. I was studying alone in my studio and snuck out after seeing the cafe post…… I awakened right on cue and planned to show it off to my parents after succeeding…….”
Woo Seong-yeon wiped tears with his hand. I was a bit flustered but didn’t carry a handkerchief, so I just offered some consoling words.
“Don’t think so pessimistically. Isn’t it good that it’s not an individual mission?”
If the dungeon clear condition was hunting three or more C-rank monsters per person, Woo Seong-yeon was doomed.
But luckily, it wasn’t requiring individuals to clear—it counted if we two took down three together, so he could just ride my coattails.
Of course, my status window wasn’t normal right now either, so it wasn’t completely safe.
“Maybe I’d be better off dead…….”
He clearly wasn’t listening to me.
Only then did I realize how Woo Seong-yeon must have taken my threat to the system. He probably thought I’d given up.
With his tear-reddened nose, he looked up at me.
“Sorry. For dragging you into this.”
“Don’t worry about me.”
But hearing that only plunged Woo Seong-yeon deeper into despair; he buried his face in his knees, looking even more guilty.
Well, he thought I was a newbie. Right now, I didn’t look like some veteran mercenary to anyone.
“Hey, stop blubbering and snap out of it.”
I patted his shoulder, but whether his mentality had broken or not, Woo Seong-yeon didn’t respond.
……Whatever, I’ll leave him be. Might be better without him.
Honestly, a healthy guy in his twenties bawling on the ground was pathetic. If this was a lesson for him, great.
Anyway, time for me to do my thing.
“Inventory.”
I was a little worried, but the system obediently opened the inventory.
Tears nearly welled up at the familiar screen spread in the air.
In the most excited state since opening my eyes, I rummaged through the inventory.
Let’s see…… My broadsword…… Armor…… And the artifacts I’d desperately collected.
All safe!
The only downside was no healing potions.
Thinking back, I’d used up every potion and elixir clearing Optatio’s dungeon in Tartarus, so it was inevitable.
Still, antidotes I hadn’t needed for Optatio, and stamina, strength, mana boosters I’d stockpiled despite not needing them at my level—they were all still there.
Seeing them nearly brought tears for real.
Some unlucky prince named Lucas had mocked me, saying I was hoarding like a winter squirrel, but I won! Save to thrive!
I quickly summoned items. No telling when monsters would appear, so better to gear up fast.
“Apex Broadsword, Angelus’s Blessing, Nymph’s Wind.”
One of the system’s few perks: just naming them equipped the gear on me.
- Equipping items.
My body briefly glowed with the message.
A heavy weight settled in my right hand as the sword appeared; leather armor protected my torso, and thick longboots encased my calves.
It felt like only three days since I’d last worn them, but emotion welled up anyway.
I looked at the sword in my hand.
- Apex Broadsword
By Korean standards, an item from clearing an S-rank dungeon. Took over a month, I think, but worth it for this sword alone.
Though with my current strength, I wondered if I could wield it properly.
I swung it lightly through the air.
As expected, it didn’t move as easily as I’d hoped. Just one swing left my limbs heavy.
I needed the status window to gauge my condition—trouble.
At least Angelus’s Blessing, my protective gear, had no equip restrictions.
This black leather armor, infused with an angel’s blessing and covering just the chest, wasn’t ideal for pure defense.
But it had an option protecting me from mental mana attacks—my weakest point.
- Armor containing the holiest archangel’s blessing. Protects you from all evil curses.
S-rank dungeons often had monsters using illusions and hallucinations, so it was essential for me. Plus, it boosted stamina and strength proportionally.
Nymph’s Wind quickened movement speed. Wind swirled around my feet, letting me dash horse-like by kicking off the ground.
Of course, this wasn’t my full usual loadout.
But I couldn’t equip everything—without the status window, I didn’t know my exact strength, but it wasn’t high.
Wearing my full usual gear would be too heavy to use properly.
I slashed horizontally with the sword lightly.
Unlike the familiar grip, pressure bore down on my arm. Heavy.
Just in case, I dug out black half-gloves with strength-boost options from ten years ago, equipped them, and swung again—better, but still heavy.
Yeah, swinging the broadsword like this was impossible now.
I sighed involuntarily. How weak was I?
Well, I always kept a few daggers handy just in case.
I stored the broadsword back in inventory and strapped two daggers to my thigh.
No choice. Whatever monster came, I’d have to end it quick.
“Hey, you—what the hell is that?”
Oh, right—I’d forgotten Woo Seong-yeon for a sec.
Eyes wide, he stared at me. Red from crying.
“Y-You……!”
“Stop with the ‘you-you’ stuttering.”
“Is that the issue right now? What are those items? You’re a newbie. You lied?”
“Did I ever say that?”
His face flushed at my words. I’d just nodded along; he’d babbled everything himself from one to ten.
“And that’s not the problem now anyway.”
If he’d politely asked how I got these items, I could answer…… No, I had no intention or time for that.
I pointed across the field.
“It’s coming.”