A Perverted Hero's Resolve

I woke up early and just had a simple meal. Must've gotten up about an hour earlier than usual, which was probably why Mom was still off in dreamland. Leaving without seeing her face was a little sad, honestly.

"Son!"

Mom, who'd woken up late. At least I got to see her face. Heheh.

"You need to eat a proper meal before you go!"

"Go ahead and cook something. I'll be back before it gets cold."

Ah, I sounded pretty cool just now. Even if I also sounded like a dumbass.

Mom covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes going misty.

"Haaahn, my son's so cool!♥"

I left the house. After a light warm-up, I headed for the wetlands.

Isis asked from within my soul.

"What manner of wretched line was that?"

Ah, Goddess. That was actually pretty hip. It's trendy!

"Hip? Art thou saying the sound of mockery rings as 'hip'?"

...No, ma'am. I'll just shut up. Ahem.

My humor didn't land. Then again, even I think my humor's pretty bad. But I'm a man of skill. From the waist down, I show no mercy.

The swamp—or more precisely, the wetlands—had originally been land under development for farming. Then, at some point, it had changed. There must have been a time when grass swayed pleasantly there, and trees actually grew.

I passed the forest's edge and arrived at the wetlands.

From what I remember, necro slimes at most parasitized goblins or gnolls. As long as you knew how to handle them, they were manageable.

Unlike what everyone was so worried about, I knew how to deal with monsters. Even if it had been an indie game I'd made myself, the lore had been solid, and the heroine designs and voice acting had been good too.

I looked down. The ground was starting to get muddy, but I wasn't worried. I had shoes that didn't take a terrain penalty, and a steel sword that wouldn't melt on me, so I could actually keep using it. This would be plenty.

"Shall I lend thee my aid?"

Isis seemed a little restless. Well, she probably figured her first apostle might die out here.

"That's right, Goddess. Would you make me one promise?"

"What is it?"

It might have sounded insane. She might've thought I had a death wish. But this was a matter of pride. I had a unique ability, and I had knowledge of my own. And I was just going to lean on the power of the first heroine I'd lucked into—the Goddess herself? That would make me no better than a parasite.

"Dost thou look down upon me for lacking power at present?"

"That's not it. Even without power, you are beautiful and noble just by existing."

I meant that. I had no intention of looking down on her for being powerless. Isis made a flustered little nasal sound, and I spoke right away.

"I just want to show and prove myself—to you, and to myself. I want to do everything on my own, without anyone's help. I'm going to be a hero. I'm not a kid."

Had my sincerity gotten through? Isis slowly started to laugh. Then her pitch climbed higher and higher, until it turned into a sharp, fierce laugh.

"Consort...?"

Consort, all of a sudden? Isis cleared her throat.

"Ahem. 'Tis nothing. Now show me thy will!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

I pushed deeper and deeper into the wetlands. Even so, I didn't see a necro slime—I didn't even see a regular slime. The truth was, this area was where adventurers and hero hopefuls came all the time to train. Why train here? Because slimes are total fodder. Best place there is to farm experience.

But that's really not my thing.

Wasn't my style. Goblins or gnolls, maybe—but slimes didn't give you much even if you killed them.

I pushed in a little farther and found an abandoned house. They'd been planning farmland out here, so of course there'd be a building. But what's that? Luggage...?

As I drew closer, I could see a travel pack sitting near the entrance. Huh. A travel pack? Just in case, I rummaged through it.

Rummage, rummage.

"Nah."

Everything inside had rotted or gone bad past the point of use. Unless you had an ability that turned trash into lumber, it was a total bust. The pack itself, though, looked recent. Mold was spreading across it, but it was still relatively clean.

Who the hell came out here? People don't usually come this deep.

Necro slimes were manageable, sure—but only if you already knew how to handle them, like I did. To most rookie adventurers and hero hopefuls, they were a nightmare. They looked terrifying to begin with. A dark ash-gray slime the size of a watermelon, clinging to a corpse and puppeteering it.

Click. Creeeeak.

I lifted my head. The door that had been shut suddenly swung open. Was it the wind? No—I'd heard the lock come undone. That wasn't wind.

Thud. Thud.

Someone was coming out. I stepped back and drew my sword.

"Grlk. Gulk."

What came out of the abandoned house was, to my surprise, a necro slime. It looked exactly the way I'd expected.

Finally, you show yourse— wait?

It was a little different. The corpse it was parasitizing wasn't a gnoll or a goblin. It was a human. A lean, muscular human wearing knuckles. Hold on. Why was there a human out here?

And there was even a quest?!

What the hell? Those rewards look incredibly tasty. I'm getting tempted!

Why a person and not a goblin or a gnoll?!

I stared hard. Whether he'd already been dead or not, both eyes had rotted black. If he was the owner of that pack, he'd been dead for a fair while. Around the solar plexus, I could see two rings glowing.

One problem: they weren't glowing faintly the way Abeiru's had. They were glowing deep and vivid. A curse slipped out of me on its own.

Ah, fuck. Abeiru had barely just hit mid-stage. Anyone could tell this guy had been training at mid-stage for a long time.

This was bad. This thing was way stronger than Abeiru. And of all the places for this guy to die and a slime to hitch a ride?

This is rigged. This is some seriously bullshit-tier rigging.

Even as a corpse, two Force Hearts were sitting there glowing like they owned the place. The slime seemed to register me—its head snapped around. Its mouth fell open.

"Graaah, graaaaah..."

"Alright. Time to show and prove."

I leveled my sword at it. It settled into a fighting stance. This wasn't what I'd expected, but I was going to fight anyway.

"This will not do. I shall help thee."

Don't intervene. Not at all. If you care about me—if you like me.

I made that clear, then stepped forward. The thing snarled like a beast and launched itself in a single bound, closing the distance in a blink.

The instant it tried to land, I drove a Nameless Thrust at it. Leonhart Absolute Sword Style from the opening move.

It rolled the ankle it landed on and slipped off to the side like it was nothing.

Yeah. Even the movement was on another level.

Thup!

It grabbed me by the collar. For a second the ground and the sky flipped, and then a vicious pain exploded through the back of my skull.

CRACK. A wet scrape.

"Ghk!"

It had grabbed my collar and hurled me into the abandoned house. I slammed into the wall and barely got my feet under me. It had been too fast to even react. The moment I got my stance back, it came charging in and dropped its upper body without breaking stride.

Thup. Thud!

I got hit with a double-leg takedown in a blink. It took the top position on my downed body ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and raised a fist.

The best move a brawler can make against a swordsman. This guy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠must've been pretty promising when he was alive. But.

I'll give you that. You've got skill.

But what if I've got hip strength that outclasses that skill?

Thuk!

I popped him off me with nothing but my hips. His posture crumbled. I shortened my grip on the sword and swung immediately.

SHRAAAK!

That mottled neck of his was half-severed as he staggered back. I rolled backward, came up, and caught my breath.

Did you really think I couldn't handle something like that? The training Mom put me through just comes out on its own. Scary. That's actually scary.

I grinned. Then I taunted him.

"Hey! A real man's power is in his hips!"

I broke into a cocky little signature dance, and the thing shuddered all over and came charging.

FWOOSH!

A hair-raising sound as it split the air. I brought my sword up on reflex and blocked.

CLAAANG!

A steel sword rang out like I'd just stopped a blunt weapon. I focused. If I lost here, I died. And I did not want to die.

There's a whole world's worth of women I haven't had yet!

Huff, crack! Snap!

A calf kick, then an oblique kick. I spun through a full turn and tried a horizontal slash. It slipped the cut fast, seized my flank, and a flurry unfolded.

Thud-thud, CRACK!

Two body shots, then another calf kick.

I couldn't block. I couldn't dodge. That was how big a single Force Heart of difference really was. I got driven back, grinding my teeth.

Too fast. This is no joke!

I reset my stance. Remember the training Mom put you through. It isn't my memory—but it's about to become my memory. Carve that day's brutality into your soul like you lived it yourself.

I have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to stop thinking I can see it and then react. I can do this. I can do this!

I stepped in and cut in a straight line. It dropped its upper body and put a jab into my solar plexus.

"Ghk!"

Ta-ta-tat, fwoosh. Thud!

I barely blocked a flying knee, and by then it had already circled to my flank and unleashed a rain of punches.

BABABABABABABAM!

A opponent that came on like a storm and poured out attacks like a beast. That momentum alone was a disaster. And even so—even so—I couldn't help but laugh.

This is a real Runner Mid!

I felt alive. I could die at any second, but I understood now—this was a life where beating that meant a huge reward was waiting. In the real world I'd just been a powerless guy waiting on his military draft. An ordinary Korean man. A gaming shut-in.

And that guy had been thrown into a life like this. I don't regret it. Come on. Hit me with everything you've got!

Fwoosh, babam!

It came in like the wind and threw a jab. I tried to weave it, and its rear hand came through with a chain of hooks. I brought the sword up and blocked.

Clang-clang-clang, SHING!

I'm not staying stuck like this either! Show and prove!

Nameless Thrust again. It carved into my flank and threw a hook at my face. I still couldn't see it. I took the hit and got shoved sideways—but I finally felt it.

Its rhythm.

It appeared on the opposite side, going for a vertical elbow. In that instant I put the blade in its path and let it slide off to the side.

A parry.

It ate Reverse Flow—the defensive technique and parry of the Leonhart Absolute Sword Style. Its movement broke down and it staggered. I used that opening to circulate my ki.

I activated every last bit of ki inside my body. I was a half-baked reject who couldn't even receive mana, but thanks to my hero bloodline I could barely circulate ki. And I circulated that ki wild and rough.

I'm betting everything on this!

I unleashed the ki like an explosion and swung the sword.

VWOOOM!

The muscles in my swinging right arm swelled to their limit. That was what the Leonhart Absolute Sword Style's continuous-slash technique demanded. It was also the price of circulating ki this violently.

If this went wrong, the arm would be damaged. In the worst case, it would burst.

I didn't care. If you only get one life, bet it on today—not tomorrow.

That's what makes it worth living, right?

SHUNK. KRAGAGAGAGAGAK! CRACK!

I shattered not just the corpse, but the core of the necro slime parasitizing it.

The problem was I'd pushed too hard. My right arm wouldn't take any more strength.

"Nngh!"

The sword had taken a beating too. It wasn't long before it shattered to pieces.

Holy shit. The steel sword broke?

That was how vicious the slime's corrosion was, and how brutal the attacks that corpse had been throwing.

Ah, if it wrecked a steel sword, how strong was that thing? Jesus.

I clicked my tongue.

I'd killed two of them, so it counted as two people. Gotta love necro slimes for that. I'd cleared the quest and taken the rewards too, but I was completely wrecked. I staggered.

"Hah... art thou all right?! My apostle."

"Yeah. I ate way too many hits. But I won, didn't I?"

"Thou fool! Did I not say I would help thee?!"

"I got something out of it, though."

I sat down on a bench near the entrance of the abandoned house. I put the back of my head against the wall and caught my breath.

"At the very least, even if I still can't see the movement, I can feel it now. That means I grew from this, right?"

I finished talking and smiled. Isis stared at me with worry, then snorted—like she'd collected every last scrap of primness in the world and taken it for herself.

"Speak not such foolishness. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Dost thou not know that when thou art hurt, I am displeased as well?!"

"Huh?"

"Ah—no, that is... Do not misunderstand! 'Tis merely that I cannot bear to watch my apostle get beaten. Hmph. Causing me nothing but worry. Let us return at once!"

Isis, you sly little maman. Watching the Goddess get all tsundere on me, I barely managed to stand.

Yeah. Let's go home.