Chapter 80
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: To the Demon Realm
There’s only one way to dramatically boost a shaky foundation in a short amount of time.
Actual combat.
However, while actual combat improves your skills faster than anything else, it’s equally dangerous.
“Ugh…”
I swallowed my pain while sprawled on the ground, claws scraping the floor.
It’s not like I’ve never experienced real combat.
In fact, I’d piled up quite a bit of practical experience in less than a year.
That’s how I managed to build skills that were pretty standout among my peers, despite my lacking talent.
But I wasn’t satisfied with this level.
The bare minimum I aimed for was silver-rank—gold if possible—so settling for my current strength wasn’t an option.
More than that, while combat had improved my skills, Helen’s assessment was…
‘You’ve picked up a ton of bad habits just trying to survive.’
For example, fighting styles that relied too heavily on traits and skills.
Helen wanted to break those habits, so our training sessions sealed off traits and skills entirely.
They say training can’t match real combat, but when the intensity involves broken bones, blackouts, and chunks of flesh torn away, that changes things.
And that’s exactly what was happening now.
“…I never thought I’d get used to chunks of my flesh ripping off.”
A fistful of meat had been torn from my forearm.
If I’d been a little less lucky, bone would’ve shown—and a few days ago, it actually did.
“Looks like Shan and Marcel went way too easy on you during spars, those two idiots.”
“…Ugh, yeah… probably.”
Shan and Marcel had always held back their strength when sparring with me.
Of course, even toned down, the gap in experience and skill meant I’d hold out for a bit before getting smashed and rolling across the floor.
Then Shan and Marcel would plop down beside my sprawled body and point out my mistakes from the spar.
“Is it because you look so young and kinda cute? Nah, that can’t be it. If it was about looks, I’m prettier than you. So what gives? The two I know aren’t the type to go easy.”
“…They seemed nice to me. Maybe they’re only like that with you, Helen?”
“Huh. Maybe.”
Helen tilted her head repeatedly but brushed it off casually as she pulled a glass vial of red liquid from her pocket, uncorked it, and poured it over my wound.
The liquid hit the injury and immediately started bubbling and foaming.
The pain felt like thousands—no, tens of thousands—of needles stabbing relentlessly into the wound.
It was the kind of agony you could never get used to, no matter how many times you felt it.
I writhed and groaned, enduring it until the pain finally ebbed—replaced by an unbearable itch.
Instinctively, I reached to scratch, but Helen pinned my hand down with her scabbard to stop me.
Cold sweat drenched the floor beneath me. How much time passed like that?
Eventually, fresh pink flesh sprouted over the missing chunk, and the itching stopped.
“…Potions are something you never get used to, no matter how many times you’ve felt them.”
“Took me over half a year to adjust, so it’s not weird.”
Helen flashed a grin as she said it, but her smile came off as downright creepy.
“By the way, I’ve been wondering for a while—where do these potions keep coming from? They’re horrific to use, but damn effective.”
“Back when I got demoted and thrown into dangerous requests, they wanted me dead but still needed the job done, so they loaded me up with plenty. These are the leftovers.”
I’d already gone through at least twenty in the past three months.
And these were the leftovers?
I couldn’t even imagine what kind of request came with dozens—maybe even more—of these.
“Sounds like a dangerous request.”
“Obviously. They sent me there to die, plain and simple.”
“…If I ever have to kill a fellow adventurer later, I’ll make sure to silence them properly.”
“Smart choice. Better than leaving them alive like I did and getting stabbed in the back. Anyway, rested enough? Sit up and listen.”
“…Yeah.”
Helen looked down at me and began her final evaluation.
Two days ago, right after my Military Swordsmanship hit C-rank, Helen had noticed my foundation solidifying and initiated the final spar she’d promised in advance.
The past three months.
Flesh torn off, bones broken, blood bursting as I rolled—the results of all that were about to spill from Helen’s lips. It made me tense.
I knew nothing good would come out of her mouth, so hoping otherwise was foolish. Still, I couldn’t kill that tiny spark of expectation. What a mess.
She always said it.
I was pathetic.
“Honestly, your talent was even worse than I’d vaguely imagined.”
“…Figures.”
I’d expected that answer, so I accepted it quickly—but a pang of regret lingered anyway.
Helen was right; I lacked talent.
I knew it, so I worked hard to compensate. But effort is relative, and getting ‘credit for your effort’ isn’t easy. So it wasn’t a huge letdown.
Just a little disappointing.
I’d seen and endured too much ugliness for something like this to hurt my feelings.
“But you had grit.”
“…Huh?”
“Grit. Three months? I figured you’d bolt after two days of training. That’s why I told the bandits not to kill you but to grab you if you tried to run. Wasted effort, apparently.”
“…You did?”
That explained it.
The bandits couldn’t stop staring at me. I thought it was my gloomy aura creeping them out, but they were just watching me.
I recalled their gazes.
Looking back, those eyes held wariness… and pity.
Pity?
I felt a flicker of confusion, but Helen pressed on before I could dwell.
“Anyway, your grit meant it took longer than I expected, but you still built a solid foundation. Those weird abilities of yours have limits eventually, right? A strong base makes everything stable.”
“True enough.”
I had to acknowledge what was true.
Silent Steps, Lightning, Superhuman Strength.
Stripped of the game system’s gifts, sparring with pure swordsmanship brought back that old sense of helplessness.
Not because my gold-rank opponent was overwhelming, but because I realized how pathetically weak I was without those abilities.
I’d prided myself on being top-tier among peers, but my raw sword skills were bottom-of-the-barrel for my level.
In other words, I’d been arrogantly perched at the peak of my own ignorance.
Shan and Marcel.
I’d been a rabbit in a lion’s den, mimicking lions just because I was friendly with a couple.
“So I filled in your foundation. Pushed it fast and rough with some aggressive methods, but it worked out, right?”
“If it means getting stronger quick, this much is fine.”
This much is fine.
Put differently, anything more would be too far.
I could endure flesh tearing and bones breaking, but beyond that? Life and death.
I could risk my life in real combat, but not in training spars.
My body shivered faintly, and Helen smiled.
“Your stamina didn’t budge an inch—weirdly enough—but looking at those soft muscles, it’s unavoidable. At least you won’t drop dead mysteriously by my side now. Pass.”
“…Pass?”
This had pass/fail?
Stunned by the news, I stared blankly. Helen met my gaze shamelessly and spoke up.
“Yeah, you’re good enough now. Unless something crazy happens, you can protect yourself.”
“Pass/fail aside, what if I’d failed…?”
“What’re you asking? I’d have ditched you here and left alone. I said I’d train you, not drag dead weight. Three months of clear instruction fulfills my promise, so no issue.”
“That’s… pretty irresponsible.”
“Problem? Oh, getting back? I’d toss you some travel money.”
No, that’s not the point.
Acting like she’d take responsibility, then planning to abandon me if things went south? Infuriating… but I lacked the guts to say it, so I swallowed the words.
“Don’t give me that sulky look. Had to, right? Following me at this level, you’d die nine times out of ten. Even I wouldn’t want that.”
“Fine. Still… thanks. You filled in my weak spots.”
Climbing down from ignorance’s peak let me see how insignificant I really was.
Beyond skill gains, just that self-awareness was worth it. I bowed my head in thanks to Helen.
“You improved noticeably. At first, you didn’t even flinch at my pulled punches. Now you at least twitch to block.”
“It came naturally.”
If I didn’t block, flesh ripped off—so I desperately tried to ‘see,’ ‘think,’ and ‘react.’
But that was too slow.
So I tried just ‘seeing’ and ‘reacting’—still way too sluggish.
Finally, without even seeing or thinking, I just reacted on instinct. Only then did my body move.
Of course, I still couldn’t block.
“That ‘twitch’ will help. Seeing and thinking can come after reacting—it’s not too late.”
“Got it.”
“Rest ’til today, then we head out tomorrow.”
“Come to think of it, where’s our destination? We’ve been away from the capital nearly four months, and I still don’t know.”
“Demon Realm.”
“…Demon Realm?”
“Yeah, got someone to meet there. That’s why I trained you here. Your old skills wouldn’t cut it for surviving the Demon Realm.”
“This bad?”
“Honestly, it’s still dicey. I’ll watch your back, but I’m only human. If I slip up, threats come your way—you gotta handle them yourself.”
“Hmm…”
Demon Realm.
I’d heard of it, even if not in detail.
Most grim tales originated there—a seriously dangerous place.
But it was so far away, and I had no reason to go, so I’d brushed it off.
Never dreamed it was our goal.
“Can I know who we’re meeting ahead of time?”
“A witch.”
“…Pardon?”
“Oh, that might not ring a bell…? What was that old hag’s moniker again?”
Helen furrowed her brow for a moment, then lit up as it came to her, opening her mouth brightly.
“Ah! ‘Dragon Slayer.’”
“…That’s a gold-rank adventurer. And not low-tier like…”
Mid-tier, unlike Helen.
“Yeah, you know her. Guess that old bat’s more famous than me after all.”
“I know all the gold-rank monikers, even if I don’t know their faces…”
I hadn’t known Helen because she’d been demoted off the gold list.
Expecting me to know off-listers was harsh.
“Anyway, we’re heading to the Demon Realm to see that old hag.”
“…Okay.”
I didn’t ask why.
I’d find out eventually since I was tagging along anyway.
The day faded, and the next morning.
We swept through the remaining bandits in the mountain stronghold.
Abuse, assault, threats, tax evasion, robbery, rape, murder.
Cutting down the trash we’d spared for convenience stirred no emotions.
After three months together, they shot us betrayed looks like they were the victims.
More revolting than pitiful.
“Ellie.”
I was wiping blood off my sword with a bandit’s rags when Helen called me.
“Yeah?”
“It’s over ten days from here to the Demon Realm, and security gets worse the closer we get.”
I could guess what she meant.
“Bandit gangs running wild, huh.”
“Handle up to five yourself.”
“Got it.”
I wouldn’t get cocky like before, but ordinary bandits? That many was doable.
I nodded nonchalantly.
I realized how faint my aversion to killing had become—and honestly, that was for the better.
Humans adapt. I’d just adapted to this world. Not my fault.