Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Hero's Qualities
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"Since it'd be no contest if we just fought normally, I figured I'd impose some restrictions."
Blanc ticked off her fingers one by one.
First, she wouldn't use her Blessing, the ability that accelerated all her actions.
Second, she wouldn't attack him.
Third, close-range combat would be hopeless for him, so they'd start 100 meters apart.
Fourth, she wouldn't run.
Finally, the moment he so much as touched her—or if she broke any rules—it would count as his loss.
'No way.'
Utterly ridiculous conditions for a spar.
But everyone present thought the same.
Yeah, unimaginable.
Blanc losing.
'The captain's insanely strong.'
Blanc was only twenty-three.
At that young age, she'd risen to command the Imperial 2nd Knight Order.
It was only because of family politics that she'd been demoted; purely on potential, she could've joined the Imperial 1st Knight Order without issue.
Her skills were the real deal.
Few in the Empire could beat her.
Even Yi Hyun nodded in agreement.
'Shooting a rifle at a person feels kinda off, though...'
He recalled the day after possession.
The moment he'd shown Blanc the Assault Rifle's power.
[Hmm... Hah!]
[H-Huh?! What are you doing dashing across my line of fire like that?! Straight to the hospital!]
[Not bad power at all, right? The growth potential is really exciting.]
[......]
'Doesn't even faze her.'
His rifle hadn't pierced her bare skin.
No, it hadn't even left a mark.
That was the pitiful might of level 1 attack power.
That was why he summoned the rifle without hesitation.
'Still, maybe I can land one shot?'
"Status Window, equip."
Click— The Assault Rifle materialized in his hands.
It was the first time he'd drawn it in front of others since that first day.
And that brought shock from Hilde.
"...Gasp!"
'Weapon summoning? Like the Hero's Blessing?'
The Hero.
The Empire's proudest powerhouse, the woman who defeated the Four Heavenly Kings—high-level demonic beasts—and then vanished.
Summoning weapons from thin air to fight was the Hero's signature.
In other words, what Yi Hyun had just done resembled her Blessing.
"Hmph. Not bad, newbie."
'But it'll never work. He can't fight properly with that body of his.'
Even so, the dismissal continued.
Despite knowing about the Hero, an outlier of overwhelming strength.
Blanc smiled softly.
'You'll change your mind once you see it, Hilde.'
"So, newbie? Wanna make a little bet?"
And then she said,
"If you land even a single hit on me, I'll grant you any wish."
"Any...?!"
"Yes, anything. Even a graze counts."
She wasn't asking the impossible, like making him hurt her on purpose.
Just graze her skin once.
And she'd grant his wish.
Yi Hyun's eyes sparkled.
'Sex!!!'
"Then, Captain Blanc!!"
True to his Intelligence of 0.8 origins, he nearly shouted sex outright...
"Se... Ngh."
'No, can't say that.'
He barely managed to clamp his mouth shut.
His Intelligence had risen 0.2 to hit 1.0, and it had paid off.
Considering 2.0 was humanity's average, it was still middling, but whatever.
"Se...?"
"Se, let me think about it!!"
'Look at Hilde's eyes—fix this quick or I'm dead!!'
He racked his brains furiously.
He knew exactly why Hilde was glaring.
Thankfully, a conclusion came quickly.
"Let me do self-training!"
The reason he'd struggled for a month.
Training in the wrong direction.
He'd correct that.
He'd grow stronger his way—the mod's way.
Blanc tilted her head in surprise.
"Self? Who taught you that word?"
"Someone passing by. One of the knights, I think. Can't remember who."
"Teaching archaic terms to an amnesiac... I'll have to reprimand them. Hilde, assemble the knights in the training yard tonight."
"Got it, Captain."
"......"
'Sorry, everyone!!'
Innocent knights were in for a thunderbolt, but anyway.
"Fine, I'll support your independent training, newbie. Just say if you need anything."
"Really!?"
"I'll even look the other way if you use your allowance on treats. Hehe."
"...!!!"
'Finally!!'
Yi Hyun gripped the rifle tight.
To others, it looked like he was just holding a dagger fiercely.
No one could deny he was burning with fighting spirit.
'Wishing to grow stronger even with his wish? What a pure guy.'
'I was ready to kill him if he said sex... Independent training? Did I seem that unreliable?'
Blanc's smile softened further.
Hilde's wolf ears drooped sadly.
'Gotta go have sex after this!'
The man himself only had sex on his mind.
But for now, only he knew.
The vast sparring ground.
Blanc and Yi Hyun stood far apart.
Then, the rifle barrel aimed at Blanc.
"Hilde, give the signal."
"Got it. Three, two..."
The countdown followed.
Yi Hyun, rifle firmly shouldered, hooked his finger on the trigger.
For a level 1, his expression was unnecessarily resolute.
'Just land one hit!!'
'...His focused face is cute. Should I let him nick me?'
Blanc was even thinking of throwing the fight if needed.
She was willing to take a subtle graze.
But Intelligence 1.0 couldn't pick up on that.
"One... Go!"
"Please go easy!"
'Single shot first!!'
The instant Hilde's voice rang out,
Yi Hyun pulled the trigger.
Screee— A sharp sound tore through the air.
"...!!!"
'What the hell?!'
And that shocked Hilde again.
'Sword aura!?'
The tip of Yi Hyun's dagger.
Mana suddenly shot out at ultra-high speed.
A basic technique any Imperial 2nd Knight Order member could use.
But impossible for Yi Hyun's current physical stats—an advanced skill.
Sword aura.
'No way—that efficient sword aura projection?'
In the frozen moment of time,
Her pupils dilated.
The silver line crossing the sparring ground etched into her retina.
'Normal sword aura...'
Infuse mana into the sword and swing to release it.
Obviously inefficient.
Better to coat the blade and fight.
That common sense was being shattered before her eyes.
'What kind of talent is that?'
An attack incomparable to a mage's magic missile.
A technique guaranteeing max speed and destructive power with minimal mana.
It was like the War God's divine authority.
Highly efficient, perfect.
Beautiful.
'Useless against knight-level right now... but if he gets stronger?'
The technique was already at mastery.
Not human—divine realm.
The only lacking part was his own power.
Just boost that a bit.
Amp the output higher and higher until it works even on someone like Blanc.
'He could outperform peers by a hundredfold.'
Gulp— Hilde swallowed belatedly.
Before the gulp cleared her throat,
The sword aura's—the bullet's—trajectory sliced space and reached Blanc.
'Hehe, look at that shocked face. I was the same at first.'
Blanc smiled.
The Blessing of Yi Hyun that had obsessed her with the sword for the past month.
A technique she'd banned in public lest the Imperial 1st Knight Order steal him away.
Seeing its value acknowledged—even if he didn't know it yet—filled her with joy.
'But it's still not enough. Your Hero-rivaling Blessing hasn't even bloomed yet.'
So she'd make it bloom.
Spread his name across the world.
To reunite with his family from before the amnesia.
To grow even stronger.
In this bleak world full of despair and lamentation.
In the tragedy called dark fantasy.
Yi Hyun would be a ray of hope.
And thus, the next Hero after the original.
'So for now... make me your goal.'
-Flash!
Blanc's form moved.
She stepped wide, crouching low.
Screee—
The sword aura merely severed a few strands of her hair.
"...Wow."
'Dodging a bullet? Is she even human?'
Yi Hyun gaped blankly.
He'd felt anew just how strong she was.
'Perverted outfit aside, she's the real Knight Order Captain.'
"No holding back—full throttle!!"
Screee— Bullets rained continuously.
Nearly one per second.
'No way, he can spam it!?'
Hilde was even more shocked by the insane rate,
but Yi Hyun and Blanc ignored her completely now.
Mana trails etched beside Blanc's dodging form.
Bullets couldn't even graze her.
"Great technique, but your aim's sloppy. I could've stood still and you'd miss."
"Can't prone-shoot at someone!!"
"Prone...? No idea what that is, but change positions if you want? I'll wait."
"Just a sec!"
Yi Hyun promptly went prone.
Absolutely not spar-appropriate—practically an insult to the opponent.
-Screee!!
'The accuracy jumped...!!'
'Indeed, that stance is much better at range.'
But no one minded.
Common sense meant nothing before the War God's technique.
'Still, power's the same... Needs lots more training.'
Blanc walked through the bullet storm.
Dodging some sword auras, deflecting others with her gauntlets.
Without using her Blessing.
'Now, how to let him hit without Hilde noticing...'
She even pondered taking a hit discreetly mid-fight.
Showing leisure to think of other things.
And this...
——Was exactly Yi Hyun's aim.
'Haven't shown this yet.'
After learning firing consumed mana,
A technique even Blanc hadn't seen.
To him, it was trivial.
Just flick the selector.
'If I burst when she's off-guard, maybe one'll land.'
Click— The selector switched to burst.
A tiny sound even Hilde missed.
But for some reason,
Blanc's instincts rang alarm bells.
'Huh? Goosebumps suddenly...'
'......Just get tagged once!!!!'
Before she pinpointed the unease,
Yi Hyun squeezed the trigger hard.
'Normally it'd overheat and underperform...'
[Overhaul Mod - Improved Convenience applying]
'The mod's a god—invincible!!!'
Max fire rate: 900 rounds per minute.
15 sword auras per second assaulted Blanc.
An onslaught even Hilde couldn't evade,
-Flash.
"What kind of firing rate is this!?"
Blanc dodged even that.
Using her Blessing to dramatically boost all action speeds.
"That startled me for real."
Not content, whoosh—
She teleported beside Yi Hyun to ask what it was.
Revealing just how much she'd been holding back.
"This is..."
'Damn, how'd she dodge even that.'
Yi Hyun sighed, understanding the implication,
"I instinctively used my Blessing. Impressive, really."
"...Huh? Blessing? You said no Blessings."
"Congratulations, newbie. You win."
Blanc smiled brightly in contrast.
She'd learned another layer of his Blessing's worth, and she'd planned to yield naturally anyway.
No regrets even in true defeat.
That was why she offered her hand without hesitation.
"Up you get."
"...Wow."
'From below, it's even more violent.'
Given her outfit, it wasn't exactly awe-inspiring to Yi Hyun.
The farce of a spar ended.
-Clink.
"One gold total. Should cover most things."
"Thank you!!"
He whistled cheerfully leaving the Knight Order building.
Outings had been banned, but now allowed under guise of buying training supplies.
The thought of finally growing stronger made him grin.
'No sex for a month, but not anymore.'
He recalled simultaneously.
The easy, fast path to strength.
He hadn't thought of it easily before...
'Virginity Purge mod is god—invincible.'
Syphilis? STDs?
Doesn't exist in my game.
Despite being a severe unicorn who skipped even manga non-virgins.
That was why his steps were so light.
"Hey, carriage running now?"
"That crest—Imperial 2nd Knight Order... Of course! Where to?"
"Brothel."
To reiterate.
Virginity Purge mod is god.