Status Window and the Weight of a Hero

I descended the mountain with the name Helio Helisbort. Gender: Male. Age: 15. Title: The Helisbort Family’s Useless Youngest Son. Level: 1. Occupation: Unemployed. Traits: ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mana Saturation, Mana Extremity, Limit Reached. Strength: 230. Agility: 145. Stamina: 200. Mana: 999+++.

“It’s a shame I can only look at this once a month.”

In truth, it could take even longer. The cooldown on the Stone of Answers was exactly thirty days. I desperately wanted to check my growth every single time… but it was too precious an item to waste like that.

The Stone of Answers, which had broken free from the game’s scripted choices, was essentially an information cheat in its own right. Most situations would still fall within the predictive range of a regressor and a possessor like us, but nothing in this world was ever truly absolute.

Honestly, even using it now felt a little wasteful. Still, this was a period Diana knew well, and I wanted to see the results of my training with my own eyes.

“Trait confirmation… this is as far as it goes, huh.”

“No changes here either.”

I finished checking and closed the status window. Since I already knew everything, it wasn’t particularly helpful, but it did confirm that my potential was practically limitless. Discovering traits that didn’t exist in the game would definitely prove useful later.

“Two hundred, huh…”

What mattered more right now were my current stats. Two hundred might seem low compared to nine hundred and ninety-nine, but in absolute terms, it was no small number.

According to the game’s setting, an ordinary adult male’s strength fell between forty and fifty. Even someone who trained diligently would barely reach sixty-five. Awakening mana increased overall stats, but that too had a ceiling. That ceiling was usually one hundred. Beyond that point, even if you could use mana, you still needed separate training.

In other words, a stat of two hundred was something you’d only see among the upper ranks of close-combat classes. Since nine hundred and ninety-nine wasn’t a reachable limit but an absolute ceiling, beings with even a single stat over five hundred were extremely rare.

“How does it look?”

“I can only say it’s incredible. I knew the weight kept increasing, but I never imagined it would be this much…”

“But you know this is only the beginning, right?”

“Of course. It’s my own body, after all.”

What was even more astonishing was that these stats were still just the start. My body had received zero prior training, so these two months of exercise had essentially only built the foundation. In other words, my current stats were merely a solidly laid base. The growth that would follow would be incomparable to what I’d achieved so far.

“Do you like it?”

“Naturally. It’s the result of my own effort, so of course I like it. But… I still can’t use mana, can I?”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a complete solution to my mana-incompetent constitution. I was happy to have gained a means to protect myself, but the memories and effort of the past eight years had been aimed at using mana itself.

Diana seemed to understand that. For once, her expression darkened as she answered.

“Yes. Until you obtain a body that matches your current mana capacity…”

“I’ll die if I try to use it.”

“Exactly.”

“It must be deeply rooted, then.”

“……”

I still wondered why things had turned out this way, but there was no point dwelling on it now.

“Anyway, it can definitely be fixed, right?”

“That’s correct. It’s impossible right now, but given time, it will definitely become possible.”

“Then I’ll just have to wait patiently.”

There was definitely a sense of regret, but I was clearly moving toward recovery. The deeper the roots, the longer it would take, but it would surely be possible someday.

“Still, it’s disappointing, isn’t it?”

“Of course. Having hope makes it a little better, though.”

“In that case, I have a way to soothe that disappointment.”

“Hm? Something like experiencing magic through a magic tool?”

“No. Something a bit more direct.”

Diana glanced at me for a moment, then smiled brightly and said,

“Let’s go learn a technique.”

* * *

“…After building up all that anticipation, we’re just descending the mountain?”

“It’s quite far from here.”

Unfortunately, she said the technique she mentioned—one that even a powerless person could use—wasn’t located nearby. When I asked why she hadn’t just kidnapped me and taken me there instead, she gave a meaningful smile and winked.

There must be something only a regressor would know.

“By the way, is it really okay that you kidnapped me?”

As we headed down, more realistic concerns surfaced. Even though it had been done with good intentions and the outcome was positive, I had still been kidnapped before enrolling in the academy. It was clearly a crime. Especially since the place I was taken from was Solbera.

Kidnapping, hostage, and blackmail incidents happened so frequently within the academy that the institution itself was on high alert. I was certain they would have noticed.

Yet what was strange was how eerily quiet the response had been. Shouldn’t my family have stepped in at the very least?

“I know I’m saying this late, but we’re not going to get arrested the moment we reach the bottom and end up with a prison ending, right?”

“Hehe…”

“So that did happen…”

Her laugh was so obviously evasive that I let out a dry chuckle. It was the kind of happening only a regressor could laugh off.

“Don’t worry. Nothing serious will happen.”

“I’m counting on you. Really.”

Right now, all I could do was trust those words.

“If it comes down to it, I’ll submit a petition for your innocence.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

The descent felt like that—light jokes and a relaxed atmosphere, completely unlike the tension of being kidnapped and dragged up the mountain. It was almost like taking a leisurely stroll.

Until the scream rang out.

* * *

“Help me!”

“What?”

The instant I heard it, the scenery seemed to shift dramatically. It wasn’t magic. No one had pulled me in. My body had simply moved before my mind could catch up, making the surroundings feel like they had changed.

The moment I realized that, I stopped.

What am I going to do even if I go?

I couldn’t use mana. It would be nothing but a stupid act that put only myself in danger.

“Go ahead. You’ll be fine.”

I looked at Diana. She was the same as always. With that gentle face and faint smile, she gazed at me. At the same time, the unique world-weariness of a regressor lingered somewhere in her eyes. The reason she always wore the same expression was probably because this scene had repeated countless times for her.

“Don’t worry.”

A simple reassurance, like soothing a child.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Yet those words gave me the confidence to believe in myself. Not because she was a regressor. Not because she was someone I liked. It was because her gentle voice carried absolute trust in me.

It went beyond the realm of ability. It was trust in me as a person—the belief that I could definitely do it. That trust moved my feet that had frozen in place.

“Damn it. Was I always this kind of person?”

I left Diana behind and ran toward the source of the scream. They say you never truly know yourself until you’re tested. This was exactly that situation. Even amid the anxiety flooding me, a dry laugh escaped.

Oh Ji-o’s knowledge warned me not to take pointless risks. It logically laid out the possible situations and the aftermath, declaring that what I was about to do was completely meaningless.

Like I don’t already know that.

I knew. Both Oh Ji-o’s knowledge and Helio, who had lived fifteen years, understood perfectly. I knew it well, but my body refused to listen. My heart, the burning emotion inside my chest, would not allow me to hesitate here.

The moment I became aware of that, the game’s storyline unfolded in my mind.

“I am Helio. What is your name?”

Helio was the player’s avatar, but he also possessed a slight individuality of his own. One of those traits was that greeting. In the entire game, Helio never once launched a surprise attack. He always ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠announced his name and asked for the other person’s.

The ridiculous nickname attached to his insane sense of chivalry was HelloBot. Whether he was a mage, a thief, or an archer, his consistent knightly conduct never changed.

It was the kind of personality that made people laugh and call it foolish while secretly finding it charming. To those simply watching, it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was just entertaining. But—

“Damn it.”

When it became my problem, all I felt was worry. Would I be able to do it properly? Would I get hurt? Would helping lead to betrayal? The more I knew, the deeper and heavier the worries became.

“Help me!”

“Fine. When someone’s about to die, it’s only natural to help at least once.”

Yet the passion burning in my heart drove me forward. It was an emotion just as powerful as the affection I held for her.

“Save m—”

“Don’t worry.”

In the end, it pushed me into a dangerous place.

“Because I’ve arrived.”

I steeled my resolve as I looked at the ordinary herb gatherer I had never met before.

* * *

“Kiiiek!”

“Kiruk kiruk!”

Wolves and goblins.

The moment I saw them, I understood. The herb gatherer’s survival hadn’t been due to his own ability or luck. It was a trap meant to lure in more people like me.

No weapon… and I don’t have time to go get one. Guess this will have to do.

I had rushed out the moment I heard the cry for help. There had been no time to grab a weapon. The only thing on my back was the Babel I had been carrying around because I never found a good place to leave it.

“Keeeek!”

“Kirrrk.”

The goblins seemed to realize I wasn’t armed. They approached with mocking grins even I could recognize.

“Get lost!”

I hurled the plate armor I had been carrying on my back as both a distraction and an attack. With a loud crunch, the fifty-kilogram chunk of iron easily smashed through the goblin’s crude wooden shield and crushed its face.

“Huh?”

Why would you even try to block that?