Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Performance Test
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"Sir Luke. Was it really okay to ignore her calling for you back there?"
"On the contrary, it would have been a disaster if I hadn't."
That girl, Liche, her soon-to-be boyfriend is passed out against a tree right next to her. Now that the event is over, she should be running to his side. Why on earth is she calling for me?
I don't know what she wanted to say, but I'm certain that getting involved would have dragged me into something strange again.
This time, I just went to kill an ogre and ended up near the academy for a moment, and I immediately ran into a demonic human.
Of course, now that I've confirmed the first event is over, I have a rough idea of how long it'll be until the next one.
But seeing that fool Arthur sleeping instead of fighting the demonic human, I knew the original story had already gone off the rails.
So, it wouldn't have been strange if, right after I killed that demonic human, the next one appeared, declaring, "He was actually the weakest among us!" That's why I ran.
And in fact, the one I just killed *was* the weakest.
Hanging around Arthur and beating demonic humans to a pulp is a good way to get new skills and grow, but whether the story follows the original or not, demonic humans appear when they want and don't when they don't. It's the pinnacle of inefficiency.
It's like dumping your entire life savings into a cryptocurrency on the verge of being delisted and saying, "I'm holding until it goes up at least five times."
You could make much more profit by doing something else with that time.
"Sir Luke, it's hard to believe you were an academy student until recently, given how much you avoid the place..."
"Curious why I do? Want to try enrolling in the academy yourself?"
If she's that curious, experiencing it firsthand isn't a bad idea.
An extra like Luna, who isn't a main character, would probably die.
"...I prefer being by your side, Sir Luke."
"What a good girl."
She's cute, being a little prickly while still saying what she means. Luna, you're quite something.
An extra heroine is just as good as a main one, isn't she?
'Right, what skill did I just get?'
Status.
I opened the status window to check.
[ Information ]
Name: Luke
Gender: Male
Age: 20
Mana: 0 / 0
Level: 41
[ Skills ]
Inventory (F)
Superhuman Strength (B)
All-Attribute Resistance (A)
[ Stats ]
Strength: 32(+16)
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 0
Stamina: 10
Stat Points: 9
After growing in fits and starts, I've suddenly had a huge growth spurt.
Nine levels at once. I really like how my growth is accelerating.
And the stats.
I'm not sure if my stats are high right now. In the original story, Arthur's status window used letters like A or B, not numbers.
Well, I'll figure out if my stats are high or low as I fight more monsters.
Just like how I found out my strength is now greater than an ogre's.
'Hey, System. Explain All-Attribute Resistance.'
As I thought that, the same blue window as before appeared.
It almost feels like I'm having a conversation with the system now, giving off a strong vibe of one of those stories with divine patrons.
◈ Skill Information
Name: All-Attribute Resistance
Rank: A
Description: Drastically improves resistance to all attribute-based attacks. It is not immunity, so it cannot completely nullify damage. This skill is optimized for ruffians who like to fight while getting hit and constantly shouting about being a real man.
I see.
That settles it.
'I'm killing the author, too.'
It keeps picking a fight with me. It's obvious the author is pulling the strings behind this. But I'm not one to back down from a fight.
Every time I open a description window, it acts petty. I swear, I will find the author and personally bestow upon that lesser man the secrets to becoming a true man like myself.
'Still, it's a skill I really needed.'
As expected of a skill from a guy who was physically weak, it only raises magic resistance. But since I'll be fighting magic-using monsters later, and most opponents in personal combat will use mana-based attacks, it's an incredibly overpowered skill to get this early on.
I guess a skill has to be this good to get an A-rank.
And I realized something when the ogre hit me earlier: I'm strong, but not tough.
My low Stamina stat is part of the reason, but it's probably also because I haven't yet reached the state of a true man.
A true man should be able to get up nonchalantly even if all his bones are shattered, and even while bleeding profusely, he must reach a state where he can say, "Nothing happened."
In that sense, this skill is perfect for me.
Eventually, I'll be able to stand tall even while my whole body is on fire or frozen solid and declare, "Nothing happened."
'Or wait... can I do that now?'
"Luna. Try hitting me with some magic."
"...What?"
Hey. Is asking you to shoot some magic at me that weird of a request?
Why are you looking at me with such contempt?
No, wait, considering that look is a reward in some circles, maybe this is a good thing.
"Just hit me with whatever strong magic you've got."
"So I did hear you correctly..."
"Then why did you ask again?"
"I was wondering if spending so much time with you had driven me mad enough to start hearing things, Sir Luke. But thankfully, it's not me who's mad, it's you. What a relief."
How is that a relief?
It's not just the world; now the heroine is out to get me too.
She says things like that with such sincerity that it makes tsunderes seem cute by comparison.
"Whatever. Just hurry up and cast your spell."
"How strong should I make it?"
"As strong as possible. Use your full power."
"Are you sure you'll be okay...?"
"I'm trying to find out if I'll be okay or not, so stop talking and just do it."
With a slightly reluctant look, Luna couldn't bring herself to refuse. She put some distance between us and began gathering her mana.
I couldn't see or feel the mana myself, but the way the grass rustled around her was proof that she was preparing.
As always, Luna drew her dagger and gathered wind around the blade.
"...Huh?"
With Luna's surprised voice came a terrifying *swoosh*.
A blade of wind shot forward.
Was she hiding her true power all this time? Magic of a caliber I'd never seen from her before was flying straight at me.
I'd seen monsters get sliced apart by that spell, so a normal person would surely be cut in half.
But I puffed out my chest and took it head-on.
"Nngh!!"
I held on for a moment before the force sent me flying backward.
It hurt, but less than when the ogre hit me. An attack that should have cut me in half ended with just a slightly torn shirt.
And that was despite it being visibly stronger than the ogre's club.
The difference with and without the skill is huge.
As I was fiddling with my torn clothes, Luna rushed over to check on me.
"S-Sir Luke, are you alright!?"
"...Nothing... happened...!!"
"Please don't joke around!"
I can joke a little, can't I? Now I see why buzzkills don't have any friends.
"That was stronger than I expected. You must have a lot pent up, huh?"
No wonder. She always speaks so formally but says whatever she wants. She must have been planning to kill me at the first opportunity.
Luna, you little...! You're actually an assassin sent by the author, aren't you!
"Th-that's not it at all!"
I thought I was right, but maybe not. From her genuinely flustered expression to her tone of voice, her whole body screamed that something unexpected had just happened.
"Then what is it? Did your magic suddenly get stronger or something?"
After a moment of hesitant glances, Luna gave a small nod in response.
'Wait, really?'
She wasn't joking?
Come to think of it, her growth had been a concern.
I was growing rapidly by leveling up, and I had wondered if Luna, who didn't have the benefit of a status window, could keep up.
At this rate, she would quickly become dead weight, and I was considering whether I'd have to abandon her later.
But what if hunting with me all this time had affected Luna's stats, which I couldn't see? What if she had experienced something like leveling up, even if it wasn't visible? That would explain the power she just displayed.
The reason she was surprised was probably because she had leveled up after getting a share of the experience from the ogre fight, causing her power to increase without her realizing it.
'I think I remember there being an artifact that could check someone's information.'
It would be nice to have, but it's too much of a hassle, so I'm not going to get it.
Getting stronger is a good thing. Why bother checking every little detail?
I'm not a wife investigating her cheating husband; there's no need to verify everything.
"Alright."
I dusted off my backside and stood up from the ground.
"A-Are you really okay?"
"Yeah. Aside from my shirt being a little torn."
Torn clothes are no big deal; I have ways to handle that.
"Let's head back now. We've confirmed what we needed to."
"Yes."
***
On the way back.
- Luna. If we run into any monsters, I'll take care of them myself, so don't interfere.
- Yes, sir.
That was the conversation they had.
*He must just have an itch to fight.*
*Or maybe he's trying to test something else I don't know about.*
That's all she thought.
Until Luke did something she had never seen before.
-Kieeeek!!
Whether it was good luck or bad, they happened upon a goblin on their way back.
As Luke had instructed, Luna obediently stepped back to watch.
But then, he suddenly poured oil all over himself, and a moment later, dropped a match, setting himself on fire.
"...S-Sir Luke?!"
Why on earth was he carrying oil? No, before that, when did he even get it?
They were always together, yet things were constantly being added to his possession without her knowledge.
And Luke, with his body now engulfed in flames...
"Kieeeeeek!!! Hug me!!!"
...shrieked as he spread his arms wide and charged at the goblin.
-Kieeeeeeek!!!!
Terrified by the flaming man rushing toward them, the goblins began to scatter in all directions.
It was a scene of utter chaos.