Chapter 103
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: No Way
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"Hm."
I'd heard from Alfred about the 5-star heroes. Though he didn't have info on every single one of them, just the three most famous ones...
'What the hell is that? Scary as shit...'
A woman who wielded an inextinguishable Yateras and rained down meteors, and a guy with time-reversal powers? Does that even make sense?
All the holy relics I'd seen so far were powerful, sure, but there was always some way to deal with them. The abilities these 5-star heroes used felt like they were on another level entirely. Compared to relics that just spat poison, slapped you around, or handled stealth at best, the gap was insane.
I wondered if the Janitor's Clothes effect would work on that Yateras too, but that wasn't the point...
'The real issue is that Hero of Radiance guy or whatever he's called.'
The info on the other two was intriguing, but the one that had my full attention was, of course, the hero bearing the title of Radiance. After all, I'd crushed his disciple and his adjutant.
'The supreme swordsman, huh...'
Word was he could dice an entire mountain with a single sword. Yeah, right. To me, even cleanly felling a tree looked impressive, so imagining someone cleaving a mountain just didn't compute.
Anyway, the key point was that this hero was ridiculously strong...
'...Wait. Aren't we screwed?'
There was a very, very high chance that hero would come storming in here.
In that case, the only thing I could rely on was...!
"That's the situation. What do you think, Erzsebet?"
"Hm. A swordsman who can cleave a mountain in two... If that's true, he'd be a fairly formidable opponent."
I'd scurried over to Erzsebet—who had started earning my trust after wiping out that coalition in a single night—and relayed everything Alfred had told me verbatim.
And even after hearing about a hero who could split a mountain, she rated him as just "fairly" strong. I was curious what her benchmark even was to make her say that... but right now, her unflappable attitude was exactly what I needed.
"So, Erzsebet. If that hero came charging in and you two fought... could you win?"
"No chance."
"Oh. Confidence... wait, what?"
Seeing her demeanor, I'd let out a sigh of relief and asked about her odds against the hero in a hypothetical fight. But unexpectedly, a flat denial came from her lips.
"What? You said 'fairly' strong. Isn't that the kind of thing you say when you're stronger than the opponent?"
"If my master donated enough blood to fill an entire lake—on par with that succubus Lilith—then maybe I could win..."
"We don't have that kind of blood lying around?"
Stockpiling even normal blood in that quantity would be tough, let alone something equivalent to Lilith's. I'd heard her blood was incredibly rare and potent—where the hell would I even get that?
But hold on—why was she so nonchalant about admitting she couldn't win? As long as she got the blood, she'd take the victory? That was impressive in its own way, but...
"Getting worked up over slicing one little mountain? In my opinion, the incomprehensible magic my master has shown so far is far superior..."
...Ah, so that's what she was comparing him to—me? Haha...
Screw it.
"What if it wasn't just you? What if Draina, Lilith, and Aqua joined in too? Hell, throw in every soldier in this dungeon on top of that?"
"We'd have decent odds then... but no guarantees. There's no assurance it's just one opponent, and above all, heroes have those bizarre holy relic powers."
"So it all boils down to that, huh..."
In the end, the trickiest part about heroes was their holy relic abilities. Remembering how Erzsebet had been temporarily sealed by a mere 2-star hero's relic made it clear—they had irrational powers that could turn even dire situations around.
"Sigh... Got it for now. Oh, right—how's Draina?"
"She seems fine now? I saw her scarfing down her tenth snack a bit ago. She was on a binge, devouring everything including what she skipped when she wasn't feeling well."
"If you saw that, you should've stopped her..."
My head was already pounding from hero worries, but at least one silver lining was that Draina—who'd seemed off ever since we visited Lil's place—had recovered. I'd been pretty worried back then.
That said...
"Tch... Has she gotten a bit bigger?"
I stared puzzled at Draina in the distance, inhaling snacks like a vacuum. Maybe it was just my imagination, but she looked a little more grown-up.
Still a kid through and through... but who knows. Had she gotten taller? She used to be about Rio's height side-by-side, but now Draina looked a full handspan bigger...
"Haa... How did things end up like this?"
Following Erzsebet's words, I snatched the snacks from Draina's hands and slowly reviewed our tasks, a natural sigh escaping me.
Ever since crossing into this world, my life had been nonstop chaos. How the hell had I reached the point where I had to prepare for a showdown with a 5-star hero...?
'Why'd I end up in a dump like this?'
I ruminated once again on the thought I had two hundred times a day, sighing deeply. I'd just been doing my routine—unwinding after work with some Cleaning Game, browsing internet communities, and downloading the latest update...
Then I woke up transferred (or possessed, whatever) to this incomprehensible world, trapped here endlessly cleaning, and now fighting heroes... If I wrote a summary of everything I'd been through, it'd easily hit a hundred chapters of webnovel length.
'...Huh? Wait a sec.'
As I wallowed in my misery, thinking about the 'Cleaning Game' that I suspected caused my transfer/possession/whatever, a post I'd seen in an old gallery suddenly popped into my head.
📰 Forum Post
Title: Did you guys actually read the terms of service before playing this game?
Did you read the terms that pop up when creating your account at the start? I just skipped 'em and dove in lol.
💬 Comments
— Anon
99% chance anyone who reads that shit is a fag.
— Anon
I read it?
— Anon
Fuckin' fag. GTFO.
— Anon
Why? Did the ToS have some privacy violation clause? Refund run incoming?
— Anon
↳ Reply
Nah, check this (link). They snuck in some wild shit in the ToS.
↳ Reply
What the...? "By agreeing to these terms, you may be transferred to a world similar to this game's setting in certain circumstances..." And more crap like that?
↳ Reply
The dev must be a massive weeb. Who puts that kinda shit in their ToS?;
— Anon
Anyone who still skips the ToS after this post deserves an upvote tbh.
⭐ Top Comment
— Anon
(Eagle photo) Updooting this.
— Anon
Lmao, it's hilarious though. Putting an isekai clause in a cleaning game? Not even an RPG. Isn't that legally sketchy?
— Anon
Holy shit, agree to that ToS and you can get isekai'd?
— Anon
Isekai'd to do what? Clean? You cleaning your own house or what?
— Anon
You clean in-game, why clean IRL?
— Anon
Wouldn't it be the opposite usually?
— Anon
Please just live your real life...
...Something like that. I'd been baffled by the devs' antics and hit upvote anyway...
'...No way?'
...Nah. No way my transfer to this world was because I skimmed and agreed to that ridiculous ToS, right?
"Master? Why are you suddenly cleaning so passionately...?"
"Nah, just had a super infuriating thought hit me."
"...????"
If that was really the reason... I'd foam at the mouth and collapse from stomach ulcers on the spot.
Harboring that "no way" doubt mixed with "over something that stupid?", I channeled my boiling rage into fervent cleaning to calm down. Nothing soothed my soul like cleaning. That's why I'd been hooked on the Cleaning Game to begin with.
...Though getting this messed up from playing it so obsessively...
"Grrrrr!!!"
"Master? Master! What's gotten into you since earlier? Is that hero bothering you that much?"
"Huff... No. Almost had a qi deviation there..."
I nearly flew into another rage fit, shooed away Erzsebet who was staring at me like I was insane, and barely regained my composure. Then, to avoid dwelling on the injustice, I refocused on what I'd been thinking.
"According to Alfred, the Hero of Radiance is known to have three abilities."
The first was the source of his epithet: the power of Radiance.
Lumen wielded a power of light distinct from holy power called 'Radiance.' This force could heal allies, buff them, wrap his sword like an aura, fire it at range, block enemy attacks, and even replicate certain spells—a total cheat ability.
With this one power alone, Lumen could match the might of wielding multiple holy relics simultaneously.
Plus, being light-based, it was especially lethal to demons.
'This one ability already seems unbeatable.'
The first ability was bad enough, but the second was worse. What was it? Immortality. Straight-up immortality.
"...Immortality?"
"Yes. Though I doubt it's true immortality. Think of it as regeneration and vitality on that level."
It came to light during the conquest of the southern demon realm. In battle with the realm's master, an enemy attack pierced the Hero of Radiance's heart—but he regenerated even that and ultimately decapitated the demon lord. The tale was legendary.
I wasn't sure if it was real immortality, but after witnesses—demons and humans alike—saw him survive a shattered heart, they dubbed his power 'immortality.'
'What the fuck.'
Surviving a ruptured heart—is that even human? Apparently it wasn't just not dying; he had some healing factor too. I wondered how it stacked against Erzsebet's regeneration.
The third ability? This one was somewhat reasonable. 'Indomitable,' I think?
Simple effect: immunity to all mental attacks.
'And this is supposed to be his simplest, weakest power.'
Just looking at Lilith over there—grubby from skipping baths—plenty of demons specialized in mental attacks. But against Lumen, they'd all be useless. No mental interference could touch his indomitable spirit.
'If that Hero of Radiance shows up, Lilith turns into a total pushover.'
Even though only three abilities were known, as a 5-star hero, that meant two more unknown ones.
And separately from relic powers, his monstrous swordsmanship that split mountains was another threat.
Still, no helping it.
"Call the dungeon merchant."
We had to prepare somehow.
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