Chapter 78
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Welcome to the World of Superhumans
Welcome to the world of superhumans.
The sparring didn't end after just one round. Over and over, Enoch shouted for one more, driven by the burning thirst in his throat.
“One more.”
“…Shouldn't we take a break now?”
“I'm fine.”
Thankfully, since they were in the courtyard, the house didn't go flying from their restrained power. But even just moving their bodies and stepping on the ground had turned the yard into a mess.
After hours of the sound of clashing metal, it was only natural that passing elves would peek in curiously. In fact, Lione kept glancing out at the courtyard from inside the house.
“Wait, hold on…! This is my limit!”
By the time the sky had darkened completely, the sparring finally came to an end.
Philoti lay sprawled out in the courtyard, utterly exhausted. Enoch cleaned him up with magic and dragged him over to a chair at the dining table.
“Let's eat.”
“My thanks…”
Lione brought out the meal right on time and sat down next to Enoch with a bright smile.
“By the way, Enoch, where are you headed next?”
“Hmm… Not sure? I was thinking of going to the Demonic Realm near the Elf Alliance.”
“Oh, that place?”
Demonic Realms were, as the name suggested, extremely dangerous areas.
But not all Demonic Realms were equal, and the one near the Elf Alliance wasn't a good match for Enoch's level anymore.
“I didn't expect to reach Grand Master this quickly.”
“Hah…”
Philoti let out a hollow laugh at the absurd boast.
No, but what could he do? It was the truth. Enoch knew his growth was fast, but even so, hitting Grand Master this soon felt a bit too much.
The star he'd launched, 'Celestial Slaughter,' was meant to serve as a dagger checking Celestial Slaughter Star, but Enoch's rapid growth had rendered it largely pointless.
If he stayed at this level for about ten years, it might pose a slight threat?
But that wasn't going to happen. Honestly, he was confident he'd grow stronger than this even if he just lay in bed breathing for ten years.
“Now that I think about it, at your level, Enoch, truly dangerous Demonic Realms must be rare. Makes sense—having a lot of places like that wouldn't add up.”
A Demonic Realm dangerous enough for a Grand Master? Unless something on the level of a demigod lived there, it was unlikely.
There were places swarming with Grand Master-level beings, but… those weren't even called monsters anymore.
They were more like spirit beasts or that category.
If he went around chopping heads off in such places, he'd be branded a continental criminal in no time.
“It's fine, Enoch! Even if you're branded a continental criminal, big sis will always be on your side!”
[Teaching her bad habits, that wench.]
With Undine's snarky voice in the background, Enoch pondered his next destination anew.
'Somewhere to go…'
Nothing came to mind. Should he go look for that God of Life and Death he'd heard about before? The thought crossed his mind, but it still felt premature.
If he went barging in recklessly, their eyes would meet, and his body would be crushed to pieces on the spot, right?
Lately, he'd realized that the higher the realm, the absurdly wider the gap became.
Even Philoti and Lione were both Grand Masters, but a hundred Philotis charging at her probably still wouldn't beat Lione.
If Grand Masters varied that much, wouldn't demigods be on an entirely different level? Even Lione hadn't crossed that wall yet.
'Come to think of it, I wonder what the Lord of the Forest is up to these days.'
The first demigod he'd met. Rumor had it she was recovering from injuries, but looking back, he'd been lucky to survive.
If something had gone wrong and the Lord of the Forest had attacked in earnest, he'd have bid farewell to the living world right then. Surviving was a miracle.
“Anyway, Enoch, if you don't have anywhere to go, how about visiting that friend from last time?”
“Friend?”
“You know, that Jami Fortress place. The name was…”
Lione and Enoch exchanged glances and smiled awkwardly. What was his name again? Couldn't remember.
“Zikfline le Demisto.”
“Oh? Yonia. Long time no see.”
Yonia, who had now casually opened the door and entered, slung herself into a chair at the table.
“Sigh, Mom wouldn't let me go out.”
“Can you blame her? Kidnapped by elf hunters— it'd be weirder if she let you out.”
As Enoch popped the last piece of meat into his mouth, he thought.
Demisto. Should he pay a visit?
Not a bad idea.
*
Before leaving for Demisto, Enoch went around challenging every Grand Master elf in the Elf Alliance, as if determined to spar with all of them before departing.
His opponents were the elves who had recently reached Grand Master. Regular Masters felt a bit lacking as opponents now.
“Urgh…”
Naturally, he didn't win them all. Expecting victories right after hitting Grand Master was greedy, no matter how you sliced it.
Though his power had surpassed that level, among the long-lived elves, there were some whose skills approached Lione's.
“Remarkable. Aren't you only twenty?”
“Eighteen.”
“…Incredible.”
The elf man who'd defeated Enoch dusted off his stinging fists. He was the top expert in this village, yet even he had felt a chill at Enoch's steep growth curve.
“Even Lione wasn't this much at her age.”
“You knew Lione as a child?”
“Of course. I've known her since she was toddling around.”
“…How old are you?”
The elf man, Hyter, chuckled.
“About eleven hundred.”
“…A senior, I see.”
“What? Hahaha!”
Hyter burst into laughter at Enoch's words. A senior, indeed. Grab any elf in the village, and most would be older than this human boy.
“Oh, right. Lione stopped by earlier and said to tell you she had business with you.”
“Lione did?”
Enoch stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes.
“Seemed like she had something to give you? Her lips were twitching like she was holding back a grin.”
“Oho. Then I'll go see her.”
Enoch bowed his head and walked off.
“See you next time!”
Hyter laughed heartily again at the small, waving hand.
*
“Lione, were you looking for me earlier?”
When Enoch returned home and asked, Lione blinked.
“Hyter told you?”
“Yeah. Said you had something to give me.”
“Ugh, that guy's so dense.”
Lione pouted her lips and held out her hand to Enoch.
“Enoch, can I see your gloves?”
“Here.”
Lione took the gloves from Enoch and examined them closely.
“They're pretty worn. Doesn't seem that old, though.”
“Been through a lot of big stuff lately.”
“Now that you mention it, yeah.”
Lione smiled wryly and tucked the gloves into her bosom.
“Why? You like them?”
“Huh? Oh, hehe. Not stealing them.”
“If you want them, Lione, take them. I don't mind.”
“Really?”
Lione grinned mischievously and poked the tip of Enoch's nose.
“Wait here a sec?”
She vanished somewhere and returned after about five minutes.
In her hands was something like black clothing, and judging by the aura it gave off, it was no ordinary garment.
“Here, Enoch. I wondered when I'd give you this. Never dreamed it'd be so soon.”
Enoch took the clothes and blinked, and Lione pointed toward the room.
“Want to try them on and come out? Or change here, I don't mind.”
“Really?”
Lione stiffened for a moment, her cheeks flushing slightly.
“…Kidding. Go inside and change.”
“Okay.”
He went into the room and changed. The outfit was all black, top and bottom.
The gloves Lione had taken were there too—more precisely, his old gloves fit inside new black ones.
“Double layers, huh?”
He slipped them on as is. A strange sensation hit him, and before he knew it, the two pairs of gloves had merged into one.
“Oh…”
What was this? Curious, he shook the clothes around and realized the mana conductivity was unusually high.
Near-zero resistance, maybe? He channeled mana according to his senses, and sure enough, the stiff collar stood up like a blade.
'Nice.'
He could do this with normal clothes too. But that was wasteful, whereas these were efficient enough to use as weapons.
He opened the door and stepped out, and Lione, who had been waiting, clapped with a beaming smile.
“Suits you perfectly!”
“But what's this all of a sudden? Random clothes?”
“I asked Liraum for them a while back. Full adamantium set.”
“Adamantium?”
It rang a bell… As he tilted his head, Undine let out a deep sigh.
[You could buy half a kingdom selling that? Wait, Liraum's one of the Ten Great Craftsmen, right? Yeah, probably half a kingdom.]
“Hm, so it's valuable?”
[…Half a kingdom—whose dog's name is that?]
“Even a whole kingdom couldn't beat Lione in a fight.”
Undine fell silent, out of retorts. In her place, Lione chuckled and spoke up.
“Truth is, adamantium's so rare it's hard to put a price on it. Almost never on the market.”
“You sure it's okay to give something like this to me? You use it, Lione.”
“No way. Seeing you safe and healthy is the best gift big sis could get.”
She stroked Enoch's head gently.
“Anyway, it's valuable enough that someone might target it. I was gonna give it when you hit Grand Master, but you got there faster than expected.”
“…Yeah. Thanks.”
“No biggie.”
She giggled and held out her hand.
Handshake? Without thinking, Enoch took it, and she shook it lightly while whispering softly.
“Actually, I've been wanting to say this.”
Lione's eyes glowed emerald, and the mana around her brushed Enoch's cheek like a gentle breeze.
Sensing intent in the movement, Enoch joined in, manipulating the external mana. Their wills blended, and a beautiful aurora of green and purple bloomed in the air.
Seeing it, Lione smiled brightly, like a flower in full bloom.
“Welcome, Enoch. To the world of superhumans.”