Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Episode 4.
Clang-!
Gunter casually parried the incoming sword and stepped back.
Enemies were charging fiercely from all directions, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the status window that followed.
[The amount of Karma offered is ridiculously low]
To think it was ridiculously insufficient even after going all-in with the Karma he possessed.
It was baffling.
Fortunately, however, the god did not take back the power it had granted.
It only imposed a slight penalty.
[Stigma will only partially activate]
Woooooong-!
Next, the Stigma on his wrist grew hot.
[Stigma Activation: He Who Raises His Head]
- When a formidable enemy exists on the battlefield, all stats increase by 10%.
As the pattern blazed more vividly, an aura mixed with nobility and intimidation swirled around his body and spread outwards.
Gunter felt vitality surge through him.
The Stigma had activated upon recognizing a powerful knight somewhere on the battlefield.
But it didn't end there.
[Power flows in from the activated Stigma]
[A new skill is acquired]
…My god.
Gunter uttered such an exclamation for the first time, spanning both this world and the next.
He had never imagined acquiring a skill on top of a Stigma.
[A new skill is acquired]
- Knight's Swordsmanship Lv.1
*Tip: Acquired skills are maintained even after 'Death Return'.
Skills were not mere techniques.
In this world, they were akin to receiving a portion of a god's divine authority.
Upon acquisition, one could bypass training and practice, and immediately wield perfected power.
It was the same for the 'Knight's Swordsmanship' Gunter obtained.
A skill that allowed him to wield a sword as if he were a knight who had trained for decades, the moment he acquired it.
For someone without a contract, it was a realm that could literally only be reached through a lifetime of struggle.
And now?
It was naturally within his grasp simply by offering Karma.
'What on earth… is Karma?'
[Red Street Pillar shrugs, saying you'll be even more surprised when you acquire your own skills later]
[Addict Saintess raises her flask in a toast, seeing you happy]
Above all, a contract with a god was a double-edged sword.
While one could gain power quickly, one had to fulfill the conditions set by the gods.
But Gunter was different.
Without a single line of contract, without ever serving a god.
He could reap benefits without being bound by conditions or payment.
'What is this….'
Gunter realized.
His potential, which was not inferior to any protagonist in this world.
No, it surpassed them.
Waaaaaaah-!
Had he been thinking for too long?
The Holy Army had already closed in to striking distance.
Gunter gripped his sword tightly.
A man wielding a large hammer stood before him.
"What is this scrawny runt?"
As he met the burning eyes beyond the helmet, Gunter's eyebrows furrowed.
He knew those eyes.
'The one who broke my shoulder.'
In his previous life.
Gunter had suffered a critical injury from a Looten Soldier's hammer.
At the time, he hadn't realized it in his haste, but now he saw that the man's presence and equipment were far from that of a mere grunt.
'He seems to be about a Decurion.'
Gunter habitually tensed and took a stance.
Not an ordinary soldier, but a Decurion was a skilled opponent whose victory was not guaranteed.
Managing ten subordinates meant having the skill to command them.
Especially a soldier trained in formal military drills could easily defeat mercenaries.
Vwoom-
Indeed, the tip of the hammer the man raised was already stained with blood.
Gunter watched the hammer fall with a fearsome sound.
"Whoa, Gunter!"
A fierce assault that made the surrounding mercenaries gasp.
'!'
…There was no need to worry.
[Knight's Swordsmanship Lv.1 activates]
His body moved like a 'knight' on its own, as if a lost memory had been implanted somewhere within him.
Tadak-!
Gunter lightly kicked off the ground with his toes and moved half a step to the right.
Simultaneously, he tilted his sword to an almost vertical angle and brought it to meet the charging hammer.
Sreeeng-!
Gasps of astonishment erupted from the surroundings.
To try and block a hammer with such a thin sword?
It would surely break or be deflected.
Everyone foresaw a future where Gunter's head would be split open.
Kagagag-!
But then.
Gunter's sword flowed along the hammer's trajectory like a creeping snake.
"What!"
Sparks flew.
A subtly misaligned trajectory.
Kwang-!
Instead of striking Gunter, the hammer plunged into the ground, throwing its wielder off balance.
"Wh-what!"
Gunter blinked, facing the Decurion frozen in bewilderment.
'Huh….'
A high-difficulty technique that he wouldn't have even dared to attempt before was executed so naturally and perfectly.
Strength, angle, shift in center of gravity.
Everything blended smoothly.
'Is this the power of a skill?'
It was on a different level from his previous fights, which relied solely on his body and basic fundamentals.
Gunter felt, not exaggerating, that he had become several times stronger.
[Ninety-Nine Overlord Knight King says it's too early to be surprised]
'...Right, it's only Skill Level 1 for now.'
The moment Gunter's lips twisted.
The Decurion yanked the hammer embedded in the ground and swung it upwards.
Vwoom-!
Perhaps to hide his bewilderment, his momentum was even more ferocious.
But Gunter had already entered the opponent's blind spot.
"You…!"
The Decurion twisted his body belatedly, but it was too late.
Gunter's sword shot out straight.
A perfectly concise strike.
Pook-
The blade perfectly pierced the Decurion's carotid artery.
It was a textbook counterattack, calculated even for the opponent's desperate reflex.
Thud, the corpse, devoid of spirit, collapsed.
It was merely 10 seconds after the engagement began.
"...Huh."
"No, what the…."
The surrounding mercenaries stared at him in disbelief.
Ryan, his close friend, was particularly astonished.
"...Is he a knight or what."
Defense, counterattack, and even the enemy's movements—everything was meticulously calculated and controlled.
It wasn't the haphazard swordsmanship of mercenaries who relied on instinct and impromptu judgment.
It was a sword that one might expect from those who grew up holding wooden swords instead of baby bottles.
"……."
Meanwhile, Gunter's heart also pounded.
Excitement spread through his body like a flame.
He looked down at the sword in his hand.
'Right….'
[Level Up! / Lv.26]
[Skill 'Knight's Swordsmanship' proficiency increases]
'...This is Forgotten God.'
A game where one wields divine power and carves one's own myth.
After 3 years, the true nature of this world, long forgotten, vividly returned.
[Addict Saintess smiles brightly in response]
[Red Street Pillar hums contentedly]
[Ninety-Nine Overlord Knight King smiles, witnessing the newly begun narrative]
…Karma is a currency settled by death.
Gunter finally grasped the kind of fight he had to wage.
His eyes shone clearly.
'I just need to overcome pain and fear.'
Of course, acquiring skills and Stigmas didn't mean he could immediately achieve unparalleled dominance.
His stats were insufficient, and his skill level was low.
He would have to die a few more times.
There was undoubtedly an unbridgeable gap between him, who had lived his entire life without a contract, and contractors who had accumulated power steadily by contracting with gods since long ago.
It was true that those deaths were frightening and unsettling.
But he dared to say, having experienced it, that he could endure.
Thinking of his younger sibling left alone on Earth made it even more insignificant.
Gunter shook the blood off his blade and took a deep breath.
Thump.
One step, then another.
The spears and swords wielded by the Holy Army could no longer stop him.
Gunter's eyes were fixed on a single target.
The knight, slicing through the caravan guards with an impassive face.
Gunter raised his sword high.
.
.
.
[You have died]
[Counting death records]
[2/99]
[NEW! Organizing the growth of this life]
- Level has increased by '2'.
- Proficiency in Knight's Swordsmanship has slightly increased.
* * *
The conviction that the future would gradually improve kept humans from growing weary.
Perhaps that was why.
[#2 The Life of the Arrogant]
[Did you think you got stronger just by acquiring a few skills? Your reckless charge…]
'Yeah, yeah.'
[……]
Even looking at the status window that mocked him with all its might, he didn't feel bad.
I waited for the return, meticulously reviewing my past life.
As expected, it wasn't the knight who killed me.
Before I could even reach him, I was blocked by a combined attack from the grunts.
Even with 'Knight's Swordsmanship,' it was impossible to block all the spears and swords pouring in from all directions simultaneously.
If I could have cut them down one by one over time, perhaps, but in a situation where I had to break through the encirclement before the caravan master died, there was no such luxury.
However, the feeling wasn't as hollow or despairing as my first death.
Instead, I looked forward to the return.
Because much had already been different from my previous life.
[Level 27]
[Remaining Stats: 2]
*Newly Acquired Skill:
[Knight's Swordsmanship]
- Grade: Rare
- Type: Basic Swordsmanship/Passive
- Level: 1
- Proficiency: 19.7%
Precise knight's swordsmanship perfected through rigorous training and practical combat.
It possesses the characteristic of attack and defense flowing into one.
'To be able to start with these intact….'
Thinking I could do better than this time, the next challenge held no fear.
'Alright, then.'
I waited for the status window that would follow, with expectant eyes.
Karma Settlement Window.
How much valuable currency would I earn that would grant me more divine power?
Ting-!
[Karma from 2nd Life: 15]
[Owned Karma: 15]
[Accumulated Karma: 115]
…I was met with a somewhat ambiguous figure.
'Well, I didn't expect to hit the jackpot on my first try.'
This was just the beginning.
As stats and skills are inherited.
I would naturally perform greater feats on the battlefield from now on.
Then I would naturally earn more Karma, and with that Karma, I could become stronger.
An intuitive virtuous cycle.
'I'm sure I'll earn more than 15 in the very next life.'
The status window clearly stated about Karma:
[A currency accumulated by settling all karma, whether good deeds or bad deeds]
What other deeds could be accumulated on the battlefield?
'...I'll earn as much as I can.'
As I was roughly planning how to maximize Karma—
[Returning to Save Point #1]
All procedures for Death Return were complete.
[10, 9, 8… ]
Swoooosh-
The black space was once again filled with a white halo from its edges.
A gentle hue.
I took a breath and turned towards it.
"...Alright, let's go."
The third life began.