The Porter's Strength Revealed (1)
Even in his first life, of course, as well as the second, the third… and even up to the seventh.
No matter how proficient he became, there were always things Julian could not control.
“After this war ends, I’m going back to propose to my girlfriend.”
Slice!
It had become all too familiar—the sight of the man who’d spoken those words having his head roll across the battlefield floor.
Already has a wife and kids, the bastard. What the hell is he proposing to a girlfriend for?
Tap.
Julian picked up the pendant hanging from the dead comrade’s neck—the one holding a picture of his wife and child—and offered a silent moment of respect.
Couldn’t stop it again.
As stories progressed, there were always those fated to die.
They would shout absurd future resolutions and hopes into the air as if following some invisible script, only to meet their end that same day or shortly after.
After seeing it so many times, Julian eventually learned to spot them just by looking at their faces.
“Hello! It’s an honor to join Julian-nim’s party!”
“Looking at you… you’ll last three days.”
“Pardon?”
“The work is brutal.”
“N-no, sir! I’ve already survived countless wars… and when this journey ends, I will definitely return to my beloved fiancée Cecilia and—urk!”
“Enough. Get lost, kid.”
“!?”
Even if he clamped a hand over their mouth and roared at them to leave, it never worked.
They would join the party in the end. If Julian refused them, they would follow anyway and meet their doom.
Slash!
“Cough! Cecilia… please… marry me…”
In the end, the weight of it all fell on Julian’s shoulders.
Damn it all.
He eventually decided to simply accept the fate that flowed toward him.
Those who are meant to go will go anyway.
He came to understand that the story board simply contained characters who existed for that role.
Not the protagonist. Not even a supporting character.
A side note to this world.
An extra.
Beings who existed not only outside the center, but who burned themselves to ash simply to illuminate it.
“Sa-Sacred Oneeee!”
No matter how much Chaeyoung sobbed and called for him, the Sacred One could not return.
It might have been a fantasy world, but there was no fantasy in which the dead came back to life.
And even if such a thing existed, an extra would never be the one to return.
After all, everything was just a rollercoaster built for the Constellations’ amusement.
An extra’s death was nothing more than the moment the coaster plunged downward.
A device for thrill and pleasure, nothing more.
Before that tremendous descending speed, no sense of weight existed at all.
To them, it was simply entertainment.
A weightless, irresponsible game.
It was a world cold enough to freeze the bones.
But Junil was used to it.
Okay. Champion Goblin has appeared.
His expression didn’t change at all.
He simply prepared for battle with the Champion Goblin. After all, he had done this exact thing seven times already.
However—
“You son of a bitch!”
Kang Hae-il was different.
He charged straight at the Champion Goblin without hesitation.
Tadadadak—
Flames wrapped around his entire body as he flew forward like a phoenix.
He really shouldn’t do that.
Junil knew the Champion Goblin’s danger all too well.
Its enormous size, strength uncharacteristic of a goblin, and on top of that, the agility and cunning that were very much like a goblin.
Swish!
The Champion Goblin stepped backward.
Dodged.
Boom!
The flaming fist caused a massive explosion, but it dealt no damage.
It had been avoided far too easily.
The Champion Goblin’s counterattack came immediately.
Whoosh!
A giant iron mace appeared above Hae-il’s wide-open eyes.
Surely he won’t get hit by something that obvious??
Even so, as the protagonist, would he really fall for such a blatant counterattack?
…That was what Junil thought as he watched, but he quickly had to revise his opinion.
Thud!
It hit dead on.
“Cough!”
It wasn’t Kang Hae-il. It was Jeon In-su.
Oh no.
Jeon In-su’s arm bent at a horrible angle as he slammed into the wall.
Thump!
Why would he take that hit?
It was a battle Junil couldn’t understand.
It looks worse than my first round.
That was only natural.
Hadn’t Pam once heard something like this?
Just reaching the ending already puts you in the top one percent.
Junil had possessed top-one-percent hero talent from the very beginning.
So of course he couldn’t understand these people.
“In-su-nim…?!”
Kang Hae-il’s eyes lost focus for a moment.
He was clearly shaken.
He’s too rattled by the situation.
He didn’t talk much, so it wasn’t obvious, but Junil could tell that Kang Hae-il had come to rely heavily on Jeon In-su.
After all, they always stood at the front line together.
Kang Hae-il took a deep breath.
“Haa… ha…”
Then kicked off the ground once more.
Tap!
The mace was a brutishly large weapon, so he was trying to close the distance and get inside its reach.
It was a good attempt.
However—
Oh. This.
Flash Step
Whoosh!
The Champion Goblin flew backward at a speed close to teleportation, as if it had predicted the move.
It was a movement skill possessed by high-ranking agility-type monsters.
The speed difference is too great.
Kang Hae-il’s flaming fist exploded uselessly into empty air once again.
Boom~!
The difference in combat sense is overwhelming.
A Champion Goblin was born by devouring dozens of other goblins.
The elite chosen from among goblin warriors, then appointed as the great warrior of the Goblin King—a true champion.
A being thoroughly seasoned in battle.
On the other hand, Kang Hae-il?
Did they pick the protagonist based on his face alone?
He had so little talent that such a thought crossed Junil’s mind.
Is he going to die like this?
The priority wasn’t interfering—it was making sure the man didn’t die.
The Constellations seemed to think Kang Hae-il was about to die and were subtly taking it out on Junil.
Not yet. There’s still healing.
Intervention was still too early.
Jeon In-su, who had recovered his right arm earlier, cast healing on Kang Hae-il.
The two of them reset their stances.
“Again.”
Hae-il charged in recklessly once more.
Boom!
Kang Hae-il closed in and began a bloody brawl with the Champion Goblin.
He’s been hit by that mace multiple times. His guts are insane.
One thing Junil could acknowledge was Kang Hae-il’s courage.
Even with a paladin acting as healer from the back, how many modern people could keep throwing punches while taking hits from a Champion Goblin’s mace?
Junil recalled the memory of his first round—how he had accidentally encountered the troll too early, tumbled over himself, and fled in panic.
Well, he’s got better guts than I did. Just that.
In fact, his appearance was superior as well.
That was what stood out most to Junil.
He deliberately ignored the thought.
It was annoying.
Aigoo, he got hit again?
Thud!
This time Kang Hae-il took a solid blow from the mace.
“H-Hae-il oppa!”
Kim Chaeyoung, who had been casting magic from behind, screamed.
She clearly thought the situation had turned critical.
“Stop it!”
Kang Hae-il stood up again.
His body was practically in tatters.
Yet flames roared across his entire form.
“Still… I can still keep going…”
At the sight of Kang Hae-il, the Constellations grew even more heated.
They sensed real danger.
Boom!
Kang Hae-il landed another solid hit on the Champion Goblin.
Still… he’s almost got it.
The Champion Goblin’s legs staggered.
Now… it’s time.
Junil decided the moment had come.
“Whew.”
He took a deep breath.
Closing his eyes, he focused on the mana within him.
Inheritance of the Incarnation 'Hero - Julian'
Progress: 7.71%
Woooong…!
The amount of mana was pathetically small compared to his days as Julian.
But it’s still seven percent.
Compared to when he had first started, this was something to be grateful for.
At this level, handling a Champion Goblin should have been easy.
Without being noticed. In one hit.
Now the conditions were far stricter.
Here, Junil was an F-rank Awakened and nothing more than a porter.
He had to earn Kang Hae-il’s trust while maintaining that image.
He couldn’t suddenly display an abnormal amount of power.
Therefore, he had to eliminate the Champion Goblin instantly, without anyone noticing.
I’ve only done this a couple of times across seven rounds—aside from infiltrating the demon race for assassinations.
Even with all his experience, Junil had only used this method twice during those seven lives.
Assassination had never been the hero’s specialty.
Will it manifest?
He recalled it once more.
It was a basic movement technique that his martial arts teacher Tou had often used.
During his time as Julian he had used it as naturally as breathing.
But trying to execute it with this body required careful consideration of many factors.
Thump. Thump.
Junil tested small hops.
“Whew.”
He recalled the Champion Goblin’s movements from earlier.
Junil ignored the Constellations’ messages entirely and focused only on his breathing and rhythm.
Thump. Thump.
He closed his eyes, drew up his mana, and then—
Now.
His eyes snapped open.
“Uwaaaaaaaaaah!”
It was the exact moment Kang Hae-il squeezed out the last of his strength to throw a punch.
Flash Step
Swish!
Junil’s figure scattered for an instant.
Mana Punch
Thud.
A short, heavy roar echoed from the Champion Goblin’s direction.
Flash Step
Pop!
Junil returned to his original position.
The only trace left was the roughly disturbed sand on the ground.
“……Huh?”
“Huh?”
No one on the scene had been able to perceive that speed.
But a moment later—
“Kruk?!”
The Champion Goblin staggered violently.
“Die!”
Kang Hae-il’s flaming fist caught the opening perfectly.
Boom!
Red flames exploded in a brilliant burst.
The Champion Goblin’s balance collapsed completely as it crashed to the floor.
Kuuuung…!
Boss Defeated!
The party members burst into cheers.
“I-it’s dead…?!”
“H-he did it! Hae-il oppa! Hae-il oppa finally…!”
After a desperate bloody battle, Kang Hae-il had finally defeated the Champion Goblin. That was how it looked to them.
Dungeon Cleared!
“Waaaaaaaaah!”
While everyone celebrated the dungeon clear, only the Constellations watching Junil were left utterly bewildered.
The movement had been so fast that it could only be read from Junil’s own point of view.
Seeing the Constellations’ reactions, Junil felt rather proud.
Perfect.
The steal had been successful.
The sensation in his fingertips had been clear.
The Champion Goblin had died the instant it took Junil’s punch.
In other words, Junil had killed it.
A perfect, unnoticed assassination.
Experience and rewards will be provided according to contribution!
Calculating contribution...
Huh?
If not for this message, it truly would have been a perfect assassination.
What is this?
Whiiirrr…!
The sound of a spinning roulette wheel rang out as it calculated the contribution scores.
“Of course Hae-il oppa will be first, right?”
He wasn’t.
First place was Moon Junil.
Th-this kind of function existed?
It was all exposed so openly.
Didn’t this completely defeat the purpose of killing it secretly?
Junil was flustered, but—
An anonymous Constellation has sponsored 30 Feelings (FL)!
An anonymous Constellation has sponsored 5 Feelings (FL)!
An anonymous Constellation has sponsored 10 Feelings (FL)!
An anonymous Constellation has sponsored 10 Feelings (FL)!
The Constellations were simply thrilled.