If You Act Out, You Deserve to Get Hit

“About this much?”

The Iron Ant habitat sat deep within Monster Land. To anyone else it was the worst possible place—a cave where death itself lay in wait, a zone no one should ever enter. But to Albert it was nothing more than a literal gold mine of natural resources.

“Kieek!”

“Hmm, maybe I should take a few more?”

The swarm of Iron Ants, sensing their kin’s death, poured out from the pitch-black depths of the tunnels. A black wave of death. These were the apex predators of Monster Land, a literal tide of annihilation that even ogres feared.

“Whoa, they’re really pouring in. Lots of them.”

As Albert’s sword moved, the black wave that had been poised to engulf him crumbled apart with a thunderous crash. He swept the remains into his subspace.

“Nah, I’m not.”

“We’d get something good, sure. But why slit open the belly of the goose that lays the golden eggs?”

“Exactly. As long as the queen exists, Iron Ants will keep being born endlessly. But the queen herself isn’t renewable. Kill her once and there’s no telling when another will appear.”

Albert nodded. In a situation where they had no proper mines, preserving the Iron Ant habitat was necessary to maintain a steady supply of iron. To others it might be a deadly zone, but to him it was no different from a casual walking path.

“Let’s head out.”

Albert stepped outside. Near the entrance, Richel and Abel were busily stripping off antennae and carapaces. Perhaps because it was the entrance to an Iron Ant nest, no other monsters seemed to be approaching.

“Ah, you’re back!”

“Yes.”

“You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”

“No, it wasn’t dangerous enough to get hurt.”

“As expected.”

Richel smiled as if she had known it all along. Then, in a careful, slightly lowered voice, she asked, “By any chance… did you also catch the queen?”

Was she asking because she hoped he had caught it? He wondered, but her eyes and expression said otherwise. There was a hint of worry in her tone.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Oh, really? The queen must be difficult to catch, right?”

“Not at all. Catching the queen isn’t particularly hard.”

“It’s… not hard?”

No way. The Iron Ants were already this strong—how powerful must the queen, who stood several steps above them, be? He was saying that capturing something like that wasn’t difficult. Which meant he could catch her anytime he felt like it.

“Then why…?”

“If the queen stays alive, we can keep hunting Iron Ants indefinitely. It would be a shame to end the farm in one go.”

“Ah.”

Richel couldn’t help letting out a deep sigh of admiration. The reason she had asked in the first place was because she had been thinking along the same lines. Other people might not be able to, but Albert could hunt Iron Ants by himself. That overwhelming martial prowess that let him slaughter hundreds at once—if it was his power…

‘We can secure as much steel as we want.’

Wars both large and small continued across the continent, and iron consumption was extreme. No matter how many mines existed, they couldn’t keep up with demand. In the middle of all that, they had gained access to an infinite supply of the natural resource known as Iron Ants.

Killing the queen would let them cash in a huge amount right now, but—

‘Looking at the future, keeping the queen alive and continuously hunting the ants is far more profitable.’

It was a very merchant-like way of thinking.

‘To think he even considered that… As expected of the man I’ve set my sights on! He’s wonderful!’

Richel’s gaze toward Albert was filled with open admiration.

“Then these as well…”

Albert opened his subspace to take out the Iron Ant corpses, then froze mid-motion. The next instant, his face twisted frighteningly as he glared in one direction. It was the direction of the territory.

“What kind of son of a bitch…”

A curse slipped from his lips.

“Um… what’s wrong?”

“Something urgent came up. I’ll head back to the territory first.”

“What!? But what about us…”

“The slime will protect you. You can relax. See you later.”

“Wait a second!!!”

Richel frantically reached out to grab him, but her hand only sliced through empty air. Albert had vanished like the wind. Richel and Abel stared at the now-empty spot where he had been standing, faces pale with shock.

“How can he just abandon us here?!”

Albert loved and cherished his little sister. She was his only blood relative. He had returned too late to protect their father and mother, but he was determined to protect her no matter what. He planned to compensate her for all the hardships she had endured and make sure she could live freely without lacking anything.

But Albert ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠knew.

‘I can’t do everything by myself.’

Even if he was an EX-rank hunter. Even if he was called the strongest hunter, he only had one body. He had gained plenty of experience in that other world and realized firsthand that one person could not handle everything alone. That was why he had placed several skills on Elena.

The skills he had placed on Elena all activated at once, sending him a signal. She was in danger.

‘No direct attack, right?’

‘That’s enough.’

If she could hold out until he arrived, he could resolve everything. He had placed the skills on Elena precisely to buy that time. Of course, she didn’t know about them. If she did, she would definitely complain that it was overprotective.

‘Almost there.’

It hadn’t even been a full minute. The distance between the Iron Ant habitat and Legrian Territory was considerable. Even a normal knight running at full speed would need at least thirty minutes. Yet Albert had covered that distance in one minute.

The combination of four skills. Albert ran while folding space, a feat that could rival the legendary instant movement technique. Having become a fierce gale, he leaped straight toward the reception room window.

The System assisted Albert appropriately. Remembering how Elena had scolded him last time for breaking the window, it used psychokinesis to open the window without shattering it.

Whoosh!

A fierce wind swept through the reception room. Albert landed on the windowsill and quickly scanned the interior. Elena’s expression brightened the moment she saw him appear with the strong gust.

Whether because the window had opened or the wind had blown in, the air felt much lighter.

“Brother!”

“Yeah.”

Seeing her smile at him with genuine delight, Albert smiled back—then spotted Grandel sitting across from her. His gaze instantly turned ice-cold.

“Did you just threaten my sister?”

‘This can’t be happening…’

The moment Albert appeared, Grandel couldn’t help but be horrified. Along with his arrival, the mana that had filled the reception room was instantly suppressed by another source of mana. And it was done effortlessly.

The air in the reception room felt lighter not because the window had opened and fresh air had come in.

‘It’s because my mana was suppressed and lost its power.’

Even if he had only released mana lightly as a threat, it shouldn’t have disappeared this easily.

‘And she called him brother… I remember hearing the territory residents mention it. A family member who returned after ten years, wasn’t it?’

His appearance was that of a handsome man who looked to be in his mid-twenties no matter who saw him. His looks were so striking that even another man would sigh in admiration. The moment he officially debuted in high society, a war among noble daughters would undoubtedly break out.

‘No, this isn’t the time to be thinking about that. I need to find out about the world-class magic.’

Grandel hurriedly collected himself and recalled his original purpose.

“Ahem, nice to meet you. I am from the Magic Guild…”

“Ah, no need for introductions. I’m not particularly interested.”

“…Informal speech? That’s quite rude for a first meeting.”

“Why? Got a problem? You can speak informally to someone you just met, but I can’t? That’s some serious double standards.”

Grandel furrowed his brow. He didn’t bother hiding his displeasure. In his early fifties, Grandel was not in a position to be spoken to informally anywhere he went. Moreover, Albert looked like nothing more than a fledgling who hadn’t even lived half as long as he had.

“You seem to lack basic etiquette. I am older than you…”

“Are you really the one to be talking about etiquette right now, Sir Grandel?”

Unexpectedly, Elena cut in. Faced with her incredulous reaction, Grandel found himself at a loss for words. After all, he had done something inexcusable.

‘Oh, our Elena is being this assertive…’

When he had first seen her, she had seemed somewhat timid and downcast. It had been quite pitiful. Yet now she was confidently expressing her own opinion. Seeing the dignity in her amethyst eyes, he felt both proud and incredibly fond of her.

“O-oppa…”

“Whoops, my bad.”

Without realizing it, Albert had begun stroking her hair. Elena didn’t seem to mind at all.

‘Anyway, that’s that.’

Albert’s expression changed.

“So, what exactly did you do to my sister? Huh?”

At Albert’s sharp tone, Grandel cleared his throat and replied.

“I didn’t do anything.”

“You didn’t do anything?”

Elena glared at him with a dumbfounded expression and stabbed him with a sharp voice. “You used your mana to oppress me.”

“Ahem, that was just a light prank.”

“A prank?”

This time Albert took over. The fact that the skills he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had placed on Elena had activated meant considerable pressure had been applied to her. Albert wanted to protect her, but he had no intention of being overly protective. He knew that excessive protection only weakened the person, so the skills were set to activate only after a certain threshold.

‘If the skills activated…’

‘I know.’

He could see Elena’s hands trembling slightly. She had barely been holding on and had finally caught a break thanks to his arrival.

The System seemed furious as well. Albert had no intention of forgiving him either.

“A prank? Sure, a light prank… Then let me ask you this…”

Rumble—!!!

As his voice grew heavy, the atmosphere in the reception room grew heavy as well. An indescribable, overwhelming pressure and an aura so heavy it defied resistance crushed down on Grandel.

“Ugh!”

‘What the hell is this?!’

What monstrous mana. It was so wild and vast like the Pacific Ocean that one had to wonder if a human could even possess it. He couldn’t move. Grandel poured out every ounce of mana he had. His six circles spun furiously, squeezing out power. His body began to glow blue. It was the phenomenon of mana generated from the circles circulating through his body like blood from the heart.

But—

‘I can’t budge an inch. Me, a 6-Circle mage?! How?!’

“You… bastard…”

Grandel slowly raised his heavy head, glared at Albert, and barely moved his lips. Even speaking was difficult.

‘If I relax even a little, I feel like I’ll be crushed and explode… I have to clench my abs! More power!!’

“Why are you glaring like that? It’s a prank, just a prank~ Why don’t you ease up a little?”

Albert put on an exaggerated playful smile and walked right up to him.

“You played a prank on my sister, so I can play one too, right? A prank.”

His face was smiling, but his eyes were not. The murderous look in them sent chills down Grandel’s spine. His heart, perfectly protected by his circles, ached, and a fear deeper than the abyss gripped him.

“To a mage, mana is one of their means of attack. If a mage is a gun, then mana is the bullet that fires from it. You used that mana on my sister. You know what that means, don’t you?”

Albert’s voice was covered in such chilling killing intent that it made one’s skin crawl. The fury of an EX-rank ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hunter was not something a mere 6-Circle mage could withstand.

“A mage’s mana is a tool for murder. It’s not for threats. Which means you tried to kill my sister.”

At the same time he released his aura, Albert grabbed Grandel by the collar, yanked him close, and whispered quietly into his ear.

“Then you must be prepared to die too, right?”

If you act up, you deserve to get hit. Don’t you think?