Offense regained his shadow sorcery in exchange for drinking the poop water.
However, his face looked even worse than when he had lost his shadow sorcery.
We decided to leave him alone for the time being.
As Agril descended, the shouts of the territory’s people reached our ears.
“Hero! Hero!”
“The hero has gotten rid of the green smoke!”
“Ahhh, we are saved. We are finally free!”
“Ughhh, thank you so much!”
“We were so selfish… sob sob.”
It seemed the people of the territory had been watching the battle on the mountain, which had now vanished.Joy, delight, happiness, and cheers were all tangled together.
A perfect opportunity.
I stood atop Agril and raised my hand.
“Everyone! The nightmare is over!”
“Wooooaahhh!”
“The green smoke that tormented you is de..”
Not dead.
“…gone. Those miserable days are over. You may rest easy!”
“Thank you so much, Hero!”
“Compared to Kaeld, Lord Mide is the true hero!”
“Please, forgive us.”
“That arm that appeared in the air earlier, wasn’t that the Demon King? Please, destroy that damned thing too.”
I took a moment to enjoy their cheers.
Then it came.
< Ding! You have gained 12,000 Fame Points. >
< Fame Points needed for the next level: 135,760/500,000 >
< From now on, your name will resound throughout the Atrium Territory. >
< Total Fame Points to be earned from this incident: 13,000 >
< Your name is resounding in the Drucker Territory. (All points collected!) >
< Your name is resounding in the Quelk Territory. (All points collected!) >
< Your name is resounding in the Lior Territory. (All points collected!) >
< Your name is resounding in the Avis Territory. (All points collected!) >
< Your name is resounding in the Raynus Territory. (All points collected!) >
< Your name is resounding in the Tetra Territory. (All points collected!) >
< Your name is resounding in the Capital. (All points collected!) >
< Your name is resounding in the Hasphil Territory. (All points collected!) >
< Your name is resounding in the Dronoar Territory. (All points collected!) >
< Neril Slane thinks of you as “a man stronger than the Demon King.” >
< Xenia Seide thinks of you as “literally her lifesaver.” >
< Offense Dake thinks of you as “someone he can open up to completely.” >
< Adwin Ayn thinks of you as “someone he wants to become like.” >
< Lisel Vint thinks of you as “a leader she can follow and trust unconditionally.” >
< Serein Magnus thinks of you as “someone she wishes she had met sooner.” >
Once again, my fame had risen.
Should I compare it with Kaeld’s now?
‘Map!’
[Thought you would ask.]
The map of the continent appeared on the screen.
< Mide Mohan Total Fame: 135,760 >
< Kaeld Wake Total Fame: 31,170 >
Because of this event, Kaeld’s fame in Atrium had dropped.
Not only in points but also in territory, I had pulled far ahead.
[At this rate, even a divine oracle couldn’t overturn this, could it?]
‘No way. We are still far from enough.’
An oracle was a game-breaking event that could overturn everything.
I waved to the people and shouted.
“Now we must leave. Please don’t hold us back this time. Haha.”
“We… we are sorry…”
“No, I’m not blaming you. I understand how you feel.”
And I meant it.
They hadn’t held us back out of selfishness, not really.
“But there’s one thing I want you to remember.”
“Yes?”
“The fact that it was your efforts that helped defeat the green smoke.”
“Wh-what?”
“If you hadn’t lent us your strength, we could never have done it.”
“…”
“The Demon King is strong. His minions are strong. But they aren’t stronger than humanity’s desire and hope for a better tomorrow!”
Their eyes shimmered.
“The Demon King of lies and deception, Idria! Never give in to that cursed being. Don’t let yourselves be crushed or fall into despair.”
“Hero!”
“Rise with me. And together, let’s slay the Demon King!”
My shout stirred passion and energy in their hearts.
They cried out in unison.
“We will!”
“We will do everything we can.”
“Thank you so much. Truly!”
“Please take care, Hero!”
Good. Very good.
I turned with a satisfied smile.
But Neril was looking at me with an awkward grin.
“What’s wrong?”
“Uh, I’m not sure if I should bring this up in this atmosphere.”
“What is it?”
“This.”
She showed me the Gem of Desolation.
“What about it?”
“I used up too much vitality erasing the mountain.”
“…”
“Thinking about what’s ahead, I should probably replenish it… If it’s hard for you to ask, should I do it?”
I stayed silent for a moment, then slowly turned around.
The still excited people of the territory cheered again.
“Oooh, the hero must have more to say!”
“Ah, um, everyone.”
“Yes! Say anything!”
I scratched my head.
“Could I borrow your strength one more time?”
“…”
“In the fight against the Demon King… ahem. I will need your power. Ahem.”
Ugh, how embarrassing.
Idria decided to ‘store’ Sabach, who was on the verge of death.
It would have been proper to heal him immediately, but while preparing the oracle, she couldn’t afford to waste more power.
She opened a space and spoke to Sabach.
“I’m sorry I can’t heal you right now.”
Even as he gasped for breath, Sabach smiled.
“What are you saying? Just cleansing the poison inside me is more than enough.”
“…”
“You need to prepare for the oracle, don’t you? That’s why you haven’t regenerated your severed arm.”
“Mm.”
“And how could a subordinate complain? I’m just…”
Tears trickled down Sabach’s face.
“…just grateful that you saved someone as lowly as me. Truly grateful.”
“It’s fine. Get inside.”
“Yes. I will see you after the oracle.”
Idria pushed Sabach into the spatial rift and let out a sigh as she sat down on a rock.
She quietly looked at her arm.
Just like Hyran had said, the arm severed by Mide’s sword hadn’t regenerated yet.
But Hyran had misunderstood one thing.
‘I don’t need to expend any power to regenerate.’
The lies spread throughout the world constantly restored Idria without her having to try.
Unless she was completely annihilated from head to toe in a single moment, Idria could not die.
To her, regeneration was as natural as breathing.
But this time, the arm didn’t grow back.
That was when Kaeld, who had been watching in silence, finally spoke.
“You okay?”
“Asking someone who lost an arm if they are okay, what a stupid question.”
“…”
“Still, rejoice. I’m thinking of raising your evaluation a bit. From a worm to, say, a maggot.”
Kaeld wondered if that was actually worse.
Idria continued.
“You managed to face off against someone like Mide. I might even have to praise you for that.”
“Heh. Thanks, I guess.”
“Has anyone ever told you this?”
“Told me what?”
“That your laugh is extremely annoying.”
Kaeld shut his mouth.
Idria muttered to herself.
“Last time, when my wrist was cut off, it grew back immediately. But this time it didn’t.”
“…”
“Though I think it will return to normal in about a day.”
“Then it’s fine.”
“No. I am the embodiment of lies. If my regeneration is delayed, it means Mide is capable of erasing lies.”
She had already sensed it last time.
When she saw Mide cut through even her spatial domain, her own authority.
That was when she knew: he had surpassed Bion Kunze, and could achieve what even Bion couldn’t… to erase lies.
‘Still, experiencing it firsthand is… quite the shock.’
Idria shook her head.
She couldn’t afford to dwell on the shock. The path ahead was long, and time was short.
“Mide is probably shooting straight toward the starting point. The timing’s going to be tight.”
“Can he really summon a Celestial God from there? And even if he does, will it immediately grant an oracle?”
“No one knows. Normally, I would have said no chance in hell…”
She smirked faintly.
“But with Mide, who knows.”
Xenia shouted loudly.
“Agril! Faster. More!”
“Grrr…”
“Yeah, yeah, divine power, I get it. Serein?”
Serein answered in alarm.
“Seriously? We just switched shifts.”
“Agril’s flying at double speed right now. The holy power drain is insane.”
“I feel like I have turned into some kind of flying lunchbox.”
“Oh! That actually sounds kind of nice. A lunchbox.”
“…That was supposed to sound bad. But I guess not to you, Xenia.”
Even while grumbling, Serein kept pouring in holy power.
By the way, she recovered her divine power in less than half a day.
If the Celestial God is that generous, maybe I will get an oracle too.
That was when Neril spoke up.
“About that technique you used last time to cut off Idria’s wrist ‘again’.”
“You’re really emphasizing the ‘again’ there, huh?”
“It’s just… satisfying. Like hitting the same spot twice.”
“I’m not sure that’s something you should feel good about, but go on.”
“Your previous technique was one that stopped time, right? Idria said something like that.”
I scratched my head.
Maybe she took that as agreement, because Adwin chimed in with admiration.
“You’re amazing hyung, seriously. Try turning back time next.”
“What?”
“You stopped time already, so maybe now you can rewind it.”
Trail chuckled.
[He’s sharp. Accidentally hit the bullseye.]
‘Right? Makes you want to introduce yourself, doesn’t it?’
[No.]
‘Don’t be shy. You are an old spirit.’
[Still, I was wondering too. What was that technique anyway?]
Neril asked the same question.
“You said this before, but even to me, yesterday’s technique looked completely different from ‘Frozen Time.’”
“Frozen Time?”
“You never name your techniques, so I made that up.”
0
TL : Mide always says the name of his technique’s in his mind.x
“…”
“Do you like it?”
Not really.
Your naming sense is… concerning.
[I have a lot to say, but I will hold it in.]
I ignored him and replied.
“Anyway, it’s a different technique. Actually… yesterday’s move wasn’t complete.”
“What do you mean?”
“A proper technique should be something I can activate instinctively, even if someone nudges me. But that one, there’s no way I can reproduce it.”
Everyone tilted their heads.
Offense asked.
“So you pulled it off by sheer luck and reflex?”
“I’m not even sure if it qualifies as a technique.”
“Hmmm.”
“When I thought Xenia might be in danger, every sense in my body awakened. Time slowed down and my body moved on its own.”
“…”
“Bottom line: I can’t use it again even if I wanted to. Better to think of it as nonexistent.”
Lisel murmured.
“That’s a shame. ‘Neveral Tyre’ puts a lot of strain on your body. I was hoping yesterday’s move could replace it.”
“Neveral Tyre?”
“It’s spirit language. Means ‘Frozen World.’ I secretly gave that name too.”
…
Wait a second.
“Did you guys give names to all my techniques?”
Everyone eagerly nodded.
Their eyes sparkled, clearly they were thinking, “Want to hear them?”
I quietly looked away.
‘What do you think about me telling them the real names?’
[You will get your Hero license revoked.]
Harsh.
I looked up at the sky.
“It’s late. Time to sleep.”
“Huh? Oh, is it that late already?”
“We will reach the starting point tomorrow. We don’t know what will happen there, so we should conserve energy.”
“True. And since we are on Agril, we don’t even need a watch shift. Let’s get some rest.”
Then Serein’s voice rang out.
“Wait. You are all just going to sleep while I suffer alone?”
“If we put in extra divine power now, won’t he be good for the whole night?”
“That would be true if we were flying at normal speed. But even if Xenia and I take turns… we will have to wake up every two hours.”
Her desperate tone clashed with Xenia’s calm reply.
“I’m fine. I had a hearty dinner. Lisel is really good at grilling meat.”
“Turning meat into divine power is something only you can do, Xenia!”
“I don’t exactly convert it, but… yeah.”
Hmm.
I rummaged through my bag.
As I pulled out a small bundle, Serein was still complaining.
“I can’t turn gold into divine power either, you know? My dark circles are already so bad…”
“Here.”
“Huh?”
I tossed her the bundle I just grabbed.
Serein opened it and peeked inside.
Probably about thirty gold coins in there.
“A special bonus.”
“…”
“Can you do it now?”
“Oh, of course! No problem at all!”
She quickly tucked the pouch into her robes.
Turns out she’s the kind of talent who can convert gold into divine power.
That night, I had a dream.
In it, I was wandering in some unknown place.
Apparently, I was lost.
Even with all my mercenary work, I had never gotten lost before, so it was strange.
‘Trail, where is this?’
But no answer came.
And from that, I realized this was a dream.
That was when I heard it.
[So, you’re heading for the starting point.]
Read advance chapter on Patreon. Click here.
TL : Shoutout to the 20 guys who checked the comment.