I woke up early in the morning and had a simple meal. It felt like I woke up an hour earlier than usual.
Perhaps that's why Aunt was still in dreamland. It's a bit sad to leave without seeing her.
"Son!"
Aunt woke up late. At least I get to see her face.
"You should eat a hearty meal before you go!"
"Keep the food warm. I'll be back before it gets cold."
Ah, I think I'm a little cool. Even if it's idiotic.
Aunt covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes moist.
"Haaah, my son is so cool!♥"
I left the house. I lightly warmed up and headed towards the swamp.
'Did you really thought that was actually cool?'
Isis asked me from within my inner world.
'Ah, Goddess. This is actually quite hip. It's a trend!'
'...No, Goddess. I'll just shut up.'
My humor didn't land. Well, even I think my humor is a bit... off.
But I'm a man of skill. Below the waist, I have no mercy!
The swamp, or more precisely, the wetlands, were originally said to be land developed for agriculture.
But at some point, they changed. There must have been a time when grass swayed pleasantly and trees grew there.
I passed the edge of the forest and arrived at the wetlands.
'From what I remember, Necro Slimes only ever parasitized goblins or gnolls to fight. As long as you deal with them properly, it's easy.'
Unlike everyone else's worries, I knew how to deal with monsters.
I looked down. The ground was getting squishy, but I wasn't worried.
Shoes that don't incur penalties, and a steel sword that doesn't melt easily, so I can use it often.
This much was enough.
Isis seemed a little anxious. Of course, she'd think her first apostle might die.
"Oh right, Goddess. Will you promise me one thing?"
"No matter what happens, even if I die, please don't help me."
It might sound crazy. She might ask if I want to die.
But this was a matter of pride. I had unique abilities and a decent amount of knowledge.
To borrow power from the first heroine and Goddess I luckily obtained?
That would be no different from being a parasite.
'Do you think I'm weak just because I'm not as powerful as before?'
"That's not it. Even without power, Goddess, your very existence is beautiful and noble."
This was sincere. I had no intention of looking down on her for lacking power.
As Isis let out a flustered snort, I immediately continued.
"It's just that I want to show and prove myself to Goddess and to myself. I want to do everything on my own, without anyone's help. I'm going to be a Hero, and I'm not a child, am I?"
Did my sincerity get through? Isis slowly began to smile.
Then her laughter gradually escalated, turning into a sharp, high-pitched laugh.
"Spouse...?"
Spouse, all of a sudden? Isis cleared her throat.
"Yes, I understand!"
I gradually ventured deeper into the wetlands. Even then, I saw no Necro Slimes, not even ordinary slimes.
The truth was, this area was a place where adventurers and Hero Candidates often came to train.
Why train here? Slimes are pushovers. They're the best for gaining experience.
'But they're not for me.'
They weren't to my taste. While goblins or gnolls might be different, there wasn't much to gain from catching slimes.
As I went further in, I found an abandoned house.
'Since it was originally planned for farmland, there must be buildings. But what's that? Is it... luggage?'
As I got closer, I saw a travel bag placed near the entrance.
Huh, a travel bag?
Just in case, I rummaged through it.
"Ugh."
Everything inside was rotten or decayed, making it unusable.
Unless I had the ability to turn trash into wood, it was a complete bust.
However, the travel bag itself seemed quite recent. Although mold was spreading, it was relatively clean.
'Who on earth came here? People usually don't come this deep, do they?'
While Necro Slimes are manageable, that's only for someone like me who knows how to deal with them.
For most novice adventurers or Hero Candidates, they were objects of terror.
They're scary just by their appearance, after all. A dark gray, watermelon-sized slime clinging to a corpse and controlling it.
Shrkk..
I looked up. The closed door suddenly opened.
Is it the wind? No, the sound of the lock opening means it's not the wind, right?
Tak...
Someone seemed to be coming out. I backed away and drew my sword.
"Geureureuk, gureuk."
What emerged from the abandoned house was, surprisingly, a Necro Slime. It was exactly as I had expected.
'Finally, you've appeared... Huh?'
But it was a little different. The corpse it was parasitizing was not a gnoll or a goblin, but a human.
It was parasitizing a lean, muscular human wearing knuckles. Wait, why is there a human here?
And even a quest?!
[Side Quest]
Duel!
-Objective: Defeat the Necro Slime parasitizing the human corpse.
-Reward: 5000 CP, Affection +♡ with all heroines
What the, the reward looks incredibly delicious? I'm tempted!
'Why is it a human and not a goblin or gnoll?!'
I stared intently. Its eyes were already black and rotten, as if it had been dead for a while.
If it was the owner of that luggage, a considerable amount of time must have passed since its death.
I saw two rings glowing faintly near its sternum.
The only problem was, they weren't glowing faintly like Alpa's, but intensely. A curse word naturally escaped my lips.
'Ah, fuck. Alpa just barely reached Runner Mid-stage. But this guy, anyone can tell he's been training in Runner Mid-stage for a long time, right?'
This is bad. This guy is much stronger than Alpa. And of all things, he died here and a slime parasitized him?
This is fucking unfair, seriously fucking unfair.
Even though it was a corpse, two Force Hearts were clearly glowing. The slime noticed me and sharply turned its head. It opened its mouth.
"Graaah, graaaah...."
"Alright, it's Show and Prove time."
I pointed my sword at the creature. It took a fighting stance. It was different from my expectation, but I was still going to fight.
'Don't interfere, absolutely not. If you care about me, if you like me.'
I warned her and moved forward. The creature snarled like a beast and instantly leaped, closing the distance.
[Vane Severing Sword Style - Nameless Thrust]
The moment it was about to land, I unleashed a Nameless Thrust at it. Vane Severing Sword Style from the start!
It lightly rotated its landing ankle and dodged to the side.
As expected, its movements are different.
Tub!
It grabbed me by the collar. Instantly, the ground and sky flipped, and I felt an intense pain at the back of my head.
"Ugh!"
It had grabbed me by the collar and thrown me into the abandoned house. I crashed into the wall and barely managed to get back on my feet.
It was too fast for me to react. As I just managed to get into a stance, it lowered its upper body, still charging.
Taaak taak!
I was instantly caught in a double-leg takedown. The creature, having gained the top position over me, raised its fist.
'The best move a grappler can make against a swordsman. This person must have been quite promising in life. But.'
I acknowledge your skill.
But what if I have hip strength that surpasses that skill?
I used my hip strength to lightly bounce my opponent up. Its stance broke.
I gripped my sword short and immediately swung it.
Its dark, rotting neck was half-severed as it reeled back. It rolled backward to stand up and caught its breath.
'Did it think I couldn't handle this? The training I received from Aunt automatically kicks in. Scary, so scary.'
I smiled. And then I provoked it.
"Hey, a man's power comes from his hips!"
As I ready for a blow, the creature trembled and charged.
Huuuk!
A chilling sound of cutting through the wind. I instinctively raised my sword to block.
Tingg!..
My steel sword actually rang. As if I had blocked a blunt weapon.
I focused. If I lose here, I die. But I don't want to die.
There's a whole world of women I haven't had yet!
A calf kick, followed by an oblique kick.
Then it spun around and attempted a horizontal slash. The creature quickly dodged, got to my side, and unleashed a flurry of attacks.
Two body shots, then a calf kick.
I couldn't block or dodge. That's how significant the difference of one Force Heart was.
I was pushed back, gritting my teeth.
'Too fast. This is no joke!'
I reset my stance. Recall the training I received from Aunt.
Recall what was not my memory, but will now become my memory.
Engrave the harshness of that day into my soul, as if I experienced it myself!
'I need to abandon the thought of reacting after seeing. I can do it, I can do it!'
I moved forward and slashed in a straight line. The creature lowered its upper body and landed a jab on my solar plexus.
"Keok!"
I barely blocked a flying knee kick, and then the creature had already circled to my side, unleashing a barrage of punches.
An opponent charging like a storm, attacking like a beast.
Its momentum alone was nothing short of a disaster. Yet, yet I couldn't help but smile.
'This is what a true Runner Mid-stage is!'
I felt alive. I could die at any moment, but I realized that if I overcame this, a great reward awaited me in life.
Come on, clash with all your might!
The creature charged like the wind and threw a jab. I tried to weave, but its backhand came forward, landing a series of hooks. I raised my sword to block.
Taeng taeng taeng!
'I won't just stand still either! Show and Prove!'
Another Nameless Thrust.
The opponent circles to my side and throws a hook at my face. I still can't see it.
I get hit and pushed sideways, but then, finally, I felt it.
The creature's flow.
[Vane Severing Sword Style - Countercurrent]
The creature appeared from the opposite side, aiming for a vertical elbow. I instantly brought my sword to block and deflected it sideways.
Parry.
The creature was caught by Countercurrent, a defensive technique and parry of the Vane Severing Sword Style.
Its movements broke, and it staggered. In that opening, I channeled my ki.
I activated all the ki within my body. Even though I'm half-baked and can't receive mana, I can barely use ki thanks to my Hero bloodline.
I'll use that ki fiercely and wildly!
'I'm betting everything on this!'
I unleashed my ki as if it were exploding and swung my sword at the opponent.
[Vane Severing Sword Style - Branching Cut]
The muscles in my right arm, which was swinging the sword, swelled to their limit. This was for the continuous slashing technique of the Vane Severing Sword Style.
It was also the price for using ki so violently.
If this goes wrong, I might get injured, or even have my arm burst, but.
It doesn't matter. If you only live once, bet on today, not tomorrow.
That's how you truly live, isn't it?
Not only the corpse, but even the core of the Necro Slime parasitizing it was shattered.
However, I had overexerted myself, and my right arm lost all strength.
"Ugh!"
My sword also seemed to have been overstressed, as it shattered into pieces shortly after.
Crazy, a steel sword shattered into pieces?
It was due to the corrosive power of the slime and the immense strength of the attacks wielded by the corpse.
'Ah, if a steel sword shattered, how strong was it? Ugh.'
I clicked my tongue.
[Enemy defeated!]
[You gained 3000 Collector Points (CP)!]
[Enemy defeated!]
[You gained 3000 Collector Points (CP)!]
Since I killed two, it's for two people, I guess. This was good about Necro Slimes.
I also cleared the quest and received the reward, but I was too exhausted. I staggered.
"Haa, are you alright?! My apostle."
"Yes, I allowed too many attacks. But I won, didn't I?"
"You foolish boy! Didn't I tell you I would help you?!"
"That's why I gained something."
I sat on a bench near the entrance of the abandoned house. Leaning the back of my head against the wall, I caught my breath.
"At least, even if I couldn't see its movements, I could feel them. I must have grown from this, right?"
I finished speaking and smiled. Isis looked at me worriedly, then snorted. As if she had taken all the haughtiness in the world.
"Don't say such foolish things. Don't you know that if you're hurt, I don't feel good either?!"
"Huh?"
"Ah, no, that's... Don't misunderstand! It's just hard for me to see my apostle getting beaten up. Hmph, causing me worry. Let's go back quickly!"
Isis, you cunning Mommy. Watching the Goddess act tsundere, I barely managed to stand up.
Yes, let's go back.