118 – Qualifications of the Hero – 3

After directly revealing his intention to recruit Gi-jun as a Hero, Fatum hesitated no longer.

Seeing as he had immediately engaged in a serious sparring match with Tilla, he seemed to want to experience Gi-jun’s abilities for himself if possible.

Although Gi-jun also recognized that it was difficult to surpass Fatum with his current capabilities——he could not deny his desire to have a proper bout with him.

‘I guess I’m still young. No, should I say I’ve become more honest than before?’

If Lucy were still by his side, sooner or later, a sparring match might have occurred.

But since Lucy was not with Gi-jun now, and there was absolutely no chance of winning even if he fought Fatum, he was somehow able to suppress the impulse.

“Could you help me with my training, Fatum?”

“Training.”

“Yeah. Ahead of the battle, I want to train my defensive capabilities, even if just a little.”

Instead, Gi-jun chose a compromise.

Since Fatum was misunderstanding anyway, he decided to test himself against him solely on his tanking ability.

In fact, tanking was the position Gi-jun would take in the upcoming battle against the black magician, and even if he was pushed back a bit, it wasn’t particularly embarrassing!

“A good idea, but if you sustain a major injury, you might not be able to move properly during the actual operation.”

“I’m confident in my toughness and recovery, so it’s fine.”

“You know how to provoke someone quite well. I have no intention of holding back if I spar with you.”

“I’d actually prefer it if you went all out. Otherwise, it won’t be training.”

Having made up his mind, Gi-jun exchanged light provocations with Fatum and stripped off the full plate armor he was wearing.

If it were a light sparring match, it would be one thing, but if they traded blows at full strength, even unique-grade armor would not last long.

Rather than that, taking it with his bare body and recovering later would be cheaper.

And he would block most of the attacks with his shields anyway.

“Jun?! What on earth are you talking about!”

When Jun, stripped of his armor and dressed in light cloth clothing, explained the reason to those who were staring blankly at him, Tilla immediately cried out in horror.

“Absolutely not, put your armor back on right now! Or else stop the sparring!”

“Just watch quietly, Tilla. I grew stronger by learning this way from my master.”

“Who on earth forced such a crazy method on you!”

The Demon King.

Of course, Gi-jun had also thought it was crazy at first, but it actually worked well, so he had no choice.

It was a bit of a pity that Lucy, who was in charge of recovery, was not here, but since Laura was present, his life would not be in danger.

Of course, Laura also opposed it in horror, but Gi-jun had no intention of listening to anyone.

“It seems I am being underestimated.”

“I am telling you again, it is because I think highly of you. My skills have also reached a high level, so ordinary things no longer serve as training for me.”

Fatum seemed to think he was joking, though.

Gi-jun attached the shock absorber he had detached from his armor inside his clothes and took a stance, holding his two shields in defense mode.

Left with no choice, he also cracked his neck from side to side and drew his greatsword.

“If you want to provoke me that much…”

“!!”

“I shall play along!”

In the next instant, Fatum was swinging down his greatsword in front of Gi-jun.

Despite his overwhelmingly massive body compared to a human, his movement, which reduced the distance between himself and Gi-jun to zero in an instant, was enough to make one wonder if he had learned the art of shrinking distance.

‘As expected—he’s definitely Legendary.’

The pressure stemming from the greatsword falling from above made his entire body tremble and tingle.

Whether it was trying to collapse a great mountain, or whether that sword itself was a great mountain, could not be distinguished.

——Gi-jun overlapped his two shields above his head to block it.

—Boom!

“……”

Fatum, seeing Gi-jun successfully defend after enduring the pressure exerted by his strike, twitched his eyebrows.

“So you really are confident in your defense.”

“That was a very good strike. Please do it again.”

Instead of answering, Fatum swung his greatsword.

Clang! Screeech! Rumble!

The greatsword, thrust repeatedly with enough momentum to demolish the entire training ground, made a horrific shrieking sound as it bit into Gi-jun and the shields held in his hands.

It had initially fallen unilaterally from above, as if testing how far he could block it, but at some point, it began to pour down with altered angles and force; even so, when Gi-jun stood firmly and blocked it, Fatum let out a cry of shock, as if realizing something.

“Could it be a transformation type…?! You, a Flame Human, also know how to transform equipment into another attribute?!”

“You guessed right!”

Although he was not a Flame Human.

Bright flames erupted from Gi-jun’s two shields.

He was manifesting both ‘Adamant,’ which transformed his body as well as his equipment into divine metal, and ‘Fire Spirit Arts,’ which added the power of flames to his equipment with the help of the Fire Spirit Ur.

‘Ur, you can make it a bit stronger.’

—Keeheeeet!

Of course, the two skills promoted each other’s power and coexisted without colliding.

If Lucy heard it, she might be a bit disappointed, but it would be hard to find a pair that matched better than iron and flame.

“Good, now I see the reason for your arrogance! To harmonize and wield two kinds of transformation-type abilities that are difficult to control. I shall not hold back any longer either.”

Whoosh, flames soared over Fatum’s greatsword as well.

It was an aura formed of golden flames containing dragon authority.

Tilla, who saw it and had even experienced firsthand how strong it was, glared with fire in her eyes and shouted.

“That lizard is trying to kill our Jun right now——!”

“P-Please calm down, Lady Scintilla!”

“O almighty Ishtar, protect Lord Jun with eternal light…!”

The two, who had begun raising their momentum in earnest, clashed once again.

The greatsword, packed with the power to sever and burn Gi-jun’s waist in an instant, was nevertheless blocked time and again by the shields Gi-jun thrust out; yet the monstrous force contained within it did not dissipate, dispersing the impact throughout Gi-jun’s entire body.

‘Good, this is it.’

Even while blocking it, a faint smile hung on the corner of Gi-jun’s mouth.

The overwhelming power that had been quite hard to feel since crossing over to the Leta continent, and the stimulation resulting from it.

All of it made him feel in real-time that his skills and stats were growing!

—Boom! Crash! Crunch!

The training ground vibrated continuously from the fierce clash.

Despite being a place where shock-absorption magic and the like were heavily layered in anticipation of intense training, walls and pillars shook everywhere, showing signs of collapse; but the two continued their foolish clash of strength against strength without any thought of dodging, surpassing their limits again and again.

‘Guh, haha…!’

Since Fatum began raising his aura, wounds started appearing on Gi-jun’s body one by one.

Even if he blocked the greatsword itself, he could not block all of the aura surging and sweeping over him with just the shields.

Not only did his skin burn and split, but when wounds deep enough to show bone appeared, Laura stepped forward in fright, but…

“T-The wounds?!”

“…Is that also the power of a transformation-type skill?”

“Of course.”

Without even needing to receive holy magic, Gi-jun’s Adamant healed it on its own.

Perhaps because he was wielding Ur’s flames together with it, though it might have been his imagination, he felt like the recovery was faster.

—You realize the essence of fire that protects its master from danger and forges the old into the new. The level of the Fire Spirit Arts (U) skill has become 8.

—Divine metal is tempered more strongly in special flames. The level of the Adamant (L) skill has become 14.

—You realize the essence of fire that protects its master from danger and forges the old into the new. The level of the Fire Spirit Arts (U) skill has become 8.

—Divine metal is tempered more strongly in special flames. The level of the Adamant (L) skill has become 14.

No, it seemed it was indeed not his imagination.

Watching Gi-jun grow stronger in real-time, Fatum, who was completely convinced of the confidence he had displayed, also infused more strength into his greatsword, his eyes shining.

“You said earlier that you have a master who raised you… I would definitely like to meet them once. If there is anyone who bestowed upon you the qualifications of a hero, it must be that person.”

“As expected of a Hero, you are sharp. That is correct.”

She had quite literally devoted her body to make him a Hero.

Gi-jun chuckled and signaled to Fatum to come at him again.

Only then did Fatum, drawing out power equal to when he fought Tilla, nod heavily and charge forward.

It was around this time that Lectus, who had gone to see the Lord, returned.

“Hmm?! Why are the two of you… and moreover, why is Jun stripped!”

Hearing from those who were watching the sparring match with worried expressions that ‘he stripped because he was worried the armor might break,’ Lectus watched the scene with an indescribable expression.

Gin, who was at least maintaining his composure, asked him.

“Um… Sir Knight? How did it go with the matter you went for?”

“The Lord didn’t seem to have any shady dealings, but because he was such a coward, he hated the idea of opposing the Magic Tower. In the end, there was no choice but to borrow the power of the royal family.”

At the words that he had suppressed them in the name of the Gratia royal family and seized the army, Gin was so astonished that he could only gape.

And for good reason, Gin still did not know the fact that Lectus was the Crown Prince of Gratia!

“Welcome back, Lectus.”

Gi-jun, who managed to spot Lectus even in the midst of the fierce battle, said with a grin.

“You come too.”

“What?”

“What did you say?”

Lectus and Fatum questioned back at the same time.

It was indeed an excellent provocation that touched the pride of both men at the same time.

This was precisely what Gi-jun had intended.

“You can’t even withstand me alone, so what on earth is that nonsense?”

“Because winning isn’t what’s important. The two of you might not understand, but——there is something more important to me right now.”

“Ha.”

“I really… don’t understand you.”

Lectus was already thoroughly irritated by Gi-jun’s playful behavior of facing Fatum—his respected relative and a Hero of Light—without armor, so he could no longer endure Gi-jun’s attitude of provoking him and drew his sword.

Of course, Tilla and Laura, who had been worried about Gi-jun since earlier, tried to stop him in fright, but Gi-jun went a step further and said the following.

“You guys come all at once too. If it feels like I’m really going to die, I’ll stop it myself.”

“What?!”

“Jun!”

“I just don’t want to miss a good opportunity. If I can drag even you guys, who hate fighting, into this, my skills will grow even further.”

At his carefree words, which made them dumbfounded as to why they had even been worrying about such a pervert, the party gaped in shock.

The finishing touch was the light that filled the inside of the training ground in the very next instant.

At the sudden flash that blinded them, everyone closed and opened their eyes tightly, and the light vanished, but in the next moment, the light flared up again.

The source was none other than Gi-jun.

“…….”

“Now, come at me.”

The effect was outstanding.

Tilla and Laura, arriving at the conclusion that he would only listen seriously after they beat him to the brink of death and restarted the conversation, prepared for battle side by side,

and Gin, who had never doubted Gi-jun’s intentions from the start, naturally found an appropriate position and took a shooting stance.

Fatum, thinking that Gi-jun must first learn humility in order to become a true Hero, loaded his greatsword with golden aura,

and Lectus thrust out his longsword, channeling his hidden feelings of inferiority and jealousy.

—A provocation ability that makes even allies attack you when necessary. You are realizing the way of provocation. The level of the Luminescent Provocation (U) skill has become 20!

—A provocation ability that makes even allies attack you when necessary. You are realizing the way of provocation. The level of the Luminescent Provocation (U) skill has become 20!

And Gi-jun smiled brightly upon seeing the message he wanted pop up.

Although in the next instant, all kinds of attacks poured onto his entire body and his thoughts momentarily cut out,

it was all according to plan.

And around the time Gi-jun—who had been beaten black and blue by the furious group—was groaning to regenerate the hole pierced in his stomach for the first time in a while, contact came from Ji-hye much earlier than any of them had expected.

She said she could probably gather all the magicians in the Magic Tower in one place, so they should prepare for the attack.

* * *

After Mok-su became a complete Barbarian of Rare grade, Ye-min’s party continued to hunt in dungeons, raising their levels and skill proficiencies.

Compared to other Earthlings who would be groveling at the bottom by now, bumped around by various civilizations and species, they were at an infinitely superior level, but Ye-min’s impatience showed no signs of improving.

The worry that Gi-jun might abandon her if she became weak dominated her mind and refused to let go.

“Oppa said he was going to directly invade the kingdom of those vampire bastards. Not just anyone will be able to enter, so unless we are at least in the upper ranks of the Rare grade…”

Watching Ye-min, whose eyes were becoming more dangerous by the day, Eun-shin, who even felt a shiver run down his spine, nudged Mok-su and spoke.

“Uncle Su, do something about Sister Min-i. At this rate, I feel like she’s really going to cause trouble.”

“Have we only known each other for a year or two? Don’t worry, Min-i isn’t the type to let her emotions cloud her judgment. In fact, haven’t we also made optimal growth repeatedly thanks to Min-i until now?”

“But when Brother Jun is involved, she runs wild without hesitation.”

“Well… that’s true, but…”

But at least for now, just as Mok-su said, there was no room to take issue.

Even in her impatience, Ye-min always managed the party’s condition perfectly, and the party, which consisted only of three melee combatants and seemed somewhat unstable at a glance, repeatedly hunted in unconventional yet stable ways under her command, rapidly raising their level.

To begin with, the combat capabilities of the three were at a level that ran at the top among Earthlings.

As they became able to handle skills that were at an excessively high level compared to their species rank more proficiently, their skills fully blossomed.

For example, skills that required a lot of mana to operate or required high stats were such examples.

“Nike’s Twin Wings!”

—Screeech!

Ye-min’s sword became sharper and faster, while her various combat skills that hit a wide area also grew rapidly, producing a performance unbelievable for a mere swordsman.

“Whew.”

“Ah, I barely missed leveling up. And I’m out of potions…”

Along with the mana circuit created by Ji-hye and grown by Ye-min to suit herself, the thing that helped her use many skills was none other than potions.

Since they already had excellent equipment brought from the tutorial anyway, Ye-min was reinvesting almost all the money she earned into potions that could quickly replenish mana.

“Let’s go back for now. I think they said additional support funds would also be coming from the guild.”

“Yeah, it seems like a good time.”

Mok-su, who quickly nodded at Ye-min’s words lest she change her mind, checked his level and clicked his tongue in admiration.

No matter how fast growth was at low levels, he was already close to level 20 now.

‘This is really no joke; by the time we execute the operation that fellow Jun mentioned, even if not me, Shin or Min-i might become Unique grade.’

If that happened, it would mean only he was left behind this time.

Feeling unnecessarily impatient, Mok-su smiled bitterly and shook his head, then stood at the vanguard holding his shield to protect the party on the way back.

However, in the city they returned to like that, they came to hear rather unsettling news.

“What? The way to the vampire kingdom has become known…? An expedition is being organized?”

As for why that was unsettling news, well…

Because the Gratia royal family was not involved in that expedition.