45 – 9 – I Also Had a Second Class Change – 5

Thanks to Ur, who had undergone a great change upon reaching level 50 in Fire Spirit Arts, Gi-jun somehow quickly left the scene, sprinted along the fortress wall, and finally leaped atop the eastern wall where he had originally been.

Seeing Tolchi impaled on a skewer created by the enemy, and the enemy attempting to thrust a blood-stained estoc into him, Gi-jun made a complex expression for a moment and――.

“Ur, Lucy――!”

—Boom!

Without hesitation, he slammed his shield down onto the enemy.

Realizing that the opponent’s blood was taking on a concrete form, he spread his spiritual power to burn it all away, while briefly checking the messages appearing before his eyes.

—You are facing a boss monster of the dark/evil attribute. The effect of the title [The Last Hero (L)] has been activated, and all abilities are enhanced by 30%.

—You are facing an enemy of a higher grade than yourself. The effect of the title [Limit Surpasser (L)] has been activated, obtaining a dramatically positive modifier.

—You are facing a boss monster of the dark/evil attribute. The effect of the title [The Last Hero (L)] has been activated, and all abilities are enhanced by 30%.

—You are facing an enemy of a higher grade than yourself. The effect of the title [Limit Surpasser (L)] has been activated, obtaining a dramatically positive modifier.

Since he had already experienced the effect of The Last Hero while dealing with the Dullahan earlier, his body was somewhat accustomed to it; what he had been curious about was how the ‘dramatically positive modifier’ granted by Limit Surpasser would operate.

—Boom!

The moment the fang of light, created by scraping up all of his remaining energy, struck down upon the vampire’s head, he felt a far greater energy than what he had emitted qualitatively enhancing the power contained within the fang.

It was not a holy fire temporarily woven together by combining light and flame, but a flame containing truly sacred power.

It was a high-grade power that Gi-jun, who could not yet draw out all the abilities of Lucy and Ur, could never dare to create.

“Don’t… make me laugh…!”

Gi-jun realized that the dramatically positive modifier was a force acting from the outside, not from within him.

Thanks to that, the vampire, an undead so persistent and notorious for being the most troublesome among them, was helplessly overwhelmed.

“My death… not in the slightest…!”

Boom! He struck down with the fang again.

He did so to end the vampire’s life by any means before this holy fire, which had germinated through some sort of miracle, could vanish.

“…was never anticipated!”

Crunch!

The sacredly burning flame, in the shape of a fang, lodged itself into the face of the vampire, who was struggling and writhing all over.

Immediately after all of the vampire’s movements stopped,

The flames spread in all directions and blazed grandly, completely burning away all of the vampire’s bloodstains.

All that remained in its place was a single, luxurious estoc stained with red blood.

—Level has increased to 18. Strength (U) has increased by 2, Dexterity (L) by 2, Endurance (U) by 1, Light Mana (L) by 2, and Spiritual Power (L) by 2.

—Fire Spirit Arts (R) has reached level 53, Slaughter (R) level 10, Moonlight Blood Fangs (L) level 4, and Lucy (L) level 6!

—By hunting the Unique-grade boss monster of the overflowed dungeon, you have obtained 5,000 points.

—You have achieved the final goal of the quest. Due to your heroic achievement of eliminating the mastermind of the overflow, the quest rewards will be overwhelmingly increased!

—Rare Achievement Unlocked! You have saved an ally from death and completely destroyed an immortal enemy by burning them with sacred fire. The people of the small city will remember you as the hero who ended the overflow and saved the city. Charm (L) has increased by 1. As a reward for achieving this accomplishment, you have obtained 3,000 points.

—You have obtained the Rare-grade title [Terminator of the Overflow]. Due to the title’s effect, all abilities increase by 10% when fighting field monsters, and you will be able to detect overflows in advance.

—Level has increased to 18. Strength (U) has increased by 2, Dexterity (L) by 2, Endurance (U) by 1, Light Mana (L) by 2, and Spiritual Power (L) by 2.

—Fire Spirit Arts (R) has reached level 53, Slaughter (R) level 10, Moonlight Blood Fangs (L) level 4, and Lucy (L) level 6!

—By hunting the Unique-grade boss monster of the overflowed dungeon, you have obtained 5,000 points.

—You have achieved the final goal of the quest. Due to your heroic achievement of eliminating the mastermind of the overflow, the quest rewards will be overwhelmingly increased!

—Rare Achievement Unlocked! You have saved an ally from death and completely destroyed an immortal enemy by burning them with sacred fire. The people of the small city will remember you as the hero who ended the overflow and saved the city. Charm (L) has increased by 1. As a reward for achieving this accomplishment, you have obtained 3,000 points.

—You have obtained the Rare-grade title [Terminator of the Overflow]. Due to the title’s effect, all abilities increase by 10% when fighting field monsters, and you will be able to detect overflows in advance.

Gi-jun had thought he had merely landed the final blow on the vampire and thus had not expected much in terms of experience points――but perhaps because the vampire was such an incredible opponent, or because the holy fire Gi-jun kindled at the end had been a major factor in killing it, the experience points and rewards showered upon him were immense.

Even taking into account that his experience had filled up slightly from killing the banshee, his level had risen by three, and his skills, including Fire Spirit Arts, had grown… and he had even obtained an achievement and a title!

‘I used to be someone who absolutely detested kill-stealers…’

He was afraid he might become addicted to the tingling pleasure brought by this overwhelming reward.

—Contractor?

‘No, it’s nothing. I shouldn’t be like this.’

After calming himself down by repeating “Übermensch, Übermensch” like a mantra, Gi-jun ran toward Tolchi, who had finally been freed from the skewer after the vampire’s death and was collapsed on the ground.

On his way, he paused when he felt something vibrating in his pocket, but without showing it, he ran forward again and supported him.

“Tolchi! Are you alright?”

“My body… is on the… sturdy side.”

“Cough,” Tolchi replied, coughing up blood from inside his helmet.

Fortunately, despite being impaled by the skewer, he was not bleeding profusely, and whether because he possessed a regeneration-type skill, the wound was already healing even at this very moment.

Watching the wound rapidly close over his brown skin, Gi-jun nodded and hoisted him onto his back.

“Rest in the back now. We will handle the rest.”

“You are truly reliable, Jun… You are the undeniable hero of today.”

“You too.”

Replying briefly, Gi-jun let out an exclamation as he noticed the vampire’s estoc still lying on the ground.

“That sword is yours.”

“No, the sword is yours,”

Tolchi countered in an unexpectedly firm voice.

“It is because the system has recognized you. Therefore, the loot is also yours.”

“The system recognized me…? I just finished off an enemy you had already practically defeated.”

“That is not true. You saved me… and you completely incinerated a vampire who had dozens of ways to escape. That is something I could not do.”

Hearing Tolchi add that discussing the loot any further would be an insult to him, Gi-jun found himself nodding solemnly.

“If you put it that way, I understand. However, everyone on the battlefield today will remember your heroic deeds.”

“…”

Tolchi did not answer.

He had fallen into a deep sleep to quickly heal his wounds.

Gi-jun carried him down from the wall and laid him on a bed in the temporary medical station.

But as he turned around to head back up the wall immediately, the patients lying in the other beds recognized him and began to clamor all at once.

“Thank you, Mage!”

“I heard you defeated that monstrously strong vampire that appeared on the wall!”

“You are a hero, Mage!”

“Mage!”

“Mage!”

Eventually, as people even began cheering and repeatedly shouting “Mage!”, Gi-jun became so embarrassed that he hastily fled the medical station and climbed back up the wall.

Had the news of his exploits already spread across the entire wall defending the city?

The soldiers and mercenaries defending the wall had reached peak morale and were pushing back the enemy with terrifying momentum, while the undead were in disarray as all the named monsters serving as their core had been destroyed.

—How do you feel, Contractor?

“Not bad.”

Everyone who had taken part in this defensive battle was strongly aware of Gi-jun’s presence.

It was a more thrilling sensation than he had imagined; a sense of relief that he had done well and a sense of vigilance warning him not to let his guard down until the very end welled up simultaneously.

“I feel a bit bad, though, because it feels like I stole the final blow.”

—You fought fairly from start to finish, Contractor, and you were recognized for it. There’s no need to overthink it.

“Yeah… I suppose so.”

Gi-jun, falling silent for a moment as he recalled Tolchi’s somewhat bitter demeanor, soon slapped his own cheeks as if to snap out of it and declared:

“There are still monsters left. Let’s think about the aftermath after everything is finished.”

—Kiiiit!

Ur, who had achieved absurd growth just today, cried out in high spirits on Lucy’s behalf.

Gi-jun chuckled and let Ur run wild to his heart’s content.

—Kroooong!

After spinning around in midair and materializing to the size of a giant tiger, Ur roared loudly in a voice that still carried a trace of cuteness, and began charging along the wall.

The rumor that a mage wielding flames also commanded a powerful spirit beast spreading was an added bonus.

* * *

When Gi-jun suddenly raised his head, the moon had already set and dawn was breaking.

He had been attacked in the middle of the night, unable to sleep properly, and had sprinted all morning; to make matters worse, due to the overflow, he had run for several more hours before finally entering the city.

He had joined the defense of Turis around late afternoon, participated in the battle that had begun in earnest, and fought monsters until night fell.

Then, he had defeated the undead elites and boss that appeared in the middle of the night.

After fighting for several more hours in succession, he had finally reached the present moment.

“I’ve stayed up for two whole nights.”

—Our contractor really overexerted himself.

Lucy shuddered at this record-breaking event of Gi-jun, who normally made sure to get at least six hours of sleep, staying awake for two whole nights.

If the defensive battle had dragged on any longer than this, even Gi-jun might have collapsed and fallen asleep on the spot.

“Jun――!”

At that moment, he saw the Orc warriors, whom he had not seen at all during the defensive battle, running toward him.

Starting with Chabanvesh, their armor was miserably shredded and their entire bodies were covered in wounds, but the vitality emanating from them made him realize that they were indeed a race born for battle.

“Chabanvesh! You’re alive!”

“Of course! We cannot compare to you, Jun, but we fought bravely as well!”

Chabanvesh grinned widely and held up his open palm.

Thinking ‘No way?’, Gi-jun raised his own hand, only for Chabanvesh’s thick palm to slap against it in a high-five.

—Slap!

“This is a high-five! It’s popular among the Summoned, and it’s a special greeting that usually means a quest has ended successfully!”

At Chabanvesh’s energetic explanation, Gi-jun understood.

At the same time, he felt relieved; if Chabanvesh, who had not shown his face once during the battle, had run over to high-five him, it meant the overflow had truly ended.

The moment he felt that reality, his legs gave way and he almost fell, but he managed to support himself with the help of his superhuman patience and his Unique-grade Endurance stat.

“Even Jun is exhausted. It was a battle where that was only natural.”

“Besides, they say Jun defeated three of the enemy leaders!”

“Ah—one of them was practically defeated by Tolchi.”

“You are even humble! Of course Tolchi played a big role, but everyone will remember Jun’s sacred flame that burned the demon.”

Indeed.

Tolchi was right.

No matter how grandly one active on the field had fought, in the end, the person who appeared at the very last moment to rescue their allies and decisively eliminate the enemy would take all the spotlight.

Recalling how only their leader, Ye-min, had received all the attention during the tutorial no matter how hard he fought back then, Gi-jun felt a bit complicated; then, noticing that they were excessively energetic, he asked:

“You guys seem extremely energetic. Why is that?”

“It is our Orc racial trait. The more wounded we are and the longer the battle drags on, the more we burn everything we have to strengthen ourselves.”

“Those who develop this ability to the limit can even reach a magnificent realm called ‘Berserk’, though I’ve heard that is close to legend.”

As the bald Orc, who had inherited the spirit of Master Jeong Yak-yong, chimed in from the side, Chabanvesh nodded deeply and added:

“Berserk is a dream state, but before that, we will strive to become High Orcs first. Greater power, regenerative ability comparable to a Lesser Troll, and mana management capability that transcends the limits of an Orc! Once we become High Orcs, we will be able to perform much more spectacularly in the larger wars to come!”

“High Orc!”

“High Orc…!”

At Chabanvesh’s words, all the other Orcs wore dazed expressions and muttered the words ‘High Orc’.

Gi-jun also recalled Biche telling him previously that if an Orc, who was born as an Uncommon-grade race, grew, they would become a High Orc, which was a Rare-grade race.

While Berserk was too distant a realm to feel real, High Orc was something they could reach depending on their efforts, which seemed to make them yearn for it even more desperately.

Although Gi-jun was currently of a Rare-grade race, he felt that he still had a long way to go, and found himself sympathizing with the Orcs.

“In any case, the battle is now over.”

Chabanvesh, barely snapping out of the allure of the High Orc, turned to Gi-jun and said:

“Once we receive our quest rewards, I will buy you a drink as promised! We shall burn the night away!”

“Yeah, that sounds good, but let’s rest first before gathering.”

Gi-jun spoke with a bitter smile, and let out a chuckle as he looked down at the clean plain under the dawn sky, where not a single monster could be seen.

Then, recalling that he still had a task to resolve separate from the overflow, he slightly distorted his smile.

“Chabanvesh, there is something I want to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“If ―― makes such a proposal to us…”

* * *

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): What do you mean, what was the deleted message? It’s your fault for not seeing it, why are you asking me?]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Are you curious? Does it bother you? Hmph, do you understand how I feel now?]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Huh? What is my feeling? …The feeling of wanting to hit you at least once. Very desperately.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): An overflow?! No, crazy, it’s only been a few days since you crossed over to Leta and it’s already an overflow!]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): You did well, I’m glad you’re safe…! Who’s complaining about you not contacting because you were busy fighting!]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Waiting Room): Anyway, good job. As expected of my disciple. Ah.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Rift): *Sigh*, time to fight again. Just when I thought we could finally talk a bit…]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Rift): What am I doing and where? Well, there’s an information lock on it, so I can’t tell you in detail.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Rift): It’s just a public quest, but it’s a bit difficult, so participation is restricted. In exchange, it’s the kind of quest where you can definitely rake in the rewards.]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Rift): Can we do it together? Ha, how cute. Keep dreaming, where do you think you’re going at your current level?]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Rift): You might have to face a higher-grade Summoned? What is that supposed to…]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Rift): I really have to work from now on, so I’ll only say one thing, okay?]

[Biche♥ (Dimensional Rift): Jun will win no matter what. Hang in there.]