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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: bchen3
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“What meaning could this possibly have?”
Percival Lo Shahuhenji, the captain of Nadium Kingdom’s Royal Guard Knights and the kingdom’s Guardian Knight, read the dissatisfaction hidden in his subordinate’s words and turned his eyes from the reports he had been examining to look at his subordinate.
“What do you mean?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Normally, we’d just select the useful ones and cut out the rest, that’s the basics, isn’t it? Most of them wouldn’t even qualify to be apprentices under provincial noble knights, let alone the Royal Guard Knights, yet we’re expected to-.”
“Mind your words, Lord Danua. This was planned by His Majesty the King and His Holiness the Pope of the Holy Empire, and those you’ve insulted are heroes chosen by the gods of the Pantheon. Remember that speaking like this elsewhere could constitute blasphemy.”
Though he didn’t argue further, Danua’s expression showed he wasn’t convinced by Percival’s words.
‘While Gregory’s problem is being too simple-minded, Danua can’t seem to stay quiet when something doesn’t convince him.’
But it couldn’t be helped.
The Royal Guard Knights were one of the Nadium Kingdom’s strongest forces and the capital’s final bastion of defense, so while all knights belonging to it were loyal to His Majesty and the kingdom, they were fundamentally individuals with strong elite consciousness.
It was natural for such people to be discontented with having to babysit these newcomer chicks who appeared out of nowhere.
Percival sighed and opened his mouth.
“Just as the rare Sage or Saint classes that occasionally appear are considered precious, His Majesty the King and His Holiness the Pope wish to transform all these prophesied Hero class weaklings into fighting forces without reserve.”
“…While there is an apprentice system, no knightly order would ever recruit and train someone who can’t even properly handle a weapon and struggles to kill a single goblin.”
“That would be true for ordinary humans. However, these people possess the Hero class that hasn’t appeared for over a thousand years. Whether slow or fast, if trained, they’re like winning lottery tickets with higher potential than ordinary humans. It seems those above don’t intend to waste even a single one of these human resources. Think carefully about the meaning behind deploying the Royal Guard Knights, one of the kingdom’s finest talents, for training, even if it’s just for a month. And,”
Percival reached out and picked up a bundle of documents, extending them toward Danua.
“What is this?”
“Read it.”
As Danua read through the documents, his mouth opened.
“This is…”
“Yes, it’s information about the frontlines of the ‘Border.’ Look at the attrition rate for humanity, especially the consumption rate of novices who first step into the ‘Border.'”
“…These aren’t very pleasant numbers.”
“While those with exceptional individual abilities would have lower mortality rates, the ‘Border’ is a demon realm. Even famous talents from various countries and regions who made names for themselves tend to die before they can display their abilities or fulfill their intentions when they first experience that place. Though they’ll be deployed after sufficient growth, Heroes won’t be exceptions. While it would be best if they don’t die, there will certainly be casualties.”
Danua’s mouth opened as he understood what Percival was trying to say.
“…You mean they’re spares?”
“Yes. If such gaps occur, we’ll need human resources to fill those gaps.”
Percival nodded at Danua’s words.
“Honestly, whether prophecies and legends are true doesn’t matter. What’s important is that humanity has obtained a large number of weapons with high potential. It would be best if these weapons could push back the encroaching ‘Border’ and cut down the outer gods as prophesied, but they’re undoubtedly useful even if they can’t. If properly trained, just rotating them through the frontlines would be of great help to humanity.”
“I find it hard to believe these are the words of the Captain who was just warning about blasphemy against the Heroes.”
“That’s true. Forget about it.”
After mulling over their conversation, Danua spoke grumpily.
“…Well, thinking about it that way, it’s not incomprehensible, but as a knight who’s taken the knight’s oath, the Captain’s prediction is still somewhat unsettling in its own way.”
“I didn’t know Lord Danua was such a sentimental character.”
Danua shrugged his shoulders once and put down the documents.
“I’m just annoyed that a Senior Royal Guard Knight has to babysit recruits, not so broken that I’d praise sending people who don’t even look like they want to fight to the battlefield.”
“Your words have thorns in them.”
“Ah- That wasn’t how I meant it.”
“But you’re not wrong.”
“Is it alright for you to admit that?”
“Whether I admit it or not, what needs to be done remains unchanged. That is, if we don’t want the remaining half of the continent and all of humanity to be swallowed pleasantly by the Border.”
“…Is the battlefield situation that bad?”
“It’s always been bad since hundreds of years ago. We’re barely maintaining a precarious balance with each other. The problem is that we don’t know when this balance might collapse. As long as the outer gods and their servants live, it remains humanity’s eternal homework. I’ve gone on too long about meaningless things. I heard they’re determining the winner among the Heroes today, are there any who have shown promise?”
At those words, Danua smiled and spoke.
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“Achoo-!”
The sneeze was so loud it made my body jerk back, startling my party members who turned to look at me.
“Ahem. Really, they even implemented such useless physiological phenomena.”
Embarrassed by their stares, I turned my head away.
“Someone must be talking about Kid-kun.”
“What?”
“Ah, it’s a Japanese saying. They say you sneeze when someone is talking about you.”
“Ah. I see.”
The conversation that had briefly paused due to my sneeze resumed.
I spoke to Fatty in a somewhat bewildered voice.
“So… you’re saying you got skills?”
“Um… that’s right.”
“Two of them, even?”
“Um… that’s correct.”
Fatty had suddenly acquired skills.
Though Fatty didn’t know exactly when they appeared, checking one’s status window for growth every night had become a habit for all users, so he said he first discovered them last night.
If that was the case, why was Fatty, who should have been strutting around like a protagonist given his usual personality, wearing such an ambiguous expression?
Had Fatty achieved such remarkable mental growth during the approximately ten days he spent with us that he had learned humility?
‘That’s impossible.’
Though status windows couldn’t be shared, I quickly understood after hearing the skills Fatty recited.
ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ
[Skill: Masochistic Ecstasy (E)]
What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.
When hit by attacks, enters an excited state for a certain time, increasing defense and resistance to pain.
This ability can stack up to 3 times.
Current Grade: E
EXP needed to unlock next grade: 3500(5000)
ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ
Considering that it’s difficult to endure pain even if one could physically withstand it, this wasn’t a bad skill.
It was also a skill that suited tanks like Defenders well, since they get hit often and can maintain stacks easily.
Except for the fact that Fatty could only grow it to A-rank since he was a C-rank Defender, it seemed like it would be quite good when fully developed.
Up to this point, there hadn’t been any major issues, but.
ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ
[Skill: Path of Frustration (E)]
It is frustration that builds a man.
When overcoming moments of despair, temporarily greatly enhances all abilities.
During Path of Frustration’s activation time, receives large bonuses to growth rate.
Current Grade: E
EXP needed to unlock next grade: 3500(5000)
ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ
When the name of the additional skill was like this, it was hard to call it a coincidence anymore.
‘…While it’s true the conditions are a bit tricky, honestly if you can activate it, it seems like a really good skill… it does… but…’
Neither I nor Fatty dared to say anything more.
Though we hadn’t exactly figured out what triggered the skills’ acquisition, we could at least guess what the cause was.
I patted Fatty’s shoulder with a bit of sympathy.
“Still… the abilities look really good. They match well with Sakaki’s job, though Path of Frustration… while it looks amazing if you can activate it, the activation conditions do seem tricky.”
“R-really?”
“Yes, if you can properly master using the skills, wouldn’t you be even better than an A-rank tank at this point?”
“Ooh… I see, is my era finally about to begin?”
…Even if Fatty’s era came and he became the protagonist as he said, that world probably wouldn’t be a very happy one for Fatty.
Though I could see a rather dark future ahead, I watched Fatty as he rejoiced.
‘The detailed methods of obtaining skills weren’t included in the currently permitted sections of the library…’
While there weren’t any exact cases besides skill books, with Fatty’s case right in front of me, it seemed like something that needed to be looked into and researched more.
“If preparations are complete, I will guide you to the stage.”
For now, let’s win everything today first and think about it later.
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On the opposite side, Saito’s party was climbing onto the stage.
Except for Saito, the party leader who approached for greetings, Saito’s party members moved to their positions and looked at us with slightly tense expressions.
“Let’s have a good match, Kid-san.”
“Yes, please take care of me.”
After the brief greeting between the two team leaders ended, everyone returned to their positions.
“…Kid-kun. Are we really going with this?”
“What’s the problem? If anything, this should be more comfortable and better for Sakaki-san.”
“…That’s true but… I’m wondering if this is really right.”
Not just Sakaki, but the other party members also seemed to feel the same way, wearing slightly anxious expressions.
Only Kinoshita was carefree.
“You’ve seen enough, haven’t you? There won’t be any problems.”
“Umm… Well, Kid-kun has rarely been wrong.”
Finally, Fatty nodded, and he and the party members began taking their party positions as discussed before the start.
And when all the party positioning was complete, the surroundings began to buzz with murmurs.
Ah.
Those questioning gazes.
Seeing their expressions that looked like question marks were floating above the spectators’ heads, I felt my suppressed exhibitionist instincts beginning to awaken.
“…What are you thinking?”
“It’s exactly what you see.”
I smiled brightly at Saito, who was looking at me with furrowed brows from behind his team’s tank, as if he couldn’t understand.
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