I Became the 101st Hero – Chapter 4

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Having decided to become a hero,

the first thing I did was wait.

For three whole months, no less.

“This is heavy.”

I finally arrived at my destination, my back laden with firewood.

A building with a sign that read “Basilia Inn.” It was where Allen, an orphan, used to live.

I opened the door to the inn.

Creak.

The old inn’s door opened with a harsh groan.

The man who had been dozing off at the counter lifted his head and opened his eyes.

He watched me enter for a moment before asking,

“Isn’t it heavy?”

“It’s manageable.”

I replied as I unloaded the firewood from the carrier in front of the fireplace.

Autumn had arrived, and it was chilly enough at night and dawn that a fire was needed to ward off the cold.

“Don’t overexert yourself. Your leg wound is still…”

“It’s fine now.”

It was more than fine.

I was even exercising to build muscle these days. Allen’s body was so weak that he would probably die if he even stepped outside the village, let alone become a hero.

Thanks to my efforts, he now had at least some muscle.

‘I had to, considering I used [Absolute Obedience] to exercise.’

[Absolute Obedience] turned out to be a surprisingly versatile trait.

Even when exercising, I could simply issue commands to overcome my physical limits.

Of course, I still felt the pain that came with it.

“Aren’t you tired, Mister?”

I asked the man sitting at the counter.

He was the owner of this inn, the man who had taken in and raised Allen after he was abandoned.

He was also the one who had shouted and woken me up on the first day I opened my eyes in this world. Just thinking about that morning still sent shivers down my spine.

“Well, I’m not really tired.”

“Don’t lie. I saw you dozing off when I came in.”

“…That never happened.”

“Go on and get some sleep. We’re switching shifts in 30 minutes anyway.”

He finally got up, unable to hide his fatigue any longer.

It couldn’t be easy for someone his age to stay awake late at night.

“Thank you. I’ll leave it to you then.”

As he went to his room, I sat down in his place. The inn became quiet in an instant.

‘This is boring.’

It was similar to working a night shift at a convenience store, if I had to compare. Except there was even less to do, and with no phone or TV to watch, it was incredibly tedious.

The only way to alleviate this boredom was to exercise…

‘Let’s save it for tomorrow.’

I remembered it clearly.

Today was the day the “event” was supposed to occur.

Over the past few months, I had been staying in this village, taking care of various events.

Most of them were trivial, but still, it was better than just waiting around doing nothing.

Because ultimately, I had a reason to stay in this village for a while.

The ruins outside the barrier.

It was a place I had to visit at least once, even if I was thinking about the future.

Even when I was raising other characters, it was a place I almost always visited, even if it meant wasting some time on travel.

Considering the village’s remote location, it was better to go there now. Furthermore, as someone who had constantly been rejected by Allen Blake whenever I tried to send him to the ruins, I was determined to make him go this time.

But visiting the ruins required fulfilling several conditions, and those conditions were quite demanding.

It might take me years to prepare on my own.

Fortunately, all those conditions could be met by a single person.

‘The problem is, when is that person coming?’

To be honest, it wasn’t even certain that she would come.

Because she was a ‘playable character.’

Hundred Braves was fundamentally a single-player mobile game.

But the other characters weren’t just controlled by AI.

The ‘Chance Encounter’ system was the exception.

You could encounter playable characters that other players had raised to completion through ‘Chance Encounters.’

That’s how you could meet other players’ characters, albeit in a limited way.

Of course, there was a problem.

These ‘Chance Encounters’ weren’t guaranteed.

The probability of encountering a specific character from a specific player was close to one in ten million.

However, there were ways to increase the odds.

If you removed the condition of a specific player, and specified the time and location the character would visit based on a specific guide…

Then it would be possible to meet them with a high probability.

‘If my prediction is correct, it should be soon.’

She would come by this fall at the latest.

So it should be about time for her to arrive.

If she didn’t come by winter… I would have to give up on the ruins and leave this place.

But there was no need to be overly anxious.

It was a judgment I had made after considering all the probabilities and possibilities.

It wouldn’t be a complete failure if she didn’t come, and more importantly, the benefits of her arrival were too great.

‘I hope she comes…’

That’s when it happened.

Creak.

The sound of the inn’s door opening.

It seemed like whoever it was tried to open it quietly, but the old inn’s door made a loud enough sound.

I stared at the slowly opening door.

There were three possibilities for someone coming at this late hour.

First, and the most likely scenario, an adventurer or a hero arriving in the village late at night.

Due to the remote location of the village, with the only nearby attraction being the ruins, most of the outsiders who came to this village were such individuals.

Otherwise, it could be merchants who occasionally visited, but they wouldn’t come this late.

And the next possibility was the person I was waiting for. It would fall under the first possibility, technically.

But I wasn’t really expecting her.

Normally, the first possibility would have been the most likely, but today was a little different.

Today was the day of the “event.”

In that case, the most likely scenario was the last one I hadn’t mentioned yet.

The person who entered through the open door was a man.

A face I remembered from when he stayed at the inn before.

He saw me at the counter and slowly approached.

A tense look on his face.

As he got closer, a notification popped up before my eyes.

‘As expected.’

The robber attack event.

It was an event that existed in the game as well, with a relatively high danger level.

Many users had their Allen Blake characters die here.

There was a lot of talk about how a character could die to a mere village robber, but I could understand.

Because the man standing before me, despite being a robber, was a Pathfinder.

Among adventurers, those who ventured beyond the barrier and explored the realm of chaos were called Pathfinders.

And these Pathfinders were usually stronger than average adventurers.

‘Don’t panic.’

The tension that had been creeping into my body in front of the man disappeared in an instant.

“Are you looking for a room to stay in?”

I asked the man with a smile. I wondered if I had relaxed too much.

But the man didn’t answer.

Instead, his hand reached for his waist.

‘As expected.’

I knew that there was going to be a robber attack, but I didn’t know the details.

I was a bit worried that he wouldn’t openly attack first, but it seemed like a needless worry.

Swoosh.

Faster than the man could draw his sword from his waist,

I grabbed the stick from under the counter.

The same stick I had used to kill the wolf. I always kept it under the counter in preparation for this event.

I occasionally practiced swordsmanship with it at night.

Only beginners without any decent inherited skills would die to this event.

As long as you managed to inherit a somewhat useful skill, the robber wasn’t a major threat.

[Swordsmanship (B)] was more than enough.

With a whooshing sound, the stick flew towards the man’s neck in an instant.

The man’s face contorted in shock at the sudden preemptive attack.

“Wh… What?!”

“Well, you were the one who drew your sword first.”

Although the man’s sword wasn’t pointed at me yet, it had already been drawn from its sheath.

There was no denying it.

“I don’t want to fight either.”

The conditions for clearing the quest were either subduing or chasing away the robber.

As long as I chased him away, I could clear it without having to fight.

“So if you’re going to run, run now.”

I didn’t want to wake up everyone by making a fuss.

But it seemed my crude wooden stick lacked the power of persuasion.

“You little brat!”

The man tried to grab my stick and push it away.

‘I guess I have no choice then.’

I quickly retracted the stick so he couldn’t grab it.

And then I jumped up onto the counter.

Thwack!

I struck the man’s forehead with the stick.

“Ugh!”

The man stumbled for a moment before regaining his senses and raising his sword.

‘Oh?’

I was aiming to knock him unconscious, but it seemed like he had a pretty thick skull. What should I do then?

Honestly, I didn’t know how to knock someone out.

‘I guess I just keep hitting him until he surrenders or runs away.’

The man’s expression turned serious, perhaps realizing that I was no ordinary village kid.

He swung his sword at me.

I dodged it, stepping back.

‘The difficulty is C+, so I can assume all my stats except for [Swordsmanship (B)] are inferior.’

Moreover, if I blocked his sword head-on with the wooden stick, there was a risk of it breaking easily.

I had prepared the wooden stick because I was looking for something that didn’t look like a weapon, but it had more limitations than I expected.

‘But with [Swordsmanship (B)], there’s a way.’

Clink!

I met the man’s next attack with the stick.

The stick made a clinging sound as it stuck to the sword. It was a harmony of precise angle and force control.

Sensing the feeling, I deflected the sword according to instinct.

And then…

Thud!

This time, it was the man’s solar plexus.

The quickly thrust stick dug deep into his solar plexus.

Yet, perhaps due to his adventurer’s instincts, the man didn’t let go of his sword.

‘I envy him. This body keeps dropping the stick without a command.’

I continued to swing the stick.

‘There’s no reason to hesitate, Allen.’

Suppressing the budding compassion in Allen’s heart, I continued to swing the stick.

It was a life-or-death fight, and my opponent was a robber.

There was no reason to feel any foolish sympathy. You understand, you idiot Allen?

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

“Whew…”

I caught my breath and put the stick back under the counter.

The robber eventually ran away.

He tried to fight back, but he couldn’t overcome the wall of [Swordsmanship (B)].

It was a decent reward.

I was still a long way from being able to inherit [Precociousness (Small)], but…

That’s when it happened.

“Hey.”

I suddenly heard a voice.

I hurriedly turned my head towards the direction of the sound.

It was coming from a corner of the inn, where a sofa was placed.

A figure was sitting there.

‘When did she come in?’

No matter how focused I was on the fight, I hadn’t even heard the door open. I hadn’t noticed her presence at all.

“Looks like you’re done with your business?”

The figure got up from the sofa.

She wasn’t very tall. No, rather, she was short.

Even shorter than me, who hadn’t even finished growing.

Her small stature aside, despite trying to hide it with the hood of her cloak, I could glimpse her red hair. And her expressionless face.

Everything clearly indicated who she was.

I couldn’t mistake her.

She was the person I had been waiting for, and the original owner of the stigma I had inherited.

I had finally met her.

‘Gwen Reedvall, the Hero of the Rose.’

To be honest, I was delighted.

I could feel the muscles in my face trying to form a smile.

‘Control your expression, idiot.’

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇