I Became the 101st Hero – Chapter 45

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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The trail ended abruptly at a nearby abandoned building.

“It’s definitely not related to the White Tiger gang.”

Libero pointed to the walls surrounding the building.

“They usually leave their mark on their territory, as a warning. But this building is clean.”

He stepped inside quietly.

I followed him into the dilapidated structure.

Step by step, we cautiously made our way through the debris-strewn hallways.

Libero stopped in front of a room.

“He’s in there.”

He said it quietly, pointing to the room.

I looked at him, my eyes asking for permission. Could I handle this one?

“He’s not that strong. You should be able to take him down easily. It’ll be good experience for you.”

Perfect. I had been itching for some action after trailing after Libero for so long.

I drew Gravitas Replicant from my inventory.

“He’s awake, but he hasn’t noticed us yet.”

That meant I didn’t need to use Dark Night.

Its cloaking ability was great for assassinations, but my goal was to master swordsmanship, not become an assassin.

Besides, with Libero watching my back, I wanted to try facing my opponent head-on.

‘Let’s do this.’

Sword in hand, I carefully entered the room.

A lamp illuminated the space, casting flickering shadows on the walls.

‘A woman?’

The shadow clearly belonged to a woman.

But I couldn’t afford to let my guard down just because my opponent was female.

Both Gwen and Erciara, women I had encountered before, possessed skills that far surpassed mine.

As I took another step forward,

“Who’s there?!”

She whirled around, alerted to my presence.

I froze, recognizing her face.

“You’re…”

I had definitely seen her before.

She was the woman who had been sitting across from me on the coach to Sak.

I hadn’t spoken to her, but I never expected to encounter her again like this.

“It’s the kid from the coach.”

She recognized me as well.

After a moment of surprise, she calmly assessed the situation.

I was alone, and armed. That was all she needed to know.

“I get it. You joined the White Tiger gang, right?”

“The White Tiger gang? Why would you think that?”

“Because I messed with a merchant who belongs to them. I thought I was being careful, that I covered my tracks well, but…”

I wasn’t affiliated with the White Tiger gang, of course.

But her words confirmed that she was the one who had attacked the merchant.

That meant…

“So you admit it. Then return the merchant’s belongings.”

She smirked, her eyes glinting with defiance.

“What if I refuse?”

I had anticipated that response.

I closed the distance between us, swinging my sword.

She drew a machete from her hip, blocking my attack.

“Then I’ll have to take it back by force.”

I twisted my sword, aiming for her.

She spun away, deflecting my attack with her machete.

She was agile and skilled.

“You’re pretty good.”

She was impressed. And apparently, so was I.

But she had misjudged me.

‘[Swordsmanship (A-)] isn’t just for show.’

I didn’t need the Power of the Wind or Gravitas Replicant’s weight manipulation.

I pressed my attack, relying solely on my swordsmanship.

It was a one-sided fight.

‘I’ve definitely improved.’

I hadn’t realized it while I was training alone in the basement, but I could feel the difference now.

My movements felt lighter, more fluid, even without any enhancements.

My attacks flowed seamlessly into one another.

Of course, it was still only [Swordsmanship (A-)].

It wouldn’t be much against someone with a higher rank, but it was more than enough to overwhelm her.

“W-wait…!”

She stumbled back, her eyes wide with panic. She dropped her machete and sank to her knees.

“Please! Spare me! I’ll return everything I stole. I promise I’ll never do this again!”

Realizing she was outmatched, she pleaded for her life.

I pointed my sword at her throat, conflicted.

‘If I had been weaker, she would have killed me.’

I didn’t want to show mercy to someone who had tried to kill me.

But she seemed to have lost the will to fight.

As I hesitated, she continued to plead, her voice choked with sobs.

“My younger brother… he’s back in Basil. I did this for him, to feed him. But if you let me go, I’ll do anything. I’ll work the fields, anything, just please… let me live.”

To be honest, I hadn’t really wanted to kill her.

She hadn’t killed the merchant; she had only robbed him. So if she returned his belongings, the problem would be solved.

There was nothing to gain by killing her.

‘Libero wouldn’t hesitate. Neither would I, if I were still a player.’

If I hadn’t realized that this world was real, I wouldn’t have felt a shred of sympathy for her.

She would have been just another villainous NPC.

A target to be eliminated without a second thought.

After all, she had a quest attached to her.

25 SP.

To my former self, she would have been nothing more than a source of experience points.

The irony was, my current hesitation also stemmed from those 25 SP.

‘A human life… versus 25 SP.’

Most of the enemies I had killed so far had been kill-or-be-killed situations.

But this was different.

She had already surrendered, her life in my hands.

‘I could earn 25 SP by killing her.’

It would be easy.

All I had to do was swing my sword and end her life.

But…

‘What am I even thinking?’

Gwen’s face flashed in my mind.

Erciara, Weiss, Finn…

The people in this world were real.

‘And I’m no longer just a player.’

It was true that I needed those 25 SP.

But I didn’t want to lose my humanity for the sake of experience points.

I lowered my sword.

“No matter where you go, I can find you. So…”

I gestured to the pile of the merchant’s belongings she had gathered.

“Return those yourself. You have two days.”

“Thank you! I won’t forget your mercy!”

She broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.

I turned to leave, satisfied with the outcome.

That’s when it happened.

‘What?’

My hand tightened around the sword, moving against my will.

My body turned.

Towards the woman.

Crack!

A sickening crunch, a spray of blood.

Her head rolled on the ground, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

‘What… what have I done?’

I couldn’t understand what had just happened.

Absolute Obedience had activated without my consent.

And I had killed the woman I had just spared.

‘Why?’

Blood splattered on the floor, a gruesome reminder of what I had just done.

My mind raced, overwhelmed by a torrent of questions and emotions.

‘I… I…’

That’s when Libero entered the room.

He looked… pleased.

“You’re even better than I thought. I knew you were perceptive, but you might have a natural talent for psychological warfare.”

He pointed to the woman’s hand, the hand that now clutched the machete she had dropped earlier.

“You pretended to spare her, testing her true intentions. Even I was fooled for a moment. I was about to intervene, but it was already over.”

No.

That wasn’t my intention.

I hadn’t planned any of this.

“You were right about needing real-world experience.”

His words didn’t register.

‘Absolute Obedience.’

That one phrase echoed in my mind, a chilling reminder of the power that had just slipped my control.

Whatever had just happened… I couldn’t ignore it.

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After the incident with Absolute Obedience, I stopped accompanying Libero on his nightly excursions.

I was terrified of losing control again.

As I resumed my training in the basement, I tried to make sense of what had happened.

There were two possibilities.

The first was that there was some hidden effect or condition related to Absolute Obedience that I wasn’t aware of. But even I knew that was highly unlikely.

This world might be incredibly realistic, but when it came to game mechanics like skills and traits, things had always been consistent.

There was no reason for Absolute Obedience to suddenly deviate from its description.

The second possibility was one I didn’t want to consider.

I reread the description of Absolute Obedience.

It was a concise, straightforward description.

It was frustrating to think I had been tricked into possessing Allen by such a simple description, but that was how absolute its effects were.

And there was only one conclusion I could draw from this.

I had subconsciously commanded Allen to kill the woman.

It was the most likely scenario.

And the one I wanted to deny the most.

‘I still don’t know for sure.’

It was possible that I was wrong.

I wanted to believe that I hadn’t wished for her death.

But there was no evidence to support that belief.

‘My swordsmanship has hit a wall, and now Absolute Obedience is acting up.’

I was stuck, with no solutions in sight.

‘I guess I have no choice.’

There was a saying among players:

‘When in doubt, throw them into the Trial.’

The Trial wasn’t some abstract concept. It was a literal game mechanic.

There was another Trial located near Sak, similar to the one near Basil.

I shuddered, remembering my traumatic experience with the previous Trial. But it had also brought me many benefits.

The Power of the Wind, which I had learned to use without expending any Mana.

My connection with Gwen, which I had forged during the Trial, and the Gravitas Replicant.

But most importantly, the Trial had given me the strength to move forward, fueled by my regrets.

‘It’s optimistic to think I’ll achieve similar results this time…’

But the Trial was my only option.

I had been putting it off because my training with Libero was more important, but now it seemed like I couldn’t delay it any longer.

‘I’ll have to give it a try.’

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