I Became the 101st Hero – Chapter 48

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

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

 
“You’re sure this is your first time outside the barrier?”

I nodded, maintaining my facade.

“Is there something wrong?”

“No, it’s just… most people struggle to adapt when they first leave the barrier.”

Of course, I wasn’t struggling. This wasn’t my first time.

But as far as she knew, I was just an ordinary country boy with no relics.

Gwen, oblivious to the truth, muttered,

“He must have a high tolerance for Chaos.”

I had heard that before.

Back then, it had been thanks to Absolute Obedience.

‘At least the deal went smoothly.’

Even though I was taking a different route this time, I couldn’t bring myself to abandon Gwen entirely.

Instead of learning her swordsmanship, I had used my SP to inherit [Precociousness]. And I had easily dealt with the bandits at the inn using Libero’s swordsmanship.

Libero’s swordsmanship seemed to be just as effective in piquing Gwen’s interest, although I wasn’t entirely sure if it would have the same impact as Gwen’s own style.

“But why did you need three days to prepare?”

“Well, I needed time to say goodbye to the owner of the inn.”

That wasn’t the real reason.

It was because of an event I wanted to trigger.

“Well, well, well. Look who it is.”

Lyudmila, the high-ranking hero who wielded a bow.

Just like last time, we encountered her and her companions.

But this wasn’t the event I was aiming for.

‘I’d rather not get involved with a high-ranking hero.’

I had witnessed the true strength of a hero on the Gate from Basil to Sak.

And even that hero wasn’t high-ranking yet.

Intentionally getting involved with a high-ranking hero wasn’t being brave; it was being foolish.

‘It should be happening soon.’

While I was reviewing my plan, Gwen finished her conversation with Lyudmila.

I wasn’t paying close attention. I vaguely remembered that it wasn’t a particularly important conversation.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Forget what you just heard.”

“What do you mean?”

I genuinely had no idea what she was talking about this time.

“My age… never mind.”

But her words triggered a memory.

‘Right. She’s sensitive about her age.’

Gwen might look like a petite high school student due to her growth being stunted by [Precociousness], but her real age was…

I decided to drop that line of thought as she glared at me.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

“I need to collect a barrier fragment from this golem, but I don’t know where it is. Would you mind helping me find it?”

After Gwen dispatched the golem that was blocking our path, I easily extracted a barrier fragment from its remains.

She seemed suspicious, but at this point, I had so many things about me that were suspicious, I didn’t really care.

‘This is more important.’

The event I had been waiting for was about to happen.

“That’s…”

Gwen looked up, her gaze fixed on something in the distance.

I could feel tremors in the ground.

‘Here we go.’

An attack by three golems.

Well, it was technically a bandit attack.

‘I’ll leave the golems to Gwen…’

I had a different task.

‘The bandits.’

I needed to find their leader.

He was currently lying low, waiting for an opportunity to take advantage of the chaos caused by the golems.

And after witnessing Gwen’s overwhelming strength, he would quietly retreat, only to be discovered by her and forced to flee.

‘He should be around here somewhere.’

I pretended to observe the golems while discreetly searching for the spot where Gwen had found the bandit leader in my previous playthrough.

Dark Night had a limited duration. He wouldn’t be using it now.

‘There he is.’

I found him.

He was easy to spot, thanks to his missing left arm.

‘Now I just need to wait for the right moment.’

The golems approached, their movements lumbering but menacing. Gwen struck the first one down with her relic, Ignis.

This was it.

The bandits were distracted by Gwen’s overwhelming power.

I made my move, heading toward the bandit leader’s hiding place.

‘It’s a shame I don’t have the Power of the Wind right now.’

Running without it felt frustratingly slow.

But I was able to reach him before he noticed me.

“Hmm?”

He turned just in time to see my sword swinging towards him.

Light as a feather while wielding, heavy as a mountain upon impact.

I was intimately familiar with this sword, having practiced with it for countless hours.

The blade sliced through his neck effortlessly.

‘Last time, he turned into a Chaos Beast. That was a pain.’

I snatched Dark Night from his grasp and quickly stashed it in my inventory.

His men finally noticed the commotion.

“H-hey! What’s going on?!”

I had already planned my escape route.

I cut down a few bandits, then retreated to a spot where the archers couldn’t target me.

A few of them, not yet realizing the extent of my abilities, foolishly gave chase.

But their attention was quickly diverted.

Thud.

Gwen had struck down the last golem.

She turned to look at me.

“They’re both monsters! Run!”

It wasn’t a perfect replica, but it was Libero’s swordsmanship.

Combined with my skillful use of Gravitas Replicant, it was more than enough to make them question their sanity.

‘Run, they say.’

Except for one.

I threw down a smoke bomb and charged through the fleeing bandits, targeting a single individual.

The one with the spear.

“Gah…”

The smoke cleared. I wiped the blood off my sword onto the man’s clothes.

It would have been much easier if I had the Power of the Wind.

I took the spear from his limp grasp.

“That spear…” Gwen started, walking toward me.

“You’ve been staring at it ever since you turned this way. It must be important to you.”

She carefully took the spear from me.

“Thank you.”

She placed it in her inventory.

The last time, she had stuck it into the ground and prayed. This was unexpected.

‘She doesn’t fully trust me this time, does she?’

Back then, I had only been a little bit strange, my knowledge limited to that of an ordinary boy.

But now… my knowledge was far beyond what she would expect from a country boy from Basil. It was only natural for her to be suspicious.

‘It doesn’t matter. Gwen’s a professional. She separates business from personal matters.’

I had promised to reveal the location of a relic.

As long as I held up my end of the bargain, she would guide me to the Trial.

“Do you even need me to guide you to the Trial?” she asked, her eyes narrowed. “You’re quite skilled, from what I’ve seen.”

She had a point.

The main reason I had sought her out was to acquire a relic, not because I needed her guidance.

With a relic, I could have easily reached the Trial on my own.

And now that I had Dark Night, I could probably reach it without her help.

But I raised Gravitas Replicant, reminding her of our deal.

“I don’t have a relic.”

“You seem quite familiar with Gravitas Replicant. Have you perhaps… used the original Gravitas before?”

She trailed off, realizing how absurd her own question sounded.

It was highly unlikely that a boy from a small village on the outskirts of Basil would have ever encountered a 4-star relic like Gravitas.

“…Never mind. Let’s keep going.”

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

We finally reached the Trial of the God of Regret.

The lake, shrouded in a thick mist, shimmered before us.

Could you enter another Trial within a Trial? The thought crossed my mind, but I would have to see for myself.

“Hey. Do you even know how to enter the Trial?”

This time, I did.

“You step into the lake, and it pulls you under. Then the Trial begins.”

“I see. Then let’s conclude our deal.”

“Excuse me?”

Her words caught me by surprise.

This was different from the last time.

I had thought she had simply forgotten about our agreement and entered the Trial.

But now I realized…

‘From her perspective, it would have been better to ask me after the Trial.’

She might have been hoping to obtain the Rose Sword from the Trial.

And she suspected, based on my swordsmanship, that I might be connected to the Lidval family.

Her plan was to try and get the Rose Sword herself, and if she failed, to try and get me to fulfill her obligation.

But this time, she didn’t think I was connected to the Lidval family.

So she could only ask me one question.

“Where is the Rose Sword?”

If I told her, she wouldn’t enter the Trial.

Because the Rose Sword wasn’t there.

And our paths would diverge.

‘It’s a shame, but…’

It was true that there was nothing more I could gain from her.

We were simply parting ways sooner than I had anticipated.

But before letting her go, I asked,

“If you get the information about the Rose Sword’s location, you’ll take Gravitas Replicant and leave, right? That would leave me stranded outside the barrier.”

Gwen, ever the pragmatist, pointed out,

“I saw you putting a dagger-shaped relic into your inventory earlier. I trust you’ll report that to the Order.”

She had me there.

I reluctantly handed her Gravitas Replicant.

“The Rose Sword…”

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

‘I thought I had the upper hand this time…’

This time, i had failed to get Gravitas Replicant from her.

There were other ways to obtain a 2-star relic, but it was still a setback.

Well, it was a possibility I had anticipated when I decided not to inherit [Swordsmanship (B)]. I had obtained Dark Night in advance, just in case things didn’t go as planned.

‘So far, things are still on track.’

As Gwen disappeared into the distance, I turned towards the lake and stepped into the mist-shrouded water.

It was time to see how the Trial would manifest within another Trial.

‘Let’s see…’

My vision blurred as I sank beneath the surface. My consciousness was pulled deeper, into a world of swirling colors and fragmented memories.

‘Huh?’

I didn’t wake up in the familiar desert.

I was standing in a vast chamber. A massive tree dominated the center of the space, its branches reaching towards the invisible ceiling.

‘This is…’

The place where I had received my reward from the God of Regret.

‘Is the Trial over already?’

It was over before it even began.

As I looked around, trying to make sense of the situation, a voice echoed in my mind.

[I didn’t expect to see you again.]

A youthful voice, its gender ambiguous.

The mere sound of that voice filled me with irritation.

I hadn’t forgotten the humiliation I had suffered at its hands.

[I thought you’d be dead by now. You’re so weak.]

It was as annoying as ever.

But there was something that bothered me more than its condescending tone.

“You remember me?”

This should be my first time meeting it in this Trial.

But it was speaking as if we were already acquainted.

The God of Regret chuckled.

[It seems I’ve made another mistake. I forgot you’re going through his Trial right now.]–

“His? You know who’s in charge of this Trial?”

Just like the God of Regret, the name of a god was likely related to its domain, its nature.

If I could learn its name, it could provide valuable clues about this Trial.

[We’re not exactly on good terms, let’s just say that. I’d rather not get another earful from him, so I’ll refrain from divulging any further information.]

That was disappointing.

I would have to ask about something else then.

Something more pressing.

“What happened to my Trial? I don’t even remember it starting.”

[Hmm? My Trial is designed to be a one-time experience. Repeating it would be pointless. So I just let you skip it. Don’t worry, you’ll still get the same reward as before. Fairness and all that.]

As if on cue, a purple fruit fell from the branches above.

Inside, I found the familiar Power of the Wind.

‘I was so confused when I first opened this and it was empty.’

I immediately absorbed the Power of the Wind.

Just like my Swordsmanship, my previous skill level seemed to carry over. My proficiency in the Power of the Wind instantly rose to B-.

Familiar currents of air swirled around me, bringing a sense of comfort and relief.

‘I definitely need this.’

As I was savoring the familiar sensation,

[Oh, and be careful. He’s just as much of a pain in the ass as I am…]

The scenery shifted abruptly.

I found myself back on the lakeshore, kneeling on the damp grass.

I had learned one crucial piece of information.

The being orchestrating this Trial wasn’t the God of Regret.

I had suspected that the God of Regret was behind this Trial as well.

After all, it seemed designed to exploit my past mistakes and traumas, forcing me to confront my deepest regrets.

It was similar to the God of Regret’s own Trial.

But the God of Regret had denied any involvement, claiming that this Trial wasn’t his.

He had even implied that he wasn’t on good terms with the god in charge of this Trial.

Of course, it was possible that he was lying.

But for now, it was a valuable lead.

‘A god who isn’t on good terms with the God of Regret…’

I pondered the implications as I got to my feet.

“Next up… the Demon King.”

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇