I Became the 101st Hero – Chapter 57

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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His gaze was distant, unfocused.

And his strength… it flowed from him unchecked, a raging torrent of power.

It was a clear sign that he was not himself.

‘This is bad.’

The room was littered with the bodies of heroes, their corpses in various states of decay, the air thick with the stench of death.

It was hard to believe that the man standing amidst this carnage, the one responsible for this massacre, was Libero.

‘It’s all because of her.’

I shifted my gaze to the other Demon King in the room.

Gineus.

She was as beautiful as she was in the game, her features striking, alluring.

But her beauty was marred by the broken wings and horns, the severed limbs that lay scattered around her.

‘If I kill her, Libero might regain his sanity.’

Of course, the Libero under her control wouldn’t let me get close to her.

I had to get past him, to reach Gineus.

It wouldn’t be easy. I had to give it my all.

Before unleashing everything I had, I decided to try talking to him one last time.

“Say something, will you?”

He remained silent.

Instead, it was Gineus, her voice weak but defiant, who answered.

“It’s pointless. He’s under my control.”

I already knew that.

Which meant my course of action was clear.

‘30 minutes… that’s all the time I need to settle this.’

I retrieved an [Awakening Pill] from my inventory.

And then, I swallowed it.

I could feel its effects instantly, my strength surging, my senses sharpening.

It was exhilarating, but I also felt the strain on my body, the price of this sudden, unnatural growth.

‘Status.’

The body I had been using in the Trial wasn’t my real body, so my stats were essentially the same as when I had left Libero.

But they were rapidly increasing now, changing before my eyes.

It was working.

My Agility was still lacking, but my Strength was now almost on par with Gwen’s.

It was a temporary boost, thanks to the pill, but these stats were now beyond the reach of ordinary humans.

I focused on maximizing my physical abilities.

Then, I drew Gravitas Replicant.

‘It’s been a while, old friend.’

After spending centuries wielding it in the Trial, it felt like a lifetime ago.

The familiar weight of the sword, the way it felt like an extension of my own body… I couldn’t imagine fighting without it.

‘Weight Seal.’

The sword became lighter.

‘Power of the Wind.’

I channeled the Power of the Wind, the familiar energy swirling around me.

It felt stronger than before, more potent.

Unfortunately, I had only been able to increase my proficiency in the Power of the Wind during my first 13 attempts at the Trial, before dedicating myself solely to swordsmanship.

But it had always been a skill that came naturally to me. My proficiency had increased quickly.

My Power of the Wind was now at rank B+.

It was one of my most reliable weapons.

I channeled the Power of the Wind into my legs and pushed off the ground, launching myself towards Libero.

His sword could distort space, extending its reach.

But the area he could manipulate was limited.

I crossed that invisible boundary, and his attack came, swift and deadly.

‘Here it comes.’

My movements, enhanced by the Power of the Wind, were now on par with an Agility stat of B+, at least for brief bursts.

But even that wasn’t enough to match Libero’s speed.

I raised my sword just in time.

‘The specific techniques… they’re gone, but…’

The muscle memory, the instincts honed over centuries of training, were still there.

I angled my sword, deflecting his strike.

“How did he…?!”

Gineus stared at me, her eyes wide with disbelief.

No hero had ever been able to block Libero’s attacks before.

But I was different.

My swordsmanship wasn’t on par with his.

But I knew his techniques better than anyone else.

Because his swordsmanship… was my swordsmanship.

‘I might not be able to defeat him with swordsmanship, but I can definitely defend myself.’

The Awakening Pill’s stat boost was also helping.

I pressed my attack, countering Libero’s strikes as I closed the distance between us.

He realized I was different, a challenge unlike any he had faced before.

His focus shifted, his attacks becoming more precise, more relentless.

‘Now!’

He had left an opening.

I drew Dark Night from my inventory.

And in a single, fluid motion, I channeled the Power of the Wind into it and threw it.

But my target wasn’t Libero.

I was aiming for Gineus, taking advantage of the momentary distraction.

‘If I can just break her mind control…!’

Dark Night, propelled by the Power of the Wind, flew towards her.

And then…

The world seemed to slow down.

‘He’s…!’

Anyone who hadn’t witnessed this before would have been caught off guard.

But I had a vague memory of this from the Trial.

I had even seen him do this once in the real world.

But…

‘It was futile.’

Libero, unaffected by the distorted time, moved with impossible speed.

His sword extended, its blade shimmering, and then… he swatted Dark Night out of the air as if it were a pesky insect.

The dagger clattered against the wall, its power neutralized.

‘He’s warning me not to take my eyes off him.’

Libero turned his gaze back to me, his expression unreadable. I swallowed, my throat dry.

It seemed impossible to bypass him and reach Gineus.

My only option was to defeat him.

‘But can I even do that?’

Libero’s swordsmanship skill rank was rumored to be SS or higher.

Some even claimed he was Ex rank, a level beyond the known limits.

My own Swordsmanship skill, after centuries of training with him in the Trial…

‘It’s only A+.’

It wasn’t exactly a low rank.

After all, even with Precociousness, the Blessing of the God of Regret, and Libero’s guidance, I had struggled to break through the A- rank barrier.

And I had surpassed that limit, not once, but twice.

But I couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

I had seen my stats before leaving the Trial.

My Swordsmanship had reached S rank.

The same rank as Gwen.

It must have been downgraded to A+ because I had lost access to the theoretical knowledge Libero had imparted.

I could still instinctively execute those techniques, but they felt different now, lacking the precision and elegance of a true master.

I couldn’t ask Libero to re-teach me now. He wasn’t himself.

I had to rely on instinct, on the muscle memory that had been ingrained into my very being.

If I could sharpen those instincts, if I could combine that with the Power of the Wind and Gravitas Replicant…

‘There might be a chance.’

There would be no chance if Libero was in his right mind.

But right now, he was under Gineus’ control.

And because of that, his movements were… slightly slower.

I finally understood.

Why Libero had said that the half-beat delay caused by Absolute Obedience was a fatal flaw.

At a certain level of mastery, it could be the difference between A+ and SS rank.

‘Let’s do this.’

I abandoned the idea of trying to bypass him.

I charged towards Libero, closing the distance between us.

My attack range was smaller than his. Staying away would only give him more opportunities to control the fight.

‘He can’t just keep defending forever.’

I needed to attack, to press him, to find an opening.

I deflected his strikes, countering his every move as I closed in.

His swordsmanship was still dangerous, even with the slight delay. But I knew his swordsmanship.

I entered my attack range.

Or rather, a distance slightly beyond the reach of my physical blade.

But I had access to his techniques, to his ability to manipulate space.

‘From line to space.’

I expanded the Power of the Wind I had been channeling into Gravitas Replicant, extending its reach.

A blade of compressed air shot forward, resembling Libero’s own sword extensions.

A burst of compressed air, a sound like thunder.

Our blades clashed.

My attack was blocked.

But it had had its intended effect.

‘He’s… shaken.’

He was surprised. Disconcerted.

Because I had used his own techniques against him.

His eyes were wide, his usual composure gone.

I couldn’t let him recover.

‘Power of the Wind.’

I wrapped my right leg and left arm in the Power of the Wind, my movements becoming a blur.

I pivoted, my body spinning, gaining momentum, and then… I brought my sword down in a diagonal slash.

Faster and faster.

I continued to accelerate, pushing myself beyond my limits.

The world around me seemed to slow down, my own movements becoming a blur.

‘From space… to time.’

Libero and I were the only ones moving at normal speed in this distorted reality, our movements a whirlwind of clashing steel and crackling energy.

As we exchanged blows, our movements reaching a fever pitch, a realization dawned on me.

“Is this your limit?” I asked.

Why would I point out his limitations?

Because it wasn’t my limit.

I was referring to…

The limitations of Libero under Gineus’ control.

I could push further, go faster, hit harder.

And then, time seemed to stop completely for him.

His sword was frozen in mid-air, about to strike me from the right.

But my sword was still moving.

I thrust it forward, aiming for his unguarded chest.

There was no way for him to block it.

Unless he could break free from her control.

‘I did it.’

Well, not me.

It was my damn master, as usual.

His sword started moving again.

He had broken free from Gineus’s grasp.

“You’ve grown strong, Allen,” he said, a hint of pride in his voice.

“Of course, I have.”

“But you should have rotated your upper body more, aligned yourself with your blade. Thrust deeper.”

He smiled, his eyes twinkling.

“You might have been able to graze me, if you had.”

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