I Became the 101st Hero – Chapter 69

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Once again, I faced the giant tree. “Why are you doing this to me?”

Then, a male voice echoed from somewhere. It was a low yet gentle voice, with a somewhat polite tone.

[I apologize. I became a little interested in you. Allen Blake.]

This god seemed to be quite courteous. But I couldn’t let my guard down. They were unpredictable beings, after all.

“…Do you know me?”

However, there was no need to be hostile from the start.

Especially since the god I met last time in reality had even sacrificed himself to help me.

And this god didn’t seem to have called me here with the intention of harming me either.

[Yes, I’ve heard about you from other gods.]

Of course, there was one issue that needed to be addressed.

“Then, could you stop using that name? It’s a name I have to hide right now.”

[You don’t have to worry about that. This space is absolutely invisible to the outside.]

That was a relief.

But considering what the God of Regret and the God of Reality had said, and this god’s phrase “heard from other gods,” it sounded like there was active communication among the gods.

Actually, what exactly was this space anyway?

I had many questions, but for now, there was one thing that was important.

“So, what are you curious about me?”

First, I needed to know why I had been dragged here.

The god then finally asked me a question.

[I was curious while watching the trial. Why you don’t use a sword. With your swordsmanship, you could have done quite well, I think.]

But there was something strange about that question.

“If that’s the case, couldn’t you just read my memories?”

[That is an ability only the God of Regret has.]

“No, weren’t gods supposed to know everything?”

[Perhaps only the God of Reality is like that? No, even she doesn’t know everything.]

It seemed like I had some misconceptions about the gods.

“So, you’re saying you’re not omniscient?”

[Of course, we are close to omniscient within our individual concepts, but beyond that, we become beings worse than humans. That is what we gods are.]

“You guys…”

Thinking about it, I had rarely considered gods from a realistic perspective.

When I first went to the first trial, I simply took the God of Regret as a game element.

Only during the second trial, through the God of Reality’s sacrifice and my conversation with the God of Chains, was I able to recognize gods as real beings.

‘What on earth are these guys?’

In the memories of the constellations, even in the game settings, gods weren’t explained in detail.

In a way, that was natural.

The contracts between humans and gods had been made before the ‘Chaos.’ Now, 500 years later, there were no records of that time left, and the gods had disappeared, leaving behind only traces of barriers and holy marks.

The only place where one could meet such gods was here, in the trials.

Until now, I had only thought of this place as a place to receive rewards, but perhaps I could learn about the true nature of the gods here.

“What… are you?”

But that hope was ultimately dashed.

[I apologize. That is all I can tell you. If I were willing to risk my own destruction, I could tell you more, but you wouldn’t want me to disappear temporarily and paralyze the Hero Academy, would you?]

Indeed, if he disappeared and this place stopped working correctly, it would be a major blow to the Hero Academy.

The biggest advantage of the Hero Academy was its practical experience through virtual reality.

As I had just faced a demon lord, the spectrum of practical experience was quite broad, so I also didn’t want to give it up.

“Then, could I at least know what kind of god you are?”

[It is a rule that I cannot reveal my name to anyone who has not completed the trial. So that would also be difficult.]

It seemed impossible to find out anything more here.

“Okay. So, all you want is the reason why I don’t use a sword, right?”

If it was impossible to get more information, then it was best to resolve the matter at hand.

Since I had been called here for a personal matter of a god rather than completing a trial, I couldn’t expect a reward.

But I was a little reluctant to answer a god’s request for free.

“Instead, I don’t want to tell you without any compensation either.”

I didn’t want to trust a god blindly, no matter who they were.

I was also suspicious of the contract this god had made with the Magic Tower.

It was better if there was a price for everything.

[What do you want? I apologize, but you haven’t formally completed a trial, so I can’t give you any of the trial rewards.]

That wasn’t what I was hoping for.

“I want you to make a contract with me. To cooperate fully in hiding the fact that I’m hiding my swordsmanship and using a bow.”

If this condition wasn’t met, I wouldn’t say anything either.

[A contract…]

After a moment of seeming contemplation, the god spoke.

[- Do you know what a contract truly is?]

That was an unexpected question and also a vague one. To me, a contract was just a contract.

“Is there another meaning to contracts that I don’t know?”

[At least with the gods, yes. It might feel unfair, but to make a contract with a god, the human side needs to provide a price.]

But something felt off.

“Is the reason I don’t use a sword not enough for that price?”

[No, that is merely something to put on the scale. A fee is still needed separately.]

A fee. I had no idea what he would demand with that. That’s when I was still hesitating,

[Then, how about a holy relic as the price? That sword you have seems quite precious.]

If there was a sword I cherished, there was only one. I took out Gravitus Replica from my inventory.

“Are you talking about this?”

[Yes. As a price, I will keep that sword until you graduate from the academy.]

That wasn’t a bad condition.

Of course, it was painful to part with Gravitus Replica temporarily, but it was also true that I wouldn’t be using it for a while.

There was no reason to refuse.

“Okay. I’ll agree to the contract with this as a price.”

And so, the contract with the nameless god was made. I explained to him why I was using a bow.

The status accurately represented my current situation.

Swordsmanship had only reached S- after the last battle with Libero.

It was certainly a dramatic improvement compared to when I first inherited [Swordsmanship (B)].

However, the problem was that ‘Swordsmanship’ was ultimately just ‘Swordsmanship.’ I couldn’t achieve everything with swordsmanship alone.

I had learned that in Libero’s last moments.

Swordsmanship was just a tool. I shouldn’t be bound by the tool; I had to move towards my goal.

“I want to protect this world.”

Ultimately, it was an extension of what I had told the cult leader.

I wanted to help Gwen fulfill her wish of having a child.

I wanted to prevent the crisis of the Reim Kingdom and save Elsie’s life.

I wanted to prevent the world from ending for the sake of the inn I would return to.

“However, I can’t achieve all of that with just swordsmanship.”

That’s why I had chosen archery.

Of course, there were several complicated reasons for entering the Hero Academy, including the power struggles between the demon lord and heroes, and that it was the quickest and surest way to obtain the status of a hero.

However, learning another means of attack was also a major reason.

“If I learn archery, I’ll have more options to choose from in combat.”

Here, the knowledge of the constellations was helpful.

When developing a character, one had to pay attention to the character’s growth curve: Where were the periods of rapid growth, and where were the limits? My current swordsmanship was, in effect, nearing its limit.

Investing more in swordsmanship at this point wouldn’t be efficient.

Although I had been consistently training my stats, the improvements were hardly noticeable anymore.

In this situation, one useful method was to add another weapon to the arsenal.

The reason Gwen was learning not just swordsmanship but also martial arts and spearmanship was for that very reason.

No matter how large the difference was between my S- swordsmanship and C+ archery, they served different purposes.

“And perhaps my archery will be enough to graduate from the academy.”

Of course, it didn’t mean that I had talent in archery.

If that were the case, I would have given up swordsmanship and picked up a bow long ago.

But it did seem that, early on, the growth of my archery skills wasn’t bad.

Now, even with the help of Wind Power and Overload, my archery was at least performing at a B-rank level of efficiency.

Perhaps by the time I graduated from the Hero Academy, it could reach an A-rank effect.

That would mean I wouldn’t be outstanding but would at least meet the graduation requirements.

And if I got a decent holy relic, it would be viable to use in practice.

Of course, even so…

“My main weapon won’t change from swordsmanship. But I want to save it for crucial moments.”

Until now, I had always gone all-out, but that couldn’t continue. I wanted to save a trump card in case something happened.

“I’d like you to help me a little with that.”

That was why I was using the bow.

And this was the contract for that.

Actually, the contract had already been established.

He had already taken my Gravitus Replica, accepting the contract.

But I wanted to hear his answer.

Of course. The contract is already made, isn’t it?

That was the answer I had been waiting for.

And so, the contract with him was completely established. It was an unexpected gain.

This would reduce the chance of my identity being exposed.

At the same time, my vision began to blur.

I was probably being taken out of this place.

The god’s voice came to me one last time.

[May blessings be upon your…]

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[God of Chains.]

“Why do you call?”

A man answered from atop the giant tree.

[Do you think the boy truly needs my trial?]

“That’s something you have to decide. No matter how broad my concept is, you are more of an expert in your own.”

[Hmm, my concept is difficult even for myself..]

“That’s unavoidable since you are not human.”

[True enough..]

“You have a year left, so I suggest you consider it. Perhaps it could help you regain your divinity.”

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