Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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“Luke, should you have ignored that call from earlier?”
“Ignoring it was the better choice.”
Riche’s soon-to-be boyfriend was sleeping soundly against a nearby tree. She should have gone to him after the event, but why was she calling him?
He wasn’t sure what she wanted, but he knew he should avoid her. Getting involved would lead to more trouble.
He had gone to hunt an Ogre and ended up encountering a demon near the academy.
He knew the approximate intervals between events after witnessing the first one, but seeing Arthur sleeping despite the demon attack convinced him that the storyline had derailed.
He had fled immediately after defeating the demon, anticipating the arrival of another, stronger demon.
The demon he’d just killed was indeed the weakest of them.
Hunting demons near Arthur might provide experience and new skills, but the unpredictable nature of demons made it inefficient.
It was like putting all your money into a failing coin and hoping for a fivefold return.
There were far more efficient ways to level up.
“I’m surprised you avoid the academy, considering you were a student there not so long ago.”
“Curious? Then try enrolling yourself.”
Experiencing it firsthand wouldn’t hurt.
Luna, as an extra character, would likely die if she did.
“…I prefer being by your side.”
“Good girl.”
He liked how Luna spoke her mind, even if it was a bit tsundere.
Extra heroines were just as good as the main ones.
What skill did I get again?
He opened his status window.
[Information]
Name: Luke
Gender: Male
Age: 20
Magic Power: 0/0
Level: 41
[Skills]
Inventory (F)
Superhuman Strength (B)
All Elemental Resistance (A)
[Attributes]
Strength: 32(+16)
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 0
Stamina: 10
Stat Points: 9
His leveling had been sporadic, but it had increased significantly. Nine levels in one go. He liked how his leveling was accelerating.
And his attributes…
He wasn’t sure if his attributes were high or low. In the original novel, Arthur’s status window used letters like A and B instead of numbers.
But he would learn more through combat. Like how he had discovered his strength surpassed the Ogre’s earlier.
“Hey, System. Explain ‘All Elemental Resistance.’”
The familiar blue window appeared.
He almost felt like he was conversing with the System, as if it were some sort of divine entity.
◈ Skill Information
Name: All Elemental Resistance
Rank: A
Description: Greatly enhances resistance to all elemental attacks. Not immunity; damage cannot be completely nullified. Optimized for manlier-than-thou warriors who love to fight while getting beat up.
Right.
This was it.
The author is dead to me.
The constant descriptions felt like manipulation. He wouldn’t avoid a provocation.
He would find the author and teach him what it meant to be a true man.
But this skill is useful.
As a skill dropped by a magic-user, it only boosted magic resistance. But considering magical monsters would appear later, and most opponents in human vs. human battles used magic, this was an OP skill.
This must be the standard for A-rank skills.
He had realized that despite his strength, he was lacking in durability.
His low Stamina was a factor, but it was also because he wasn’t truly a manly man.
A true manly man could get up after having his bones shattered and say everything was fine.
This skill was perfect for him.
He could get burned and frozen and still claim to be fine.
Or maybe I can already?
“Luna, cast a spell on me.”
“…What?”
Was that such a strange request?
Why the scornful look?
No, wait. It might actually be a reward in certain circles.
“Use your strongest spell.”
“What level of power should I use?”
“As strong as you can. Your full power.”
“Are you sure…?”
“I need to test it. Just do it.”
With a hesitant expression, Luna distanced herself, gathering magic power.
Luke couldn’t see or feel it, but the swaying grass around her showed she was preparing.
She drew a dagger, gathering wind in its blade.
“…Huh?”
A terrifying sound.
Blades of wind assaulted him.
She must have been holding back. This was more powerful than anything he’d seen before.
He had seen this spell cut monsters in half, and a normal human would have been bisected.
But Luke braced himself.
“Hyaaaah!”
He resisted the attack and was sent flying.
It hurt, but less than the Ogre’s blow.
His clothes were slightly torn, which was it.
The spell was stronger than the Ogre’s club.
The skill definitely made a difference.
Luna rushed over, checking his injuries.
“L-Luke! Are you okay?!”
“…Nothing happened!!”
“Don’t joke around!”
He was allowed to joke. He understood why serious people had no friends.
“It was stronger than I thought. Maybe you had a lot on your mind?”
She had always used honorifics but was frank with him.
Was she planning to kill him?
Luna! You’re an assassin sent by the author!
“T-that’s not true!”
She seemed genuinely surprised.
“Then why was it so powerful?”
Luna nodded slightly.
No way…?
It made sense. His rapid leveling had a problem. He grew stronger through leveling up, but Luna didn’t have access to the same status window.
She would become a burden if she couldn’t keep up.
Had the hunts boosted her stats in a way he couldn’t see?
Had she, too, leveled up?
That would explain her enhanced power.
I think I remember an artifact that revealed information about opponents.
He didn’t bother checking it. It’d be convenient, but it was too much work.
He didn’t need to investigate the strength of his companions.
“Ugh.”
He got up from the ground.
“Are you… really okay?”
“Yeah, except for the torn clothes.”
Torn clothes were fixable.
“Let’s go. I’ve done what I wanted to do.”
“Okay.”
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On their way back…
“Luna, if we encounter any monsters, I’ll handle it. Don’t interfere.”
“Okay.”
She must have been restless.
Or maybe she was planning another experiment.
That’s what he thought, until Luke did something unexpected.
Squeal!
They encountered a goblin.
Luna stayed back.
Luke poured oil all over himself, then dropped a match.
“L-Luke?!”
Where did he get oil and matches? When had he collected them?
He was always adding new things without her noticing.
And Luke, engulfed in flames, screamed:
“Hug me!!!”
Squeal!
Terrified by the flaming man, the goblins fled.
What a spectacle.
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I love how fresh this novel is man, setting yourself on fire and chasing goblins to hug them to death is new levels of creative
Or it’s called madness
Woowww…….. just wow