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Translator: uly
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Hero Party's (Former) Supporter (4)
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Fortunately, there was a small mountain just a ten-minute drive away. Yuseong was already climbing toward the summit.
"Good thing it's not too dark yet."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Are you not tired?
"I'm not so lazy that this much tires me out. More importantly, I guess you can keep talking?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Since there's a statue recreating me, I can continue relaying my words. If there wasn't, I wouldn't have been able to say even a few to you.
"Hmm."
He was still running the game through his smartphone, and the game character remained idling in front of Io's goddess statue.
The fact that this act was recognized as prayer, allowing the conversation to continue...
'All my hard work for nothing...'
The bitter years he'd endured just to converse with a goddess once flooded his mind, stirring up self-loathing, but Io spoke urgently.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Th-this time it's a special case! Normally, this kind of thing isn't possible at all. It's only because the bond between you and me still remains. So don't be disappointed!
"Y-yes, got it. More importantly, Battlefiel—"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ —Io. Call me that.
"...Isn't that a bit disrespectful?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ I permit it. And I don't particularly like that epithet anyway.
"Then... Io."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Io.
"...Io. I've reached the summit now—what exactly am I waiting for?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ You'll understand soon enough. Why I need your help, too.
"Hmm..."
Yuseong waited idly atop the summit for another ten minutes or so.
Pondering just what kind of help she needed.
'Elixir and World Tree Sap... She's dangling top-tier treasures like that, so it must be some unreasonable request, right?'
Elixir.
Even if your body burned and tore apart, or your head was severed—as long as your soul clung to the flesh, it would regenerate the body and fully restore it. A miraculous potion.
For an ordinary person, it extended life by a century. For a martial artist, it propelled them to higher realms. It took dozens of Tier 1 alchemists decades of effort to barely produce one.
Even within the Five Kingdoms, it was designated a national treasure, guarded so strictly not even the king could use it lightly.
Next, World Tree Sap.
The sap from the World Tree itself. But the World Tree didn't ooze sap like ordinary trees.
A tree said to possess an astral body like a spirit—its very existence in the world was a miracle.
Such a miraculous tree released sap once every millennium. Drinking it granted immunity to any disease in the world—an elven treasure.
Rumor had it that an elder drinking it would revert to their youth. Any disability would vanish upon consumption. An all-purpose elixir.
Its existence itself was uncertain, a legendary treasure from fairy tales.
And she was giving him those treasures?
That meant the legends might be real.
'Elixir and World Tree Sap. Just drinking them would guarantee not only a long life but eternal youth.'
Everyone harbored the desire to live long.
Of course, not just any long life—healthy and youthful.
With those two potions, it might all be possible.
'If I'm lucky, I could live to two hundred—no, three hundred...?'
That would make even Dongfang Shuo's three thousand years of life nothing to envy!
'Better to live thick and long rather than some bullshit drawn-out existence, heh!'
Yuseong resolved to grant the goddess's request if he could.
At that moment.
Whoooosh!
"...This is it, huh."
Fortunately, it was late evening with no one around.
Atop the mountain summit, the wind gathered into a sphere, and something began to take form.
That must be what the goddess meant.
The wind gradually cleared. From the sphere of air, human shapes emerged.
Not just one.
Six in total.
Their hair colors were a riotous rainbow—enough to mistake them for Teletubbies at a glance—but as their outlines and faces came into view, even the faint smile on his lips vanished.
His expression hardened into something cold.
Yuseong gripped his smartphone so hard it nearly shattered, then continued.
"This is what you meant?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ ...
"Ha, figures. Dangling insane treasures like that—turns out there was a plan after all. Right, Goddess Io?"
He'd held onto respect until now, but in this moment, Yuseong shed it all, his tone sharp as a blade.
"Help those bastards? Ha! I'd sooner help a murderer. Help them? And have me—!!"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ ...I'm sorry...
"...Fuck."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Their faces were visible.
The six he never wanted to see again.
They stood before him now, and Yuseong craved a cigarette.
In Midgard, he'd been a heavy smoker. But since returning to the modern world, not once.
Right now, though, he desperately wanted one.
So badly...!
He summoned immense patience.
Superhuman patience!
Even when whipped by his gladiator instructor, he hadn't mustered this much.
As the thread of his reason frayed to breaking—
"Lu-Luke! It's you, Luke! How long's it been?!"
"..."
"Haha, I see. The goddess brought you to help us..."
"—Laughing?"
"...Lu-Luke?"
"Ha, ahaha!"
"What's wrong with you all of a sudden..."
"Die, you fucking dog."
BAM!!
His reason had already flown out the window.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"He-Hero!"
"What the hell are you—"
Before he could finish, the Barbarian warrior Valian moved.
A born warrior and genius.
Only he sensed the killing intent, entering combat stance and launching a surprise strike at Yuseong.
But his fist was effortlessly caught in Yuseong's hand.
"!?"
"You know what? Without mana, you'd be my meal, you fucking bastard."
Joint Technique. The pinnacle of modern martial arts, turning an opponent's strength against them.
The dumber the brute, the better it worked. Valian was perfect prey.
His massive frame over two meters tall fluttered like a leaf, then slammed into the ground.
Yuseong flowed straight into full mount, raining down bullet-like punches before Valian could block.
"You...!"
"You know Wing Chun?"
Thud thud thud!!
It started as mimicking a movie actor, but its lethality and power were no imitation.
A decade of battlefield-honed veteran skill infused into Wing Chun—how could it be ordinary?
No, it surpassed the film's version in power and refinement!
After relentlessly pulverizing Valian's face into a bloody mess, Yuseong suddenly dodged.
"Wha!?"
The attacker panicked.
No eyes on the back of his head—how!?
The Hero Party leader, Hero Leonhardt.
Quick to save his comrade—but he'd already lost the battle of numbers.
Yuseong possessed near-superhuman spatial awareness. Without mana to mask presence, nothing in this world evaded his senses.
Yuseong thrust a single palm strike into Leonhardt's shabby leather armor.
Foolish.
Without mana, such a move was...
"Guhk!?"
Leonhardt suddenly retched.
His insides churned as if flipped upside down.
Would a mana-reliant fool know? Inch Strength—or Emitting Strength—techniques delivering internal shocks via vibrations, bypassing the exterior.
Yuseong grabbed the neutralized Leonhardt by the collar and hoisted him up.
Not just any throw—a black belt judoka's technique, officially recognized by the Korean Judo Association.
BOOM!!
Crashing into the hard dirt, he collapsed unconscious. In seconds, the Hero Party's two main damage dealers were down.
Yuseong approached the black-haired, blue-eyed Saintess, Sylvia.
A beautiful woman. The kind any man would fall for and lavish with anything.
However—
SLAP!
"Lu-Luke?"
"..."
SLAP!
SLAP!
SLAP!!
Yuseong just slapped her.
Silently, expressionlessly, with full force.
He looked ready to kill. Sensing danger, she reached for her mace in desperate resistance—but that was the worst move.
"Thanks. I needed a club anyway—perfect timing."
"Uh...?"
"Since you're grateful, I'll end it with this."
Weapon Disarm.
Honed in arenas and mercenary work, refined by a modern kendo master's tips—an unavoidable master technique!
Said unusable in real combat, but Yuseong snatched it effortlessly, then smashed her side.
"Kyaaak!"
CRACK!
Felt like at least three ribs snapped.
He wanted to shatter the rest, but held back. Diving into the panicked High Elf archer Alicia's guard—she couldn't summon spirits without mana.
Alicia's eyes widened in shock.
Even a surprise attack shouldn't overwhelm an elite elf warrior's guard!
But how could she know? In the modern world, he'd mastered countless martial arts, reaching grandmaster level.
Mubakja.
A technique born from judo and kendo training.
Simply put, seizing the opponent's guard without telegraphing—a grandmaster's secret.
Yuseong executed it flawlessly, smashing Alicia's face with the mace.
BAM!!
Power, speed, technique.
The perfectly timed mace struck her temple. She lost consciousness instantly.
Yuseong spotted the fleeing woman next.
Mana-less, but leaping tree branches like a monkey on racial instinct—the Catfolk Thief Mirni.
He didn't bother chasing.
Instead, he picked up a sharp stone and hurled it like a shuriken.
A throwing technique taught by his special forces superior after volunteering.
Chopsticks, go stones, pebbles—if you could throw it, you could cripple a man, the superior bragged. Yuseong mastered it in a month.
The stone shattered the branch she aimed for. Exploiting the gap, another stone flew like an arrow into her leg.
THUNK!
"Aaaah!!"
The sharp projectile pierced flesh, stripping her mobility. She screamed, tumbling from the tree.
And finally.
"..."
"Not gonna fight back?"
"Without mana, I can't beat you. I surrender. Mercy, please."
"As expected of the mage. Smart choice."
SLAP!!
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Guhk!"
"Gahk!!"
"It hurts! Hurts so much!"
"..."
No one was unscathed.
All grimaced in agony, wailing. Some still hung limp, unconscious.
"..."
Yuseong watched their suffering with impassive eyes, then spoke.
"Gonna blame me?"
Not to them.
To the one who'd brought him here.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ What right do I have? But... please show mercy just once.
"Mercy? Not killing them is mercy enough, no?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ My child. When I sent you back to your original world, I restored your lost time. Think of that and show mercy.
"..."
Io was a kind goddess.
Laughable for a god to be kind, but true nonetheless.
If she'd mentioned the debt from the start, he might've been forced to comply.
But now, Io hadn't stopped his rightful 'venting.' Only after it ended did she bring up the past debt.
She wanted his heart eased, even a little.
A humane, flexible goddess bordering on too kind.
"...Sigh. First, I need potions."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ ...You're a good child after all.
The fact that 'this much' sufficed filled the endlessly grateful goddess with relief.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Luxy the mage, lips split and bleeding.
Her bag held several potions.
Not from the goddess—the party's originals.
All bore the red hue of Grade 1 potions, though slightly cloudy—subpar Grade 1s.
"Eh, good enough for recovery. Give one to the passed-out guy, one to the rib-broken bitch. For her, just splash some on the leg."
"...Me?"
"You only got hit once and you're fine. Move."
"...I hurt too."
"Want it worse?"
"I'll obey."
Her instincts were still sharp as ever.
Had she resisted even a bit, he'd have beaten her with the mace till it broke... Pity.
'Still got plenty to settle with that bitch.'
Should've finished her when she took it meekly?
Sizzle!
The sight cut his brooding short.
Regeneration unique to subpar Grade 1 potions. It filled gashes, restored severe internal damage.
After ten years, it felt strangely novel.
Soon, recovered or roused, the Hero Party glared murderously at him.
Young, but battle-hardened veterans. Their killing intent was thick, destructive—beyond what ordinary folk could endure.
Yuseong scoffed at it all.
"Round 2? I don't care. But if you die this time, don't blame me."
"...Yuseong. One question. Are you going to kill us?"
"Ooh, gotten sharper in ten years? Back then, you had zero instincts."
"Ten years...! It's been three for us, so ten passed in your homeland, huh."
"Dodging now too? Not zero progress then. Even that crazy bitch learned to ask coldly."
"..."
"Don't make that face. Makes me wanna kill you for real. Anyway, to answer: no plans to kill—for now."
"For now?"
"If you try killing me, then yeah, I'll kill you. Obvious, right?"
"...Understood."
"I'm doing this on Io's request—no, commission. That's why it ends here. Got it?"
"I-Io did!!"
"Once you're patched up, follow."
Ignoring their shock at Io's name, he strode ahead.
As if their bond ended there if they didn't.
Sylvia followed without hesitation. The others hesitated briefly but trailed after.
"If only we had mana...!"
Alicia ground her teeth in a low voice.
With mana, she never would've lost—her fury trembled her jaw.
How had she ended up like this?
"Foolish. Fought him and learned nothing?"
"What!?"
"His movements and skills were on another level. Not even comparable to three years ago."
"..."
"Even then, he beat a general-class solo. Now stronger. Even with mana, he might surpass me or Leon."
"...!?"
She was mildly stunned.
The barbarian's brain was muscle-packed, sure. But in combat, no one was colder or more genius.
The party's strongest, kingdom's top knight—Hero Leonhardt's sole rival great warrior.
And he said even with mana, victory wasn't assured.
Alicia glanced at Leonhardt, who gave a wry smile and nodded.
"Luke's strong. Beyond compare to three years ago."
"..."
Gulp...!
The arrogant elf swallowed dryly at the kingdom's strongest man's admission.
As if wondering what the hell had happened in the meantime.
Fear flickered then vanished in the elf's eyes, repeating.