The Hero’s Party Members Treat Me Well for Some Reason - Chapter 104



Great Battle

After hearing the challenge from him, I immediately began to look around.

“Phew…”

Perhaps everyone had gone home. Fortunately, there was no one around me. At the very least, there was no one to witness this conversation.

I opened my mouth with a reluctant expression.

“…It’s a bit surprising to suddenly be asked like this.”

To be honest, I was a bit tired after the revolution I had just gone through.

Of course, that didn’t mean I could avoid fighting.

“Sorry, but there’s no option to refuse.”

It was already a ridiculous situation to be having such a leisurely conversation with one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

Now that I was here, it wouldn’t matter if he slaughtered ordinary people in my stead.

Being a puppet, there wouldn’t be many restrictions, and since we had entered the capital, everyone would be vulnerable to crisis.

Yet, he had come to find me first.

It was fortunate that he was relatively mild among the Four Heavenly Kings. Otherwise, a massacre would have already taken place.

Thus, I had no choice but to draw the Holy Sword. At the same time, I checked my opponent’s level.

As I mentioned before, a level represents the total amount of experience one has accumulated. It is the history of that person, so in most cases, a level is a measure of strength.

Then, what about in the case of a puppet?

Would it show the level of the original body’s owner or the level of the possessed opponent?

The answer is both.

It shows a mixture of the puppet’s physical level and the controller’s experience. To think it can show this accurately to some extent.

Even if it’s not perfect, the level algorithm is considerable.

[80]

And the opponent’s level was 80.

Seeing that, I cursed inwardly.

‘Crazy…’

Even though it was just a borrowed puppet’s body, it’s at that level.

Moreover, it must be in a state where its own powers are also limited.

I looked at the puppet’s body.

Once a knight, now a pitiful body that has lost even its sense of self.

The condition of the body couldn’t even be said to be good in empty words. The frail body had lost all its muscles, and the joints creaked, making movement seem difficult.

And yet, it’s an 80… that means, with that body, it can exert power comparable to most tower masters. Truly, a monster is a monster.

Thanks to that, I couldn’t help but feel tense.

‘I might be able to win, but…’

The problem was how to win.

To be honest, this fight was a good opportunity to glimpse the opponent’s skills.

And the same went for the opponent. Depending on what cards I reveal, the opponent’s future response to me would vary in proficiency.

So, winning this fight isn’t the issue.

What’s important is to understand the opponent while conserving my cards as much as possible.

‘I’ll have to conserve black magic and powers as much as I can…’

Therefore, what I chose was swordsmanship.

It was the most ordinary option, and the opponent was a swordsman to the bone.

I thought it was the most suitable for gauging the opponent’s abilities.

Of course, just because I want to hide something doesn’t mean I can hide everything…

[‘Blood Flow Acceleration’ is being cast!]

I put on at least a basic buff.

The blood throughout my body accelerated quickly, and gradually, vitality began to rise.

“As mana circulates in my body… what is that? It feels like my veins have suddenly thickened… Is it a type of black magic?”

Damn it, that guy is quick to analyze.

Regardless of that, I charged straight at him. The sharp holy sword came crashing down toward the top of his head.

He reacted slowly to that strike. The frail body of the old puppet began to evade before he even swung his sword. It was as if he had read my movements.

Whoosh!

By the time I swung my sword down, he was already gone from that spot. No matter how obvious the attack was, that was impressive.

Do you read electrical signals like a puppet too?

Swish-!

Next was his turn. As I swung my sword, a slender iron sword came thrusting toward my abdomen.

Although I used dark magic, I was also a swordsman who had trained to some extent. I had at least a minimal understanding of swords.

From my perspective, his sword was chillingly clean. There was no wasted energy in that thrust at all. All of his strength was concentrated entirely at the tip of the blade.

Even so, the reason I could avoid it was purely due to the physical difference.

No matter how much of a villain he was, he couldn’t revive a frail body.

After exchanging a round of blows, he spoke.

“It’s crude. Your grip on the sword. Your swinging technique. Is it true that such a sword defeated a puppet master?”

“······.”

“No, that can’t be. Show me a bit more of what you’ve got.”

This time, he initiated the attack. A blue light flickered from his iron sword and soon enveloped the entire blade.

A flame that only those who have reached a certain level can use. It was Sword Aura. He could use an aura that I still couldn’t.

Well, considering his level, it was only natural.

What was a bit surprising was that he had succeeded in using it not with his own body, but with the mana of a dying knight.

Finally, his sword came flying at me. I raised my holy sword to defend against his attack.

Clang!

“Ugh…”

The strike from the one wrapped in aura was heavier than I expected. Even though I had the unfair advantage of the holy sword and the body of a hero.

The precision of the aura was what allowed him to match strength with me.

While it’s true that aura users give a tremendous advantage over ordinary swordsmen… there’s still a limit to that.

‘Still, I have the advantage in raw strength.’

Of course, he hadn’t completely overcome the physical differences.

In terms of stamina, strength, and speed, I was ahead in all aspects. The only thing he had the upper hand in was the technique of the main body.

However, that technique was quite problematic.

Whenever I tried to push his sword back with strength, he would redirect that very force somewhere else. If I tried to pull back because his sword was bothersome, he would smoothly close in.

Even when trying to defend myself, how does he find the gaps so well? His black blade had already slipped inside my holy sword.

After exchanging a few blows, ultimately…

Whoosh-!

I had to deliver a decisive strike. His sword had gnawed into my side.

Seeing that, I quickly kicked his thigh and retreated.

‘…Huh.’

I admit it. With just a sword, I could never match him.

Only after sustaining quite a large wound was I finally able to distance myself from him. If I hadn’t sacrificed a part of my body, I would surely have suffered a much greater injury.

Screech…

As we took a moment to catch our breath, the wound on my side gradually began to heal.

Since I possessed regeneration, the wound itself wasn’t really a problem.

The issue was that he would come to know that information as well.

“I had heard rumors, but seeing it in person is quite fascinating. To have the same ability as that guy. Well, it seems your regeneration is a bit lacking compared to him, but it would be troublesome to deal with.”

That ‘guy’ must be referring to the Four Heavenly Kings that would come next.

It’s true that when fighting, that guy is the most bothersome. Of course, the biggest problem right now was Evan in front of me, so I pushed that thought out of my mind for the moment.

“There’s a specific way to deal with these persistent b*stards.”

Finally, he lunged at me again, even more ferociously than before.

The speed coming from the frail knight’s body was unbelievably fast as he charged at me. Just as I could wrap my body in mana, he did the same.

However, his precision was far superior. Every muscle, every joint, the mana throughout his entire body was being distributed exquisitely.

Seeing that, I couldn’t help but feel a bit flustered.

His skill was indeed impressive, but I could feel his intentions as well.

‘No matter how much of a b*stard he is, the capacity of mana must be that knight’s, right?’

If he carelessly exhausts the mana within his body like that, he’ll tire out quickly. Yet the reason he was doing this was obvious.

He wanted a short battle.

After all, if it turned into a prolonged fight, any wounds I received would quickly be restored through regeneration. Rather than that, he aimed to extract as much information about me as possible in a short period.

‘This…’

As much as I wanted to face him with just my sword, doing so would mean I’d be the one to fall first. Reluctantly, I had no choice but to add a few more things to my body.

[‘Hardening’ is being cast.]

[‘Mana Barrier’ is being cast.]

I hardened my blood to cover my body like armor, and then applied mana on top of that.

The barrier created in this way was strong enough to withstand the magic of the Tower of Magic at least once.

Bang!

As expected, the creature’s blade failed to pierce my skin and was blocked.

“…Oh.”

Seeing that, it let out a light exclamation.

“How bothersome. A sword technique focused on defense, regenerative abilities, and various barriers. It seems they’ll have a hard time.”

Whooosh!

The weight of the sword pressing down gradually becomes heavier.

“That’s just one of them.”

Slish—

Eventually, the creature’s blade began to dig into my flesh. The barrier was severed, and blood splattered.

Damn, can that sword also be transformed further?

It seems the creature has hidden depths.

“Swordsmanship, no matter how you package it, is ultimately a technique for killing. It is honed and refined endlessly to sever someone’s life thread. For that singular purpose, there exist countless processes of cutting, stabbing, and blocking in between.”

The creature’s stance shifts.

Since my level is lower than theirs, I couldn’t grasp everything.

The one thing I could discern was that, unlike before when it flowed like water, the creature’s momentum had shifted entirely to offense. It was not rough but rather sticky, not refined but sinister.

The highly polished killing intent chilled my neck.

“Let’s see if your neck can regenerate no matter what.”

Finally, the creature’s blade began to slither up my arm like a snake.

Swish—! Blood burst forth from the crude path the blade had carved. Like a predator stalking its prey, sharp fangs aimed for my throat.

“!”

My reaction to that was more reflexive than conscious.

Unknowingly, I reached out to the frail body of the knight and, in that state, gathered crimson mana in my palm.

[Using ‘Pain Memory’!]

Boom—!

In that moment, the creature’s body exploded. The emaciated arm that had been wielding the sword flew away, and its side was torn apart completely.

It was a reflexive action, so I hadn’t used the skill with much strength, yet the creature’s body shattered into pieces.

At that moment, I recalled again. The body I had been facing until now was not a highly trained physique, but merely the frail body of a knight.

Even as the puppet’s body burst apart, the creature appeared calm throughout.

“Ah.”

As the connection with the puppet began to fade, it spoke.

“Yeah, that’s your main device.”

Clang-!

From noble mtl dot com

With that, the connection was severed. All that remained was the corpse of the puppet.

I stared blankly at the corpse for a while.

“······.”

What is this? I definitely won, but no matter how I think about it, it feels like I lost.

I had been pushed back the whole time, and only at the end did I show my true strength to win.

Of course, there were excuses to be made.

I faced it with my not-so-confident swordsmanship, while the opponent was an expert in swordplay.

There were still many cards I hadn’t played. I hadn’t even used abilities like puppetry or control.

But did the opponent have no restrictions? No, they probably had even more than I did.

With a terrible body, a crude sword, and above all, they hadn’t even used their abilities properly.

In fact, they hadn’t shown everything they had.

Even just a fragment like that, how strong must the real body be?

[You have encountered amazing techniques!]

[I have understood a fragment of them thanks to the assistance of ‘Heavenly Infinite Body’.]

[The level of ‘Mana Blade’ has increased!]

[The level of ‘Bright Liu Swordsmanship’ has increased!]

“···Damn.”

Thus, I stood there for a while.

*

I think I was too complacent.

Just because I have abilities, does that mean I can give it a shot? Maybe my next opponent will be easier to defeat than I thought?

Let’s remember this. This game is not that kind of kind game. No matter how much you prepare, you never know when and where variables will occur. Enemies are always strong, and the price of failure is greater than death.

So, growth is necessary.

“Let’s head to the demon realm.”

“Uh… so soon?”

“Yes, there’s a place we need to stop by on the way.”

We headed back to the demon realm like that.

More precisely, towards the buildings on the horizon. Specifically, towards the black magic tower.

We needed to become stronger even faster than now.