Author: Xerenity

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206. This Is Also Growth (2)

The man let out a long sigh before continuing to speak.

The cup of drink never left his hand the entire time.

Almost as if alcohol was his nemesis, he continued drinking it nonstop as if to show just how frustrated he was.

“My daughter was gone, and I gave up even my occupation to search for her like a mad hound. Assuming that she had been taken by the castellan, I used up my entire fortune to find her. Despite knowing that I’d be heavily punished, I still went to the castle to search for her.”

“…”

“However, the child wasn’t there. No. Even if she was there, there was no way for me to meet her… All because I had no power to. Burp! Despite losing my child, I was kicked out of the castle with my body intact. Only after all that happened, I paid attention to the same emblem you are holding now.”

“So you found those who used this emblem?”

“Yes… I found them. Only after toiling through day and night for a year straight was I able to finally find them.”

“Then the current state of your body is due to them…”

“They called themselves manhunters. The large organization’s name is Swesi. They earned money by kidnapping and selling young maidens and young Protectors who had recently obtained their powers that the castellan wished for to the nobles. The nobles then gave them as gifts to the castellan of Larkenta in order to garner favor, and thus used like objects amongst the nobles. These are human lives we’re talking about.”

“To put it simply, I guess you can call them human traffickers.”

“Yeah. However, they aren’t like us average folks. The entire organization is made up of Protectors.”

“As expected…”

“You asked if I am like how I am now because of them, right?”

“…”

“Kuhuhu. I had lost my mind and went to their headquarters. The only thought in my head was that I had to find my daughter. To sum it up, I didn’t find anything. I didn’t get to touch a hair on my child, and I wasn’t even able to confirm if she was even alive. How pathetic it was that I was done in from the entrance. Kuhaha! I wasn’t able to put up a fight and was beaten up by someone who looked like Swesi’s lowest lap dog, becoming a cripple like you see now.”

“Where is the place? Please tell me where they are.”

“Did you like the lifestyle of a cripple I live? You can live freely I guess. Give up. From your appearance, I think you are a Protector as well, but they aren’t your local bullies that go around as a group to do as they please.”

“It is obvious that a regular civilian cannot face a Protector. However…”

“Oho. Of course. Then do you think it’ll be different if a few average Protectors go together? Or do you think that if you report these felonies, the castle’s elite knights will come help you? That’s complete bullshit! Please open your eyes! Do you still not know how this world works?”

“…”

“You would at least need the power of a count or marquis to be able to defeat them. However.. Do you think a noble with that much power will lend their assistance for something like this? Do you think they’ll get rid of an organization that provides them the maidens and Protectors they present as gifts to the castellan with their own hands? Burp!”

“Just… How rotten is this world?”

“Enough to make common sense look like madness… That much rotten is this world. But with alcohol, you can always be happy!”

“Kah! The alcohol is especially good today. Do you think I’m the only parent who has lost their child? Do you think I am the only one who holds their family in their heart? Even if the child isn’t a daughter, if they suddenly obtain the powers of a Protector, then you have to say goodbye to them forever on the same day. After dragging my utterly broken body back, I found others who had lost their families like I.”

“…”

“There were many that fled in fear after seeing what had happened to me. They were made to realize that if they tried to fight against Swesi, they would also become cripped or lose their lives, so it was expected. The world has become like this. After the monsters appeared way back, the term justice that we all know and carried out has disappeared since.”

“So you’ve given up?”

“What?”

“I asked if you’ve given up on your daughter that you cared for like she was irreplaceable.”

“I’m used to that look of pity. I looked at what I could do. I gathered all the money of those who had their families stolen. Since I had gathered the complete fortunes of many, the amount of money gathered was a huge sum. With that money, we hired Protectors. We had bribed Protectors with money to go defeat Swesi and sent them to their headquarters to do so. What was the result? What do you think happened?”

“…”

“While we were waiting far away from the entrance, something flew towards us. At first, we thought it was their attack so we ran like hell. But whatever flew at us didn’t reach where we were. So we went close to confirm what it was, and found that it was the head of a person.”

“What do you mean…”

“All the heads of the Protectors we hired. Each of them with horrific expressions, the heads of those dead without even the chance to close their eyes!”

“Those vicious bastards.”

“Only after I saw that did I give up. Family, money, the health of my body and mind. After I had lost it all, my heart closed up. You must find it pathetic, right?”

“…”

“This is the difference in power that makes me helpless despite losing loved ones. I did everything I could. And I’m sure I look like a fool who self rationalizes. But remember this one thing. As I said, they are far stronger than your wildest imaginations… Did you ask for their headquarters?”

“Yes. Please tell me where they are at.”

“My name is Herb. What is your name?”

“Why are you asking me that all of a sudden…”

“If I am telling you their headquarters, that is the equivalent of letting you head towards death without doing anything. It would be as if I’m killing you with my own hands. I think the least I can do for you is to raise my glass to your name as I wish you luck, and that is why I ask.”

“Hm… It’s Guardian.”

“Guardian… The name’s meaning is something that we desperately need in such troubled times. Then let us be on our way.”

“Yes.”

Due to his injured body and being incredibly drunk, he stumbled quite a lot as he headed out of the pub.

Since he had drunk alcohol nonstop for 30 minutes without rest, it was to be expected.

After finishing up the payment and following him out, I saw him sprawled out on the ground at the entrance, fast asleep.

I worried if I had wasted all this time, but I decided to believe in the earnesty in his eyes that I saw.

This was something that would help out Dump and this man, but after listening to what he had said, this would help me with my growth as well.

The organization Swesi that the man mentioned was simply put, a human trafficking group.

And they were supposedly composed of Protectors.

Like the radical faction back on Earth, the existence of this organization was like a cancerous tumor to society.

The wild beast Demon’s method of growth. Swesi was going to allow me to use the method of directly absorbing the power of the Protectors I kill.

I was going to take them down one by one to increase my strength.

“You are really wasted.”

“Ughhhh. Urk!”

“Whew…”

“Zzz…”

Giving the man a piggyback ride, I ran to my residence.

I could immediately make him snap out of it and head for Swesi’s headquarters right away, but I had to go back in order to tell Dump about this information due to him waiting for my return.

Since it wasn’t far from the castle, it didn’t take long to arrive.

As I entered my room at the inn, Dump greeted me.

“So you’ve returned?”

“Yes. Have you found anything?”

“No… I have asked about it all day, but even the merchants that are close to me like family are avoiding answering me. Excuse me, but what did you bring… Oh my goodness! Isn’t that a person?”

“Ah. Yes. This drunkard is the only clue I have regarding the emblem I was able to find.”

“Huh? You sure he isn’t dead?”

“Barrrf!”

“Whew… I think I can be sure that isn’t the case. Let’s go into the next room over to talk.”

“Yes…”

I told Dump everything that I heard from him.

When I told him that I was able to find out the identities of those who use the emblem, Dump’s eyes were filled with life once again, as if to prove that had hope once more.

However, I was able to see that he was bothered by a greater concern and worry.

He had now learned who were responsible, but also learned that he did not have the strength to stop them.

The situation hadn’t really changed and reminded him just how powerless he was, because while he knew where Berlette was, he was unable to do anything about it.

“Sir Guardian… It’ll probably be difficult, right?”

“What do you mean…”

“I had closer bonds with these merchants than blood brothers. Some of them had lost their families like I. When I showed them this emblem, they were rather panicky.”

“…”

“They all seemed to know, but it seemed that it was something they could not bring up to speak about. And now that I hear about what the man you’ve brought over said…”

“Mister. Please listen carefully.”

“…”

“This isn’t something that will be resolved overnight. As you can see, I‘m not strong enough to handle the entire Swesi group by myself. But I’m not also the type to be defeated by them so easily.”

“But.. Why would you take on such a risky task…”

“What do you really truly feel? I don’t think you need to think about others in a situation like this. Are you able to live on while giving up on your daughter? It seems impossible from my point of view though.”

“Hu… I shall offer the rest of my life to you, Sir Guardian. Just please… Please rescue my daughter.”

“I don’t know how long it’ll take. And I think you know that you can’t directly help me, right?”

“Of course. I know that as a regular civilian, I’ll only be a burden…”

“If you really want to help me, there is something you can do.”

“What would that be? If there is something I can help with, I can even tear out my heart and offer it to you.”

“It’s something you’re really good at. It’s making an artifact tailored to me.”

“But…”

“I’m aware that you’ve failed so far. But don’t you think something might change if you add a bit of desperation to it? If it is high quality materials, I have plenty. Jewels and even cores as well.”

“…”

“A successful creation of an artifact may determine the outcome of this ordeal between success and defeat, so please do your best.”

“I understand! No matter the cost, I shall make it happen.”

“Good. I shall move the moment that man wakes up.”

“Yes. Then I should…”

“Swesi only targets young maidens and Protectors. This means that you can return back to your residence. Please continue your efforts there.”

“Then I shall head there right away. Please take care.”

“Yes.”

Dump hastily exited the inn and headed for his residence.

After he left, I looked at the man who was sleeping like the dead.

It was obvious that I wouldn’t be able to swiftly defeat Swesi even with all my power.

Considering all the various information I learned while spectating the Festival of Blood, I was just a Protector who was a bit above average.

I knew that the count and marquis that the man mentioned was far stronger than I by far.

That is why I said that this fight wouldn’t end in a single day.

“I have to continuously become stronger as I fight.”

---

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205. This Is Also Growth

Having Dump sit on a chair, I handed him a cup of warm water.

It seemed that it was unlikely for me to hear an explanation from him while he was severely upset.

I haven’t known him for long, but I had never seen him lose his self control this much.

He was always gentle and calm, and looked at each situation with a cold calculating gaze.

Instead of trying to push him to answer faster, I decided to give him space and wait until he was ready to talk.

He was looking into thin air with unfocused eyes, and tilted the water cup with his shaky hands for a brief moment.

Dump finally opened his mouth.

“S… Sir Guardian.”

“Looks like you’ve finally calmed down. Yes, go ahead and tell me.”

“Gone… No matter where I look, I can not find…”

“What are you talking about?”

“My daughter… Berlette… Berlette has disappeared!”

“…”

Only then did I notice that another person who should’ve been there, Berlette, wasn’t present.

I finally understood why Dump’s hand was covered in blood after listening to his explanation as well.

I thought to myself that the feeling of a parent losing their child was equivalent to his hand’s condition right now.

He must’ve not even registered the feeling of pain from flesh on his hand being torn.

Like someone who had gone insane, he must have searched with abandon not only the inside of his house, but the area around it.

I saw on Dump’s hopeless face the same expression that I saw on my mother’s when I was young.

“Mister…”

“Sir Guardian. I plead to you.”

Dump kneeled on the ground and bowed before me.

It must because he wanted to hold onto even a strand of hope.

I pulled up Dump who was nearly begging at this point while he held onto my boots.

“Especially at a time like this, you have to keep your calm. Get yourself together.”

“No… I want to, but I cannot. My one and only daughter…”

“Do you think it was the castellan who did this? You’ve mentioned it before. That those from the castle kidnap young ladies and Protectors.”

“While that’s true, not once have soldiers rushed here uninvited. If it was the house I’ve been residing in a week ago, maybe…”

“There was a chance that someone was looking for an opportunity nearby. Did you not see anything out of the ordinary in the past couple days?”

“Yes… The last few days were just business as usual. And if the soldiers of the castle found a young lady, they would’ve taken her on the spot.”

“Think about it carefully.”

“However, I saw a note on the table that I have never seen before.”

“A note?”

I went to the table that Dump pointed to and checked on the note.

It was a tiny note with an emblem drawn on it that resembled a brand logo for goods.

It seemed that this note that was stuck to the table with a dagger was the only clue we had to work with.

Pulling the dagger out, I carried the note over to Dump and asked him.

“This emblem. Have you seen it before?”

“No. Never. This is the first time I’ve seen it.”

“Perhaps the flag of Larkenta looks like this?”

“That’s not the case.”

“It looks like we can at least draw a conclusion that she had been kidnapped. We don’t know if and when they’ll come back again. Mister, I want you to go stay for a couple days in the place I’m residing at. It will be safe there. I shall bring you over.”

“I will also take part in the search. I also want to search for my daughter…”

“You’ll only get in the way. I know how you feel, but you already know, right? We don’t even know the group that uses this emblem. It can get far worse from here on out. So please stay there for a couple of days. I shall come to explain to you the situation from time to time between those days.”

“…”

Dump wiped his tears that flowed out without stopping, and then took out some chalk and parchment.

Then he began to copy exactly the emblem on the note onto the parchment.

For Dump, who was used to drawing blueprints for armors and weapons, he was able to finish copying the emblem in almost an instant, and then followed me without complaint.

My heart was heavy as I left the house.

The main reason was that Berlette had disappeared, but there was another issue.

It was time.

It was obvious that Dump was my partner that was of great help to me.

However, I was currently in a situation where it wouldn’t be enough if I spent each day busily growing stronger to keep up with Demon’s growth.

To ignore this would be inhumane, but to invest time here brought me great worry for the future.

Not letting my thoughts show to Dump, I headed for the inn.

Because it was past midnight already, silence filled the streets.

The sound of two men stepping on grass was it.

When daylight comes, the first thing we needed to do was to ask around about the emblem left behind.

I’m sure that Dump copied the emblem onto the parchment because he had the same idea.

My head was filled to the brim, but I finished escorting Dump to the inn before heading off to hunt.

I knew the amount of growth I’d get wasn’t comparable to what I could obtain through the Festival of Blood, but I couldn’t just stand by idly.

Just like that, I tore the return scroll and headed for the edge of the 10th tier hunting grounds.

****

I continued to hunt in the unexplored territories.

Since people were scarce at this time of night, I defeated the monsters with all my power.

So it was natural that I gathered more monsters than usual in one spot before taking them all down, and the speed increased noticeably as well.

I threw in the jewels and quality artifacts that I gained from hunting into the Mobile Storage.

The jewels were sorted automatically by the rank and size.

The sky grew blueish, making me consider returning to the inn that Dump was at.

I was just hoping that this situation would be resolved quickly.

After all, I couldn’t stay in this case forever.

It was a bit selfish of me, but this wouldn’t be the wrong decision considering the future.

Being completely honest, giving up would mean the death of a single person named Berlette, but if I lost the fight in the celestial realm, then nothing would change in that hellish realm for an eternity.

“So you were awake?”

“Yes. You’ve arrived. Firstly, we should ask around for the meaning of this emblem.”

“I also agree with that idea. Since it is the only clue we have…”

“Then I shall go out first. I’ve already prepared a meal for you, so don’t skip it. Then…”

“Yes, yes…”

Dump was very different from how he was yesterday.

He must’ve realized that being emotional wouldn’t help at all in finding Berlette.

Seeing him shove the parchment into his clothing and quickly leave the inn, the thought that I couldn’t just ignore this and move on came to mind.

To that man, his daughter was everything.

I did not know why he did not have anyone else in in his family, but the one only left for Dump right now was Berlette.

How could I compare to the despair of someone who lost everything.

Convincing myself and coming to an understanding, I left to find for the source of the emblem.

Since Dump knew about the markets, I left that side to him, and I chose the castle entrance because that place was the most populated in all of Larkenta.

It was an early morning, but many were still gathered to enter the castle.

And just like that, the search without a definite end began.

****

“Do you know of this emblem?”

“…”

Despite searching around until the sun was setting, I wasn’t able to meet a single person who knew about the emblem.

There was a person who kept looking at me strange, but that was it.

As darkness set, the crowd in front of the castle entrance scattered like a receding wave.

I went to the inn multiple times to check if Dump had found out something about it, but I could guess that he didn’t find anything from the vacant room.

Wondering how I would face Dump with a lack of findings, I was greatly worried as I turned to leave.

“Must’ve hid a lass.”

“Hm?”

A man leaning against the castle wall and squatting on the ground said something very curious to me.

I immediately approached him.

A ragged appearance without equal and the bottles of empty alcohol around him included.

To put it simply, it was the appearance of a hobo who lived off being drunk.

Just by getting close to him, I was able to smell rot and alcohol.

“What did you say?”

“That you’ve hidden a lass. Family? Siblings? Someone’s fated to be? Kuhuhu.”

“I’ll buy you a round of alcohol. Let’s go someplace quieter.”

“I always gladly welcome alcohol. Burp.”

The shabby looking man seemed a lot younger than my initial impression of him.

His slouched back and labored gait made me think of him as an elderly man at first.

Perhaps due to his body being ruined by alcohol, his hand shook continuously, and his head twitched against his will.

With my thoughts of maybes and what ifs, I took him to a quieter pub.

Since I hadn’t learned anything about the emblem despite my efforts searching all day, even a drunkard was okay if he had any information to share.

“I shall pour a glass for you.”

“Good. Good…”

“Kah! As expected, alcohol is always right. Don’t you think so? Take a swig as well!”

“No, I’m alright. That’s that and… Can you continue on what you were telling me before?”

“Hm? What did I say?”

“Just a second.”

I casted a Silent between the man and I.

It was because I determined that there would be no good resulting from others overhearing about what he and I were talking about.

There was no way that the sound made within Silent would ever spill outside of it.

The sound would be blocked by the skill and be completely destroyed.

“You said that I hid a lass. Do you remember?”

“Ahah! Yes! You hid a lass. Burp!”

“Then do you know of this emblem?”

“Three seagulls flying near the sun. Burp. How could I forget? Pour me another glass.”

“Huh? Sure…”

Was he telling the truth in the middle of being drunk?

The man wasn’t even looking at the note I was holding out and muttering things I did not understand.

I could see through his robe a lonely smile to the thin air before him and moistened eyes.

And then he looked closely at the emblem.

‘Seagulls that are flying near the sun..’

Seeing the emblem again without much thought again, I noticed that the emblem really did look like what the man had mentioned.

No. I wasn’t seeing this because of what he had said.

In the center of the emblem was the sun, and there were three of the number 3 in Arabian around it.

He must’ve described these numbers as seagulls.

Filling his glass, I continued my inquiry.

“So you know of this emblem!”

“There’s no way I could forget. Even if I’m drunk, it comes to me clearly again… Perhaps if I’m dead, that won’t be the case.”

“Please tell me everything you know of this emblem.”

“Can you handle it? Burp. You could become a cripple like me. Huhaha.”

The man pulled up the sleeve of his robe to show me his arm.

What I saw couldn’t have been caused by an accident.

His arms and legs were bent in horrible ways. And he pointed at his permanently bent back, laughing enough to show his yellow teeth.

Seeing as though I did not flinch and kept a deadpan look, the man opened his mouth.

“I had a daughter once. The story isn’t that long ago. It’s been about 10 years, I think?”

“…”

“Because she was my only child, she was everything to me. Enough to break the law and hide them away from prying eyes like you have…”

“Kah! They do business with the lives of people. If you do not have the strength, then you can only suffer at their hands.”

---

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204. And I Was Busy Already

Jurassic slammed down on the ground and continued the attack.

The crowd was positive that he had won.

They were busy seeing with their own eyes and admiring the majesty of Jurassic, who would become the new king of the festival.

It was then.

“O… Over there!”

“Huh!”

The crowd looked once more at the battlefield and cheered.

“Wow! Demon! Demon!”

“Kyaa! Demon!”

The place where everyone was looking at was Demon.

Demon had revealed their glowing silver form from the other side of the battlefield.

After hesitating for a brief moment, Jurassic stopped his attack and looked in the direction where Demon had appeared from.

Until just a moment ago, he had confirmed his target and had been attacking them.

Even if his vision was clouded by thick dust, it wasn’t as if he had continued a pointless attack.

But now he saw that his target was standing over there without a scratch on their body.

“Whew…”

“Kuha! Looks like the warm up is over for both of us.”

“…”

As if this situation was amusing, Demon was licking their lips.

Jurassic took a deep breath and fixed his posture.

The situation was the equivalent of seeing a ghost, but there was not any shock on his face.

It was almost as if he was proving that there was a reason why he was talked about amongst the nobles.

Taking a defensive stance to protect his whole body with his shield and sword, he waited for Demon to attack.

It was unlikely that Demon was fast enough to fool his eyes.

So he thought that it was some trick that he had pulled.

That’s why he was not making any sudden moves.

As Jurassic had hoped for, Demon moved.

Demon’s body was parallel to the floor of the battleground as they charged forth.

Their appearance was that of an arrow flying towards its target.

“Hah!”

“…”

Jurassic focused his strength on the hand that was gripping the shield in order to prepare for the incoming attack.

However, Demon passed right by him and stopped on the other side of him.

Min-Cheol and obviously the crowd as well were looking at the situation with confusion.

It wouldn’t have been strange if they were trading blows in a heated melee right now, but instead Demon had passed his opponent without attack, much less making any contact.

Was it because they had failed the attack they had planned? Was it possible that they had miscalculated the trajectory of their attack and flew past?

For Min-Cheol, it was very frustrating.

He was waiting for Barub, no, Demon to show their true strength.

While it was true that he was hoping that Demon’s real identity wasn’t Barub, if that was the case… There was a saying that if you’re going to get punished, it’s better to get it over with quickly.

If this Demon went at it with everything they had, then it wouldn’t be difficult for me to recognize them.

I didn’t know what kind of strength that they had come to Hell with, but there was no way I could forget their killing intent after all.

Because of that, Min-Cheol was even selfishly hoping that their opponent, Jurassic, would hold out a bit longer.

It was then. This proved that the thought that Demon had failed their attack was wrong.

“Uaaaaa!”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Something that no onlooker of the battlefield could understand happened.

Even Millions, who had seen through everything so far, was looking at the situation with great curiosity.

It was clear that Demon had gone past Jurassic and made quite the distance between each other.

There was no contact and no movements that suggested an attack.

However, Jurassic was letting out a crazed roar and swinging his sword and shield with great haste.

He didn’t flail through thin air out of madness, but each movement was followed by a massive shockwave.

It was almost as if he was fighting an invisible enemy.

“Kuha! I wonder how long you can defend against it.”

“Ahhh! Argh!”

Seeing him struggle, Demon jumped at his opponent again.

Even though they could just directly attack their opponent who was showing a strange behavior, instead of doing so, they did the same thing again.

Not only that, but the expression of that dignified elder seemed to be filled with amusement.

The deep wrinkles meant joy, and I felt the desire of wanting to splatter blood all over the battlefield in how those corners of the lips that slightly went up.

Demon, who landed on the other side of his opponent, undid the silver glow strengthening of their body.

As if the battle had already been over, they were showing their back to the opponent and slowly walking towards the exit.

The announcer shouted in shock.

“T… The festival isn’t over yet! Please return to the bat…”

The groan of steel echoed throughout the battlefield.

Jurassic’s giant shield had finally given away.

Seeing Jurassic receiving the attacks without a recognizable source while holding onto the remaining shield handle was almost pitiful.

It didn’t take long before even his sword lost all durability, and you could say he was now in a completely unarmed vulnerable state.

He was using his arms and legs that would not cause his death if they were lost in order to barely defend against the attacks.

It was tough to even classify this as an attack.

No one knew who was attacking him, and we weren’t even sure where those attacks were coming from.

The only thing that everyone could only but guess was that this was Demon’s special ability.

“Urgh…”

The attacks did not stop.

The attacks that caused massive shockwaves when blocked by his sword and shield now attacked Jurassic’s form directly.

The armor that he was wearing had crumpled like paper, losing its function for quite some time.

Jurassic, who was slowly dying in the battlefield, had his blood splatter about.

The arms and legs that were having difficulty barely blocking those attacks had already been blown apart, and his eyes were slowly clouding.

The crowd seemed to finally catch on what was going on, and were very welcoming of the battle, filled with merriment.

Eventually, Jurassic’s form became like ground beef to the point of being unrecognizable, and it seemed that he was holding onto the last embers of life with just his mental fortitude.

It was then.

Demon, who had taken their place in front of the exit, lifted up their hand and closed their open hand into a fist.

And then.

“Urk!”

A massive explosion came from Jurassic’s form.

Almost as if there were explosives within his body, his body had blown up at the same time Demon had made their signal.

The battlefield was filled with dust and a mist of blood thick enough to make it nearly impossible to see.

There was not even a chunk of flesh left of Jurassic.

Confirming it firsthand, the announcer shouted with excitement.

At the same time, the roar of the crowd alight with passion came forth, and Demon left all that behind and walked through the exit.

“Hunting dog Jurassic! Unable to continue combat! The winner is the wild beast Demon!”

“Wow!”

“Demon! Demon! Demon!”

“Millions! Millions!”

“Kyaa!”

Despite having faced countless deaths, Min-Cheol was positive that this wasn’t a pleasant scene.

Humans cannot become used to pain. They cannot adapt to it.

After all, it comes in new forms each time.

A normal person would feel pain just from just watching such a horrific scene.

They would only see that people were dying for the amusement of nobles.

However, it seemed that this wasn’t the case for the crowd gathered here.

Only a couple minutes ago, that was a person who thought and breathed like everyone else here.

How could they be this happy when this person had lost his life in the most horrific manner possible.

This wasn’t the only reason why Min-Cheol was worried.

It was because he wasn’t able to confirm the identity of the wild beast.

Barub wasn’t an idiot.

As an absolute god who was in charge of all the worlds, they were an existence who didn’t lack anything for that job.

However, for the human Min-Cheol, they did things that he could not comprehend at all.

Min-Cheol had also taken measure to hide his powers by copying the skills of a Protector using mana, and to have his artifacts worked on to have their appearances changed.

These were measures thoroughly taken with Barub in mind.

It was to make sure that I would not be spotted by them, and while it was annoying and cumbersome, it was out of necessity.

It was the same for Barub.

There was no way that they could just ignore their competitor, Min-Cheol.

Even if Min-Cheol did not know of their altered powers, since they knew that Min-Cheol wasn’t just any ordinary person, they could not afford to be careless.

However, there was no way to avoid using abilities that were never seen before.

Unlike Min-Cheol, they could not imitate skills using mana, and they did not have any chances to obtain information due immediately having to participate in the Festival of Blood the moment they arrived at Hell.

And just like that, Min-Cheol had to retreat with only the benefit of obtaining the status of a noble.

He wasn’t sure that the wild beast was Barub. Also he wasn’t sure how to overcome the difference in strength if it really was Barub.

Unlike Min-Cheol, Barub had obtained a massive amount strength by winning in the fight against Jurassic.

They had obtained combat capabilities and power worth the 10 different opponents they had taken down so far in one go.

To compare with how they were at the start, they now had twice that power.

There was a massive gap now between them and Min-Cheol.

Unlike Min-Cheol, who had just recovered his original strength, Barub now had twice what they had started with.

The amount of power contained in that 2 was incredibly large.

The amount of power Min-Cheol currently held was massive already, but twice Barub’s power would be hard to even imagine.

Not only that, but as time passes, that gap would further increase, and this was a situation where if Min-Cheol didn’t come up with another plan, it would be impossible to close said gap.

Min-Cheol opened the return scroll and promised himself.

While he wasn’t able to confirm Barub’s identity for sure, he had decided to consider the wild beast as Barub.

From now on, I was going to research into the opponents that they would be fighting while the festival continued on.

I already had Dump look into the previous opponents for me.

The idea was to get a rough estimate of how much they’d grow.

My goal for growth would be Demon, and I planned to grow strong enough to defeat them.

The fact that they used special abilities, and even the method of fighting that was oddly unsettling.

In Min-Cheol’s heart, Demon was pretty much confirmed as Barub at this point.

There really weren’t any solutions right now.

That’s why he decided that he needed to do all that I could do to grow stronger.

He knew that just hunting wasn’t enough to close the gap.

However, unlike Demon, who was imprisoned after the festival was over, Min-Cheol was able to use 24 hours a day freely.

He did not even feel hungry or sleepy.

Thus, it meant that he could hunt without rest, and could try other options alongside it.

It would be difficult to ignore the values once held as a human, but considering that only 70 days were left, even working the entire time didn’t feel enough for Min-Cheol.

With an exhausted heart, Min-Cheol ripped apart the scroll, and returned to Dump’s residence.

****

While observing the Festival of Blood, the sun had set, and Dump had already returned home.

“S… Sir Guardian.”

“What is it?”

Dump was shaking like a leaf.

On top of that, his lips had gone beyond pale into blue, and there were big and small wounds all over his hands.

Did a thief rob his home?

Grabbing Dump’s shoulders, I asked this man wobbling helpless man a question.

“Please calm down. I can only help you if you explain things step by step.”

“Ah… Aha…”

---

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203. The Widened Gap

As Millions had said, and as Barub had expected, the new Festival of Blood caught the attention and enthralled a lot more people than expected.

As if to prove that, after 30 days had passed since Barub had arrived in Hell, they had obtained 1.5 times more power than they had started with.

This world that Karupedan created allowed for growth that was unimaginable in any other dimensions.

It was similar to how the transfer of power worked in the demonic realm that Min-Cheol experienced firsthand in, but if you compared it with Hell, it would be considered a very low ranking version of it.

To put it simply, all those who aspire to defeat the wild beast Demon and participate in the festival were all Protectors with strengths each beyond that of a demon king.

Barub hadn’t killed a single monster in Hell so far.

After all, the place they started at was the battleground of the festival to begin with, and ironically the opponent that increased their strength for the first time wasn’t a monster, but a human Protector.

One could consider them absorbing power by crushing the head of the guard as being very fortunate.

The strength of the weak lackey guard.

It was far greater than what they had expected, almost to the point of making them consider all the humans gathered there as prey.

After Millions announced the start of the new event, many other counts and marquis’ tried their hardest to raise a warrior like the wild beast.

However, how could that be possible in a single day?

The Festival of Blood was a fight between humans, not Protectors.

Composed of criminals and slaves. This meant that even if they possessed exceptional physical capabilities, they were weak without comparison to the Protectors.

That was why the first place the nobles looked towards were the knights who protected them.

The plan was to have them participate in the festival.

All of the spectating nobles at least had Protectors that served under them.

While the following wasn’t true for everyone, if the noble was someone who had the same amount of political power as Millions, they would easily be able to match Barub’s strength with the Protectors that served under them.

Despite that, there was a reason why they kept a knight escort.

It was because the faction of the nobles fought amongst each other for power and prestige amongst themselves.

After the monsters appeared, things changed here quickly and vastly.

Those who did not ride the turbulence were all rejected from the faction, losing their status as a noble and thrown out.

Only those with power could secure their statuses, and those who could not gradually lost their fortune and political power, eventually disappearing from all relevance.

The chaos after the appearance of the monsters was gone now, though.

No longer did monsters that the Protectors couldn’t handle try to get into the castle, and things became lax to the point where none really felt the need to explore beyond the ten tiers of the hunting grounds that had been summarized by the encyclopedia.

Maybe that wasn’t the case for the powerless civilians, but for those in the castle that lived in not only safety, but in complete decadence, why would they bother.

What else would they do but try to increase their own political power above the others to increase their holdings within the castle further, just like before the appearance of the monsters?

To them, the Festival of Blood was but a tool for those means.

Promising a title, they send the knight escorts to participate.

A Protector could not purchase the title of a noble no matter how strong they were, so obtaining a title was nearly impossible.

After all, those who held all the political powers were stronger than the Protectors.

Due to their promises, already more than 10 fell for the temptation and were sacrificed to the festival.

Every single one of them were torn apart alive by Barub, and all their strengths were completely transferred over.

At this rate, no one who could surpass Barub would appear in this festival.

How could anyone hope to dethrone a champion that grew stronger as the matches continued?

That was why, to keep things fresh and make sure the outcome wasn’t obvious, the rule had been changed.

It was as the man named Raol who had spoken with Min-Cheol in front of the castle before said.

After the change, the number of matches had shrunk to incomparable levels, but Barub did not say a word.

Was it because Barub had surrendered to Millions’ strength that quickly?

That wasn’t the case. It was just that Barub knew the nature of humans and how things were working here better than anyone else.

Not the main matches where Barub appeared, but matches to get the crowds excited.

Champions would be crowned in those matches, and strong opponents would appear.

However, humans would never be satisfied and remain still.

It was obvious that they would continue challenging to obtain a higher position.

However, this didn’t mean that their powers would go elsewhere.

It wasn’t as if you had to recharge the power that was used, like how magical energies had to be.

Barub had completely seen through that the power would continue circulating within the arena until it would be within their grasp.

Rather than dealing with the small fries, it would be a lot more convenient too.

“I’m sure all of you have been waiting for this bloodbath. The last fight for today. The wild beast of Marquis Millions, Demon, versus the hunting dog of Count Julius, Jurassic!”

“Yeah!”

“Demon! Demon! Demon!”

“Jurassic! Jurassic!”

At the announcer’s introduction, the crowd went wild.

One man who was completely drunk flailed his body wildly before falling headfirst into the arena.

The nobles were most merry, and amidst them was Min-Cheol.

Min-Cheol did not look away for even a single moment from the one called Demon.

An elderly with white hair. A built physique that outdid even Commander Yoon Jong-sun and a tough looking face.

I did come all the way here with the suspicion that it was Barub, but now I was hoping that the suspicion I held wasn’t true.

While Min-Cheol held a serious face, the main match began.

The man introduced as Jurassic was the leader of the knight escorts for Count Julius, and was strong enough to be desired by many of the other nobles.

As a man who led nearly 20 knight escorts, he was talked about frequently as the opponent who would fight against the wild best in the festival.

Many recognized Jurassic’s face, but most kept hush hush.

The posters were put up to gather slaves, but it was very questionable to send a knight escort who already held the title of a noble after all.

None bothered to point that out, but everyone knew that this was something that did not fit the code of conduct they strove for.

The moment that Demon appeared, they strengthened their body.

The bare body that was covered by a shabby robe was coated in silver light, almost as if being plated.

That appearance alone was enough to excite the nobles.

After all, no Protector class used such spells.

This was a special ability that wasn’t covered in the encyclopedias or even heard of in rumors.

The crowd loved the way Demon fought, which consisted of them not using any weapons and instead strengthening their bodies to beat the enemy down.

Jurassic also checked his armor then held his sword.

His sword was roughly the size of an adult male’s torso, and even the thickness wasn’t anything to scoff at.

Unlike the impressive size, the sword wasn’t sharp but blunt instead, and it almost looked as if he was holding onto a giant mace.

It was a weapon that you could not even hope to hold unless you were a warrior class Protector.

It was too early to be surprised by his ability to wield that though.

Soon after, three men struggled to lift a shield and place it next to him.

Jurassic held up the shield with ease and prepared for battle.

Seeing his appearance made me think that instead of the man holding the sword and shield, it looked as if the man was hanging onto the sword and shield instead.

Lastly, at the same time his blonde hair that reflected the light coming in through an opening was covered by a helmet, the fight began.

“Khaaa!”

Jurassic charged with everything he had and swung the weapon that was hard to be believed was a sword.

Looking at just the speed of the swing, it was as if he was swinging a small shortsword, and the shockwave kicked up a cloud of dust in the arena.

However, Demon easily blocked the single swing aimed at their neck dead center with their wrist.

A massive clang and sparks flew, and then Demon pulled their body back to dodge the sword this time.

“Hm… You’re different from the rest.”

“…”

Demon touched the wrist that had blocked the attack.

So far, no Protector in Hell had been able to penetrate their strengthened body.

However, that wasn’t the case with the man before them.

The wrist that was glowing silver spectacularly had lost its light, and instead let out a stream of red blood.

Rather than a cut by sword, it would be more accurate to say that the injury was a chunk of flesh had been blown off.

Seeing Demon’s blood added to the bloodied arena caused both the announcer and the crowd unable to hide their surprise.

After all, no one had been able to successfully attack Demon this entire month.

However, the wound healed almost immediately.

Almost as if painted over, the peeled skilled had completely healed, and the bleeding stopped as well.

There was no change in Jurassic’s expression.

After all, the enemy could close the gap if he gave the opening by being surprised and hesitating.

However, he was not even slightly fazed that his attack was somewhat effective, nor did he continue attacking rashly.

All he did was to continue watching Demon’s movements and calming his breathing under control.

“It is a strength that cannot even be compared to what I had absorbed so far.”

“…”

“Won’t be long before it becomes mine though. I shall praise your attack. However, I wonder how your defensive skills are! Kuha!”

Demon kicked off the ground and charged towards Jurassic.

This was only visible to the few Protectors who had obtained a great amount of power, such as Millions and Min-Cheol, and was at a speed that the nobles could see.

Only after Demon’s body collided with Jurassic did a massive shockwave of sound was heard, and most of the crowd weren’t able to close their mouths that had opened from being shell shocked.

“Oho?”

“Ku…”

Barub had sent their fist forwards, but it had been blocked by Jurassic’s shield.

The shield shook as if a giant bell had been rung, and the sound kept going on for quite some time.

While the shield had been crumbled, it seemed that Jurassic hadn’t taken any form of damage.

At this point, I was almost curious what the shield was made out of.

The crowd that had been yelling Demon’s name were even more enthralled as they began cheering for Jurassic.

They hoped that a new king would appear, and for Demon to reveal the other hidden powers they held.

“Jurassic! Jurassic!”

“Kuh!”

In a split second, Jurassic spun his body with his sword and struck Demon’s side.

With that huge sword aura, Demon was sent flying just like that, and a thick spray of blood covered Jurassic’s vision.

He didn’t just stop there, but continued to stab away at Demon as they were flying away.

And then in the middle of the air, he swung down his sword and smashed Demon into the ground, and while Demon was partially in the ground, he kept on smashing them down with his sword and shield.

Enough to burn the dust that was kicked up, Jurassic’s entire form suddenly was covered in flames, and he was raining down merciless attacks.

Like how a predator bites into the neck of the prey and shakes violently, Jurassic gave everything he had to make sure not to lose this chance at victory.

In the face of something so unexpected, the crowd that chanted his name became silent, and the battleground became quiet.

Despite all of the crowd having vacant expressions, they were all focusing as hard as they could to make sure that they did not miss a single moment of this battle.

It was then.

“Kuhaha! Demon… You even had a talent like this?”

Millions had put his hand on his forehead and shook his head.

On his lips was a smile that didn’t fit this situation at all.

It was then.

“Woah! Demon! Demon!”

---

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202. Checkmate

It was a night of a downpour of rain.

Wearing the raincoat that Dump handed over, we headed towards the Larkenta castle together.

I was going there after hearing from him that someone who used a special ability had appeared in the Festival of Blood, because I thought that there was a chance it was Barub.

Because the Festival of Blood was a show only for nobles, I needed to increase my status.

There was no information about me to begin with, neither in Larkenta or anywhere else.

After all, I was an otherworlder than fell from the sky.

But since I had plenty of money, I could probably make do by buying my way through.

Since we were in quite the rural area, it seemed that it would take a good amount of time to get to the castle.

Since I needed a bit of time to rest after pouring everything into hunting all day, I didn’t bother speeding up and instead walked to match Dump’s walking pace.

Also, one could not enter the castle before the sun rose.

This meant that even if I did hurry, it wouldn’t let me find out about Barub’s identity.

With each step towards the castle, I began to sink deeper into my inquiries.

If the man called a wild beast in the festival is Barub, that would mean that instead of hunting even a single more monster to get stronger, Barub had become a plaything for the nobles out of nowhere.

The confidence I felt when I first heard the news continued to wither, and now I was half sure and half unsure.

Speaking over the sound of the rain, I asked Dump.

“Hey… Mister. What do you think the one called a wild best could obtain from the Festival of Blood?”

“As I have stated before, an immense amount of material wealth and honor. Not only that, but they should be able to obtain political power as well.”

“Is there anything beyond that? If considering everyone and everything in this world… If someone is so strong that they are without equal, don’t you think that they would be able to get that much wealth on their own?”

“There is something else you can get as you continue to win the Festival of Blood.”

“What would that be?”

“Power.”

“Power?”

“Yes. As you know, when you defeat a monster, doesn’t all of their strength become absorbed by your body?”

“Of course.”

“That isn’t something that only applies to monsters.”

“Are you implying…”

“Yes. That’s right. If a Protector kills another Protector… All the strength of the Protector that was killed gets transferred over to the Protector who killed. With that in mind, one would be able to grow stronger a lot faster than growing through hunting.”

“Butcher’s Sword… The demonic race… Seems this is turning out to be a bigger headache than I had expected.”

“Sir Guardian. If you even have the slightest consideration to join in on the Festival of Blood, please give up on such ideas immediately!”

Dump spoke with a forceful tone I had never heard from him before.

It was filled with frustrations similar to that of a parent warning their child.

“…”

“I believe in your strength, Guardian. Not only do you have strength, but you have good morals. I know that this is a chance for a huge benefit laid out right in front of you. However… One cannot hold the throne forever. It won’t be long before someone who is stronger than the wild beast appears. Just like that, the king will be changed again and the old one will be forgotten. The price for the brief moment of sweetness would be your life.”

“I do not have any intention of doing what you’re worried about. I just want to confirm. I feel as though this might be what I need to get on the trail of recovering my memory. The existence of the wild beast, that is.”

“Hoho. If that’s the case, I’m relieved.”

After finishing what he had to say, Dump looked around before continuing.

“Is this the right path?”

“Should I light up the area?”

“Ah. If you could, I would be thankful. Normally I would be okay with just the moonlight, but tonight really is a night without a speck of light.”

Arriving at a store near the castle, Dump had a cup of alcohol before finding us a place to rest.

Making small talk with him, I had a bit of a snack.

When morning comes, I should be able to increase my status to that of a noble and be able to spectate the Festival of Blood.

There was no way for me to find out if the wild beast was Barub from just looking.

After all, we had set the rules in this world to exclude any spells that allowed the user to identify the nature or detect the energies of their opponents, such as the Eye of Insight.

However, I should be able to notice when the wild beast performs.

The killing intent they exuded wasn’t something I could forget so easily.

“Are you asleep?”

“No. Not yet. It seems that you have a lot on your mind. What’s wrong?”

“It’s about the Festival of Blood.”

“Hoho. Seeings as you’ve been asking about it constantly, it seems that this isn’t something trivial.”

“What did you say when I asked when the battles between Protectors began?”

“Hm… Around a month ago is when the wild beast took the throne. And to my knowledge, I know that it hasn’t been ten days since the fight between the Protectors have started.”

“Ten days… Mister. There is something I wish to ask of you.”

“Ask away.”

“As soon as the sun rises, I will head for the castle to raise my status to that of a noble.”

“Yes.”

“While I do that, could you obtain information on the people who had faced the wild beast so far? If it is money, then I can…”

“Hoho. That shouldn’t be too difficult. After all, this place is enthralled due to the new Festival of Blood. Do not worry and sleep, Sir Guardian.”

“Yes… I understand. Then rest well.”

“…”

Despite a lot of time passing after our conversation, I could not sleep.

I was thinking that if that person really was Barub, there was no way for me to keep up with their growth.

I had already witnessed firsthand the benefit of the Butcher’s Sword back on Earth.

On top of that, I saw the transfer of power similar to this in the demonic realm.

A transfer of power that completely stole it off the opponent…

I knew better than anyone else that this kind of a gap could never be closed.

The amount of thoughts that filled by head became incomparable to what I had when I left Dump’s house.

****

Just like that, I spent the night with my eyes open.

After becoming a god, the desire or need for sleep did not exist, but due to my habits I had when I was a human, I did fall asleep from time to time.

However, due to the frustration I could not control, I couldn’t even do that.

The light from outside the window became blueish in hue, and Dump left now early in the morning to take care of the request I had made before.

After agreeing to meet back home after finishing each of our own list of things to do, I headed straight for the castle.

Despite being so early before dawn, many people were lined up in front of the entrance of the castle.

Observing and drawing a conclusion of the situation, I joined in on the line.

After a short time had passed waiting for the castle door to open, it happened.

“Did you also come here to join the festival, bro?”

“…”

Someone had spoken up to me while tapping me on the shoulder from behind.

Their thin and lithe voice was something that you’d expect from a treacherous retainer from a historical drama.

Turning around, I saw a man that was too large to be called sturdy with an awkward smile.

His voice did not match his appearance at all.

His stomach was bulging out so much that his armor seemed to be custom made to fit his belly, and his chin folded nearly enough to reach his armor.

In his hand was a massive mace, and behind his back was a massive shield that poked out above his head.

I could tell from a single glance.

This was someone who was willingly trying to become a slave in order to participate in the Festival of Blood.

Ignoring what he said, I looked forward instead.

My head was already filled with thoughts, so it was really annoying to be bothered by such rude words.

I loathed being meddled with after all.

However, the overweight man continued asking questions to the point of annoyance.

“Of course… If you’re born a man, you need to at least leave your name in history. Isn’t that so?”

“…”

“My name is Raol. Remember it well. It’s the name of the person who will be defeating the wild beast Demon in there.”

“You. Where do you hunt?”

“Hahah! So now you finally decide to talk. I hunt in the unexplored territories. And alone to boot.”

“To put it simply, the 11th tier?”

“Right! I can catch 10 at the same time easily. How’s it. Don’t I look different now that you know? Hahah!”

“Should give up while you can. Don’t become the meal that only makes them stronger.”

“I guess you don’t know the rules of the festival that well. You don’t fight against the wild beast right away.”

“…”

“After all, I will be serving under Marquis Millions.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ohho! To think that someone trying to enter the festival doesn’t even know this much… There are many nobles in the castle. However, only the title is fancy, as most of them aren’t worth anything.”

“…”

“The only ones who can produce warriors used in the festival are the count and the marquis. The castellan can do so as well, but why would they be interested? Anyways, the wild beast that holds the throne currently is a slave that is being raised by Marquis Millions. How could they end the festival after a single competition? Instead, slaves with similar strengths that have different owners fight against each other. And the end to that is the fight against the wild beast. That is why I’m considering waiting to become a slave of Marquis Millions. I, Raol, will one day take the seat of the wild beast.”

“At least there won’t be a situation where you’d be killed by them.”

“Did you have in mind who you’re going to serve under?”

“I’ve only come here to purchase the title of a noble.”

“Even your jokes are crude. To think that you have the appearance of a Protector, yet say that you’re not a noble. Hahah! Don’t be like that and tell me if you get any useful information.”

“We’ll meet again if we get the chance. If you survive that is.”

“Hahah. Sure. If you don’t have someone specific in mind to serve under, then choose the same one that I have. You have to pick the right place from the start. Got it?”

“…”

As if I was trying to lose this man who spoke aplenty, I quickly headed into the castle.

To think that someone would volunteer after seeing such a crazy ad like this.

I thought to myself that he must not be sound of mind.

However, after listening to him and looking around, I noticed that most of the contestants were Protectors.

The reason why such a large crowd gathered was to volunteer for the Festival of Blood.

Just by defeating a single opponent similar to your strength, you were able to obtain power that would allow you to become twice as strong as you were before.

It was obvious just how enticing the prospect was.

However, they’re going to kill people like themselves for no other reason than for their own gain?

I thought to myself just how fitting the name Hell suited a place like this.

Since I did not have an ID in Larkenta to begin with, I was met with trouble at the gates right away.

Due to my identity that could not be confirmed, it was not possible for me to even enter.

Only after going to a shadier place and handing over a massive amount of gems did the situation somewhat settle.

I realized that as long it was a place where humans resided, morally questionable shortcuts existed and worked, regardless of whether the place was back on Earth, in Hell, or anywhere else.

After that, everything went smoothly.

It didn’t take even an hour before I was able to purchase the title of a noble, and I headed for the Festival of Blood battle arena that was erected at the center of the castle.

Despite being early in the morning, there were so many gathered that there were nearly no seats left to sit down at.

Coincidentally, the festival just began and the announcer was doing introductions while standing in the center of the arena.

“The first battle. Count Cretas’ Garum. Marquis Ideon’s…”

It wouldn’t be long before the wild beast would show themselves.

My hope that the wild beast was Barub had all but disappeared, and instead I was hoping desperately that it wasn’t Barub.

If Barub had chosen the Festival of Blood as a way to grow stronger, then the situation would evolve into where I couldn’t be certain of my victory.

Just like that, the horrible fights continued for quite some time, and the announcer spoke once more.

“I am sure all of you have been waiting for this bloodbath. The last fight for today. Marquis Millions’ wild beast. Demon!”

---

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201. Time Is Fast

It’s been 30 days since I had arrived in Hell.

In the blink of an eye, almost 1/3rds of the time had passed.

I had learned the basics of this world from Dump, and spent the rest of the time focusing on hunting.

I did not dig deep into the strange happenings within the castle that I had first asked Dump about.

It really didn’t matter and I didn’t care what the nobles were up to.

It was because if it wasn’t something that was harmful to me or interrupted in what I was doing, then I really didn’t have a reason to get involved.

With all the effort I’ve put in since, I had grown nearly strong enough to defeat the monsters in the unexplored territories.

I was only able to cross the 10th tier to the starting zones of the unexplored territories and pick apart enemies bit by bit, but this was definitely a huge improvement since the start.

It had come to the point where I couldn’t progress any faster.

While I was hunting, I wasn’t disturbed by anyone, and there were none to look at me with suspicion.

The issue of travel time that had plagued me for some time had been solved the day I saw the skill encyclopedia.

There was the existence of return scrolls in this world.

They dropped from regular monsters at a low rate and they looked like thin rolled up paper.

If I rip that item, then I return to a place I’ve set to.

It was the same with how Warp was used.

Everything was going so well, adding great speed to my growth rate.

It was enough growth for me to nearly regain half of my strength that I had lost since beginning the bet with Barub.

However, you could say that this was just the start.

After all, I finally had the same level of strength as Barub now.

Well, that would be the case if Barub did nothing but breathe in this world.

I had no way of knowing just how strong he had grown all this time.

Hell allowed growth at a rate that couldn’t be compared to the rate back on Earth.

Compared to only receiving 5 points worth of stats after going through an immense amount of hardship, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that this world was made for growth.

However, this was only possible because I had come here with cheat like powers.

If I started as a beginner Protector here, this amount of growth would be impossible beyond imagination.

Was it because I had used all my luck at the start?

Elite monsters did not appear once since my hunting at the start.

That obviously meant that the only skills I possessed were the Cloning Jutsu and Mobile Storage.

I had all the jewels and miscellaneous artifacts sold through Dump, receiving the highest form of currency called cores in return.

To buy the incredibly expensive skill books, the jewels were nowhere enough.

To put it simply, if jewels were iron, then cores were diamond.

I could copy any of the skills that the Protectors used.

However, that was just trying to mimic the appearance of the skills.

I wasn’t able to fully copy the effects and positive benefits of the skills.

If I attacked using the power of the gods, magical energies, and mana that I posses, then it would be stronger than the skills of the Protector, but to obtain few of the skills that I could not even dare copy, such as the Cloning Jutsu, I didn’t have a choice but to gather money.

“To think that no matter where I go, I must grind. What a life I live.”

My proficiency using the storage had already reached the maximum, becoming large enough to shove all of Larkenta in it.

Just imagine how many jewels I could obtain in a 20 hours continuous hunt.

The amount was already more than enough to fill all the rooms of the inn I had rented.

To be able to hold everything, that is why I did not hold back on investing.

Dump had relocated his smithy from the flea market.

It was obvious, since just from gathering all the jewels I’ve given him as a backer, he would have enough to live like a noble.

However, this did not mean he stopped using the hammer.

He had his own grand dream.

Instead of creating garbage miscellaneous goods for the flea market, he wanted to make weapons using rare and expensive materials with his own unique method.

He hadn’t made anything solid yet due to all the failures so far, but I believed that if it’s him, he would succeed in making something amazing.

Until then, I wasn’t going to stop supplying him with goods, and I will be rewarded with his creation eventually.

He definitely could just buy the title of a noble with the money instead of going through hardship like now.

However, Dump did not do so. To be more precise, he couldn’t.

It was because of his hidden daughter, Berlette, was on the line.

While Dump could easily buy the title of noble with the money, his daughter could not do the same.

If the truth comes out that he had been disobeying the order of the castellan and hid the girl all this time, then instead of an increase in status, he would instantly become a huge criminal.

No one knew what was happening to the girls who were taken, but seeing as though none returned and not a single one of them contacted their families back outside with a letter, it was assumed that something vile was happening to them.

“You’ve arrived?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Welcome, Sir Protector.”

“Yes. Nothing happened, right?”

“Of course.”

I found Dump and Berlette, both of whom moved to a new place far from the castle.

It was a remote place also far from the housings, so far that even the soldiers of the castles did not patrol often.

Berlette, who had completely dropped her guard around me, was without her armor and wearing her regular clothes instead.

Not only that, but she wasn’t cutting her hair short anymore and letting it grow out instead.

It seemed that she was finally enjoying life like a person.

“I will be counting on you again today.”

“Whew. You have gathered so much in a short time. I guess it’s proof that your hunting is going smoothly? Hoho.”

“Yes, thanks to you.”

“Then I shall bring the horse and cart.”

“Thank you.”

Seeing the jewels gathered in the Mobile Storage, Dump went outside.

Having solid connections due to working for a long time in the market, he was able to sell this incredible amount of jewels I brought in every couple days.

I was very thankful that he chose to keep on the low instead of standing out.

After Dump left, Berlette, who was boiling soup in the kitchen spoke to me.

“How are you doing recently? Are the lost memories coming back to you?”

“Yes… Well, it’s little, but it’s returning bit by bit infrequently.”

“Is that so? It seems that you’re pretty bad at lying, Sir Guardian.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t think you’re the type of person who can fool anyone.”

“…”

Seeing my flustered reaction due to her unexpected words, Berlette laughed playfully.

I didn’t even know why she said something like that.

She continued.

“A Protector who brings an insane amount of high ranking jewels every three days.”

“…”

“I’m positive you’re one of the few ranker Protectors of Larkenta. But that person doesn’t want to find out about their past? Doesn’t that seem a little strange? It’s obvious that this person would be a noble of incredible wealth and title.”

“That’s…”

“You don’t need to tell me the truth. You could be wanting to forget the past or hide it, after all. It’s difficult to make a decision early, but… I don’t think you’re a bad person, Sir Guardian. Whatever you’re hiding, or whatever the reason for coming to us is, I think you’re an okay person who should continue staying next to my father.”

“Ah… I see….”

“Father said time and time again. He said that it’s almost as if Sir Guardian has come from another world.”

“…”

“That’s why he’s so pure without any stains. If you’re a Protector… It’s hard to be like that here. If my father who is known for being inflexible and stubborn amongst even the merchants recognizes you, then you must be a good person.”

“Unsullied…”

I was unsure just how corrupt Hell was, but could I compare it to the cruel world I experienced?

Berlette’s words about how I was without blemish came as quite the new shock to me.

Not only did it bring me shock, but it felt unfitting.

“All done. You haven’t eaten yet, right?”

“I’m fi-…”

“Not even once. You’ve not joined us for a meal yet. Come and sit here.”

“Yes… Then…”

When the conversation that felt more like an interrogation was nearing its end, Dump came back.

Shaking the water off and hanging up the raincoat that had blocked the rain that fell as if there was a hole in the sky, he spoke.

“All the preparations are complete. If it is urgent, we can leave right away, Sir Guardian.”

“No need.”

“Huh?”

Dump saw the 3 spoons on the meal kitchen table and gave a small smile.

“Berlette. Did you ask Sir Guardian ahead of time?”

“Of course. Right? Sir Guardian?”

“Yes… That’s right. If it is okay with you, then may I partake in the meal…”

“Of course! Not only is it okay. Hohoho. It’s an honor. Please, do sit.”

“Yes…”

“Ah! It almost slipped my mind. Have you seen this poster?”

Dump put down the spoon immediately and went to the corner of the room to bring a piece of paper back.

It was a worn piece of paper with tears all over, almost as if it was torn off from someplace.

Since it was filled with letters I could not recognize at a glance, I merely stared at Dump’s face.

“May I ask what it is about?”

“When I went near the castle to sell the jewels a couple days ago, this is something one of the guards you hired to protect us brought back.”

“…”

“To put it simply, it was a poster that asked people to become willing slaves on their own.”

“To become a slave?”

“Yes. Do you remember me speaking about something called the Festival of Blood?”

“Yes. I remember that you told me it was a cruel game where one fights with his or her life on the line.”

“That’s correct. While the Festival of Blood was treated by the nobles as a simple amusement before, the event was gathering interest from the merchants and the citizens recently.”

“Is that so?”

This wasn’t something that I really needed to give much attention to.

However, since Dump was raising his voice out of passion and doing his best to explain, I was merely giving an appropriate amount of response in return.

However, I heard something in a brief moment that made me lament not being able to read the letters on the poster.

“But within a single month of the festival, apparently someone rose to the position of king of the festival. However, the way this person fights is completely different the way others have fought previously.”

“What do you mean…”

“No one can tell what class of Protector they are. Apparently they use some kind of power that no one has ever seen or heard of before. Not only that, but that power is so strong that no one can tell just how powerful it is, and that there are no enemies worth contesting against them. This poster’s contents state that they’re seeking new challengers.”

“Please continue. Tell me in greater detail!”

“Huh? Sure… Originally, the Festival of Blood was a competition between criminals and slaves, and the Protectors were not involved. However, with the appearance of this beast portrayed on this poster, the fight has changed to a competition between Protectors. The request to become a slave on one’s own will is actually them saying that they want to find someone who can defeat this beast here.”

“…”

“Their advertisement is that they’re giving the challenger who becomes a slave on their own will a chance to defeat the wild beast, obtaining great wealth and honor if they manage to do so. Not only that, the prize includes a great amount of political power that even the Protectors cannot earn.”

I really didn’t register any of the other words.

I only focused on the part about how this beast was ignoring the classes of the Protectors and using a completely different power.

It was because it made me think of someone specifically.

“Barub…”

“Huh?”

“Is it possible that I could spectate the Festival of Blood?”

“Without being a noble, it would be very difficult. Many of the citizens are heavily interested in it, but they can’t see it in person, and the most they can do is listen to rumors told by third hand accounts.”

“I have to confirm that person’s strength myself.”

“What do you mean…”

“Checkmate. I got you. You little…”

Dump and I headed near the castle together.

The thought of processing a massive amount of jewels wasn’t even on my mind.

I only wanted to confirm that person’s strength with my own eyes.

To do that, I needed to become a noble.

Hoping that beast was actually Barub, I quickened my pace.

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