In the desolate ruins where a chilling wind swept through, the roar of battle echoed.
Nerves were on edge.
And, as always, before the fight.
The body’s senses heightened in anticipation of the combat.
The mind cleared.
The heartbeat quickened.
A tricky excitement enveloped the body.
I forcibly expanded my awareness.
With a pain that felt like my head was splitting, half of the ruins painted itself in my mind.
What was necessary was life.
What was unnecessary was entirely eliminated.
Thick fluid dripped from my nose.
“Noah! Your nosebleed—”
“I’m f-fine… just a little quiet…”
The figures of the gnolls were sketched in my mind.
Hearing the noise of battle, the gnolls began to gather in one spot.
Elite monsters.
The leader of the gnolls cried out.
The other gnolls responded to him.
Over five hundred monsters converged in one place.
Those monsters began barking, looking in one direction.
The first group started charging this way.
The second group turned around.
The third group went left.
The fourth group remained to the right.
They were coming from all directions.
There was nowhere to escape.
They were still continuing the battle.
Moreover, I could see those already incapacitated.
I gripped my great sword.
The rattling handle felt familiar.
The dull blade scraped against the ground.
Blood surged from my mouth, gagging.
“Noah!”
“I’m fine… just be quiet for a moment.”
The two men were strong.
Probably platinum.
Those who looked like knights weren’t bad either.
But no matter how formidable they were, they couldn’t contend with the horde led by the gnoll leader.
I sketched a plan in my mind.
To catch their attention.
A plan to deal with the gnolls.
I held Ayline’s hand.
“Ayline.”
“Yes, yes…?”
“The gnolls are coming.”
“What do you mean…”
“The group led by the leader is rushing this way. About five hundred of them. Fortunately, Carpen isn’t among them.”
Ayline’s hand trembled violently.
I gripped her hand tighter.
“So just stay here.”
“Y-you mean you’re going over there?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, no. Noah, stay here with me… I can, I can run away from a distance…”
“Ayline.”
I gently stroked Ayline’s cheek, just like my father used to do when I was a child.
I had to stretch my arm a bit higher…
“I will definitely return. Just prepare some food.”
Because I’ll mess it up if I do it myself.
“What is…”
“I’ll be back.”
After giving Ayline a smile, I jumped out of the window.
I narrowed my senses and concentrated.
I needed to attract the people’s attention.
Using Ayline’s handkerchief from my pocket, I tied it around the great sword.
The stench of horse saliva filled my nostrils.
The nauseating smell relaxed my tense body.
Damn horse.
I’ll eat you for dinner someday.
“Phew…”
I focused my mind.
I had to do whatever it took.
If I could just return to Ayline, I could heal, so it was fine.
Let’s trust the walking potion.
As I dashed toward the battlefield, I expanded my awareness.
The gnoll horde was approaching.
I painted the information about the terrain that I had excluded.
Stone walls.
I could see a half-collapsed stone barrier.
The sound of steel clashing was getting closer.
One, two. The stupid monsters began to look at me.
I kept running without slowing down.
A knight in armor blocked my path.
I swung my great sword at his abdomen.
The knight flew back and slammed against the corner.
Another one blocked my path.
This one seemed stronger.
Should I stop? I pondered for a moment.
The man beside me wielding a halberd shoved the knight aside.
Thanks to that, I kept running.
I arrived at the barrier.
The gnoll army was visibly approaching.
There was no time.
I raised the great sword to shoulder level.
I gripped the hilt with my left hand.
In about ten seconds, the vanguard would reach us.
“Phew…”
This isn’t a game.
Can I do this?
This isn’t a game.
This is reality.
So…
It’s worth a try.
There are no status screens in this world.
No leveling up.
No experience, skills, mana, or traits.
None of those things exist in reality.
I know how to pull all the information of “awareness” to its extreme and see what effects my heightened awareness will have.
I can do this.
I focused my awareness on one spot.
Blood dripped from my nose.
I discarded all information around me.
Tears of blood flowed from my closed eyes.
Only one place. I allowed myself to absorb only the information about the barrier.
Blood burst from my mouth.
The appearance of the stone. The carved patterns. Everything that constituted the barrier was sketched in my mind.
My heartbeat thundered.
Grrrraa-!!
And then, at that moment…
“Found it.”
I swung the great sword.
Not too slow, not too fast.
But infinitely accurately.
Slowly.
I traced the lines that were drawn in my mind.
Swish-
The sound of wood being sliced.
Along with that sound, a small crack appeared in the barrier.
The small crack became a fracture throughout the entire wall.
With a tremendous rumble-!
The sound of the sky crashing down resounded.
The once-mighty barrier that protected the village crumbled.
It crushed dozens of vanguard monsters.
It was too early to celebrate.
I quickly turned around and opened my eyes.
Everyone was staring at me.
I had drawn attention as planned and shattered the vanguard.
I opened my mouth.
Blood poured out.
Gathering the blood caught in my throat, I spoke.
“You see? The gnolls are coming. There are about five hundred. They’re spread out and the leader is with them. So.”
Swallowing the blood rising up, I continued.
“Either kill them all or fight back.”
*
“Either kill them all or fight back.”
I looked at the girl before me.
The little girl I had seen in Alrva.
A girl reminiscent of my deceased sister.
My charge.
And.
The girl who shattered the wall of Habron.
That enormous monster.
With her small frame.
With that old great sword.
She crumbled the barrier that Carpen had only barely breached in a single strike.
I stared at the girl who had done that.
Forgotten to breathe, I gazed at the collapsed barrier.
I pondered, if it were me.
No, could even Heinzel beside me do something like that?
No.
Impossible.
At least, it would take a Master to pull off such a feat.
“Luchi…”
“Why do you call me?”
“My charge… is strange.”
“I was thinking the same.”
“By the way, it seems our voices are attracting the gnolls.”
“That was foolish.”
“Indeed.”
“But what can we do? We’re about to kill the mascot of Alrva.”
“True enough.”
I looked around.
Even the knights of Erden couldn’t take their eyes off the girl.
Clears throat-
I shouted.
“Gentlemen! It seems the girl’s words are correct. What do you say we pause the fight for a moment and go hunting together?”
Then Heinzel chimed in.
“But I wonder if the lords have ever caught such monsters. Hahaha!”
The voices of me and Heinzel echoed through the ruins.
The knights ignored the words of the two adventurers and reorganized their formations.
“They plan to hunt the monsters.”
“That’s a good idea.”
I turned my head again to capture the girl in my sight.
Blood was oozing from every part of her face—eyes, nose, mouth, and ears—but the girl’s will showed no sign of breaking.
Her red eyes resembled those of a cruel predator.
I began to doubt whether this was truly the same little girl I had seen in Alrva.
After a moment, the girl growled.
“Move if you’re ready.”
She turned her back and dashed away.
I could not help but chuckle.
“Ha… this is absurd.”
“Luchi. No matter how I think about it, the mission target is wrong.”
“You’re right about that.”
Heinzel and I also charged after the girl.
*
My body, not yet recovered from the battle of the day, screamed in protest. Blood surged painfully within me.
But I had to fight.
I had to protect Ayline.
Since she entrusted her life to me, I had to keep her safe.
I fought with gritted teeth, wielding the great sword.
This great sword that was more of an embarrassment to call a great sword now.
With the sound of skin tearing, a gnoll’s body exploded.
It didn’t cut; it burst.
I felt the power double.
But I still moved.
Again.
Without correcting my recoil, I swung once more.
The blade rattled, and the path of the sword twisted.
A gnoll swung its mace towards my shoulder.
Too late.
Clang-
“Whoa, this equipment is a mess.”
The mace meant to smash my shoulder was blocked by a halberd swung from behind.
An adventurer.
“How can so much blood come from such a tiny body?”
On my right, a boisterous voice accompanied the swing of a sword.
An ordinary blade. But the person wielding it was extraordinary.
Quietly slicing through the air, the sword cut down six gnolls.
Then came a follow-up of swordplay.
An agile dance I was all too familiar with.
The familiar voice and the familiar sword.
Once upon a time.
When I had watched it while doing the [Black Sun].
It was Luchi’s swordsmanship.
“Luchi the One-eyed…?”
“Hmm? Hahaha! You know my name!”
“Wow, then does that mean…”
The man swinging the halberd looked at me, fidgeting despite his size.
The adventurer wielding the halberd beside Luchi…
“Bald… no, Bald Heinzel.”
“Hahaha! They call me a baldy! Heinzel! You’re now a baldy!”
Luchi continued to laugh boisterously while swinging his sword.
Yet the blade accurately severed the neck of a gnoll.
“Damn it! This is just pathetic!”
Heinzel also unleashed a frenzied attack, but those blows precisely cracked the heads of the gnolls.
Why were they here?
I didn’t remember the entire story, but I was sure that during this time, NPCs named Luchi and Heinzel weren’t supposed to be here. It was certain.
Grrrr-!
I caught a rushing gnoll and slammed it into the ground.
I shoved the great sword into its mouth.
Taking a breath, I organized my chaotic thoughts for a moment.
The situation was dire.
Even with two platinum adventurers called superhumans, the dire situation remained the same.
However, if it’s Luchi and Heinzel, both categorized as platinum, the scenario changes.
These two stood out even among the NPCs classified as platinum.
Watching them massacre the gnolls eased my tension.
My mind felt hazy, the warmth that once filled my body started to turn icy.
Maybe I was…
Just foolishly intervening.
I recalled the screaming body and Ayline sobbing quietly in the room.
Like a husband going to the battlefield.
I raised many flags.
Honestly, I thought there was a chance I could die.
If I had known Luchi and Heinzel were here, I would have just stayed in the room…
Ah.
I really shouldn’t have come out.
Maybe I should have just eaten with Ayline.
