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

Daejeon

After receiving his challenge, I immediately scanned my surroundings.

“Haa…”

Had everyone gone home already? Thankfully, there was nobody around. At least, there was no one present to witness this conversation.

With reluctance clinging to my words, I opened my mouth.

“…This is rather sudden, wouldn’t you say?”

Truthfully, I was still fatigued from the revolution I’d just been through.

But of course, that didn’t mean I could refuse to fight.

“I’m afraid I don’t have the luxury of refusing.”

The very fact that I was having this leisurely conversation with one of the Four Heavenly Kings was already absurd.

Having come this far, he could have slaughtered civilians instead of confronting me, and it wouldn’t have mattered.

The puppet’s body would have few restrictions, and with the capital breached, everyone was vulnerable.

And yet, he had sought me out first.

It was fortunate, in a way, that my opponent was the most moderate of the Four Heavenly Kings. Otherwise, a massacre would have already begun.

Therefore, I had no choice but to draw my Holy Sword. As I did so, I checked his level.

As I mentioned before, level is the sum total of one’s accumulated experience. It is the history of a person itself, and in most cases, level is the measure of strength.

So then, in the case of a puppet, what would it show?

Would it display the level of the body’s original owner, or the level of the possessed soul?

The answer is both.

It showed a composite of the puppet’s body level and the puppeteer’s experience. That it could display even that with such accuracy…

While not omnipotent, the level’s algorithm was considerable.

[80]

And the opponent’s level was 80.

Seeing that, a curse escaped my thoughts.

“Mad…”

To be that strong even borrowing the body of a mere puppet, not the true self.

Even while being restricted in power, not being in their own flesh and blood.

I looked at the puppet’s body.

Once a knight, now a wretched husk with even its ego vanished.

The body’s condition couldn’t be called good, not even with empty pleasantries. The aged physique had lost all its muscle, and the joints creaked, making movement difficult.

Yet, 80… That meant, even with that body, it could exert power similar to most Archmages. Truly, a monster was a monster.

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

‘I could win, yes, but…’

The problem was how to win.

Frankly, this fight was a good opportunity to glimpse the other’s true strength.

And the same held true for the opponent. Depending on what cards I played, the opponent’s proficiency in countering me in the future would change.

Therefore, victory wasn’t the issue in this fight.

It was crucial to conserve my cards as much as possible, while also gauging the opponent.

‘Dark magic and powers… I should conserve them as much as possible.’

Therefore, what I chose was swordsmanship.

It was the safest bet, too, considering the man was a prosecutor down to his very bones.

The perfect way to gauge his abilities, I thought.

Of course, wanting to hide everything doesn’t mean you can…

[Activating ‘Bloodflow Acceleration!’]

I layer on some basic buffs.

Blood rushes through my veins, accelerating, and a vitality begins to blossom within me.

“Circulating mana through the body while… what was that? Suddenly, I feel like my veins have thickened… Is that some sort of dark magic?”

Damn him, he’s quick to analyze.

Regardless, I immediately lunged at him. My sharp holy sword descended towards the crown of his head.

He reacted slowly to the blow. The aged puppet’s body began to dodge before it even swung its own sword, as if it could read my movements.

*Whoosh!*

By the time I brought my sword down, he was already gone. Even if the attack was predictable, still.

Do you read electrical signals like a puppeteer too, perhaps?

*Shwick—!*

It was his turn. Just as I finished my swing, a slender steel sword pierced towards my abdomen.

Even though I wield dark magic, I’m still a swordsman with a modicum of training. I have at least a basic understanding of the blade.

And what I saw in his sword was chillingly clean. Not a single ounce of wasted energy in that thrust. All his power was concentrated at the tip.

The only reason I was able to avoid it was purely due to the difference in our physical forms.

Even him couldn’t fully restore an aged body.

After that exchange, he spoke.

“Crude. Your grip on the sword. The way you swing it. Can it be true that the Puppet Master was felled by such a blade?”

“······.”

“No, that cannot be. Show me what else you possess.”

This time, the first strike belonged to him. A blue light flickered from his steel sword, soon enveloping the entirety of the blade.

A flame that only those who have reached a certain realm can wield. Sword Aura. He could use Aura, which I myself had yet to master.

Though, considering his level, it was only to be expected.

What was somewhat curious was that he was accomplishing it not with his own mana, but with the mana of a dying knight.

His sword came flying at me. I raised the Holy Sword to parry his attack.

Crack!

“Ugh…”

His strike, cloaked in Aura, was heavier than anticipated. Even with the Holy Sword, an almost fraudulent weapon, and the clear advantage of the Hero’s physique.

The finesse of the Aura, with that alone, he was able to contend with me in strength.

Even if an Aura user holds a considerable advantage over a common swordsman…there were still limits.

‘Even so, I still hold the advantage in sheer strength.’

Of course, he hadn’t completely overcome the difference in physical prowess.

Stamina, strength, speed, in all of those, I was superior. The only thing he surpassed me in was his body’s skill.

However, that skill alone posed a significant problem.

If I tried to push his sword away with force, he would somehow redirect that very force. If I tried to pull back, the sword annoyed me and he would latch on with fluid movements.

Even when attempting to defend, he was remarkably skilled at exploiting openings, his blade invariably finding its way inside my Holy Sword’s guard.

After exchanging several blows in this manner, eventually…

* * *

*Fwoosh–!*

I was forced to yield a blow. His sword gnawed into my flank, sinking deep.

Seeing this, I hastily kicked his thigh, distancing myself.

‘…Hmph.’

I concede. With a mere sword, I absolutely cannot be his match.

Only after suffering a rather significant wound was I able to barely escape his reach. Had I not sacrificed that piece of flesh, I would have surely sustained an even graver injury.

*Hiss…*

As we briefly paused, catching our breaths, the wound on my side slowly began to mend.

Possessing regeneration, the wound itself was, in truth, hardly an issue.

The problem was that he, too, would learn of this ability.

“I’d heard rumors, but seeing it myself is quite something. To possess the same ability as *that* one. Though, it seems your regeneration is somewhat inferior to his… Still, you’ll be troublesome to deal with.”

*That* one he mentions is surely the Heavenly King who’ll appear later.

Certainly, he is the most vexing to fight. But of course, the immediate issue was Evan before me, so I banished him from my thoughts for the time being.

“There’s a special way to deal with tenacious fellows like you.”

Soon, he charged again, even more ferociously than before.

The speed emanating from that aged knight’s body was unbelievable. He rushed at me as if I was one who knew how to infuse my body with mana, he was doing the same.

However, his precision far surpassed mine. Mana was being exquisitely distributed throughout his entire body, down to each muscle, each bone.

Seeing this, I couldn’t help but be slightly disconcerted.

His skill was astonishing, but I could sense his intent itself.

‘Even if he is *him*, the mana capacity itself should be that of the knight, shouldn’t it?’

To expend one’s mana so recklessly… he’ll exhaust himself soon enough. And the reason for such haste was clear.

The b*stard desires a swift end.

For what good would a prolonged battle do, where any wound he inflicts I could simply regenerate? Better, then, to glean what information he can in a furious burst.

‘Damn it…’

My heart yearns to face him with only my blade, but that path leads only to my demise. I am left with no choice but to further fortify myself.

[Casting ‘Hardening’.]

[Casting ‘Mana Barrier’.]

I congeal my blood, forming an armor across my flesh, then overlay it with a supplementary coat of mana.

Such a barrier, if even a mage lord’s spell were to strike, could withstand the blow, at least once.

*KANG!*

As predicted, his blade fails to pierce my skin, finding only resistance.

“···Hoh.”

A light murmur of admiration escapes his lips.

“Annoying, truly. A defensive swordsmanship, a regenerative ability, and layers of barrier magic. It’s no wonder they struggle against you.”

*Wooong!*

The weight of the sword I parry grows steadily heavier.

“But it is still futile.”

*Psshht-*

And then, the sword slowly begins to cleave through my flesh. Barriers shatter, and blood splatters.

Damnation, is it possible for *that* sword aura to evolve further?

He, too, had reserves he was hiding.

“Swordsmanship, whatever flowery words adorn it, is ultimately a technique of killing. It’s an endless honing, a forging, for the sole purpose of severing someone’s lifeline. Only for that aim do the myriad processes of cutting, thrusting, and blocking exist.”

His stance shifts.

Being of a lower realm than him, I couldn’t grasp everything.

The only thing I could discern was that, unlike the flowing water from before, his aura had become entirely aggressive. Not so much crude as it was viscous, more sinister than refined.

A highly honed killing intent wrapped coldly around my throat.

“Let’s see if your neck can regenerate after it’s severed.”

Presently, his blade began to climb my arm like a serpent.

*Fshhh!* Blood erupted along the path the crude sword had taken. Sharp fangs, like those of a viper stalking its prey, targeted my throat.

“!”

My reaction to that was less conscious and more reflexive.

Without realizing it, I reached for the old knight’s body, gathering crimson mana in my palm in that state.

[‘Memory of Pain’ is being used!]

*Boom!*

And just like that, his body exploded outwards. The emaciated arm wielding the sword flew off, and his side was torn away completely.

It was a reflexive action, so I hadn’t even used the skill at full power, yet his body was utterly shattered.

Then, it struck me anew. The body I had been fighting was not a well-honed physique, but merely the aged frame of an old knight.

Even as the puppet’s body disintegrated, he remained serene, as always.

“Aha.”

As the connection with the puppet frayed, he spoke.

“So, that’s your trump card, is it?”

*Thwack-*!

With that, his connection severed. All that remained was the puppet’s corpse.

For a long while, I stared blankly at the body.

“…”

What is this. I clearly won, but no matter how I look at it, it feels like I lost.

Constantly pushed back, only to win after revealing my bottom line at the very end.

Of course, there were excuses aplenty.

I faced him with swordsmanship I wasn’t particularly confident in, while he was an expert in the blade.

And I had many cards left unplayed. Authorities like Puppet Art and Insect Control, I didn’t even take them out.

But did he have no restrictions? No, if anything, he had more than I did.

A wretched body, a crude sword, and above all, he didn’t properly use his powers.

Even he didn’t show everything, either.

If his clone is this strong, just how powerful is the main body?

[You have encountered astonishing techniques!]

[With the aid of ‘Celestial Martial Physique,’ you have grasped a fragment of understanding!]

[‘Mana Blade’ has increased in level!]

[‘Bright Ryu Swordsmanship’ has increased in level!]

“…Shit.”

And so, I stood there for a long while.

*

It seems I was far too complacent.

Did I think I could manage because of my powers? That the next opponent might be easier than I thought?

I must remember. This game is not a kind one. No matter how much I prepare, variables can erupt anytime, anywhere. The enemy is always powerful, and the price for failure is worse than death.

Therefore, growth is necessary.

“Let’s head to the Demon Realm.”

“Uh… so soon?”

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

And so, we headed back toward the Demon Realm.

More precisely, towards that building on the horizon. The Black Magetower.

I needed to become stronger, and quickly.