Chapter 22: Fortuitous Encounter

“…Ugh.”

As soon as I opened my eyes, a sharp pain shot through my left arm.

Besides that, there wasn’t a single spot on my body that felt fine, but thanks to someone’s healing, most of the pain was mild—except for the left arm.

‘What happened?’

The last thing I remembered was seeing Duke Polarr of the North, Karmen, and the knights.

I lost consciousness after seeing Ariana riding on Polarr’s back.

“…First, I need to figure out the situation.”

I got up from the bed and opened the door to step out.

And at that moment.

“Ah.”

“Ah, shit.”

For some reason, a very familiar man opened the door from the room next to mine at the same time, and we came face to face.

Luin.

The moment I saw him, I couldn’t help but smile.

“You’re here, Hero.”

“Don’t smile at me like that. That’s a privilege reserved for pretty girls only.”

“Haha, judging by how you’re talking like usual, I take it you defeated the demon.”

Thankfully, it seemed that Luin’s skills were at least enough to take down the demon.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be acting like that.

Whether I was right or not, Luin nodded with a displeased expression, then sneered.

“Hah! While you were passed out in Ariana’s arms, I, the Hero, took down that white-furred bastard. You weakling.”

“That’s a relief. Just as you said, lasting five minutes was my limit. As expected, you’re amazing, Hero.”

“Yeah, now you’re finally realizing how amazing.”

Just as Luin was about to start bragging, he suddenly covered his mouth with his hand and turned his head.

“Cough, cough! Ugh, cough!”

Then came the blood, erupting with his coughs.

I couldn’t hide my shock at the sight.

“Hero! What’s happening to you?!”

I quickly reached out to him with divine power, but Luin weakly pushed me away,
shouting as if to tell me to get lost.

“Liv, you damn priest…! Get over here, you bastard…!”

At that moment, High Priest Liv rushed out of the room Luin had emerged from and immediately began healing him.

“Hero, didn’t I tell you that you need to rest for now?”

“Shut… up… I need to get stronger, fast. I have to prove I’m right…”

Unable to keep up with their conversation, I gave High Priest Liv a questioning look.

He smiled kindly and explained.

“The Hero awakened divine power at a very young age, so the recoil when he uses it is severe. If he had learned to control divine power and trained his body since childhood, he could’ve handled it better… but he’s only just begun training now…”

“Ah…!”

At his words, my mind went momentarily blank.

As expected, Luin had neglected—or rather, never even bothered—with training because of his personality since childhood.

After arriving in the Holy Kingdom, he only learned the easy stuff and probably ignored anything that seemed like a hassle.

In the original game’s setting, the protagonist was someone who had never skipped training since childhood, allowing him to handle any skill or power with ease.

In other words, Luin, who spent his early years just playing around, had far lower base stats than the default player character in the game.

He couldn’t even properly control divine power, the most basic of basics.

“…It’s okay, Hero. What matters is that you’re working hard now.”

At least he’s trying now—that’s something to be thankful for.

Still, it’s a pretty dangerous situation.

Hoping he would continue training like this, I encouraged Luin.

But suddenly, he shot me a resentful glare.

“Damn it, do you think I’m some kind of kid?”

“Excuse me…?”

Luin snapped out of nowhere.

A divine power incomparable to mine began to surge in his hand.

“Don’t lie. I can tell just by looking at your face. You’re probably thinking, ‘Well, at least he’s trying now…’ Not caring one bit about how I actually feel.”

“Hero?”

He looked ready to explode if I said the wrong thing.

It seemed I’d touched a nerve.

“You know… I seriously hate trying. You know why? Because trying is for people without talent. But… but still…!”

—Crack!

“Urgh…!”

Before I could even react, Luin grabbed me by the throat.

He looked up at me with a murderous expression.

Then came the words that felt like a death sentence.

“Because of you, I’m trying! You bastard!!”

“Get out, gasp…!”

I couldn’t breathe.

He wasn’t trying to kill me—just make it hurt.

“I’m supposed to be the Hero, the one blessed with talent. But the people I like—the ones I want to impress. They keep praising someone like you, who’s useless but tries hard! But I’ve never tried, so I don’t even know how to be like you, damn it!”

From his other hand, divine power surged violently.

As if reflecting the chaos inside him.

“This damn divine power… even if I tried like you, I probably still couldn’t control it! It’s so unfair! There’s no way effort alone can tame something like this!!”

At some point, even High Priest Liv had grabbed Luin’s right arm, but unfortunately, as just a priest, he wasn’t strong enough.

“Hero! You need to calm your divine power!”

“Damn it, does this look like something a human can control?! You bastard!”

The divine power blazing in his hand came right up to my face.

A force completely different from when I ignite my own divine power.

I instinctively felt it—this wasn’t something a mere mortal could handle.

But still.

‘The protagonist in the game trained since childhood and could control this kind of divine power. He could use it properly.’

Sorry, Luin, but if you had put in the effort from a young age, you’d be able to handle the power in front of you freely by now.

Without risk.

“Don’t look at me like that!!”

Without realizing it, my thoughts had shown in my eyes.

Luin looked more furious than ever.

And in that moment.

—Fwoooosh!

“Ugh! W-What?!”

The divine power gathered in Luin’s hand began to twist and move like a serpent.

“Hero!”

“What is this?! Why does this crap only happen to me?!”

Judging by his state, the divine power was now rampaging beyond his control.

In short, a ticking time bomb had been activated in his hand.

“High Priest Liv! What do we do?!”

“F-First, calm down! Divine power responds to the heart—”

“Uh—It’s spreading more and more?!”

“Oh, Goddess have mercy…”

To make matters worse, the divine power began to extend out from Luin’s hand, as if trying to break free.

At the end of it, the glowing mass moved like a head, and then—it locked “eyes” with me.

It had no eyes, and yet, it felt like it was staring right at me.

‘What… is this?’

The moment I tilted my head at the strange feeling, as if it had found its prey, the divine power charged straight at me.

“What the—?!”

“No! Stop!!”

Luin desperately reached out to stop it, but the divine power reached me in the end.

It rushed toward my chest, and entered my body.

Immediately after, immense divine power began to surge through every corner of my body.

“Ugh-Ugh…!”

Luin covered his eyes with his hand, as if bracing himself for a horrific scene.

I also had a sudden thought—I’m screwed.

At that moment, a sharp, electric jolt ran through me.

Followed by pain that felt like my entire body was being torn apart.

“Gah?!”

“Brother Ace!”

High Priest Liv reached out to me, but Luin stopped him.

“If that thing explodes, you won’t survive either! I’ll handle it—just get back!”

He shoved Liv behind him, then spread both arms wide.

“Damn it, I’m sorry!! I didn’t know it would turn out like this either!”

His expression was filled with genuine regret.

Just when I thought I might have to settle for seeing this improved version of the Hero one last time.

—Wuuuuung…

The halo of light surrounding my body slowly began to shrink, and the pain that felt like death itself… stopped.

“…Huh?”

“What the hell?”

“…Wow.”

The divine power Luin couldn’t handle.

I had absorbed it.

***

“Ace! You’re awake!”

Ariana opened the door gently and lit up like a golden retriever the moment she saw me awake.

Her joy made me smile without thinking, but then my face froze at her next words.

“But… you feel different from usual? Your divine power… did something happen while you were asleep?”

“Well… not while I was sleeping, but something did happen right after I woke up.”

“Wh-What happened?!”

Startled by my words, Ariana rushed to my side.

Looking at her, I gave a sheepish smile and explained what had just happened.

“The Hero’s divine power… I ended up absorbing it.”

“…What?”

She stared at me blankly, unable to understand.

Then.

“…So, Ace is the Hero now…?”

She asked, half-jokingly, with a slightly delighted look.

Absolutely the wrong thing to say…