episode_0006

When Jax and I came out to the training ground, the nobles in the banquet hall also flocked out.

The fight between the two warriors looked so fun, like a match made in heaven, and there was no reason to miss this match.

However, because they all rushed out at once, there was some confusion.

As a result, the duel was delayed for a moment, allowing us to overhear the nobles’ small talk.

“Oh… Two warriors fighting, that’s quite unexpected, isn’t it?”

“But why are they fighting?”

“I’m not sure either. They said Jax started the argument.”

“But Jax will definitely win the duel, right?”

“Of course, especially with a 4:1 situation.”

“Even if it were 1:1, the result would probably be the same.”

“I heard Jax defeated Ronan easily before, didn’t he?”

“But Ronan supposedly defeated the Four Kings.”

“Who would believe that pathetic Ronan defeated the Four Kings on his own? Even if he did, he must have received a lot of help from his party members.”

The nobles had various opinions about the duel, but ultimately, their consistent thought was this: “Ronan is weak, and Jax will win.” Everyone seemed to base their discussions on this premise.

“Well, I understand why they think that way.”

It seemed like the nobles didn’t expect me to win at all.

Well, that’s understandable. Ronan hasn’t really shown anything significant so far as a warrior, whereas Jax has been steadily building his achievements.

Since the news of Ronan defeating the Four Kings hadn’t fully spread yet, the nobles had good reason to think that Jax would win.

“What nonsense,”

I sighed.

How could they have such cheap thoughts?

Still, I hoped that at least one noble would recognize Ronan’s worth, but it was truly disheartening to find that none did.

“Well, that’s just how corrupt the nobles of the empire are.”

Seems like there are no talents left in the empire…

Well, if there were nobles who recognized Ronan’s worth, maybe the empire wouldn’t have fallen apart like this.

In fact, the empire harbors many internal problems. It’s just that these issues aren’t a concern because they’re currently engaged in battle with the demon army; upon closer inspection, the empire is far from stable.

The empire does all sorts of crazy things. There was some logic behind why the nobles were so pathetic and foolish.

At least the Third Princess is somewhat decent, but even she has almost no chance of succeeding to the throne… It’s truly bleak.

“The friendly match between Jax’s warrior party and Ronan is about to begin.”

While contemplating the future of the empire, preparations for the duel seemed to be complete.

Once the traffic cleared, the Second Prince, who presided over the duel, stepped forward and explained the rules.

“You can use any method you want, but killing is strictly prohibited.”

So killing is prohibited after all?

Well, we can’t have corpses littering the sacred palace grounds.

“I hope you can show a match befitting of warriors. Let’s begin.”

The Second Prince tossed a coin high into the air.

The coin spun in the sky and when it landed on the ground, the battle began.

“Shall I put some effort into this?”

I drew my sword in response.

Jax and his warrior party on the other side also prepared for battle.

Who should I take down first? I pondered.

“Ronan. You bastard!!!”

There was someone bold enough to step forward, and it was Jax.

Alright, let’s deal with you first.

[Enchant]

A silver light began to emanate from my sword.

It was time to test Ronan’s strength.

# # #

“Ronan, you fucking bastard.”

Jax had always been a “predator” until now.

He always played the role of taking away other people’s women and humiliating other men.

Because that was a privilege strong men could have, it was natural to him.

“How dare you make me feel ashamed?”

Jack, who used to say that, was completely humiliated by Ronan earlier.

He went to comfort Ronan, who seemed gloomy after losing party members.

Instead of hitting back, he ended up feeling insulted.

“He used to beg me for mercy.”

For Jack, this was something he had never experienced before.

Or rather, wasn’t Ronan the hero he had easily trampled in the past?

Naturally, he couldn’t help but get angry.

“I’ll wipe that smug look off your face.”

But what made him even angrier?

It was that Ronan seemed very relaxed about such an attitude.

Even though they had lost all their party members to him, Ronan showed a very relaxed attitude.

Even during the current duel, he was not focusing on himself but lost in his own thoughts.

“I will definitely tear you apart.”

As if saying he could have as many women as he wanted, Jack seemed to be nothing.

He couldn’t bear such humiliation and couldn’t stay still.

He had to make amends.

Before the battle began, Jack was staring at Ronan intently.

“Hey, Hero Jack.”

“Hero Jack.”

At that moment, the magician Charlotte and the priestess Trisella approached Jack.

They were two people with slightly anxious looks. Why were they talking to him with such eyes?

“Why?”

“Let’s plan our strategy first.”

“Yes. If we are going to face Hero Ronan now, we need to plan our strategy properly.”

The two demanded that Jack fight strategically.

If they were going to fight, they had to go for a surefire way to win.

“Ronan… may seem like that, but he’s stronger than you think…”

“Yes. That’s right. Don’t underestimate him. He might be stronger than Hero Jack…”

They knew how strong Ronan was at this point.

He had defeated four kings in battle.

They wanted to warn Jack that it would be dangerous to fight recklessly.

“Hah. Are you all ignoring me too?”

However, Jack did not want to listen to the advice of his party members.

Ronan might be stronger than him?

That was probably just nonsense.

He thought it wouldn’t hurt to show it clearly now.

“You don’t have to step forward. Let me finish it on my own.”

Just as the prince’s words were ending and the duel was about to begin, Jack immediately rushed towards Ronan.

Using [Swift] skill and utilizing his main skill of dagger techniques, he intended to finish Ronan in just a few seconds.

“Oh. No.”

“Wait!!! Hero Jack.”

Despite his party members’ protests, Jack boldly charged at Ronan.

Seeing this, Ronan raised his sword high.

A silver light emanated from the sword, an enchantment skill?

“Ronan. You’re done for.”

Probably thinking of countering a big swing.

If he dodged that and stabbed Ronan from the side, he believed it would surely lead to his victory.

Could he handle Ronan alone…?

Thud!

“Huh? What’s this?”

His body wouldn’t move.

What on earth had happened?

“What’s wrong, you attacked me.”

# # #

“Logically, would Ronan lose to a guy like this?”

Normally, when playing an RPG game, as the protagonist gets stronger, one would expect to feel more at ease.

But when playing “Hero and Party Members,” it was a bit different.

The stronger the protagonist became, the more uneasy emotions arose.

Why? Because Ronan getting stronger meant his lifespan was shorter.

“He’s a guy who gets stronger at the cost of his lifespan.”

Ronan was fundamentally a man born with considerable talent.

The beginning was too weak, so if things went normally, no one could catch up to Ronan’s talent.

Yet he was running out of time. He was running out of time to become stronger.

If things had gone normally, he would have been a man stronger than anyone else, but his enemies did not wait and wanted Ronan to become strong quickly.

As a result, Ronan had no choice but to choose the path of becoming stronger by sacrificing his own life.

Because of those damn bitches, Ronan eventually faced a tragic fate.

“At this point, there is no one who can defeat Ronan.”

How strong could Ronan be at this point with only 89 days left in his life?

It’s just the mid-to-late stage where I defeated just one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

It could be said that subduing someone like Jax was a natural result.

Jax’s attacks were slow enough to be seen in slow motion, and his strength was significantly greater, like the difference between an adult man and a child.

“You’re not letting go of this guy?”

I broke one of Jax’s arms and pressed my foot against his back.

He was completely subdued.

“Let go right now.”

“This guy is so noisy.”

As long as I don’t kill him, it’s fine, right?

Thinking about what to do with Jax screaming like a whale, I felt the need to break something.

Crack.

“Aaargh!!!”

“He’s making a fuss just because his arm got broken.”

Is it really that painful?

It was a bit funny to see him crying and sniffling just because his arm was broken.

“You. I will definitely…”

“Be quiet and go to sleep since you’re so loud.”

This should be enough, right?

I kicked Jax’s head with just the right amount of force.

“…”

Whether I controlled my strength properly or not, Jax immediately passed out.

After putting Jax in a suitable place, I stared at him again.

“Ugh… Listen to me.”

It had only been 10 seconds since Jax was subdued.

The party members probably had nothing to say or do.

They just sighed as they looked at Jax.

“The troublemaker is gone. How about we talk quietly among our former comrades for once?”

I approached the party members slowly with a sword in hand.