episode_0064

Not all hero parties have a fixed number of people like the first party or Ian’s party.

They work separately and form temporary parties only when necessary.

Penny was one of those wandering warriors.

The place where she murdered her colleague was an A-class dungeon.

It is a dungeon whose terrain changes at regular intervals, and if you do something wrong, you will get lost and become lost.

That meant it was a suitable place to conceal a murder.

I killed all three colleagues who formed a party to attack this place.

There was no special reason.

I was just curious about the money and equipment they had, and if there was anything useful, I wanted it.

It is much safer and more profitable to stab your colleagues than to attack a dungeon.

Sometimes, having artifacts or high-level enchanted equipment can be a huge hit.

As a wizard, she could not grow any further, and she could not engage in close combat with Class A monsters.

Penny realized that it was more effective to stab people in the back.

That was her lifestyle.

She was fortunate enough to have worked as an administrator in a small or medium-sized city from a young age, and often forged minor documents, embezzled grants from various policies, or tribute to the lord.

There was no sense of guilt.

Since everyone was doing that, I thought it was okay to do it, so I did it.

Then, when the embezzlement was discovered and he was in danger of being tried, he snitched on a colleague and ran away.

By that time, she had awakened as a superhuman and became a magician and began her career as a warrior, but it did not suit her aptitude.

Basically, it was too risky, and Penny’s talent wasn’t great.

It was barely enough to fit on the toes of an A-class hero, but it wasn’t satisfactory.

Therefore, Penny sought a safer and more efficient method.

Working as a wandering warrior, he kills his colleagues in dungeons that are difficult to track.

Using the name of a warrior, he joins large and small criminal groups and steals their loot or manipulates their ledgers to cause confusion and steal their capital.

I just lived as if I was being swayed by inertia.

Despising the pitifully imperfect weakness of humans and relying on it.

“Umm… . These guys are nonsense. It’s a dangerous dungeon, so I thought I’d get something useful.”

Penny calmly stole the body and then quit.

There were no valuable items.

He looked down at the man who couldn’t even answer and laughed.

“That’s right, I should blame myself for being born imperfect.”

Penny hated human imperfection.

Stupid, foolish, impulsive, emotional.

I can’t think about the future.

No, there are too many people in the world who are so pathetic that they ruin the present even if they know the future.

At the same time, I loved human imperfection.

Because they are imperfect, people like themselves can rise above them.

‘Is there no such thing as perfection in the world? .’

Therefore, the greed and curiosity for perfection could not leave a corner of my mind.

As she tried to return after killing three of her colleagues, she ran into trouble.

I ended up trapped in a maze-like dungeon.

“Ah. Puh tsk tsk… .”

It was fun.

Because the imperfection that he loathed was his own.

It was a kind of self-loathing.

There were no monsters, and the road continued to unfold without even knowing where it led.

It would be really pathetic if I died like this.

One day, you don’t even know how many days you’ve been wandering around.

I had to meet him.

The first hero party that is shaking the entire continent with its feat.

The intimidation of those people who had fleetingly thought about the perfection of this world was greater than the rumors.

“What, I’m in the dungeon again?”

Beatrice said.

As the word ‘again’ suggests, there were many people behind them who were not part of the first warrior party.

They were all lost children who came to this A-class dungeon and got lost.

Kylie chuckled.

“Let’s take him with us. I told you to get everything you can and bring them back.”

“Why is this such a bother…? . Okay, that’s it. Follow me.”

I couldn’t really hear them at that time.

I was completely out of my wits just by encountering the four members of the first hero party.

He thought that perhaps these might be the perfection he was looking for.

After seeing their battle, that thought became stronger.

Even the word perfect was not enough.

It was truly artistic.

The enemy’s blood splatters, bones break, frozen enemies are shattered, and they burn in a scorching light.

All the scenes came together like a painting.

It was so beautiful that I wanted to stop time at that moment.

Penny was fascinated by them and became curious about their identities.

Where on earth did these heroes come from?

At the end, Penny reached Philip and Ian.

At first, I learned Philip’s name.

The name that announced the news and achievements of the first party to the outside world was all Philip.

After digging again, the name Ian came up.

At that time, I thought Ian was the perfection I was looking for.

But the deeper I dug, the more Philip’s name came up.

Behind all the achievements of the first warrior party was Philip.

The miracles they perform, the paths they take, the artifacts and relics they find, and the large and small disturbances in the dungeons and front lines they block.

Ian was just a person who followed them around and carried out Philip’s practical affairs, and he learned that all major matters and choices depended on Philip’s decisions.

Philip’s name appeared in the rumors across the country and in the media that spread throughout the city, but not Ian’s.

So I unwrapped Philip’s footsteps, interpreted them, savored them, and finally completed them.

his narrative.

The story of God coming down to an imperfect paradise.

There was no room for failure in his actions.

It seemed as if the whole world was prepared for his success.

Power, wealth and fame.

Everything was in Philip’s hands, and the first party monopolized it as if they had been promised.

‘A being who created a hero to save the world… .’

Even before there were warriors, there were epic stories of heroes.

It was a kind of myth that was passed down orally.

And God always appears in the biographies of those heroes.

Gods who recognize the qualities of heroes, give them trials and tests, and sometimes even guide them along the way.

No matter how great a hero is, what does it mean if there is no god?

Who else but God will find them?

The greatest light of humanity.

A powerful hero of modern humanity.

1st warrior party.

Philip created them.

If he is not God, then who is God?

The only perfection in this world.

When I found it, desire bloomed for the first time in my life of inertia.

I want to resemble that perfection.

But I knew I couldn’t reach it.

That’s why I wanted to flaw that perfection.

The perfection she found was Philip.

“Philip… .”

Ian.

It is a being that I have no idea what to call it.

Because he was so foreign to this world.

Because it was the perfection he had longed for.

At the same time, there is no such thing as perfection in this world from the beginning, so I had originally hoped that the world would be this imperfect.

Because I wanted to believe that my imperfections were not bad.

Penny desperately wanted to destroy that perfection.

It is far from such a shallow murder.

I want to draw a line in that perfection.

So we revered him, created a manager’s guild, and organized his vague narrative and made it known to the world.

Beggar girls Sylvia and Philip.

The story that spread around Superbia was Penny’s work.

It’s already perfect, but let’s make it even more perfect.

I wanted to send it up to a height where I wondered if it could go any higher, and then drop it.

The god who descended to the earth finally caused him to fall when he was about to ascend to the sky.

How beautiful is the fall of a god who has lost his wings?

Just imagining it makes me so ecstatic that my lower abdomen goes numb.

To make it happen, Ian was kicked out.

After many years of research, Ian’s existence was a bane to the first warrior party and Philip.

I said so.

Obviously, it was like that… .

“You… . Ian, you are… .”

There was a time when I was almost disappointed by the god I had kicked out.

Was he a being who failed so vainly and had no perfection to be found?

But, look at that picture.

As if something had happened, they found a new hero.

This is different from the self who escaped into something more comfortable and vicious every time he faced a single failure.

He stood up firmly again.

The new heroes he discovered have already begun to write a myth comparable to the beginning of the first warrior party.

Those around him who have been influenced by him follow his training methods as if praying to God.

‘Only you from me… Makes me forget about this disgusting imperfection… .’

A god driven out by the heroes he raised.

And a snake-like figure who deceived the heroes with coaxing.

A demon that will eventually bring down that god and never exist again in the last century.

That was Penny’s view of her role.

By defining Ian as a god and serving opposite him, Penny herself was able to experience the pleasure of becoming equally perfect as him.

‘Even after being kicked out like that, you still haven’t fallen at all… .’

If this is God, if this is not religion, then what else in the world… .

“Thank you… .”

Penny put her forehead on the ground and muttered.

Because he still remains a god.

No, I was so grateful because it was helping me move towards a more perfect existence.

At the same time as grateful joy, I felt a deep sense of humiliation.

I realized that no matter what I did, it would be impossible to reach that person.

“Penny… ?”

“Ma, Master, when will you return… .”

A few people passing by recognized her.

Penny didn’t listen.

I didn’t even see it.

All five senses were accepting Ian.

Not demons, not demon kings, not wars, not empires, not religions, not even the rare hero called the first hero party.

To Penny, everything was worthless compared to Philip’s despair.

Even your own life.

Having fully enjoyed her faith, she stood up and laughed.

The price for doubting God’s power was severe.

Even if no one punished me, I realized it myself and blamed myself.

For everything he arbitrarily took and ruined.

‘Next time I see you… .’

I hope we can meet face to face and say hello.

In order to do that, he had to take the mistakes he had committed back into his own hands.

Otherwise, I wouldn’t even have the honor to see him.

Penny went back.

There was nothing more to see here.

‘The Manager’s Guild… It was meaningless from the beginning.’

I believed that if the group founded in Philip’s name were dishonorable, it would tarnish his reputation.

It was only when I saw Ian that I realized it was a mistake.

There is something else that is really important.

‘The first warrior party. Ian, they were personally selected and raised with care… .’

And he himself kicked Ian out from among them.

Even though his relationship with Ian had been subtly bad, he couldn’t deny that he had instigated it.

‘We can’t let them fall apart. Since I just left it alone and didn’t cause any particular accident, it can happen again… .’

Penny composed herself.

*

Ian was sitting at his desk and reading a notice.

[SS-class warrior, Lorenzo di Fiorene ship duel competition.]

It was a notice given by Marie.

I’ve been busy lately, and I’ve had work with Vivian, so I’ve finally started reading it properly.

‘This gentleman is still the same.’

He was like this in the second round as well.

He has a lot of money, likes to show off, and is very vain.

He has the feel of an unlucky old nobleman.

Even the timing and rewards of the duel competition are the same as the second round.

[Winner privileges for each weight class

-50 gold or equivalent item.

-Fiorene’s surname is Sergeant.]

An amount equivalent to KRW 500 million.

And the intention was to lower the castle of Fiorene, the only sword master on the continent.

In this place where all superhumans are born purely by chance, the name ‘Master Swordsman’ is very unique.

Lorenzo early realized his strength and talent.

Even in the second episode, when there was no hero system, he was a person called a ‘hero’.

Although it wasn’t as graded as it is now.

Although his personality may not be bright, his skills are certain.

Because he earned the title of Earl based on his skills alone.

It’s not just Lorenzo, but if you become an SS-level warrior, you can receive a noble title and at least one territory based on your skills and achievements.

‘Well, their skills aren’t comparable to the kids from the first party, but… .’

He has been active as an adventurer for a very long time, and decided that it was in the long-term interest of all mankind to leave his talents to future generations.

It was a meaningless idea because superhuman strength and talent were not hereditary.

However, there was no absolute in this world.

It’s truly amazing that Lorenzo’s eldest son awakened as a ‘superhuman’ at a very young age.

And he is just as talented as my father.

Although it was only one case, it was enough for the Fiorene family to earn the name of a famous swordsmanship family.

Since then, Lorenzo has sown many seeds, but not a single superman has emerged from them.

It was just a miracle that my eldest son woke up.

‘Lorenzo still couldn’t give up. There were so many things that happened with a lie that bordered on brainwashing that he was a master of swordsmanship. I was very proud of myself.’

So I thought of giving my last name to someone else.

Place people with sufficient talent and ability under your family.

Then, the family’s prestige naturally increases.

Even if it is not your biological child.

‘If you think about it deeply, it’s really not funny, but people who can think deeply won’t fall for such words.’

There were some who deliberately sought only the aristocratic luxury that the Fiorene family could receive.

The actions of several villages, including the village of Arche, to artificially foster or create superhumans were all influenced by Lorenzo.

Because he proved it.

In some way, you can intervene in the awakening of the superhuman.

‘Especially since he went around bragging about how he trained his eldest son harshly from a young age, as if it were a heroic tale… .’

From Lorenzo’s family plan and the eldest son’s awakening to this sword fighting competition.

It was exactly the same as the second time.

At that time, Ian also attended as a spectator.

It was simply out of curiosity.

I remember the winners as well as the main participants.

Since they were weaker than Ian now, this duel competition was not very attractive to Ian.

Instead, one thing.

‘This man, Lorenzo, will die within a few years…’ .’

I was curious about that.

During the second round, Lorenzo died shortly after the sword competition.

The cause was murder.

Soon, the fortunes of the Fiorene family, renowned as a swordsman, declined, and all the others were murdered.

How was that possible?

No matter how pretentious Lorenzo is, his skills are not completely fake.

Even among those who received the last name of Fiorene, including the eldest son, there were many who were quite powerful.

‘Who on earth did such a thing?… . ‘If it’s a dangerous molecule, it’s a dangerous molecule, so I think it’s good to know.’

While I was thinking about it.

[Memory Correction]

Suddenly, something popped into my head.

‘Fiorene, that’s too bad. I never thought it would happen without anyone knowing.’

‘Who knew? ‘I never thought everyone in that family would have died in a head-on fight.’

‘Anyway, is that true? I heard there is one only survivor… .’

‘I’m sure. I happened to see him when I was attending a duel competition before, and he was from Fiorene. And she’s still alive!’

The memory correction ended there.

‘… There were survivors? The Fiorene family?’

Why does memory correction show this?

The reasoning wasn’t difficult.

The survivor did not survive by chance.

There is a major connection between the annihilation of the Fiorene family and its sole survivor.

‘At the time, I only watched humans dueling… . Should I go back and take a closer look?’

I know who the winner is, but a lot has changed between the second time and now.

There was also a chance of discovering a new talent.

‘It might be worth at least taking a look around.’

The duel competition is also a small festival, so it will be good for Vivian and Helena to rest.

While I was getting ready to leave, a letter arrived.

It was a letter sent from the head of Lazuli, the Holy Knights under the direct control of the Holy Emperor.

Just looking at the sender, the content would have been unusual.

just as expected.

[(syncopation)… It has been confirmed that the force leading the plan for a new unified nation has temporarily allied with the ‘Anti-Imperial Coalition’, which had attempted to rebel against the empire. The two disintegrated rebel forces combined their strength and capital and cooperated with both sides’ plans… .]

[…] Below are some of the details of the remnants of the Anti-Imperial Coalition that came into contact with the Holy Unified State. We don’t have the whole picture yet. I hope the apostle will inform the imperial family.]

… Henry Somerset, Gustav von Brehem.

These were familiar surnames.

The children and family members of those whom Ian had tipped off once again ignited the flames of rebellion.

‘Rather than treason, it seems closer to simple revenge.’

As I was reading down the list, my eyes stopped on a certain name.

[…] Lorenzo di Fiorene.]

… … .

Ian was dazed for a moment.

Even if I read it again, it’s still that name.

This doesn’t make sense.

Although he likes to show off and has an unlucky personality, Lorenzo is fundamentally a safety-first person.

Compared to his skills, he seems a bit cowardly.

This means that he is a person who tries to avoid situations in which he is threatened.

‘A person like that is part of the Anti-Imperial Coalition, and even the Holy Unified State… ?’

Lorenzo is a person with strong self-love, so it is unlikely that he was absorbed in religion.

‘Fiorene is the eastern inland part of the continent. Bertolt Schultz, a key figure in this newly unified nation, is the head of the southeastern diocese. It’s not far away, but it’s still difficult to influence… .’

There is no way Lazuli’s general manager reported a lie.

Lorenzo and Bertolt.

Meanwhile, there is someone.

‘… Who is it? No, rather, why did it become so big?’

But that didn’t mean I wouldn’t go to the duel competition.

No matter what happened, I hoped that I would safely bring in only the talent I was looking for.

If I can contribute to the stability of the empire at the same time, that would be great.

*

Kylie nervously glared at the person who came to her.

There was a notice in front.

[SS-class hero Lorenzo di Fiorene ship duel competition]

Since she could not read, a visitor read it to her.

After hearing everything, Kylie was dumbfounded.

“What are you asking me to do? Are you asking me to participate and kill everyone?”

“Oh, no… ! It’s not like that! that is… .”

The man was trembling and could not speak.

A frustrated Kylie glared at him and only then opened her mouth.

“He wants to invite me as an examiner or as a distinguished guest… .”

“… Lorenzo? This me?”

Kylie frowned even more.

She and Lorenzo were not close, to say the least.

“Yes, yes… . Well, to be exact… . Yes, I am… . I’d like to invite Kylie… Oh, Sir Lorenzo wishes too… .”

“… Are you me?”

Who are you?

That’s what I meant.

The man answered, breaking into a cold sweat.

“Gu, Gustav… . My name is Gustav von Brehem. Why did I, at the last banquet… .”

Gustav was too embarrassed to say it, so he put his thumb and index finger together and made a circle.

Without knowing that it was even more vulgar and embarrassing.

Kylie frowned, but understood what that meant.

It meant that he was one of the people who gave money at the last fun banquet in Badenberg.

“Ugh, hmmm… .”

Gustav, who was embarrassed, smiled while hiding his pride, probably thinking that he had somehow moved Kylie’s heart.

Kylie tapped her fingers on the table a few times and opened her mouth after a short thought.