episode_0132

“If we start tearing the place up here, the room will get filthy. Should we move somewhere else first?”

“The training grounds should do.”

The guy who had challenged me to show off my skills began leading the way.

“You sure you’ll be okay?”

Ellis, watching the scene, quietly murmured in concern—

Well…

Stat-wise, I’d lose.

An A-rank criminal.

A D-rank adventurer.

Even an idiot could tell who’d win in a fight between us.

‘The skill points I absorbed before are finally starting to digest, bringing me closer to C-rank…’

But for now, I’m still D-rank.

So.

Beating an A-rank is tough.

“If you’re the Boss’s rival, taking on multiple foes shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“Let’s see you bleed a little too!”

“Heh heh heh heh!”

Add in B-rank and C-rank criminals, and my chances of winning drop to near 0%.

However.

That’s only if we’re talking about your run-of-the-mill D-rank adventurer.

“Don’t worry. I’ll come back victorious.”

“Victorious? Against all of them?”

“Obviously.”

A few days ago, defeating them would’ve been impossible for me.

But.

Now, I can win.

‘Because I’ve finished my final experiment.’

When I got hit by Ellis’s ice missile earlier, knocking myself out wasn’t just because I wanted to pass out.

It was an experiment.

A test to gauge how much control I had over the lethality of my original magic.

‘The results were a success.’

Since I didn’t die.

Proving I could regulate my power enough to knock someone unconscious without killing them.

‘This means I’m ready to use it in real combat.’

Of course.

There are concerns.

I’ve practiced a lot,

but this is the first time I’m using it in actual combat.

Still.

I believe in myself.

Even if my stats are pitiful,

when it comes to magic control, I trust in my unrivaled skill.

With that thought, I arrived at the training grounds.

Three A-rank criminals.

Ten B-rank criminals.

Thirty-two C-rank criminals.

Forty-five in total.

“Wow… That’s a hell of a crowd.”

“The Boss is an invincible force none of us could beat even if we ganged up on him. As his rival, you should handle this much easily, right?”

“Well… ‘Easy’ is one word for it.”

A-rank.

According to the Prophecy RPG, that’s the rank of the hero’s comrades.

Ellis, Sophia, and Pinae noona are A-rank.

So.

The ones gathered here are roughly at their level.

‘At least, by Prophecy RPG standards.’

Ellis reached Grand Archmage status under my guidance.

Sophia grew even stronger using the battle suit Golden Sun made to control Bloodstone’s side effects.

Pinae noona directly contracted with the World Tree.

They’ve all surpassed their RPG versions.

Meaning they’re beyond what we call “A-rank.”

…Considering that,

these guys aren’t nearly as monstrous as my kids.

But.

They’re not pushovers either.

Just three A-ranks alone are tough opponents,

and with B- and C-ranks added, it’s a real challenge.

‘Another problem—they’re a crime syndicate specialized in fighting humans.’

Professional human predators.

The best at killing humans,

with a ton of skills and abilities tailored for it.

Fighting them solo?

Basically suicide.

…Or so it was.

Back when I didn’t have my original forbidden magic.

Now, with my custom-made assassination spell derived from Shadow Arts, this many enemies are nothing.

So.

No need to drag it out—let’s begin.

“Come at me.”

Jack Marcus, A-rank criminal.

Once one of the strongest in the criminal underworld,

now just an ordinary man after losing to the Boss.

Except.

This Jack Marcus is stronger than ever.

‘Same goes for the others.’

The Boss made us stronger.

Taught us tailored training methods,

equipped us with weapons and armor.

All to conquer the lands seized by demons

and build an empire under our banner.

Black Fang.

Black fangs.

A name symbolizing our resolve to tear into demons and forge a glorious empire with the strength of backstreet lives.

That’s the Boss’s will,

and we’ll become the nobility of his empire.

No longer rats scurrying in filthy alleys,

but grand aristocrats ruling the world.

However.

Not everyone can be equal.

Some will be dukes—

others, barons.

Even among Black Fang, hierarchy is inevitable.

Ranked by strength and loyalty.

Who’s stronger?

Who’s more devoted?

Who contributes more?

Our future status hinges on this.

The world we pass to our children depends on it.

So.

We need to grow stronger.

The stronger we become, the brighter our future.

That’s why we pushed ourselves.

Trained relentlessly,

honed our skills to the limit.

Now, we’ll showcase the results before the Boss.

‘The Boss was untouchable, no matter how strong we got…’

But this man is different.

Called the Boss’s rival,

yet nowhere near as oppressive.

Clearly D-rank at a glance—

generously, maybe C-rank.

No one would call him strong.

But.

If he were truly weak, he wouldn’t be leading the hero’s party.

He must have something.

…Or so I thought.

Still, the gap couldn’t be as despairing as with the Boss.

Against the Boss, our odds were 0%,

but against this man, victory seemed possible.

‘Losing wouldn’t matter.’

Just proving our strength as elite soldiers was enough.

Strong enough to pressure the Boss’s rival.

That’s all we needed to show.

…With that resolve, I readied for battle.

“Begin!”

The moment the referee signaled, I reinforced my body with mana and charged.

No—

I tried to charge.

But.

Our advance was effortlessly halted.

“Kneel.”

Thud!

The instant the man named Cain spoke, we all dropped to our knees.

“Bow your heads.”

Thud!

The instant he spoke again, we pressed our foreheads to the ground.

“This is the difference between you and me.”

“Ugh…!”

Our bodies wouldn’t move.

Mana wouldn’t respond.

Only the crushing pressure of Cain’s voice bound our flesh and souls.

“Is this all you’ve got?”

“Ghk…!”

“You dare challenge me, the Boss’s rival, with this?”

“!!!!!”

His words jolted me awake.

The Boss’s rival.

Did we really think someone like that would be ordinary?

Could we ever beat him, even together?

“Ha… Hahaha…”

The outcome was decided from the start.

A being so far beyond us, we shouldn’t even lift our heads to look.

That’s what Cain was.

Ah.

This is why he’s the Boss’s rival.

Only someone like this could earn the Boss’s recognition as a friend.

“Ha… The world is vast…”

We were frogs in a well.

A-rank isn’t strength.

With true power like this before us,

how could we boast about being A-rank?

…That was my last thought.

“Guh—!”

With a flick of Cain’s hand, I blacked out and collapsed.

After wiping out Dark’s subordinates, Cain reflected—

‘Hell yeah, this is it!’

Cain, the hero party’s mentor, dominating an A-, B-, and C-rank force single-handedly!

Exactly.

This befits the legend of the hero party’s master.

A man who subdues all foes with a word,

who sweeps the field with a gesture.

This is cool.

This is epic.

This is the flavor of an overpowered protagonist.

…I longed to scream it aloud!

But I held back.

Ruining such a majestic moment with a victory dance would spoil the mood.

So?

What’s the right way to handle this?

“I’ll spare your lives.”

The demeanor of a victor who leaves gracefully—without needing to kill.

Damn…

I looked cool as hell.

‘Yes. This is the proper protagonist’s image.’

I’m not actually the protagonist of some novel or comic,

but given how much influence I’ve had on the hero’s party, couldn’t I qualify as a male lead?

Then?

Doesn’t that make me protagonist-level?

…That said,

until now, I never had protagonist-tier overpowered moments.

The hero’s party was just too strong.

But.

Now, my strength rivals theirs.

…Well,

not quite strong enough to effortlessly crush A-ranks.

‘The technique requires prep time.’

Shadow Acupuncture.

An original forbidden art derived from Shadow Arts—

forming shadow needles inside the body to induce various effects.

Strike the spine, and you can hack the brain’s commands.

Of course,

it’s not flawless.

Forcing basic actions like kneeling

or bowing is its limit.

‘Still, even that’s game-breaking.’

You can restrict enemy actions.

Cancel their movements,

and compel them to follow your commands.

In combat?

Cancel attacks.

Breach defenses.

Land fatal critical hits unimpeded.

‘And that’s not all.’

You can temporarily sever senses, making them think their mana’s sealed.

Or strike vitals to knock them out.

‘Just that much makes it absurdly overpowered.’

A one-hit kill technique exploiting Shadow Arts’ stealth.

Undetectable until it lands,

and once it does—game over.

Even I admit it’s broken.

But.

There’s a downside.

‘Prep time is too long.’

Creating sharp needles inside the body isn’t instant.

Impossible at range,

and even up close, requires 10-20 seconds of focus.

Doable with leisure,

but in real combat? Good luck.

Against C- or D-ranks? Maybe.

But A- and B-ranks won’t give you 10-20 seconds.

So.

No time to make shadow needles.

Then?

How’d I pull it off here?

Simple—I started crafting needles the moment I suggested relocating.

The walk from the castle to the training grounds provided ample time.

Then.

Move the needles into place at the fight’s start—match over.

…A cheap victory, technically.

‘Luring them into a pre-laid trap feels a bit underhanded…’

But did anyone notice?

Exactly.

This counts as a fair win.

No objections accepted.

Anyway, I won because I’m strong.