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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Miraculous Result
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Calmly.
Coldly scan the surroundings and sort out the situation.
First, I looked at the levels of the slave traders who had attacked.
[Lv3.]
Most converged around 3. Ordinary soldier level. As long as they weren't desert great warriors, there was a chance to survive.
"Gah!"
"Eek, there are too many Hydragons!"
The problem was those guys. Three level 5 monsters with raid boss designations.
'My level is 1.'
In contrast, I was 1. All of them higher than me.
No matter how I thought about it, it was a conscienceless quest. Survive in the middle of a battlefield at level 1?
Moreover, boss monsters had additional effect judgments beyond levels.
'Hydragons have poor eyesight. They can't move their body and head simultaneously.'
But in this world, if you knew the攻略 methods, even level 1 could kill level 5 boss monsters.
Hydragons were designed to be taken down by twelve level 1s gathered together from the start.
The real level gap, the difference in tiers, starts from level 7.
So levels before that could somehow be overcome.
'I can do it.'
Too early to despair at level 1.
Most importantly, I was a veteran among veterans of this game.
One person's share of twelve—whatever, just pull it off.
Clang!
Sword clashed against scimitar.
A soldier had closed in, emanating killing intent right before my eyes.
'Real situation.'
Not a game.
Every swing of the sword and movement of the body couldn't be resolved with a single click.
This was a battlefield where flesh collided, was sliced, and torn. Only by moving my body directly could I survive.
It looked utterly hopeless, but there was hope.
'I see the gaps.'
Was it the effect of [Weapon Master]?
I could see the gaps. The exact spots where I needed to swing were clearly readable.
And as soon as I gripped the weapon, it felt familiar. As if I had swung it tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of times.
The actions I needed to take were pictured in my mind.
And before they even formed in my head, my body reacted first.
Crack!
I deflected the sword at an angle and thrust my fist, shattering the soldier's jaw.
I severed the neck of the staggering soldier who lost his balance.
There was no hesitation. No fear.
All the gaps and every path of combat were already projected in my eyes!
*
The Snake Princess gazed at the center of the battlefield with a peculiar look.
Erasing this place was her mission. The desert queen's absolute command.
It wasn't particularly difficult.
She was the strongest after the queen. And their numbers were far greater.
But then one of the slaves suddenly went wild and started slaughtering her soldiers.
Even more astonishing, he had killed a Hydragon.
He was rampaging through the battlefield alone.
"······ What is that guy?"
*
"Hah! Hah! Haa!"
My heart felt like it would burst.
Every hot breath felt like a knife scraping my throat.
Drops falling from above—whether blood or sweat, I could no longer tell.
But one thing was clear: I was still alive.
Clang!
The sword blade, clashing hundreds of times, broke.
Then the net surrounding me tightened even denser.
Among them, the spearmen were especially tricky.
"His sword broke! Kill him!"
"Now!"
The silver lining was that these weren't regular troops. They didn't form ranks or move as one like a proper army.
Just then, a spearman approaching with disrupted ranks, drunk on the thrill of victory.
"Urk!"
I rolled my body up to him and swept the ground. His foot caught, he fell, dropping his spear.
Before it hit the ground, I snatched it up. Soldiers swung their swords at that moment's opening.
I twisted the spear blade to hook the incoming sword tip and repelled it using the recoil. The soldier's upper body lost balance.
"Gurk!"
I pierced a hole in the soldier's neck with the spear blade. Instant death. With a splatter, I pulled the spear shaft out and blocked the approaching movements by swinging it around. The soldiers around were entranced by the acrobatics worthy of a spear master who had trained with nothing but spears his whole life.
Thanks to [Iron-Blooded Lord's Heart], I could coldly assess my surroundings and not tire easily. But another hidden trait, [Weapon Master], allowed me to wield any weapon like an expert without proficiency training.
It even synergized with [Dexterity].
[Sword proficiency has risen to Lv6!]
[Spear proficiency has risen to Lv6!]
The hidden trait [Dexterity] was related to skill proficiencies. If [Weapon Master] let you handle all weapons and start at Lv5 proficiency, [Dexterity] helped you advance to even higher proficiencies 'easily.'
Skill proficiencies maxed at level 10 as well. Lv6 proficiency meant the level of mastery a renowned knight honed over a lifetime.
And I achieved that the moment I gripped the weapon.
Hidden traits linked and synergized like this sometimes. Of course, only a tiny few knew this. Hidden traits weren't widely known even among players.
Sword, spear, staff, bow, scimitar, mace. I used whatever weapon came to hand without discrimination.
"Monster bastard!"
"That monster-like guy is tired too!"
"Kill him!"
Amid all the lavish praise, the net tightened further.
Five hundred assailants. I killed one Hydragon, but it was overwhelming alone.
At level 1, having killed thirty soldiers and a Hydragon was job well done. I minimized movements to conserve stamina and utilized every weapon.
Other players would have freaked out. Even veterans would stick out their tongues, saying that was possible?
Still, I was reaching my limit.
Limit, but.
[Level up!]
[Stamina and mana recover.]
[Fatigue recovers.]
A smile crept onto my lips.
This was what I'd been waiting for.
'Round 2 starts.'
I rolled my shoulders. My ragged breathing steadied. The approaching soldiers' movements felt sluggish. This must be what awakening feels like.
"Stop."
Wooong—
That was when.
A woman's voice struck the eardrums, riding across the battlefield.
At that voice, the soldiers froze stiff.
'She's finally here.'
The soldiers parted like the miracle of Moses.
A woman atop a Hydragon, leisurely surveying the front.
Unlike the desert warriors here, strikingly pale skin despite riding. I let out a groan at her approach with cat-like graceful steps.
I had anticipated her appearance.
"G-Great Princess, no need for you to step in······."
The Snake Princess sneered at the white-armored captain who mustered courage to speak toward her.
"That one isn't tired. He was only pretending."
"······ N-No way. His breathing and sweat······."
"Look closely. Does that guy look out of breath?"
"······."
For a moment, the captain's eyes turned to me.
He frowned at me, now composed. An expression and gaze screaming, 'What kind of monster is that?'
"Pretending to be tired······ to induce carelessness, you mean?"
"Yes."
Unintentionally, my stamina recovery from leveling up had been read that way by the Snake Princess.
I faced the Snake Princess with an unchanged expression.
"As expected. Few remain unmoved even facing me."
I sensed a flash of killing intent, but thanks to 'Iron-Blooded Lord's Heart,' I neither startled nor flinched.
A being who could judge foes with aura alone. I looked above her head.
[Lv 8]
Level 8. A level worthy of being called 'strongest' anywhere!
The benchmark for Pangeniar's strong was level 7. From 7, true gaps emerged, and level differences became nearly impossible to overturn.
Level 8 was for heads of famous organizations. One or two in a metropolis of a million people.
'Was there such a powerhouse in Paysalmer?'
There was. Paysalmer's queen. But no other NPCs reaching level 8 named ones that I knew of.
This was a starter city. Just a starting point.
Yet, for some reason, the woman before me felt strangely familiar.
Familiar to the eyes, or a sense of familiarity. Like we'd had deep ties in the past.
Soon, she approached close and said.
"What's your name?"
My name?
'I dropped in without even setting a nickname.'
Come to think of it, I hadn't set a nickname yet. Was this the branch point for naming?
'Plus, the quest hasn't ended.'
No notice of main quest completion. Survival. The survival task was still ongoing.
Probably because of the Snake Princess. Even all gathered here combined couldn't match her alone. With a threat that could definitely kill me right in front of my eyes, the survival quest wouldn't end.
'Then.'
This 'name' was important too.
"Randolph."
"··· Great Wolf? From the desert?"
Randolph meant 'great wolf.' A word unknown unless from the desert region. As I uttered it, the Snake Princess raised her brows in surprise.
But that was it.
"Why is a desert native with the expedition rabble from the central continent?"
Blatant disgust.
Desert folk depicted central continent humans as devils.
If captured, they were worked to death as slaves.
Same for me. She'd kill once interest waned.
But it was puzzling.
'She knows they're the expedition. And wiped them out anyway.'
Usually didn't annihilate before enslaving.
Even same-desert tribe captives from other clans were all killed.
'Evidence disposal. Hiding that the expedition reached the desert.'
The Eight Heroes and expedition··· probably referring to the great expedition to the demon realm I led wearing eight 'unique-grade equipment' pieces.
But I failed the expedition. Despite all preparations, couldn't cross the demon king's threshold. Reasons beyond the demon king's strength.
'The central continent fears it.'
Conclusion reached.
The desert queen feared any link between expedition and desert.
Knew that entanglement in discussions of expedition failure would bring bloodshed. Almost every major city on the continent conscripted soldiers, but desert city Paysalmer was excluded.
Prime witch-hunt target here.
So removing anything even 0.1g linked.
Having roughly read the situation, I spoke.
"I was scouting the central continent's movements."
"······ A spy from the central continent? Who sent you?"
"I went myself."
"Yourself? Make sense. Besides, I've never seen a warrior like you in this desert. Different skin, no clan marks. If you think you can bluff with picked-up knowledge······."
"The stars told me."
Drip!
The Snake Princess's whole body froze as if by lie detection.
Then she asked me with strange eyes.
"······ Stars?"
Fluster. Shock. And desperation.
'Looks like it's right.'
Her reaction confirmed why the Snake Princess felt familiar.
She was the one I knew.
And the reason for her reaction was simple.
The stars were her 'weakness.'
At the same time, my only path to survival.
Certain now, I began the 'act.'
"Star Awakener. I'm bound to no clan. I never said I was desert-born to begin with—why the misconception?"
"······!!!"
Star Awakener. One who reads the stars and is guided by them.
They were pioneers, true wanderers few in the world. Moving, praying for the stars, chasing the stars.
And a name the Snake Princess desperately needed.
"Snake Princess Isabella. Isabella von Dersian."
"How do you······ know my full name?"
"Star Awakeners can hear the stars' voices."
The stars told me.
Of course, that wasn't true.
Star Awakener was a class players couldn't obtain. Only chosen NPCs could have it, and players had to seek them out mandatorily after level 10 to gain stars.
Isabella von Dersian was a similar case.
She wanted to escape this desert more than anyone.
She was bound by the queen's curse. Not desert tribe-born. But to escape, she needed the stars, the Star Blessing.
How did I know all this?
'Why is the character I made the Snake Princess?'
It was unbelievable, but reality bit.
Worst starting point.
A character I casually made to experiment, now before my eyes.
Clear limits, no growth path in this desert, so abandoned.
More precisely, queen's curse blocked progress without 'Star Blessing.' Impossible to find Star Awakener in desert, so gave up.
That abandoned character now Snake Princess before me—how could I not be flustered?
That was the moment.
[Main Quest 1: Survival has been completed.]
··· Survival notice.
Killed dozens of soldiers, slit a Hydragon's throat, yet quest hadn't completed—now finally ended.
Not just that.
[Settling contents.]
[Unprecedented! Beyond perfection, a miraculous result.]
[Total score 220 points. Main quest updated to 'Hall of Fame.']
[Beginner's Luck! The 'Fortune Constellation' smiles. Rewards upgraded.]
[The 'Combat Constellation' scratches its nose, impressed. Rewards upgraded.]
[Acquired 'Fragment of the Broken Golden Rule.']
[Acquired 'Hydragon's Soul.']
[Acquired 'Michella's Sword.']
···.
Seeing the contents, I couldn't help but be shocked.
"······ Insane."
The rewards made "insane" slip out naturally.