[28th Round] Real-Time Prophecy?
“Hear me, Sword of the End, ruined by Chaos and reforged on the Stars of Oblivion! I hereby declare that I remember your sacred name and praise you for your blade that cuts the bonds of meaningless friendship and love! Awaken from your slumber and prove that our legendary alliance has existed since time immemorial! Come forth and serve me once more, Holy Sword Nucleon!”
My opponent was “me” with 20 years of experience.
He concluded that he died after returning to Earth and had now become part of the Fantasy system.
Unlike me, who reincarnated as the cutest emperor in the world, he lost Hippolia and retained his original body.
On the other hand, I knew a lot due to my 200-plus years of experience, but this vessel the inspectorate gave me was less than even a year old.
I initially had no intention of engaging in this pointless battle with my alter ego.
I was going to take possession of the Holy Sword Nucleon by pretending to desire the hand and heart of the Sword Princess in the tournament anyway.
But…
“I was once a Hero who defeated the Demon Lord several times. I don’t want to disrupt my junior’s adventure. My request is pretty simple. Choose a different reward. It’s just a kiss.”
Kang Han Soo was wrong.
We were talking about Hippolia’s kiss here.
It was nothing like the usual act of love between a man and a woman.
She served as the Goddess of Mollan’s Teachings, but her true essence was the First Angel and the administrator of Fantasy.
Getting the right to that kiss…
It would be an achievement that would have a huge impact on my profession.
“Enough talking. Let’s get down to business.”
Fighting Holy Sword Nucleon bare-handed would be suicide.
Pop!
I summoned the Holy Sword I knew best: Haymollan.
It strengthened the effects of my skills.
My near-peak Faith’s effects had been enhanced. It was the same with miracles.
“I’m sorry.”
“I am too.”
Bam!
Bam!
Pouncing at each other, our Holy Swords collided.
Kang Han Soo focused on the power of chaos to harmoniously harness Divinity and Dark Energy simultaneously.
The gray aura swirling around his weapon’s blade reminded me of the past.
“You…”
“This is Mollan.”
All I could do to defend against it was use my body, which accepted Master Mollan’s teachings and had constantly improved over the past 200 years.
Our level of understanding of these teachings was completely different.
It was a pity that Faith didn’t affect strength at all.
Clink! Clink! Clink!
We traded blows non-stop in front of Hippolia.
Kang Han Soo, who still hadn’t broken free from the system’s shackles, was actively using the power of chaos, which was my preferred ability at the time.
On the other hand, I, who had very low dependence on Fantasy skills, confronted him using the experience and skills that I had accumulated over 200 years.
… but that was easier said than done.
“How many times have you regressed, junior?”
“That’s a secret.”
After reading his next move, I flicked Nucleon’s blade down and aimed at his waist.
“Not bad!”
However, he didn’t dodge but instead put even more strength into his attack.
Gray aura burst from his Holy Sword right in front of me.
The strategy I learned from Alex was to exchange blows.
“… Tsk.”
Deciding not to ignore the incoming strike, I stopped my counterattack and focused on dodging.
The moment my focus was disturbed, I would immediately lose.
He didn’t lose sight of this.
He decided to take the initiative into his own hands and began to continuously attack, not giving me time for a break.
“… I didn’t think it would come to this.”
“Hmm?”
Instinctively sensing danger, I immediately deduced what he was going to do.
The technique that destroyed Boris’ harem.
SKRRRRR!
“You fought well, junior. However, the difference in our strength is too great.”
“The Righteous Hero’s Wings…”
However, seeing them didn’t weaken my mental fortitude.
The power of justice?
I was willing to pay a fair price for Hippolia’s lips.
Meanwhile, he was just a simple savage who abused the greatest being’s teachings.
If so, then…
Flash!
It was time for a miracle.
“Repent!”
While the G-Class Hero enlightened the criminals in the dungeon, Kang Han Soo stayed with Hippolia.
I knew what this guy was thinking.
“I will protect my woman!”
His words sounded great, but it wasn’t Hippolia’s kiss that was at stake here. It was the Goddess’.
Why did he have to react so sharply?
Moreover, she was “my woman” too.
Faith ZZZ → Faith G
Saint (Faith → Miracles ↑)
Miracles overwhelmed me when my Faith’s rank reached G.
Now, it had an impact on my luck.
The Righteous Hero’s Wings rattled as he was overtaken by osteoporosis, which I feared at the time.
“Wow…”
Battling the furious beast, which unleashed the Righteous Hero’s Wings, quickly exhausted me.
To solve this problem, I transplanted “technique” into my sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves and formed a reflex arc that expressed technique through automatic reflexes.
Simply put, auto-battle.
This was the same as the Central Continent’s Holy Sword, Automania, but its features were better. Moreover, my will could intervene at any time.
Just like now.
“Repent.”
The Holy Sword, which cut off his Righteous Hero’s Wings, aimed between his 6th and 7th cervical vertebrae.
Holy Sword Nucleon?
It was too late.
I accelerated more and more due to my auto-battle function, but Kang Han Soo, suffering from spinal and pinion osteoporosis, was beginning to tire.
His reaction slowed slightly, which was crucial in a battle where even a 0.1-second delay could lead to death.
With us was a Saintess who could raise the dead, but I refrained from cutting off his head.
And he noticed it.
“… I lost.”
Clink!
He admitted defeat by letting go of Holy Sword Nucleon.
⤷ Baal: Did Kang Han Soo just lose in a one-on-one battle? Seriously?
⤷ Shiva: It’s not the result that’s important, but the process itself. It took him less than a year to achieve this much…
⤷ Zeus: Wow! Shiva! So you’re still here!
⤷ Odin: Shut up, Zeus. Stop talking off-topic. We have just seen proof that the teacher’s methods are far superior to ours. This is a serious problem.
⤷ Piko: Seniors, don’t quarrel. Trust in Mollan! He is the truth!
…
Kang Han Soo faced the wall, hiding his expression.
I hoped he wasn’t crying.
☞ Master is too cruel. You are now 241 years old, and he is only 39 years old. You behaved immaturely in front of a child hungry for love.
Hippolia! That analogy was wrong!
He was 39 years old. Hence, he was clearly an adult.
Elves and dragons born with defective genes behaved like children at that age, but for humans, it was enough for them to be held responsible for their words and actions.
Hence, I was only being fair.
☞ Have you forgotten? I was the alter ego of First Angel Parmael. If you love me, please be merciful to your alter ego. Please.
… How despicable.
I gained good experience in this battle by improving my reflexes.
For that, at least, I was grateful.
Pop!
Taking the Holy Sword Nucleon, I canceled its summoning.
I then looked again at Goddess Hippolia, who was sitting on the flush toilet.
“… I will need my friend’s help, so the back of your hand will be enough for me.”
She smiled faintly as I went over and kissed the back of her hand.
At that moment, without warning, she got up from the toilet and gently pressed her pale pink lips on my forehead.
“May he, attentive to his neighbors and free from the intoxication of power, be forever blessed…”
The holy figure who had long been the face of the festival dimension awed me beyond what I thought was possible.
I dropped to one knee and put my right hand on my heart.
“May the smile of the Goddess never fade.”
This wasn’t just a blessing.
Saint → Apostle (Grace = Ability)
I could finally use “my strength.”
***
I loved myself.
Was this what they called narcissism?
But that self-love allowed me to overcome even GGG-rank Faith.
“So that’s what you were aiming for.”
“Does it matter? Are you going to call it a scam?”
“… No.”
Disco shook her head with a displeased expression.
The inspectorate had nothing to say.
Although I was given a useless body, I could still use all the existing “knowledge” within my mind.
Even now, my stats weren’t so incredible.
▷ Race: Adored Human
▷ Level: 845
▷ Job: Apostle (Grace = Ability)
▷ Skills: Faith G, Cooking Z, Incitement Z, Fabrication Z, Annihilation MAX…
▷ Status: Holy Sword, Loyalty
My race wasn’t meant for combat. Rather, it was more suitable for casanovas.
My level wasn’t high either, and my skill set wasn’t exactly made for combat either.
But that was okay.
“I can now hear the words of a beautiful God in my head.”
▷ Confusion: Real-time prophecy…
Oh! Real-time prophecy!
That was a pretty cool expression.
“I owe you a great debt, junior. To repay you, I will help you with the Demon Lord’s Tower.”
“Okay, senior.”
“Thanks.”
“Yeah.”
That wasn’t like “me” at all.
Because “I” wasn’t the kind of guy who bowed his head for anyone.
Kang Han Soo was determined to get rid of me by helping me graduate. In doing so, I would no longer be able to covet the Goddess’s lips.
▷ Clarification: I spoke to him last night to comfort him. Looks like he’s going to marry the Sword Princess and get one of the Three Great Swords.
I currently had four Holy Swords in my possession.
He could have asked to borrow one of them, but he didn’t.
He even said that he was going to get one of the Three Great Swords, ignoring the two Holy Swords that I hadn’t yet acquired.
Holy Demon Blade Swordmaster.
Celestial Runelord Sword.
Elemental Sword Endymion.
The features of the Three Great Swords of Fantasy were similar to those of the Holy Swords. However, they had a flaw the Holy Swords didn’t have. They weren’t indestructible.
“He seems to understand my intentions.”
▷ Curiosity: Are you planning on collecting all the Holy Swords that exist in Fantasy?
‘That’s right, clever Morality Teacher!’
With my Apostle profession, I didn’t have to worry about my fantasy stats anymore.
All that was left was my equipment.
I needed a weapon that could withstand my Favor, which even the Holy Swords’ ineradicability, which was granted by the system itself, couldn’t cope with.
First and foremost, I acquired the Holy Sword from the Northern Continent.
“Hero, if you want to get Mollanrod, you’ll have to sing to me…”
“You better hand it over nicely unless you want me to turn you into a sashimi.”
Bad memories of when I met Lanuvel, who was pretending to be my little sister, immediately overwhelmed me.
“Hmph…”
However, this freshwater mermaid refused, showing surprising resilience.
She used to be different…
▷ Clarification: The Holy Sword Keeper’s stats have been significantly increased due to the pond poisoning incident.
My God! What terrible Hero thought of poisoning a pond?
Why would they contaminate free food?
The Snow Woman suddenly intervened.
“Master! Master! Give me a chance to clear this obstacle for you. Though I have no hands, I am at least confident in my singing ability! Alex?”
“Yes, yes. I’ll play the guitar for you.”
“Hehe. Let’s get started~♪”
I had already known that the Snow Woman was extremely noisy for a long time, but I only just learned that Alex could play the guitar now…
He was pretty good at it, too.
As a result, the freshwater mermaid, moved by the couple’s song and performance, handed me the Holy Sword.
Mollanrod.
In the past, it was an ego sword with the soul of a useless senior Hero, which had since been replaced with a soul that could be used as a swordsmanship teacher or companion.
I listened to what he had to say.
(I was the best fighter and ruler of another world called Murim. Bow down to me nine times, and I will teach you martial arts, junior!)
“Like this?”
I showed him my full power.
(…)
“I think I’m better at slicing enemies into pieces.”
I didn’t have time to change the genre of my adventure.
▷ Rebuke: You made two grown men cry in one day, Councilor Kang Han Soo! You turned out to be a bad Hero in the end!
Oh. Sorry…
Morality Teacher, who made me cry again, was also bad.
▷ Confusion: Ah …
