Chapter 38: A southeastern wind! A southeastern wind is blowing!

*Note: I believe the title is a reference to the story of Zhuge Liang summoning the eastern wind.

[?]Explanation: It’s been 15 days since the festival began including today. I also helped out heaps with the festival preparations as a trainee teacher, and I really had an awful time back then! Ah! And if you die or give up during the festival, you’ll only suffer a slight loss in Level and leave the festival, so don’t worry too much.

‘Huh? Wait! Miss Trainee Teacher helped prepare the Hero Festival? Then you should know plenty of good information, right?’

[?]Flinch: Th-that’s a secret.

‘Oh come on. That’s heartless, what with our relationship. Looks like you were speaking empty words when you promised to be my friend.’

[?]Changing Subject: Ah! Isn’t that snowy mountain that can be seen yonder really great? I got a small feeling that something good might happen at the small spring which can be seen on the straight path over there. Though it’s probably just in my head!

‘Right, it’s all just in your head! Miss Trainee Teacher! But I also just feel like going over to that snowy mountain.’

*

*

*

Hero Festival. This ‘massacre event’ would be hosted once every 4 years until it ended. This was training of a reserve forces under the guise of a festival.

The purpose was to periodically summon and train the alumni who had defeated the Demon King and returned to their home planet, so that they wouldn’t lose their touch. All of the alumni would be summoned, and as you were able to give up immediately, there was no compulsion involved.

[?]Promoting: But only a small minority of heroes give up, and that’s because the events we prepared are plenty, and the food that can be found in the various villages and cities are all kinds of delicacies! This is something I can absolutely not tell you about, but the main event prize is really awesome!

Or so she said. But wasn’t an interval of 4 years too short? The festivals could overlap if the massacre events didn’t end quickly.

[?]Forgot to Mention: Ah! So you didn’t know. The time in the dimensions of Fantasia and the festivals flow 10 times faster than the norm. Simply put, you can say that the festivals go on for a maximum of 40 years.

10 times?!

This was information I hadn’t at all known about. Professor Morals didn’t teach me such things and only prattled on with his preaching! But of course, a bit of the fault did lie with me as well.

While I was strong when it came to subject of biology, I was weak in physics.

Einstein’s theory of general relativity showed that time didn’t flow equally, yet I had been adamantly believing that the time here would be flowing at the same speed as on Earth. That was why I hadn’t even asked Sieg, who had recently been kidnapped to a fantasy world, what the current date was on Earth.

A sigh escaped my lips.

“Stupid! Sieg’s smartphone case…!”

If time had flowed at the same speed, then there was no way he would have had a character item of an old-school game which was in trend 10 years ago—I had overlooked this truth. In any case, this was definitely good news for me.

11 years of life in a fantasy world… that had been an extremely long period of time to me. But my parents would have felt a mere year pass, though the fact that their son had gone missing without a word, whether it be for a year or a day, was a problem in itself. Nevertheless, I was able to feel relieved slightly at least.

“So only a year and a month of time has passed on Earth since I went missing. I can comfortably think of a year has having repeated an exa… Mm? Wait! It can’t be… won’t I officially still be a minor if I returned to Earth now?!”

I felt shock and fear.

“Hey, the guy who yelled in the forest! Show yourself immediately!”

Ah! Perhaps my voice had been too loud.

There were people who had come before me at the small spring which Miss Trainee Teacher had tacitly told me about.

“Mr. Wolf, you’re being too aggressive right off the bat. You’ll sound as if you’re picking a fight with the one who came later.”

“That’s right, Wolf. It’s not good to start a problem in a festival everyone is enjoying.”

The youth called Wolf who looked like a bear stood at the fore of a 3-man party. Behind him was a lanky man and pretty woman who were sticking beside each other like a couple. Judging by the three’s looks, they were westerners from Earth. I swiftly examined the Status of the two men and woman, and received a slight shock as a result.

?Race: Arch-Human

?Level: 654

?Job: Monk(Faith→Punch↑)

?Skills: Interpretation(A) Faith(C) Iron Wall(D) Close Quarters Combat(D) Endurance(E)…

?Condition: Good

The above was what Wolf, who had a high Status out of the three, amounted to. Just like the woman from a while ago who had run away, aside from Interpretation(A) which was unrelated to combat, his Skills didn’t even reach the standard of a Level 200 mercenary.

I was in disbelief even after seeing it. Could it be that they were hiding their Skills like I was? This bunch of dirt, who were even more useless than the muppets, were alumni…?

[?]Defending: They’re not so bad as dirt! The Hero Job and Holy Sword are retrieved when students graduate. It’s because they didn’t manage themselves consistently afterwards that their Skill ranks fell. These people weren’t dirt from the beginning either.

‘Miss Trainee Teacher, so you’re saying that they’re currently dirt.’

[?]Excuse: Student Kang Han Soo! It’s not good to make generalizations! There are also alumni who are like big breadcrumbs that are bigger than dirt!

Dirt or breadcrumbs, they were all the same, weren’t they? But in any case, I had roughly grasped the situation. Job Hero… the truth behind that outrageous perk of EXP 500% was that it was meant for education, and Holy Sword 1 which was smeared all over in automatic functions was a training aid. It seemed that when those two things disappeared, only an empty can(Level) would remain like this lot, like the Elf King.

Skill management was immensely easy while a Hero remained a ‘Hero’, but the moment they ceased being one, they would need to invest 5 times the effort and time in order to keep things as they were like before. That wouldn’t be easy even for me.

“What? This punk, he’s just Level 1 isn’t he? I got nervous for nothing.”

“Indeed. I wonder how he graduated? Pft!”

“Wolf, I’m sorry. This can’t turn into a problem. Kikik.”

This bunch of dirt began to sneer upon seeing my Status. The couple that had criticized the aggressive attitude and words of the man called Wolf acted the same way after finding out I was Level 1. Birds of a feather, flock together, was it? It seemed that they weren’t able to see my Skills just like Sieg, though nothing would improve if even they did.

“Is there some problem with my being Level 1?”

I looked around the surrounding of the three, and saw a droopy tent that would just barely block out only the wind. Inside it I saw canned food they had brought as provisions. A travel kit and sloppy mindset, which not even a Level 5 greenhorn Hero who’d just begun his adventure would have… it was as miserable as their Skills.

The Level 654 Monk, Wolf, warned me, “Scram while I’m talking nicely. I’m sparing you because you’re a Level 1 that’d give meagre EXP even if killed.”

My interest was piqued at his utterance.

“EXP?”

“That’s right.”

“Does Level rise here as well when you kill?”

“An impossibly stupid question.”

At this kind answer, I responded with a smiling face.

“Run away while I’m talking bad. I’ll kill you because you’re a Level 654 with tasty EXP.”

“Wha-?”

I slashed sideways with Holy Sword 2 which I had rapidly summoned.

Slash—splurt!

The head of Wolf, who had been careless due to my being Level 1, flew into the air while spraying blood everywhere. His arms which had been rising up to block the attack in a manner befitting a Monk froze in their tracks, and his headless body fell over a beat late.

Slump.

“Kyah?!”

“Wolf-!”

The surprised couple took a combative stance; however, dealing with these two was far easier compared to Wolf, and that was thanks to my Level increasing after taking him down.

Slash, slash-

Kicking off the ground and dashing forward, I closed the distance within the span of a breath and slashed down. Considering that they were a couple, I cut them down simultaneously.

“I’ll use your EXP well guys! When you go back to Earth, make lots of pretty love while criticizing me!”

I prayed for the happiness of this hopeless bunch. Me and my meddling, really…

[?]Impressed: Student Kang Han Soo! You’re tremendously strong!

‘Miss Trainee Teacher, that was a piece of cake.’

I was a hero who had even received an SS-grade in combat ability. Were it not for the incompetent Fantasy God picking faults at my normal character, I would have long graduated with top grades.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

The corpses of the 2 men and woman immediately disappeared, while leaving behind their clothing and belongings.

“The clothes are somewhat good enough to use. No, anything would be better than the cheap get-up I’m in.”

But I couldn’t bring myself to lay a hand on the underwear they had been wearing, including the spares in that shoddy tent. Fortunately, there was some money among their belongings.

Cling.

Although I was completely clueless regarding the currency and prices used in this festival, it was unlikely that I wouldn’t be able to buy a pair of underwear with a gold coin.

“Really now! The Hero perk is amazing after all.”

It was with this incident that I felt it clearly. Only when you lost something would you realize its importance, was it? I deeply realized how amazing the Job of Hero was.

?Race: Chaos Human

?Level: 102

?Job: Thief(The Weak→Fortune↑)

?Skills: Battle Spirit(SSS) Dark Energy(SSS) Massacre(SS) Chaos(SS) Destruction(SS)…

?Condition: Good, Holy Sword

I had only collected my rightful spoils of battle, yet by an unfair verdict my Job was changed from ‘Jobless’ to ‘Thief’. In addition, the EXP I gained was despairingly low despite having killed three individuals of around Level 600. Had I been a Hero, I would have at least achieved Level 300. It seemed I wouldn’t able to even think of my Skills improving.

“Well, whatever.”

I just had to put in 5 times the effort, and it wasn’t as if there were only disadvantages; a certain Skill, which hadn’t been able to shine while my Job was fixed as ‘Hero’ until now, rose to sudden prominence—Fortune(C). It was thanks to my Job changing to ‘Thief’. When a Thief was facing against weak individuals, their fortune would go up.

?Type: Skill

?Name: Fortune

?Rank: C

?B: Occasionally ignore traps.

?C: Luck increases slightly.

?D: Will not die from falls.

?E: Occasionally dodge unseen arrows.

?F: Luck improves.

Those were the effects of Fortune(C). They were all greatly vague and full of uncertain probabilities, so there was a chance of losing your life if you held blind faith in them. And to make it worse, the Skill’s proficiency level would only increase when your luck did its work, so how difficult would it be to raise ranks? It would rather be far easier and safer to self-mutilate all day long to raise the proficiency of Endurance. However, what if Thief and Holy Sword 2 were added into the equation like seasonings?

?Type: Skill

?Name: Fortune(++)

?Rank: C(++)

?B: Always ignore traps. (++)

?C: Luck increases tremendously. (++)

?D: Safe from falls. (++)

?E: Dodge all unseen arrows. (++)

?F: Luck improves.

The ambiguous Skill effects become definite! Now that I looked at it, it seemed even better than a Hero’s EXP 500%.

‘Was Thief this amazing a Job…?’

While there was the prerequisite that my opponent needed be weaker than myself, if it was as according to Miss Trainee Teacher’s explanation, this festival was brimming with the weak. And that’s how it was right now as well.

“Troooor…!”

The weak didn’t necessarily need to be human. Fortune’s effect had risen with the appearance of a Level 100 wild troll. Instead of running away upon discovering me, the troll chose to fight; it charged at me while holding up its long arms in a threatening manner. While its spirit was truly commendable…

Crash!

The troll stepped on a pebble nearby the small spring and slipped.

Thump.

And even landed the back of its head on a sharp rock while tripping over!

“Troooog~?!”

The troll that stood up while expressing pain continued its clownish foolery. Even I couldn’t suppress a dry laugh when its feet got tangled and it fell into the spring.

“Really now…”

Was this troll for real?

“T-trooo…”

The troll was already reduced to tatters by the time it drew near, without my having to lift a single finger. Just what on earth had this troll been fighting against? It was to the extent that I felt sorry watching.

Stab-

Which was why I pierced its heart with Holy Sword 2 and granted it rest. At this time, something happened which I couldn’t have predicted.

Fortune(C)→Fortune(B)

The rank of the Skill ‘Fortune’, which was infamous for being difficult to raise in proficiency even among other Skills, had risen. And to B-rank at that! It hadn’t advanced from a low rank. There was no need to even calculate how much proficiency would be needed to promote the Skill from C-rank to B-rank—your luck would have to shower a waterfalls’ worth of good happenings on you.

“This… might be an opportunity?”

When the Hero Festival ended, my Job would change from ‘Thief’ to ‘Hero’ again, and then the effect of Fortune would fall as well. It wasn’t possible to carry around this much luck with the amplification of Holy Sword 2 alone; only when these two elements were together could this kind of miracle be possible. And this ‘fortune’ was a passive Skill.

Splash-!

The waters of the small spring churned upwards.

“M-mermaid needs saving-! Cough-cough!”

One freshwater mermaid feebly climbed to the waterside.

“… What are you?”

“I got sudden cramps in my tail, so… I planned on only giving it to someone who seduced me with their sweet singing, but this must also be fate. Gentleman over there, could you lend me your hand for a moment?”

“Hand? I’ll turn you into sashimi if you bite.”

“I won’t! Do you think mermaids are piranha?!”

The mermaid coughed dryly after momentarily flaring up, and gently holding my right hand, she then kissed the back of it. Some of my Skills underwent a change.

Swimming(S)→Swimming(SS)

Charm(F)→Charm(D)

Blessing(B)→Blessing(A)

Aside from these, the proficiency of numerous Skills I had rose by a small degree; Fortune, Glamor, Song and Dance, Energy, Elegance… There were almost no godsent event rewards like this in Fantasia’s continents, and even those events that did exist gave something extremely meagre. And yet…

“This festival is epic…?”

Hero Festival. Could it be that the teaching staff took away ‘Hero’ from the graduates, and made up for it with an event? The event reward was much too exceptional.

“Huhu! It’s a blessing given by a mermaid of legend. May only fortune light your future days!”

The mermaid, licking her lips which she had kissed my hand with while smiling with her eyes, gracefully dived into the waters to where she lived the moment her tail recovered from the cramp.

Splash!

The small spring event was cleared on its own.

This… wasn’t my luck too straightforward?

[?]Proud: Student Kang Han Soo, how was it? Isn’t the festival’s event reward really amazing?

Indeed. I agreed! It was amazing to the extent of being too good to give away to others. I shouldn’t only aim for the massacre event.

In truth, I had felt a slight flutter in my heart at the sight of Earthlings. I wanted to strike up a friendship with them and hear news of Earth. Going a step further, I had even planned on asking them to send my parents my regards in my stead… until just a while ago, that is.

The Hero Festival would continue until the final 3 participants remained. In short, as long as 4 people including myself remained alive, the massacre event wouldn’t end.

“I should quickly eliminate everyone while leaving only three. It’s not too late to comfortably enjoy the festival afterwards.”

According to Miss Trainee Teacher, various event rewards and plentiful foods(EXP) were prepared; however, the festival had already proceeded for a whole 15 days. As a latecomer, my efforts would only end up in vain if I didn’t move a little more diligently than the others. That was the one outcome I wanted to avoid.

[?]Tremble: I feel like you’re gradually going farther away from the festival’s purpose…?

‘Mhm. You’re just imagining it, Miss Trainee Teacher. I’m in the middle of actively joining in the event.’

“While I’m at it, I’ll aim to rank up Fortune as well. Fortune’s E-rank effect, dodge all unseen arrows. Wouldn’t its proficiency jump up if I waged war against Elves, who have a high ratio of archers?”

‘Which is why, Miss Trainee Teacher… won’t you become my navigation?’

[?]Persuading: A fair event…

‘I want to go where there are lots of violent Elves and Earthlings. Come on~’

[?]Changing Subject: Oh my! A cool southeasterly wind is blowing!

No matter how I measured the angle, this was a southwestern-… kind of southeastern wind. In any case, it was blowing from the southeast.

‘If Trainee Teacher Zhuge says so, then it must be! Okay!’

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