My Alter Ego’s Path to Greatness - Chapter 181

#181

Operation to escape from the Demon King (3)

All of the awakened people of Earth who were sent to this world were basically receiving growth correction.

Even if you learn something under the same conditions, you can grow in much more advantageous conditions than natives.

Of course, there were individual differences in talent, but on Earth, even if you couldn’t handle your own body properly, it meant that you could play an active role as a warrior depending on how much effort you put into it.

But is there anything in the world that is easy?

It is not uncommon to dedicate your entire life to becoming the pinnacle of a field, but unless you are truly a genius, having that period slightly shortened is of little significance.

Because cases of ‘true genius’ like Lee Se-ah were extremely rare.

Naturally, it was common for awakened people who were in urgent need of immediate survival to use a more convenient growth method, and that was ‘unique skills’ given at the beginning and ‘status strengthening’ through the karma shop.

‘However, unique skills with deceptive potential have many limitations in the beginning, making them difficult to use. At first, I couldn’t even use “Avatar”.’

What was needed to quickly overcome that limit was reinforcement through the Karma Shop, and the starting point for strengthening unique skills was a whopping 300,000.

It’s a figure that is far too high to simply save and collect, as it is more likely that you will die before then.

‘So in most cases, the priority is to secure survivability by strengthening status first.’

Hesperon glanced down at his hands and repeatedly squeezed and unfolded them.

The blue magical energy that shimmered vaguely with the movement indicated that magic had been applied in that brief moment.

“Kuh strengthening magic…? Before I knew it…!”

Prince Simon staggered to his feet, clutching his injured chin.

I was hit in the vital spot at an unexpected moment, but since my entire body was strengthened with aura, fortunately I was able to avoid being incapacitated in one hit.

It was as ugly as the fact that I was so confident that I was attacked.

“…You were quite a clever guy. under! “Okay, so I guess that’s why I used my mouth like that.”

As if trying to somehow ease his embarrassment, he stood proudly, pretending like nothing had happened, and took up a fighting stance again.

“Plus, I think I learned some martial arts as well. “And since you’re not an Auror but are dealing with magical power, I guess you didn’t have a choice because you lack the talent?”

“Who the heck is talking about?”

Simon raises his voice harshly, as if he wants to protest that he hasn’t lost yet.

However, Hesperon, who lightly ignored him, only refined his magic, which was somewhat unstable due to his hasty preparations.

Ugh,

my thoughts accelerate and the world slows down for a moment.

In that short period of time, small buffs such as improved visual acuity, increased reaction speed, and increased muscle strength, which were properly activated, further strengthened his body.

It was an incredibly high level of magic management for a low-level wizard, but in reality, this was nothing to him.

Even if we exclude indirect assistance through the immortal king Hans.

‘of course. ‘How many points have been poured into this?’

The status required to use magic was not just mental strength.

From abilities related to overall thinking, such as memory, computing power, and reasoning ability.

Even abilities related to mana in general, such as affinity and anti-magic control.

Because there are so many different types, it was common to use it only to compensate for weaknesses or highlight strengths…

‘Well, it’s not bad to put it in moderation.’

For him, whose karma was steadily increasing even at this moment, it was just a good investment.

The starting point for strengthening all statuses is 10,000.

Even considering that there were a lot of items, it was just like the price of gum compared to strengthening useful abilities.

The next level’s points are 20,000.

I invested additionally only in items that felt effective in the first reinforcement, and although there were still a lot of them, it wasn’t too burdensome.

And in the third, 40,000.

The required number itself was not large, so it was used quite a bit, but it was still necessary to select among many items from then on.

Of course, ordinary awakened people could not use karma so generously.

It was a law that had to be used sparingly and carefully, and then decide how to use it, and even then save some points for return….

“…I can’t believe I was caught off guard once. “I’ll treat you properly this time.”

But then.

Simon, who had been ignored all along, raised the Auror again with a soft word.

When Hesperon reacted indifferently to his continued self-justification as if making excuses, his pride seemed to have been hurt, and the trademark line of a defeated villain was a bonus.

“I was caught off guard earlier! “It’s barely possible with that level of magic!”

Kuung—

As if saying that he was going all out was not a bluff, he rushed in at a speed twice as fast as before.

An energy aura that allowed him to escape the limitations of the human body flickered in his body, and his physical abilities improved explosively.

A speed that wouldn’t even be possible to react at any decent level.

‘That person’s words are certainly not wrong.’

Of course, as a low-level wizard, there was no way his auxiliary magic was capable of dealing with Simon, a fully-skilled knight.

It’s definitely better than nothing, but if you only believe in that, you won’t end up just seeing a bad situation.

‘Of course, if you only believed in that… but!’

Hesperon, who had already figured out the trajectory of the fist that was right in front of him, slowly turned his head without blinking.

As he was indirectly influenced by “The Way of Martial Arts” through Heinrich, there was not even any extraneousness in his movements.

Next, a firm stride on the ground, a lightly twisted waist, and a strongly clenched fist shot from the side.

Pow!

“Sigh!”

It went straight into Simon’s solar plexus and came out.

Tooung! Puff! Crack—!

And, taking advantage of the moment when he was struck in a vital spot and fell into a brief state of stiffness, the associate beat his body mercilessly.

He stepped on the back of his foot, restricting his movement, and when he raised his arms to protect his face, his elbow got stuck in his side.

As if in defiance, he stretched out his fist lightly with the back of one hand and aimed at the exposed armpit with the other hand.

Fingertips, fists, elbows, knees, feet, etc….

His entire body was literally a weapon.

“Ugh! Cough!”

But this time, maybe it was because Simon was clearly determined.

Even after allowing more than a dozen attacks, he took a defensive stance and twisted his body to escape.

‘…I guess it’s because I took a lot of elixirs or something. The quality of the Aurors is also stronger than you can imagine.’

Despite having been hit several times in vital areas, it is still in fairly good condition.

Aside from everything else, it was largely because the dark aura surrounding his body absorbed the shock that the blow did not go in properly.

“Huh huh huh. No… this can’t be happening? “What kind of wizard is this…!”

The other person didn’t seem to think so.

‘As expected, the reduction in physical ability through “customization” is significant. ‘Because I don’t have enough strength, I don’t have much destructive power.’

Physical status also benefited from enormous karma, but since Hesperon aims to be a wizard, there was a significant adjustment process during the avatar creation stage.

Of course, after that, I made up for the shortfall to some extent through training using “Super Recovery”, but…

‘I guess that alone wasn’t enough.’

It was fortunate that he had the minimum conditions to respond to the movements of Simon, a knight, because his visual acuity and reflexes, which are helpful even to wizards, were not greatly affected.

Any lack of physical ability could be made up for through indirect support from the experience and skills of senior avatars.

“…Heron? Were you originally a martial artist? He has an excellent aptitude for magic, but is he even talented in that area? “What kind of absurdity…”

At some point, Princess Riley became a spectator and just watched their fight blankly, before saying something without realizing it.

“Hehe…! what? The speed is much faster this way, but why…? Could it be that you anticipated my movements first? No, but that guy is definitely…”

The crown prince mutters to himself as if he is confused by the discrepancy he feels between the perceived momentum and the opponent’s skills that he directly experienced.

‘If it’s not enough, you can just beat it until it collapses. Fortunately, I have “super recovery” and my stamina is not that low.’

Even Hesperon slowly relaxes his hands and steps forward with bloody thoughts.

In this way, the farewell party at the Immortal Castle, attended by only three people, ended successfully, leaving one person with an unforgettable memory.

***

About an hour after the battle began.

“Phew—that’s refreshing. “It’s the best punching bag because it not only gives you the feeling of hitting, but it’s also good for raising tension with moderate resistance.”

After a long hard workout, Hesperon stretched out and refreshingly wiped the sweat from his forehead.

In front of him, what had been Prince Simon lay sprawled on the floor like a tattered doll.

Because he was so strong, I used a little too much care on him, but considering his resilience, he should be able to recover in just a few days.

However, there was one unexpected news.

《The entity achieved enlightenment through repeated training. Acquire the skill “Martial Arts.”

I don’t know what conditions were met in this short moment, but even a skill related to close combat was created.

It was a useful ability that could be considered essential for a martial artist as it gave additional correction to all fighting actions.

‘No, rather, I’m a wizard.’

Of course, it’s better than nothing, but I couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.

The career path I first thought of was to use magic elegantly from the back while ensuring safety as a summon, but it seems like I am becoming a battle mage who fights and fights on the front lines.

“…It’s over. I can’t believe I got to watch Simon get beaten to dust like this right next to me. “It’s not that bad… but it feels kind of strange.”

At that time, Riley quietly came to the side and looked at the stunned prince with a complicated expression.

No matter how much you hate him, family is still family, and he looked a bit frustrated at the sight of him in complete disrepair.

“…ah! I see.”

But before Hesperon could say anything.

She looked down at Simon bitterly, lost in thought for a moment, and then let out an exclamation as if she suddenly realized something… and then…

boom!

I kicked him just like that.

“…Riley?”

“is not it? “I’m not sure yet.”

Regardless of what was said next to her, she tilted her head for a moment and swung her foot again.

Pow!

“ah! I feel like I know something…”

Puck! Pow!

After a few more kicks, she stepped back as if feeling relieved.

“Phew—as expected, it was frustrating to just watch from the sidelines. I thought that someday I would like to hit someone cool like this. “This is how we achieve it.”

“…….”

Only then did Riley smile brightly with a refreshed face.

Hesperon looked at the blood splattering on her cheek and just nodded with an awkward expression.

“…Well, whatever. “If you’re satisfied, that’s it.”

He’s a very strong guy anyway, so he won’t get any worse if that slender girl kicks him a few times.

But wouldn’t it be a good thing if it made one person feel better?

“We’ve been delayed quite a bit due to unexpected events, but now let’s move on. Simon must have fainted too, because now is the perfect time.”

“Are you okay? You must have been tired from the fight just a moment ago. “It’s okay to take a break…”

“No, it’s okay. Because this is nothing special. “Wouldn’t it be better to get out of here right now when the opportunity comes?”

After saying that, he held out his hand as if to grab Riley.

Of course, she wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible, so she agreed to his words and held his hand tightly with a serious expression.

As if this were the only rope.

“Goes.”

“yes.”

Now it was really the last time.

Ugh—!

He gathers all of his remaining magical power to surround her and himself, and uses his energy to its limit…

[Where are you going…?]

“Kuhhh—? Cough—!”

Patter—

with a cold voice heard at that moment.

The magic flowed back and a pile of fresh blood spewed out from the mouth.

“Heron!”

Riley hurriedly hugs him as he falls down right next to him.

Embarrassed by the sudden situation, she looked around nervously and immediately bit her lip.

Before I knew it, the area covered with thick fog was filled with a cold energy that made me shiver.

[I saw there was a commotion, but…an escape, this is an unexpected development…]

And out of the fog, a pale-faced noblewoman wearing black mourning clothes slowly emerged.

Current manager of immortality.

Olivia the Banshee Queen.