Tatatat, whoosh! Tatatat!

The surrounding scenery rapidly passed by. The wind that blew was split and torn by me.

The roof of the building in front of me approached in an instant. It seemed to move away for a moment, then immediately touched the roof of another building.

I was running, leaping from roof to roof, with Zara.

Because we had received a special order.

Zara asked, her breathing perfectly steady.

"Do you feel it?"

"Huh?"

"The tension. We’re going to take down Koldo and Boldga, just the two of us."

"Right. It feels like a special mission."

I agreed. If I had gone alone, I would have unconsciously uttered a line like this:

Solo operation, understood?

The Guard Captain had told us what to do. We were following his orders precisely.

"Waaah!"

Chaengchaeng! Kaang!

A shout was heard not far away. The sound gradually grew louder, then turned into the clang of battle.

The Guard Captain had begun to draw attention with his soldiers.

To make the rats hiding in their holes come out.

"Heup!"

I leaped powerfully between buildings, organizing my thoughts. I would need to prepare myself as well.

’Quickly dump the achievement points and raise my Stats!’

That was the first thing I needed to do. I started by investing points into achievements.

The Goddess asked.

’I’ll start with the People of Investment.’

’The People of Investment is just a title, after all. It’s possible. I should upgrade the most fundamental thing first!’

And I was curious. What would happen if I upgraded this? What effects awaited me?

Achievements floated one by one in the air. I touched ’People of Investment’ to invest.

[Investing points into the achievement ’People of Investment’!]

[People of Investment (Legendary) → People of Investment (Mythical)]

[People of Investment (Mythical)]

Effect: You can consume a set amount of points for each title and upgrade it significantly in proportion.

The fixed values had been unlocked. Oh, shall we begin?

I touched each achievement one by one. Normal was 5,000 points, Rare was 10,000 points....

The points required varied by rank. After investing in all of them, I examined them.

[Quest Expert (Mythical)]

Effect: Quests appropriate for the situation will be granted. Rewards/titles obtained through them will become rarer.

[Bond Harvestor (Ancient)]

Effect: Collector Points gained after sex will be doubled.

[Future Agitator (Rare)]

Effect: Those who listen will transcend logic and empathy, moving towards praise and devout belief.

[Raised by Beatings (Epic)]

Effect: You gain ’Stamina Regeneration’ at Expert proficiency.

[Goblin’s Aura (Rare)]

Effect: Strength/Dexterity +25. Goblins will trust and follow the owner.

[Eastern Judgment (Epic)]

Effect: If you touch an opponent who has insulted your parents, they will instantly die. You can choose the target.

[Goblin the Origin (Epic)]

Effect: You will be recognized as ’Chieftain-level’ by goblins. You can ’mind-control’ goblins below the owner’s level.

[Spirit of the Warrior Race (Legendary)]

Effect: If you return from the brink of death, all Stats will increase by 20.

[Golden Spoon-level Plausibility (Legendary)]

Effect: Your attractiveness will greatly increase, and you will appear to have the looks of a web novel protagonist.

[Magic Resister Specializing in Slaughtering Weaker Opponents (Ancient)]

Effect: You become immune to all 1st to 3rd Circle magic.

Holy shit, they all upgraded to an unprecedented level. Even their ranks went up.

I hadn’t obtained all the titles in this world yet, but it felt reassuring.

’A Title All-Star team has been formed, hasn’t it? Next up, Stats!’

I mainly invested in Stamina. As I was investing up to level 40, Zara suddenly spoke to me.

"Stop, is that it?!"

My concentration was broken, but it didn’t matter. Thanks to the title upgrades, I felt like my Strength and Dexterity had increased tremendously.

Tat, whoosh!

In fact, even before Zara called out, I could leap between buildings like a bird.

With my increased strength, I no longer had to worry about my posture when landing.

My internal muscles would absorb the impact. With my Stamina also increased, I wasn’t out of breath at all anymore.

"Oh, we’ve arrived."

Our destination, an abandoned church, came into view. Originally, our territory also had religious groups, and they used to come often to proselytize.

But at some point, they stopped coming. The detailed reason for this was unknown.

Well, it was probably because the Lord only ever acted like an idiot.

Toong, kiiik!

According to our information, this was their main rendezvous point. If we raided here, we could capture them all.

I opened the door and entered.

Tootoong! Pababak!

As soon as we entered, harpoons flew at us. Zara and I drew our weapons and swung them with all our might.

Taetaetaeng!

We lightly deflected them and moved forward.

’This kind of trap, heh heh.’

I couldn’t even laugh. Even if this was a trap, I had expected them to prepare a higher-level one.

Well, that’s the intelligence level of back-alley thugs for you.

Whooook, pat!

This time, javelins flew chaotically from the sides.

Zara and I moved more busily, deflecting or dodging the javelins.

Bastards, they did prepare a bit, didn’t they?

Just as I deflected a javelin and turned my head, another javelin was approaching Zara’s blind spot.

Tadadat, kahang!

I stepped to Zara’s side and struck down the javelin. Seeing that, Zara was about to smile, but her eyes widened.

"Wait, behind you!"

Pyuut!

It happened in an instant. A crossbow bolt suddenly flew from the entrance we had come through.

Zara took the hit for me and collapsed weakly.

"Zara, Zara!"

Her eyes were already unfocused. Had she fallen into a sleep state?

Teobeok, teobeok.

I heard someone approaching. So they did set a trap. Those bastards.

"Do you know what humans and beasts have in common?"

A deep, low male voice. Along with heavy footsteps, a powerfully built black man appeared.

He had a greatsword strapped to his back. A Zweihänder?

The man was as big as a bear, making even the crossbow look small in his hands.

"Even if you’re careful, you’ll eventually fall for it."

"Are you Boldga?"

"That’s right."

Boldga tossed aside the empty crossbow and glanced at Zara.

"That bitch seems hopeless. Why don’t you run away quickly too?"

I swung my sword a few times and glared at him. I shrugged.

"Run? Why would I?"

"Are you confident?"

"My prey has kindly crawled out. I have to catch him. And..."

I stood in front of the unconscious Zara.

"This woman is my comrade and someone I care for. Don’t speak so carelessly, you beastly bastard."

Boldga, who had been staring expressionlessly, broke into a wide smile.

"Huhu, interesting. I had someone like that once too. Here... I’ll crush you."

"Alright, it’s Show and Prove time!"

I charged at Boldga. I activated my aura from the start.

Full Power Deployment!

Bauung, huung, kagak!

I swung my sword a few times, but Boldga lightly dodged, then flicked my blade with the edge of his hand. Following that, he threw a hook.

The hook struck my cheek like a hammer, digging in.

Ppeok!

I flew backward and crashed. Boldga’s voice was heard.

"This is the difference in skill."

I rubbed my cheek and smiled. There was blood on my sword.

"Then is that the difference in carelessness?"

I pointed at him. A red line was visible on Boldga’s chest. Boldga grinned, touching it.

From his sternum, three lights finally shone intensely.

"I thought you were just a rookie, but you’re quite something. Alright, I’ll get serious."

Boldga finally drew his Zweihänder. He didn’t take his eyes off me as he lightly took a step.

Buuung!

"Tch."

Taeng!

The casual strike was heavy. I barely blocked it and tried to get to his side. But then I saw the Zweihänder already aiming for my flank.

I flexibly dodged and caught my breath.

A grand yet by no means slow sword strike. Even a sword strike that suddenly changed its trajectory in mid-air and bore down on me.

[Leonhardt Severing Sword Style - Divine Strike]

I swung the blade itself to nullify his strike. Soon, the two swords clashed.

Kahaaang! Jeuueueung!

"Shit...!"

An expletive slipped out. Every time our swords clashed, there was an enormous impact, and my body kept getting pushed back.

Both my arms were numb.

’Crazy, I even activated my aura, so why am I getting pushed back so much?’

I looked closely and tilted my head.

’What is this bastard? I don’t feel any aura from him. He clearly has a Force Heart? Why...?’

I glared closely at Boldga. Now that I looked, the light on his sternum.

It wasn’t white, but blue.

’Mana...? What the hell?!’

It was something I had never heard of. Force Heart is operated by aura, so it’s white.

A wizard’s Circle Heart is blue, but it doesn’t manifest like that. It’s a ring that wraps around the heart.

The Zweihänder heavily approached from the side. I barely blocked it, and Boldga threw a Calf Kick.

Ppaak!

"Ha...!"

As soon as I took the Calf Kick, adrenaline surged. I delivered the widest horizontal slash I could.

Boldga retreated for a moment. Predicting where he would retreat, I spun around and delivered a roundhouse kick.

Peoheok!

I landed a hit on his chest, making him stumble back. He laughed.

"You’re quite something. As I heard, you’re overflowing with talent. To the point where you seem better than me, who has no talent or even aptitude."

"...You have talent too. To fill the void of aura with mana. It’s a method I’ve never heard of."

"Huhu, is that so."

"Why don’t you use it for good?"

It was regrettable. Why didn’t someone of this caliber become a Hero? Why did he remain just an underworld thug?

"Do you see my skin color? Everywhere I went, I was alone. Even if I was violent and lacked manners, Koldo accepted me. He is someone I... must serve for life."

It was a moment that made me realize a little of what true, majestic loyalty was.

I was impressed. To serve such a man, just because he accepted him. It was rather cool.

How many pieces of trash in the Three Kingdoms only paid lip service to loyalty?

How many opportunists are there in reality?

Compared to them, Boldga was an exceptionally loyal man. I chuckled and re-gripped my sword.

"I’m a little envious of Koldo. For having such a cool man like you as a subordinate."

"You flatter me. Shall we finish this?"

We rapidly charged at each other and crossed paths.

***

Fiora, in her office, looked out the window with worry.

’May nothing happen to Lucian.’

As she worried, screams suddenly erupted nearby, one after another.

She heard someone rushing desperately. She turned her head, thinking it was a servant.

Beolkkeok!

The door burst open, and a man with a long knife scar on his cheek entered, wearing a sinister smile.

It was Koldo.

"You, you’re?!"

"Heheh, nice to meet you, Lady of the Manor. No, you bitch who’s about to become my sex slave! I am Amur Mamba himself, Koldo!"

Wearing golden knuckles, Koldo slowly approached Fiora. His crotch had been bulging for a long time.

But Fiora remained calm. She smiled haughtily and turned slightly. The sword belt at her waist glinted.

"How dare you! Do you know where this is?!"

"Where? It’s the place where I’ll break you and turn you into a bitch! Kiheheheh!"

Tadadadak!

Koldo charged. Fiora was flustered by his surprisingly fast speed.

Just as it seemed she would be violated, transparent wires from behind stopped Koldo.

Hwiriririk, chik!

’Saint’s Baptized Wire...?’

A surprised Fiora looked behind Koldo. Someone had grabbed Koldo with wires and slammed him into the ceiling.

Peoheok! Jjareureuk!

Then, they dropped him to the ground and revealed themselves. It was Selena.

"Oh my, I came to say hello after a long time, and there’s a wild dog here? Ohoho."

Despite that, Koldo calmly got up, drooling.

"The bitches I’m going to eat are already gathered."

"Such vulgar expressions are not good! I suppose I’ll have to educate you?"

Hwirik, hwiriririk! Whooook!

Selena swung her wires from mid-range, keeping Koldo in check. Koldo advanced, even as the wires cut him.

He tried to close the distance and reach Selena somehow.

’Heh heh, just a little more!’

Koldo finally closed the distance, taking injuries as he did. Just as he was about to throw a hook at Selena’s face—

Puuk!

A rapier blade emerged, piercing Koldo’s chest. Fiora held the rapier and smiled coldly.

She lightly swung the rapier to the side. Fiora, having thrown Koldo aside, spoke elegantly.

"Did you let your guard down because I’m a woman? I am a noble, you are a beast. You and I are in a hierarchical relationship!"

Koldo grinned, wiping the blood from his chest. He suddenly turned around.

"My luck isn’t good today. What a pity!"

He hastily exited the manor. It seemed he needed more preparation.

As he frantically tried to leave the manor, someone appeared before his eyes.

"Ah, are you Koldo?"

It was the rising Hero Candidate, Lucian Vane.