Chapter 6

“Kang Han-soo. OOO.” “□ Kang Han-soo □□ □□□□?” ” ” “…I’m a science major.” My foreign language grades were always dragging down my average.

I’d rather learn calculus or chemical formulas in a fantasy world; I’m confident I’d do well.

A certain god states you’re not acting like an outcast. “Yeah, yeah.” A certain god grumbles, telling you not to answer half-heartedly. “God. When you get close to someone, your speech naturally becomes more casual.”

A certain god states, ‘Don’t act familiar with me.’

“……”

Finally, I’d met people, but the only being I could properly communicate with was still this god. It’s sad, though. Still, meeting friendly humans was a relief.

I couldn’t see their status windows, but heavily armed mercenaries couldn’t possibly be weaker than me, a level 1 weakest-link. Gary, Cole, Misa.

These were the names of the mercenaries I was accompanying. ” .”

“□□□□!”

“O “

The burly middle-aged man walking at the front was Gary.

He’s the leader of this party. Judging by how he carries the large sword on his back without any sign of strain, he’s presumably a person of considerable strength.

“He could probably cut an elephant.” His weapon, a double-edged greatsword specialized for cutting, resembled a broadsword but differed entirely in thickness and length.

This is fantasy style! You’d need something like that to hunt super-large monsters. “How strong is Gary?”

A certain god states he’s very weak.

Compared to you, God, he’s obviously at the level of fine dust.

“Kang Han-soo.”

“Yes?”

“OOO OOO! Haha!”

This mercenary youth, a little smaller than the burly Gary and prone to laughter, was named Cole. He wore a normal-sized sword on each side of his leather belt.

A bastard sword, which combines the advantages of a light one-handed sword and a heavy two-handed sword.

Is he wielding dual swords, one of the romanticized elements of fantasy?

I’ll have to wait and see.

Tap, tap.

“Yes?” ” .” The mysterious woman who tapped my shoulder and called me was Misa. She wore quivers on both sides of her thighs, not on her back, and carried a considerably large crossbow on her back. She was the sole ranged attacker in this party.

Judging by the size of the crossbow alone, it wasn’t meant for human targets. “Misa. What do you mean… Ah!”

I turned my head in the direction her fingertip pointed and let out a gasp of joy. It’s smoke!

Unless it was a forest fire, it must have been rising from the chimney of a house. This meant that a place where people lived was nearby.

A certain god points out you’re not acting like an outcast.

A certain god is uncomfortable. “I’m just pretending to be friendly to escape this forest.”

A certain god is extremely uncomfortable.

Rustle! Just as I was excitedly anticipating going to a human village, dozens of gnolls suddenly burst from the bushes and attacked us. “Meat…!”

“Give us your bones!”

“My meat!”

Since I’d shaken them off at the cliff, this was the first time such a large number had charged. “□! Kang Han-soo □□□□!”

“Gary! □ □ □□□!”

“OOO! □□ □□□□!” “Misa. Cole! OOO!” The mercenaries, who quickly strategized among themselves in a language I couldn’t understand, began to confront the gnoll horde.

Thump~

Stab! Slash!

Gary swung his greatsword, breaking through the gnoll formation, and those who strayed from the group were individually dispatched by Cole’s longsword.

“□□!” While the two swordsmen spearheaded the fight against the gnolls, Misa, the archer, widened the distance slightly and fired her crossbow.

Whoosh!

In fantasy comics and movies, the bow is often used because drawing the string looks cool, but a brief look into history books reveals just how practical and formidable a weapon the crossbow is. Its power is on a different level.

Thwack!

A gnoll fell instantly without even reacting. “Meat?! What happened?!” “It’s that female!” “Female meat! Fast weapon!” “Strange bow! Strong!” A bow drawn by human strength requires high skill, but a crossbow only requires winding a small pulley at the end of the bowstring and pulling the trigger.

The crossbow’s bolts, which could be called miniaturized catapults, pierced almost all the knight’s armor, often called the flower of the Middle Ages. That’s why there was a time when crossbows were called the devil’s weapon, the power of heresy that knew no honor…

“I wish I had a crossbow too…”

I’d never learned martial arts or archery on Earth.

That’s why the crossbow, which required no special skills, seemed so appealing.

Anyway, I blocked the path of the gnolls trying to approach Misa, who was reloading her threatening crossbow.

“Meat!”

“Male meat!” “Interference!”

While powerful enough to pierce knight’s armor, the crossbow has the disadvantage of a long reload time.

So, I intended to protect her and buy time until she could reload her crossbow.

I stabbed and twisted the gnoll’s Adam’s apple with the Blue Cutter, which I had in my pocket. “Choke, choke!”

We might not be comrades or friends, but for me, who can’t communicate with them, the cooperation of these mercenaries is essential to integrate into a native fantasy village. Fighting together here would probably build some trust. “Give me meat~!” “Meat? Meat!” “Strong meat!”

Even without that calculated reason, this number was too many for me to handle alone.

Of course, if I had been alone and not accompanied by them, the unsuspecting gnolls wouldn’t have attacked in such a coordinated manner either.

A certain god is uncomfortable.

The god seems to really dislike me helping people. “Outcast God. Please cut me some slack. Humans are social animals who can’t live alone.”

A certain god states it’s none of their business.

“Well… that’s true.”

In fantasy works, there are often scenes where monsters recklessly attack without fear. But this is reality.

Like humans, they also have homes to return to and families they love, so they value their lives. Therefore, they don’t attack unless victory is certain. This situation is no different.

The gnolls waited until they had gathered what they deemed sufficient strength before attacking us. ” …!” “Cole! O OOO!” ” ?!” Because of that, the battle, which I thought would end quickly, was incredibly fierce. If the sacrifice is great against prey, what’s the point of hunting?

Therefore, the gnolls who attacked us were thoroughly prepared.

However,

“Weak meat! Strong!” “Scary meat!” “Is this meat a monster?!”

Underestimating me was their downfall.

I, still at Level 1, am the weakest here. But thanks to my overpowered blessing, I’m more powerful than a Level 1.

The gnolls, who hadn’t accounted for this, were bewildered by the unexpectedly heavy damage. And they quickly decided to retreat.

“Give up! Meat!”

“Meat gives up!” “Bad meat!” I let out a sigh of relief as I watched the gnoll horde recede like the tide. “Phew…”

It would have been really dangerous if the mercenaries had all died and I was left alone. I was saved because the gnolls retreated before that happened. “□□□□.” “□□. □□□.” Gary and Cole seemed to be in no danger of losing their lives. This was because the gnolls’ crude weapons and claws couldn’t fully pierce their armor. Instead, they were on the verge of exhaustion with numerous minor and major injuries.

And Misa, whom I had been protecting, was… “O “

…aiming her crossbow at me.

“Why…?”

The bolt, flying straight from close range, embedded itself in my chest.

Gary, the mercenary who had almost died from the large-scale gnoll attack, smiled as he looked at the unconscious foreigner on the ground.

“The gnolls threw our plan off a bit, but you handled it well, Misa.”

“I agree. I thought he’d be weak because his body was so scrawny, but he fought better than I expected.” Cole agreed, taking a swig from the water skin at his waist. Misa, having lowered her crossbow, replied casually. “It was annoying that he kept muttering to himself in an unknown language.” Gary clicked his tongue. “I told you to bear with it. Just until we could sell him as a slave.” “Right. The priests love burning people like him as demon servants, though he died.” Cole grumbled with a very regretful look on his face. “Hmph!” Misa countered the two men’s light accusations with a snort.

Their original plan was to deal with ‘Kang Han-soo’ after accompanying him to the village.

They found it amusing how he, unaware of this fact, tried to befriend them and obediently followed along. Gary summarized the situation. “It’s a shame we couldn’t sell him as a slave, but it’s true that Kang Han-soo was stronger than we expected. Misa’s judgment wasn’t bad.”

“Hey, Misa. Wasn’t it thanks to this guy protecting you like a knight in shining armor from a fairy tale?”

“Oh! How did you know? I was completely smitten by how he protected his princess without a thought for his own body!” “So you killed him before he could become a slave! I’m jealous, you know?”

“Don’t pout. You don’t have to rest tonight.” “Oh! Is that a promise?” “Still, go wash up. If you come as you are, I’ll kill you too.” Cole and Misa, who were romantically involved, exchanged jokes. They had almost died moments ago, but mercenary life was like that, so they accepted the situation calmly. Including betraying the foreigner they had fought alongside. “Cole. Get Kang Han-soo’s dagger.”

“You said it was expensive, right?”

“Definitely. The blue deer antler embossed on the handle. That’s not an antler; it’s a miniature family tree of a certain heroic noble house. It’s a royal emblem that only elf royalty can use.” “So, it’s an elven treasure?” “Hardly. Even if it’s not that, it’ll sell for a lot.”

“Understood.”

“Hurry. Gnolls might come again, drawn by the smell of blood.” Cole, following Gary’s instructions, approached Kang Han-soo. “It fell somewhere around here… Huh?” Looking around for the dagger, he let out a gasp of admiration upon seeing the foreigner’s right hand.

“Wow! This guy, did he not let go of his weapon until the moment of his death? That’s truly amazing!”

“Cole. Don’t let your guard down. My bolt hit his chest, but it didn’t pierce his heart. He might still be alive.”

Cole nodded, warned by Misa. “This should solve the problem, right?”

Stab! Stab!

Cole stabbed the bloody Kang Han-soo twice consecutively in the back.

Even if he had miraculously clung to life until now, the recent attack would have surely killed him.

“Alright, so now… Huh?!”

Cole, who had bent down to pick up the dagger, widened his eyes. He saw something he shouldn’t have seen.

[Name] Kang Han-soo

[Level] 1

[Blessing] Outcast F

[Curse] Hero E

There are broadly two conditions for seeing someone else’s status window: if the subject publicly displays it, or if you steal a glance with a special blessing. And these conditions presuppose that the subject is ‘alive’. In other words, “This guy, he’s still ali—!”

Thwack!

Cole’s terrified cry was cut short.

The young man’s body, his neck severed in a defenseless, bent-over posture, collapsed meaninglessly. “How?!”

“Cole~?!”

Even though they had suddenly lost a comrade, the two mercenaries reacted swiftly.

However, “D-damn it!”

Gary’s movements, tired from fighting the gnolls, were sluggish.

In contrast, the foreigner Kang Han-soo was as fresh as if he hadn’t just fought a fierce battle.

Stab!

The dagger pierced the Adam’s apple of Gary, who had taken off his helmet to rest. “Ugh…!”

If only his body had been fine…!

Mercenary Gary, filled with bitter regret, could not close his eyes even in death. “O , Misa.” The foreigner, who had pulled the dagger from Gary’s neck, turned around. “D-don’t come closer!”

Misa, terrified, warned Kang Han-soo, aiming her crossbow at him. She definitely killed him! Yet, the foreigner was perfectly alive, and conversely, Cole and Gary were dead. She couldn’t believe this situation.

It felt like a nightmare.

Fwooosh. Misa fired her crossbow at Kang Han-soo, who ignored her warning.

She aimed for his legs to deprive him of his mobility, which protected his head and heart with his arms.

Stab!

Kang Han-soo’s body swayed and fell, unable to dodge the bolt. “Next is the end!”

“□□?”

But he immediately got up as if nothing had happened. “R-recovered…? No way! A healing blessing?!”

Whoosh!

Misa chose to abandon her heavy crossbow and flee.

Her judgment wasn’t bad.

However,

Grab!

“Kyaa?!” Misa, just as exhausted as the two mercenaries who had left earlier, was quickly caught. “Misa. □□□□.” The foreigner, who had grabbed her hair, smiled with a crazed look. “P-please forgive me!” “Misa. OOO?” “I was wrong! I’ll do anything you ask, just save me! Please! Please…!” “□□□. □□□.” At this moment, the two communicated, transcending the language barrier.