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“Luke, is it okay to ignore what was just called from behind?”

“It’s better to ignore it, or we’ll be in big trouble.”

Riche, that girl, is about to rush to the tree where her boyfriend is sleeping, so why on earth is she calling me instead?

I’m not sure what she wanted to say, but I know that if I get involved, I might end up in some weird situation again.

I came out to hunt the Ogre and just happened to be near the Academy, and then boom—faced a Demon.

Of course, I just confirmed that the first event ended, so I roughly know how much time will pass until the next event.

Earlier, seeing Arthur the Demon sleeping and not bothering to catch it, I thought for sure the original plot has gone off track.

So right after I caught that Demon, it wouldn’t be strange to have the next one appear saying, “That guy was actually the weakest among us!” and I bolted.

In fact, the Demon I just killed was indeed the weakest.

Hanging around Arthur, only catching Demons means I can gain new skills and level up, but whether it’s straying from the original plot or sticking to it, the Demons only appear when they feel like it, which is the peak of inefficiency.

This is like investing all your savings in a stock that’s about to be delisted, thinking, “I’ll hold on until it goes up fivefold.”

During that time, I could just do something else and gain more benefits.

“I can’t believe you were an Academy Student not long ago, and now you’re avoiding it so much…”

“Are you curious why? Want to enroll in the Academy?”

If you’re curious, experiencing it yourself wouldn’t be a bad idea.

If you’re an extra like Luna, your chances of dying are pretty high.

“I… I prefer being by your side, Luke.”

“You’re quite admirable.”

How cute you are, Luna, acting tough but saying exactly what you want.

An extra heroine can be just as good as the main heroine, you know?

‘But what skill did I just acquire?’

Status.

I opened my status window for confirmation.

[ Information ]

Name: Luke

Gender: Male

Age: 20

Magical Power: 0 / 0

Level: 41

[ Skills ]

Inventory (F)

Superstrength (B)

All Attribute Resistance (A)

[ Stats ]

Strength: 32 (+16)

Agility: 10

Intelligence: 0

Stamina: 10

Stat Points: 9

I suddenly grew a lot after progressing so slowly until now.

Leveling up 9 times at once. I really like how growth keeps getting faster.

And about my stats.

I’m not sure if my stats are high right now. In Arthur’s status window from the original story, it was represented in letters like A or B.

But, well, I guess I’ll know whether my stats are high or low as I catch monsters and fight.

Just like I discovered earlier that my strength is greater than that of an Ogre.

“Hey System, explain All Attribute Resistance.”

Thinking that again, the familiar blue window appeared, almost making me feel like I was chatting with the System—like a certain Avatar from somewhere.

◈ Skill Information

Name: All Attribute Resistance

Grade: A

Description: Resistance to all attribute attacks is greatly enhanced. It does not make you immune, so it cannot completely nullify damage. This skill is optimized for those reckless fools who love getting hit while proudly calling themselves a Manly Man.

There it is.

This confirms it.

“I’ll kill the author too.”

It really feels like the author is messing with me. But I’m not one to shy away from trouble.

Every time I pull up the description window, I’m going to seek out the author and teach that coward how to really be a Manly Man like me.

‘More than that, a much-needed skill just popped up.’

While it’s a skill that only increases magical resistance, there will be magic-using monsters later on, and in PvP most opponents will attack with magical power, so for something obtainable early on, it’s an amazing skill.

I guess this is what it takes to receive an A-Rank rating.

And from what I felt when I was hit by the Ogre earlier, I’m strong but lacking in durability.

Having low stamina in my stats contributes, but it’s also because I haven’t truly reached the level of a Manly Man yet.

A true Manly Man should be able to stand up without a care even if every bone is broken, able to say, “Nothing happened,” even if blood is pouring from their body.

In that sense, this skill is perfect for me.

Someday I’ll confidently say, “Nothing happened,” even as my entire body is on fire.

‘Or can I do that already?’

“Luna, can you shoot some magic at me now?”

“…What?”

Hey, asking to shoot some magic isn’t that weird, is it?

Why are you looking at me like that with disdain?

Wait, considering that in some circles that might actually be a reward, maybe it’s not so bad.

“Just throw any strong magic at me.”

“I heard you right, didn’t I…?”

“Then why did you ask again?”

“I thought I was going crazy to the point of hearing things after being with you, so I was relieved to find out it was you who’s crazy, not me.”

How is that a relief?

Now even the heroine is taking shots at me.

The fact that she says something like that makes her tsundere cuter.

“Enough. Quickly, cast some magic.”

“How strong should it be?”

“As strong as possible. With all your power.”

“Are you sure you’re okay…?”

“I’m testing if I’m okay or not, so no more chatter, just shoot.”

Though her eyes look hesitant, Luna can’t refuse and creates some distance to gather her magic.

I couldn’t see or feel her magical power directly, but the grass around her swayed, indicating she was preparing something.

As usual, Luna pulled out a dagger and gathered wind around the blade.

“…Huh?”

With Luna’s startled voice, a crashing sound was heard.

A blade made of wind rushed forth.

Was she pretending to be weak? This magic was on another level, something that should cleave a normal person in half.

But I boldly stood there with my chest out to meet it.

“Ugh!!”

And after briefly enduring, I couldn’t hold up against the power and flew backward.

It hurt, but it was less painful than when I got hit by the Ogre. An attack that should have cleaved me in half only resulted in some torn clothes.

The power was clearly stronger than the club swung by that Ogre.

The difference with having skills is remarkable.

As I fiddled with my torn clothes, a flustered Luna rushed to check on me.

“L-Luke, are you okay?!”

“…Nothing happened!!”

“Don’t joke around!”

Can’t I have a little fun? I get why a serious person wouldn’t have friends.

“The power was surprisingly strong. Guess you had a lot bottled up inside?”

I mean, she always just sticks close to me but says what she wants. Maybe she was planning to kill me off or something.

Luna, you sneaky!! You’re actually an assassin sent by the author!!

“Th-that’s not it!”

Looks like I was wrong about that. Her expression and tone conveyed a stark surprise at what just happened.

“Then what is it? Did you suddenly get stronger or something?”

Luna, who was looking hesitant, nodded her head a bit as her response.

‘No way?’

That’s not a joke?

Thinking back, there were certainly issues with her growth.

I’m leveling up rapidly, but can Luna really keep up with my growth if she doesn’t have a status window like I do?

At this rate, she’d become dead weight soon, and I’d have to ditch her later if that’s the case.

But if her level has increased due to hunting with me, even though I can’t see her status; then it makes sense for her power to rise like that.

Luna probably got flustered because she leveled up after getting experience from when we took down that Ogre together.

‘I remember there was an artifact that could check an opponent’s information.’

It would be nice to have, but it’s too much trouble, so I’ll just leave it.

Being stronger is fine; there’s no need to check everything, right?

I’m not a wife investigating her husband’s infidelity, after all.

“Alright.”

I dusted myself off and stood up.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah. Just a tear in my clothes.”

Torn clothes can always be managed.

“Let’s head back. We’ve confirmed everything.”

“Sure.”

*

On the way back.

– Luna, if a monster appears along the way, I’ll take care of it alone, so don’t interfere.

– Okay.

We had such a conversation.

She must have had an itch in her hands.

Or maybe she was trying to experiment with something unknown to her again.

That’s what I thought until Luke did something I had never seen before.

-Kieeeek!!

Should I call it luck, or should I say it’s bad luck?

On the way back, we just happened to encounter a Goblin.

Just as Luke said, Luna retreated quietly to watch.

But suddenly, Luke doused himself in oil and then dropped a match right after, setting himself ablaze.

“…L-Luke?!”

Why on earth does he carry oil around? Wait, when did he even acquire it?

Though we’ve been going around together, he somehow keeps adding strange items to his inventory without me noticing.

And Luke, aflame, began shouting.

“Kieeeek!!! Hug me!!!”

With such a shout, he leapt toward the Goblin with his arms wide open.

-Kieeeek!!!!

As a burning person charged at them, the terrified Goblins started fleeing in all directions.

It was truly a wild party.

 

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