Itâd been about a month since Iâd been thrown into this savage world, and I was letting the reality sink in that the fantasy status windows were above law and ethics.
[Slave Blessing]
[Slave Curse]
And so those with that Blessing or Curse were treated no differently than objectsânot for political means, but as physical property.
For example, long-abandoned slaves or slaves with dead owners were free for the first person to take.
It was said there were occupations even centered around thatâŠ
âTheyâre slave stealers.â
âYouâre biased! Itâs not like Iâm the only one who buys slaves!â
âNo need to get mad. After all, itâs rare to see a level 1 customer buying a lot of slaves.â
âI see.â
It seemed I looked the most vulnerable for having a low level, but I didnât think they would try to assassinate me in the middle of the day.
âWhat if the wrong person comes to steal the slaves!â
If I was a slave stealerâŠ
âAck?!â
A man screeched after getting his eyes poked out by the demon woman.
Thatâs right. I would be waiting near the slave like that guy over here.
âEek?!â
âM-murder!â
âAaack?!â
Slowly realizing what was going on, the people around us fell into a state of confusion.
âWell, this is troublesome.â
Demons donât die from just a hole in their skulls.
As proof, the âhorn hiding magicâ that Kogmos had put on himself was still active.
What would happen if he got up like a zombie?
He would get exposed for disguising himself as a human right away!
And if he got caught, itâd get dangerous for me as well.
âAh⊠guess I have no choice.â
I wanted to slaughter the scattering slave stealers as they realized their plan had failed, but I couldnât leave Kogmos like that.
âBe thankful, Kogmos.â
ââŠâ
I sped through the crowd of people with the body of the bleeding Kogmos over my shoulders.
âMaster, youâre strong for being level 1.â
âItâs all thanks to my awesome Blessing, not me.â
[A certain god sticks out their chest and acts pompous.]
[A certain god tells you to praise them more.]
ââŠâ
âI see theyâre walking on air from just a little praise!â
âABblessing, huh~â
âIâm going to run all the way out of the city like Iâm still getting chased by the assassins.â
âOkay.â
One good thing?
At least Kogmos wasnât dead from an arrow to the head.
If heâd died and his spell got uncast, countless people would have found out he was a demon. Then I would have also beenâŠ
I felt disturbed from just thinking about it.
âWe should part ways soon.â
âUr, urgh⊠donât talk as if Iâm a nuisance. I just let my guard down because Iâve never been targeted before.â
The demon man justified himself after we got out of the city.
âDoes he know itâs pointless when he says that on an inferior humanâs shoulders?â
It looked like the demon woman agreed as well.
âHey, are you proud of yourself for living so recklessly this entire time? Why are you even breathing?â
âUrghâŠâ
âAnd I hope you realize how weak you really are. You have a filthy way of thinking, buying an enslaved woman with money.â
âUurghhâŠâ
The demon man deteriorated without defending himself even once to the woman.
And that was the guy who was as smooth as ever with ladies A and BâŠ
âMy clothes are a mess.â
Dirtied with the demonâs blood, my clothes felt extremely uncomfortable.
âShould I just change right now?â
It was right when I put Kogmos down and went to take my clothes offâŠ
Fwp-
The demon womanâs right hand swiftly reached out for my neck.
It was unmistakably animosity.
Smack.
I hit her hand to the side and ordered, âstop.â
ââŠâ
But she didnât stop moving. In fact, she was coming for me even more vehemently!
[Outsider]
I sucked in my chubby stomach and activated âThe Power of Meatâ.
Pow-
As our two hands clashed, the air rippled around us from the shockwaves.
âWhy? What did I do?â
âTalk.â
ââŠâ
âJeez.â
With that, I was certain.
âIt wasnât just the slave stealers that had been underestimating me.
***
Closest to the Great Plains where Iâd hunted an infinite number of orcs was Aldriol, or The Plain City.
Back at the temple after wrapping up his investigation there, Prince Alsus gathered the Heroes and taught them the ways of a knight.
âHave you all been well?â
âYes!â
âYes!â
The handsome man looked contently at the Heroes as they gave confident answers and explained.
âThe most important aspect of swordsmanship is your attitude.â
[Warrior]
â¶You who have survived countless life-or-death crises have sufficient qualifications to become stronger.
â¶Defeat all of the enemies that cross your path with the power of love and justice!
Prince Alsus showed the Heroes the Blessing they havenât yet acquired.
He continued, âYou may be asking, âwouldnât it be better if we could efficiently fight the enemy by dodging their attacks?ââ
âYes!
âThatâs right!â
The Heroes agreed.
Among them was Choi Kangmin, who had become very uncomfortable ever since the draw with Oh Hanwoo.
Love! Justice!
It was something Prince Alsus had emphasized again and again day by day.
But it was a futile lesson for the Heroes, who didnât have the âWarriorâs Blessingâ.
It was only natural for him to be frustrated.
âEven if you pierce a demon with a sword after avoiding all of their attacks, they wonât even get a scratch.â
âBut with a better swordâŠâ
âObviously, the sword kiâŠâ
The prince cut off the Heroesâ unsurprising refutes.
âThe top predators, including dragons, are generally large in size. Youâll hit the mark no matter how you hit it.â
âAhâŠâ
âUmâŠâ
âIn other words, it means you won't be able to escape if those top predators charge at you with their enormous bodies or weapons. How can you dodge a fist thatâs bigger than your body?â
ââŠâ
ââŠâ
* * *
The Heroes fell silent.
âWould I be able to barely dodge a dump truck charging at me?â
They would have to throw their entire bodies and roll on the floor to avoid a collision.
âAlso, demons and dragons have wings that let them fly. Are you going to just watch them from the ground until a mage or archer drops them?â
âWingsâŠâ
âOh myâŠâ
The Heroes were unable to argue.
That was the reality of fantasy.
It was different from the medieval ages back on Earth, where wars were fought sword vs sword and human vs human.
âThere is only one solution: swordsmanship that overpowers the enemy.â
âWoahâŠâ
âWoaahâŠâ
Overwhelmed by Prince Alsusâs spirit, consecutive exclamations could be heard from the Heroes.
âFlying monsters can be dropped from the sky by targeting them with swordsmanship, and the monstersâ massive attacks can be pierced with swordsmanshipâŠâ
âAh!â
âAah!â
Prince Alsus remembered âGang Hansueâ, the mercenary heâd met in Aldrior.
The brilliantly red pillar⊠if Hansueâs âswordsmanshipâ was even a little bit more powerful, Alsus wouldnât even be alive.
There was no need for muddled tricks.
Just one single blow!
âKeep that in mind: the instant your swordsmanship fails to penetrate the defense of the enemy, there is no hope.:â
âYes!â
âYes!â
And that is why love and justice was important!
âŠis how Prince Alsus wrapped up his lesson.
***
[A certain god spins around in place.]
[A certain god hurries you to kill off the demon.]
[A certain godâŠ]
Dear god! Arenât you excited!
âI can understand where youâre coming from, but itâs getting hard for me to fight with all of your messages blocking my vision.â
[A certain god is extremely displeased.]
[A certain god is extremely displeased.]
[A certain god is extremely displeased.]
[A certain godâŠ]
âIâm sorry. Do what you want.â
The Slave Blessing mayâve bound the female demonâs free will, but it had a loophole because, after all, it wasnât a curse.
[Slave]
â¶ Having forfeited all your rights, you take on the attribute of property.
â¶ Every time you follow your owner's order, you will feel a corresponding amount of pleasure!
There was no rule that stated she had to follow her ownerâs orders at all costs.
Like she was doing right then.
âStop.â
âHmph!â
She received no repercussions, even if she ignored her ownerâs commands with a scoff.
It was truly a Blessing.
She was a half-slave who could obey her masterâs orders selectively.
âIf thatâs the caseâŠâ
âCome at me.â
âUrk?!â
All I had to do was give an order she had no choice but to obey.
Furrowing her brows, anxiety clouded the female demonâs gaze.
[Slave]
Just as oneâs stomach hurts from laughing too muchâŠ
It would have been hard for her to hold back from the pleasure from the Slave Blessing that obeying commands gave her.
Which meant that time was on my side.
Surely the demon woman, engulfed in pleasure, would know.
As I expected, she decided a long fight would be too difficult, as she created a black blade on her right hand, inch by inch.
âAnd she swung.
âYouâre soft.â
Perhaps it was because Kogmos, who she treated like garbage, would naturally become her owner if I died.
âShe was only going for the nonfatal arms and legs.
[Fairy]
[Outsider]
To retaliate, I also focused my power into my right hand.
After drawing out my long red claws with my powers, I lashed at the demonâs black blade.
Slash-!
The result was crystal clear.
Her right arm was completely ripped from her body, and the demon took a big step back.
Without a single glance to her missing right shoulder, she spoke.
âYou⊠are you really level 1?â
âYou let your guard down like they did, huh?â
ââŠâ
Inch by inch!
The demon, provoked by my inquisitive reply, drew strength into her right hand.
More! More! More! More!
Her completed blade revealed her determination that she did not intend on caring about her ownerâs life or her future.
âYouâre still a⊠huh?â
I thought nothing would change.
But instead of fighting back with force, she chose to give up her body to attack my weak spot.
Rip! Rrip!
Twisting her flexible hips, countless cuts were made on her curvy body.
It was a critical injury that would have been nearly fatal if she was human!
But demons were different.
Even though her entire body was lacerated, she had a smile on her face.
âYou let your guard down, huh?â
ââŠâ
âThis is going to hurt a lot.â
Slash-!
The female demonâs blade cut through my right shoulder to my left rib cage diagonally.
âBut she did not attack further.
InsteadâŠ
âDemons donât get weak with wounds like these,â she kindly advised.
âI can tell.â
âNow, Master? Command my freedom. Then Iâll treat you right away.â
âHmâŠâ
âAnd my name is Diaroka.â
âDid I ask? Diaroka.â
âYes.â
To the girl wishing to be freed from a slave status, I commanded,
âStay still.â
âUrgh?!â
âYou wonât be able to stay still if I command you like this, huh?â
ââŠAre you really human?â
The demonâs eyes widened as she saw me get up just fine.
[Outsider]
âYour owner wonât get weak from wounds like these.â
ââŠyou let your guard down again, didnât ya?âȘâ
Woosh.
Diarokaâs body was engulfed in a black aura as she quickly recovered.
Woosh!
The time it took for her severed right shoulder to spring out a new right armâŠ
It was a shocking recovery rate that I had not seen in Kogmos.
âItâs only natural that demons look down on humans.â
âIf you get it, why donât you give up ownership? All it takes is two words: Youâre free.â
âI donât want to.â
I was absolutely loathsome of betrayal after having gotten backstabbed by the evil goddess.
[Outsider]
It didnât show thanks to my emotions getting reset infinitely, but I despised traitors with my mind, not my heart.
âWell, arenât you stubborn.â
âWell, arenât you a nagging slave.â
ââŠYouâre going to regret this.â
Maybe things would have been different if that demon had gotten on her knees and begged me to set her free.
After all, it would only be tiring to carry around a slave that didnât want to be there.
And soâŠ
âKill me, Diaroka.â
I wagged my fingers at the demon who couldnât forgive me.
âAre you insane?â
âI have been for a while!â
Ever since Iâd been abandoned in the gnoll-infested forest from the evil goddessâs betrayalâŠ
I hadnât had even a moment of sanity.
ââŠâ
âListen to me. One of us dies here, no matter what.â
[A certain god is uncomfortable.]
[A certain god drills in that the outsider will not die.]
âŠGod?
âIâm just saying. I donât intend on dying eitherâŠâ
[A certain god is extremely uncomfortable.]
[A certain god is so uncomfortable they cannot breathe.]
[A certain god passes out.]
ââŠâ
âIt is this adolescent Outsiderâs fault. Iâm sorry, please breathe!â