Is this Hero for Real?

[Act 4] Karma

“Meat! Meat!”

“You guys just like any protein, huh?”

I made myself busy hunting with the gnoll to observe the ‘Power of Meat’.

Of course,

“B-blech?!”

“Don’t crawl up on me.”

The guy kept trying to hunt me whenever it got the chance, but it never came close to succeeding.

It was far too weak.

I couldn’t figure out why, even after looking at its status window.

[name] Fang Broken by Arrow

[level] 6

[blessing] –

[curse] –

Apparently, the dude had survived a fairy’s arrow because it coincidentally bounced off its fangs.

And it got the name ‘Fang Broken by Arrow’ since then…

Its fangs really were broken.

“Are you sure you’re level 6?”

“Yes! Proof!”

It showed off locks of brown and green hair wrapped around its wrist like a bracelet.

Let’s call it a gnoll’s badge of honor.

It was said that the gnoll who did the most work in a hunt got the head of the fairy and that they just keep the locks of hair once it rots.

“Fairy meat! Fairy meat!”

“Calm down.”

“Promise! Fairy meat!”

“Just answer my question. How are you so weak when you’ve hunted two fairies?”

“This is unfair! Talking meat! I’m strong! Weird meat!”

“Hm…”

The gnoll ‘Fang Broken by Arrow’ was strong enough to hunt fairies down twice.

It even boasted that it could be the 13th husband of the young and beautiful patriarch.

…for real?

The patriarch of the gnolls was living in a romance fantasy for a female audience.

The bad girls in our grade would have been thrilled to be reincarnated as a gnoll!

“Talking meat! Weak meat! But you’re strong!”

“You can see my level?”

“No! But I know! Level 1 meat! Easy meat!”

“Looks like you just know instinctively…”

I could gather various info besides the gnoll’s characteristics.

For example…

“Over there! Over there!”

“What’s over there?”

“Fairy meat! Lots of it!”

“Oh yeah?”

I could find the village of the fairies who raided me on my first day.

Furthermore…

“I was robbed by meat!”

“By the fairy?”

“Fairy meat! Bad!”

I also found out the past that the chief explained weren’t the words of a lunatic being delusional but the truth.

Although the food chain in a damn fantasy world wasn’t any of my business.

“Meat-blech?!”

“You don’t get tired of it, do you?”

‘Round of applause to my patience for not killing this bastard who keeps coming at me with every chance!’

“It’s almost finished.”

I could clearly see the changes in its body.

Rabbits, deer, insects, eggs, pheasants…

Every time it ate something, the gnoll’s stomach gradually filled with energy.

It was much easier and simpler than the chief’s method of stealing others’ lifespans with black magic, though it was less efficient.

“Meat! I like! Rabbit meat!”

The gnoll’s belly jiggled after swallowing a freshly caught live rabbit in one bite.

The gnoll, swollen like a balloon, looked quite silly after binging in such a short period of time thanks to my help.

“Are you full now?”

Instead of an answer, its hairs stood on end and it began to tremble.

And it roared.

“I’m full! I feel great! I hate being hungry! I like it now! Meat! I need more meat! More meat…!”

Flash!

The gnoll’s eyes started to shine red like a traffic light.

The change didn’t stop there.

Bulk, bulk!

Its fat, balloon-shaped body instantly shrunk and turned into bulky muscle.

“Cool.”

“Talking meat! My meat!”

Fwt!

The gnoll’s attacks turned faster as it changed.

I wasn’t surprised because it’s what it always did when it saw the chance.

However…

“Thanks so much.”

I learned why gnolls called it the ‘Power of Meat’ thanks to it.

“M-meat?!”

Without dodging, I closed the distance between us by one step and stabbed its abdomen with my right hand raised like a blade.

Psh!

The gnoll’s thick skin ripped and its waist split in two.

Splat, drip…

Squashed intestines and broken spinal pieces flew all over the place, and a large amount of blood from the cut stained its flesh red.

“T-talking meat. Strong?”

“Of course.”

“How…?”

“It was a short but useful company. It’s all thanks to you, Fang Broken by Arrow.

Psh…

The gnoll, back to its original state as soon as it lost the bottom half of its body and power, blinked continuously.

It looked like it couldn’t believe what it saw.

Squeezing out its last breath, it asked me,

“Meat also gnoll…?”

“Nope. I’m human.”

My eyes were gleaming red like the gnoll’s as I spoke.

* * *

* * *

The majority of the heroes who couldn't empty the tea cup gave up being knights and left for magic class.

However, Prince Alsus was not dispirited and continued with his lesson.

“Magic requires talent, but anyone can learn swordsmanship as long as they have the time and money.”

“…”

“…”

The heroes, drowsy after eating so many sweets to relieve their tongues, were falling asleep.

Even so, Prince Alsus’s smile did not falter.

“O-one more cup…!”

If there were people getting eliminated, there would always be someone who gets ahead.

And if those who got ahead survived and didn’t give up until the very end, they’d become a matchless ‘warrior’, and go even further to become a ‘knight’.

“Haha! Hero Choi Gangmin, you don’t need to drink any more for today. It loses efficiency if you drink too much at once.”

“Oh…”

Hero Choi Gangmin was disappointed after enduring tears and snot to drink the potion.

He had to become stronger by the day!

He wanted to get rid of the ‘uncomfortable situation’ other heroes experienced.

Prince Alsus, offering a normal cup of honey tea, spoke.

“Consistent, long-term intake is what’s important. One cup a day. If you want to take it further, up to two cups is okay.”

“Two cups a day. I’ll do it.”

“Hero Choi Gangmin, the Knight’s Blessing does not come to you any faster from rushing, just as a child cannot become an adult from eating well.”

“Then how much…?”

“It heavily depends on the individual, but if you keep it up, you should earn it within a year.”

“A whole year… oh?”

Hero Choi Gangmin felt a strange sensation while speaking with Prince Alsus and hurriedly checked his status window.

[name] Choi Gangmin

[level] 1

[blessing] Hero F Grit F

[curse] –

[dividend] 1.11

It’s a blessing!

Although he felt like running around and shouting with joy, he acted calm on the outside.

He’d seen what became of Jang Miyeon after boasting about her blessing, hadn’t he?

After taking a deep breath, he inspected his blessing like he was reading his lottery ticket.

[Grit]

>The longer the fight, the stronger you become!

>effect resets once you lose your will or fail.

“Incredible…”

Although he tried to act calm, he ended up muttering out loud without thinking as soon as he read the details of his blessing.

[A certain god boasts that it is indeed incredible.]

[A certain martial god scoffs.]

“Congratulations, hero Choi Gangmin. The Grit blessing, I see! I expect a lot from you.”

“I’m flattered.”

Choi Gangmin humbly answered as he secretly clenched his fists.

‘That’s right! This is what I wanted!’

He could feel sparks inside his entire body every time a classmate looked at him in envy.

“Dear hero, you should grow a habit of hiding your status window from now on. It’s better for you to hide your blessings.”

“How do I—”

“All you have to do is think that you don’t want to show this to a trusted god or family. You can’t stop looking at the effects of the blessing, but you should be able to hide your status window in most situations.

“Ah!”

Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof…!

Immediately after, the heroes’ status windows disappeared.

They were skilled at picking out all of the useful information while having a dead look in their eyes for the rest of the class.

Prince Alsus looked at them with contentment and stood up from his seat.

“Now we’ll move on to the meditation room. It may not be easy because you don’t have your blessings, but this is so you can use it in practice as soon as you do…”

“Prince! When do we start wielding swords? My body is itching from sitting around all day!”

A sporty hero with the body of an athlete expressed disgust at the mention of meditation and hurriedly asked.

To that, the Prince responded slightly obstinately.

“Hm. We don’t separately teach you how to swing a sword with flare… but we can arrange it so you can learn it in your free time.”

“Not like that…”

The athletic hero quietly backed off with an even more disgusted face.

Extracurricular classes in his precious free time?

There was no way.

“If there are no more questions, we’ll quickly move along. We’ve prepared fancy tea to ease your  body and soul, so feel free to look forward to that.””

“Oh..”

“Sure…”

‘This isn’t the swordsmanship lesson I was thinking of…’

—Was what every hero was thinking.

[A certain sword god is visibly disappointed.]

[A certain water god pats their friend on the back.]

***

My pupils were gleaming red in the reflection of the dead gnoll’s eyes.

“Interesting.”

I couldn’t distinguish the exact principles of it despite using it.

The gnoll’s yearning to continue feeling satiated…

The intense feeling swept over the body of the gnoll and created a chemical reaction(?).

“Feelings, huh…”

I gave up logical thinking.

It was already wrong to take a scientific approach when it was a fantasy that used and traded lifespans.

The important thing at the moment…?

Peww-!

I could feel my energy bustling like I had put coal in a steam engine.

[outsider]

The shrunken energy reset thanks to the blessing right before it depleted.

And it shrunk again.

Infinite cycle!

[A certain god is flustered at the outsider’s change.]

[A certain god emphasizes it’s the Power of Meat.]

“Not everyone can use this, can they?”

I would have dried up my life span as soon as I used the Power of Meat and died if it weren’t for my covinous blessing.

Fantasies happen in a fantasy world.

It’d be a loss to approach it seriously.

“Hm. pretty cool.”

Flash! 

I felt my hidden edgy phase coming back every time I saw my gleaming red eyes.

I thought I’d grown out of the phase of being excited about that kind of stuff…

[A certain god scolds you for being childish.]

“Ahem. moving along.”

Sprint.

With the ‘Power of Meat’ activated, I dashed to the west where there was the human village.

I didn’t have much time.

Before the fairies who backstabbed me all scattered, I had to hurry in order to take care of them.

[outsider]

Thankfully, I didn’t tire out.

No need for sleep or rest!

Although I used quite a bit of time studying the gnoll’s ecosystem, it didn’t seem like the injured fairies had left the village. 

Plus, it was the middle of the night. It wasn’t a good time to cross the forest when carnivorous monsters swarmed in it.

Me, on the other hand?

“Jeez…”

Flash!

My shining red eyes lit up my surroundings like a flashlight.

I basically found a good use for what I thought was my flashy, edgy phase decoration!

The night before, I had spent the night using my phone flashlight, although it had turned into scrap metal in half a day as the screen broke and my battery died.

“I’m lucky.”

I had originally been intending to go at dawn while laying low at a nearby village, but there was no need to anymore.

“M-meat?”

“Meat? Where?”

I came across some gnolls in my path while crossing the forest.

“Move.”

Bam! Bam!

Without stopping, I simply killed the two with one blow of my elbow and fist.

[A certain god is very taken aback.]

“I know, right?”

I’d become too strong.

Yet I wasn’t the least bit happy. I wouldn’t have even needed that power if I was on Earth in the first place.

At that hour?

I would be finished with my homework and on my phone comfortably in bed.

Fwt-

I wouldn’t be wandering through a carnivorous beast-infested forest with a disturbing dagger like that.

[A certain god points to the left.]

“Oh! Thanks.”

I could see a faint light between the dense trees.

It was a sign that I hadn’t gotten lost in the forest and had found the village.

“Now then…”

Let's go punish the barbarians with the power of fantasy!