◈ Name
Hermit's Leather
◈ Rank
--- S
◈ Stats
Agility 200
◈ Description
A robe made from the flayed hide of a hermit. It possesses special power.
◈ Effect
The wearer cannot be identified.
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Ironically, when this was a game, this item had no particular use.
Because the protagonist, a playable character, had no need to infiltrate anywhere using this item.
It was something of an Easter egg.
Now that it has become reality.
For someone like me who doesn't want their identity exposed, it is the best item.
Laura stopped me with an urgent voice.
[Why hide your identity? Reveal it confidently and kill the villain. Become a hero.]
"Why do you keep going on about being a hero since earlier."
[W-well. Heroes are praised even if they kill hundreds or thousands. Becoming a hero is the fastest way to raise your stature.]
"First of all, in this world, heroes—Heroes—operate on a no-kill principle. And I don't really like being in the spotlight. This is non-negotiable."
I took out a kitchen knife from my bag.
Now that I was holding it, it looked truly pathetic.
Could I win with this?
I recalled the back entrance of the school from Sin Noda's memories and infiltrated the school through it.
Judging by his nickname, 'Fire Man,' he was likely a mage-type Awakener who invested his stats in Intelligence.
Since I could seal his skills with Laura's help, I gained a huge advantage in terms of stats.
Of course, even so, my opponent was unmistakably C-grade.
With the difference in rank, his Strength and Agility were highly likely to be at a similar level to mine.
The best course of action was a surprise attack to kill him in one blow.
Pinpointing 'Fire Man's' location wasn't difficult.
The place where screams and shouts could be heard.
That was the hostage-taker's location.
Class 2, Year 3.
From there, an excited voice was heard.
I crouched down and focused my hearing to deduce the situation inside.
"Hahaha. Jonggak. Is it this kid? He looks like a thug."
"Th-that's..."
"If you aren't sure, should I just kill everyone?"
"Ah, it's him! The others are..."
"It's been about five minutes anyway. Then let's kill him."
It seemed 'Fire Man' was trying to kill one of the students.
I carefully opened the sliding door at the front of the classroom and crept inside.
The situation in the classroom was somewhat different from what I had expected.
All the desks had been pushed to the back, and all students except one were kneeling.
'Fire Man' was a shifty-looking man.
He was reaching out toward a blond student kneeling before him, just about to breathe fire.
An unidentifiable pulse surged through my body.
Come to think of it, that blond hair... it's Sin Noda's friend.
Though to me, he is a complete stranger.
For some reason, I am furious.
A body trembling with extreme agitation.
My heart beats like crazy.
I charged forward with momentum, brandishing the knife.
'Fire Man' noticed my presence and turned around, trying to use his ability.
Of course, nothing happened.
"Wh-why...!"
Thud.
The kitchen knife plunged into the area beneath his armpit, between his ribs.
I twisted the knife inside his body while pressing down on his throat with my other hand.
My heated body cooled as I saw a life struggling desperately to survive.
'What have I done...'
A moment's hesitation.
'Fire Man' didn't miss the opportunity and kicked my stomach, sending me flying.
It was so sudden that I lost my grip on the knife.
The knife remained lodged in his side.
'Damn it.'
I had lost my weapon.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
He used one hand to staunch the blood gushing from his side and stretched the other toward me.
His ability didn't manifest.
His face contorted.
It seemed Laura was doing her job well.
"Wh-why! I can't use my ability! Damn it!"
I raised my fists, taking a boxing stance, and approached him.
I had done boxing for about a year a long time ago.
'Fire Man' backed away from me as I closed the distance.
It seemed he hadn't noticed I was E-grade.
Thank goodness.
"W-wait. Time out. There's a reason. You don't look like a Hero. See that chubby friend over there? His name is Sin Jonggak. That friend asked me for help. Said he was bullied at school and wanted to die, asked me to save him."
Bullshit.
You, who were about to kill my friend, had no such sense of duty.
That was clearly madness.
Nothing but malice intent on killing the weak.
"You just wanted to kill and are making up excuses, aren't you?"
My voice was cracked and hoarse to my own surprise.
It seemed the 'Hermit's Leather' altered even my voice.
"Spare me. I haven't killed anyone yet! I'll just leave like this, so let's part on good terms, okay? Huh? You're not even a Hero. I'll forget you stabbed me."
I kept approaching.
Soon, striking range.
He was pushed all the way to where the desks had been shoved at the back of the classroom; there was nowhere left to retreat.
They say even a cornered rat will bite a cat.
'Fire Man' hardened his expression and pulled out the kitchen knife lodged in his side.
"Graaaaaah!"
He breathed roughly and pointed the knife at me.
His body trembled violently.
Anyone could see he wasn't in his right state.
I didn't approach recklessly.
'Fire Man' was already wounded and bleeding severely.
If I dragged out the time, victory was mine.
Thud.
A dull impact to my head.
Strength left my legs and I collapsed to the floor.
"Kuk."
What I saw through blurry vision was the chubby student called Sin Jonggak holding a chair.
'Damn. Did that bastard hit me from behind?'
My head was dizzy and I couldn't think straight.
"Hahaha. Good job, Jonggak. Wanna make your villain debut while you're at it?"
"Th-that's..."
'Fire Man' approached me, who had collapsed, holding the kitchen knife.
"Hey, mister. Why'd you go picking a fight? Acting like you're something when you're not even a Hero. Huh?"
Laura's urgent shout echoed in my head.
[Sin Noda! Get a hold of yourself! You'll die at this rate!]
'Fire Man' held the knife in a reverse grip and brought it down at me.
[How did such a weakling become the successor. Is this the end for the Dragon race...!]
'To die so futilely at the hands of a mere C-grade?'
I was the first in the world to completely clear this game.
I couldn't die like this.
I exerted superhuman will and rolled my body to the side, avoiding the knife.
Then I used telekinesis to press down on his eyeballs.
"Kraaack!"
'Fire Man' screamed, clutching his eyes.
I hadn't even exerted any significant physical force, yet my head throbbed with pain.
It was clearly the side effect of using telekinesis with F-rank Intelligence.
I immediately got up from my spot.
Trembling legs.
Holding on with the sole thought that if I collapsed here, I would die, I surveyed 'Fire Man.'
He was flailing in a staggered posture, complaining of pain.
I grabbed him by the back of his neck, slammed him down, and struck his side with my fist.
He writhed in agony from the pain in his wound and dropped the knife.
"Graaah. Jonggak, help me!"
I immediately picked up the kitchen knife he had dropped and pointed it at Sin Jonggak.
"U-uugh..."
He cowered in fear of me.
"Stay still. If you cross the line here, there's no going back."
After confirming that Sin Jonggak's will had completely broken, I slashed the throat of 'Fire Man,' who had collapsed and was writhing.
A pool of blood formed on the classroom floor.
A red gem revealed itself from his chest.
[That's it. Put your hand on the gem.]
I did as Laura said.
A red energy flowed from the gem into me.
A translucent message appeared before my eyes.
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[Strength 024 has permanently increased]
[Agility 008 has permanently increased]
[Intelligence 047 has permanently increased]
[Luck 032 has permanently increased]
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