Episode 5
Episode 5.
"......! Damn it, these mercenaries never listen!"
Charlie's face turned pale.
Even fighting together would be a struggle, yet he was acting alone! If he got himself killed like that, it would be an absolute disaster.
He hadn't even drawn his sword. He looked as if he was marching off to die.
Kikik? Kik!
The monsters seemed amused by Dohyun's reckless actions, giggling wickedly as they swung their blunt weapons.
In the blink of an eye, their club was swung right up close.
In just a moment, that heavy blunt weapon would crush Dohyun's skull and spray blood everywhere.
"Damn......!"
Just as Charlie frantically moved to chase after him—
"......?"
He saw it.
Swoosh— Whoosh!
Kikik?
Dohyun's charge had suddenly come to a halt.
As if by magic, the blunt weapon brushed right past his head. It was a precarious distance; even a 1cm margin of error would have shattered his skull.
Swinging a weapon naturally disrupts one's posture.
And inevitably exposes an opening.
Crack! Stab!
As Dohyun kicked out, the Noll lost its balance and staggered.
He grabbed the staggering Noll's neck and snapped it, then immediately stabbed the neck of the Noll right beside it. Just like that, two Nolls fell in an instant.
[Critical Hit!]
[Critical Hit!]
It was thanks to striking a vital spot, dealing double damage through the critical hit modifier.
It also helped that they had pitiful health pools befitting tutorial mobs.
Kikik? Kiririk!!
In an instant, the tables had turned.
The archers, panicked by their sudden shift from predators toying with their prey to prey themselves, scrambled to take their stances.
However, they only had one shield to protect them.
Whoosh—.
Dohyun dodged the club swinging from the side with a simple backstep, then immediately drove his knee upward.
Crack— Clatter.
Striking the hand at the exact right moment to make the opponent drop their weapon.
Otherwise known as Weapon Drop.
It was one of the techniques that had struck fear into those who dueled Kaiser back in the days of Demroc.
He had tried it thinking it might work since the systems were similar, and fortunately, it did.
[Skill 'Power Strike' activated.]
He followed up by kicking its torso and using the skill to finish it off.
'Power Strike finishes it in one hit.'
Since it was a skill, as long as it landed a clean hit, it was a one-hit kill even without a critical.
Kigigi......
Kikik......
Now only the two archers remained.
There was nothing to fear from two archers who had lost their escort. Before they could even fully draw their bows, they were sliced in half by Dohyun's sword.
Having ended the battle in an instant, Dohyun lightly flicked the blood off his sword.
He had worried his body might be stiff since it had been a while since he last gamed, but fortunately, it moved just as he willed it to.
'......If anything, my body feels even lighter.'
Was it because his five senses were so vivid, unlike in VR where he couldn't feel any sensation?
It felt far more seamless than before.
Just as Dohyun was feeling satisfied with this pleasant discovery—
"Good heavens......"
Charlie, who had been watching in a daze, slowly approached.
Looking back and forth between the fallen Nolls and Dohyun in disbelief, Charlie let out a breath of admiration.
"I can hardly believe it...... To think you took down five monsters all by yourself."
Along with those words, a message popped up.
[Knight Commander 'Charlie' is amazed by your extraordinary skill, which defies your appearance.]
[Knight Commander 'Charlie's' Favorability has increased.]
'Favorability?'
It was a system that had existed in Demroc as well.
It varied by NPC, but since raising Favorability occasionally yielded rewards, quite a few people engaged in Favorability grinding.
Though everyone gave up on it once they realized the rewards themselves were tied to gacha.
Regardless, it was a familiar system, so there was nothing to be amazed about.
However.
'Are the requirements for raising it here a bit more generous?'
He was simply bewildered that Favorability had increased just from a single hunt.
In Demroc, Favorability was notoriously difficult to raise.
But that was it; nothing else was strange.
'Every NPC has different standards and difficulties, after all.'
In that regard, Charlie's combat-oriented standards were quite agreeable to Dohyun.
He might not be good with words, but when it came to combat, he was confident.
Was it thanks to the increased Favorability?
"I've never seen such swordsmanship and combat style in my life. Which mercenary company are you from? Are all the mercenaries there like you?"
"......"
"No...... that can't be it. You must simply be exceptionally skilled. Remarkable for someone so young."
Unlike before, when he only spoke as much as the story required, he had become quite chatty.
Even though Dohyun wasn't bothering to reply, Charlie kept muttering to himself. He finally snapped out of it and turned around at the sound of monsters echoing in the distance.
"Let us get moving first."
"Yes."
* * *
Slash—! Stab!
After that, Dohyun continued through several more battles.
The battles were all swift and decisive.
Whenever monsters appeared, Dohyun would charge ahead and deal with them, while Charlie would belatedly try to join in, only to end up marveling instead. It was an endless cycle.
"Astounding, what skill! Even faster than before, aren't you!"
Whenever that happened, Charlie would always drop a comment.
[Knight Commander 'Charlie's' Favorability has increased.]
And, as if it were a packaged deal, his Favorability would rise right alongside it.
Stab! Crack—!
"That neck-snapping technique leaves me in awe every time I see it! How can it be so incredibly fluid, like flowing water!"
[Knight Commander 'Charlie's' Favorability has increased.]
Slash—.
"This is...... You seem like someone born solely to wield a sword."
[Knight Commander 'Charlie's' Favorability has increased.]
At first, it was just admiration, but now he didn't even seem to have any intention of fighting, too busy showering him with praise.
His lines were so dramatic each time that Dohyun even wondered if Charlie was just brainstorming catchphrases while watching him fight.
'......Is his role just to be a reaction bot?'
He was pretty sure he had heard that Charlie was a stoic and stern man......
And this wasn't even the end of it.
The reaction bot's lines truly began to explode once the number of monsters in the groups nearly doubled.
Kikik, kik!
Kiririk—!
Nearly ten of them.
Perhaps because of their numbers, their weapons were equally diverse.
Unlike the previous ones who only carried clubs and bows, this group was armed with spears, clubs, bows, daggers, and more.
"Damn it......! I'm joining in this time! No matter how skilled you are, these numbers will be too much!"
Even Charlie, who had just been watching, felt this was too much and declared his intent to join the fray.
'No, isn't joining in supposed to be the default?'
Dohyun had never told him not to fight, yet somehow, Dohyun had become the one taking the lead.
It was strange, but it didn't change anything.
Tap!
"Wait, you—?"
They were just tutorial mobs that would die after one or two critical hits anyway.
Whether there were five or ten, it made no difference.
As Dohyun charged in without hesitation, even Charlie, who had been endlessly admiring him, was startled and hurriedly drew his weapon to give chase.
However, it seemed difficult to rescue Dohyun, who had already plunged deep into the midst of the monsters.
Kikik! Kiririk!
Slash! Twang!
"Damn it......!"
While Charlie deflected an arrow loosed by an archer, the monsters immediately surrounded Dohyun.
The first to charge at him was a monster wielding a dagger. Since they were clustered so tightly together, it was difficult to land a hit with a spear or arrow.
The short-ranged dagger was the most ideal weapon for the situation.
And that was exactly why Dohyun had purposefully charged in so close.
Grab, kikik?
Just as the monster tried to swing its dagger, Dohyun's arm blocked its wrist. Then, coiling like a snake, he slipped past its guard and thrust inward.
Crack! Keck!
Clatter.
As he snapped its elbow without hesitation, the dagger slipped from its grasp.
Snatching the falling dagger from mid-air, Dohyun immediately drove it into the monster's neck.
[Critical Hit!]
Kikeuk!! Keeeeek!
Enraged by its comrade's sudden death, the monster next to him rolled its eyes and swung its club.
The monster's jaw entered Dohyun's lowered field of vision. He struck upward with his palm; with a sickening crack, the monster's head snapped back toward the sky.
Pulling the dagger out of its neck, he stabbed it into the monster's throat, and it crumpled lifelessly to the ground.
It ended up suffering the exact same fate as its comrade.
Kiek! Keck!
With two of them dead in an instant, the remaining monsters were startled and kept their distance, refusing to close in.
Instinctively, they realized that engaging him one-on-one would be dangerous. However, Dohyun moved without the slightest hesitation, as if he had anticipated this.
Swish— Stab! Crack!
[Critical Hit!]
He threw the dagger into the eye of a retreating monster, then immediately scooped up a fallen club and swung it furiously.
Just like that, they lost yet another comrade in such an absurd manner.
The archers, desperately trying to keep their distance, frantically drew their bowstrings, but Dohyun's movements were utterly elusive.
Ki...... kikik......?
The moment they tried to loose their arrows, he would miraculously vanish behind another monster.
Even so, perhaps out of sheer stubbornness, they managed to fire a few shots, but unsurprisingly, they only struck their own comrades in the back.
"Good heavens......"
Charlie watched the scene with a gaze that had transcended admiration, bordering on sheer disbelief.
To so effortlessly perform a Weapon Drop and then utilize that very weapon to hunt them down, as if it were his own from the start...
A lifetime wasn't enough to master a single weapon, so how could he wield so many with such proficiency?
Even he, who had stood on countless battlefields, had never seen combat like this.
That wasn't all.
There wasn't the slightest hesitation in the way he created advantageous positions and situations.
Fluid as water, he claimed the vantage points as if it were the most natural thing in the world, effortlessly leading the battle to victory.
No renowned mercenary, nor even a knight, had ever displayed such artistic movements.
Yet, a mercenary he had never seen before was displaying such valor and martial prowess?
It felt as though he was defying all common sense, walking a path entirely his own.
People would eventually call such individuals—
'Heroes......'
Could it be that he was witnessing the starting point of a heroic epic, one that belonged only in the annals of history?
The very thing he had admired since he was a young boy......
Ki...... kiaaak!
It was then that a monster's ear-piercing scream rang out.
One of the monsters, looking at Dohyun as if he were a demon, was frantically fleeing.
Charlie snapped out of his daze and drew his sword.
'I'll handle this one.'
He might have been in a daze from watching such an overwhelming display of combat, but Charlie was still a Knight Commander.
Dealing with a single monster was a piece of cake for him.
Unfortunately, he never got the chance to step in.
Thwip— Thwack!
Keck!
An arrow loosed by Dohyun, who had drawn his bowstring with leisure, pierced clean through the monster's head.
He fired one more shot at the fallen monster.
Only after confirming the kill did Dohyun finally lower his weapon.
'Always finish them off definitively.'
There had been countless bosses in Demroc.
Despite being a piece of trash game reliant on RNG, the difficulty was absurdly high, resulting in bosses with innumerable patterns.
Among them, a significant number were troublesome even after you killed them.
Parasitic types that would survive and burrow into another host, ones that would unleash a final attack the moment they died, or even resurrect on the spot.
Perhaps it was because the very first game he played was exactly that type.
After experiencing that viciousness a few times, confirming the kill had become second nature to him.
It wasn't like these measly monsters would have such abilities, but......
'Still, better to be safe.'
This was a matter of personal sentiment.
Just as he was looking around to see if any other monsters were drawn by the commotion—
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
'Hmm?'
Dohyun turned his head at the sound of applause coming from somewhere.
Then he saw it. Charlie, who had now even tossed his sword aside, was applauding him.
"......?"
Even under Dohyun's questioning gaze, Charlie didn't stop.
In fact, he took it a step further.
"I owe you an apology."
"?"
Charlie suddenly offered his apology with a face full of genuine remorse.
As Dohyun tilted his head in confusion, Charlie's eyes grew resolute. Then, with the most serious tone imaginable, he spoke in a voice thick with emotion.
"Saying you were born to wield a sword was an insult to your abilities. You are the incarnation of combat itself! You must be a hero born for war!"
"......"
"It is an honor to fight alongside a hero like you!"
Placing a hand on the shoulder of a speechless Dohyun, Charlie conveyed his utmost sincerity.
Seeing this, Dohyun's lips parted a few times as if to speak, but ultimately closed again.
He had plenty to say, but no words would come out.
'An NPC who ignores his given duties and just claps......'
Was this what they meant by God of Savior's NPCs being indistinguishable from real people?
It was something unimaginable in Demroc, leaving him speechless, but he decided to just accept it as a good thing.
[Knight Commander 'Charlie' is deeply moved by your overwhelming combat prowess.]
[Knight Commander 'Charlie's' Favorability has greatly increased.]
[Knight Commander 'Charlie's' Favorability has reached its maximum.]
[He now trusts you completely. Even if you were to commit an atrocity, he would believe you if you claimed you were framed.]
[Title acquired: 'Favorability Max From the Start?']
Thanks to that, his Favorability had shot up, hit the maximum, and even earned him a reward.
Dohyun checked the title.