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[Hero's Advantage]

A permanent status boost only given to those who have received the HERO System. It is composed of the following:

HP is to be increased to 1000

MP is to be increased to 1000

All stats are to be increased to S(Level 1)

50 stat points

100 skill points

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Hello again, this is a message from Xylfos.

As the current overseer of this world, I have thought of a plan to give the four of you an advantage in this world. Though this may seem too much, it is still only just at about the peak of level 1. You already have the advantage in intelligence, so use your strength wisely. And win even if your status does not give a clear solution.

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I can't believe it's actually going to be like this, but if I don't receive it now, I won't stand a chance.

How do I know I won't stand a chance? Just by looking at how they've been acting is just giving it away. How so many adolescents have lost their lives in this occupation, I'm sure they're planning on getting me to fail. I look weak, but I am sure I can fend for myself.

I sighed and was unsuccessful in reasoning with myself. I had to accept it unless I didn't want to get a license. And so, I quickly accepted the status boost. I didn't like the feeling of being given the advantage, but I also didn't like the feeling of losing.

[ Status Update Completed ]

[ Current Status: ]

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Name: Kazuki

Class: None

Title: <Hero of Eclipse>

Level: [1]

HP: 1000/1000

MP: 1000/1000

Str: (S)300

Agi: (S)300

Def: (S)300

Vit: (S)300

Int: (S)300

Stat points remaining: 50

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Skills

Passive:

[???]

Active:

[Fire magic(low)]

[Water magic(very low)]

[Body Enhancement(low)]

Special:

[???]

Skill points remaining: 100

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Looking at my own status makes me feel bad. I don't like being unfair. But being blessed or cursed always means things are going to be unfair. Life will always be unfair, I learned that in my past life. I don't know how I learned it, but I know I did.

I was then told by Chloe to choose from a selection of weapons. I was never truly used to using blunt or really heavy weapons. So maces, hammers, battle-axes, and etc are a no-go. Hand-to-hand combat would mostly be what I use since carrying weapons on Earth was prohibited unless you had a license, which I didn't have.

The only weapons I could actually use with the greatest proficiency would be a dagger, a two handed sword(preferably a katana), a bow, and a pair of gauntlets. But against a swordsman like Garius, my own dagger might be just enough. If I can be faster than him, he won't be able to hit me.

"Thank you, but I have my own weapon." I replied to her, showing her the dagger strapped to my side. As I unsheathed the <Gray Claw Dagger>, its blade radiated a dim purple light. Everyone around looked shocked due to some reason unknown to me.

"Just… where did you find that weapon?" Heldic inquired about my weapon. His eyes wearing a glint of curiosity and surprise.

Should I tell the truth? I probably shouldn't, but I'm being tempted to do so…

"I'll say it after the test" I let out a teasing grin before going into a stance. I wasn't sure if I made the right decision saying that, but can't change what's already happened.

Chloe composed herself before speaking of the rules. "Okay, the winner will be determined if one of you is inflicted with three wounds. Kill the other, and you're instantly sent to jail for killing a titled adventurer, or a normal civilian."

"Now get ready!" She yelled, raising an arm to signal us. I breathe in a way that pumps more adrenaline and makes me feel rushed and energized. I remember using this technique in the cave with the help of [Body Enhancement].

"Begin!" She yells louder, swinging down her arm.

And so, I immediately activated the [Body Enhancement] skill. With my body strengthened as best I could, I quickly dashed forward with no hesitation. As if there were nothing around but me, my dagger, and my enemy, I readied my weapon for a strike. Everything seemed slower than it actually was. As if not only my blade whistled as it traveled faster than before but also my own body, piercing the air in front of me as well. Garius saw the intent to win in my focused, targeting eyes. And so, he put his trusted weapon between my dagger's blade and him. The sword was made of a strong material, so not once did I hesitate to hit it.

As he may have guessed my attack to be a quick diagonal swing, I immediately spun my dagger and held it in reverse. His eyes widen at my quick assession, then tried countering my actions. A heavy horizontal swing from his left. A good choice for a counter. But as he swung it with all his strength, I quickly side stepped to my right. And with the help of the momentum given to me by that kick, I spun, like a dancing tornado prowling the country. On his side, I cut him having only the effect of his clothing to be torn and his blood dripping in small amounts. One hit was finished.

Finally, this large amount of adrenaline being pumped. I missed this feeling.

I was fully focused on the fight, minding nothing but me and my enemy's actions. Garius seemed as if he froze in his spot. He was stuck in that place. Was he okay?

Everyone was quiet, and their eyes were the same as earlier, widened like there was no tomorrow. Until, I heard Garius speak up and finally relax his body.

"It seems… that I have lost…" He declared.

As if snapping out of my own trance which I enter once in battle, I blinked multiple times before I could assess the situation. Why he said he lost, and why everyone was speechless. I easily found out why.

Garius then pointed to his left side, then I finally got the clarification why he declared he had lost. Above and below the one main cut I inflicted, multiple wounds started appearing and started bleeding. It looked as if he was losing a lot of blood while he showcased the damage I dealt. So, I appraised him again.

On his HP, there it had 2157/2560. I did not think that I would actually do that much damage. And I probably figured out why. With my Strength stat being 300, being enhanced with a skill, then a breathing technique that excites my blood, and lastly a weapon that even surprised a Level 2 adventurer. Even a small cuts like that would inflict a lot of damage added to the HP reduced through bleeding.

Oh god what the hell did I just do… I just made my situation worse… crapcrapcrapcrapcrap… C R A P.

[ 5 Stat points acquired! ]

The inorganic female voice announced. Then, announced again.

[ 3 Skill points acquired! ]

I still didn't have time to think about the system of this world, so I ignored it and planned to think about it later when I have the chance. Right now, I needed to think about what to do.

"Holy Shit!" "Did that just happen?!" "He was so fucking fast!" "Against a Level 2?!"

"""How?!"""

Loud yelling and panic ensued after all of them had taken up what the situation currently was. The delay was so long that I even thought that it was weird. This'll be so troublesome…

Heldic then rushed towards me, grabbing hold of both my shoulders. He looked so surprised that it made him look a lot more stupid than he already did.

"Tell me your ways!" He yelled, like someone who's lost their self control in the presence of something interesting. "I saw that [Body Enhancement] but how did you increase in strength by 200% even though your skill is a low?!"

To be honest, I had absolutely no idea how I was able to do that. I didn't even notice that my stats doubled(every stat except MP and INT). The skill wasn't supposed to go that far. It would be too unbalanced and unfair. Unless its strength is relative to how much mana I pour into the skill. Also, that breathing technique might've also played a part in this. So, I checked my status.

I only looked at my MP. It was as I expected it, from the 1000 that it was earlier, it was now decreased to 100. Understanding this, I was easily able to deduct that a skill will be able to work in whatever strength you may want it to with the sufficient amount of mana even if it's a low tier skill/spell. Though I still did not know how the tiers worked. I would only understand after I've gotten more info.

"Wait! Wait! Don't just grab and shake answers out of my mouth!" I tried getting out of his grasp, succeeding easily. "It's probably just because of the breathing technique I used to excite my muscles."

Heldic, Garius(who seemed to have easily healed himself already), Chloe and all the others around us listened attentively. The feeling of having dozens of adults listening to you is just a teensy bit weird even though I'm used to having people look at me.

Garius, who seemed to be the most interested out of everyone then said out loud. "Breathing techniques! I've heard of those before! All I know about them is that they increase your strength for a temporary amount of time!"

I smiled, thinking. This place really is interesting. Then continued speaking. "So, do you know one?" I was curious if this world had any different techniques than Earth, just curious.

He laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Actually, I don't know how to use one. Sorry about that…"

"It's fine, it's fine. Now, are we still going to continue the test?" I asked them.

"Oh right! I almost forgot!" Chloe openly spoke. "The second test is for your magical prowess. You're going to be compared to Heldic over here."

She then pointed to the other side of the room, where there seems to be a dozen targets likely made for magic and arrows. "That over there are your targets. You two will have three chances for your turn so that I would be able to assess your strength more accurately. Though I'm pretty sure your spells won't amount to much since I'm pretty sure you specialize in physical enhancement magic."

"Actually, I know a dozen spells myself. Even though they're low tiers." I stated. I was already too deep into this situation, what's the point in lying?

Chloe looked at me with her eyes widened in disbelief, just like earlier. "I-I see. So who's going first?" She asked us.

"I'd rather be second." I answered. I wanted to see what type of magic people in this world use. Even though I'm actually sure that it's the same as Earth's, but with a slightly different power system.

Heldic looked a bit relieved. "Alright then, can I just use one attack to make this quick?"

"I don't know, CAN you?" Chloe grinned. The way they interact with each other really made me think they have a crush on each other.

"I'm being serious here…" They really do remind me of quarreling teenagers.

"Yeah, yeah, just do it. I was just teasing."

Heldic then turned to the targets and raised his staff to shoot the target. As mana collected to a single point in front of his staff, I could see a glimpse of his face. He was slightly blushing. Well, finding that out was easier than what I expected. Ugh. I think a lot of things have been really easy. I could just sense bad things happening at a later time.

The mana which was collected into a single point, then started to emit a warm wind. Burning redder by the second. The ball of flames then spiraled ever so slightly while Heldic was getting ready to discharge it. I then caught a glimpse of both Garius and Chloe. While the man watched with a grin on his face, the girl looked really concerned and worried that she started biting her fingernails.

"You damn idiot…" Chloe spoke under her breath, unusually irritated.

The skill was the same as the one "that person" used. Fireball, a really basic but really destructive attack with the right amount of mana. Then, I remembered something. Another skill that I saw before me and that girl died.

Heldic immediately shot the fireball as he was sure of it dealing the right amount of destruction. The place was open, and really big with almost no important thing to catch fire. So I wasn't really worried about anything major happening. But as I thought that, Chloe yelled at Heldic in a manner I didn't expect her to be.

"You goddamn fucking idiot!!!"

"WHAT!?!" Heldic yelled back just before the fireball hit its target and exploded into a burning rage. The mana that was compressed into a small space was immediately dispersed as it hit, causing the explosion. Everyone around jumped in surprise as they heard the loud bang, probably even the other residents of the town.

"DUMBASS!!! DON'T YOU KNOW THAT ELEMENTAL GHOULS WILL APPEAR?!?!?!" Chloe yelled with all her might. Beside her, I could see Garius laughing and readying his sword.

"Why didn't you warn him?!" She then yelled at Garius. So THAT was why he was grinning.

"What's so wrong with a little fun?" Garius chuckled, unsheathing his sword then activating a body enhancement type of skill, his were a different type from mine.

"Ugh! Men these days and their stupid, retarded fun!" She complained, in which no one responded. "You gremlins! Get as much water as you can and gather up the mages! Go! Go! Go!" She ordered those in the room, making them feel fear causing them to follow her orders. Women are scary…

"Chloe-san, just what are elemental ghouls?" I asked, really curious as to what they actually were. A type of monster? Of course, but I'm really interested in knowing.

"I'll make this quick, Ghouls are basically spirits of demon beasts that have merged with or absorbed a collection of mana. They appear when there's a large discharge of mana, but don't when there's too little or too much mana. Now go help with putting that idiot's fire out, you're passing anyways."

"Roger that!" I replied, running off to Heldic to help. He looked really grim after Chloe yelled at him. I could even hear him murmur to himself repeatedly "I'm an idiot…". I felt a bit sorry for him. On the other hand, I kinda don't, since I noticed Chloe was really worried about him. Don't worry, you're destined for greatness.

Now, just how can I try putting this out with only 100 MP?

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