Ch 21 - Hero's Remains

Author's note:

I'm feeling conflicted whether to include the last POV under this chapter or not.

If I didn't, it'll be easier for you get immersed in the story to come, since MC strongly believes his assumption to be true.

If I did, the tone will become lighter and not as dark.

But I decided to include it for now.

Enjoy~

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*** MC's POV ***




'As expected, it hurts…'

I leaned on the wall and sat down.

Around me, a sea of bones had crumbled down and broken.

'Just how many skeletons had he gathered?'

I had seen so many skeletons in a single day that I felt sick to see the current sight.

Then again, it's not like I can ignore my injuries just like that and leave.

'A former wizard…’

Since he threw curses and elemental magic like wind and fire, I couldn't help but get injured even if I didn't want to.

'Fortunately, he only casted low-ranked spells.'

It is probably because those spells take little time to cast, unlike spells of higher ranks.

'Even then, wasn't the number of spells too high?'

It was absurd to think that he had manifested such a large number of spells instantly.

'Even worse, at my current state, protecting my entire body with mana was the most I could do.'

Not even a mana shield.

I, who was still a 1-star mana user because I had only focused on other practices, couldn't even cast proper magic besides [Mana Thread].

'Fortunately, the cosplay clothing that Bianca made as an enchantment for this sword took most of the damage.'

It was simple leather clothing that prioritized looks rather than effects.

Even then, it was still a decent protective leather two grades above the lowest-ranked gear.

Enough to protect me from instantly dying when bombarded by the lowest-ranked spells.

'A rare-grade leather.'

It was a luxury for the current me, who can't afford to buy such equipment unless I raid a dungeon somewhere.

'Who would have thought my teacher's eccentricities would end up saving my life like this.'

I laughed at the silent base.

'Thanks to that, I don't have to wear this tattered clothes for long. Because the cosplay enchantment for these daggers still exist.'

I sheathed my sword and held the twin dagger in each hand.

'This dagger was meant to be used as a pair in the first place, so only one piece of clothing would appear.'

When I thought of that, a different kind of leather clothing began to adjust to fit perfectly to my body.

'Still… I should probably find something else to wear underneath.'

Since even the normal clothing I usually wear underneath got burnt and sliced here and there, I can no longer wear this.

'My injury… good. It seems like it has healed to walk.'

I stood up and began to survey the surroundings.

[White Dragon Vision]

'Is there a decent equipment hidden here?'

Since no one is going to go to this base and use whatever is in it anymore, I might as well take everything precious.

It was when I adjusted what I wanted to see through my vision skill.

'Hm?'

Besides the Lich's corpse, something else seemed to be buried under the pile of bones elsewhere.

'What is it?'

I decided to remove the Lich's belongings from his corpse before moving to the place.

From the Lich's corpse, I found a rare-grade robe with decent protective ability against projectiles and magic, and a unique-grade skeletal staff that buffs the user's necromancy and curse skills.

The robe was fine, so I immediately wore it above my clothes, but I frowned at the staff.

'I can't use this…'

I have no intention of being a necromancer, and I do not know of an ally who could use this on the human side.

'There are some candidates in the demon side, but…'

All of them are quite crazy in the head, so I would rather not meet up with them if I can.

'I guess I'll either sell or disassemble this later.'

I could also give this to Bianca.

She might have a better idea of what to do with this staff.

'Bianca…'

I'm worried.

'Let's quickly check what's hidden under the rubble and moved out.'

As I dug through the pile of bones, I finally found something shiny underneath.

'This… why is this here?'

It was not a powerful equipment or a game-breaking item in any way.

If anything, it was nothing more than a rare-grade earring that boosts your charm a little by making you look manlier.

But if you think about the original owner of this item, then you can't help but feel confused.

'Isn't this the hero's earring?'

It was the earring the hero used since his childhood before his awakening.

'So the reason this earring was here and buried under this pile of bones must be…'

I widened my eyes at the horror of my thoughts.

'No way… could it be?!'

I searched through the skeleton remains like I was possessed.

And it didn't take long for my hands to stop.

Because I had found what I was looking for.

With trembling hands, I held out to a skeleton corpse from among the pile.

To be precise, I was holding what looked like the remains of a small skeleton around the same age as me.

'That Lich… did he kill the hero…?'

Even if the future had changed, didn't it change too much?

"Haha…"

I let out a dejected laugh at the absurd situation.

"Damn it…"

It was the moment I realized.

That I had fucked up.







*** Hero's POV ***



"Achoo!"

While washing my clothes by the river, I suddenly felt an itch on my nose and sneezed.

Then, a girl of the same age approached me and asked.

"What is it, Mika? Did you catch a cold?"

"It's nothing. You know I never get sick, right?"

"Then someone must have been talking behind your back."

I laughed at that.

"There's no way that could be true."

At that time, I couldn't even think that there really was someone out there who was sincerely grieving for me, thinking that I had died.

It was not until much later that I met this special person.

He was a very kind person who cared so much for others, including me, despite me being nothing more than a stranger to him.

"By the way, didn’t you look cuter these days, Mika?”

“S-stop it! I told you not to call me cute. I'm a swordsman too, so call me cool and strong instead!”

“Eh~ It’s fine, isn’t it? You should stop covering your chest and dressing like a man too. What a waste of that pretty face.”

“You…”

“Haha. I get it. I get it. Sorry for teasing you. By the way, what happened to your earring?"

"Ah, that…"

A few months ago, I was so startled to see a black dragon flying above me that I fell into the river and lost my earring.

'But there's no way I could tell her that!'

As for the reason I couldn't tell her…

'Because it's embarrassing!'

So I just gave her a cool smile and feigned calmness.

"I don't know. Maybe it fell to the river and ended up somewhere?"

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Chapter end