I Was Reincarnated As the Strongest Protagonist Who Would Eventually Become a Hero, But It Seems the Burden Was Too Heavy For Me - Chapter 13

[So, what business do you have outside?]

 

Salamander asked as I stepped outside the cave.

 

I stretched lightly under the sunlight I hadn’t felt in a while and answered,

 

“I have a few things I want to take care of.”

 

I remembered the story of the original.

 

Luke, who made a contract with the Four Great Spirits Salamander, headed to the Sigurd Royal Magic Academy in the royal capital with his childhood friend Aisha. It took them about a month to get there and take the entrance exam… but that time wasn’t just spent traveling.

 

In fact, there were several events that occurred on the way from the village to the royal capital.

 

I was going to rush through them now at high speed.

 

‘The first event is Aisha’s healing magic tutorial.’

 

In the original story, Luke encountered a wolf-type monster called Hound Wolf on the road leading to the royal capital.

 

In the battle with this monster, Aisha’s healing magic tutorial took place.

 

Since it was far from the timeline when we were supposed to encounter it, I thought I wouldn’t find it, but I went to check just in case, and sure enough, I encountered the monster just like in the original story. It might have been unrelated to the event, but since I found it, I might as well exterminate it anyway. These monsters attacked people on sight, so it was better to eliminate them.

 

[Salamander, imbue my sword with fire. Just the fire is enough.]

 

“Got it!!”

 

At this point, I didn’t even need to use spirit arts.

 

As I passed by, I cut through the two Hound Wolves. The blade sunk into the monster’s flesh without any resistance, and with a sizzle, the creatures were incinerated.

 

I quickly defeated all the monsters. …I didn’t intend to let my guard down, but after fighting so many much stronger creatures, these were no match for me now.

 

I completed the healing magic tutorial without getting hurt.

 

I ran to the next destination.

 

‘Second event, an abandoned horse carriage.’

 

In the original story, on the way to the capital, Luke found a horse being attacked by monsters and a broken-down cart.

 

Originally, Luke would rescue the horse here and obtain a carriage. In game term, this was the first time you could choose a carriage as a means of transportation other than walking. By the way, the carriage could be stored in a certain facility in the royal capital, and as you progressed through the story, you could enjoy the added feature of being able to freely customize its color and pattern.

 

Normally, this event began on the fifth day after leaving the village, but nearly twenty days had already passed.

 

I figured the horse would be long gone by now, but—

 

[Luke, the horse is being attacked!]

 

There it was.

 

The location of the horse and the monsters attacking it were completely different from the original story. However, the horse looked exactly the same as in the original story, so it was probably the same animal.

 

“Salamander, enhance my body!”

 

[Yes!]

 

The horse was surrounded by red bear-like monsters called Red Bears.

 

If I continued like this, I wouldn’t make it in time. Realizing this, I activated my spirit art.

 

[Mighty flames!]

 

“Envelop my body and let me stride forward!”

 

Flame engulfed my entire body.

 

“–Blaze Armor!!”

 

Putting on the armor of crimson flames, I started running.

 

Blaze Armor, a fire spirit art that greatly enhanced physical ability, was just a buff skill in the game, but when used in real life, I realized that it was by far the most useful of all spirit arts. With enhanced strength, my options in battle increased dramatically. Going forward, I’d likely base my tactics around Blaze Armor.

 

In an instant, I got behind Red Bear and immediately unleashed Blaze Edge. The giant furred beast was cut in half.

 

I quickly wiped out the remaining three.

 

“For now, I’ve defeated the monsters, but…”

 

As I sheathed my sword, I looked at the horse I had saved.

 

In the original story, Luke used this horse carriage to head to the royal capital… but now I had Blaze Armor, which I had used earlier, and it helped me travel faster than a horse.

 

Honestly, I didn’t need a horse anymore.

 

But then… What should I do with this horse?

 

[I think this horse can survive in the wild.]

 

“Really…?”

 

[Yes, it says, ‘Thanks for the help, but I didn’t ask to be rescued. I live for the thrill of the wild now. I don’t want to be kept by humans anymore’.]

 

Really…?

 

Now that I thought about it, the lore did say spirits got along well with creatures of nature. I’d forgotten about this setting because it wasn’t particularly mentioned in the game, but I never expected it to be brought up like this.

 

“…There are a lot of monsters around here, so you should stay a little further away.”

 

[It says, ‘You don’t need to interfere.’]

 

All it said was ‘hee-hee’.

 

But Salamander wasn’t the type to lie. If that was what the horse itself said, then maybe I should just leave it alone…

 

Though things took an unexpected turn, I’d count this as completing the second event.

 

There was only one more event to occur on the way to the royal capital.

 

‘Third event: the farm raider in Rumelia Village.’

 

The destination was quite far, so I activated Blaze Armor to move there. I dashed down the road, leaving a trail of flames.

 

Farm raider in Rumelia Village. This event occurred when Luke and Aisha visited Rumelia Village on the way to the capital. Luke and Aisa ran out of food, just like the current me, so they decided to stop by the village to get some food and drink. They spent the night at a village inn, but the next morning they found the village’s fields completely destroyed.

 

The villagers suspected Luke and Aisha of being the culprits because they were from outside the village. To clear their names, they set out to investigate. Based on footprints and witness reports, they discovered the real culprits—wild monsters.

 

I would skip this entire event.

 

“–Blaze Edge!!”

 

In the woods north of Rumelia Village, I exterminated eight rabbit-like monsters called Edge Rabbits

 

In the original story, they would destroy the fields tonight. This time I managed to prevent this from happening.

 

[Huh?! Luke, there’s a big monster here!]

 

Salamander warned.

 

Indeed, the final battle in the field raider event was a fight against a mid-boss.

 

Big Rabbit, a giant rabbit monster and leader of the Edge Rabbits, attacked.

 

“Let’s defeat it before it gets close.”

 

[Got it! Noble flames!]

 

“Ride the gale and pierce the sky!!”

 

Big Rabbit’s special skill, Super Rabbit Kick, would deal a lot of damage if you got hit by it.

 

I was confident I could avoid it, but just to be safe, I’d defeat it before it got close.

 

“—Blaze Strike!”

 

A flash of flame pierced Big Rabbit.

 

Seeing the monster’s gigantic body on the ground, I let out a breath.

 

‘The time it took was four seconds, faster than speedrun…. Good, I’m getting stronger.’

 

The flames from the spirit arts had spread to the trees in the forest, so I quickly put them out with Aqua Shoot. Water magic came in handy in unexpected ways.

 

“Well, then, shall we get some food and go home?”

 

[Yeah.]

 

As if nothing had happened, I headed to Rumelia Village and bought some food from the villagers.

 

I brought three days’ worth of food for both Anita and myself. My original plan was to stay in the cave for about another week, but since I unexpectedly met Anita and learned water magic, the monsters in the cave no longer provided enough of a challenge.

 

Now that Anita was leaving, it was a good time for me to head to the capital as well.

 

I had a lot of plans for my next training.

 

“Huh?”

 

As I returned to the cave carrying the food, I felt something strange on the way.

 

Inside the cave, I felt incredible pressure coming from the safe zone that Anita and I usually occupied.

 

‘What is this… overwhelming magical power…!?’

 

The air felt heavy. I hesitated to get closer.

 

This was magic. —Up ahead, there was someone with incredible magical power.

 

Was it a human, or a monster? …If it was the latter, I wondered if Anita was safe.

 

Anxiety flooded my mind as I thought of the unknown presence.

 

A drop of cold sweat fell to the ground.

 

The sound of it snapped me to my senses.

 

—Luke does not fear.

 

More than the overwhelming magical power, the fear of not being able to fully act my role as Luke was thousands of times more frightening.

 

Luke didn’t panic like this. Luke didn’t feel fear from someone he hadn’t even seen yet.

 

Recovering my composure, I moved forward.

 

“Oh, Luke. Welcome back.”

 

When I reached the usual safe zone, there stood Anita, completely unfazed.

 

There was nothing there. No monsters or suspicious people in sight.

 

The overwhelming magical power I had felt was coming from Anita.

 

“Anita…?”

 

“Huh?… Ah, sorry! Did I startle you?”

 

Anita playfully apologized.

 

“I’ve finally finished curing the poison. That poison also had the effect of robbing me of my magical powers, so I’ve been feeling a bit restricted, but… I’m finally back to normal.”

 

With each word Anita spoke, waves of intense magical power radiated from her.

 

She had mentioned before that she wasn’t at her best due to the poison. But I never expected her presence to grow this much just from recovering… It was like she was a different person.

 

‘This is a near S-rank adventurer…’

 

Maybe somewhere in my heart, I had underestimated Anita.

 

Anita was one of the most powerful people in the Legend of Spirit. She had a cheerful personality, so I hadn’t noticed it until now, but now that I felt her strength firsthand, I couldn’t help but shudder.

 

“Well, you know, you don’t need to be that surprised.”

 

Anita-san said with a wry smile.

 

“You’re about as strong as I am, Luke.”

 

“Eh?”

 

“Wow, you weren’t aware of it… Well, people with a lot of magic don’t always realize it. It’s not that they were born with it—they’re just more prone to grow it. I’ve heard that some people don’t notice their own growth, but…”

 

From the way she spoke, it seemed someone being so unaware was a rare case.

 

‘Salamander… you could have told me.’

 

[I-I’ve been telling you from the beginning! That you have a lot of potential!! That you were born talented!!]

 

I didn’t realize she was referring to the amount of magical power I had.

 

But no wonder I felt unsatisfied with the monsters in the cave. After hunting stronger monsters for a while, I had now surpassed them.

 

“…Is our training going to end in three days?”

 

“Yeah, unfortunately, that’s how it’ll go.”

 

It was sad to hear that it was coming to an end.

 

Anita seemed to feel the same way, as she had a slightly sad look on her face.

 

“But before that, I have a favor to ask of you, Luke.”

 

Anita looked me straight in the eye and said.

 

“Would you help me with a request?”