Alternate Route 5

[Godslayer is now Lv. 3!]

By learning about the essence of that Religion and 'rebelled' against it, I somehow gained more understanding about Godslayer.

As a result, it leveled up. Just my own conjecture so far though.

Night fell down the city and I was about to go back to the Inn, but my steps were heavy. Even if the God of Heroes granted me his protection, it didn't make me feel at ease.

Learning from my past mistakes, I went to a nearby park and began to ponder. I don't want to bump into a random stranger and cause unnecessary troubles.

'I'd be glad to comply if it's within my abilities.'

it's not like I had given a definite answer.

If I don't think I can do it, I don't have to.

Besides, it's not beneficial if I just get on with it.

I still have a lot of things I want to do. Wouldn't it be fine to just do whatever I want and not rush defeating the final boss, if there's a place I could feel safe in?

Most importantly, I need a good amount of time to max out my levels and stats.

Plus, I don't like, how after the boss is defeated, everything would end.

Why must it be this way? Why can't the world remain if it's peaceful?

Is what the God of Heroes saying, really the truth?

I glanced at my surroundings. People were going on their merry ways without much care. No signs of unrest at all.

Thinking about it, made me even more curious. If I didn't solve this right away, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to sleep the night.

Ah, shit.

I forget to ask about the [Hero] class.

...

[Holy Empire Dei Magnus engages the Demon King Army. Saint Hero-sama valiantly commands the battle from the front lines.]

[So far, in these years, both sides were locked in a stalemate, but we believe Justice shall prevail. The calamity known as the Demon King shall be no more.]

The Magical Iris advertisement at the end kinda broke the tension.

...thinking about it, I'm not sure if I could even bear the prestige of the [Hero] class, even if I could change class to it. I'd better read about it and comprehend things fully before proceeding.

All the Adventurer-looking people just went on their business like usual, not giving a damn about what happened out there.

"Looking up the news about the war? One of yer folks in front lines?"

An eyepatch-wearing adventurer shouted out; his body was riddled with scars.

"I don't have anyone."

He patted the seat beside him. There didn't seem to be anyone else.

I sat across, maintaining a safe distance in case he tried anything funny.

The Adventurer gave me a shark smile, "Listen here, lad. If I were you, I'd be going to other countries right now—before they issue mass drafting. The Pope really want to resolve things once and for all, no matter how many innocents he had to sacrifice."

The Pope?

Was the King who brought world peace, supposed to be the previous Popes who won?

In any case, I'm really bad with these obligatory army training. Thank goodness my country doesn't have them.

It's not like I hadn't expected this, due to God of Heroes' info about the war—but I never imagine it to escalate so much.

It sucks, I couldn't stay in this city for a prolonged time. Maybe I could just negotiate the contract?

While I was deep in thought, the Adventurer's loud voice rang in my ears.

"No offense there, kiddo. Ye just don't look like ya love fights. But for us mercenaries, it's money. Doing Quests just won't do for our booze!"

I didn't see any booze on his table though, only barley tea and soup.

"When's the draft and how can I leave this country?"

"The mass drafts will begin a week from now—no secret a' longer. As for buzzing off, it all depends on ye. I know many ratholes, but now—they'd all hightailed cuz shit's 'bout ta go down."

"I was wondering—people in here didn't seem afraid or restless at all, what's the catch?"

"That's why I don't understand the religious folks of this country. Feh, I'm just a simple outlander going fer thrills n' cash. Most of the runways were also foreigners—come to think of it, ye don't seem to be around here. Well—whatever business ya have, better rush it."

A week, huh. Why it's so damn short? Ugh, I'm not sure if it's enough to finish shit.

"Speaking of which, do you know of some good hunting grounds? I'd feel like training a bit."

"I'm a hired blade, lad. My blade's at home with killing people than silly critters. You'd better ask at that guild...unless ya want to spar with me? Harhar!"

Damn, I hit a jackpot! Finally a chance to level up in one go. It sucks I couldn't just try picking a different class, but I could just visit the guild anytime.

But this chance didn't come every day.

"It's indeed a good idea. Senior, please take care of me."

"Hahaha! For someone so weak-looking, you sure have the biggest balls! Be aware though, one of us might die from this—but at least you won't go to jail."

Well, the God of Heroes kinda said it earlier. If you kill someone via consensual sparring, it's not a crime.

"Sure!"

"Let's shake hands and battle like warriors. I hope you can make my blood boil. All of these wars I've gotten in were lukewarm."

The moment we walked together outside of the Inn, I overheard the talks of people.

"That young man...he seriously challenged Old Death?"

"He's a veteran mercenary surviving a hundred battles...he even killed numerous people just from sparring."

"He's not a bad guy at heart, but he's too ruthless when it comes to fighting. Someone stop that young man, he seriously has a death wish!"

"No good. The moment someone agreed to Old Death's challenge, there's no getting out of it."

"Sigh...well, Old Death never lost anyway—it's the same old deal. That'd teach the youngsters to know their place."

Oh?

Actually, I'm just curious about the correction effect when I fought the thugs earlier. Besides, I have been a weakling for most of my life. I want to view the world in a different way for once.

Since this felt more like a game than reality, I don't feel like taking things too seriously.

A lot of people followed as Old Death led me towards the fighting area.

It's a large open field with stone-tiled floors.

"Ready your weapon."

Old Death brandished a rusty greataxe with a sinister skull carving. A deadly aura seems to be pouring out...

I took the toy gun from my inventory. The moment its appearance greeted myriads of eyes around, the crowd broke to a clamor.

"Kid, you serious? You looking down on me?"

"Of course not. Senior is strong, I don't have any other choice if I want to put a good fight."

It's true.

This toy gun is currently the strongest weapon I had, even if it's actually the work of weapon exploit.

I couldn't even laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of the idea since it's already proven and tested.

I'm not fully confident whether I'd put up a good fight, but this kind of experience truly makes my heart race.

"Well, let's see if you had what it takes!"

As Old Death finished his words, he immediately charged straight at me. Such a brutal acceleration—it only took a moment before his ax aimed towards at my head!

That charge was so reckless, he didn't even consider his own defense. No guards put—he didn't even wear any armor.

At least I had my own armor piece equipped via the System.

Instead of cleaving my torso, the fact he aimed for my head, proved his own confidence of killing me in one shot.

Still, the trajectory's a bit too predictable just from the movement of his shoulders.

I stepped to the side using minimal movement; placing few shots onto the old mercenary, the moment his greataxe cleaved thin air. At least there are a few seconds of having to steady your body before striking again.

I don't want to kill him, so I set the toy gun into single shot mode instead of burst fire or full auto.

"Guah!"

What I totally didn't expect—even a single bullet caused his body to greatly stagger and he let out a bloodcurdling scream. When the first bullet pierced his shoulder, I even heard cracking sounds.

If it's a normal bullet on a pistol, I don't believe just a molten metal would disorient someone so much. But each of it had the full power strike of a war-hammer, which got even more devastating from its speed.

The second and third shot going at his rib and leg blew him few meters away. He coughed huge mouthfuls of blood after rolling a good amount as his body slammed against the ground.

...just like that, the battle was finished. It's fortunate Old Death was still breathing, but...

What the fuck?

[You are now Level 15!]

I thought my agility was my lowest stat. It doesn't make sense how I could read the enemy's trajectory and dodge so easily.

I still enjoy the huge jump in level nonetheless. The fact that Godslayer hadn't leveled up means, the God of Heroes had kept his promise.

Like I thought, job levels are harder to grind due to the small job experience per battle. I kind of heard, leveling Adventurer to an Intermediate class wasn't easy either.

"It's simple, really." I heard a man's voice coming from behind, "The opponent's just charged at a straight line. As long you kept your calm, that charge is easy enough to avoid. The reason Old Death is successful is that he picks opponents that are likely to fear death or pain. Lots of hot-blooded idiot youngsters around sure helped his cause.

I don't think to survive one hundred battles and continuously winning the spars has anything to do with bravery. You can simply sit on the most secure spot and not moving, and pick the easiest opponents to show off."

The fact he so casually analyzed the battle—it didn't feel like he's just showing off his knowledge as well.

I wonder why I was so fearless in face of impending doom? Probably since I faced opponents like the Death Eater before, it got imprinted to my own battle sense?

"What about you, Captain? Do you think you can win against the marksman?"

"I won't even stand a chance against you guys. I suck at fighting. The only thing I'm good at is playing games and giving out orders."

"You're too humble, Cap'n."

The moment I turned my face towards the source—it's the celebrity himself.

Kevin Orleans. He stuck like a sore thumb with his shiny platinum armor, military buzz cut, and a portable gaming console. How he's with the Holy Order members, followed by incessant screaming of fangirls (and one dude) truly made him a character.

Different from the mercenary, he's not someone I could challenge.

...one of them being, he didn't seem to be the type to fight on his own volition. A lot of strong people have that tendency. That's why, back in the days, I heard a saying.

A humble person is usually a big deal...

Before that...

"Oh, Knight-Captain. Fancy seeing you here."

"...ah. Are you here to join the military, by chance? Or do you want to provide us with armaments? We can only pay in credit with a fixed interest rate, though..."

Overhearing a bit, most people seem to be interested in my gun, rather than my skills.

Hey, I heard one prick who said my win was pure luck and it's due to my overpowered gear.

Speak of the devil. Kevin's conversational skills are sure top-notch. I like how he's straight to the point from the first line.

Thanks for revealing a piece of critical information. Judging that your military funding is poor and the Pope's striving to end it, soon the commoners would be implicated.

"I'm more curious about the mass-drafting."

"Oh, that." Kevin paused for a bit, "It's only mandatory for able-bodied people and it's just military training in case the city experienced sieges. They only would be handling logistic purposes such as distributing food, moving heavy equipment and maintaining the walls and towers. Only the cream of the crop would be sent to front lines.

Plus, we do not involve foreigners in our own affair. We just hope, during a siege, people could stay at their home and not leave the city. If they don't have housing, we of the Holy Order will provide it."

Hmm...

I won't ask when exactly it'd be so I wouldn't seem eager. The moment I show any more interest, he'd probably solicit me to death.

Seems like a pain. I felt like going abroad if I could just laze around.

"What about the other countries?"

"I'm afraid they might be on a worse state against the Demon Army the moment it attacks since the toughest stronghold belongs to our nation. In any case, never trust Old Death. The only thing he did so far was fighting people to death and drinking for free."

I don't trust his words. First of all, Old Death didn't drink any booze today. I didn't see any notable features like a shaggy beard, bad breath, unkempt hair, slurry speeches, and wobbly steps.

Even his eyes were completely focused and his words, albeit rough, still contain decent rationale.

Well, Kevin had all the right to lie for public approval. In this case, celebrities weren't all different from politicians. Even if he could just slack off in the news, when it comes to the actual sport—he'd probably got his penis cut off.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Mr. Gunman, if you feel like joining our training, you're welcome at the Holy Order anytime. Here's my token of recommendation."

Training, huh...

Even if I didn't feel like joining, it'd be a nice thing to have.

"Thanks."

Having a figure of authority on your side, one would think twice before bullying you.

[Received 'Kevin Orleans' Token'!]

Along the way, I decided to just have dinner at a family restaurant nearby. While the food wasn't as good as Monkey Island's Cymbals, it's still a good change of pace.

It doesn't seem I could laze around after a week. If I stayed inside the city, I'm not sure if I could avoid the military training. Even if I'm a foreigner, didn't seem like the Holy Order would let me idle around.

If I went outside the country, the god's protection would be no more.

That's when I fiddled around with my System options and opened up my Map without realizing it.

[Slime Farm]

Ah, the old man from Monkey Island Cymbals told me, there's a slime farmer nearby and the Pope loves his pudding.

...what shocked me was...

[Evil God's Shrine]

In the mountains near the farm.

Did the God of Heroes add its location when I'm not aware of it?

For now, I just want to enjoy my meal.

I'll prepare myself the best I could, by leveling up until I felt it's enough.

Maybe Level 99 will suffice?

During this week, I shall do my best to settle everything—but I won't force myself too hard either. That'd be counterproductive.

I will work towards saving the world, and myself living a relaxed life, here.

Not everywhere else.

I'm already too tired—and the library's already closed since it's nightfall. The guild was still open though.

Since my brain were all muddled due to a shitload of things happening I went back to my Inn room.

Going for the hot bath tonight, I scrubbed my body clean and brushed my teeth. There's a lot of useful modern items in the Item Shop, hurray for hi-tech another world.

Before I went to bed, I left something special out there.

The Holy Order might be protecting me since I'm one of Kevin's acquaintances and there's also the one from the God of Heroes himself.

At least, my life won't be in any danger.

...but, for the rest, I wouldn't be sure. Like, if there's any [Steal] skill that directly accessed my inventory—it'd be the end of me.

You can never underestimate the depths of human greed.

...

The next day, the toy gun I left out there was gone.

No sweat, I still had a few more.

Checking the unread alerts, however—it made my lips curl up in a stupid manner.

[Trickster obtained!]

Description: with a small chance, inflict a random debuff to the enemy per attack.

This skill may not bypass debuff immunity.

...

Jackpot again.

With the 500-hit toy gun, this will be extremely strong on solo-ing boss mobs.

You never know, how much greed can drop your IQ.

Thanks for the reward.

As for what happened on the other side, I got a gist of it.

...but well, it's none of my business.