Dwarves, Elves, and Dragons don't exist in this world. But they have their counterparts— humans that went beyond their current limitations surpassing the evolution tree itself— leaving traces in the known history like the myths told in the ancient texts...

The hermits, one of the world's most revered existence are said to likely possess this power.

The King of the Hills is not a dwarf. There are rumors that he is... but truthfully, he is not.

The King of the Hills is an enigma. His induction to the Hero Society is as sudden as the Jamlay Comet, appearing in the most random of occurrences.

Many believe that the King of the Hills is a hermit that defected to the Hero Society. Some rumors say that the King of the Hills possesses the blood of the ancient dwarven King, and his appearance is simply a result of atavism. This is also the source of his nickname, Dwarf.

—such horsecrap!

'Yeah, I admit that the name [King of the Hills] is too mouthy, but fuck. I don't want to be called DWARF!'

He drank the bitter ale as the dwarf lambast himself for his decision to join the Hero Society.

'I am not a fucking hermit! My identity is so much more volatile than those reclusive sons of bitches.'

It's very early now in the morning, and the dwarf is the tavern's only customer now. To the tavern owner's eyes, this is normal.

To his surprise, this day is very far from normal.

The chimes clinked as a new visitor arrived. He wears a sleeveless red robe exposing his slim but musculature biceps. His inner garment is made of roughshod bandages filled with intricate lines.

It was Furious Flames. His striking dark orange hair and gold irises are striking enough for the dwarf who rarely interacts with heroes to remember.

"Are ye here for a drink, lad?"

The dwarf's complexion is red in intoxication, and his real improper self is finally showing. He hardly becomes like this when he is talking to heroes. It must have hit him too hard.

It is his first time losing someone in a rescue operation he himself led. The King of the Hills takes pride in what he does. But to think that half of the orphans ended up dead in that one job...

This dwarf is truly pathetic if he can't get over something like that, he might as well quit playing hero.

"I have come to thank you. If not for you, they would have died."

"Don't thank me, lad. I just did what is expected of me."

"You saved 16 of them. (You didn't kill the other 17 who died yesterday.) They said that the King of the Hills has a weak mentality. To think that it's actually true."

"Well, given my age..."

The dwarf read along the lines of Eron's words. The King of the Hills is appreciating Furious Flames' forthcoming attitude, but Eron is not as forthcoming as the dwarf initially thought...

"Hmmm... If you think you have gone senile, then suit yourself!"

"Fuck you brat! I am not that old yet!"

"..."

Silence outweighed the dwarf's desire to yell. If the rumors got one thing right, it's that the King of the Hills is surprisingly meek. He possesses all of that power as a Destructive-grade Hero, but he's neither ambitious nor attention-seeking.

"You know, I chose to play this hero gig at your teacher's request. He... gave me the beating of my life. Sheesh, beautiful memories... When I was still ignorant of this world, I would cry over something as small as a butterfly getting trapped in a spider web..."

Ignorant? Eron speculated that the dwarf is reminiscing about his childhood. Eron won't get a second chance after this, so he tried—

"Please spar with me."

—a declaration of challenge.

Eron's spar with his teacher is not very conducive. His teacher is reluctant to go all out against him, for a good reason too.

Furious Flames simply doesn't stand a candle against a colossus like Flamecore. Strong people ain't really like grass, so Eron can't find a sparring partner that can put pressure of a higher level on him.

"Haha... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"What's so funny!?"

"No, not really. It's because you're dumb."

"Huh?"

"You want to accrue battle experience, right? Lemme tell you, this is not the right place to look for experience. But I can entertain you if you are up to it."

"..."

"It looks like you don't believe me, let me demonstrate."

"Is it because of the level difference?"

"HAHAHAHAHA! YOU KEEP ON MAKING GOOD JOKES, I MAYT* DIE OF LAUGHTER FROM YOUR JOKES! HAHAHAhahahaha..."

The dwarf then gave his most vexing smile. Eron is feeling annoyed at the moment. The King of the Hills isn't really a good conversationalist.

The two of them arrived at a secluded area where there is no vegetation. There are only flat rocks everywhere filled with glasses, sand, dirt, and obsidian.

"Kid~ though I don't like fighting, I didn't say I am not very good at it. In fact, in this same field, I fought Flamecore to a tie."

"Stop with the teasing. Let's just get done with it..."

The King of the Hills took an orange stocking cap, at the tip of it is a hammer-shaped tassel. His height didn't even reach a meter after wearing the cap. But the King of the Hills looked threateningly big to Eron's eyes.

"Nah, we won't spar. We'll battle to the death!" declares the King of the Hills.

The dwarf kicked the soil scattering dirt into the air. Then the dwarf is gone. A fist with the weight of the hammer appeared within Eron's sights.

It grew bigger as it came closer.

'I need to move, or else I will die.'

Eron's breathing synchronized with his muscles as he unleash his powers.

FLAME BLAST! As its name suggests, it's a blast of flames made to engulf and blast the enemy.

From Eron's palms, deadly flames were ejected. Because of the propulsion, it increased Eron's distance from the dwarf, while the flames inflict damage. Eron's flames are at his 100% output, an output that can even kill Destructive-grades.

Eron just knew it, since he suppressed at least half a dozen of Destructive-grades with this, and kill another dozen with it.

"Oh no, did I kill him?!"

"Don't compare me with those chumps you fought in your hero work. This percentage system isn't even reliable, kid. It's a rough measurement~"

The dwarf penetrated through the flames unharmed. The dwarf despite his claims of not liking to fight, is actually smiling like a kid enjoying his toy.

FLAME BURST! Flames erupted from Eron's palms. It's a short-distance explosion that capitalizes on a strong knockback.

Eron unleashed a series of palm strikes with his FLAME BURST to make space for himself. But the dwarf is not even bulging. For each palm strike, the dwarf simply reciprocated in kind, with ordinary palm strikes.

Eron needs to change strategies. With his FLAME BURST, he maneuvered in the air like a swallow, but the dwarf followed like a bee.

"What's the problem, kid? You can't move like you used to, right?"

"..."

"You mayt* be wondering what is happening, let me tell you. It's fear."

From a bee, the dwarf became a bullet. Eron can't even see the dwarf's afterimage.

HARDENED DIAMOND FIST!

It's true— It is fear— The fear of death!

Eron raised his arms to protect his head. The results of his desire to live pushed Eron's reflexes to a higher level.

"Heh~ at least your sense of self-preservation is not defective."

The flames that enlivened his already declining strength are burning their last. Eron's stamina is staggeringly decreasing. Meanwhile, the dwarf is still full of vigor.

EARTHQUAKE PALM!

The flames Eron is summoning to support his waning stance were extinguished by the wind unleashed from the dwarf's palm strike.

It is over— a landslide victory for the King of the Hills. He didn't even use his primary powers.

When Eron is sparring with his teacher, it is not like this. The feeling of standing on the edge. That uncertainty~

"I am disappointed Eron, Sword Blue did a lot better than you."

The King of the Hills and Sword Blue also have a history of spars. It is to Sword Blue's request as a fellow rescuer-type of hero. Sword Blue despite his lack of potential percentage is quite the fighter even to the King of the Hills' eyes.

Even Eron is gravely disappointed by his own performance that he wasn't able to perform the tricks in his sleeves and wasn't able to react on time during the battle.

...

TRIVIA!

King of the Hills— No one truly knows his name. He is an enigma. One day, he's suddenly a member of the Hero Society then that's it. Despite his strength, he only answers to Rescue Operations. He doesn't have any notable feats aside from involving himself in a lot of Rescue missions.

"I like saving people, is that a problem?"

Have a telekinetic variant ability that controls the earth. Can compress them or expand them by manipulating their density— he can turn plain earth to diamond or coal through this. Have a frightening superhuman physique specializing in endurance, then strength. He can pinpoint movements through the vibration of the earth.

At 93% potential.