I Became the 101st Hero

《 Chapter 52 》 The Second Trial (Complete)

*

“Absolute obedience?”

­That’s correct.

Then, the reality I’ve been turning a blind eye to must be related to absolute obedience.

But even so, I couldn’t imagine what that reality was at all.

­I thought I had been given enough clues. Am I still just ignoring it?

Suddenly, the space began to shimmer again.

Flustered, I asked her.

“Wasn’t the trial already over?”

­What comes next isn’t a trial. This is merely my assistance out of pity for you.

Not a trial, but help?

I had no idea what she meant.

Then, beyond the shimmering field of vision, a scenery began to unfold.

‘Where is this?’

It was an inn room.

But it was different from the trial.

I was observing Allen from a third-person perspective.

­You need to face reality.

Then, before my eyes, Allen started to move.

In the first attempt, Allen froze and died before the wolf. The same happened in the second and third attempts.

From the fourth attempt onward, he didn’t even go after the wolf. Instead, he died at the hands of a bandit who invaded the inn.

These were all scenarios I was familiar with.

Of course, since they perfectly matched the narratives of Allen Pleuk from my first through fourth attempts.

Thus, the playthroughs began to unfold.

He was killed by the Demon King who invaded the village.

Died after encountering a bandit on the way to Basilium.

At that time, I was just annoyed by Allen’s frustrating behavior and thought it was bizarre.

Allen didn’t follow my orders well, but it seemed like he was growing in his own way as the attempts continued.

‘He still couldn’t become a hero due to his bottom-tier talent, though.’

And so, the 100 attempts passed by.

In the 100th attempt, Allen put in some effort.

He was probably the closest to my current self among all the Allens so far.

He had just lacked absolute obedience.

Yeah, it made sense.

I recognized the reality I had been denying.

Seeing Allen’s habits and judgments, I had no choice but to acknowledge it.

“I admit it. The Allen up to the 100th attempt was all me possessing him.”

The frustrating movements Allen showed were quite natural.

A modern person living in the city suddenly dropped into a game world.

He met a wolf for the first time in his life—there was no way he wouldn’t freeze.

Violence and murder would also inevitably cause hesitation for someone with modern values.

“In this trial, the 100th attempt was the 100th Allen I trained, right?”

­That’s correct. And, in fact, there was one more crucial clue. Yet, you continued to ignore it until the end. The absence of absolute obedience was not the only difference, was it?

“…The Inheritance Stigma was different.”

In the first and second attempts, it was a coincidence that the stigmas overlapped.

No, it wasn’t a coincidence. [Rose Emblem] and [Royal Emblem] were combinations that didn’t change no matter which character I trained.

However, feeling frustration with Allen’s training, I began to change the stigma starting from then.

Thanks to that, I had roughly pieced it together from the middle of the process.

I understood what the identity of the playthroughs in the trials was.

But subconsciously, I just wanted to deny it.

‘I was that fool, Allen.’

Self-loathing washed over me.

But at the same time, I began to understand the god’s words that this wasn’t just an extension of a trial.

‘But this time, I’m different.’

The conditions were almost the same.

Of course, the mastery of swordsmanship and Wind’s Power was different, but what mattered most was that I too had no absolute obedience.

‘Even if I had [Swordsmanship (B+)] in the first attempt, I would have frozen and died like that.’

In contrast, the current me didn’t really need absolute obedience.

Sometimes there were regrettable situations, but those occurrences were gradually diminishing.

I faced the reality.

‘I was that fool, Allen Pleuk. But…’

That reality wasn’t so bad.

‘I’ve already grown quite a bit.’

From a fool to only a slight idiot, that is.

Once I accepted the reality I didn’t want to acknowledge, I could grasp my positive reality a bit better.

Then, I felt the fog in my mind, filled with all sorts of questions, starting to lift.

The me until the 100th attempt, where absolute obedience was absent.

Thoughts even reached what I barely could try to do with that.

“I have a question.”

­If I can answer, I will.

“What’s the concept of time here?”

This was crucial.

If time flowed the same as the outside world, then going out for the trial right now would be the right decision.

That way, I could narrowly align with my plans.

­Of course, it doesn’t flow the same as the reality’s time. For you, the duration of reality that has passed during the 13 attempts is about two days.

Four years in two days.

Then if I were to go through the remaining 87 attempts, it would take about a month, at most.

‘A month should be manageable.’

Considering what I could gain, it was worth the risk.

“Will I still get to experience the remaining 87 attempts?”

­It’s not impossible, but it won’t be that helpful. The specific memories of the events I experienced in your trials can’t be taken outside.

That was an unexpected limitation.

However, thinking that someone other than me could take information gained from this trial outside felt better.

A sudden thought came to me.

“Then what about the realizations gained from these trials? Wouldn’t they also be erased?”

­No, only the memories of specific events will fade like a dream. The growth you achieved through the trials will continue as it is.

That was a relief.

That much seemed fine for what I intended to do.

It was a little disappointing that I wouldn’t get more specific knowledge of the future.

“Then please send me back to the 13th attempt.”

­May I ask why?

“I still have realities I want to confirm.”

After a moment of hesitation, the God of Reality replied.

­Understood.

In that instant, my vision warped once again.

*

According to the god, the information obtained here would eventually fade like a dream.

What I could take with me would be only the realizations and growth I gained due to those.

Then the only thing I had to do during the remaining 87 attempts was one thing.

‘Let’s see just how far my swordsmanship can go.’

I understood that this trial was a mere illusion.

I no longer held onto attachments from the past.

Gwen, Weiss, Elsie in this place.

They weren’t as important as their real counterparts.

To protect the real versions of them, I had to get stronger first.

So I let go of my regrets.

I headed straight for Sakh.

Then I sought Libero.

I didn’t need any nonsense about [Authority of the Leim Royal Family].

Just the will to learn his swordsmanship.

That was enough.

It was the same when I first met him.

When I asked him to teach me swordsmanship based on the agreement with the former Leim King, he didn’t take me seriously.

But when I showed my determination to learn swordsmanship, he finally accepted me as his disciple.

Thus, I spent an attempt training under him.

Even as the world fell into ruin due to the Demon Kings, I silently trained in swordsmanship. I knew there was no meaning to this world.

Ironically, it was a little unexpected with Libero. I expected him to leave me when the Demon Kings’ invasion intensified, just like he did in the third attempt.

However, he stayed by my side.

Like a giant tree watching over a budding sprout.

Even in a world facing destruction, he kept teaching me swordsmanship until the very end.

The next attempt was the same, as was the one after that.

Thus, one attempt after another passed by.

Finally, it reached the 100th attempt.

“Good to see you again.”

Naturally, the Libero of the 100th attempt didn’t remember me from the previous attempts.

However, the meeting with him now felt natural.

My skill by the 100th attempt had reached a level where even Libero, seeing me for the first time, could recognize it.

“How many times have you seen me?”

“Now you’ve seen me for the 100th time.”

If I excluded the first attempt when I couldn’t even meet him, counting the times I met the reality version made it correct to say I was at the 100th.

“You’re completely insane. If we calculate based on the time spent training in swordsmanship, it seems I’ve reached a level comparable to yours. Yet, is there still something left to learn from me?”

To that question, I answered as if it were obvious.

“Because I still haven’t caught up to you.”

In fact, his skill hadn’t even entered my field of vision yet.

It might have been impossible to catch up from the beginning.

But what was certain was that I was much stronger than I had been at the 13th attempt.

“Follow me, boy.”

Thus, until the final 100th attempt.

I stayed with him.

“I wanted to win against you at least once.”

At the end of each attempt, I always tried something.

That was to clash with him at full strength.

Since I hadn’t powered up in any aspect apart from swordsmanship, my approach was solely through swordsmanship.

Libero also fought me while suppressing his abilities as a Demon King as much as possible.

Of course, the outcome was always the same.

I had never been able to win against him.

“It looks like my dedicated training with you has finally come to an end.”

Sitting down defeated after losing to him, I gazed once again at the dying world.

A powerful chaos began to engulf the world.

No barrier or relic could endure against that chaos.

Before long, I would also be swallowed up.

That’s when it happened.

“The most important thing in swordsmanship is conviction.”

“What?”

“Your swordsmanship is too cautious. Rotate your upper body more to align it with the sword. Push the sword in deeper.”

He seemed pleased, smiling.

“If you did that, you could have touched the tip of my blade.”

I momentarily stood there, stunned.

‘Could I have even reached him? My blade?’

I wanted to prove that.

But it was already too late.

Chaos was looming right before us.

“It was enjoyable, boy. If we meet again, do let me know then.”

He said with a bittersweet smile.

“I realized this only when reaching the end of the world.”

His eyes reflected the sight of the world met with destruction.

“Ultimately, a sword is just a tool. The end of swordsmanship exists in the owner’s purpose.”

Chaos swiftly engulfed both of us.

I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to pass on his last message.

Because all the memories I’ve experienced so far will now fade.

*