The 163,417,413th Soulslike Hero

Episode 33: What if you’re scared?

It took Halsenberg a long while before he managed to muster his voice.

“…A, absurd talk.”

He let out a bitter smile, his expression filled with resignation. The way he looked at me reminded me of a father observing his son ambitiously striving to become the president.

He kept shaking his head, outright denying my words.

“Why would I endure living like this all alone if I could have snapped that hateful neck long ago? But…”

“But isn’t Master Halsenberg concealing your own strength right now?”

“…”

“It’s quite a lot too, isn’t it? Right? It surely is… am I right?”

Halsenberg fell silent, caught off guard by the sudden intrusion into my statement.

I nodded at his reaction.

Halsenberg is concealing strength.

Yes, Halsenberg is not a “fake strong,” but a “truly strong, concealing his power.” I realized this quite a while ago.

Halsenberg always pretends to be clueless, but I know. I’ve fought by his side for over a month, and I recognize that he intentionally doesn’t delve deep into enemy territory just so he can stay within my level.

‘The level of the Eye of Mimir should already be this much. And yet you still can’t even see the status…’

He’s a man far beyond my comprehension. Even I, now capable of bending steel with my bare hands, cannot fathom his level of skill.

That’s why he’s been able to defend this fortress alone for so long.

“Master Halsenberg, can I share my thoughts?”

Exactly what he had explained before. For rookies, capturing them is like trying to urinate on a hurt leg—it’s just messy.

We can fend off immediate attacks on the fortress, but the undead regenerate after a few days while our side accumulates fatigue. Supplies are gradually depleting as well.

You can’t beat the undead with chicken games.

To decisively slow the advance of the undead army, we need to infiltrate deep into enemy territory and deliver a fatal blow.

Capturing higher level entities—liches or death bishops—will significantly slow their advance.

The only reason Master Halsenberg isn’t doing so is one—my skills are insufficient. In fact, I’m holding him back.

I told Halsenberg exactly what I was thinking. He was silent as he listened with a grave expression.

“Am I mistaken? In what I say.”

When I asked, he shook his head firmly.

“You’re wrong, Jung Yong.”

Wrong.

I scratched the back of my head and let out a hollow laugh.

“Master Halsenberg, you’re overestimating me.”

“You’re underestimating yourself if you say so. Your growth rate is extraordinary. I’ve never seen a novice as terrifying as you.”

“… Well, that.”

“At the very least, I had only hoped to consider you useful if you were merely competent at carrying my baggage for at least a month. Yet look at you now. You’ve already wiped out half the remnants on your own.”

“It’s… it’s just luck. Yeah, just luck.”

“Luck that repeats becomes inevitability, and inevitability becomes skill.”

Although Halsenberg spoke these words, I couldn’t help but feel I was receiving unjustified praise.

The reason for my extraordinarily rapid growth stems from the skill “Divine Favor” I obtained as a Guardian perk. Since leveling this skill to its max level—level 10—my experience absorption speed has skyrocketed.

Currently, I acquire an additional 50% of gained experience. That means I have a 1.5 times more effective hunting rate than others.

In short, this is just plain skill luck that I was born with.

“…”

I furrowed my brow in discomfort, letting out a low sigh.

Halsenberg approached me slowly, then patted my shoulder as he spoke.

“You’re the one who’s overestimating me. Alone, I would be nothing but a speck of dust entering the center of that massive undead army. At most, I could capture a few liches, but… I’d most likely lose my life too.”

“… Is that true?”

“My death would be the death of this fortress. Thus, it’s impossible to kill the Eldritch. As a noble and soldier of Mittelrand, I have to preserve this fortress as long as possible.”

His conviction was absolute, containing not even a trace of possibility.

And at that moment, I began to deeply respect this man.

‘Wow, he truly knows everything but still didn’t act out rashly?’

Halsenberg is well aware that objectively, he has no chance of victory.

Facing this inevitable death that approaches with time, what could he be thinking? Being a soldier from head to toe, it was people like him they were referring to, right?

“To that extent, are they that strong?”

“What’s the point in saying it? The real issue is the undead numbers that never decrease. They keep resurrecting endlessly.”

Indeed. That’s why it’s an undead army—it endlessly regenerates.

In other words, to deliver a meaningful blow to them, we need to either eliminate those controlling the undead, such as liches or high-level undead mages like death bishops, or we must take down their leader, Eldritch, all at once.

When I finally nodded, Halsenberg chuckled.

“I’m investing in you. If I could have wiped out the undead army by myself, why would I endlessly request reinforcements from the capital or try to form suicide squads?”

“… That’s true.”

“Even my strength has its limits. To deliver a meaningful blow, I need you—strengthened. We are still at the preparatory stage for that.”

No.

That’s not true. I don’t need to become any stronger.

I turned the corner of my mouth slightly, negating his statement inwardly.

‘What’s needed is time. And… my death. That’s all.’

However, our recent conversation was extremely enlightening.

I decided to ask one final question to confirm Halsenberg’s true intent.

“Master Halsenberg, I have one more question.”

“… Go ahead. What more, eh? I’ll pass if it’s absurd nonsense like before. Hahaha.”

“Is it because of you that the central government hasn’t provided support even though the territory is in such dire straits?”

“….”

Once again, Halsenberg fell silent.

By the unspoken rule, silence equates to affirmation. Assuming this, I pressed on.

“Have you offended the central authorities?”

Halsenberg looked at me with trembling eyes.

With his mouth firmly shut, he seemed to ponder deeply for a moment, before slowly nodding. Frustration and anger surged in his voice.

“Yes, I’ve been slandered by the inner ministers who support the Seven Horsemen. The reason I, once a promising heir to the Seven Horsemen, was exiled to this remote area is because of that.”

“Slander? Why?”

“It’s embarrassing to admit, but it was envy of my magical talents. They were afraid that I, without power or connections, might rise as a new force to succeed the Seven Horsemen.”

“Hmm. That’s understandable. Master Halsenberg is indeed someone to be envied.”

When I nodded in complete agreement, Halsenberg gave a deflated smile. However, the smile quickly faded.

His face began to distort in ways that were almost frightening.

“The king’s men hope for my death. Even if they plan to exterminate Eldritch, they’ll expect it after I’m gone.”

“… Yes. That appears likely to me as well.”

“Even my life could be handed over without hesitation. Exile? I’d accept it. I’ve put forth my best effort wherever I’ve been. In this place too, I’ve given my all to protect the people. Faced with demons and undead, I’ve exhausted my strength in battle. If the result is death, I will willingly accept it. However.”

His face now brimmed with anger, emitting a chilling aura. With a creak, Halsenberg’s fingers dug into the armrests of the iron chair.

It felt like the air was vibrating. Breathing became difficult.

“I can’t forgive abandoning the people to death. They shouldn’t allow this. They shouldn’t. How can anyone in human form think this way…?”

“…”

“They managed to barely evacuate under the leadership of my old comrade, Viscount Essenthar. In the capital… no one lent a hand. No one. Not a single person.”

As tears streamed down the corners of Halsenberg’s glaring eyes, they caught the sunset’s glow and burned red like blood.

At the embodiment of his hatred, I caught my breath.

“Master Halsenberg… you are truly…”

Watching Halsenberg, I felt a deep, painful sense of connection.

This man. His way of thinking is like a textbook example of naive idealism. Even after being exploited, saying “I’ll give my best wherever I am,” it’s infuriating. Are we filming a dramatic youth series?

‘Mr. Halsenberg… Damn, it’s so heartbreaking…’

His level of thinking is so close to mine that it might almost make me cry too. Would people feel the same pitiful sympathy for me?

Let me, as a veteran of a foolish life, give you some sharp advice, Master Halsenberg.

“Then, that’s precisely why you must not die meaninglessly.”

My words stopped Halsenberg’s tears.

Approaching him by one step, I spoke firmly.

“They wish for your death, Master Halsenberg. Why would you give it to them so easily? You must cling to life—no matter what. That’s how we make them regret it, right?”

“However… I would not have the face to see the villagers and soldiers who died because of my ignorance and unworthy leadership. Other than dying here after a final stand, I have… no other options.”

Muttering, Halsenberg displayed a defeatist side that made my eyebrows twitch.

I resumed my speech this time in a colder tone.

“Is this kindness towards me as a hero also due to the same reason? Do you blame yourself for the riots among the heroes as well?”

“… No. That is different.”

Surprisingly, Halsenberg shook his head. His genuine thoughts began to flow out.

“I already mentioned that I’ve been betrayed once by the capital and exiled here.”

“…”

“It’s not just about the heroes behaving poorly. Humans, in general, are like that. Selfish, arrogant, always thinking of themselves first, and unable to see the bigger picture. The occurrence of that incident was inevitable.”

“…”

“Therefore, I do not blame them. Whom I must blame is myself for forgetting that obvious fact amid the urgent times. As a leader, I should have recognized the hidden desires within their kindness but failed to do so.”

A profound emptiness filled Halsenberg’s words, showing his pure, unguarded truth.

There was a bitter smile on his lips, one filled with self-deprecation.

“And ironically speaking… who gave me the most strength amidst the despair of civil war? It was Gena, one of those heroes.”

“… Is that so?”

“Because she abandoned everything to follow me, I too could abandon everything to endure until now.”

Let me be honest here.

Though it makes me deeply sorry for Halsenberg, who’s in a heartrending place, to be truthful, I’m rather pleased right now.

‘Unbelievable…’

That is exactly what suits him.

Halsenberg shouldn’t trust the hero too much, nor distrust them too much.

His current state of moderate despair and self-abandonment is the perfect condition to accept my proposal.

So let’s start. I’ve gathered all necessary information, and all signals are green.

I immediately launched my proposal to Halsenberg.

“Then, how about this?”

Changing my tone and raising my voice, Halsenberg blinked.

Smiling confidently at his reaction, I spoke.

“Starting now, I’ll guarantee Master Halsenberg’s life. Please participate in my operation according to my instructions.”

“… A plan?”

“I’ll offer you the head of Eldritch as my reward.”

‘Is he still talking nonsense like this?’ Halsenberg’s cold gaze clearly conveyed that.

But I grinned widely at his skepticism and finished my sentence.

“If you’re scared, die if you must.”