Arc | Chapter. 38: Ebb & Flow (Patreon)

Chapter. 38: Ebb & Flow

Heroes, they were beings created by the System in order to defend it; but now with their purpose long gone, they roamed the lands and acted on their own selfish desires. Some, like me, probably choose to be uninvolved, however, there were those that banded together to create organizations.

As for what they did, or what their endgame was, I didn’t know or care. I just knew that heroes even if rare, were around; those like me that had gone through hellish training. We were beings of legend, figures that most people had probably never even met before, every single feat that seemed above human limits were attributed to us.

Or them.

I didn’t wish to be a hero, my strength was my own, perhaps I was forced to acquire it just like my class. But, I didn’t want to consider myself a hero. Even then, it was a fact that my status as one, would get me involved with things I didn’t want to, and today, one such thing had happened.

Perhaps it had been an extreme decision, but I stuck with it.

A long icy breath left me as the System spoke to me, giving me messages.

[ You have defeated: Hero of Shadows. Tier: SS. ]

[ You have leveled up. ]

[ You have leveled up. ]

[ You have leveled up. ]

That was all, no new skill, no new reward; but for the first time since coming to this world I had leveled up. Which meant a variety of things; probably quite a few heroes were higher level than me given the very first one I met was also higher level than me. Another thing was that SSS Tier was attainable. Or so I felt.

Tiers were very close together, with S being at level 125, and SS being at 150; the only exception was F Tier which was only until level 9 before becoming E Tier all the way to 25; where one would then advance to D Tier.

I didn’t know if SSS Tier was at level 175, or if it also had some sort of exception and was a different level instead, but I simply knew that I had taken my first step to get there. That thought did make me smile, but I was also tired. This fight was something I had completely forced and to some extent I had committed murder in cold blood.

I wasn’t too sure about the latter, but the former was really not something I was proud of, but at last. It was over. Now, all I had to do was deal with the Hero of Flames, though I certainly couldn’t fight him now, not after using that many skills in a row. My mana pool was actually admittedly quite terrible, but still, perhaps I could fix that shortcoming in the near future.

For now, I had to leave.

I took a breath and looked in the direction in which I threw the spear. And I paused. The building was destroyed, I could see ice jutting out even from kilometers away, however standing there in the open was a man of orange hair and red eyes; ones whose gaze was meeting mine.

[Hero of Flames. Tier: SS]

It was the Hero of Flames. Slowly, he lifted his hand as a small light ignited on his finger and I prepared myself, only⁠— he moved it around, writing a message with heat onto the air.

“Your status remains with me and the Hero of Shadows, no one else shall know. You have my word, you won’t be hearing from us.”

And with that he turned around and walked into the building. I blinked for a moment, unsure if to trust him; but I had just killed the Hero of Shadows, so he was probably serious. I doubt either of them expected this outcome.

I watched as a burst of incandescent orange swept through the building, and at that moment all of the ice presence I felt was instantly wiped⁠— incinerated in a blink. Then, there was silence. I stood there, listening to the sounds of the forest as everything slowly came to a calm.

The wind blew, as I slowly registered the meaning of what happened with my ice. Given how fast it melted, it only meant one thing.

The Hero of Flames was stronger than me.

Before fighting him I had to grow stronger, the question was…

How…?

* * * * *

It was as if time had stopped. All there was in sight was an eternal abyss; a pitch black void that had no end or beginning. Particles⁠— motes of darkness ebbed up and down, their shapes defined by the light of nothingness they absorbed ⁠— akin to small black holes, floating in space yet repelling each other like sparkling stars.

It was a vast canvas that didn’t seem to have an end, one where motes floated and collided with one another at random intervals. A place where time flowed at its own pace; detached from reality, governed by its own laws and principles. And within it, the randomness of its space, slowly repelled multiple motes into one another and they fused.

This happened multiple times, until finally, he awakened.

Siegfried gasped, looking into the vast nothingness as the motes finally began to complete his body, until finally he was whole once more.

The light in the void shut down, and finally he came back to reality gasping for air in a cave. He felt like death, he felt so drained. He⁠— he… He couldn't— he…

He died…?

His brain slowly processed the events that led him there, and finally before he could even form a proper opinion on things, a system notification flashed before him.

[ Rebirth of Shadows has been used. ]

[ Rebirth of Shadows has entered a cooldown of: 9 Years, 364 days, 23 hours and 59 minutes… ]

[ You have leveled down. ]

[ You have leveled down. ]

…

[ Warning: Your level has dropped below your Tier, your stats have been adjusted accordingly, your Tier and skills remain the same. ]

He stared for a moment, gritting his teeth. Killing heroes was far from easy⁠— and this was one of the primary reasons why, but this reason was meant to be the last barrier standing behind killing a hero. And yet⁠— it had been used. [Rebirth of Shadows] had been used.

Siegfried gritted his teeth, his hard work from so long had also been devalued, he had lost levels⁠— he had lost his SS Tier even if it technically remained the same. It was⁠— unacceptable! And it was all because of a crazy bi⁠—

“Stand up,” a familiar voice said.

The Hero of Shadows paused and looked up only to see his friend, the Hero of Flames standing there crossing his arms. It was clear he was in a bad mood. And Siegfried was as well, but he complied and crossed his arms.

“So⁠—”

“So nothing.” The Hero of Flames shook his head. “We’ll let her be, I could’ve killed her but it’d be stupid of me to act⁠ given the situation. And later when she’s recovered, killing her will prove to be extremely difficult. So we’ll let her be.”

Siegfried paused, seeing what his companion was saying. “Why⁠— you could’ve killed her.”

“You forget, he can sense when heroes die, you forget that he will act if a hero dies and more heroes fight.” The Hero of Flames growled. “I do not want to get involved in such a thing, we are leaving. As for the plans in regard to the Grand Duke, we shall leave it be. There are plenty of less troublesome puppets to find.”

Shaking his head, the man turned around.

“We are leaving.”

Siegfried paused. “What about my lost levels⁠—”

“No, there will be no revenge against Arc, the Heroine of Frost, forget about her.”

With those words, the Hero of Flames turned into a burning mass of flames before disappearing completely. Siegfried blinked, he knew where he went, but this also meant one thing; he had been abandoned. Even though he had done nothing wrong, and had been dragged into a fight he didn’t want to be in, he was still the one to blame.

The Hero of Shadows gritted his teeth.

Why?

Was it because unlike Jaye, he didn’t go into a battle rampage to level up and instead chose to live a lavish life upon arriving here? Unlike the Hero of Flames, he himself hadn’t gained a single level since coming to this world; had that been his mistake?

His teeth gnashed, producing ugly sounds.

Was it because he was weaker than the woman? Because he was humiliated? Because he died without being able to put up a fight?

Because he was weak?

The cave started to darken, the ceiling began to drip black, as his anger flared.

Because the keeper of order would interfere?! No, that was just an excuse⁠— the Hero of Flames was looking down on him, his revenge was on him to handle. And he would do exactly that⁠—

No matter what.

The Hero of Shadows stood up. He had lost what he once had, all because of a crazy whore, and he wasn’t going to stop at anything until she paid back⁠— and then…

His eyes narrowed, he’d ensure the Hero of Flames paid the price.

They were hardly friends, more like friendly acquaintances, but now they were enemies.

Even if Uwell intervened, even if the System itself prevented him, even if the world fell apart in an attempt to stop him, he’d carry on and receive his retribution.

Because he was a Hero.

His fists tightened.

He had been complacent for so long that he forgot the most important rule of this world.

Strength is supreme.

And his first real target, and person to kill was none other than Arc, and he’d stop at nothing to achieve that. He was sure of it.

Having made his resolve, the Hero of Shadows vanished, not to return until he was certain he could kill that woman.

She will pay for her actions…

And she was just the beginning.

* * * * *

In the end, I didn’t know how to grow stronger, not without frantic killing and becoming a monster at least. It was troublesome, but at the same time, given the fact the Hero of Flames didn’t attack me, perhaps his words did hold truth.

I didn’t know.

My problem wasn't one that was easily solved. To some extent, I felt like I could easily move to another continent and restart whatever carefree life I wanted. But it still bothered me; the notion that I was far from being the strongest. While I knew that, now I had seen it with my own eyes.

Did I want to fight, to actively seek out bloodied battles in order to grow stronger?

No. I didn’t think that was the case. But I also didn’t want to not fight either. I guess in the end, I wanted people to show up and fight me, and grow stronger from that.

It was a bit complicated.

I did wish there was an easy solution to my problems such as a monster killing ground, but unfortunately there was none, at least none that I could see. And so, finally after simply being in the forest I used [God Step] and returned to the mansion.

Though, I didn’t bother to appear in my room or anything, instead I appeared before the front gate. My mood was a bit weird, but in the end I could just distract myself the day after.

I smiled to myself as I walked past the guard who let me in, even though they had been shocked just a second earlier.

Maybe I could visit that ice workshop again…

It was a nice thought, sculpting in that way was such a calming and nice process. Perhaps I could try giving painting a more serious try too. Right now, it was best to distract myself, because I wouldn’t be finding the answers I needed any time soon.

I reached the door, and opened it.

And after being greeted by some servants, I went to bed.

◇ ◇ ◇

The day after, I decided to leave with Ceylon to the ice workshop before even eating, however I was met by a very frantic Thomas as I was about to.

“Arc, all of the Grand Duke’s factories and workshops have been destroyed! It’s a miracle.”

I blinked. “Oh, I did that yesterday.”

He paused. “You did… what?”

He stared in disbelief for just a moment, before I shook my head.

“Nevermind.”

I couldn’t be bothered to explain or be credited. I was still conflicted on how to proceed for the future, and it’s not like help would arrive out of nowhere.

In the end, I couldn’t wish for an extremely knowledgeable person to show up and offer me advice on my problems.

With a sigh, I opened the door only for my eyes to grow wide. An old man with a long white beard stood before me in red robes.

It was the Hermit, and he bowed.

“Nice to see you, Miss Arc, I have been sent with the duty to serve you.”

Serve me…?

I paused registering his words.

What?

And soon after, the rest of the people present lost their minds.