Part 1
In the middle of the night, when most people are deep asleep, I use alchemy magic to escape my prison.
It’s been a month since I was trapped there, and 2 weeks since I’ve regained my sanity. During that time, I’ve gained levels and skills by using Imitation and Looting Heal on many people. I’ve also gained knowledge that gives me power that the status doesn’t show.
Furthermore, by using Transformation Heal, I optimized my own body by changing the distribution of my talents to get a better status.
Race: Human
Name: Keyaru
Class: Healer / Hero
Level: 34
Status:
MP: 99/99
Physical Attack: 81
Physical Defense: 54
Magical Attack: 63
Magical Defense: 47
Speed: 79
Level Limit: ∞
Talent Values:
MP: 80
Physical Attack: 130
Physical Defense: 83
Magical Attack: 100
Magical Defense: 72
Speed: 120
Total Talent Value: 591
Abilities:
Healing Magic level 2
Divine Sword level 4
All-Seeing level 4
Metal Tempering Magic level 4
Ground Shrinker level 3
Serene level 2
Skills:
MP Recovery Rate Increase level 2: Healer skill. MP recovers 10% faster.
Healing Ability improvement level 2: Healer skill. Adds a positive correction to Healing Magic.
EXP increase: Hero exclusive skill. Doubles the values of EXP for you and your party.
Level Limit Breakthrough (self): Hero exclusive skill. No level limit.
Level Limit Breakthrough (others): Hero exclusive skill. By giving body fluids with magic power, there’s a chance the other party’s level cap will be increased by 1.
That’s my current status. It has an above average physical and magical defense, making me a high speed vanguard with good attack power.
I optimized myself for 1-on-many fights, since I’m acting alone. I’ll try to avoid fighting as much as possible, but when it happens it’ll probably be 1-on-many. It’s important to be prepared.
Now, there’s no time to waste. Let’s start by getting rid of the guards who are supposed to be paying attention to me.
Right now, the guard had his back facing me. I tried to make as little noise as possible when opening the door, but they’ll surely notice in a few minutes’ time. So before that…
I move silently and quickly. It’s not ingrained in my body as a skill, but amongst the people Flare made me Heal was a person who was good at scouting. I’m making use of his techniques to run without making noise.
I sneak up behind the guard with moves reminiscent of a cat. Humans can do this much with technique alone without the help of skills. I touch the guard.
“Corruption Heal.”
An instant death that disregards any and all physical or magical defenses, Corruption Heal. It destroys the body by “restoring” it to a deteriorated form. A power only I can use.
Without being able to do anything, not even let out a scream, the guard becomes a corpse. I catch him so his fall doesn’t make a noise and gently put him down on the ground.
“It’s a pity I can’t use Looting Heal on corpses.”
I say to myself. Looting Heal can only be used on living things, so I can’t get any MP or experience from a corpse.
For safety reasons, I want to kill the guards immediately, but then I won’t be able to replenish my MP. It’s a problem because Corruption Heal is not very fuel-efficient. It takes nearly 20 MP per use, meaning I can use it four times at most. I have to use it carefully.
No, wait. I think I had a good idea. I’ll try it out later.
With this guard out of the way, I decided to rush over to the post the guards use.
There’s always two guards. One patrols the dungeon where I was imprisoned and the other waits in the post. If the guard on patrol doesn’t come back, the guard on the post can call for help.
In order to get more time before my escape is known, I have to deal with both guards.
I take the sword from the guard I just killed. Without a sword, I wouldn’t be able to use the Sword Saint’s skills. The moment I grasped the sword, I felt the skill activating. It soon became comfortable on my hand and I could feel my power growing.
There’s no time to waste, so let’s be quick about it.
Part 2
I stealthily enter the guards’ office by making use of the scout’s technique. The guard inside was doing paperwork. Thanks to that, he’s not paying attention to his surroundings.
From my point of view, he’s just a sitting duck. I sneak behind him and extend my hand to touch him.
“Corruption Heal.”
I use Corruption Heal for the second time. The guard collapses, but he’s still alive.
“Hmm, this is more convenient. Looting Heal.”
This time, I was able to take his MP and experience. I used Corruption Heal in a more ingenious way this time. Rather than just killing him, I just broke his spinal cord, basically putting him in a vegetative state. This way it’s safe and I can use Looting Heal.
Now that I was able to restore my magic power, it’s time to begin preparations. I take off the guard’s clothes and put them on.
“I wonder how much time I can buy with this.”
I turn my head as I change clothes. My escape won’t be discovered until the replacement soldiers arrive at the guard station. According to the guard’s memory, it would be another hour or so until it was time to switch. Once the replacement arrives, my escape will be discovered.
But that’s enough time for me to accomplish my plan. Dressed as a soldier, I easily escape from the dungeon.
Part 3
After escaping from the dungeon, my next objective is the knights’ quarters.
If I just wanted to escape, there would be no need to go there. I have the memories of the soldier I’m disguised as, so I could just keep pretending and wait for a chance to escape.
But that’s not enough. For me to get my revenge against Flare, I need to go and see her in person. That’s why this detour is necessary.
The lodging I’m going to is no ordinary place, it’s where Flare’s royal guards are. They’re an elite unit that assemble only at her order. Being a knight of her personal guard will be convenient to get close to her.
While using the Sword Saint’s All-Seeing to find my enemies and using the scout’s abilities to kill them, I make my way cautiously.
Just because I’m dressed as a guard doesn’t mean I can let myself be seen. I have to remain as hidden as possible, it wouldn’t be funny if I’m found out after being yelled at for leaving my post.
Part 4
After leaving the main castle, where the dungeon is located, I make my way to the knight’s quarters, which is a separate building.
But then I started hearing noises coming from the castle. It seems that I’ve been taking too long.
“My escape has been found.”
I could tell from the unusual atmosphere. It’s best to assume the knights are already awake and have been ordered to search the castle, seal the gates to the city and keep watch for if I somehow make it past them. It’s probably also safe to assume the guards I killed were found.
They’re probably thinking something along the lines of “it’s just a drug addict that’s not even level 10, even a normal knight will be able to deal with him if he’s found”. They have no idea how much this little misunderstanding helps me.
It’s sooner than I expected, but this fuss is also a part of my plan.
Now come on, make more noise.
Part 5
Still in a soldier’s disguise, I arrived at the royal guards’ quarters and shouted.
“I’ve come to bring a message to the knights! A prisoner from the dungeon has escaped! Please be on your guard!”
It was really easy to enter the guards’ quarters while pretending to be here under orders to give them a message. Identifying myself as a soldier and the general commotion outside gave me credibility.
The person at the reception desk rang the bell to wake up the knights. I explained that I had to relay my message to the captain in person, so I was let in.
Even the knights have a difference in status. The treatment of commoner knights is incomparable to that of the knights that come from nobility.
The lodging room I headed towards was the kind used by people of noble blood who were chosen to be Flare’s royal guards, so it costs a lot of money. And this is probably one of the best rooms.
The door was locked. But locks only exist for those who don’t know alchemy. So I slowly open the door.
“Who the hell are you?!”
A big man was about to put on his armor. I remember him well. The captain of Flare’s royal guard.
He’s the first person I saw in the underground prison. I decided to use him to get to Flare. It’s not just because he has a useful position, I’m also a vindictive man, and most importantly, I’m a man of my word.
“28 hits. I’ve come to pay you back for those.”
I smile at him. He still hasn’t understood what was happening, and I extend my hand to him.
~30 minutes later, in a room in the royal castle.
“You’re all too late to gather. How can you call yourself this country’s elite, my personal guard?!”
““We apologize!””
Flare’s royal guards were awoken by the first messenger, and then summoned to her by the second.
Despite being in the middle of the night, Flare’s royal guards were in perfect order.
“Good grief, how was that dog able to escape under those conditions?”
Flare was biting on her thumbnail, her beautiful peach colored hair had unusual split-ends. She had grown some fear of the Healing Hero recently, and that only grew once she heard news of his escape.
That’s why she mobilized all the guards to thoroughly search for him, and she also called in her royal guard.
They knew his status and skills, so there was no need to be afraid. But Flare felt fear, even though there should be no reason to. It was her well-honed sixth sense telling her of an impending crisis.
“With all due respect, princess Flare, I have something to report.”
Somewhat proudly, the captain of the royal guard opens his mouth to speak to Flare.
“In this situation, if you say something unimportant, I’ll get mad, you know?”
And she didn’t mean simply being angry. It wouldn’t be strange if she let out some punishment in the limit of her authority.
“There’s a reason why we were late in coming here.”
“Are you going to make excuses?”
Flare’s expression was somewhat sadistic. In her mind, she was already imagining branding the captain as useless.
“No, nothing like that. Princess Flare will surely be happy to hear this.”
“Go on then, say it.”
Flare’s smile was still somewhat cruel.
“Two messengers came to our lodging. The second one had a face we recognized, but the first one was hiding his face. I found it suspicious, so I investigated it and it was the Healing Hero. We arrived late because we were catching him. What an idiotic man. To think he would sneak into the lodgings of Flare’s royal guard, which has the most elite knights in the kingdom.”
As he said this, the royal guards pushed out a man bound by rope. His throat was smashed, so he was unable to speak, save for the strange sounds he was making.
“I’m surprised. What was he even thinking to go there?”
His face was deformed from the beating he took, but Flare could see it was Keyaru, since his features were still visible.
“He probably planned to escape by blending with the soldiers, but our security was quickly set up, so he probably gave up the idea of escaping from the castle and then tried to hide in an empty room. It’s amazing he thought such a stupid plan would work.”
“Fufu, did he seriously think such a plan would work? You really are an idiot, aren’t you?”
Flare smiles in a nice mood. With the source of her anxiety gone, she could finally relax.
“Princess Flare, after I seized him I tried getting information as to how and why he escaped. He said something that I couldn’t overlook. However, I’m not sure if it’s alright for my subordinates to hear it, so I would like to talk in private.”
“Is it something to do with Heroes?”
“Yes. I trembled when I first heard it, so I would like to relay it to princess Flare at once.”
Flare makes a thinking posture, and then she smiles happily.
“Very well. Even if I dismiss everyone, here isn’t a good place, so come to my room. Information regarding Heroes is top secret after all. The rest of you can go back to rest after throwing that trash back in the dungeon. I’ll go later to give him plenty of discipline so he never tries something like this again.”
The Healing Hero, who was more beaten up than tattered rags, tried to plead something with his crushed throat, but all that did was annoy the knights, who beat him up again.
“I don’t mind if you hit him, but please try to not kill him, since he still has his uses. Punish him as much as you want, but hold back just a little.”
The knights dexterously continued their assault while avoiding fatal injuries. Thanks to Flare, the Healing Hero managed to avoid being killed, but he was thrown back in the dungeon after a beating.
“Well then, follow me, royal guard captain. My room is the most soundproof place in the castle, the perfect place for a private conversation.”
In a good mood, Flare returned to her room with the royal guard captain and maids as escorts.
Part 6
Flare’s room was decorated with the best furniture one can imagine. And yet, there’s no vulgarism, only sophistication. It really showed that a member of the royal family had picked all of this.
“There’s no greater reward than to enter my room, is there, royal guards’ captain?”
“Yes, it’s a happiness I’m grateful for.”
The royal guard captain bowed his head thankfully to show his gratitude.
“Now then, please talk. I’m curious as to what that trash told you.”
“About that…”
The royal guard captain showed a wicked smile. Not the kind you’d show to your mistress. With that wicked smile, he took out his sword and decapitated the two maids.
His speed was comparable to the Sword Saint’s. No matter how strong the maids attending to Flare were, it would be unreasonable to expect them to react to that.
The royal guard captain, who had just slaughtered the maids, raised the corners of his lips into a smile and his eyes glowed. He swung his left hand, which wasn’t holding a sword, towards Flare, punching her in the cheek.
Flare was blown away and slammed against the wall. She then fell to the ground. The royal guard captain rides Flare and then grips onto her face.
“Looting Heal.”
All the magic power was pulled out of Flare, who was in a complete panic. Her cheek was burning, she was afraid of the man in front of her, and she didn’t understand what was going on.
“Flare, even if you are the Magic Hero, without magic power, you’re the same as any girl. You can try to resist, but it’s pointless.”
“Royal guard captain, what in the world do you think you’re doing?!”
“Royal guard captain? Oh, you mean me.”
The royal guard captain had a strange look for a moment, but then he started laughing loudly.
“Transformation Heal.”
The royal guard captain uses magic, then his body begins to change. First, he became a size smaller, and then his face also changed. Flare was surprised to see that face.
“Your cute dog that you hate the most, Keyaru-kun, has come to play. I was lonely, so I escaped from my prison to see my owner! Just kidding, ahahahahahaha.”
It was Keyaru, the person who Flare despised and treated as a dog and abused at any given chance. He had changed his own appearance with Transformation Heal.
The man who had been beaten up and had his throat crushed was the true royal guard captain. It was only now that Flare understood the situation.
Her attendants had been killed, and she was alone with the man who held the deepest grudge towards her in the most soundproof room in the castle. Even more, her magic power was taken away and she’s unable to use even the most basic of spells.
Flare’s face distorted in fear, and Keyaru showed another wicked smile.
A tragedy was about to occur in this room