He was the one who moved alone in a world where everything had stopped.
But his sword was dull and powerless, unable to cut.
Hans blinked.
He couldnât believe the trial of the ruins ended so easily. But he was mistaken.
The trial given by the ruin he was in was to overcome himself. Facing oneself was harder than facing a powerful enemy. But what the ruin read was Hansâs body.
To be more precise, it was the body of the future Hans that should have been there. But Hans was in a state where his soul had been swapped.
Even a ruin couldnât read that far.
So, it could only read Hansâs vessel. And naturally, if his soul hadnât been swapped, the future Hans would have appeared as the Time Stop Uncle.
But Hans, unable to grasp that, was just bewildered. And humans tend to compromise when their thoughts canât keep up.
âIt seems the difficulty of this ruin was low.â
Of course, the lore book stated that ruins themselves were valuable treasures, but there was a gap between lore and the actual game.
Especially if the first ruin was incredibly difficult.
Players might get tired and quit.
So, naturally, the developers adjust the difficulty accordingly. Thinking about that, this place was probably a low-level ruin.
Thinking that way, Hans felt it made sense.
Then, the remaining problem was the sword on the ground.
Hans thought, Better to have it than not.
From experience, the equipment obtained from low-level ruins would eventually be replaced. It could be used well enough in the beginning, but sometimes there were traps among the ruin weapons.
There were definitely pieces of equipment that were worse than not having any at all.
In fact, Hans himself had experienced a bad ending during his newbie days because he recklessly used one.
âI have no choice but to slowly learn about this weapon.â
In the case of equipment that self-destructed when used recklessly, depending on the situation, it could be disastrous if used in a truly dangerous situation. �
Hans carried the sword on his back.
Usually, swords were worn on the waist, but he carried it on his back like luggage. Perhaps dissatisfied with that, the sword on his back vibrated greatly, but Hans didnât notice.
The trial of the ruin was over, and the forest, which no longer had a reason to exist, soon regained its original form.
Hans looked up.
The forest reappeared. But it wasnât the horrifying forest he had seen before. It had become an ordinary winter forest.
Hans, barely relieved, soon realized a critical problem.
âI donât know the way.â
Thatâs right.
Hans had only flown here on a wyvern. He hadnât actually asked Dezra for directions. This was because his thoughts were entirely focused on the Warriorâs Festival.
âHoly shit. Seriously? This is happening?â
Hans couldnât hide his shock.
He never imagined he would overcome the huge mountain that was the Warriorâs Festival, only to be tripped up by the relatively small hill of finding his way.
But what could he do? The milk was already spilled, and Hans was now a lost soul who had to find his way. He finally accepted that fact and started walking.
Securing food and water was the priority.
âStop. Nothing is decided.â
It was such an absurd question that even Dezra, the leader of the orcs, had to stop it.
Of course, in Dezraâs case, he meant for them to stop spouting ridiculous fantasies, but to them, already mentally unstable from being separated from Hans, it was a statement that could easily detonate them.
The first one to unleash her fury was Yuren.
The only reason she didnât revert to her original form was the thin thread of reason she still clung to.
However, none of the orcs her fists reached remained unscathed.
Of course, the aftermath caused an avalanche, but Rusty Anvil, where the orcs lived, was located inside a cave on the mountainside, so it wasnât heavily affected by the avalanche.
Dezra glanced over.
He saw his fellow orc, beaten to a pulp, lying sprawled out.
After observing it for a moment, Dezra turned his gaze to her.
âDo you have anything to say?â
âNo. Approaching anotherâs woman is a sin.â
âSo, youâll let it slide?â
âGladly. A fitting punishment.â
As Dezra nodded, Yuren withdrew her fury.
The flames that had been blazing around her disappeared in an instant. Two other orcs cleared away the one that had been beaten to a pulp.
They were all furious, but because Yuren had taken care of it herself, they couldnât unleash their anger and could only suppress it.
Helia clicked her tongue as she watched Yuren.
She had directly shown her anger, warning the orc while simultaneously controlling their collective rage. In that brief moment, acting purely on instinct, she had gained more than expected.
âI definitely need to be most wary of that woman.â
No wonder she was the former Commander.
Yuren had vented her anger while simultaneously calming everyone else and warning the offender. This heightened Heliaâs vigilance.
âWait.â
âHuh?â
âThat voice...?!â
Just one word. But that one word instantly erased their anger. The voice they longed to hear was coming from above.
Their gazes simultaneously shot towards the sky. There, they saw the Commander descending from the sky.
Hans, who had literally leaped into the air, landed on the ground.
Dezra was stunned.
He had clearly dropped him into the forest as usual. No one had ever returned, yet he couldnât believe he had come back.
As everyoneâs emotions focused on Hans,
â... I sprained my ankle.â
That was the only thought in Hansâs mind.
[Translator Notes]
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