After the third stage, the 13th Manager showed herself to me once again.

"You look like you have a lot of questions."

"Of course."

I had so many questions.

However, she was probably going to give an appropriate answer and convince me this time too.

"First, explain to me about how you decided the difficulty level without asking for my opinion."

"It's because you're too strong to be mixed in with other people. It's like releasing a predator into a field of herbivores. It'll ruin the ecosystem and we definitely can't have that."

"That's it?"

"On top of that, even if you did hunt in that place, your skills wouldn't increase anyways."

It seemed like the Managers wanted me to become stronger.

But, despite of their expectations, I didn't really have a reason to get stronger from my current condition.

"If I wanted to go down to Normal, will you let me?"

"That'll be difficult. I alone don't have enough power to decide on your request."

"I see. Then, let's do this. Give me a reward that you can give me right now."

I extended my hand as if asking her to give me anything.

This was her first time meeting such a confident survivor.

She didn't know how to respond, so she stood there quietly.

'What…am I supposed to give him?'

Not even her senior Managers explained to her on how to go about situations like this.

A survivor asking the Manager for something was very rare.

"Wait…even if I could, it's something I can't…"

"What will you do if I decided to give up on moving to the next stage?"

The 13th Manager was in a dilemma.

If he really did give up, then the Manager's plan will most likely fall apart.

She wanted to take it as a joke, but this man's decision wasn't something she could just overlook.

She couldn't take it as a joke.

Normally, I should've been able to return to the real world, right? But, you guys went against your own rules and decided to move me onto the next stage. I'm not always going to just stand by and let you guys do whatever you want."

The more nervous the 13th Manager was, the more confident I became.

My existence alone was special to them.

"But…even so, this is a bit."

Even after seeing how confused she was, I didn't back down and instead, I pushed harder.

"I refuse to be controlled by you guys any longer. If you want to control me, at least give me a reasonable deal. I still haven't forgotten about what happened during the third stage."

"First…tell me what kind of deal you want to make."

"Okay. First…"

I took out all the gear that were currently stored in my inventory.

They were able to last up until now because I took care of it and maintained it as much as I could, but I was at the point where I couldn't use them anymore.

"Exchange all of them."

"Exchanging the s.h.i.+eld and weapon all at once is a bit."

"Then, how much of it can you exchange?"

"Th…then, I can do two!! How's that?"

"No, let's go with three."

"Grr."

Despite of being a Manager, she started biting her nails and her eyes looked uneasy.

After looking at her expression, I thought I had seized it.

'I first made a request she couldn't approve of and then, I made her think by offering a more simple deal.'

This kind of skill was something that worked for someone that had experience in trade.

She was probably new to all of this.

"…Okay."

After contemplating for awhile, she finally opened her mouth and spoke.

That's when I felt relieved.

I probably would've tried to killed her for being unfair.

If we did end up fighting, I wouldn't be able to compare her skill level to mine.

The Manager bent down and placed her hand over the items that were on the ground.

And then, the items changed into brand new items.

The Power of G.o.d was the perfect description.

"Your hand is like a wand. Are you able to do that with any items?"

"Not everything. I don't have the authority to create items that are above Rank Three."

"Why not just give the humans all the items and skills instead of going through the trouble of letting them grow and increase their skills?"

"It's not as easy as it sounds. The power that you're seeing is created from a part of our life force."

"…Hm."

I wasn't sure if it was true, but right after she created the items, her face looked a bit pale.

"What do the Managers want to do with the humans exactly? You say that it's to stop the monsters that enter through the portal, but the stages that you've set up are pretty tough and from the way that you guys have been treating me, it seems like you have a different plan for me."

The Manager signaled me to not ask any more questions.

It felt like my head would be rolling around here somewhere if I asked more.

"We undergo a lot of trial and error. Unfortunately, they die every time. It's best not knowing them."

Her last comment was also a warning.

"After the fifth stage, we'll return you to the real world. And I'll speak with the higher-ups about talking to you first before moving you to the next stage."

"Please."

"Also, it's best not to make deals through this kind of method with the other Managers."

After she left, I checked the weapons that were on the ground.

Blessed Adamantium Sword (Rank 1)(Cla.s.s 5)(Produced Item)

The Adamantium Sword is an item that's been blessed by an Angel.

It's a sword that helps the user gather their power easily.

The leather armor and the bow had a similar description as well.

"It's useful."

It had a pretty good weight and I was satisfied by the reaction when I waved it in the air.

The way that the armor fit perfectly onto my body made it feel like I've been wearing it for a long time.

"I guess it's time for me to cross."

The Manager left the door to the fifth stage open.

I walked through it and let it lead me to the next location.

"Master Kalax!! We only have three fortresses remaining. If this continues, they'll take over this main base as well."

The clan leaders were having a meeting.

The leader of the Red Tooth Clan, Orkhar, spoke first.

Because they were constantly losing, they couldn't help but feel defeated.

"The outcome…has already been decided. It's probably better to make peace diplomatically."

Boom!!

Someone slammed on the table after hearing their suggestion.

A part of the wooden table was smashed into pieces.

"For Orcs, defeat only means death. Making peace is the same thing as surrendering. It would be best to die honorably on the battlefield rather than surrendering to the enemy."

However, despite of another leader's courageous suggestion, the atmosphere of the room was dark.

"It's probably because G.o.d abandoned us. However, we cannot give up."

In the end, that was the only thing Kalax could say to the leaders.

Moments later, a guard rushed in and broke the silence in the room.

"I have a message for the leaders. Just now, a human walked through the portal to support us."

"Oh!! We finally have a supporter on our side. G.o.d hasn't abandoned us just yet. Kalax!! So, how many of them are there?"

"You see…it's just one person."

After hearing the number, most of the leaders started shaking their heads.

It was nearly impossible to turn the table with just one human.

As their last bit of hope disappeared, they started worrying about what should be done.

"Even if it's one human, we shouldn't give up just yet. Since they're here to help us, we do need to show them respect."

Kalax stood up from the chair that was placed in the center.

"Please wait a moment. There's no need for you to meet them yourself. I'll go first and see who he is."

Even though they were desperate about having support, having Master Kalax go out himself and seeing the human wasn't necessary.

After saying that, Orkhar quickly followed behind the guard and stepped out of the tent.

"This way, sir."

When Orkhar was near the supporter, a group of Orcs already formed a crowd around them.

It's been awhile since humans stopped supporting the Orcs, so it was only naturally that they would be interested in them.

"Everyone move."

At Orkhar's command, the other guards stepped to the side.

"Ahem."

After clearing his throat, he greeted the outsider that just arrived.

Physically, he didn't really look that strong.

He looked like he would do worse than a low-ranked guard.

He was about to let out a deep sigh.

'No, no.'

Orkhar remembered Master Kalax's words and stopped himself from releasing the deep sigh.

In their current situation, they needed all the help they could get.

He needed to thank them because the supporter came to their side, despite of the fact that they'll probably die.

"Thank you for coming, human."

"I've heard about the current situation while walking through the door. How bad is the situation?"

"It's only a matter of time before they take over this base. We probably have about a month."

"I see. First, please lead me to the battlefield."

Orkhar was very shocked.

He's never heard of a human that asked to lead them to the battlefield first.

"Isn't it best to familiarize yourself with the internal situation first?"

"You're not wrong, but taking me to the battlefield first rather than talking about the skills and plans will help much more in overcoming this crisis."

"I don't know how strong you are, but you won't be able to resolve it on your own. Our enemy have over 3,000 human supporters on their side."

"It doesn't matter."

The Orcs nearby were questioning whether this guy was crazy or not.

The emotion this human was portraying wasn't confidence. The emotion they portrayed was close to conceitedness.

And what they said next was enough to shock everyone that was around him.

"I'm here to end the war."

End.

Staff :

Jen (TL)

Kuhaku (PR)