Chapter 62


    However, the Lizard, who had been ring at Ian with burning eyes, shifted its gaze past him. It had noticed the Hero approaching.


    Quickly, it tried to turn and flee.


    This couldn’t be allowed. If given more time, the next time they encountered the Lizard, it would undoubtedly have fully transformed into a beast of evil.


    Knowing this, Ian stepped forward, aware of the risk.


    ‘No, it’s not reckless.’


    He didn’t hesitate.


    ‘I just need to hold it for a moment.’


    The Hero would take care of the rest. She would—because it was Abe. Trusting in her, Ian moved forward.


    He caught up to the retreating Lizard and swung his sword, now wreathed in mes.


    [Krrr?!]


    The Lizard flinched as if startled by the intense heat radiating from the de but quickly deflected it with the spear in its hand.


    ng!


    Ian clicked his tongue at the force that reverberated through his sword.


    Even with his physical abilities enhanced through magic, it seemed he couldn’t fully ovee the disparity in strength, as evident from the sheer size of the Lizard’s forearms.


    Moreover, despite its massive frame, the Lizard moved with incredible agility, thrusting its spear rapidly.


    Papapapap!


    Ian felt his heartbeat pound loudly in his chest.


    This was exactly why beasts of evil were feared. Their physical abilities weren’t just specialized in one area—they were elevated across the board.


    But perhaps his fight against the Blood-w had indeed helped him grow. He managed to parry or evade the oing spear strikes one after another.


    Still, he made a mistake in judging the distance, and the spear grazed his side.


    His leather armor seemed to have done its job, as he felt no immediate pain. Or perhaps the adrenaline was simply dulling his senses.


    Ian gripped his sword tightly and pushed his magic into the de, as if hammering it in.


    “Burn.”


    Fwoosh!


    The word became an incantation, and roaring mes rapidlyyered themselves onto the de, growing to over 10 meters in an instant.


    Faced with the brilliant disy, the Lizard retreated. Its instinct to immediately create distance whenever it sensed danger was both infuriating and clever.


    Ian swung the elongated sword with all his might. The Lizard had already moved diagonally out of its path, but that didn’t matter.


    It would still be within range regardless.


    The moment the mes touched the ground, they split and spread to both sides, like oil catching fire, rapidly expanding.


    [?!]


    The Lizard looked around in confusion, its expression puzzled by the apparentck of immediate harm. But, of course, it wasn’t over yet.


    [Bane of Evil: Fifth Technique]


    [Judgment – Burning at the Stake]


    The ground, now coated in mes, began to glow with a deep red hue. Momentster, the fire exploded upward, reaching toward the sky.


    Fwooosh!


    The erupting mes consumed everything within their radius.


    [Kraaah!]


    The Lizard’s agonized scream echoed from within the inferno.


    No matter how formidable its physical abilities were, its cold-blooded nature as a reptile was something it could never ovee—unless it became a dragon.


    In short, this was its inherent weakness.


    Of course, this wouldn’t be enough to kill itpletely.


    Whoosh!


    As expected, the Lizard emerged from the raging mes, but it was far from unscathed.


    In that brief moment, the scales that once covered its body had been ckened and were now grotesquely melting away.


    Its twisted, contorted face clearly conveyed its emotions.


    ‘It’s furious.’


    And extremely so. Yet, Ian felt no fear. In fact, a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.


    The fact that his attack hadnded meant one thing: he could defeat it.


    After all, it made sense. Despite the Lizard being under the protection of an Outer God and in the process of transforming into a beast of evil, it hadn’t yet fully be one.


    Shwik!


    The Lizard reached out with its hand.


    Perhaps it was trying to grab him by the cor and hurl him, but due to the mes still clinging to its body, its movements were sluggishpared to before.


    Sidestepping its reach, Ian watched as the creature attempted to recover by performing a dynamic spin, whipping its tail in a powerful arc.


    He ducked to avoid it and then shed upward with his sacred sword.


    [Bane of Evil: Fifth Technique]


    [Judgment – Execution]


    The thick tail was severed cleanly.


    Immediately, Ian checked Abe’s position. She was close.


    Though he could have finished the fight himself, he chose to leave that honor to the Hero. After all, she was right there.


    He backed off to ensure he wouldn’t get in the way.


    “Well done!”


    With Abe’s praise, the Lizard thrust its spear toward her. A purple haze surged from the spearhead, but it never touched her.


    Slice!


    Instead, her de, shrouded in a pure white light, severed the Lizard’s arm, spear and all.


    [Graaah!]


    Its agonized scream echoed, but that didn’t stop Abe’s merciless sword. She traced a long, smooth arc with her weapon.


    ─────!!!


    With a sharp whoosh, the brilliant white sh bisected the Lizard in two.


    Atst, the purple haze that had enveloped the Lizard’s body vanished, snuffed out like a candle’s me.


    “Phew.”


    Abe sighed as she looked down at the Lizard’s corpse, still gushing blood. Then, with her sword, she extracted its magic stone.


    Like monsters and beasts of evil, those under the protection of Outer Gods also carried magic stones within their bodies.


    Since the Lizard had been in the process of transforming into a beast, the stone appeared to be of particrly high purity.


    She approached Ian, who had been standing idly by, and held out the blood-soaked magic stone in her hand.


    Ian gazed at it for a moment.


    “You’re giving this to me?”


    “Yes, take it.”


    Her voice sounded slightly fatigued.


    “…But I didn’t kill it.”


    “If it weren’t for you, we would’ve lost it. More people would’ve died without you. So, think of this as both a reward and an extra payment.”


    “……”


    “One more thing—you should know that I don’t offer things twice. If you refuse once, that’s it. Understand?”


    Of course, he knew all too well.


    “Thank you. I’ll gratefully ept this.”


    Ian took the magic stone from her hand. In the process, their hands brushed slightly.


    It was a small, insignificant contact, but his heart began to race, making him suddenly more aware of her presence.


    Looking at Abe, who seemedpletely unfazed, left him feeling a bit bitter, though he didn’t show it.


    After a moment of hesitation, he swallowed the blood-soaked magic stone.


    As he felt the magic seep into his body, a memory shed in his mind—the magic stone he found at his mother’s grave.


    ‘…I need to deal with that somehow.’


    He felt reluctant to consume it. Even without absorbing that stone, his level had risen smoothly.


    From Level 3 to Level 4, and then from Level 4 to Level 5. Looking at the timeline alone, his growth had been astonishingly fast—almost unbelievable.


    It was like he was quickly ascending a low staircase. At this moment, one could argue that his growth rivaled that of the Hero herself.


    However, simply increasing one’s magic capacity was a shallow way to grow stronger.


    Without bnced growth in physical ability, mental fortitude, and skill, one would eventually hit a wall.


    Just as he had before his regression. That fact lingered as a subtle anxiety in Ian’s mind.


    Still, he couldn’t give up without trying. He had to keep pushing forward until he hit his limit.


    “Shall we go?”


    Abe said with a weary smile.


    Ian nodded but froze mid-motion, sensing a faint ripple of magic. He turned his head in rm.


    Woooong…


    The air rippled like a stone being tossed into a still pond.


    From the center of those ripples, arge Lizard emerged, carrying a massive blunt weapon on its shoulder.


    If the Lizard they had just fought resembled a mere lizard, this new arrival looked much more like a dragon.


    “Ah, damn it. I’mte.”


    The Lizard muttered in a husky voice, looking down at the corpse of its kin with a sorrowful expression.


    “I thought I’d finally get a decent disciple after receiving a divine revtion. Riskeding all the way here. But now… What a waste of time.”


    Clicking its tongue in frustration, the Lizard looked up, its sharp eyes locking onto Ian and Abe.


    “And how are you two going to take responsibility for this?”


    The moment Ian met the Lizard’s piercing gaze, his heart sank, and his body froze as if facing a predator.


    He knew this feeling all too well.


    ‘Level 7.’


    No, it might even be Level 8. What was certain was that this being held a significant power hierarchy, and the gap in their abilities was insurmountable.


    It was exactly like when he faced Riorg Ribe. Ian almost wanted tough at the absurdity of it all.


    ‘I’m not lucky—I’m just cursed.’


    As he looked up at the suddenly appearing Lizard, cold sweat ran down his back.


    Could he win if they fought? There was no need to even consider the answer.


    ‘No chance.’


    Up to Level 5, one could get by with a mix of skill and luck, but starting from Level 6, victory was nearly impossible unless the opponent had a death wish.


    ‘…How did Abe survive this?’


    It seemed the situation was different from what it had been in his previous life.


    She likely hadn’t killed this Lizard but had barely managed to escape. Something must have gone wrong with the request.


    His mouth felt dry. The Lizard’s hostility toward them was crystal clear.


    ‘…….’


    But even though he couldn’t win, there was no way he could afford to just give up.


    Regress all the way back, only to die here without aplishing anything? That couldn’t happen. It was far too early to give up.


    To feel despair over something like this wasughablepared to the emotions Ian had experienced when facing the Outer Gods before his regression.


    Ian lifted the holy sword he had been holding loosely by his side. Seeing this, the Lizard’s expression brightened with surprise.


    “Interesting. You, who haven’t even attained divine power, can withstand my gaze so lightly?”


    With a slight shift of his eyes, Ian saw that Abe, too, was ready to draw her sword at any moment.


    Yet, her expression remained tense as she stared down their opponent.


    The Lizard grinned slowly.


    “You’ve got potential, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let you off. You killed the one who was supposed to be my sessor. So now, you must die too.”


    The Lizard lowered the massive blunt weapon from its shoulder.


    The mere thought of that weapon being swung toward them was overwhelming. If Ian blocked it by mistake, his arm would likely shatter, leaving him a helpless wreck.


    But what followed exceeded even those grim expectations.


    Suddenly, the Lizard extended an empty hand forward. From its fingertips, a dark violet energy surged, and in an instant, aplex circr magic array formed in the air.


    ‘Magic?’


    No way. With a weapon like that, magic shouldn’t even be part of the equation…


    However, the scale and precision of the magic circle were too high to dismiss lightly.


    Before Ian could even process his confusion, a dark violet light, almost ck, erupted from the array with a thunderous roar.


    Kuuuuuung!


    Everything the light touched was pushed back, as if it had mass and weight.


    “Step back!”


    With a shout, Abe rushed forward, raising her holy sword high. White light surged from the de and shed toward the iing violet light.


    Kwakakakakak!


    The two forces shed fiercely, gnawing at each other, slowly eroding their respective energies.


    “Urgh!”


    Abe was being pushed back, but in the end, she managed to extinguish the violet light.


    Her sword nged down onto the ground as she struggled to catch her breath.


    “Haa… haa…!”


    She had likely poured all her magic into that strike, leaving herpletely exhausted. But the battle wasn’t over yet.


    The Lizard smirked, seemingly impressed. The magic array still hovered, undiminished.


    “You look tired. Can you block it again?”


    The array spun around the blunt weapon, preparing to unleash another burst of light.


    Abe raised her sword again, unwilling to give up, but anyone could see she was at her limit.


    Watching from behind, Ian let out a heavy sigh and sheathed his holy sword.


    ‘Can I even do this?’


    Ian knew all too well that he wasn’t a Hero. Nor was he a legend.


    But standing idly by here would only lead to death—his and the Hero’s.


    No, they would die if he did nothing. So if he didn’t want to die, it wasn’t about whether he could or couldn’t. He had to block this next attack.


    Whatever happened afterward could be dealt withter. As Ian channeled magic into his hand, a wave of heat surged, apanied by a flicker of crimson light.


    Fwoooosh!


    The red light bloomed into mes. Ian stepped forward, cing himself in front of Abe.


    “What… what are you doing? It’s dangerous!”


    I know. Ian answered silently as he grasped the mes in his hand, focusing his thoughts.


    He envisioned a spear, sharp and mythical, capable of piercing through any obstacle in its path.


    In response, the mes stretched and elongated, taking form. The zing inferno became a single spear.


    “Oh.”


    The Lizard, watching closely, let out a small exmation. It seemed he was willing to wait a bit longer, as if curious about what Ian would do next.


    But this wasn’t enough.


    Ian reached into the pocket of his dimensional ring and pulled out a magic recovery potion, Tear of Nerediel, and ced it in his mouth.


    The tiny tear-shaped elixir easily crushed under his teeth, dissolving quickly as magic surged through his body.


    Suppressing the wildly dancing mes and the searing heat, Ianpressed it all into the spear, readying his stance. Just as he did, another violet light shot forth from the magic array.


    Kuuuuuuuung!


    With that unmistakable, thunderous roar.


    ———-