Level 0 Master

But it was true that the pure girl had to be happy beyond such a reality.

And it was the grim truth of the world that victory against absolute evil came with sacrifices.

But it was enough that he had felt such a disgusting emotion of being used by that theory of power once in his life.

I won't sacrifice Ereka.

Or let the Blood Ruler abuse her.

I will protect her with my power!

Sungjin's spirit shouted.

Now he understood his father truly.

His father went to the championship match after he had been injured by an assault knowing that it would be difficult and that it would be scary. But he had decided not to walk away from his dream.

He had faced the challenge like a man until the very end.

So Sungjin told himself that he wouldn't abandon Ereka and run using reality as an excuse. Others might have understood if he chose otherwise, but he refused to do that.

"You, who cling to the worthless light. God will not hand you a miracle for such actions."

The king of hell disappeared, leaving his cursed message behind.

Sungjin...

In the waiting room, tears poured down the princess' eyes.

The ruby on the dagger stopped resonating.

Oh… Why did you…

The Blood Ruler regained her confidence and began to laugh at him.

"Haha. To think you would still be unable to abandon the princess! That weakness is my prey!"

As a victory was a victory.

The sword of the Blood Ruler swung towards his neck.

In accordance, Sungjin lifted his sword and stabbed in silence as his heart dictated.

Not because he could win.

But because he couldn't come up with a solution.

He fought with all he had just to fight against the absurdity.

It was unlike him.

Yet, just like him.

A level 8 attacked with the artifact, First Blood.

A level 0 returned the exchange with a mass-produced sword.

The result was quite clear. A level 0 would die in a second.

That was the common sense of the world.

But a different situation occurred.

They clashed in a balance of strength.

It was to the point others mistook Sungjin to have accepted the dark king's power. But no, he didn't take it. It was certain that the Blood Ruler was dominant in power and speed.

Even if they were clashing in a pure physical sword fight than skilled attacks, a level 8 would have won due to the overall overwhelming specs.

But Sungjin wasn't defeated.

How?

Was it another trick of the devil?

The magical sword attacked Sungjin's heart. But Sungjin's sword appeared in the path of the sword, just before the wrist advanced.

The magical sword swung around the side to attack his waist, but Sungjin distrubed the edge by pushing against the trajectory with the blunt of his sword.

The Blood Ruler raised the magical sword in frustration, but Sungjin who predicted her actions twisted his body while avoiding the attack to kick her knee, thereby crippling her stance.

The Blood Ruler started to move faster. But Sungjin had long predicted her.

The Blood Ruler was stronger, but Sungjin used her power against her.

Sungjin's level of swordsmanship was possible by calculating and predicting the movement of her movements, geography, and her power adjustments, to the point he led her around by her own attacks.

"I knew you trained in martial arts, but this is ridiculous. How is this possible?"

The Blood Ruler expressed her admiration in the middle of the battle.

The three knights in the waiting room watched the scene with admiration.

The Blood Ruler was also a master of swordsmanship. But how was he able to fight back and overcome the difference of eight levels?

"His sword..."

"There's no rhythm."

That was it.

In a fight of weapons, the opponent's muscle movements, respiration rates, and their line of sight was read. It was a natural rhythmic movement of the human body.

But that wasn't the case for Sungjin.

No-one could read his movements which moved only when he needed to.

With such movements, it looked like the Blood Ruler was playing with her cards revealed while Sungjin still held all hands closed.

That couldn't be it. That wouldn't have been enough to defeat a level 8 for a level 0, even if he could hide his movements.

Sungjin's other secret was...

"He has no style, either."

In general, swordsmanship skills came from various schools of martial arts, and people were trained to get used to a few dozen movements so that they could modify one according to the situation. This was the only way for human beings to learn. If a movement wasn't recorded into muscle memory until it became a reflex, it was impossible to use the movement in a real battle. Thinking of an action in a life-or-death boundary of a second was impossible.

But Sungjin was different.

He simply read all the circumstances and situations to react with the best movement. On top of that, he didn't depend on his sword but used his knee, elbow, and every part of his body to attack. Every step he made had been calculated. He reacted to every move of his opponent with the best counter-attack.

That was the martial art Sungjin had trained in, a harmonious movement requiring the balance of his body and soul. With his strong will to win and impeccable intelligence, his training had created his own form of martial arts.

Although he thought it was useless in this world, now, it was revealing its brilliance.

Was this really possible? Onlookers, feeling beyond astonishment, began to deny reality.

"Losing one of his arms… It really had been an act."

"He's a bastard of a devil… But…"

Although they admired his ability, the Blood Ruler and the three knights were still sure of their victory.

On the other hand, Sungjin started to show anxiety and despair.

The fight looked fierce, but in fact wasn't.

Because….

"A high-level hero's ability is not just physical ability."

Nart laughed at Sungjin.

That wasn't the only addition.

If it was just a sword fight, the three knights would have defeated the Blood Ruler by attacking her together. The reason why they couldn't was due to the difference in skill. This was the miracle beyond the rule of physics given by God who blessed the heroes with Heroic Power. That was the real difference between a hero and an extra.

"Although he's good enough to render the Blood Ruler pressured, to the point she has no chance to use her skills…"

It didn't really matter, because she had her ultimate skill.

After more time had passed in their fierce exchange, the Blood Ruler burst out laughing.

"Too bad. Time's up!"

She stopped her sword, and a bloody mist rose around her.

Sungjin stabbed her with his sword, but his sword bounced back. He tried a few more times, but his attacks kept bouncing back. The bloody mist surrounding Riad didn't allow any attacks to touch her.

"If your baby wizard's ultimate skill made her vulnerable while using her ultimate spell, mine's the opposite."

The three knights started to laugh at the scene. Why had they been defeated so easily even after gaining the promise of forgiveness after withstanding an attack? It was quite simple.

The Blood Ruler's ultimate skill protected her with the bloody mist while she activated the skill.

This was an undefeatable ultimate skill.

"Now, be gone. Bloody Reign."

Screaming ghosts echoed on the battlefield, and the bloody mist got sucked into Riad.

Facing this despair, Sungjin's sword stretched out like a predator running toward its prey.

His sword penetrated the Blood Ruler's body.

"How surprising. To think my ultimate skill had this weakness." Riad's face turned pale.

Her body trembled in pain.

Her ultimate skill looked flawless, but there was a very small point of weakness when the bloody mist disappeared before the torrent. She didn't know that, and the three knights didn't see it either. It had been such a brief moment.

"But the truly surprising thing is how you've perceived it," the Blood Ruler Riad praised.

It was so.

Sungjin had, no, Sungin was the only one who realised.

Even in the moment of his team's annihilation by the devastating power, even in the moment all of his calculations failed him, his eyes had observed everything with frigid calmness.

And his genius brain managed to find it.

That single, small second of weakness.

Observing everything to understand how to use it when needed.

That was his ability.

But Riad was still smiling with all the leisure in her smile.

"Ugh."

On the other hand, Sungjin had sorrow in his eyes.

His sword had missed the heart of the Blood Ruler, and instead dug into its side. It was a big wound, but not big enough to finish her. The stab was but a fingertip away from the heart. That was the small difference he couldn't fill despite his best abilities.

The physical ability beyond humans, because of becoming a level 8. Even though that was the moment her defences were lowered due to her Heroic Power, she was able to avoid the attack with her reflex.

Because that speed had been above Sungjin's, he hadn't been able to stab accurately.

And because he had arrived at the conclusion that this was going to be the result, even when he found her weakness, Sungjin had been filled with despair.

He saw what everyone hadn't.

He knew what everyone didn't.

But he didn't have enough power to defeat her.

That was the limit of level 0.

"If you are not going to be mine. Die!"

The bloody torrent spurted, and Sungjin's vision was covered with blood.

This is the end...

He couldn't hold his sword firmly.

He had promised an awesome victory, but this was it.

He couldn't keep his promise to protect a girl he liked, not to mention becoming an Arc Master.

Should he have accepted Ereka's sacrifice?

Was it a mistake not to follow his head and follow his heart?

He knew that everything Ereka tried to protect with her life would be in vain, but he couldn't do anything.

Was his capability….

Before the power of levels….

So little ...?

Ereka was watching him. Her spirit was watching the moment Sungjin was defeated by the Blood Ruler Riad.

No. Sungjin can't lose.

She wanted to help him win.

She wanted to help Sungjin win, who had refused the power of Lucifer for her.

She wanted to protect him.

She wanted to give him everything she had.

Because the lives of her people were on the line.

She wanted to lend her power of protection.

And…

Beyond all that…

She wanted to become his shield.

Because she loved him.

Light surrounded Sungjin. The golden light blocked the flow of the bloody ocean.

Princess Ereka's ultimate still was an artifact that made her take all the attacks while giving protection to her side.

The Shield of all People—the light of protection born from an oath to protect everyone— covered Sungjin.

"What is this!?"

The miracle shocked the Blood Ruler and made her lose her calm.

Ereka was dead and was expelled from the battlefield. There was no way she could protect Sungjin with her power.

That was an impossible miracle.

But while practicing the forbidden ritual, Ereka had killed herself. And her power which had left her body in the waiting room was now beside Sungjin. Although Sungjin refused to take the power, her power was still wandering around him, which made this miracle possible.

No. That was not it.

This miracle happened because Sungjin protected Ereka from sacrificing herself.

That was why her spirit was able to cover and protect him.

"Sungjin… fight… I'll lend my strength." Sungjin felt the silent whisper of Ereka's spirit.

"Got it!"

Sungjin pushed forward. It was a strength gained through merciless abuse. But… It was also a will which had formed through conditionless protection.

God didn't bless a mirable for an ideal dream. If such a thing was possible, there wouldn't have been a reality of despair.

But that was how, no, that was why there was a strong, heartfelt bond among people who tried to overcome reality and build up their own legend of happiness.

If the bloody torrent was the crystalloid of abusive power the Blood Ruler wielded, the shield of light was the ultimate support of a girl who Sungjin tried his best to protect.

The two forces confronted.

The power of First Blood destroyed everything, but the oath of the Shield of all People kept people safe.

In the middle of the bloody ocean, Ereka's will protected Sungjin. And Sungjin didn't miss this tiny chance made possible by Ereka's support. His brain calculated everything again—the flow of explosive power, the physical condition of the Blood Ruler, the decreased amount of blood, her vital spots, and his own physical ability.

Every factor changed rapidly.

And Sungjin stabbed forth with his sword once again.

For his victory.

And for the girl that he wanted to protect with this victory.

"Ugh."

The Blood Ruler twisted her body to avoid the attack, but Sungjin had already taken that movement into account.

The speed of the sword which had accelerated from using the bloody torrent for its movement was powerful enough to make up for the difference of 8 levels.

Finally, the level 0's sword penetrated the heart of the tyrant.

"Kuh… Kugh."

There was blood, not from the First Blood but from the Blood Ruler's body. At the same time, the crazy, bloody torrent disappeared.

The Blood Ruler's body started to scatter from her fingertips.

Sungjin had won.

He had overcome the violence that used reality to abuse people.

The man who tried to protect a girl had finally made it.

For a moment, silence swamped the battlefield.

Riad raised her hand slowly, reaching for Sungjin's cheek.

"Huhu. Although I knew you were worth my attention from the beginning," her eyes searched him with desire in her eyes, "you tied yourself to conditions and still managed to defeat me. Now I see I should have accepted you."

She held his arm.

"I will have you, no matter what. I will make you my man and liberate you to conquer the world together," the Blood Ruler declared while her life was fading away.

But Sungjin pushed her hand off his arm and answered with his sword.

"I don't need you."

[The Blue Team has won] The Valkyrie declared.

Light came down from the sky and covered him, and the three in the waiting room were also covered with light.

"Sungjin..."

The ruby shattered. Ereka came back to life and opened her eyes.

She began to cry.

She wanted to thank Sungjin, and this time, she wasn't going to concern herself with traditions.

"Wow! We won! Sungjin Oppa did it!"

Jenna jumped around with her flapping tail.

"Haha! Hahaha!"

Rittier bemoaned his lack of descriptive words, and laughed in happiness.

"Hurrah!"

"The princess won!!!!"

"That man defeated the Blood Ruler!!!"

The people outside of the temple cheered endlessly with happiness.

"The Blood Ruler is gone!!!"

"We don't need to become sacrifices anymore."

"Ah… Ah... Princess. Thank you. Thank you, sir knight."

Who was that knight whom defeated the Blood Ruler?

The people looked at his name: Cha Sungjin.

Everyone engraved the name from a different world into their memory.

It was the name of the hero they told their children from generation to generation.

Of how he saved the princess, themselves, and the kingdom from a bloody nightmare.

One week later, there was a Queen's coronation for Princess Ereka.

The warehouse of the castle was opened to share wine and food with everyone. The people sang and danced with happiness.

This was not only at the capital; everyone in the country and to the slums of the cities celebrated the victory.

Taxes were reduced, and it was forbidden for heroes to kill or rape extras.

The queen's hand reached people who couldn't make a living, and provided them with aid.

"Mom!"

"My son!"

Reunited families cried tears of happiness all around the kingdom. The extra class wished for the queen, who was the complete opposite of the Blood Ruler, to have a long reign. The whole country was in a festive mood.

But the real hero of this war was not the queen, it was Sungjin, a level 0, an extra.

He was a magical stranger from the Other World, the man who defeated the Blood Ruler Riad, and also the man who owned a half of the kingdom.

The news shocked the heroes from the other countries.

A mere level 0 extra, one who deserves to be enslaved, was ruling a kingdom?

They attempted to ignore his existence convincing themselves that the information had been misinformed, or that he was a puppet, but his name was already engraved into nervousness in the back of their minds.

The reactions of the people were the opposite.

He was a hero who defeated all the other heroes despite being an extra.

He was a symbol of hope and the subject of praise.

"I heard he's rather handsome?"

"He can shoot fire from his eyes?"

"A giant, 3 meters tall?"

While crazy rumors were spreading, Nania, who saw the fight, shared the truth about him.

"That is not true. He is very charming, but he looks like all of us. But… Yes… He has some kind of an extraordinary halo around him."

The truth was sugar-coated by her fangirling self.

"He understood the miserable reality of extras like us and shared all the gold he had from the battle. He is strong but also sweet."

There were kids next to her, swinging from tree branches.

"I'm Sungjin! I'm invincible!"

"Woaah. Now I want to be Sungjin. It's my turn!"

He became a dream for boys, an idol for girls, and a real hero for the people.

His name was praised in faraway lands starting from low-class people up to merchants and wandering musicians.

The fairytale of a level 0 hero appearing in the Kingdom of Sevrantina and defeating the tyrant spread all over the lands. But it was not a fairytale; it was a real story.

They envied Ereka's kingdom. They wanted to see the real hero, and compared him to the heroes who exploited them.

In the middle of the coronation feast, Sungjin stepped out onto the terrace to enjoy the night breeze.

So I've done my job for this kingdom.

In the past week, everyone was extremely busy taking care of the aftermath of the match. After taking back the kingdom, they were busy preparing the coronation. Now, they would continue to be busy.

But now they don't need me anymore.

The magical sword was taken away from the Blood Ruler, and the Blood Ruler was sealed and imprisoned for eternity. The three knights were found guilty of abusing and massacring women and were sent to prison.

They also ordered the forfeit of other heroes' lands and formed a new type of bureaucracy where the state paid a part of the taxes as wage. Since the other heroes became rebel prisoners, they couldn't complain about any of the state's decisions.