Chapter 61

It was an almost deserted vacant lot.

In the middle of it, I stood with my eyes closed, standing quietly.

What came to mind was yesterday’s Phoenix hunt.

As a result of the Phoenix hunt, our group and Mr. Sieg’s group earned a considerable income.

However, I couldn’t genuinely celebrate this.

The reason was the existence of the mutated Phoenix.

Thinking calmly now, I believe that the Phoenix had not yet reached the stage of mutation.

Just from what I can clearly state, its lack of judgment in focusing on recovery while being attacked, and its lack of intimidation, were clearly inferior to the mutated Hydra.

...But, it was still definitely trying to mutate.

The sudden enhancement from a near-death state.

That scene was the best evidence of all.

And now, with two super-difficult monsters also mutating at an abnormal speed, the possibility of the Hydra’s mutation being a coincidence has disappeared.

Clearly, something abnormal is happening in this labyrinth city.

According to Mr. Sieg, news of the mutations seems to have reached the headquarters of the Adventurer’s Guild in the capital.

It seems that my master and others will visit the labyrinth city for an investigation within a few days.

However, I don’t think the labyrinth city’s guild, which is hostile to the capital’s guild headquarters, will allow a smooth investigation.

...Probably, the labyrinth city will become noisy from now on.

This thought crossed my mind, and I couldn’t help but let out a wry smile.

If my master comes, I can easily imagine being overworked.

“Haha, it would be nice if Mr. Ronaldo could come as a stopper for my master...”

And, in a low voice, I let out such words.

But, I only thought about it for a moment.

“Huh,”

In the next moment, my mind had switched.

After the Phoenix hunt, various troubles emerged.

They were troublesome, and I often found myself troubled by them.

But, what stayed in my mind the most after the Phoenix hunt was not that.

Immediately after closing my eyes, I recalled the Phoenix’s appearance before it was slashed by the dagger.

No, to be precise, it was different.

What I remembered was not the Phoenix’s appearance, but my state when I saw it.

That state can be vividly recalled just by closing my eyes.

The abnormal lightness of my body, the power overflowing within it.

-- And, the feeling of surpassing a wall.

“!”

With the image of that sensation, I combined my magic and ki to enhance my body.

“...As expected.”

In the next moment, while testing the body enhancement, I moved my body and muttered a word.

It was a small voice, suppressing the emotions that were surging up.

But, it was filled with uncontainable joy and excitement.

“Have I finally surpassed the wall...”

For a year, a large wall had blocked my growth.

By my own words, I finally understood that I had surpassed that wall.

The smile on my lips expressed my joy.

◇◆◇

I realized the limits of my body enhancement using magic and ki about a year ago.

Body enhancement using magic and ki is inherently a technique that imposes a significant burden on the body.

When I first succeeded in the enhancement, I broke a rib after just a few seconds.

If I hadn’t learned to enhance using a magic stone for recovery magic, I might have given up on this method after the first try.

But, even such a double-edged sword was a hope I had finally gained.

So, I repeated my training without hesitation, even if it meant hurting myself.

At first, I was covered in injuries before even fighting a monster, and even after gradually getting used to the body enhancement, I never stopped getting minor injuries.

Still, I continued my training every day.

...But one day, I almost died and finally realized the limits of body enhancement using magic and ki.

I could cover the injuries caused by the body enhancement with healing magic, and by continuing to use it, I could suppress the injuries to some extent.

But, I couldn’t eliminate the injuries.

The more I enhanced, the more severe the injuries became.

In other words, body enhancement using magic and ki was a desperate technique that required the body to be injured.

Once a certain limit was exceeded, it became impossible to train further using magic and ki.

Or, more accurately, once that limit was exceeded, the injuries would surpass the limit and lead to death.

This was the limit of body enhancement using magic and ki, a large wall that I couldn’t surpass no matter what I did.

“!”

But now, I had surpassed that large wall.

I was certain of this as I performed the form I learned from Mr. Ronaldo while enhanced.

The difficulty of performing the precise movements of the form with an enhanced body remained the same.

Still, the grinding pain in my body that I had always felt when enhancing was gone, and I couldn’t help but feel the urge to laugh.

The pain wasn’t completely gone.

If I relaxed my concentration even a little or increased the enhancement, the pain would immediately return.

But, compared to before, it was a world of difference.

The change wasn’t just that.

In the past, my movements after body enhancement were quite stiff.

But now, my body was clearly more agile.

With this, I might be able to fight from the start with body enhancement.

This change was probably triggered by the defeat of the mutated Hydra.

And during the battle with the Phoenix, it must have fully awakened.

What I thought was only a misfortune, the appearance of the super-difficult monsters, seems to have brought me this power.

Thinking about this, the smile on my face grew even wider.

With this, I can become even stronger.

If I do...

Driven by this emotion, I felt the urge to continue training.

But, I shook my head and stopped the form.

I had lost myself in training, but I had something I needed to do in the city.

I wanted to confirm my growth for a little while, but I had to head to the city.

Thinking this, I looked at the vacant lot with a lingering gaze and started walking towards the city.

“Finally found you.”

...But in the next moment, the figure that appeared before me, along with those words, made me stop in my tracks.

“Defective guy, today is the last day you can act big.”

The one who glared at me with unhidden hostility and spat out those words was the top-tier party that had sneered at me and Narsena before.

I apologize for the delay in updating.