Chapter 1

I will write the title recovery without rushing and carefully.

I hope that readers will enjoy the process of the protagonist gathering reliable companions and becoming the master of the strongest clan.

"Don't let yourself be underestimated."

That was the catchphrase of my grandfather, an explorer.

Explorers—people who make a living by exploring. Their targets can be treasures in ruins, the ruins themselves, unknown creatures, or even criminals.

However, the most lucrative and glamorous job for explorers is probably exploring the abyss.

Exploring the land and buildings that have become abyssal due to the connection between this world and the demon realm, and hunting the demons that have appeared. This is the most recognized form of explorers by the people.

Since the abyss will continue to erode the world if left unchecked, the country encourages and supports the activities of explorers. To purify the land, it is necessary to hunt the demons, which are the cores of the abyss, and explorers are the experts in this field.

Another reason is that the materials obtained from demons are indispensable for the many inventions that support the current civilization—magitech civilization.

With the realization of airships, people have flourished thanks to the benefits of magitech civilization. And the explorers, who can earn both money and fame with their own strength, were the idols of everyone in this era.

" Noel, a man must never let himself be underestimated."

Grandpa used to be a famous explorer in the imperial capital of Etrai in the Velnant Empire. Moreover, he was even called a hero among the bravest of the brave.

" Noel, become a strong man that no one can underestimate."

His rock-like hand, reminiscent of his active days, gently stroked my head.

Grandpa's vocation was a warrior, fitting his massive build.

Vocation is a person's latent ability that manifests when appraised by an appraiser, determining the limits of physical abilities and usable skills. Everyone starts with a C-rank vocation, but with effort and talent, it is possible to rank up to higher vocations.

For example, in the case of the most popular combat vocation, swordsman—

C-rank: Swordsman, B-rank: Swordfighter, A-rank: Sword King, is the rank-up system.

However, extremely rarely, some people reach the exceptional EX-rank. Grandpa was one of them.

In Grandpa's case—

C-rank: Warrior, B-rank: Heavy Infantry, A-rank: Berserker, and EX-rank: Destroyer God, was his rank-up path.

Even at higher ranks, the vocation itself does not change, but the ability modifiers significantly improve, and new skills become available.

If the strength is expressed by rank, C-rank is ordinary, B-rank is superhuman, A-rank is beyond human, and EX-rank is almost godlike.

When Grandpa was young, he was really strong. Strong, rough, and arrogant.

But the grandmother he fell in love with and courted desperately was a very beautiful and kind person. And she was frail.

Grandpa, who loved his grandmother deeply, retired as an explorer for her sake and moved to the countryside from the smoggy imperial capital. He bought land with his savings, hired people, and planned to make a living by making wine.

For some, it might be an ideal retirement life. A slow life.

In fact, Grandpa, who was feared as the "Immortal Demon" among explorers, became just a loving husband after moving to the countryside.

Grandpa loved his grandmother from the bottom of his heart, and she loved him too. They lived happily and supported each other like birds flying side by side.

But, Grandma died when Mom was born.

Giving birth is already a life-threatening task for mothers, and Grandma's frail body couldn't withstand childbirth.

Grandpa was devastated by the loss of his beloved. But he never gave up and decided to raise Mom, the only remnant of Grandma, on his own.

Thanks to his efforts, Mom grew up to be a fine woman. She looked exactly like Grandma, who was famous for her beauty, except for the color of her hair and eyes. Grandma had golden hair and green eyes, but Mom had black hair and hawthorn-colored eyes, inherited from Grandpa.

Mom, who manifested a production vocation, worked in Grandpa's winery as an adult and married Dad, her childhood friend.

Then I was born, and we lived happily as a family of four.

But I have no memories of Mom and Dad.

My earliest memory is of Grandpa, still muscular despite his age, crying loudly. And the warmth of being hugged by the sobbing Grandpa.

" Noel, what a pitiful child... But I'm here for you. I won't let you be alone. I... I won't die no matter what! I swear by the name of the Immortal Demon!"

Mom and Dad died in a carriage accident before I was old enough to understand.

Rude people said it was a demon's curse. Because Grandpa had killed so many demons, the curse caused his family to die young.

Of course, Grandpa didn't tolerate such talk. He beat up the offenders, whoever they were, without killing them.

And he always said his catchphrase.

" A man must never let himself be underestimated. The family's honor must be protected at all costs."

I remember the night when I was bullied by neighborhood kids who called me cursed, and Grandpa went to their homes and wreaked havoc.

Grandpa often told me stories from his explorer days. The heroes in those stories, including Grandpa and his companions, were my idols.

It was only natural that I would become fascinated with becoming an explorer after growing up listening to such stories.

" Noel, you look just like your late mother. But I can tell. You have the same explorer talent as me, which your mother didn't have."

As Grandpa said, when I turned ten and had my vocation appraised, I manifested a combat vocation.

However, it was quite different from what I had hoped for.

Orator—a vocation specialized in supporting the party.

The role of the Orator vocation is to enhance the party's combat power by imbuing spoken words with support effects. It is, in other words, a support class.

Ideally, I wanted to be a warrior. Not only because it was the same vocation as Grandpa, but also because it was a well-rounded and strong vocation in both offense and defense.

In contrast, support classes like the Orator, while excellent in support abilities, have the worst combat abilities among all combat vocations. They can't fight without the party and can't even protect themselves properly, making it a peaky and flawed vocation.

Even with a wall to control the enemy, the lack of self-defense ability is fatal for an explorer. In the explorer community, there is even a trend to mock support classes as the weakest vocations.

It's a truly heartbreaking story.

Grandpa laughed heartily and patted my head, which was hanging in disappointment.

" Hahaha! Don't cry, Noel! Whether you're an Orator or anything else, I'll make you the best explorer! Believe in me!"

It was impossible to doubt the hero Grandpa. I trusted his words and began my explorer training.

The training that started was mercilessly harsh. The kind and gentle Grandpa who always accompanied me to the bathroom at night because I was afraid of ghosts was nowhere to be found.

In front of me as an apprentice explorer was a former explorer who was feared as the "Immortal Demon" by his peers and a demon instructor.

" Stand up, Noel! Demons won't wait for you! No matter how injured you are, stand up with spirit! Hey, how long are you going to lie there! You stupid disciple!"

Being kicked while lying on the ground, covered in wounds, was not a rare occurrence. I was subjected to strict training from morning till night, and in the beginning, I was vomiting and urinating blood almost every day.

But no matter how hard it was, I trusted Grandpa and felt his deep love even in the harsh training.

As Grandpa said, demons won't let you off for being weak. If I slacked off and remained weak, I would die as soon as I became an explorer.

So, to prevent me from dying, Grandpa desperately taught me how to fight even as an Orator, and I was equally desperate to learn.

Four years after the training began, thanks to Grandpa's teachings, I had honed my mind, technique, and body as an explorer and had become much stronger than before the training.

If I continued like this, even with the problematic Orator vocation, I was sure to become a great explorer on par with Grandpa.

However, to receive official recognition as an explorer from the country, I first needed to turn fifteen and be recognized as an adult. So, I continued to train under Grandpa while eagerly awaiting that day.

The incident happened during such a time—

" Listen, Noel! Absolutely do not leave this place!"

Grandpa, who always exuded a sense of ease as a big man, was trying to push me and the servants into the underground shelter with a fierce expression I had never seen before.

That night, the town we lived in suddenly became abyssal.

Abyssalization occurs when the concentration of magical elements in the air reaches a certain level. Therefore, in populated areas, a ritual to disperse magical elements is performed regularly, but for some reason, it didn't work properly, and they surged back all at once.

Moreover, according to Grandpa's measurements, the depth—danger level—of the abyss that occurred was twelve out of thirteen. The deeper the connection to the demon realm, the more dangerous the abyss, and the more powerful the demons that appear.

In other words, our town had become one of the most dangerous areas. The core demon, known as the "Demon King" among explorers, was undoubtedly present, even to me as an apprentice explorer.

The familiar town was no more, and a burning hell spread out. A poisonous red full moon shone in the sky. Inside the abyss, the moon appears red due to the magical elements in the air.

In the ominous space, the voices of demons rejoicing and the screams of their victims echoed.

" Don't worry, I'll protect you with my life."

Already armed, Grandpa smiled strongly, ignored my protests, and closed the door to the underground shelter from the outside, alone.

The abyss in the surrounding area was vast, and it would be difficult for Grandpa to lead me and the servants to safety. Moreover, it was unlikely that rescue would come soon even if we hid together.

So, he judged that the chances of survival were higher if he defeated the core demon while he still had the strength.

Soon, the voices of dying demons could be heard. There must have been hundreds or even thousands. It was proof that Grandpa's battle axe was mowing down the demons. But my anxiety only grew.

How many demons had appeared...?

I felt a deep fear of the Demon King's power that controlled them.

Gradually, the voices of dying demons faded, and in their place, the sound of an intense battle, unlike anything in this world, echoed.

The battle between Grandpa and the Demon King had begun.

The sound of the battle, which lasted for hours, suddenly stopped. The air, characteristic of the abyss, cleared up.

I was convinced that Grandpa had won and rushed out of the underground shelter.

The sun had already risen. The area was a burnt wasteland, with human and demon corpses scattered everywhere.

I searched for Grandpa, running through the ruins of the town.

And I found him.

Grandpa, having lost his lower body and right arm, was lying in a pool of blood—.

I ran to him and lifted him up, and he gave me a weak but broad smile.

" ...I can't win against age. The Immortal Demon would be disappointed..."

I cried uncontrollably. I cried so much that I felt all the water in my body was gone. Grandpa gently stroked my head with his remaining hand.

" Noel, you're a crybaby. Just like me."

Grandpa averted his gaze from me and showed a troubled expression.

" ...This is the end of an explorer. As long as you make a living by fighting, you will always have death at your side. Noel, do you still want to become an explorer? Do you want to walk the same path as this old man?"

I sniffled, wiped away my tears, and nodded strongly, smiling like Grandpa.

I was terrified to the point of death. I had no room to smile. I wanted to cling to Grandpa and cry out loudly, begging him not to die and not to leave me alone.

But I didn't want to show my weakness to Grandpa now.

I wanted to reassure him that I would be strong, just as he was.

Because I couldn't... repay him in any way...

" ...I see. Then, become an explorer who never loses. Become a man worthy of the Stollen name. That is my wish."

Grandpa looked at my face and stroked my head again.

" Noel, can you make a promise with me?"

" ...I promise, Grandpa. I will become the strongest explorer."

" Haha, that's... my grandson... Noel... I'm sorry... I couldn't... keep my promise... I've always... loved you..."

And so, my greatest hero closed his eyes peacefully in my arms.

Two years later, I, inheriting the will of my great grandfather, Noel Stollen the Orator, now live in the imperial capital as an explorer.