The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned

Chapter 20 - So It Was You? (1)

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 20 - So It Was You? (1)

Chirp, chirp, chirp!

Early morning.

The sound of birds chirping, enjoying a luxurious feast of insects gathered under the streetlights at dawn, seeped through the cracks in the window.

It was that season when the morning sunlight pierced through the clouds, the air slowly warmed up, and life sprouted.

Having woken up at the crack of dawn, I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the sunlight streaming through the window, lost in deep thought.

The subject of my thoughts was none other than:

"How can I die quickly, simply, and cleanly...?"

If someone else heard that, it might have sounded like the ramblings of a person in the final stages of depression, but for me, it was a surprisingly serious concern.

'Decapitating myself with a sword every time is too inefficient.'

The fact that I could easily activate the "Blessing of revival" without much effort, once I got the hang of it, was certainly an advantage.

But...

'It's too flashy.'

When I was in my dorm room, it didn't matter, but using decapitation to activate the Blessing of revival while outside, like during that last outdoor training, carried too much risk.

What if someone saw my head rolling on the ground, only to reattach and heal completely?

'Then I wouldn't be able to keep the Blessing of revival a secret any longer.'

I'd lose one of my trump cards, something that was particularly useful in battles.

'Even if there's a day when I have to reveal the Blessing of revival, it's best to keep it hidden as long as possible.'

I definitely wanted to avoid foolishly exposing myself while practicing magic.

"A faster, simpler, and cleaner method than decapitation...."

One idea did pop into my head.

'Poison.'

It was something I used often in my past life to quickly trigger the Blessing of revival in emergencies.

I used to carry poison in my mouth like a trained assassin.

'The problem is, I'd need to find an extremely potent poison capable of killing even a hero instantly.'

On top of that, I'd need to use it four times a day.

'Poison is out.'

If I had to use poison, I might as well just be careful not to get caught while decapitating myself.

"If not poison, then...."

As I continued to ponder, a sudden idea flashed through my mind.

'Magic Bullet.'

A spell that condenses pure magical energy into a projectile.

It's the most basic of basic spells, something even a first-year student newly admitted to the Magic Department could use.

'If I can create a magic bullet inside my body, I could easily trigger the Blessing of revival by destroying my brain or heart.'

If Senior Sophia heard this idea, she would have probably scolded me for talking nonsense.

Even though Magic Bullet was a basic spell, creating it inside the body was a completely different matter from creating it outside.

'Magic inherently has a tendency to be absorbed into the body.'

It's like how water is absorbed by paper when it touches it.

If you try to create a magic bullet inside your body, it won’t form; the magic will just be absorbed back into your body.

'To prevent the magic bullet from being absorbed into the body, it has to be made extremely small.'

You'd have to create a small bullet that wouldn’t touch the "Qi Paths"—the channels through which magic flows within the body.

'And simultaneously, it has to be powerful enough to destroy a major organ like the heart or brain in one go.'

It's theoretically possible, but practically, it's almost impossible.

Making a bullet the size of a grain of rice is vastly more difficult than making one the size of a finger.

This bullet had to be even smaller than a grain of rice.

However...

"It seems worth trying."

It's not arrogance.

Nor is it blind confidence.

Among my skills from my past life, the ability to efficiently manage small amounts of magic was my one true specialty.

Whether it was Berald, Senior Sophia, Iris, or even Yuren—they couldn’t compare to me in this area.

'Not that they needed to.'

It's like how a person with millions of gold coins doesn't need to carefully calculate how much they spend on each meal to avoid starvation.

People overflowing with magic like them didn’t need to be concerned about magic's efficiency or precise control as I did.

'Let's give it a try.'

What’s the worst that could happen? Failing to succeed won’t kill me.

"Hoo."

I took a slow breath and focused all my attention on my stigma.

I drew out a thin thread of magic from the stigma and tried to form a magic bullet within the Qi Paths running through my body.

"Ugh."

The first attempt failed.

The magic was absorbed into my body before the bullet could even form, and returned to the stigma.

'Make it smaller.'

I visualized a tiny dot.

So small that it would be invisible to the naked eye.

'Still not small enough.'

The second attempt also failed.

The magic bullet formed, but it didn’t last long and quickly dissipated.

'A bit more, just a bit more, just a bit more.'

The third, fourth, and fifth attempts.

With each attempt, beads of cold sweat formed on my forehead.

My shirt became soaked with sweat, clinging uncomfortably to my skin.

"Grit."

Perhaps due to the prolonged concentration, a sharp headache began to pound, and blood dripped from my nose.

"...Just a little more."

How much time had passed?

'Got it!'

Finally, I created and maintained a magic bullet within the Qi Path.

'Now, I just need to....'

As if aiming a gun, he pointed and fired a magic bullet at his heart.

“Grrraaah!”

A terrible pain surged through his chest as if it was burning, but the "Blessing of revival" had not yet been activated.

"…Was the power insufficient?"

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

He had succeeded in creating the magic bullet, but failed to make it powerful enough to burst his heart in one blow.

‘Still, I see potential.’

If this method could be perfected, he could trigger the Blessing of revival at any desired moment.

And do so much faster, more simply, and more cleanly than before!

‘A new method of suicide using a magic bullet.’

The advantage of this method wasn't just that he could die without others noticing.

‘It could also compensate for the drawbacks of the Blessing of revival.’

The Blessing of revival was a power that instantly regenerated any injury, no matter how severe, as long as it was a fatal wound.

Whether my body was torn to pieces or burnt to ashes, the moment the Blessing of revival activated, my body would regenerate around the stigma.

‘In other words, if the injury isn’t fatal, the Blessing of revival won’t activate.’

Simply put, this meant that while critical areas like the head or heart would regenerate instantly if severed, other limbs like arms or legs wouldn’t immediately regenerate if they were cut off.

‘There’s a reason I carried poison in my mouth in my previous life.’

If my limbs were severed and even biting my tongue was impossible (and from experience, I knew it was hard to die from just biting the tongue), I would lose the means to trigger the Blessing of revival myself.

‘But if I could end my life with a magic bullet in such a situation…’

The Blessing of revival would activate instantly, regenerating the severed limbs.

“If I perfect this technique, I won’t need to carry poison in my mouth anymore.”

I recalled the memories of his past life, where I carried poison in my mouth as a last resort to activate the Blessing of revival in emergencies, and smiled bitterly.

“Well, let’s call it a day.”

I had already consumed so much mental energy that I didn’t have the strength to focus any longer.

Controlling a small amount of magic with such precision was more exhausting than I had anticipated.

It was akin to engraving letters on a grain of rice—working with such a tiny amount of magic was mentally draining.

“Alright, then. How about some physical training to use the remaining time?”

I had strained my mind, so now it was time to strain my body.

With that thought, I started heading toward the training hall.

Ding

A clear chime rang out, and a message appeared on my Hero Watch.

It was from Professor Jade.

[The prototype is finished. If you have time, please come to the lab.]

It would be foolish to ask what the prototype was for.

[I'll be right there.]

It seemed that physical training would have to wait.

* * *

“You're here.”

“Yes, Professor.”

In Professor Jade’s lab, I entered a room that was as messy as ever, to the point where it was hard to tell whether it was a lab or just a wreck.

“This is the prototype of the Stigma amplifier.”

He handed over a glass bottle containing a blue liquid, resembling melted sapphire.

“When you drink this potion, your Stigma will go into overdrive and start generating magic.”

“How long does the effect last?”

“The effect lasts about five minutes. After that…”

“The aftereffects will begin, right?”

“Exactly.”

Professor Jade stroked his thick beard as he continued.

“After five minutes, your body's blood and energy will start to twist, leading to immediate death.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“…Are you really okay with this?”

His voice was filled with concern.

“If the Blessing of revival you possess doesn’t activate in time, you’ll…”

“Was what I showed you before not enough?”

If needed, I could demonstrate it again as many times as the professor wanted.

“Hah, alright… I’ll trust you.”

With a deep sigh, Professor Jade continued.

“I’ve taken your Blessing of revival into account and focused solely on increasing your mana without worrying about the aftereffects.”

“Good.”

“But…”

But?

“The mana increase from this prototype won’t be very substantial. If the theoretical limit for the Stigma amplifier’s effect is 100, this one would be about 30.”

“What’s the reason?”

Even though the aftereffects weren’t considered and the focus was solely on increasing mana, the fact that it only produced 30% of the theoretical maximum meant there must be a problem.

“The core ingredient is lacking.”

“…Is it an ingredient that can’t be bought even for a million gold?”

“Oh, no, I misspoke. To be precise, it’s not that the ingredient is lacking, but that the quality of the ingredient is poor.”

Professor Jade said this as he took a dried, withered flower from his drawer.

“This is a flower known as Seven-Star Grass.”

“I know it.”

It was a flower said to be blessed by the seven gods and was even designated as the national flower of the Holy Kingdom.

“But Seven-Star Grass is quite common, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

You could even find it growing among roadside weeds if you looked carefully.

“But finding Seven-Star Grass that holds mana is not easy. It’s an ingredient so rare that it’s almost impossible to buy.”

“Hmm…”

Just as I was thinking that I might have to settle for a Stigma amplifier with only 30% effectiveness, Professor Jade made an unexpected suggestion.

“With that in mind, I’d like you to find some Seven-Star Grass that holds magic yourself.”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]