Hiro did not kneel.
The silence stretched for a fraction of a second that seemed to last an eternity.
Then Hector smiled—a cold smile.
“Very well.” He made a negligent gesture with his hand toward his underlings. “Break both his legs.”
The two men drew their weapons—a long sword and a mace—and charged immediately.
“You never should have offended the Young Master!” one shouted.
“Now you’ll pay for not recognizing the wolf among the sheep!” added the other.
Hector crossed his arms, smiling with satisfaction.
His gaze swept the crowd—then stopped on Cassian, Lena, and Lucia.
Cassian looked at him with pure, undisguised contempt.
Their eyes met.
Hector raised an eyebrow, amused.
“This guy is detestable,” Lena murmured, her hands clenching into fists.
“Completely,” Lucia agreed, her face unusually hard.
Cassian didn’t look away from Hector. “You don’t need to go help Hiro.”
Lena turned to her. “What?”
“I already know the outcome.” Cassian’s voice was flat, certain. “Hiro is definitely going to win.”
She looked at Hector with something almost like pity. “Hector, him… there are several possible bad endings. But none where he wins.”
Lucia frowned. “Where does this confidence come from?”
That’s why I’m with the group, Cassian thought. Because the Hero always wins.
Being by the Hero’s side is technically the safest place possible.
Except if the Hero has a tragic fate. Then it’s a mess. Families and loved ones dying, sacrifices, all that crap.
But fortunately, from what I’ve noticed, this is just a classic isekai harem. No drama. At least… I hope.
“I’m just fully convinced that Hiro will triumph over any danger.” Cassian shrugged. “I give him all my trust.”
Lena looked at her strangely. The way she talks… has she fallen for Hiro?
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Her stomach twisted in an unpleasant way.
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.
Hiro deflected the attacks from the two underlings with an ease that was almost insulting. His movements were economical, precise. No wasted energy.
The man with the long sword struck high. Hiro ducked. The man with the mace struck low. Hiro jumped.
Then he counterattacked.
Two quick strikes—a palm strike to the swordsman’s solar plexus, a spinning kick to the mace wielder’s temple.
Both collapsed, unconscious.
Silence.
Hector stared at his underlings on the ground, his smile gone.
“Disappointing.” He spat the word. “They were trash anyway.”
He drew his sword—an elegant blade with intricate engravings that glowed faintly.
“I’ll do more than break your legs.” His voice was icy now. “You should have bowed to me. It was an honor.”
He got into a fighting stance. “Let me show you how it’s done.”
Without warning, Hector swept the ground in a circular motion with his sword.
Hiro jumped, exactly as Hector had predicted.
Hector’s sword changed trajectory mid-motion, aiming at his exposed torso.
Impossible to dodge in mid-air.
Hiro twisted his sword, deflecting the attack just enough to miss by a few inches.
Hector smiled. “Not bad. But…”
He raised his free hand. “FLAME MANIFESTATION, INCANDESCENT ORB!”
A compact fireball formed instantly, launched straight at Hiro.
It exploded before even hitting the ground.
BOOM.
Hiro instinctively reinforced his body with mana, crossing his arms in front of his face.
The explosion pushed him back, his feet digging furrows in the ground.
The crowd backed away immediately.
“This is dangerous!”
“Get back!”
Hector didn’t give Hiro time to recover. He charged, his sword tracing deadly arcs.
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.
They exchanged a series of quick blows. Hector was good. Really good. Each attack was calculated, fluid.
“LINEAR FLAME PROJECTION, IGNEOUS TRAIT!”
A beam of concentrated flames shot from the tip of his sword.
Hiro twisted his sword, deflecting the beam toward the sky.
“You’re too tense,” Cassian said, creating three ice glasses in her hands. They were filled with cold water with ice cubes floating inside. “The fight will be over quickly anyway.”
She handed one to Lena and one to Lucia.
They took them, holding them for a few seconds.
Then Lena dropped hers with a cry. “It’s TOO cold!”
Lucia did the same, grimacing. “My fingers are frozen!”
The glasses shattered on the ground.
Cassian blinked. Oh. Right.
She looked at her own hands. She was unconsciously generating a slight layer of heat around them to compensate.
Though, I have to finish the glass quickly because it’s melting.
She drank quickly, the glass already melting between her fingers.
“FIRE SHACKLES, INCENDIARY CHAINS!”
Chains of flames burst from Hector’s sword, snaking toward Hiro.
Hiro raised his sword to block.
The chains wrapped around the blade.
Then pulled.
Hiro’s sword was yanked from his hands, flying straight to Hector who caught it with a triumphant smile.
He now held two swords.
“Disarmed.” He laughed. “It’s too late to beg now.”
Hiro immediately felt the change. His passive—Steel Hero—had deactivated.
No more quadrupling my physical abilities.
I should have been more careful. I thought the chains would wrap around me, not take my weapon.
He sighed mentally. I underestimated my opponent too much. Got overconfident.
Focus. Don’t want to lose due to carelessness.
“I don’t need a sword to beat you,” Hiro said calmly.
Hector sneered. “Fear’s making you say stupid things.”
Hiro raised his hand.
And pronounced, in a clear and strong voice:
“DELUGE OF WINTER SPIKES.”
Five ice spears materialized instantly around him. Each was easily two meters long, a crystalline glacial blue.
They shot toward Hector. One by one. Aimed with system assistance.
Cassian’s eyes widened.
What the HELL is that?!
“Hiro is incredible!” Lena exclaimed, her eyes shining. “I always knew he was a prodigy, but this… even I’m surprised.”
Lucia turned to Cassian. “Did you notice?”
“What?”
“That Hiro can copy magics he’s frequently exposed to.” Lucia smiled softly. “He can apply buffs to himself. Heal himself. I’d deduced he had a gift for reproducing without training the magics he sees often.”
She looked at the ice spears. “Now it’s confirmed.”
In Hiro’s invisible interface, data scrolled.
[Registry of Bound Allies]
Lena:
- None
Lucia:
- Restorative Blessing
- Enhanced Power
- Bodily Acceleration
Cassian:
- Deluge of Winter Spikes
Hiro had smiled inwardly seeing Cassian’s skill appear.
Finally. A purely offensive skill.
And ranged too.
I was lacking offensive skills. Now that’s not a problem anymore.
Cassian turned sharply to Lucia and Lena. “Have you ever seen Hiro copy someone else’s abilities besides yours?”
They thought.
“No,” Lena said finally. “Now that I think about it… no.”
Cassian felt her blood run cold.
That bastard can copy the abilities of his HAREM.
She looked at Hiro’s ice spears. They were huge. Perfect. Much larger than what she could create.
Hiro’s system improves what’s been copied.
Then another thought.
Is it copying… or stealing?
She tested quickly, discreetly creating a small ice spike in her hand.
Yes. My power is still there.
She looked at Lucia. She looks fine. She’s been with Hiro for a while. If the system stole powers, she’d be weakened, right?
Maybe I’m worrying for nothing.
But frustration rose anyway.
It’s INFURIATING to be considered by Hiro’s system as part of the harem.
