Of course, I only thought about it to myself.
I never actually put it into practice.
That would truly be a shortcut to humanity's extinction. I'm not lying—everyone would really die.
Leaving the hero's party to avoid hardship would only save me for a few years or decades at most. In the end, I'd still be brutally slaughtered by the Demon King's army just like everyone else.
If I'm going to die either way, I might as well put up a fight.
That's why I couldn't leave the hero's party today either.
*Sigh, what a miserable fate...*
Thanks to that, I was stuck being a dismantler again today.
Today's dismantling subject was the Poison Worm.
A fresh specimen that our noble party members had slaughtered just minutes ago.
The highlight was how its skin had burst open in various places, oozing green fluid. Truly revolting...
"Ugh, I absolutely hate bugs! Just looking at them gives me goosebumps!"
"They are pretty disgusting..."
"Still, we need to get used to them. According to the Empire's records, we'll encounter more insect-type monsters as we proceed."
"Ugh... I'm getting depressed already."
Meanwhile, our party members were sharing their impressions of the Poison Worm while resting.
Especially Yulice, the Saintess who hated bugs so much she was practically having a fit.
I gave a bitter smile watching her.
*If she's like this already, she's going to have a hard time...*
We were currently heading toward the dwelling of one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
We were on our way to subjugate Valkan, the Insect King. Even his title suggested a place crawling with bugs.
Naturally, the closer we got to his castle, the more bugs we'd encounter.
We hadn't even reached the outskirts of the castle, let alone entered it, and she was already like this. I could clearly see the difficult path ahead.
*Will we be able to defeat him?*
I felt a moment of anxiety, but quickly pushed it to a corner of my mind.
That was still far in the future. No use thinking about it now.
Better to dismantle one more monster than waste time on useless thoughts.
"Whew... This isn't working. I feel dizzy. I'm going to rest in the tent first."
"Huh? Yeah, you should. You look really pale right now."
"It seems that sight was quite shocking for you. Go ahead and rest comfortably."
"Yes... I need to sleep."
I listened to my party members' chatter like background music as I started my work.
Only the skin of this creature had any value. Everything else was useless byproduct that needed to be removed.
I took my dagger and cut through the Poison Worm's tough skin.
Green fluid and mushy innards began to flow out from inside the creature.
I had to scrape all of this out and wash it away to obtain the intact skin.
With each scrape of my knife, sticky fluids dirtied my hands.
The viscous liquid clung to my hands, refusing to come off.
I couldn't help but grimace.
"Ugh, shit."
Indeed, innards were something I could never get used to.
Mushy, slimy, and now spreading a fishy odor.
But what was more troublesome was that the creature's bodily fluids and innards contained poison.
And not just a convenient numbing poison, but an acidic one that made skin tingle.
Tsss!
As I continued working, my skin began to burn with pain.
I had worn leather gloves for safety, but the poison had apparently penetrated them.
Well, even though the creature's fluids were only mildly acidic, they would eventually eat through leather gloves.
Despite the stinging, itchy sensation consuming my hands, I continued working without concern.
It wasn't just the party members who needed to adapt.
Since this had become my reality, I needed to get used to pain too.
According to the System, future battles would require more than just ordinary resolve.
Wounds on my body every other day, monster claws tearing my skin—that would be my daily life.
To adapt to that, I couldn't complain about this level of pain.
And actually, I was building up tolerance.
When I had finished about half the dismantling work, suddenly—ding!—two alert windows appeared before my eyes.
[Poison Resistance level has increased!]
[Pain Resistance level has increased!]
"Aha."
Even I couldn't help but smile a little at this. Growth was always satisfying, regardless of circumstances.
And with both Poison Resistance and Pain Resistance leveling up simultaneously, the pain in my hands decreased slightly.
How could I not be happy about that?
The day I sacrificed my Bond as payment, I gained more than just the Hero title when I leveled up.
Although my body was covered in curses, I had definitely become stronger.
Not only did I gain stat increases from leveling up, but I also acquired skills I hadn't noticed at the time.
Given how much I had sacrificed, the System did give me something in return.
*Since I'm thinking about it, should I check?*
Come to think of it, I hadn't looked at my status window recently. Given how much I'd been through, my skill levels must have increased quite a bit.
With that thought, I immediately whispered in my mind.
*Status Window.*
At that moment, a translucent blue window appeared before my eyes.
A simple status window like before, showing only name, level, and skill slots.
----------
Name: Luke
Lv: 74
[Skills]
Authority of Sacrifice Lv.MAX, Mana Control Lv.1, Mana Blade Lv.3, Heavenly Martial Body Lv.MAX, Noble Sacrifice Lv.MAX, Pain Resistance Lv.5, Poison Resistance Lv.3, Dismantling Lv.3, Bright Style Swordsmanship Lv.2...
----------
However, unlike in the past, quite a lot had changed.
First, my level had increased as expected, and various skills and traits were now packed into the skill window.
Let's skip Authority of Sacrifice since you already know about it.
In total, I gained four skills that day when I sacrificed my Bond.
First, Mana Control.
+
[Mana Control Lv.1]
Your control increases when using magic.
Improves magic efficiency and power.
+
As the name suggests, it wasn't anything special. Just an ability that helps adjust magic slightly when using it.
It has no distinctive features, but it's a staple skill with versatility and no drawbacks.
*The problem is that I haven't learned any magic yet...*
That's why it's still at Lv.1.
But this will be resolved over time.
Next is Mana Blade.
+
[Mana Blade Lv.3]
Infuses the user's weapon with magical power.
Increases cutting power and attack power.
+
At first glance, it might seem like an amazing skill like Sword Aura from fantasy novels, but unfortunately, it doesn't have that kind of power.
Unlike coating a sword with sword energy, this skill simply infuses a weapon with magical power.
Like Mana Control, it's a basic skill that enhances basic attacks—another staple skill.
Fortunately, since anyone can swing a sword, I was able to level up this skill relatively quickly.
However, it was still just a basic skill.
A service skill prioritizing versatility above all else, as if saying "here, take this at least."
These are literally just basics, ordinary beginner traits.
In fact, there was only one true skill that the System gave me.
+
[Heavenly Martial Body]
Incredible!
You possess a physique that appears once in ten thousand years. Truly a gift from heaven.
You can quickly learn and master any technique or magic.
With talent that could unify the world under normal circumstances, try to save the world.
※ Greatly increases the user's skill acquisition speed!
※ Maximizes the user's growth potential!
+
Heavenly Martial Body.
A gift of talent from heaven.
What the System gave me wasn't an invincible shield or an all-piercing spear.
It was growth potential—the ability to learn anything quickly. Literally giving me legendary talent.
It was somewhat amazing that even talent could be given as a trait... but anyway.
With this, I could clearly see what it intended.
*It wants me to develop on my own.*
Two versatile active skills, plus a high growth potential buff.
Moreover, those two active skills were separated into sword and magic skills.
It wouldn't specify a direction for me; I had to figure out my own tech tree.
I could specialize in magic and become a mage, learn weapon techniques and become a warrior.
Or I could learn both of those plus miscellaneous skills like sorcery and become an all-rounder.
Honestly, this was very good news for me.
*I've already planned several builds.*
I knew which professions were particularly efficient among the many job classes.
After all, I was an old veteran user who had played this game for nearly six years.
I could think of dozens of builds off the top of my head.
From Elemental Sorcerers who specialized in fire magic,
to Magic Spearmen who mainly used spear techniques and lightning magic,
Shield Paladins based on endurance, and Shamans who used totems and sorcery, and so on.
Any of these would definitely pull their weight. Whichever path I chose, I could do more than my fair share.
If given the opportunity, I might even choose a more efficient profession than these.
*Though that seems far in the future...*
Still, I could see that my future was bright.
Although most of what I paid went into growth potential, making me quite weak for my level right now... this would be resolved with time.
Maybe by then, I'd hear fewer comments like "useless guy" from our knight, Camilla.
I continued my train of thought with such hopeful thinking.
*Skipping Poison Resistance, Pain Resistance, and Bright Style Swordsmanship...*
Those were skills I had gained through my six months of hardship, along with help from Heavenly Martial Body.
You can probably guess their effects just from their names, so I'll skip them.
As for Bright Style Swordsmanship, I had simply learned it by watching her fight. I hadn't been formally taught.
To think I could learn a family's secret sword technique just by watching from the side.
It wasn't called legendary talent for nothing.
Anyway, as I was observing my changed status window, I realized I had finished the dismantling work.
There had been quite a lot, but it was already done. Time-wise, about 3-4 hours had passed.
Time really flies when you're lost in thought.
I roughly organized the Poison Worm skins, now clean of innards, and looked at my hands.
Fortunately, my skin hadn't completely peeled off.
I could see patches of skin had been scraped off here and there, but this was within expectations.
Splash!
I sprinkled some potion on my hands and got up.
I would have preferred healing from the Saintess, but from what I'd overheard earlier, she had gone to sleep in the tent.
And honestly, even if she were awake, she probably wouldn't heal me. It wouldn't be the first time she'd avoided me claiming her divine power was depleted.
*Come to think of it, that's annoying.*
As I was walking, I spotted party members just emerging from the tent.
It was Camilla, Adel, and Lily.
"Huh?"
"Hmm?"
They seemed to be looking at each other with serious expressions, as if something had happened.
Was Yulice still sleeping? Today's battle hadn't even been that intense.
As I stood there blankly, Camilla suddenly started berating me.
"You... What did you do to Yulice?"
"What?"
What is she talking about all of a sudden? I was just dismantling those disgusting worms until now.
Even I couldn't help but feel offended when accused out of nowhere like this.
I knew they harbored unconditional hostility toward me, but to make baseless accusations like this...
"Wait. I don't think the Hero did anything. I don't sense any magical power nearby. Besides, he was dismantling monsters until just now."
Fortunately, Lily, who was standing nearby, defended me against the false accusation.
*Oh.*
I couldn't help but feel surprised. She usually tried to frame me one way or another, but now she was making serious deductions.
Something must have really happened.
Though I was slightly curious, I was just as tired as they were, so I decided to let it go.
There weren't any dangerous elements in this area anyway.
It was probably just her bug phobia causing an overreaction.
Thinking that, I walked past them.
I could hear them discussing behind me.
"Well, isn't it strange then? For her to suddenly have a fit when nothing happened."
"It is strange... Suddenly waking up and asking where all the bugs went, if we were all still alive..."
"Could that monster have had hallucination poison in addition to acid poison?"
I had no idea what they were talking about, so I let it go in one ear and out the other.
I was focusing on something else anyway.
I looked at my status window again.
There was one skill I hadn't talked about yet.
The last of the four skills the System had given me as a gift.
The one with the most displeasing name, yet fixed at MAX level.
I opened it.
+
[Noble Sacrifice]
Since ancient times, life-risking devotion has been the greatest and noblest law.
Especially your life as a Hero.
On the day your breath ceases, a miracle will occur in the world.
※ This skill activates automatically when the user dies!
※ The value of your life is greatly increased!
※ Your life holds absolute value regardless of lifespan!
+
Despite being the skill I disliked most, it even had special effects.
It was the most brilliantly shining skill among all I possessed. I could see golden aura spreading around the System window.
Honestly, it looked quite splendid, but I didn't feel good about it.
I didn't understand what the skill effect was, and I definitely didn't want to use it.
I grumbled in complaint.
"Seriously, what am I supposed to do with this..."
It activates when I die?
Is this meant to be used or not? I didn't like the assumption of death in the first place.
"Tsk, they could have given me another skill instead of this."
Because of this, I could easily say:
I will never use this skill in my lifetime.
NEVER!!!
"Let's leave it for now... It seems Yulice herself is confused right now."
"Hmph, what kind of crazy dream did she have?"
I entered my personal tent, listening to my companions' voices as background music.
I'm a veteran who's gone through 999 playthroughs—what could possibly happen?
Let that skill rot in my skill window.
Hahaha.