Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka?

240 – The Hero Title

As a matter of fact what’s really troublesome, is that the Hero Julius is the brother of Yamada-kun. When I met him last he was a really tiny kid, but now he’s become all grown up and is quite a handsome man. His facial features don’t really resemble Yamada-kun though. There’s this feeling of mildness and gentleness. It’s kinda like, just by looking at his face you can recognise the aura of a virtuous person being given off. Perhaps this is just my prejudice, but it feels like those who always have a mild smile on their face are generally concealing some ulterior motive, but for the Hero that doesn’t seem to be the case. It feels like my clones are being purified by his smiles alone you know.

He’s a Hero like that, but I don’t really want to get involved with him. When I met him during the war he was still a small child, and with expectations of his future prospects my plan at that point was to let him ripen to harvest later, but between then and now the situation has changed a lot. In the first place, with my apotheosis I have no need for experience points or the like anyway. Experience points? Are those good to eat? Waste of space. So basically, I don’t have any particular need to go out of my way to target him.

At a personal level at least. In short, I don’t give a damn about him. However, if considered at a global level, I wouldn’t say that at all.

Just what is the Hero in the first place eh? The answer is to oppose the Demon King. Apparently, from what I’ve seen in the System upgrade logs, the Hero and Demon King were not included right from the start. In fact, a Demon King sprung forth naturally, a Hero sprung forth to subjugate it, and then when D amused herself by inserting that into the system it became the origin of the Hero and Demon King it seems. In short, the Demon King is actually older than the Hero.

Regarding the Hero, to sum up that role it’s to defeat the Demon King. That’s all. Compared to the Demon King who can engage in all sorts of troublesome activities, the Hero’s reason for being is exceedingly simple. Defeat the Demon King. Conversely you could say that the one who defeats the Demon King is the Hero, or you could also say that the one defeated by the Hero is the Demon King.

It’s in that last bit where the problem lies you see. In the Hero Title there is a secret effect with no explanation. The one with the Hero Title is obviously the Hero, but there’s also a hidden factor included in the Hero that is like a skill. It’s there that D playfully arranged a strange gimmick that can’t be taken lightly.

With the Title of Hero, when someone is defeated they are granted the “Subjugated by the Hero” Title as a hidden effect. Well, “defeated” almost always equals “killed”, so you might say that gaining that is pretty meaningless for someone who has died. However, in the case of undeads or those with the Patience skill or in the case of some sort of miraculous revival, then the significance of this Title appears. The skills granted by this title are, [Demon King LV1] and [Taboo LV1]. Herein lies the problem.

Whether it’s for the Hero or whether it’s for the Demon King, those with either skill are likely to to become the next Title holders. It seems that the Demon King has avoided becoming the Demon King until now by the authority of the Ruler of Gluttony, but if the skill is raised then that alone makes inheriting the title easy. Being subjugated by the Hero, with just that the Demon King’s Title gets one step closer you see.

Well, the Demon King’s throne is already occupied so that’s not the problem. If there’s a problem, it’s with the Title and the System itself.

The thing known as a Title, this frequently produces the particular effect of having skills be acquired at the same time. In addition, two skills are automatically received simultaneously on acquisition. When considered with the effect of the Title itself, it could be said that three skills are received at once. Getting a dangerous skill like Taboo is one part, but the other one obtained as standard is more valuable. It has helped me in all sorts of ways.

However, there is a big trap hidden in Titles. Skills can either be acquired by paying the compensation known as skill points, or as the fruit born due to training. So they consist of proper trade-offs and fair exchange. In comparison, Titles are obtained merely by meeting the conditions. Unlike skills, although there are also Titles that require great efforts to obtain, the majority of Titles don’t have requirements like that. For that “Subjugated by the Hero” Title from earlier, it’s obtainable just with being defeated by the Hero. That’s not remotely like fair exchange, simply an award.

Well then, from where is that awarded? The answer is, the System and the MA Area.

Normally, for the skills gained from a Title, if the person who received them trains even a little bit by the time they die, then the balance becomes net positive overall, okay. Or perhaps, expecting that is why there’s Titles in the System. Like with a loan, when a Title is lent, the accumulated interest is returned on death, as it were. But, in the current situation of desperate times, lending out MA Energy is something that I want to avoid. We’re too hard up.

So, what’s actually troublesome, is the “Subjugated by the Hero” Titles being obtained by those defeated by the Hero. I, have gotten one of those too.

Hey, it’s not anything like I actually wanted to gain this, okay? Or rather, I hadn’t thought I could actually gain it even. After apotheosis I’m totally outside the system anyway. But, I was able to gain it, mysteriously enough.

For the origin, you could think of it being like my fault for clumsily hacking the System. Because of that a strange response occurred, a bit like a bug. When the Hero defeated one of my clones, that Title came along. Of course, the Title couldn’t be sustained as is, so the instant it was received automatically the amount of Energy was reduced. Basically that happens every time a clone is defeated. Umm, yeah. Here I am saying that the amount of Energy is bad, then the next minute I’m pointlessly wasting that Energy. Well, for the current me this was unavoidable. It’s bad that I got it, but I only noticed it after I got it. For now, I’ll start hacking the managed data in that area, as that bug must get fixed.

In addition, the Hero sure is relentless in targeting my clones huh. Is it that? The trauma from the battle back then? He’s got excessively good instincts, so all nearby clones get obliterated. Thanks to that, I haven’t been able to dispatch my clones much around Yamada-kun.

Honestly, I can’t stop this nuisance. But, I can’t resolve it either. And so, though it’s a bad choice, I’ve got no option but to not get involved as much as possible. So vexing.

I’m saved by Yamada-kun and the rest entering the academy. Although it’s not like he’s always moving around from place to place as the Hero, every now and then he returns and whenever that happens my clones are gotten rid of. But, even the Hero can’t meddle at the academy. So now I can do my surveillance in peace, at last.