An orc royal guard was typically level 250. Even counting only the stats gained from levels, that meant 250 in every stat. And like any fight-loving orc, they were tough, capable fighters.

'And these bastards...'

They were far stronger than the ordinary royal guards he knew. He had a guess as to why: the orc hero driving Cedric into a corner. Just as that bastard was extraordinarily powerful, these guards probably had some sort of boost too.

'Level 300? Probably somewhere around there.'

He angled his sword to deflect the incoming glaive, handling the blow with far less force before immediately swinging back. The orc's eyes widened, and it hastily raised one arm.

SHICK!

The blade bit shallowly into its thick arm bone. Blood spurted into the air.

'Too shallow.'

The doping had raised his stats considerably, but his weapon wasn't good enough. He had cut through the skin, but not the bone. Meanwhile, the glaive came crashing in. He let go of his sword and rolled across the ground. The guard moved to kick him furiously, only to stagger.

'I didn't refill my mana for nothing.'

Skeletons rose out of the ground when summoned. Their emerging hands had clamped tightly around the guard's legs.

"Graaah!"

Its eyes reddening with apparent irritation, the guard stomped on the skeletons. With the overwhelming level gap, they shattered helplessly. But far more were being summoned.

[Opening spatial ring (Intermediate)!]

Equipment spilled out of the ring, scattering across the ground. The skeletons quickly grabbed weapons and charged from every direction. The overwhelming level gap meant even armed attacks wouldn't do much damage, but they would still sting all over.

The skeletons stabbed away at its body while others clung stubbornly to its glaive-wielding hand. By then, Minwoo was holding a hammer he had taken from his inventory.

'Try blocking this too.'

He brought the hammer down at its face with all his might. The orc instinctively raised its arm—the one with his sword still embedded in it. The hammer struck the sword squarely.

CLANG!

The sword drove deep, severing the orc's arm.

"GRAAAH!"

Normally, it would have clutched the stump in agony, but this one-armed orc was different. Instead, it stepped forward with bloodshot eyes and swung its glaive. Minwoo blocked with his hammer.

CLANG!

Sparks flew as he was driven backward.

'This is why orcs are such a pain in the ass.'

They never stopped, even when injured.

'But that actually works for me.'

It made their movements easy to read.

Behind the orc, skeletons were already stabbing away with their weapons. Completely undefended, it would be taking a fair amount of damage. Yet, true to its nature, the orc kept its gaze fixed solely on him. He deflected several more attacks.

'Take it slow.'

In a fight, the impatient one lost. Just like this orc.

The orc charged like a bull and hurled its glaive. Minwoo twisted his head aside. The vicious projectile nicked his cheek as it flew past. In that opening, the orc spread its arms and lunged with all its strength.

A good decision. It must have realized fighting him with a weapon would be difficult, so it was trying to grab him first.

'Except...'

[Activating Dread Gaze (F)!]

[Activating Haste (F)!]

For the briefest instant, the orc flinched under Dread Gaze. At the same time, Minwoo moved a little faster. That tiny difference decided the outcome. The brutal grasp missed him by a finger's breadth.

He slammed his hammer into the orc's bewildered face. Its forward momentum combined with the force of his swing, thoroughly crushing its face.

'I can read every move.'

Did it think this was his first or second time fighting an orc? They were regular fixtures in gates. And right now, Kim Minwoo was at his very best. That appalling lack of talent was gone.

The skeletons swarmed the mournfully howling orc. After several strikes from their weapons, its body went limp.

[You have won a battle against a monster overwhelmingly stronger than you!]

[You have acquired the title 'Hunter of the Strong'!]

It happened then.

"GRAAAAAAAAAH!"

[The orc hero casts 'Difference in Standing (EX)'!]

[Overwhelming presence!]

[Your soul is severely shaken!]

THUD!

The nearby undead collapsed in an instant. The death knights' and liches' bodies grew faint. Cedric, who had been struggling to hold his own against the orc hero, staggered violently. The bone dragon crashed to the ground. Nor were the undead the only ones affected.

THUMP!

Kim Minwoo's heart was racing like mad too. He was experiencing firsthand what it meant to have his soul shaken.

'This is fucking insane...'

He couldn't put any strength into his body. The skill truly lived up to its name: Difference in Standing.

'The second one, after the Dragon Lord.'

Another being that used an EX-grade skill. Could there be some connection?

* * *

Cedric staggered as he stared at the orc hero before him. This battlefield repeated for eternity within his regrets. He could no longer even remember how many times he had fought that monster. The outcome was always the same.

He lost.

The spear in his hand trembled. He had once been a knight. It was a common story: betrayed and killed, he had become undead to exact revenge.

He had roamed the continent as one of the Death Lord's four legion commanders. All his life, he had been without equal.

Until they appeared.

Even the Death Lord had been no match for them. The four legion commanders had likewise been utterly defeated, one by one. Cedric was no exception. The orc hero had let him escape alive as though playing with a toy.

Over and over again.

Being undead did not mean having no emotions. They were simply faint.

'When did it happen?'

When had his eagerness to fight turned into fear? That creature had overwhelmed him.

The Battle of Hreulunif. Here, he had met his eternal rest. He had regretted it until the very moment he closed his eyes. What right did he have to call himself a knight, a legion commander? He was nothing but a coward desperate to flee.

Yet part of him had been relieved that it would no longer hunt him. Unfortunately, that wish had not come true. At some point, he had awakened again. Ever since, time had repeated endlessly.

For what felt like eternity.

'My lord, why...?'

Only when the first participant appeared did he learn that this hell, where he could not rest in peace, was an arrangement left by the Death Lord.

After that, participants would enter the Eternal Battlefield from time to time. The results were mostly similar. They failed to endure and died. Then their souls were imprisoned in ordinary skeletons, swept up in this Eternal Battlefield forever.

Very occasionally, a participant managed to endure. Then they chose whether to remain on this stage or escape. Even if they escaped, the battlefield continued to repeat. But if they stayed...

'They die.'

Without fail. And their souls were imprisoned.

He would fall to the orc hero again this time. Then, at some point, he would once again join the repeating battle. He could not overcome it on his own. Everything repeated as though the outcome were predetermined. To Cedric, this place was nothing short of hell.

The orc hero approached. Its glaive rose high, as though it were conducting an execution. A foregone conclusion. Cedric stared blankly at the orc's weapon.

Then it happened.

"Don't give up, you bastard!"

A human rushed in.

BOOM!

The descending glaive missed Cedric's head by the narrowest margin. His eyes widened.

* * *

Regret. At last, Minwoo felt he understood what Cedric regretted. An EX-grade skill was undeniably powerful, but not so powerful that a being like Cedric should be unable to resist at all. Yet he was utterly helpless. As though crushed by fear.

'I can see why he'd regret it.'

Cedric was a powerful knight. He must have a considerable ego; Minwoo had gathered that much from their conversations. Commanding so many undead, he must have been quite successful too. But to die so pathetically? That would leave regrets even after death.

How could he prevent that regret? One thing was certain. He had to stop the orc hero trying to execute Cedric first. Surely Cedric had to be alive to overcome his regrets!

'Please, just move!'

Through nausea-inducing dizziness, he desperately gathered his wits. He strained to move his body, frozen as though he were in a vegetative state.

Ever so slightly, his lips trembled. He moved his teeth and bit into the inside of his lip. The pressure increased until blood began to flow inside his mouth. Its salty taste cleared his head a little.

His cold body gradually warmed. Sensation was returning to his fingers.

'I can do this.'

The lack of talent that had shackled his body was long gone. He focused.

A thousandth. A ten-thousandth of a moment. Those fleeting instants. He had become the best because, in games at least, he had focused on every single moment. Even if this place was reality rather than a game...

'That doesn't mean shit.'

Whatever the situation, he would clear it without fail. That was the gamer Kim Minwoo.

[Incomprehensible mental fortitude!]

[Your soul is beginning to transcend its standing!]

He took one step. The second was easier. And finally...

His body launched into the air. Toward the orc hero's glaive!

[Your soul never yielded, even for a moment!]

[You have acquired the title 'Indomitable Soul'!]

The glaive descended slowly, as though the orc wanted to savor the execution. Thankfully.

CLANG!

[Your weapon has been destroyed!]

His sword might have broken, but he had managed to save Cedric.

"Don't give up, you bastard!"

"Grrr..."

The hero's eyes narrowed at the interruption to its fun.

"Someone weaker than you is still moving around just fine, and you're going to give up?"

"..."

Cedric remained silent. The orc hero advanced.

'Oh, fuck.'

How many seconds could he last?

'Just don't die instantly.'

The hero swung its glaive. He saw it clearly. He thought he had dodged it.

SPURT!

Blood sprayed from his chest. A speed he could see, but could not evade. Searing pain flared.

[Your armor has been destroyed!]

His breastbone had been cleanly sliced through. It was a miracle his heart hadn't been cut. He barely kept himself from collapsing. Seeing that, the hero tilted its head.

An insignificant insect. It had meant to kill him. Yet he wasn't dead.

RATTLE!

Something tickled its fine body hair. Skeletons were clinging to it.

THUD.

One stamp of its foot turned them all to powder. In that opening, Kim Minwoo hurriedly poured a potion over his chest. The bleeding barely stopped. His eyes met the hero's. Its gaze grew a little more serious.

"You."

It spoke. Strangely, he could understand it.

"Warrior."

An orc royal guard threw its weapon to the ground.

"Pick up."

This bastard. Quite magnanimous, wasn't it? He took up the glaive in place of his broken sword. He wouldn't receive its bonus effects, since he wouldn't meet the level requirement, but he had to be grateful he could use it as a weapon at all.

"Here I come."

The glaive closed in instantly, on a trajectory that would cleave his body in two.

'Take it.'

He twisted his body with all his strength.

SHICK!

His non-sword arm was severed. In exchange, he cut into its forearm—

CLANG!

The glaive struck the hero's forearm with a noise like metal hitting steel. Damn it... He had planned to sacrifice bone to cut flesh, but apparently the stat gap was so appalling that he couldn't even cut its flesh.

"..."

His eyes met the hero's. Thankfully, instead of attacking, it asked a question.

"Why?"

The orc looked puzzled, as though asking why he struggled so desperately.

How kind. He decided to repay a little of that kindness.

"Protect. Need. Reason?"

The hero grinned, apparently understanding the gist. Its yellow teeth gleamed.

Then...

WHAM!

Its kick sent him flying far away.

[Orc hero Mutakta uses 'Destructive Blow'!]

[You have sustained massive damage!]

[All your equipment has been destroyed!]

He summoned skeletons in droves at his landing point.

BOOM!

Even so, his body slammed into the ground with tremendous force.

"Cough...!"

His chest was crushed where the kick had landed. Blood streamed from his missing arm. His body wouldn't move an inch.

'Potion...'

His eyes threatened to close.

[Warning!]

[You have sustained a fatal injury!]

['Indomitable Soul' has activated!]

[Your soul is enduring the death of your body!]

[Your Soul value is beginning to decrease!]

[Soul (46/50)]

[Soul (42/50)]

[Soul (38/50)]

'Am I dying right now?'

It certainly seemed that way. Things obviously wouldn't be fun once that hit zero. Each second seemed to pass incredibly, agonizingly slowly.

The hero had approached before he knew it. It held its glaive to his neck and asked,

"Good. Warrior. I. Mutakta. You. Name."

[Soul (34/50)]

His lips moved.

Fuck you.

[Soul (30/50)]

"Fuckyou. Remember."

[Soul (26/50)]

Well, thanks a lot. The glaive drew closer.

Little by little.

Little by little.

[Soul (22/50)]

Just before it made contact—

CRASH!

A familiar spear knocked the glaive aside.

'You son of a bitch...'

[Soul (18/50)]

Cedric. The bastard had finally gotten off his ass.

"... Don't touch him again."

[Soul (14/50)]

The world turned gray. Messages appeared within the frozen time.

[Perfect escape conditions!]

[Cedric has overcome his regret!]

[You have won the heart of the Death Lord's legion commander, the one called the Dragon Knight!]

[Cedric will now fight for you!]

[The Death Lord's authority, Summon Cedric (SSS), has been activated!]

[You have acquired the title 'Master of the Dragon Knight'!]

[You have acquired the title 'Acknowledged by Mutakta'!]

[You have acquired the title 'The One Who Stopped Eternity'!]

[The Eternal Battlefield slowly fades.]

[Leaving the battlefield.]

Ha. Putting him through all this shit? He had only planned to work him moderately hard, but that wouldn't do anymore.

'You're fucking dead once I summon you. Seriously.'

He firmly made up his mind.