Chapter 4: Is This What a “Hero” Is?

Artist slapped away the “broken sword” with a single palm.

Then, he glared in the direction the broken sword had come from.

Two kilometers away, standing in the middle of the plains, the Dragon-slaying Hero Siegfried felt a terrifying killing intent coming from above.

He had just used his exclusive weapon—the Dragon-slaying Divine Sword Balmung.

This sword could pierce the incredibly hard scales of a Black Dragon in a single strike.

With the addition of Siegfried’s Hero’s Power, it was no exaggeration to say it could heavily wound a Black Dragon with one blow.

In fact, he had actually done it; otherwise, he wouldn’t have earned the title of “Hero.”

Yet, a full-power strike from his divine sword had been slapped away by some guy two kilometers away?

Balmung flew back into Siegfried’s hand.

He had seen countless ferocious enemies and had faced the giant black dragon known as a “Calamity.”

If it were mere killing intent, it wouldn’t have made him feel threatened.

But the enemy he encountered this time… just the release of killing intent made him feel fear…

Artist transformed into a monster and, with a sudden flash of movement, crossed two kilometers to appear right in front of Siegfried.

“Brat, was it you who attacked me?”

“Artist… I am fortunate enough today to see your wicked true form!”

Siegfried made an immediate decision, took a large leap backward, and retreated about ten meters.

The movement was completed almost instantly and was entirely an instinctive reaction.

Siegfried felt that staying in front of that monster for even one more second… could result in being killed in a single blow.

“What the hell? Talking big while backing away? Interesting.”

Artist didn’t even bother releasing his magic power.

After all, the “Hero” in front of him looked like his legs were shaking.

“Is this a joke… I am the Hero who killed a giant dragon single-handedly. How could I be afraid…”

Siegfried spoke those words, but his feet kept moving backward.

For every step Artist took forward, Siegfried took a step back.

He naively thought that as long as he maintained a good distance, he would be relatively safe and could find an opportunity to strike.

“‘Hero’? Why do you look like a coward? So terrified?”

Artist approached with a wicked smile.

This time he used Ghostly Footsteps, closing the distance to Siegfried in just one second.

[Warning, warning, too close to high-energy target, please evade immediately!]

Artist showed no reaction on the surface, but internally he felt this damn System was incredibly noisy.

‘What high-energy target? Isn’t it just a kid at the Hero level?’

[Warning…]

“Tch, so noisy…”

Artist couldn’t take it anymore and slapped Siegfried across the face.

Siegfried was completely defenseless.

He suddenly felt as if he had been hit by a giant dragon’s full-power strike, and it had hit his face.

Pfft—

Siegfried flew like a stone toward the end of the plains, his body slamming into a dirt slope one kilometer away.

Two neat trenches had been dragged into the ground by Siegfried’s legs, and his body was embedded into the hill, forming a humanoid hole in a spread-eagle shape.

Artist quickly followed, looking at the “natural wonder” he had personally created with great satisfaction.

“Not bad. I’ll name this slope ‘Dongzi Great Dirt Slope.'”

He was very satisfied with his artistic taste.

Regardless of what others thought, as long as it was his work, it received a high score in his heart.

Siegfried had been beaten to the point of questioning his life.

Everything was dark before his eyes, and he had no idea what he had experienced, let alone that he was currently embedded in a hill.

‘Who am I?’

‘Where am I?’

‘Why am I here?’

‘Where am I going?’

‘What was I doing again?’

By the time he regained his senses, he found that Sealing Magic had been cast upon him.

Furthermore, he was bound by vines found from who-knows-where, and his body seemed to be fixed to some kind of pole.

And underneath him, for some reason… it was so hot… and smelled a bit fragrant…

Gurgle— Siegfried’s stomach growled.

“Hungry?”

Artist sat by the campfire, staring kindly at the “Hero” he had personally tied to the roasting spit with vines.

“Artist? Right, I came to kill you and save the Princess! Where is my sword?”

Siegfried remembered his mission and immediately called out to his divine sword:

“Balmung!”

“You mean this?”

Artist held the golden broken sword, dangling it back and forth in front of the Hero’s eyes.

“You bastard… give it back to me! That is my exclusive divine artifact! How dare you hold it in your hand?”

Artist smiled wickedly.

“You want it? Reach out and grab it then. Let’s see if the vines burn through first or if you get roasted through first.”

Only then did Siegfried react.

Looking down, he realized he was being propped up over a campfire and cooked!

“Are you even human? Why are you roasting me? Even the Demon Race doesn’t eat humans!”

“Eh? You actually got that right. I really can’t be considered a ‘human’!”

“You bastard… is there no king’s law, no justice left…”

Siegfried wanted to cry, but no tears came.

He was a Dragon-slaying Hero, after all.

A giant dragon that a 1,000-man army couldn’t defeat had been slain by him alone.

Now, his weapon had been taken, his power had been sealed, and to top it off, he had been stripped of his clothes and tied to a pole to be barbecued…

“Uuuugh, this is too humiliating. Just kill me…”

Siegfried pleaded.

“Hey! A real man doesn’t shed tears so easily!”

Artist said with righteous indignation.

“Falling to this state today isn’t because you are weak, but because I am too strong!”

“Waaaaah! I don’t want to live! I have no face left to return to my hometown! Artist! Just kill me!”

“Don’t talk about life and death so casually. Killing you is just a matter of moving my finger, but you’re still alive now. Think carefully about why.”

Siegfried felt both humiliated and helpless.

He managed to squeeze out the words, “I… I don’t know…”

“As for me, I don’t usually take underlings. I’ve killed countless people stronger than you, and those weaker than you aren’t even worth my time to kill.”

“You… just say it! What do you want?”

“Just based on the fact that you knew to avoid me by instinct, I think you’re a talent worth molding.”

Artist threw a look of approval at Siegfried.

Siegfried had an ominous feeling.

‘This monster isn’t going to say he wants me to be his lapdog, is he?’

Siegfried made an immediate decision and said resolutely, “I will never yield to you!”

Artist shook his head and said, “Sigh, that’s not what I meant. Let me introduce myself. My name is Artist, and I am an artist.”

“Huh?”

Siegfried was stunned.

“See, I have a dream in this life, and that is to create the most brilliant work of art in this world!”

Siegfried stared at him blankly.

“For that, I need your help!”

Seeing the light shining in Artist’s eyes, Siegfried suddenly felt… he wasn’t lying!

As if possessed, he actually said, “You… tell me about it?”

“Good! As expected of the ‘Hero’ I’ve taken an interest in! Knowing how to value your life while also understanding how to adapt to the situation—you will definitely become a fine assistant!”

“But don’t you already have a retainer? I heard from the First Prince…”

“There’s no need for you to know that much right now. You just need to do as I say. Not only can you keep your life, but you can also gain the qualification to become my formal assistant!”

Artist said expectantly.

“How about it? Interested? Will you agree?”

Siegfried originally wanted to refuse, but the heat from being roasted was far too much.

If he stayed over the fire any longer, he would pass out and turn into human barbecue.

His mana was sealed, and he couldn’t win a fight anyway.

But the other party had given him a chance to live and had seen right through him.

Siegfried gritted his teeth, hardened his heart, and said aggrievedly, “Fine! Let me down, and I’ll help you finish your ‘art’!”

“Smart.”

Artist nodded in approval.

Over the past 500 years, many people had wanted to submit to him, but he hadn’t taken an interest in a single one.

But this Siegfried could not only take a slap from him while completely defenseless but was also a smart man who knew when to yield.

He truly had some skill.

He picked up the roasting spit and stuck it upside down into the ground.

Siegfried was no longer being roasted by the fire, but his bonds were not yet undone.

Artist turned to leave.

Siegfried called out to him, “Boss, untie me!”

But Artist said, “As my assistant, you must fully experience the breath of nature. This is the first lesson I’m giving you.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean…”

“The seal on your body will be released after the sun sets. Until then, stay in this state and have an intimate encounter with nature! Hahahaha!”

‘This lunatic… what kind of temperament does this monster have? He’s completely unpredictable!’

With a flash of movement, Artist disappeared.

He returned to the fortress, Out of the Three Realms.

At that moment, the System’s notification sounded:

[Congratulations Host on successfully recruiting a “Hero-tier” subordinate, now issuing rewards… %#￥%#￥…]

Artist felt a surge of joy.

‘Oh? There are rewards! That’s good!’

[Error, error, error… Host status detection failed… Error… &%&66549 code 7777%…]

Great, nothing again.

Forget it, it was only natural when considering this System arrived 500 years late.

He couldn’t expect it to be very reliable.

[Issuing Storage Space to the Host. Any item can be stored within. Current storage limit: ten items.]

[The reward for completing the first task has been placed in the Storage Space. Please check it yourself, Host.]

Artist pulled up the System screen and moved his finger to the “Storage Space” column, his heart full of curiosity.

‘I wonder what the reward will be?’

He clicked it open.

[Items in Storage Space:]

[Letter to Childhood Friend. Sender: Alisha]

“A letter from the Hero’s childhood friend?”

Artist was deeply surprised.