Chapter 17: Power Increase!
[Name: Shin Akira]
[Identity: Visitor from Another World]
[Template Inheritance: Meliodas (43%)]
[Talent: Immortality (Curse)]
[Magic: Darkness]
[Skills: Demon Mark (Fragment), Full Counter, Counter Vanish, Secret Technique – Revenge Counter, Enchantment – Hell Blaze, Divine Thousand Slash]
[Equipment: None]
[Item: Phoenix's Tears ×1]
His inheritance level had instantly soared to 43%, and in a single breath, he had obtained five skills at once.
The first—and most eye-catching—was naturally Meliodas's signature technique: Full Counter. A divine ability capable of reflecting magic-based attacks back at the enemy with several times their original power, completely independent of the user's own strength.
[Full Counter: Reflects all offensive magic directed at him back at several times its original power.]
[Counter Vanish: Completely erases all offensive magic directed at him.]
[Secret Technique – Revenge Counter: Unlike Full Counter, this technique does not immediately retaliate upon receiving an attack. Instead, it accumulates all damage taken and, at the right moment, releases it all at once in a single overwhelming counterattack.]
[Divine Thousand Slash: A skill unleashed after continuously gathering magical power, causing Hell Blaze to envelop the blade before being released in a devastating strike.]
[Enchantment – Hell Blaze: A method of attack that coats a weapon in the hellfire known as "Purgatory Fire," producing immense destructive power when swung.]
A faint series of cracking sounds echoed.
Akira stood up and stretched his body slightly. His bones released a crisp chain of popping noises.
Whether from the battle itself or the rewards he had gained afterward, Akira had truly profited enormously.
He had only just arrived in this world, and his inheritance level had already reached 43%.
And today was only the second day.
An improvement like this felt almost too easy.
"Hm… leaving you lying here doesn't seem very good either. How about this—I'll dig a hole and bury you. Since your body was created from the soil of the Age of Gods, it should be easier for you to recover inside the earth."
Whether intentional or not, Akira lifted the still-unconscious Kingu, found a small hill nearby, and casually dug a hole before burying him there.
He wasn't worried in the slightest about Kingu suffocating.
Even after covering him with soil, he stepped on the ground several times to pack it down firmly.
"Yeah, this should be enough."
Looking at his own "handiwork," Akira nodded in satisfaction.
After that, he didn't linger and immediately turned to leave.
The scale of his battle with Kingu had been far too large.
Before anyone else arrived, it would be better for him to disappear first.
However, only a few minutes after Akira left, a white-haired man appeared atop the small hill.
"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed it. In an era where Enkidu is already dead, two Chain of Heaven have appeared at the same time. Just who exactly are you, Shin Akira…"
Staring in the direction Akira had gone, the white-haired man—Merlin—murmured softly to himself.
Some time earlier, from the distant Northern Wall, an overwhelming explosion of magical power and the violent fluctuations of a massive battle had erupted, immediately drawing Merlin's attention just as he had arrived in the area.
As one of the candidates possessing Grand qualifications, Merlin could already be considered a near-certain Grand Caster.
He possessed Clairvoyance—the ability to see everything currently happening in the world.
And unfortunately, the entire battle from earlier had been fully "visible" to him.
Neither Akira nor Kingu, locked in their fight, had noticed this observer at all.
"This matter must be reported to King Gilgamesh immediately."
On Mesopotamian soil, two Chain of Heaven had appeared.
One was a foreign visitor who had arrived in Uruk just yesterday.
The other bore the exact same appearance as Enkidu, yet for some reason carried an indescribable sense of wrongness.
Northern Wall.
Akira had returned here.
It was no longer that early in the morning.
Leonidas was currently leading the soldiers in training.
Part of the army remained stationed at the Northern Wall on guard duty. If Magical Beasts launched an attack, everyone would be notified immediately.
But today felt strange.
So much time had already passed, yet not a single Magical Beast had appeared.
They didn't know that the earlier clash between Akira and Kingu had unleashed overwhelming waves of magical power, scaring all nearby Magical Beasts into retreat.
Magical Beasts did possess magical power, but at their core, they weren't much different from wild animals.
It was animal instinct that governed them.
Precisely because of that, power beyond their comprehension would naturally cause them to retreat.
However, none of the soldiers knew this.
Even Akira himself, despite being directly involved, hadn't realized it yet.
"Akira-san, you're here as well."
At the Northern Wall, as Akira landed, Leonidas happened to be nearby and greeted him with a smile.
"Yeah, Leonidas."
"Today is a bit strange. It's already this late, yet the Magical Beasts haven't attacked. That's unusual."
"Hm? Why do you say that?"
"Normally, the attacks from Magical Beasts begin before dawn. Even in the middle of the night, attacks happen frequently."
"I see."
A conclusion drawn from experience.
It made sense.
However, Akira already had a guess.
Most likely, because of him and Kingu, the Magical Beasts wouldn't be approaching this area for the time being.
Even though the battle had ended, traces of their power still lingered.
For those Magical Beasts, such traces were no different from a mark of death.
No one wanted to come here only to die for nothing.
Because there was no attack, the soldiers of Uruk seemed far more relaxed.
After all, humans weren't machines.
Long-term high-intensity combat could easily trigger mental strain and distortion.
"Everyone, straighten your chests, lift your heads, look straight ahead. Lock onto the target you want to strike, then without hesitation, thrust your weapons."
"Yes, Lord Leonidas."
"Hold your weapons steady—don't let them tremble. When you fight, your enemy will be Magical Beasts. They won't give you any warning. One mistake, and you'll become their food."
"Yes, Lord Leonidas."
All the soldiers in training responded in unison without exception.
It had to be said— as the King of Sparta, even though he ultimately faced defeat, his strength could not be denied.
Meanwhile, Akira stood there like someone watching a performance, observing everything below.
It felt like a second- or third-year university student returning to watch the military training of freshmen.
Not because he was particularly interested in the training itself, but simply to see how the newcomers were doing.
From Akira's perspective, these soldiers of Uruk had improved quite a bit under Leonidas's training.
And since there were no Magical Beast attacks today, many of them could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
At this Northern Wall, people died every single day.
No one knew whether tomorrow would be their turn.
And at this moment, Akira began to think about something.
Just Kingu's Holy Grail alone had already caused his inheritance level to soar so dramatically.
Then what about the "Holy Grail of Uruk" currently in Gilgamesh's possession?
Would his inheritance level skyrocket even further?
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