Hey, Why Are My Skills so Weird!?

“What in the hell was that?” I looked at Andrew in surprise. That attack just now was not something that he should be able to unleash.

Andrew just looked at me while panting and shrugged his shoulders.

I then looked at Mary to see her reaction, but she was just as surprised as I.

Just now, Andrew had said [Lone Sword] when he attacked the spiders.

That was the name of the attack that Mary used before.

And not only the name was the same. The attack was very similar to Mary's.

They were practically the same.

I wanted to ask him where he learned that attack, but now was not the time for this.

Even though we closed the door, the spiders will be able to break the door eventually. They will only need a pair of minutes to tear it down.

“We need to leave. Andrew, did you bring the bleach?”

Andrew nodded. We then quickly used bleach to wipe our bodies before running away from this place.

Only five minutes later, when we confirmed that the spiders were not following us, we stopped inside a small store to rest.

“Damn, that was fucking close,” Andrew said with an exhausted expression.

I agreed with him. That was very close.

But– I looked at the woman I was carrying in my back –We managed to rescue Mary.

 “… Thank you.” Mary smiled at us with an exhausted expression. She seemed really tired, but despite it, her smile was very beautiful.

Andrew and I smiled bashfully as I put her on the ground. I then walked around to see if I could find water and something to eat.

I brought some supplies before entering the dungeon, but after sharing them with my friends, I need to find more.

A few minutes later, after we ate and recovered a bit of our strength, we finally relaxed.

I then looked at my friend with a curious expression.

“Andrew, the technique that you used to kill the spiders… It was Mary’s technique, right? How did you use it?”

Mary also looked at Andrew when I asked that question. Feeling our gazes on him, Andrew smiled embarrassedly and scratched his head.

“… Actually, I learned it after seeing Miss Mary use it a couple of times. I was not sure I could use it, though. I guess I was lucky.”

Mary and I were dumbfounded.

You learned it after seeing her use it?

What kind of crazy talent is it!?

[That is more than just talent, boy.] The demon spoke at that moment.

Huh?

I was startled and immediately asked the demon what he meant.

[… If I’m not wrong, this friend of yours is a Hero.]

I put on a strange expression.

A hero? Like in the stories?

[Yes. You must have heard stories about ‘heroes and demon kings’ right? The story where a chosen hero goes on a journey to defeat a demon king.]

I nodded. These kinds of stories are a common cliché.

[Well, your friend is that kind of hero. He was chosen by the world and blessed with talent and luck that make him a supreme genius.]

I was stupefied. For a moment, I did not know how to react.

I mean, I suddenly learned that my best friend was a kind of super genius. I was shocked, but at the same time, I was jealous and intrigued.

Damn, does it mean he is destined for greatness?

[He is. But it’s too soon for you to be happy.]

Huh?

[Being a hero is not good. Heroes are the mechanism of defense of a world to defend against a threat. The fact that a hero exists means that the world thinks that its existence is being threatened. If there is a Hero, there is a Demon King.]

Demon King, huh.

In other words, being a hero means that you will have to fight a very powerful person eventually.

[It doesn’t need to be a person. It can be a natural disaster, an invading race, or a strange creature. In short, he is destined to face a danger so great that the world itself is afraid of it.]

I furrowed my brows in thought.

I was smart enough to understand what the demon wanted to tell me. Being a Hero meant having to fight against a very dangerous threat eventually.

Furthermore, the demon said that it’s not something good.

In other words, unlike in stories, there is a high chance of the ‘hero’ failing to overcome that danger, right?

[Exactly. In fact, most heroes fail to defend their worlds and die without being able to change the fate of their world. Some of them are not even able to live until the day the threat of the world arrives.]

My expression became grave.

Not just because I learned that the life of my best friend was in danger.

But also because if the demon’s words were true, then this world could be destroyed at any time.

I could not help but feel uneasy when I thought of that.

[You don’t need to worry. You are still too weak to worry about this world. Plus, I have an idea of what kind of danger this world is facing.]

‘Really? What is it?’

[You don’t need to know yet.] The demon said indifferently.

I knew that the demon would not change his opinion after saying that, so I did not insist.

I was still digesting the words of the demon.

Now that I think about it. The demon said that he wanted to confirm something when he allowed me to rescue Mary.

Is it what he wanted to confirm?

[Yes. Heroes grow through adversities. I was not completely sure he was a hero, but after seeing him learn that woman’s technique so easily and use it to rescue you from danger, I confirmed my guess.]

I see.

A hero, huh.

Well, I don’t need to care too much about that.

It would be a lie to say that I’m not a bit jealous of him. But the demon in my mind is also a kind of ‘cheat’ so I’m not that jealous.

Plus, it’s not as though him being a hero is going to affect me directly. I only need to focus on becoming stronger.

[You are mistaken, boy. It affects you greatly.]

Huh? What do you mean?

The demon did not reply immediately. Instead, I felt as though his eyes were looking at me amusedly.

Then, he smirked and spoke up.

[Boy, if I’m not wrong, your hero friend is the reason you almost died in the dungeon where you met me.]

My expression immediately changed.