Surviving a Shounen Manga

Karl Zayed

The sixth stage of the Adventurer Qualification Test, the test of the ‘adversary'.

Basically, the main task required of an adventurer in the adversary position is to defeat the guardian who protects the treasure, but it also includes fighting other adventurers to claim the treasure.

That ability as an adversary was being tested in this qualification exam.

A battle between multiple adventurer groups aiming for the same treasure.

In the original story, Leo and his party competed with three other groups for one treasure. In other words, four adventurer teams had a match to decide the third place.

They probably were in the middle of a fight right now.

And now, it was our turn to fight another adventurer team with the same level of ‘guiding ability' and ‘deciphering ability' as ours, over whatever was in the refrigerator – mint chocolate or green tea.

And that – was this guy.

Karl Zayed.

I'd seen this character for the first time when the winners of the Adventurer Qualification Test were announced at the awards ceremony in the original work.

At that time, I'd thought that the Leo Adventurers were number one. After finding their way with difficulty, breaking the seal on the treasure with difficulty, they had to fight three other teams they met there, and finally achieved victory, also with difficulty.

But somehow, when I looked, there was another team ranked one step higher.

That's right, the grey-haired guy over there.

Naturally, it was extremely eye-catching.

Not only did he pop up suddenly, but he was also alone on top of that.

Compared to all the other adventurer groups in the rankings, all of whom apart from the Leo Adventurers were filled with seven people, he stood alone.

The only one-man adventurer team.

Even so, it was he who finally came out on top.

The adventurer team that faced him and got second place didn't even attend the awards ceremony. Because they were busy healing from their wounds.

There was only one problem.

How could this make sense?

Characters can be strong. Most new characters appear equipped with powerful abilities. Regardless of balance, depending on the author's intentions, absurdly strong monsters may appear from time to time. It's not that unusual.

Nevertheless, the reason why many readers had been skeptical of this character was that he found his way alone, untied the seal alone, and even won the battle all alone.

A character with the ability of all three positions, taken to the extreme.

It was his unique ability that made this possible.

[Unstoppable Growth]

• All abilities are continuously strengthened without limit.

From basic strength to various physical abilities, hidden characteristics, and even the unique ability itself.

It was such a cheat that you could only use the word ‘absurd' to describe it.

Moreover, this guy had been born with the guide and decipherer traits, ‘pathfinding eyes' and ‘comprehension', and had a lot of different adversary-specific traits on top of that.

In other words, he was absurdly OP.

Actually, I didn't even dare to try mimicking his unique ability.

The reason was simple. Because the ‘class' of his unique ability was constantly increasing, directly proportion to his physical ability.

The fourth mimicking condition.

• You must have a physique that matches the level of the ability.

In other words, in order to mimic him, my body had to be at least be at his level. His body that had been continuously strengthened in-setting until now.

That's too much. That's unreasonable.

But, of course, that didn't mean I'd completely given up on it. I couldn't give up on such an ability even if I wanted to. An ability that can make you stronger just by breathing.

It was fair to say that I couldn't even dream of getting it right now, but that didn't mean there was no possibility in the future. The dream realm had given me a hint.

‘It's like asking if the chicken or the egg came first, but…'

In any case, the appearance of this absurd overpowered munchkin had provoked dissatisfaction from many readers.

At that time, the author's choice of dividing the adventurer teams into three positions was highly praised. Thanks to that, the ratio of the characters could be adjusted in a balanced manner.

But this guy appeared in the middle of that.

There was a setting for this guy, that being ‘I really want to show a one-man adventurer team with a high ego', but that was not enough to smooth things over. The balance couldn't be adjusted, and the very existence of such a versatile character unconditionally cheapened the significance of the rest.

So, at first, I didn't even think about defeating this guy. Because these monsters outside the norm were not originally designed to be defeated.

He was a monster that couldn't even be defeated by Leo and Kiriko attacking together. Not the two of them as they were now, but a long time later.

In other words, even with the joint effort of the two who were stronger than now, Karl Zayed could not be defeated.

How could I beat a guy like that?

Besides, I thought that losing to this guy was actually in line with my current role.

To come second, not first.

Although he was sadly defeated by an invincible OP munchkin, his skill level was still higher than the protagonist. Didn't that fit me better?

Rivals must also match the protagonist's growth rate to a certain extent. Shooting ahead too much would only cause a sense of incongruity, and only when your level is similar would you be more likely to have a chance of working together.

Above all, who knew when the author might decide to cut me down to size if I shot up too fast, too high.

Something at the level of those malicious restrictions could be overcome somehow, but anything bigger might get a little risky. I hadn't yet firmly established my rival position, and if the author tried to get rid of me right now, my destiny would be the same as the Corrupted Knight.

But,

"I got tired waiting. I need to vent my anger a bit, so I'm going to kill you."

"… Wouldn't that get you disqualified?"

"Hmm, then I guess I'll have to hold back a little bit."

There was something I hadn't forgotten.

His cruelty.

Karl Zayed is not the type to accept surrender. He has no mercy in him, and does his best to destroy his opponent every time.

In the original, the second-place adventurer team had even missed the awards ceremony.

What if the same happened to me? All my work in this arc would be utterly ruined.

What's the point of ranking second if you can't even show your face for the awards announcement?

What's the use of summoning giant earthworms, rushing through the tunnels, and rescuing people using ships?

All that spotlight would be lost to the newcomer, and I would be forgotten.

That had to be stopped. At any cost.

"Anyway, it’s unfortunate. I thought some others might come."

He was probably referring to the guys who'd placed second in the original. Maybe because we'd been looking for a way to this place, they might have been hanging out with Leo's party right now.

After all, well, they weren't important characters. Just extras, whose names or faces had never even appeared in the original.

"But it doesn't matter whoever it is. Are there just four of you?"

"It does matter. There is no adventurer team better than us. Even if it’s just the four of us."

At my words, he just laughed.

"Isn’t there one right in front of you? Although there's just one of me."

"Yes, I admit it. So, by any chance… would you like to join our adventurer team? We could take first place together."

This was a trick I'd had in mind just in case. Because it was actually possible. Maybe I could create a new and interesting possibility.

However,

"No way. I'm not the type to share what's mine."

Again, that didn't happen.

Probably due to that serious setting, ‘I'll make a one-man adventurer team even if it kills me'.

In the end, it meant that we had to break through this hurdle head-on. It was life or death.

"Haka, Chinuavi. Forward."

We'd already planned things to some extent in advance.

"Actually, I didn’t believe you when you told me, senior, not until I saw it with my own eyes. To think that there's a human who can decipher the goblin problem… I'm really very curious how that's even possible."

"Can’t you just ask? He looks pretty taciturn, but there're ways to quickly pry that mouth open. It's a skill I learned by chance, while wandering about learning from goblins. Huhu…"

Fortunately, Haka had already regained his characteristic secretive smile. He was pretty lethal and reliable in this state.

Not enough to deal with that grey-haired monster, but maybe enough to hold him off for a while.

What I'd asked of them was simple.

Stall the guy. Even if for just five minutes.

Of course, this was no walk in the park.

First of all, Chinuavi was not one of those goblins who were good at fighting. Not only was his unique ability unsuited for combat, he was a bumbler with quite a few losses in the Brawler Goblin Test under his belt.

So my plan was to grab that guy's attention first using just Haka, and keep Chinuavi in reserve to change the terrain and the shadows Haka could use to hide in case of an emergency.

I couldn't go together with them from the start, because there was still something I had to check, observing his movements.

If I had to choose a single ability against him, I had to know, first.

Soon after,

Bump–.

The battle began with Haka attacking first.

Haka didn't immediately use his unique ability. Instead, he tried to approach the enemy with the assassination skill he'd learned, as if trying to take the opponent's measure.

‘Tch, just do your best from the beginning… this might be dangerous.'

And my fears soon turned into reality.

Puff.

"…"

I swallowed without meaning to.

It was just the blink of an eye.

It was just a single blow.

"Kk, kh… ugh."

It was only after hearing Haka's moans, that I could pinpoint his exact location.

Haka had been buried very deep, under the ground.

If Chinuavi hadn't had a flash of wit to soften the ground in that instant, the manga might've had to switch the genre. To gore/horror, naturally.

‘… I'm totally screwed.'

Check his movements? Forget about it.

He was better than I'd expected. To be honest, he felt dozens of times stronger.

At that moment, I knew for sure.

This guy shouldn't be touched.

It'd been a mistake. In order to get a high ranking, I'd prepared to meet this guy.

I should've just chosen the same treasure as Leo's party. I should've just fought and beat them for third place.

I would've appeared in chapters, would've had a much easier time, and even if I were defeated was much easier to deal with, and there would've been plausible ways to develop even if I ended up defeated.

‘I was being crazy. Coveting wealth and glory…'

I boldly deleted one of the two abilities I'd been considering from my head.

How could I dare try to take that guy on with [Sturdy Boulder] that I'd never even used before? It was a straightforward plan – to lock him up using Chinuavi's earth ability, tie him down using Haka's shadows, and then finish him off myself.

It'd been my mistake. My wild recklessness.

Without hesitation, I mimicked the other ability I'd had in mind. The ability I'd practiced the longest, and the hardest.

In an instant, two revolvers began to materialize at my waist.

Seeing this, Karl Zayed smiled.

"Is it your turn now, squat-jaw?"

"Right, but could you please wait a minute?"

"What?"

"I have something to tell my colleague who's stuck over there."

"Are you going to leave a will?"

"It’s similar. Can I have some time?"

I thought this guy wouldn't refuse.

He was cruel and cold-blooded, with no mercy, but he had pride.

"I'll give you one minute."

I quickly walked over to the pile of dirt Haka had been buried under. Chinuavi was already waiting there, with a serious expression.

"Se-, senior… this situation…"

"Chinuavi, go stay with Cocoa."

"Yes?"

"Hurry. Make sure to build a wall with earth, in case something like a pile of stones splash in. Don’t get hurt and take good care of yourselves."

After being silent for a bit, Chinuavi nodded and went to Cocoa's side.

Then I looked at the pile of dirt and spoke.

"Haka."

"…"

"I’m sorry, but could you draw his attention one more time?"

"…"

"I know you're listening. I'm really sorry, but please."

Soon after,

"… Cough. I might die, you know."

A weak voice came from beneath the pile of dirt.

"I know it's hard… Hide in the shadows or use stealth… Anyway, distract him just once."

Then I pointed my gun at the pile of dirt.

"It’s a healing bullet. You'll feel better."

Bang–.

Soon after,

"Oh… I'll take back the cursewords."

A clearer voice came out of the pile of dirt.

"I didn’t hear you… Anyway, I’m going with Plan B. Do you remember what to do? You have to do it."

"I know… but I don’t think I can."

"Then we'll all die. Oh, I'm not scaring you. I'm saying this sincerely."

"…"

Even so, Haka didn't seem motivated. To get hit by something like that and come back out? Just thinking about it made me shiver.

It seemed impossible.

"I saw the goblin gods."

"… Eh?"

"There were five of them. I'll tell you all about it. If you can do it without dying."

"Haah…"

After a while,

"Hoo… I'll try my best. So… please, live and tell me the story later."

Haka, pulling his head out of the pile of dirt, looked at me and smiled.

It was a pretty nice smile.

Haah… This guy didn't lose his trademark murderous smile again, right?

‘But hey, who cares.'

I smirked back.

"Let’s try it."

Karl Zayed was called the person closest to the Seven Kings, but he never actually ascended to that position.

It wasn't because he lacked power. In fact, this guy had gone toe to toe with the Seven Kings' troops by himself in the second half of the original.

The reason was simple. He had one weakness. A glaring one.

The community joked about this weakness and called it ‘mother-in-law's discipline'[1].

Meaning that it was a weakness that the readers had forcefully created, much like how a nit-picking mother-in-law might do to a timid wife.

The background was simple.

Since the advent of Karl Zayed, the readers had constantly insisted on nerfing the character. Because the power balance was all over the place.

The author did not respond much at first, but as the readers' protests kept piling up, he'd eventually published a notice. That the character actually had a weakness, so there was no problem with the balance.

The author even exposed it in the very next chapter.

Achilles' tendon.

That was Karl Zayed's weakness.

A man whose body and all abilities were constantly being strengthened, with one exception.

The author even added that he was a character created with the concept of Achilles.

To be honest, that was an absurd explanation. Where do you see Achilles in that guy with grey hair like a lion's mane?

The author made an excuse that the setting had been originally there from the start, but many readers, including me, didn't believe it. It was clear that he'd added the setting in a hurry.

At that time, the debate ended without any resolution, but now I had no choice but to rekindle it.

This time, I stood on the author's side.

Plan B was indeed a simple strategy.

Attack Karl Zayed's Achilles' tendon.

As fast as you can. Without giving him any room to react.

Using the ‘Rapid Fire' skill, with only ‘penetration' of the [Six Burning Bullets].

The problem was that I wasn't proficient in ranged attacks.

There was a chance he'd dodge, but even without that, the chance of me being on target was low by itself.

I could mimic unique abilities, but not the traits of other characters.

Even if I managed to shoot quickly, I couldn't land every shot on target, not like Kiriko could.

I never even bought a background with ‘accuracy'. I wasn't trained enough to be able to hit targets rapid-fire.

‘I should've practiced a little more during the first qualification test…'

So, I had to stick close to the opponent. As long as I could get close, I could hit him.

The essence of Plan B was simply ‘luck'.

Might work, might not.

I might be able to approach him, might be able to shoot him, so he might fall.

If as the author said, the weakness had been set from the beginning, he would collapse, otherwise it would just be for nothing. At most, it was like rushing at the enemy prepared to die, just to deal a final blow.

In fact, I tried first to observe the guy's movements to confirm this. Was there any sign of him protecting his heels?

‘Well, it's far too late for that.'

I could only laugh bitterly. I'd considered this the last resort, but now I was betting everything on this ‘luck'.

"Fuh… who cares. Let's go."

With firm resolve, I gave Haka the signal.

Soon after,

"What, isn't that squat-jaw coming… is it you again?"

Haka ran at him again.

There was no hesitation in his movements. Even though he got hit so hard just now.

Just as I was feeling moved –

Th-ud.

Once again.

Haka was again buried in the ground. The pit seemed a little deeper than last time.

But nonetheless,

"Good job, Haka."

I was ready.

"… Huh?"

Karl Zayed remained still as I quickly approached his back.

He must have been confused too.

It was just for a moment, but he couldn't move.

Haka used the last of his power to bind Karl Zayed's shadow, not to dodge his fist. Because I'd made him do that. And he got his face smashed to jelly in return.

‘I'm sorry.'

It would be nice if this could be the answer.

And then,

Ratata tatata tatata – bang!

Ratata tatata tatata – bang!

I put dozens of magic bullets into the guy's Achilles' heel.

"What!?"

At that moment, startled, he reflexively waved his arm.

Th-ud.

"Ku-gh, ugh."

Despite trying to parry, I got blown away dozens of meters, and was buried in a pile of stones.

It felt impossible to breathe. As if my breastbones had caved in.

It was only then that I realized how Haka had felt.

That guy, even after being hit with an attack like this, had rushed back without fear.

"… Grunt."

I suppressed my dizziness and struggled to get up.

I still had to check.

To be honest, I had no idea if I'd hit him or not.

There was dust all over the place. It seemed to be the trace left by the bullets that'd missed.

‘… It didn't work?'

After a while, the dust that had risen slowly subsided.

…

"… Author, you beautiful bastard."

I flopped back down on the ground.

All the strength in my body had faded away.

He hadn't lied after all.

Surrounding the fallen Karl Zayed, thick red splotches of blood were staining the ground.

Editor's Notes:

[1] 시어머니의 맴매; 시어머니 = mother-in-law, 맴매 = how a kid may be disciplined by an adult.