This is a story told from the perspective of an ordinary person.

Next time, we will return to the protagonist's point of view.

---

"Hmm, seems I didn't quite finish the job."

The old man who had unleashed a powerful blow, the "Pervade Fist," muttered quietly. Despite having let the enemy escape, there was no trace of disappointment in his voice.

And for good reason—he never intended to kill.

Had he wanted to, he could have pursued the creature or even prevented its escape. But he chose not to because he knew the magical beast in question wasn't particularly dangerous.

The old man was well aware of the nature of a Jewel Slime, which is why he didn't chase after it.

Jewel Slimes, when defeated, yield significant amounts of "Soul Shards" and experience.

The old man felt it was more appropriate to leave such rewards to younger adventurers rather than claim them for himself.

"Of course, if I could have taken it down, I would have," he mused.

Even so, this particular Jewel Slime was more valuable than the average one, classified as a "Mighty Beast." If possible, the old man would have defeated it. However, the slime had withstood his Weapon Skill attack.

Since it survived, he decided not to pursue it further.

"Besides, even though it's a Jewel Slime, a 'Mighty Beast' wouldn't add much to my level anyway."

With a sigh of mild disappointment, the old man continued his walk deeper into the forest.

---

The forest where Aresnal slime resided was known to humans as the Great Dwozov Forest.

It was named after the legendary "Malicious Beast" Dwozov, rumored to have lived for a thousand years and ruled as its master.

However, Dwozov himself was unaware of such a name and, in reality, had not lived for nearly that long.

Adjacent to this forest lay the town of Maple. In a back alley of that town, a young girl found herself surrounded by several men.

"This is something I picked myself! Please, stop accusing me!"

"Heh, how'd a girl like you get deep into the forest alone? And aren't you the one who's been called useless because you can't use magic?"

"Th-that’s... I was just careful to avoid other monsters..."

"Bwahahaha! If you're going to lie, at least make it believable! There's no way you got those herbs without running into any monsters!”

“I don’t know how you got them, but we're going to put them to good use. Now, hand 'em over!"

As the man threatened her, the blue-haired girl clutched her basket tightly.

Just as the thugs reached out to forcibly snatch it from her...

"Now, now, young man, that’s enough. Can’t you see the young lady is in distress?"

"Huh?"

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The voice came from an old man.

His face wore a gentle smile, but his eyes stared directly at the men. The thugs sneered at the sight of his frail, twig-like arms.

"Hey, old man, you think you're some kind of hero? Better stop before you hurt yourself."

"Oh, no need to worry. But how about you tell me what happened here?"

"Tch, fine."

One of the men reluctantly explained the situation.

"This girl has some valuable herbs, but she can't even use magic. She must’ve stolen them from somewhere."

"Oh? And where exactly is that 'somewhere'?"

"Huh? How should I know? We’ll find out later."

"So, if this young lady picked them herself, then the real thieves here would be you, wouldn’t it?"

The old man’s teasing tone made the men twitch.

"Are you saying we’re wrong?"

"I’m saying there’s a possibility you are."

"Please believe me! I didn’t steal anything!"

"Indeed, there’s no proof that she did."

"You damn geezer!"

*Thud!*

One of the thugs slammed the wall, cutting off the old man's words.

"If you keep running your mouth, we’ll beat you down too. So, what’s it gonna be? Walk away or get pounded right here?"

"Haha, scary, scary. But I’d prefer to settle this peacefully."

"If you want to get hit so badly, we’ll gladly oblige!"

One of the men cracked his knuckles and stepped forward.

"Relying on violence, are we? Then I’ll declare this a duel. The penalty for losing is that you leave the young lady alone."

The old man’s voice echoed as waves of mana spread out from him and enveloped the thugs.

They flinched but quickly regained their composure upon realizing they felt no different.

"Hah, trying to scare us, old man? We’re not falling for that!"

"Y-you should run! Don’t worry about me!"

"Ha ha ha, sorry, but I’ve no intention of turning my back on brats like these."

"Then I’m gonna smash you to pieces!"

"Since you attacked first, the duel is now in effect."

The man threw a punch, the girl screamed, and the old man raised a hand.

His frail arm seemed far too weak to stop the incoming fist. Yet the moment the fist connected, the man’s body spun wildly.

"Gah!"

He hit the ground hard, the impact driving the air from his lungs. Inexperienced, he had never felt such pain before and could only writhe and gasp on the ground.

"You have no technique. Your body’s being carried by your stats. With this level of skill, you couldn’t even beat a low-level Mighty Beast."

"You bastard!"

"We’ll kill you!"

"How merciless to an old man."

Two more thugs charged, but the old man easily swatted them aside, leaving only one standing near the girl.

"H-holy...! S-stay back! Move even an inch, and this girl gets it!"

"Eek!"

The last thug conjured a fireball and held it close to the girl’s face.

"Oh dear, now I can’t move a muscle."

"As long as you stay put, this girl won’t get hurt—"

"Don’t you dare go back on your word. Wave Fist."

The old man clenched his fist and thrust it toward the thug. Of course, he was far out of reach.

But skills are another matter.

A shockwave shot forward and struck the thug under the chin, knocking him out and extinguishing the fireball.

"I’m sorry for scaring you, but you’re safe now. You won’t have to worry about them anymore."

"Th-thank you so much!"

"Think nothing of it. By the way, do you know where the guild is? I just arrived and seem to have lost my way."

"Oh, I’m actually headed there myself! I’ll show you the way!"

"That would be most helpful."

Leaving the groaning thugs behind, the old man and the girl walked out of the alley.

---

"So, you have an 'unfavorable' attribute as well? That’s why they were giving you trouble."

"Yes, it’s been so hard... Wait, you too? But you’re so strong! Do you have a bad attribute too?"

"Indeed. Nearly all of my strength comes from martial arts."

"Wow, that’s amazing... Oh, here we are, the guild!"

"Ah, thank you kind lady."

Led by the blue-haired girl, the old man finally reached the adventurer’s guild.

"Excuse me! I’d like to sell some herbs—wait, the Guildmaster!?"

The girl froze as she spotted someone who shouldn’t have been there. The burly Guildmaster rose from behind the reception desk and walked over.

"I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to be rude..."

"I’m deeply grateful that you’ve accepted our request to investigate."

The Guildmaster bowed deeply to the old man, startling the girl even more.

The old man nodded calmly and replied.

"No need for thanks. It’s on my way, and I wouldn’t mind facing a Malicious Beast. As for the mana clash, I believe it was a conflict between Malicious Beasts.”

“There were traces of a territorial dispute, but there’s no need for concern—the creatures are not near the town. I also encountered a rare magical beast—"

The old man continued his report, and the Guildmaster listened intently.

The girl, unable to keep up, was utterly confused.

But when there was a lull in the conversation, she managed to ask a question.

"Um, who exactly are you, sir...?"

"Oh, I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I? My name is Torque."

"Wait, you mean...?"

"Perhaps you know me better as one of the Heroic Adventurers, 'War Demon.'"

A world-renowned master. An adventurer of the highest rank.

When the girl realized that the old man in front of her was such a person, she couldn’t help but faint.