Chapter 139. The Past
In the past, Elemencia.
Gauntlet, an outsider who came from another world, was gradually adapting to this new world, overcoming all kinds of adversities.
And after a few years passed.
While exploring a dungeon, he accidentally met an old man, and somehow, he ended up traveling with the old man. When the old man’s life reached its end, he passed on a unique ability to Gauntlet.
A unique ability is: A power that only one living being in the entire dimension can possess.
In other words, it was an ability without any duplicates.
Until the user dies.
Or until it’s transferred to someone else.
Now, back to the point.
The unique ability Gauntlet received was called “Equal Duel.”
The power of Equal Duel allowed the user to unfold their own personal world called the “Field of Balance” and forcibly invite a single opponent into that world to engage in a duel on equal terms.
It didn’t matter how strong the opponent was.
Even if they were a supreme deity, they could never refuse the invitation to the Field of Balance.
Equal Duel was designed as an absolute ability that no one could reject.
Of course.
The targets he could invite were limited.
He could only invite opponents who were stronger than himself.
But it wasn’t a power he could use indefinitely.
There was a usage limit after obtaining the ability.
Anyway.
So, what did he gain from dueling in the Field of Balance?
If he won.
He could permanently gain the strength the opponent originally possessed.
It wasn’t that he directly acquired the opponent’s abilities.
Instead, he would receive a power that matched the level of the defeated opponent.
For example.
If the user had a talent for magic, their magical power would be amplified. If they had a talent for superpowers, their psychic strength would be enhanced.
On the contrary, if he lost?
The existence of the ability user would be erased entirely.
To put it simply, if you used the power of Equal Duel and didn’t win, you would face death. The same went for the opponent, of course.
In the past, when Gauntlet received the Equal Duel ability, he asked the old man why he was giving him such a power.
“Why are you giving me this kind of power?”
“I don’t have many days left to live, that’s why.”
“That doesn’t seem like the whole reason… There are plenty of other people, so there must be a specific reason you’re giving it to me, right?”
“You brat. When an elder offers you a valuable power, you should just be grateful and accept it. What are you so curious about?”
“It feels odd to just accept it like that. I mean, I’m thankful you’re giving me a unique ability, especially since I don’t have anything, but I’d at least like to know the reason before I take it.”
“…You’re a bothersome fellow. Fine, I’ll give you the gist, so listen carefully. There are three additional reasons why I’m passing this ability on to you.”
In his younger days, the old man achieved S-rank danger level through his unique ability.
After briefly working as a hero, he quickly retired and lived quietly as an adventurer. The old man slumped down in his seat.
Then, he explained the three additional reasons.
First.
Gauntlet, like himself, was a physical powerhouse who only relied on raw strength.
The old man believed that passing on the ability to someone who dealt with magic or psychic powers would be too dangerous.
Enhancing physical strength was fine.
But if someone’s magic or psychic abilities grew too strong, the amplification could reach an unpredictable level, possibly giving birth to an absurd power that could destroy the balance and laws of the world. That was why the old man chose Gauntlet, a physical powerhouse, as his successor.
Second.
He had traveled with Gauntlet long enough to understand his character.
A successor’s personality was extremely important.
If someone with a twisted personality acquired this ability, Elemencia could fall into great danger.
In the old man’s eyes, Gauntlet wasn’t the type to harm others without reason.
And most people, when given great power in a short amount of time, tended to grow arrogant.
Gauntlet’s physical growth had been faster than most.
Whenever he set his mind to training, his body grew at an abnormally fast rate.
He had a talent for physical growth.
With such extraordinary talent, he had every right to boast.
Yet, arrogance was nowhere to be found in Gauntlet.
Moreover.
He had no particular ambitions.
All he wanted was to leave Elemencia, which was plagued by betrayal, death, war, and slaughter, and return to the peaceful world he came from, where he could play games or whatever it was he had in mind.
Considering everything.
Gauntlet was the perfect successor for the old man.
Lastly, third.
“…More than anything, Gauntlet, you are my only disciple.”
“What?”
“As a master, it is only natural to pass on a valuable ability to one’s disciple. I’m not inclined to give it to some random person. Incidentally, I also inherited this ability from my master.”
“Wait a minute. A master? A disciple? What are you talking about all of a sudden? Why am I your disciple?”
The relationship between the old man and Gauntlet.
Gauntlet had only thought of the old man as a companion.
Not once had he ever considered him a master.
But the old man was different.
From the beginning, he had regarded Gauntlet as his disciple.
“What do you mean? You’ve been my disciple ever since we traveled together.”
“You never taught me anything, so how could you be my master? To be a master, you’d have had to teach me at least one thing.”
“A master and disciple relationship doesn’t require such things.”
“I thought teaching was important in a master-disciple relationship…”
“Don’t worry about trivial matters. In any case, remember that this ability can only be used five times. Keep that in mind.”
Ignoring Gauntlet’s bewilderment, the old man continued with what he had to say.
“And don’t go rushing off to face the Demon Lord or Demon King just because you’ve inherited this power. You’re currently at D-rank. You could die before you even have a chance to use the ability. I recommend slowly increasing your level to at least A-rank, where you won’t pass out just by standing in front of a Demon Lord.”
Don’t even go near A-rank or B-rank opponents yet.
At your current level, you’ll be overwhelmed by their aura, and die without even using the ability.
The old man added.
Looking at Gauntlet once again, he spoke.
“If you take your time absorbing lower-ranked opponents one by one, you’ll reach S-rank soon enough.”
“And then I can use the ability on an S-rank monster, right?”
“No. Unlike me, you must always save one usage, no matter what.”
“Why? Isn’t S-rank the strongest in the world?”
“I thought so too. But there’s always something stronger out there.”
“You’re not saying there’s something stronger than S-rank, are you?”
“…According to recent information I came across, there seems to be a being with an SS-rank danger level. It’s not confirmed, but they say this being hides their power most of the time. But with your ability, you’ll be able to detect that hidden power in an instant.”
“I’ve never encountered such a being, but if I do, I’ll know. If they’re hiding their power on purpose, my ability will pick up on their danger level.”
“Anyway, let’s begin transferring the ability. Stay calm, or it might fail. You must relax your body and open yourself to receive everything.”
The old man finished speaking with Gauntlet.
He placed his hand on Gauntlet’s chest and began transferring his power.
About three hours passed.
At last, the transfer was complete.
“Is it done?”
“Yes, it’s over. The strength I gained through this ability is now gone.”
“I can definitely sense that your danger level has dropped. But my body doesn’t feel much different…”
Gauntlet lowered his head.
He started to feel around his body.
“Well… You said I have five uses, right? That doesn’t seem too little. Can I try using it here?”
“How could you use it here? There’s no opponent to use it on.”
Gauntlet stared at the old man.
The old man sighed and spoke.
“You want to kill me, don’t you.”
“Oh, right. You said if I use the ability, one of us dies. Then I’ll head into the nearby forest to find an opponent stronger than me.”
“Since it’s your first time using the ability, I’ll accompany you. If you hesitate, doubting whether the ability is real, it might fail. It’s best to have someone by your side to assist you.”
“Thank you.”
Gauntlet bowed politely.
Raising his head again, he looked the old man up and down and asked.
“But even though you’ve lost your power, you’re still at B-rank? Were you always at B-rank before receiving that ability?”
“Before I inherited the ability from my master… that is, 50 years ago, I was D-rank. But for 15 years after that, I continued to train steadily, in case the ability ever left me. I didn’t feel any growth during that time, but looking back today, it seems that my pure strength, separate from the ability, did grow.”
The old man smiled in satisfaction.
Thinking that perhaps he did have some talent after all.
“You gave up training for the remaining 35 years, huh… Anyway, I should also train diligently without relying too much on the ability. Just in case.”
After saying that.
Gauntlet was on his way to the forest with the old man when he suddenly realized something odd.
“Wait… Didn’t you say earlier that you used up all five of your chances? C-rank, B-rank, A-rank, S-rank… You started from D-rank, so that’s only four uses.”
“You know there’s a difference in strength even between those of the same rank. I used the ability twice on A-rank opponents.”
“Ah. Right.”
“Lately, you seem to be getting dumber. Don’t just train your body; train your brain too. And I forgot to mention earlier, if you don’t use Equal Duel within one year of your first usage, any remaining chances will be forfeited.”
“You’re telling me the most important part now… Wait, that means it’s impossible to save the fifth chance. Even if I save and use it sparingly, I’d only have five years at most, using it once a year.”
“Hm. Now that you mention it, that’s true. That’s why I ended up using all of mine. I’m getting old, so my memory’s starting to fade.”
“…Just to be sure, you didn’t forget about any side effects of the ability, right?”
“Don’t worry. According to my memory, there are no side effects.”
“After that display of memory failure, it’s hard to trust what you’re saying.”
“It’s improper for a disciple to doubt their master. Have some faith.”
The two continued to chat as they headed deeper into the forest to test the ability.
***
The old man once lived an honorable life.
Although briefly, he had worked as a hero in the past.
However.
When the Demon Lord was vanquished, the old man fell under a curse.
It was the curse of death left behind by the dying Demon Lord.
That curse had shackled the old man for the rest of his life.
Gauntlet never knew.
But a number had always been engraved on the old man’s chest.
13,000 days.
That number represented the days he had left to live.
In other words, he had been living on borrowed time.
Realizing this, the old man gave up the path of the hero and wandered in search of a way to lift the curse.
But in the end, he never found a solution.
The old man eventually let everything go.
Instead of wasting his life looking for a cure, he decided to retire to a small island nation and live out the rest of his days as a peaceful adventurer.
***
The day after the old man passed his ability to Gauntlet.
The number engraved on his chest changed from 1 to 0.
The old man accepted his death.
As he slowly reflected on the life he had lived, at the very end, he thought of Gauntlet’s face, smiled, and quietly closed his eyes.
“…It was fun traveling together.”
Gauntlet, who learned of the old man’s death too late.
Did not shed a single tear.
By now, he had grown too used to death.
“I didn’t expect you to go so suddenly… I did the best I could and buried you in a good place, so I hope you rest in peace.”
Gauntlet spent all the wealth he had saved to bury the old man in a grand cemetery.
A burial ground that only the wealthy could afford, regardless of status or honor.
And on the old man’s gravestone, he engraved the following words:
‘At the age of 75, Gauntlet’s master, the late ‘Lytelit,’ rests here.’
Afterward.
Gauntlet left the quiet, rural island where he had traveled with the old man and, using the new ability he had obtained, became one of the world’s most formidable warriors, known by those who mattered.
*
*
*
Time passed.
When Gauntlet had only one use of the ability left.
He was exploring a dungeon.
He discovered a door that seemed to lead to the deepest part of the dungeon.
As he slowly pushed the door open.
Paaaat-!
Gauntlet’s body was engulfed in intense light.
In an instant, he was placed in a pure white space, bathed in white from every direction.
It was clear that this wasn’t the space beyond the door he had just opened.
‘…Is this the boss room? Was the door I opened a spatial transfer?’
It wasn’t that either.
This was a space entirely unrelated to the dungeon.
‘And that thing in front of me is the boss of this place… What? That danger level…?’
Gauntlet trembled and took a step back.
He swallowed his saliva and thought.
The boss standing before him was a monster of extraordinary strength, an anomaly.
It was finally time to use the fifth and last opportunity he had saved for 11 months—the final use of his unique ability.
***
“Greetings. My name is Time Eater…”
“Equal Duel, activate.”
Without hesitation, Gauntlet immediately activated his ability, unfolding the final “Field of Balance.”