3

My mind was filled with frustration.

While wandering the streets trying to figure out where I was, I accidentally bumped into a shady guy.

Like any proper citizen of South Korea, I politely apologized, but this guy clearly had no intention of accepting it.

"You're sorry? So if I smash your face, I can just say sorry too?"

What kind of twisted logic is this?

Does bumping into someone equate to smashing someone's face?

I wanted to say this, but I didn't.

'Just avoid the trouble… I'll hold it in…'

It's definitely not because I'm scared of his size.

Seriously.

But it seemed like this guy had no intention of letting me go.

His eyes, filled with a creepy desire, made my already bad mood much worse.

Fighting wasn't an option in my fragile female body.

So, while he stared blankly at my face, I sprinted away.

"If it ever comes to it, I'd rather bite my tongue and die than be overpowered by a man. No joke."

As I ran, I glanced around, but people only stared and then turned away.

No one stepped in to help.

Even though I was sprinting, my breath became ragged, and my pace slowed.

"Haah… ha… haah…"

I was so exhausted that I couldn't run anymore, and I had to stop.

"Haah… ha…"

I tried to steady my breath while searching for a stone to grab, but instead of a stone, I found the guy's disgusting hand.

Just being grabbed made my skin crawl.

The pride I had left as a man screamed inside me.

"Are you seriously going to let this scumbag have his way? Are you going to pathetically cry out like some damsel?"

Screw that.

Might as well fight to the death. Stab him in the eyes or kick him where it hurts—there are plenty of weak points. There's still a chance.

With that fierce resolve, my body suddenly felt hot.

Maybe my emotions followed suit, but I screamed and threw a punch at him.

"Get the hell away from me, you disgusting bastard!!"

The guy didn't even flinch at the sight of my fist; instead, he smirked.

'Yeah, I guess it won't hurt much. Brace yourself, the next move is mine.'

But that didn't happen.

Crack!

"Huh…?"

"Wha…?"

What I saw was my fist drenched in blood and a headless body.

'What… just happened?.. How did…'

Splat.

I turned to look at the severed head lying far away.

"Ugh…"

I feel like my body is revolting against itself.

"Ugh…"

Murder. Death of a person. Of course, I've never experienced it.

I've also never seen such a gruesome corpse.

As my body reacted with disgust, I collapsed to the ground and vomited.

But was I not even allowed a moment to pull myself together?

"Screaaaam!!"

"Aaaaah! A monster… It's a monster!!"

"Damn it! They said this place was safe!!"

The people around me began screaming and running away.

Bastards. They didn't even glance at me when I was the one being chased.

Now, they're fleeing as if a terrorist attack just happened.

'…Ugh… I need to run first…'

I covered my mouth with my hand and bolted from the street.

I returned to the alley where I had first found myself in this body.

I washed the blood off my hands in a puddle on the ground and leaned against the wall.

About half an hour must have passed.

As time went by, my mind and my stomach seemed to have calmed down somewhat.

I took a deep breath and thought carefully.

He was the one who tried to rape me. He deserved to die.

I had already believed that killing someone would be something I would have to do eventually.

'I was just startled because I saw a corpse.'

I don't feel any guilt over the murder.

In this world, such emotions are a luxury.

These days, even in novels, kind-hearted people rarely appear.

Even the righteous protagonist, Robin, kills 'evil' people without hesitation.

Just as the memory of the murder started to fade away, I clenched my pale fist, recalling the moment.

'What was that power?'

There was no way a fragile woman like this could generate such force.

'I don't see any signs of having learned mana…'

'Could it be an ability?'

A unique ability.

In the world of Indomitable Hero, mana exists.

Each individual can convert mana into magical power, using it for spells, physical enhancements, or imbuing weapons with attributes.

But this requires the ability to sense the mana around them and learning the technique to convert mana into magical power.

That's why the novel's academy selected students who could sense the surrounding mana and taught them the knowledge to convert it into magical power.

Of course, I've never learned such knowledge, nor do I sense any mana around me.

'I don't even know what kind of body this is, so what mana are we talking about?'

But even without sensing mana or the ability to convert it into magical power, it's still possible to wield great strength.

This is what's called a 'unique ability.'

A natural talent imprinted on the body from birth.

If it is a unique ability, then one can use strength just like someone who wields magical power without needing mana.

However, only a rare few possess unique abilities.

In the 200 or so chapters of the novel, I recall only about five characters possessing unique abilities.

Robin, the protagonist with Indomitable willpower.

Iris, the saintess with healing magic.

Helia, the elven queen with the eyes of insight.

And then, there were the crown prince of the Karaz Empire and the demon king.

'Oh, and Athena would have a unique ability too.'

I should correct that number to six.

Although there hasn't been a clear backstory on Athena yet, her overwhelming prowess undoubtedly stems from a unique ability.

Of course, Indomitable Hero mostly focused on the academy, so the characters from outside appeared less frequently, and since the novel was still ongoing, there would surely be more people with unique abilities than the officially mentioned five.

Even so, those with unique abilities were still very rare.

'That's why most of those with unique abilities were exceptional individuals.'

Unique abilities can be identified by a priest at a temple.

If I go to the temple, I'll be able to find out whether I have a unique ability and what that ability might be.

But I'm not going to go.

Why, you ask?

Because if it's determined that I have a unique ability, chaos will ensue.

The Empire doesn't just leave people with unique abilities alone.

If you're an adult, they'll give you a position or conscript you into the military to serve the nation.

If you're not an adult, they'll enroll you in the academy to cultivate you into a talent for the nation.

Once you enter the academy, there's a possibility of getting entangled with the protagonist.

I have no intention of getting involved with the protagonist.

The butterfly effect. Everyone's heard of it at least once.

I've read countless novels where even the slightest action of a transmigrator causes uncontrollable changes.

My goal is to stay far away and avoid such encounters altogether.

'Live quietly and just watch the happy ending the protagonist creates, then go back.'

'And if it's a happy ending, even if by chance I can't go back, I'll be fine living here.'

I know most of this novel's plot quite far into the future. When the ending arrives, that knowledge will become outdated, but I can still use it to live comfortably.

The important thing right now, though, is that I seem to have a unique ability.

If I can just figure out how to control it, I wouldn't even need the original plot knowledge to live well.

'Do you think I, a novel enthusiast, wouldn't know something as obvious as this?'

In fact, I've already deduced what my ability might be.

Given that it was strong enough to blow someone's head off, it's probably related to physical strength.

'Superhuman strength, huh. That might not be so bad.'

One of the protagonist's companions, a northern barbarian, also swept through enemies with superhuman strength, right?

'Hoo… Okay…'

I looked around to make sure no one was nearby.

After standing up and shaking out my wrists, I took a deep breath. Remembering what happened earlier, I gathered all my strength and punched the wall.

Thud.

Huh?

"HYAAACK!!!!!!"

It seems that what broke wasn't the wall but my fist.

An unbearable pain surged through my hand, bringing tears to my eyes.

"Ah… It hurts!!…!!!.. Sniff…"

I collapsed to the floor, clutching my throbbing hand.

***

"Boss. The body of one of our men was found on the street."

Before a woman stood a hulking figure, seated in a chair.

"Have you identified who it is?"

"It's hard to recognize the form, but after checking the remaining personnel, we suspect it's Rick."

"Rick? That guy got taken out?"

"Yes. His head was ripped off, and judging by the traces, it seems he was killed in a single blow."

"Ha! I knew that fool would get what was coming to him after running his mouth for so long…"

The woman waited in silence for the hulking man to give his orders.

"Still, he's not someone who'd go down in one hit. It could be an expert sent from another region. Investigate further."

The man lazily waved his hand, signaling the woman to leave.

"Yes, Boss."

As the woman quietly disappeared, the man muttered to himself.

"A challenge, huh… Ha…"

BANG!!

"Seems like they think the King of the West is easy to mess with."

The man slammed his fist onto the armrest of his chair, causing the chair and the floor to crack.

***

Thud, thud.

"ARGH!!!!!! Why isn't it working like before?!"

'This isn't right.'