Jobless Reincarnation: The King with a Mental Problem

"Uncle, how are you planning to fight?"

"Um..." He scratched his head, his eyes darting around, "Why not just hit him harder?"

I've made up my mind: this random middle-aged man is just a hot-blooded idiot.

...Hit it with...force? ...Should I use a stick as a pole to jump up and hit it?

For some reason, I was reminded of Insect Glaive Hero from Monster Hunter.

They probably volunteered because they saw that Luo Qixi and I were just children and wanted to take on the danger alone.

Let's not discourage this uncle's good intentions.

"How about we hear about our plan first?"

After further communication, the original plan remained largely unchanged, except that this older man was added to provide close protection for us.

"That's all?"

That's all.

Chantelle stared at me for a few seconds, her lips twitching slightly—not a smile, but an indescribable expression, like helplessness or a sigh of relief.

"...Aren't you afraid I won't be able to stop you?"

"If you can't stop me, run." I said expressionlessly. "I run very fast."

He paused for a moment, then lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly.

"Okay. I'll block it."

Second day

The snow has stopped. The sky remains hazy, like a piece of gray glass that hasn't been wiped clean.

The king, the witch, and the middle-aged man followed the direction pointed out by the villagers.

On a distant hill, a black dragon lay prone.

It didn't notice us. Its wings were half-folded, like a tattered cloak draped over its back. Its scales gleamed a dark metallic color in the snow, completely different from the red dragons we had seen before—not that glossy black, but a charcoal gray, light-absorbing black.

I thought it would be a skeleton similar to the Rathalos or Black Dragon from Monster Hunter, but it is actually the skeleton of Tigrex.

It was also a size larger than a regular wyvern. Its two thick hind legs were tucked under its body, and its forelimbs were attached to its wing membranes, its claws carving deep furrows in the snow. Its head was a standard fire dragon head, but black smoke constantly billowed from its mouth—not flames, but thick, sulfurous smoke reeking of something burnt.

What's most concerning is the wounds on its body.

On his shoulders, back, and even his wing membranes, there were healed scars. They weren't left by swords or knives, but by claw marks and teeth—attacks from his own kind.

It turned out to be the case.

I assumed the pose of the Shadow King and spoke in a low voice, "I understand."

Chantelle looked shocked: "What do you know?"

"A species born with black skin. Driven away and attacked by its own kind as an outsider. Growing up with hostility, it then vents that hatred on weaker humans."

I stared at the flying dragon, my voice calm.

"The weak wield their knives against the even weaker—they're nothing but scum."

Luo Qixi turned her head and glanced at me, expecting me to say something embarrassing, but she simply said, "...That makes some sense."

"In short—the operation begins."

Let's start with my own shrapnel.

Dozens of fist-sized rocks flew far away and struck the dragon, making a dull "thump-thump" sound.

The dragon suddenly raised its head to confirm the location of its "prey".

Then, it spread its wings.

It's not about flying.

It's a demonstration.

It let out a low growl, which shook the snow off the branches.

Then it charged over, a dragon-like chariot hurtling straight toward us. Like a stroke of incredible luck that transported me to another world, it roared and thundered as it hurtled towards us.

Fortunately, contingency plans had been made for this situation in advance.

I pressed my hands to the ground, infusing magic into the frozen earth beneath my feet.

The ground came alive.

Stalagmites pierced through the snow, sharp and dense, like rows of upward-pointing teeth, directly facing the charging dragon.

But its scales are too hard.

When the stalagmite collided with it, it was only slowed down a bit, and it wasn't injured at all.

But that's enough.

Instead of taking off, it stopped and began pawing at the rocks in its way, letting out an impatient growl.

To be honest, he's nothing but a beast with no intelligence.

Instead of taking off, it began to fight with the rocks.

In that case, let's just wait to die!

Manipulate more stones to rise from both sides, encircling it like clasped hands. Then, the surface of the stones suddenly melts, turning into a viscous, grayish-white fluid.

"Shadow Swamp".

Fluids slammed into the dragon from all directions. It struggled, swung its claws, and whipped its tail, but the more it struggled, the tighter the fluids clung to it, then hardened, solidified, and locked in place.

After being briefly restrained, Luo Qixi and I immediately stepped forward and cut down on its neck from both sides.

Luo Qixi's ice water knife couldn't cut her neck directly, but the continuous cuts left her neck a bloody mess, and she wouldn't survive even if left unattended.

My upgraded dust crystal circular saw, made of corundum, cuts directly along the spine.

With a flash of Shadow King's circular saw, the dragon's head landed on the ground.

The dragon, its eyes still wide open in death, seemed to be staring at me, while its body gradually went limp, and dragon blood trickled from its wounds.

"...That's it?"

I want to call him a piece of trash, but I can't bring myself to say it.

This was the kind of scum who slaughtered almost an entire village.

There was absolutely no joy in successfully defeating the dragon; all I felt was... it wasn't worth it.

"With high-powered magic that can directly break through defenses, the improvement in combat is huge! Before, without the Ice Water Blade, I could only run away from monsters like this, and I wasn't even sure I could escape..."

Loki was satisfied with the practical effects of the Ice Water Blade. Although it couldn't cut through dragon scales and bones, it might be able to directly damage the internal organs and kill the dragon if it cut into its belly.

The King and the Witch's remarks at Versailles were not intentional.

The middle-aged man who seemed to be doing nothing was just like any other passerby.

He gripped the metal rod in his hand repeatedly, then loosened it again.

He demonstrated how he could take the stick he had just taken out back.

Watching the two children kill a dragon with magic was like seeing a magician for the first time.

[Green Village - That Night]

With the help of the entire village, they transported Feilong's body back to the village.

The three men in charge of the extermination sat under a makeshift wooden shed, with the dragon's corpse spread out in front of them.

"Witch sister, uncle, what are your thoughts on the materials for this dragon?"

"I need the magic stone inside the dragon," Loki said, using her dagger to pry open a scale on the dragon's chest. "I'll make staffs for a few of you. The rest... don't matter."

"I intend to remove the wing membrane and make several cloaks and coats as gifts."

The middle-aged man sat to the side, his hands supporting his knees, his head bowed.

"I didn't do anything... so I won't bring any materials. You guys decide."

"Uncle, you should still take one share, but you have to keep my affairs a secret. Consider it hush money. The rest can be left for the village; selling them should be enough for them to continue living."

Luo Qixi smiled and said, "You truly deserve to be my Shadow King. This is quite good."

The uncle looked up.

His eyes were complicated. It was as if he wanted to say something, but didn't know where to begin.

"Why?" he finally asked.

"Why? Why?"

"You..." he paused, "aren't you happy? You killed the dragon and saved the village."

"What's there to be happy about? It's just a beast. Killing it won't bring those who died back to life."

"That's not what I mean. All that you've done—saving people, building houses, slaying the dragon, leaving the money to the villagers—why don't you even plan to leave your name behind? Don't you want to be a hero?"

"I see. You want to become a hero?"

Chantelle's jaw tightened.

"That's right! I want to be a hero! A real hero! If I were you, I would at least make sure my name lives on."

Who is your ideal hero? And why do you want to be a hero?

"I......"

The uncle's mouth opened and closed, closed and opened again.

His gaze fell on the fire, the firelight dancing in his pupils, yet unable to illuminate the shadows in his eyes.

Silent for a long time.

So long that Luo Qixi stopped what she was doing and turned her head to look at him.

"Then I'll answer your question first."

I put my hands behind my head and looked up at the night sky.

"I have long since abandoned things that are unimportant. Money and fame are of no importance to me. What I pursue is power, because only power can protect what is truly precious."

"What is truly precious?"

"Hmm." I gestured towards Luo Qixi with my lips.

Luo Qixi didn't turn around, but I saw the tips of her ears turn red for a moment.

"As for heroes—" I continued, "the hero of my ideal is one who bears the expectations of everyone and saves everyone who needs saving. I cannot do that, nor do I want to."

"Yes... a true hero should be like you described, so why are you helping them?"

"Because..." I thought for a moment, "I just don't want to see anyone suffer misfortune because I didn't do what I could. It's like listening to a story; seeing a tragedy makes you uncomfortable, while seeing a happy ending makes you happy. All I hope for is a happy ending."

The strange old man stared at me for a long time.

"...I understand." He said in a low voice, his voice carrying an indescribable bitterness. "I never thought that at my age, I would be lectured by a brat like you."

He took a deep breath, regained his spirits, and straightened his back.

"Since you crave power, let me teach you the Kitakami-ryu style!"

"Hokugami-ryu? No."

"Huh? Why?" His expression instantly fell.

"The Kitakami-ryu style is too embarrassing."

"How embarrassing!"

Wang counted on his fingers as he spoke: "The leader of the Northern Divine Clan only knows how to show off his power by relying on the Wang Dragon Sword. The rest either rely on their immortality to tough it out or are a bunch of flashy acrobatic performers. Not to mention those bandits, brigands, and assassins, all of them are using the name of the Northern Divine Clan. In less than half a year, we have killed three Northern Saints, not to mention countless other lackeys."

The uncle's face kept changing color.

"But...but the first Northern God was also a great hero!" His voice rose several octaves, as if he were grasping at the last straw.

"I don't know, I don't understand, and I won't comment." I spread my hands. "Anyway, that's the current situation with Kitakami-ryu."

The uncle made me realize that Tom and Jerry is actually a realistic animation.

Can a person's face really turn this red?

What's wrong? Is Bei Shen your father?

"...You...I...but...anyway...anyway, let's fight! I'm doing this for your own good! You'll see after we've fought!"

"Sir, is it really that serious?"

"Enough talk, come out and fight!"

Sigh, let me show this old man what a mage is!

They arrived at an open space outside the village, where the two sides stood facing each other.

Luo Qixi stood in the middle and raised her hand.

"start."

Even in a contest, I have no intention of holding back. I must show this foolish old man what the world is really like!

The idiot uncle just stood there without moving!

Good grief, you look down on me?

Behold my newly developed combo!

First, they used earth magic to lift the uncle from the ground, sending him directly into the air.

This move is called—Flying!

If the uncle stands still, he's a sitting duck; if he jumps down, he won't be able to change direction in mid-air.

Next, all you need to do is keep using wind magic to keep the old man from falling to the ground.

I don't even know how I lost!

They fired shrapnel directly at the uncle who was standing motionless on the high place.

The uncle actually blocked them all by simply spinning the stick around.

Something!

Then watch me unleash a barrage of attacks with both hands; I refuse to believe you can block them all!

Just as he raised his hand, something approached.

"Smack."

The great Shadow Lord was sent flying far away by a lump of mud.

Does he also know folk magic tricks?

No, it was thrown away!

Without a second thought, Wang immediately stood up, only to find that the uncle was still standing in the same spot.

good good!

Since that's the case, I won't hold back!

I plan to unleash a fire tornado directly at the old man's pillar.

A fire tornado trying to escape will get burned, its center will be exposed to heat radiation, and it will also rapidly consume oxygen.

You'll win as long as you use this one move.

Before he could even raise his hand halfway, a shadow loomed down from above.

The middle-aged man jumped down from the stone pillar.

It did not fall vertically.

He used the edge of the stone pillar to kick, changed direction, and came hurtling towards me like a cannonball.

fast!

too fast!

My eyes followed, but my body couldn't react in time.

Before he could even raise his hand, everything went black.

[Lord of Shadows VS. Random Old Man]

The Shadow Lord has been defeated!

Wang slowly woke up and stared at the gray sky, his mind blank.

The snow is still falling. Fine snowflakes land on my face, feeling cool and refreshing.

Huh? Am I that weak? Just some random guy on the street took me down in a second?

The middle-aged man, hands on his hips, beamed with joy after his victory.

"So, do you see the difference between a mage and a warrior now? As long as you're fast enough and strong enough, I can take you down before you can even react."

I lay on the ground, not moving.

"Tell me honestly, are you some kind of world's strongest or something...?"

"...Of course not, I'm far from being the strongest in the world..."

Knew it.

I sat up and brushed the snow off my clothes.

"I have to admit, you're stronger now!"

"Now you know how powerful the Northern Divine Stream is! I see you have talent! Want to be my disciple?" The uncle's eyes lit up again.

"Forget it. Even though I lost to you, old man, I have no intention of learning any of those Kitakami-ryu techniques. Do you think those fancy tricks can kill Shinigami?"

"Killing a god...that's way too much..."

"What's the difference between a sword that can't sever fate and scrap metal?" I turned and walked towards the village. "If I'm going to learn anything, it'll be the Sword God Style—cutting everything in two with a single stroke. I even have a Sword Queen aunt! Isn't that far superior to your so-called Northern God Style?"

Hong Wen's voice came from behind.

"You...you brat! How could you do this! You'll regret this! I am Chantelle von Grandall!"

"What are you babbling about? I've never heard of that before."

[Currently Available Information: The Protagonist's Perceptions]

The protagonist first watched the first season of the anime, then the manga, and finally the novel.

Therefore, much information was unknown.

Furthermore, the protagonist is quite bad at remembering names.