An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest

Shia smoothly returned to her normal stance from the spin. Through the gaps between the scattered Brutals, she spotted the target, the boss monster. To defeat them, Shia took a stance and prepared to attack.

At that moment, her rabbit ears picked up a sound—a new enemy approaching at high speed from the right rear. Sia calmly turned Deluken and her body, ready to meet the attack at the most opportune moment.

“Hooaaaaaaaaaa!”

“Hmm!?”

However, the new enemy was a wolf-like monster—black fur and four ruby-colored eyes. It seemed to have anticipated Shia's movements, slowing down drastically the moment before, and beautifully dodged her attack.

A normal monster would seize the opportunity to attack when its opponent's weapon was at its lowest point, causing it to freeze. Actually, Shia suspected the monster before her would do the same, so she focused her strength on her feet, intending to kick it in the head the moment it charged forward.

However, Shia's prediction was wrong.

“Eh? Wah wah!?”

The black four-eyed wolf did not rush towards Shia, but pounced on Druken, using its strong mouth and the weight of its whole body to pin Druken to the ground, blocking Shia's weapon.

Of course, a mere monster was nothing to Shia's enhanced strength. Even so, the attack was beyond her expectations. Though it was only for a moment, her movements were still blocked, and that remained unchanged.

That was enough for the black four-eyed wolf. At perfect timing, a similar monster leaped out from behind Shia's right. It opened its fang-filled mouth and advanced directly in front of her.

Shia opened her eyes wide in surprise and immediately removed the physical strengthening concentrated on her feet, applying it to her entire body instead, because she was already prepared to withstand the enemy's attack.

Just when the black four-eyed wolf's sharp fangs were about to make Xia bleed to death, an object broke between Xia and the four-eyed wolf.

It was a metal cross, 60 centimeters long and 40 centimeters wide, with something like a round shield in the center. The cross was clamped in the monster's mouth, preventing it from biting Shia.

“Huh!? W-What is this?”

Shia said in astonishment. The monster squinted at her, uttered a sharp sound, and desperately tried to crush the foreign object that had suddenly flown into its mouth, but the cross, which was glowing faintly red, remained unscathed.

The next moment, an explosion sounded, and the monster's jaw burst and flew apart.

“Hooa ...

The monster screamed and rolled on the ground in agony. The cross moved to the monster's head, and another explosion sounded, as the bullet shattered its head.

Just after hearing a loud gunshot, the weight of Shia's hand holding Deluken suddenly lightened.

She shifted her gaze and saw that the four-eyed wolf, which had temporarily blocked Shia's weapon, had been shot through the abdomen and head by the cross floating in the air and fell down weakly.

"Shia, don't be careless. Some of these monsters are acting differently. They're not under the influence of brainwashing, nor do they appear to be subordinates of other monsters. I'll have three cross-shaped floaters follow you and kill the twenty-seven on the right. Yue can still hold the front for another five minutes."

While Shia's mind was still lingering on the question of whether she was in danger or escaping it, Hajime's telepathic message reached her. Shia immediately regained her composure and replied to Hajime through the telepathic stone on her neck ring (which Shia definitely didn't consider a "collar"):

"I understand! And I'm saved. Thank you very much."

"Oh, be careful."

“…Hehe, Hajime-san’s attitude has been softening lately. We’re only one step away from a done deal!”

After Shia confirmed the communication was over, she saw the cross floating around her, as if protecting her, and smiled happily, muttering to herself.

She regained her composure, held onto Drukken, and while keeping an eye on the monsters that looked different from the previous ones, she set about destroying the leader-level monsters.

"That guy is still as worrying as ever..."

Hajime muttered to himself as he fiercely drove away the monsters. Four crosses also floated around him.

——Gravity-controlled, all-range attack weapon, the "Cross Floater."

It's an offensive-strengthening weapon, operating on the same principle as a reconnaissance drone. It's loaded with rifle and shotgun shells and controlled by a wristband containing seven sensor stones. Furthermore, the mineral covering its surface is imbued with diamond through generation magic, reacting to the magic power of the sensor stones, creating a sturdy shield.

Hajime, in his ※gun form, freely controls Donal & Hulak, simultaneously using the Cross Floater to unleash a storm of attacks without stopping. (Editor's note: A fictional gun-based combat technique that appears in the American film "Heavy Duty," incorporating Chinese martial arts.)

He had already killed nearly forty leader-level monsters, and some monsters even began to flee due to the full activation of the "pressure".

"Hmm? That's..."

At that moment, in the corner of his vision, Hajime saw a figure, shouting at the fleeing monsters from afar. Since only the head was sticking out of the ground, Hajime thought it was someone's head for a moment, but his farsightedness confirmed that the head was moving, covered by a black robe.

The black-robed man—Shimizu—was like a tantrum-ridden child, yelling at the fleeing monster. He raised the staff he had obtained in the palace and began chanting some kind of spell.

Of course, Hajime had no obligation to wait for him to finish chanting, so he took the opportunity to shoot Donal, breaking the staff in half. The aftermath of the explosion caused Shimizu to tumble into a hole in the ground.

Then, though Shimizu had no idea what he was doing, the four-eyed black wolves, hidden among the monsters, patiently waiting for Hajime to reveal a decisive flaw, suddenly rushed out. They possessed a potential and tacit understanding unmatched by the surrounding monsters, reminding Hajime of the monster from the abyss—the two-tailed wolf.

Hajime felt that if they actually engaged in combat, they would be on par with the two-tailed wolf. While they lacked the two-tailed wolf's unique magic for manipulating lightning, their individual attack power was weaker. However, since they sometimes seemed to predict where Hajime would attack, they probably possessed special magic related to "prediction." Furthermore, their teamwork was comparable to the two-tailed wolf's... In other words, despite being of a lower rank, their strength wouldn't be surprising even if they appeared in the Abyss.

(Is it a monster from the other side of the mountain? Even so, it's too strong... Was this incident really caused by Shimizu alone?)

Hajime's mind was filled with doubts. But since he was being attacked, there was no point in dwelling on them. For the time being, Hajime put aside his focus on expelling the leader monsters and instead concentrated on dealing with the twelve black four-eyed wolves.

The black four-eyed wolf launched a tactical attack from all sides, front and back, and even from above. Hajime spun his body like a top, launching a continuous stream of Donal and Hulak. The four-eyed wolf seemed to use "prediction" to move and dodge, and Hajime also used "prediction" to shoot at their future positions.

Even so, some individuals were able to dodge Hajime's attacks. Hajime was greatly surprised. Perhaps they, like the two-tailed wolves, could communicate through telepathy and, to some extent, had a panoramic view of the battlefield.

A four-eyed wolf dodged through Hajime's gunfire, seizing the slightest opportunity while Hajime was reloading mid-air to attack from behind. Hajime then manipulated a cross-shaped floater deployed from above, bringing it down like a guillotine, knocking it to the ground. Another four-eyed wolf used it as a stepping stone to pounce, but Hajime immediately used the cross-shaped floater as a shield to defend himself, then blasted it with the shotgun in his prosthetic left elbow.

Amidst the bloody storm, the four-eyed wolf attempted to encircle Shi. Shi then manipulated two cross-shaped floating cannons, concentrating their fire on a single point, forcibly breaking through the encirclement. Then, using the momentum of his "Shrinking the Earth" technique, he slid across the ground. As he slid, he straightened his hips and fired a shot in the back, killing Shi.

Then, he used the cross-shaped floating guns flying in parallel to kill the two four-eyed wolves that wanted to launch a pincer attack. At the same time, he used Donal & Hulak, who had finished reloading in the air, to kill the two in front and behind.

“Hooaaaaaaaaaa!”

At this moment, a four-eyed wolf charged at the monster that had been shot dead, and its body flew towards Hajime.

Hajime dodged by leaping to the side while firing from underneath the flying monster, blasting the head of the four-eyed wolf that was charging from behind.

Shi took the ground and immediately stood up. A four-eyed wolf seemed to have been waiting for this moment. It opened its bloody mouth and wanted to crush Shi with its sharp teeth. The timing was perfect. To the observer, it was clear that the four-eyed wolf's jaws would undoubtedly bite Shi's body.

However, at that moment, Hajime's body lurched, and the four-eyed wolf's jaws missed its target. With a "clang!", they shut their mouths. Hajime's body had already been one step ahead. In the split second they passed each other, he shot the four-eyed wolf in the stomach with his slug.

Then, another four-eyed wolf lunged at Hajime, but for some reason, just like before, it attacked just one step away. Each time, Hajime struck it just as it missed, effectively killing it.

This series of events seemed like a mistake on the part of the Black Four-Eyed Wolf, but that was the truth. This was the effect of Hajime's "Breath Concealment" derivative skill, "+ Illusion Step." Its effect was that when the aura was blocked, a trace of the aura before it was blocked remained for a few seconds at the original location. Because the original aura was obscured, the senses created an illusion, as if the person was still in the same place as before.

Of course, it was merely a shift in aura, easily detectable with careful observation. However, in a battle where victory or defeat depended on a fraction of a second, it was quite difficult not to be fooled. In particular, the more skilled the opponent, the more sensitive they were to aura, thus greatly increasing their effectiveness.

Of course, for Hajime, who had even resorted to using "Instant Light" to control the Cross Floater, it was only natural that even the black four-eyed wolves possessed abyssal-level power, they would still be no match for Hajime. In the end, these four-eyed wolves—perhaps Shimizu's trump card—didn't even touch Hajime's hair, being annihilated in a mere minute.

Hajime unleashed the Cross Float, dispatching the leader monsters with a furious tidal force. According to the information relayed by the Cross Float following Shia from a distance, it seemed only a few remained. The frontline monsters charging towards the town were also blocked by Yue's Thunder Dragon, preventing them from approaching.

As far as Hajime could confirm, the seemingly brainwashed monsters within the area were expelled within the next two minutes. After confirming this, Hajime leaned back, took a deep breath, and simultaneously used [Magic Energy Radiance], roaring loudly, as if to shake the heavens and earth:

“Drink aa ...

A tremendous roar and magical energy transformed into waves, spreading to every corner of the battlefield. The overwhelming sense of oppression had the greatest impact on the monsters' minds, causing them to instinctively feel a great fear.

When they realized that their group leader was gone, they froze for a moment, then retreated one after another. Finally, they turned around, zigzagged past Shi, and fled desperately to the north.

The current, called the monster swarm, dodged the current like a rock in the river, scattering to the left and right. Hajime, scrutinizing the monsters with his sharp eyes, spotted Shimizu. He seemed to be trying to take advantage of the chaos and flee on the back of what was likely the last of the four-eyed black wolf.

"Unfortunately, you misjudged the timing of your retreat. If you had used all the remaining forces to cover your escape, perhaps there would still be hope."

Hajime knelt on the ground, holding the Donal tightly with both hands, and pulled the trigger repeatedly.

The bullets were fired with a wonderful delay. Perhaps sensing danger, the black four-eyed wolf turned around. Although it managed to dodge the first shot with its foresight, the second shot pierced its thigh and sent it crashing to the ground.

The impact also sent Qingshui flying. Due to his high physical ability, even after hitting the ground hard, he immediately got up and ran towards the black four-eyed wolf, roaring a few times and kicking it in the head.

He was probably yelling something like "Get up quickly," looking a bit hysterical. Finally, he seemed to be trying to use some kind of suggestion to force the four-eyed wolf to move. He stretched out his palm towards the fallen four-eyed wolf's head and began to chant.

Hajime, observing the situation, unleashed his electromagnetic cannon, dealing a fatal blow to the four-eyed wolf. Shimizu was blown away again by the aftermath. He frantically moved his hands and feet, deciding to escape on his own, and so he headed north with the other monsters.

Hajime pulled out his Hitachi and sped up, quickly catching up to Shimizu. Hearing a shrill sound behind him, Shimizu turned and saw a motorcycle that shouldn't exist in this other world. Shocked, he ran for his life.

"What?! What is that?! This is impossible! I am the real hero, Gufu!?"

Shimizu cursed as he ran. Hajime, following Hirokifu's speed, struck Shimizu on the back of the head with his prosthetic hand. Shimizu fell flat on his face, sliding for several meters on the ground in a handstand position before coming to a stop.

"Well, what are you going to do, Sensei? Regardless of this guy... depending on the situation, I'm afraid I might..."

Hajime muttered to himself as he bound Shimizu with the steel cables extending from his prosthetic arm and headed straight for the town. Shimizu, covered in the dust of the desolate land and the blood and flesh spewed out by the monsters, was dragged along by the Huetifo... a tragic scene befitting the remnants of a defeated army.

For Yukitoshi Shimizu, being summoned to another world is his dream. Knowing it's impossible, he continues to read books and online novels about it, daydreaming about the plot every day. In his dreams, he's saved the world countless times and met happy endings with his heroines.

Shimizu's room was covered in posters of beautiful girls, so many that the walls were invisible. A glass shelf stood against one wall, its walls crammed with his favorite beautiful girl figurines, striking seductive poses. The bookshelf was overflowing with manga, light novels, thin books, and 18+ games, with the rest piled up around the room.

Indeed, Shimizu Yukitoshi was a bona fide otaku, but no one in the class knew because he had thoroughly concealed it. The reason is obvious, right? After witnessing his classmates' behavior towards Hajime up close, not many heroes would dare to openly declare themselves otakus.

In his class, Shimizu was, to use a familiar term, just a passerby. He had no close friends and always quietly studied at his desk. If someone approached him, he would timidly respond with minimal words, never initiating a conversation. His introverted and quiet personality had led him to be bullied in junior high.

Perhaps it was a natural progression, as he refused to go to school and spent his days in his room. He also found it necessary to read books, games, and other creative works to pass the time.

His parents were always worried about him, but his brother seemed to be getting bored by the increasingly crowded room filled with anime merchandise. When that feeling was expressed in their attitudes and words, Shimizu also became uncomfortable at home, gradually losing his place to stay.

The depressing environment made Qingshui have a sinister and eccentric character that despised others in his heart. Although he did not show it outwardly, he became more obsessed with his creations and fantasies.

Because of Shimizu's personality, the moment he realized he'd been summoned to another world, he thought, "Finally!!" Whether it was Aiko's vehement protests to Ishtar or Kouki's resolve to triumph for humanity and return to his original world, his mind raced only with the image of himself vibrantly thriving in the alternate world he'd imagined countless times. The fantasy he'd once thought impossible had now become reality, leading him to become complacent and completely oblivious to the injustices the protagonist would face after being summoned to another world.

However, reality in the other world differed from Shimizu's expectations. First, Shimizu did possess a special ability, but so did the other students. Furthermore, since she was the "hero," not Kouki, the women flocked to Kouki's side, leaving her as just "one of the many passersby."

This was no different from when he was in Japan. Although his long-cherished wish had been fulfilled, the reality was not as expected, making Shimizu even more insidious and eccentric, and his inner dissatisfaction grew day by day.

Why wasn't he a hero? Why was Kouki the only one surrounded by women? Why was Kouki the only one receiving special treatment, and not him? If he were a hero, he would definitely do better. As long as a woman expressed her love to him, he would definitely accept her offer... He was like this, blaming everyone else for everything that went wrong. This self-centered thought, "I'm the only one who's special," gradually eroded Shimizu's heart.

At this time, they entered the [Orcus Great Labyrinth] for practical training.

Shimizu saw this as an opportunity. His classmates, who hadn't paid any attention to him until now, treating him like a mere figurehead, would surely recognize his brilliance this time. Shimizu held onto this thought, believing everything would go his way... but he would eventually discover—

He was nothing special, and nothing would go his way. If he let his guard down even for a moment, he would be dead in the next instant. Nearly killed by the Nightmare Warrior, and witnessing the "hero" fighting an even more ferocious monster from afar, his original fantasy of another world shattered and crumbled bit by bit.

When he saw his classmates falling into the abyss and "dying" - his spirit collapsed.

A spirit that always makes interpretations that are biased towards oneself and is maintained by inner contempt for others will certainly not withstand a blow.

After returning to the palace, Shimizu retreated to his room once again. However, unlike his room in Japan, where there were no works of art to comfort his soul, Shimizu's only respite in his room was, naturally, reading books on skills and magic related to his vocation as a Dark Magician.

Dark magic affects the opponent's mind and consciousness. Generally, it's considered magic that inflicts abnormalities on the target during combat. Shimizu's aptitude also lies in this area, altering their perceptions, causing them to experience illusions and interfering with their magical imagery, making it difficult for them to perform magic. At the highest level, he can even cause physical impairments simply by misleading their opponent.

Just like that, his original elation was completely driven away. He read the book with a gloomy heart, and suddenly an idea emerged.

——If you master dark system magic, you should be able to brainwash and control the opponent, right?

Qingshui was overwhelmed with excitement. If his idea was correct, he could manipulate anyone he wanted. Yes, he could do whatever he wanted. Dark and turbid emotions spread in Qingshui's heart. From that day on, Qingshui devoted himself to training.

However, things weren't that simple. First, humans, with their strong egos, couldn't be completely brainwashed without spending more than a dozen hours on the technique. Of course, that was assuming the other party didn't resist.

Under normal circumstances, no one would remain unresponsive after being subjected to a spell. To truly achieve this, appropriate methods would be required—for example, forcing the subject to sleep. Targeting humans would require concealment, but this would be difficult given the circumstances and time constraints. Considering the possibility of discovery, the risk was too high, and Shimizu had to give up.

Shimizu felt frustrated and discouraged, but then he remembered the reason he had summoned them—Majin could control demons. In other words, if a demon acted on instinct and had a weaker ego than a human, wouldn't it be possible to control it smoothly?

To confirm this, Shimizu conducted nightly experiments on weak monsters outside the capital. The results proved that monsters were far more susceptible to brainwashing than humans. However, this was only possible due to Shimizu's exceptional talent for dark magic, which also possessed a certain level of illicit power. As Ishtar had said before, even if the people of this world spent countless hours casting spells, they could only control one or two monsters at best.

After completing his experiments near the capital, Shimizu decided that if he wanted to dominate, he had to dominate powerful monsters. However, he was also afraid of following Kouki and the others to the front lines of the maze. Just as he was struggling with what to do, he heard about Aiko's Guards and thought that if he followed them on their journey, he would probably encounter suitable monsters.

As a result, when he and Aiko arrived in Ur Town, he immediately disappeared to gather monsters as his subordinates in the Northern Mountain Region, a place with suitable monsters. Shimizu dreamed that when they met again, everyone would look at him with fear and awe for his achievements, and would regard him with a different eye.

Originally, with only two weeks to go, even if Shimizu was a genius specializing in dark magic and used the highly efficient method of brainwashing only the group leaders, he could only subdue about a thousand monsters at best. Subduing the Brutal, who inhabited the second mountain range, was probably his limit.

However, Qingshui received help from a certain being and accidentally succeeded in controlling Tio, which allowed Qingshui to effectively subdue the monsters of the fourth mountain. At the same time, due to the contract with that being and the growing strength of the monster army, Qingshui's mind completely lost its rationality.

Finally, he joyfully thought himself special, and when the time was right, he commanded an army of monsters to attack the town.

And the result is...

Qingshui knelt in front of his son and others with an extremely miserable look.

The reason why he was in such a state of disarray was obvious. Seeing Shimizu rolling his eyes, unconscious, being dragged along the ground by Hajime, his head banging against the ground repeatedly, all the way to him, and Aiko and the others' expressions twitching constantly, there was nothing he could do.

Incidentally, the location was changed to the outskirts of the town, and only Aiko, the students, David and other knights, several town nobles, Will, and Hajime were present.

After all, bringing the mastermind of this attack to town would undoubtedly cause a great disturbance, making it difficult to communicate with Shimizu. The remaining gentry in town were currently scrambling to deal with the aftermath.

Shimizu remained slumped to the ground, eyes rolled back. Aiko approached him. The fact that he was wearing a black robe and had been brought directly from the battlefield—these irrefutable evidence pointed to Shimizu as the culprit. Aiko frowned sadly at this unbearable truth and shook Shimizu's body, trying to wake him.

"Aiko, this is dangerous."

David and the others thought it was dangerous and tried to stop her, but Aiko shook her head and refused to tie him up. That would prevent her from having a proper conversation with Shimizu, and Aiko always intended to communicate with him as a teacher and student.

"Shimizu-san, Shimizu-san? Wake up, Shimizu-san!"

“Hmm…”

Finally, thanks to his son's call, Shimizu gradually regained consciousness. He looked around blankly. Perhaps suddenly realizing his situation, he sat up abruptly.

Then, he immediately tried to distance himself, and just as he was about to raise his upper body, the residual injury on the back of his head caused him to stagger and fall back to the ground. Qingshui kept retreating, his eyes darting back and forth, his expression a mixture of vigilance and inferiority.

"Shimizu-san, please calm down. No one wants to hurt you... I want to talk to you. Why did you do this... It doesn't matter what the reason is. Can you tell me how you feel?"

Aiko knelt on the ground, looking directly into Shimizu's eyes. Shimizu stopped rolling his eyes, looked away, lowered his head, and began to curse in a barely audible voice, not so much speaking as cursing:

"Why? Don't you even know something like this? No matter who you are, everyone is so incompetent. How dare you look down on me... What a hero, what a hero! It's so annoying! If it were me, I would definitely do better... But you guys didn't notice at all, treating me like a passerby... You are all idiots... That's why I have to show my worth..."

"You bastard... do you understand your position? The town was nearly destroyed!"

"Yeah! You're the idiot!"