Chapter 5: God of Lightning in a Backwater Village

Claire’s fiery red hair was gripped roughly.

[Hidden Trait: Violence is Forbidden! (Patience: 740 / 1000)]

Her half-closed eyes turned this way, her gaze unfocused.

With trembling hands, she barely managed to wave a feeble gesture.

[Hidden Trait: Violence is Forbidden! (Patience: 755 / 1000)]

Four people—no, beasts—stood around Claire, spewing words so vile they were unspeakable.

[Hidden Trait: Violence is Forbidden! (Patience: 770 / 1000)]

To see all this and yet keep walking forward, step by step, was an act of pure endurance.

If I rushed out now, I might not be able to hold back, trait or not.

“Let go. Because I seriously want to kill you right now.”

Doris’s gang turned their eyes to Hio, their gaze shifting at the low voice thick with murderous intent.

“What’s with this guy?”

They flinched for just a moment, but then smiles spread across the four faces as they recognized him.

“Isn’t that the weakling?”

“He followed us, thinking he’s a man.”

“Maybe he’s actually her husband?”

They snickered and mocked, but Doris’s eyes quickly scanned the surroundings.

No one.

No sign of any villagers.

He really had come alone.

Realizing this, Doris yanked Claire’s hair even harder.

“Did you come looking for this bitch? What are you gonna do now? She likes us, you know.”

Doris pressed his face close to Claire’s and grinned wickedly.

Even as he pulled her hair so violently, there was no resistance.

It was because Claire, pushed to her limit by her first experience of mana exhaustion, finally lost consciousness and fainted.

“Damn… If she’d stayed awake, she could’ve watched the fun. Too bad.”

Noticing Claire had passed out, Doris let go and stood up.

“Well, too bad for us, but you’ll just have to be our punching bag instead.”

Doris didn’t have a shred of doubt.

This guy was just an ordinary inn worker from the countryside.

A pathetic weakling who couldn’t even talk back, just stood there and took their abuse.

That’s why he couldn’t understand it.

The way he kept approaching without a word in reply.

“Hey, are you nuts? Do you not understand the situation?”

Maybe he’d gone mad with rage.

He should be shaking and begging them to let him go, but instead he wore a cold, determined face.

It was unsettling.

“Well, I guess this girl is good-looking enough for that…”

Doris glanced down at the unconscious Claire and nodded to himself.

A beauty no man could resist.

She must have stood out even more among the rough country women, so it was no wonder this guy lost his senses and rushed in.

“So, you’re a man after all, huh? Fine, then stop right there and start begging for your life.”

At Doris’s words, Haman and the others chimed in, laughing.

“Who knows? Maybe if you beg just right, we’ll let you go.”

“Heh heh heh. We’re already pissed off at this bitch, so it’ll take more than a little groveling.”

“Depending on how you do, we might play with you for a week or so before letting you go.”

None of Doris’s gang had any idea that with every mocking, threatening word, Hio’s patience was steadily building up.

[Hidden Trait: Violence is Forbidden! (Patience: 773/1000)]

Despite the jeers and threats, Hio’s expression didn’t change as he simply kept walking forward.

His silence and disregard only made the four men’s faces harden with hostility.

“You bastard, we’re trying to be nice here…”

Paulo stepped forward, gripping his sword.

Unlike Haman and Folke, who were injured, Paulo was only a bit scorched and otherwise unharmed.

“Boss, I think this guy’s completely nuts. Let’s just kill him and get it over with.”

Paulo, approaching Hio, turned to Doris.

“Doesn’t seem like he’ll be any fun anyway.”

He must have lost his mind with rage.

Otherwise, how could anyone approach them alone without fear?

So Paulo turned to Doris, seeking permission to just kill him quickly…

“…Pa-Paulo…”

But Doris’s reaction was strange.

Not just Doris—Haman and Folke looked exactly the same.

Their pupils widened as if they’d seen a ghost.

Their gazes weren’t on Paulo, but behind him.

They began to back away, step by step.

“Huh? Boss?”

Paulo had never seen Doris make that face before.

How many years had they spent together?

How many dirty jobs had they done as mercenaries?

There were few things in this world that could surprise such hardened men.

‘Huh? When did it get so dark?’

Paulo, who had been walking forward, glanced back.

In less than ten seconds, it was as if the sun had set and everything was shrouded in shadow.

Doris faltered in surprise.

The sky had suddenly turned dark.

It was only natural for Paulo to look back again.

“……!”

Like Doris, Paulo froze and gaped in shock.

Clouds as black as night swallowed the sun.

Sparks flickered among them.

Lightning crashed down.

KA-BOOM—!

And beneath it stood a man.

Paulo saw him, walking forward with the same unchanging expression and stride as before, and found himself backing away without realizing it.

No wonder—around the man, sparks like wild lightning danced and crackled madly.

“W-What the hell!”

He’d never heard of a skill like this.

A man who could change the weather and call down lightning?

Could such a thing even be called human?

“B-Boss… what is this…?”

Faced with something beyond reason, Paulo instinctively turned to Doris.

“B-Boss?”

But all he saw was Doris’s back as he ran away at full speed.

“Wait for me—!”

Paulo hurriedly tried to turn and follow, but—

“Hey.”

A deep, emotionless voice spoke right behind him.

A chill ran down his spine as Paulo slowly turned his head.

“Eek!”

Hio was right behind him, face close, and Paulo collapsed in terror.

“I-I’m sorry… I didn’t mean…”

‘Was this really a human?’

Sparks leapt constantly around his body, and his eyes burned white as if filled with lightning.

Behind him, the sky rained down bolts of lightning.

KWA-ANG—!

Paulo’s body shuddered violently at the thunder that crashed at just the right moment.

“I want to kill you so badly. What should I do?”

Hio tilted his head, as if genuinely pondering, lightning reflected in his eyes. Paulo could only beg for his life.

“P-Please… I’m sorry, I was wrong…”

Just being near him made Paulo’s body tremble and tingle.

Sparks were already leaping onto his own body.

If he felt this just by being close, what would happen if he actually touched him? He’d be reduced to ashes, not even a bone left behind.

“I-I’m sorry… Please, please…”

He could barely speak, his words tripping over themselves as sparks crackled over his body.

Whether it was from the shock or the fear, his pants were soaked, but that didn’t matter at all.

This was no human.

He was the God of Lightning.

What else could explain it?

A man who could control weather, summon lightning, and radiate it from his own body—such a thing could not exist.

He’d fought on countless battlefields as a mercenary, completed countless missions, seen many who claimed enlightenment.

But compared to the monster before him, they were all just mere mortals.

Paulo understood that now.

“Is that what you meant by begging ‘just right’?”

That voice, like the grim reaper itself.

KWA-ANG!

Lightning struck again.

Paulo’s body jolted violently—it went without saying.

“S-Sorry… my body’s… tingling, I can’t… speak well… S-Sorry…”

Hio pressed his face close to the trembling, bowing Paulo.

When Paulo met those burning white eyes, he broke down in tears and pressed his forehead to the ground.

He was terrified at the thought of even brushing against that body.

If he did, he’d be reduced to nothing but ash in an instant.

“…Get lost. If you want to keep that worthless life, don’t even show your face again.”

“Y-Yes! T-Thank you…!”

Paulo didn’t dare meet his eyes, crawling backwards before staggering to his feet.

His legs gave out and he fell once, but he forced himself up and ran with all his might.

He didn’t know why such an impossible monster was hiding in this backwater town, but that thing was a real disaster.

KWA-ANG!

“Eek!”

Lightning could fall on him at any moment.

Clutching his soaked pants, Paulo ran for his life.

***

Hio watched Paulo’s desperate, trembling retreat and muttered quietly.

“Damn. That scared the hell out of me.”

‘Why was the thunder so loud?’

If Paulo hadn’t had his head down, he would’ve seen Hio flinch in surprise as well.

“Geez… What a racket.”

All this skill did was make sparks fly around a certain radius of his body—a total trash skill.

Still, for all its uselessness, its effects were ridiculously flashy.

‘It doesn’t count as violence, so it works.’

He hadn’t used it to harm anyone, just wrapped himself in sparks.

This Hidden Trait must have some wiggle room, since it didn’t treat this kind of thing as violence.

It was like accidentally bumping into someone and hurting them—it wasn’t considered an act of violence.

“…Well, at least they’ll never think of coming back.”

Thanks to that, he’d raised his patience level a lot and protected Claire as well.

Still, he worried about the villagers who must have been startled by the sudden lightning…

“They’re going to make a fuss about this for a while.”

Such a sudden, abnormal phenomenon would be terrifying for simple folk.

“Anyway… time to head back.”

Hio gently picked up the unconscious Claire and started walking toward the village.

As if the thunder and lightning had never happened, the sky had already cleared up.

***

Just as expected, the villagers had gathered, murmuring anxiously, so it was easy to sneak Claire inside unnoticed.

He laid her on the bed, pulled up a chair, and sat beside her.

‘Those guys were a bit injured, weren’t they?’

He knew Claire’s skill well.

At this point, all she could do was create fire—a skill without much power.

But that alone wouldn’t have been enough to hurt them that badly.

So there was only one explanation.

‘She must have grown stronger in that brief moment.’

The time between Claire meeting those guys and the fight breaking out couldn’t have been long.

For her to realize something and grow in such a short, real battle…

‘Should I look for a way to send her to the Imperial Academy?’

With this much talent, even if her skill’s potential was low, she might be able to push herself to the limit.

And a skill developed to its extreme is never inferior to a top-tier skill.

‘Claire…’

It was a name he’d never heard back when Ventair was just a game.

This wasn’t a game.

It was reality.

There must be many people like Claire in this world.

“Soon, the Abyss will appear.”

He wondered if the other rankers were preparing well.

If they’d found a way to deal with the Corruption.

He was curious, but even Jason wouldn’t be able to find out easily.

“Well, first things first—I need to get stronger.”

His closest goal, patience, had finally reached the high 700s.

He was truly getting close to his target.

‘…I’ve endured for two years. Please, let me reach my goal safely.’

If some accident happened and he lost all his progress, how empty would that feel?

He clasped his hands and prayed alone.

“Mmm…”

Claire stirred, breaking his train of thought.

“D-Don’t come… coward…”

She frowned, as if trapped in a nightmare.

“Go away… Please, just go away…”

He gently brushed her red hair aside, and her expression finally relaxed.

‘…Prayer, huh? That’s not like me.’

He’d never believed in gods.

He’d only ever trusted in his own abilities.

That was Lee Hyunseung before his legs were ruined.

And now, he was someone with all his limbs intact.

What if an accident happened and he lost all his patience and skills?

So what?

If he lost his patience, he’d just build it up again from scratch.

If he lost his skills, he’d just pick up a sword.

“Coward Hio… I have to protect him…”

If you just sit and do nothing, all that awaits is the end of this world.