Chapter 4 - Hero Core

"!?"

Greus curiously stared in front of the mirror.

"What the hell is this?"

Greus wondered on why did he have something like that on his chest. As far as he can remember, wanting to have a tattoo in his chest is not one of his plans.

"Maybe this has a connection on what happened two days ago..."

Greus concluded. He is now one hundred percent sure in Miss Maria's story. He is not an idiot. The appearance of this tattoo in his chest without his knowledge can only mean that this has something to do with what transpired two days ago.

"..."

He stared at the mirror for a moment and his expression turns sad.

"Whatever happened that day, I do not know... But to think that I will have a simple 'O' shaped tattoo such as this... It's a bit... At least I could have something like a dragon or some cool styles... And the purple color... Red or Orange would be cooler..."

Greus said dejectedly as he criticizes the design of his tattoo.

After sighing, Greus touched his tattoo.

On the moment that Greus' fingers made contact with the tattoo, something out of this world happened!

The tattoo glowed in a purple hue.

"How the heck!?"

Of course Greus would be surprised by this. He haven't heard about the tattoo industry improving their craft by making it glow.

Then suddenly, the purple hue gets brighter and his head suddenly ached, as if his brain has been directly hammered.

Greus fell down to the floor due to the extreme dizziness he feels.

During this time, he can feel as if something is entering his mind.

A minute passed and the dizziness slowly dissipates. However, Greus is not showing any signs of getting up from the wooden floor.

That's because he is currently processing the information that entered his mind, and one such information is about the second dream he had.

He remembered what happened starting from the moment Hero Larus asked him a question, his reply when he realized what was happening, his answer to the question, and when the so called hero ironically 'killed' him.

"So I really did became a hero, huh..."

Greus muttered with a dazed expression.

Greus did not expect this turn of events. The feeling to be a hero from zero is unexplainable. Ofcourse he can be considered strong, but that is on Seia's standards. When talking about the standards outside of Seia, then he is very far from the apex.

However, his situation is different now. He is now a hero. An existence that is highly respected and feared at the same time. A hero's existence is enough to make a kingdom untouchable. It is truly an existence that can reach the apex.

Thinking about such thoughts, Greus gets up to sit on the floor.

"But this is really a bad starting point..."

Greus knows his weakness. He is a hunter, but all he hunts are those passive animals. Dagger mastery? Yes, but his is only basic mastery.

Greus remembers his answer to Hero Larus' question. He said he wanted to be free, but right now, that is a farfetched dream, for if greedy bastards know about him being a hero, who knows what will they do to him?

Also, having power would allow him to move around freely. Greus really likes to roam the world. Explore new lands, seeing new cultures, new cuisines, all of this is only possible if he has the strength to protect himself. Maybe it could also be possible for him to wander around the so called Demon Continent...

"Then... I should put more effort in getting stronger!"

Greus said with a resolute and determined voice while clenching both his fist. Seriousness can be seen on his face.

"Now let's see what I got."

Greus is now very excited. It's as if he got a christmas present and is on the verge of unwrapping it to see what's inside.

The ability that he will get determines how fast he can get stronger and also, his future potential. That ability will define him as a hero.

Following what his thoughts said to him, Greus then focused and closed his eyes. Then purple texts slowly formed in the darkness of his vision.

[Purple Hero Core]

[Level 1]

[Ables the user to wield Purple Mana.]

[Due to its nature, Purple Mana allows its wielder to instantly activate spells.]

[Due to its nature, Purple Mana usage is limited only to low tier spells. Using spells above low tier can fail and will harm the user.]

[Due to its nature, mana consumption when casting spells is reduced.]

[Grows with the wielder.]

Greus opens his eyes and sits still on the floor, completely unmoving.

Greus is not sure whether this ability of his is good or bad. It is because this ability of him focused mainly on using magic. Something which Greus have zero experience in using.

Of course when he was young, Miss Maria have him looked by a mage from a certain kingdom. Unfortunately, he is not able to atleast manifest a ball of mana on his hand. Therefore, he is judged as 'no talent' by the mage. He abandoned the thought of using magic ever since.

However, right now, Greus' ability involves the usage of magic, an untouched zone for him.

"Might as well try it."

Now that it comes down to this, he has no choice but to test it. He plans to once again manifest a ball of mana on his hand.

Greus isn't sure about this. He didn't know how will he react if nothing happens.

Dispelling such despairing thoughts, Greus opens his right palm in front of him and tried to feel the mana inside himself.

Then suddenly, a purple ball with a size of an infant's clenched fist anticlimatically appeared on his palm.

"Woah! It really is color purple."

This is the first time Greus experienced controlling mana. He then finds out that the ball increases and decreases in size depending on his will, and he proceeded to play with it for a while like a child playing with a new toy.

"Little G come down and eat!"

A sweet voice coming outside his door breaks his trance.

Greus then quickly dispels the mana ball on his hand and answered.

"Be there in a minute Miss Maria."

Greus then stood up, wore his t-shirt, then proceeded to went downstairs with a really good mood.