I am Kurt Von Ritzburg

“That is the roar of a demon beast. A ‘calamity’ class demon beast.”

“A calamity class?!”

And before Miria could even calm down from the shock, I heard the rustling sound of the bushes, and knew that it was coming towards us.

The calamity class beast - Demon Tiger.

“Roar!”

‘I should strike it fi— Huh?’

And before I could even respond, it was in front of me. I could even feel its warm breath washing over me. It was on air, pouncing towards me.

Its mouth was open wide and aimed at my head, ready to take it in one shot. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t move.

‘It’s overwhelming…’

For the first time, I could feel death.

‘Am I going to die?’

It’s been years since I got reincarnated as a villain, and lived in the fear to avoid bad endings. I have imagined my death countless times in the hands of my archenemies - the protagonist and antagonist.

But here, instead of standing in front of them, I am at death's door in the hands of a tiger. 

‘Am I going to die in the hands of a tiger?’

With effort, I got two fiancées back at home, and a mature woman in my bosom. And it was all to get my ideal life. 

‘Am I going to waste it all?’

No!

The soul inside me screamed in denial. I haven’t even slept with one of them. How could die such a plain death once again!

‘Move! Move, Kurt!’

Adrenaline started to rush, and it was for a moment, just for a moment, I could feel myself being in control of my fear-stricken body.

And that’s all I needed. 

[Overclock]

It was dangerous to activate overclock at the moment. I am low in my mana reserves, and I am physically tired because of previous fights.

The toll of hyperactivating my brain would be quite heavy for the body. But I still activated it without hesitation.

Because it was my sole trump card to come out alive.

And soon, mana started to gather in my brain and my perception started to act weird. And before the tiger could reach and bite off my skull, the time slowed down. 

“This sudden change… No matter the times I experience it, it always surprises me.” 

The slowed down world. It existed for a few seconds, but it gave me the time I needed. All my panic thoughts settled down, and then I took a deep breath calming myself down. 

“Calm down, Kurt. You are still alive.”

And after calming down, I grabbed Miria and before my overclock could run out, I moved out of the tiger’s pounce.

And the speed went from being slow to normal.

“Miria, open your eyes."

Miria who resigned to death a second ago blinked her eyes in disbelief.

"How are we still alive?"

And then she noticed the tiger standing still in the same place with confusion, while we seemed to be moved away from it.

"How did we move here? Don't tell me teleportation?!"

Teleportation. A legendary magic that is supposed to be lost in ages and is only present in stories.

'Teleportation? How could I use this magic?'

Even the protagonist can't use this magic. And even if I could use it, for the current me it's impossible.

The visualization for the teleportation magic would take too much magic power. But explaining all of it to her at the moment is a waste of time.

"I will explain later. Right now, we have a bigger issue to deal with."

"You are right."

In the end, Miria is also a hunter. And she knows it is not the correct time for idle chatter.

“I will support you.”

“Wha?”

“I also have pride as a hunter.”

And she lifted her sword and stood beside me, ready to face the demonic tiger. 

“Heh~ Don’t die, Miria.”

“Same to you, Kurt.”

The tiger, no longer bewildered and turned its attention towards us. Its mana started to swirl around with more ferocity responding to its anger and frustration for letting its prey get away.

“It’s coming with full power this time.”

[Buff: Full Body Reinforcement x2]

I casted body reinforcement on both of us. Against an enemy like this, at least this much is necessary. 

“My body…”

“It’s reinforcement magic. Have you never experienced it?”

“No.”

Oh! And then I remembered the rarity of magicians. Most magicians join the military or other government services for higher income.

The magicians who become demon hunters are the ones having no other choice.

And even if there are magicians, I doubt they would come out in ahead to fight as a vanguard.

There are a very rare number of magicians who can fight alone, like the Sage, and the Guru. And the rest of them aren’t that strong. 

So, it's kind of basic to form a party of magicians and knights. The knights are in front tackling the enemy and protecting and buying time for the magicians, while magicians attack from behind to deal damage to the opponent.

‘I always forget how special it is to be a magician.’

“Reinforcement magic boosts up physical specs. You might be feeling stronger than before.”

“It's true. I can feel the rise in my strength.”

"That's enough. If you need to try it, there is a perfect dummy for it."

And my eyes went to the dummy, demonic tiger.

'But it has to be a tiger…'

Among demon species, tigers are the ones hardest to kill. They have high magic resistance, and are quick on legs.

The only way to defeat that monster is physical combat, but that too is risky.

'Even with reinforcement, I doubt my sword can harm it.'

I couldn't kill a wolf in one strike, how can it work on a tiger?

I still have the last bit of magic power. Should I try it?

The magic I thought of as a substitute for my magic saber.

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