The Hero Who Wasn't:Lord of Kingdoms

As they made their way along a narrow ledge, barely wide enough for two people, the attack came.

Screeeeeeeee!

Shrill cries rang out from above. Swarms of creatures—grotesque women with bat wings and razor claws—descended from the sky. Abyssal Harpies.

And what did Arion do? What any sane man of his caliber would do—he screamed inside, pressed himself flat against the rock wall, hunched over with his head covered, and tried his best to look like part of the stone itself. He trembled, wishing desperately for a skill that would let him dig a hole and vanish.

But his team consisted of real heroes.

"Protect the Lord!" Robert roared, raising his massive shield over Arion like a steel roof, deflecting the first two vicious strikes.

Clang! Clang!

At the same time, Leo became a blur of motion. Arrows flew from his bow with lightning speed, each one finding a mark in a harpy's heart or head, sending three shrieking to their deaths among the rocks below.

But the true star was Selene. She raised her hands, and the air turned frigid. "Blizzard Storm!"

Dark clouds gathered above them, unleashing shards of ice like butcher's cleavers. The icy blades tore through the harpy swarm, freezing wings and bodies mid-flight before smashing them onto the rocks below—a scene as terrifying as it was breathtaking.

The entire battle lasted less than a minute. When the dust cleared, harpy corpses littered the ledge.

Meanwhile, Arion remained glued to the wall, eyes shut tight. He hadn't moved an inch.

---

A Strategic Analysis of a Battle He Never Fought

Selene sighed and shot Arion a look of undisguised disdain. "He did nothing. He hid like a rat while we fought for our lives. What a fraud."

But Robert and Leo saw it very differently.

Robert stepped toward Arion, who cautiously opened his eyes. The huge knight's face brimmed with awe.

"My Lord, your strategy was… flawless! I understand now!"

"Strategy?" Arion thought. "What strategy? I was trying to merge with the wall!"

Robert went on, glowing with enthusiasm. "You stood firm and calm, making yourself the main target to draw the harpies' attention! You trusted us, your support team, to handle these lesser threats while you conserved your tremendous power for the true danger awaiting us in the mines! This wasn't a battle—it was a field test! You were testing our limits! What a brilliant tactic!"

Leo added between breaths, "Exactly! By not intervening, you forced us to unleash our full potential! It was a harsh lesson in self-reliance and responsibility. Thank you, my Lord!"

Arion stood completely speechless. They'd just rebranded his cowardice and sheer panic into strategic genius and military wisdom.

Selene overheard this nonsense and nearly laughed out loud. "Are they serious? They're making excuses for his cowardice!"

Yet, she looked at Arion again—at his eerie silence, at the faint glow of his aura. A sliver of doubt crept into her mind. "Unless… unless they're right. Could his power be so subtle and deep that I can't perceive it? Are we really just pawns in his grand game?"

This doubt was the last thing Arion needed. Now Selene no longer saw him as a mere fraud—she saw him as a potential threat, a dangerous puzzle to solve. Her watchful eyes grew sharper and more relentless.

Arion felt her burning stare boring into his back. "Great. I survived a swarm of flying monsters, only to gain a possible enemy inside my own team. Every time I try to do the right thing—like hiding—it just gets worse."

---

Into the Whispering Marshes

Having "proven" his supposed tactical brilliance by doing absolutely nothing in the Jagged Valley, the team now faced their next reckless challenge: the Whispering Marshes.

The place was dismal in every sense. A thick gray fog wrapped around everything, muffling sound and transforming dead trees into ghostly skeletons. The air was heavy and wet, carrying faint, eerie whispers that sent an unexplainable chill down the spine—like lost souls murmuring forgotten tales.

Arion felt his anxiety rising. This place was dangerous by any measure, and his team—despite their power—relied on him for leadership. As any seasoned gamer would know, the first step before facing any threat was to check your "tank stats," or in this case—your "human shields." He cast a furtive glance at his party, activating his most useful skill:

> [Skill Activated: Appraisal Gaze]

Party Analysis: Human Shields and Magic Weapons

He first looked at the human fortress walking beside him—Robert the Iron Knight.

1. Robert von Stein (Iron Knight)

Level: 28 (A-Rank)

HP: 9,500 / 9,500

Stamina: 1,200 / 1,200

Key Skills:

Iron Wall (A)

Heavy Sword Strike (A)

Battle Taunt (B)

Shock Shield (B)

"My man!" Arion thought with relief. "No mana, but that stamina and HP are insane. He's literally a human tank. If he stood alone against an army, he'd probably survive at least five minutes! He's my perfect shield."

Next, his gaze drifted to the shadow weaving effortlessly between dead trees—Leo the Shadow Ranger.

> 2. Leo Silverarrow (Shadow Ranger)

Level: 23 (A-Rank)

HP: 5,200 / 5,200

Focus: 900 / 900

Key Skills:

Hawk Eye (A)

Rapid Arrow Barrage (A)

Shadow Step (B)

Nature Traps (B)

"Good HP, solid focus pool," Arion analyzed. "His skills are all about precision and field control, not magic. Perfect for scouting and support fire. But what if he runs out of focus? Dead weight? I'll have to keep an eye on that."

Finally, he looked at the woman in the rear—his biggest headache—Selene the Ice Witch.

> 3. Selene Frostwind (Ice Witch)

Level: 26 (A-Rank)

HP: 1,800 / 1,800

MP: 11,000 / 11,000 (!!)

Key Skills:

Blizzard Storm (A+)

Ice Prison (A)

Piercing Frost Spears (A)

Frost Barrier (B)

Arion nearly stumbled. "Eleven thousand mana?! That's enough to freeze a small city! Her HP is less than a quarter of Robert's, but she's basically a walking magical nuke. The real problem? She's the only one smart enough to see through me!"

"Lord Arion," Leo said cautiously, "This mist isn't natural. It's laced with confusion magic. The standard procedure is to wait until it clears."

Selene added coldly, "The whispers carry a disorienting curse. Entering now is tactical suicide."

But Arion couldn't afford to make a sound decision. So instead, he gave an ambiguous command that sounded wise but really meant, "Do whatever, just don't make me decide!"

"Stay close. Trust your senses. Kill anything that moves. Do not hesitate."

Robert and Leo nodded in awe. "He's testing us again! What a tactical mentor! Forcing us to push beyond our limits!"

Selene rolled her eyes. "This isn't strategy… this is stupidity." And inwardly, "What has the world come to, that they made a clown like this the leader of an A-rank expedition?"