It was somewhat bewildering to see the protagonist, Ribel, suddenly suggest throwing a party for me.
She clearly dislikes me, so why would she suddenly bring up the idea of a party?
I didn’t know the reason, but I couldn’t say I wasn’t tempted by her offer.
“The protagonist is offering to help me?”
Honestly, the situation where the protagonist offered to help me was exactly what I had been longing for.
Let me reiterate, I’ve spent 20 years tirelessly working to increase the protagonist’s favorability toward me.
The reason I put in so much effort is, again, because she is the protagonist of this game.
She’s widely recognized as one of the most overpowered characters in this world.
So, what makes the protagonist so exceptional?
Honestly, just about everything.
“Her stats surpass human limits.”
First of all, her base stats are on a completely different level.
[Strength: A, Endurance: A, Agility: B, Magic: A, Luck: E, Skills: A]
These are her stats in the late game, and frankly, it’s almost impossible for a human to have stats like these.
In this dark fantasy world, humans are pretty much the weakest beings.
For context, a well-trained human warrior typically has stats like [Strength: C, Endurance: C, Agility: E, Magic: F, Luck: ?].
A well-trained human mage would have stats like [Strength: F, Endurance: F, Agility: F, Magic: D, Luck: ?].
Given that, there’s no need to explain how absurd her stats are.
She’s literally the G.O.A.T. among humans, one of the most stat-potent individuals in existence.
“Her skills are downright broken.”
But her overpowered nature isn’t just because of her stats.
Her stats are impressive, but the skills she possesses are on another level entirely.
From the very beginning, her skills are in a league of their own.
The skills I’ve seen her have in the game are as follows:
[A-rank Skill: Hero]
[Recognizes oneself as a hero. Grants bonuses to combat-related stats. Additionally, the effects of this skill can grow through effort.]
[S-rank Skill: Godslayer]
[A being capable of killing gods. Combat-related stats increase when facing divine beings. Also grants partial resistance to divine powers.]
[???-rank Skill: Death Regression]
[You can avoid death. Upon death, you can activate regression.]
“It’s insane.”
She has three skills, each of which would be considered broken on its own.
It’s no wonder I’ve put so much effort into her.
Frankly, if I had even one of those skills, I wouldn’t have struggled so much.
“Not to mention, the equipment she’ll get later is also ridiculously overpowered.”
When you consider her skills and the unique, powerful equipment she’ll acquire later…
It’s no surprise I’ve invested so much in her.
Ultimately, she’s destined to become the strongest, so I’ve worked hard to at least catch some of the crumbs.
In this dark fantasy world, she’s the protagonist—essentially a monster compared to an ordinary person like me.
“Even with all that, the difficulty is still insane.”
Well, even with those abilities, she still has to work herself to the bone.
This world is just that cruel.
Anyway, the situation where the protagonist is offering to help me is undeniably appealing.
“But why is she offering to party with me?”
Still, I couldn’t help but wonder.
Why is she suddenly offering to help me now?
So, I hesitated to agree immediately, and her response was as follows:
“What? You have a problem with that?”
“No, I’m just curious why you’re offering to party with me. It’s unexpected, I guess?”
“You seem to be misunderstanding something. Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m just doing this so you don’t go around saying I owe you for saving you from that mimic.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. I’ll just take you to the entrance. Don’t expect me to protect you, though. Keep up.”
Oh, so that’s what it was?
Ribel grumbled as she walked past me.
She was just trying to prevent me from using the fact that she saved me from the mimic as leverage later.
“Well, she does have a massive ego.”
Of course, thanks to her regression ability, it’s not like she was in any real danger, but still.
She must hate the idea of being indebted to me, which is why she’s offering to help me escape.
But if we’re talking about debts, I’ve already created dozens, if not hundreds, over the past 20 years…
That part was a bit puzzling, but…
Anyway, this situation isn’t bad for me.
“It’s reassuring.”
Having the protagonist help me—even if it’s just a temporary party—isn’t a bad thing from my perspective.
I don’t fully understand why she dislikes me, but I plan to make the most of this situation.
I followed closely behind her.
###
“Ugh… Why did I even agree to party with him?”
Ribel, who had ended up in a party with Rovan, was regretting her decision deep down.
She had offered to party with him on a whim, but she never actually intended to do so.
“I hate that guy so much.”
It’s no lie that Ribel dislikes Rovan.
She genuinely can’t stand him.
So, of course, she wouldn’t want to party with someone she dislikes, right?
She couldn’t just leave him behind, and since he did save her from the mimic, she felt obligated to help, but under normal circumstances, she would never have done something like this.
So, why does she dislike Rovan?
Even she can’t quite explain it.
“He’s always taken care of me and been kind to me, but…”
She knows that, under normal circumstances, she should like him.
After all, they’ve been childhood friends for 20 years, haven’t they?
Since they were kids, Rovan has always treated her with great kindness.
“Not to mention, he’s incredibly handsome…”
Back then, she was just an orphan with nothing to her name, yet he, a noble, befriended her.
That’s not something that happens every day.
The fact that Rovan, who was also in a position where he wasn’t treated well, still looked out for her was genuinely touching.
Plus, Rovan is from the Kalts family.
Like the Kalts sisters, who are known for their beauty, Rovan is also exceptionally handsome.
It’s only natural that she would feel some attraction to him, just like the other girls around him.
But she couldn’t help but reject him.
“But I don’t like him. I can’t like him.”
How should I put it?
It’s hard to explain, but if I had to, it’s like a sense of mission within her that rejects it.
Ribel knows she’s not an ordinary girl.
It’s not some middle-school delusion—she truly feels she was born to achieve something great.
She doesn’t know what that is yet, but she believes she’ll figure it out as she explores the labyrinth.
That’s why she became a labyrinth explorer, after all.
She always feels that she was born and lives for some grand purpose.
And that purpose feels at odds with Rovan’s affection for her.
That’s why she’s been trying so hard not to like him.
“Though I do have the occasional lewd dream about him.”
Of course, setting aside her sense of mission, she does have some attraction to him, which is why she’s had those kinds of dreams.
Recently, she had a dream where Rovan forced her into a 120% impregnation training session.
And not long ago, she had a dream where Rovan disciplined her into a submissive, obedient pet.
Those are secrets only Ribel knows, but if it weren’t for her sense of mission, she might have liked him.
“Ugh… I’ll never like him, no matter what.”
But she has her mission, doesn’t she?
Ribel is convinced she’ll never like Rovan.
Never.
###
Fortunately, I managed to form a temporary party with Ribel.
With this, I should be able to escape the labyrinth safely.
I couldn’t help but feel relieved.
“Why is she in such a bad mood, though?”
Strangely, Ribel didn’t seem to be in a good mood.
Does she really dislike me that much?
She’s always been like this.
Just being around her feels like being in the middle of some intense, bloody battle.
What could she possibly be so dissatisfied with…?
As I sighed at my predicament, Ribel called out to me.
“Hey. Rovan.”
“Suddenly? What is it?”
“I’m warning you now—if you think of me as your personal plaything, I’ll kill you.”
“?”
“Hmph.”
Ribel, with an angry expression, said something incomprehensible.
What is she talking about…?
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