Dragon's Wrath: The Cursed Returnee

With his inhuman speed, Ethan dashed through the horde of fire spiders while swinging his sword like a tornado. Although the monsters didn't have time to attack him, Ethan still suffered damage thanks to their bodies. As if that wasn't enough, even the blood of the monsters was hot like magma. The air and the droplets of blood wounded him.

Congratulations! The skill Fire Resistance has leveled up!

Congratulations! For leveling up the skill you learned by yourself, you obtained ten coins.

Congratulations! The skill Heat Resistance has leveled up!

Congratulations! For leveling up the skill you learned by yourself, you obtained ten coins.

…

"Tsk," Ethan clicked his tongue while he saw a small amount of the monster's blood eating his flesh. "Why those freaking bastards can't have normal bodies?"

Despite his complaints, Ethan didn't stop fighting. Since he could cut down the spiders with a single swing, the monsters finally realized his presence and stopped attacking the guards. Lili watched all that in a daze, she had seen some swordsmen fighting monsters, but he never saw many monsters against a single one. Still, she could tell that ordinary people couldn't fight like Ethan, focusing so much on the offensive. Now that she thought about it, his presence got a little bigger. Lili didn't know an Appraisal spell, but she still could feel the strength of those around her, and she noticed that Ethan got considerably stronger in the last few hours.

"That isn't supposed to be possible…" Lili muttered. "Unless he is… a hero from another world."

Still, that was very unlikely. The hero who saved that world was already summoned and returned to their home. It was impossible to summon another unless the world was facing a crisis that might lead to its destruction. There was a chance that the hero might return, but the hero who saved that world was a girl.

While she was focused on her job, Lili's doubts were slowly disappeared from her mind. There was no mistake. That strange boy was certainly a hero from another world. He wasn't much older than Lili. In fact, he looked younger. It was impossible that an ordinary boy of that world could get so much stronger while fighting.

It was impossible that someone normal could fight for so long while ignoring the burn marks that were steadily increasing on their bodies. Regardless, even though the fight had been happening since the start of the night, everything ended one hour after Ethan's arrival. Some people celebrated, but the vast majority looked pretty depressed. Some even began to cry while seeing the corpses of their friends and comrades.

"I guess it can't be helped," Ethan muttered. "Unlike a fortress, the guards of a town like this probably knew each other for a pretty long time."

The battle was finally over, but the survivors still had a lot of work to do. Count their deaths, extinguish the fires and save whatever they can, be it valuables or people. Ethan needed to talk with them and ask for compensation, but since he would need Lili's help, he returned to where he had left the cart.

"Can you use that language spell again?" Ethan asked. "I need to talk with whoever is in command here."

"… Sure," Lili replied after a brief moment of silence.

The group of soldiers approached the strangers to thank them. Although that only happened a few times, Lili recovered some of the energy of those who got close enough. They recognized the golden eyes of Lili, but despite everything, they still looked somewhat cautious of Ethan. Although he was old enough to be a soldier, he had the strength of a squad, after all.

"Sorry to ask you this, but I will need some potions from you guys," Ethan said. "I am heading to the capital, and in order to arrive there on time, I will need them. A few potions to recover mana and any medicine that can alleviate the pain in my sore legs."

The guards didn't understand what Ethan said. Well, they understood, but they couldn't think why a single boy was pulling a cart instead of relying on some animal or monster. In any case, even though they lost a lot, they gave to Ethan what they could as a reward for his help. Thanks to him, they will have a few days of resting, after all.

Regardless, the guards finally understood why Ethan said so many things the very moment he began to pull the cart. He was fast and strong… enough to outspeed most monsters.

"… Who are you?" Lili asked.

"My name is Ethan Harrison, but I guess that is not what you are asking," Ethan frowned. "Come to think of it, you weren't there when I was talking with Aharis. Well, what you need to know is that I'm from another world and I'm looking for my big sister. I suspect that she is in the capital, and that is why I'm heading there."

"All the people of your world can grow stronger as fast as you?" Lili asked.

"Not everyone… but plenty of people can, I guess," Ethan frowned. "More than we need or wished for."

Ethan wasn't being quite accurate, but he really thought that an entire school in a single country of people like him was plenty. There was even a group of them in the military. Besides, it was highly likely that their numbers would increase over the years. There are many worlds out there that have magic, after all.

Regardless, things were progressing well thanks to Lili's support, but Ethan was wondering if things would still proceed favorably. Hannah had stayed in that world for more than two weeks, so it was clear that the level of the opponents surrounding the capital was much higher. It pained Ethan to admit it, but perhaps he would need his powers as an exp stealer.

"Only a handful of people will notice if I use it on monsters. Amidst the chaos, the chance of someone noticing anything is even lower. Still… to rely on this power again is…"

It was only obvious that Ethan would feel conflicted about that. Yet, he couldn't see another way out of that situation. He was used to solving all the problems himself when it came to fighting, and since Hannah had been on that planet for so long, maybe there was something happening behind the scenes. That possibility only made Ethan think that, eventually, he wouldn't have any other choice.

"Well, let's see how things will play out first. I can always solve such problems later. When it comes down to it, that cursed power can't be stopped, and it can solve most problems in the blink of an eye."

Ethan was already being cautious in order not to touch anyone, so even if that power grew stronger, and it wouldn't change all that much. Still, just to be sure that he won't have to use it, Ethan opened his shop and bought some items. Relying on items wasn't much of his style, but it was better than forcing himself to use his power as a hero.

Iron Helmet (Common) (+0)

Effect: + 30 health

Durability: 35/35

Requirements: 20 STR

Iron Gloves (Common) (+0)

Effect: + 25 health

Durability: 25/25

ραпdα nᴏνa| сom Requirements: 15 STR

Although those items were pretty standard when it came to fantasy worlds, Ethan had to spend ten thousand coins to obtain them. Those effects were quite useful, after all.

"I guess this will do for a while," Ethan nodded to himself. "Now that I think about it, there is another way for me to get stronger fast without relying on that power. If I learn how to synthesize items, my power will increase a lot, and I will also be able to conserve some mana and stamina."