Extra Pages: The Author's Odyssey
Chapter 190: Kurt

Suddenly, a voice echoed through the darkness, chilling and distorted, "Welcome, Sia Talen. You dare tread in my domain."

The villain responsible for the chaos emerged from the shadows, a figure draped in darkness, his eyes gleaming with a malevolent glow.

A moment later villain figure stepped forward and Lucas and Sai could see his body figure.

The murderer was around thirty, with a gaunt unshaven face and bloodshot eyes. Several used stimulant packs were lying on the floor around him, as well as shards of a broken liquor bottle.

His clothes, hands, and face were covered with blood, but the man didn't seem to mind.

His gaze slowly focused on Sua and Lucas.

"So they sent a [S+] rank hero to catch me? I guess I scared them to their death if they sent you here." The murderer said to Sia with a sinister grin.

Lucas meanwhile steps backwards hides behind Sia and takes out 5 [Strength enhancement potion].

This is a new batch of [Strength enhancement potion] he received yesterday night from Isla and he is going to use them already.

===Status===

Name : [Strength enhancement potion]

Type: Potion

Rank: High grade

Description: With [Strength enhancement potion] User strength and all states will be doubled for 3 minutes.

=======

Lucas quickly drank 4 [Strength enhancement potions] one after another. Leaving only behind in case of emergency.

Few seconds he could feel his strength and other states increasing.

"Status Window," Lucas called Status Window to check the new progress.

===Status Window===

Name: Lucas DarkHeart

Rank: E+ [ All stat are increased for 3 minutes]

Strength: C-

Agility: C-

Stamina: C-

Intelligence: E+

Mana Capacity: D+

Luck: E+

Charm: D+

________,

"this time aside from my rank everything went to [C-] rank of course Luck and charm are the same as before," Lucas muttered himself as he watched his stats.

He is [C-] rank probably because he drank 4 [Strength enhancement potion] that is high grade at once.

Anyway with this at least Lucas can save himself...Even if barely.

Meanwhile, a conversation between Sia and the villain continues.

Sia took a step forward, piercing the man with a cold, cold gaze. The murderer shivered.

"Hi there, Kurt. Long time no see."

After hearing her voice, the man called Kurt suddenly grinned.

"It's an honour that someone like your status knows my name."

Ignoring what Kurt said, Sia smiled coldly and said;

"Do you even understand what you have done, Kurt?"

The grin disappeared from his face, he furtively looked away.

"What, that mess upstairs? Ah… shit, who cares? They were just cattle, anyway. Because people like us are alive, right? If not for they would die by monsters, demons, etc. so what's the big deal if I killed a few of them?

Lucas's eye twitched as he heard what Kurt said.

'He's a proper bastard, isn't he?'

Sia meanwhile, stopped smiling.

"...I care, Kurt. I care."

He suddenly laughed.

"HAHAHA, Of course, you care, why? Because you have to image to maintain as a [S+] ranked hero. But what about us?"

"What about the people who were born with low mana core potential, many of them have D or C rank potential. They always live in the shadow of S rank or higher rank hero."

"I am also the same, I had saved a lot of people but credit always goes to some higher rank than me, so I had enough of this bullshit and decided I will do what I want, I will leave a free live."

Sia was silent for a moment after Kurt's words and said :

"You are right about what mostly happens in society but that doesn't give you the right to kill anyone, you could have quit doing hero work but you didn't instead you used your power to kill innocent people."

Kurt nodded his head and laughed, "Hahaha, they are innocent people? Maybe you should get glasses so that you can see properly, these arrogant nobles and others use their background to commit crimes but they got away with it because of their family background. I only killed these types of people, nothing more."

"Looks like we have nothing more to say to each other. Sia said and outstretched one hand, as if ready to summon her weapon.

Kurt laughed again. This time, however, his laugh was a bit desperate.

Then, he looked down and whispered:

"Ah, well. Not like it matters, anyway. Even if I tell you all of this nothing will change…So why bother with it?"

He remained still for a moment and then exploded with movement.

Kurt moved with terrible speed, covering the distance between the centre of the arena and the first row of the seats, where Lucas and Sia were, in a split second.

Just from the way he moved, it was easy to tell that he was very powerful even for [B-] rank.

…Still, it wasn't enough time to summon a weapon.

The white sparks that were supposed to form into a glaive were just starting to manifest themselves around Sia's hand, but he was already upon her. One of Kurt's hands shot forward, a knife forged out of a strange lusterless alloy appearing in it as if out of nowhere.

The was no magic involved in its sudden appearance, though. The knife had just been hidden in a secret sheath on his forearm.

Of course, Sia was much faster. She blocked the strike before it could ever reach her flesh… at the last moment, however, Kurt twisted his wrist and let go of the handle, sending the knife flying past her.

…Right at Lucas.

He had barely any time to react.

In a split second, Lucas's instincts kicked in. The enhanced speed and reflexes from the [Strength enhancement potions] allowed him to react swiftly. Without hesitation, he stepped forward and intercepted the hurtling knife, catching it mid-air just inches from Lucas's vulnerable form.

Sia's eyes widened slightly, a mix of surprise and acknowledgement flickering across her face. Kurt, on the other hand, smirked, seemingly amused by the unexpected turn of events.

Lucas gritted his teeth, realizing the gravity of the situation. The confrontation had escalated, and he was now standing on the frontline against a psychopathic [B-] rank villain.