Lazy but the strongest in the dimension

Body Modification (2)

“What’s it to me if it’s an imperial order? It’s not like I’m going because I want to. I’m just following orders because the Empire needs it. Do you think I would willingly do something so bothersome?”

“Please prove your abilities! Only then can we make preparations! I heard that the 1st Knight Order will be going to the front. You should at least show some minimum skills!”

“Ah, I don’t feel like doing that.”

I rubbed my ears.

Prove my abilities? I don’t even understand why that’s necessary, and if I did something like that, my hard-earned laziness from three days of rest would go down the drain.

I’m trying to live leisurely and immortal as the god of lazy people; it’s a problem if they keep getting in the way.

My father’s stern command came down.

“Inoome! How can you lead a unit if you behave like that? A commander must govern their subordinates with virtue and courage and should be willing to go to the front! If your skills are lacking, you should at least show effort by training during the march, right?”

“During the march? I must have misunderstood something.”

“Commander!”

“Yes, my lord!”

“What do you think about the current situation?”

“I believe your words are right, my lord. The young master has never held a sword in his life. In a situation like this, if we were suddenly attacked, it would be difficult to save his life. Although our knight order will defend him with utmost strength, war is an unpredictable place, and we can’t foresee what might happen.”

“Ugh.”

Is this what you’d call a deadlock? How about using some strength this time? After all, you’ve defeated the Demon King and saved humanity. Are you going to lose? If things go on like this, it looks like I’ll have to train while being dragged around.

I probably don’t need to look in a mirror to know that my face is twisted like a demon’s.

Erna’s words were meant to prevent irritation in advance.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t see any way out. But I wasn’t going to let myself be dragged around.

What if I show overwhelming strength?

Even though I don’t have a terminal, my physical enhancements are complete. It’s not a life-and-death duel, so the vice-captain probably wouldn’t use the holy device unnecessarily.

“It’s bothersome, but if you want to fight, I can move for about a minute.”

“Are you saying you’ll defeat me in one minute?”

“Why wouldn’t I? I could beat a vice-captain with just a finger.”

“That’s an insult to me! You don’t even know how to hold a sword!”

“I told you, I’ve been training every night. Have you been living your life just being deceived?”

“Damn it! I’ll show you my skills! I’m a knight, too! I’ve got no reason to lose to a lord who just eats and plays all day!”

“Is that so? Then, would you like to show me that meager skill? No, it’s better to do it publicly, in front of all the soldiers. That way, your pitiful skills will be exposed for everyone to see. How about you and the vice-captain take turns challenging me? I’ll crush you both with sheer force so that you’ll never bother me again.”

“Haah.”

“Has the young lord gone crazy?”

There was a commotion around us.

My father laughed heartily, seeing my bold demeanor.

“Hahaha! That’s the spirit of a man! Even if you’re going to lose, you go at it headfirst! That’s the way of our family’s men, isn’t it?”

Whoosh—

Why is the wind blowing so annoyingly now?

My hair was flying around wildly, like a crazy woman’s, and the walls were packed with spectators.

This wasn’t supposed to be a secret duel, so people from the territory and even the villagers had gathered, forming a crowd of thousands.

The attention was far more intense than I had expected.

“Is this a good idea?”

Isn’t it better than being dragged around?

“The vice-captain should end in one blow, and I should play with the captain for a bit?”

Tsk tsk. How can someone who has reached the demi-god level be so frivolous? Does the knight commander even have a Taekwondo black belt? Don’t let your guard down.

As Erna’s scolding was about to start, I kept my mouth shut. If I contradicted her, the conversation would surely drag on longer.

The vice-captain was lightly swinging his sword.

“Hey, Hermin. Let’s finish this quickly. I’m already annoyed just standing here.”

I flicked my fingers.

My stance must have looked very sloppy.

I was supporting my body with a training wooden sword in my right hand, and I wasn’t even in a proper stance, leaning on one leg.

In this state, it was no wonder he’d get irritated by me flicking my fingers.

“Don’t regret this!”

Swish!

He didn’t use the holy device, but the vice-captain was still a terminal owner. His holy device would have spread throughout his body, so I couldn’t afford to be careless.

But I could still see the vice-captain’s movements and the trajectory of his sword.

It seemed like he was trying to strike my head with the wooden sword in a single, decisive blow, but such tricks wouldn’t work on me.

I was someone who had fought against the notorious demons of the demon realm for 30 years. I was not only skilled in swordsmanship, but I had also mastered magic theoretically. Through physical enhancement, I had reached my optimal state, so a sword like that appeared laughable to me.

I easily dodged and slipped behind the vice-captain, extending my leg.

Wham!

“Ugh!”

“…!”

“Haah!”

“Such nonsense!”

[Your laziness stat has decreased by 1%.]

“Hey, what kind of idiot is acting up?”

The stumbling Vice-Captain Hermin.

I was more concerned about the decrease in my laziness stat.

Around me, people stood with their mouths agape, unable to close them, while the stumbling vice-captain knelt on one knee. I quickly ran over and kicked him in the chin with my foot.

Thwack!

Thud!

“Wow!”

Cheers erupted from the soldiers.

No one had expected the vice-captain to be taken down like this.

Even my father, who had instigated this duel, seemed to be in a daze.

Perhaps he had momentarily missed my movements. I had used explosive power and the techniques I had honed through 30 years of real combat.

Now, it was the captain’s turn.

“Lord Malik, I’ll make you the same offer, so hurry up. I’m too tired to stand any longer. Let’s finish this quickly.”

I flicked my fingers at Malik, and the crowd’s anticipation grew.

Just a few days ago, I had a scrawny body, but suddenly,y I had become solidly built.

I overheard people calling it a miracle from the goddess.

Malik’s eyes were cold and steady.

Be careful. According to this world, he’s a warrior who has reached the Great level.

“Great level, huh? Does that mean he’s about at the highest level of sword expertise?”

Well, according to what hunters on Earth said, that’s about right.

“It’s not his effort; he’s a fake knight who uses a terminal granted by a god. There’s no way he can beat me.”

A captain’s skill would be enough to gain independence and a title. However, he had sworn lifelong loyalty to my father and family, sacrificing his title in the process.

Wherever he went, people would call him strong, but there was no way the skill of someone who had reached the level of enlightenment in swordsmanship could be on par with that of a knight who received a terminal through faith.

Whoosh!

Malik’s stance was different from the start.

He closed the distance in an instant and used his developed swordsmanship.

The trajectory of the sword curved like a snake. Of course, such simple feints wouldn’t work on me, and the back-and-forth battle continued for quite a while.

[Your laziness stat has decreased by 1%.]
[Your laziness stat has decreased by 1%.]
“This is a bit tricky.”

I had fully grasped Malik’s movements and could see how he wielded his sword. However, the sword itself was still unfamiliar to my body.

Although my physical condition had improved, it wasn’t the same body I had used in the past, so there was a slight sense of dissonance.

Had it been my old self, I would have ended it with a single blow, but unfortunately, I couldn’t do that. I barely dodged his sword and occasionally landed some attacks.

Each time, Malik was startled and quickly retreated.

Still, as I continued to swing my sword, I gradually grew more accustomed to it.

I moved faster, accepting the reduction in my laziness stat. Brilliant swordplay unfolded with my blade.

It was a style of swordsmanship that didn’t exist in this world, something Earth would call the “culmination of modern swordsmanship.”

Modern swordsmanship, born from combining various techniques of ancient martial arts, had been developed to combat demons.

In truth, fighting humans was easy compared to demons.

Whoosh!

As I became more accustomed to the sword, the wooden sword struck Malik in the abdomen.

“Ugh!”

Malik was sent flying across the field.

Thud!

“……”

The people around me looked utterly stunned.

My father, my brother, and the knights in the order all had expressions of disbelief. Everyone looked like they couldn’t believe what they had just witnessed, especially Malik, who appeared to be in shock.

Whoooosh!

“It’s a holy device!”

Malik’s eyes flickered for a moment.

Was the nickname “Mad Dog Malik” given for nothing? His temper must have played a role in his refusal to accept the title.

Having been defeated by someone he used to look down on, it was clear he was furious.

Normally, my father would step in to stop this, but he didn’t. It seemed he wanted to test where my limits were.

I had heard the rumors, but seeing this scene in person was truly unbelievable.

“Hey, snap out of it! Hah! Have you seen a crazy guy like that?”

“Waaahhh!”

Malik charged at me with incredible speed.

Of course, he wasn’t going to kill me, but it was highly likely that Malik would beat me up like a rabid dog. I had seen him do such things before.

I felt a sense of danger to my life.

As the powerful holy device approached, I suddenly felt a sharp sensation in my chest, followed by an alarm from the system.

[You have achieved a great feat, and the divine terminal is forming!]

“A divine terminal?”

At this critical moment, Erna explained.

It’s Lord Valen’s terminal! It’s proof that you’ve been recognized for the possibility of becoming a god and that you can now carve your path through your efforts.

So, it meant that a terminal for godhood was forming in my chest. Normally, one would receive the blessing of a goddess to become a knight, but in my case, it meant I was becoming my medium.

“That’s pretty good!”

Kwoooom!

A white light began to gather on my sword.

It was an immense wave of power, and though brief, it seemed to be about 10% of the strength I had once possessed.

However, the difference this time was the “level” of the terminal.

It wasn’t something borrowed from a god, but rather, I was becoming the medium myself, and that made an enormous difference.

Malik’s sword shattered into pieces. I quickly held back my power, realizing I could have killed him.

But still, part of the force struck Malik’s entire body.

Thud, thud, thud!

The armor shattered, and even the underwear worn underneath disappeared. Though Lord Malik’s lower half was left dangling, which could have been comical, the people around me were too shocked to even speak.

Thud.

Lord Malik, now drenched in blood, collapsed.

At the same time, the system’s dry voice echoed.

[Due to the use of a powerful tier, your laziness stat has decreased by 50%.]

“What?”

[The use of a powerful tier has caused an overload in your body.]

I could feel the strength draining from my entire body.

Valen! Stay conscious!

Erna’s voice was warm in my ears.

The physical modification she had performed on me three days ago had been done so that I could use divine power, not directly, but to a level where I could use a terminal granted by a goddess.

Now that a relatively powerful base of strength had manifested, it was no surprise that my body couldn’t handle it.

Had I not restrained my strength at the last moment, my body would have been torn apart. In other words, my body was too weak to withstand such powerful force.

Even if Erna had known the situation, there was no way she could have done a physical modification that could withstand the divine terminal with that kind of power.

In the end, it meant I would need to gather my laziness stat to the max to become stronger. But could I spend such leisurely days on the battlefield?

To put the current situation simply, it could be described as a mess.

“Ah, shit. Why is this happening to me?”

Thud.

And then, my consciousness faded.