Chapter 354 - The Invincible Bartender
Nero couldn't believe what he was seeing. The always bored-looking bartender who charged them unbelievable prices for food and drink, that bartender that had no inkling of mana within him was able to kick away a shadow wolf created by a primordial demon. Based on Nero's understanding a shadow wolf was the equivalent of a low-tier A-rank adventurer. Despite being monsters they act similar to normal wolves they attack in a pack of ten. With that many shadow wolves, they should pose a problem for even a high-tier A-rank adventurer.
So it was truly a shock for Nero to see Haruto easily kicking one of the shadow wolves away. That attack which relied solely on physical power without any trace of mana or technique was something Nero had a hard time comprehending.
While Nero was looking dumbfounded by the whole situation, Haruto finally noticed him. Seeing as the shadow wolves were circling around Haruto warily, he figured he had time to talk with the confused Nero.
"Hey, you're the guy who often comes with the noisy one, right?" When Nero heard Haruto's voice he snapped out of his trance and nodded his head. "So where's the noisy guy at?" The moment Haruto asked this question, for a brief second Nero's face twitched. Seeing Nero's reaction and looking at the current situation Haruto could guess a bit of what happened.
"I see...Fine after I deal with this, let's drink for a bit. Oh right, just for today, the drinks are on the house." After saying those words Haruto looked at the shadow wolves with a glare. If it was back in his old world, Haruto would never imagine having such courage. Seeing as this wasn't the first time he had fought, he had some confidence in his self.
...
A few weeks after he arrived in this fantasy world, a rather famous adventurer caused some trouble in the Lonely Cat. The adventurer got drunk and acted like a pervert making the other customers feel troubled. The system then gave Haruto a mission to quell the disturbance. At first, Haruto hesitated to do anything since he wasn't really a good fighter. In the twenty-five years of his life, he hasn't been a fight before nor has he ever thrown a punch at anyone.
As he hesitated the system reassured him that as long as he was within a kilometer from the tavern he would be granted superhuman strength and durability. It doesn't mean he was almighty but he would gain enough strength to fight back. The strength he could muster was reflected by the level he was at.
Haruto was a bit scared at first but as he gathered his resolve and spoke to the adventurer he found out that he was no longer afraid. As he expected the adventurer reacted violently and attacked. The adventurer's attack was so fast that to a normal person it seems like the adventurer was a blur, but for some reason, Haruto could follow it. Haruto was so surprised by how the adventurer looked like he was moving in slow motion that he just stood there in shock and wasn't able to dodge. Haruto was dumbfounded as the adventurer's attack hit him but for some reason, it didn't hurt at all. Haruto retaliated by kicking which resulted in the drunk adventurer being blown away.
That was Haruto's first and only fighting experience and it was extremely one-sided. After that day Haruto tested out his strength on some random objects and learned that he was now strong enough to crush iron and probably take a hit from a sword no problem. This boosted his confidence in being able to survive in this fantasy world.
...
Haruto looked at the shadow wolves and clenched his fists. The shadow wolves had encircled him and were about ready to attack. The shadow wolves pounced in unison with their claws out and their fangs bare.
Haruto evaded all the incoming attacks while countering with punches and kicks. Each of the shadow wolves were blown away but they didn't die. Seeing as his punches and kicks weren't able to deal with the problem, Haruto looked at Nero's daggers.
"Hey, can I borrow those for a minute?"
Nero knew what Haruto was asking for, usually, if someone was to ask him to lend his precious daggers he would've taken their heads. Yet this time he knew what needed to be done but was still hesitant. After a while, Nero reluctantly gave the twin daggers to Haruto.
After receiving the daggers Haruto took a stance he once saw in an anime when he was a kid. He didn't really know how to use any weapons but surely this was better than using his fists and legs. The shadow wolves were finally able to get back up and now they looked at Haruto more vigilant than before.
The alpha shadow wolf growled at Haruto, while the others once again surrounded him. This time the shadow wolves didn't attack in unison, instead, the alpha dashed forward by itself. The speed in which it moved was faster than before, yet in Haruto's eyes, it wasn't that much.
Haruto awkwardly pierced forward using one of the daggers, which the alpha dodge with ease. Seeing that Haruto was in a bad position the other shadow wolves came charging forward. Unable to dodge in time Haruto had his legs and arms bitten by the shadow wolves.
Seeing as they were able to bite Haruto the shadow wolves thought they had caught their prey, but it was the other way around. The shadow wolves' teeth were unable to penetrate deep into Haruto's skin. To Haruto, it only felt like some mosquitos had bitten him. Now that they were not moving Haruto found it easier to slice them using the daggers.
One by one the shadow wolves were sliced apart by Haruto's horrendous slashes. Normally the way Haruto used the daggers wouldn't be able to cut anything at all, but because of his unbelievable strength and the quality of the daggers, he was able to simply use brute force his way through everything.
Even as they were being cut down one by one the shadow wolves didn't back down as they were ordered to kill Nero or die trying. After a short scuffle, the only shadow wolf left was the alpha. Showing that it was different from the other shadow wolves, it was able to survive three attacks from Haruto.
Still, now that it was alone it was not a threat to Nero much less Haruto. The alpha shadow wolf growled and barked before it attacked. Haruto simply threw one of the daggers at the head of the shadow wolf. The dagger flew right through the shadow wolf's head making it explode, it then continued onward until it stopped as it got stuck onto the floor.
Seeing as all the enemies were dead and the mission complete message popped out, Haruto took one cigarette and started smoking.
Nero who witnessed everything that transpired was still in a state of shock. The dead bodies of the shadow wolves were littered through the streets and their blood was all over the place. Yet despite all that, not a single bloodstain could be seen on Haruto.
The bartender was indeed strong, but his technique if you call it that, was horrible. It didn't look like he dodged the blood that splattered towards him, but despite all that his whole body was clean. Nero couldn't understand what he just saw and continued to look at the smoking bartender with a dumbfounded expression. After puffing for a bit Haruto looked at the dazed Nero and spoke.
"Now that this is finished let's head back to the lonely cat and have some drinks."