The Bowel Hunter, Elsa Granhiert, was a woman with black hair and attire. She was an assassin, lurking in the shadows, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Her greatest pleasure was to disembowel her targets, which was one of her few quirks.
Natsuki Subaru, at first glance, gave off the impression of a noble young lord who had never left home, but this young lord was quite skilled.
Appearing defenseless all over, every time she attacked him, the seemingly useless small shield in his hand always managed to precisely block her strikes.
Especially as the battle progressed, the 'aura' emanating from him made her increasingly cautious.
The room harbored two particularly troublesome targets: a mage named Emilia and a shield-bearing swordsman who appeared out of nowhere. Fortunately, they weren't working together, or else...
"Hey, young man over there~ Let's team up. She's Emilia, a very cute kid~" Puck leaned in next to Emilia. With his 'mind-reading' ability, he could tell that Natsuki Subaru wasn't a bad person.
At least he wasn't someone with ill intentions towards Emilia.
"Alright! I happen to want to settle a score with her."
Emilia muttered softly, "Settle a score?"
It was strange. Natsuki Subaru spoke of settling a score, yet Emilia didn't see any hatred in his eyes; instead, there was a sense of calmness and excitement.
Elsa furrowed her brow slightly. In her memory, she had never interacted with this person before, and among the people she had killed, there was no one who resembled him or possessed similar combat skills.
But just as she was lost in thought for a moment, Natsuki Subaru made his move.
Still, A fatal flaw appeared.
While Natsuki Subaru had indeed mastered combat skills almost reaching the pinnacle of humanity after continuously battling Soldier of Godrick, his body's speed, strength, and endurance were simply incomparable to this level of skill.
His body was human, not data. Humans get tired, bodies have limits, injuries hurt...
During the charge, his momentary distraction was seized upon by Elsa.
The blade aimed precisely at Natsuki Subaru's abdomen, but as the blade cut through his abdomen, Natsuki Subaru managed to roll away in the nick of time, avoiding the blow.
It was the so called invincible frame, or I-frames during the roll in the game, but at this moment, it didn't work out like in the game. The game's invincible frame could only be triggered at the perfect moment of a perfect roll.
But this trick could now be used for the whole duration of the roll, from start to finish.
Elsa's speed was indeed fast, but in Natsuki Subaru's perception, this woman didn't exude the same sense of oppression as the Soldier of Godrick did. While the Godrick Soldiers weren't particularly fast, their technique and strength instilled fear in him.
He even had a feeling that The Soldiers of Godrick's strength wasn't solely for dealing with humans but for confronting creatures even more terrifying than humans. Perhaps these soldiers themselves couldn't be considered human anymore.
Natsuki Subaru's 'invincible' roll stunned everyone present. With the blade already piercing him, the fact that he could roll and escape with only a slight tear in his clothes was baffling.
What kind of Divine Blessing was this?
"What? How is this possible?"
Both Elsa and Puck exclaimed in shock, but as Puck exclaimed, magic simultaneously rained down around Elsa.
"There's nothing impossible..." Natsuki Subaru raised his stance once again, facing the Bowel Hunter.
Simultaneously, Natsuki Subaru, having completed his roll, coordinated with Puck's magic.
On the other side, Rom, who had been taken care of after being knocked aside earlier, pulled out a sword from the corner. This short sword gleamed, indicating its extraordinary nature.
This was his prized possession, the best weapon he had acquired in his many years.
"Kid!"
Seizing the opportunity, he threw it to Natsuki Subaru.
This weapon was called 'Rom's Collection: Short Sword', requiring a strength of 13 and agility of 13 to use.
The Ash of War was a universal Ash of War called 'Giant's Wrath', which could greatly increase the user's strength and agility by 3 each during use. The amplification value was equal to the weapon's requirement value, and it also reduced intelligence by 1 point.
If it were any other class, Natsuki Subaru wouldn't be able to use this weapon, but coincidentally, he started as a Vagabond. Under this starting setup, he had 14 strength and 13 agility, perfectly capable of wielding this weapon.
"What?"
Seeing Natsuki Subaru with the weapon, Elsa's heart raced violently. Her intuition told her that this weapon held extraordinary power the moment he held it.
Natsuki Subaru didn't have time to think. During his battle with the Soldier of Godrick, he had already mastered the technique of changing equipment and using different Ashes of War. He first placed the shield behind him, then slowly raised the weapon and shouted.
"Giant's Wrath!"
His body was visibly covered in a red aura, and Natsuki Subaru also felt his 'intelligence' decrease. This wasn't just a numerical decrease; it also affected his essence.
But as a 'Tarnished', even with an intelligence of 0, he could become the Elden Lord and wield Ranni's Moonlight Greatsword. What's more for Natsuki Subaru?
Some might not understand the concept of 3 strength and 3 agility. Simply put, this sword, when activated with the Ash of War, directly increased the attributes by 6 levels, totaling to 15 levels including the base 9 levels. At 15 levels, one could easily defeat a real harbinger teacher.
As for the intelligence decrease debuff? Oonga Boonga warriors don't need intelligence.
It was impossible for Natsuki Subaru to defeat Margit sensei with his skill alone.
In the game, the Grace Given was an extremely experienced demigod, even if it was just a clone, Natsuki Subaru couldn't defeat him in his current state.
However, facing a Bowel Hunter was enough.
With a clever move, Elsa prepared to flee. But at this moment, a man arrived at the doorway.
The Sword Saint, Reinhard Van Asteria. The biggest big shot of the big shots, possessing dozens of blessings, and continuously increasing blessings as needed.
"Long time no see~ You are indeed extraordinary."
Reinhardt showed an excited smile. Previously, he had been attracted by the sounds of Natsuki Subaru and the hoodlums fighting in the alley. To avoid trouble, Natsuki Subaru spoke first, "We were just fooling around."
Then they left, and the hoodlums didn't want to be caught, so they quickly agreed and scattered. But Reinhard felt a special aura emanating from Natsuki Subaru.
Because what attracted him wasn't just the fight with the hoodlums but the aura of a battle-hardened warrior when Natsuki Subaru drew his weapon.
He followed afterwards and witnessed the battle between Natsuki Subaru and the Bowel Hunter.
It was just getting exciting; how could he let the Bowel Hunter escape?
The situation was very interesting now. Reinhardt blocked the only exit, and Natsuki Subaru, coincidentally wielding his weapon, stood in front of Emilia. When heroes meet at a narrow path, the brave wins.
Elsa knew she couldn't run away anymore.
Elsa, who had experienced countless life and death scenarios, knew what the Sword Saint in front of her intended to do. He was nurturing talent, and she was the stepping stone.
"Hahaha, I never expected this day to come."
Elsa laughed heartily. She didn't expect to become a pawn. But it was obvious that she couldn't easily leave today. Either she followed the Sword Saint's will and became Natsuki Subaru's 'stepping stone' or she would be slain by Reinhard Van Asteria.
She had a special life-saving technique, but facing a Sword Saint, her life-saving technique seemed utterly powerless.
So she had no choice but to choose Natsuki Subaru.