Surviving without God

Ding—!

Gunther casually knocked aside the sword flying at him and took a step back. Enemies were lunging at him savagely from all sides, yet he could not tear his eyes away from the floating status window.

[The amount of Karma offered is negligibly small]

He had poured in all the Karma he had, and it was still “negligibly small”? It was confusing. However, fortunately, the god did not take away the power already granted. Instead, only a minor penalty was applied.

[Stigma is only partially activated]

Guuuuul—!

Immediately after that, the Stigma on his wrist heated up searingly.

[Stigma Activation: He Who Raises His Head]

— When a powerful enemy is present on the battlefield, all stats increase by 10%.

The mark flared even brighter, and in that same instant a torrent of energy—mingling nobility and grandeur—swirled around his body and spread outward in all directions. Gunther felt vitality surge and boil within him. The Stigma had reacted, recognizing the presence of a paladin somewhere on the battlefield. But it did not end there.

[Power flows from the activated Stigma]

[You are learning a new skill]

...Good god. Gunther, for the first time—both in this world and in his previous one—let out such an exclamation. He had never imagined that after the Stigma he would receive a skill as well.

[You are learning a new skill]

— Knight’s Swordsmanship Lv.1

*Tip: Learned skills are retained even after “Return After Death”.

The skill was not merely a technique. In this world, it meant receiving a fragment of divine authority. At the moment of acquisition, one could skip years of training and tempering and immediately display perfected power.

The “Knight’s Swordsmanship” Gunther obtained was exactly that. In that very instant, it allowed him to wield a sword as if he were a knight with ten years of experience. For one “deprived of a god”, this was a level that would have taken an entire lifetime to reach, writhing in agony every step of the way. And now? He had simply offered Karma, and power had placed itself into his hands.

“What in the world is this... this Karma?”

[Alphonse of Red Street shrugs, saying that you will be even more surprised later, when you obtain his skills]

[The Drug-Addicted Saint, seeing your joy, raises a vial as if making a toast]

Moreover, a contract with a god had always been a double-edged sword. You could gain power quickly, but in return you inevitably had to fulfill the conditions imposed by the deity. But Gunther was different. Without a single line of contract, serving no god at all. He could reap benefits without being bound by either conditions or price.

“Unbelievable...”

Gunther realized it. His own potential—one that not only did not fall behind any main character of this world, but surpassed them.

Waaaah—!

Perhaps he had been lost in thought for too long? Warriors of the Holy Army were already closing in. Gunther tightened his grip on the sword. A man wielding an enormous hammer stood before him.

— What’s with this scrawny bastard?

Meeting the burning eyes behind the visor slit, Gunther narrowed his brows. He definitely recognized that gaze.

“That’s the guy who shattered my shoulder.”

In his previous life, Gunther had suffered a critical injury from the hammer of a Luthien soldier. Back then, in the chaos, he had not noticed, but now he could see it clearly: judging by the pressure and the equipment, this fighter was not ordinary “cannon fodder”.

“Looks like a squad leader.”

By habit, Gunther tensed and took a stance. If it were a regular soldier, that would be one thing, but a squad leader was a master, and victory against him could not be guaranteed. The fact that he commanded ten subordinates meant his skills were sufficient to force them into obedience. Especially if he was a soldier trained in a regular army—he could deal with a mercenary as if it were a joke.

Whish—

Indeed, the head of the hammer the enemy raised was already stained with blood. Gunther watched the hammer fall with a terrifying whistle.

— O-oh, Gunther!

The attack was so ferocious that nearby comrades gasped involuntarily.

“!”

...However, there was nothing to worry about.

[Skill “Knight’s Swordsmanship” Lv.1 is activated]

His body moved “like a knight”, as if memories that had once been lost had suddenly been stitched into him.

Tap—!

Gunther lightly pushed off with the ball of his foot and shifted half a step to the right. At the same time, he tilted the sword almost vertically, placing it beneath the descending hammer.

Whoosh—!

Horrified breaths sounded all around. He was trying to take a hammer blow with that thin sword? It would surely snap or be knocked aside. Everyone already imagined Gunther’s head exploding into pieces.

Scree-ee-ech—!

But at that moment. Gunther’s sword, like a gliding snake, traced along the trajectory of the hammer.

— What?!

Sparks flew. The trajectory of the strike shifted ever so slightly.

Bam—!

Instead of crushing Gunther, the hammer slammed into the ground, throwing its owner off balance.

— W-what the hell?!

Before the squad leader, frozen in confusion, Gunther blinked as well.

“Wow...”

A highly advanced technique—one he would never have dared attempt before—had been executed so naturally and flawlessly. Power, angle, shift of the center of gravity. Everything came together in a smooth harmony.

“So this is the power of a skill.”

This was a completely different level compared to when he relied solely on his physical body and basic techniques. Without exaggeration, Gunther felt that he had become several times stronger.

[The King of Ninety-Nine Defeats says that it is still too early to be surprised]

“...Right, after all this is only the first level of the skill.”

At the moment the corner of Gunther’s mouth twitched into a grin, the squad leader yanked the hammer out of the ground and swung upward from below.

Whish—!

As if trying to conceal his confusion, he attacked even more fiercely. But Gunther had already moved into his blind spot.

— Damn it...!

The squad leader tried to turn, too late. Gunther’s sword shot forward. An utterly concise thrust.

Squelch—

The blade perfectly pierced the squad leader’s carotid artery. It was a textbook counterattack, with even the opponent’s desperate reflexes calculated in advance. The body, from which life had fled, collapsed heavily to the ground. Less than ten seconds had passed since the start of the clash.

— ...Huh.

— No way, how is that...

The mercenaries around him stared with unbelieving faces. The shock was especially strong for his partner, Ryan.

— ...Are you a knight or something?

Defense, counterattack, even anticipation of the enemy’s movements—everything had been meticulously calculated and executed. This was not the crude swordplay of a mercenary relying on instinct and improvisation. Such a blade could only be shown by those who, instead of a pacifier, had held a wooden sword in their hands since childhood.

“......”

Meanwhile, Gunther’s heart was pounding wildly. Excitement, like flame, spread through his body. He looked at the sword clenched in his hand.

“Yeah...”

[Level Up! / Lv.26]

[Skill proficiency of “Knight’s Swordsmanship” increases]

“...This is .”

A game where you seize divine authority with your own hands and write your own legend. The essence of this world, which he had forgotten for three years, came vividly back to life.

[The Drug-Addicted Saint breaks into a broad smile]

[Alphonse of Red Street hums cheerfully under his breath]

[The King of Ninety-Nine Defeats laughs, witnessing the beginning of a new # Nоvеlight # epic]

...Karma is a currency calculated after death. Gunther finally began to understand what kind of battle lay ahead of him. His eyes shone brightly.

“I just need to overcome the pain and fear.”

Of course, obtaining a skill and a Stigma did not mean he would immediately become invincible. His stats were lacking, the skill level was low. He would have to die a few more times. Between him, who had been “deprived of a god” all his life, and the contractors who had long been accumulating power by serving gods, there was a chasm that could not be filled in an instant.

That those deaths would be frightening and unpleasant was a fact. But as someone who had already gone through it, he could boldly claim: it was bearable. Compared to his sister, left alone on Earth, this was nothing. Gunther flicked the blood from his blade and took a deep breath.

Tap. One step, then another. Spears and swords of the Holy Army could no longer stop him. Gunther’s gaze was fixed on a single target.

The paladin who was cutting down the caravan guards with an expressionless face. Gunther raised his sword high.

.

.

.

[You have died]

[Counting death records]

[2/99]

[NEW! Summary of growth for this life]

— Level increased by “2”.

— Mastery of “Knight’s Swordsmanship” increased slightly.

***

The certainty that the future will gradually become better keeps a person from burning out. Maybe that was why?

[#2 Life of an Arrogant Man]

[Did you really think you had become stronger just by obtaining a skill? Your reckless charge...]

“Yeah, yeah.”

[......]

Even looking at the status window, which was doing its utmost to sneer, he felt no irritation. While waiting for the return, he calmly analyzed his past life. As expected, it was not the paladin who killed him. He simply did not make it to him—he was blocked by a combined attack from ordinary soldiers. No matter what “Knight’s Swordsmanship” he possessed, it was impossible to fend off all the spears and blades flying in from every direction at once. If he had had time, he would have cut them down one by one, but in a situation where he had to break through the encirclement before the head of the merchant guild was killed, there was no such luxury.

However, the feeling was not as hollow or desperate as after the first death. On the contrary, he was looking forward to the return. After all, many things were already different from the previous iteration.

[Level 27]

[Free stat points: 2]

*New learned skill: [Knight’s Swordsmanship]

— Rank: Rare

— Type: Basic Swordsmanship / Passive

— Level: 1

— Mastery: 19.7%

Carefully refined knightly swordsmanship, perfected through harsh training and real combat. Possesses the characteristic where attack and defense merge into a single whole.

“And I can start while keeping all of this...”

At the thought that he would do better this time, fear of the next challenge vanished without a trace.

“All right, then.”

He looked expectantly at the status window that should appear next. The Karma calculation window. How much of this precious currency, which allowed him to obtain even more divine power, had he earned?

Tiling—!

[Karma for 2nd life: 15]

[Current Karma: 15]

[Accumulated Karma: 115]

...The numbers were rather ambiguous.

“Well, I didn’t expect everything to work out on the first try.”

This was only the beginning. Since levels and skills were inherited, in the future he would be able to shine far more brightly on the battlefield. Then he would naturally earn more Karma, and with it become even stronger. A simple and clear structure of a “positive loop”.

“In the next life, I’ll definitely earn more than fifteen.”

The Karma status window said this:

[Currency that is calculated and accumulated for any deeds, whether good or evil]

What other deeds could be done on the battlefield?

“...I need to squeeze out the maximum.”

By the time he had sketched out a rough plan for how to maximize Karma—

[Return to save point #1]

All procedures of “Return After Death” were completed.

[10, 9, 8... ]

Shhhhhh—

The black space began to fill with white radiance from the edges. A soothing light. He steadied his breathing and turned toward it.

— Well then, let’s go.

The third life began.