Life of an Adventurer in a Harsh World – Part 07

Upon entering the library, Hikaru stood as close to the wall as possible. He checked the lobby using Life Detection. One of the adventurers who had been glaring at him was just outside the door.

“What the hell is he doing in the library?”

“Beats me. I can’t wait for him to come out, so we can socialize with him.”

“If by socialize, you mean beating him to a pulp, then yes. It’s his fault for getting all chummy with my girls.”

“Huh? Freya is mine.”

“What?”

They’d been glaring at Hikaru because the receptionists were treating him well, and that pissed them off.

So childish. And a bunch of idiots. They actually think they can pick on me that easily, huh? If that’s what you want, I got a few tricks up my sleeve.

Hikaru used Life Detection to gauge the distance. They were just barely within the five-meter radius.

He booted up a Soul Board.

【Soul Board】Zelnenko Rigalow
Age: 22 | Rank: 11 | 18

【Vitality】
【Natural Recovery】1
【Stamina】2
【Immunity】
【Magic Resistance】0
【Disease Immunity】1
【Toxin Immunity】0
【Perception】

Oh! He has his Immunity unlocked! I see. So it’s immunity to magic spells, disease, and poison.

He wanted to check the details, but he couldn’t bring up the descriptions. Perhaps because it wasn’t his own Soul Board.

Whatever. They’re pretty self-explanatory. The only additional info I’d get is the maximum points that could be allocated. All right, let’s check out the other Boards.

There was nothing noteworthy under Magical Power and Agility. Instinct and the hexagon board weren’t unlocked either.

【Strength】
【Muscle Strength】3
【Weapon Mastery】
【Sword】1
【Greatsword】0
【Short Sword】0
【Short Spear】0
【Long Spear】0
【Bow】0
【Projectile】0
【Shield】1
【Armor】1

So there are nine different weapons under Weapon Mastery… But what about axes or clubs? What’s the basis for having these weapons on the Soul Board? I don’t have enough info right now.

Next was the pentagon. One that Hikaru had not unlocked yet.

【Dexterity】
【Dexterity】1
【Tool Mastery】

So the name of the Board is Dexterity. Tool Mastery has to be unlocked first. It’s not combat-related. Going by RPGs, I guess it has something to do with manufacturing? Though it sounds like Dexterity affects weapon handling as well.

The man had used up two points under Agility.

So that’s a total of 15 points used, and he has 18 points left. So that confirms it. Age plus rank equals total points available.

Roland didn’t have knowledge about Soul Boards. Which means it’s not something a normal human being can access. So that begs the question: how did this Zelnenko guy allocate his points? No, that’s not it. Freya would’ve told me something. And Gloria only asked me about my Blessing. The owner themselves allocates the points without them noticing? Or…

It was the other way around.

By achieving a certain level of proficiency, points get automatically allocated. That sounds more likely. Like a bonus for those who train hard. Man, this ability is broken. Allocating points freely means I gain Skills without doing any training.

Hikaru took a small breath. Everything made sense so far.

Soul Boards existed, but no one was aware of them. Hikaru could access them, and there was probably only a select few who could do the same. Or maybe none at all.

Age plus soul rank equaled total points available. Points could not be allocated intentionally, only automatically, at some point.

All good so far. So, what did you want to do to me again, Zelnenko? If you want to pick a fight, I’ll gladly oblige.

Hikaru could allocate others’ Soul Board points freely. Now normally, that would be favorable for the owner. So far, he had not found any stat that was unfavorable.

But what if he used the points to just unlock stats? It wouldn’t result into anything. Hikaru also wanted to know what other stats and Skills were there on the Soul Board.

“Unlock Soul Board? Consume 1 point.”

Zelnenko and friends. I hope you don’t mind if I use your remaining points to unlock stats. Thank you for your cooperation.

Smiling, Hikaru unlocked the hexagon Board.

【Willpower】
【Mental Strength】0
【Faith】
【Charisma】0
【Appeal】0

Oh, Willpower! With this, the list is complete. Zero for both Charisma and Appeal, huh… Why is that? No, wait. The Soul Board merely provides a little extra. I have zero points in Muscle Strength, but it’s not like I have no muscles. The points from the Soul Board are simply added bonus.

Hikaru proceeded to unlock everything.

【Vitality】
【Natural Recovery】0
【Stamina】0
【Immunity】
【Magic Resistance】0
【Disease Immunity】0
【Toxin Immunity】0
【Perception】
【Sight】0
【Hearing】0
【Smell】0
【Taste】0
【Touch】0

【Magical Power】
【Mana Capacity】0
【Elemental Affinity】
【Fire】0
【Air】0
【Earth】0
【Water】0
【Spell Creation】0

【Strength】
【Muscle Strength】0
【Weapon Mastery】
【Sword】0
【Greatsword】0
【Short Sword】0
【Short Spear】0
【Long Spear】0
【Bow】0
【Projectile】0
【Shield】0
【Armor】0

【Agility】
【Flexibility】0
【Balance】0
【Stealth】
【Life Cloaking】
【Mana Cloaking】
【Imperceptibility】

【Dexterity】
【Dexterity】0
【Tool Mastery】
【Axe】0
【Loom】0
【Medical Apparatus】0
【Musical Instrument】0

【Willpower】
【Mental Strength】0
【Faith】
【Holy】0
【Evil】0
【Charisma】0
【Appeal】0

【Instinct】
【Instinct】0
【Insight】
【Invention】0
【Fine Arts】0
【Music】0
【Intelligence】
【Computation】0
【Language Comprehension】0
【Language Output】0
【Memory】0
【Detection】
【Life Detection】0
【Mana Detection】0

Hikaru found out that Zelnenko’s two other friends had basically the same number of points allocated to their respective Soul Boards. The highest they had was only one point. Since ordinary adventurers only had this level of Skills, maxing out a stat was probably not something normal.

I now know all the primary stats. Next would be to check how many of those derivative Skills (e.g. Assassination and Sharpshooter) there are. Unfortunately, I can’t study them.

In order to check, he had to allocate points to the stats of the men who despised him.

I don’t really need the information right now. If I bump into someone skilled, I’ll just check their Soul Board.

Hikaru nodded to himself. He then reviewed the information he needed in the library. He came here to gather information on the Red-Horned Rabbit in the first place.

“He’s still in there.”

“I’m getting sleepy.”

The men were still waiting for Hikaru outside.


After leaving the Adventurers Guild, Hikaru bought a sandwich worth 30 gilans from a food stall. He filled his flask with water, and he was good to go.

Several gazes followed him behind.

“There he goes.”

“He took a commission, so he must be headed out of town.”

“Better if we get to him outside, then.”

“Good idea. We don’t want the guards on our ass.”

They were fans of Freya and Gloria. What should have been three people—Zelnenko and his friends—had now grown to six.

They were following Hikaru from a distance. They were so bad at tailing that an ordinary person would’ve noticed them right away. Hikaru noticed them of course, but chose to ignore them.

“Hmm? Out for a commission again today?” said the gatekeeper. It was the same man from when he went out to gather glimmering poisonous herbs.

“Yeah.”

“Be careful out there. Remember: there’s no such thing as being too cautious. You’re an adventurer, not a soldier like me. Being scared is not a bad thing.”

“Thank you.”

What a great guy, Hikaru thought as he exited the town. He looked around. Last time he was too hungry to do so.

Just outside the gate was a horsebus station. There were different races there, not just humans. Demi-humans. Elves. There were also travelers and merchants.

Past the station were several inns, and farmhouses, shabby wooden structures unlike the ones inside the town. But behind them were wide fields that the families had cultivated. Being unfortunate didn’t stop them from living strong.

As he went farther, the number of houses dwindled, until he was face-to-face with Mother Nature. The road before him seemed to stretch for miles and miles, all the way to the blue mountaintops looming in the distance. Grass on meadows rippled like silver waves in the breeze, revealing the paths of the wind that blew past. A creek flowed softly nearby. Birds soared high up in the sky, singing.

“And so it begins.”

Hikaru was getting a tad bit excited. And behind him were six adventurers.


“All right. Let’s surround the kid… Huh?”

They couldn’t believe their eyes. They thought Hikaru hid behind a tall bush, but upon checking, he was gone.

No one could sense Hikaru once he had his Stealth on and his Blessing set to Stealth God: Bearer of Darkness. There wasn’t anyone in Pond—no, the whole kingdom of Ponsonia who could.


Unbeknownst to Hikaru, there was someone worried about him. The gatekeeper. Right after the boy left, six adventurers also went out, as if in pursuit of him.

“Excuse me,” the gatekeeper called to a fellow guard stationed at the gate. “Can you come with me for a bit? There’s something I want to check. It’ll only take fifteen minutes.”

His hunch was right. Just up ahead, he spotted six adventurers making a racket.

“Hey, he’s not here!”

“Where’d that brat go?!”

“He couldn’t possibly disappear in such a short time. Why the hell didn’t you keep your eyes on him?!”

“I could say the same to you!”

Disturbing words. The gatekeeper approached them, warily.

“What’s with all the ruckus?” the man asked. “I heard what you guys said. Did you need anything from the kid that left town just now? Why didn’t you talk to him in town?”

“Wh-What?! Guards?!”

“I need you guys to come with me to the station.”

“Th-There’s no need for that. It’s really nothing. Right?!”

“Y-Yeah! Nothing wrong here.”

“Come with me to the station. That’s an order,” the gatekeeper said firmly.

The adventurers shrank back and were taken away.


“What?! You wanted to teach him a lesson because the receptionists liked him?! For goodness’ sake, you’re grown men! This is exactly why women don’t give you the time of day!”

A short time later, they received a good talking-to, surrounded by muscular soldiers, who also informed the Adventurers Guild of the incident.

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!”

Freya now had one more reason to be worried.

Become a VIP
Question icon
Become a VIP and enjoy the benefits of being able to read chapters in advance of the current release schedule.

  • Read +1 extra chapters (inc. Ad-FREE experience)
    $5 / month
  • Read +2 extra chapters (inc. Ad-FREE experience)
    $10 / month
  • Read +4 extra chapters (inc. Ad-FREE experience)
    $20 / month

RELEASE RATE

Rule Breaker (Light Novel)

Speed up schedule by 10 hours

5150 / 55000

Current schedule: Every 70 hours

SPEED UP SCHEDULE
Question icon
Use Krystals to speed up the schedule of this novel. When the bar is completely filled, the schedule will be updated manually by an admin and the chapters will release at a rate 10 hours faster. E.g. 70 Publish Hours will be reduced to 60 Published Hours. Any excess Krystals donated will be credited to the next speed-up schedule if available or refunded to your account

Novel Schedule

Rule Breaker (Light Novel)

Schedule will be reduced when the goal is reached

Balance: 0

Comment (0)

Get More Krystals