[Hero's Fortune (Gold-Red/Expired)]
[The noble hero recognized by all during the journey, bearing humanity's fortune to defeat the Demon King]
[Effect: During the journey to subjugate the Demon King, as long as one doesn't lose the nobility in their heart, there will be no constraints on strength improvement (Expired)]
[Heroic Bearing (Gold/Can Copy)]
[Through ten years of journey, the hero forged a body capable of contending with the Demon King]
[Effect: Upon activation, host's physical strength upper limit will be drastically raised, and when not yet reaching the limit, growth speed will be drastically accelerated]
[Noble and Kind Soul·Himmel (Purple/Cannot Copy)]
[The true Hero possesses a noble and kind soul; all who are close to him can feel that gentle justice]
[Effect: When you travel with Himmel, you will be influenced by his character's charm, becoming cheerful while having cultivation efficiency improved and never going astray (Traveling with Himmel, the journey is destined never to be boring)]
[Narcissistic (Green/Cannot Copy)]
[Exquisite beauty-loving boy!]
[Effect: Possessing this trait will make one very narcissistic, while also slightly improving appearance (Note: Host's appearance has reached nearly the readers' upper limit, with no room for improvement, therefore cannot be copied)]
"Tsk, so it's for this reason..."
"Hakiji System, you bastard."
[Hidden Injury (Gray/Cannot Copy)]
[Long battles with demons inevitably leave hidden injuries, slightly reducing lifespan]
[Dark Erosion (Gray/Cannot Copy)]
[Long-term exposure to the Dark Dragon Horn's influence, body becomes eroded, producing the adverse reaction of hair loss]
Gut drained the remaining wine in his cup, marveling at the luxury of the hero's talents.
Moreover, unlike Heiter's terrible situation of "can only look but not touch."
Among Himmel's top-tier traits, there really was one quite suitable for himself that could be copied - Heroic Bearing (Gold).
After copying, he could supplement his shortcomings in close combat.
After all, compared to his talent in magic, Gut's physical talent wasn't impressive.
Though far from weak, compared to ordinary warriors, his advantage was limited.
Although Body Strengthening Techniques existed, relying on gradual effort to slowly improve physical limits, given time through accumulation, could also achieve considerable results.
But it was far less convenient than such copying and point allocation.
You must know, this was Himmel's physical aptitude.
Even without the special boost provided by the Hero's Fortune trait, Himmel's own physical talent was extremely strong.
This could be seen from its gold grade.
Having made his decision, Gut no longer hesitated. His gaze continued to look directly at the hero as he silently used the precious item.
[Ding!]
[Copy initiated, talent trait copy opportunity -1]
[Heroic Bearing (Gold) trait copy progress: 0% 30% 50%]
Compared to copying from the Goddess's strand of consciousness, copying from Himmel was undoubtedly much faster.
In just a few seconds, the progress bar jumped to 50%.
However, this obvious sense of being watched and the strange feeling rising from his heart was truly strong enough that even Himmel couldn't ignore it.
Looking at this junior with puzzled eyes, Himmel directly asked Gut why he kept staring at him.
Fortunately, before beginning the copying action, Gut had already thought of an excuse.
"Uncle Hero, I'm just somewhat curious."
"Did you hunt demons before returning to the city?"
"I don't know if it's my imagination, but I seem to faintly sense some demonic influence remaining on you."
"Hm?" Himmel was somewhat bewildered. After denying Gut's speculation, he lightly sniffed himself.
"There shouldn't be any strange smell on me, right?"
The elf beside them also put down her grape juice and activated her magical perception.
A moment later, Serie looked at her disciple with surprise, her amazed gaze containing a trace of admiration.
Only Heiter sitting beside the hero began to look thoughtful.
[Ding!]
[Talent trait: Heroic Bearing (Gold) successfully copied, awaiting activation]
The moment the system notification sounded, Gut immediately withdrew his gaze and shifted the problem to himself.
"Perhaps I perceived it wrong."
"Because I drank quite a bit, I made a misjudgment."
"No—" Heiter suddenly stood up, denying Gut's words. "Your perception wasn't wrong, or rather, it was frighteningly acute."
As he spoke, Heiter walked into the bedroom behind Himmel and brought out a properly sealed small box.
The box's exterior was engraved with multiple chapters from the Spell book. As magic slowly circulated, it firmly sealed away the ominousness inside.
"What is this?"
"This should be the source of that trace of aura you sensed."
As Heiter gently opened a small gap in the box, immediately, waves of ominous black smoke emerged from within.
The elf frowned slightly and quickly identified what this thing was.
"A Dark Dragon's horn?"
"Strange, what are you collecting such a thing for?"
"As a rare biological material, it's not like the materials warriors and priests would use."
With the two's permission, Serie reached into the box and took out this demonic organ that was still emitting black smoke, examining it up and down.
Actually, the Dark Dragon's horn wasn't particularly precious, as its effects could be completely replaced by other common materials.
It was only considered rather rare because its production was truly too scarce.
"About this, we're keeping it for one of our companions." Under this slowly dispersing ominous aura, Himmel actually smiled as he answered about its origin.
"Tsk—" Serie raised an eyebrow. "Your companion, Frieren?"
"That's truly terrible."
After confirming this really was Frieren's thing, Serie instantly lost interest.
She put it back in the original box, closed the lid, and returned it to Himmel.
Only when she saw Himmel seemed to want to carry it back to his bedroom did Serie voice her confusion.
"For such an ominous thing, wouldn't it be fine to just find some storage room to throw it in? Why put it in your own bedroom?"
"If I remember correctly, humans staying in such an environment for too long will lose their hair."
"Is that so."
Himmel touched his hair that had already grown back and sighed, saying so that's why he had been losing hair before.
Then he continued carrying the box toward the bedroom.
"Truly foolish."
Regarding Himmel's behavior, Serie had no tact whatsoever, giving her evaluation straightforwardly.
However, Himmel didn't become angry at all due to the elf's words. After putting the box away and returning to the dining table, his face still wore that gentle shallow smile.
"Lady Serie."
"Perhaps to you, this is just an ordinary item."
"But to me, this is an important item entrusted to me by an important companion. Someday, I must return it to my companion exactly as it was."
"So, I must keep it well."
After saying this, Himmel suddenly added a sentence that drew the elf's attention to Gut.
"I think your disciple probably understands such feelings as well."
"Is that so..." Serie unconsciously glanced at Gut beside her, murmuring softly, whether seeking confirmation or just whispering.
How could Gut, who seized every opportunity, miss this chance? He followed Himmel's words and said:
"Uncle Hero is exactly right."
"Teacher, would you like to try having me safeguard your things?"
"For example, clothes, socks, and such. I guarantee I'll keep them well!"
"No!"
This time the refusal was exceptionally firm from the elf.
With Serie's understanding of her disciple, if her things really got into Gut's hands, she didn't need to think to know they'd definitely be used for strange things.
Hearing Gut's decisive rejection, Himmel and Heiter also laughed without reservation. For a moment, the living room was filled with cheerful atmosphere.
The small gathering among them gradually came to an end in such a relaxed atmosphere.
In the end, everyone finished their plates cleanly, except for Heiter, who had piled up broccoli and carrots on his plate.
Gut couldn't help but smile when he noticed this, recalling that it was mentioned in the manga that Heiter, this priest, was actually quite picky about food.
After the gathering ended, Gut wanted to help clean up the dining table but was refused by the two.
Under the farewell of Himmel and the completely drunk Holy Capital Bishop Heiter who was swaying as he walked, the teacher-disciple pair walked outside the door.
Looking at the flushed faces of both Gut and Serie from drinking, Himmel couldn't help but worry, asking whether they needed him to call a carriage to take them back to the hotel.
Gut's consciousness was still relatively clear. Looking at his teacher beside him, the elf's expression was also extremely calm, not even showing signs of being talkative after drinking, so she probably hadn't drunk much either.
"No need, uncle. Teacher and I will walk back."
"Mm." The elf also cooperatively nodded, indicating she was fine.
"That's good." Seeing the teacher-disciple pair's condition was indeed fine, the hero felt relieved. After watching them walk away, he turned back into the residence to clean up the aftermath.
On the other side, on the streets of the Holy Capital.
"Teacher, this dinner with Uncle Hero and the others was quite pleasant. Before we leave, let's gather once more."
"Good." The elf nodded and briefly responded.
After discussing with his teacher, Gut called up the system interface, browsing the trait he had just copied from Himmel, calculating to activate it after returning to his room tonight to see how much boost this talent trait could provide.
However, when Gut focused his attention on the system interface, the elf beside him unknowingly began to sway in her steps.
Although she could still walk in a straight line, her swaying amplitude was involuntarily getting larger and larger.
Until the Holy Capital's gentle evening breeze began to blow.
"Thud—"
His right shoulder suddenly felt heavy, his body instinctively tensed and reflexively moved half a step to dodge.
But after realizing what was about to fall, Gut quickly reached out and caught the elf before she fell.
"Teacher? Teacher?"
"Are you alright?"
"Mm." The elf lightly hummed in affirmation again, but this time the elf finally said a few more words.
"Gut, you don't need to support me."
"Just help me straighten the road, I can walk by myself."
Gut: ...
Damn, Heiter's homemade grape juice had no alcohol content, but the Holy Capital's breeze was thirty to forty proof.
After slightly releasing Serie and wanting to observe more, Gut saw the elf begin swaying in place, about to be shoulder-thrown by the Holy Capital's breeze.
Seeing this, Gut could no longer just watch. He simply supported her waist with one hand and her legs with another, carrying the elf in a princess carry.
Fortunately, Heiter's residence was in the core area of the Holy Capital. After Gut stood by the roadside for a while, he hailed a carriage.
"Hey, sir, where are you going?"
The coachman looked at the completely drunk lady in Gut's arms, plus Gut's stated destination being a hotel, and immediately smiled meaningfully, directly quoting a much higher fare than usual, obviously misunderstanding Gut's motives and wanting to take advantage.
However, Gut was too lazy to argue with the coachman over a silver coin, so he simply paid according to his quoted price and entered the carriage carrying the elf.
"Clop-clop-clop—"
Limited by the city's prohibition on galloping, the carriage's speed wasn't fast, but this carriage's shock absorption facilities were truly too crude and simple, or rather, nearly nonexistent.
Therefore, the actual riding experience wasn't comfortable. Road surface undulations, even just a splashed stone, could be felt by passengers.
Inside the carriage.
The elf, who Gut had originally placed sitting beside him, also fell over due to the carriage's swaying.
Feeling the intensity of this shaking, Gut simply stopped trying to have his teacher sit and instead leaned to one side himself, leaving space for the elf to lie flat.
In the bumpy motion, Serie unconsciously curled up her body, her already petite figure appearing even more delicate at this moment.
Now, Gut could finally freely admire his teacher's peaceful sleeping face and even breathing, and even reach out his hand.
Using his fingertip to gently scratch the elf's slender ears.
Although even when his teacher was awake, she usually wouldn't refuse such requests from him.
But now he was touching Serie in a drunken state, an elf who didn't know to resist, couldn't resist, and was unable to resist. Instead, there was an intoxicating sense of transgression that was quite stimulating.
But let it stop here.
After slightly satisfying his wicked hobby, Gut withdrew his finger and leaned against the carriage, silently guarding the elf.
Really, just looking at her sleeping face now, he found Serie had a gentle side.
Unlike the dignity she maintained in front of her disciple daily, she wouldn't pin him firmly against the wall with just a glance.
If such gentleness could last long... no, forget it. Such an elf wouldn't be Serie.
Never mind.
Now, being able to exclusively enjoy this gentleness was already fortunate enough.
Then let him take this opportunity to convert as much of this scene into memories as possible, so they could exist long-term in his memory.
Before long, the carriage stopped in front of the hotel.
Inside the carriage, Gut patted the elf's shoulder and whispered in her ear.
"Teacher, we're home."
"Mm—" The elf still lay on the seat, only responding weakly with a nasal sound.
Gut couldn't help but smile. He reached out to pull the elf up, and since he would need to free his hands to open doors later, Gut simply carried Serie on his back.
However, as Gut carried the elf up the inn's steps, pushed open the inn's door, and used his key to open his teacher's room door, the elf on his back suddenly began repeating a word.
"Home..."
"Yes, teacher, we're home."
----------
Powerstones?
For 20 advance chapters: patreon.com/michaeltranslates