Imagine the following scene.
You are playing a game. When you first enter it, you grind levels with great effort. After finally achieving something, you decide to challenge the strongest guild.
But you end up being defeated by the weakest member of that guild, who beats you despite the level gap. What would your reaction be?
Time flies. The once-strongest have faded into nothing. Now your guild has become the strongest.
However, due to a version update, the game's difficulty has dropped drastically. Compared to before, there is far more padding.
But just at that moment, you discover someone.
She has only recently entered the game. She hasn't even leveled up, yet she displays unimaginable strength.
At first, you don't take her seriously—until you face her yourself.
Strong!
Extremely strong!
She is so powerful that she can even wrestle you to a standstill!
At that point, what would your reaction be?
Ottar was now facing exactly that situation.
Once powerless before the Zeus and Hera Familias, he had endured countless hardships and bloodshed over the years, finally raising his Familia into one of Orario's new twin walls.
But Elise's appearance had completely shattered his composure.
Why?
Why was she this strong?
Just like those people from the era of Zeus and Hera...
No—Elise was even more terrifying than them!
For those people, fighting across levels was as simple as eating and drinking. Even so, there was always a limit to how far one could surpass a level gap.
No matter how strong a Level 1 was, it was impossible to cross five major ranks and fight a Level 6 to a draw.
That was something that existed only in legends. It could never happen in reality.
Otherwise, wouldn't that Level 6 become a complete joke?
And now, the impossible had appeared!
Ottar himself had become that joke!
"What kind of joke is this?!"
The sturdy boarman was furious—not at anyone else, but at himself. Furious that he was still this weak!
"How could it end like this?!"
Ottar roared and charged forward, greatsword and battle-axe in hand!
Back then, when facing legends like Zeus and Hera, Ottar had been defeated—but he had endured.
Now, though the era of Zeus and Hera had faded, a new legend had appeared before his eyes!
Once again, Ottar challenged a legend!
Perhaps even he had not realized it. Though he was furious and his expression twisted slightly with ferocity...
That smile simply could not be concealed!
Orario might not be as strong as it once was, but...
Elise's appearance might be the catalyst!
A new era was about to arrive!
And he, Ottar, was fortunate enough to witness it!
"AAAAAAAH—!"
The Fierce Warrior's roar echoed throughout the twenty-fourth floor, filled with an overwhelming will.
Ottar himself was like a beast on the verge of eruption!
His eyes locked onto his target—that streak of gold!
Boom—
In the next second, a thunderous crash rang out. The ground shattered, rubble flying everywhere. In Elise's vision, Ottar vanished...
"!"
Sensing danger, Elise moved at her absolute fastest speed, leaving her original position in an instant. A tremendous force smashed into the spot where she had just stood, crushing it to pieces.
The boarman's figure appeared there!
So fast!
The power Ottar had unleashed no longer resembled that of a normal Level 6.
What happened to him?
Elise couldn't understand it.
Why had he gone mad and rushed her the moment she revealed her true appearance, attacking as though he would pay any price?
Did I offend him?
Or did I offend Freya?
That shouldn't be it...
Elise had always been mindful of her relationships, avoiding conflict with more order-aligned Familias.
Logically, there were very few reasons that could drive Ottar into this state. The first thing that came to her mind was Freya.
Had she angered Freya?
Or was Freya planning to make a move against her?
Unfortunately, this time Elise was wrong.
Even if she had watched the anime and read the novel, a spectator would always remain a spectator. It was impossible to truly understand what lay in a character's heart.
Elise was the same. She would likely never understand why Ottar was acting this way.
"Hey! Ottar!"
"Calm down!"
"At least explain what's going on!"
At first, while Ottar still held back somewhat, Elise had been able to fight him evenly.
But once he began staking everything on the battle and unleashed his full strength, she was completely overwhelmed.
Most of her attacks couldn't even break through the boarman's defenses. Even when she managed to leave wounds on him, they healed within seconds.
Unless Elise truly intended to kill Ottar, these minor injuries would never deal meaningful damage.
But could Ottar die?
Absolutely not!
If Ottar died, what would happen to Orario's future would be impossible to predict!
And Elise would undoubtedly surpass him, becoming Orario's true number one figure!
At that point, she would be the most conspicuous person in the city!
Trouble would come knocking one after another!
So for the sake of her own future, Ottar could not die.
But since she could not use faith right now, Elise could only dodge with all her strength. Combined with her semi-transparent form created by her Prana, Ottar was unable to land a hit on her for the time being.
Meanwhile, Ottar paid no attention to a single word she said. He simply locked onto her and launched attack after attack like a madman!
The more he failed to hit her, the more frenzied his next strike became—faster, heavier, more violent!
"Hey! I said—"
"Stop!"
A vast surge of Prana erupted from Elise's body, forcing the charging Ottar to pause for a brief moment.
But he had no intention of listening.
"ROAR—!"
This time, Ottar's roar was no longer human. It sounded more like that of some savage beast!
The beastfolk possessed their own unique "beastification," and Ottar was no exception.
[Vana Arganture]
- Can be activated at will
- Beastification. All abilities drastically increase
- Each activation greatly reduces stamina and mental strength
[Stortus Ottar]
- During continued combat, temporarily gains the Development Ability Healing Power
- During continued combat, temporarily gains the Development Ability High Recovery
- During continued combat, all learned Development Abilities are strengthened
- The conditions and effectiveness of continued combat scale proportionally with ability values
With a furious roar, Ottar activated these two overwhelmingly powerful skills.
At this moment, he had already begun to drift away from human form. He resembled a massive, ferocious wild boar!
It should be noted that in certain cultures, the words for pig and boar carry different meanings.
The former usually refers to domesticated pigs, while the latter refers to wild boars. The difference in ferocity between the two is on entirely different levels!
"You're actually serious, Ottar?"
Seeing him even use beastification against her, Elise nearly cursed aloud.
"If you want to go all in, then I'll fight you properly!"