Average Combat Power
A mushroom cloud bloomed into the sky.
At a glance, it might seem simple, but anyone who had lived in the modern world would understand precisely what that cloud signified.
A short while after that thought crossed my mind, the scene of the battlefield, where three Tsar Bombas had detonated, was revealed.
Fwhoooosh
The mushroom cloud dissipated, revealing an Ogre sprawled on the ground.
To be honest, I was a little surprised.
Of course, I expected there to be significant damage.
But I didn't think there would be this much damage.
Maybe it was because I'd been using magic a lot lately, but my magic skills seemed to have improved a bit.
There was no other explanation for why my magic had become so powerful.
Originally, I was only able to barely kill a Troll.
"...Did we get it?"
The adventurers around me started talking amongst themselves.
And then, a moment later.
Kieeeeek
With a grotesque sound, the Ogre's scattered corpses began to gather together.
Anyone who'd consumed various forms of media would know.
That kind of clumping usually meant transformation.
To become a stronger being, so to speak.
And my thoughts were proven correct.
"...Hmm."
It was hard to even define what it was.
It was huge, and something I had never seen before.
Even though I had never seen an Ogre before, I could tell what it was the moment I saw it, but this was truly something I had never laid eyes on.
Thinking it was a bit strange, I prepared to use [Teleport].
I had a feeling that if I stayed here, I'd get caught up in whatever was about to happen.
But at that moment.
Thump
A person appeared before my eyes.
A man with flaming red hair.
It was 'Cthulhu,' whom I had met before.
Cthulhu appeared boldly in front of everyone and, upon seeing the monster before him, said,
"Wow, it's huge."
Surprisingly, no one around us tried to stop Cthulhu.
Perhaps they all knew of his abilities.
I, too, was aware of Cthulhu's strength.
Of course, I had never seen him fight in person, but there was such a thing as mana emanating from a person.
And the amount of mana radiating from him was immense.
As I was thinking this...
"Well then, I'll finish this now."
Cthulhu declared, and began gathering mana in his hand.
Mana, in an amount that dwarfed any ordinary fist, gathered and clung to Cthulhu's hand.
To be honest, it was the first time I'd seen someone use mana so recklessly.
It was my first time seeing a martial artist who used mana, but even for a first, it was an incredibly crude method.
If you used your own body as a weapon, the recoil would naturally transfer back to you.
Therefore, unless you possessed an incredibly durable body, it was common sense to refrain from using your body as a weapon...
'...He must be confident.'
But I was still curious.
If he wore something on his fist, the efficiency would be doubled.
It would also reduce the risk of injury.
I just couldn't understand why he would choose to fight like that.
Are all martial artists like this?
As I pondered this, I continued to observe Cthulhu.
Woooong
Mana continued to gather in Cthulhu's fist, and now his fist was glowing blue.
It was similar to a knight channeling aura into their sword.
Cthulhu, having channeled his aura in this way...
inhales
Took a deep breath and...
Crash
Leapt forward and punched the monster.
The monster staggered.
Surprisingly, it seemed to have taken some damage.
But it wasn't enough to take it down.
It had been hit, but the blow wasn't strong enough to bring it down.
Or maybe the enemy's durability was just too high.
As I was thinking this, Cthulhu leaped again and punched the monster's body.
The monster staggered once more.
'...He's not going to keep doing that, is he?'
Surely not.
No matter how much of a martial artist he was, he wouldn't do anything that foolish.
Thinking this, I sat down and watched as Cthulhu continued his assault.
And then...
"He's doing great!!!"
"Wooow!!!"
Cheers for Cthulhu erupted from all around.
Cthulhu, seemingly energized by the cheers, began gathering mana in his hand at an incredible speed and pummeling the enemy.
Of course, at first, it only resulted in minor scratches.
And the monster's regeneration speed was even faster.
But it was different when the same spot was struck hundreds of times.
Even the colossal monster began to lose its balance.
However, the monster wasn't just going to stand there and take it.
As if annoyed by Cthulhu's relentless assault, it began to kick and stomp on him with its massive hands.
But Cthulhu still didn't go down.
In fact, he seemed to be getting even more fired up.
'...Is that even humanly possible?'
Honestly, Cthulhu looked more like a monster than the monster itself.
He had taken blows that would have killed any ordinary person, yet he didn't seem to care, focusing solely on landing his punches.
It was as if the monster's attacks were completely irrelevant to him.
Even the other onlookers were dumbfounded by his display.
"Is that guy even human?"
"I almost feel sorry for the monster."
Despite their words, we didn't just stand idly by.
We fired arrows and hurled stones from a distance.
Although Cthulhu got caught in the crossfire from time to time, no one seemed particularly concerned.
He wasn't the type to be injured by such attacks.
Crash Crash
As Cthulhu continued to pound on the monster, it seemed to realize that attacking him directly was futile. It picked up a large rock and hurled it towards the barrier.
Kaboom
With a deafening roar, the barrier crumbled.
Many people were crushed to death.
But there was nothing I could do.
All I could do was sit back and recover my mana.
That was the life of a mage.
Without mana, you were utterly helpless.
"Oh, they're putting up a good fight."
Anyway, from what I had observed so far, it seemed like someone was giving orders to that monster.
Of course, the other corpses that had appeared so far were also being controlled by someone, but this time it felt different.
It was as if one person was directly and meticulously commanding it.
Otherwise, there was no way it could be making such human-like judgments and taking such deliberate actions.
If it were just a mindless Ogre, it would have only focused on Cthulhu, who was clinging to it, but after witnessing Cthulhu's resilience, it decided to prioritize destroying the barrier.
How long had I been watching their fight?
Crack
Cracks began to appear on the monster's hide.
"Oh, shit!! Aim for there!!"
"It's splitting open!"
Perhaps spurred by this development, everyone became excited and began focusing their attacks on the exposed flesh.
"Ouch! Are you crazy?! Why are you hitting me?!"
"You won't die even if you get hit. Just take it!"
It seemed like Cthulhu was getting hit more than the monster... but that was probably just my imagination.
Thinking this, I decided to lend a hand as well.
I formed the magic formula and poured mana into it.
Woooong
"[Dark Spear]"
I always made sure to reserve enough mana for a quick escape via teleportation before using any magic.
As I cast the spell...
Kaboom
The Dark Spear materialized in mid-air and shot through the opening, tearing through the monster's insides.
Crack Crack
The monster's body, already a patchwork of different corpses, began to split apart.
I hadn't expected its construction to be very sound in the first place.
It was ridiculously tough, though.
If Cthulhu hadn't created that opening, even landing a blow would have been difficult.
By the way...
'...That's not human.'
Cthulhu's body was truly beyond human.
From the beginning, there were adventurers who bravely charged towards the monster to help Cthulhu, but they always ended up getting caught in the crossfire and turned into mincemeat.
It seemed that he was channeling mana into his body to enhance his durability.
As I marveled at his abilities, Cthulhu grabbed the edges of the gaping wound with both hands and began tearing.
He looked like a wild beast.
"Wow..."
I couldn't help but gasp in awe.
I had seen a movie like this when I was younger.
A movie where a man rips apart a monster with his bare hands.
This scene reminded me of that movie.
It was that incredible.
Unfazed by the stares of those around him, Cthulhu continued to rip the monster apart.
Rip
Of course, the monster struggled to resist even as it was being torn apart, but unfortunately for it, Cthulhu was simply too strong.
And a moment later.
"Gotcha!!"
With a triumphant grin, Cthulhu tore the monster clean in half.
It wasn't a clean cut by any means, but rather a gruesome, mangled tear.
Naturally, no blood flowed from the already dead corpses.
However, the stench of decay was overwhelming.
The monster was simply too massive.
Seemingly satisfied with tearing the monster apart, Cthulhu, perhaps wanting to show off to those around him, proceeded to take a bite out of the monster's flesh and chomp down with gusto.
"Wooow!!"
"...Is he really human?"
I couldn't help but wonder if he was truly a fellow human from the modern world.
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Is that the reason why martial artists are so disdained
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