[Divine Remembrance] Effect: The user embodies the memory of countless battles fought previously. When engaged in combat, their skill and reflexes adapt to the fighting styles of enemies, enabling them to predict attacks, counter seamlessly, and uncover weaknesses with uncanny precision.
A constant enhancement that grows stronger the longer a battle lasts.
Thanks to this Divine Trait, Reinhardt was easily able to find the tracks left behind by the criminals.
Eventually, they stopped before a worn-down building in a narrow, sunless alley.
"Stay close and don't leave my side" Reinhardt put Verdia down and slowly entered the building. As he was too focused on the enemies lying up ahead, he failed to notice the noble woman's hot breath and two little bumps that appeared on her gown.
.
.
"Hehe, we finally made it big, we have captured the son of the duke. How much ransom do you think we should ask from the Arcknight family?"…
"If it's the son of a duke family, I think we can easily demand for one million Euls… hehe"
Inside an underground cellar, the criminals laughed as they drank and played cards. Not far away from them, tied in a dirty sack was Arthur who tried to get out from his bindings.
"Unghh… Ughhh" However, his mouth and body were tightly retrained.
"Still, I can't believe we managed to kidnap the son of a duke so easily from that famous level 10 Reinhardt"…
One of the kidnappers snorted. He was the boss of this base and their ragtag gang.
"Hmph, have you not heard the rumor? The commander of the order of the Temple of Light was in a comatose state for many years and woke up not too long ago"...
"Even if he was a former level 10 knight, there is no way after so many years he is still as powerful. His body has obviously deteriorated from the curse"…
"Boss is right… Hahaha"
The kidnappers laughed but a timely voice put a damper to all that.
"Hoh, do you guys really think so?"
Alarmed, the kidnappers stopped their goofing and raised their weapons.
"Who goes there? Show yourself?"…
TAK… TAK… sounds of footsteps came from the stairs and a big man followed by a beautiful woman showed their appearance.
"R-R-Reinhardt!!!"
That flashy hair that looked like molten gold, tall and muscular frame and heterochromatic eyes. There was only one man in the entire kingdom with an appearance like that.
"Hm? Why the surprised face? You kidnapped my little brother, surely you should have expected his big brother to show up. Don't tell me you all didn't think this through before kidnapping the son of a duke?"…
"H-How did you find us?"
Reinhardt arched his brows and replied, going along with the kidnappers' trivial attempt at buying time.
His eyes scanned the layout of the room and the place where Arthur was held hostage making sure there was no hidden danger that could interrupt his rescue.
Reinhardt's presence had no doubt fazed the kidnappers but they soon came to their mind.
"D-Don't get cold feet. He is obviously in a weakened state?" the boss shouted trying to raise the morale of his group.
"That's right, the entire world knows that he was suffering from a curse. He can't be as strong as before. There are seven of us and only one of him".
"Oh?! Wait a minute, who is that?"
The boss finally noticed the beautiful blonde woman beside Reinhardt. Her bright yellow gown that highlighted her big cleavage that seemed to want out.
Ripe red lips, beautiful collar bone and shapely creamy legs. Every part of the woman was so curvy and seductive that it would no doubt evoke nefarious thoughts in every man.
The boss licked his lips as his eyes scanned every inch of her body.
"Hehe, boys it seems it's our lucky day. If we defeat him, not only will we get famous instantly, we can also get to enjoy the beautiful gift he brought us"…
"Haha, the boss is right..?!!"
The kidnappers who were in the midst of laughing suddenly felt a chill in the air. An invisible pressure so palpable that it caused the very building to shudder, descended onto the place.
Reinhardt narrowed his eyes, the kidnappers managed to piss him off with their comments. He stepped forward and covered the sight of Verdia with his wide back.
"Stay behind me".
The latter looked at his back, her eyes flickering with emotions. It was unknown what she was thinking.
"Let's entertain your argument. Even if I got weaker, there are still only three people in this entire kingdom who have ever reached level ten. So tell me, do you really think, even weakened, you and your trivial levels can stand against me?"
Reinhardt stared down at the kidnappers. He did not speak any nonsense and directly stated the facts to their face. The enemy's levels were 2, with the highest being their boss at level 3.
While he on the other hand, has not only not gotten weaker after his 3 years of gap, but he became even stronger. The + signs beside his level was not for decoration.
It carried the wright that even the status window was unable to fully assess his level with those stats of his that reached Divine (Low).
Reinhardt's words finally seemed to have sunk in as the kidnappers started backing down, cowering in fear.
"Bunch of nonsense. So what if there is a huge gap in our levels? There are so many of us; how can you fight us? Surely even a level 10 like you will find it hard…"
BOOM…
A white pillar of fire exploded from Reinhardt, blowing apart the ceiling and rocketing skyward. Pure titanic pressure flooded the room; within seconds, the kidnappers collapsed, unconscious before they could even scream.
Reinhardt exhaled. He'd tried to be reasonable, even gave them a warning. But some people only learned when reminded that between a dragon and a rat, numbers meant nothing.
The ruffians were too dull to understand the vast gulf in strength that each level up brought.