The villagers surrounded us, cheering like we were heroes.
"Ark, Narsh, you saved us!"
"Thank the gods!"
"Praise the Muscle Child!"
"Muscle… child?" I muttered.
Narsh smirked. "Congrats, Ark. That's your new legendary title."
"Hell no. I want something cool. Like… Muscle Emperor. Or Protein King."
"Protein King sounds like a breakfast menu."
"…shut up."
---
But in the middle of their celebration, a horrible sound broke out.
Cough…
Blood splattered the ground.
It was old man Jiro. His chest had been pierced during the raid. He fell to his knees, coughing violently.
"Damn it!" Narsh gasped, rushing to him. "He's not gonna last long!"
The villagers panicked.
"Somebody help him!"
"Do we have a healer?"
"There's no priest left, we're doomed!"
I clenched my fists. I had punched fire, shattered weapons, and sent bandits flying… but now?
I was powerless.
"…No."
I dropped beside Jiro, pressing my hands on his wound.
"You can't die, old man! Who's gonna yell at me for stealing chickens at night if you're gone!?"
His eyes dimmed. His breathing slowed.
"No, no, no…"
---
And then—
Ba-dump.
A strange warmth surged from my chest, down my arms, into my hands.
Jiro's body glowed faintly.
The blood stopped.
His breathing steadied.
The wound… healed.
Everyone stared in shock.
"…What the actual f*ck?" Narsh whispered.
Jiro opened his eyes weakly. "…I-I'm alive?"
The crowd erupted.
"Ark healed him!"
"He has the power of the gods!"
"No… he revived the dead!"
---
I stumbled back, trembling.
"What… was that?"
Narsh grabbed my arm. "Oi, Ark. That wasn't normal healing. His heart had stopped. You—you brought him back."
Her face twisted, not in anger, but in something worse. Fear.
"Ark… where the hell did that life come from?"
The villagers stared at me, whispering.
Praising.
Fearing.
I didn't have an answer.
All I knew was—
for the first time in my life, my muscles weren't the strangest thing about me.
---
[Author's Note: Congratulations, Ark. You just unlocked your broken-ass protagonist ability. Try not to kill the plot with it.]