Unfortunately, not for the first time, I woke up staring at yet another unfamiliar ceiling. My entire body ached as if I had done strenuous exercise. Slowly, I lifted my hand up to my face to look at it.

The calluses I had accumulated over the years from my swordsmanship training and carving were gone leaving smooth skin. The burns I had accidentally gained from practising my skills and magic were gone too. Were these one of [Burning Rage]'s effects? Enhanced regeneration?

Frowning at my hands, I attempted to remember what had happened after activating the skill. The fight was all a blur but I could remember specific details. I knew that I had activated my unique skill [Burning Rage]. It seemed I had been slightly wrong about what the skill does.

I put a hand on my chest but continued staring blankly at the ceiling. It was like there was a void in my chest. As if something was supposed to be there but just wasn't. I felt empty. Yet, I was certain it wasn't magicules that I lacked. In fact, I seemed to have much more internal magicules than before.

Instead, it seemed that I was suffering the consequences of using my unique skill [Burning Rage] without prior knowledge of what it was supposed to do. My hatred, rage and anger had mostly vanished leaving a tiny ember. This may have been a good thing if I hadn't been so obsessed with avenging my father.

Now, the emotions that used to drive me were gone. It felt as if I was a one-legged man who was used to using a crutch to walk and suddenly someone snatched that crutch away from me. My crutch was now gone... In a moment of weakness, I activated [Burning Rage] again hoping it would give me strength.

Immediately, my rage amplified. My anger at being weak and useless. The anger I felt at myself for being nothing without my anger. Anger that I had used my father's death as an excuse to keep moving. So, so much anger. However, I didn't start destroying my surroundings in a rage. Most of all, I raged about how little control I had over my emotions and THAT was enough.

The air around me heated up, the bed that I lay on smouldered and the clothes I found myself wearing burnt as I got off the bed. The sores I had, disappeared instantly as the regeneration kicked in. Though my skin burned, regenerated and burned again from the fires that spread around me, my expression stayed the same.

It was time to get my life back on track.

It was time to take more drastic steps.

Monsters had killed my father, so what kills monsters? Taken from legends, a hero kills monsters and saves humans.

" It is time to be a hero," I murmured under my breath. Being defensive hadn't worked. The monsters had attacked my village and had succeeded in destroying it. That I could clearly remember.

Why wait for them to attack? I should attack first. I should wipe them all out once and for all. Heroes killed monsters. At least according to what I had read back when I was still a child. But they were strong, so, so, strong. I was not strong enough. I had to get stronger.

Still on fire and heating the air around me, I walked over the double doors that held me in this room. Without a second thought, I pushed on it with both my hands and the doors burst off their hinges flying into the wall outside the room I was in.

There was only one place I could be in right now. With how luxurious the room I had woken up in was, the obviously well-designed doors and the soft bed. Only the imperial family could afford to have such luxury for a guest room. I must be in the imperial palace.

The moment I walked out into the corridor outside the room, I found a girl wearing maid clothes cowering on the ground. She was frozen in fear as she stared at me.

" Where is the Emperor's throne room?" I asked the girl.

" I-its that way!" She shouted while pointing down the corridor. Having no reason to stall, I began walking to the door at the end of the corridor. Along the corridor, there were many other rooms. They seemed to be empty as I heard no sounds from them despite the ruckus I had made.

Opening the door, I walked through it and found myself in a large hall. Fortunately, I found the emperor sitting on his throne. As I had envisioned, his imperial guard stood around the emperor. The emperor himself looked like a middle-aged man. Feeble as he looked, I did not underestimate the bored-looking man. In this world of skills and magicules, even a wrinkly old man could raze a kingdom in flames.

As I had expected, the imperial guard reacted to my appearance immediately after they saw me. They pointed their enchanted spears at me at got into combat stances. However, they did not shout for me to prostrate myself nor did they shout any other orders. They seemed to wait for the emperor to make his decision.

" Oh? What do we have here? An intruder?" The emperor said as he sat up a little straighter. His eyes seemed to show a twinkle of curiosity. The woman at his side spoke up after hearing his question.

" Sir, this is the man who stopped the cyclopes' invasion. He is from the border. He-" I cut off the voluptuous woman by speaking up.

" Your majesty, I would like to ask of you a favour. It may alleviate your boredom." I said confidently. Surprisingly, the imperial guard stayed still. It had been well in my expectations for them to attack or at least attempt to arrest me. I was after all standing in front of the emperor naked.

" Oh? And what is this favour you want?"