I, the “Clock User”, Was Kicked Out of the Craftsmen’s Guild for Being Incompetent, but at the Dungeon’s Depths, I Awakened My True Power – Even Though I Was Told to Return Because They Couldn’t Handle the Work, It’s Too Late Now, and I Will Live Freely as an SSS-class Adventurer V9C9

Translated by Hamster


**Volume 9: A Moment of Respite**
**09. From One Pitfall to Another**


While Cyclo and his companions meticulously planned their next steps...

At the front lines where the Heimburgh Kingdom and Rustgard Empire clashed.

There, in a harsh environment, was a man, fighting in a wretched state.

"---Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!! Why?! Why am I going through this?!"

The man was once known as Raven Crowheart, the hero.

He was now with the disposable criminal slaves, his hair, eyebrows, and skin scorched beyond recognition. His face and even the color of his body hair were no longer identifiable.

And now, someone completely different was carrying out the duties of the hero under the name Raven Crowheart.

The thought of this made the man who was Raven seethe with rage.

"Gyaaahhh!!"

But he couldn't go mad.

The battlefield was merciless. The slaves, who were essentially meat shields due to their heinous crimes, were sent to charge against overwhelmingly superior demons, dying one after another.

His comrades beside, behind, or ahead of him fell victim to magic, thrown rocks, and arrows, losing their lives.

The screams of the criminals, the smell of burning flesh, and the overwhelming stench of blood brought the man back to reality.

Fortunately---perhaps because he was once a hero, the man who was Raven possessed exceptional physical abilities.

He was a C-rank adventurer, not easily disposable, and thus wouldn't die easily due to his abilities that were well beyond that rank.

Additionally, the man who was Raven was a coward and a scoundrel. Using his allies as shields to avoid demon attacks was not something anyone would fault him for in this place where life was cheap.

Thanks to these reasons, Raven was, by sheer luck, still alive.

However---one could also say he was merely surviving.

Living each day with the sensation of death brushing against him, constantly engaged in deadly combat in a hostile environment.

No matter how many achievements he racked up---his treatment could only worsen from that of a serious criminal, it could never get better.

A thorny path leading only to ruin.

That was the situation the man who was Raven found himself in.

And on this day---he was thrown into the most brutal battlefield yet.

Demons did not undergo the Skill Selection Ceremony, hence skill holders were extremely rare.

However---if a demon with physical abilities far surpassing those of a normal human acquired a skill and honed themselves, what would happen?

"---Fuhahaha!! Too weak, too weak, you pathetic soldiers!!"

They would become S-rank adventurers or even more formidable soldiers in the Heimburgh Kingdom.

What would happen if a man with only C-rank adventurer abilities was thrown into such a battlefield?

"I'm done with this, why am I going through this...!! I am Raven Crowheart, a hero, the firstborn of a ducal house...!!"

"Hey, the 'Rotface' is starting to lose it again!!"

Naturally, surviving was impossible.

Amidst the slaughter of criminal slaves, the man who was Raven lost his will to fight out of fear, squatting on the spot and escaping reality.

One of the criminal slaves ridiculed him, using the derisive nickname 'Rotface' to mock his scorched skin.

"Shut up!! I really am---!!?"

"Higyuu"

The next moment, 'Rotface' saw the head of the slave who had insulted him explode from a demon's spear throw.

"H-Hieee!!!"

He was at his limit. True to his ugly heart and appearance, Rotface escaped the scene, running away in an undignified manner.

"Hmph, deserting in the face of the enemy, how cowardly!!"

A spear was hurled at Rotface.

"Hieeee!!"

But by a stroke of luck---Rotface tripped over the corpse of a fellow criminal slave, losing his balance.

At the same time, the spear skimmed the slave collar, indicating his criminal status.

Then---the collar, a magical device, was cut by the spear's magical force, miraculously breaking off from Rotface.

Fortune upon fortune. Because Raven was a makeshift criminal slave on the battlefield, he had not yet been branded with a slave mark but was instead controlled by a magical device in the form of the collar.

His magical power, high enough to be called a hero, had prevented the slave trader accompanying the battlefield from engraving the mark on him. A higher-ranked slave trader was about to be summoned from the kingdom to brand him, but---

Before that could happen, a miracle occurred on the battlefield.

For a brief moment, Rotface was stunned, not comprehending what had happened, but when he realized the collar was broken, he smirked.

"---Take this!! Brave Slash!!"

He unleashed a forbidden hero's skill, a devastating blow.

"Muu!?"

Surprised by the unexpected counterattack---by the powerful wave of light, the skill-holding demon fortified his defenses.

And taking advantage of this opening---Rotface made an unsightly escape, using his superior physical abilities to flee in a single direction.

The skill-holding demon faced a choice: to chase after one escaped slave or continue slaughtering numerous criminal slaves on the spot.

The demon chose to stay and resume the massacre.

"Hmph... Well, fine. An escaped slave has nowhere to go. He'll die out in the wild eventually."

Muttering this, he continued the slaughter.

---

And thus---the man who was Raven, 'Rotface,' was liberated from the battlefield.

However, whether this was truly fortunate for him was something unknown to anyone at that time.


Authors Note:

With this, Volume 9 comes to an end.

It was a somewhat short chapter, serving as a situation explanation. From the next chapter, the story will move towards Cyclo and his companions heading to the capital and then to the Demon King's Castle.

We will take a short break until I can prepare more content. Please look forward to it until then.

Also, please consider purchasing the book version of this work, which is currently on sale.


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