Journey to Become the Zenith

A Hero’s Way of Facing the Unknown

Videl started to think of every possible scenario. The morning air felt unusually still, as if even the world around her had paused to watch what decision she would make. Sitting by the edge of her bed, her sapphire eyes unfocused, she let her thoughts branch out in every direction—possibility after possibility, outcome after outcome. This was one of the things Victor tried to teach her back in the day. Not just how to swing a blade, but how to think before the blade ever left its sheath.

Back then, she hadn’t cared much for it.

Her world had been simple—steel, motion, impact. The clarity of a fight was something she understood instinctively. Strategy, anticipation, layered thinking... those had always felt distant. Unnecessary.

And now—

She found herself wishing she had paid more attention.

”...What would he do here...” she murmured under her breath, her fingers unconsciously tightening against her thigh.

She tried to recall the way Victor used to look at things. The way his golden eyes would narrow slightly—not in confusion, but in calculation. He never rushed into answers. He didn’t panic. He observed, weighed, then moved with certainty.

Videl inhaled slowly.

”...Think.”

She forced herself to continue.

If the students confront her again—what happens?

If nobles get involved—what changes?

If someone stronger steps in—what then?

Her thoughts began forming threads, but they didn’t connect cleanly. Every path she imagined ended in uncertainty, in conflict she couldn’t fully predict.

Unlike her—

Skyla would have seen it clearly.

The thought came naturally.

Uninvited.

Sharp.

Unlike her, Skyla was very good at understanding and thinking of all possible scenarios. She could take chaos and break it down into something manageable. She could see patterns where others saw noise. She was even capable of quickly thinking of solutions to said problems.

Videl exhaled through her nose.

”...Yeah... she would’ve already figured something out.”

There was a faint bitterness there.

Not toward Skyla.

But toward herself.

Because the truth was simple.

Skyla had the mind.

But not the strength.

The only drawback she had was she was too weak. She just couldn’t implement the plans she had in her brain, due to her weak body.

And Videl—

Had the opposite problem.

Strength without clarity.

Her jaw tightened slightly.

’At times like this, Skyla would’ve been a great help... Damn it! I did it again, I actually wanted to rely on someone else to do my job. What kind of hero always needs someone else’s help!’

Her thoughts hit harder this time.

Not because they were new—

But because they were true.

She pushed herself up from the bed, pacing slowly across the room, her long blonde hair swaying lightly behind her. Each step carried a restless energy, like she was trying to walk off the weight of her own thoughts.

”...A hero...”

The word felt heavier than usual.

The heroes of old that Videl admired were never like this. At least—that’s what she had been told.

They were the type of heroes that did everything themselves. They didn’t hesitate. They didn’t look around for support when things got difficult. They stood alone, faced impossible odds, and somehow—

They won.

Every time.

Those stories... they had been told so many times, under warm firelight, with the old village elder’s voice carrying a kind of quiet reverence. Back then, she had listened with shining eyes, her heart racing at every impossible victory.

Back then—

It had all felt real.

Like something she could become.

”...They never needed anyone...”

She whispered it, almost like she was trying to convince herself.

But a small part of her—

Quietly questioned it.

Still, the impact those stories had left on her was undeniable.

They shaped her.

Defined her.

And now—

They judged her.

Videl stopped pacing.

Her hands slowly relaxed at her sides.

”...Then I’ll do it myself.”

She forced the thought into place.

Firm.

Unyielding.

But no matter how much she tried—

Her mind refused to give her an answer.

Every path felt incomplete.

Every idea fell apart halfway through.

Every solution came with a flaw she couldn’t ignore.

”...Tch...”

A quiet click of her tongue escaped.

Frustration flickered across her face.

Valdel who racked his brain as much as she could, couldn’t really think of anything. When thinking of what to do next failed, Videl simply stopped thinking about it.

The shift was sudden.

Almost abrupt.

She exhaled.

Long.

Slow.

Then—

Her shoulders eased.

’Well I’ll just deal with whatever comes, when it happens. I’m not really as smart as Skyla and Victor, but I can still solve my own problems, I’m sure of it.’

The thought settled differently.

Not as sharp.

Not as desperate.

But steady.

She let out a small breath, then—unexpectedly—

She smiled.

A simple smile.

Not forced.

Not strained.

Just... real.

Videl who quit thinking about things too deeply, smiled a confident smile, as she felt refreshed. The tension in her chest loosened slightly, like a knot finally being untied. It wasn’t that her problems had disappeared—

She had just stopped letting them suffocate her.

Because at the end of the day—

She understood one thing.

She wasn’t Skyla.

She wasn’t Victor.

She was Videl.

And she would deal with things her own way.

If Victor were here and saw how Videl was struggling in thinking about what to do, he would’ve snickered on the inside. Not out of mockery—but because this was exactly the kind of situation he expected her to stumble through. Thinking too hard wasn’t her strength.

Acting was.

Videl was a hero, and those heroes no matter who they were, had one basic trait that all of them shared.

They were all—

Supernaturally lucky.

It wasn’t something she knew.

Not consciously.

But it followed her.

Quietly.

Relentlessly.

As long as Videl wasn’t facing someone with overwhelming might like Victor when he was Demon Lord Anos, Videl would easily get the things she needed to win in any situation.

The world itself seemed to bend, just slightly—

Enough to keep her standing.

She would coincidentally gain a sudden power-up, or an ally she didn’t know of would appear, an item she needed would be handed to her. The timing was always perfect. The circumstances always just enough.

As long as there was even a sliver of a chance—

It would become her path forward.

Victor had noticed it long ago.

That strange, almost unfair pattern.

A hero— Would always receive what they needed.

Right when it mattered most.

The only reason that Victor always won back in his past life—

Was because there was nothing that could help the hero to actually beat him.