Chapter 134
Sang-min’s eyes sparkled like a girl who had met a superstar.
“Mr. Choi Hyun-seok! You’re Mr. Choi Hyun-seok, right?”
“N-no, you’ve got the wrong person.”
Choi Hyun-seok waved his hand with an uncomfortable expression.
However, after hearing his voice, Sang-min clapped and jumped up.
“It is you! Wow~ How could I meet a Korean person here? And to think it’s Mr. Choi Hyun-seok of all people, what a coincidence!”
“Haa… Do you know me?”
“Is there any Korean who doesn’t know Mr. Choi Hyun-seok!? The MMA superstar! The strongest man in the world! Every time you had a match, I was boasting with national pride! Hahaha!”
Sang-min shouted with boisterous laughter.
The commotion drew other heroes from behind.
“Sang-min, what’s going on? Who’s that guy?”
“It’s Choi Hyun-seok! Don’t you know? The WFC heavyweight champion!”
“A fighting champion…?”
“So he’s a hero then.”
“I think I’ve heard of him. Something about being a legendary champion saw it on the internet…”
Regardless of his companions’ chatter, Sang-min’s gaze remained fixed on Choi Hyun-seok.
“Mr. Choi Hyun-seok! How did your match go!?”
“Pardon?”
“Your fourth title defense match!”
Suddenly, Sang-min lowered his head with a dark expression.
“I came here the day before your match… If it weren’t for that damn traffic accident, I could have watched the whole thing. Haha!”
“The title defense ended successfully. I won seven straight defenses after that without losing.”
“As expected of the undefeated legend! Then after the seventh defense…?”
At Sang-min’s question, Choi Hyun-seok pointed his finger downward.
Understanding the meaning, Sang-min rolled his eyes.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. We’re all in the same boat here.”
“But how did it happen…?”
“Got hit by a truck while crossing the crosswalk. Damn it.”
“So even the strongest man in the world can’t beat a truck.”
“I’m only human after all.”
The atmosphere between them becomes solemn for a moment.
As Choi Hyun-seok said, even a fighting champion is merely human.
No one can overcome the reincarnation truck.
At that moment, a white man from behind stepped forward and extended his hand.
“I’m Nicolo. From Italy.”
“Ah, yes. I’m Choi Hyun-seok.”
Choi Hyun-seok shook his hand.
Nicolo nodded with a gentle smile.
“May I call you Seok? Korean names are hard to pronounce.”
“Well, whatever works for you.”
“Then, Seok. Did you perhaps receive a quest here too?”
“Yes, I did.”
Choi Hyun-seok nodded.
He figured there was no need to hide anything about the quest since they all knew, they were heroes after all.
“I see. This competition seems unavoidable then.”
Choi Hyun-seok’s brows furrowed at the word ‘competition’.
“What do you mean?”
“As you know, hero quests are most efficient when shared among five people.”
Choi Hyun-seok kept his mouth shut.
Efficiency in hero quests?
He had just learned that hero quests could even be shared.
Nicolo, taking the silence as agreement, continued.
“We’ve always completed quests with optimal efficiency as a group of five. We don’t want to lower our efficiency by taking in two strangers here.”
“I understand.”
Abelson isn’t a hero, but Choi Hyun-seok lets them assume what they want.
Nicolo continued.
“Just to let you know, our party’s average combat power is 50,000. I’m the highest at just over 60,000 and I’ve even received the Regular Hero title. All in less than three years.”
Nicolo was suddenly bragging.
Choi Hyun-seok kept listening, curious to see where this was going.
“We’ve successfully completed fifty hero quests so far. Never failed once.”
“…”
“So I suggest you don’t waste your time and look for another quest. Seok.”
The way he said ‘Seok’ at the end sounded exactly like the English word ‘suck’, which made it quite unpleasant.
‘Suck’ was often used as a curse word, after all.
‘Is reaching 60,000 in three years something to brag about?’
Choi Hyun-seok pondered for a moment.
Was this idiot actually bragging?
Or was he trying to ask for understanding because he was such a pathetic person?
‘Whatever it is, the important thing is he wants me to give up the quest.’
Choi Hyun-seok shook his head.
Whether their combat power is 50,000 or 100,000.
He had no intention whatsoever of giving up a quest he received first.
‘This is my only means of leveling up these days.’
After leaving the Demon King’s Army, finding ways to get stronger wasn’t easy.
The training was difficult since they had to keep moving.
With no other opportunities for leveling up, hero quests were his only source of growth.
“Sorry, but I have no intention of giving up the quest, so look elsewhere.”
“Haa, this is why with Asians…”
Just as something unpleasant was about to come out of Nicolo’s mouth.
Sang-min quickly intervened.
“Haha…! Mr. Choi Hyun-seok, could I perhaps know what your combat power is?”
Though his intention to prevent his companion’s slip of the tongue was obvious, Choi Hyun-seok decided to go along with it since he didn’t want to create conflict either.
“My combat power?”
“Yes. I know it’s rude to ask about combat power among heroes… But since you’re known as the strongest man in the world. I’m just too curious.”
Choi Hyun-seok decided to be honest.
There was no point in hiding it since they could check with a combat power meter anyway.
“100,000.”
“Pardon?”
“100,000.”
“How long have you been here? Since you had seven title defenses, you must have arrived much later than me…”
“I haven’t kept count, but it’s been less than a year.”
At Choi Hyun-seok’s words, the heroes in the back snorted.
“Lies! The combat power of 100,000 in less than a year!?”
“Such exaggeration. Why tell a lie that will be exposed anyway.”
“This won’t do. We need to check with the meter right now.”
“Enough!”
Nicolo from Italy shouted.
“Don’t do something so rude.”
“But Nicolo! He’s telling such outrageous lies in front of us. It’s offensive!”
“I said enough.”
Nicolo put on a stern expression.
His companions clicked their tongues and averted their gazes.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked and made the atmosphere…”
Sang-min scratched the back of his head with an awkward smile.
“It’s fine.”
“Seok. We’ll be going now. This hero quest is primarily about finding the culprit, so even we with our lower combat power have a chance.”
Nicolo withdrew with a strange smile.
“This competition should be interesting.”
“Think whatever you want.”
“Haha! Well then.”
The hero party disappeared to the second floor.
Even as they moved away, comments could be heard about how 100,000 combat power was impossible, and how the champion only had pride.
‘Are they frogs in a well?’
Though it wasn’t pleasant, the conversation had been quite informative.
Choi Hyun-seok learned several things:
Hero quests can be shared and are most efficient with five people.
Multiple hero quests can arise from a single incident.
Asking about or carelessly measuring someone’s combat power is considered rude among heroes.
Lastly, the normal growth rate for heroes isn’t very fast.
‘All valuable information for someone like me who doesn’t know much about this field.’
You might think it’s trivial information, but for Choi Hyun-seok who didn’t know even such basic common sense, it was valuable.
“Mr. Choi Hyun-seok. You must have been a famous person in your previous world.”
Abelson spoke to him.
Choi Hyun-seok smiled wryly.
“I was a fighter.”
“A fighter?”
“Yes, I made a living by fighting others in arenas for money.”
“Ah, so you were a famous gladiator.”
“I didn’t use swords, but I suppose it was similar.”
Abelson nodded as if she understood.
At that moment, Rachel poked her head out from Choi Hyun-seok’s arms.
“By the way, hero! Are you going to let those rude guys get away with it!?”
“What’s wrong with you now?”
“It’s irritating!”
“Then what should I do? Beat them up because they’re irritating? Kill them? Am I some kind of psychopath?”
“Heh!? You weren’t!?”
Choi Hyun-seok strongly pinched Rachel’s cheek.
“You’re dead.”
“I, I was just kidding…”
“Tsk.”
He clicked his tongue once and let go of Rachel.
“We just need to complete the quest and leave this village.”
Though he didn’t like that his name was revealed, there was nothing he could do about it.
He couldn’t forcibly silence them either.
“Let’s resume the search tomorrow.”
Choi Hyun-seok just focuses on doing his work diligently.
As he always has.
***
The hero party gathered again after going up to the second floor.
Ellis, the only woman in the party, spoke first.
“Do you believe what that guy said?”
Everyone’s attention turned to her words.
“He said his combat power reached 100,000 in less than a year. Is that even possible?”
“Leave it be. It’s just bragging.”
“If you’re that curious, check it secretly with a combat power meter later.”
“Forget it. Did you see what they were wearing? No different from rural farmers. Guys without proper armor or weapons, how could they… Hahaha!”
They each took turns making comments.
The atmosphere suggested no one believed Choi Hyun-seok’s words.
Although Sang-min didn’t like his colleagues’ reactions, there was nothing he could do.
He was subtly being disregarded in this party.
“So what are you going to do? Nicolo.”
“About what?”
“Are you going to leave those bastards alone?”
Nicolo frowned at Ellis’s words.
“What do you mean?”
“They could interfere with us.”
“Leave them alone. What could guys like them possibly do to interfere?”
“Still…”
Ellis seemed to remain uncomfortable about something.
That’s when Yakubu, from Nigeria, smiled maliciously.
“Could it be because of that woman?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You saw the blonde woman next to that champ earlier, right?”
All the men smiled at Yakubu’s words.
“Whew! She was really something!”
“Even prettier than movie actresses.”
“She must be a hero too?”
“That’s probably why they’re traveling together.”
“Ha, that champ is lucky. Where did he find such a woman?”
Then Irfan, from India, spoke up.
“That woman. Couldn’t we have her join our party?”
“What are you saying? We agreed to always move as five people.”
“No, just because we bring her along doesn’t mean we have to share quests. This world still has systems like slavery and…”
His companions were startled at the mention of slavery.
“You piece of trash! Even that’s going too far.”
“Ugh, stop saying such disgusting things!”
“Haha! It’s just a joke, just a joke!”
Irfan backed off, waving his hands at his companions’ opposition.
“That’s enough, everyone.”
Nicolo, sitting in his chair, stood up and wrapped up the situation.
“Let’s rest for today. We’ll need to move diligently starting tomorrow.”
***
The next day.
The group was again focused on searching the forest around the village.
“Oh ho, Bobo. Stay still.”
“Kwang!”
Bobo, who was in Choi Hyun-seok’s arms, barked loudly at his words.
He had made a baby carrier using a cloth to carry Bobo like a baby.
He couldn’t keep carrying him in his arms forever.
“*Sigh*. Being a father to a child that wasn’t meant to be in my destiny.”
Choi Hyun-seok wasn’t doing this by choice either.
If he had his way, he’d put Bobo down on the ground and tell it to follow, but he couldn’t do that.
‘Who knows what kind of accident might happen if I let it loose.’
He had to always hold Bobo in his arms and stay vigilant, as it might suddenly turn violent and devour something.
“Guess it’s about time to head back.”
Choi Hyun-seok looked up at the sky with a face like a regretful old man.
The forest was beginning to turn red with the burning sunset.
The sadness of having to return without results today was brief.
“I should grill some meat!”
His mood quickly improved at the thought of dinner.
His steps toward the village were light.
“Ms. Abelson!”
A moment later.
He ran into Abelson returning to the village entrance.
“Did you have any results?”
Abelson shook her head with a sad face.
It seemed she had come up empty-handed as well.
“Don’t be too disappointed. If we keep looking, something will turn up.”
“Yes.”
“Speaking of which, I’m thinking of having meat for dinner tonight, what do you think?”
Suddenly Abelson’s head whipped around.
She stared at Choi Hyun-seok with sparkling eyes that made it hard to believe she was the same person who had been depressed just moments ago.
Then she suddenly blushed and gave a fake cough.
“Ahem, if Mr. Choi Hyun-seok wants to…”
It was too late to pretend now that everything was obvious.
Still, since her behavior was quite cute, Choi Hyun-seok decided to play along.
“Let’s head back to the inn and shower first.”
“Yes.”
Just as they started walking.
“What’s this…?”
Suddenly Abelson’s expression hardened, and she started running without warning.
“Ms. Abelson. What’s wrong!?”
“I sense demonic energy, though it’s weak!”
Screams could be heard from people in the distance.
“Kyaaak! He-Hera has come back to life!”
“Dorfman is in danger!”
Choi Hyun-seok’s speed increased even more.
Now he too could start sensing the demonic energy.
Something finally came into his view as he ran past Abelson and others at tremendous speed.
‘…Is that really human?’
Hera, the woman who had died and whose funeral he had attended just days ago.
She was holding her father Dorfman.
“Kheeeek!”
“He-Hera… How…”
Instead of answering, Hera bit into Dorfman’s neck.
A chunk of flesh was torn away.
Blood gushed from the torn artery.
“Kyaaaa-!”
“Uwaaa! Monster!”
Breaking through the fleeing villagers, Choi Hyun-seok grabbed Hera’s head and pushed.
“Kraaagh!”
Hera struggled with her blood-covered face.
An indescribably foul odor emanated from her body and mouth.
“Ah, the smell is really awful.”
Choi Hyun-seok suppressed the urge to blow her head off and held onto Hera.
While doing so, he glanced over to check on her father Dorfman.
‘Is he dead…’
Dorfman lay motionless with his eyes rolled back.
He seemed to no longer be of this world.
To be killed by his daughter who had died days ago.
What a tragic death.
“That’s…!”
That’s when Abelson, who had arrived late, joined him.
She looked at Hera and seemed to notice something, showing a surprised expression.
“Kraaaa!”
“What’s going on? Wasn’t this woman definitely dead?”
Choi Hyun-seok asked while pinning down the struggling Hera.
“It’s probably Necromancy.”
“Necromancy? What’s that?”
“Magic that uses the dead and their souls. There are records of some demons using it. Even though I’m seeing it for the first time in person…”
Even as they conversed, Hera continued to shriek and thrash about.
Watching her rampage, Choi Hyun-seok started to worry.
It reminded him of zombies that often appear in movies.
“If you get bitten, does it spread? Like… I won’t turn into like a zombie, right?”
“There are no such records. However, being a decaying corpse, there’s a high risk of transmitting various diseases.”
“Ah, that’s problematic in its own way.”
“Yes. Even if the wound isn’t large, it could be life-threatening if not treated properly.”
Choi Hyun-seok nodded.
“We should tie her up somewhere for now.”
“That would be good. We need to investigate properly.”
“Ms. Abelson, could you bring some rope?”
Choi Hyun-seok said as he moved Hera toward a tree.
At that moment.
PABAK!
Hera’s head exploded from the magic that came flying from somewhere.
Splat!
Blood and flesh stuck stubbornly to Choi Hyun-seok’s face.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t hot.
The cold, smelly blood made his head even hotter.
“Are you alright?”
When he turned his head, he saw Nicolo and his fellow heroes approaching with smirks.
“It looked urgent, so I helped.”
“Ugh, what is this?”
“Must be contaminated by evil magic!”
“Ew, gross~ The smell is terrible!”
“Is it a zombie? A zombie!”
The hero party chatted while treating Choi Hyun-seok like he was invisible.
Choi Hyun-seok looked up at the sky and let out a deep sigh.
‘There’s an old saying…’
If you have three characters for ‘endurance’, you can avoid murder.
It was a very famous proverb.
To Choi Hyun-seok, it sounded like this,
‘If you’re not going to kill them, there’s no need to endure.’
He loosened up his body slightly and tapped Nicolo’s shoulder.
“Hey.”
“What is it?”
“Be careful not to get killed by accident.”
