Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad [EN]: Chapter 17

In front of Choi Hyun-seok was a pair of goggles with a rather familiar design.

They covered one ear and had green lenses.

“I bought this combat power meter from the Hero Shop for 50 points.”

“Excuse me…?”

Rahel looked completely clueless.

Choi Hyun-seok began to explain with a friendly face.

“Didn’t you watch cartoons when you were little? See these green lenses? When you look at someone through them, you can see their combat power.”

“I know what those Saiyan-like goggles are!” [Referring to Dragon Ball Z’s scouters.]

“Then what’s the problem?”

“What I’m saying is, is it worth spending 50 Hero Points on that?”

“Of course, it is.”

Choi Hyun-seok said with a smile.

“I’m going to use this to see the overall combat power of the Demon King’s soldiers. And check out Kurken, my opponent in the duel.”

“And then what?”

“I’ll ask the cooks to spar with me.”

“Sparring?”

“Yeah. I’ll pick a cook with a similar combat power to Kurken and fight them. Wouldn’t that be a huge help in a real battle?”

“Hmm… that makes sense.”

Currently, all the cooks, including Head Chef Kulkan, were completely addicted to the seasoning.

They would agree to a sparring request without hesitation.

“Plus, this meter can also be used on magical beasts. It will definitely be a great help in hunting in the future.”

“Do you need a combat power meter for hunting?”

“Of course, I do.”

Rahel tilted her head at Choi Hyun-seok’s answer.

“That’s strange… you’re just hiding and getting the last hit anyway, aren’t you? Do you really need it?”

“I’d appreciate it if you used a nicer word like ‘strategic’ instead of ‘cowardly’.”

“Let’s skip the minor details.”

“Haa… fine.”

Choi Hyun-seok sighed and continued.

“Anyway, you’re not wrong. I wouldn’t normally need it. But the situation has changed.”

“What situation?”

“It seems like my level has gone up quite a bit, so I’m not getting much experience from just getting the last hit anymore.”

At first, his level went up quickly just by landing the final blow.

But now that he had reached level 100, it was no longer easy to level up that way.

“It’s going to get harder in the future. So, I’m going to use the combat power meter to pick out the easy targets and gain some real combat experience.”

“Oho… that’s a good idea.”

Rahel nodded, holding her chin.

“Okay. Let’s start right away.”

Choi Hyun-seok picked up the meter.

□ Shabby Combat Power Meter Description: Measures the target’s strength, stamina, agility, and magic power to determine their combat power.

Ability: Allows you to know the ‘approximate’ combat power of the target.

The item description wasn’t very trustworthy, but it was okay.

“As long as it doesn’t break and works properly.”

Choi Hyun-seok put on the combat power meter and looked at Rahel.

The combat power, which had been at 0, gradually began to rise.

“Ooh, so that’s how it works.”

The measurement was quickly completed.

[ Combat Power: 375 ]

Looking at the number on the lens, a question suddenly arose.

How strong is a combat power of 375?

“Your combat power is 375, but I don’t know how strong that is.”

“Well, why don’t you measure yourself, Hero?”

“Then you look at me this time.”

“How am I supposed to use this?”

Rahel struggled to hold the combat power meter.

Rahel was so small, only about 30cm tall, that she couldn’t use a meter as big as herself.

“We can do it like this.”

Choi Hyun-seok picked up the combat power meter and placed it on the table.

“Put your face up to it. Wouldn’t that work?”

“Ooh, that’s right.”

Choi Hyun-seok chuckled as he watched Rahel, who seemed quite excited.

She looked adorable as she brought her face up to the lens, which was bigger than her head, and marveled at it.

“Is it measuring?”

“Yes! The numbers are going up!”

The combat power continued to rise and finally stopped.

Beep!

“What did it say?”

At Choi Hyun-seok’s question, Rahel made an uncomfortable face.

“Ugh… I think this is broken…”

“Why?”

“Your combat power is 1560, that’s too high!”

[ Combat Power: 1560 ]

Rahel made a sulky face as she saw a combat power almost five times higher than hers.

“Rahel.”

Choi Hyun-seok approached and placed his finger on Rahel’s shoulder.

“Aren’t you too weak?”

“Uuu…”

“Train harder. You’re fifty thousand years too early to catch up to me with that combat power!”

Rahel looked resentful at Choi Hyun-seok’s teasing.

“No way! This is broken! No, if I were in my original state, I would have been over ten thousand! It’s because I’m a dedicated fairy now!”

“Yeah, yeah. I get it, but how about you get over a thousand first before you start talking about ten thousand?”

“Ugh…! Annoying!”

“Kuhahahaha!”

Choi Hyun-seok laughed heartily, seemingly satisfied with Rahel’s frustration.

“This is fun. Should we take a look at Bobo this time?”

“Hmph… look if you want…”

Rahel turned her head away.

But she was secretly squinting and watching, so she seemed curious about Bobo’s combat power as well.

“Bobo, stay still.”

Choi Hyun-seok put on the combat power meter and looked at Bobo.

“Kuaaang…”

Bobo, who was yawning after dinner, glanced at Choi Hyun-seok and closed his eyes again.

He seemed sleepy.

“Ooh! It’s going up.”

The combat power number written on the lens was rising rapidly.

Choi Hyun-seok watched the situation with expectant eyes.

“Hmm…?”

Suddenly, Choi Hyun-seok narrowed his brows.

The combat power number was strange.

“What’s wrong with this?”

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“The combat power exceeded ten thousand?”

“What…?”

“But it keeps going up.”

The combat power, which had exceeded ten thousand, even began to rise faster and faster.

“Uh oh…?”

Beep!

Finally, the combat power number, which had been soaring sky-high, stopped.

“What is it? How much did it say?” Rahel approached with a curious face and urged him to tell her the result.

“Forty…”

“Forty?”

“Forty-seven thousand four hundred and twenty-two…”

[ Combat Power: 47422 ]

No matter how many times he looked, the result was the same.

A whopping number exceeding 40,000.

Rahel scoffed at the result.

“Pfft! You told me I had a low number, but it turns out you’re not a big deal either, Hero!”

“No, like you said, I think this is broken.”

Choi Hyun-seok said with a serious face.

But that kind of trick wouldn’t work on Rahel.

“Come on~ There’s no way a brand new piece of equipment would break, right? You’re just incredibly weak, Hero. Accept reality.”

“…”

Choi Hyun-seok silently approached Bobo.

Then, he carefully began to stroke his head.

“Bobo. Is there anything you want to eat?”

Bobo still looked sleepy.

“Let’s be friends in the future too.”

“Kuaawang…”

“Ogu ogu! You cute thing!” [A Korean expression of endearment.]

Bobo yawned and closed his eyes.

Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes were endlessly warm as he looked at him.

***

The next day.

Choi Hyun-seok left Bobo’s house before the sun even rose.

“You’re leaving really early today?”

“Yeah. I’m going to look around on the way.”

Choi Hyun-seok was currently wearing the… no, the combat power meter.

He wanted to check the combat power of the other Demon King’s soldiers on his way to the cookhouse.

‘Hmm… so they really are Demon King’s soldiers.’

Choi Hyun-seok checked the combat power of every soldier he passed, and their average combat power was quite high.

[ Combat Power: 960 ]

[ Combat Power: 1620 ]

[ Combat Power: 1350 ]

[ Combat Power: 1100 ]

‘I guess these guys are born monsters… I can barely say I’m on a similar level now.’

Choi Hyun-seok was an ordinary human.

On the other hand, the Demon King’s soldiers here were monsters called ‘demons’.

Choi Hyun-seok once again realized this fact and became more vigilant.

‘At least the goblins are the easiest to deal with.’

Occasionally, there were some who were particularly weak, and they were all goblins.

[ Combat Power: 231 ]

Perhaps because of their small size, most goblins had a combat power of less than 300.

At that moment, Choi Hyun-seok opened his mouth without realizing it.

“Woah… what is that?”

One of the Demon King’s soldiers had an exceptionally high combat power.

[ Combat Power: 14300 ]

A number exceeding 10,000.

Even compared to the surrounding soldiers, it was overwhelmingly high.

‘Why is it so high? Is it really broken?’

Choi Hyun-seok’s question was quickly resolved.

“Commander Volkman, where are we going today?”

“Today’s work is…”

Choi Hyun-seok nodded as he listened to the conversation.

‘He’s a commander.’

It seemed that officers and commanders were on a different level than ordinary soldiers.

‘They say the difference in strength is on a different level if you have good blood… this world is really unfair.’

Choi Hyun-seok had picked up various things while serving in the Demon King’s army.

One of them was bloodline.

It is said that bloodline is even more important for demons than for humans.

Almost from birth, the limits of their strength are determined.

This was evident from the fact that Bobo’s combat power, who was not yet an adult, exceeded 40,000.

“Hero. What are you doing?”

“Huh?”

“We need to go check out that pig-headed Kurken soon.”

“Ah, right!”

Choi Hyun-seok, remembering that the main purpose of today was to check out the orc Kurken, his opponent in the duel, immediately moved his feet.

“How strong is that pig?”

“Well… Kurken is a squad leader, so wouldn’t he be similar to the others?”

As a result of today’s investigation, the combat power of a squad leader was approximately 2000-3000.

Therefore, he expected that Kurken, his opponent in the duel, would be similar.

“Maybe 3000 at most?”

However, expectations always go wrong.

Choi Hyun-seok, who didn’t know that fact yet, walked lightly.

***

“I think it was around here.”

After a while, Choi Hyun-seok arrived near the barracks where Kurken was.

He remembered it because he had been here with Hemis before.

Kooong! Kooong!

“What’s that sound?”

“Let’s go.”

The noise was coming from nearby.

Following the source, he could see Kurken, his opponent in the duel, training.

“What is that…?”

“I know, right…”

Even from a distance, Kurken’s wriggling muscles were unusual.

The muscle pig Kurken was holding a thick iron club and repeatedly smashing it into a rock.

Kooong! Kooong! Kooong!

Every time the iron club fell, the large rock made a loud noise and shattered.

Even though they were quite far away, fragments of the broken rock flew to Choi Hyun-seok’s feet.

“Hero… what’s that pig’s combat power?”

Choi Hyun-seok, who was looking at the combat power on the lens, closed his eyes.

[ Combat Power: 6671 ]

“Why aren’t you saying anything? How much combat power does that guy have?”

“Six thousand six hundred…”

“Six thousand six hundred?!”

Rahel was horrified to hear Kurken’s combat power.

“What? Did you see it wrong? Are you blind or something?!”

“No. It’s the same even if I look again… I’m really screwed.”

When he first came here, Choi Hyun-seok was a really ordinary human.

Maybe his combat power wasn’t even 500.

But now, he was being told to defeat a monster like that in just one month.

“They were just telling me to die.”

Did Hemis not intend to keep him alive in the first place?

All sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind.

“Hero. What do we do now…?”

Rahel asked with an anxious expression.

There were only fifteen days left.

It didn’t seem like Choi Hyun-seok could defeat a monster like that in that time.

“Hoo… no, it’s too early to give up yet. I have to do everything I can.”

He had no intention of dying like this.

Whether he poisoned him or assassinated him.

He would somehow kill Kurken and survive.

★☆★☆ Hero Quest! ★☆★☆

Oh no! Your chances of winning against that muscle pig seem close to 0!

But I am deeply impressed by your determination not to give up even in a desperate situation!

So, I want to give you a chance!

Achieve a combat power of 3000 within the next week!

· Goal: Achieve a combat power of 3000 within one week

· Reward: 300 Hero Points

The Hero Quest was activated in a timely manner.

“The Hero Quest popped up.”

“Yes?”

“The Hero Quest popped up. It says to achieve a combat power of 3000 in one week.”

Rahel made a tearful face at the words combat power 3000.

The number he had raised in 3 weeks was 1500.

But now he had to make 3000 in the remaining week.

“It’s impossible for anyone!”

“We’ll have to see.”

Choi Hyun-seok gritted his teeth.

“It’s either death or fainting anyway.”

Hero Choi Hyun-seok.

There was no such thing as giving up in his dictionary.

Until the day he gets a golden-haired noble lady, five children like rabbits [a Korean idiom for many children], and a mansion in his old age!