Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad [EN]: Chapter 131

Heading towards the capital of the Marriott Kingdom.

The journey on foot was more comfortable than expected.

A cool breeze swept by, cooling the sweat.

And occasionally, the people met along the way eased the loneliness.

Just like now.

“Hand over what you’ve got, and I’ll spare your lives!” “Wait a minute! The girl next to you is quite the beauty!” “Oh! The boss will love this!”

Seeing the men blocking the road, Choi Hyun-seok sighed.

“This is getting old.”

How many times have they encountered bandits already?

At first, these encounters weren’t so bad.

It felt like traveling, and the fun of enacting justice was quite enjoyable.

But even fun things get old after a while.

Meeting a group every other day has become nothing but a nuisance.

‘Why are these gnats buzzing around so much?’

Choi Hyun-seok was worried.

How far has the security of the human world fallen?

Could it be worse than the Demon Realm?

While that was somewhat true, there was a reason why the group was attracting so many bandits.

They looked too delicious.

Villains aren’t stupid.

Rather, these guys make it their motto to be strong against the weak and weak against the strong, practicing it more diligently than anyone else.

If they think they can win, they throw a punch first.

If the enemy seems even slightly stronger, they don’t even show their faces.

This is their way of life and survival strategy.

The fact that these cunning villains kept coming was entirely the group’s fault.

The group was always concealing their magic power, demonic energy, and divine power.

Even Bobo didn’t usually emit demonic energy.

Thanks to this, Choi Hyun-seok and Abelson looked like a crazy couple hiking in the mountains without guards in the eyes of ordinary people.

From the villains’ perspective, it was a case of ‘the early bird gets the worm,’ a great prey that made them think, ‘If we don’t attack them, we’re fools!’

“Hey you. Are you not understanding the situation? If you want to live, hand over everything you have!” “Forget it. Let’s just kill them and take it.”

Choi Hyun-seok shook his head at their words.

“The repertoire is always the same. It’s like a mass-produced product.”

The most annoying thing for Choi Hyun-seok was this predictable development.

Even if they appeared frequently, it wouldn’t be so tedious if there were diverse variations.

Whether they were robbers, bandits, or thieves, they acted the same as if they were made in a factory, making them uninteresting to deal with.

“This bastard. What are you saying? Do you think we’re a joke!?” “Hey, just because you’re big doesn’t mean anything. You die the same when you’re stabbed! Got it!?”

He had already heard similar lines two or three times.

Choi Hyun-seok frowned and scratched the back of his head.

“What should I do…”

He had two main options.

One. Beat these guys up and leave.

Two. Invade their base and destroy everything.

He wanted to go with the first option, which didn’t escalate things, but there was a problem.

In this case, pursuers might follow.

There were times when they persistently followed to take revenge, and he ended up going back and destroying the bandits’ base.

“Ugh, this is so hard to decide.”

Choi Hyun-seok closed his eyes and pondered.

The mountain bandits couldn’t help but be angry at being ignored right in front of them.

“This bastard!”

“Just kill him!”

The enemy rushed in, brandishing their weapons.

Choi Hyun-seok didn’t move.

No, he didn’t need to.

Crack!

A chilling sound was heard.

“Wh-What is it!?”

“Kill! Kill them!” “You crazy bitch!”

After a few curses.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Again, the sound of something breaking.

When he opened his eyes, he saw men lying on the ground with their heads smashed.

“Did you finish already?”

“Yes. They were people who didn’t need to be kept alive.”

Abelson said, wiping the blood from her face.

“Won’t pursuers come?”

“We’ll think about that when it happens.”

“Ah… I see.”

Choi Hyun-seok nodded awkwardly.

Abelson had become quite scary lately.

At first, she was just a strong child wielding a mace, but now she had risen to the level of a neighborhood thug who had learned to fight.

Considering that she had only been holding a weapon for a few days, it was a natural talent.

‘I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but her movements seem faster…’

It wasn’t just that her skills had improved, but her physical abilities also seemed to have strengthened.

Choi Hyun-seok put on his combat power meter after a long time and checked Abelson.

[ Combat Power: 78,936 ]

“It’s gone up quite a bit from before.”

Her previously confirmed combat power was around the early 70,000s.

Now it was in the late 70,000s, meaning it had increased by at least 5,000.

Then Abelson, who saw Choi Hyun-seok, tilted her head.

“What is that?”

“Ah, this is called a combat power meter.”

Choi Hyun-seok took off the meter and explained simply.

Abelson nodded, looking unusually interested.

“That’s amazing. It measures the subject’s physical abilities, magic power, and demonic energy and quantifies them.”

“Most warriors have one. They’re not that expensive.”

“So, what does mine come out to?”

“About 78,000.”

“Hmm…”

Abelson stopped still.

She seemed to be gauging what level 78,000 was.

“To give you a rough idea, it’s somewhere between a battalion commander and a regimental commander in the Demon King’s army.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Speaking of which, there’s something I wanted to ask you about this.”

Since the topic came up, Choi Hyun-seok decided to ask what he was curious about.

“Why is your combat power so high, Abelson?”

It was true that Abelson’s physical abilities were outstanding.

But that was only compared to ordinary people.

It was definitely not at a level that could exceed 70,000.

Even if he brought a Demon King’s army company commander right now, they would be faster and stronger than Abelson.

In Choi Hyun-seok’s view, her combat power was around 20,000 or even lower.

“Maybe it’s because of divine power?”

“Divine power?”

“Yes. Even though I look like this, I was the next Saintess [a woman regarded as having exceptional holiness]. When it comes to divine power alone, I’m one of the best in the entire continent.”

“Ah! That must be it.”

Once he heard it, the answer was so simple that he wondered why he hadn’t thought of it.

Abelson’s overwhelming divine power.

That must be the foundation of her high combat power.

“Lately, I feel like I’m getting closer to a wall. It feels like I could grow more if there was just a trigger…”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Whenever I’ve had this feeling before, my divine power has increased significantly.”

She already had tremendous divine power, and now she was going to grow even more.

From Choi Hyun-seok’s perspective, who had barely managed to grow by struggling like a dog, it was quite enviable.

This was why people in the 21st century were so adamant that genetics and being born with a silver spoon were important.

“Come to think of it, what’s Bobo’s?”

When it came to genetics, Bobo was another one to consider.

Since he had the meter out, Choi Hyun-seok decided to check Bobo as well.

“Krah! Slurp!”

Bobo was busy eating the bandits’ corpses.

The sight of an adorable puppy voraciously eating corpses was somewhat grotesque.

‘Hmm, the last time I checked, Bobo’s combat power was around 150,000, right?’

Choi Hyun-seok looked at the adorable Bobo with the meter.

[ Combat Power: 198,520 ]

Huh?

He rubbed his eyes and checked the meter again.

[ Combat Power: 198,520 ]

It was the same even when he checked again.

“It’s not broken, is it…?”

He couldn’t understand.

What could he possibly do to increase his combat power by nearly 50,000 in just a few days?

Bobo had been rapidly getting stronger before, but not to this extent.

‘Ah! Could it be because of Hemis…’

Before leaving the Demon King’s army.

Raiderun had given Bobo something to eat, saying it was from Hemis.

That’s why he was able to shrink like this, and if other abilities had also increased in the process, it would make sense.

“At this rate, I don’t have to worry about him getting beat up anywhere…”

Even if a human hero came, wouldn’t Bobo be able to handle it alone?

He felt reassured, but also uneasy.

‘If he causes trouble, it’ll be hard to clean up.’

He thought he might be able to control Bobo now that he had become quite strong.

But it seemed like he still needed a lot of time.

Then Rachel approached from the side.

“Warrior! Should I check yours too?”

“Ah, sure.”

Choi Hyun-seok nodded.

“I leveled up quite a bit recently, after all.”

He had leveled up a lot after successfully completing the warrior quest in Kiton.

Choi Hyun-seok decided to check his status window again.

▫Name: Choi Hyun-seok

▫Title: Regular Warrior

▫Level: 697

·Strength: 235

·Agility: 232

·Stamina: 236

·Magic Power: 280

·Demonic Energy: 265

·Charisma: 92

·Fighting Spirit: 37

·Bonus Points: –

▫Warrior Points: 5200

▫Abilities: Pickaxing (C), Leadership (C), Cooking (D), Magic Power Control (B), Demonic Energy Control (B), Magic Overeating (E)▫Skills: Raiderun-style Fighting Technique, Raiderun-style Fighting Technique Variation, Flomot, Nobilaise, Perminium Mode, Crepitus Mode

Level almost reaching 700.

Warrior points also reached 5200.

It was originally 5700, but he spent 500 to buy a magic backpack before leaving Kiton.

“Let’s see…”

Rachel looked at the meter with a serious expression.

Abelson also peeked out, curious about the result.

Beep!

Finally, the measurement was complete.

Rachel jumped up.

“Woohoo! That’s amazing!?”

“Where did you learn that strange interjection?”

“That’s not important right now! The combat power!”

“Why? How much did it come out to?”

Rachel checked the number on the meter again.

[ Combat Power: 100,062 ]

“It’s over 100,000!”

“Really!?”

Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes widened as if they would pop out.

Combat power of 100,000!

He had expected to reach it soon, but he felt new emotions now that he had actually achieved it.

He felt like he should hang a banner in the neighborhood and promote it extensively!

To borrow a cliché, he was truly deeply moved.

“So, this day has come for me…”

“Warrior! Congratulations!”

“Thanks.”

“Should we have a party!?”

“A party? What kind of party?”

“Hmm~ A barbecue!”

Choi Hyun-seok frowned at the mention of a barbecue.

“I have to grill everything, so I’ll be the one working the hardest at a party for me.”

“Hey~ Don’t worry about the small stuff. The party and the meat are what’s important.”

“What nonsense! My celebration is just an excuse, and you just want to have fun!?”

“You could see it that way!”

Rachel put her hands on her hips and struck a confident pose.

“Is wanting to have fun a sin!?”

“Seriously…”

Why is she like this?

Did she hit her head somewhere on the way?

Choi Hyun-seok stopped talking to Rachel.

Instead, he decided to grill the meat.

“Bring the firewood!”

“Yes!”

In fact, Choi Hyun-seok also wanted to eat meat.

***

“We’re running out of food. Shouldn’t we stop somewhere to resupply?”

Abelson nodded at Choi Hyun-seok’s question.

“It’s also time to relieve some fatigue.”

They had been traveling and camping out for almost a week.

They hadn’t been able to wash properly, and most of the food they brought had spoiled, so they needed to restock.

The ‘Excellent Magic Backpack’ he bought from the warrior shop could hold a lot of items, but it didn’t have a preservation function like an inventory.

Therefore, they had to periodically replenish fresh food.

They couldn’t just eat preserved food like dried meat throughout the trip.

“According to the map, there’s a village around here. But it’s a bit of a detour to our destination. Is that okay?”

“Yes. We’re not in a particularly urgent situation anyway.”

Abelson readily agreed.

In the first place, going to the capital of the Marriott Kingdom wasn’t urgent.

They were just going there because they needed a place to hide from the Holy Empire and rely on.

There was no reason to panic if the journey was delayed a little.

“Let’s go right away!”

After walking for several hours, the group arrived at a small village.

A small village that could be seen at a glance from a slightly higher hill.

The total number of households didn’t seem to be even 500.

“Kiton wasn’t that big either, but this is a real backwater.”

“Warrior. Do you think they’ll have anything to eat in a place like this?”

“Hmm, they’ll have something.”

Abelson interjected in Choi Hyun-seok and Rachel’s dissatisfied conversation.

“I actually like these small villages better. There might be a Theus Church temple in the city.”

“A temple?”

“Yes. If there’s a temple, there’s a high chance our identities will be exposed.”

“Ah…”

“The Domis Kingdom has relatively little influence from the Theus Church, so there was no temple in Kiton. But usually, most cities of that size have a temple.”

“I see.”

Choi Hyun-seok nodded and thought.

“Maybe Hemis put us down in Kiton out of consideration.”

There were hardly any cities located near the Demonic Boundary with a moderate size and no temples.

Rather than the group being lucky enough to enter such a Kiton, it was more likely that Hemis had found such a city in advance and sent the group there.

“But Abelson.”

“Yes?”

“Is something bothering you? You don’t look good.”

Choi Hyun-seok stared at her face.

Abelson was usually expressionless, but today she felt particularly gloomy.

“It’s nothing…”

“Um, is that so?”

She seemed to have something on her mind, but if she didn’t want to talk about it, he didn’t want to pry.

He figured it would be okay since she said it was nothing.

Choi Hyun-seok cleared his mind and moved his body.

“Then, shall we go in!?”

“Warrior! Let’s eat something delicious!”