Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad [EN]: Chapter 160

“Did I hear you right? You want me to be your teacher?”

“Yes.”

Park Hyun-ah narrowed her eyes as she asked.

Choi Hyun-seok nodded with a nonchalant expression.

“If you’re smitten after seeing me fight, give it up. It would take you forever to get to this level.”
“It’s not that I particularly want to be like Park Hyun-ah… Noona [older sister or female friend].”

Choi Hyun-seok, who was about to call her ‘ssi’ [a formal Korean title similar to ‘Ms.’ or ‘Mr.’], quickly changed his honorific when her expression twisted fiercely.

“Ahem, I’m not bringing this up on a whim either. I’ve been feeling the need for training for a while now.”

“Then do it.”

“I don’t have a suitable place or time to train. We’re being chased by the Holy Empire, after all.”

Park Hyun-ah scoffed.

“So, you want me to be your babysitter?”
“It doesn’t have to be as a teacher. If you could just provide a place to train away from the Empire’s eyes, I won’t forget your kindness.”

Choi Hyun-seok spoke with sincerity.

He had realized one thing for sure from this incident.

At least in the human realm, there was no place beyond the reach of the Holy Empire’s eyes.

But he couldn’t return to the Demon King’s army either.

He was in a situation where he had nowhere to go.

He needed a place to hide from the Empire’s gaze.

“Honestly, aren’t you unemployed now, Noona? You have nothing to do, so why not take in a cute disciple….”
“Cute, my ass! What’s cute about a muscle-bound guy who’s over 190cm tall [approximately 6’3″]!?”

Park Hyun-ah’s height was 169cm [approximately 5’7″], which was taller than the average Korean woman.

However, it was nothing compared to Choi Hyun-seok, who was well over 190cm tall.

The difference in their physiques was so great that there was a head’s difference between them when they stood side by side.

“Haa… I knew this guy was audacious, but he’s even worse than I thought.”

Park Hyun-ah scratched her head.

She seemed to be contemplating what to do.

Choi Hyun-seok quickly continued.

“Even though I look like this, my potential is some kind of SSS-rank, the best ever! If you raise me well, I’ll definitely be useful.”
“Your potential is SSS-rank?”
“Yes. This friend here said so.”

Choi Hyun-seok grabbed Rachel and pushed her forward.

“Ah! Why me…!”

Rachel, who was struggling and resisting, quickly became docile when she made eye contact with Park Hyun-ah.

“Hehe… That’s right. SSS-rank potential! I, Rachel, guarantee it!”

Her behavior of being strong against the weak and weak against the strong was exactly like a hero or a dedicated fairy.

“Hmm, is that so.”

Park Hyun-ah stroked her chin and continued.

“No wonder. Even if Mouthpiece [referring to Hemiss] trained you, I thought your growth rate was too much. So that’s why?”

She had known for a while that Hemiss was determined to raise Choi Hyun-seok.

However, even considering that fact, she thought Choi Hyun-seok’s growth was too fast, but if his potential was SSS-rank, it was somewhat explained.

“Has there ever been a hero with SSS-rank potential among the past heroes?”
“No. More than 100,000 heroes have come here so far, and there are fewer than ten who are SS-rank.”
“That’s right. I’m S-rank, and I’ve only met one other besides myself.”

Park Hyun-ah’s eyes began to fill with interest.

‘SSS-rank… I wonder how strong he’ll become.’

Even she, with S-rank potential, had a combat power of over 450,000.

And although it was slow, she was still steadily growing.

If Choi Hyun-seok, with SSS-rank potential, were to grow, how strong could he become?

He would easily surpass 600,000, and perhaps even reach 1,000,000.

‘Combat power of 1,000,000…’

The combat power measuring device that Park Hyun-ah possessed could measure up to a maximum of 1,000,000.

She had measured the combat power of all the Demon King’s army commanders, and most of them were between 400,000 and 500,000.

If he really reached a combat power of 1,000,000, she wondered what kind of power he would show.

‘Mouthpiece’s [Hemiss’s] combat power was roughly over 800,000, wasn’t it?’

Hemiss had an overwhelmingly high combat power in the 800,000s, higher than other army commanders.

1,000,000 would be an even higher number than Hemiss.

‘Well, it’s not just the combat power number that makes that bitch dangerous…’

Park Hyun-ah shook her head, thinking about Hemiss for a moment.

‘That’s enough. What’s the point of thinking about a dead bitch.’

One way or another, Hemiss was dead.

Park Hyun-ah had watched too many deaths, so she didn’t dwell on the dead.

In the first place, she didn’t even have good memories with Hemiss.

“Okay! I’ve decided.”

Park Hyun-ah smiled at Choi Hyun-seok.

“I’ll do it. Teacher.”

***

Gratiaem, the capital of the Holy Empire of Gatrein.

“Hehe…”

Pope Orban IV was laughing.

“Hehehehe…”

The way he kept laughing weakly made it seem like he had dementia.

The surrounding officials all kept their mouths shut and watched his every move.

“Hehe… He… He.”

The Pope, who had been laughing for a long time, finally stopped laughing.

He spoke with his eyes closed.

“You’re joking right now, aren’t you?”

“…”

No one answered.

The Pope asked again.

“I don’t like jokes. Tell me right now, even now.”

“…”

“You’re joking, aren’t you?”

“…”

“Didn’t I tell you to speak up right now!”

At that moment, the Pope slammed the table.

Kwaaaang-!

With a deafening roar, the table shattered.

The officials all swallowed hard.

The table that the Pope had just broken was worth thousands of gold coins.

However, what surprised them was not the price of the table.

‘It’s not supposed to break like that…’

The material used to make the table was a rare mineral that wouldn’t even scratch with ordinary impacts.

Such a table was shattered into pieces with a single punch.

Until now, the Pope had never used force in front of others.

Therefore, none of the officials knew that the old man was hiding such tremendous power.

“…”

A chilling silence filled the air.

There was no guarantee that the ignorant fist wouldn’t fall on someone’s head right away.

Unfortunately, no one in this place had a head harder than that table.

“Hoo, I’m sorry.”

The Pope sighed and slumped into his chair.

The waiting attendants rushed in and hurriedly cleared away the table debris.

Because it was such a heavy mineral, they were sweating profusely just moving the pieces.

The Pope watched the scene and tapped the armrest.

Tuk, tuk, tuk.

After calming down for a while, the Pope finally opened his mouth.

“What about the location of Choi Hyun-seok and Abelson Marriott?”

“That is…”

“You missed them, didn’t you? Yes. I already know.”

The man giving the report trembled.

Cold sweat was pouring down his back.

The scene of the table being shattered kept flashing in his mind.

“Haaaa…”

The Pope took a deep breath.

“Continue the pursuit. You must find them even if you have to search the entire continent.”

“Yes!”

“Let’s leave this story here.”

The Pope rubbed his forehead with a tired expression.

“Let’s move on to the next agenda. How is the suppression of necromancy within the Empire going?”

At the Pope’s words, another official rose from his seat.

He began to report, checking the documents in his hand.

“Currently, we have discovered exactly 1,524 special devices within the Empire’s territory that appear to be generating magical energy.”

“Have you figured out the principle of how they work?”

“I’m sorry! Not yet…”

“It’s okay. I knew that the magical engineering technology of the demons was superior to ours. Continue your research.”

“Yes!”

“Ah, I’m asking just in case. Is there no longer a threat of necromancy within the Empire?”

“That’s right. The magical energy density throughout the Empire has returned to normal. There may be undiscovered devices, but it will be impossible to use necromancy.”

“Excellent.”

The Pope narrowed his eyes.

The pupils buried in the crinkled wrinkles shone eerily.

“Maintaining confidentiality is especially important in this matter.”

“…”

“When all countries are in crisis due to necromancy, we must be the only safe country. We must give the impression that ‘the Holy Empire of Gatrein is blessed by God.’ Do you understand?”

“Yes!”

After that, reports on several other agendas continued.

Finally, the reports and meetings ended.

“Let’s stop here for today.”

“…”

“Then go and see to your work.”

At the Pope’s words, the officials rose in unison.

“Ah, I forgot to say one thing.”

The officials who had risen sat back down in their seats.

“Once this is over, I plan to deal with the demons. The relevant departments should prepare a plan and report it.”

“Yes!”

“I’ll give you a week.”

“Yes…”

“Then go.”

The expressions of the officials leaving the conference room were rotten.

The demons were not simply entangled with the Holy Empire alone.

Every country on the continent had complex secret agreements with the demons.

But to create a plan to deal with the demons within a week.

‘I have to do what I’m told…’

Even if it was unfair, there was no choice.

To survive, they had to stay up for several nights and create results that would satisfy the Pope.

***

Park Hyun-ah used space-time magic to bring the group somewhere.

It was Choi Hyun-seok’s first time in this place, but it felt strangely familiar.

“Noona, where are we going?”

“You’ll know when we get there.”

“Yes.”

Choi Hyun-seok shut his mouth without complaint.

Considering Park Hyun-ah’s personality, anyone could tell that he wouldn’t be in good shape if he acted out.

While walking down the road.

Suddenly, Park Hyun-ah threw a question.

“By the way, what’s your level?”
“Um… 740.”

Choi Hyun-seok, who checked his level with the status window, said as it was.

“What? 740?”

Park Hyun-ah frowned and looked back.

“Are you sure? Is it really 740?”
“Yes… Why…”

“That’s strange.”

Park Hyun-ah put on a combat power measuring device and looked at Choi Hyun-seok.

[ Combat Power: 108,406 ]

Park Hyun-ah’s expression crumpled even more after confirming his combat power.

Choi Hyun-seok cautiously read her expression.

“What’s wrong…?”
“Why is your level so low? Your combat power is 110,000, but your level is in the 700s, that doesn’t make sense.”

“Is it strange?”

“You should be over 900 at the very least.”

“900…?”

“That’s the minimum. Usually, you should be over 1000. But most people die before that.”

Choi Hyun-seok blinked.

He had to be over level 1000 to achieve his current combat power.

“Listen carefully. To put it simply, combat power is the sum of your stats, specifically strength, agility, stamina, and magic power.”

“Yes.”

“How do you raise your stats?”
“You can invest bonus points by leveling up.”

“Is that all?”

“They also occasionally increase during training or combat.”

“That’s right.”

Park Hyun-ah snapped her fingers and continued.

“Most people raise their stats by leveling up, but as you said, sometimes your stats increase even if you engage in fierce battles or extreme training. Heroes jokingly call this blood and sweat.”

“Blood and sweat…?”

“Why, there’s even a song? Blood Sweat & Tears~ Don’t you know that song? It’s super famous.”

“I know it.”

“It’s the same as that. You have to work your ass off and pour out all your blood, sweat, and tears to raise those stats.”

Park Hyun-ah narrowed her eyes and looked at Choi Hyun-seok.

“But the stats you’ve raised with that blood and sweat are hundreds more than other heroes. And you’ve only been in this world for less than a year. Do you understand how out of the ordinary this is?”
“Um… I think I understand…”
“I’m telling you not to react so weakly!”

Park Hyun-ah pounded her chest as if frustrated.

“It doesn’t make sense that you’ve surpassed level 700 in such a short period, but your blood and sweat are in the hundreds? Even if your talent is SSS-rank, it doesn’t make sense.”

“…”

“What the hell have you been doing?”

Park Hyun-ah asked sternly.

Choi Hyun-seok quietly closed his eyes.

The events that had happened so far flashed through his mind like a panorama.

“I… I’ve been through some hardships…”

A tear welled up in the corner of his eye.

“It was really… tough…”
“That Mouthpiece [Hemiss] bitch must have really pushed you hard.”

Park Hyun-ah made a pitiful expression.

She couldn’t even imagine what kind of things he had to go through to achieve such growth in such a short period.

Perhaps other heroes would have died long ago if they had experienced such things.

Perhaps Choi Hyun-seok’s real talent was surviving in such extreme situations.

“Anyway, this is a very good sign. What you’ve gained from blood and sweat makes you stronger regardless of your level.”
“Is it that good?”
“Of course. The stronger you are compared to your level, the faster you can level up because you can hunt stronger enemies.”

“Ah.”

“The more blood and sweat you accumulate, the more that virtuous cycle accumulates.”

Choi Hyun-seok nodded after hearing all the explanations.

“In that sense, the place we’re going now is a very good training ground.”

“Where is it?”

“It’s a place you know too.”

“Hmm…”

“I wanted to move at once, but the magical energy is so dense and the coordinates are erratic, so it’s dangerous.”

Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes widened at the mention of dense magical energy.

“Could it be…”

“Did you notice?”

“The Land of Beasts, Inemosit?”