Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad [EN]: Chapter 161

The Demon King Army’s Temporary Corps Commander Meeting.

Demon King Tegrad and the three corps commanders gathered.

1st Corps Commander Doritugs.

4th Corps Commander Onyx.

5th Corps Commander Ozges.

The former 4th Corps Commander was Park Hyun-ah, but after she left, the vice-commander Onyx regained the position of corps commander.

The 2nd and 3rd Corps Commander positions, formerly held by the deceased Rotark and Hemis, remained vacant.

“The reason for convening today’s meeting is to initiate a full-scale attack.”

Demon King Tegrad said.

A declaration of a full-scale attack without warning.

1st Corps Commander Doritugs, with his arms crossed, turned to look at the Demon King.

“Are you referring to the full-scale attack as I understand it? The entire Demon King Army moving.”
“Yes. We plan to annihilate humanity.”
“I object. The Demon King Army’s strength is weaker than ever.”

5th Corps Commander Ozges interjected.

“No less than two corps commanders’ positions are vacant, and one of them is Hemis. It is an undeniable fact that Hemis held a significant share of the Demon King Army’s power.”

“…”

“If I may be so bold, I believe a full-scale attack is unreasonable in this situation.”

Doritugs nodded at Ozges’s words.

Even he, the 1st Corps Commander with an arrogant nature, acknowledged Hemis’s strength.

If a full-scale attack begins, the legends of humanity who have been hiding will crawl out.

Facing them without Hemis was too great a risk.

‘Perhaps they have already started moving.’

He had already received reports that some legends had begun to move.

Originally, legends did not reveal themselves easily, but Hemis’s influence was significant in their complete disappearance over the past hundred years.

Now that Hemis was dead, it was only natural that the frequency of legends appearing would increase.

‘I’ve been feeling this for a while now, but he doesn’t seem to be in his right mind. Is he senile from old age?’

He should be focusing on defense, yet he’s talking about a full-scale attack.

Doritugs couldn’t help but doubt the Demon King’s mental state.

At that moment, 4th Corps Commander Onyx opened his mouth.

“It is not true that there is a gap in our forces.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Necromancy. Rotark and I have long been preparing to use necromancy throughout the continent.”

Ozges frowned at the word necromancy [the practice of communicating with the dead to predict the future].

“Necromancy is taboo. You know best why we avoid necromancy, Onyx.”
“Necromancy is taboo? Who decided that? This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
“Are you playing games right now!”
“How long are you going to stubbornly treat necromancy as taboo?”

Onyx’s hood was pulled down, obscuring his face.

However, his deepened voice revealed his displeasure.

“Ozges. As you said, the Demon King Army’s strength is weakened. We don’t know when the vacant corps commander positions will be filled.”

“…”

“Before spouting such antiquated nonsense about necromancy being taboo, why don’t you come up with a way to fill the power vacuum first?”

Ozges clenched his fist tightly.

He wanted to retort, but he had nothing to say.

He had no immediate plan to fill the corps commander-level power vacuum.

Moreover, Ozges did not know exactly why necromancy was taboo.

He had simply been told by his predecessors that necromancy was a dangerous and dishonorable power.

He had not heard the detailed reasons.

This was the same for all demons of this era.

A power that had been naturally avoided because it had been taboo since the past.

‘There must be a reason why the previous generations avoided necromancy. No matter how urgent the situation, using that forbidden power is not right.’

Ozges looked at Demon King Tegrad.

“Has the Demon King already permitted this?”
“I didn’t inform you in advance because I expected resistance like this.”

Ozges closed his mouth at the Demon King’s words.

After taking a moment to collect his thoughts, he spoke again.

“… I understand the reason. But I still believe a full-scale attack is a somewhat hasty decision.”
“Humans are already aware of necromancy and are preparing for it. If we delay any longer, the operation we’ve been preparing for decades will be abandoned before it even begins.”

“…”

“This is the first and last chance to eliminate humanity, Ozges.”

Ozges sighed.

The tide was already beyond his control.

“I understand.”

“Good. Doritugs. What do you think?”

After Ozges agreed, the Demon King asked 1st Corps Commander Doritugs.

“I had nothing to hesitate about from the start. Rather, I’m looking forward to the opportunity to eliminate humanity.”
“It’s decided then. We will begin the full-scale attack now.”

Demon King Tegrad smiled for the first time.

His eyes gleamed with a strange madness, mixed with various emotions.

“Annihilate humanity.”

***

Inemosit.

The region where demons first appeared on the continent.

It was naturally the main base of the early demons, but after a long time, only magical beasts remained as residents.

“Kuaaaa!”

“Kyaaak!”

A land abandoned by both humans and demons.

The remaining magical beasts killed each other.

Magical beasts killed magical beasts.

The stronger magical beasts are killed by even stronger magical beasts.

Originally, this place had a strong presence of mana, but as magical beasts constantly died and were killed, it became an abnormally mana-rich area.

Deep within Inemosit, countless undiscovered magical beasts live, and new magical beasts are said to be born even now.

“Please! Just dieee!”

Choi Hyun-seok screamed.

His forearms were bulging with angry muscles and veins.

“Krara!”

“Uaaaagh!”

The magical beast’s maw, opened to swallow Choi Hyun-seok, gradually tore apart.

Kwaddeudeuk… Chwaak!

Finally, the maw was completely torn, and both the magical beast and Choi Hyun-seok collapsed.

“Huk, huk…”

His breathing was rough due to the intense battle.

At that moment, an alarm rang in his ear.

[Level Up!]

Choi Hyun-seok, having completely confirmed his victory, lay down on the ground.

“Damn… I really can’t do this anymore.”

One week since entering Inemosit.

Choi Hyun-seok had been dedicated to fighting, barely getting any sleep.

It was all because of Park Hyun-ah.

“Right now, the best thing for you is to level up mindlessly through grinding.”

“Excuse me?”

“Just roll around like crazy, you little punk.”

She suddenly threw him into Inemosit and told him to survive on his own.

Since then, he hadn’t met Abelson, let alone Bobo.

The only companion he had was his personal fairy, who only knew how to talk.

“Young Master! Congratulations! Your level is rising so fast!”
“Haa, it’s good that my level is rising, but I don’t know if this is the right thing to do.”

Choi Hyun-seok muttered with a sigh.

Rachel widened her eyes and retorted.

“What are you talking about!? You’ve leveled up 30 levels in just one week! Do you know how hard it is to grow like this at your current level!?”
“Still. Is just leveling up like this the right answer?”

Choi Hyun-seok was worried.

It was true that he became stronger as he leveled up.

But was that enough?

‘I have so many things to do.’

The most concerning thing was his fighting spirit.

None of the fighting spirit techniques Choi Hyun-seok was currently using were properly completed.

Flomot was the most proficient and could be used up to the 3rd stage, but that was his ultimate secret weapon.

Techniques like Raidrun-style combat and Nobilays were still incomplete.

‘Raidrun-style combat is said to have 10 forms.’

The most fundamental technique, ‘Raidrun-style combat,’ had a total of ten forms.

Choi Hyun-seok could only use seven of them.

He had only seen Raidrun demonstrate the 8th, 9th, and 10th forms.

‘Even the forms I can use still lack proficiency, except for a few main ones.’

Raidrun-style combat was in the best condition, but Nobilays was even more serious.

He could only use three forms.

The remaining forms had not even been created yet.

‘Besides that, Raidrun-style combat variations, or fighting spirit that transforms the body with mana, I haven’t fully learned any of them.’

As a result, all fighting spirit techniques except Flomot were incomplete or had low proficiency.

It was ironic that the most difficult Flomot had the highest level of completion.

“And that technique I used at the end… I realized something while using it.”

“What do you mean?”

“That thing where I poured everything into one blow.”
“Ah! That super-powerful, all-out smash!”

Choi Hyun-seok and Rachel recalled the battle with Kiaran a few days ago.

At that time, Choi Hyun-seok combined magic power and mana to use Raidrun-style combat, creating tremendous power.

“Combining mana and magic power. That’s the direction I need to move forward in.”
“That’s incredibly difficult.”

“It is.”

The problem was that it was too difficult.

Combining magic power and mana was extremely difficult and consumed immense mental power.

Thanks to this, he could not properly unleash that power unless it was Nobilays.

Choi Hyun-seok had been constantly thinking about how to solve this problem, but the answer was surprisingly simple.

“So, wouldn’t it be possible to store magic power and mana in a combined state from the beginning?”

“Is that possible?”

“We won’t know until we try.”

From the beginning, he would store magic power and mana as one force in his body.

Then the complicated conversion process would disappear, making it much easier to use the power.

He didn’t know if it was possible, but it was worth trying.

“With so many things to do, wouldn’t it be frustrating to just hunt all day without getting any sleep?”

Honestly, he had expected to learn various things if Park Hyun-ah became his master.

However, the reality was the opposite.

One week since coming to Inemosit.

He had learned nothing from Park Hyun-ah.

It was only natural since he hadn’t even seen her face except for the first day.

“I need to find a hideout or something and train separately.”

Choi Hyun-seok was planning his future training direction when a voice came from above his head.

“What a load of crap.”
“Oh, you’ve arrived…?”

He looked up and saw Park Hyun-ah looking down at him with her arms crossed.

She descended from the air with a deeply furrowed brow.

“A guy with a paper-thin body who can’t even use his strength properly is talking about what? Fighting spirit? Techniques? Why don’t you just shit yourself, you little punk.”

Choi Hyun-seok closed his mouth tightly at Park Hyun-ah’s blunt words.

“I hear our amazing Young Master with SSS-class potential doesn’t like my method right now.”
“N-No, it’s not that…”
“What do you mean it’s not? You’re full of complaints.”

Choi Hyun-seok kept his mouth shut and rolled his eyes around.

‘Is she a pervert or something, eavesdropping like that…’

He hadn’t even sensed her presence, so when had she been there?

Maybe she had been watching him the whole time.

“Okay, from now on, I’ll tell you why you have to clean up everything and level up.”

Park Hyun-ah raised her hand and beckoned.

“Come at me.”

“Yes?”

“I said come at me.”

“How can I…”

“Tsk! Just use whatever fighting spirit or whatever you have and come at me, you little punk.”

“… I understand.”

Choi Hyun-seok gritted his teeth.

She told him to come at her, so he wasn’t responsible.

‘She wouldn’t kill me just for complaining a little, would she?’

He kicked off the ground and circulated magic power and mana.

Nobilays

1st Form – King’s Stride

With a purple afterimage, Choi Hyun-seok accelerated.

He spun around her to confuse Park Hyun-ah’s vision.

It was a dazzling movement, but Park Hyun-ah’s reaction was cynical.

“You’re really putting on a show.”

Choi Hyun-seok, seeing Park Hyun-ah standing still in that spot, launched an attack.

Nobilays

2nd Form – Expression of Respect

A feint punch followed by a surprise fighting spirit attack.

Choi Hyun-seok’s leg kick accurately struck Park Hyun-ah’s leg.

Kwaa!

Choi Hyun-seok, who was about to continue his attack with a purple flash, paused.

‘What is she thinking?’

Park Hyun-ah didn’t move.

She didn’t even defend, she just took the attack.

But the real reason Choi Hyun-seok stopped was something else.

‘Why is she so unscathed!?’

Even though the fighting spirit hit her head-on, she didn’t even flinch.

Choi Hyun-seok, who was close by, could tell.

Park Hyun-ah hadn’t even used magic power to defend just now.

She was just standing there, taking the attack with her bare body.

“Is the massage over?”

“…”

“You take one too.”

Park Hyun-ah launched the same leg kick.

Choi Hyun-seok instantly surrounded himself with magic power to prepare for the impact.

Kwaddeudeuk…!

Pain that felt like his knee was shattering washed over him.

‘Damn it! What kind of power…!’

It wasn’t fighting spirit.

She hadn’t even used magic power.

That much power was contained in an attack launched with pure physical ability.

“Now do you think you know why you need to level up?”

Park Hyun-ah said nonchalantly.

“I know what you’re thinking. You’ve only fought against guys stronger than you so far, and you’ve been able to win because you had a technical advantage over your physical specs [short for specifications, referring to physical attributes].”

“…”

“But no matter how good your technique is, it means nothing in the face of overwhelming physical specs.”

Park Hyun-ah raised her hand and pointed to Choi Hyun-seok’s chest.

“Do you think you can beat a combat power of 300,000 or 400,000 no matter how much you fly around? No way, you little punk.”

Experiencing it firsthand made it feel even more desperate.

As she said, nothing matters in the face of overwhelming specs.

Dazzling techniques only work when attacks have some effect.

What’s the point of technique if it doesn’t even leave a scratch no matter how much you hit?

“You have the best conditions for leveling up right now. So, first, reach level 1,000. Learning techniques comes after that.”

Choi Hyun-seok was startled by the words level 1,000.

“Can I even level up that much?”
“It’ll be quick. Judging by what you’re doing, I think you’ll reach it in less than a year, even if it takes a long time.”

“A year…”

“If you understand, then roll around. If possible, raise your additional stats while shedding blood, sweat, and tears.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Choi Hyun-seok answered energetically.

After listening to her explanation, it seemed like it would be best to focus solely on leveling up for a while.

‘Let’s rest a little and then hunt again.’

He had just finished hunting.

He needed a little rest, so after Park Hyun-ah left, he thought he should continue hunting a little later.

“Ah, just a moment.”

Park Hyun-ah approached him.

She came close and reached out to Choi Hyun-seok’s chest.

“Don’t move, just stay still.”
“W-Well, if you suddenly do this, I’m not ready yet…”
“What are you talking about, you crazy bastard?”

The magic power that came out of Park Hyun-ah’s hand was engraved on Choi Hyun-seok’s chest.

“It’s a magic circle that attracts magical beasts. It’ll last about five hours.”

“…”

“You probably can’t erase it anyway, but you personal fairy in there.”

At Park Hyun-ah’s call, Rachel, who was hiding in Choi Hyun-seok’s arms, peeked out.

“Yes…?”

“If you erase this, you’re dead.”
“Oh my! There’s no way I would! I’m so grateful that you always care about our Young Master! Loyalty, loyalty!”

Park Hyun-ah chuckled at Rachel’s flattery and turned around.

“Then work hard.”

With those words, she disappeared.

Soon after, a growling sound began to be heard from one side of the forest.

“Krrr…!”

It wasn’t just one or two. At least five.

Choi Hyun-seok sighed and wiped his face.

“Would it hurt you to let me rest for a bit…!”