Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad [EN]: Chapter 196

After a brief commotion, Choi Hyun-seok and Park Hyun-ah left the cabin and walked along the forest path.

“I heard your business was resolved smoothly?”

“Yes.”

Choi Hyun-seok nodded.

“Mr. Abelson became the king, and the kingdom is stabilizing.”
“That’s good. Seems your level increased a bit while you were handling things.”
“Huh? How could you tell? It didn’t increase that much…”

Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

“I can tell just by looking, you punk.”

Even though his level had risen, it was only a little.

His growth rate had noticeably slowed after surpassing level 1000.

Seizing the opportunity, Choi Hyun-seok checked his status window.

▫Name: Choi Hyun-seok

▫Title: Regular Hero

▫Level: 1104

·Strength: 365

·Agility: 365

·Stamina: 365

·Mana: 500

·Charisma: 115

·Fighting Spirit: 103

His current level was 1104.

He was level 1096 when he parted ways with Park Hyun-ah, so it had risen by 8 levels.

‘If I hadn’t caught Cardinal Vincenzo, I wouldn’t have been able to raise it this much.’

He gained 6 levels by killing Cardinal Vincenzo.

If there hadn’t been a battle with him, he would have barely raised his level.

‘Ah, now that I think about it, I haven’t asked about the Cardinal yet.’

Choi Hyun-seok decided to ask while he remembered.

Why the Cardinal possessed such power.

Park Hyun-ah might know the secret.

“Sis, did you know about that?”

“About what?”

“The Cardinal was incredibly strong.”

Park Hyun-ah’s brow furrowed at the mention of the Cardinal’s strength.

“The Cardinal being strong? What nonsense are you talking about?”

Park Hyun-ah had only heard that the Mariot Kingdom’s affairs had been resolved.

She didn’t know the specifics.

Choi Hyun-seok told her about fighting Cardinal Vincenzo and how he hinted at the Pope’s power afterward.

“…So I was wondering if you knew anything about it.”
“Hmm, not really? I thought all Cardinals were just old men.”

Park Hyun-ah didn’t seem to know anything about it either.

Park Hyun-ah, who had fought against the Holy Gatren Empire for several years, didn’t know either.

Come to think of it, the Holy Knights who fought alongside them at the time also seemed unaware of the Cardinal’s power.

Park Hyun-ah scratched her head, irritated.

“Ha, this is getting annoying. To think the Cardinals and the Pope were hiding such power.”
“How many Cardinals are there in the Deusis Order right now?”
“Probably a little over fifty.”

There were over 50 Cardinals.

Choi Hyun-seok was startled by that number.

“Fifty! Isn’t the game already over!?”
“Of course, not all of them possess Vincenzo’s power. If they did, they would have already swallowed the continent without hesitation.”

“Ah, that’s true.”

Vincenzo’s power was at the entry level of a Legend [a being of immense power].

In terms of pure physical ability alone, he was comparable to other Legends.

If there were over fifty such strong individuals, Gatren would have already dominated the continent.

“At most, there wouldn’t be more than ten. But even that is troublesome.”

Suddenly, Park Hyun-ah stretched greatly.

“Ah~ Shit. I already have a headache, and things keep getting tangled up.”
“By the way, how is the situation here? I heard it’s not good?”

Choi Hyun-seok asked.

The letter only stated that the situation here was not good.

He was curious about the detailed circumstances since it didn’t provide specifics.

“To put it simply, it’s a shitty situation where we’re just retreating repeatedly.”

“Retreating?”

“Yeah. The reason I’m alone is because the front line has been pushed back further in a short amount of time.”

When Choi Hyun-seok gave a puzzled look, Park Hyun-ah continued to explain.

“The front line retreated again after I sent you the coordinates. The others had to go ahead, and I was left alone to wait for you.”

This place was a battlefield.

Choi Hyun-seok needed to be in a state of at least minimal safety to use spatial teleportation.

But because the front line kept retreating, Ultimum Fes [likely a military unit or organization] also had to retreat along with it.

So Park Hyun-ah was left alone to wait for Choi Hyun-seok.

“So, this is enemy territory?”

“You could say that.”

“Then, are those guys in the trees enemies too?”

“Huh?”

Choi Hyun-seok pointed somewhere.

Park Hyun-ah narrowed her eyes and looked in the direction he was pointing.

“What is that?”

“Looks like a person.”

“I don’t sense anything?”
“I found them by chance too.”

Choi Hyun-seok also didn’t sense anything.

Even though his ability to sense energy was usually excellent, he didn’t sense anything.

He just happened to spot them while moving his gaze.

“Should we take them out first?”

“Let’s do it.”

Choi Hyun-seok and Park Hyun-ah shot off the ground.

Their figures shot forward like arrows.

***

“This one’s a dud too.”

Choi Hyun-seok dusted off his hands.

A soldier in camouflage uniform was lying face down at his feet.

The soldier was already dead, having committed suicide before Choi Hyun-seok could touch him.

“Ha, that’s why those Gatren bastards are annoying.”

Park Hyun-ah kicked the dirt irritably.

She was angry because they hadn’t gained any information despite the repeated chases.

“By the way, a magic tool that perfectly conceals magic power like this… isn’t this a bit dangerous?”

The enemy was wearing a magic tool that concealed magic power.

That’s why they weren’t caught by their senses.

“It can’t be helped. Magic tools that conceal energy are more common than you think. They even sell them in the Hero Shop, right?”

“That’s true.”

“Well, magic tools themselves are quite rare. But Gatren probably has so many of these that they’re practically stepping on them.”

So far, they had discovered fifteen scouts.

Seven of them were wearing magic tools that concealed magic power.

The guys were persistently sticking to Park Hyun-ah and Choi Hyun-seok as if they wouldn’t let them go, but once their identities were exposed, they committed suicide.

Choi Hyun-seok shook his head at the enemy’s brutal determination.

“Are they even human…”

Every living being has a desire to live.

But to commit suicide without a moment’s hesitation.

He wondered what kind of training they had to go through to reach this mental state.

“Let’s move. The fact that those guys were waiting here means our information has been leaked.”

Park Hyun-ah frowned.

“It’s impossible to extract anything from these guys anyway. We need to increase our speed and shake off the pursuit.”

“Understood.”

Choi Hyun-seok and Park Hyun-ah began to run in earnest.

Once they, who had reached the Legend level, decided to run, no one could catch up unless they were at a similar level.

The pursuers who were positioned throughout the forest eventually had no choice but to give up the chase.

***

Kuan Obriel, the commander of the Hound Unit [likely a special forces or elite unit], sought out Pope Orban IV.

He had an urgent report to make.

“Choi Hyun-seok has appeared on the front lines?”
“Yes. He was confirmed to be with Park Hyun-ah near Sodrica Castle.”

Pope Orban IV tapped the armrest.

“So, he escaped from the Mariot Kingdom…”
“What shall we do? Shall we eliminate him?”
“No. Leave the Mariot Kingdom as it is.”

The Pope shook his head.

“The information about the enemies using magic and necromancy is not yet clear. Refrain from rash actions until that becomes certain.”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… This has become troublesome.”

The Pope’s brow furrowed.

“I heard that Choi Hyun-seok’s power has recently entered the Legend level.”

“That is correct…”

“Tsk. To reach Legend level a little over a year after coming to this land…”

His growth rate was excessively beyond common sense.

Generally, the age at which one reaches the realm of Legend is around 100 years old.

Even those with talents counted in history take 40 to 50 years.

Of course, Choi Hyun-seok is a Hero, so the usual standards don’t apply.

However, even considering that he is a Hero, his growth rate was abnormally fast.

“That is why I have repeatedly said that we must kill him before it is too late.”

The Pope knew the danger of Heroes better than anyone else.

Choi Hyun-seok was a very exceptional and unique case among those Heroes.

He had grown stronger much faster than expected and had already grown enough to become an obstacle to the great cause.

“At this rate, he may become too strong to handle soon.”
“I will take care of it before that happens.”

Kuan Obriel bowed his head.

“Can you even handle it?”
“Currently, Choi Hyun-seok’s ability in individual combat is judged to be one step below Park Hyun-ah. It is definitely possible.”
“That may be the case now. But have you considered his growth rate?”

A light of disbelief flickered in the Pope’s eyes.

It was a natural reaction.

Everyone who had confidently stepped forward to hunt Choi Hyun-seok had failed.

“Sir Obriel. Based on the data so far, his ability in individual combat will surpass Park Hyun-ah within a few months.”

“That is correct…”

“His overall combat ability will also completely catch up to Park Hyun-ah within a year at most. Hunting will become even more difficult then.”

The Pope’s words were not unfounded.

Even the current predictions were as conservative as possible.

Choi Hyun-seok’s most frightening aspect was his unimaginable growth rate.

Although Choi Hyun-seok’s power was currently at the entry level of Legend, no one knew how long he would remain there.

“Within half a year, he will be in the mid-to-upper ranks of Legend, and in a year, he will be so strong that the Empire will have difficulty dealing with him.”

The Pope sighed deeply.

Kuan Obriel, the commander of the Hound Unit, bit his lip tightly.

“I will take care of it myself before it is too late.”
“Can I trust you?”
“I will stake my life on it.”

He would stake his life.

At the words that he would be prepared to die, the Pope suddenly smiled kindly.

“There is no need to go that far. Sir Obriel is a valuable asset to the Empire. You must not risk your life recklessly.”

Kuan Obriel did not answer; he simply bowed his head.

He knew better than anyone that the Pope’s words were sweet lies.

‘He is the type to discard anyone as soon as they are no longer needed.’

Kuan Obriel had served Pope Orban IV for over 20 years.

How many close aides had endured by the Pope’s side during that time?

Without a doubt, they could be counted on one hand.

No matter how skilled they were, they couldn’t last even five years before being ousted.

That’s why Kuan always wanted to serve the Pope from a distance…

But eventually, his turn had come.

“I will bring results that will satisfy His Holiness.”

The best? Effort? Process?

None of that mattered.

All the Pope needed was the best result.

Perhaps his answer pleased him.

The Pope nodded with satisfaction.

“I will trust you, Sir Obriel.”

***

The next morning.

Choi Hyun-seok and Park Hyun-ah arrived at the place where Ultimum Fes was waiting.

They would have arrived earlier, but it took longer because they had to detour to confuse any potential pursuers.

“Welcome! It’s good to see you again.”

Carebe Cowell, the leader of Ultimum Fes, greeted them.

Choi Hyun-seok nodded and looked around.

“Were you in a meeting?”

Inside the makeshift camp.

Sullivan and several other executives were gathered.

Olaven Grimier, the Duke of the Drasen Empire whom he had met last time, was also there.

“We were just about to start. Would you like to join us?”

Carebe Cowell said.

Choi Hyun-seok and Park Hyun-ah nodded and sat down on the dirt floor.

“First, let’s look at the map and check the current war situation.”

Sullivan was in charge of the meeting.

She used magic to display a huge map.

“As you can see, the front line is continuing to move south. It’s moving much faster than expected. At this rate, the enemy will reach the Demon King’s castle within two weeks.”
“Two weeks… That’s too fast.”

The atmosphere became heavy from the start.

It hadn’t even been two months since the Holy War began.

The Holy War army had already reached the center of the Demon Realm.

“It can’t be helped. We’re pushing back the Demon King’s army without any real battles. It’s practically a march.”
“Indeed… We should see that our expectations are correct, right?”

At Carebe Cowell’s words, the executives nodded.

‘Expectations? What expectations are they talking about?’

Just as Choi Hyun-seok was about to ask about the incomprehensible conversation.

“Yes. It seems there’s no other explanation.”

Shocking words flowed from Sullivan’s mouth.

“The Demon King’s army is intentionally opening the way.”