Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad [EN]: Chapter 2

“You’re a Hero? Huh!?”

“Uh… well…”

I’m scared.

I was genuinely terrified.

If I didn’t have the title of the strongest man in the world, I might have pissed myself already.

As Choi Hyun-seok hesitated, the bull-headed monster’s face twisted even more fiercely.

“You stupid bastard! You can’t even speak properly and you call yourself a Hero!?”

In that instant, Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes flashed open.

It felt as if lightning struck his head with a resounding crash!

He had an epiphany.

‘That’s right! I am a Hero!’

What is a Hero?

The protagonist of a story who survives to the end and defeats the Demon King.

The strongest in the world!

Absolutely invincible!

That’s what a Hero is.

‘So, this is a practice game. Like a tutorial.’

The bull-head in front of him was like a task to test him.

In reality, this guy was probably all bark and no bite.

If he could defeat this monster here, a full-fledged adventure would begin.

‘Choi Hyun-seok! Have confidence!’

Choi Hyun-seok focused his eyes.

The world’s heavyweight champion in martial arts.

The strongest man on Earth.

And now, he even had the title of a Hero in this new world.

How could he be afraid of a monster he met in a mere tutorial? How else would he venture out into this harsh new world!

“Don’t you dare mess with me.”

“What…?”

The bull-head doubted his ears for a moment.

The guy put his hand to his ear and slowly extended it towards Choi Hyun-seok.

“Say it again. What did you say? Huh?”

“I said, don’t you dare mess with me, you son of a bitch!”

Choi Hyun-seok’s lightning-fast head kick struck the guy squarely.

So far, among the many strong opponents he had met in the ring,

no one had ever withstood this head kick.

‘Nailed it.’

Thanks to the guy stupidly sticking out his head, the kick landed perfectly.

Choi Hyun-seok was about to smile triumphantly at the impact when…

“What do you think you’re doing?”

The bull-head glared down at Choi Hyun-seok with wide eyes.

Thick veins bulged and writhed on the guy’s log-like neck and face.

Choi Hyun-seok’s pupils darted around, lost.

“…”

“How pathetic.”

The bull-headed monster grabbed Choi Hyun-seok’s ankle.

At the same time, an immense pressure began to surge.

The pain of his ankle being crushed made his body twist involuntarily.

“Kkueuaaa!”

“Didn’t you say you were a Hero?”

“Ah… w-wait a minute…”

“If you’re a Hero, this should be a piece of cake.”

“Kkeueoeoeok!”

This was really dangerous.

It felt like his ankle was about to be completely shattered.

“Hero… a Hero, huh? Our fortress is really blessed. I sincerely want to ask where these crazy Heroes are pouring out from.”

“Ugh…!”

Even amidst the pain, Choi Hyun-seok desperately racked his brain.

He had to get out of this situation somehow.

If he could just change his position here and transition into a triangle choke…

“You’ll come to your senses after a nap. So-called Hero.”

A large, red fist approached.

‘Ah… I’m screwed.’

Choi Hyun-seok lost consciousness.

***

Red Nightmare Raidrun.

He was a commander in the Demon King’s army.

A unit commander of the 2nd Slave Brigade under the 3rd Legion of the Demon King’s army.

The reason he, who commanded thousands of human slaves, was called the Red Nightmare was simple.

His entire body was as red as blood.

That story was passed from mouth to mouth, and now it had evolved to the point where people said, ‘A river of blood flowed in the wake of Raidrun on the battlefield!’

“H-Hiek…! Lord Raidrun!”

“You’ve worked hard!”

Everyone in the 2nd Slave Brigade, soldiers and slaves alike, feared Raidrun.

This was not only because of the terrifying rumor of the river of blood.

“Good work.”

“T-Thank you!”

The overwhelming presence emanating from Raidrun.

The fear they felt was due to the unique aura and magical energy of a high-ranking demon.

This was so powerful that an ordinary human would wet their pants and kneel just by standing in front of Raidrun.

As a result, even if Raidrun didn’t deliberately harm them, everyone in the brigade feared and obeyed him.

A top predator who seemed to have no worries.

Such was the Red Nightmare Raidrun, who was sighing as if the ground would cave in.

It was due to an incident that had been tiring him out lately.

“Haa… I don’t know where these crazy bastards keep rolling in from.”

Even if it was called an incident, it wasn’t really a big deal.

It was just that insane humans had started appearing in the fortress recently.

“Where the hell are they coming from? Are they falling from the sky or something…”

The humans, all wearing strange clothes, were missing a screw somewhere, regardless of gender.

“I am a Hero!”

Being a Hero was the basic option.

“Come at me, Demon King!”

Idiots who mistook him for the Demon King.

“If you don’t hand over gold, silver, treasures, and women right now, I’ll strike you with the hammer of justice!”

Even crazy bastards who didn’t seem to know what a Hero was.

They were definitely afraid of him when they looked at him, but strangely, they always said what they wanted to say.

“Even though there are countless guys on this continent who call themselves Heroes, I don’t know what’s going on.”

Raidrun wasn’t worried about Heroes or anything.

In the first place, there were countless idiots on this continent who called themselves Heroes.

In fact, he had personally killed dozens of ‘self-proclaimed’ Heroes.

What Raidrun was worried about was one thing.

Whether there was a problem with the fortress’s defenses.

“We need to finish repairing the fortress quickly.”

Currently, the 2nd Slave Brigade was in the process of reconstructing a destroyed fortress called Hemorun.

This place was close to the battlefield.

It was close enough for spies from human forces to come and go.

“Hoo… I don’t know.”

Raidrun shook his head, shaking off the complicated thoughts.

The only thing he could do now was to complete the fortress reconstruction as soon as possible.

‘By the way, that guy from earlier…’

The Hero Choi Hyun-seok came to Raidrun’s mind.

‘He was different from the other morons.’

He had a very large build for a human and a well-trained body.

His movements were also quick, and he had allowed the flying kick to land directly.

It was a powerful blow that even made Raidrun feel a little dizzy.

Although he didn’t show it in front of the guy.

‘It might be okay to coax him and use him as a slave leader.’

If he used him well, he seemed like he could be quite useful.

Although he was a crazy bastard.

***

That night.

Choi Hyun-seok, who was trapped in a prison, shook the iron bars incessantly.

“Yaaaaaaa!”

Clang! Clang! Clang!

“Open this! Open it, you bastards!”

It was a natural reaction for him.

He was clearly in the middle of a battle with a huge demon, but suddenly, he had lost consciousness.

And when he opened his eyes, he was lying on a smelly, hard stone floor.

“Do you think I’ll back down like this!? Bring that bull-head here! I’ll fight him again!”

Choi Hyun-seok had completely forgotten that he had been knocked unconscious by Raidrun and shouted at the top of his lungs.

Something must have gone wrong when he was hit in the head.

“Who the hell is making such a racket!?”

It was then.

A short, squat monster walked towards Choi Hyun-seok.

Roughly 150cm tall.

A skinny frame with pathetic muscles.

“Human. Do you want to die? Huh!?”

It was so ridiculous, like a child threatening him, that he was about to laugh.

But Choi Hyun-seok couldn’t laugh.

The guy was holding a sharp sword that looked like it was at least 1m long.

The guy repeatedly struck the iron bars with his sword.

“Do you want to die or what!?”

A huge blade he had never seen before.

There was blood and flesh stuck to it, dried and sticky.

“If you shout one more time, I’ll make boiled pork out of your thighs. Do you understand, human!?”

Choi Hyun-seok nodded, keeping his mouth tightly shut.

Thud, thud…

After a while, as the guy’s footsteps faded away, Choi Hyun-seok let out a sigh of relief.

“Haa, what the hell is this…”

It was an incomprehensible situation.

He had clearly died, and a pretty angel named Rachel had said she would make him a Hero.

Wealth! Fame! Even beautiful women!

Of course, he hadn’t expected to meet a naive village chief and his innocent daughter from the start.

No, honestly, he had hoped for it, but it was okay if it didn’t happen.

‘I thought I would have a wonderful adventure…’

What he wanted was just an adventure.

Unlike his previous life, he wanted to roam the world freely.

A strange world where no one knew him.

He wanted to start a new life there.

‘Hero my ass… shouldn’t they at least give me a magic sword or something!?’

Choi Hyun-seok had come completely empty-handed.

On Earth, he was confident that he wouldn’t lose to anyone as long as he had his strong body, but this world was different.

In front of a muscular monster over 2.5m tall and a huge blade, his body was useless.

‘Where did it all go wrong?’

He hated the angel named ‘Rachel’ who had said she would make him a Hero.

At that moment, someone from the next cell spoke to him.

“Hey, you there. Are you a newbie?”

“Wh-Who…?”

“I’m Park Tae-soo.”

“Are you Korean!?”

“That’s right.”

Surprisingly, next to Choi Hyun-seok was a Korean like him.

Choi Hyun-seok, who had been unknowingly using an unknown language since he had fallen into this world, was strangely amazed and happy to hear Korean for the first time in a day.

But now was not the time to be immersed in joy.

“What the hell is going on? Please explain!”

Choi Hyun-seok stuck close to the wall and spoke to the next cell.

“I clearly died, and I came to this world because they said they would make me a Hero. But what is this…”

“Hehehehe…”

Park Tae-soo, who was listening to Choi Hyun-seok’s words, chuckled as if it was funny.

“Hero… a Hero, huh… That’s funny. I’m a Hero too.”

Choi Hyun-seok’s face hardened at the playful reaction.

“It’s not funny. I’m not in the mood for jokes, so please tell me properly.”

“Does it sound like a joke? I may be a pathetic old man now, but I used to be quite something back in the day. If you mentioned Wang Jumeok [loosely translated as ‘King Fist’] Park Tae-soo in Myeongdong [a bustling shopping district in Seoul], everyone knew me.”

Park Tae-soo said in a serious voice.

It was not credible at all.

Choi Hyun-seok scratched his head and continued.

“So, you’re saying you’re a Hero, sir?”

“Of course! I’m over fifty this year, but I’m still going strong!”

Of course, it was a secret that he had collapsed and died from a myocardial infarction.

“So, stop joking around…!”

Just as Choi Hyun-seok was about to get angry…

“I’m a Hero too!”

“I’m a Hero too!”

“What about me? I’m a Hero too.”

From all over the prison, those who called themselves Heroes popped up.

“Hehehe. I’m a Hero too. Did you think you were the only Hero?”

“Hahahaha!”

“Heeheehee!”

Laughter filled the surroundings.

Choi Hyun-seok looked around with a bewildered expression.

“What is going on…?”

“It’s just as you see it.”

Park Tae-soo said with a detached smile.

“There are at least a hundred ‘self-proclaimed’ Heroes in this fortress.”

“What does that…”

Choi Hyun-seok didn’t know what to say.

Seeing him flustered, Park Tae-soo grinned.

“Well, newbie. Do you still think you’re a Hero?”

***

Park Tae-soo was said to be the first Hero to fall into this place.

Thanks to him, Choi Hyun-seok was able to hear many stories.

That this place was using human slaves to rebuild the fortress.

That the red bull-head Choi Hyun-seok had met was named ‘Raidrun’ and was the leader of this place.

That the goblin he had seen earlier was named Jack and was so vicious that he had to be careful.

All of these were shocking stories that lacked reality, but the most shocking thing was something else.

“It’s all because of that Rachel XX-like XXX.”

“Yes?”

Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes widened at the sudden outburst of profanity.

Park Tae-soo continued to curse without paying attention.

“That damn XX sent us here by mistake!”

“Rachel! Racheeeeel!!!”

“Next time I see her, I’m going to XX her XX and XXX her, then XXX and just kill her!”

“Rachel XXXX XXXX XXX!”

As soon as the name Rachel came out, the self-proclaimed Heroes around them began to have seizures.

Self-proclaimed Heroes who were foaming at the mouth and talking about frying their intestines and turning their brains into mush.

It was doubtful whether they were really Heroes.

Choi Hyun-seok clenched his fist tightly.

“Tae-soo, sir… are you sure?”

“What do you mean?”

“That Rachel sent us here by mistake…”

“I’m almost certain. I’ve talked to a Hero who was captured from another place.”

Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes flashed at Park Tae-soo’s words.

“Another place, you mean…!”

“Yes. Someone who lived a normal Hero life.”

“What is that person like?”

“I heard that there are areas where Heroes start. Most start in bustling cities, but sometimes a quiet rural village is the starting point.”

“…”

“In fact, most of them are too weak to be called Heroes and live ordinary lives, but no one has ever started their Hero life in the middle of the Demon King’s army.”

Choi Hyun-seok felt an unbearable anger rising within him.

Then why had he fallen into this hell?

His fist trembled with anger.

“Why… why…!”

“How would I know the reason? I only know one thing.”

Park Tae-soo said with a deep sigh.

“We’re all screwed now.”