Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad [EN]: Chapter 57

Hemis had been watching them for quite some time.

She shook her head, observing Raedrun nag for over an hour.

‘Was he always this talkative?’

She couldn’t believe how many times he repeated the same story.

Raedrun’s tone was usually deliberate and relaxed.

Normally, his words carried weight and sincerity.

But that leisurely pace had now turned toxic.

His slow nagging made it twice as annoying to listen to.

“Choi Hyun-seok, you clearly possess remarkable talent. However, without the mana infused by Hemis, victory would have been impossible…”

Hemis chuckled inwardly at Raedrun’s words.

She understood what he was trying to say, but it wasn’t entirely accurate.

‘Half right, half wrong.’

She already knew roughly how things had played out.

Choi Hyun-seok pushed Flomot to its absolute limit to overcome the crisis.

‘Yes, he would have failed without my mana.’

Without Hemis’s mana, Choi Hyun-seok couldn’t have pushed Flomot so far.

So far, Raedrun was correct.

‘But, you see.’

The real key was what came next.

‘If it were anyone else, using that mana itself would have been impossible.’

The mana Hemis infused wasn’t something anyone could use just because they wanted to.

Her mana was so potent that it could rival even a Demon King’s in terms of quality.

Moreover, Hemis had imbued her will into the mana.

A will to suppress Choi Hyun-seok’s mana and slow down the erosion of his body.

So, just because it entered Choi Hyun-seok’s body didn’t mean he could control it as he pleased.

‘It would have been impossible for any ordinary high-ranking demon.’

At least a battalion commander.

No, it would take someone of a regimental commander’s level to use Hemis’s mana.

‘And yet, a human. A mere company commander, a weakling, used my mana without my permission and made it his own?’

It was a joke not even worth telling.

You’d be lucky not to be dismissed as crazy for saying such nonsense.

‘Anyway, he’s an interesting one.’

She truly had to acknowledge Choi Hyun-seok’s talent.

‘Shall I head over?’

Hemis smiled and stepped forward.

It seemed like she needed to intervene between them.

If she left them alone, they’d keep talking until dawn.

“Raedrun, have you always been this talkative? You’re going to wear my ears out. Should I reassign you as Choi Hyun-seok’s nanny?”

***

Cold sweat trickled down Raedrun’s back.

“Hemis-nim…?”

Why was Hemis here?

He rubbed his eyes involuntarily.

Even after looking again, it was definitely Hemis.

‘The meeting shouldn’t be over for another two days…’

The Legion Commander’s regular meeting lasted at least a week.

It was always delayed rather than ending early; there had never been a case of her returning this soon.

Raedrun’s eyes, usually so steadfast, wavered uncontrollably.

‘I wish I could disappear into a mouse hole.’

To be seen in such a state by Hemis of all people.

He wanted to run away.

Raedrun forcibly held onto his fading sanity.

‘Get a grip…’

First, he needed to know why Hemis had returned early.

Raedrun cleared his throat and opened his mouth.

“Ahem! Hemis-nim, did the meeting end early this year?”

“No, the meeting is still ongoing.”

“You mean you left before the meeting was over?”

“Of course. How could I sit in a meeting when my babies are getting beat up? Ohohoho!”

Raedrun’s eyes widened.

How long had it been since he’d been this flustered?

Not even when Hemis devoured a division commander thirty years ago and turned the unit upside down had he been this bewildered.

“Did you inform the Demon King…?”

“No.”

“Then the meeting…”

“I imagine it’s in chaos by now?”

“…”

“The Demon King might be a little surprised. Ohohoho!”

At that moment, Raedrun and Choi Hyun-seok were thinking the same thing.

‘She doesn’t seem to realize how serious this is as she laughs so nonchalantly.’

Even Choi Hyun-seok, who didn’t know much about the Demon King’s army, could tell.

This was practically a direct challenge to the Demon King.

‘If the enraged Demon King purges Hemis…’

Perhaps a massacre might occur.

Their faces stiffened.

Hemis stepped between them and wrapped her arms around both men’s waists.

“Loosen up. Men shouldn’t be scared of such trivial things, it’s not cool, you know?”

Hemis was still talking nonsense.

For a moment, Choi Hyun-seok felt a surge of annoyance.

“Ha, if this is trivial, then what on earth is a big deal?”

Choi Hyun-seok said curtly.

Soon, an icy silence followed.

“…”

Raedrun and Hemis stared intently at Choi Hyun-seok.

Realizing his mistake, Choi Hyun-seok involuntarily clamped his mouth shut.

‘What have I done…?’

Daring to talk back to Hemis, he must have been momentarily insane.

He wouldn’t have anything to say even if all his teeth were pulled out.

‘It’s all Rachel’s fault!’

He’d gotten into the habit of making sarcastic remarks while bantering with Rachel.

If he died here, he would definitely pray for Rachel to fall into hell.

“Th-that’s, I mean…”

Choi Hyun-seok continued in a trembling voice.

“It means that the Legion Commander’s courage to consider even this trivial is amazing! Hahaha!”

“Is it funny?”

“…”

Choi Hyun-seok shut his mouth like he’d swallowed a mute pill.

“You just asked what a big deal is, right?”

Hemis’s red lips stretched wide horizontally.

“Well… wouldn’t something like this be a big deal for you?”

She was right.

The power struggle between the Demon King and a Legion Commander?

For Choi Hyun-seok, that was a story from a faraway land.

For him, the real big deal was this very situation.

“Choi Hyun-seok, what do you think?”

“P-please spare me, and I’ll work like a dog…”

“Oh my, it seems our cute Bobo will have a friend! Ohoho!”

Nothing in the world was more important than his own life.

***

Fortunately, Hemis didn’t do anything particularly harmful.

She merely forgave him for acting like a dog next to Bobo for a day.

“Woof woof! Woof!”

Choi Hyun-seok barked with all his might.

Rachel and Bobo stared at Choi Hyun-seok with pitiful expressions.

“Warrior-nim, don’t you feel any shame?”

“Shut up. Do you think I’m doing this because I like it!?”

He was doing it to survive.

If he could live, he could imitate a dog like this all year round.

“Woof woof woof!”

“Kuaaang!”

Choi Hyun-seok barked with all his might.

He spent a day as Bobo’s friend, and the next day.

Choi Hyun-seok, who had returned from being a dog to a human, woke up early in the morning and meditated.

“Hoo…”

The meditation and training he did every morning had now become an indispensable part of his routine.

“Warrior-nim, Warrior-nim! What are you doing!?”

For some reason, Rachel, who had woken up early, was hovering around him.

Choi Hyun-seok ignored her and continued to focus on his breathing.

“Sss, haa…”

“Warrior-nim, can you do the dog imitation one more time? You were so good at it yesterday!”

“Sss… Hoo…”

“I thought you had rabies! You were more dog-like than Bobo!”

“Sss…”

“Warrior-nim, Warrior-nim, Warrior-nim!”

“Get lost, you’re being annoying!”

Choi Hyun-seok’s mental discipline was still lacking.

“Tch. Stop doing useless things and let’s go to the cookhouse.”

Rachel swung her fist in the air.

“Let’s go quickly and beat up the monsters again today! And beat up the cooks too!”

“Wait. There’s something I need to do before we go.”

“What is it?”

“I need to upgrade the Warrior Shop.”

Choi Hyun-seok grinned.

▫Warrior Points: 1,450

He had received a whopping 1,000 points for completing the quest to protect Abelson this time.

The points required to upgrade the Warrior Shop were 500.

With 1,450 points, he would have 950 points left over even after the upgrade.

“Wow, this is really a life-changing windfall. I can’t believe it came in like this.”

“You can say that again.”

“Then let’s check it out quickly! What are you waiting for?”

“Yeah. I hope there’s something useful this time.”

Despite his words, Choi Hyun-seok didn’t have high expectations.

He had already been burned once.

‘In the first place, the Warrior Shop itself feels like a side thing.’

The abilities and items sold in the Warrior Shop were definitely useful.

They had saved Choi Hyun-seok from numerous crises so far.

However, that didn’t mean the Warrior Shop was a magic bullet that solved everything.

It merely helped in carrying out certain tasks.

Therefore, he didn’t expect any significant changes from this upgrade.

He just hoped that something moderately useful would come out.

“If the shop is upgraded, there might be a lot of good stuff!”

“That might be true, but it’s better not to expect too much.”

Anything was disappointing if you expected too much.

“Hoo, here I go.”

Choi Hyun-seok placed his hand on the upgrade button located on one side of the Warrior Shop.

‘Finally…’

It was the moment he had been waiting for for months.

He had just said he wasn’t expecting anything, but he couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.

“Let’s go!”

As soon as he pressed the button, there was an immediate reaction.

Bbangpparabang~!

A fanfare that seemed straight out of an old variety show rang out, followed by a system notification.

[The Beginner Warrior Shop is being upgraded to Intermediate!]

Choi Hyun-seok immediately checked the upgraded shop.

“Hmm… what’s changed?”

[Intermediate Warrior Shop]

– Abilities

– Items

The initial list was the same as before.

The only change was from Beginner to Intermediate.

“How is it!? Is there a lot of good stuff!?”

“No. I don’t know yet…”

Choi Hyun-seok first checked the items.

“Oh? Something has changed.”

– Items

1. Equipment

2. Accessories

3. Miscellaneous

What had previously been lumped together as just ‘Items’ was now divided into detailed categories.

Choi Hyun-seok first checked the Equipment.

‘Swords, shields, armor… so they sell things like that.’

These were weapons and tools that would have been used in ancient or medieval times on Earth.

Choi Hyun-seok was a man, so his heart raced when he saw these items.

‘A knight wielding a sword in full plate armor! It was my childhood dream.’

He imagined himself running around in a 멋들어진 [stylish] full suit of plate armor.

‘Wait a minute… where have I seen this before?’

Come to think of it, Choi Hyun-seok had already met people wearing 멋들어지게 [stylishly] armor.

‘When I was a slave trader, humans invaded.’

When he was escaping from the fortress with Raedrun.

He remembered knights in 멋진 [wonderful] armor attacking Raedrun.

They were all wearing magnificent plate armor.

‘Was it five of them getting three-seconded?’

The result was being crushed along with their armor into a bloody mess.

Armor was meaningless in the face of overwhelming power.

‘I’ll just slow myself down if I wear it for no reason…’

Choi Hyun-seok had no choice but to give up on his dream, though it was a shame.

He checked the next item.

2. Accessories

Accessories were literally accessories like rings and necklaces.

‘Oh, it raises stats?’

Accessories seemed quite useful.

Like in a game, they raised stats, and some even contained magic.

Choi Hyun-seok checked the price of a ring with fire-shooting magic.

‘500 Warrior Points…?’

How powerful could it be to cost 500 points?

If he bought it and it turned out to be a useless lighter flame, he would be throwing away his points.

‘Most of the others are expensive too. Let’s hold off on this for now.’

Accessories were generally expensive.

Although he had 950 Warrior Points, he couldn’t afford to waste them.

He postponed the purchase because he didn’t urgently need accessories.

3. Miscellaneous

The last item, number 3, Miscellaneous, sold the same miscellaneous items as before.

‘Oh, a lot of new things have been added.’

Many new items had been added, and the previous products had also been improved.

Among them, the combat power measuring device caught Choi Hyun-seok’s eye.

– Decent Combat Power Measuring Device

‘The crappy one I’m using now only measures up to 50,000… is that one better?’

The modifier had changed from ‘crappy’ to ‘decent’, so it would definitely be better.

‘It’s only 150 points, seems 괜찮은 [okay], right?’

The combat power measuring device was quite useful because it could easily grasp the opponent’s strength.

He decided to hold off for now and buy it if he had the 余裕 [leeway/extra resources].

‘I’ve roughly looked at the items, now all that’s left is abilities…’

Choi Hyun-seok came out of the item section.

He entered the ability section with a trembling heart.

‘What if 똥 참기 [holding poop], 숨 참기 [holding breath] like that come out again this time.’

The shock he received when he first opened the Warrior Shop was still vivid.

‘Please let there be something useful!’

He prayed and pressed the ability button.

Then, like the items, a newly created detailed item appeared.

‘This looks pretty 괜찮은 [promising/decent]…?’

Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes sparkled.

– Aura Generation

– Magic Generation

Generates aura and magic.

They were clearly things with endless possibilities depending on how they were used.

‘Okay. This is where I start.’

Choi Hyun-seok intuitively knew that this was where he would use his Warrior Points.

His finger began to move towards Aura Generation.