The Hero - Volume 1

Chapter 5

‘I can do it.’

Haneul was assuring himself. It wasn’t an accident, and he could feel the shocking strength from the silver armor. Especially when he looked at his right fist and saw the steam coming off of it, and that one punch which annihilated the despicable monster.

“Hyuuu, barely survived that.”, sighed Sung Hoon from the back.

“We didn’t have a contact book to request back up from headquarters, but I’m really glad to see you here. Let me make a request to you, since I really felt like I was going to die there. Headquarters made a mistake when they ranked these guys as Type D. There’s no way for these ugly Reptiles to be that low.”

Sung Hoon was completely sure that Haneul was a Rank B or higher hero. There was no argument against that because Haneul destroyed that Monster with just a single punch.

Sung Hoon’s thoughts were on point.

Haneul was fighting without any wasted movements.

The Silver Armor was so tough that the Type D Reptiles couldn’t even leave a scratch mark on it.

Snap.

Everytime a loud sound rang out from Haneul’s right arm, that arm would flash forward and destroy the monsters one by one.

The fight was truly overwhelming and consistent.

‘If there was a person like that to begin with, send him out right from the beginning.’, muttered Sung Hoon, as he got closer to his partner to help him with his wounds. A hero’s life-force was much stronger than a normal civilian’s. What could be life threatening to a normal civilian, could be healed with a little bit of care for a hero.

BOOOOMMM!!

“KIIIIIKKKKKKKK…….”

The last of the monsters fell.

Rustle.

As the steam from Haneul’s body was floating away, he turned his head to look at Sung Hoon.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m okay, but my friend here doesn’t appear to be doing too well.”

Sung Hoon looked at his partner Seung Hyuk’s damage and with a frustrated face, asked Haneul, “I’m sorry to ask this but, since my friend here is hurt like this and I don’t think we’ll be of much help to you, do you think it would be okay for us to leave the battlefield?”

“Sure, go for it. If you go towards that direction, you should be able make contact with the soldiers,” said Haneul, as he showed Sung Hoon the direction he came from.

“Thank you.”

Sung Hoon gave Haneul a quick bow, picked up Seung Hyuk, and made his way out from the battlefield.

Haneul turned back around.

The aura that Seung Hyuk and Sung Hoon released were similar, yet completely different from the aura that the monsters released. The aura that he felt as he was running to that location, could be felt again just 200 meters away from him.

“Does this mean there are more of these bastards?”

Haneul started moving towards that aura.

As time went by, the feeling of the aura got stronger.

‘This is weird. What the hell’s going on. I’m fighting as if I’ve already known how to fight since I was born.”

Is it because of this Silver Armor?

As Haneul looked around, he could see the corpses of the Type D Reptiles strewn across the ground. What were once fearsome monsters to him, were now insignificant creatures. The fact that he was such a pussy back when Black Walker saved him, made him feel like a joke.

That wasn’t the only thing.

Haneul was able to move about and match the movements of these monsters as if he’s been doing it all his life. He felt no fear matching up to these things.

“Now isn’t the time to be thinking about these things. Instead, I should be focused on fighting.”

Haneul started running towards the area where the aura of the monsters could be felt.

*     *     *     *

“Watch out over there.”

”Ah, yes. Thank you very much.”

Mi Yeon Lee is a Hero reporter. The moment these earthquakes happen, is the moment her job starts. It’s her job to go out, write, and capture the heroic deeds done by those who put their lives on the line to save innocent civilians.

And these films she captures, gets shown to the whole world where the normal civilians can give praise to the heroes.

“It hasn’t been long since the earthquake happened, but everything’s a mess. Okay, let’s film here.”

“Yes, okay.”

The cameraman set the equipment up and pointed it towards Mi Yeon, and the hero protecting them slightly moved to the side.

“We are out here in downtown of Central South, Area F. Look at this horrible scene. Nobody would expect that, just moments ago, this street was peaceful and happy.”, as Mi Yeon said these words with a bitter tone, she headed towards the middle of the street. Cars ripped apart like paper and devastated buildings could be seen everywhere.

“The aftermath of this disaster, created by magic phenomenon, has completely changed the appearance of this city.”

And as Mi Yeon turned around, she noticed something and started running towards it.

“Ah!! It’s the Type D Reptile monster. It looks like it got killed by our honorable heroes, while fighting in this hell like city.”

The camera captured the monster that was stuck into the side of a car, with its chest pierced through.

As the camera was lowered, Mi Yeon carefully asked the hero, “Isn’t this area supposed to be the outside of the battlefield? For a monster to be killed here……”

“It just means that the situation is a little bit different from what the authorities know.”

There was a twinkle in Mi Yeon’s eyes.

“Then let’s continue forward.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“This job is always dangerous, nothing new for me.”

Mi Yeon continued forward, as the hero made a bewildered expression.

“Alright, then let me take the lead.”

The hero protecting Mi Yeon is a ranked B hero by the name of Black Shoot. He’s always wearing fancy black clothes, and has been working together with Mi Yeon for several years. No matter what scene a Hero reporter is assigned to, they will always be fixed with a Rank B hero.

“I’ve been to and seen many different earthquakes, but the scale of this one seems to be on a different level. Looking at the appearance of these Reptiles, they don’t seem to be your typical monsters from a level C earthquake. If the authorities really did mess up their information, then there might be casualties within the heroes as well.”

When an earthquake happens, the authorities send out heroes that best fits the level of that earthquake. Authorities typically do not want to send out an over qualified hero to take care of a simple earthquake.

One important reason is due to the Government Policy. The Government Policy states that a hero can increase his strength while fighting monsters with similar strength. This policy allows each hero to grow stronger and expand their level of hero ranking.  The second reason is that, the top rank heroes need to be prepared and ready for larger situations.

For those reasons, all the Heroes committed to this earthquake were all around the C rank level, but Mi Yeon could feel that this C level earthquake was different from the others.

That’s when Black Shoot stopped walking.

“Stop. There’s a battle going on not too far from here.”

“Then we should hurry and get there so that I can capture the fight.”

Mi Yeon was never one to listen to Black Shoot’s words, but this was simply just crazy.

‘I hear it, I can hear it.’

Loud noises could be heard from the battle.

“Get the camera ready.”

Suddenly, as Mi Yeon was rushing forward, a loud outburst of noise scared her.

“What is this sound?”

“It’s a magic explosion,” muttered Black Shoot with a strange tone.

“But it’s strange. There’s no way for him to be a C rank hero with that much magic power.”

That’s when Mi Yeon and the cameraman spotted the figure of a hero, in the midst of fighting half a dozen monsters.

“Great, I should be able to get some good shots this time.”

The hero was in a Silver Armor.

Every time he swung forward with his fist, a loud noise could be heard, and a corpse of the monster could be seen. There’s no way to count the amount of corpses slain by him.

“Amazing. I’ve never seen a C rank hero as tough as this guy. Are you recording all of this?”

The cameraman nodded.

Booom!!

Another punch was thrown as a monster came flying through the air, then crashing through a window and tumbling to a stop.

Only one monster left.

MI Yeon had an intuition.

This hero had everything that the press loved writing about in mass communication. First being that he had a splendor about him that could be seen on the battlefield. He also had a full body armor.

‘I don’t know if that belongs in the Cracker Weapon family, but it’s catching to the eye.’

Mi Yeon believed that this hero would become a star.

*     *     *     *

Shwiiikkkkkkk.

The sound of dissipating smoke.

Haneul turned his head.

There’s only one monster left.

Haneul glared at the monster and initiated the battle. There’s no problem. While fighting the Reptile types, he was able to seize and memorize their habits, reaction, speed, as well as their auras.

‘But something’s a little different.’

Haneul stared at the remaining monster closely.

“W, Watch out. That one is the only one that’s a Type C.”, warned a hero. He was a hero that fell off into a corner, when the fight started getting bad.

Type C?

Now that Haneul thought about it, all the bastards that he had fought till now were only at the Type D level. If that’s the case, the form of this monster is the same, yet different.

‘I see. They’re the same monsters, but the exterior as well as the size of this guy is different from the other ones.’

Now he was able to see the monster clearly.

Although they were both the same Reptile types, a Type C and Type D were completely different. The most noticeable difference being their shape, Type C’s were much bigger than Type D’s and looked much uglier. Their overall skill and speed were superior to the Type D’s.

‘So, that’s what was different.’

The fallen hero made an alarmed face.

The earthquake this time is weird. Heroes of the same rank are getting wasted by these Type D monsters, and now a Type C is mixed in with them.

Generally speaking, unless the width of the earthquake level changes, there should be no way for a different type to be mixed in.

“Well, I guess this just means that this guy is the boss.”

Haneul clenched his fist.

Snap!

Steam started to rise intensely.

“I had a feeling there was something unusual about you, since you were just watching everything from the sidelines.”

Haneul lit up his will to fight.

This monster was just watching the situation as all the Type D’s died in Haneul’s hands, one by one. From the start till the end, all it did was watch.

“Alright, if you’re not going to come at me, then I might as well go to you.”

Haneul started attacking and as he closed the distance with his quick speed, the little bastard jumped to the side. The monster was swift with its evasion, but that wasn’t all it did. With the sound of rushing air, something flew over from the back of its head, towards Haneul’s face.

Boom!

Slide.

Haneul was pushed back by the shock of the force.

On reflex, he blocked whatever it was with his left arm, so there was nothing to worry about.

‘His tail?’

This was a fighting pattern Haneul wasn’t used to, when he fought the Type D Reptiles.

Haneul made a strange expression. The biggest difference he could see between the Type C’s and Type D’s was the existence of the tail. It was fast and strong. A lot of heroes would have fallen without being able to react to it.

‘It’s quite heavy, but not dangerous.’

Haneul got a taste of the tail’s force, but as always, there was no fear. His mind was very peaceful.

‘Let’s go.’

Haneul kicked off the floor, and just as the first time, the monster jumped to the side and swung its tail.

But, Haneul wasn’t the type to fall for the same tricks.

“I’ve been waiting for that!”

Because Haneul knew how the Type C was going to approach him, he reacted with his counterattack. His left arm grabbed the incoming tail and pulled.

“KIIKKK!”

There was a sparkle in Haneul’s eyes.

“This is the end!”

Haneul punched forward with his right fist, and the steaming right fist landed straight onto the Type C’s head.

Booom!!!

One strike. Even the Type C wasn’t an exception. The monster’s wreck falls to the ground. One can tell how bizarre Haneul’s level was, because there hasn’t been a single monster that has been able to withstand his one strike.

“Hyuuuu.”, sighed Haneul.

The fight was over.

‘No. Maybe it’s just this area where the fight is over.’

No aura of the monsters can be felt around the area, but that doesn’t mean that they weren’t somewhere else in the region.

“Th, Thank you. We were able to survive because of you,” muttered the hero leaning against the wall. If Haneul didn’t arrive in time, the 2 heroes would have definitely died there.

“Is the fight over now?”

“Huh? I’m not really sure about that…..” muttered the hero, then out of nowhere said, “Ah.” and nodded.

“It feels like the magical phenomenon is getting weaker.”

He looked up at the sky, as did Haneul.

They could see that the ugly torn sky was twitching, and gradually changing back to how it was before.

It was true.

The weird and acidic feeling that was once permeating all around, was gradually disappearing.

“Are we allowed to withdraw if there aren’t any more monsters around?”

“Yes? Ah, Yes. Of course. There needs to be evidence that you were at the scene, but you have us two to vouch for your presence. And you saved us as well.”

He looked at Haneul as if this info was something he should have already known.

That’s when heavy breathing could be heard, as another hero could be seen walking out. As his injuries weren’t light, Haneul walked towards the hero to help with the injuries.

“Ah, No. I’m okay. A, Anyways who are you? You’re a hero I’ve never seen before……”

From this man’s point of view, it was weird for Haneul to not be known when his individuality was so strong; from his brilliant Silver Armor to his exciting fighting style.

“I’m………”

Haneul thought about it for a little while.

I’m just a student passing by, I’m not a hero.

If he said something like that, these 2 people would turn out to be a joke because he was so much better than them.

But, as he was thinking up an excuse.

“Ah, that was an amazing fight everyone.”

Mi Yeon who was hiding in a corner until the battle finished, came out in front of the heroes. Noticing who she was, the hurt heroes tried to get up from the floor, but her only interest was on Haneul.

“Hello, they call me the Hero reporter Mi Yeon. Do you have some time to talk regarding this earthquake?”

Chapter 5 – End.

Volume 1 – End.