The Hero Returns

Drip, drip—

Splatter—

Su-hyeun took a step forward, trembling. He stepped on the blood that poured from his wounds. It was as if red rain had fallen on the stage.

<<It's been a while since I bled this much.>>

Crack—

But Su-hyeun didn't fall. He stuck his sword into the ground as he fell and managed to catch himself.

"Urgh—! Gasp—"

Su-hyeun covered his wound with one hand and held his sword with the other hand to stand up. He was having a hard time just standing. If his grip got too loose, he might fell to the ground immediately.

"You…," Luslec said, like muttering as looking at Su-hyeun. "How did you…see…?"

Clank—

Rumble—

A small sphere above Luslec's head was cut, and dark smoke rose upward. At the same time, Luslec's body began to stagger and fall.

"Hwooo— Haaaa—"

Flop—

Su-hyeun lay on the floor at last. He didn't have any power to hold his sword anymore. The only reason he could stand this far was that he had an incredible will. Miru flew to Su-hyeun hurriedly.

Purr—!

Whirl—

The red magic that came from Miru's body poured into Su-hyeun's wound. Soon, the wound began to heal, little by little. Su-hyeun came to his senses again.

"Thank you…Miru…"

Su-hyeun reached out and stroked Miru's head as his breathing steadied. Miru, who usually rubbed his head to Su-hyeun's hand, didn't move at all this time. Su-hyeun looked like he would faint at just a touch.

"You win, Su-hyeun."

But Luslec's voice was very calm and peaceful. Su-hyeun became nervous at that voice. Luslec sounded like he would have no problem continuing the fight.

"Don't be nervous," he went on, "I can only speak like this because this isn't my real body. Luslec is dead."

"That means—"

"You're the winner." Luslec grinned, still lying on the floor. "I can't believe you found the real body of the Summoner in such a short time. I thought there would be no way you would win here. Oh, well. Carelessness is always a problem."

Carelessness. At the moment when Luslec had looked down his opponent, who was dying, this result happened. It was possible because Su-hyeun squeezed out all of his last magic power, and he had the experience that he had been accumulating in his body for a long time.

"Even if you make excuses, I'm still the winner."

"Ha-ha-ha-ha!" Luslec laughed at Su-hyeun's sly comment. He laughed for a while and opened his mouth to talk again. "Yes, I lose. That's not changing. I thought I would win when I set this up, but you totally turned the tables on me."

"That's a nice word to hear."

"And I'm not the only one."

"…?"

"Many administrators are watching you. Downstairs ones and upstairs ones. All of them. Well, you might already know about that, though."

At Luslec's words, Su-hyeun recalled the word of the gatekeeper of the 30th floor.

"Now hurry up and go. I'll be watching you with great anticipation, so don't you dare disappoint me."

The gatekeeper of the 30th floor had said that he had expectations for Su-hyeun and asked him to not disappoint him. Su-hyeun didn't know what he expected and what he meant by 'disappoint.' Su-hyeun began to wonder about that.

"I'm sorry," Luslec said, "but it's time to say good-bye. Since you won't be able to come downstairs, I guess this will be the last time we meet."

[You have achieved a 100% accomplishment rate.]

[You have attained the highest accomplishment.]

[You have passed the 42nd-floor's trial with perfection.]

"Bye, Su-hyeun. I will give you one gift. Use it well."

"Gift…?"

Su-hyeun made a confused frown at Luslec's words. The messages popped up.

[You have gained 2,500,000 achievement points.]

[Your achievement will be ranked.]

[You have ranked first.]

[Your Strength has increased by 1 point.]

[Your Health has increased by 1 point.]

[Your Agility has increased by 1 point.]

[Your Reflex has increased by 1 point.]

[You have acquired the 'Title- Hero.']

"…!"

With the message, Su-hyeun's body disappeared from the spot. The difficult trial of the 42nd floor ended like that.

***

Puff, puff—

Su-hyeun and Miru appeared in the middle of the square. The square was empty. There were no inhabitants or awakeners. Su-hyeun stood there for a moment, blankly. Then soon, he checked his body.

<<All my wounds have disappeared.>>

His magic hadn't recovered, but at least all the visible wounds were gone. It was the same with his clothes, which were torn to shreds before. It was as if all that had happened was an illusion.

<<Rewards.>>

He remembered the rewards list that had popped up in his head before. Four stats were raised, and one of them was Strength. At any other time, Su-hyeun would have cheered at the fact that his Strength stat went up. But there was something more important than that now.

[Title: Hero.]

* It is a glorious name given to a hero of one world.

* 20% correction effect on physical and magical damage against all kinds of monsters.

* 30% damage reduction from all types of damage.

"…"

He was sure. It was a title that Su-hyeun had had in his past life. Hero! Su-hyeun got back the title once again.

<<How did I get this already…>>

There was no doubt. The effects that this title could give were very simple, but they were all very effective. It could reduce 20% of the damage from all kinds of monsters. Also, it could reduce physical and magical damage. This effect didn't apply to humans, but Su-hyeun's enemies were monsters, not humans, anyway. It was the title that he had thought he would need to get someday.

The title wasn't an item to equip, but a power that was subject to the body like a skill or trait. A person could only use one title. Also, the title wasn't easy to obtain. If traits were ten times more difficult to obtain than ordinary skills, then a title was ten times more challenging to get than a trait. And, among the titles, 'Hero' was the best title, as far as Su-hyeun knew. It wasn't something he could get from a trial on just the 42nd floor.

<<Well. Fair is fair after all…>>

It was something to rejoice in, but he didn't like the name of the title.

<<Oh, well. It'll be fine.>>

There was so much to think about after he had met the gatekeeper, no, the administrator.

<<What do they want? What are all the worlds in the trials? What is this huge tower after all?>>

Also, Su-hyeun was wondering about the relationship between the administrators and the monsters that appeared in his world and why they had an interest in him.

<<And what is a hero?>>

Su-hyeun had met many heroes in the trial on the 42nd floor. He wondered why they were called heroes and why the administrator wanted to compare him to them. He was curious about everything. But there was nothing he could figure out right away. Above all, he had no power left at the moment.

<<I want to sleep.>>

It was been a long time since he had felt such a basic desire.

<<I should rest first.>>

A short time later, Su-hyeun went back to his home. He threw himself into bed immediately. He didn't even wash first. He slept for a long time.

***

[You have passed the 74th floor's trial.]

[You have gained 700,000 achievement points.]

[Your Strength has increased by 1 point.]

[Your Agility…]

[…]

[Your magic factor has increased by 1 point.]

"Huaaaa—"

Hak-joon, having passed the trial of the 74th floor, arrived at the plaza on the 75th floor. He took a long breath. He had been holding his breath for a long time. His whole body was soaking wet, and water dripped from his hair.

<<What kind of trial happens in the damn water!>>

The purpose of his trial was to find a Kraken in the sea and regain the treasure from a ship that had been extorted. Hak-joon had heard about Krakens from Su-hyeun before. So, he knew how big and strong the monster was. But it was stronger than the boss of a green-colored dungeon because Hak-joon had had to deal with it in the sea, not on the land.

<< Thank God I had that Mermaid's Water Drop…>>

Mermaid's Water Drop. It was a pill-type item that could change the body to half-human and half-mermaid for a certain period of time. If he hadn't had it, he wouldn't have been able to even find the Kraken, let alone hunt it.

<<The duration was too short though.>>

He had found the Kraken. He could have easily defeated it without much effort. Even though it was underwater, Hak-joon's abilities were quite good. But the problem was that the Mermaid's Water Drop expired during the fight against the Kraken.

<<Well, I made it somehow,>> Hak-joon thought.

He sighed with relief. He arrived on the 75th floor and the 100th floor wasn't too far away. He had been climbing the tower faster than ever. Also, he realized that he was getting stronger than ever, too.

<<I wonder how far Su-hyeun has come.>>

It was ironic. Su-hyeun was much stronger than him, but he was on a higher floor. Hak-joon was trying to go higher place to not let Su-hyeun catch up to him.

<<I haven't seen him for a while. When did I see him last?>>

And he also realized that it had been a long since he had spent time with Yun-seon. He thought he might take a little break at this floor and head toward the trial, but he changed his plan. He took a breath and rose up.

"Let's go back for now."

***

When Su-hyeun woke up, he found many text messages from many people.

-Brother! I heard you passed the 42nd floor.

-Are you sleeping? Wait. Are you on the 43rd floor already?

-When wiiill yoooou comeee?

Each message was from Hak-joon, Lee Ju-ho, and Thomas. Also, there were messages from Shin Su-yeong. She asked after Su-hyeun. Su-hyeun realized he didn't have a large network of relationships. There were many text messages, but it was all about similar things.

<<Did Hak-joon just finish, too? I guess it's good timing.>>

Lee Ju-ho and Thomas weren't climbing the tower these days. Thomas had been spending time adjusting to Korea and new people for a while. Also, he was working as a mercenary for the Paragon Guild. And Lee Ju-ho followed Thomas around to make sure he didn't cause trouble. For Thomas, learning how to get along with people was the most important thing.

<<Let's see…what else…>>

There was another text. It was from Bak Yun-gyu. He had sent the message about the news and information about dungeons from across the country and around the world. Most of the information wasn't significant. Su-hyeun read more carefully about the dungeons above the green-colored level. But those weren't that important, either. But, then, he found a unique accident.

<<Wait. Is this…?>>

He read a list of special phenomena. As soon as he finished reading, Su-hyeun called Bak Yun-gyu without hesitation.

Ring, ring, ring—

After a few rings, Bak Yun-gyu picked up the call.

-Hello. Mr. Su-hyeun. I heard that you're back.

"Is the news spreading around Abyss Online already?"

-Yes. So many people are paying attention to your movements…it's rather convenient for me, actually.

"I saw your text. Can you give me more details?"

It was an incident that seemed like nothing to most people. But Su-hyeun cared about this incident much more than other green or blue-colored dungeons in other countries. Because he knew; it was a sign of coming disaster.