The Hero Returns

Swish—

Su-hyeun caught the spear thrown by Kim Dae-ho with one hand. It wasn't too long. It looked good enough to throw with one hand. The handle part of the spear was made of alloy, so it was not that heavy. It looked like it was made of a mix of Ether stones and other metals to achieve both its lightweight and strength.

The tip that is supposed to be the hardest and sharpest part of the spear was made of Ether stones and adamantium. At the end of the tip, some magical power was forming. It was swirling like a typhoon.

"I set the length about the middle. It shouldn't be too bad to hold and wield in case of an emergency," Kim Dae-ho said.

"That's good."

Whoosh—

Su-hyeun wielded the spear in his hand. It was wielding smoothly. The weight was perfect, too.

"I made the tip heavier than the handle since you usually use it for throwing. So, use your sword for wielding. The spear is mostly for throwing."

"What about collecting?"

"As you asked, I added some magical connection device at the end to allow you to collect it back easily. If you use your magic on it once, it will find its way back to you without difficulty."

"Can I try?" Su-hyeun asked.

"Do it outside, man. You will make a mess in here." Kim Dae-ho shook his head. "I'm still working on the armor. Unlike the spear, that armor requires quite an effort. So, come back in a month."

"Okay, I will."

"And this dude is the one, right? Choi Hak-joon?"

"Yes? Me?"

"What do you use as a weapon? Wait. You said sword, right. What do you wear then?"

"Leather armor, sir," Hak-joon answered in confusion at Kim Dae-ho's question.

Kim Dae-ho went on as he heard the answer, "Leather armor? Then, you must like minimal protection for your body instead of something cumbersome that restricts your movement when you fight. Do you usually wield or stab?"

"About half and half. No. I think I wield more."

"What kind of cut do you usually use? Undercuts, overcuts, or cross-cuts?"

"I think I usually do overcuts. They are the most powerful…"

"Alright."

Kim Dae-ho thought for a moment, looking around the room. He looked at several swords and armor and took each one.

"Try this."

"But this is a scale armor, isn't it?"

Hak-joon made a confused face, as he got a different armor from what he requested. Scale armor is made of layers of metal. It is a very common armor style, and compared to thick plate armor, it could be considered as an easy-to-move one. But to Hak-joon, who did not like to be restricted when he fought because of his armor, this was burdensome enough.

"Come on. Just try it on."

Kim Dae-ho frowned and shook the armor in his hand. Hak-joon took it with hesitation, but the moment he grabbed the armor, his expression changed.

"Oh?"

Hak-joon was surprised and immediately started putting on the armor over the clothes that he was wearing. The armor fitted his body. It also clung to his body like leather armor.

"What the…? It's bending!" Lee Ju-ho, who was watching Hak-joon put on the armor, shouted in surprise.

The scale armor, which apparently seemed to be made of iron, bent smoothly. It fitted Hak-joon's body as if the armor itself found its owner.

"How is it? Uncomfortable?" Kim Dae-ho asked.

"No, it's so comfortable. I feel like I am not wearing anything."

"How is the weight?"

"It is heavy enough."

"If you do a lot of cuts, the slightly heavy armor will be actually helpful. And as I heard, you mix stabbing as well. Then, it is certainly better to weigh more."

Kim Dae-ho found the most suitable armor for Hak-joon after he figured out his fighting styles and the armor he usually used. Hak-joon was surprised for the second time; he was surprised by the unexpectedly good armor and the fact that solid armor made of iron was as flexible as leather armor.

"Is it really made of metal? It feels more comfortable than leather ones."

"Of course. I made it myself."

"Wow…"

"It is probably much harder than some iron armor. Also, for this one, I focused on strength, flexibility, and magic resistance rather than weight."

"I really love it. Oh…"

Hak-joon could not close his mouth in wonder. He happily checked out the sword that Kim Dae-ho passed on to him next. Then, Kim Dae-ho recommended equipment to Lee Ju-ho and Thomas after Hak-joon. Su-hyeun looked at Kim Dae-ho awkwardly.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Kim Dae-ho asked Su-hyeun.

"No, nothing, sir." Su-hyeun shook his head. "I will go out first. I would like to try this spear."

"Don't go too far. Come back in 30 minutes."

"Okay."

Su-hyeun went outside of the workshop first. He could guess why Kim Dae-ho did such an act on this day. He was embarrassed at first, but he thought this would be not bad. On the contrary, it was something that he would like to welcome.

I guess he had lots to think about.

Su-hyeun headed to an empty park around the mountain ledge, about 10 minutes away from the workshop.

***

Su-hyeun went to the park where all trees had been cut. It was a place where Su-hyeun often went when he visited Kim Dae-ho's workshop because no one came here, and it had a large space.

Whoosh—

Su-hyeun wielded the spear casually. It was about half-times longer than his sword. He could get used to the length of the spear soon. However, since it was a spear, it was more specialized for stabbing than wielding.

Although it will be much powerful when I use it for stabbing, welding it like a pole would not be bad.

The stiffness of the spear itself was quite good. The tip of the spear was made of adamantium and Ether stone to increase strength. The handle part was made from a little bit of adamantium, Ether stone, and various metals. The center of gravity was concentrated at the tip of the spear, so when he wielded it, he could use it more powerfully. Kim Dae-ho designed all those details.

I got how it feels like to wield.

To be a skilled hand, he had to use it for practice anyway. For now, he was content with just taking a look at how powerful the spear was. Su-hyeun stopped wielding and injected a little bit of magic into the spear.

Whirl—

The spear began to respond. Su-hyeun could feel some kind of connection between him and the spear. Eyes shining, he stepped forward.

Thud—

He stood firmly and bent his body backward. The magic that was formed at the tip of the spear began to spin faster. It felt like the spear was whirring into life. Standing in a bent position, Su-hyeun suddenly jumped at the waist level and threw the spear at the same time.

Boom—!

Swish—!

The spear flew straightforward.

Crack, crack—

The spear pierced through the trees in the mountains and the rocky cliffs in the distance. At first glance, it seemed to be quite shabby compared to the Dragon Slaying Spear. However, Su-hyeun was convinced as he saw a hole in the tree.

The power is not distributed.

Like a spinning electric drill, the spear could pierce one point. And that was not all.

Whoosh—

Su-hyeun gathered his magic in his hand. At that moment, a sound came from afar.

Swish—

Crack—!

With a loud sound, the spear returned to his hand. Su-hyeun grabbed the spear and knitted his brows. Because it flew back too fast, he was only able to hold the tip of the spear, not the handle part.

I guess I have to practice on this, Su-hyeun thought.

The spear was too fast, so it was hard to grab the handle part properly. It would be more challenging to catch during complex battles. But he was certainly satisfied with the fact he could collect the spear quickly. During a battle, life could be at stake in a second or less.

The power or the retrieving range is pretty good, too.

The spear had flown several kilometers. The range that Su-hyeun could collect the spear back was wider than he had expected. In this case, he thought, collecting the spear back during a real fight would be useful.

I guess I can use my old spears for numerous enemies and use this one for bosses or middle bosses, or a single enemy at a distance.

In Su-hyeun's head, he was already doing an imaginary rehearsal on how to use this new weapon. Like that, he threw and collected the spears a couple more times. Blood formed in his hand. Blood began to drip as the tip of the spear tore his hand a few more times. Su-hyeun worked on throwing more, and finally went back to the workshop.

"Su-hyeun! Look at this! Mr. Dae-ho… Oh!" Hak-joon, who was in the backyard of the workshop, was surprised as he saw Su-hyeun. "Su-hyeun! What's wrong? Is that blood?"

"I was scraped a little."

"That looks more than a little."

At Hak-joon's rash action, Lee Ju-ho came as well. He also looked at the blood flowing from Su-hyeun's hand and asked in surprise, "What happened?"

"I practiced throwing the new spear I got today, but it was a little difficult to collect back."

"How?"

"Step back, please."

"…?"

Lee Ju-ho went farther as Su-hyeun said. Hak-joon did the same. Su-hyeun checked if they moved far enough. Then, he took one step forward, stood firmly, and threw the spear.

Swish—!

The spear flew to the sky, becoming like a dot. As Lee Ju-ho and Hak-joon looked in surprise, Su-hyeun formed magic in his hand.

Swish—

Crack—!

"Oh my god!"

"Wow!"

The spear came back to Su-hyeun's hand again. This time, he grabbed slightly under the tip part, the end part of the handle.

"I grabbed the tip about one out of five times and missed the spear one out of ten."

"Doesn't it hurt?" Lee Ju-ho asked.

"It hurts but not that bad."

"You are so strong."

"Where is Thomas?" Su-hyeun asked.

"Mr. Dae-ho is still setting Thomas's equipment. Since Thomas has never used armor or anything, you know. He is different from Hak-joon."

"Ah, that is why…" Su-hyeun nodded.

Unlike Hak-joon, who had been using the right equipment for him, Thomas had never worn any other equipment. So, it seemed that Mr. Dae-ho spent more time to figure out what kind of equipment would suit Thomas better.

While they waited, Su-hyeun roughly tore at his clothes and wrapped his bleeding hand. Fortunately, the bleeding stopped shortly thereafter.

"Oh my. He is a really picky one. Tut." Kim Dae-ho grumbled.

He opened the door of the workshop and walked out with Thomas. Thomas was smiling, holding a piece of equipment in each hand.

"Oh, are you back? What happened to your hand?"

"Can't you guess?"

Su-hyeun shook the spear that he was holding. Kim Dae-ho blinked his eyes a couple of times and nodded as if he understood what had happened.

"Oh, I understand. Yeah. That can happen. What should I do? Do you want me to take a look at it again?"

"It's alright."

"Is that so? Well, if you don't want me to, never mind. Besides," Kim Dae-ho hesitated a little and pointed to the house with his chin, "We have to talk."

Su-hyeun thought the time had come. Su-hyeun followed Kim Dae-ho into the master bedroom. Lee Ju-ho and the other two went into another room.

"What's going on?" Su-hyeun asked as soon as he went into the room and sat on the chair.

Kim Dae-ho, who was looking for the cups for tea, hesitated and answered, "Hey, Su-hyeun. Let me ask you one thing." Kim Dae-ho sat opposite Su-hyeun, not bringing tea as usual. "How is Seoul?"