The Hero Returns

Chapter 175: Chapter 175

The 70th floor's eighth level trial held countless traps and monsters, and a number of manacles and shackles to weigh down participants.

"Pant, pant…"

Hak-joon was currently plopped on his butt, breathing heavily, having already dropped his own sword. He was surrounded by the corpses of monsters as well as broken traps. The cavern he was in was narrow, not giving him much room to move around in.

<< That was way too close for comfort. >>

[Accomplishment rate: 50%]

[Will you end the trial?]

He had finally managed to get past the halfway mark of this seemingly endless cave.

He nearly died a couple of times during the journey, and he had to perform some impressive acrobatics in order to dodge the more deadly traps. And, in the midst of all that, monsters continued to pour out from openings in the cave walls, aiming squarely at his throat. At times, he thought that having several bodies would still not be enough to get out of there alive.

Hak-joon wheezed painfully as he struggled to regain his breath, before raising his arm. It felt heavy. Not just because he was tired, though.

<< Just what is this thing made out of…? >>

A small manacle was currently wrapped around his arm.

It must have been insanely dense for such a small thing to be so heavy.

But Hak-joon had found it unnaturally hard to move both his arms and legs from the moment the trial began. If all four manacles' weights were combined, then they surely must've weighed more than a compact car.

But the issue wasn't as simple as lifting that weight, but fighting while encumbered by it. So, rather unsurprisingly, his movements became considerably dull.

To make matters worse, the difficulty steadily rose the deeper he got into the cave, too.

<< I wonder, just how far can I go? >>

Hak-joon recalled what Su-hyeun told him.

"It's best to aim for 100% completion in trials with accomplishment rates. That way, you'll receive a bigger reward at the end and earn even more experience. And that, in turn, will make clearing the next trial just a little bit easier."

He was right.

But knowing what you were supposed to do didn't automatically make doing it any easier.

That's how it was for Hak-joon.

He already met the prerequisite to pass the trial. A 50% accomplishment rate was already an excellent result. If he pushed on any further, he might really die. Far washed over his entire body.

Even then…

<< I mustn't stop here. >>

The thought process was always the same.

Wasn't it enough to reach this far?

But if he thought that and ended the trial here, wasn't he just doing the same thing he had been doing before? He knew better.

<< No, I'll reach the end. >>

The light gleaming in Hak-joon's eyes changed. Cold, venomous determination filled them. He was no longer satisfied by just reaching the next level. He wanted something more than that.

He kept a vision of the future in mind. A future where everyone was dead, the world overrun by monsters and dungeons. That was the future Su-hyeun. was scared of.

That's why he worked so hard, to ensure that such a future would never come. He carried the same burden, chewed on the exact same worries and fears as Hak-joon did right now.

"Time to get up, then."

His break had lasted about thirty minutes or so, a time span neither too short nor too long.

He had allocated his magical energy efficiently during the battle until now, so he had enough left in the tank. It was fine as long as he could support his flagging stamina with it.

"Taking too long of a break between battles isn't a good idea, especially if you're not trying to recover your spent magical energy. If you rest for too long, your body will cool down too much. You can exhibit your sharpest battle sense only when your body's been warmed up sufficiently, you see."

Hak-joon pulled out a piece of round candy from deep inside his pocket and tossed it in his mouth.

Munch-

The sweet candy began melting in his mouth and it felt like his body was filling up with energy. The glint in his eyes was reinvigorated as well.

Even though it felt somewhat heavy, his hotly-burning body had already transformed into the proverbial treasure blade, one more lethal than that it had ever been before.

<< Let's go. >>

When he wondered if Su-hyeun had been living like this, he couldn't answer.

The thing was, Su-hyeun wasn't the type to show outwardly how difficult things were for him. At first, Hak-joon believed it to be the air of nonchalance from a truly strong being.

But recently, he began to see the truth more and more. He could see the load. incomparably heavier than these manacles currently clapped on his limbs, slung over Su-hyeun's shoulders.

That was precisely why Hak-joon couldn't stop here.

<hr />

"Yes, dear customer. You came at the perfect time, sir. Your orders are ready for you."

Upon reaching the shopping district, Su-hyeun immediately went to the medicine shop to get the rest of his elixirs. The shopkeeper who requested a couple of days must've worked his butt off, because he had all the items that Su-hyeun had asked for, ready to be collected.

Su-hyeun carefully checked each and every one of the items. Since these things cost him an arm and a leg each, he wanted to make sure that no counterfeit goods had snuck in somehow.

Thankfully, none of them were fakes. He paid the balance and immediately sought out a suitable lodging.

<< Highest grade strength-enhancing brew, Nameless Sage's Elixir, Hercules' Ancient Blood… >>

Each of these items cost hundreds of thousands, even millions, of points to buy. Su-hyeun placed all of them down on the floor, and determined the order he should take them in.

<< This side is for the elixirs exhibiting an immediate increase in strength, while this side, stuff that will gradually display their effects over a longer period of time… >>

Su-hyeun confirmed the sequence and took a deep breath.

<< These medicines taste too awful, though. >>

Pop-

Su-hyeun popped open the stopper of the very first medicine bottle. He brought the elixir to his mouth and was immediately assaulted by the terrible aroma. The smell was unimaginably acrid, and the taste nearly made him puke.

But he endured it and drank all of them. The entire cache of elixirs, not even leaving behind a single drop.

"Fuu-wooooo…"

Su-hyeun sighed deeply and closed his eyes.

Just like before, this was the crucial moment when taking elixirs. How much of the medicine's effects you managed to absorb all depended on the abilities of the person drinking the stuff.

[Strength has risen by 1.]

[Strength has risen by 1.]

Feel-good messages began rising up. But his focus must never stray because of them.

Su-hyeun's focus never wavered. He concentrated so hard that he failed to hear the messages popping up every now and then.

Not too long afterward…

"Shu-woooop…"

Su-hyeun, barely suppressing the urge to vomit, opened his eyes, and took yet another deep breath.

"Hah-aaaah-"

He undid his lotus sitting position and lied down on his back.

For the time being, he had absorbed most of the elixirs in his body. What remained now was to wait for the effects of the 'medicine' that raised his strength gradually over the course of a period of time.

<< The most expensive of the lot was the Hercules' Ancient Blood, wasn't it. >>

The expensive elixir had cost 3 million points, all on its own. It continuously enhanced one's physical strength over a long period of time. It was only the size of a thumbnail, yet to think it cost that much…

Even after seeing the price, though, Su-hyeun bought it without hesitation.

<< I had no idea I could find it here. >>

The 'Hercules' Ancient Blood' was actually an item required to create a chimera.

The droplet of blood was supposedly extracted from the 'real' Hercules in order to create a chimera possessing monster-like strength. The moment you take it, it'd start steadily enhancing your strength over a long time period.

Since the elixir was crafted with the chimera manufacturing in mind, there were no notable side effects to worry about after taking it.

Reputedly, only a handful of these items still remained to this day, after some dark magician in the distant past was punished by the gods for using the blood to create a chimera.

<< I got lucky. >>

Of course, it didn't taste good, either. The feeling was similar to drinking a droplet of blood that had rotted for hundreds of years, after all.

[Strength: 97.]

After confirming the strength stat value, Su-hyeun smirked.

Even without checking that, it already felt like pure strength was overflowing his body. As if his entire body had become as light as a feather.

<< Not too far from 100 now. >>

Indeed, only a little bit remained until he reached triple digits.

At any other time, he might have felt that making up the last three points of the strength stat would've been the hardest thing in the whole world, but his current situation wasn't the same anymore.

The 'Hercules' Ancient Blood'. The elixir melted into his body would steadily enhance his strength all on its own.

<< I might need a bit of time to get used to this state. >>

Squeeze-

Without a doubt, real combat was still the best way to familiarize himself with his suddenly elixir-enhanced strength.

Too much power would only drag down his overall combat strength. Butt, as long as he could get used to this new-found strength, he'd be able to wield even greater power than before.

<< And the best place to test it… >>

Su-hyeun pondered his options for a bit, before nodding his head.

<< A dungeon would be better. >>

He thought about whether or not to challenge the 41st floor's trial, but, for the time being, it seemed that he'd have to delay it for a few days.

<hr />

Russia's capital, Moscow. A frigid city that saw below-freezing temperatures even in the month of September.

The heart of the city, boasting an expansive real estate and a population of over 15 million, things were so much more 'tranquil' than usual at the moment.

"….This is driving me nuts."

The mayor of Moscow, David Sobyanin, was currently tearing his hair out while looking at the 'blue-colored' skyscraper before his eyes. It was a gigantic 60 story-tall tower, often called the lighthouse of Moscow.

And the whole structure was currently bathed in blue light.

"Has the raid team been assembled yet?"

David asked, and the secretary standing next to him quickly answered.

"We're still recruiting, sir. But we've run into a shortage of high-ranked awakener manpower. We managed to find several A-Ranks, but only a single S-Rank so far."

"What if we ask other countries?"

"Even mainland Europe is suffering from an S-Rank shortage, sir. Not only did a number of their S-Ranks die during the Ranking Wars, but about half of the remaining ones haven't returned from the trials at the moment."

"Do whatever it takes to recruit them. If that thing becomes a full-on outbreak, Moscow will be finished."

David Sobyanin looked around.

The citizens had been evacuated a while before. Countless awakeners were gathering, and even the military had been mobilized, just in case.

Unfortunately, no one knew how bad the extent of the human losses would be once a blue-colored dungeon morphed into a full-on outbreak. Not to forget, the impact on the economy would be devastating if Moscow was turned into a city of rubble.

<< We need to sort this out, no matter what it takes. >>

He had no options, but no way to avoid this task, either.

<< But, how? >>

For one, you needed a minimum of four S-Rank awakeners in order to raid a blue-colored dungeon. But there were only three S-Ranks in the whole of Russia, and, to make matters worse, only one of them was available right now.

Where would they be able to find the remaining three?

"Excuse me, mister mayor? It doesn't look like… we aren't out of alternatives yet, sir."

"What alternatives? What is it?"

"Have you heard the recent news? South Korea's Kim Su-hyeun and Gordon Rohan have created a guild together, sir. From what I hear, it's supposed to be a mercenary guild, and, as long as the price is right, they'll raid a dungeon for you."

David Sobyanin's eyes shot open wide at the secretary's words.

Now that he thought about it, there was no need to start a lengthy and cumbersome negotiation process. As long as they could pay, either Kim Su-hyeun or Gordon Rohan would fly over here from the distant lands of South Korea or America.

<< But then, their price…. >>

Kim Su-hyeun's cost was unknown, but what about Gordon Rohan's?

Just having a single meal with him took several million dollars. The mayor couldn't even fathom how much they'd have to pay in order to bring such a man all the way to Moscow.

<< Will it even be possible with our budget? >>

David Sobyanin shook his head when that line of thinking popped up in his head.

<< No, wait. I shouldn't even be thinking about this problem. >>

Even if he was to spend every dime of the annual budget, this dungeon had to be raided as safely as possible.

<< No matter how much it costs, we need to make the request. Protecting the city is our priority. >>

Just as his thoughts reached that point…

"M-m-mister mayor!!" Another one of his personal secretaries hurriedly rushed over to David Sobyanin's position and urgently called out to his boss. "S-sir, something major has… N-no, wait. It's not a major 'bad' thing, but, uh…"

"What's all this fuss about?!"

"It's Kim Su-hyeun, sir! Kim Su-hyeun!"

David Subyanin frowned deeply at the secretary's words.

He wasn't dithering about right now because he didn't know 'that'. If they could bring Kim Su-hyeun here, then that would be truly wonderful. The man. had once solo-raided a blud dungeon, after all. He would solve all their problems.

"Are you trying to say that's our only. alternative right now?"

"N-no, sir. That's not it…" The personal secretary sucked in a deep, deep breath, and continued on. "Sir, Kim Su-hyeun has arrived. He's waiting over there!"