21 – Seven & Eight chapter
-Hyeonwoo.
He can hear the voice of the person he misses the most.
-Don’t be too impatient. You’ll get stronger soon. Don’t worry too much.
Why can I hear her voice? She is a new hero currently attending the academy, and he is just a villain who has fallen to the abyss.
-I will protect you. Until you can stand next to me. No, even if you can’t stand next to me, I will definitely protect you.
…No. The voice is not heard. This is something that cannot happen in reality. Besides, this conversation-
-Why? Why is he being so nice to you? Isn’t that obvious?
After he was possessed, it was her comfort that soothed him when he cried because his skills were not improving no matter how much he trained.
-Because you were the one who protected me ever since I was young, when I was wandering around without any family. Because you have taken care of me and embraced me from the orphanage until now. Hmm… Should I say returning the favor? Or is it just a favor? I’m not sure.
It is the past before he was possessed, but it is an extension of the past memories that have now become his own memories.
-Anyway, that’s why I will always be by your side. It’s okay no matter how weak your abilities are. Because I will protect you and fight with you until you become strong and can walk confidently next to me. Therefore-
It was a promise she failed to keep,
-Don’t cry like that, let’s smile. There is no need to be impatient.
Nothing will ever come true-
-Because I will always be by your side.
It’s just a vain dream in the middle of the day.
“-f*ck.”
“…Are you awake already? “Get some more sleep.”
Hyunwoo opened his eyes while swearing, and Eunji, who had been reading the plan in his hand, noticed that he was awake and turned her head.
“Because I had a nightmare.”
Did you fall asleep for a while? Hyunwoo clicked his tongue and turned his head to look outside his window.
In a shaking car. Outside the window, numerous cars were still running on the road as if competing with them, and numerous high-rise buildings were filling both sides of the road.
Was Cheongju originally such a developed city? Probably never. Cheongju was not like this when he went on a business trip at a time when he had just become an adult and was still young when he thought he could still live happily.
In a way, it may be natural. This is a game world, and he is no longer a disabled person with one leg. He is riding in a black sedan and is currently moving as a villain to cause terrorism, and now the one thing he is missing is not his leg but his arm.
This world is not reality. Hyun-woo, who painfully realized this once again, bit his lip, but Eun-ji did not notice his feelings and tilted his head to ask.
“A nightmare?”
“Yes, nightmare.”
You usually don’t remember your dreams after waking up, so why does he remember them? The reason was simple. It was a dream he had for a long time that he could not forget, for two years, from the time he committed his first murder to the present.
“A dream where someone I miss so much appears and comforts me.”
“…Then it’s not a nightmare, is it? “Isn’t it a good dream?”
Eunji asked back because she did not understand, but Hyunwoo shook his head and smiled bitterly.
“It’s a nightmare.”
This is a nightmare. A nightmare you never want to remember, but can’t forget.
“No matter how much I miss you, no matter how much I hear what I want to hear-“
It became a new purpose of life for him who was losing his purpose in life, and it is the driving force of his life that makes him still live somehow-
“Because it can never come true now. So it’s a dream, so it’s a nightmare.”
Now he is living as a villain. It is the cause of eroding one’s spirit, which forces people to live a life in which they have no choice but to kill countless people, and it is the hand of the devil who drives them to destruction and drags them into hell.
“…Is that so?”
“That’s right.”
From Noble mtl dot com
Eunji, who saw Hyunwoo’s expression, realized who he was thinking of and pouted her mouth and grumbled, but then closed her mouth and turned her attention back to the plan.
The silence continued for a long time, and only the noise of cars continued to be heard in their ears –
“-Arrived.”
Soon they passed the toll gate, and after some more time had passed. A man driving a car broke the silence by declaring that he had arrived towards them.
“…It’s finally here.”
“Is this Cheongju? “This is my first time here, but it’s a very developed city, just like the rumors say.”
“It’s natural because it’s the city where the first hero appeared.”
Countless high-rise buildings. A setting suitable for a hero game set in the future, a bit removed from modern times. They smiled as they looked at the beautiful city, got out of the car, and immediately started walking inside the hotel that had risen before their eyes.
“It’s a very nice hotel. “I feel this every time, but the boss seems to have a lot of money.”
“It’s his money, not mine.”
“Ah, that gloomy bastard…”
They arrived at Shanglier, a 5-star hotel located in Cheongju. This is the accommodation where they will stay for the next week, less than 1km away from the Heungdeok Police Station occupied by the evil brigade –
“Has everyone arrived?”
“Yes, I understand we arrived last.”
“Where is it?”
“They say they saw a villain from the Evil Brigade enter the entrance to the basement.”
This was the place where the evil brigade’s human laboratory was hidden in the basement.
“Then tell me to unpack right away and get ready to gather.”
“I understand.”
Villain organization Repentance. They finished preparing their plan and walked into the hotel.
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“…Practice?!”
“Yes.”
The students are astonished and their homeroom teacher, Hero Handsome, is in a cold sweat.
“You said it was a trip?!”
“What kind of journey does a hero travel? Where do you have time for that? Besides, I don’t know about this. Did you say it?”
“Don’t leave it to me. “What power does a mere teacher have?”
“It’s a scam!!!”
The teachers who tricked the students into going on a trip to relieve their physical and mental fatigue from the previous incident deceived them by telling them sweet things. The students realized this fact too late, but there was no way they could go back on the bus that was already running on the road.
“They told me to bring a costume just in case!”
“I have to get out of here!”
“Don’t open the window. Do you want to get scolded? Anyway… We are now going to Cheongju for training.”
Seok-Hoon explained the reason why they were going along with the destination. The students sighed.
“I wouldn’t have been so disappointed if I had said it was a practical training from the beginning…”
“That’s right. “Why don’t you just say it’s a compensation trip!”
“Be quiet! “Practical training is practical training, but so is traveling!”
“How can hero training and travel coexist!”
Students responding to Hangyeol’s complaints. But soon Seok-Hoon blocked his ears with his fingers and scolded him.
“I have never broken my promise to go on a trip. Even if it’s just a practical training, it won’t be that big of a deal! “They said they don’t have enough heroes, so they’re just taking them in to fill the number!”
“After all, it is forced labor!!!”
“Noisy! There won’t be much to do anyway. Heroes are not yet incompetent enough to entrust important tasks to young students. Don’t worry, we’ll give you plenty of free time. Above all – you know that, right? “What kind of place is Cheongju?”
Cheongju City. One of the six most developed cities in Korea other than Seoul. It is a well-developed tourist destination, and it is also a good city for people of all ages, including students and adults, to enjoy entertainment.
“To be honest, I was originally planning on finding a remote island and having them survive there, right? “But you really all reached 10,000 and changed locations.”
“…Really?”
“Okay. So don’t make such a rotten face.”
The students who were glaring with suspicion soon saw Seok-Hyeon waving his hand as if he was annoyed and nodded his head. Seok-Hoon was pretending that nothing had happened, but inside he was clicking his tongue.
It’s not a lie. But the problem was that it wasn’t even true. Since all the students had reached full maturity through the whip wielded in the name of training, it was time to give them the carrot of a trip. The teachers who decided that way all agreed to their trip, and while the plan was going smoothly, a bomb suddenly dropped.
Information that a villain will attack the police station in Cheongju, the city they are going to, which is not far from the expensive hotel they had decided to book. Since the news came a day before the trip, Seok-Hoon was equally embarrassed.
“-So I changed my travel plans a little. “I was originally going to go on to the next training after coming back from the trip, but since things turned out like this, I decided to give myself some free time and then do practice and training.”
“…It was no different from a natural disaster.”
“So. No, villains pop up everywhere you go? Is there any honey in the Academy Hero Department? Even when I was on active duty, these damn villains would pop up all the time-“
Seok-Hoon, who was irritated, soon begins to complain, but soon suppresses his anger, sighs, and continues what he wanted to say.
“Anyway, let’s just think it went well. No matter how much you think about it, your practical sense is so poor.”
“I don’t think there are any students who have as much experience dealing with villains as we do?”
“After all, I am a student. When you become a hero, you have to deal with tough villains three times a day in a row. “Don’t underestimate this damn world.”
Travel and train at the same time. And that training is none other than developing their practical sense. It was not a lie that he was thinking of taking the students to a deserted island.
“I know that you have reached 10,000 peaks and have gained confidence in your abilities. At first, I thought I could do anything. But, in real life, there are situations that cannot be solved even if you pour in your abilities.”
Of course, what is important in battle is ability. No matter how great your physical ability is, it is not possible to bridge the gap between the capable and the incapable. However, the battle between the talented and the talented is a different story.
“You learned it in class, right? “There is a correlation between abilities.”
There is compatibility in abilities. For example, there are compatibility between fire and water, or the ability to strengthen strength and increase speed.
“If there is a difference in compatibility, then it could be the worst. “You could literally do nothing and lose.”
What would happen if a hero with the ability to make fire encounters a villain who controls water? Then the hero will be unable to do anything and become a dog chasing chickens. If you confront it head on using your abilities, the fire will eventually be extinguished by water.
If we compare it to the level of ability divided into four stages, if the water flow-type ability, which has reached the latter half of the second stage of awakening, and the flame-type ability, which has just reached the third stage, full bloom, collide, it will be pushed away and collapse. That’s how important compatibility is.
“But no matter how superior your ability is to your opponent, if the difference in level is extreme, it’s a different story.”
But what if a water flow type ability that has just revealed its abilities and a flame type ability that has reached its full potential face off? What if a person who has just entered awakening faces a person who is at the end of 10,000 awakenings? Can we win then too? The answer was ‘no’.
“You know, right?”
“…Yes.”
Hangyeol gritted his teeth and nodded. Ultimately, it was his lack of ability that prevented him from capturing someone with the ability to strengthen his body with telekinesis.
“Okay, here’s the question. So how can we make up for the incompatibility of abilities?”
“-Difference in level of ability?”
“That is also the correct answer. But as I just said, what if you meet someone of the same level? Or what if the other person’s level is higher than yours?”
“…Calling a hero who can help?”
“Are you trying to run away and call another hero when you’re alone? So what damage will happen in the meantime? “What are you going to do if there are no colleagues nearby in the first place?”
Silence continued again. They continued to ponder and think of the answer, and soon realized the correct answer by recalling what Seok-Hoon had said in the first place.
“It’s a practical sense.”
“Correct answer. “They did give me the answer, but it was slow.”
Practical sense is an important factor that can make up for the gap in ability. Practical sense means knowing how to subdue an opponent and the ability to execute based on that knowledge.
In actual combat, you either know how to use your abilities to overpower your opponent, predict the opponent’s actions and lay traps, use the surroundings to your advantage, or use your physical abilities to overcome your opponent’s abilities. Destroying it is also a way.
What would it have been like if Hangyeol had not only superpowers but also physical ability, predicting Wild Pig’s actions and avoiding them? The enemy would not have been able to subdue him in the end, and he would have won by continuing to eat away at his stamina with telekinesis.
How can someone with salt and heat abilities win against a water type ability? Each situation is different, but if there is a lot of firewood nearby that can be burned, the method is simple. No matter how much water we pour, there is no way we can stop the uncontrollable fire. Or maybe they are wary of their water flow abilities and carry oil-related support items with them.
Knows the differences in situations, takes advantage of the differences in the surrounding environment, learns relative techniques, and predicts and responds to actions.
All of this can only be known through actual experience. In the end, knowledge, experience, and practical sense are what matter. Seokhun and the students don’t know, but just like Hyunwoo, who was only at the awakening stage, used all his means to slaughter a wild pig that had reached its full bloom.
“After this trip, you will develop a practical sense through practical training.”
There were no students who refuted Seok-Hoon’s words. In the first place, far from being conceited, they are people who want to become even stronger. Their desire for strength was superior to that of any other hero.
But first of all, it is a trip in name, but the atmosphere is like this. Seok-Hoon clicked his tongue as the atmosphere suddenly subsided.
After seeing the students doing image training by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each person’s abilities and imagining the opposing villain, he quickly smiled and opened his mouth to lighten the mood.
“Don’t worry too much. You will find out eventually anyway. Rather, didn’t we tell you where this accommodation is?”
“Yes…”
“It was set up as a 5-star hotel.”
“Yes… Yes?!”
“I got it with my own money, so enjoy it to the fullest.”
There is nothing more effective than having enough money to cheer up a down mood. Seok-Hoon took advantage of that fact, and the students instantly brightened up and were filled with anticipation.
“-Where is it?”
“Puhahahahaha! Is it that good? You guys know that too, right? It’s very famous. “What was your name?”
Seok-hoon, who eventually burst out laughing at the question of Kwon So-ah, whose eyes shined exceptionally brightly, soon began to trace his memory and recall their lodgings –
“Was it Shanglier?”
I soon spit out the name of the accommodation.