Is this Hero for Real?

[Act 9] Easy Orc

Pooow-!

Slash-!

We didn’t battle all over the place the way the strong did in fantasy series.

Rather, it was closer to a gunfight from a western movie.

One blow. ..

The win would be decided by an undodgeable, strong, single blow.

And the winner?

“Kirk…!”

The radiant green light from the guardian’s blade swallowed mine.

Burn!

My right shoulder was futilely ripped apart for the cost of losing.

Was that it?

No, it wasn’t. The remnants of the force spread like plasma and mercilessly scratched my skin.

“It’s over,” The orc guardian declared immediately after that.

“…”

I was hoping I’d been wrong, but he was indeed strong.

[Outsider]

My Blessing was the only reason I could keep my composure when my life was at stake.

Fwp.

I completely admitted to my defeat and backed far away.

I knew my severed right arm would recover quickly, but I’d given up fighting a while before.

“Hmph! You can’t run away in that state!”

“Yeah, I probably can’t.”

I hadn’t even been hit with a full blow.

A critical injury, even though I narrowly escaped it, just like a master of martial arts!

I would have been done for if it weren’t for the covinous effects of the Blessing.

“You went too far. Don’t even think about dying in peace.”

“What an amazing judge.”

Drip.

I couldn’t open my right eye because of the blood.

The right side of my face and sides were ragged from slightly brushing against the guardian’s power.

I was lucky. It may have been a critical injury, but I hadn’t died.

“Huh?!”

“My bad. I have a special body.”

My torn right ear and cheek recovered, and new skin sprouted from my exposed rib bones.

Poof!

—And a complete recovery from my severed right arm!

I’d lost my blue dagger, but I didn’t hesitate to retreat once my damaged body reset itself.

“Coward! You dare run away?!”

“Then come with me.”

“Stop! Running away will only prolong your despair!”

“Would you stop if you were me?”

“…”

The guardian, who was violently running after me, abruptly stopped.

As I’d expected.

The guardian with overflowing love for his species didn’t come to their rescue until I’d massacred them.

Because he didn’t notice?

No way.

“Looks like the guardian can’t leave the relic area, can he?”

“…”

“Come out if you’re pressed-hup?!”

Pew—stab!

The orc guardian threw the blue dagger, piercing my chest.

[A certain god scolds you’re being a baby.]

No I’m not, that really hurt!

I minimized the damage by instantaneously focusing my power on my chest, but I would have died if I was a little slower.

That orc was actually dangerous!

He wasn’t a guardian with cool duties.

“…Are you invincible, human?”

“So what if I am?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll trap you in this city until you die of old age. Whether it takes a century or a millennium…”

“You have an incredible notion of time!”

“Next time I catch you, I'll cut off your limbs and hang them on a skewer!”

“Next time, you say…”

‘But there won’t be a next time?’

[Outsider]

‘Let’s practice the orc’s ‘swordsmanship’ until I get good at it.’

***

“Hero Yoo Bora is truly amazing. Already a level 7 in a short time of fewer than ten days…”

“It’s thanks to my Blessing.”

“Hm. As my mother would say, Blessings are a part of you, not a facade.”

“You have an honorable mother.”

“Though she is scary. Haha…”

Yoo Bora was in the middle of conversing with her only teammate who was living with her.

Her name was Aria.

As the lady of the only Duke family in Archmazing Kingdom, she said she became a mercenary to learn about the world…

In other words, she was a runaway.

“But I didn’t get the Hero’s Blessing because I tried.”

“I have had the Noble Blessing since I was born, too. Oh! Do you know the effects of the Noble Blessing?”

“I don’t.”

“Then let me show you.”

Aria’s status window appeared in front of Yoo Bora.

[Name] Aria

[Level] 13

[Blessings] Noble B, Charm D, Warrior D, Mercenary C, Holy F

[Curses] Student F

She was stronger than when she’d met Hero Oh Hanwoo.

[Holy]

After getting a sacred blessing from the Saintess, she’d leveled up in just a few days.

“Rank B noble…”

“It’s proof that I am the child of a duke, an A-rank noble.”

It was apparent that the direct descendants of nobles got the Blessing one rank lower.

The Noble Blessing’s effects were quite surprising.

[Noble]

> As someone with noble blood, you must protect your dependents.

>Your dependents will present to you a portion of the exp they acquire.

They collected other people’s valuable exp like taxes!

They could basically just level up safely based on the fact that they were a noble.

“That’s incredible.”

Quickly calculating everything in her head, Yoo Bora got chills all over her body.

Wasn’t the Noble Blessing far more incredible than the Hero Blessing?

She didn’t know how much exp they collected, but it felt like they could level up daily if it was even just 1%.

Assuming there were ten thousand residents in their territory, which were their dependents, and they collected even 1%… Goodness!

“It’s amazing, isn’t it? Although I’m an unsubstantial noble because I don’t have any dependents.”

“I see.”

“Still, I was once harshly scolded by my mother because I thought I wasn’t deserving of the Blessing.”

“Why did you get scolded?”

“She told me there were countless people who sacrificed everything just to acquire this Blessing. Their families, love, friendship, assets, honor… she fiercely dared me to repeat what I said to their faces.”

“…Thank you. This was a truly good learning experience.”

“It’s nothing. Oomph!”

Giving her a big smile, Aria dived into the snug bed.

“You should wash up first.”

“But I’m too lazy…”

“The people who wash our bedsheets will have more work to do if the blankets get dirty.”

“Urrh.. okay.”

After spending a few years as a mercenary, she just looked like an average girl her age.

Sitting on the edge of the bed looking outside the dark window, Aria spoke.

“Do you think Hero Oh Hanwoo will be alright?”

“Are you worried about him?”

“Um… yeah.”

“Do you like him?”

“Pff hahaha! Ah, excuse me. There’s no way! I’m only concerned because he tends to have more confidence than he should. He’s a perfect victim for a scam, so to speak.”

As the class president, Yoo Bora had observed all of the students in her class.

Their hobbies, personalities, talents, grades…

Her homeroom teacher didn’t make her do it, but she wanted to be seen as important and tried her best.

“Oh Hanwoo…”

He wasn’t an exception.

His hobby was biased reading.

* * *

* * *

He always had fantasy genre books in his backpack, and he would often laugh to himself, reading them whenever he got the chance.

He had a selfish personality.

He would never do things he didn’t want to—it made him extremely uncooperative during group projects, field days, festivals, and all other group activities.

He had a talent for computer games.

She didn’t find it out directly, but he would firmly insist.

His grades were…

“Are you worried about him too?”

“No. Hanwoo is much more of an expert in fantasy… this world than I am. I’m sure he’ll do fine on his own, wherever he goes.”

“I see.”

He felt more like a rookie who learned about the world through picture books rather than an expert, but Aria didn’t think too deeply into it.

Her biggest concern?

It was on how to send Yoo Bora, who was as strict as her mother, off to dreamland.

Knock knock.

“Hero Yoo Bora, the Saintess is here to see you.”

“Th-the Saintesss?!”

Arya, suddenly wide awake, straightened her disorganized posture and sat dead-set.

She couldn’t erase the way the Saintess had looked at her, calculating her worth as she fixed her left hand, from her mind.

The Saintess…

The legendary Heroes chosen by god thought of her as a healer a little more exceptional than normal, but it was completely different to others, including nobles.

God’s spokesperson…

A living legend…

Their existence was more honorable than a nation’s king.

It was unfathomable that the Saintess would pay a friendly visit.

At least, that’s what she knew…

“Yes. We are ready.”

When a Saintess pays a visit, preparations were done at least five days in advance, no matter what kingdom it was.

But for Heroes it only took a few seconds.

Aria could only see how incredible her Hero was.

Click.

As the bedroom door gently opened, the Saintess walked in without guards.

“Hero Yoo Bora. Thank you for your time during the middle of the night.”

“Not at all. I’m always grateful for you, Saintess. Even today, you treated me and Aria…”

“It is the duty of a Saintess to aid the Heroes so that they can overthrow the Demon King. I only did what I had to do. There is no reason to thank me.”

“Then I am personally grateful to you.”

“…I guess there’s no stopping you. Which is the reason that I chose you.”

“Choose me?”

“It means you have my trust.”

“Thank you for your trust. But, Saintess, what business do you have with me today?”

The Heroes would get up while sleeping if the Saintess called.

For the Saintess to visit her room herself could only mean the business was a personal matter.

The Saintess answered nonchalantly.

“It isn’t just you, Hero Yoo Bora. Since yesterday, I have been going around chatting with the Heroes.”

“Oh…”

Compared to a school setting, maybe it was something like career counseling or a student talk.

Yoo Bora vaguely understood it that way.

“Dear Hero, are you having any trouble living here?”

“Just when I use the bathroom…”

Yoo Bora answered, slightly blushing as she looked away.

To that, the Saintess laughed faintly.

“Haha. I see even Hero Yoo Bora has a weak point, despite never having complained about the excessive competition.”

“…”

Yoo Bora hung her head like a criminal, unable to answer.

“Oh! I wasn’t blaming you. That’s the most common complaint I have received from the Heroes.

“I see.”

The girl was slightly relieved she wasn’t the only one.

“It will be improved soon. Have you heard of a slime toilet?”

“Yes,” Yoo Bora said as she looked back at Aria, hidden in the corner of the room.

She was told it was a luxury chamber pot favored by nobles and wealthy merchants.

“Then you will understand quickly. Slimes are beneficial creatures to humans, but the temple strictly restricts slimes from entering, but we have decided to be more flexible for the Heroes as an exception.”

“Ah!”

It wasn’t the flush toilet she’d dreamt of, but it still took a weight off Yoo Bora’s shoulders to know it was getting improved.

The Saintess glanced over at Aria, standing like a statue, and asked.

“How do you like your companion?”

“I like her.”

“That’s good. I encourage competition among the Heroes, but I do not want a future where humans destroy themselves from excessive jealousy.”

“I apologize.”

“It is not a matter you should apologize for, Hero Yoo Bora. I meant you can feel free to talk to me anytime if it gets too hard for you. There is no greater disaster than a fallen Hero.”

“A fallen Hero…?”

“It is a matter for the far future. The Heroes corrupted with Blessings and seductions will probably appear when all of you are fighting beings much stronger than the gnolls.”

“…What happens to them?”

She already knew the answer, but Yoo Bora still asked with an ounce of hope.

They were the friends she’d laughed and studied with in the same classroom.

But everything became strange after coming to the fantasy world.

“We do not kill them.”

“Oh!”

What a relief!

“A fallen Hero is still a Hero. We put a Slave’s Curse on them so they may atone for their sins, forever.”

“…”

“After all, corruption is the betrayal of mankind and god’s trust. It means the expectations and investments we are bestowing upon you are not a small amount.”

“Okay.”

Yoo Bora’s shoulders felt heavy.

The pressure from her parents to get into an elite university was much lighter.

Humanity’s hope, terrifying fights, being the object of envy, excessive luxuries…

She felt like she couldn’t breathe.

“I’m not that great… oh!”

“What is it, dear Hero?”

“It’s nothing. I just thought of something a friend told me…”

Kang Hansoo, the only one among them who’d wanted to go back to Earth, had told the Saintess:

‘How can someone who worries for their family save the world?’

Did he know things would turn out like that?

She was a little curious as to what the boy would be doing back on Earth.

“Hero Yoo Bora.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know Kang Hansoo, by any chance? It was a name that came up while talking to the other Heroes.”

Was there a classmate who’d talked about their ‘pathetic friend’ that went back to his home planet?

She wanted to give that ‘other Hero’ deduction points to their personality if she could know who they were.

Kang Hansoo.

He wasn’t a grave secret, so she answered right away.

“I do.”

To that, the Saintess continued her questions, smiling playfully.

“Is he your friend?”

“Yes.”

“Boyfriend?”

“No! It’s just… I know just a little because I’m the class president.”

“A little? I’m curious about that ‘little’. Please, tell me everything, as an older sister. I will decide if he really isn’t your boyfriend.”

[A certain innocent goddess desperately wants to tune in.]

[A certain earth god says dating is always the right thing to do.]

[A certain bold god of beauty asks how far you guys went.]

[A certain god…]

The gods, who had been silently watching, joined the bandwagon and pushed her to answer.

“Kang Hansoo is…”

“You boyfriend is…?”

“Don’t lead my answer! I was choosing my words wisely so there wouldn’t be any misunderstandings.”

“That makes it hard to know how you really feel. Now, hurry and tell me~”

“Ah, jeez…!”

Yoo Bora was teased all night by the Saintess, who was suddenly a teenage girl.