Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad

After observing Kurken, Hyun-seok headed to the kitchen.

The warm sunlight was already shining down.

He needed to arrive before the kitchen soldiers left for hunting.

“Whew… Fortunately I’m not late.”

“Oh, Hyun-seok! Welcome.”

As soon as he entered the kitchen, Kulkan greeted him warmly.

“Yes. Did you rest well last night, Sir Kulkan?”

“I’m always at my best! But…”

Kulkan stared intently at Hyun-seok.

In his hurry, he had forgotten to take off the Combat Power measuring device.

Hyun-seok made up a quick excuse.

“Ah… I saw another Demon King’s Army soldier wearing it and thought it looked cool, so I bought it.”

“Is that so? You have unique taste.”

Kulkan didn’t pay it much mind and moved on.

Hyun-seok quietly let out a sigh of relief.

‘That’s a relief.’

Then suddenly, he became curious about something.

‘I wonder how strong Kulkan is?’

Kulkan was the Head Chef.

Meaning, he was the strongest among all the cooks.

Hyun-seok looked up at Kulkan.

Drrrrring!

The numbers on the lens began to rise rapidly.

Beep!

Hyun-seok was shocked at the final number.

‘Th-thirty five thousand…?’

Kulkan’s combat power exceeded 35,000.

It was double that of other company commanders.

Sensing something unusual, Hyun-seok quickly checked the Combat Power of other kitchen soldiers.

[Combat Power: 1960]

[Combat Power: 2620]

[Combat Power: 2350]

[Combat Power: 2100]

‘The average is over 2000… What kind of monster group is this?’

The kitchen soldiers generally had Combat Power in the mid-2000s.

It was clearly different from the Demon King’s Army soldiers outside.

Even the weakest-looking kitchen soldier exceeded 1500, and some even surpassed 5000.

‘They were amazing guys…’

Thinking about it, it wasn’t strange at all.

The kitchen soldiers fought with magical beasts almost every day.

It would have been strange if they weren’t strong.

‘I grew this much in just ten days… Considering the time period, maybe they’re actually weak.’

This was a good thing.

The kitchen soldiers’ strength was beneficial to Hyun-seok.

‘Today I need to grill meat diligently.’

This was a gathering place for crazy people who risk their lives for food.

Having already tasted the meat, they would give him anything he asked for.

‘Should I bring up sparring before they go hunting?’

Hyun-seok approached Kulkan, who was preparing for the hunt.

“Sir Kulkan. I have a request!”

“Hm? What is it?”

“I’d like to spar with the kitchen soldiers!”

“Spar?”

“Yes. I was so impressed watching the kitchen soldiers fight the magical beasts! I wondered if I could become like that too if I received training…”

“Hahaha!”

Kulkan laughed heartily at Hyun-seok’s words.

“Hyun-seok. Don’t be too hasty.”

“Pardon?”

“You’re getting stronger at a rapid pace. You’re already quite strong for a human. So take it easy.”

Hyun-seok made a disappointed expression.

“Ah… That’s unfortunate.”

“Hm?”

“I brought some meat to grill today as thanks for the teaching… Guess I’ll have to eat it another time.”

Hyun-seok pretended to put back the meat he was taking out from his backpack.

Thud.

Kulkan grabbed Hyun-seok’s wrist.

“Let’s start right away. Who do you want to fight?”

***

The sparring preparations proceeded quickly.

Hyun-seok chose an orc named Golbakkeum as his opponent.

The reason for choosing Golbakkeum among the many kitchen soldiers was simple.

First, he was an orc like his duel opponent Kurken.

And Golbakkeum looked like the dumbest among the kitchen soldiers.

‘Still, his Combat Power is 2500 though.’

It was almost double compared to Hyun-seok’s.

To be honest, he didn’t think he could win.

‘Still, I have to win.’

The image of Kurken displaying his tremendous strength flickered before his eyes.

The orc in front of him was much weaker than Kurken.

If he couldn’t even beat this guy, he wouldn’t stand a chance against Kurken.

“What’s going on? We need to go hunting soon.”

“Hyun-seok and Golbakkeum are going to spar.”

The kitchen soldiers gathered at the news of Hyun-seok and Golbakkeum’s sparring match.

“Sparring? What’s that? Fighting?”

“Tsk tsk. You don’t know? It’s killing each other.”

“What!? Then that means Hyun-seok will die!”

The dim-witted kitchen soldiers exchanged words with serious expressions.

“Hey! If Hyun-seok dies, who will grill the meat!?”

“No…! We can’t live without that meat anymore…”

“Let’s kill Golbakkeum first.”

“That’s a good idea.”

Just before the poor kitchen soldier Golbakkeum’s death sentence was pronounced,

Kulkan stepped in to mediate.

“Everyone shut up! You idiots!”

“…”

“Sparring isn’t about killing each other. It’s simply testing each other’s strength.”

The kitchen soldiers whispered at Kulkan’s words.

“Is it arm wrestling?”

“Maybe it’s tug of war.”

“Sigh…”

Kulkan decided to just leave the idiots be.

“Listen well, Golbakkeum.”

He just needed Golbakkeum, Hyun-seok’s sparring partner, to understand the situation.

“You absolutely must not kill Hyun-seok. Fight, but go easy on him. Understand?”

“Grunt…! I understand.”

The orc Golbakkeum answered with a stupid expression.

Scratching his head with unfocused eyes, he didn’t look very reliable.

“But don’t go too easy either. Hit him just enough to really hurt. Got it?”

“Grunt… Sniff…! Got it…”

“Try not to break anything if possible.”

“Grunt… Sparring is really difficult.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll give you more meat when this is over, so do your best.”

At that moment, Golbakkeum’s eyes flashed at the word ‘meat’.

“Leave it to me, Head Chef!”

Golbakkeum suddenly spoke fluently and stepped forward.

“Hyun-seok. Let’s begin the sparring.”

“Yes. Please take care of me.”

Golbakkeum and Hyun-seok stood facing each other with some distance between them.

Kulkan, acting as referee, raised his arm between them.

“Ready… Begin!”

As Kulkan’s arm dropped, the match began.

Golbakkeum took his stance.

‘Sniff… I should not hurt him too much.’

Hyun-seok was the human who grilled meat.

He didn’t want to hurt him.

Tadadada!

Hyun-seok charged forward at full speed from the start.

Golbakkeum raised his arm.

‘Gently… Just enough to crush his face.’

His heavy arm pulled back.

All his muscles maintained tight tension.

‘Here I go…!’

He seemed to have already forgotten his thoughts from just 3 seconds ago about not hurting Hyun-seok.

It was truly goldfish-level memory.

Whoosh!

Golbakkeum’s fist extended smoothly.

‘Huh…?’

But contrary to expectations, Golbakkeum’s fist didn’t reach Hyun-seok.

It only cut through empty air.

Simultaneously, he saw Hyun-seok’s kick coming.

Swish!

It seemed like he could hear the sound of wind being cut.

‘Big shoes…?’

The mud-covered sole of the shoe was gradually growing larger.

‘Ah, I’m going to get hit.’

Thud!

That was Golbakkeum’s last memory.

***

In the forest behind the 3rd Corps headquarters.

Even though the magic beast wasn’t yet visible, Choi Hyun-seok was in a highly excited state.

‘I’ve gotten stronger.’

Though quite some time had passed since the sparring match, the lingering impression still hadn’t faded.

‘I took down an Orc with twice my Combat Power in one hit.’

Honestly, he hadn’t expected to win.

He had only thought about gaining experience.

But contrary to expectations, Hyun-seok knocked out Golbakkeum with one head kick.

The faces of the cook soldiers who stared at him in shock were still vivid in his memory.

‘This incident made it clear. Combat Power doesn’t determine everything.’

The difference in Combat Power between Hyun-seok and Golbakkeum was a whole 1000.

Nevertheless, Hyun-seok took down Golbakkeum in one strike.

This was an extremely good sign.

‘I can win.’

It meant that even if the difference in Combat Power with his duel opponent Kurken was overwhelming, it was worth fighting.

Of course, Kurken was much stronger than Golbakkeum whom he fought today.

After all, he boasted strength that could rightfully be called monstrous.

But he himself had also grown stronger.

And he would continue to grow stronger.

‘Though there’s still a long way to go, if I keep growing, I’ll surely be able to fight Kurken.’

He resolved to hunt even more diligently today.

‘Alright. Whatever comes out, just come out.’

Hyun-seok’s eyes gleamed as he gripped the giant kitchen knife he was holding even tighter.

“There are baby Talas ahead.”

Finally, the words he’d been waiting for were heard.

When he peeked out slightly, he could see spider-like magic beasts.

‘So that’s a Talas.’

For a baby, it was quite large.

It was bigger than most large dogs.

However, among magic beasts, this size was considered cute.

Even being babies, it was perfectly understandable.

“How many?”

“Seven.”

“Hmm, that’s strange. There weren’t usually Talas groups in this area…”

Kulkan, who would normally have ordered an immediate charge, was somehow hesitating.

Seeing Kulkan’s continued silence, Hyun-seok approached him.

“Is there a problem? Perhaps Talas meat doesn’t taste good?”

“No, Talas meat is quite delicious. Especially the chewy Talas marrow is a real delicacy!”

“Then why…?”

“Talas live in groups. If we’re not careful, they might come out in swarms.”

“Ah…”

“Especially the mother, that is, the Queen Talas has strong maternal instincts, so it’s more troublesome. If we mess with the babies wrongly, it could cause big trouble.”

Hyun-seok showed a surprised expression at Kulkan’s explanation.

‘Despite being part of the Demon King’s Army, he’s thinking normally!’

He hadn’t expected there would be someone capable of normal thinking among those belonging to the Demon King’s Army.

“But since Talas meat is delicious, we’ll have to catch them anyway.”

Kulkan said calmly.

Hyun-seok nodded with an expression that seemed to say ‘well, that figures.’

“Anyway, it’s rare for the queen to show herself outside the nest, so it should be fine.”

“Then let’s go right away!”

“Good! Everyone charge! Today’s snack is Talas marrow!”

“Woaahhh!”

The cook soldiers started running with a battle cry.

Hyun-seok also moved his legs busily, not wanting to fall behind.

‘The number of enemies isn’t large.’

There were seven Talas visible ahead.

In contrast, the charging cook soldiers numbered a hundred.

In this situation, if one gets too greedy, they might not get any finishing blows at all.

‘Don’t be greedy, aim for a sure finishing blow.’

Hyun-seok’s eyes gleamed.

If he could land even one finishing blow, he would surely level up.

“Surround them so they can’t escape!”

“Don’t wound them too much! All the delicious fluid will leak out!”

The cook soldiers instantly surrounded the Talas group.

“Kyaaah!”

“Keeek!”

The baby Talas pitifully cried out threats, but it was useless.

“Kuhehe… I heard ripping off one leg and sucking on it is so delicious.”

“When it comes to Talas, it’s all about the marrow, isn’t it?”

“That’s for the officers. If you touch it wrongly, you might end up in the evening menu.”

To the muscle-headed men gone crazy over food, the Talas were just a well-prepared meal.

Of course, among them was also the hero Hyun-seok.

‘Hehehe… The finishing blow is definitely mine!’

Hyun-seok’s eyes glinted with madness.

‘Experience points… Experience points…! Hehehe…!’

Grinning while holding a kitchen knife, he definitely didn’t look normal.

“Kill them all cleanly!”

At that moment, Head Chef Kulkan shouted.

The cook soldiers rushed at the Talas simultaneously.

“Waahhh!”

It was a situation where butchers wielding giant kitchen knives were rushing in from all directions.

The poor Talas group couldn’t even put up proper resistance.

In that moment, Hyun-seok desperately swung his kitchen knife to land the finishing blow.

“Final hit! Final hit! Final hit!”

After some time passed.

‘I did it! I succeeded!’

Hyun-seok cheered.

He had managed to take down two Talas.

It was the result of his mad dedication and concentration towards leveling up.

[Level Up!]

Hyun-seok celebrated as he heard the level up notification.

‘Heheh! This is it!’

Though the level up gain wasn’t as large as it was at first, this was inevitable.

It was because he had only landed finishing blows when his level was already quite high.

Rather, considering the effort put in, it could be considered a very generous reward.

‘Off to a good start. Let’s keep pushing up!’

Just as Hyun-seok was checking his status window with a grin.

Thud thud thud thud thud…!

The ground began to shake with tremendous noise.

“Wh-what!?”

Hyun-seok looked around in confusion.

The cooking soldiers seemed equally surprised, all looking bewildered.

Thud thud thud thud thud thud thud thud…!

The noise and vibrations grew stronger.

Stop.

Then it suddenly disappeared as if it was a lie.

At the same time, the surroundings became drastically darker.

It was due to an enormous shadow being cast.

“Uh… Sir Kulkan…?”

Hyun-seok slowly turned his head to look at Kulkan.

“Could that be the mother?”

“More precisely, it’s the Queen Talas.”

“Ah, but didn’t you say earlier that the queen rarely comes out…”

“Things don’t always go as expected.”

“Ah… I see…”

The Queen Talas was so massive that its body alone was larger than a decent-sized elephant.

On top of that, it had thick legs that seemed to extend over ten meters in all directions.

It didn’t seem possible to win at all.

Hyun-seok used his Combat Power Meter just in case.

[Combat Power: Unable to Measure]

Looking at the text appearing on the lens, Hyun-seok asked.

“Sir Kulkan. What do we do now?”

The Queen Talas’s eyes were fixed on its dead offspring.

Clear anger.

The cooking soldiers who had been cutting off and organizing the limbs of the baby Talas were already half-unconscious.

“Hmm…”

In this tense moment.

Head Chef Kulkan leisurely stroked his chin.

“Nothing else to do.”

Kulkan took a step forward.

‘No way… Is he going to show it…’

Either way, Kulkan is a powerful figure with Combat Power exceeding 30,000.

Perhaps they might see his true form here.

Tatatatah…!

Kulkan ran at an incredible speed.

A few seconds later.

He passes right by the Queen Talas.

“Huh…?”

As Kulkan grows more distant.

After putting some distance between them, he shouts with all his might.

“Let’s all meet again alive!”

“Th-that son of a…!”

Even while cursing at the fleeing Kulkan, Hyun-seok’s legs were moving faster than anyone else’s.

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