Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad-Chapter 2

“You’re a hero? Huh!?”

“Uh… Well…”

He was scared.

Truly, genuinely terrified.

If he didn’t have the title of world’s strongest man, he might have wet himself already.

As Choi Hyun-seok hesitated, the bull-headed monster’s face twisted more ferociously.

“You idiot! You call yourself a hero but can’t even speak properly!?”

In that moment, Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes flew open.

It felt like lightning struck in his head with a BOOM!

He had reached an epiphany.

‘That’s right! I am a hero!’

What is a hero?

The protagonist who survives until the end and defeats the Demon King.

The strongest in the whole world!

Absolutely invincible!

That’s what a hero is.

‘So this is like a practice game. Like a tutorial.’

The bull head before him now was just like a test, a challenge to prove himself.

This monster must surely be all bark and no bite, just putting on an intimidating appearance.

If he could defeat this monster here decisively, his real adventure would begin.

‘Choi Hyun-seok! Have confidence!’

Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes blazed with determination.

World heavyweight champion in fighting.

Earth’s strongest man.

And now he had the title of otherworld hero too.

How could he be scared of a monster encountered in a mere tutorial – how would he ever survive adventures in this harsh otherworld!

“Don’t get cocky.”

“What…?”

The bull head couldn’t believe his ears for a moment.

The monster put his hand to his ear and slowly extended it toward Choi Hyun-seok.

“Say that again. What did you say? Huh?”

“I said don’t get cocky, you son of a bitch!”

Choi Hyun-seok’s lightning-fast head kick struck the monster.

Among all the strong opponents he had faced in the ring,

None had ever withstood this head kick.

‘It landed perfectly.’

Thanks to the monster stupidly sticking out its head, the kick connected flawlessly.

Just as Choi Hyun-seok was breaking into a satisfied smile at the impact—

“What do you think you’re doing?”

The bull head glared down at Choi Hyun-seok with bulging eyes.

Thick veins were writhing and protruding from the monster’s tree trunk-like neck and face.

Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes began darting around aimlessly.

“…”

“This isn’t even funny.”

The bull-headed monster grabbed Choi Hyun-seok’s ankle.

Simultaneously, tremendous pressure began to build.

His body twisted involuntarily from the crushing pain in his ankle.

“Aaaaargh!”

“Didn’t you say you were a hero?”

“Ah… W-wait a minute…”

“If you’re a hero, this should be nothing.”

“Urrrrrgh!”

This was truly dangerous.

It felt like his ankle would be completely shattered.

“Hero… A hero, huh. Our fortress is truly blessed these days. I sincerely want to ask where all these crazy ‘heroes’ are coming from.”

“Ugh…!”

Even through the pain, Choi Hyun-seok desperately racked his brain.

He had to escape this situation somehow.

If he could just change position and transition into a triangle choke…

“A good sleep should bring you to your senses, self-proclaimed hero.”

A large red fist approached.

‘Ah… I’m screwed.’

Choi Hyun-seok lost consciousness.

***

Red Nightmare Reidrun.

He was an executive in the Demon King’s army.

Commander of the 2nd Slave Unit under the 3rd Corps of the Demon King’s army.

The reason he was called Red Nightmare was simple – he ruled over thousands of human slaves.

His entire body was red like blood.

This story spread by word of mouth until it evolved into tales like ‘Rivers of blood flow where Reidrun passes on the battlefield!’

“Hii, hiik…! Lord Reidrun!”

“Thank you for your hard work!”

In the 2nd Slave Unit, everyone – whether soldier or slave – feared Reidrun.

This wasn’t just because of the terrifying rumors about rivers of blood.

“Good work.”

“Th-thank you!”

The overwhelming pressure emanating from Reidrun.

They felt fear due to the unique magical energy and atmosphere characteristic of high-ranking demon species.

This power was so immense that any ordinary human would wet themselves and fall to their knees just by standing before Reidrun.

Because of this, even without any particular threats, everyone in the unit feared and followed him.

A supreme predator who seemed to have nothing to worry about.

Yet this Red Nightmare Reidrun was now sighing deeply enough to sink the ground.

It was because of recent events that were wearing him out.

“Sigh… I don’t know where all these lunatics are coming from.”

Though he called them events, they weren’t really major incidents.

It was just that recently, deranged humans had started appearing at the fortress.

“Where on earth are they coming from? Are they falling from the sky or something…”

The humans, all wearing strange clothing regardless of gender, each seemed to have a screw loose somewhere.

“I am a hero!”

That was the basic claim, and then—

“Come at me, Demon King!”

Idiots who mistook him for the Demon King.

“Hand over the treasure and women now, or face the hammer of justice!”

Even madmen who didn’t seem to know what a hero was.

They were all clearly terrified of him, yet these lunatics still insisted on saying their piece.

“Even though this continent is full of self-proclaimed heroes, I really don’t understand what’s going on.”

Reidrun wasn’t worried about heroes per se.

After all, there were countless fools who called themselves heroes on this continent.

In fact, he must have killed dozens of ‘self-proclaimed’ heroes by his own hand.

Reidrun had only one worry:

Whether there might be a problem with the fortress’s defenses.

“We need to finish repairing the fortress quickly.”

The 2nd Slave Unit was currently reconstructing the broken fortress of Hemorn.

This place was close to the battlefield.

Close enough for human spies to potentially slip in and out.

“Hm… I don’t know.”

Reidrun shook his head to clear his complicated thoughts.

The only thing he could do now was complete the fortress reconstruction quickly.

‘Come to think of it, that guy from earlier…’

The hero Choi Hyun-seok appeared in Reidrun’s mind.

‘He was different from the other fools.’

An impressively large build and well-trained body for a human.

His movements were so quick that Reidrun had allowed that kick to connect.

It was a strike with enough power to make even Reidrun momentarily dizzy.

Though he hadn’t shown it in front of the man, of course.

‘He might make a good slave master if properly manipulated.’

He could be quite useful if handled correctly.

Even if he was a madman.

***

That night.

Choi Hyun-seok, locked in prison, kept shaking the iron bars.

“Heeeey!”

Clang! Clang! Clang!

“Open this! Open it up, you bastards!”

This was a natural reaction for him.

He was sure he had been in the middle of a decisive battle with a huge demon, when he suddenly lost consciousness.

And when he opened his eyes, he was lying on some stinking hard stone floor.

“You think I’ll back down like this!? Bring that bull head here! Let’s fight one more round!”

Choi Hyun-seok, completely forgetting that he had been knocked out by Reidrun, was shouting at the top of his lungs.

Something must have gone wrong when he got hit in the head.

“Who’s making all this racket!?”

That’s when it happened.

A short monster walked toward Choi Hyun-seok.

About 150cm in height.

With a thin build and pitiful muscles attached to it.

“Human. Do you want to die? Huh!?”

It was almost laughable, like being threatened by a child.

But Choi Hyun-seok couldn’t laugh.

Because the monster was holding a sharp sword that must have been 1m long.

The monster kept tapping the iron bars with the sword.

“I asked if you want to die!”

A massive blade unlike anything he’d ever seen before.

It had blood and flesh dried sticky on it.

“If you shout one more time, I’ll make boiled meat out of your thighs. Do you understand, human!?”

Choi Hyun-seok nodded with his mouth firmly shut.

Thump, thump…

After a while, when the monster’s footsteps faded away, Choi Hyun-seok let out a sigh of relief.

“Sigh, what is all this…”

It was a situation he couldn’t understand at all.

He was sure he had died, and a pretty angel named Rachel said she would make him a hero.

Fame! Honor! Even beautiful women!

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

Of course, he hadn’t expected to meet an innocent village chief and his pure daughter from the start.

Well, honestly, he had hoped for it, but it would have been fine if it didn’t happen.

‘I thought I’d have a wonderful adventure…’

What he wanted was just an adventure.

Unlike his previous life, he wanted to wander the world freely.

A strange world where no one knew him.

That’s where he wanted to start a new life.

‘Hero my ass… Couldn’t they at least give me a sacred sword or something!?’

Choi Hyun-seok came completely empty-handed.

On Earth, he was confident he wouldn’t lose to anyone with his strong physique, but this other world was different.

His physical strength was useless against muscular monsters over 2.5m tall and giant blades.

‘Where did it all go wrong?’

It was a night when he grew to hate ‘Rachel’, the angel who said she’d make him a hero.

That’s when someone from the next room spoke to him.

“Hey there. Are you new?”

“W-who…?”

“I’m Park Tae-soo.”

“Are you Korean!?”

“That’s right.”

Surprisingly, the person in the room next to Choi Hyun-seok was a fellow Korean.

Having unconsciously been speaking an unknown language since falling into this other world, hearing Korean for the first time in a day felt strange yet welcoming.

However, now wasn’t the time to be caught up in that feeling.

“What’s going on here? Please explain!”

Choi Hyun-seok pressed himself against the adjacent wall as he spoke.

“I definitely died, and came to this world after being told I’d be made a hero. But what is this…?”

“Hehehe…”

Park Tae-soo chuckled as if finding it amusing.

“Hero… Hero… How interesting. I’m a hero too.”

Choi Hyun-seok’s face hardened at this playful response.

“This isn’t funny. I’m not in the mood for jokes, so please talk seriously.”

“You think I’m joking? I may be a wretched old man now, but I used to be quite something back in the day. Everyone in Myeong-dong knew the name Park Tae-soo, the King of Fists.”

Park Tae-soo said in a rather serious voice.

It wasn’t convincing at all.

Choi Hyun-seok scratched his head as he continued speaking.

“So you’re saying you’re a hero, sir?”

“That’s right! I may be over fifty, but I’m still going strong!”

Of course, he kept it a secret that he died from a heart attack.

“Stop joking around…!”

Just as Choi Hyun-seok was about to get angry.

“I’m a hero too!”

“I’m also a hero!”

“Hey, I’m a hero as well!”

People claiming to be heroes started popping up from all over the prison.

“Hehehe. I’m a hero too. Did you think you were the only one?”

“Hahaha!”

“Heehee!”

Laughter filled the air.

Choi Hyun-seok looked around bewildered.

“What’s going on here…?”

“It’s exactly as you see.”

Park Tae-soo said with a detached smile.

“There are at least a hundred self-proclaimed ‘heroes’ in this fortress.”

“What do you mean…”

Choi Hyun-seok didn’t know what to say.

Seeing his confusion, Park Tae-soo grinned.

“Well, rookie. Do you still think you’re special as a hero?”

***

Park Tae-soo claims to be the first hero who fell here.

Thanks to him, Choi Hyun-seok could learn many things.

That this place was using humans as slaves to build a fortress.

That the red bull-head he met is named ‘Reidrun’ and is the leader here.

Even that the guard they saw earlier was a goblin named Jak who was notoriously vicious and should be avoided.

While all of these were shockingly unrealistic stories, the most shocking thing was something else.

“This is all because of that Rachel, that XXX XXX.”

“What?”

Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes widened at the sudden profanity.

Park Tae-soo continued cursing without care.

“That damn XXX sent us to the wrong place!”

“Rachel! Racheeeel!!!”

“Next time I see her, I’ll XXX her XXX and XXX then XXX kill her!”

“Rachel XXXX XXXX XXX!”

As soon as Rachel’s name was mentioned, the self-proclaimed heroes everywhere started having fits.

Self-proclaimed heroes foaming at the mouth, threatening to eat entrails and turn brains to mush.

It was doubtful whether they were really heroes at all.

Choi Hyun-seok clenched his fists.

“Elder Tae-soo… Are you sure?”

“About what?”

“About Rachel sending us to the wrong place…”

“Almost certain. I’ve talked with a hero who was captured from elsewhere.”

Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes lit up at Park Tae-soo’s words.

“Elsewhere…!”

“Yes. Someone who lived a normal hero’s life.”

“What about them?”

“I heard there are designated areas where heroes begin their journey. Most start in bustling cities, though sometimes quiet rural villages serve as starting points.”

“…”

“Truth is, while most are too weak to be called heroes and live ordinary lives, no one has ever started their hero’s journey in the middle of the Demon King’s army.”

Choi Hyun-seok felt an unbearable rage rising within him.

Then why was he dropped into this hell?

His fists trembled with anger.

“Why… Why…!”

“How would I know? I only know one thing.”

Park Tae-soo said with a deep sigh.

“We’re all screwed now.”

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