Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad-Chapter 44

3rd Corps Army Headquarters, also known as the Black Giant Star.

Except for the well-maintained roads, this area is surrounded by forests.

The cooks hunt monsters in those forests.

Choi Hyun-seok, as the head cook, has been drawing a map every time he goes hunting, to avoid dangerous monsters, like when the former Queen Talas incident occurred.

“If you look closely, even the monsters have their own territories,” Choi Hyun-seok said as he spread out the map.

“Of course, not just anyone can have a territory. Only incredibly strong individuals or groups can hold a territory.”

“Oho…” Rachel looked at the map with interest.

“But this map… I have no idea what’s drawn on it. It’s too crude.”

“It’s fine as long as I can understand it. Anyway, look at this.”

Choi Hyun-seok pointed to the circled areas on the map.

“These are the areas where the cooks suffered great damage while hunting. And they said they’ll never go back there again.”

“So you encountered something dangerous there?”

“That’s right. Since Doras is strong, we need to lure an even more threatening monster to match it.”

“Aha! I see.”

In other words, the plan is to find the most threatening monster among those living in the marked areas and confront it with Doras.

“But the cooks are all so stupid that no matter how much I explain, they don’t know what they saw. So I at least wrote down the characteristics.”

As Choi Hyun-seok said, the circled areas were filled with tiny writing.

Rachel’s eyes widened as she looked at the text.

“This is in Hangul?”

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“I’m Korean, so. But I’m more curious how you know Hangul.”

“I really enjoy Korean dramas. Especially ones like ‘My Love from the Star’ or ‘Master’s Sun.’ I was really impressed by them!”

“So there’s TV and computers in heaven, huh?”

“Well, something like that! That’s why I’ve been studying Hangul in my free time.”

It was unclear whether Rachel was proud or embarrassed.

“Anyway, let’s get back to the main issue. We need to figure out what kind of monsters these are, based on the characteristics written here.”

“By referencing the monster encyclopedia, right?”

“That’s right. And then we need to choose the one that would be a threat to Doras.”

“Hmm, let me see.”

Rachel approached the map and carefully read through the characteristics.

“Its head is… Big. Its teeth are protruding. It has a lot of legs… Its face is, uh, fierce and scary…”

Her reading was a bit clumsy since it was in Hangul.

As Rachel continued reading the monster’s characteristics, she suddenly called out to Choi Hyun-seok.

“Hero.”

“What is it?”

“Did you maybe not go to school when you were young? Middle school dropout? Or even elementary school dropout?”

“Why are you picking a fight again?”

“It’s not a fight, it’s just the truth, right? How can you find a monster with such shoddy information?”

Rachel’s scathing criticism made Choi Hyun-seok flustered.

“Shoddy? Do you have any idea how much effort I put into this!?”

“It’s shoddy because it’s shoddy. Where’s the monster that has a big head, protruding teeth, and a scary-looking face? It would be faster to find a monster that doesn’t have those traits.”

“Ah… I see.”

Now that she mentioned it, it did seem a bit strange.

Come to think of it, there were plenty of monsters in the army camps that didn’t have those characteristics.

“But it also says it has a lot of legs, right?”

“Anyway! With this kind of information, you’d never find it even if you searched for a hundred years.”

“You’re right…”

Choi Hyun-seok said in a dejected tone.

He had put in a lot of effort to make the map, so it was painful to hear that it was essentially useless.

“By the way, I’m a high school graduate, not a middle or elementary school dropout.”

“Huh?”

“Nevermind, I was just saying that.”

It seems the comment Rachel made earlier really got to him.

“Hero! Enough with the nonsense, listen to me! I have an idea.”

“What is it?”

“First, since you’re busy, I’ll memorize the entire monster encyclopedia for you.”

“Can you really do that?”

“It shouldn’t take that long, right? We can just get rid of the useless ones and focus on memorizing the incredibly strong and threatening ones.”

“Hmm, that’s not a bad idea, but isn’t it too dangerous?”

Rachel’s plan was certainly the most reliable method, but the danger was a concern.

However, Rachel smiled confidently.

“It’ll be fine. If things get dicey, we can just use the stupid cooks as bait and run away.”

In times of crisis, using subordinates as a shield to escape.

A truly vicious plan worthy of the hero’s fairy companion.

“Rachel, I just had a thought.”

“Yes?”

“When God created you, did something really unpleasant happen? Like, did your boyfriend dump you or did you just get your new car scratched or something?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I’m just wondering why your personality is like that.”

“So, are you not going to do this plan?”

Choi Hyun-seok grinned.

“Of course we’re going to do it! I don’t care if the Demon King’s Army brats die or not! I’m the hero after all!”

“As expected of the Hero!”

Despite their flaws, Choi Hyun-seok and Rachel still had a sense of being a hero team.

That’s what made it even more problematic, though.

***

‘Useful Encyclopedia – Monsters Edition’

This book is incredibly thick.

It’s so thick that it could be used as a deadly weapon, not just a reference book.

“Ugh… My head is splitting…”

Rachel had devoured this thick encyclopedia in just three days.

And two days after that, she had managed to completely memorize the information on the major monsters.

Of course, it wasn’t perfect.

What Rachel had memorized was just the basic information on about 100 of the top threats.

But even that was clearly an immense feat of effort.

Choi Hyun-seok looked at Rachel, whose eyes were ringed with dark circles.

“Is it okay to start today? If you’re tired, we can do it tomorrow instead.”

“Ngh… It’s fine… I won’t be the one directly fighting anyway…”

“But still…”

“Enough talking, let’s go! Hero, time is money, you know?”

Choi Hyun-seok nodded.

If she said she was fine, then there was no problem.

It’s not like Rachel would be the one actually fighting, as she said.

Shortly after, Choi Hyun-seok arrived at the cooking quarters and, as usual, led the cooks out on a hunting expedition.

Once they had entered the forest, Choi Hyun-seok checked the map.

“I think it should be around here.”

He alternated his gaze between the map and the forest.

“That’s right. If we head in the direction of that tree, we should be able to enter the circled area.”

Choi Hyun-seok read the monster’s characteristics written next to the circle.

“Let’s see… First, it’s a solitary individual that emerges from the ground? It has a large worm-like appearance… This one seems pretty dangerous.”

At that moment, Rachel took out a pair of red-rimmed glasses from her pocket.

“Ahem! That’s a ‘Sirpav’.”

“Sirpav? That’s an interesting name.”

Rachel pushed up her glasses as she continued explaining.

“Sirpav comes from the ancient term for ‘forest worm’.”

“Ooh…”

“Similar types of monsters could be ‘Morsfip’ or ‘Estunbia’, but I don’t think so. Their habitats aren’t forests.”

“Oho…?”

“To add, it’s best to avoid the Sirpav. It’s strong, but very cowardly and not very aggressive. If it encounters a powerful being like Doras, it’s likely to flee out of fear.”

“Rachel! Incredible!”

Choi Hyun-seok was genuinely impressed. It was truly remarkable how she could talk about it so fluently without even needing to refer to the book.

Rachel snapped her glasses shut with a click and tucked them back into her pocket.

“Feel free to ask if you have any other questions! I’ll answer them all, since I’m now Doctor Rachel, Monster Expert!”

Rachel’s nose was raised high in pride.

This time, Choi Hyun-seok decided not to pick on her and instead give her genuine praise.

‘If I praise her like this, she’ll study more and become more useful, right?’

It would be better to gently guide Rachel and make use of her, rather than directly contradicting her.

‘Maybe Rachel can learn things faster because her head is empty. I should make good use of that going forward.’

So for now, he would boost Rachel up, even if it meant feeding her ego a bit.

“Rachel! With that empty head of yours, you sure do pick up knowledge quickly!”

Suddenly, Rachel’s expression soured.

Realizing his mistake, Choi Hyun-seok hurriedly waved his hands.

“Ah, no, I didn’t mean anything by that.”

He had accidentally blended his true feelings and false flattery.

He had originally intended to praise her, saying her quick knowledge acquisition was due to her sharp mind.

But Rachel’s cheeks were puffed out as she glared at him.

It seemed better to change the subject for now.

“Anyway, shall we head over here?” Choi Hyun-seok pointed to another circled area on the map.

“What’s there?”

“Let’s see… Enormous size. Scales like steel. Resembles a dragon?”

“Hmm, just hearing that, I’m not sure. A few things come to mind, but I think we’ll need to see it directly to know for sure.”

“Alright, then let’s head that way.”

Choi Hyun-seok called the cooks.

“Chef, aren’t we going to hunt today? I’m really hungry for some meat.”

“Don’t worry, we’re going now.”

Choi Hyun-seok raised his hand and pointed in one direction.

“Today, we’re all moving that way together.”

Since this wasn’t the usual order to hunt in squads, the cooks looked puzzled.

But they still eagerly urged Choi Hyun-seok to hurry, as they were hungry.

Choi Hyun-seok told the 1st squad to take the lead, which made their leader tilt his head.

“Head Chef, the front is dangerous.”

“I know.”

“Why the 1st squad?”

“They’ll get the most meat.”

“Understood, we’ll depart immediately.”

The 1st squad, excited at the prospect of getting the most meat, took off running.

Unaware of the impending disaster, the cooks were simply chattering excitedly.

***

After some time had passed since entering deeper into the forest, the group had encountered quite a few monsters.

The cooks were in high spirits, enthusiastically hunting and collecting the meat.

In contrast, Choi Hyun-seok was growing rather anxious.

‘Why isn’t the monster showing up?’

It was about time for the unnamed monster to appear. They would soon need to head back to camp.

If the monster didn’t show up, this day would have been a waste.

“I don’t know! Let’s just start a fire first! It’s a party!”

“Wooooo!”

Choi Hyun-seok decided to focus on grilling the meat first. If they waited any longer, the cooks wouldn’t even get to eat before returning.

That could potentially spark a mutiny.

‘I hope the smell of the grilling meat will lure the monster over…’

Choi Hyun-seok ate the meat while saying things that would make the other cooks panic if they heard.

Just as they were settling in for the impromptu feast, the ground suddenly started trembling.

Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes lit up.

‘It’s here!’

He couldn’t tell what it was, but an enormous creature was approaching.

Choi Hyun-seok guessed the tremors were caused by the powerful monster they were seeking.

Soon, the monster emerged, knocking down trees.

“RRRAAAAAARRR!”

Standing over 5 meters tall, the creature had a dragon-like head and its entire body was covered in black scales.

Choi Hyun-seok quickly equipped his Combat Power Meter.

[Combat Power: Unable to Measure]

“Great! Passed the Combat Power test!”

It was now Rachel’s turn.

“Hero! That’s a monster called Nidlark!”

“Okay!”

While Choi Hyun-seok and Rachel identified the monster, the cooks scattered in panic.

“Aaaaah! A dragon has appeared!”

“No! I have to grab the meat and run away…Gack!”

In the chaos, one cook who tried to grab the meat disappeared into Nidlark’s mouth.

The cooks were being killed off one by one, either swallowed or trampled by the monster.

Some rushed to Choi Hyun-seok, seeing him as the strongest here.

Choi Hyun-seok had a grim expression as he looked at the gathering subordinates.

“Everyone, get it together!”

“Is there a way to beat this thing?”

“Starting now, we’re all going to run back to the cooking quarters.”

“…?”

“Survival is first-come, first-served. The late ones will die.”

With that, Choi Hyun-seok began sprinting, leaving the cooks behind.

His running speed was undoubtedly first-class, befitting a cook leader.

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