The Hero Returns

Crack—

-Ugh… Uh…

Maxman heard a voice crack in frustration. There was a hand had no flesh, only bone.

Crumble—

Soon, Richie came out from the pile of stones and looked around.

"…Sh*t," Maxman swore despite himself. He hoped that the person who survived there was Su-hyeun. But Richie survived and stood right there.

"Can I win?" Maxman thought. He already knew the ability of Richie.

"If it was a normal fight, I would lose," he thought. He was sure about that. But now, Richie was not in good shape. "Maybe I can win. If I fight now before he recovers. I have to hurry..."

Crack—

At that moment, another hand squeezed out of the pile of stones. And…

Snatch—

Crash—!

That hand grabbed Richie's head and slammed it down on the ground.

"Cough, Cough!"

Su-hyeun, who appeared with a cough, muttered with Richie's head on the floor.

"Ah, I ate a lot of sand."

"You…!" Maxman yelled.

"Oh, are you alive? I thought you died. Well, I am glad you didn't," Su-hyeun calmly said but he was covered in blood. The blood spilled from the broken head. His arm was almost crushed, and his body was staggering. He certainly did not seem to be okay.

"Are you worried about me now?"

"I won't die, I know my body," Su-hyeun said and shook his hand. One arm was crushed, but the other one was fine.

"But still…" Maxman looked aghast when he saw Su-hyeun who pretended to be fine in awful shape.

Crack, crack—

-You… Bastard…

"Ah, man?"

Crash—

Su-hyeun trampled on Richie's head. With a crunching sound, his head crushed and the Life Stone popped out.

"You are making me sick," Su-hyeun said.

Flop—

He plunked down on the ground. It was a short moment, but he thought he might have died.

"I can't believe he blew up the skill itself," he thought.

Death-Force Absorption was a skill that gathered the souls of the dead and melted it to turn it into the user's power. The soul had greater power than expected. Even though the person was weak, the soul itself kept considerable power in it.

Su-hyeun thought that Richie had not absorbed any soul with the skill. But there was one thing he had overlooked. The prisoners in the castle. The underground of the castle was a place to keep prisoners or soldiers who had committed crimes. There were dozens of people thrown in jail. Richie absorbed their souls in the skill and exploded it all at once. It was a gamble that risked the Richie's life.

"Really... That was so close," Su-hyeun sighed.

If more souls had been absorbed by Richie, he probably wouldn't be standing. Protecting the soldiers, making them run out of the castle had been the right choice. With the thought that it was over, his body loosened up. He took a deep breath. The dust spread underground came into his mouth. He frowned.

Maxman walked to him. He checked Su-hyeun and asked, "Are you… really okay?"

"Yes, I am fine," Su-hyeun answered.

"But…" Maxman hestitated.

"It will be better if I get some rest for a few days. I am really fine."

The physical strength of awakener was not just the ability to run and fight for long. The higher Health stats, the more the body recovery ability increased rapidly. Su-hyeun's Health stats were not at all low. No matter how severe the injury, it would be best to take a few days to rest.

"Thank you." Maxman bowed his head to Su-hyeun. "Thanks to you, not only me but my soldiers were able to survive. I had no idea the lord of a castle was Richie."

"It is okay. I didn't do it to save anyone. There is no reason to be thanked." Su-hyeun was ashamed by the sudden change of Maxman's attitude.

Strictly speaking, Su-hyeun had helped him because it was a challenge of trial. If the soldiers died, Su-hyeun would be in trouble.

"Well, good things are good things," he thought and picked up the Life Stone on the floor.

Richie's Life Stone, this was the main part of the Richie.

Whoosh—

Crackle, crackle—

The Life Stone in Su-hyeun's hand burned in the Flame. The sound of the soul's screams echoed in his head.

"Shut up. Just go."

Sizzle—

The Life Stone melted. At that moment, a message came to his head.

[You have gained 100,000 achievement points.]

[Calculating your accomplishment.]

[Remaining Time: 29 days.]

[You did not get help from Osman kingdom.]

[You did not get help from Hero, Priscilla.]

[You did not get help from Hero, Gerschmann.]

[You did not...]

…

[Counting the number of surviving soldiers.]

[7,129 soldiers survived.]

[You have attained the highest accomplishment.]

[You have passed the 20th-floor's trial with perfection.]

[Your achievement will be ranked.]

[You have ranked first.]

[Your Strength has increased by 1 point.]

[Your Agility has increased by 2 points.]

[Your Health has increased by 2 points.]

[Your magic factor has increased by 2 points.]

[You will get an additional reward depending on your accomplishment level.]

[You have achieved the additional reward - 'Hero: immortality.']

[Will you ascend to the next floor?]

"…"

It was the first time he had seen such a long message. He had never received a message this long, even in his previous life, which meant that Su-hyeun's achievements were excellent.

-A help from Osman kingdom.

-A help from Hero, Priscilla.

-A help from Hero, Gerschmann.

-A help from Hero…

What it meant was clear.

"Well. It was a sh*t hard time." Su-hyeun thought.

The system gave him almost 30 days. It was time to get their help. Perhaps the heroes and Osman kingdom already knew the existence of the Richie here. At first, it was not typed of the trial to solve alone. Even at level 10, the difficulty of this trial was insane for the 20th floor.

"Four Richies, and one apostolic Richie..." Su-hyeun sighed.

"But thanks to that, the achievement was calculated pretty high."

At least, there was something to comfort himself. Su-hyeun felt a little better to think about that. Unfortunately, his magic level did not increase by much. He felt sorry for that. He knew that there was a big difference in each level from level 6. But this time he expected a little.

"Well. I guess I just have to satisfy with the additional reward," he thought.

He got 100,000 achievement points, including Strength, additional stats, and magic factor. He also got a new skill, which was not a bad reward.

"Goodbye, mister" Su-hyeun waved at Maxman.

Maxman was surprised for calling him mister and a sudden salutation.

"M-mister? Wait. What do you mean goodbye...?"

Pooooof—

Su-hyeun's appearance began to become transparent. Maxman reached out to Su-hyeun and shouted something loud, but his voice didn't reach him.

[You will ascend to the 21st floor.]

***

Thump, thump—

Su-hyeun, who returned to the home could barely walk to the bed. Although he passed the trial, his injury remained. He could use the treasure of Shayre and recover his body, but it was not bad enough to use the healing tool when he only had the opportunity to use it twice. Using it for this would be a waste.

"Phew," Su-hyeun sighed. He felt tired. Although he took the pain pills he found at the store, the pain was not completely gone. If he didn't rest for a few days, the pain would probably continue.

"I can hold it in. I can..."

Plump—

He lay on the wide bed with blood on his body. He was overcome by fatigue and closed his eyes. He did not know when he fell asleep. He slept almost all day, every day. As people say, sleep is a good cure. He felt much better when he awoke.

"Ugh…" Su-hyeun made a moaning sound.

The crushed arm was more of a problem than anything else. The fatigue made Su-hyeun quite relaxed, but one arm was still unnatural. Even with the remedy, the healing seemed to take a long time.

"I guess I have to go to the hospital and have it at least bandaged," he thought.

He could not walk around outside with a crushed arm like this. It seemed like it would be hard to see Shin Su-yeong for a few days. She would be frightened to see him injured this badly.

Buzz—

The smartphone next to the bed rang. It was a text. He checked his phone and found several missed calls. He was not aware of the vibrations in his sleep.

"How deep did I sleep?"

It had been a long time since he had been so tired. Su-hyeun sat on the bed and checked the phone. The missed calls were from Lee Ju-ho.

-Did you pass the 20th floor already? In a day?

-Are you not able to pick up the phone? Are you not feeling well?

-It is crazy in Abyss Online. They are talking about how a person can pass the 20th floor in a day. Especially this time...

"…Umm. Is it already posted?" he thought.

From two years ago, the interest in Su-hyeun had steadily increased on Abyss Online. Recently, there were more and more people who saw him on the same line as S-rank awakeners. Of course, most of that interest was because Su-hyeun was the only awakener to challenge the trials of level 10 and that his face was not known at all.

"Well, I guess there is a reason he is worrying."

The 20th floor was already known for its difficulty. People usually lowered the level of trial for this floor, but Su-hyeun kept insisting on level 10. And he passed the trial just in one day. It was far beyond the expected range.

"I also have to check what I asked for him," he thought.

Brinngg—

Su-hyeun pressed the button and called Lee Ju-ho.

***

Su-hyeun made an appointment with Lee Ju-ho and headed straight to a nearby hospital. At the hospital, he scheduled the surgery and set the broken arm right. Of course, after that, the hospital urged Su-hyeun to be hospitalized immediately.

"Look. You can't go around with that body! What will you do with that arm anyway?" the doctor said.

"I am an awakener."

"Still! Your body..."

"I am fine. Just apply for some medicine on my arm and wrap the bandage. Give me some pain killers as well if you can."

"Huh..." The doctor sighed and look at him as if he was crazy.

Su-hyeun, who acted casual with his mangled body and arm, did not seem normal. No matter how resilient awakening people are, they would know and feel pain.

"If you have any problems, you must come right back. Don't move too much."

"Okay."

Su-hyeun thought to answer him positively would be better than having a war of words with him. But no matter what happened, he did not have any plans to come back to the hospital.

"I'll be better in one day, except for my arm," he thought.

Of course, he was confident that his arms would be better in a few days. The difficult part was setting the broken bone. After that, it would recover quickly. Su-hyeun already largely set the broken part, so the doctor's job was only a detailed operation.

After treatment, he came out of the room. Lee Ju-ho was waiting for him on the 1st floor. Ju-ho was surprised to see Su-hyeun injured.

"Are you okay?" Ju-ho asked.

"You mean this?" Su-hyeun turned his bandaged arm around and answered, "It is nothing."

"Oh, come on now!" That time, the doctor yelled at Su-hyeun behind of him.

He looked at him as if scolding that he was not careful.