The Hero Has Returned

Chapter 13 - Hero is born (2)

Kkalkki rubbed the cheek my fist had touched and smiled brightly.

"One thousand and one? What's that s'posed to mean?"

I pushed myself off the ground and stood up.

All night, I had thrown my fist as if exploding a high-capacity of mana.

A whopping one thousand times.

Naturally, my body was in no condition to speak of.

My entire body throbbed with muscle pain, and my eyes wanted to close from the fatigue.

'I feel like I'm going to collapse from exhaustion.'

My mind was hazy, and the world was spinning.

Without realizing it, I swayed from the dizziness.

"Huh?! Cap'n!"

Kkalkki, who was beside me, barely managed to support me.

"What time is it now?"

"Seven-thir-ty."

The workday at the factory starts at 8.

"I'm just gonna sleep for 30 minutes."

"Got it, Cap'n! Wanna drink some water or somethin'?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

Kkalkki ran toward the factory.

It was at that moment.

*Ding.*

A notification sounded in the air.

I had already met the conditions and obtained a new hero.

'Is there something else?'

I froze as soon as I saw the blue window.

[ Congratulations on meeting the conditions. ]

The message continued.

[ A gift will now be provided. ]

A reward for succeeding in the mission.

It was a simple and cliché situation, but.

There was a hidden twist that was enough to make goosebumps rise on my cheek.

[ Vouchers: <10/0> ]

The designation 'Special' had been added to the existing hero skill.

On top of that.

'Does this mean I can use it 10 times for free?'

Let's test it right now.

Surely, I would be able to use a more powerful and special technique than before.

My heart pounded fiercely.

I dragged my leaden body and forced my mind to concentrate.

"......"

Sweating coldly, I tried to lift my fist, which felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and extend it...

"......"

"...Hah. This is too hard."

In my worst possible condition, it felt as if both my body and mind had been powered down.

Let's just quit.

'I can just try it next time.'

I reverted the window floating in the air back to its initial state.

[ Talent: Purchase ]

[ You can buy the abilities of those you admire. ]

This was the content I had witnessed at the time of my Awakening.

I had thought that purchasing hero abilities with the money I saved in my past life was all there was to it.

But that wasn't all.

'The more abilities I buy, the more additional benefits I gain in the process.'

I was given plenty of opportunities to become stronger on my own, without having to rely on a hero's ability.

'Is it a Growth-type?'

If it continues like this in the future.

How strong will I be by the time I use up all of my Awakened's Balance?

I was newly struck by the realization that I had obtained a cheat-like card.

Was it good luck?

Or was it a reward given by someone who took pity on me?

"Cap'n! Drink this up!"

Feeling a burning thirst, I drank the water like a man who had discovered an oasis in the desert.

......

I opened my eyes to a clamor of noise.

Inside the dark warehouse.

I had asked him to wake me up after just 30 minutes, but Kkalkki hadn't called me.

'How long did I sleep?'

The clamor of the factory squeezed through the slightly open crack in the door.

The sounds of cutting steel, a press stamping down, sparks flying, and welding echoed out.

The spot I was sitting on was soft.

A place made by laying cardboard boxes on top of styrofoam.

This was Kkalkki's personal bed.

Seeing that he had even covered me with a blanket, he must have let me sleep longer out of consideration.

I opened the warehouse door and went outside.

Kkalkki came running over like a puppy that had found its owner.

"Cap'n! You're awake-y?"

"I told you to wake me up. I feel bad for the others."

"Aww. It's just 'cause you were sleepin' so soundly."

I checked the time; it was well past 11 o'clock.

I hadn't slept for that long, but perhaps because I had slept so deeply, my whole body felt refreshed.

'It's been a while.'

In my past life, I had suffered from terrible insomnia.

Even when I lay down after finishing work, dragging my weary body, I couldn't sleep properly.

Even though my whole body felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

I would just toss and turn with my eyes closed.

And even if I did manage to doze off for a bit, I was plagued by nightmares.

In my dreams, the people around me would die without fail.

My grandmother, and my younger brother.

Even there, I worked relentlessly.

When I woke up, my body and mind would be even more exhausted.

'Living was hell.'

I slowly looked around.

Everyone was working nonstop.

The morning is always the busiest time at the factory.

"Where's the president?"

"Don'tcha worry. Must've been stuffin' his face with booze all night with Madam Shin, 'cause he passed out as soon as he got here."

Kkalkki grumbled and stuck his lips out in a pout.

Madam Shin was the female owner of the bar the president frequented.

'Ah, was it around this time?'

Finally, a memory of the past came back to life.

I zipped up my old jumper and walked through the factory.

A little over 10 people worked here.

The scale of the factory is very small.

The 10 billion won in annual sales the president mentioned was a gross exaggeration.

In the beginning, the annual sales were around 1 billion won.

The next year, it was 3 billion, and currently, it's probably around 5 billion.

'Right. It could have become a 10-billion-won company someday.'

Thanks to consistently winning subcontracts from the mega-corporation , it was a pretty solid business, even if it just maintained its current state.

The problem was the president.

I stopped walking and gently pushed open the door to the president's office.

"Kkeu-heu...!"

The president was lying on the comfortable sofa, snoring as he slept.

The foul stench of whiskey floating in the air stung my nose.

A golf broadcast was blaring from the TV.

The more money the factory steadily brought in, the more debauched the president became.

He was already married with two kids, but he kept Madam Shin as his mistress and diligently funneled money to her establishment.

'It would have been a relief if that was all.'

From a Benz to a sports car, and then again to a luxury sedan.

He changed his expensive cars at the drop of a hat.

While the employees were making do with meager meals in the company cafeteria.

The president was a regular at a Japanese restaurant where one meal cost over 300,000 won.

He wore a luxury watch on his arm and changed his preference from whiskey to wine.

'Eventually, he even hired a chauffeur and was driven around in a limousine.'

The president's daily routine was to groan from his hangover during the day, and once the sun set, to chase skirts at the bar.

Meanwhile, he delayed his employees' salaries, and due to excessive loans, his cash flow was blocked.

Naturally, his debt continued to grow.

The factory was the goose that laid the golden eggs.

But the president was slitting the goose's belly with his own hands.

In the end, the president is forced to hand the factory over to a loan shark.

'It would be more accurate to say it was stolen from him for a pittance.'

And then, in a drunken state, he commits suicide by self-immolation.

It was the final end for an arrogant, slothful, and incompetent man.

Ironically, the factory didn't stop even after that.

The loan shark was superior to the president in terms of financial management, but he didn't give a damn about the employees.

There was a phrase the new president was fond of saying.

"Even a dying ember can be brought back to life if you fan the fuck out of it. Isn't that right?"

He's right.

The problem is that eventually, the ember burns out completely.

The loan shark, under the pretext of austerity, indiscriminately fired the factory workers.

The staff of 10 was reduced to 3.

I was one of the survivors, but I wasn't happy at all.

What do you think happens when 3 people try to do the work of 10?

From Monday to Saturday.

13-hour workdays.

Overtime was both essential and mandatory.

The one remaining worker also quit, as if fleeing.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I was doing all the work at the site by myself.

'If it weren't for my younger brother, I wouldn't have been able to endure it either.'

A shadow fell over me.

"Yong-gi-ya."

The voice calling my name pulled me from my reminiscence.

"You awake?"

The foreman, his wrinkled face covered in dust, was looking at me.

In the past, the loan shark had fired the foreman first.

The reason was that he was too old.

I bowed my head to him.

"I'm sorry for dozing off when everyone is so busy."

"It's fine. Here, eat this."

The foreman held something out to me.

Canned coffee and cream bread.

Around here, this was the best snack combination.

"Come to think of it, we haven't properly thanked you, Yong-gi."

The foreman continued.

"We got the press changed to a new one, so we're workin' safely now, ain't we? It's all thanks to you, Yong-gi."

The men working in the factory stopped their hands.

They shouted toward me.

"It's such a relief that those gang bastards don't come around these days!"

"You can sleep more, so just say the word if you're tired."

"That's right! We can cover for ya!"

One by one, I recalled their names.

Bae Woo-rim-ssi, who got scammed, fell into debt, and ended up at the industrial complex.

Uncle Park Chang-seong, who became homeless from the shock of his wife cheating on him before getting a job at the factory.

Professor Jang, who was once a teacher but was now falsely accused in a sex scandal, whose only hobby was frequenting lottery shops.

There was no one here without a story.

Some might look at them and think they're pathetic.

But at the very least, I didn't.

Just because you have a lot of money doesn't mean you have a worthy life.

Just because you are poor doesn't mean your life is useless.

There are all sorts of ways to live.

The men here, silently and fiercely, in their own places.

They built the equipment for those who fought monsters in unseen places.

"Yong-gi-ya! Wanna go to karaoke after we're done today?"

"Yeah! I belted out a tune yesterday for the first time in a while, and man, the stress just melted away!"

Kkalkki stepped forward to stop them.

"No way! The Cap'n's gonna eat frozen pork and soju with me!"

"Look at him, spoutin' bullshit again! Is Yong-gi yours or somethin'? That Kkalkki bastard looks like some kinda mountain beast, but they say he's into men!"

"What? And you look like some kinda Joseon-era slave. Your name is even Park Chang-seong. Sounds just like a low-born family!"

As a round of trash-talking went back and forth, the inside of the factory became a scene of total chaos.

Watching it all, I felt my mind being put at ease for some reason.

Although the factory was a site of hard labor.

To me, it was my home and the foundation of my life.

In this life...

'I will never, ever let this place fall apart.'

I spoke to the foreman.

"I'm fine now. Let's get right back to it."

I put on my gloves and gripped the smooth, shiny Burnite raw material.

And so, an ordinary day began.

......

*THWACK! THWACK!*

Someone gripped a helmet made of Burnite material and was striking a man with it.

Blood splattered on the helmet, and the face of the man being hit with it was a complete mess.

"Gak!"

The man screamed and collapsed.

Seo Gwang-pal looked at the helmet in admiration.

"Hee-ya! As expected, this thing doesn't break easily."

Seo Gwang-pal was wearing a ridiculous elephant mask to hide his identity as a Hunter.

The mask was for children, so it was barely big enough to cover his eyes, nose, and mouth.

Seo Gwang-pal checked the business card in his hand.

"You're the delivery punk from the quick service, right?"

The one being beaten was none other than.

The man who had given Choi Yong-gi a ride to the industrial complex.

The man, a bloody pulp, lifted his head.

"...Who the hell are you?"

"Me?"

Seo Gwang-pal, recalling the bastard who had presumptuously declared himself a hero, said.

He deliberately lowered his voice and spread his hands menacingly.

"A villain."

"......"

The large man covered in tattoos glared at Seo Gwang-pal.

Usually in comics or movies, someone with this kind of visual was cast as the villain, but.

But in the current situation, it was the complete opposite.

Seo Gwang-pal had ambushed the tattooed man while he was in the middle of a delivery and dragged him into an alleyway.

Seeing that he was unharmed even after ramming the motorcycle with his own body, he was clearly an Awakened.

The tattooed man grit his teeth.

'Is he a Villain?'

But there was no reason for a Villain to single him out for an attack.

It was rare to find a Villain stupid enough to commit a crime in the middle of a main road just to steal some pocket change.

The tattooed man lifted his head.

"What do you want?"

Seo Gwang-pal slightly lifted the mask that was squishing his face to adjust its position.

"The bastard you gave a ride to on your motorcycle. Where did you take him?"

The tattooed man searched his memory.

Was there only one or two people he had given a ride to?

Just yesterday, he had taken his girlfriend for a ride along the Han River at dawn to enjoy the night view.

"Who are you talking abou... Gak!"

"This bastard, I mean!"

Seo Gwang-pal slammed his knee into the tattooed man's stomach and shoved the photo he had printed from the information division in his face.

The tattooed man barely managed to open his eyes.

It was the back of a man wearing a shabby jumper.

He instantly recognized who it was.

The man who had defeated Big Lava.

He was a man with a wild gaze and an air of loneliness about him.

The tattooed man shrugged.

"I don't know. Who is this?"

Seo Gwang-pal let out a smirk and nodded.

"Right. A punk bastard like you won't fucking listen when I ask nicely."

The brutal beating continued.

By the time the tattooed man was beaten to a pulp.

Seo Gwang-pal asked again.

"Now, where did he go?"

"...Ov'r..."

The tattooed man coughed up blood and pointed somewhere with his finger.

The chance to finally catch the tail of the man he had been so desperately searching for had come.

Seo Gwang-pal leaned in close and lowered his head.

"What was that? Where?"

The tattooed man was pointing at Seo Gwang-pal's bald head.

"You look like a dickhead."

Veins popped on Seo Gwang-pal's scalp, which was not quite covered by the mask.

"Alright then. Let's see who wins this."

Seo Gwang-pal threw off his mask and once again raised the helmet.