Chapter 29: Plaza of Heroes

“Grro…

Grraa! Grararrarra!!!”

The enraged boss growled.

‘Was it because it bumped into me?’

The boss’s helmet shattered and fell off.

As I grabbed the boss, the battle began.

“Grraaah!”

The boss, wielding a hammer, charged forward.

Thud thud thud!

Its body stained yellow.

I was now used to this pattern.

I stepped back and shouted to the two others.

“Tyrant! Please cancel the pattern!”

“Kkuapuk!”

But the first to charge was Flowerdol.

Flowerdol stepped in to stop the boss.

Thud!

“Kueryom…!”

However, the ground beneath Flowerdol cracked and he was pushed back.

Truly overwhelming strength.

No matter how much of a Flowerdol he was, he couldn’t stop a tyrant in an unstoppable state.

“Grrrraak!!!”

Hoo!

At the same time, our tyrant’s hammer exploded forward.

The hammer flew toward the boss Flowerdol was holding, Thwack!

[★Wasteland Tyrant: Orc Leader Effect!]

“Grraah!”

The magic shimmering above the boss shattered.

Clank!

Thanks to that, the boss’s shoulder armor broke.

‘Wasn’t this the strategy—to break the boss’s armor?’

I kicked Flowerdol and leapt into the air.

“Hup!”

I drove my sword down onto the boss’s head.

Stab!

“Grraah!!!”

The tyrant boss howled.

This time it was deep.

Perhaps because of my increased level, the sword easily sank in.

The boss on screen also lost 5% of its HP.

“Keep attacking! Don’t stop, keep the pressure on!”

“Grarra!”

“Kkuapuk!”

The tyrant, Flowerdol, and I attacked the boss together.

[The Wasteland Tyrant is in pain!]

[Finish it with a finishing blow!]

“Grro… grruk!”

Soon, the boss with depleted health fell to its knees.

That gaze.

The boss’s eyes looked at me as before.

The unwavering eyes of a warrior.

‘But’

This time, I wanted to see a different ending.

I pressed the finishing blow to end the battle.

[★★★★★ Wasteland Tyrant: Pangaea Break!]

“Grraa! Grararrarra!!!”

Boom!

[Lv.30 Wasteland Tyrant has been defeated.]

[Achievement: Defeated the Wasteland Tyrant without equipping gear.]

With the finishing blow, the dungeon was cleared.

[★★ Wandering Swordsman’s level has increased!]

[★★ Wandering Swordsman Lv.65]

[★★★★★ Terrible Man-Eating Flower’s level has increased!]

[★★★★★ Terrible Man-Eating Flower → Lv.35]

[★★★★★ Terrible Man-Eating Flower → Lv.36]

[★★★★★ Wasteland Tyrant’s level has increased!]

[★★★★★ Wasteland Tyrant Lv.45]

[★★★★★ Wasteland Tyrant Lv.46]

[Mission Cleared!]

[+400 Gold]

[Pet Bonus!] [+120 Gold]

[Pet Bonus!] [+80 Steel Shards]

[+200 Diamonds]

[+8 Normal Cards]

Phew…

Dust billowed from the dry cliff.

The tyrant stared at his fallen self.

‘Did he feel some kind of reflection?’

I approached the tyrant and gently prodded him, asking,

“Why so restless? Is it because you fought yourself?”

“Grro. Grra. Roka.”

The tyrant shook his head and passed by.

He looked troubled, but tried to act like he wasn’t.

Anyway, two achievements had been earned.

It seemed every boss had an achievement for clearing without equipping gear.

But was I not the first on the server?

Well, if you knew the method, it was easy, and the reward was added, so there was no reason not to do it.

The server first achievement must have been earned by another player.

“Oh! Hero! You finally defeated the Orc King! Truly amazing… Eek!”

Just then, the Village Elder’s voice was heard.

***

‘Huh?’

But it was a strange old man.

Like NPC Dolores, it seemed the Village Elder’s actor had changed.

“What… What is this Orc? How can there be an Orc?”

The Elder pointed at the two tyrants in surprise.

Ah, this Elder hadn’t seen the tyrants before, right?

I pointed to the tyrants and replied.

“This one is a special hero. Our user earned a hidden reward.”

“Hidden reward? Ah! It was in the manual!”

“Yes. After getting the reward, this is the second challenge.”

“Wow! I wondered who defeated it, and it was you, User! Thanks for the great show! I’d only heard of it before, never seen it firsthand! Amazing! Hahaha!”

The Elder laughed at my words.

Unlike the previous grumpy Elder, this one was friendly and laughed often.

“Oh dear! How forgetful of me! We must proceed! Ahem. Truly amazing, Hero! Peace will finally come to our village! We can even restart the factory now! Thank you so much, Hero! Thank you!”

[……Hero! Thank you!]

The Elder on screen echoed the same words.

“Now! Have you decided where to go? Hm? The city? If it’s the city, it’s right over there, beyond the desert! There are many scary monsters, but you’re a hero, so it should be fine! This old man blesses your path! Truly, thank you! Thank you!”

The Elder talked to himself.

I watched the screen for a moment, reflecting.

Last time I took the hidden route and didn’t see the story, but this seemed like the normal route.

‘So maybe I should call this the ‘normal route’?’

That’s what I guessed.

[Episode 2: Cleared Orcs of the Evergreen Forest!]

[+100 Diamonds]

Thunk!

At the end of the Elder’s speech, I returned to the stage.

Episode 2 cleared.

The same story as when I left the underground sewer.

[Lv.32: Gravel Desert]

That completed all the dungeons I visited today.

Accumulated cards…

‘Forty-four?’

For now, I’d aim to gather a hundred.

Since about forty 5-stars appeared if you reached the ceiling, opening a hundred cards should get me about four heroes, I thought.

[Lv.29: Daejanggun Toralarask]

Then, time to start farming.

Thunk!

The familiar grassland welcomed us.

“Let’s go!”

“Grra!”

“Kkuapuk!”

With the two 5-stars, we cut through the grassland.

[Mission Cleared!]

[+100 Gold]

[Pet Bonus!] [+40 Gold]

[Pet Bonus!] [+40 Steel Shards]

[+3 Normal Cards]

The first farming run cleared smoothly.

“Tired?”

“Grra!”

“Kkuark! Kkuelle!”

The orc and Flowerdol were relaxed.

‘Did it only take about four minutes?’

They gave three cards like before.

It seemed they didn’t give extra cards for retrying.

[You have been playing for 2 hours.]

[Excessive gameplay may interfere with daily life.]

***

After about thirteen repeats, The message about two hours passing in thin air appeared.

The cards gathered were…

Seventy!

I smiled at the hefty stack of cards.

That meant securing three 5-star heroes.

“Phew. Should I take a break? I’ve repeated for an hour already. Not tired?”

I asked the two.

“Grra? Keung!”

“Kkuapuk? Akk! Aak!”

But they shook their heads.

‘Did they really like the dungeon that much?’

I was starting to get bored.

I toyed with the dictionary I kept in my pocket.

I wanted to read leisurely, but rarely had the chance.

[Please select heroes to dispatch!]

[Dispatch slots available: 2/3]

Then how about sending just two?

I manipulated the screen and sent two.

Thunk! Thunk!

Battle appeared in midair on the stage.

The screen also showed the two dwarves battling fiercely.

[Kkuapuk!]

[Grra!]

[Lv.28 Retired Orc Veteran defeated.]

[Lv.28 Retired Orc Veteran defeated.]

Well,

I figured they’d clear it without watching.

I glanced at the screen while reading the dictionary.

It proceeded smoothly without any trouble.

[Mission Cleared!]

[+100 Gold]

[Pet Bonus!] [+50 Gold]

[Pet Bonus!] [+40 Steel Shards]

[+3 Normal Cards]

Halfway through a page of reading, the dungeon was cleared.

Thunk! Thunk!

Flowerdol returned to the stage, stomping loudly.

“Why? Why didn’t I go with you?”

“Kkuapuk! Kkurak!”

“I don’t know. That’s the User’s choice. But you fought well without me. Cool.”

“Kkuelle? Aak!”

Flowerdol scratched his head and laughed.

Such a cute guy.

He just didn’t talk, but he was just like a normal hero now.

“But will you keep going? It’s already been two hours. Not tired?”

“Kkuapuk? Kkuapuk!”

Flowerdol stomped as if asking why I would even ask something so obvious.

Alright then, I’ll keep sending them out.

Before sending them, there was something to do.

I checked the screen and realized I couldn’t view the stage during battles.

I couldn’t switch between dungeon and stage views.

So I thought I’d rest a bit before departing.

I dragged the ‘me’ icon on the screen and put it in storage.

Thunk!

I was transported to the Plaza.

Then I sent the two back to the dungeon.

Even in the Plaza, I could keep farming repeatedly.

“What will they do for this Halloween event? The summer event had Eva. Why only female heroes get to participate?”

“Pft. If you’re upset, wear a bikini too. They let men join if they wear bikinis.”

“Are you crazy? No pride at all?”

“Hahaha! Or just change your appearance!”

The Plaza was crowded with heroes.

They all had various personalities.

Swish…

I noticed a purple fountain.

‘Was that grape wine?’

Curious, I headed toward the fountain.

They said it was free, so it should be okay to drink.

“Oppa-ya, why are you drinking with your hands instead of a cup?”

“Huh?”

A little kid suddenly offered me a cup.

I was about to drink with my bare hands but accepted the cup from the kid.

“Ah, thanks. I didn’t bring a cup. I’ll use this well.”

“I don’t get why Oppa-ya is like that. When you hold your hand out like this, a cup appears. Is this your first time, Oppa-ya?”

Poof!

The kid held out his hand, and a cup appeared.

Ah, that was magic too.

I tried it, holding out my hand,

Poof!

The same cup appeared.

No wonder many heroes drink from cups.

“Yeah, today is my first time. Still awkward at a lot of things. Thanks.”

“Oh dear, Oppa-ya, you’re a newbie! Hang in there! Do your best, Oppa-ya. I’m off!”

“Take care.”

“Bye-bye!”

I waved goodbye to the kid.

A cute kid with a unique accent.

“Oh my, brother! We all meet here, don’t we! Where are you going, brother? Have you eaten?”

Then a man greeted the kid.

‘Brother?’

‘Was he talking to the kid?’

“Eh! Don’t call me brother! It’s hard keeping up the act, you know!”

“Oh dear. Acting too much brings hate, brother! Who even falls for it these days?”

“But someone just got fooled, didn’t they? Hahaha!”

The kid laughed at me.

Good grief.

Seems like I was easily fooled.

Anyway, this Valhalla never allowed you to relax.

[Mission Cleared!]

[+100 Gold]

[Pet Bonus!] [+30 Gold]

[Pet Bonus!] [+30 Steel Shards]

[+3 Normal Cards]

The dungeon had just been cleared.

I kept farming while looking at the dictionary and sipping the wine.

[Instant death]

[A term for when all currency is spent without getting the desired hero or equipment. Common during limited hero release events, leading users to ‘quit’ the game. To prevent this, a ‘ceiling’ system exists which appears protective but is actually a marketing tactic encouraging more spending. Users often tricked this way are called ‘black cows’.]

The terms ‘Quitting in frustration’, ‘Pity system’, ‘Sucker’.

There were all sorts of words.

Funny, yet understandable.

“Alright! Just go for it!”

“Of course, Jungwoo’s Dad never loses a round, right?”

“Yikee!!!”

Several heroes shouted looking at the empty air.

‘What were they shouting at?’

A battle between heroes appeared in midair.

Five versus five.

‘Was that the match Gobori mentioned?’

Heroes in the Plaza watched the match through a huge screen.

I stopped too and watched.

“I’m looking for a duel partner! Anyone willing to face me! I want to learn from you all!”

‘Huh?’

But I heard a familiar voice.

Eh.

‘Could it be?’

That hero again?

Turning my head just in case, “I’m looking for a duel partner! Please teach me!”

Beyond the fountain stood a familiar figure.

The red-haired Kumgui I met two hours ago.

“Our party just reached 2912th place! Are we gonna hit first place at this rate?”

“Pft. Go ahead and aim for top 100 and brag.”

“Following the meta is the answer. If you’re not in the meta, you don’t even get picked.”

But no one paid attention.

Everyone was busy with their own tasks.

Among the countless heroes, Kumgui was isolated.

101

I almost left, but stopped.

Well.

Kumgui was a hero in my party.

It wouldn’t hurt to build a connection now.

I discarded my empty cup and approached Kumgui.

“Um… You said you’re looking for a duel partner? Could I learn a thing or two?”

“Oh! A hero like you wants to duel me? What an honor! Please take care of me! Hahaha!”

Kumgui’s eyes widened with laughter.

3-star.

Danchung Flame’s Passionate Sword Demon.

The second hero after El Diablo I’d have a chance to duel.

At the same time, I’d learn more about my own hero, Kumgui.