The Hero Returns

“The cause of this is probably…” Su-hyeun began to think.

The other dungeons were still the same. As far as Su-hyeun’s memory was concerned, there were no dungeons that had disappeared or suddenly appeared. He could only think of one possible cause.

“Lich King. It’s probably because of him.”

It looked like Su-hyeun had to pay more attention to the frequency of dungeon appearances. It would be a huge problem if the biggest and most-important dungeons he knew of suddenly appeared.

“I feel like this just got more complicated.”

His busy schedule was about to get busier. Su-hyeun sighed and closed the booklet.

“Are you done? Then come and eat some fruit,” Hak-joon said.

“Are you not working today?” Su-hyeun asked.

“After you disbanded Ares Guild, I have nothing much to do here. All my friends are gone,” Hak-joon answered.

“What about your next trial?”

“I just passed the forty-ninth floor yesterday.”

“Already?”

Su-hyeun was about to nag Hak-joon about being lazy, but he had worked harder than Su-hyeun expected. The forty-ninth floor might not be high in comparison to the other A-rank awakeners, but considering that Hak-joon had begun at level eight, it was a phenomenal speed.

“The fiftieth floor will be a crisis. Every tenth floor becomes insanely difficult,” Hak-joon complained.

“Don’t worry too much. You can get a hint if you give enough points to the gatekeepers.”

“I will. And because of that, I’ve worked hard on points, just as you advised.”

Working on points meant a way of completing trials with sufficient achievement points, not just getting to the end. In his previous life, this method was pretty popular on the ninth floors of each tier. The reason was that people had to pay an information fee to the gatekeepers on the tenth floors. Sooner or later, this method would become popular again.

“What about you, Su-hyeun? Why don’t you attempt the next trial?”

“Since I don’t have much time, I will. Soon.”

After he finished the green-colored dungeon, he adjusted his condition for about a day. The basis of his strategy was to prepare the perfect condition needed to attempt the next trial. For the distribution, Su-hyeun left it all to Lee Ju-ho. The amount would be high, but since he was a veteran, he would not make a mistake.

“What do you mean you don’t have much time?” Hak-joon asked.

“There’s something I have to take care of,” Su-hyeun said as he stood. “I will tell you when the time comes. Be ready then.”

“What?”

Hak-joon tilted his head sideways. He felt an ominous foreboding. Hak-joon shuddered with a spooky feeling. And Su-hyeun looked at Hak-joon and smiled. Then, he checked the electronic clock on the wall and calculated the date.

“There should be enough time,” he thought.

Miru had hatched after the trial of the twenty-first floor. And Su-hyeun immediately joined the attack on the green-colored dungeon. So, he still had some time left for the day.

“I guess I have to push myself.”

Su-hyeun started to climb the Tower of Trials again.

***

[Subject: Kim Su-hyeun. Beginning the trial of the twenty-second floor.]

That trial took three days.

[You have passed the trial.]

There was nothing difficult in that trial. Trials were still pretty easy for Su-hyeun.

“The goal is the thirtieth floor.”

[Subject: Kim Su-hyeun. Beginning the trial of the twenty-third floor.]

This time, it took five days.

[You have passed the trial.]

After completing a floor, Su-hyeun took a day off. Then without hesitation, he attempted the next challenge. March had passed and April came. Flowers started to bloom. But Su-hyeun did not see the flowers and time marched on.

[Subject: Kim Su-hyeun. Beginning the trial of the twenty-seventh floor.]

The trials were getting a little more difficult. From that time, he paid more attention to maintain his condition. After passing the twenty-seventh floor, Su-hyeun rested for three days. His state of mind changed as well. He started to study and practice the ways he could be stronger. He did not just pass the trials without thinking. And then Like that, May passed as well. The weather was warming.

[Subject: Kim Su-hyeun. Beginning the trial of the twenty-ninth floor.]

The trial of the twenty-ninth floor was particularly difficult. There was no risk high enough to threaten his life, but for the first time, he had almost failed. The goal was to escort a specific person. But the situation had suddenly changed, and the target was in danger. Fortunately, of course, he came through and saved the target.

“Stay well, kid.”

“I am not a kid. I am Quan Zarhan…”

“You’re loud, kid.”

Su-hyeun mussed up the little boy’s hair when they arrived at the kingdom’s castle. Quan fixed his hair with annoyed and looked up.

“What do you mean ‘stay well’? Mister, come inside with me. My father is the king and he’ll give you a big prize.”

“You really still call me mister at the end…?”

“You call me kid, too. Nyah—”

Su-hyeun sighed at Quan’s behavior. Still, Quan had softened in comparison to the first time they met. Back then, because of his royal stature, he looked down on Su-hyeun. But now he treated Su-hyeun like a close brother.

“I am sorry to say goodbye,” Su-hyeun thought.

This trial had taken a month. Of all the recent trials, that was the longest. There was a reason for that. Su-hyeun had to find ways to get to the kingdom and there were many obstacles at every moment. In that time, he had become fond of Quan as well. But there was nothing he could do.

“I really have to go,” Su-hyeun said.

“Where are you going?”

Su-hyeun suddenly vanished right before Quan’s eyes. Quan’s eyes widened in surprise and he looked around to try and find some trace of him.

“Mister? Where did you go? Mister?”

He spent a good while searching the front of the castle for Su-hyeun. But no matter how many times he called, Su-hyeun did not appear again.

“If you are in danger, call me. Then this awesome brother will save you. Okay?”

Su-hyeun had appeared in the middle of nowhere and saved Quan when he was kidnapped. He also showed up every time Quan had called him for help. But he would not come anymore. After some time, the palace soldiers emerged to find Quan.

Quan stood in vain and murmured, “I never got a chance to call him brother…”

“Don’t cry. You are not a kid, are you?”

Quan felt like he could hear Su-hyeun’s voice. He bit his lips and held back his tears.

“Thank you. Brother.”

***

It was mid-June. The ambiguous month when it was not spring anymore, but not quite summer yet. Su-hyeun laid on the bed. The temperature and humidity made his head hot.

“Let’s see, today is June 12th.”

Fortunately, that was about what he had expected. He was in-line with what he had set as a goal. He was thinking about challenging the thirtieth floor, but he put it off for a while.

“I don’t know how long it will take. Besides, it won’t be easy,” Su-hyeun thought.

After the twenty-seventh floor, the level of difficulty was no longer easy. Little by little, he had reached the maximum amount of achievement points. The thirtieth floor, that third tier, would probably take a long time to finish. It could also ruin his condition. Unless there was a save zone, but the higher the floor, the less likely those existed.

“I can rest for a while.”

He pushed himself for almost half a year without rest. Now he needed to take a break for not only his physical health but also his mental state. Soon, things would be busy again.

“I guess I have to tell in advance,” he thought.

Su-hyeun turned on his smartphone, which he hadn’t used in a long time.

Ring, ring, ring—

“Hey, it’s me.”

“You’ve been off the grid for months and now you give a simple ‘Hey, it’s me?’ That’s it? Is that all?” There was an edge to Ji-yeon’s voice because Su-hyeun hadn’t answered her calls in months.

“I was in the middle of the trials. I just passed the twenty-ninth floor,” Su-hyeun said.

“Level 10?”

“Yes.”

“You’re gross. You really didn’t rest at all? Not even a day?”

“No, no. I rested a couple of days between trials. All I did was sleep.”

At Su-hyeun’s answer, Ji-yeon became silent. She thought of herself as a pretty dogged person. She thought she was trying hard enough. But Su-hyeun’s hard work made her a little ashamed of herself. Many S-Rank awakeners tried hard to climb the tower, but Su-hyeun was the most serious of them.

“Anyway, why did you call? You didn’t answer when I needed you.”

“I told you. I won’t join raids. Didn’t we agree not to involve each other unless it’s related to the Dump Guild?”

“Good things are good things. We’ll give you a lot of distribution…” Ji-yeon suddenly stopped in surprise. “Is this about…?”

“Yes, it’s about that.”

“Where is it?”

“June 21st. Los Angeles, the USA.”

“America? Those crazy bastards expanded that far?”

“They didn’t expand. They were originally from there.”

“What? How do you know that?”

“Last time, I caught one assassin from the Dump Guild and asked.” This was a bit different from the facts, so Su-hyeun spoke vaguely. “Anyway, that’s not the point. The important thing is I need your help.”

“Okay, I’ll prepare some people from my guild…”

“No. Ripper Guild won’t go. I’ll go to America alone.”

At those unexpected words, Ji-yeon’s voice lowered. “That’s not what we agreed, is it?

Ji-yeon had a personal grudge against the Dump Guild. Su-hyeun did not know what kind of grudge that was, but he was certain that she really hated them. As soon as he brought up the Dump Guild, her voice changed. He could feel her coldness over the phone. If she ever met them in person, it would get very bloody. Despite knowing all that, Su-hyeun still said he would go alone.

“I’ll give you another piece of information,” he said.

“Go on.” Her tone indicated that she would not tolerate useless words.

“On that same day, something will happen here as well.”

“Something like what?”

“You know about the upcoming green dungeon raid, right?”

“Yes. People said that it’s the biggest green-colored dungeon that’s ever appeared. So two S-Rank awakeners will be deployed this time.”

“You go, too. But keep it secret.”

“Me? Why?”

“I won’t say twice, so listen carefully. That day, the Dump Guild will…”

Su-hyeun started to explain. When he finished, Ji-yeon opened her mouth. And then, in a serious voice, she said, “Those bastards… Would they do that?”

“Nine times out of ten.”

It was actually more like ten out of ten, but Su-hyeun said differently, just in case. He was not sure how the future would go since he had changed it, but he was pretty certain that the Dump Guild would take action that day.

“If that happens…okay. But what about you? Why will you go to America?”

“I’ll go and play with the big boy, “Su-hyeun said with a little grin.

“Are you saying I’ll be playing with a small boy, then?” Ji-yeon answered a bit sarcastically.

“I’m the one who got this information. You can give a concession.”

“Hmm…”

He was right. Also, although the places were different, what would happen here was huge as well. Of course, she had to check whether if it would be true or not. But to her, it was not a bad thing to believe Su-hyeun. Even if the Dump Guild would not show up that day, she still could help the raid team finish their attack.

“But do you know any guilds in America? I don’t have any contacts.”

“Why don’t you ask the Authority?”

“Well, I can do that. But I thought the Ripper Guild would know more about the US guilds. The power of the Authority is only working in Korea.”

“That is true…”

“Oh, and I heard you guys have a private plane. Let me use it. I don’t want to go to a crowded place like the airport.”

She grew silent.