The Hero Returns

<<Why Siegfried? Of all the heroes?>>

Su-hyeun looked at the sword he was holding. Balmung. That was also the name of the sword Siegfried had used. Su-hyeun felt strange about the fact that the owner of this body was named Siegfried.

<<I shouldn’t think about it too much.>>

They were just names, and he was in the Tower of Trials. It was a different world from the one where he lived. He thought he shouldn’t waste his energy to think about it too much.

“When is the next game?” Su-hyeun, who had just smashed down his first opponent, shook his hands and asked the host.

The host was still expressionless. His eyes didn’t even focus on Su-hyeun. “Tomorrow,” he said.

“How many players are there?”

“There are 256 people. After the preliminary round today, there will be 128 players left. If you are injured, please tell the host over there. All wounds will be healed.”

The host pointed to the opposite side of the exit where Su-hyeun came out from. Su-hyeun nodded at the host’s stiff tone. The host continued the competition, calling for the next player.

<<They’re dolls.>>

The hosts weren’t living humans, but they weren’t another species, either. Su-hyeun couldn’t feel any Vitality from them. In a word, they were like dolls. The only thing they could do was answer questions and move.

“Let me ask you one more thing,” Su-hyeun looked back at the host and asked. “Can I watch the games?”

“Of course.”

At the host’s answer, Su-hyeun walked to the stands. It was a good seat. He could see the rest of the fights well enough. He sat in the front row and looked down at the stadium.

<<Heroes from many worlds...>>

Su-hyeun started to watch the game because he thought it would be good to know the other players’ levels ahead. But, also, there was another reason.

A hero. Su-hyeun was very sensitive about that word. No one was as sensitive about that word as Su-hyeun. In his past life, people had called him a hero and he disliked that word a lot. So, he wanted to see what heroes from other worlds would look like. The giant hero he just had met was quite disappointing.

<<Well. Everybody has some skills.>>

Crack, crack—!

Boom, boom—!

The stands were far from the stadium. People with bad eyesight might not able to see the game properly from this far away. But there was a reason for that. It was because the aftereffect of the stadium was so significant.

The heroes of each world, in other words, the players, had excellent skills. On second thought, the first opponent that had rushed to Su-hyeun was also a good player who could beat up most of S-Rank awakeners. If Su-hyeun hadn’t raised his Strength stat up to 97, he might have had to draw his sword.

<<I guess he came from a pretty soft world. Or maybe because it was the preliminary round?>>

The giant man was certainly weaker compared to the other players fighting on the stage at the moment. Of course, there were other players about the same level as the giant man.

<<The really strong ones aren’t showing their real power...>>

It was too far to check the real talented ones because the real strong ones overpowered their opponents at once, as Su-hyeun had done.

<<It looks like there’s nothing more to see.>>

Su-hyeun got up from his seat. He thought there would be nothing more to see anymore. There was no point in watching the weak ones, and powerful ones didn’t reveal their actual skills.

“Are you leaving?”

At that moment, a man, who had been watching the game behind Su-hyeun, said something. As Su-hyeun remembered, he was the man who had subdued his opponent instantly in the fifth round.

Su-hyeun looked back and said, “Yes. There’s nothing much to see.”

“Yea. They all suck,” the man said, grinning.

He looked to be in his late thirty or forty. He was tall, about 190 centimeters. He had a muscular body and thin eyes. Su-hyeun thought he looked like some sort of handsome gangster that would show up in a movie or something. That was Su-hyeun’s first impression of him.

“But stay and watch more fights. I’m sure some real guys will show up soon,” the man said.

“Is there anyone you have an interest in?” Su-hyeun asked.

“Me? Yes, I have one.”

“Who’s that?”

“You,” the man grinned.

At that grin, Su-hyeun frowned, as if it sounded gross.

The man shook his head. “No, no. I don’t mean that kind of interest. Really.”

“I know. The nuance was a little weird.”

“Well. If you know, that’s good, I guess. I was just curious about the man who takes a red dragon wherever he goes.”

At the man’s word, Su-hyeun, who had been losing interest in the game, snapped back to attention. Miru was sitting to one side, yawning, not paying attention to what was going on. Since there was nothing for him to do, he seemed about to fall sleep.

“Have you ever met a dragon?” Su-hyeun asked.

“Of course. I’m sure there will be no one here who knows more than me about dragons.”

“Wait. Are you...?”

“Oh. Do you know me? My name is Luslec. Have you ever heard?”

Luslec. Su-hyeun definitely knew the name.

<<The author of the book that Malcolm gave me was Luslec Exysos.>>

Su-hyeun didn’t know where the book was written, but the author wasn’t from the same world as Su-hyeun. He could tell the author was from a different world by the book. But, here in his trials, Su-hyeun met the author.

“Well. I was very famous. I met all kinds of divine beasts from all kinds of worlds. I also wrote quite a few books.”

“How did you meet dragons?”

“What do you mean, how?” Luslec pointed up with his finger, grinning, “I climbed the tower, of course.”

“...!” Su-hyeun’s eyes widened.

<<He climbed the tower?>>

Su-hyeun was sure that meant only one thing. The tower he mentioned must be the Tower of Trials that Su-hyeun had also been climbing.

“Well,” Luslec said, “It looks like you and I are the only ones in here though. I don’t know...where the other people came from.”

“Who are you?” Su-hyeun asked.

“What do you mean? I’m a human like you, of course. You don’t have to think too much or too long about it. Just knowing I’m human will be enough,” Luslec said and tapped Su-hyeun’s shoulder. “I’m leaving. See you later.”

Luslec passed by Su-hyeun. Su-hyeun narrowed his eyes and looked at the back of Luslec’s head.

<<He’s human? Like me?>> That was nonsense. <<Is he thinking I’m stupid or something?>>

Su-hyeun could see something clearly from Luslec’s back.

Rumble—

He was hiding enormous spirits. It looked like there were thousands, tens of thousands of spirits, maybe more than that. A tremendous number of souls were wriggling in his body and becoming one giant soul.

<<Is he a Necroelementist? Well. The fighting style isn’t a problem though...>> Su-hyeun turned his body again and headed to his room. <<I guess this trial won’t be too easy.>>

Su-hyeun knew now why the trial only had asked for him to be in quarterfinals. There were people like Luslec here. Winning wouldn’t be an easy thing. If the condition to pass the trial was winning the competition, it would have felt like the difficulty of the 50th floor, not the 42nd.

Act4

Half of the day passed after Su-hyeun’s fight. The preliminaries were all over, and it was the time for the real game to begin. The 128 surviving players were supposed to play in the tournament for the finals. They played the game in front of a large crowd this time. Su-hyeun’s trial was to get into the quarterfinals. To pass the trial, he had to win four games.

<<Quarterfinals, my ass.>>

Su-hyeun didn’t plan to just do the bare minimum to pass the trial. Since he was already participating, he aimed to win.

<<And for that...>>

Su-hyeun’s eyes became serious. He was in an empty room. But he felt like Luslec was standing in the middle of the room, watching him.

<<Player Siegfried.>> The host called Su-hyeun from outside.

Su-hyeun knew that there wasn’t just one or two hosts of the gam. There were several, all with the same face and voice.

“Please be ready. Your turn will come in 2 matches.”

“Okay.” Su-hyeun rose from his seat.

Miru came out too, following Su-hyeun. According to the rules of the competition, it was possible to participate with the help of divine beasts, but Su-hyeun wasn’t planning to play Miru. If a player had a divine beast, it was common to get rid of that first in the fighting. Su-hyeun knew that, so he didn’t want to make Miru fight with him.

<<Also, it will be hard for Miru to get a comfortable position, in this small field.>>

Miru was able to protect himself when he could use a wide range. To avoid an attack, Miru needed to fly quickly in a large area.

Thump, thump—

He walked down a long hallway. At the end of it, the bright light from the stadium was coming in.

“Waaah!”

“Wow!”

Loud cheers drifted into the hall with the bright light. Su-hyeun walked a little faster. When he got out of the hallway, he could see the waiting seats for players and the stadium at once.

“Go! Go! Macsman!”

“I’ve bet it all on you! Don’t even come back if you lose the game!”

“Fight hard! Why are you guys just watching each other! Cowards!”

“Shame on you! On both of you!”

The loud cheering and cries of criticism were mixed. Su-hyeun went blank a little at the scene. There were hundreds of thousands of spectators, and they all seemed familiar.

<<They’re inhabitants.>>

They were inhabitants of each floor of the tower. They all looked different and they all had their own cultures. Su-hyeun was sure that the spectators were them.

<<But why are they here?>>

This place wasn’t the world of the 42nd floor. Su-hyeun was in the trial.

“Please, get ready,” the host, who had been following Su-hyeun, said in a dry voice.

Su-hyeun got a grip, but he still couldn’t take his eyes off the stands as he was walking. It was the first time for Su-hyeun to feel so strange like this in the trials.

The boring game on the stage ended sooner than he expected. The two players, who had been reading each other’s faces for about five minutes, brought the fight to an end in a single hit.

<<I guess they were looking for the perfect timing.>>

It wasn’t like they were scared or felt diffident. They tried to grasp their opponent’s weakness and take a moment to plan. And the one who showed his weakness to the opponent first was defeated. That was the result.

<<Who are the next players?>> Su-hyeun thought.

He looked at the two players who went onto the stage next. Su-hyeun didn’t recognize one of them. He didn’t see that player the day before. It seemed like that player had had a game after Su-hyeun had left. The other one was a short player, but he was stronger than he looked. Among the players on the finals, he would be about upper-mid tier.

<<I guess this match will be something to watch.>>

Su-hyeun thought this match would be a fun one unless the other player was overwhelmingly strong. It was at that moment...

“What a pity, man,” Luslec walked up to Su-hyeun, looked up the stadium, and said.

“What do you mean, a pity?”

“The dark dude over there.” It seemed like Luslec knew the opponent, that Su-hyeun didn’t know. “He is, maybe, the most dangerous guy in this stadium.”