Is this Hero for Real? - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

[Act 2] Blessing & Curse

Just when the tear-jerkingly filial son Kang Hansoo jumped off the cliff!

The unfilial children who deemed the fantasy world to be more important than their family were listening to the saintess’s explanations while sitting in a floating garden with countless statues of gods in it.

“There are two main ways for you all to become stronger – your level and your blessing. You can raise your level by killing beings that possess status windows, and you can receive the blessing of a god.”

However, not all the heroes were listening carefully.

“This is a waste of time…”

The hero Oh Hanwoo was acting arrogant, as if he already knew everything, like a student who had learned everything in advance at an academy.

“Oh, God. Please grant me a blessing…”

The hero Choi Gangmin was trying to get closer with the gods by talking to them ceaselessly to be given a blessing.

And aside from them…

“I’m getting tired.”

“Where’s the washroom?”

“When are we gonna get some food~”

“I don’t understand a thing…”

There were many heroes who could not focus due to various reasons.

But the saintess did not pay any attention to their distracted attitude and continued her explanation, as if she didn’t care whether they ended up dead or not.

“Please keep this in mind. Just because you received a blessing does not mean that is the end of it. The gods are always watching you, after all.”

“Saintess! I have a question.”

“Go ahead.”

“Are you saying the gods are watching us 24/7?”

The hero who asked a question while the saintess was reciting her explanation like a machine was the class president, Yu Bora.

The class president.

Though it’s a meaningless title now that she’s entered the world of Fantasia, it’s not like the reason why she became the class president disappeared along with it.

She is a diligent honor student.

She was even taking notes so that she wouldn’t miss a single word of the saintess’s explanation.

But as soon as she had a question, she asked immediately, as she always did in school.

“Yes, that’s what I said.”

The saintess replied composedly without a change in her expression, even after she was interrupted.

“Even when we’re doing our business or washing ourselves?”

“There are no exceptions.”

“That’s…!”

“Miss Hero, they are not humans. Please do not judge the gods with the vulgar standards of humans.

“Even if you say that…”

[A certain male god says not to mind them.]

[A certain god pretends to be uninterested in vulgarities.]

[A certain wind god claims that they’re no different from the air.]

…Will it really be alright?

The hero of flashy looks, Jang Miyeon, crossed her legs as if she was mocking Yu Bora’s worries.

“Class prez, it’s not like they’re gonna wear down if you show them, right? Though of course, they’re gonna have to pay an admission fee with a blessing.”

She has confidence worthy of having looks and charm on par with a real princess of a fantasy world.

[A certain evil god raises their thumb to praise you.]

[A certain god is content.]

[A certain wind god highly appraises the clear decision.]

The reactions of the gods who heard what Jang Miyeon said were not bad.

Though it wasn’t good either.

[A certain earth god stares with eyes as dry as a desert.]

[A certain god is uncomfortable.]

[A certain water god stares with unwelcoming eyes.]

Though the reactions were polarizing, it was certain that Jang Miyeon managed to take a step ahead of the other heroes.

Her status window was proof of that.

[Name] Jang Miyeon

[Level] 1

[Blessing] Hero F, Charm F

[Curse] –

[Dividend] 1.03

“Yahoo! A blessing!”

Jang Miyeon raised her arms and yelled for all to hear.

“What…?”

“Dammit!”

The two power-hungry boys, Oh Hanwoo and Choi Gangmin, showed an expression of losers who had the lead taken from them.

Right after that,

Flutter~

“Sniff, sniff.”

“What’s this scent?”

“A flower? Sniff, sniff.”

“It’s such a nice scent.”

The heroes looked around to search for the source of the sudden mystical scent.

“What is this…”

“What a strange scent…”

Even the knights and priests who were looking at the heroes with disapproving eyes were also enchanted by the scent.

“Fufu!”

Jang Miyeon smiled deeply as she was watching them.

It was because she was the one who had spread the mystical scent.

[Charm]

-> A charming scent is emitted from your body at all times.

-> Dramatically increases the chance of captivating and dominating the hearts of the opposite sex!

It was useless in combat, but for Jang Miyeon, who had hoped for a ‘romance fantasy’ from the moment she was summoned, it was the greatest blessing.

It suited her tastes perfectly!

[A certain god entreats you to keep your promise.]

“Of course.”

She, who received an admission fee from the god, showed off an enchanting pose that she learned in acting school.

“Whoa…”

“Amazing…”

Half of the heroes could not come back to their senses and started to act like fools.

The saintess, who witnessed this scene, spoke in a tone full of praise.

“It seems that hero Jang Miyeon already understands. Marvelous.”

“Hoho! Thank you for the compliment.”

The saintess, after keeping the name of the hero who first received a blessing in mind, warned her in a serious tone.

“Hero Jang Miyeon, it’s time to stop your Charm blessing.”

“Oh my! How do I make this stop~?”

Jang Miyeon responded slyly.

[A certain innocent goddess does not like impure relations.]

“Oh no… It’s too late.”

“What is? The men who are head over heels for me?”

“Please take a look at your status window again.”

“What about my status window… huh?! What the hell is this?!”

Jang Miyeon, who had a full smile until now, let out a painful scream.

Even the heroes who were captivated by the Charm blessing were startled and peeked at her status window.

[Name] Jang Miyeon

[Level] 1

[Blessing] Hero F, Charm F

[Curse] Punishment

[Dividend] 1.83

A curse was newly added in the previously empty space.

“A punishment curse?”

“A curse?”

“Aren’t we heroes?”

“Why a curse…?”

The heroes who were only thinking about blessings until now received a huge shock.

Did a demon show up or something?

The saintess spoke as if to chastise the confused Jang Miyeon.

“The gods do not only grant you blessings. They also curse the heroes that they don’t like.”

“You never said anything about that!”

The girl who was still not out of her state of confusion protested.

“Of course, since I was just about to explain it.”

“This doesn’t count! I didn’t know, so please get rid of it!”

Jang Miyeon pleaded with the god while looking straight up into the sky, but the curse did not disappear.

[Punishment]

-> Dramatically increases all damage and notoriety you receive.

-> You will receive a fierce punishment whenever you attempt any impure relations!

The curse’s effect was no different from a bane to Jang Miyeon’s dream of a .

[Punishment]

“Kyak~?!”

Jang Miyeon let out a short scream and rubbed her butt, even though no one hit her.

It hurts! It hurts! It hurts so much!

Her eyes were full of tears before she knew it.

[Charm]

Flutter~

She immediately deactivated her blessing, because it hurt to the point that she wouldn’t ever dare to use it again!

[A certain innocent goddess stares intently.]

[A certain god plays dead.]

[A certain wind god whistles.]

[A certain male god feigns ignorance.]

The saintess told the girl a terrifying truth as she looked down at her, writhing in pain.

“A blessing and a curse that you receive does not disappear, even if you die.”

“No way…”

The hero Jang Miyeon was devastated.

Living with such a painful curse for the rest of her life? Wouldn’t it be better to just die right now?

Whether she despaired or not, the saintess was faithful in her duty.

“The effects of blessings and curses increase as they rise in rank, and the ranks never fall.”

“W-Wait! Please wait! It already hurts this much as an F-rank curse, but it’ll hurt even more as the rank increases?!”

“Yes.”

“” Aah! It’s over… My life is completely over…!”

Jang Miyeon lost her mind after experiencing both heaven and hell one after the other in such a short time.

Did she feel sorry for her pitiful state?

Princess Ethena, who was quiet until now, butted in.

“Miss hero! Please don’t give up! A curse can be offset by a blessing. When you raise your level, your sense of pain will also be dulled because your body and mind will become stronger.”

“I-Is that true?!”

“It is! So please do not give up so easily!”

“Wh-What a relief…”

“Pretty hero! Do your best!”

“Okay.”

“I’ll pray for you every morning!”

“Huh? Okay.”

“I’ll always cheer you on by your side…!”

“Okay! Okay! I got it, so you can stop.”

“Ah?! Did I speak too much? I’m sorry!”

“No, there’s no need to be sorry…”

As Jang Miyeon calmed down, the saintess’s explanation progressed faster.

No, it’s more accurate to say that after Jang Miyeon’s sacrifice, detailed explanations became unnecessary.

After finishing what she had to do, the saintess turned around and said her farewell.

“I have other things to attend to, so I will excuse myself. Prince Alsus will guide you all from here on out.”

“Thank you for entrusting this honorable duty to me, saintess.”

“May the blessing of the gods be with you.”

The saintess left the floating garden while showing off her refined back.

Prince Alsus, who sent her off, smiled warmly toward the heroes and exclaimed.

“Good work, everyone! We’ve prepared a welcoming feast for you all, so please enjoy it to your heart’s content!”

“Wow!”

“Finally!”

The hungry heroes all cheered.

Prince Alsus guided them all to the kitchen and calmly explained their schedule.

“Training will begin full-scale tomorrow. I will be teaching swordsmanship, and Princess Ethena will be teaching magic. You all are free to choose which you’d like to learn.”

“Can we learn both?”

The hero Choi Gangmin asked with a confident tone.

“Of course. You are also free to give up if it gets too hard midway.”

“That won’t happen.”

“I will trust you.”

Prince Alsus responded to the enthusiastic hero with a smile.

Immediately after,

“Can we skip both?”

The arrogant hero Oh Hanwoo asked as if putting a damper in the atmosphere.

Prince Alsus replied with a face unable to comprehend the question.

“If you do not need the greatest swordsmanship and magic of the continent of Fantasia, then that’s fine.”

“Oh! Then is it okay to go outside the temple during the free training time?”

“Of course.”

“Yes!”

Oh Hanwoo, the self-proclaimed fantasy professor, had a plan of his own.

Training?

That’s something that extras who don’t have broken cheat abilities do.

He, the main character of this fantasy world, plans to gather cute and loving comrades and explore ruins and labyrinths.

“Hero Oh Hanwoo, do you have any other questions?”

“I don’t. Hehe.”

[A certain childish dice god shows deep interest.]

* * *

The adaptability of humans is amazing!

The human Kang Hansoo was too afraid to catch a cockroach on Earth.

But now, he substituted fantasy hyenas for experience points without hesitation.

Though, his status window was still the same.

“What’s the problem?”

He’s still level 1!

His level hasn’t changed.

It’s either because of his Hero curse, or leveling up is supposed to be this hard, or both!

Whatever the reason, it was certainly bad news.

“Lone wolf god, do you have any useful information for me?”

[A certain god requests to be called an outsider.]

“…Outsider god, do you have any useful information for me?”

[A certain god firmly says that they cannot tell you anything.]

“Oh, okay.”

This god is completely useless for anything other than the blessing.

But since that one merit is so good, I’ll endure it.

[A certain god is bored because you’ve been doing nothing but running.]

“Me too.”

[A certain god suggests you do something else.]

“After I find a person.”

It’s not like my problems would be solved after getting away from the fantasy animals.

[Outsider]

I don’t need any food nor breaks thanks to this broken trait, but this place is still dangerous. That’s why I’m trying to find a friendly human village.

[A certain god yawns.]

“This is bad…”

This is a savage fantasy world.

There are definitely powerful monsters that can kill humans in one blow.

If it doesn’t give me any chance to recover, then this broken blessing is useless.

“God.”

[A certain god firmly says that they won’t help.]

“Oh, okay.”

That’s why, regardless of food, clothing, and shelter, there is a need to make a safe human place to live in as a base.

I’m not hoping for a map, I’d at least like to know in what direction I have to go…

Unexpectedly, the solution was close.

“Human meat!”

“Meat! Human meat!”

“Hungry! Meat!”

The fantasy hyenas were attracted by the nasty smell of blood of their own dead.

I hid in the bushes and waited for them to pass by.

[A certain god prays for the powerless outsider to rest in peace.]

To think I’m receiving a prayer from a god! What an extremely absurd honor!

If they were next to me, I would’ve given them an uppercut.

“Outsider god, I’ve also become a little stronger while fighting.”

Slip-

I fiddled with the spoils that the fantasy hyena, ‘Blue Moon’s Meat Butcher’, was holding in its hand.

A stiletto.

A dagger designed for stabbing.

However, it was a specially made item with an uncommon blade, befitting of the ugly name ‘Butcher’ that its previous wielder gave it.

“My life is full of misfortune.”

Just a few hours ago, I was nothing more than High Schooler A who was busy prepping to get into university, but now I’d ended up having to fight against fantasy hyenas from who knows where with my life on the line.

A human habitat.

These guys who search around for meat all day must know.

[A certain god prays for your happiness in the next life.]

“I said I’m not gonna die.”

I haven’t been caught yet, but the distance between me and the ones rummaging around the bushes is decreasing.

It’s only a matter of time until I’m caught.

That’s why I’m planning on ambushing them before I get caught, but it’s too foolish to charge in while only believing in the outsider blessing.

I’m a cultured citizen of Earth who received a high school-level education. I’m planning on using that knowledge.

Thump, thump-

I cut a vine near me into a sizable length with the dagger.

I then picked up a hard rock the size of a baseball.

[A certain god opens their two eyes tiresomely.]

“Do you know what centripetal force is?”

There’s no rule that you can only use fantasy in a fantasy world, is there?

I’ll show these savage fantasy monsters the power of physics.

____