Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad - Chapter 23

The collapsing cave was in complete chaos.

Rocks the size of a house fell.

The cloud of dust rising from all directions made it almost impossible to see.

Choi Hyun-seok was experiencing a constant bombard of ringing sounds.

[Level up!][Level up!][Level up!][Level up!][Level up!][Level up!][Level up!][Level up!][Level up!][Level up!][Level up!][Level up!][…]

The level up notifications kept ringing in his ears.

“I’m going crazy, could it shut up!?”

The notifications weren’t important right now.

‘I have to get out of here somehow.’

Choi Hyun-seok’s purpose is to survive.

To do that, he has to escape the collapsing cave.

[Level up!]

Choi Hyun-seok shouted at the same time as the ringing.

“Rachel, Buff!”

“Got it!”

She understood what she had to do at the word buff now.

Rachel cast a buff on Choi Hyun-seok to boost his physical ability.

‘I’m going to have to break through at this rate!’

He was going to pass the queen in front of him and get out of the cave.

“Kiieek!”

At that moment, the Talas queen ran towards Choi Hyun-seok.

‘It wants to attack me now!?’

Choi Hyun-seok’s mind rapidly spun.

‘No. The queen’s purpose is the eggs!’

Her remaining eggs.

The queen must have come running to protect her eggs from the collapsing cave.

It made sense.

This is because even in this critical moment, there was one more crazy person trying to protect the eggs.

“I-I have to protect the delicious eggs!”

Head cook Kulkan ran with an egg.

The queen’s gaze quickly switched to Kulkan.

‘Like this, I can break through!’

[Level up!]

Choi Hyun-seok ran forward with the sound of a level up.

The queen was charging at him, but it didn’t matter.

‘Her attention is on Kulkan and the eggs anyway!’

Of course, he knew it was a gamble.

But now, life and death can really be determined by a second.

At this critical moment, he couldn’t run away from the huge queen.

Boom!

The queen and Choi Hyun-seok got closer and closer to each other.

Choi Hyun-seok slipped between the legs of the queen.

[Level up!]

Choi Hyun-seok ran with the sound of a level up.

The queen ignored Choi Hyun-seok and continued forward.

Choi Hyun-seok, who was running under the queen’s legs, raised his head.

‘Huge.’

It felt like time had slowed down.

The huge queen’s legs passed by his eyes like time had slowed down.

Finally, Choi Hyun-seok completely passed the queen.

[Level up!]

Time seemed to move normally again.

Boom, Boom! Boom!

Again, soil and rocks fell from the ceiling.

Boom!

A rock the size of a house fell near him.

At that moment, the ground shook and he almost fell but was able to barely balance himself.

He passed the rock and looked at the entrance to the outside.

‘I can leave.’

He can see the light through the dust.

He was about two hundred meters away.

It was possible.

“Kiieek!”

At that moment, a Talas stood in front of him.

Its sharp legs rushed at him.

“I don’t have time! Get out of the way!”

He turned his head and avoided the leg.

Then he reacted with a kick.

Pak!

It was a precise kick to the head.

“Kiieek…”

It only stumbled for a moment and didn’t seem to have been hit hard.

But.

Boom!

It couldn’t avoid the falling rocks.

The Talas had become a bloody rice cake.

[Level up!]

Choi Hyun-seok continued running.

‘It’s impossible at this rate. I have to increase my stats.’

Even now, Talas were constantly being crushed to death by the rocks.

Because of this, he constantly heard level up notifications.

He had to use everything at his disposal to reach his destination.

Name: Choi Hyun-seok
Title: Hero Candidate
Level: 179
Strength: 56
Agility : 53
Stamina: 55
Mana: 53
Charisma: 27
Bonus Point: 71
Hero Point: 150
Ability: Pickaxe (C), Leadership (E), Cooking (F)
Skill: –

Before he knew it, 71 bonus points had piled up.

Choi Hyun-seok distributed his stats at a tremendous speed.

[Level up!]

Just in time, he leveled up to a clean 180.

Choi Hyun-seok distributed all his points.

[Combat Power objective reached]
[Completed a hero quest]
[Obtained 300 hero points]

It seems that his combat power has reached 3,000 after distributing his points.

But it wasn’t the time to relax and cheer.

“Kiieek!”

Another Talas stood in front.

Swoosh!

Its legs quickly flew at him.

Choi Hyun-seok ran forward and hugged its legs.

Blood splattered as the legs grazed against his flesh.

“Ora!”

He threw a punch with all his might.

Pak!

The Talas’ head cracked and fluid flowed out.

But it’s not dead.

It still had a breath of life.

[Level up!]

Another notification sounded.

Choi Hyun-seok quickly added the points into Strength.

Then he kicked the staggering Talas.

“Die!”

“

His heel struck directly in the cracked spot that was punched earlier.

Pak!

The Talas’ head was crushed.

[Level up!]

Choi Hyun-seok was certain.

There’s no need to flee any more.

‘I’ll destroy anything that blocks the way.’

His goal is to escape the cave.

To do that, he has to run forward.

“Kiieek!”

“Get out of the way!”

Choi Hyun-seok kicked off the ground.

The jumping power transcended human beings.

Choi Hyun-seok, who immediately climbed on top of Talas’ head, struck down with his fist.

Pak, pak! Pak!

In one breath he had hit the same spot multiple times.

The outer skin of the Talas instantly broke.

Green fluid splattered everywhere.

[Level up!]

Choi Hyun-seok ran again.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A pile of rocks and dirt were raining down like crazy.

It was hard to even open his eyes because of the dust.

Now the cave was certainly on the verge of collapse.

Name: Choi Hyun-seok
Title: Hero Candidate
Level: 198
Strength: 80
Agility: 77
Stamina: 79
Mana: 77
Charisma: 27
Bonus Point: 0
Hero point: 450
Ability: Pickaxe (C), Leadership (E), Cooking (F)
Skill: –

Choi Hyun-seok distributed his stats nonstop.

He had reached level 198 before he knew it.

It seemed inevitable that he’ll reach level 200.

[Level up!]

Another notification.

‘Almost there!’

Outside is just in sight.

The dust cleared and the light became clearer.

Rumble…!

The cave was about to completely collapse.

He’s just a hair length away from the exit.

‘Finally…’

Choi Hyun-seok ran with all his might.

Boom…!

As the ceiling of the cave sank, dust spread everywhere.

The huge shock wave was like a massive bomb going off.

[Level up!]

He heard one final notification.

Choi Hyun-seok plopped down on the ground.

“Haa, haa…!”

He was covered in wounds and was a complete mess beyond recognition.

“I’m alive…”

However, Choi Hyun-seok has survived.

“

* * *

Boom!

The ground shook as if there was an earthquake.

Choi Hyun-seok was completely covered in dirt and looked like a mole.

“Pteu!”

Choi Hyun-seok spit out the dirt in his mouth.

“Fuck. A hero’s life is truly wonderful.”

“Hero! You’re alive! You’re alive!”

“I know.”

“You came out of the depths of hell and lived! Can you believe it!?”

Rachel was giddy as she hovered around.

“Didn’t I say hero could do it!? As expected, Choi Hyun-seok, the most talented hero with a SSS-grade potential!”

“All right. You can stop now.”

“Hero, hero, hero!!!”

“Ah, okay!”

“Hero!”

Rachel slapped Choi Hyun-seok on the cheek.

Pa!

Choi Hyun-seok became surprised.

“Fuck! What was that for all of a sudden!?”

“Look over there!”

“Huh?”

Choi Hyun-seok looked where Rachel was pointing.

“Something is moving…?”

The rocks were moving up and down.

Choi Hyun-seok tensed his body.

Although he didn’t want to lift even a finger right now, he couldn’t miss this opportunity if it was an enemy.

Boom!

Finally, the rock was blown away and what appeared was…

“I protected the egg!”

It was the head cook Kulkan.

A chuckle leaked from Choi Hyun-seok at the ridiculous sight.

“That’s incredible in many ways…”

Should he credit it to the 35,000 combat power?

He couldn’t believe his eyes that he had also kept the egg from breaking.

“Sir Kulkan.”

At Choi Hyun-seok’s words, Kulkan widened his eyes.

“Ah, Choi Hyun-seok, you were alive? You’re a pretty tough guy.”

“Sir Kulkan! Back! Look behind you!”

“Huh? Is there something behind…”

Kulkan, who looked back, couldn’t finish his sentence.

Whoosh!

Before he knew it, the queen’s leg had penetrated his head.

Plop…

Kulkhan died hugging the egg he wanted to protect so badly.

Rumble…

A pile of rocks and dirt were being pushed out.

Then the queen, who was underneath it, emerged.

“

“Haa…for fuck’s sake…”

Choi Hyun-seok sighed deeply.

The queen, completely out, shook her head to shake off the dirt.

Then she looked at her belly.

She seemed to be checking that the eggs she was carrying were safe.

“Kiieek…”

There was only green fluid underneath.

The queen had held her eggs to protect it, but it was rather futile.

It couldn’t bear the weight of the falling rocks and the eggs were crushed.

Her lower abdomen was soaked with thick green body fluids.

The queen raised her head and looked at Choi Hyun-seok.

Choi Hyun-seok had a defeated look on his face.

“Hey. Personally, you can’t blame me for that, can you? Eh?”

Rachel nodded at Choi Hyun-seok’s words.

“Right. That’s right! By the way, hero.”

“What?”

“Why aren’t you running away?”

“I want to run away too.”

“Then why are you still standing?”

“I feel like I’m going to die the moment I move.”

“Aha…”

The queen is simply huge.

However, her movements are not slow.

A little while ago, Kulkan couldn’t even react and he lost his head.

The queen’s speed wasn’t something to scoff at.

“So what do we do now?”

“Let’s see what she does first.”

As soon as Choi Hyun-seok said that.

“Kiieek!”

The queen screamed and ran.

Choi Hyun-seok ran at her.

He brushed past her legs.

Shiik!

There was a roar as if a fighter jet had passed by.

‘I have to get the egg if I want to live!’

Just running away is not the answer.

“

What Kulkan left behind.

The last egg.

That was his only hope.

“Got it!”

When Choi Hyun-seok was about to snatch the egg.

Woosh!

The egg disappeared in front of his eyes.

The queen was one step faster.

The queen picked up the egg and placed it safely on her back.

“Kiieek! Kiieek!”

For some reason, Choi Hyun-seok thought the queen was smiling.

“Hero. What now…?”

“Hmm.”

Choi Hyun-seok stared blankly at the queen.

‘Haa…I really thought I could survive.’

In the end, he will still die.

Choi Hyun-seok, who was smiling bitterly, suddenly clenched his fists.

‘No. I can’t die like this.’

How has he survived so far?

By desperately using all sorts of flattery.

Fought, fought, fought, fought, and just barely survived!

‘There’s still a way.’

One remaining method.

The hero points he had received from completing the hero quest.

Hero points: 450

‘Maybe as I run away I’ll find something useful in the hero store.’

He was sure there’s an item that might help.

Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes shone.

‘Time the queen’s attacks and avoid it.’

Running away would make it impossible for him to see her movements.

It was better to watch her movements and avoid them.

‘Now!’

Choi Hyun-seok dodged at the same time as when the queen lifted her leg.

Boom!

There was a deafening sound as the queen’s leg impaled the ground.

Her legs continuously came down.

Choi Hyun-seok avoided her legs with his amazing reflexes.

But it’s too early to rejoice.

‘I can’t afford to take my eyes off her to look around the hero store!’

As he was desperately trying to dodge, he couldn’t afford to look at the hero store.

‘I’m exhausted too…’

Choi Hyun-seok’s stamina was already at rock bottom.

He was holding on by pushing his legs, but it couldn’t last forever.

Pak!

At that moment, a stone on the ground caught his foot.

Choi Hyun-seok fell flat to the ground.

Shiik!

Without missing the opportunity, the queen’s legs flew at him.

The queen’s legs were drawing closer.

‘No…!’

Choi Hyun-seok closed his eyes tightly.

Boom…!

He heard a loud noise.

‘I’m alive?’

Somehow, Choi Hyun-seok isn’t dead.

He slowly opened his eyes.

“Ah…”

He saw a red muscular back.

“Sir Reidrun…”

The bullhead Reidrun was blocking the queen’s leg.

“I knew you’d be alive. Choi Hyun-seok.”

Reidrun said without looking back.

Choi Hyun-seok almost cried.

“I’ll take care of it from here.”

Flames began to rise from Reidrun’s horn.

He lifted the queen’s leg with his herculean strength.

‘H-he lifted it…!?’

Reidrun grabbed the queen by her leg and slammed her down.

Boom!

The huge queen was dropped on her back and the ground shook.

Without stopping, Reidrun ran.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Choi Hyun-seok couldn’t even see what was happening.

He could only tell that it was Reidrun attacking the queen from her screams.

“Heup!”

A black light emerged from Reidrun’s body.

Then he gave one final punch.

Boom!

The queen’s head exploded.

Warm blood and guts poured down from the sky.

Choi Hyun-seok lightly smiled as he was hit by the remains.

“It’s really damn amazing…”