Including Hyun-seok, a total of 105 cooks went on the hunt.
Only 6 of them returned alive.
The remaining 99, including Head Chef Kulkan, all died.
“I honestly don’t know how I’m still alive.”
Today, Bobo’s head felt especially soft as he stroked it.
“Aww! Are you happy to see your big brother again? Hm?”
Instead of answering, Bobo headbutted him.
Even though it was a light collision, it felt like being hit by a car.
“Playing is fine, but could you be a little gentler…? Please, Bobo…”
Hyun-seok said, bowing apologetically.
Rachel, who was standing nearby, sighed.
“Hero, stop with the unnecessary talk and come here.”
“We need to prepare for the duel.”
“Ah, we really don’t have much time left. But what preparations can we do here?”
This is Bobo’s house.
There’s nothing here particularly suitable for duel preparation.
‘It wouldn’t be good to run around pretending to practice.’
If they get Bobo excited while practicing, it could be serious trouble.
One wrong move and a blind headbutt could shatter bones.
There’s also the problem that Bobo gets hungry when playing around.
‘I’m already worried about where to get food from.’
They said they wouldn’t go hunting for a while as they needed to recruit and train new cooks.
Although Hyun-seok has gotten stronger, but he’s not strong enough to go hunting alone.
In other words, it has become harder to get meat.
‘We’re fine for now since we got so much Talas this time… But it’ll be trouble if we run out of it.’
He was at a loss about where to get meat for Bobo in the future.
“Why the sudden sigh? I told you to come here quickly?”
Hyun-seok reluctantly got up.
“So what preparations are we making?”
“You’ve gotten quite strong now, haven’t you?”
Hyun-seok nodded at Rachel’s question.
“That’s right. My level hit exactly 200.”
▫Name: Choi Hyun-seok
▫Title: Hero Candidate
▫Abilities: Pickaxe Usage(C), Leadership(E), Cooking(F)
Rachel checked Hyun-seok with the Combat Power Meter.
The number visible through the goggles was 3548.
Considering it was 1560 yesterday, his combat power had more than doubled in just one day.
“It’s good that you’ve gotten unbelievably strong in just a day, but there’s a problem.”
“Remember Kurken from that time?”
Kurken, his duel opponent.
Hyun-seok nodded as he recalled him.
“I remember. I think his combat power was around 6600.”
“That’s right. But what’s really important isn’t combat power.”
“That orc knows how to handle magic power.”
“Yes. Technically it’s magical energy, but anyway! Think about what he was doing when we went to spy on him.”
Hyun-seok recalled the orc Kurken.
“I think he was swinging an iron club to smash rocks?”
It was strength that defied common sense.
Rachel nodded and continued.
“Correct! Here’s a question. Can you do that?”
“What if your stats increased and your Combat Power exceeded 6000?”
Hyun-seok pondered again.
‘Even then, smashing rocks with a club seems impossible.’
It wasn’t just breaking them.
He was pulverizing rocks like they were tofu.
He didn’t think he could do it even if his stats increased a bit more.
“I don’t think I could.”
“You observed well. You can’t.”
“Such monstrous strength isn’t something you can achieve just by having superior physical abilities.”
“You need to use magic power. To put it simply, it’s like filling the iron club with magic power before striking the rock.”
Suddenly, a scene flashed through Hyun-seok’s mind.
‘When I caught my first Talas.’
Before his stats increased.
Hyun-seok’s strength couldn’t inflict meaningful damage on the Talas.
Nevertheless, in the final moment, Hyun-seok shattered the Talas’s head with his fist.
‘That sensation I felt then wasn’t an illusion.’
He remembered his fist getting warm and emitting light.
Until now, he thought it was just his imagination, but he suspected he might have unknowingly used magic power.
“I told you before, didn’t I? Combat Power is just a numerical representation of physical abilities, magic power, and such.”
“So even with high Combat Power, it’s useless if you don’t know how to use your abilities properly.”
Hyun-seok nodded in understanding.
“So I need to learn how to use magic power now?”
“That’s right. Now that your magic power has gotten quite strong, it seems like a good time to learn how to properly use it.”
“Are you going to teach me, Rachel?”
“Then why didn’t you teach me until now?”
Hyun-seok asked with questioning eyes.
Rachel became a bit flustered.
“It-it’s a matter of efficiency! When magic power is weak, it takes longer to learn, and even if you learn it, there’s hardly any improvement!”
Hyun-seok felt something was off, but decided not to probe further.
“How long do you think it’ll take? The duel is coming up soon.”
“Three days. Four days at most should be enough.”
Learning to use magic power in three days.
Anyone who heard this would point fingers calling them crazy.
Usually, it takes years even with systematic education from childhood.
But Hyun-seok is a hero with generational talent.
It was even more unbelievable that he reached level 200 in less than a month since he started leveling up.
“Then what should we start with… Huh? Rachel?”
Rachel suddenly disappeared.
As Hyun-seok looked around in confusion.
Bull-head Reidrun had visited.
Since he came without notice, Hyun-seok jumped up in surprise.
“What brings you here?”
“Follow me. Let’s go see the Corps Commander together.”
Hyun-seok followed Reidrun without asking why.
‘This guy was really a monster too.’
He knew Reidrun was strong from before.
‘I didn’t know he was this strong though…’
He just didn’t know he was strong enough to overwhelmingly tear apart and kill the Queen Talas.
[Combat Power: Unmeasurable]
So when he secretly checked his Combat Power, it was indeed ‘unmeasurable’.
‘Let’s absolutely not mess around.’
Hyun-seok silently nodded and followed behind Reidrun.
Reidrun knocked on the office door.
A beautiful voice came from inside.
That the identity of that voice was a terrifying lip monster.
The door opened, revealing the now-familiar office scene.
A single desk in an empty space.
Corps Commander Hemis was sitting there as usual and greeted them.
“Reidrun. What’s the matter? Bringing Hyun-seok too.”
“I have a personal request for the Corps Commander.”
“Oh? What could it be? A request from Reidrun.”
From her perspective, the current situation was quite interesting.
It was the first time Reidrun, who was always businesslike and extremely polite, used the word ‘personal’.
“May I personally teach Hyun-seok?”
“I met the platoon leader named Kurken that you mentioned yesterday.”
Reidrun had just returned to the unit yesterday.
Because of this, he learned about Hyun-seok’s duel belatedly.
Along with concern, his curiosity was piqued.
Reidrun went to personally meet Kurken, Hyun-seok’s first duel opponent.
When Reidrun faced Kurken, he couldn’t help but be surprised.
“I’ve confirmed that Orc Kurken, while a platoon leader, has abilities closer to that of a deputy company commander.”
Reidrun wore a gloomy expression.
“While I’m also amazed at how much Hyun-seok has grown in such a short time… I think it’s absolutely impossible for him to win against Kurken in this state.”
As soon as he saw Kurken, Reidrun realized it.
That Hemis had chosen an opponent that could never be defeated.
‘I want to see more of Hyun-seok’s future.’
Hyun-seok is truly an excellent talent.
This is because he possessed the leadership abilities and charisma that the Demon King’s Army lacked.
On top of that, he now had an unimaginable rate of growth.
How surprised he was to see Hyun-seok after nearly a month.
‘Until just a month ago, Hyun-seok was an ordinary human. But now he has the combat ability of a junior knight.’
Reidrun, who had been at war with humans for a long time, knows.
How much painful effort it takes for a human to become a knight…
Even for a low-ranking knight, it takes years of systematic education from childhood.
Hyun-seok achieved this process in less than a month.
Honestly, it was hard to believe even after seeing it.
“Hyun-seok is an outstanding talent. If the Corps Commander permits, I would like to properly train him myself.”
Reidrun spoke firmly with a weighty voice.
Hemis rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought.
Time passed silently.
Hyun-seok was dripping with cold sweat.
‘What’s with this sudden development?’
He was suddenly called by Reidrun, and now he’s offering to educate him.
‘Of course, I’d be grateful if Reidrun taught me. But the problem is…’
Would Hemis accept this proposal?
Hyun-seok was just a toy to her.
Her deal with Hyun-seok was just a game created for entertainment.
Would she allow Reidrun to interfere with that game?
The uncomfortable silence continued.
‘Could this go wrong?’
Hyun-seok wondered if he should decline first.
Reidrun bowed his head.
Hyun-seok also bowed his head, following the cue.
“I’m grateful for the Corps Commander’s generosity!”
“If you’re done, you may leave.”
Hyun-seok bowed once more and left the office.
As the office door closed carefully.
Left alone, Hemis scratched her head.
“Hyun-seok… He’s twice as strong as when I met him the day before yesterday.”
It was just two days ago.
Until then, Hemis had thought.
That Hyun-seok’s growth rate was really fast.
But now it was beyond simply being ‘fast’.
In just one day, Hyun-seok had appeared twice as strong.
It was a growth rate that defied common sense.
In hundreds of years of life, she had never seen or heard of such a case.
This was an incredibly fresh stimulus for her, who had become numb to everything.
“It’s interesting… Certainly interesting, but…”
Hemis’s smiling lips twisted.
“I feel a bit annoyed?”
Reidrun would personally train Hyun-seok.
“There are 4 days left. But if it’s Reidrun, he can certainly make Hyun-seok strong enough within that time.”
Originally, Orc Kurken wasn’t meant to be an opponent that could be defeated.
But now, a sufficient possibility has emerged for Hyun-seok.
If she had to calculate the probability, it would be around 20%.
But if Reidrun takes charge of the training…
The probability of Hyun-seok winning would exceed 50%.
This wasn’t the picture Hemis wanted.
“Can’t be helped. Should I go out for a bit?”
Hemis decided to leave her office for the first time in a while.
Her destination was the barracks where the soldiers stayed.
“Since I gave Reidrun to Hyun-seok… It would be fair to give something to Kurken too?”
She planned to give Orc Kurken a nice gift.
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