Chapter 5

There are no bad heroes in the world - Chapter 5 (5/273)

The Demon King Army's 3rd Corps, 2nd Slave Battalion.

Here, a total of three thousand human slaves are imprisoned.

None of them have ever held the special position of Slave Captain.

Choi Hyunseok is a very exceptional case.

It also means that Raidrun was closely watching Choi Hyunseok.

"What are you doing!?"

For an ordinary person, leading thousands of people suddenly would be a daunting task.

However, Choi Hyunseok was different.

At first, he seemed to be gauging the atmosphere, but he adapted in just a few days.

"My grandma can run faster than that! Move faster!?"

Choi Hyunseok is a proud former sergeant of the Republic of Korea Army.

His experience in handling numerous slaves (?) during his military service is now shining.

"Move faster! Do you want to meet today's quota!? Huh!?"

At Choi Hyunseok's harsh command, the slaves who were walking slowly started to run.

As Choi Hyunseok watched them with hawk-like eyes, someone laughed maniacally.

"Hahahaha!"

Choi Hyunseok, who had checked the system notification, laughed like a madman.

Everyone who saw him shook their heads.

'He's completely crazy.'

'Where did such a guy come from…' 'I heard he's a hero?' 'A hero? Him!?'

Choi Hyunseok, whose ears itched, didn't care at all.

He had his own thoughts.

Just then,

"Hero! Please come to your senses!"

Rahel, sitting on Choi Hyunseok's head, started pulling his hair.

"Hey, get off!?"

"Hero! This is really going to end badly!" "Damn! This is all part of becoming a hero. Stay still!"

Choi Hyunseok's eyes were already half-rolled back.

The onlookers' eyes were filled with pity.

'Now he's even talking to himself…' 'What? A process to become a hero? More like a process to become a demon king…'

Rahel is currently hiding her appearance with magic.

Naturally, it looks like Choi Hyunseok is talking to himself.

The slaves thought Choi Hyunseok had completely lost his mind.

"Hey, Class 3! What are you doing! Did you skip lunch today!? Why are you all crawling!?"

Choi Hyunseok, who could sense any delay in work like a ghost, ran over.

His ability to manage slaves was so impressive that even the guards who managed the slaves were amazed.

Just as he was fully engrossed in the work, a system alert sounded.

Choi Hyunseok, who saw the alert, smiled slyly.

He suddenly shouted in a deeply moved voice.

"Thank you! Lord Raidrun!"

"Crazy! Crazy! A hero praising a demon king's officer! Just die already…. Ahhh!"

Choi Hyunseok threw the nagging Rahel aside.

He climbed up a high platform and shouted.

"Now, I will sing the anthem of the Demon King Army's 3rd Corps. Start the anthem!"

"..."

"Anthem, start!"

Choi Hyunseok's voice was incredibly loud, befitting his large build.

It echoed throughout the noisy fortress.

Of course, this loudness was also due to his newly acquired Charisma stat.

▫ Name: Choi Hyunseok

▫ Title: Aspiring Hero

▫ Level: 1

·Strength: 30

·Agility: 29

·Stamina: 33

·Magic: 10

·Charisma: 12

·Bonus Points: 0

▫ Hero Points: 0

▫ Abilities: Mining (C), Leadership (F)

▫ Skills: –

While checking his improved stats over the past few days, Choi Hyunseok sang powerfully.

"We are~! The great~! Demon King Army~!"

Choi Hyunseok led the singing.

"We are… the great… Demon King Army…"

The other slaves sang the chorus in weak voices.

"Crush humans! Eat humans!"

"Crush humans… eat…."

Another peaceful day was coming to an end in the Hemorn Fortress.

***

That night.

Rahel sat on Choi Hyunseok's shoulder.

She confronted him with a lot of anger.

"Hero! What are you thinking!? Are you going to keep this up!?"

"Ah, this fruit is delicious."

Choi Hyunseok ignored Rahel and ate fruit with his feet on the table.

Currently, he was living in a clean room outside the prison due to special treatment.

He was very satisfied with the decent meal that came in.

"Snap out of it! You said you wanted to go on an adventure! You said you wanted to escape the fortress!?"

"Of course I will. I'm doing this for a reason."

"What reason!?"

"Damn, you're so noisy."

Choi Hyunseok grabbed Rahel and sat her on the table.

"Listen well. I'll explain how good the current situation is."

"Go on, explain!"

"First, I gained a new stat called Charisma and a Leadership ability. Both are growing steadily."

"That, I know. But as a hero…."

"Hero's duty? I'm just following what the hero system tells me. What else could it be?"

"What's the quest content?"

"I told you. It said to increase Lieutenant Raidrun's favor."

"There's no such hero quest!"

"Really, it's true."

The status window is visible only to the user.

And the hero quest is part of the status window.

Naturally, Rahel couldn't see the quest content.

No matter how Choi Hyunseok explained the quest content, she didn't believe him.

"Here, it's written exactly."

Choi Hyunseok opened the quest window and started reading.

"Due to some idiot's mistake, you ended up in the Demon King Army's fortress! Gain the favor of Demon King Army officer Raidrun…."

"So, there's no such hero quest!"

From Rahel's perspective, it was natural to be suspicious.

After all, hero quests are supposed to be very righteous, heroic actions.

Like slaying monsters or rescuing people in danger.

"Gain the favor of a Demon King Army officer? How absurd…."

Moreover, the content was ridiculous.

Some idiot's mistake.

It was clearly referring to Rahel herself.

The hero quest, which usually conveys content formally, wouldn't use such language.

"I've never heard of such a hero quest!"

"Maybe I'm special. You said I have SSS-level potential or something great."

"But, even so…!"

At that moment, a thought flashed in Rahel's mind.

'Could it be… Lady Prisella…?'

Rahel's superior, Prisella.

He was particularly attentive to Choi Hyunseok and closely watched him.

With Prisella's authority, it was possible to change the hero quest content or give a new quest.

'Did Lady Prisella do this?'

If so, there must be a reason.

Although Choi Hyunseok is weak now, he might be an important hero candidate who could slay the Demon King someday.

Prisella might have used her influence to save him.

"Anyway, listen."

At that moment, Choi Hyunseok's words snapped Rahel out of her thoughts.

"I have my own reasons. It's not like I'm enjoying tormenting people or helping that monster."

"Eh!? No, that's not it!?"

"Of course not!"

Choi Hyunseok shouted, but Rahel still looked doubtful.

"Anyway, I need to focus on gathering hero points."

"Tch…"

"Just wait a bit. It seems I'm almost done with increasing Raidrun's favor."

The system alert today said there was little time left to reach the favor goal.

At this rate, he could complete the hero quest in a few days.

Just then, the door to Choi Hyunseok's room opened.

"Human!"

It was the goblin guard, Jack.

Choi Hyunseok, who hadn't seen him since becoming a Slave Captain, was puzzled by his sudden visit.

"What is it."

"Arrogant bastard. Lord Raidrun is calling you. Get out here now!"

Choi Hyunseok, who had been sitting lazily, jumped up at the mention of Raidrun.

"Lord Raidrun!?"

"Yeah! Follow me!"

"Yes! I understand!"

Choi Hyunseok, full of determination, looked more alert than any Demon King Army soldier.

He would probably jump up even from sleep if Raidrun called.

"Ah…"

Rahel could only sigh quietly.

***

Raidrun's office.

This was his second visit.

'I'm not as nervous as last time.'

Choi Hyunseok thought it might be because it was his second visit.

In reality, he was just braver than others.

"Good to see you."

Raidrun greeted Choi Hyunseok with a smile.

"You've been working very hard lately."

"No, not at all!"

"How can you say that? I received a report that today's work efficiency increased by nearly 1.5 times. It must be thanks to you."

"I'm just a lowly human. It's all thanks to Lord Raidrun's wise leadership."

Rahel, hearing the smooth flattery, clicked her tongue.

'Tsk tsk. Is he a hero or a lackey of the Demon King Army…'

Choi Hyunseok ignored the voice in his head.

"Slave Captain Choi Hyunseok. I called you here to commend your work. Make yourself comfortable. Is there anything you want?"

"Nothing. I'm content just being able to work for Lord Raidrun!"

Choi Hyunseok displayed his previously unknown talent for flattery to the fullest.

"Hmm…"

But did the flattery not sit well with Raidrun?

He nodded with a slightly stiff face.

'Oh no! Was the flattery too much?'

Excessive flattery can also cause dislike.

Just as Choi Hyunseok was blaming himself, a system alert sounded.

'What? He was just embarrassed because of the flattery?'

Raidrun's stiff face seemed to be due to his unfamiliarity with flattery.

'Great! Perfect timing.'

Choi Hyunseok had been waiting for this moment.

He didn't know exactly what level of favor the hero system was talking about.

But if it was enough to complete the quest, it must be significant.

Choi Hyunseok planned to propose a deal to Raidrun.

Since Raidrun had just asked if he wanted anything, the timing was perfect.

"Lord Raidrun…"

"What is it?"

"May I make a request, if it's not too much trouble?"

"Go ahead."

Choi Hyunseok swallowed and continued.

"I want to train the slaves."

***

At the same time.

Not far from the Hemorn Fortress where Choi Hyunseok was.

A vast plain was dotted with hundreds, thousands of tents.

This was the human alliance army opposing the Demon King Army.

In the largest tent at the center, the key figures of the alliance were gathered.

The alliance's commander, Duke Olaben Grimiere of the Drasson Empire, had called an unusual late-night meeting.

"Thank you all for coming."

Olaben, addressing the many high-ranking nobles from various countries, started the meeting with proper etiquette.

"The reason I called this meeting is because of the Hemorn Fortress."

"Hemorn Fortress…"

At the mention of Hemorn Fortress, everyone's faces turned grim.

"Indeed. As you know, Hemorn Fortress is a strategic point on the way to the Miradun Plains. We must capture it at all costs."

In fact, the alliance had already attacked Hemorn Fortress once.

The result was a defeat.

They managed to half-destroy the fortress but had to retreat when Demon King Army reinforcements arrived just before the fall.

"The Demon King Army is currently rebuilding the Hemorn Fortress rapidly. Once the construction is complete, it will be even harder to capture."

"…"

"Therefore, I propose we attack the fortress again before it's too late."

A few nobles raised their hands.

"But Commander Olaben, the soldiers' morale is already low after the previous failed attack."

"That's true. Moreover, we haven't fully recovered from the damage we suffered. Isn't it too early?"

Olaben nodded at the nobles' concerns.

"Of course, your concerns are valid. But!"

Olaben, despite his age of sixty, exuded a powerful presence.

"The Demon King Army has also suffered damage. And in the last war, the biggest obstacle was the Hemorn Fortress itself."

"…"

"What if we can lure them out of the fortress?"

The nobles were taken aback by his words.

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly that. I have a strategy to lure the Demon King Army out of the fortress."

"Then…"

"Once they are outside, we can annihilate them. After that, we can easily capture the empty fortress and win the war. And…"

Olaben nodded with a determined face.

"We can rescue our citizens who are being brutally treated as slaves in the fortress!"

His passionate face showed no trace of falsehood.

He truly loved his people, a great soldier.