To Hell With Being a Hero!

is world.
That was how humans had originally harnessed energy, unlike the modern heroes that suddenly got summoned and began their journey with all kinds of benefits and special boosts.
Reaching an awakening wasn’t too difficult for true heroes who made great achievements through intense effort.
However, for this to be possible, there was a condition.

“Liber is not a world where there’s a lot of natural energy.
In fact, there’s hardly any.
It’s basically impossible to absorb energy in this place, and even if it’s possible, I don’t know how long it’ll take.” Of course, since they had previous experience, it wouldn’t be difficult for them to reach an awakening and store the natural energy in their body, but to do this in a short amount of time, they needed to go somewhere with as much energy as possible.
In other words, the heroes were telling him they needed a yongmaek. [1]

“You need a yongmaek.
I got it.” Chi-Woo made his final decision.
Of course, his decision was not met without objection; there were several heroes who said, ‘We don’t know how to gather energy.
How are we supposed to do it?’

Chi-Woo put an end to their complaints with one sentence, “Then you should use this opportunity to learn.” Then he continued, “And those who know how to do it, please teach it to the others.” With this, Chi-Woo got up and left the square.
Everyone blinked and stared at Chi-Woo. 

Ru Amuh stared intently at Chi-Woo’s back as he moved further away.
This was the first meeting Chi-Woo had led; it left quite a deep impression on him for several reasons.
While many different opinions were being passed around, Chi-Woo didn’t get angry even once.
Even Ru Amuh had narrowed his eyes a couple of times during the meeting.
Comments like ‘It’s too much to expect us to go out like this were understandable to a certain extent, but when he heard things like ‘I don’t want to make a contract with Shahnaz’, he frowned in fury.
Considering the dire situation, he agreed with Ru Hiana that the heroes were acting too much like spoiled children. 

However, Chi-Woo had stayed patient.
He listened to other heroes and sorted through their thoughts and concerns.
Then he asked for new opinions until they could reach a decision that everyone was satisfied with while considering the other party’s feelings and opinions as much as possible.
But at the same time, he hadn’t blindly taken in all their suggestions; he had drawn a clear line on what he was responsible for and told them to figure out the rest.
Ru Amuh reviewed the meeting inside his mind and fell deep into thought. 

One of the hidden elements of Chi-Woo’s special ability was that children who were chosen as stars gradually became more like their parents.
Neither Ru Amuh or Chi-Woo were aware that this ability was being fully activated and influencing Ru Amuh’s thoughts and personality, even at this moment. 

*    *   *

After leaving the square, Chi-Woo headed to where Shahnaz’s statue was.

—Yongmaek.

Shahnaz listened to Chi-Woo and fell into thought.

—Yeah…there really is a place like that, especially in places where the earth is very active, or where natural disasters happen frequently.

However, the possibility of finding a place like that immediately was like catching a falling star.
But most of all, it was not a place that anyone could find just because they wanted to.
Thus, what Chi-Woo thought of was creating an artificial yongmaek rather than finding a natural one.
Since this was impossible for a human to do, Chi-Woo needed to borrow power from a god.
Thus, Chi-Woo went to Shahnaz for help.

—It’s not impossible. 

Fortunately, Shahnaz gave him a positive response—but of course, there were caveats.

—But creating a yongmaek is not an easy task, even if it’s temporary.
Energy that can turn into mana or divinity needs to be extremely pure.
An ordinary divinity would not be suffi…

Before Shahnaz could even finish, Chi-Woo took out a bottle from his bag.
It was not just a normal bottle, but a bottle full of holy water from La Bella’s paradise. 

—Where did you get such a large amount of holy water… Ah.

“Will this be enough?”

—Of course.
It’s not a lot, but it’s enough.

Shahnaz immediately replied to Chi-Woo’s question.
The holy water that Chi-Woo offered was holy water from a true neutral god, who could turn into anything and join any side.
Since the holy water contained a god’s own energy, there was no need to explain how pure and potent it was.

From that day on, a yongmaek formed in the middle of the fortress.
And when Chi-Woo announced this fact, it became crowded in less than 10—no, 5 minutes. 

“Ah, come on, you stayed for a long time, so get out!”

“If you have morals, get out when you receive a notification message.
This place was not made just for you.” 

Allen Leonard, who had already reached an awakening so didn’t join, smacked his lips and looked back at Chi-Woo, who was quietly watching the scene unfold.

“Don’t you feel a little regretful?”

“…What?” Chi-Woo smiled thinly at Allen Leonard’s question.
“Well, it’s better than saving it and letting it go to waste.” 

“No, that’s not what I’m saying.” Allen Leonard became fascinated by Chi-Woo the more he observed him.
If Chi-Woo had said, ‘In exchange for creating this yongmaek, I will hide in a safe place while you go out and fight’, Allen Leonard would have completely understood.
Moreover, none of the heroes would have complained, since everyone was extremely hungry for power.
But instead, Chi-Woo was still going to shoulder the biggest burden in the upcoming battle, all the while paying attention to the other heroes’ concerns and thoughts to the best of his ability.

“You could’ve used the holy water yourself, couldn’t you? They’re yours originally, and since you have a huge battle coming up soon, no one would complain.”

“Hmm…” Chi-Woo tilted his head because he couldn’t really understand Allen Leonard’s words.
He could always gain more achievement points later on, and he had five bottles of holy water left.
“Yes, I would have done that if I could save Liber myself.” Chi-Woo shrugged.
“But that’s not the case, right?”

“Well, I think that’s possible.” Considering Chi-Woo’s actions and achievements so far, Allen Leonard had a point, but Chi-Woo disagreed.
It might be possible to face only the Abyss and the Demon Empire, but there were also the Indigenous Monster Alliance and Sernitas.
Chi-Woo had only decided to step forward because the situation was favorable towards him.
It was necessary for him to awaken the heroes that came to Liber with him for the future. 

When Chi-Woo began strongly shaking his head, Allen Leonard burst into laughter.
“Really, this is a problem.
It’s also true for me, but you are giving people a bad habit of relying on you.” Allen Leonard said words that Chi-Woo couldn’t understand and walked toward him.
He spoke with a soft voice, “But, it’s really great that you came back.” He reached out and grabbed Chi-Woo’s elbow.
“Please come back alive.
I’ll leave the door wide open at the capital and wait for you there.” 

Chi-Woo blinked.
Then he saw Allen Leonard’s face and smiled.
Even though he was startled that Allen Leonard had suddenly grabbed his elbow, he could tell that it was an action to show respect for Leonard’s culture. 

“Yes.” Thus, Chi-Woo also stretched out his hand and grabbed Allen Leonard’s elbow and said, “Let’s survive and meet again.”

1.
in feng shui theory, yongmaek refers to the air of energy coming from a mountain range, and this energy gathers together in one place. ☜