84 Heo Tae-seok

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84. Heo Tae-seok

Heo Tae-seok was in despair.

He was bullied for being gloomy and became everyone's laughingstock for looking weak.

Though they say school bullying culture has disappeared, silent bullying still existed.

Though they say there are no more school gangs these days, there were still shuttles.

At first he was shocked and confused.

That something he only saw on TV was happening to him.

'Wh-what did I do wrong to them?'

He tried to fix himself, thinking he must have done something wrong.

But it didn't take long to realize the reality.

'Ah... These guys are just bullying me because I look easy.'

He thought this bullying would end someday.

'Let's endure until graduation. Just until high school graduation.'

With only that thought, he endured the gang's bullying.

But it was an overestimation.

He wasn't as strong as he thought.

"You bastard, are my words going in one ear and out the other? I told you to pay tribute money every day!"

"S-sorry. I-I live with my grandmother so m-money..."

"What, this bastard. So you don't even have parents?"

"Ah, then his grandmother must be this bastard's mom?"

"His mom is fucking old, kekeke."

"..."

"Still, you need to bring money you fucking bastard. Whether you steal or whatever."

"Yeah, bastard. We don't have money for cigarettes because of you. Should we bury you with your grandmother when she dies?"

"..."

When the bullies mocked his grandmother, Heo Tae-seok felt what it was like to lose his reason.

"You... you fucking bastards!!!"

That's when he stood up to the bullies for the first time.

Of course, the result was miserable.

"This crazy bastard wants to die."

"Hey, put your forehead here. I'll give you a cigarette burn."

Hiss-

"Aaaaargh!"

After that, the bullying intensified.

Being dragged around every day for beatings, threats, extortion, torture, etc.

The bullying continued beyond imagination, to the point where even devils might not compare to these bastards.

After school became hell.

'I want to die... That seems easier.'

Having felt enough pain, he wasn't afraid of dying.

Rather, suicide seemed the only escape.

But Heo Tae-seok couldn't go through with it.

'If I go... What will happen to my grandmother?'

It would be a betrayal to his grandmother who raised him preciously while collecting cardboard.

'I have to endure. I promised to graduate proudly and earn money to treat her well.'

To keep his promise to himself, Heo Tae-seok endured.

He endured with the determination to be filial to his grandmother.

As a result, Heo Tae-seok was proud of himself for the first time.

Because he endured 3 years of high school bullying without dying.

'Finally graduation. After this vacation...'

But in 2022.

A great change occurred with the appearance of angels.

He had to participate in life-or-death survival every month.

To make matters worse, his grandmother's health deteriorated.

Then around when Round 2 passed.

"G-grandmother...?"

Heo Tae-seok's life completely collapsed.

His grandmother's death changed Heo Tae-seok's life.

"Keke, hey, did you see? I told you he'd be shocked if we messed with his grandmother."

"Yeah. Heo Tae-seok you bastard, are you mad? I told you, right? That I'd bury you with your grandmother."

"That's what you get for messing with us when you're nothing but a piece of shi- Guurk!"

He stabbed a dagger into the throat of the bully in front and immediately used a skill.

A black arrow pierced the eyeball of the bully next to him.

"Gasp, fuck! Wh-what's with this bastard? He was a class changer?!"

The bullies didn't know.

That Heo Tae-seok had already become a black mage.

The bullies were mistaken.

That someone pathetic in reality would be pathetic in the other world too.

The bullies overlooked.

That they could win against any opponent just by having numbers.

"Huff. Huff. Huff."

When he came to his senses, there were corpses covered in blood everywhere.

His grandmother's house was stained with their blood.

"Grand... mother..."

It was probably from then.

That Heo Tae-seok's speech became slurred.

That he built walls against people.

And.

That he set a new goal.

'They said they'd grant any wish if you pass the final round, right?'

Heo Tae-seok's wish was simple.

To revive his grandmother and live happily with her for life.

He didn't want to see his parents who abandoned him.

He just needed his grandmother by his side.

After that, Heo Tae-seok seriously tackled clearing.

He had enough skill and the black mage job was stronger than expected.

'Black Arrow rapidly decays the wounded area. Then there's no need to aim for the head.'

Since it decays and rots within seconds even from a graze, it's advantageous to hit somehow and buy time.

He invested in Agility to utilize that point.

After hitting with Black Arrow, he could gain the upper hand by running away and buying time.

'If I do well, I might be able to handle multiple opponents with this.'

As expected, he effectively killed multiple monsters with the strategy of hitting them with arrows and fleeing.

Then he gained confidence.

He thought he could level up quickly and from then on didn't miss 1st place in his area.

But there's always someone better.

'Black Scythe? How can that person get so strong so quickly?'

He became curious seeing that name never miss 1st place across all areas in every tally.

His admiration for the strong also grew.

'I want to meet him once. Just how strong is he.'

He only thought that, but then actually saw him when areas were integrated.

How strong the player called Black Scythe was.

'Wow... 9 people in an instant...'

Watching the representative selection match, Heo Tae-seok was captivated by his artistic skills.

He was too strong.

'If only I was that strong... I wouldn't have been bullied...'

Then his grandmother would still be alive now.

Regret washed over him.

Regret for his past days spent as a weakling.

'I want to become strong like Black Scythe-nim too.'

The desire to become strong aroused admiration for Black Scythe.

'Should I try talking to him? No... Who am I to...'

Compared to himself, Black Scythe was almost like a god.

He should be satisfied just being in the same area as such a being.

But then.

'M-me in a party with Black Scythe-nim?'

He never imagined he'd form a party like this.

It's like a dream just being in the same place as the person he admired so much.

"Useless Gamer."

"Yes?"

"Now that we're in a party, introduce yourselves to each other."

"Ah..."

At Black Scythe's order, Heo Tae-seok hesitated then opened his mouth.

"I-I'm Useless Gamer. Level 23, black mage. My skills are Black Arrow and Black Chain..."

He stammered at first, but then the words flowed smoothly.

"Nice to meet you, Useless-nim. I'm a level 21 buffer. Please take care of me!"

"Hello, I'm Seo A-rin. Level 20 summoner and my skills are..."

The party members explained in turn, but it didn't enter Heo Tae-seok's ears.

'What's going on? This isn't like me who always stammers.'

Was it because of the shock of losing his grandmother?

He always stammered in front of people, but somehow the trembling decreased.

'Could it be thanks to Black Scythe-nim?'

Does he gain confidence he didn't have before in front of Black Scythe?

Or is his inner psychology of wanting to look good to him unconsciously expressing itself?

He didn't know why, but one thing was certain.

'I'm glad I partied with Black Scythe-nim.'

As Heo Tae-seok smiled secretly, Ryumin said.

"Now that introductions are done, let's go hunting."

"Wait a moment. I'll cast buffs on everyone first."

Min Juri cast buffs on each party member one by one.

It was Bless and Swift.

Those who received the buffs couldn't help but be surprised.

"Wh-what is this? My stats increased by 60%?"

"Attack speed and movement speed increased by 60% too."

"I-is this a buff?"

Players who hadn't tasted buffs kept opening their mouths in amazement, but Ryumin was calm.

"So this is why Black Scythe-nim went around with Democracy-nim? Buffer-nim, you're really amazing!"

"Haha, why are you embarrassing me."

Ahn Sang-cheol praised her and Min Juri laughed awkwardly.

"..."

Feeling jealous at that sight, Seo A-rin spoke as if she couldn't lose.

"I'll cast buffs with my summons too."

When she activated her skill, two fairy-like creatures appeared scattering golden powder.

Then whoosh- earth gathered and a golem the size of a person was created.

"Wow, what are those cute fairies?"

"They're called Fairies, summons that cast protective shields. Originally they had no combat ability, but when I reached level 20 they increased to two and could use attack magic."

"Woooow, then what about that stone summon?"

"That's Golem which I learned at level 20. It has no buffs but plays the role of drawing monster aggro so I summoned it in advance."

"Wow... A tank and support. You're really cool, unni."

Min Juri kept exclaiming in admiration, but Seo A-rin's eyes were on Black Scythe.

'How is it, Black Scythe-nim? Aren't I quite helpful too?'

She sent a gaze seeking acknowledgment, but Ryumin seemed uninterested and was looking elsewhere.

"Let's depart now."

As Ryumin took the lead, everyone nodded and followed.

'A buffer and summoner... Everyone's amazing. I hope I can be helpful too.'

Heo Tae-seok followed with a tense face.

Then he suddenly felt puzzled at the somewhat leisurely walking pace.

'Why is the atmosphere so relaxed?'

Of course, there's plenty of time with a 6 hour limit.

It's natural to be relaxed since they just need to kill one of the 101 bosses in the field during that time to pass safely.

'But don't we need to kill a boss quickly to be recorded as 1st? Why isn't everyone trying to find one quickly?'

He felt doubtful, but Heo Tae-seok who didn't hear the prophecy couldn't know.

The fact that there's no benefit to killing quickly.

Just then, a shout was heard from somewhere.

"There's a boss over there!"

When they turned towards the sound, a huge monster was visible.

3.5m tall, upper body of a human and lower body of a horse, a half-human half-horse monster.

It was a centaur.

"We have to take 1st place!"

"Let's attack right away!"

A party rushed at the centaur without fear.

"Grooooar!"

As the centaur resisted swinging a huge double-bladed axe, the players struggled.

"Ugh, this bastard, his strength is no joke!"

"Sp-spread out and attack!"

"Let's surround him in a circle!"

Five players surrounded the centaur.

"Aim for the back! The back!"

At someone's shout, they thoughtlessly approached from behind and Ryumin clicked his tongue watching.

'Aiming for a horse's back. How stupid.'

Sure enough.

Thwack-!

A player behind was kicked by the hind legs and flew 10m before hitting the ground and rolling another 3m.

"Pi-Pink Princess-nim!"

Fortunately she wasn't dead as she was twitching, but further fighting seemed impossible.

"You bastard!"

"W-we'll avenge her!"

The remaining players launched a joint attack using skills.

"Grooooar!"

As the centaur fell with its legs cut, swords immediately stabbed into its neck.

Stab stab stab-

When the centaur finally died with its tongue sticking out, they shouted in victory.

"W-we won!"

"We're 1st!"

"We finally cleared the quest in 1st place!"

"It was unexpectedly doable?"

Seeing the opposing team rejoice, Heo Tae-seok felt inwardly disappointed.

'Oh no, we lost 1st place?'

Heo Tae-seok's gaze naturally turned to Black Scythe.

Since he always maintained 1st in rankings, he must be the most disheartened.

'Huh?'

But Ryumin's expression was utterly calm.

An expression with no trace of regret.

As he was feeling puzzled, the opponents' cheers also died down after some time.

"Wh-what's going on?"

"Why isn't the quest completion popping up?"

"Ah... Don't tell me?"

Watching the players belatedly become crestfallen, Ryumin smirked.

'Seems they've finally realized. That what they killed wasn't a boss.'

It's unfortunate, but the centaur isn't a boss.

'They said they released 101 bosses, not that there were no regular monsters.'

This was why Ryumin was leisurely watching.

Because the centaur was just a regular monster.

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