ALL NOVEL Chapter 179
Chapter: 179. Intermission – Hammer and Librarian
The enemy right in front launches an attack.
I don’t know what technique it is, but even a glimpse reveals an enormous energy-packed punch.
If I get hit by that, my life would be over.
Desperately trying to block the attack, I waved my hands around, but my heavy arms couldn’t keep up with the enemy’s speed.
“Ahh—”
My pitiful voice echoed in my mouth and pierced my ears.
However, that voice had no effect on the enemy.
A delicate yet immense fist struck my body.
Falling down.
Blood gushing.
Energy depleting.
After taking the hit, I rolled on the ground.
Words appeared before my eyes.
YOU LOSE
“Seriously! It’s a game loss!”
“Shut up. Haram. You’re being a nuisance to everyone around.”
“The nuisance is the snack bill you’re eating.”
It’s a private room in the Association; what do you mean ‘nuisance’?
There’s a TV noise coming from next door, and that’s not a nuisance?
“Losing at a game and getting angry isn’t very heroic, you know.”
Well, I agree with that.
“That punk over there is using hacks. Dammit. 10096— it’s definitely hacks.”
“What are hacks?”
This damn Unho is stirring my insides; does he want to kill me?
“Must’ve been cheating.”
I’m sure. That bastard is definitely using hacks.
How can an ordinary gamer keep up with my speed?
I react faster than the program, and he’s managing to keep up?
“It’s skill, right? If you’re a hero, just acknowledge the win or loss.”
“Go to hell.”
“Puh. Wait a minute. The Association’s trash heap has a shredder, so maybe… enough… Poyo.”
After throwing Unho, who was chattering noisily, along with a snack bag into the dust suit, I initiated a conversation with the new opponent after the results screen.
“Hey. You’re using hacks, right? Be honest before I report you.”
The window on the monitor flickered for a moment.
“Hacks? Who are you calling a hacker? Judging by your reaction speed, it seems like you’re the one using hacks. Aren’t you embarrassed to lose using hacks?”
This guy?
Who’s calling who a hacker here?
I’ve been stressed lately without a proper release, and it seems like I found a good target to vent on.
“Go eat crap. I’m 100% pure natural body, you know? What’s your hack, huh? What do you want me to measure the opponent’s reaction speed?”
I couldn’t hold back my emotions and shot off that message. The thought that my curse could get me banned flitted through my mind, but that was no longer an important matter.
“Oh, I see. Pure body? You can’t even do a proper combo, huh? Just a hack speeding up your response times.”
Okay, I see you’re the perfect target for correcting your attitude.
“Hey, you little shit, where do you live? Let’s settle this in real life.”
“Oh. You depend on violence, huh? Your personality depends on hacks, I see.”
Seeing him stir my insides, it’s clear he’s doing this on purpose.
“So what? Then come and prove you’re not a hacker. I work for the Korea Association, so come out right now.”
I threw the first punch at him.
The contract of the hero’s dignity hovered above my head, but who cares? As long as my salary isn’t cut.
“Association? The Association? Are you a hero? These heroes are really messed up nowadays.”
“What? You’ve got a problem with how I’m a hero?”
If there’s a hero more heroic than me, then come and check. Do you want to join me in being a mole in the whack-a-mole game at night?
“You really have a big complaint, huh? As it happens, I’m also a hero and work for the Association, so let’s meet at the training room. I’ll fix your bad behavior.”
Oh, this guy’s also a hero?
A hero using hacks in games? I’ll correct his way of dealing.
“Alright, fine. I’ll be there in the 23rd Training Room, so come at me.”
Beep.
Without waiting for a response, I turned off the computer and started to leave the room.
“Whoa. I thought I was going to die!”
Unho, crawling out of the dust suit, noisily talked while covered in trash.
“Go back there.”
If I’m going, I might as well clean up too.
“Where are you going… Poyo?”
A magic girl with a spotless white outfit and a shining hammer.
Tightly laced leather boots.
An ID card from the Association hanging from my neck.
Fully armed, I confidently walked down the hallway.
My goal was the 23rd Training Room.
I don’t know what kind of hero would show up, but today I’ll give him a real education and turn him back into a proper hero.
Maybe that mindset showed on me because the surroundings shook with each step I took.
The whole hallway was wobbling, and my footsteps were making imprints on the floor. But my frustration wouldn’t subside, and I tried to move my feet faster to minimize the damage.
If I used the stairs like this, they might collapse. I stood at the elevator, waiting for the doors to open.
Emergency alert. Emergency alert.
Some sort of alarm rang out, creating chaos throughout the Association as the elevator doors opened.
“Oh, hello, Haram.”
“What’s up. Librarian.”
An old colleague stepped into the elevator.
“Where are you heading?”
“Basement 12th floor.”
“What a coincidence, I’m heading that way too.”
The Librarian spoke to me warmly, but I couldn’t think of how to respond.
To be honest, the Librarian made me a bit uneasy.
You see, they usually worked in the American district, so we hadn’t crossed paths often.
The Librarian was more of a research-oriented hero than a combat one, so we didn’t really match up either.
Perhaps we only knew each other superficially.
Knowing this too, the Librarian pressed the elevator button and then fell silent.
Woom. Emergency alert.
As the elevator descended and the acceleration pressed against my body, the only sound in the stillness was the alarm ringing.
“I can’t just ignore this alarm, can I?”
Unable to withstand the silence any longer, I finally spoke.
“By the way, is there something urgent you need to do, Ms. Lee Haram?”
“I also have something urgent to attend to.”
That didn’t seem too odd. After all, a warning of this level was common in the Association.
For someone in research type like him, he probably wasn’t on the priority calling list.
Then came the silence again.
But this time, it didn’t last long.
The elevator stopped on Basement 12th floor, and the doors opened.
Thud. Thud.
Our footsteps overlapped as we stepped out.
Next corner to the right.
At the same time, we both turned.
Next to the left.
Again, we did the same.
“…It feels strangely like our paths are crossing.”
“…Maybe it’s just a coincidence.”
Why do I have a strange hunch about this?
After about two minutes of walking.
I finally arrived at the training room.
The Librarian followed along.
A silence lingered between us.
He’s probably thinking the same as me.
Hey, there’s no way an S-Rank hero would pull such stunts in a game, right? No way. They wouldn’t.
Beep. Beep.
We both swiped our ID cards in turn and entered the 23rd Training Room.
Zzzz. Zzzz.
It seemed that no one had used the room, as the lights flickered to life as soon as we entered.
So, we stepped into the training room without looking at each other.
To avoid facing the reality before us.
After about two or three minutes passed.
I wished for someone else to come, but no one thought of coming in.
“…Mechanicus Omega?”
I opened my dry mouth.
“…Tearing and ripping magic boy?”
Shit.
“No way, why is that damn scientist playing a game?! Go do some research on otherworldly powers!”
Why is an S-Rank hero acting like a fool in a game?
“That’s something I should say! Is it okay for a hero affiliated with the Association to talk like that?”
Look at him! He’s resolute in not saying a word!
“Is it okay to act that way?”
“Is provoking someone and wanting to fight someone really what you’re good at? Aren’t you embarrassed of your hero name?”
My inner self broke.
Silently, I lifted my hammer.
“I’ve never liked research types. It’s been easy for you while we’ve been out, huh?”
Today, I’ll settle that grudge once and for all.
“Hah. Just because you’re in research doesn’t mean you won’t fight? Gosh, all you fighters do is rely on muscle.”
He summoned his shimmering silver armor, facing off against me, with otherworldly powers bursting from us.
In the center of the training room, those powers collided.
“Die, die, die!”
“Vanish already!”
We both charged at each other at the same time.
The sky comes into view.
A clear, clear blue sky.
Lying among countless concrete debris, I gaze up at the sky.
Who knew the sun would be this warm and bright?
Lately, I’ve been running around at night and gaming during the day, so I didn’t notice.
“Cough. Cough.”
As I heard a sound, I turned my head to the side and saw the Librarian covered in dust, coughing.
Why did we fight?
It was just a trivial misunderstanding.
“Are you hurt somewhere?”
“My side hurts a bit from the hammer hit, but it’s nothing serious.”
“Glad to hear that.”
We looked up at the sky.
About 30 seconds of silence.
“Do you like games?”
It was my bright voice that broke that silence.
“I do. Check my record, you’ll see.”
“How about MMORPGs?”
“Not bad.”
I see.
“I have a game I play.”
“One with a 25-man raid, right?”
“You know it well.”
“I play that often too.”
Then it makes it quicker to talk.
“Let’s form a party then. My voice is this way, so I can’t do original voice, you know? I just don’t get why those damn men always get in the way.”
“Should I lend you a voice changer?”
“Oh. Is there such a thing?”
“Isn’t that what the research types are supposed to make?”
“That’s true.”
We laughed.
Dust going into our mouths didn’t matter; we just laughed.
Who would have thought there’d be a friend to share hobbies with so close by?
We threw our punches at each other, but that was merely a misunderstanding from not knowing each other.
As they say, men grow close through fighting.
Today, I gained a new friend.
“Buy a house and move out.”
The next morning. Those horrifying words came from Park Hyunseok, who summoned me.
“Oh, Hyunseok. I just broke a little.”
It didn’t seem like it was a lot of destruction.
“Let’s see.”
Hyunseok quietly raised a paper in response to my words.
“Massive damage in the personal room corridor.”
Oh, that? I kicked in anger a bit.
“Complete destruction of the 23rd Training Room.”
Well, it was bound to happen since I fought the Librarian.
“Surrounding areas obliterated.”
Hmmm. Did I mess up my power control?
“Collapse of the Association building’s foundation, reconstruction required.”
“Small-scale earthquake detected around the vicinity. No casualties but numerous injured.”
Ugh.
“Inclusive bribe costs to silence this incident.”
Hmm.
“Compensation demands due to military deployment from each country.”
Hmm.
“Lastly, there’s a report stating you caused damage to the dust suit by putting waste inside it. Lee Haram.”
That’s not my responsibility!
I only threw garbage!
“Do you have anything to say?”
“Can’t we settle this in installments?”
“I don’t need money. Get out.”
Well, at least I saved some cash.
I’ll ask the Infinite Architect for a house.
Since enemies from otherworlds frequently appear, the property market in the area is cheap.
Not far off, there’s Nanjido, which has a slight odor and lacks in security, but…
That made the land quite inexpensive.
Even in Seoul.
For that reason, I called upon the Infinite Architect.
And the outcome was…
“You want me to build a house here?”
It’s a bit rugged and weedy, but I just believed Infinite Architect could make it work.
Holding on to that optimistic thought, I looked at the place meant to become my new sweet home.
“3.3 square meters. Just enough for two tatami mats.”
The Infinite Architect quietly surveyed the tiny plot and opened its dry mouth.
Ah, two tatami mats make one pyung? These Japanese guys have weird measurements.
“A two-story house, about 30 pyung, complete with a bathroom, washing facilities, otherworldly energy generator, water production unit, shock absorption device, soundproofing, and waste disposal unit. Is that all you requested?”
Continuing with the Infinite Architect’s voice.
Hmm. It seems I forgot the teleportation site of the Association. But who cares? I have a conscience after all.
With a lively tone filled with positive meaning, I blurted it out.
“The only house I can give you is one. You piece of trash.”
The Infinite Architect swung its staff towards me fiercely, filled with anger in its voice.
“That’s the coffin you’re going to be buried in, you bastard!”
Bam.
It doesn’t hurt, but the heavy staff dug into my head.
At the same time, a thought flickered through my mind.
I’m doomed.