Chapter 28

 

‘Yeah, it’s my fault for expecting too much.’

 

Seo Woo-jin held his head in his hands and sighed, then looked at Lee Ji-ah.

 

“Yeah, it’s me. Do you know how hard I tried to fix what happened yesterday?”

 

She never seemed to stop talking.

 

With that small mouth, it was astonishing how chatty she was, to the point of being annoying.

 

‘I wonder if she lived in LA when she was young?’

 

Somehow, the image of a baseball player came to mind, but he tried to erase it from his thoughts.

 

“Well, Lee Ji-ah.”

 

Seo Woojin raised his hand to interrupt her.

 

Normally, he would have just let her be.

 

Even if she was a bit noisy, she was cute enough to be tolerated.

 

But now it was a bit awkward.

 

“Can I practice for a bit?”

 

From the day of subjugation until now, Seo Woojin had never skipped a day of training.

 

Even when blood gushed out from his side when stabbed by the Testeron’s sword, he gritted his teeth and sharpened his sword.

 

It was the same after arriving in the Empire.

 

He came out to break a sweat before breakfast, but Lee Ji-ah came to the training ground and started chatting.

 

“Training? Aren’t you doing it now? But do you have to swing your sword so vigorously every morning? It’s weird. We can get stronger without doing that. Oh, is it because you’re D Class?”

 

It felt like blood was going to burst from his ears.

 

“Yeah, that’s right. I shouldn’t skip training because I’m weak, right?”

 

“Oh! I’m sorry. I guess I disturbed you.”

 

She giggled as she moved a bit away from Seo Woojin.

 

“Phew-“

 

Seo Woojin refocused and lifted his sword.

 

At first, a light downward strike.

 

It was a simple movement, but it was by no means easy.

 

Van Slaine always emphasized the basics.

 

Thanks to that, Seo Woojin never took any swing lightly.

 

He concentrated all his mind, strength, and magic power into the swing.

 

So, of course it is bound to be difficult.

 

Even though he hadn’t swung the sword more than ten times, sweat was dripping down Seo Woojin’s forehead.

 

For someone who had reached level 10 and obtained the power of a high-ranking knight, it was incomprehensible that he would struggle at such a level.

 

It meant that he was pouring everything into the single slash.

 

His arm trembled, and sweat poured down like rain.

 

The thought of wanting to drop the sword and sit down immediately became intense.

 

However, Seo Woojin only sheathed his sword after completing it a hundred times.

 

He started forcibly regulating his breath, which had become labored up to his chin.

 

The importance of breathing had been drilled into him by Irene in the first battle.

 

After a few seconds, breathing became a bit easier.

 

“Ha-!”

 

He exhaled the suppressed breath and wiped away the sweat that had accumulated.

 

It’s refreshing.

 

It was a sensation that Seo Woojin from Earth would never have experienced.

 

To move his body to the point of exhaustion and feel refreshed.

 

It seemed like he might understand why so many gym enthusiasts devote their lives to exercise.

 

“Wow, Mister! You really looked like a knight just now.”

 

As soon as the training session was over, Lee Ji-ah came running over to talk to me as if she had been waiting for me.

 

A hollow laugh escaped at her appearance.

 

“The knights I saw in the Leninist Kingdom used to train like that too. They were guys wearing red, tacky armor, and among them, Mika was the most outstanding.”

 

It seemed like she was talking about the Red Wind Knights he had seen before.

 

To Seo Woojin, their armor seemed cool, but…

 

“But that Mika guy, the light on his sword kept flickering. I thought he was holding a fluorescent light instead of a sword. Isn’t that funny?”

 

‘A fluorescent light?’

 

It seemed like Lee Ji-ah was talking about an aura.

 

To express that destructive aura as a fluorescent light…

 

“Can’t you do that, Mister? From what I see, most of the other Heroes who use swords know how to use them. Is it because your level is still low?”

 

He realised again, Lee Ji-ah was good at casually stabbing words into other people’s hearts.

 

“You mean Aura?”

 

Most warriors who use not only swords but also cold weapons will be able to use ‘Aura’.

 

However, what knights in this world use is a bit different.

 

The knights’ Aura is manifested based on enlightenment obtained after endless training.

 

Therefore, those who have reached such a state are truly a tiny minority.

 

But Heroes could use the convenient and morale-boosting system called skills.

 

There is no training or enlightenment involved in that.

 

Simple destruction.

 

To Heroes, ‘Aura’ was nothing more than a means to kill enemies more easily.

 

‘I’m the same.’

 

It’s true that Seo Woojin underwent relentless training for a year and gained a lot of knowledge.

 

But it was difficult to reach the level of truly awakening Aura.

 

‘Aura.’

 

When the skill was used, Seo Woojin’s sword began to burn with a flame.

 

“That’s right! Wow, Uncle can do it too. I thought you couldn’t do it yet.”

 

The ‘Aura’ manifested through the skill.

 

‘So that’s why they call Heroes fraud.’

 

Just hunting monsters allowed them to use such power.

 

It wasn’t unreasonable for knights to be jealous.

 

‘Someday, I’ll…’

 

He wanted to cultivate Aura with his own strength, not through skills.

 

Although reaching that level was still far away, wouldn’t it be possible with effort?

 

If Testerone had heard this, he would have held his stomach and laughed.

 

“Uncle, let’s go eat now that the training is over. We couldn’t eat properly yesterday because the banquet suddenly ended, and I’m so hungry.”

 

Lee Ji-ah grabbed Seo Woojin’s arm and shook it.

 

Seo Woojin smiled wryly.

 

Honestly, he wanted to stretch his body a bit more.

 

But since the welcome banquet last night was a mess due to his own fault, he decided to finish the morning training here.

 

“Yeah. Let’s go eat.”

 

“Oh yeah! It’s breakfast, breakfast!”

 

Lee Ji-ah seemed excited and rushed to the dining hall.

 

Seo Woojin, with a smirk, tried to follow her, but a man suddenly appeared and blocked his way.

 

“Are you Mr. Seo Woojin?”

 

He didn’t seem like a Hero.

 

To Korean eyes, he looked quite foreign.

 

All the Heroes were Koreans in their teens to twenties, so this man seemed like a native of this world.

 

“Who are you?”

 

Seo Woojin tilted his head and asked.

 

“There is someone looking for you. If it’s okay with you, would you please come with me?”

 

The tone was polite.

 

The atmosphere felt friendly.

 

‘It doesn’t seem like something bad.’

 

Seo Woojin glanced behind the man.

 

Lee Ji-ah had already forgotten him and entered the restaurant without looking back.

 

‘Well, she’ll be fine on her own. Because she’s sociable.’

 

It seemed fine to leave Lee Ji-ah alone.

 

“Can you tell me who it is?”

 

Someone looking for him from the morning, and a native of this world at that.

 

He had no clue who it could be.

 

“It’s difficult for me to disclose that… it wouldn’t be beneficial for Mr. Seo Woojin.”

 

There was no reason to refuse.

 

Seo Woojin was curious.

 

He nodded, but hesitated.

 

“Well, I’m sweating a lot right now.”

 

It wasn’t even a restaurant, so I was a little reluctant to go to a place where I was so politely invited, covered in sweat.

 

“That’s okay. Just a moment…”

 

The man began to whisper with a smile.

 

‘Magic?’

 

Though he couldn’t understand the words, it wasn’t difficult to notice that it was some kind of magical incantation.

 

As the short incantation ended, Seo Woojin’s body began to glow faintly.

 

Soon after, he felt as fresh as if he had just come out of a shower.

 

“Wow-“

 

Seo Woojin exclaimed in admiration.

 

The wonder of magic didn’t surprise Seo Woojin.

 

After all, he had seen magic a few times in Sion.

 

From the perspective of leveling up and using skills, magic wasn’t that mysterious.

 

However, what impressed Seo Woojin was for a different reason.

 

‘Who on earth uses a magician as a messenger?’

 

It was a natural question. Magicians were rare.

 

Furthermore, they were highly valued.

 

Depending on their abilities, advanced magicians were even granted authority.

 

Yet, here was a mere messenger?

 

He became increasingly curious about who had called him.

 

“It seems you can go now.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Seo Woojin nodded to the magician and followed him out of the practice field.

 

* * *

 

“How are the Heroes progressing?”

 

The woman asked.

 

She was buried under all kinds of documents and looked tired, which matched her messy hair.

 

“They’ve reached an average level of 25.”

 

“Hmm, seems slower than I thought.”

 

“Considering the sheer number summoned, there were limitations to the support.”

 

With over a hundred Heroes summoned, it was impossible to provide full-scale support as before.

 

“Still, all five S-rank and above have surpassed level 30. ‘Saint’ has reached 40, and ‘Sword God’ has crossed 50.”

 

“That’s good news.”

 

Higher ranks indeed meant faster growth.

 

Combined with personal efforts, it was only natural that the gap with other Heroes would widen.

 

“Nevertheless, it’s not enough. Please make sure to raise the average level of the other Heroes as quickly as possible.”

 

“All the Empire’s resources are concentrated. By the time the Demon King descends, we should be able to achieve our goals.”

 

“Good.”

 

The woman expressed satisfaction at the subordinate’s report.

 

“But, I heard there was a bit of a disturbance yesterday.”

 

“Ah, it’s nothing significant. It seems there was a minor dispute among the Heroes.”

 

Being in the prime of their energetic age, conflicts like these were inevitable.

 

It wasn’t a serious matter, just a mere fistfight, as he had mentioned. So, indeed, it was not a big deal.

 

However, the woman didn’t seem to think so.

 

“A Level 10 D Class. A low rank and a pitiful level, and he defeated a B Class Hero one-sidedly. And you say it’s nothing?”

 

The woman’s voice grew colder.

 

Simultaneously, it felt like the temperature in the room was dropping, almost as if an illusion.

 

No, it wasn’t an illusion.

 

Indeed, her aura had become so icy that one could almost see their breath in the air.

 

“W-Well…”

 

The man lowered his head in embarrassment.

 

“Go and investigate. Thoroughly. There might be something he’s hiding. If necessary, visit Sion.”

 

“Understood!”

 

The man hurriedly replied and left the room.

 

“Hmm…”

 

The woman held a document in her hand.

 

“‘Sword Soldier’…”

 

The document contained information about Seo Woojin.

 

There wasn’t much to it.

 

Grade and level, occupation, and the events that occurred at Massive Guardian were all there.

 

Even that seemed quite lacking.

 

“He’s been training since the subjugation operation carried out by the Massive Guardian? Only that much?”

 

And that Van Slaine.

 

Just having his name on the document was enough to catch the woman’s attention.

 

However, no matter how much she looked, there was nothing special.

 

No, is it rather special that it is so lacking compared to other heroes?

 

The woman tapped her desk with her finger.

 

“I don’t need to worry about it.”

 

Even if it wasn’t Seo Woojin, there were piles of things she needed to check.

 

It was a bit bothersome, but she didn’t have the luxury to bother with a mere D-grade trash-like Hero.

 

Imperial Secret Intelligence Agency, Crusiel.

 

In that place, Director Agna stamped a large seal on Seo Woojin’s documents.

 

[Subject to level 9 management.]