The Returned Hero Dreams of High School Revenge
Crash!
A boy crossing the street at a crosswalk failed to dodge a speeding truck, colliding with it head-on.
The truck had been barreling down the road erratically, a clear danger to anyone watching, but the boy, walking in a daze, took the impact directly. His body was thrown high into the air.
They say that in the moment of death, a person's life flashes before their eyes like a kaleidoscope. An ordinary person would desperately cling to life, wishing not to die, but Kim Dohyung, currently suspended in midair after being struck by a truck, felt entirely different.
As his memories flickered past—the sum of his seventeen years of existence—the memories of the past year stood out, vivid and utterly horrific.
He had done nothing wrong. Yet, for an entire year, he had been subjected to relentless, ceaseless school violence. What began as minor pranks had gradually escalated into something far more sinister.
By the end, they didn't even treat him like a human being. His tormentors had driven him to the brink of wanting to end his own life, so the realization that death was finally claiming him brought a strange, twisted sense of joy.
Ah, I'm finally escaping this hell...
Lacking even the courage to commit suicide, this sudden accident felt like a golden ticket out of his living nightmare. Dohyung closed his eyes, ready to embrace the end.
He waited for the inevitable, brutal impact with the asphalt. But no matter how long he waited, the sensation of hitting the ground never came. Slowly, tentatively, Dohyung opened his eyes.
Wait, where on earth am I?
Kim Dohyung realized he was no longer in the middle of the bustling city street. Instead, he was floating in a vast, empty void of pure, brilliant white.
Ah... thank goodness. I must have finally died. Is this the afterlife?
Just as he was about to let out a sigh of relief, accepting his demise, a voice echoed through the void.
"No. You are not dead yet."
Startled by the sudden voice, Dohyung whipped around. Standing there, looking down at him, was a blindingly beautiful woman.
"Greetings. I am Kalia, the goddess who protects the world of Adria."
"Uh... H-hello?"
Seeing Kalia bow slightly as she introduced herself as a goddess, Dohyung scrambled to his feet and bowed deeply in return. It was a conditioned reflex, born from a year of brutal bullying where failing to respond instantly meant severe punishment.
"There is no need to be so afraid of me."
As if reading his mind, Kalia offered him a gentle, reassuring smile, telling him not to fear. Yet, Dohyung's heart remained tightly gripped by anxiety.
"Hmm... I see there are those who have filled your heart with such terror. But do not worry. Unlike them, I am on your side. In fact, I have come to ask for your help."
"My... help?"
"Yes. My world is currently in grave danger. The only way to save it is through the aid of a Hero. And you, Kim Dohyung, are that Hero."
Dohyung's mind struggled to keep pace with the absurd reality unfolding before him. A woman claiming to be a goddess, telling him he was a Hero destined to save another world—it all felt like an elaborate lie.
"Is... is this a prank? Did Jia or Taehyun set this up to see how I'd react? Are you filming me right now, waiting for me to believe you and make a fool of myself?"
Knowing that his tormentors had recorded almost every moment of his humiliation, Dohyung couldn't bring himself to trust this woman. The only person in the entire world he could truly trust was his mother.
"Hmm... Then I suppose I must prove my divinity to you."
Seeing his deep-seated distrust, Kalia lightly clapped her hands. Instantly, the sterile white void dissolved, replaced by a vast, open sky.
"Aaaaaah!"
The sudden shift left Dohyung looking down at the earth stretching out miles below his feet. Realizing he was suspended in midair, he flailed his limbs in a panic. However, he quickly realized he wasn't falling; he was simply floating, weightless, in the sky.
"What... what is this..."
"The land below us is the continent of my world. Shall we take a closer look?"
The moment Kalia finished speaking, Dohyung felt a sudden shift in momentum. They began to glide through the air, diving toward the earth. Feeling the wind whipping against his face and watching birds fly past him in real-time, he realized this was far too real to be an artificial set. It would be absurd to go to such lengths just to play a prank on a nobody like him. Slowly, the wall of doubt in his mind began to crumble.
Kalia brought him to a halt above a specific location. Below them lay a horrific, blood-drenched battlefield. Dohyung stared in sheer disbelief. Grotesque monsters he had never seen before were clashing with human soldiers, who were being slaughtered, their blood painting the earth red.
"My world is on the brink of ruin due to the invasion of those beasts. To overcome this crisis, we need your strength," Kalia whispered, her eyes filled with a sorrowful plea.
But Dohyung knew exactly who he was—a weak, ordinary high school student. He had never taken a martial arts class, nor did he have any athletic talent. How could someone like him defeat those terrifying monsters? It was an impossible task.
"Do not worry. Your soul bears the Hero's Blessing. Once you cross over to my world and awaken that power, you will undoubtedly succeed."
Dohyung realized she was reading his thoughts directly, answering questions he hadn't even voiced.
"I can become strong...? I have the power to defeat those monsters? If what you're saying is true, Goddess... do I really possess the power of a Hero?"
"Of course. I swear it upon my very existence."
Despite her assurance, fear still dominated Dohyung's heart. If a normal teenager from modern society were suddenly told they had the power to fight monsters and were asked to risk their life in battle, how many would readily agree? Dohyung was no brave soul. He was prepared to refuse. Even if he possessed such incredible power, he still viewed himself as a coward, a useless, weak victim. A year of relentless abuse and gaslighting had shattered his self-esteem to pieces; it was only natural for him to think this way.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to decline her offer, a sudden thought flashed through his mind.
"If... if I defeat those monsters, can I return to my original world? And... can I keep the power I gained here when I go back?"
"If that is your wish, it is entirely possible. Though, as the savior of my world, I would much prefer it if you chose to stay."
The moment Kalia confirmed his hope, a dark, malevolent emotion began to swell within Dohyung's chest. It was a feeling pitch-black and venomous.
If I can return to my world with the power to slaughter those monsters...
Two words burned into Kim Dohyung's mind: Revenge. The burning desire to exact vengeance on the bastards who had tortured him for the past year began to balloon rapidly.
Kalia, of course, read the malice blooming in Dohyung's heart. But she chose to remain silent. As long as his wrath was directed at the monsters invading her world, she didn't care what he did with his power afterward.
"So... will you accept?"
"Yes, of course I will. No, please let me do it. Just... promise me you'll send me back to my world with the power to kill those monsters."
Dohyung nodded eagerly. For the first time in a year, a genuine smile spread across his face. It was a smile of pure, ecstatic joy—and absolute, chilling malice.
Ten years after Kim Dohyung departed for the world of Adria, a massive magic circle materialized on the rooftop of a building in South Korea. From the glowing light, a figure stepped forward.
"I'm finally back..."
For ten brutal years, Dohyung had fought and bled in Adria, slaughtering monsters. Whether they were extraterrestrial entities invading from another dimension, or whether they had been summoned by the humans of Adria themselves, none of it mattered to him. Throughout those ten years, he had survived on a single, unyielding obsession. And now, he had returned to fulfill it. To exact absolute revenge on the bastards who had ruined his life...
Upon checking, he discovered that time in his original world had flowed at the exact same rate as in Adria. Ten years had passed on Earth as well. Naturally, having been missing for a decade, Dohyung had long since been declared legally dead.
His mother, his only remaining family, had spent years desperately searching for her missing son before tragically dying in a car accident. When Dohyung learned of this, grief consumed him. Tears poured from his eyes like a torrential downpour. He was furious at himself for being so blinded by revenge that he had abandoned his mother. But soon, the direction of his self-loathing began to shift toward others.
If those bastards hadn't existed, would I have ever gone to another world to play the Hero?
Dohyung answered his own question with absolute, unwavering certainty.
Absolutely not!
In the endless, grueling battles against hordes of monsters, Dohyung had stared death in the face countless times. There were moments when he deeply regretted accepting Kalia's offer. Yet, the sole reason he had managed to drag his broken body through that hellish world was one thing, and one thing only: Revenge. That single word had kept him alive.
Go to a world like that without a burning desire for vengeance? Impossible.
The darkness in Dohyung's heart grew even deeper, staining his soul black.
If I hadn't gone to that other world, my mother wouldn't have died. And if those bastards hadn't bullied me, I would never have gone to that world in the first place... Which means those bastards are the ones who killed my mother!
Arriving at this twisted, irrational conclusion, a wide, manic grin stretched across Dohyung's face, reaching from ear to ear.
Now I have even more reason to destroy them.
Tears streamed down his face, yet his lips curled into a terrifying, grotesque smile that contrasted sharply with his weeping eyes.
After leaving his mother's columbarium, Dohyung's first order of business was to amass a fortune. With the god-like magic he had brought back from Adria, acquiring wealth was laughably easy. At the same time, he began gathering information on his targets. He was curious to see how those bastards were living now, ten years after he had vanished.
Dohyung never once entertained the thought that they might be living in regret or seeking atonement. In fact, he hoped they weren't. It would make his impending vengeance feel all the more righteous.
Before long, Dohyung had compiled complete profiles on his targets.
1. Lee Jia:Retired Female Idol
2. Kwon Jiseon:National Taekwondo Representative
3. Moon Taehyun:Son of a Member of Parliament
4. Han Eunji:Conglomerate Heiress
Unsurprisingly, all four of them were living incredibly successful, comfortable lives. Moon Taehyun and Han Eunji had even married each other.
Seeing them all living so happily, Kim Dohyung... laughed.
In fact, seeing their happiness only made him feel better. After all, true despair is most exquisite when you drag someone down from the absolute peak of their happiness...