Hero (3)
The Tower of Struggle is a space created by the resonance of countless dimensions.
Countless dimensions house various races, nations, and cultures. They aren’t completely different, though. Parallel worlds. Aside from the defining feature of the world’s structure, there are many worldviews where the overall setup is fairly similar.
A world where superpowers exist and heroes and villains operate in modern society is one such example. The Number One Hero, Kang Hana.
In the world of a modern society with superpowers—where the United States is the supreme superpower and China follows closely—Kang Hana is proudly registered as the top hero. Her superpower isn’t just simple physical enhancement; it’s nothing more and nothing less than that. When summoned to the Tower of Struggle, a slight equalization was performed on her. Weaker ones were slightly boosted, stronger ones slightly nerfed. Kang Hana must have been summoned with stats lower than her actual abilities. Still, her strength and agility are at least level 10. Without a single MSG, Kang Hana could slaughter the field boss right here and now.
“P-please….” Kang Hana carefully pushed open the old door and stepped into the inn called Shelter.
“Ugh… uwaah…!” As she entered slowly, she suddenly jolted like someone who had just discovered she wasn’t supposed to see what she was seeing.
Naturally. She’d ventured into this rundown inn after scouring the area for a place where no one would find her. Of course there were players ahead of her.
“H-Hello?”
“Y-Yes… hello….” Yoo Dahui, staring at her intently, greeted her back. A formal neighborly hello. Kang Hana managed to return it with visible effort. The straight-cut bangs swaying just above her shoulders, that voluptuousness that would withstand any trial in this world if only she had a chest like that, the proud bust contrasting with her submissive posture…
“Wow….”
Even the flashy hero suit couldn’t hide her breasts. If anything, the hero suit made her look even more ordinary.
“Hey. Where’d you go?”
“A-ack!” Yoo Dahui pinched my thigh.
Why? “Why are you doing this? Are you my girlfriend?”
“…N-No, not exactly….” Yoo Dahui couldn’t get the words out smoothly. It was the third time she’d said it, but Kang Hayoon and I had only just met today. I wasn’t a regressor. I didn’t need to remember that.
“I-I mean, if you keep staring that hard, she might feel uncomfortable…” It felt like an excuse she hadn’t planned on, so her face flushed on its own. Kang Hana, however, showed no interest in us at all.
“Welcome, guests.”
With awkward steps, Kang Hana walked up to the counter. The innkeeper greeted her with a bright smile. It was hard not to be happy when two teams of guests showed up at once, after such a long time.
“Are you checking in?”
“I was planning to… but there are people, so…”
“Having people at the inn is normal, right?”
“That’s true, but…” Kang Hana muttered in a voice like a student being scolded by the teacher. She looked like she was about to faint. Watching her was strangely hilarious.
“So? You’re not staying?”
“I am… but other places have too many people…” If only she hadn’t added that pitiful afterthought. The innkeeper looked wounded, like he’d been slapped. “One night is 150 coins.”
“Heh….” I barely kept the laughter from bursting out. Looking to the side, Yoo Dahui was no different from me.
“I’ll just stay for a week…”
“Give me 1,000 coins only.” Kang Hana casually tossed a silver coin engraved with the number 1 onto the counter. “Key.”
Turning a cool, slightly icy gaze on the innkeeper, Kang Hana shot us one last look before heading upstairs to her room.
‘Since we’ve all seen each other’s faces, maybe this is enough for today?’ I grabbed my key and headed to my room. I wanted to rest early for tomorrow.
The next day.
“Good morning.” Yoo Dahui was already downstairs having breakfast when I woke up. Freshly baked bread and soup. Compared to the cheap lodging rate, it was quite luxurious. “Jinwoo, try this. It’s super delicious.”
Yoo Dahui mumbled around a freshly puffed bun. Her attitude toward me had softened a lot as days passed. She’d gone solo for a few days in between, but after sticking to me almost a month in the Tower of Struggle, I guess it was only natural…
‘Is it about time to change my starting point?’ Yoo Dahui’s starting point would shift after joining a guild after entering the first floor. Which guild didn’t matter much. Then it would shift again once she cleared the fifth floor. Forcing herself to treat me like a stranger every time she regressed was too hard, so this was the perfect time for a decisive choice. I naturally sat across from her.
The more I looked, the prettier she was.
“Eat at your own pace. This is the only free pass I’m giving you.”
“Oh. Sorry about that.”
The innkeeper served us bread and soup. On closer look, it was written that we were supposed to help ourselves. “Wow. What is this? Some kind of granny food?”
“Why?” “I didn’t bring it. I just told you to eat it. Are you discriminating against people?” “For real?” Why did I have to bring it in the first place? I understood instantly. I just had to hand it over. After setting the innkeeper’s weird behavior aside, I picked up my spoon and started eating the soup. “Oh. Tastes great.”
Breakfast was bread and soup. My stomach felt sluggish, but surprisingly filling, so I finished every last drop. Simple breakfast done. Right after we finished, Kang Hana finally came downstairs. Her hair was still damp from the shower. Kang Hana sat as far from us as possible. It was obvious she was trying to be conscious about it, and I couldn’t help but smile awkwardly.
“Again….” Yoo Dahui was also aware of her.
Was she thinking maybe we could welcome her as a new teammate? The expectation…
“Wearing that suit again, huh.”
Not silver, but her suit that clearly showed every curve. Complaint about the hero suit. ‘Anyway…’
Her personality was really weird. Even in the story it felt timid, but in reality she was more like someone who just ran away. No grand trauma or anything. She was just a naturally timid and self-sacrificing woman whose incredible power awakened, so she ended up doing more than anyone else. An incredibly strong but excessively introverted woman. A hermit who didn’t step outside except to hunt villains. In a good light, a shut-in. I looked at Kang Hana and asked Yoo Dahui. “What do you think?”
“About what?”
“The party. Three people are safer than two, right?”
“……”
It wasn’t just safe. The moment we recruited Kang Hana into the party, clearing the first floor was a done deal. We could cut time dramatically. ‘No point dragging it out on the first floor.’ There was a time limit. More precisely, the number of field bosses was fixed. We had to catch the ones that wouldn’t respawn faster than anyone else. It looked extremely tough, but in reality it wasn’t that hard. Because anyone nearby when the field boss fell would be credited with the kill. It was like getting a tutorial clear by just tagging along with a stronger player. Of course, there was no profit in it. The field boss dropped a lot of stuff. If you couldn’t eat it, you were an idiot. ‘I’ll grow as much as possible and level up.’ I already knew the tutorial for this generation was running even on the first floor. Each guild would be preparing recruitment battles to bring in outstanding players. Weak humans wouldn’t be noticed. The ones who might draw attention were Baek Seon-woo or Kang Hana. The rest would just receive education and graduate, then get cleanly killed.
‘Me? I’m oddly nosy.’
I wanted to be noticed. I didn’t want to crouch like an extra in thorough isolation. “I’ll go get some snacks. Just give me one pink poop-shaped candy.” “Do pink poop-shaped candies even exist?!” “Yeah. I saw you secretly eating them.” “Y-You saw…?” Yoo Dahui muttered like she couldn’t believe it, ‘I hid it well…’. I took the pink poop-shaped candy and stood up. Kang Hana, who had been munching her meal, suddenly flinched. She was probably checking our eyes. Why look at us? Honestly, I didn’t know either. The author had set it up that way, but how was I supposed to know? I was just using the setting. “U-Um….” Naturally, I sat opposite her. Sitting there like a regressor, anyone would think this was rude. But this woman needed to approach as shamelessly as possible. In the novel, Yoo Dahui had done exactly that and become friends. The trolling that went with it worked out. “It tastes sweet.” I took Kang Hana’s hand and placed the candy on her palm. “Um, do you have any other companions? If not, how about joining us for today…?” “A-Ah, Aaaah…!” Kang Hana’s palm trembled like an earthquake had struck. The poop-shaped candy rolled and fell. “…What?” Yoo Dahui came over and asked. Honestly, I didn’t know either. “Um… um?” Kang Hana’s face turned bright red, and she fainted.