Chapter 90

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Chapter 90: Soul Reaper Hercules (1)

Eshtar.

The planet with the lowest difficulty level.

A place where the final boss, Hercules, lets out a single roar, killing everyone and resetting the world.

Wouldn't going there be pointless for leveling up?

"Doesn't everyone die and reset with just one roar?"

[High-level C-rank hunters take significant damage from the Lord of Chaos’s attack but do not die.]

In the past, everyone would be wiped out due to their low level, but nowadays, many Earthlings have reached the high levels of C-rank, allowing them to survive.

"So that means there won’t be a reset? What happens next?"

[All the remaining survivors will be attacked in full force by the monsters, triggering a massive assault. No one can withstand it, so ultimately, a reset happens… However, Kim Jiho, since you have no penalties, you should be able to defend against the large-scale attack and gain experience points.]

My level had been stagnating for the past few days, so this was good news.

It seemed like a challenge worth taking on to reach A-rank faster.

I accepted her proposal.

"Alright. Let’s go there."

* * *

[Freya bestows her blessing upon you.]

[Beings affiliated with the neutral faction regard you as an Apostle of God.]

[You can automatically translate and understand the primary languages of this world, including the speech of awakened beings.]

The Magic City of Erundal in Eshtar.

A medieval fantasy city that looked like a painting.

Back when I was in Kevrian, I spent most of my time in the fortress, so I didn’t notice, but this place actually felt like a city where humans lived.

Aside from the massive towers visible from every direction—north, south, east, and west—it was a typical city.

"Dungeon party recruitment!"

"Buying mana stones! Selling mana stones!"

People were bustling around, and carts were moving on their own without anyone pulling them.

For now, everything looked peaceful.

It seemed the city hadn’t been destroyed yet.

Since things would remain peaceful until Hercules let out his roar, I wandered around, taking in the sights like a tourist.

As I walked, I suddenly noticed some familiar writing.

[Earthling Guild: Earth]

A sign written in multiple languages, including Hangul.

This must be a hub for Earthlings if they have something like this.

When I headed in that direction, I saw some newly built, clean brick buildings.

Each building had a nameplate.

The signs were mostly in English, but some were in Korean as well.

Was this like a guild hideout?

But strangely, there was no sign of life.

As I followed the street further, I spotted another guild hideout—Daehyun Guild.

This one seemed to have people inside.

But since I didn’t know anyone from this guild, I was about to walk past when—

Bang!

"Lee Jinseong?"

"Huh? This voice… Jiho? What are you doing here?"

Fully armored, Lee Jinseong looked at me with a puzzled expression.

"Just sightseeing."

"Are you crazy? This isn’t the time for that! We need to get to a dungeon, now!"

"Why?"

"The reset is happening today. Damn, I was planning to focus on leveling up, but now it's ruined. Hurry, let’s run!"

With that, Jinseong started sprinting.

As I ran after him, I asked,

"But why are we going to a dungeon?"

"We have to hide there until Eshtar collapses. If we stall for time in the dungeon, the reset will happen. The problem is whether there's a dungeon nearby we can get into."

"I heard C-ranks can survive the destruction attack?"

"We can survive that monster’s roar, sure. But the ones who die from it turn into zombies and attack, so we’ll die anyway. We have to wait it out in a dungeon until the main city falls."

Ah, so that's why everyone was running.

No wonder I hadn’t seen any Earthlings on the streets—only natives of this world.

Krrr.

The ground rumbled.

Jinseong abruptly stopped running.

"Ah, shit, we’re screwed."

He quickly scanned the surroundings and ran toward a nearby guild building.

"Why the hell is the door locked?"

Bam!

When the door wouldn’t open, he kicked it down without hesitation.

Then he gestured for me to follow.

"We’re about to hear the roar. Let’s hide inside until we get transported back."

I stepped into the guild building.

The interior was strangely empty—too clean, with nothing but desks and chairs.

"People usually clear everything out before a reset, but this place is suspiciously empty."

Grumbling, Jinseong walked into an inner room.

I followed.

"At least there's a bed here. Let’s block the entrance with it."

Lifting the wooden bedframe—without a mattress—he propped it against the doorway.

After setting it up, he let out a deep sigh.

"Now we just have to hope we don’t get found until the reset."

"What exactly triggers the reset?"

"Did you forget? The reset happens when the monsters destroy the mana core in Erundal’s main castle. The roar makes the city’s people turn into zombies, so it ends pretty fast."

Jinseong looked around the room and seemed relieved.

"No windows. Good. The zombies will head straight for the castle, so we might survive."

"Can’t we fight them off?"

"They’re enhanced zombies, about C- to D-rank. And they attack in hordes, so there's no way we can fend them off. We just have to wait for the reset."

Suddenly, he covered his ears with his hands.

"Do it now! Take off your helmet and cover your ears! You need to minimize the damage!"

Following his lead, I covered my ears.

The ground trembled again.

This time, the quake was even stronger.

The entire building shook violently.

This isn’t just a roar—this is like an earthquake.

The bed blocking the entrance collapsed with a loud thud.

The building’s walls started to crack.

At this rate, the earthquake alone will kill us.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, the shaking stopped.

"Ah, shit… it's coming."

Jinseong curled up, covering his ears even tighter.

He was already trembling.

I had never seen him so scared before.

Just what kind of sound could make someone this terrified—

"He—"

A single syllable.

One syllable, and it struck my ears like a hammer.

The sound wasn’t even that loud.

It was soft enough that I wouldn’t have needed to cover my ears.

But the sound was only an afterthought.

[Translator - Night]

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The atmosphere had already changed.

A murderous aura that made every hair on my body stand on end.

Even this isolated room was filled with it.

“Ugh…”

Lee Jinseong, who had suddenly covered his ears, loosened his grip and let out a groan.

The moment I tried to approach him—

Slash—!!

A loud roar echoed.

At the same time, Aegis' Shield wrapped around my body.

[All circular defenses have been activated.]

[It is a fatal attack. Aegis' Shield skill has been triggered.]

All my defensive skills activated at once.

Simultaneously, countless message windows began to appear.

[The Lord of Chaos, ‘The Lone Colossus,’ roars.]

[The Lone Colossus attempts a special attack, ??]

[User is a Soul Reaper. Analyzing the attack.]

[The Lone Colossus attempts Soul Plunder.]

[Soul Plunder has been completely blocked.]

Soul Plunder attack?

Was Hercules a Soul Reaper…?

The deafening roar that had begun with “Slash” suddenly ceased.

So he just shouted Hebe?

I thought it was some kind of cataclysmic attack, but in the end, it didn’t deal any damage to me.

Still, considering all my defensive skills auto-activated, I might’ve been in serious danger if I had taken it head-on.

Thud.

Startled by the sound of something collapsing, I turned to see Lee Jinseong already on the ground.

His body was trembling violently as he lay there.

He didn’t look good.

“Jinseong!”

“Ugh… Damn zombies. Die. Die! Ugh… Don’t bite me!”

When I lifted his body, he was foaming at the mouth, eyes rolled back, muttering nonsense.

Was he hallucinating?

“Damn it, Heal!”

I attempted to heal him with a spell.

A pure white light wrapped around him, but then a dark shadow seeped out of his body, devouring the light.

Lee Jinseong’s eyes changed.

“Who are you?”

“What the—? You’re not Jinseong, are you?”

“This body’s owner has already become my vassal.”

What?

A vassal?

Did he turn into Hercules' zombie?

Wait… I thought C-rankers were supposed to withstand this.

He spoke like he had resisted a few times, so I didn’t bother setting up a defensive spell…

But looking at him now, that wasn’t it.

He wasn’t actually resisting.

He was just hallucinating that he had survived, only to be killed by the zombies anyway.

So all that talk about Earthlings withstanding C-rank roars was just an illusion.

Sigh.

Even though I’d resurrect back on Earth if I died, seeing a friend die in such a ridiculous way right in front of me felt terrible.

I had avoided being obvious about my defenses to avoid detection in Asgard… Damn it!

“You… You’re Hercules, aren’t you?”

“Ohh?”

Lee Jinseong—no, Hercules—stood up with a gleam in his eyes.

“You blocked Soul Reaper and recognized my identity… An interesting one, indeed.”

He studied me for a moment, then his expression shifted to one of surprise and delight.

“You… You’re a Soul Awakened too! I never expected to meet another! I am pleased, junior.”

Hercules clapped me on the shoulder.

What the hell?

Why was he suddenly acting friendly?

I shook off his hand, and he backed away, raising both hands as if to show he meant no harm.

“This has never happened before, so I got excited. Next time, visit Eshtar before the world ends.”

“And why would I trust you?”

“Heh… Because no one else but me has ever awakened as a Soul Reaper. Your potential could be as great as mine—enough to threaten the gods.”

Lee Jinseong—no, Hercules—began speaking faster, as if he were getting worked up.

“Yes! Such talent! No ordinary human from Earth could possess it. Unless… they carried my blood…! You may not know it, but you are likely my descendant.”

What nonsense was he spouting?

Hercules was Greek, wasn’t he?

“I’m your descendant? I’m Asian, dude.”

“The bloodlines mixed and spread eastward. Race is irrelevant. What matters is that my abilities manifested in you.”

He said it so casually.

It seemed he believed that only those with extraordinary talent could become Soul Reapers.

Well, I was pretty sure I wasn’t one of his descendants…

I had garbage talent.

“This one seems to be your friend, so I shall release him from my vassalage.”

I considered arguing that I wasn’t his descendant, but since he was willing to free Jinseong, I decided to keep quiet.

The black shadows surrounding Lee Jinseong slowly faded away.

“Then, remain safe here until the world ends. No one will approach this area.”

“No thanks. I need to level up. I’m going to fight your vassals.”

Hearing this, Hercules seemed even more pleased.

He nodded approvingly.

“Ohh! You even enjoy battle, just like me! Excellent, excellent… You may truly be of my bloodline. Then I shall watch over your growth…”

Hercules looked satisfied.

But suddenly, his face went rigid.

Then, he collapsed.

Still, unlike before, his face had relaxed, and he was breathing steadily.

He looked fine now.

I laid Jinseong down properly, then used spirit form to exit the building.

Outside, the guild district was completely deserted.

Aside from a few cracks in the walls from a minor earthquake, there were no signs of life.

Hmm…

Was Hercules seriously convinced I was his descendant?

He really did seem to be keeping people away from this area.

“Summon Flame Chariot.”

I summoned my helmet, covering my face, and soared into the sky.

From above, I could see that everything outside the guild district was in ruins.

A massive horde of people was swarming toward the city's central fortress, moving like zombies.

“Phoenix, burn the zombies.”

[The entire city will be engulfed in flames. Are you sure?]

“It’s fine. The world resets anyway.”

[Understood.]

A phoenix emerged from my forehead.

Thanks to the Dragon Heart's mana, it had grown enormous—easily surpassing any other bird in size.

[Then, I shall burn them all.]

With a slow flap of its wings, waves of fire rained down upon the town.

The city quickly became a sea of flames.

One by one, the zombies began to burn.

Leaving the outside to the phoenix, I entered the fortress.

Even if I killed all the zombies outside, if the mana core inside the fortress was destroyed, it would all be over soon anyway.

I had to claim it first.

Only with it in my possession could I control the timing of the apocalypse.

“Graaahh!!”

Riding my Flame Chariot, I charged through the fortress.

Zombies dressed in soldier uniforms hurled themselves at me like moths to a flame, only to be incinerated instantly.

Then, a message appeared.

[These souls are incomplete. The efficiency of Soul Reaper is greatly reduced.]

Damn.

Was it because Hercules was also a Soul Reaper?

I couldn’t devour the same soul twice, it seemed.

I barely gained any SP, but at least I was getting a decent amount of experience.

As I raced through the fortress, I finally sensed an enormous flow of mana.

Steering my chariot toward it, I encountered the first person who seemed to be in their right mind.

“Stop!”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]