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chapter-35

Heroic Shield, the Wall of Despair (1)

[Separating Steel Spear]

[C-rank]

[Special Ability: Split]

*Split: When throwing this javelin, there is a 30% chance that two more spears aimed at the target will be created. The created spears will disappear after hitting the target.

The first thing Kang Shin-hyuk did after he recovered from the shock of all of the notification windows was to check the javelin he made. That alone would have been surprising enough.

“An artifact…!”

“You really created one.” Lee Manwoo, who had been watching from the side, let out a loud laugh. He was the world’s best craftsman, so he could easily see how great the artifact this student had just created was.

“You succeeded in containing your emotions.”

“I tried to do it sincerely.”

“Ha, that’s enough.” Lee Manwoo couldn’t help but let out another short laugh at Shin-hyuk’s response. In such a short period of time, he went back to correct the mistakes he made and found the right path forward.

“If you submit that to the contest, you’re guaranteed to win a prize. You could even go after the grand prize. Not many people are capable of using javelins, admittedly, but the contest doesn’t evaluate that.”

“I need to use this for practice, so I can’t submit it right away…thank you for keeping watch so late, sir.”

“I had to observe to prove to the school that you made it. But you’re right; it is already late at night.” Lee Manwoo realized that it was indeed already dark outside, the sun having set hours prior. He was so absorbed in watching Kang Shin-hyuk that he didn’t notice the time passing.

“Well, it’s alright. Next time I…” He felt an intense impulse, one he hadn’t felt in a long time, that was brought about by watching Shin-hyuk’s blacksmithing. It was an impulse he tried desperately to quell.

“No. You did well today. You’re probably tired, so go home. I’ll be getting some rest too.” Lee Manwoo waved him off, and Kang Shin-hyuk quickly picked up his two spears and left the club room. It was hard for him to remain calm, given all that had just happened.

-A 100HP bonus from a joyful administrator!

-A 200HP bonus to congratulate you on gaining access to My Room!

-Congratulations on the creation of a C-rank artifact with a 50HP bonus!

Especially since the administrator’s messages kept popping up in his view.

“Please calm down.”

-I’m very calm now. I’m just congratulating you on your assimilation rate passing 5%.

“No, thank you for that…” With the creation of this new artifact, his metallurgy had grown significantly, as did his synchronization rate. The situation was confusing to him, which the messages from the administrator didn’t help, though he wouldn’t say that out loud. Kang Shin-hyuk did view the administrator as a friend and didn’t want to upset him by saying that.

“It only exceeded 5%, but five million HP was unlocked.”

-I told you once you passed it, you would be able to afford to feed Onyx. The amount of HP that the previous you earned over the course of twenty years exceeds any other member.

“… That’s kind of scary.” The fact that Anvil had acquired such a large amount of HP was indicative of the impact he had on the Hero Universe. He was aware, now more than ever, of the enormous footsteps he was following.

-But in the end, that business is now yours as well. It will come back to you naturally. That artifact in your hand proves it.

“I mean- no, it will be the same in the end. Thanks, administrator. Let’s go as far as we can.” Whenever he thought of Anvil, his previous life, the same questions, and anxiety haunted him. However, he couldn’t let that keep dragging him down. The administrator responded as he always did.

-A 20HP bonus to a member who can honestly express their gratitude!

Kang Shin-hyuk returned to his dorm room, holding his two javelins in hand. As soon as the door opened, Onyx, who had been just sleeping, opened his eyes and rushed towards him. Or rather, towards the separating steel spear he was holding.

-Myu!

“No, don’t eat this one.”

-Myu!

He threw the first javelin he made to Onyx, who rushed to take a bite of it and then stored the artifact in a place where Onyx couldn’t reach it. After that, he grabbed a quick snack and prepared for bed. He wanted to check out the My Room feature, but he felt too tired to do that. Creating artifacts wasn’t simple, and he made two of them in a single day. His stamina was low, though his spiritual strength still had some energy thanks to the rank-up at the end.

“Would it be okay to postpone it a little…?”

-It might be better to check it out tomorrow. It will be Friday, and after class, you will have the weekend.

Kang Shin-hyuk tilted his head, not quite expecting that response. He had been speculating that My Room wasn’t just a simple room, however, and wondered what could be inside.

“Will I have to go far…?”

-It would be best to pack some luggage.

“You know I have gate practice coming up, right?”

-Which is why you need to prepare even more.

Kang Shin-hyuk decided to listen to the advice and packed a bag without saying anything. The administrator never lied to him, after all.

***

Friday’s class wasn’t much different than the previous day. All the practical subject teachers pushed their students without rest, and the students were eagerly waiting for the writing class. However, even that long-awaited class completely betrayed their expectations.

“There are a lot of hardships awaiting you at the first gate practice. Since we must prepare you thoroughly in advance, today, we will conduct a test.”

“Beg your pardon?!” The students screamed in unison as the teacher in charge of monster ecology began to hand out test papers.

“Do it carefully, as they will be weighted. Think of this as a matter directly related to survival inside the gate.”

“We have to train over the weekend too…”

“It is important to train your knowledge of monsters haunting the lower gates. Now start!”

“This is hell…”

“You really have to know all of this to become a superhuman?!”

Each of the students taking the exam cried out in a different voice. Most of the questions weren’t just related to the knowledge of monsters but required judgments tailored to an individual situation, and thus most of the students had a hard time answering.

‘Because there are so many people who become superhumans without knowing this, there are still deaths at the lower gates. Shinyoung really goes all out.’ As the other students lamented the exam, Kang Shin-hyuk calmly answered the questions. He couldn’t just borrow Eunah’s power, so he had been diligently studying and taking notes to increase his score. He could clearly draw out the situations in his mind and determine how to actually deal with them. There was a small group of students, alongside Kang Shin-hyuk, who had been preparing and thus were answering the questions with ease.

“I will score the exams right away since everyone must be busy over the weekend.”

“Oh please, teacher…”

“I only want all of the students taking part in the practice to be safe.” The teacher’s words were serious. Most of the students who received less than satisfactory results were committed to studying theory for a significant chunk of their weekend. Karen and Baek In-ha were among those who had to study.

“I was going to do joint training this weekend, but…it seems it will be difficult. Hehe.”

“What are you even doing?” Karen laughed slightly at Kang Shin-hyuk, who was gazing at Baek with a mixture of doubt and reproach.

“You’re the type who is stronger in practice than theory.”

“Did you not notice the sign I sent you asking for the answers?”

“I ignored it.”

“Traitors will have to pay a dear price!”

“Yes, yes. Work hard on your assignment.” It wasn’t a bad thing for Kang Shin-hyuk that the plans for joint training had fallen through since the administrator had said he should be prepared to leave for the weekend. He left the classroom by himself, ignoring the resentful gazes of those who would spend their weekend studying.

***

He was back in his room.

-Are you ready?

“Yes…maybe.” Kang Shin-hyuk had his Godslayer sword attached to his waist and the armor he wore during the rookie games. On his back, he wore a pack containing food, water, and the javelin he made yesterday. Additionally, Onyx was with him, and he had metal grains to feed him with. It might have been too much equipment for entering My Room, but the administrator told him to pack well.

“Okay, then… let’s enter.”

-Connecting to My Room.

He could feel his body being dragged somewhere else, his vision cutting off.

“Am I alive?”

-You’re alive; it’s just a very dark place. Don’t worry.

-Myu!

Fortunately, he could read the administrator’s message without any problem, the words shining bright on his eyesight. It only made him more anxious, however. He must have just entered My Room, but why was it so dark? He considered several possibilities in entering the place, but him being unable to see it wasn’t one of them.

“Should I turn on the light?”

-50HP bonus for your excellent guess!

He received a bonus, but the room was still bathed in darkness.

“Do you have to use HP to buy an exclusive item or something to turn on the light?”

-No, it doesn’t take HP.

“What do I need to do then?”

-To activate the complex functions of My Room, you need to perform a dimensional quest.

“Lighting the room is a detailed function. I didn’t know that.” Kang Shin-hyuk trembled slightly with anger, recalling the dimension quest yesterday when he received the notification. He skimmed over it, not knowing it was essential to use the My Room function.

-With only a 5% synchronization rate, the functions of My Room couldn’t be activated. It would take too long to reach a high enough rate to unlock them, so the dimensional quest was activated to accelerate your use of the My Room function.

“What a well-thought out measure.” It was a quest, so he thought maybe it was like a search or expedition type of task like in a game.

-In fact, this is also a way to help you accomplish your goals. The dimensional quest can provide you with the time you need.

Kang Shin-hyuk recalled that he did say it would be better to go to My Room for gate practice as well. It was clear that this was the administrator’s plan from the beginning. Curiosity began to replace his anger.

[The City Wall of Despair]

[The weapons you made in the past have spread all over the worlds, and some of them are used for the wrong reasons. If you go ahead and recover them, it will help increase your synchronization rate.]

A text box with a different texture than the administrator’s messages appeared in front of Shin-hyuk’s eyes. It explained what exactly the dimensional quest was.

[Recover your armament’ Heroic Shield’ from Kieron, the closed world. If it is successfully retrieved, you can get semi-permanent access rights to Kieron.]

[Quest Deadline: One month]

[Earth to Kieron Time Ratio: 1:10]

“Heroic Shield.” That was the name given to the shield that Anvil made in his last memory.

“By the way…for the wrong reasons…”

-You can check it out yourself.

“Going to another dimension?”

-That’s right. It is possible through the intermediate dimension of My Room.

“So that’s why you were clamoring to get me access to enter here…” Kang Shin-hyuk had been preparing for something like this since he had learned about the Hero Universe. Other dimensions existed, and you could communicate between them. So why wouldn’t it be possible to travel to them? It had happened a lot faster than he thought it would, though.

“Can I really do this?”

-There is no need to worry about the difficulty of the quest. Only dimensional quests that can be solved with your current abilities are presented to you.

“My current abilities…” Kang Shin-hyuk nodded at the administrator’s message as he read over the notification in his retina again. Heroic Shield. He could remember the thoughts Anvil had over it, as well as Mirang’s worries.

“Then, this time rate… one day on Earth is ten days on Kieron?”

-That is correct. Even if you spend the entire time until the quest deadline on Kieron, only three days would pass on Earth. Since your soul belongs on Earth, you will only age three days as well. What a great benefit!

“It really is…” That he could train in this other world but only use three days on Earth was more than he hoped for. Kang Shin-hyuk was starting to get pumped up at this opportunity. He wouldn’t be able to spend the entire time there, however, as three days passing on Earth would make it Monday.

“I’ll have to finish up by school time on Monday.”

-I believe if it’s you, it will be possible.

The administrator blindly complimented Kang Shin-hyuk once again, but this time he believed it himself.

“Okay, let’s start right away.”

-Connecting to the world: Kieron.

Just like when he arrived at My Room, he could feel his body being dragged somewhere else. He closed his eyes and then opened them as soon as the sensation stopped, greeted by a bright world around him. He didn’t have time to appreciate the light; immediately, as his eardrums were assaulted by a loud noise from all around him.

“The general is dead!”

“They’re about to deploy the laser cannon…!”

“The general is dead! Retreat, retreat!”

The administrator said it would be safe, so why did he hear the sounds of a battlefield? Kang Shin-hyuk raised his head, his vision filled with the sight of two groups of humans fighting with a massive wall between them.

“Block their arrows!”

“You can’t back down. Today, I will get back the orb! March!”

“Energy is gathering at the Walls of Despair!”

All of them were armed with cold steel in the form of swords, spears, and bows. Only a few mana abilities were popping up, and no artifacts could be felt. The two forces were about equal in strength, but that wall was the deciding factor.

“Prevent that trash from climbing up!”

“Take no prisoners!”

“The Orb of Water is ours!”

The enormous walls were smooth on the outside as if made of whole iron and apparently had the ability to gather energy and shoot destructive beams. It was like a huge artifact.

“Administrator, maybe that city wall…”

-Yes.

From the moment he arrived, he noticed that his spiritual power was resonating with an object other than his divine sword. Specifically, that wall. It was clear the wall was related to him, and more so, though it was huge if you carefully examined it…it almost looked like…

Only

-Kieron is a small dimension that makes everything that comes under its influence smaller as well. There is no exception, even for members who could access it from the outside.

“…”

-The exception is artifacts that have established their own spiritual power. Only those inanimate objects, made by members prior, can escape the influence of this world.

He saw it in Anvil’s memory. It was the shield he made, the Heroic Shield.

“…No, how in the hell do I recover that?

-Myu!

In the midst of his despair, the similarly miniaturized Onyx cried out cutely. He held Onyx carefully; the creature was anxious to rush towards the wall full of spiritual power.

He now understood why the name of the quest was the Wall of Despair