From Today, I'm a Player

Chapter 199: The Gathering Heroes Pt. 2

“Mr. Park!” Lee Jun-Kyeong said, unable to hide his surprise.

Park Jae-Hyun was standing next to Park Yu-Jin.

“So this was your mission?”

Heracles nodded when asked, and Lee Jun-Kyeong was astounded as to how this had come to be.

“Well…”

The first one to speak from the group was Park Jae-Hyun. Lee Jun-Kyeong had expected him to be hiding within Seoul. He knew that Park Jae-Hyun had survived the cataclysm and that the blacksmith was more than capable enough to defend himself. Even so, he had been worried.

‘I had kept asking for his whereabouts too…”

He had continuously reached out through Yeo Seong-Gu and inquired about Park Jae-Hyun’s location, even going so far as to receive a promise to ensure his safety from Yeo Seong-Gu before the Hunter had gone to Seoul.

‘Should I be calling this a relief, or ‘should I be feeling apologetic?’

Lee Jun-Kyeong had continuously regretted not being able to protect him. Looking at the smith, he could see Park Jae-Hyun’s child-like cheeks were now drawn in. Seeing his emaciated face made Lee Jun-Kyeong feel waves of guilt wash over him.

However, Lee Jun-Kyeong soon came to his senses.

“You crazy little bastard,” Park Jae-Hyun said. “What, are you supposed to be my dad or something? What are you making that sort of expression for?”

“Ah…”

He had forgotten.

‘I forgot he was someone I always wanted to pummel.’

A smile soon spread across Lee Jun-Kyeong's lips.

“That’s right. That’s the face that suits you. Focus on your own business, tsk.”

“Oppa! Didn’t we have to go save you?”

“Even if you hadn’t come, I would have lived just fine for well over a hundred, no, a thousand years.”

“What?”

The two began to bicker. Looking at the two of them, Lee Jun-Kyeong felt all the tension melt away like snow.

“Also, aren’t you the one who made the rescue request, Oppa?”

“...!”

“What, so after begging to be rescued and finally being saved, you’re going to come out like this? Do you want to remember what it feels like to be beaten or something?”[1]

“What??!”

].

It was only after hearing them bicker that Lee Jun-Kyeong realized what Park Jae-Hyun had gone through.

‘He had come to Gyeonggi-Do to find me.’

By the time that the cataclysm had begun, the veil over Seoul hadn’t yet been completed. That was when he had decided to leave Seoul. The place where he had thought would be the safest and the place that he would have to be was simple.

‘Wherever I was.’

Park Jae-Hyun had known that Lee Jun-Kyeong’s villa had been in Gyeonggi-Do. Knowing that he would have returned back home after having gone to Egypt, Park Jae-Hyun had planned accordingly and went to Gyeonggi-Do on his own. However, in the midst of looking for Lee Jun-Kyeong’s house, he ran into Odin dragging away people, so he quickly hid.

‘To think he had even gone underground.’

He made up his mind to reappear later, knowing that there would be a day when Lee Jun-Kyeong would come to find him, so he had hidden underground. However, even as time passed, Lee Jun-Kyeong didn’t appear, and things were developing to the point where it had even become difficult for him to go outside.

Luckily, however, Park Jae-Hyun had also grown in the cataclysm.

‘Oddly enough, he now even has the ability to commune with Park Yu-Jin?’

He wondered if it was some sibling connection or something.

Either way, Park Jae-Hyun had continued to signal Park Yu-Jin with his newly acquired ability, and she had, by chance, been able to come to Korea alongside Zeus and the others, who had been planning to come to Korea anyway.

“This…”

Lee Jun-Kyeong remembered Zeus’ words.

“...is a gift.”

Zeus had been very clear about it.

‘Heracles went on a mission, and that mission really should be beneficial to you if you cared enough to listen. Are you really not going to listen?’

Now, before him was the very thing that Zeus had been speaking of, an unexpected gift he couldn’t have even dreamed of.

“It really is a relief,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said in a sincere tone as he hugged Park Jae-Hyun.

“Hey! Are you making fun of me for being short?” Park Jae-Hyun grumbled at his vertically challenged stature.

Clench.

However, Lee Jun-Kyeong could feel an intense strength in the hands that were hugging him right back. He knew Park Jae-Hun would have been through difficult times as well. Moreover, he had to endure it all alone. The blacksmith had waited all this time for him.

‘He’s a companion.’

Park Jae-Hyun had become one of his own, a companion like Jeong In-Chang or Won-Hwa. Lee Jun-Kyeong could feel his emotions, which had been running haywire, clearing up.

“How unsightly.”

Smirk.

Although Park Yu-Jin may have been grumbling, her eyes were clearly smiling. She was delighted to be with her brother, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time. There were many things for the two of them to talk about and share.

Before that, Lee Jun-Kyeong first asked for a favor, “I would like to ask you something first. A chain made of an unknown metal is wrapped around Fenrir's body. It is called Gleipnir, and it’s said that Odin made it himself.”

“…!”

"Fenrir says it's alive."

"What?"

“Moreover, he said that he would die if he couldn’t peel it off of him.”

The two people most suited to deal with it were right before him.

“Good,” Park Jae-Hyun said, smiling brightly at Lee Jun-Kyeong's request. “This is why I like you.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong had always thrown something new at the blacksmith. Not only was it always something that was more than enough to satisfy his curiosity, but they were always things that would also allow him to see an even higher level.

“As I expected…it really would have been okay to have come to Korea too,” said Park Yu-Jin, who was standing next to Park Jae-Hyun.

Lee Jun-Kyeong had proposed to her before to come to Korea if she wanted rare minerals and development as a blacksmith. Because he was there, he would be able to give her what she had wanted.

“It’s a job that has a lot of special work, Oppa.”

“Shut up. I was going to go there anyway without your nagging.”

Park Jae-Hyun's face, which had been drawn and emaciated, was now full of life. He really fit his title.

‘He really is a heavenly blacksmith.’

Lee Jun-Kyeong smiled as he watched the two leave, bustling as if they didn’t want to wait any longer. Those two really were heavenly blacksmiths. It was something that he realized every time he saw them, but something felt especially different when he saw them today.

“How is it? Do you like it?” Heracles asked.

Lee Jun-Kyeong just responded to the question with another question, “Did Zeus ask you to ask me?”

“Hmm…well, you know how it is,” Heracles said, shrugging before he continued, “That doesn’t mean that I didn’t like having to come to see you or whatever… um…”

Rustle, rustle.

The massive man was looking for something in his inventory with a rustling sound, and soon, he took out an ornately decorated gauntlet. As if to scream that it wasn’t a common metal, the gauntlet gave off a muddy light and looked incredibly sturdy even to the naked eye. The patterns that decorated the metal even looked like they would etch themselves onto an opponent's body.

‘It’s all rather threatening.’

“Shall we start?”

Swish!

Heracles, cutting through the wind, ran toward Lee Jun-KYeong. Without any hesitation, Lee Jun-Kyeong moved his foot and pushed aside Heracles’ gauntlet.

Clang!

“Oh ho!” Heracles exclaimed, his feet remaining steady on the ground as he was pushed aside.

Clang! Clang!

As Lee Jun-Kyeong and Heracles collided again and again, Jeong In-Chang asked Odysseus, “Are we just going to watch?”

Odysseus laughed at Jeong In-Chang’s question and drew his sword. "No way."

“Sigh…” Won-Hwa left alone, just let out an indiscernible sigh.

***

Flicker.

In the midst of the blazing flames, Heracles’ eyes spewed out an equally intense crimson glare.

Flicker.

“ROAR! ROAR!!” Heracles shouted like a beast, kicking off the ground and soaring high into the sky. Although the surrounding flames rose toward Heracles like a snake, the Hunter extinguished the burning flames with repeated blows of his left hand.

Woosh!

Then, the Hunter fell from the sky with his right hand barrelling downward, balled into a fist.

Boom!

His red eyes left an afterimage in the air, almost as if it had burned its way into the sky, as a storm of mana and aura seemed to tear through the void. Finally, Heracles had reached where he had been aiming.

“ROAR!!”

The massive Hunter fell on top of Lee Jun-Kyeong, who was standing with a spear.

Zzt.

There was a silent flash. Immediately after, an explosion rocked the surroundings.

BOOM!

It was a direct clash of strength. Although it was crude, it was the only way Heracles fought. When the blinding light disappeared, the two men were still standing, breathing heavily. Slowly, the flames around them died down as the flames in Heracles' eyes, consumed by Madness, also withered away.

Shhh.

“Are you able to fully handle Madness now?” Lee Jun-Kyeong said as he slowly put away Muspel’s Spear.

“It’s all thanks to you!” Heracles responded, clashing his gauntlets together with a hearty laugh.

Stumble.

But then, the Hunter soon stumbled and had to sit down. Heracles looked at Lee Jun-Kyeong and said, “Whoa… I feel like I’m going to die,”

Although there were no visible wounds, it was as if all of his mana had been exhausted.

“You’ve really become a monster. Even after I fully harness Madness, I still can’t put a scratch on you.”

On the other hand, Lee Jun-Kyeong was completely fine. He approached Heracles and held out his hand at the Hunter’s self-deprecating tone.

BOOM!

There was the sound of an explosion coming from the side.

“Gasp! Gasp! I lost!!! I give up!”

Another fight was over.

Grasping Lee Jun-Kyeong’s hand, Heracles lifted himself up and looked at the Hunter. Although a trace of bitterness remained, what was on his face was a clear smile.

“Thank you, even if it’s a little late,” he said while his smile deepened. “What you did for me was no different than saving my life. Thanks to you, I’m even able to control Madness. I still can’t figure out how you know so much about me or how you even knew the solution…”

“Don’t ask. Because you’re a good person.”

“Good person, you say…”

Lee Jun-Kyeong wondered if he could say it was just simple. Thinking about how to answer the Hunter, he just ended up laughing in response.

“It seems you’ve gotten stronger.”

“What bullshit! You two came back as monsters! What have we been doing all this time?” Odysseus grumbled, approaching them after his spar had ended.

Sniffle.

Next to him, Lee Jun-Kyeong saw Jeong In-Chang wiping his nose. Their fight had been completely different from that of Lee Jun-Kyeong and Heracles’. They were both roughed up and injured. However, it seemed that they were getting closer with every bruise.

“Well…thank you. I was going to ask you to do me a favor if I win, but I guess it’s whatever now.”

“A favor? Lee Jun-Kyeong asked.

“Yeah. AH! It’s hot!” Heracles said, throwing off his gauntlet.

“I want you to meet with Zeus,” he continued nonchalantly.

Lee Jun-Kyeong sighed.

“Not only did you get stronger, but it seems you’ve also gotten smarter as well.”

***

It was late at night. Gyeonggi-do was quiet. It had only been a few days since the battle had ended, but people were already adapting.

This morning, the sinners had been executed. He had executed those who had sided with Odin and killed ordinary people or slaughtered Hunters on the front lines.

Fortunately, none of them had any families, though it was unclear whether Lee Jun-Kyeong had chosen those who had no family or whether they had done such things because they had no family. However, most of the others were satisfied, and the group had regained its stability. The battle may have ended, but the cataclysm was still underway.

“Whew,” Lee Jun-Kyeong sighed.

“Should I call you Mr. Kim?”

“If you’re going to speak plainly, speak plainly, and if you’re going to be polite, at least be consistent,” the man before him said in a sarcastic tone.

Even though the world had still gone into such chaos, a carefree voice had still ended up reaching Lee Jun-Kyeong’s ears.

Almost as if all the worries in the world were gone.

‘Meet with Zeus.’

It had been Heracles’ request and his own choice as well. He had no choice but to talk to him.

"So Zeus. What’s your goal?

1. In Korean, we call what Lee Jun-Kyeong is feeling as ? ???, or the feeling of ice-cold water going down your throat on a hot summer day. Finally, someone is winning against Jae-Hyun. ????