The Hero’s Party Members Treat Me Well for Some Reason

21 – Operation to Capture Chung-Hoe Sung (3)

I am a discharged soldier.

That means I’ve been in the military.

And the unit I was in was a shabby building in a remote mountain valley.

I didn’t even know, I never thought that the place where I ended up would be such a damn place.

At that moment, I could realize.

All the stories about various insects coming out of the military were true.

Whether it was centipedes and millipedes crawling endlessly at the guard post, or the fact that there were almost hundreds of thousands of flies in the ration room, or the existence of a person-sized moth called Tinkerbell, and so on…

I mean, that’s what I’m talking about. Surprisingly, the place where I worked was a crazy place that included all three of them. Especially in the summer, it was like hell on earth.

Thanks to that, I was able to build some immunity to insects.

And I thought I wouldn’t experience a place more challenging than that in the future.

I thought so, but…

Aeaeaeaeang!

Thump!

I woke up at the sound of wings flapping near my ears.

I quickly swatted at it with my hand, but only my own cheek got slapped. It seems these little bugs might be faster than a martial arts master. Maybe they’re even quicker than the Four Kings of Heaven.

I muttered quietly with a groggy face, “You little…”

What kind of bug was it this time? Just an ordinary fly? Or a mosquito?

Moths, bees, mosquitoes, two-winged bugs, ants with wings, bumblebees, and more.

Various possibilities floated in my mind and disappeared.

In reality, none of this mattered at all.

What mattered was that, damn it, because of these bug larvae, I’ve been slapped a total of six times up to now.

I wanted to burn them all to ashes in my heart, but I knew it would only attract more attention, so I had no choice but to endure it in the end.

Still, my body was tired, and maybe because of that, I somehow managed to fall asleep.

“Hero, wake up, Hero.”

Carmilla woke me up about an hour later because of her buzzing.

“Ugh…”

I dragged my heavy body and managed to get up somehow.

If I closed my eyes, it felt like I could sleep right away, but I had to endure it, even if it was by force.

Now, for the next two hours, I had to stay in one place, keeping an eye on my surroundings as was my fate.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this again…”

I thought I’d never have to do this again after coming back from the military.

Indeed, no one knows how a person’s life will turn out. Who could have known that I would fall into another world and become a hero?

“Stop daydreaming and keep watch.”

“Yes, yes.”

I nodded half-heartedly and sat down on a nearby rock.

Carmilla glanced at me once and then entered the tent.

I didn’t forget to activate the protective spell Lily had cast nearby.

This protective spell served two purposes.

One was blocking the bugs, and the other was blocking me.

I guess they were worried leaving me alone might be unsettling for them.

It was truly an unpleasant treatment, but since it was installed, no one had trouble sleeping anymore.

In the past, there were many times we couldn’t sleep together even to secretly watch one trivial thing.

Let’s consider it a blessing.

I thought that way and decided to find something to pass the time this time. Those who have tried to stay awake in the early morning know that it’s really hard.

Even if it’s just to kill time, you have to do something.

Fortunately, I remembered something right away.

‘Status window.’

I said it in my mind, and a transparent window began to appear before my eyes.

———-

Name: Luke

Lv: 74

[Skills]

Power of Sacrifice Lv.MAX, Mana Control Lv.1, Mana Blade Lv.4, Celestial Martial Body Lv.MAX, Noble Sacrifice Lv.MAX, Bright Dragon Swordsmanship Lv.3, Replication (Replica.ver) Lv.MAX, Battle Focus Lv.1…

———-

Honestly, there wasn’t much of a change compared to the last time.

The level remained the same, and only a few skill levels had increased or been added.

“Hmm…”

I pondered for a moment while looking at it.

“I should start choosing a class soon.”

Even though I had entered the Four Kings’ Castle, I still hadn’t decided on a proper direction. It was getting late.

The time to choose a class had truly arrived.

For now, considering my current skills, most of them were leaning towards being a swordsman.

If I think about Battle Focus, Replication, and Bright Dragon Swordsmanship, I would definitely become a decent swordsman.

But being merely decent wasn’t enough.

“Something is lacking.”

Being a swordsman was undoubtedly a good profession, but it was far from enough to clear the game. Especially with the increased difficulty this time.

In addition to being a swordsman, I needed a plus-alpha.

A plus-alpha that would work for anyone.

I had many thoughts.

I could follow the saint to learn the holy law and become a holy knight, or I could learn defensive magic and become an invincible tank.

Alternatively, I could seek out a mage and become a dark mage or a spellcaster.

Whatever it was, all of them were professions that had faced the Demon Lord.

The possibilities were plentiful.

However, despite all that,

There was one thing bothering me in my heart.

‘Quest.’

This time, I called a different window in my mind, not the status window. In fact, I had received a quest last night.

Like guiding my journey, it was a quest that provided a clear goal.

[QUEST!]

+

You have entered the castle of Chungwang, one of the Four Kings.

This means that you will soon subdue Chungwang.

I will prepare a small gift to support your future.

The answer lies beyond.

Capture Chungwang.

Quest Reward: Chongsul (蟲術)

+

The first time I saw this, I couldn’t help but be shocked.

Capturing Chungwang was one thing. I had originally intended to do that, so it made sense.

But the quest reward was what didn’t make sense.

“Chongsul, you say.”

I didn’t know they would give away the skills of the Four Kings like this.

Wasn’t the Minotaur the last one? Moreover, they didn’t even mention it was a replica, so it seemed like I was getting something close to the original.

So far, it was fine.

No, it was actually great.

No matter what anyone said, Chongsul was undoubtedly a cheat skill and Balkan’s main technique.

I didn’t have the confidence to handle it as well as he did, but it would definitely be a big help in future battles.

However, there was one very small problem.

“This is dark magic…”

Dark magic.

A type of magic that most of this world dislikes.

A collection of all sorts of bizarre, grotesque, and destructive magic, like a chaotic entity.

Especially our party members went beyond disliking it and hated it. In fact, one reason why I didn’t choose this skill is because of that.

But now the system is trying to give it to me… I’m in a difficult situation in many ways.

However, the performance is too good to refuse, so I couldn’t give it up.

In other words, it became a cursed skill.

“I wonder if I can hide it.”

I don’t know.

There were still a lot of things I had to do. I had to level up, keep an eye on the conditions of the heroines, and find hidden peace during the downtime.

In the end, I had no choice but to postpone the decision for my occupation this time as well.

“Sir Hero, it’s time to lie down and rest. It’s time for shift change.”

“Uh, um?”

As I pondered like that, made plans, and stayed on guard, the working hours had already ended without me realizing.

Tock tock.

The saint lightly touched my shoulder with sleepy eyes.

I glanced at the clock for a moment.

03:50.

“There’s still about 10 minutes left until shift change, right?”

“Is that so? It seems like I looked at the clock wrong. Well, since we’re already here, just go inside quickly and rest.”

“…If that’s the case.”

Without refusing, I went inside.

I was tired, after all. I would fall asleep if I kept going.

At this moment, I felt like I could immediately fall into a deep sleep as soon as I lay down.

Lying inside the sleeping bag, I fell into a deep slumber…

…

…

aaahhhhh!!!

“Damn it, f*ck!”

Although I woke up in the middle.

*

The next day dawned.

Everyone in the group looked tired, as if they hadn’t slept properly. Their hair was disheveled, and there were dark circles under their eyes.

Just like me, the girls must have woken up countless times, with irritation evident on their faces.

Of course, they didn’t show it on the outside.

We fought against the monsters just like yesterday in that state.

Our bodies were covered in slime, and the slime was stuck with dead insects. The Saint used purification magic to get rid of them, but the feeling of unease remained.

The second day passed like that.

*

The third day.

Damn it, f*cking annoying insects. I couldn’t sleep again this time.

The small buzzing sound in my ear felt like it would drive me crazy.

“We should install mosquito netting or something…”

Lily mumbled in a tired voice.

I vigorously nodded at her words. We needed a plan.

We fought against the monsters and the Saint purified them again that day.

That’s how it passed.

*

The fourth day.

Mosquito netting installation was complete.

Not in my tent, but only in the girls’ tents…

It seems like trying to make mosquito netting alone in one night was too ambitious.

From sourcing the materials to manufacturing, everything was a problem.

On top of that, it didn’t seem like the girls would be willing to help.

Thanks to that, I had no choice but to sleep mixed with the bugs again that day…

*

The fifth day.

While I was making the mosquito netting, the Saint came to help.

And then, she started teaching us the know-how they had developed yesterday.

Yes, there was a wrench here. Looks like it was made by weaving it. Thanks to that, we were barely able to make a mosquito net that day.

Fighting monsters like that, the saint purified them.

That day, I was able to sleep a little more comfortably.

*

Six.

[Combat Focus Level has increased!]

[Congratulations!]

[Obtained the Multitasking ability!]

It’s been a while since I’ve had good news!

I leveled up my skills and gained new ones.

I must have obtained something related to the monsters that always come running from all directions.

Multitasking allowed me to have a wider field of view.

It also allowed me to focus on one enemy while paying attention to another area. In other words, it was an ability specialized in handling multiple opponents.

Thanks to that, I was able to slaughter the monsters more easily.

*

Seven.

[Congratulations!]

[Level has increased!]

[The intensity of your soul has grown!]

Finally!

My level has increased!

Damn it, even though I caught a Minotaur, my level didn’t go up!

“It really doesn’t increase easily.”

Anyway, now I’m at level 75. Honestly, I didn’t feel a big difference.

First, my stats increased, and when they reached a certain point, my level automatically went up. It’s practically a negligible increase in stats.

But still, well, I’m in a good mood.

I just brushed it off.

However, they say that good news is often followed by bad news. Eventually, something happened the next day.

*

Eight.

“Let them be! I’ll explode all these bastards!”

“Calm down, Lily! If we do that, we’ll end up getting killed too!”

Lily’s mosquito net was torn.

It was because bugs had gnawed it with their teeth.

Now it also meant that my mosquito net had little time left.

I let out a small sigh.

“Phew…”

It hasn’t been a few days. How am I going to spend the rest of it?

It has only been a week since