TMHR 33

Chapter 33

“Lee Hyun?”

Why is this guy here?

I had never heard that Lee Hyun would come into this Abyss.

In my previous life, I never experienced it either.

The first time I met him was much later than now.

If Lee Hyun had ever raided the Gragas Abyss, then I definitely would’ve run into him at least once.

I had rotted away in there for months.

In my past life, Lee Hyun was definitely not there.

But now, here he was.

‘Because I killed Hephaestus.’

By killing Hephaestus, the original expedition that should have raided this Abyss vanished, and Lee Hyun likely filled that empty spot.

After all, Lee Hyun had been clearing Abysses on his own even before he became famous.

A one-man guild, the Hero of Humanity, the man who swung a massive spear with power greater than heroes themselves—Lee Hyun.

He singlehandedly cleared countless Abysses. If this Gragas Abyss, missed by Hephaestus, had come into his sight, there’s no way he would’ve ignored it.

‘I don’t know what his intention is, though….’

Why does he personally close Abysses even though he was given divine power?

Even in my past life, the only thing known about his actions was that closing those Abysses ended up preventing a huge number of monsters from appearing during the Second Great Descent.

That single fact alone made Lee Hyun a hero. He was officially treated as a Great Hero only after the Second Great Descent.

‘Is his goal the items here?’

Or is simply closing the Abyss itself his goal?

If we go together, I’ll find out.

Should I consider this good luck?

Or bad luck?

‘No… this is good.’

It was a great opportunity to figure out his intentions.

“Stay back here.”

I moved Lee Soo-yeon behind me and drew the Sword of the Solitary, cutting down a fire elemental that was aiming for Lee Hyun’s back.

-Screeeech!

The monster collapsed with a shrill scream.

Thanks to the Frost Spirit’s Breath buff, my attack landed perfectly.

“Ohh, you’re well prepared!”

Unlike me, Lee Hyun was tearing apart elementals and salamanders with pure physical prowess, without any buffs.

‘Crazy bastard.’

To think he already had such power even at this stage…

He truly surpassed the boundaries of the ordinary.

Crash!

My sword pierced the core of a magma slime made of molten rock and lava.

The slime melted away as its core shattered, and I split an onrushing red-skinned lizardman in two.

-Kkeueegh!

It didn’t take long to clean up the monsters that surged from the lava.

Lee Hyun crushed them with his natural physique and stats, while I easily dealt with them using the ice-element items I had prepared.

“Phew, that ended easier than I thought.”

Wiping sweat from his forehead, Lee Hyun whistled.

“Thanks. I’m Lee Hyun. Though, judging from your reaction, you already know me.”

He smiled brightly, extending his hand.

Short-cropped hair at the sides, slightly wavy hair at just the right length on top.

With his neat hairstyle, tall frame, and likable looks, it was no wonder he became a TV star later.

I clasped his hand.

“Of course. You’re on TV so often—it’d be impossible not to know you.”

“Haha, that’s embarrassing. This wasn’t really what I intended.”

“I’m Do-jin.”

There was no point hiding my name—it would only arouse suspicion.

“And the lady behind you…?”

“A friend. We came in together to raid this Abyss.”

“I see.”

Lee Hyun nodded, looking at me without the slightest trace of suspicion.

That was the kind of man he was.

He truly believed people were fundamentally good, and always trusted others.

He was the type who made you think: If someone acted on God’s faith, wouldn’t they be like him?

But to me, that devout trust and goodness was something to be wary of.

What should I do?

Should I kill Lee Hyun here and now?

He held no hostility toward me at all.

‘Right now, Lee Hyun isn’t that strong.’

If I went all out, I could manage to kill him.

But—

I abandoned the thought.

‘The Creator God.’

If I killed Lee Hyun, the Creator God would notice that his proxy had been slain by me. Then he’d simply choose another representative, all while marking me, Kim Do-jin, as someone to watch.

Even if Lee Hyun wasn’t officially a proxy yet, the same risk applied.

In the worst case, the Creator himself might even contact me.

That was too reckless.

The only advantage I currently had was information.

I knew them. I knew about hidden pieces they didn’t.

Though I was still weaker than guilds, I had the potential to grow infinitely, unnoticed by their eyes.

But once I exposed myself—

‘I’d be throwing away every advantage I have.’

Unless I could kill the Creator God in one strike, I couldn’t afford to kill Lee Hyun right now.

If I couldn’t kill him, then I should use him.

‘Teaming up will make raiding this Abyss much easier.’

My earlier worries about the difficulty of this raid vanished once I met him.

Thanks to Lee Hyun, we cleared the entryway with ease.

At this rate, I’d reach my goal far faster.

My goal wasn’t simply to close this Abyss.

It was to monopolize the hidden piece inside this lava Abyss.

Closing Gragas Abyss was just an obligation forced upon me after killing Hephaestus.

‘Then I’ll push that obligation onto Lee Hyun, and I’ll keep the hidden piece for myself.’

Lee Hyun wasn’t the type to demand ownership of loot just because he did the hard work.

In fact, it was lucky it was him.

If it had been another hero or guild hunter, I’d probably be fighting for my life right now.

‘Yes. Using him is better.’

The balance tipped toward sparing him.

As we exchanged greetings, Lee Soo-yeon came running up.

“Nice to meet you, Lee Hyun! I’m a fan!”

She beamed, eyes shining, making Lee Hyun smile awkwardly.

After a short introduction, I asked him:

“Since it seems we have the same goal here, would you like to raid together?”

“Gladly! I was hoping you’d say that.”

“Then let’s form a quick party.”

“Lee Hyun, you take the vanguard. I’ll cover the rear. Soo-yeon, you take the middle.”

“Understood.”

Soo-yeon nodded, and our formation was quickly decided.

“I’ll take the lead, then.”

Without hesitation, Lee Hyun raised his spear and marched forward into the Abyss.

He was always more action than words.

Watching his back, Soo-yeon whispered to me.

“What are you going to do?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why put me in the middle? I… I have no combat skills or experience….”

“You won’t need them. Nothing will threaten you here.”

With me behind and Lee Hyun ahead, no monster would even reach her.

There wouldn’t even be a need to use the Space of Records to retreat.

“If things really go south, use the Space of Records.”

“…Alright. I’ll do that.”

“Good. Now let’s move. We’ve got a long way to go.”

And so, we entered deeper into the Abyss.

It wasn’t too difficult.

Even alone, I’d considered this Abyss manageable—not because it was weak, but because I knew the Gragas raid path perfectly.

With Lee Hyun added, we often bypassed my strategies entirely, simply overwhelming enemies with his raw strength.

Cutting through hordes of monsters, we advanced toward the deepest depths.

Stab!
Stab!

Grrrk!

With precise strikes, I shattered the cores of fire elementals and magma slimes.

They dissipated without regenerating.

“Impressive! You two really are capable of handling this yourselves.”

Lee Hyun called out in admiration.

“You’re no different.”

“I’m just swinging my spear. Haha!”

With a single swing, he obliterated an elemental, ripping its core and body apart together.

Thanks to both our efforts, it took less than three days to reach the deepest chamber.

A guild would normally need at least two months to get here.

Of course, guilds had different priorities—clearing every monster and gathering all byproducts.

Our party, meanwhile, rushed straight for the essentials.

‘Even considering that, our speed is ridiculous.’

Clack!

“The trap is disarmed.”

“Wow… Are you a professional rogue, Do-jin?”

I shook my head.

“Just some tricks I picked up.”

“Too skilled to be called tricks! I’ve never seen anyone disarm traps that quickly.”

“It’s nothing.”

As I walked past, Lee Hyun’s eyes shone with admiration.

“Amazing. Which guild are you with? Hermes? Or Artemis? Ah, no, they only take women….”

The longer the raid went on, the chattier he became.

Whether it was because he felt closer to me or because he respected me, I didn’t know.

But most of his unnecessary chatter, I ignored.

It wasn’t worth risking leaking information.

Yet when he wouldn’t stop pestering me about guilds, I sighed and answered.

“I don’t belong to any guild.”

“Really?”

“Yes. What about you, Lee Hyun?”

“Ah… me neither.”

“You’re not in a guild?”

“Haha, embarrassing as it is, no. I awakened with the blessing of some nameless god, but I’m not strong enough to join a guild.”

For a moment, I thought maybe I could recruit him before he pledged to the Creator God.

If he joined me, his strength would be invaluable.

But I dismissed the thought.

‘He already bears the Creator God’s blessing.’

That “nameless god” wasn’t some minor deity.

He hadn’t fully awakened yet, but I was certain the Creator already had his eye on him.

Once he awakened completely, that nameless god would reveal his true identity.

“Let’s take turns keeping watch in three-hour shifts. We’ve got alarms, but at least one person should stay awake.”

I suggested, and Lee Hyun agreed with a smile.

Later, as we traded watch duty, I weighed the thought again.

‘Do I kill him? Or spare him?’

But once more, I let the thought go.

Lee Hyun still needed to live.

At least until I became far stronger.

Finally, we reached the last area.

An endless lava field.

Across the lava lay an altar engraved with suspicious runes and a magic circle.

There was nothing resembling stepping stones.

At first glance, it was impossible to cross.

“Hmm… lava. Looks like we can’t cross here. Maybe we should find another path….”

Even Lee Hyun clicked his tongue in frustration.

A man who seemed able to overcome any hardship was troubled by this distance.

It was far too wide to cross without flight.

And there was no alternate route in sight.

The ceiling had stalactites of solidified magma, but even Lee Hyun couldn’t swing across on those.

‘Hephaestus got stuck here too.’

He wasted an entire month out of three just wandering here.

He only cleared it after receiving additional supplies.

And those supplies were—

‘The Frost Spirit’s Breath.’

“Step aside.”

“Hm?”

“I know how to get across.”

“You do?”

“Yes.”

I pulled out the Frost Spirit’s Breath.

“I’ll throw this. As soon as I do, both of you run at full speed. The lava will freeze, but only briefly. I’ll lead, Soo-yeon will follow second, and Lee Hyun last.”

Saying that, I hurled the breath into the lava.

Fwoosh!

The moment it struck, ice spread across thirty meters, instantly cooling the surface.

A black stone path formed above the lava.

“It won’t last! Run, now!”

We sprinted across the temporary stepping stones.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Every time I threw another Breath, the lava froze into a path, only to melt back into magma by the time Lee Hyun crossed.

“Huff! Huff! This is… really tough!”

Even so, Soo-yeon managed to keep up, thanks to being an Awakened.

“Hurry! The stones will melt!”

At my urging, she grit her teeth and ran faster.