[12th Round] This is Pride
It was a very simple principle.
Even the pores of my skin were covered with scales.
But scales weren’t armor. It wasn’t like a helmet that kept the hair inside. It actually pushed out the hair that was in the way.
It wasn’t just the hair on my scalp. The ones on my chest and armpits, which were symbols of my masculinity, had also been blown away.
I reached over my pants in a hurry.
My little member, covered in dark scales, looked like an armored tank, which looked pretty good, but the thick camouflage was gone.
This was a tragedy…
Sluuuur.
Even after releasing the dragon scales, my hair didn’t recover immediately.
That was because my hair, which was tougher than thin wires, didn’t become that way just by letting it grow naturally.
Iron, phosphorus, amino acid, cysteine, melanin pigment, biotin, finasteride, dutasteride, minoxidil, vitamin B, vitamin C, omega-3….
It contained a lot more substances than just vitamins!
“First, I have to regain my normal hair…”
Recalling the composition of ordinary hair stuck in the corner of my memory, I was able to quickly patch up my baldness and my barren hill.
It took about a minute each to create since it was artificial manipulation, not natural hair loss, and each strand required high mastery to craft.
It took an entire hour to completely regain my hair!
It truly tested my patience.
I’m glad only Shadow A and I are here.
“I didn’t laugh, hero.”
“I know.”
“I really didn’t laugh.”
“… Really?”
“Yes, really! So don’t look at my neck appetizingly! And I think you look good without hair. You had such a manly atmosphere.”
Shadow A flattered me.
Were elves different from humans?
▶ Appearance: Wow…I didn’t know cadet Kang Han Soo was this handsome. There was an old saying that stated the one who won without fighting was the one who was strong. Even bald, you’re still among the top three most handsome men I know. The scruffy feeling of the hair… Oh my! It doesn’t matter how cold your personality is. I think girls will line up for you.
The complement of the Trainee Teacher was a bit excessive.
► Surprise: You don’t believe me even when I compliment you. I’ll forgive you because you’re a handsome man who passed even my high standards. Hmmph!
I wasn’t even 30 years old yet, much less 100 years old. How could I start losing hair?
This was simply unacceptable.
“It’s better to keep King’s Wrath hidden.”
I didn’t want to use it unless I was left with no other choice.
There was no need to clean up the fallen strands.
Master Mollan’s teachings maintained them, but the moment they fell off my body, they had already lost their ability to maintain their molecular structure.
With this, traces of hair loss were completely gone.
I decided to continue the disrupted status check due to the shock and fear from the side effects of King’s Wrath.
“I’m okay, my lord.”
“Me too, Father.”
The summoned Saint H and Green Cake were alright. Boris, who still had to deal with the damage from the last battle-
“Huh?”
As usual, the First Spirit couldn’t stand on her own. After being called, she screamed and flopped to the floor, as if she had fallen from the bed on which she was sleeping peacefully.
Her complexion was unhealthy.
I didn’t know how long it would take, but it was impossible to use her as part of my martial strength in that state.
“The First Spirit is out.”
“Hero! Eliminating noble spirits as you wish– huh?! Your head’s as pointed as thorns! What happened while we were apart?!”
My hair was still short, making me look like a hedgehog. The First Spirit appeared above my head, rubbed her bottoms on it, and quickly flew away, feigning pain.
I guess the wings on her back weren’t for decoration after all.
Ppyong! Ppyong! Ppyong! Ppyong! Ppyong! Ppyong!
Then came the crowned spirits. Land, fire, wind, water, soul.
All five crowned attributes had gathered. They settled in my armpits and groin as if they were competing for territories.
They then fought a fierce territorial battle.
They pinched and tickled each other without any mercy. When they found themselves in a disadvantageous position, some allied together and collaborated cowardly.
“How did you get here?”
Shouldn’t she be stuck in the sewers of the elven kingdom?
“Whoa! That’s a very good question, hero. Don’t underestimate my addiction to your scent!”
The First Spirit, sitting on my shoulder for a quick stop, looked smug. “Hmmm. Is it similar to Shadow A?”
“Similar, but also different. I rely on natural forces, not skills! I have appointed the children as my representatives, or as the ‘King’, and this time, we designated the Drug Hero as the ‘Rook.'”
“It’s like castling.”
Castling.
It was a move in chess.
For as long as the King and Rook had never been moved, they could be switched in such a way that would put the King in a safe corner and move the Rook to the center.
I remembered that as a child, I didn’t know the rules of chess and even argued with my father about how many squares I could move the pieces.
“That’s a good example. It’s similar to castling. The guardian could only be designated once, so no matter how rough the situation became, we kept saving it until now. But now that your characteristics have changed after returning, we quickly appointed one.”
“Legend?”
“Yes, I didn’t really have any other choice. Having been exposed to you for a long time, my body can barely hold on without you. These children will soon be under your influence too.
Dragging the children that she loved into the pits of addiction like herself… It was a complete lie that that spirit was pure.
“What’s left is the Holy Sword.”
A weapon designed to kill the Demon King Pedonar if he ever escaped the Fantasy dimension.
But even this great sword could not bear the third form of King Noebius, which reached the level of God. It was almost broken in the process.
Was the Demon King too weak?
Or maybe my dear friend was just too strong.
Bbyong!
The summoned Holy Sword, Nucleon, was in very good condition.
The crack on the blade had disappeared, and it became sharp-edged again, being able to pierce and slash through anything as if nothing had happened to it before.
I was done with the inspection.
What remained was the purpose of the Secondary Class.
The elementary education course focused on defeating the demon lord.
“What about the secondary education course, then, Trainee Teacher?”
► Explanation: Working together with the angels to fight the Demon Lord and the Five Great Disasters. There is no time limit, but as time goes by, the enemy’s army will start growing like a snowball, making it more and more difficult to defeat them. Kang Han-soo has already experienced it, right? The system bug caused the rapid increase in the breeding and birth rate of the demons and even caused Luke to run away.
I remembered it well.
No matter how much time passed, the power of the Demon Lord and the Five Great Disasters didn’t strengthen in the Elementary Course. However, the Devil King Pedonar interfered with the system and raised the reproduction rate of the devil tremendously.
‘Have you fixed that bug?’
▶Reluctant: I don’t know, to be honest. The seniors in the system said that it’d been fixed, but new demons still continue to be born. There’s a rumor being passed around that people shouldn’t expect anything good from them.
So something like that was going on! I had no idea.
By ignoring the sincerity of the demons who built the line of defense or by using defenseless airways, they infiltrated into the Demon Lord’s castle.
I didn’t care if there was a new demon.
I shared the view of Shadow A.
I had no problem activating the skill ‘Teacher’ even in this place. Thanks to this, I was able to get a glimpse of the heroes’ situation that went on an adventure with Lanuvel.
“Alright, heroes! It’s done! Lanuvel’s special!”
“A delicious meal served with Lucifer…”
“Lanuvel is very cute today as well.”
‘Oh?! Alex! That’s my spoon!’
The location was the Western Continent of Fantasy. It’s the only place that was covered with giant flies.
A hero with two sons and three daughters joined Lanuvel and Alex, who started from the Central Continent. A dark knight recruited from the Western Continent could also be seen.
Their numbers were too small.
Saint A, Aqua, Sylvia, Nasus, Imperial Princess…
What about all of them?
▶Assumption: There’s a reason they are in F class. Judging by the fact that they do not have an angel in their group, they did not manage to unite with the angels from El Molando. With this group, they will fail 100% against the Five Disasters.
It was very rare for Trainee Teachers to assert themselves confidently. That made me curious.
▶Explanation: The First Hero’s body gained five different scars from the Five Great Disasters. They’re powerful and lethal. Their attacks were sealed in the elementary course because they were too dangerous, but not in the middle school course. Anyway, it couldn’t be stopped unless El Molando’s angels were of a certain rank.
It was quite an interesting story.
Plus, I was curious about the secondary school days of the Trainee Teacher.
▶ Shy: I messed up my entrance exam because I couldn’t get any female colleagues except for the Saint. I went to C class and had a hard time. I was bullied after rejecting the confession of the leader. It was too much. I have standards too… If El Molando hadn’t helped the angels, I wouldn’t be here.
‘Cheer up, Trainee Teacher! So what do you think of me?’
▶ Puzzled: The purpose of the secondary school course is to learn about the angel race and gain their trust and cooperation. If the only objective is to eradicate the Five Great Disasters, for you, Kang Han Soo, all this would be unnecessary. You already possess enough divinity to stop their lethal move.
I agreed.
▷ Type: Skills
▷ Name: Divinity
▷ Grade: Z
▶ ZZ: Divine Retribution (34%)
▶ Z: Unconditionally Divine.
▷ SSS: Receive worship.
▷ SS: Perform divine reflections.
▷ S: Ignore normal attacks.
▷ A: Receive praise.
▷ B: Purify Dark Energy.
▷ C: Use divine protection.
▷ D: Bestow a blessing.
▷ E: Resist Dark Energy.
▷ F: Use divine attack.
King Noebius completely ignored my Divinity Z, but I didn’t think the Five Great Disasters could.
The Trainee Teacher checked it out a little while ago.
“Additional things have been added to the secondary curriculum.”
But the role of the hero remained unchanged.
I had to fight for the innocent and the civilians.
“Drug Hero, will you go straight to the Northern Continent to see your son?”
“Hmm…”
Originally, we were going to meet at the entrance examination hall, but because of the secondary class students’ intrusion, that hope had died.
But it didn’t agitate me.
My son, birthed by the Sword Princess, was part of the Fantasy continent. He was one of thousands or tens of thousands of my clones.
Although I wanted to meet up with him at least once, I couldn’t worry about the smallest details at all times.
“Drug Spirit.”
“I don’t expect you to call me by my name, but you should at least call me the First Spirit.”
“Drug Spirit.”
“What do you want?!”
She started it first, but now she was the one who was upset.
“What do you think of me now?”
“A vicious hero who treats innocent spirits to drugs and enslaves them.”
“What about from a human perspective?”
“You are a great being that every human being should worship.”
“You are the strictest but also the sweetest hero in the world.”
The silent Saint H and Green Cake stepped in. But the two were also very biased and didn’t do much to help.
Shadow A gave me a wry smile.
“They know you as the hero before the regression, but the natives don’t. You are just the sixth hero to be summoned. One of the six chosen by God. That would be the most accurate expression.”
“Then…”
That was the most objective analysis so far. Thanks to her, I had decided on what to do.
“Drug Hero, what are you going to do?”
“I should see my son first, of course. But I’m not going in blind and empty-handed. Right now, just as Shadow A has said, I am just a bully in this world.”
I would become an emperor to make a wonderful first impression on my son.
▶Confused: Aren’t you putting too much on your shoulders, considering that you don’t really care about your son…?
That wasn’t it, Trainee Teacher.
My mind was very fuzzy at the moment.
“I’ll save face if I get rid of my greed and unite the Central and Northern Continents.”
