Requiem Of A Failed Hero



"Ah, so Sung Min died." Tae Dong-Hyun spoke solemnly rubbing the white mug in his hands with his thumb.

"Things were very rough in there huh?" He added, with his face bowed and biting his lips hard.

"I know you are probably beating yourself right now."

"If I was able to successfully able to build him an armor that doesn't tear off anytime he transforms, perhaps he would probably not have died."

"Don't do that hyungnim. I know you are going to be doing that again. You blame yourself for every loss. Please don't do that"

"Then aren't you beating up yourself right now?" Tae Dong-Hyun raised his face to Mok Jae-Hwa who was sitting opposite his hospital bed.

Mok Jae-Hwa bit the flesh of his lower lip from the inside.

"It is different with me hyungnim. I was with him, I was there... I could have done a better job at protecting him but I was depending on him."

"And is that a sin?" Tae Dong-Hyun asked with his eyes fixated on him. Mok Jae-Hwa opened his mouth to respond but put some hesitation before he responded with his head bowed, unable to lock gaze with Dong-Hyun.

"If I had been more conscious of protecting him, he wouldn't have been hurt that badly. Maybe I would have made it in time to save him."

"You know Jae-Hwa, we humans are fond of something..."

Mok Jae-Hwa slightly raised his head to see Dong-Hyun's face as he spoke.

"...we play this torrent of scenarios in our head of how well a lot could have gone better when it probably might have ended worse. I am sure you are a man that does not mind losing his life if it is to save others. But I will be frank with you Jae-Hwa, out of the two disaster ranks that we have, you are one. You would have been a greater loss to the country. I am sorry if it sounds too much, you know me, I have always been very blunt with my views. I hate that Sung Min had to die but that doesn't mean I'd have wished you to die instead of him and don't rid him of his dignity thinking he would have been better off being protected by you instead of him doing the protection.

I have seen Sung Min grow into this excellent man I never imagined him to be considering how arrogant he was that day you brought him to me..."

Mok Jae-Hwa chuckled as he remembered that day.

"He really was arrogant." He added as he remembered how Sung Min had dared to challenge Dong-Hyun because of his short stature.

"And he grew over the years to be this hero, a gentle guy that would follow you to heaven and hell. He deserves that much dignity. I hear she is pregnant."

Mok Jae-Hwa sighed as Dong-Hyun mentioned his last word.

"She wants to abort it. We have been the ones stopping her."

Dong-Hyun flared up but didn't say anything immediately and slowly calmed down. His initial reaction to it was supposed to be the flaring but he recomposed himself as he tried to think from her perspective.

"I guess carrying his child for the next few months without him will be very hard for her."

"They say pregnancy is a tough thing for a woman and it doesn't matter if one is a hunter or not. It is one thing all of them have in common." Mok Jae-Hwa replied. "...then even after birth, she said she would be reminded every day of him every time she stares at her child." He added.

"True... Yujin has always been one to hardly forget things." Dong-Hyun said, nodding his head slightly.

"But still, she shouldn't abort that baby. That is the only blood of Sung Min we have."

"You don't worry, I will take care of that." Mok Jae-Hwa responded with a warm smile that spoke well of the confidence that his words emitted.

"I heard of what happened from Tam Seon."

"That blabbermouth." Tae Dong-Hyun shook his head and looked away from Mok Jae-Hwa. He has always been one that is shy of his achievement.

Even when he creates an amazing weapon or equipment, he would often say, "It's nothing much, don't over-praise it." But he wasn't saying that now. He just looked away.

So Mok Jae-Hwa knew that this was another level and just let out a soft chuckle.

"How was it?" He asked.

"I don't know how to put an experience of a lifetime for you in a few words." He looked at Mok Jae-Hwa. All his face was covered with bandages till the wounds healed.

"The results? Was it worth it?"

"What?!! Losing my divinity was more than worth it. I can't put it to words, I have reached a different level. And I can now see something floating in front of me."

Mok Jae-Hwa squinted his eyes.

"You can see something floating in front of you?"

"It's like when one is playing a game it has my info and other stuff..." Tae Dong-Hyun said casually.

Mok Jae-Hwa was getting more interested in what the man was saying but it seemed like he won't be able to know more about it because no matter how hard he tried he couldn't see anything floating in front of Tae Dong-Hyun like he had said.

"And so it is only visible to you?"

"Yes."

"What does it say?"

"It specifies my name and class and skills."

"Your name, class, and skills?" Mok Jae-Hwa repeated the same thing.

"Yes, however, what is more, interesting is that I can kind of level up."

"You can level up?" Mok Jae-Hwa repeated again. They were words that sounded too good to be true.

"Yes. I have the name on top and right beneath it there is a level-up bar that says level 1, and there's a description that says I can level up by making weapons. After that, it says Class, and in front puts 'The Legendary Blacksmith of Lost Hjoarn'

"That seems like a lot."

"It is trust me, but I think things will be a lot more different from now on."

Mok Jae-Hwa looked at him warmly, he didn't need further words to be said, the optimistic and confident expression that filled Dong-Hyun's face was enough certification for Tae Dong-Hyun's words. Surely the days of Rain Guild are going to get better.

"Right, where is hunter Raith."

"Hunter Raith? I believe he should be on his plane to Germany by now. He waited for you for a day but he couldn't wait anymore. I don't know why."

"How long have I been gone?"

"A day and ten hours or so..."

Tae Dong-Hyun chuckled with his face buried in his hand, 'Shit that sword really did a number on me huh.'