Do Heroes Need Welfare Too? - Chapter 1

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 1

* * *

【Hero’s Awakening】 was a game that had become somewhat famous in the community.

[Anonymous: Hero’s Awakening? This difficulty is absolute hell; It’s not like raising a child, so why are there so many things to take care of?]

The difficulty and grinding efficiency were garbage.

It was just a flash in the pan, so after a few months, it became hard to find any mention of it in the community.

Of course, there were hardcore users like me who continued playing underground.

【Hero’s Awakening】 was, as its name suggested, an ordinary game where you awaken a hero, gather companions, and kill the Demon King.

The user played the role of a god giving divine oracles to the protagonist, and there were various branching points. You could start by giving oracles to a young hero from the very beginning, or you could start giving oracles from the coming-of-age ceremony at eighteen. Player intervention was that important of an element.

Of course, you could freely choose the protagonist’s companions too.

‘Should I try taking only the priestess Meriel this playthrough?’

Usually, strategy guides recommended always bringing a DPS mage and a healer priestess.

Occasionally, when you made a strong but evil-aligned assassin character your companion, the hero would rebel. However, if you forced it twice, they would obediently give up.

‘Ah, died again.’

But in playthroughs where the hero rebelled, they would die quickly again.

Dying like a sunfish, dying again, and getting game overs like this meant only hardcore users remained while casual users had no choice but to leave.

Of course, I was included among those who remained.

[manggamer: I heard there’s a hidden route in Hero’s Awakening too, but they keep dying suddenly so I can’t do anything. What, from eight years old? I heard you have to raise them from then, but this kid can die from domestic abuse, so anyone trying to unlock the hidden route should take note.]

In the midst of this, hearing about a hidden route, I worked incredibly hard to see the ending faster than anyone else.

If I had studied with this intensity during my school days, I could have easily gotten into Korea University.

Your hero has died.

“Ah, why are they dying again!”

However, whether it was really a hidden route or not, the route branching point didn’t come easily. While awakening them at eighteen with divine oracles let you see the ending quickly, starting from eight years old meant you really had to try everything one by one.

“This much won’t make me surrender!”

An inexplicable stubbornness flared up, and I tried dozens, hundreds of times.

Anyway, no friends or family looked for me, and no one contacted me.

Since I had plenty of time, I devoted all my time to seeing the hidden route that everyone else had given up on.

However, even with such effort, breaking through the hidden route wasn’t easy.

‘Killing the Demon King alone without any companions, does this even make sense?’

But they say results don’t betray effort. Referring to the early-game strategy guides posted in the community, I ran toward seeing the hidden route.

1. Start from eight years old

2. Must have no companions.

3. Must not kill any living beings except the Demon King in the Demon King’s Castle.

I cleared them one by one while following these cruel conditions.

Despite the pleas of candidates asking to be taken as companions, I left the village without choosing any companions.

The hero who headed to the Demon King’s Castle alone either ran away from demons without killing them or avoided them before facing the Demon King alone.

Especially the condition of not killing demons before facing the Demon King was very tricky.

I had to move stealthily without being detected by them to reach the Demon King’s chamber.

And when his holy sword pierced through the Demon King’s belly.

SYSTEM: Hidden route has been unlocked. Hidden Route: Hero of the Demon King’s Castle

Unlike the normal route that ended with [THE END] after killing the Demon King, a new window appeared.

“Whoa, jackpot!”

I finally did it!

Instead of moving to the ending credits, the screen continued moving. The fallen Demon King’s corpse and the hero standing before it.

‘Well done, my boy!’

Your hero stares intently at the dead Demon King’s corpse.

“Can’t just stay still. Let’s get rid of it.”

Your hero grabs the Demon King’s legs and drags the body away.

After barely controlling my excitement, I quickly pondered how to see the hidden ending.

“The Demon King’s Castle seems bigger than I thought, so I should kill all the remaining demons- no, the hidden route conditions included not killing demons, so there must be some other use for them…”

Your hero discovers a magic stone with patterns drawn on it from the Demon King’s chest. ‘Demon King’s Subjugation Stone’ has been added to the hero’s inventory.

However, my joy at the new route was brief, as I quickly felt bored.

“Yawn. It’s fun to unlock a new map, but it’s boring.”

The Demon King’s Castle was far too vast, and without other companions, all I could do was watch the hero’s every move.

‘Is it time to quit the game now… But it’s too disappointing for this to be the ending.’

Still, thinking that if someone had unlocked the hidden route, they should at least see the ending, I spent several months watching the hero move around.

I had nothing else to do anyway.

The part-time job I barely found fired me after thoroughly looking down on me for being a high school graduate, and I had no family to support. I had myself to feed, but watching the hero eat was more interesting than that.

In the hidden route, events occasionally occurred where rebellious demons were beaten down.

Seeing demons that always died at the Demon King’s Castle entrance still alive somehow made me feel melancholy.

Just in case, I firmly warned not to kill them.

Then one day, a message appeared.

Your hero is curious about you.

“Don’t be curious about me, you little pixel fragment.”

I calmly uttered words of sharp rejection, but inside I was very flustered.

Do game characters normally talk to players like this?

I seemed to have rejected too quickly for no reason.

This might be the direction toward the ending. While I was agonizing over this thought, the hero who had been standing still after the quick rejection displayed another message.

Your hero is curious about your name.

“You’re just Hero 1…”

Or not? Was there a name in the tutorial? I pressed skip so much I couldn’t remember.

Your hero is startled and shyly reveals that his name is ‘Adam’.

“Hm?”

This was the first time I heard his name was Adam. It was natural. Throughout the game, he was called ‘Hero!’ or ‘that commoner knight’.

“That’s a nice name.”

It was a brief impression.

Your Adam smiles shyly.

But little Adam seemed to like it. I had the illusion that his graphically rendered cheeks were slightly tinged with crimson.

However, I picked up some snacks and made a small self-deprecating comment.

“After seeing the ending, it suddenly became a dating sim… what is this?”

Perhaps because of that, rather than interacting with him, I deliberately only talked about work.

No new quests appeared, and I ignored the occasional trivial questions the hero sent about me.

Thus, the ‘Demon King’s Castle Redevelopment Plan’ was proceeding smoothly.

“Work, work! Let’s stay holed up in the Demon King’s Castle. It’s hard to find a big castle on such prime land these days! Finding a house is like plucking stars from the sky these days. A free house, how amazing.”

The hero of this playthrough, who had refused the hero party that normally started with at least a 3-person party, entered the reconstruction of the Demon King’s Castle, which was harder than defeating the Demon King alone.

After making him work for several days like that, the hero suddenly stopped and stood still.

Your hero demands the creation of a contract.

“Hm?”

This message came a month later.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————