While Balak was in the boss room, crafting his own patterns and undergoing bizarre training, there was someone outside the dungeon pushing themselves to the absolute limit with their training.
"Huuu… Huuu…"
"Hey, you okay?"
"Still… fine…"
His name was Herim.
He was the very first hero Balak had ever called a "hero"—the Cheonmu Hero.
Right now, Herim's chest swelled with emotion at the fact that he'd earned recognition from Balak, someone overwhelmingly stronger than him. That feeling had seeped into him like an addiction.
And when Balak had slain him, he'd left those words: "I'll look forward to next time." Fueled by the desire to challenge Balak again, Herim had driven himself mercilessly through grueling training for so long.
The result—
KABOOM!
"Arrrgh!! I told you not to practice that move here!!"
"S-Sorry…"
He had surpassed his limits and gained far greater power!!
Herim, now wielding strength on a whole other level, gazed toward the distant Abyss Pit late one night alongside his close comrades.
"Tomorrow, right, Herim?"
"Yeah."
"You really gotta go in there all by yourself?"
"A challenging spirit's taken root in me. Besides, I can't keep putting you guys through death over and over."
"Sigh… At least you said it nicely… Hey, Herim, I hear only heroes are heading in there these days. Why not talk to them first?"
"Only heroes are entering the dungeon?"
"Seems like a lot of them have been losing their minds lately."
"Ah… Guess there's no helping it then."
Currently, a massive number of hero parties were plunging into the Abyss Pit.
But the ones entering Balak's meticulously handcrafted Hallucination Realm all met the same gruesome end, overwhelmed by its sheer bullshit difficulty.
What happens when that repeats over and over?
"..."
"Grraaaah!!"
"Heheheheh…"
Heroes were special beings born with indomitable spirits, but their comrades tagging along? Not so much.
That's right! The heroes were starting to care about their comrades' glares!
'Lena, you okay?'
'AmIfine?I'mtotallyfine.'
'No, you don't seem fine…'
One hero's childhood friend would flash a chilling smile—eyes dead, lips curved up unnaturally.
"Heheheh…"
"W-What are you—"
"I'm a bean beetle, a bean beetle…"
Some felt like such trolls on every dungeon run that self-loathing consumed them.
"Graaaah!!"
"Why smash your head?! Help me, guys!!"
"Gyaaaaah! Let go! Let me go!!"
Others had just died too many times and snapped completely.
Realizing their comrades would be in even bigger trouble if they didn't instant-die in the dungeon, the heroes eventually gave their teams a break and decided to go in solo or in hero-only groups.
But when Herim heard the news, he shook his head and declared he'd enter the dungeon alone.
"Yeah, go get 'em. No reason to stop someone set on suffering solo."
"Ugh… Can't you block me just once?"
"Herim, you think we'd break that stubborn streak of yours? Ha, the sun'll rise in the west first."
"Fine, fine, my bad."
And so Herim spent the night chatting with his comrades, looking forward to entering the dungeon tomorrow.
****************
The next morning.
Cheonmu Hero Herim set off to conquer the dungeon alone.
With his insane reflexes, he got intel on Rooms 1 and 2 from a comrade the night before, dodging most of Room 1's traps.
Allowing just a single arrow to graze his shoulder, he cleared the first room.
"Huu… Huu…"
Herim's body was already drained from the brutal trap combos, tempting him to collapse right there.
But one being waiting ahead drove him forward.
He arrived at the Iron Labyrinth.
Upon entering Room 2, Herim immediately began mapping it out.
The maze's paths constantly shifted, a real headache, but he had everything needed to conquer it.
KABOOM!
"Beep… Bweeeee…"
The raw power to take down a massive steel golem solo.
"That's there, so this is… the starting point… Ngh!!"
The brains to furiously calculate his current position relative to the start.
Swish… Swish…
"Found… the path!!!"
The perseverance to complete his personal maze map despite the ever-changing layout.
Mastering all three to the extreme, he reached the door signaling the end of Room 2.
*************
The moment Cheonmu Hero Herim became the first to breakthrough Room 2, celebrating his success…
Balak saw it too and was absolutely thrilled.
"Yes!!! That's it!! Hahaha!!"
That brown-haired kid wasn't the same puny noob from before!!!
The little punk… I thought he'd quit since he vanished lately!
But thankfully, instead of rage-quitting, he'd gone off, grinded like mad, and come back stronger. What a relief.
What are noobs in a game?
Precious beings you gotta pet and nurture no matter what!
But I'd mistaken this noob for some imaginary bullshit and gone way too hard on him.
So, dungeon, I'm a bit disappointed in you.
Making me fall for that delusion…
If you're gonna force me in here, at least give me a damn explanation!
"Ugh… How many noobs have I driven to quit because of me…"
A brutal dungeon map is one thing; a total shitboss is another.
If the map's a nightmare, noobs go, "Oh, not ready for this yet~" and try elsewhere.
But a map anyone can beat, only to face a boss spamming 127 attacks in a row?
Whoa… Knowing you gotta face that shitboss later? Even I'd quit.
Damn! I've been a noob-shredder this whole time!
What a disgrace… Huh?
Wait, no! This is my chance to build legend status as the Great Warrior!!!
"Aha!! That's the way!!"
The way was to become the "Sensei."
In tough games, the system forces you to fight certain bosses.
Skip the system, and that hell-mode boss becomes the teacher, teaching players the mechanics.
If I do it?!
'You've grown so much stronger since our first meeting… heroes…'
"...Sniff."
'To save this world, you must defeat me… Cough! You know that better than anyone. No tears…'
"B-Balac Sensei!!!"
'Thank you so much for everything!!!'
Gazing proudly at his grown disciples, the master lets out a relieved sigh, slipping into eternal slumber with a serene smile, like a lifelong dream fulfilled.
Ahh… Pure romance.
The perfect end for a great warrior…
So, players! Let me help you reach greater heights in this world!!!
"Heh heh… Foresight at its finest?!"
Perfect timing too—my rooms each hone senses essential for combat by theme.
Room 1: Endless number-crunching and split-second decisions against traps.
Room 2: Solid test of power, brains, and grit.
Room 3 is…
Better to watch that noob tackling it now than hear me ramble.
He breezed Room 1 with pure body control, so no sweat.
Time to prep the boss room to welcome him!
Squeeze!
Greeeeen…
Last time was on me, noob!!
This time, the ultimate combat experience!!!
**************
Before Balak hit the button transforming the boss room…
Herim predicted the door might lead not to Balak's room, but another.
Finishing all preps at the door, he finally opened it.
"Wh-What is this place?"
Where Herim arrived was utterly unlike Rooms 1 or 2.
White walls and floors reflecting light like marble glittered under the illumination, dazzling the whole space. Herim squinted for a moment.
Once his eyes adjusted, he advanced slowly, senses locked on the room.
'The previous rooms each had a core concept. So this one must have one too.'
Never letting his guard down, assuming traps like the others, Herim's hunch hit the mark.
Piiiing!!!
"Urk?!"
Dodging something flying from nowhere, he scanned around in horror.
"Damn it!!!"
Ping!!!
Pipingpingping!!!!
Tiny holes in the white walls unleashed thousands of black magic bullets aimed straight at him!
But something was off. The all-white room made the pitch-black bullets easy to spot.
And their speed? Even a normie could dodge if they focused.
If you played it right, you could evade every single one—the room's gimmick was…
Bullet hell shooter!!
The thousands of black bullets targeting him were totally avoidable.
Of those dizzying thousands, only 3-5% were real threats.
But based on bullet hell rules, you had to *watch* and dodge the barrage pouring like rain.
Blind panic? Threats jump past 50%. To beat this, you needed guts!
No chickening out—pure steel nerves!
Ping!! Pingpingping!!
"Huu… Huu…"
Herim, with his guts and reflexes, should clear this easy.
But straight-line black bullets only? Too tame!
What's the most infuriating part of bullet hell?
Whiiiir!!
Boom!
"Guh?!"
Homing missiles with insane tracking!!
As Herim passed the one-third mark, red bullets appeared amid the blacks.
Not just homing—these flexed 360 degrees.
Weaker than black, but they curved beautifully back at him even if dodged!
You'd think: Infinite evasion while piercing black barrages with *that* tracking? Impossible!
Truth is, they're not for dodging!
This ain't a game—it's reality.
Slice those homing red bullets!
Quick-witted Herim did just that!
Second condition for clearing: Spot and destroy reds amid thousands of blacks—needs wide field of view.
Finally, bullet hell's real charm?
Gawking at the rainbow barrage!
Passing the two-thirds mark battered, multicolored bullets joined in.
Faster greens than black or red.
Giant purples three times bigger.
Slow blues that explode mid-flight, clearing other bullets…
But massive damage up close!
"This is insane…"
Soon the room filled with a chaotic rainbow storm. Herim blanked out at the madness.
But who was he?
The Cheonmu Hero whose talent even 90-100 floor bosses feared!
He quickly realized those "blue" bullets were key to the back half.
Spot on.
Why make them slow and clear others?
To break the chaos *using* them.
Final clear condition grasped: Turn enemy power against itself. Now Herim feared nothing.
Thwack!!!
Boom!!!
He smacked a slow blue toward him with his sword's flat—pre-explosion.
It wiped the path ahead clean. Herim dashed through.
Repeating charges and smacks, he reached Room 3's end.
No breather—the pursuing barrage forced him into the next room.