Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan

Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan – 014

Yeo Jin-soo’s mental breakdown event.

It seemed that the mental attack of the Rift Boss was a counter against this kid.

My heart felt heavy.

‘So that’s why.’

Yeo Jin-soo fears being abandoned.

He lost his family and was lonely until he felt a sense of belonging in the Harmony Clan. He probably considered Isaac, the leader, to be similar to a foul-mouthed and ill-tempered stepfather. His affectionate ‘older brothers and sisters’ gave him a sense of family.

The reason he sought me out two days ago must have been due to the fear of his group falling apart.

“The students keep losing consciousness!”

Seo Eun-ha shouted, panting.

She seemed to have been continually treating the students who had fainted from the mental attack.

‘There’s no time.’

This is not the time.

The only member who can cross the field is in a state of panic. As the clan’s leader, I must find another solution.

Bang!

Crackle!

A bursting sound came from the center of the boundary where the evil spirits were concentrated.

[The barrier has weakened.]

[Death is approaching.]

I swallowed my fear.

If I give up, it’s all over.

“Yeo Jin-soo, get up.”

“I, I can… do it.”

[Yeo Jin-soo is in despair.]

[Yeo Jin-soo blames himself.]

I managed to stand, using my sword for support.

The boy looked fragile, as if he could burst into tears at any moment. It was as if he couldn’t do anything without parental care.

Desperation was etched on Yeo Jin-soo’s face.

‘What should I do.’

My mind raced.

One of Hero Yeo Jin-soo’s “Narratives” is a mental breakdown event. If he overcomes this, he’ll gain a massive amount of experience, but that depends solely on him.

‘It’s uncertain.’

There’s no time for psychological counseling for Yeo Jin-soo right now. We need a more definitive strategy to break the pattern.

Crack!

Snap!

[The barrier is breaking.]

[Fear is rushing in.]

Just after a dull crashing sound, cracks appeared in all directions of the blue barrier.

The time bought by the unidentified supporter was coming to an end.

‘If I can pull Yeo Jin-soo out, then Hwang Man-deuk will have a chance. If he can just get through this horde of evil spirits and reach the gym…’

In other words, ‘I have to use the final finish this turn.’

It seemed like the only option for Hwang Man-deuk, who is relatively slow, to cross the field full of evil spirits.

‘I must somehow get Yeo Jin-soo up for the boss battle.’

The difficulty of this mission is extremely high.

It’s not impossible.

Let’s trust the members. My inventory is full of useful battle items,

After simulating the pattern strategy and boss battle with the Rift Boss, I reached out to Yeo Jin-soo.

“Yeo Jin-soo, hand me your sword. I need to use it for a moment.”

I intend to use Final Finish’s AoE.

It’s an untested application, but swinging a sword horizontally seems safer than throwing a grenade.

‘He might meet the awakening condition.’

One of Hero Yeo Jin-soo’s tricky awakening conditions is witnessing the ‘ultimate sword technique.’

Maybe he’ll catch a glimpse of some ultimate move when I use the Final Finish.

“I, I can… do it!”

His voice trembled.

My hand holding the sword trembles.

Instead of handing over the sword, the boy tightly grips it and raises it high.

My chest feels stifled.

I’m not trying to confiscate his sword, I have my reasons for doing this…

Uh.

“Hmm.”

Just as I was about to frown at Jin-soo’s stubbornness, for some reason, it felt like the depth in the child’s eyes increased.

‘Could it be?’

Even though my mind was telling me that the probability was slim, I felt goosebumps.

I felt like I might witness today the kind of dramatic growth in a hero that I’ve only seen in games.

“Ah, the sports field… across it… the gymnasium…! I’ve, I’ve checked it!”

Wobbling.

The boy walked shakily toward the central entrance.

‘Is this right?’

I was confused.

Is it right to let him go like this?

He looks like he’s about to collapse at any moment. There’s no way he can display his full fighting power in that state.

If Jin-soo dies like this… that would be both a huge loss in strength and a tragedy.

It would make winning the boss battle uncertain.

‘But still.’

If, just if Yeo Jin-soo can overcome the mental collapse event…

[Yeo Jin-soo’s soul is turbulent.]

[Yeo Jin-soo recalls happy days.]

The two lines of messages informed me what kind of fight Jin-soo was facing.

Memories of his now-unreachable parents and the strong bonds with his teammates who cared for him like a younger sibling.

These things seemed to be supporting Yeo Jin-soo, trying to help him grow.

‘Let’s trust him.’

I decided.

Let’s stick to the original strategy.

“Everyone, gather at the first floor central entrance.”

I issued the order.

Even if Jin-soo goes in alone, we can’t make all the evil spirits aggro on him.

Thud! Thud!

Crackle.

The barrier will break soon.

Once it breaks, evil spirits will rush in.

Aaaahhh!

Mommyyyy, Uwaaaah!

Screams of the students echoed from above.

An odd fire surged in my chest, and my fingertips started trembling.

[Yeo Jin-soo recalls happy days.]

[Yeo Jin-soo recalls memories with you.]

“……?”

While suppressing my fear with mind control, a strange message appeared on the bottom left of my vision.

A few steps ahead, the tremble on Jin-soo’s shoulders lessened.

Why is that?

Memories with Isaac shouldn’t be helpful in resisting a mental collapse.

[Yeo Jin-soo recalls your praise.]

[Yeo Jin-soo’s soul is turbulent.]

Praise?

Did I ever give him that…? What was it?

Whoosh.

Clang!

Right in front of the almost-broken barrier,

facing the countless evil spirits, the boy took a sword stance.

‘I don’t understand but…’

Jin-soo’s back seemed broader.

It looked like he had almost overcome his trauma with his few precious memories.

Especially the memories with me seemed to be most effective. If that really is the case, I shouldn’t just stand here and let Jin-soo face it alone.

‘… What’s the big deal about a few words.’

Riiip.

Swoosh!

The barrier broke.

As flesh monsters rushed through the broken hole, I strongly slapped Yeo Jin-soo’s back.

Thump.

“Ah!”

“Yeo Jin-soo, show them how incredible you are.”

“……!”

The trembling in the young swordsman completely stopped.

Something changed.

[Yeo Jin-soo’s soul is turbulent.]

[Yeo Jin-soo has driven away his trauma!]

Uuuuung.

A blue aura enveloped Jin-soo’s body.

[Yeo Jin-soo’s level has risen by 3.]

[Yeo Jin-soo’s Medium Mana Circuit [Extreme Pleasure] has been activated.]

“Yes!”

Crash.

Jin-soo’s right foot firmly pressed against the ground. The young swordsman shot forward like lightning.

Flash!

A blue light flickered.

Zap zap zap!

It sliced through the blackened barrier of evil spirits, splitting them apart and forcefully reaching into their lair.

My fists clenched spasmodically.

‘Is this the time to be impressed!?’

Roar!

A wave of evil spirits surged through the broken fissure.

Boom!

Just as I was about to throw my Thunderstrike Sword, covered in ‘Refined Essence,’ a barrage of grenades blocked their advance.

Gil-seong, who had seemingly just arrived, loaded her bullets next to me, and Hwang Man-deuk, transformed into his Werebear form, fell from above with a thud, blocking our front.

“Heh, heh.”

Seo Eun-ha, who joined us late, was panting heavily. She seemed to have exhausted a lot of mana saving the students.

‘It’s too much even for a boss battle. Jin-soo has to handle this.’

I turned on Jin-soo’s Akashic Live through the hologram screen. If anything goes wrong, I intend to throw a grenade with a final finisher.

Zap zap zap!

Whirl.

Flash!

The perspectives on Jin-soo’s Akashic Live changed constantly.

The evil spirits were sliced into dozens of pieces by the young swordsman’s swift blade, and their lunging gestures only grasped at empty air.

‘This is Yeo Jin-soo!’

Delightfully fast.

It was a stark difference from his speed during training two days ago.

[Go Jin-soo!!!!]

[Sister is really cheering for you!]

[Seriously cool!]

[Fighting!]

My adrenaline spiked at the flood of chat messages. No joke, it felt like 50 chats were coming up every second.

Bang,

Jin-soo kicked open the firmly closed gymnasium doors and entered. Inside, a remaining Howling despair was letting out its final howls.

[I’m not scared anymore.]

Snap!

Yeo Jin-soo coolly slashed the creature. The chat was flooded with ‘ㅠㅠ’.

People were moved and delighted by Jin-soo’s impressive growth, and I deeply empathized with the viewers.

[All ‘Howling Despair’ have been eliminated.]

[The Red Moon is angered.]

Growl

Just as we were celebrating Jin-soo’s growth, the ominous moon in the sky unleashed red threads.

They began gathering the energy of the evil spirits into a single point.

‘The grand boss battle, huh..

[Use all Refined Holy Water?]

[Yes / No]

I turned off the hologram screen and used all remaining volumes of the ‘Refined Holy Water’ for buffs.

As I touched the Yes button, the Holy Water item disappeared, and a golden aura enveloped me.

Whoosh!

Growl!

Right in the center of the sports field.

A whirlwind of blood, made from evil spirits, struck the ground violently.

As the mist cleared, something eerie was revealed. It looked like a blood-soaked female form, the Rift Boss said to have dropped the first hidden piece.

‘It ends in one strike.’

I forced my legs to move.

Now is the time for me to act.

Growl… Growl…

[The Red Moon has awakened.]

[Death is approaching.]

A voice that seemed to tear at the eardrums rang out. The creature was staring at me.

For a moment, I felt as if my breath had stopped due to fear.

[Divine Protection protects you.]

The buff activated by the holy water protected my mental barrier.

“Leader, your orders!”

“I’ll handle this.”

“Ah…… Yes!”

I moved my squad back, and a glimmer of life returned to their eyes as if to say, ‘Now we’re safe!’ That reaction was somewhat burdensome.

I’m far from the overpowered hero they think I am.

‘There’s only one chance.’

I approached him as slowly as possible to catch him off guard. I had no energy to sprint, my legs were weak.

‘If he moves, I’ll throw it immediately.’

I tightly grasped Thunderstrike Sword in my right hand.

The world was submerged in red moonlight.

***

In the lazy afternoon.

An empty subway ride home from work.

It’s a Wednesday, the most dreaded day for office workers, and they still have to work for two more days until the weekend.

Because of the viral outbreak, Mr. A had no plans to go out anyway, so he decided to use his remaining half-day to relax and recharge.

Ding.

While fantasizing about binge-watching an unfinished drama while eating chicken, a sudden emergency alert appeared on his smartphone.

[The Akashic live stream of Seo Eun-ha _(galaxy9506)’s channel has been changed to ‘Disaster Situation’.]

What’s going on? The mission was at a high school, right?

It was supposed to be a post featuring cute GIFs of Eun-ha being surrounded by students.

“Gasp!”

Mr. A was startled repeatedly, first by the horrific monsters on the screen, and then by his own scream.

He couldn’t help but worry for the safety of the heroes, including Seo Eun-ha.

Especially when Leader Isaac gave the order for Yeo Jin-soo, the youngest and most adorable member, to break through a horde of monsters… Mr. A wanted to swear at him.

[What’s going on!]

[You, it’s you!]

[XX! Seriously, tone it down.]

The chat was filled with strong language. Mr. A, whose face had turned red, also contributed to cursing at Isaac. But surprisingly, it was Yeo Jin-soo, who had seemed mentally exhausted, making a spirited move as if breaking out of a demon’s lair.

[Wow, this is insane.]

[Wow!!!!]

[He’s amazing…]

[Seriously, he’s so cool.]

[This is so touching.ㅠㅠ]

‘Our youngest is amazing!’

This was the first time he felt goosebumps watching a hero in action.

The scene was more dynamic than any HMV.

‘Please, don’t get hurt…’

Heroes who get seriously injured or die on random days. There’s a reason why people say being a hero fan is bad for your mental health, but look at this small and precious hero who hasn’t lost his baby fat yet.

‘Huahhh, what should I do?’

Shwooosh!

Whirrrr…

His movements were so fast that the live feed’s perspective kept changing. A frail young boy cutting through a swarm of monstrous creatures, enamored with Seo Eun-ha. He was the youngest member of the squad who had caught her eye.

[Now, I’m not afraid anymore.]

Dduhak.

Our little hero, dramatically delivering lines that hit you in the heart and slashing through sinister dark figures. Scenes where the timid and reticent young hero struggled on the scene flashed through her mind.

‘That kid from before… maybe.’

It was moving, once again.

Vroooom!

Thump thump!

For a moment, the scene turned into something new.

‘What do we do, what do we do!’

A ghostly figure in a school uniform danced in the middle of the field. Even through the screen, you could see some muscle definition in the arms.

‘Our kids have to survive!’

Mr. A quickly typed message, and joined the ranks of those cheering for Seo Eun-ha and expressing their worries.

[Eun-ha, we’re watching over you!]

[Don’t get hurt! Don’t push yourself too hard!]

[Let’s all stay safe and sound together!ㅠㅠㅠ]

Seo Eun-ha anxiously chewed on her lower lip.

Mr. A was completely engrossed, fervently typing away in the chat, encouraging and worrying about the heroes.

His eyelids trembled as he empathized with Seo Eun-ha’s desperate feelings.

Right then, a golden aura burst forth next to her on the smartphone screen.

[I’ll handle this.]

The Leader Isaac, a near-S rank hero who had been burning Mr. A’s patience, finally stepped forward.

‘Ah, finally!’

Tears almost came to his eyes.