The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned
[A training combat artifact is being activated. Setting mode.]
A cold mechanical voice echoed throughout the spacious training ground.
[Mode setting complete. Executing Challenge Mode.]
Whirrrrr!
With the sound of the artifact activating, a beast appeared at the center of the training ground.
A beast that was nothing but a massive, disembodied eye.
A 3-meter-tall giant eyeball floated eerily in the air. If that wasn’t horrifying enough, dozens—no, hundreds—of tentacles covered with smaller eyeballs writhed around it, creating a grotesque sight straight out of a nightmare.
‘This thing definitely couldn’t exist in reality.’
How many eyes does it even have?
This has to rank far beyond the Hundred-Eyed level of beasts.
“Alright, put these on your arms, legs, and neck.”
Professor Elisha handed over a set of silver rings.
“What are these?”
“Recognition devices. You can take up to three hits on your arms and legs. But a single hit to the head will result in failure.”
“Ah, I see.”
This feels a bit like a survival game.
Now that I think about it, I’ve seen heroes use something like this during sparring matches.
Not that I’ve ever needed it—I always revive, after all.
“And during this training, you’ll be using this sword.”
The sword Professor Elisha handed over looked more like a silver rod than an actual weapon.
“This sword also has a recognition device. When you attack the holographic beast, it will simulate the effect of real damage.”
“Sounds fun.”
I strapped on the recognition devices and stepped into the center of the training ground.
[Countdown begins.]
A number appeared in midair, steadily decreasing.
[Challenge Mode, start.]
With a low mechanical hum—
Zziiiiiing!
A yellow laser shot out from the beast’s eye.
As expected of an “unrealistic” beast, its attack was impossibly fast.
In the blink of an eye, the laser was nearly upon me.
“Tch.”
I instinctively twisted my body to evade the laser.
Gripping the sword, I observed the beast’s movements.
‘No need to use the Ashen Flame.’
This eye beast is just a holographic illusion.
It can only be damaged through direct hits with this recognized sword.
“In that case...”
First step: closing the distance.
“Whew.”
Focusing magic into the soles of my feet, I launched forward with an explosive push.
Berald Martial Arts: Gale Step.
BOOM!
With a deafening roar, I shot forward.
Perhaps sensing my movement, tentacles swarmed toward me from every direction.
SLAM!
I kicked off the air and twisted sharply, defying inertia.
The tentacles flailed, momentarily losing track of me.
‘Now!’
I swung the sword downward, aiming for the beast’s pupil.
A strike like a thunderbolt, falling from above.
The beast, lacking arms, legs, or any other appendages besides its tentacles, should have had no way to dodge.
Whoosh!
The sword cut through empty air.
The beast’s body dissipated like smoke right before my eyes.
“What the...?”
The beast reappeared about 50 meters away.
‘So it can teleport now?’
I couldn’t help but chuckle in disbelief at the beast’s instantaneous relocation.
But what came next was even more absurd.
Zziiiiiiing!
Hundreds of tentacles writhed, gathering light into the eyeballs at their tips.
The surrounding space lit up with hundreds—no, thousands—of lasers.
Looking at the overwhelming number of glowing beams, I laughed bitterly.
“This is Challenge Mode?”
What kind of lunatics built this thing in the Republic?
Zziiiiiiiing!
No time to think.
Lasers rained down from every direction.
Twisting my body, I swung the sword to deflect the lasers.
CLANG!
At least they had a shred of mercy.
The lasers ricocheted off the sword instead of piercing through.
But still...
Zziiiiiiiiiiing!
The lasers began splitting and multiplying, covering the entire training ground.
Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands—it was pointless to keep counting.
“What is this madness now?!”
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
I barely managed to deflect the onslaught with the sword.
But there were far too many to block.
Dodging?
Not an option.
The gaps between the lasers were barely the size of a marble—no way could a human fit through.
“Damn it!”
Beep!
[Hit detected on the shoulder. Two more hits will result in Challenge failure.]
With a short warning tone, the lasers abruptly disappeared.
Apparently, one hit forces a reset, halting the attacks and starting over.
The eye beast floated back to its original position as if saying, ‘I’ll give you another chance.’
And then—
Tweet tweet!
[Would you like to lower the Challenge difficulty?]
Accompanied by the chirping of a chick, a message popped up in front of me.
Below it was a smug emoticon that made me want to punch something.
“...Unbelievable.”
I let out a hollow laugh at the mocking symbols below the message.
“So it wasn’t meant to be cleared in one go, huh?”
Now it made sense why none of the lasers aimed for my head.
It was designed to force at least one unavoidable hit, lowering the difficulty afterward.
“Hah.”
This isn’t a challenge—it’s a toddler’s scribble on a notebook.
“Erm... my apologies, Candidate Dale. I didn’t know the mode would be like this.”
Professor Elisha clicked her tongue, visibly flustered.
She had heard rumors that the developers had half-jokingly created this mode, but even she didn’t expect it to be this absurd.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
"Let me end the mode for a moment, so hold on—"
"No, it's fine."
"What?"
I glared at the Eye Beast and curled my lips into a fierce grin.
"Alright, so you're asking for it, huh?"
Honestly, I had started the challenge mode half as a joke.
But dealing with such an absurd level of difficulty stirred a strange sense of stubbornness within me.
"Fine. Let's do this."
Without lowering the difficulty, I strode toward the Eye Beast.
Ziiiiing!
A mass of light gathered at the ends of its wriggling tentacles, each tipped with an eye.
Hundreds of yellow lasers aimed at me and fired simultaneously.
"Tch."
I took a sharp breath and lowered my body.
With my body low to the ground, I dashed forward.
Lasers grazed past my hair.
Whoosh!
Swinging my sword as I closed in on the Eye Beast, it instantly teleported 50 meters away again.
"Figures. That’s how you want to play it, huh?"
Berald’s Martial Arts: Tempest Stride
Boom!
I closed the 50-meter gap in an instant and swung my sword once more.
Slash!
Just before the Eye Beast disappeared again, the tip of my sword barely grazed it.
The beast's eye sockets flashed red, and a "Hit" notification appeared.
‘From the time it detects an attack to the time it teleports, about 0.3 seconds.’
In that 0.3 seconds, I can land a hit.
Ziiiiiiiiiiing!
The lasers split again.
Thousands—no, tens of thousands—of rays of light filled the entire training ground.
I looked for gaps barely large enough to fit a fist through.
"Alright, then. Let me show you something too."
I formed a mana bullet.
Not outside my body, but inside.
"I’ll show you what truly unrealistic means."
Boom!
An explosion resonated within me, shattering my body into fragments.
Ashy smoke spread out like mist.
And then—
Thud!
Dodging between the lasers, I "reformed" myself and stomped the ground hard.
0.1 seconds.
The momentary loss of sight caused by the ash smoke made the Eye Beast unable to react.
Stab!
The tip of my sword pierced through the pupil of the Eye Beast.
Screeeeeee!
[An error has occurred.]
[Force-quitting the mode and entering system recovery.]
As soon as my sword pierced the beast's pupil, a siren blared throughout the training ground.
I glanced at the flashing red warning lights and let out a small chuckle.
"So, they really thought no one would ever clear this, huh?"
Despite defeating the Eye Beast, there was no "clear" message—just an error.
It seemed they hadn’t accounted for the possibility of success when designing this.
"Haah."
I exhaled briefly, feeling the lingering pain throughout my body.
‘I haven’t fought like this in a long time.’
Lately, my abilities had grown so much that I hadn’t needed to push myself to such extremes in combat.
But in my past life, I often fought in this way—only possible thanks to the Blessing of Revival.
‘There’s a reason they called me the Immortal Ghost.’
Fighting like "the Immortal Ghost" again after so long ignited a heat deep within me.
I wasn’t sure if this was the right way to describe it, but it felt like I was recalling the fiery passion of my youth.
‘Hmm?’
The heat within my body grew stronger.
"What’s this?"
It felt as if I were viewing the world through a hazy mist.
A shiver ran down my spine, and something elusive flickered in my mind.
"This is...!"
Yes.
It was the sensation of being on the verge of an "enlightenment."
Gulp.
Just a little more.
If I could just reach out a little further...
"Ah..."
But the heat that had been building up in my body began to subside.
I let out a small sigh and clicked my tongue.
‘Failed, huh.’
It was disappointing, but still...
I had confirmed that my old "Immortal Ghost" fighting style held the key to a new realm.
As I stood alone, soothing my regret—
"Cadet Da-Dale..."
Professor Elisha stared at me in disbelief.
Scratching her cheek awkwardly, she glanced at the flashing warning lights.
"So, you wanted to go to the hot springs with me that badly?"
"What?"
"I never thought you’d risk your life to clear the challenge mode..."
"Uh..."
No, that’s not why. I just got carried away and—
"I-I'm sorry! From now on, if you want, I’ll go to the hot springs with you anytime!"
"No."
The way she said that made it sound like I was some lunatic willing to risk my life just to bathe with a girl.
"Follow me! We’re going to the hot springs now!"
"W-Wait. I think there’s a misunderstanding here."
"A misunderstanding?"
"When I blew myself up earlier, it wasn’t for that, but—"
"Then you don’t want to go together?"
"...Ahem."
Well, it’s not like I wouldn’t go.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]

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