Terrible Nightmare(1)

Park Soohyun went to Namsan Tower with her mom and dad. Today was the Namsan Heroes Festival. It was a festival that was held every year without skipping. It was a prestigious festival where items belonging to heroes were presented and new technologies were introduced.

Soohyun had insisted months ago and got a promise from her father.

"Unbelievable."

There were huge holograms everywhere, and they were explaining the diagrams on the holograms. Mana was a science. The heroes didn't wonder about the source of this power, but many others, like Park Soohyun, did.

That's why Mana became a science after a while.

"How about looking at something more fun?"

Even though her mother had warned her, she couldn't take her eyes off a hologram. It was a gigantic mana reactor. Still a prototype, but an invention that would usher in a new era. At the moment, automobiles were powered by electricity. Higher model vehicles used mana stones as a source of power.

Mana stones were formed when mana from the atmosphere was deposited in mines or crystallized in dense mana environments. It was highly valuable and was the currency of trade between Heroes.

Mana stone was too valuable to be wasted as fuel. Because you could also use it by absorbing the mana in it.

"By using the mana in the atmosphere, it will provide us with near limitless energy. Of course, high quality mana stone is used in its construction. Because you need to write several runes on the mana stones to absorb the mana in the atmosphere."

Park Min-woo adjusted his glasses and explained.

"Is it possible to fly an island with a big enough engine?"

"Yes. We hear that several countries are attempting to do so. But since these projects are worth billions of dollars, decisions are not made easily. We can't understand the Mana yet. We are just beginning to understand the language."

After decades of research, starting with the Authorities, they began to make sense of mana's behavior in a certain language. Just like the formulas in physics and mathematics, there were formulas in mana science. But not through mathematics, but in a language called 'runic language'.

"So we will see a lot of this in the coming years, huh?"

"Yes. If you only knew the amount of money spent to complete the project... Who knows, maybe I'll be called in to help build it."

"I'm sure you will, Dad, you're the best in Korea."

"Hahahahaha!"

Park Min-woo patted his son on the head and laughed heartily. Then he looked at his wife. "I'm in a good mood, shall we eat something?"

"There's a food stand up ahead. Let's go there."

Soohyun nodded and took his mother's hand. On the way to the food stand, he paid attention to the people around him. His heart was bursting with excitement, it was his first time at a festival. There were so many people around that it was hard to even move forward.

When they reached the food booth, Min-woo looked around and frowned.

"What happened, honey?"

"It's strange... There are no heroes around."

"No way. The festival is run by the government itself. At least a few Knights from the Hero Bureau should come."

Heroes were divided into two types according to their duties. The first was the Knight. Knights were Heroes tasked with protecting the civilian population. But, their main task was to hunt dangerous monsters that appeared within the city limits and to clear dungeons.

The other type was the Hunter. Hunters were the title given to Heroes who hunted in the wilderness outside the settlement. Although their combat skills were at the forefront, it was the Hunters who made up the bulk of the ranking.

"I have a bad feeling. Soohyun, can't we go home for today?"

Soohyun's face turned grim.

"The Mana Reactor and the hero remains will only be on display for the first day. Can't we stay a little longer?"

His dream was to become a competent magical engineer like his father. The Mana Reactor was one of the pinnacles of this field. Seeing it up close and learning about it would inspire him in many ways in the future.

"Please~ Ten more minutes... Maybe the Heroes are on guard duty somewhere else, or there's traffic?"

Min-woo wrinkled his brows and looked at his wife. He sighed when he saw her shake her head.

"Okay, but it's only ten minutes. We're going home right after."

"Yay! Thank you!"

Soohyun hugged her father excitedly.

"Hahahaha..."

Min-woo and Soo-mi couldn't help but smile. As smart as Soohyun was, he was only 12 years old.

It was hard to resist him.

Soohyun went to the booth displaying the Mana Reactor and looked at the information about it in detail. After asking his father a few questions, he excitedly went to the remains of the heroes. These relics were one notch above Magical Items, items that formed spontaneously in nature.

They were incredibly valuable.

On the stand was a short sword with rose embroidery on it. The name of the sword was 'Bloody Rose'. It was a recently discovered relic.

He was about to ask a question when he heard his father's voice.

"Ohh, the heroes have come this way."

Three men in metallic armor, looking like medieval knights, were moving through the crowd, looking around carefully.

Min-woo was relieved.

"Then a little more-"

He turned his head in excitement and his smile stopped.

A sudden explosion shook Namsan Tower. The massive tower began to topple after a few explosions. Everything happened so suddenly. Soohyun didn't realize what had happened until he felt a strong hand grabbing him.

His father suddenly embraced him and his mother and started running madly.

The explosions continued.

At the same time the ground shook violently. It was like an earthquake of magnitude nine. The peaceful festival atmosphere suddenly became chaotic to the point of hell. The screams coming from everywhere were like a nightmare.

Woaaaaaaar!

At that moment, a gigantic silhouette blocking the moonlight landed on the ruins of Namsan Tower. Its diamond-like scales were a metallic green color. Its fearsome teeth were longer than an any adult man.

It turned its head to the sky as it looked around in disgust.

WOAAAR!

With a terrifying roar, ordinary people trying to stand fell to the ground. A few low-level heroes were seen trying to escape, but it was futile. With a roar, the monster struck the ruins of the tower with its tail, scattering rubble.

This simple blow made even the smallest pebble more dangerous than a bullet.

"GOD, GOD, GOD, PLEASE!"

Soohyun couldn't comprehend what had happened, his brain had almost stopped. He was moving at full speed, accompanied by his mother's tears and his father's prayers.

What was happening?

What was that huge creature flying at the top of the tower?

A dragon?

Where were the heroes?

"Look! The heroes are coming!"

Park Min-woo, desperately trying to get away from the festival grounds, didn't lose focus despite these voices. He was already three hundred meters away from the dragon. He had to go at least another four hundred meters to get out of the festival area.

Min-woo was kind by nature. He was afraid to hurt even a fly and used his skills for good.

But he couldn't remember how many people he ran over while running away.

It had been a living hell, and the death toll from the rubble was over a hundred. The only good thing about the situation now was that the rubble had been stopped before it could reach them. Of course, it was the ordinary people left behind who stopped the rubble.

WOAAR!

The roar of terror was incomparably more majestic than the shouts of heroes. The enraged beast did not even glance at the heroes leaping towards it. It opened its mouth and spewed its Dragon's Breath on all the living.

"We are facing a Green Dragon! Even if we cannot kill it..."

Crack!

The hero's sentence was interrupted. When the Green Dragon's tail hit his body, all his bones instantly broke. By the time it made contact with the ground, it was already mush.

"Kill him!"

Five heroes with various weapons - swords, spears and even bows - tried to attack the Green Dragon, but they couldn't even scratch him. They only enraged the Dragon even more. The Dragon flapped its wings and hit the ground hard.

Boom!

As the rubble rose into the air, the Dragon hit the rubble with its tail and sent it at lightning speed at the heroes.

The heroes hesitated whether to step aside or not. After all, there were defenseless civilians behind them. If they chose to dodge the attack, the death of those behind them was certain. But if they met the attack, their death was guaranteed.

There was no need to think.

They were heroes.

They had to survive.

So they stepped aside and dodged the attack, then attacked the Green Dragon again. A Dragon represented the pinnacle of monsters. Even top-level heroes couldn't stand against them, let alone mid-level heroes like them.

Boom!

The rubble took the lives of countless civilians behind them.

Pieces of concrete and iron weighing hundreds of kilos were more dangerous than the deadliest weapons at this speed. Some were crushed, others were pierced by the iron.

"Help!"

"Help me!"

"Heroes!"

Wails and screams could be heard on all sides. Blood and pieces of flesh formed a river. Dust rose into the air, making it difficult to see. Only the silhouettes of the heroes and the dragon could be seen in the air.

At that moment, Park Soohyun's eyes were burning.

She didn't want to believe the sight in front of her.

A pair of pieces of iron were right under his nose, hot blood spilled onto his toes. He was surrounded by a mountainous body that could block out even the darkness and a pair of arms that seemed more delicate than anything else. At first he could not understand what was happening.

"Mom...?"

Drops of blood oozing from her mother's mouth soaked his little face.

The pieces of iron that had entered her chest came out the other side. Soohyun saw a silhouette behind his mother, standing tall despite everything.

His back was completely ripped apart, blood pooling like a puddle behind his. His internal organs were visible, but he had a smile on his face as if nothing had happened.

"Don't... blame... yourself..."

He vomited blood when he could hardly say the words. Of all people, Min-woo himself had taken the most damage. He had protected his wife and child from the waves of energy and debris. But the last wave couldn't stop the iron from entering his chest.

If his wife hadn't pushed Soohyun away at the last moment and hugged him, Soohyun would have been riddled with holes. Thinking about it, he fell in love with his wife all over again.

"My son."

Soohyun's brain had stopped working. He had no idea what was going on. What had happened? His parents were so distraught.

He wanted to hug his mother but was met with a pair of stiff hands.

"Watch out for Dragon's Breath!"

Soohyun was hit hard on his body and flew back meters.

"DAD!"

When he stood up, his whole world was filled with orange color.

He looked at his father and mother and saw them smiling gently. Immediately, a frightening flame erupted from their bodies. It collided with the wave of flames coming from behind them and split the wave in two.

"MOM! DAD!"

Soohyun ran to the two silhouettes engulfed in flames. His clothes and skin were completely burned, so hot that even the metallic objects on him melted instantly.

His face and even his eyes could not withstand the heat, but Soohyun frantically ran towards them. The blood flowing from his body was instantly evaporating.

"MOM, DAD!"

Just as he was about to reach them, he tripped over a stone and collapsed.

He never got up again.