------------------
HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
------------------
Chapter 35
From São Paulo to Belém, and then another 700 kilometers to Santarém.
By the time Dojun and his group, who had departed from Seoul, arrived there, the total distance they had traveled exceeded 20,000 kilometers. It sounded impressive on paper, but sitting on a plane that long? Even for heroes, it was impossible to stay in peak condition.
“If we had gone through the U.S. first, I swear we’d be flat on the ground right now.”
Hwang Jinju complained dramatically, drawing a round of chuckles from the guild members.
Normally, there weren’t any direct flights between Seoul and São Paulo. But just this once, with special coordination from the Hero Association and the government, direct routes had been arranged. The same went for heroes coming in from other parts of the world.
“Is it really okay to head straight into a Rift like this?”
Even when they’d gone straight from São Paulo to Belém, people had been skeptical. And now, they were heading from Belém to Santarém, then directly into the Rift without rest.
Members of the Silken Lily Guild couldn’t help but wonder if they were pushing themselves too hard.
“It’ll be fine.”
Jinju said calmly, trying to reassure the group.
“No doubt about Jooyeon, but… can we really trust that new guy?”
None of the guild members had ever seen Dojun in action, nor had they heard anything substantial about him. So naturally, skepticism bubbled up.
“Newbie? Pfft!”
At the word "newbie," Choi Doyeon burst into laughter despite herself.
“Not all newbies are the same. If we’re talking about Seo Dojun... he’s probably a once-in-a-generation kind of rookie.”
“Really, that level?”
Even Park Seungho chimed in with an unusually serious tone. Now all eyes were fixed on Dojun, walking a few steps ahead, faces full of curiosity.
He was the man who had suddenly made a name for himself after being certified as an S-rank hero. Someone who had been acknowledged not only by Hyun Jooyeon—whose credibility was ironclad—but also by their trusted guild leader, Jeong Injoo. That alone was enough to endure the grueling pace of this trip.
But with their stamina drained from the long journey, and only the sparse intel provided by the Brazilian Hero Association to rely on, they couldn’t help but feel uneasy as they neared the rift.
“Well, we’re just scouting the area anyway, right? Just taking a look around. What could possibly go wrong?”
Someone mumbled, trying to tamp down their anxiety.
“Yeah... surely nothing will actually happen inside the Rift.”
But what they didn’t know was what kind of thoughts Seo Dojun had as he approached that rift.
“There’s a Rift about 800 meters from here.”
Hyun Jooyeon, checking the coordinates from the Brazilian Hero Association’s app on her smartphone, gave the update. Dojun asked—
“This the one where the Blue Crocos show up?”
“That’s the one. Even within Brazil, it ranks in the top three for Blue Croco density.”
Satisfied, Dojun nodded.
“…Wait, you’re not thinking of shutting the rift down, are you?”
Jooyeon lowered her voice as she asked, glancing behind her.
Given that he’d taken down Kaserian single-handedly, she had no doubt that if he wanted to, he could seal the Rift on his own.
“Is there a reason I shouldn’t?”
Dojun’s tone made it sound like that’s exactly what he came to do.
“Now that you’re an S-rank hero... what, are you trying to become a star or something?”
“Do I look like I care about that?”
“No.”
Jooyeon shook her head immediately, firmly. Dojun raised an eyebrow, as if to say ‘Then why’d you even ask?’
“If you close the rift, it’s gonna be hard to get your hands on more Blue Croco hearts. Why shut it down when you can keep harvesting it?”
Dojun’s reasoning made Jooyeon shake her head in disbelief.
Who else in the world would treat a Rift—not even a proper gate—as a private monster farm?
She could already see how this was going to go.
Dojun was planning to harvest every single Blue Croco heart for himself.
“It’s the rift.”
Jeong Injoo announced, signaling the group to get ready and be cautious.
Meanwhile, Dojun—
“You better keep up.”
—strode ahead into the Rift without hesitation, his pace unrelenting.
Jooyeon could only shake her head again at his total lack of hesitation.
＊ ＊ ＊
The characteristics of the Blue Croco are as follows:
First, its color. It’s entirely blue—so vividly that it brings to mind the old cartoon characters “Smurfs.” From the tip of its snout to the end of its tail, it’s covered head-to-toe in deep, saturated blue, as if it had just crawled out of a vat of paint.
Their sizes vary, but they range from a minimum of 20 meters up to a maximum of 40 meters in length.
That said, about 70% of their length is just the tail, so if you consider only the torso, they don’t come off as all that massive.
Overall, their shape resembles that of a crocodile.
But there are a few distinct differences: six eyes, eight legs, dozens of spiny protrusions along their back, and a hard, rounded growth at the end of the tail.
They’re unmistakably monsters—you’d never confuse them for anything else.
“…It looks way more monstrous than it did in the photos.”
Park Seungho swallowed hard as he stared at the Blue Croco in front of him.
Upon entering the Rift, the first things to greet them were the suffocating humidity that clung to the skin, the oppressive air that made it hard to breathe, and the mire beneath their feet that pulled them down with every step.
They hadn’t even gone far when a massive Blue Croco, well over 30 meters in length, slowly emerged from the swamp—its appearance a clear warning that this place was anything but easy.
Despite being only an A-rank monster, it was the kind that even ten A-rank heroes working together would struggle to take down.
A rare creature that could only be hunted in Brazil: the infamous Blue Croco.
Now that they were facing it in person, it wasn’t just Park Seungho—nearly all the members of the Silken Lily Guild hesitated, visibly unnerved.
In contrast—
“Man, talk about luck right off the bat.”
—Seo Dojun had a faint smile in his eyes, entirely unbothered as he looked at the beast.
He reached for the sword slung across his back.
“…No, not this time.”
Muttering softly, he let go of the sword’s hilt.
There was only one sure way to obtain a top-grade Blue Croco heart.
Crack.
Rolling his fists, Dojun said nothing more—then pushed off the ground and shot into the air.
“What the hell is he doing—!?”
One of the Silken Lily Guild members yelled in alarm at Dojun’s sudden leap toward the Blue Croco without so much as a battle plan. But before anyone could react further—
Thunk!
Before the Blue Croco even had a chance to respond, Dojun’s fist slammed down into the monster’s skull.
Just one punch.
That was all it took.
The massive creature—over 30 meters long—flipped over and passed out cold.
“…No fucking way.”
“What the hell did I just see?”
“Is this… real?”
The guild members, unfamiliar with Dojun’s true power, could only doubt their own eyes, speechless.
Only a few—Jeong Injoo, Hwang Jinju, Choi Doyeon, and Park Seungho—who had some sense of what Dojun was capable of, simply shook their heads.
“He did the same to the Kokastrian, didn’t he?”
“Yeah. That one was flying right at us, and he still just decked it mid-air and brought it down.”
“He’s… definitely not your average hero.”
Meanwhile—
“Anyone got a dagger?”
Dojun was now squatting on top of the unconscious Blue Croco’s belly, casually looking around for something sharp.
＊ ＊ ＊
Dojun’s actions weren’t just bold—they were outright terrifying.
He didn’t just demonstrate why monsters were considered prey and heroes were hunters. He proved it.
Especially with the Blue Croco, he didn’t hesitate for even a second. No mistakes, no wasted movements—just a clean knockout and a precise dissection to extract its heart.
In just three hours, Dojun had secured seven perfect Blue Croco hearts.
The ideal way to preserve them was rapid freezing using liquid nitrogen at -200°C.
This method ensured the heart’s properties were fully retained for future crafting into weapons or equipment.
Which is why Dojun had hauled a custom-made storage case—commissioned through Choi Cheol-gwan—all the way to Brazil.
It could hold up to 200 hearts.
That alone made it clear just how seriously he was taking this mission.
Sizzle, Sizzle.
As the thick slabs of meat cooked to a golden brown, Dojun stared at them—his eyes clouded with memories from a past life.
In the ruined world he came from, all conventional food sources had been wiped out within five years of the first monster invasions.
No farming. No farmers. No way to process natural ingredients.
Humans had to survive on whatever they could scavenge from the wild—or harvest from monster corpses.
And as someone who had outlasted nearly everyone else—literally the last man standing—Dojun had eaten just about every kind of monster meat imaginable. No exaggeration.
“You’re seriously going to eat that?”
Hyun Jooyeon asked, staring at the meat over the fire with deep concern.
“Blue Croco meat’s actually edible.”
To be more accurate, it wasn’t JUST edible—it ranked among the top ten monster meats Dojun had ever tasted. And that’s saying something.
“But we’ve got tons of food. Why bother with that…?”
Just as Hyun Jooyeon said, the Silken Lily Guild had come well-prepared, bringing everything from convenience-store snacks to military-grade rations.
So naturally, the guild members kept their distance, munching on their own carefully selected meals while giving Dojun and his monster BBQ a wide berth.
“Don’t eat it then.”
Dojun shrugged and picked up a piece of Blue Croco meat, now dripping with savory juices and releasing a rich, mouthwatering aroma.
From that moment, every eye was locked on him.
No way he’s actually going to eat that—right?
CHOMP!
Dojun opened his mouth wide and took a massive bite.
Munch Munch, Slurp.
He chewed, completely unfazed, like he was eating premium steak.
Everyone stared in horror.
Sure, there were rumors that Blue Croco meat was edible, but Korean heroes had always dismissed that as something only Amazonian natives would even consider.
Now here was Dojun, chomping down like it was a late-night street snack.
“There’s so much food, and that’s what he chooses?”
Hwang Jinju looked on, baffled.
“He’s impossible to understand… in every way.”
His strength, his tastes—none of it made sense.
The Silken Lily Guild members, who barely knew a thing about Dojun, were visibly disturbed.
One by one, they looked away to hide their discomfort.
But they couldn’t keep their heads turned for long.
“Jooyeon! Wait—what are you doing?!”
Hyun Jooyeon had picked up a piece of the cooked Blue Croco meat.
“…He said it’s edible.”
Her voice wavered. Her face was pale with uncertainty.
Dojun, still calmly chewing, glanced at her.
His eyes practically dared her to try it, like he was waiting to see if she had the guts.
Under that pressure, Hyun Jooyeon clenched her eyes shut—and took a bite.
Soft texture. Rich, nutty aroma. Juicy, melt-in-your-mouth meat that bursts with flavor.
“…It’s… good.”
It was actually good.
But—
“Yeah, no one’s gonna believe that if you say it with a face like you’re about to cry. Spit it out, now!”
Jeong Injoo rushed over, snatched the meat out of Jooyeon’s hand, and hurled it to the ground.
“Unnie!”
“Spit it out! Now! (Ptoo!) Come on, (Ptoo! Ptoo!) Do it!”
Jeong Injoo smacked Jooyeon’s back and shot a death glare at Dojun.
It was the look of someone who wanted to ask, ‘What kind of monster plays with people’s hearts like this?’
Faced with that glare, Dojun just clicked his tongue.
In the end, he was the only one who actually ate the meat.
Jooyeon, despite thinking it tasted good, just couldn’t bring herself to swallow monster meat.
Especially not with Injoo breathing down her neck.
And after this whole Blue Croco meat incident, the distance between Dojun and the Silken Lily Guild… grew even wider.
------------------
HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
------------------
