Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan

Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan – 031

“Huh!”

A figure that looked like a child hid behind a pillar. Then, a doll, once again, peeked out from behind the pillar. The difference was that this time, the doll had green eyes instead of red. Several of them emerged, a total of eight.

The team raised their weapons, wary of the dolls with green eyes. Unlike the dolls with red eyes, these didn’t seem to have any intention of attacking. They were all animal dolls, creating a unified appearance without much disorder.

“Hey, what are these dolls? What about your parents?”

Seo Eun-ha attempted to start a conversation. She must have seen the child hiding behind the pillar.

Responding to Eun-ha’s friendly words, a little girl cautiously approached. She looked around six years old at most, and her eyes seemed to be carefully assessing whether we were trustworthy. Eventually, she let her guard down from some strange point.

“Wow! It’s a big teddy bear.”

The child smiled brightly when she saw Hwang Man-deuk in his Werebear form. Well, considering the child’s interpretation that people who are accompanied by animals are probably not bad guys, it seemed like a child’s interpretation.

“Hehe.”

The girl, now at ease, approached and looked up at the giant bear Hwang Man-deuk with fascination. Hwang Man-deuk intentionally deepened his voice and delivered a child-friendly reaction.

“Hi, I’m Daddy Bear. I’m on the chubby side.”

The little girl giggled, seeming to enjoy it. Hwang Man-deuk suggested sending the child to the first floor as it would be safer for a kind child, but I stopped him.

“Wait.”

“Yes?”

[Information Window]

Name: Daughter

Classification: Assistant

Skill: [Owner of the Room]

Hwang Man-deuk gave me a look asking why I was preventing him from sending the child away, but from my perspective, I couldn’t simply let her go. Unfortunately, a window displaying the information appeared above the child.

‘Assistant, huh.’

There are various types of entities in the Rift, and assistants are a kind of consciousness that helps players and contributes to the purification of the Rift. They usually derive from the positive emotions left behind by monsters after the Rift unfolds.

In simpler terms, they are NPCs that help us.

‘Why would someone do this when they have a family?’

Considering the name is simply ‘Daughter,’ this child is most likely a consciousness created from Lee Duman’s memories of his daughter.

If a daughter appears as an assistant, it implies a deep sense of paternal love. Despite that, choosing the path to become a monster, it seems that the gentleman must have felt quite unjust.

Swish.

To get more detailed information, I placed my finger on the skill [Owner of the Room] in the skill window. The additional explanation stated, ‘Master of the Night’, providing no helpful information.

My head was spinning in this mysterious situation. While making various speculations, I quietly informed the team through communication that the child is an assistant.

The team, faced with the fact that the cute child is an assistant, was puzzled.

“Where is the slender mama bear?”

“Uh… here, right here.”

The child replied hesitantly. Seo Eun-ha, aware that this child is a helpful presence for us, tried to adjust her mood. In response to a question asking if she was a human, Eun-ha improvised, saying she ate garlic and mugwort, turning into a human.

Although the clever child scolded Eun-ha, saying that if she were from the time of Dangun, she shouldn’t lie, it didn’t matter.

Feeling impatient with the time passing meaninglessly, I was about to ask what the child could give us, but the child’s face, which had relaxed due to the team’s parenting skills, suddenly darkened.

“Sister, brother, is our dad bad?”

“…”

What should I say to this? Should I blatantly lie?

If it was Clan of Heroes, there would have been various options, like [Bad], [Not bad], [Remain silent], and the like.

This seemingly trivial answer was hesitated to be spoken because it could determine the success or failure of the 2nd-floor strategy.

This child was not an ordinary one but a complex consciousness belonging to the Rift, an assistant.

“No. But we need to stop him. Can you help us do that?”

When the team members who are skilled in handling children, hesitated to answer, I had no choice to step in.

To prevent the child from being upset, I tried to soften my voice, hoping my intention would be conveyed. People who would be frightened just by looking at me were plentiful.

“… In kindergarten.”

Fortunately, the child silently lowered her head in response to my words, and then, with a voice mixed with sobs, she began to speak resolutely.

“It’s me. I made a song. The teacher said I did well.”

“Wow~ That’s impressive. We didn’t know we had a genius composer among us!”

Seeing signs that the child might cry, seo Eun-ha quickly followed up. Though the precious time was ticking away, I was confident that listening to the child’s words was the key to the success of the 2nd-floor strategy.

“It was the day I went to a school performance. I was supposed to sing, but I couldn’t. I want to sing.”

[Create the Stage]

[Audience 12/20]

[Colorful Lights 0/3]

[Toy Piano 0/1]

[Toy Microphone 0/1]

As soon as the child finished speaking, the sub-mission was updated. I was momentarily dazed by the child’s sudden talk about the stage but soon regained my senses. Setting up the stage was much better than the horror of hide and seek experienced in the previous Maple High School.

‘A talent shows and a song. There must be some circumstances.’

As mentioned earlier, there are countless types in the Rift. The mission of purifying the Rift developed by a being who was once human and became a monster is similar to entering someone else’s dream to conduct psychological therapy.

In other words, it’s likely that for some reason, due to certain circumstances, Lee Duman could not hear his daughter’s song, leaving a lingering sense of anxiety.

Anyway, decorating the stage seemed a bit annoying, but it didn’t seem dangerous, so my head naturally nodded in agreement with the child’s request.

“Um, I want to sing impressively. It would be great if there were people to watch. Also, also, a piano and…”

I swallowed the question of whether she had collapsed after singing in a department store that looked like it was about to collapse.

The child’s eyes sparkled with a desire to quickly get on the stage.

Without a doubt, I quickly ordered Gil-seong and Yeo Jin-soo to search the 2nd-floor store for things to use as lighting and to bring a mini piano and a toy microphone.

Seo Eun-ha and Hwang Man-deuk were called separately, and they went outside the huge blanket to subdue and bring in the dolls scouting the area to be purified with their radiance.

Seo Eun-ha was not a specialized ‘purifier’ of energy, but the doll monsters were low-level, and their energy was concentrated only in their eyes, making it enough for her radiance to purify them.

The faces of the team were full of doubts like, ‘Is this right…?’

but they followed orders without questioning.

Since I had played an active role in suppressing the Art Hall terrorism and leading the order during the Maple High School event, they did not murmur or come up with different ideas among themselves.

“Hmm.”

After assigning roles to the team members, I had a moment of free time. Even in this time, which couldn’t be used meaninglessly, I closed my eyes and entered meditation.

I had thought a lot, and my head was slightly throbbing.

[A moment of peace has come.]

[The slight headache has eased.]

‘But how do other heroes conquer such things?’

After a short meditation, I realized once again how great the privileges of the possessed were. Recognizing the child as an assistant and having the sub-mission updated automatically, I immediately knew what to do.

With a quick and agile mind, I could immediately recall the strategy. Though I wouldn’t be on the scene in most cases in the future.

“Here!”

“Good job.”

Not long after, Gil-seong brought a bunch of toys, including an LED flying ball and a microphone. Putting batteries in the flying ball and letting it float, it fixed itself in the air, emitting a colorful light.

Turning off the fluorescent lights would create quite elegant lighting. Yeo Jin-soo, who brought various toy pianos and stands, proudly smiled as she placed them on the stage corner.

He thorough preparation, bringing multiple pianos and even additional stands, was something to be proud of. He chose a pink piano and set it up in a visible spot on the stage.

“Hehe…!”

The child’s expression brightened with each completion of the stage. I also welcomed this Rift strategy in this form. It was a bit healing to see the cute child happily enjoying it, and it seemed much better than fighting monsters and risking our lives.

Hwang Man-deuk and Seo Eun-ha, who had gone outside the blanket, soon returned with animal dolls trailing behind them. They cheerfully returned with the dolls.

‘It seems purification wasn’t difficult.’

When the initial mission occurred, the audience count was ’12/20,’ including the dolls near the child and us, which was why I gave the order for dolls to be considered as one audience member each.

[Create the Stage]

[Audience 20/20]

[Colorful Lights 3/3]

[Toy Piano 1/1]

[Toy Microphone 1/1]

When the dolls were seated and the store’s lights were turned off, a believable stage was completed.

[The talent show is about to begin.]

[Play the child’s song.]

“……?”

After setting up a charming stage and intending to comfortably enjoy the child’s song, a strange message appeared.

The child approached me and handed me four pages of sheet music.

“There’s no teacher. Please play it.”

It wasn’t over yet. The child walked to the center of the stage, pushed aside the pink toy piano, and took a deep breath. That sight was somewhat cruel.

‘Weren’t you supposed to play it?’

Despite preparing the stage, it seemed the child only knew how to sing. Well, even for adults, it might be challenging to sing and play the piano simultaneously…

Swoosh.

I glanced at the team members. Everyone avoided my gaze. It seemed like none of them were confident in playing the piano.

I never expected such a complication at the end. It was a setback.

I’ve only played up to Cherney No. 30 on the piano during Elementary School. Moreover, this isn’t even a formal piano, it’s a toy.

I’m not sure if I can match the musical scales properly.

‘I’m really nervous.’

In the end, I sat in front of the toy piano. I placed the sheet music on the stand for easy viewing. Although the composition of the notes was simple since the child made the song, I was anxious not to ruin the performance after preparing the stage so well.

The success of the stage depended on my fingertips.

‘Phew, I’m sweating.’

After wiping the sweat from my hands, I placed my smartphone on the floor and turned on the recording function. Since I personally arranged the stage, I wanted to save the child’s song for later use, not knowing how it might be useful.

[Start playing.]

– Ziing –

Suddenly, a holographic screen appeared above the music on the stand. The screen projected a rhythm game-like display, with lines drawn according to the number and size of keys.

This phenomenon relieved me.

‘Phew, it’s a mini game.’

The existence of various mini games was one of the features of Clan of Heroes. To prevent users from getting bored, such mini games appeared between lengthy content, like a rhythm game during a music concert.

With this, it would be much easier than playing the piano while reading sheet music.

‘Here it comes.’

From the top of the screen, a short stick descended toward a specific key.

With determination not to miss even a single falling note, my mind focused.

♬~J D

The performance began at my fingertips. When I played it, the musical scale was simple but pleasant to hear.

In the midst of the emotional sentiment woven on the stage, the child’s pure voice, which had been closing her eyes, resonated through the toy microphone and spread joyfully.

The song the child created was about her dad.

Her dad was too busy to play, which made her sad. Although she wanted to be together, he kept giving her dolls as gifts. The child felt a mixture of resentment and affection for her dad.

After the first verse ended and a brief interlude passed, the lyrics of the second verse began, expressing mature words understanding her dad and promising to wait until he finishes his work.

It wasn’t just a children’s song.

The tense expressions of the team members relaxed, and the animal dolls, which had been sitting blankly, began to wave their arms left and right.

The small talent show that started in the dangerous corner of the Rift seemed like a cruel fairy tale at first, but as it came to an end, it warmly enveloped us all.

The child, who closed her eyes and finished the song, smiled brightly, politely clasped her hands near her belly, and nodded her head.

The team members and dolls showered her with warm applause. In a way, I also felt a sense of accomplishment.

[100% Perfect!]

The results of the mini game were broadcast on the holographic screen of the music stand. It was possible because the song was not fast. However, the brain that exerted concentration was greatly exhausted. It seemed like there was a ringing in my ears.

[It was an excellent performance.]

[The buff ‘Chief Performer’ has been activated.]

[Point acquisition rate increases by 100% for 1 hour.]

Instead, a generous reward followed. It was more like a buff than a reward, but for a single performance, it was a satisfactory achievement.

‘Since the mission reward was 50 points, does this mean I’ll receive 100 points? The reward for defeating the boss will also be doubled.’

The eagerly awaited 5,000 points were right in front of me.

[The child’s voice is so lovelyㅠ]

[What’s happening inside the Rift realm?]

[I was completely immersed, and it gently unfolded…]

[Is this a disaster scene here…?]

Even the chat messages that were complaining about the uncertainty of when the department store might collapse and why someone was running errands in the Rift momentarily settled down.

I also nodded silently. I never dreamed I would hear a child’s song in the Rift.

“Hehe, thank you. I’m stubborn, but you accepted it. Now I’ll help you.”

The child who had fulfilled her wish now seemed ready to guide us to the third floor. However, instead of leading us to some secret passage as expected, the child walked through a tightly packed bed of thousands of toy monsters outside the bed where they were lying.

I picked up the smartphone that recorded the child’s song and the stage equipment in my inventory, following behind. Having an infinite space inside the inventory, I had developed a habit of taking everything.

The team members diligently guarded the child’s side as she cleared the huge bed. If the toy monsters hurt the child, all the efforts so far could be in vain.

– Thump! –

As we came out from behind the bed, the doll army with red eyes that I had seen before aimed their weapons at us.

Whether intentional or not, the child raised her head high and shouted with a voice that seemed to tear her eardrums.

“Poppieeeeee! Come dooown!”

I genuinely thought someone had put a large speaker near my ear. The child’s voice was thunderous.

Both I and the team members grabbed our ears, and unexpectedly, a massive white object fell from the sky.

Kwoong!

… It was a giant Maltese dog.