Hero Hack: Reversing Heroes and Raising Harem
Chapter 272: From Trauma to Lounge Mode

Chapter 272: From Trauma to Lounge Mode

Light flashed around him.

Then the ground reappeared.

Ashblade stood still as the brightness faded. He looked around slowly.

He was in a large hall now.

Polished stone floor. Tall glass panels glowing faint blue.

A strange silence filled the space.

He turned to his side.

There were four others.

Each one was frozen, eyes closed, bodies standing still like statues.

Whisperlash was among them.

Her expression looked calm, but her fingers twitched now and then.

"They’re still inside," Ashblade muttered.

He could feel it. This place was connected to their minds.

A chamber that pulled out hidden fears or memories and turned them into tests.

He had already passed.

And now... he was waiting.

Then a light shimmered in front of him.

A tall woman stepped through.

Straight silver hair. Cold sharp eyes.

Her uniform had black armor plates and twin swords at her side.

She walked with precision.

"Hello," she said.

Ashblade turned to her without flinching.

"I am Vora Dace," she said. "Blade Marshal of Skyreach Dominion."

Ashblade nodded slightly.

"Congratulations. You’ve passed the final stage."

"Thank you," he replied.

Vora looked him over. Her eyes didn’t blink much.

"You will now be part of the team for the scouting mission. Officially."

Ashblade didn’t move.

"Understood."

"But I’m curious," Vora said, tilting her head. "I’ve never heard of you before."

Ashblade met her eyes.

"We’re from the lower zones."

He said it calmly. No pause. No change in tone.

"We stumbled on a teleportation platform. It pulled us here without warning."

Vora raised an eyebrow.

"Both of you?"

"Yes. Me and Whisperlash."

"I see." She folded her arms.

"There have been some teleportation errors reported lately. A few zones had unstable gates."

Ashblade stayed still.

"You were lucky," Vora added.

"Yes," he said.

"Very lucky."

She didn’t blink.

Ashblade kept a small, respectful smile on his face.

"Skyreach has many capable heroes," he said. "We’re honored to be tested among them."

Vora looked at him a moment longer.

Then nodded.

"Well. You handled yourself well in the trial."

"Thank you."

"But the mind trial is private. No one sees what happens inside—only how you act from the outside."

Ashblade nodded.

"I understand."

"And your performance was... intense."

"I’m used to pressure."

"I see."

Vora turned slightly.

"Please wait in the special holding room until the others finish. Someone will escort you soon."

Ashblade gave a short nod.

Vora looked at Ashblade one last time. Her eyes narrowed, just for a second.

He didn’t flinch.

She turned on her heel and walked down the hall.

As soon as she turned the corner, she tapped the small earpiece in her right ear.

Her voice dropped to a whisper.

"Even if what he said is true... I don’t buy it. Not completely."

There was a short pause. Static crackled faintly.

"Understood," came the quiet reply.

Vora kept walking.

"He said they came from the lower zones."

"That they stumbled on a teleportation platform. You buying that?"

"Could be," the voice said.

"We’ve had unstable gates reported recently."

"One even pulled someone from Zone 11 last week."

"I know," Vora said, her tone flat.

"But it’s too clean. Too convenient. And his performance in the trial was... controlled."

Another pause.

"You think he’s a plant?"

"I don’t know what he is," Vora muttered.

"But he didn’t hesitate once in that test. People flinch in mind trials. He didn’t. Not once."

She stopped walking.

"Keep your eyes on him. Every movement. Every word."

"Yes, ma’am."

"If he slips, I want to be the first to know."

"Yes, ma’am. Tracking now."

Vora’s hand dropped to her side.

Her face was calm again, like nothing had happened.

She walked forward without looking back.

---

Ashblade stepped through the open door.

The room inside was quiet.

It wasn’t like a normal waiting room.

It was high up, maybe above the trial arena.

The walls were dark, smooth, and gave off a soft light.

Ashblade then glanced at Whisperlash, who was still in the mind trial.

Her fingers twitched slightly. A small frown on her lips.

"She’ll be fine," he whispered.

He moved to the edge of the room and leaned against the wall.

Then the room shifted.

The giant doors on the far side opened.

A group of heroes walked inside—those who had passed the second stage.

Some looked confident.

Others looked tired. Most looked confused.

They moved slowly.

Then suddenly, a bright flash lit up the room.

Ashblade’s eyes narrowed.

The lights around them pulsed once, then stopped. Everything went still.

A thin mist filled the centre of the room.

A hum started—low and steady.

From that mist, some people appeared.

They took hold of one hero near the front and pulled him toward the center.

He didn’t resist. He just looked stunned.

Ashblade watched closely.

"So this is how they do it," he said quietly.

The mind trial didn’t begin with permission.

It just pulled people in.

The mist wrapped around him, and in seconds, he froze, just like the others.

Ashblade smiled a little.

"Whisperlash should be fine," he said again.

He trusted her.

She could play weak, act like a fool—but inside, she was deadly sharp.

She would pass.

He knew it.

With that thought, he turned and walked toward a corner seat.

He leaned back, stretched his arms, and yawned.

His eyes closed slowly.

"I’ll wait here."

And then he slept.

He slept like a man who had nothing left to fear.

---

One of the heroes, still stuck in Stage One clenched his fists.

He crouched behind a broken wall, breathing hard. Sweat dripped down his chin.

"Damn it," he muttered. "Why is this stage so hard?"

He looked around the simulation field.

Fire traps. Laser drones. The terrain kept shifting every time he moved.

He kicked the dirt in frustration.

"This wasn’t supposed to be like this."

His eyes flicked toward the distant control towers—barely visible through the smoke.

"I need to find a way to mess this up," he said under his breath. "If I can’t pass... then no one should."

He slammed his fist into the wall.

"If I just break one of the relay nodes, maybe... No, that’s too obvious."

He paced.

"There’s got to be something. A way to delay the test. Confuse the staff. Anything."

He growled and looked up at the cameras in the sky.

"Come on... give me an opening."

His mission wasn’t to win.

It was to ruin everything.