Hero Academy (4-19)
'Yeriel... I'll make sure to restore your original body later and give you a proper fucking as revenge.'
[....]
As I burned with vengeful fury, plotting my scheme in earnest, a voice came through from the other end of the phone.
(Sniff...)
"…?"
(Sorry, I suddenly got chills... Anyway, I'm just glad you're safe. Can you tell me about the situation first?)
"We..."
Seong Sua began explaining the earlier battle, the assailants, and the aberrant creatures.
After hearing everything, Yeriel spoke in a grave tone.
(Sigh... You've all been through hell. I ran into those kinds of guys too.)
With Yeriel's skills, she would've dispatched those aberrant creatures from before without breaking a sweat.
That's the caliber of woman she was.
(For now, prioritize a quick escape with the two of you. By this point, contact should've reached the outside, and support from the Tower will be on the way.)
"But if the dungeon is expanding, even if support arrives..."
As Seong Sua had explained earlier, dungeon expansion wasn't affected by spatial constraints.
That meant the longer it went on, the more uncontrollably massive the damage would become.
Even so, Yeriel made it clear she wouldn't ask for our help anymore.
(That's our job. You and Instructor Seong Su-ho are with the embassy. Focus on evacuating as many civilians as possible.)
"But..."
She couldn't readily agree with Yeriel's words.
The Seong Sua I knew wasn't the type to prioritize her own safety in a crisis like this.
But noticing where her gaze was directed, I understood her hesitation.
(Instructor Seong Su-ho got hurt too, right? Then escaping quickly should be the priority.)
Seong Sua couldn't bring herself to say she'd stay because of my wound.
I approached her and spoke up.
"Um... Yeriel, sorry to interrupt while you're on the call, but..."
(Oh? Instructor Seong Su-ho? Is your arm okay?)
"Yes, I'm fine. The bleeding's stopped, and the remaining wound is just scar level."
(Good, that's a relief. Then you two should escape quickly...)
"We want to stay and help too."
(....)
Yeriel fell silent at my words, while Seong Sua fidgeted anxiously and spoke up.
"Instructor Seong Su-ho... Even if the bleeding stopped, you need treatment soon or..."
"Those guys were killing civilians without hesitation and experimenting on them. And they were about to kill kids without a second thought."
"Th-that's..."
I looked at Seong Sua and persuaded her.
"Sure, me helping won't make the situation much better, but I don't want to just think of myself and bail."
"…."
(....)
In the heavy silence, Yeriel's voice emerged, mixed with faint static.
(Got it. But remember this: Put your own safety first in everything you do.)
"Understood."
(Sua, you okay with that?)
"…."
Seong Sua glanced at me silently, sighed, and finally spoke.
"If Instructor Seong Su-ho insists, I don't have much choice."
(Alright, then let's set our goal.)
Trusting our resolve, Yeriel began outlining her plan.
(Rescuing people is important, but the top priority right now is destroying the core.)
The core that had turned Everica HQ into a dungeon.
It might seem like sidelining rescues, but with the dungeon expanding unchecked, the damage would spiral out of control—that was the conclusion.
If the expansion completed, this incident could escalate from a mere event to a full-blown disaster.
And rescues could happen along the way to finding the core.
(Judging by the expansion scale, it's no ordinary core. If we don't neutralize it fast, the damage will be incalculable.)
"Yes, we'll look for it as best we can."
"If we find those guys, the core won't be far—they won't leave it unguarded."
(Good. Then... I'm counting on you two. And...)
Yeriel's voice grew increasingly buried in noise, then cut off after one last word.
(Thanks...)
Click.
Hearing Yeriel's line go dead, I apologized to Seong Sua.
"Sorry. Did I overstep and put you in a tough spot, Instructor Seong Sua...?"
"Yeah, I'm so annoyed I'm about to explode."
Seong Sua crossed her arms, giving me a prim look as she spoke.
"You're injured right now, Instructor Seong Su-ho. Even if you were alone, you'd say the same thing—and that pisses me off."
"…Sorry."
"Never... never do something so reckless when you're by yourself. Got it?"
"Yes, got it."
"Sigh... Let's get moving anyway."
Seong Sua kept nagging with a wry smile, but her scolding sounded like a beautiful melody to me.
The elevators inside the building were dead, along with all the machinery.
And as if that wasn't bad enough, the expanding scale was turning the interior into repulsive masses of flesh.
Searching wasn't easy as a result.
At least we could count on the enemy's numbers being limited.
"They probably couldn't infiltrate in large numbers."
Everica HQ had security rivaling top guilds as a global corporation.
Sneaking in there would've cost those assailants we took out dearly—they likely took heavy losses.
"But we can't get complacent. If they make more weird monsters..."
Seong Sua's worry wasn't the assailants themselves, but the aberrant lifeforms they created.
Her matchup against those things was terrible.
'If worst comes to worst, I can secretly use status ailment removal... but I gotta be careful not to get caught.'
Even knowing the aberrant creatures' weakness, explaining how I knew was tricky.
To do that, I'd have to reveal I had status ailment removal beforehand... not a great idea.
[Status ailment removal isn't a flashy ability. Even if you use it secretly, Seong Sua won't notice easily.]
'Good to know. Later when I have time, I should make a magic circle for it too.'
Using it via a magic circle would make it even harder to detect.
Alchemy really is the best.
As we cautiously searched, plotting future plans, something rustled.
Rustle...
"…."
"…."
I nodded to confirm my ears weren't deceiving me, and Seong Sua nodded back at me.
Confirming she was on guard, I stared at the pillar and muttered lowly.
"I don't know who you are, but surrendering now is best for everyone, don't you think?"
"Sa... save..."
"…?"
As I eyed the pillar suspiciously, a sobbing voice emerged from behind it, along with a figure.
"Please... spare me. Hic..."
It was the little girl who'd nearly been the first sacrifice among the civilians earlier.
Seong Sua and I calmed the child down and heard how she'd ended up alone.
Thanks to our sudden ambush, she'd survived and barely escaped holding her parents' hands.
But the abruptly changed environment made finding an exit impossible, and her parents were succumbing more and more to the toxic miasma, losing strength.
"Mom and Dad... they said it hurt too much... then those bad people showed up again..."
Already struggling with the miasma, the parents' choice when facing the assailants was singular.
Lure them away to let the child escape.
Fortunately, that's how the girl had slipped away from the assailants.
Seong Sua held her gently, soothing her with a kind voice.
"It's okay. Your parents will be fine. We'll save them."
"Mom... Dad..."
Reassured by Seong Sua's words, the child nestled into her arms and began drifting off.
"She must be exhausted."
"Incredible. Holding out in this miasma at her age..."
"Truly amazing" didn't even cover it.
Even embassy cadets struggled in the lowest dungeons at first.
Yet this girl trembled with fear but seemed largely unaffected by the miasma.
"...She'll need testing, but she probably has real potential."
Testing was unnecessary.
I already knew.
Chae Su-min
[Recovery LV 8], [Status Ailment Removal LV 12], [Status Ailment Immunity LV 9]...
'Recovery, status ailment removal... oh? And status ailment immunity too?'
[This isn't just talent level. It's genius territory.]
A girl around upper elementary age had skills matching embassy cadets.
And status ailment immunity was something I'd never seen.
'Status ailment immunity... that's gotta be useful.'
Actively removing status ailments every time they hit would've been a chore.
[Highly recommend acquiring it. Useful here and in other worlds alike.]
'Sweet! Raise it to around level 10 for now.'
[Understood.]
Meeting a genius and inheriting their ability? Enel... the best.
Once I learned status ailment immunity, the effect was immediate.
'Oh... my head feels clear right away. Nice!'
[What about Seong Sua?]
'Hmm...'
Seong Sua's status ailment.
[Heat LV 10]
One clear fact: Seong Sua getting heat didn't turn her into a woman pouncing on me nonstop.
But I'd noticed her focus slipping lately.
How'd I know her focus was off?
Her eyes kept drifting to my crotch—how could I miss that...?
"…."
"Instructor Seong Sua?"
"Eek! Ah! We, we need to find her parents quick..."
Seong Sua, holding the child, stammered incoherently and suddenly averted her gaze.
It was so fresh, almost mystically pure.
The innocent, vibrant smile and pure beauty she'd shown before... now laser-focused on my groin...
'Whoa... is this what it feels like when women get stared at by guys fixated on their chests?'
I'd never have guessed, but experiencing it myself, it was obvious.
Still, one thing didn't add up.
'Seong Sua's been in plenty of dungeons—hasn't she dealt with heat before?'
[It varies by target, I believe.]
'Target?'
[Since Seong Sua has that much romantic interest in you, she's less able to restrain herself.]
Heat didn't make her mindlessly crave mating like an animal.
Armonia explained that low-level heat like this had little effect against someone she wasn't attracted to.
[Plus, the interrupted act from the dream intrusion lingers strongly.]
Coming from another woman, it rang true.
'Alright, let's observe a bit more.'
Even as I thought that...
"…."
"…."
Seong Sua kept stealing glances at my crotch, oblivious to my gaze.