Hero Academy (4-20)
I walked along with the child on my back, asking her all sorts of questions.
"You came up two floors while avoiding those guys?"
"Yes..."
"That must've been really tough."
Where she'd parted from her parents, the number of thugs she'd encountered back then, and so on...
And the fact I learned was that the ones who'd taken her parents were the same thugs we'd just fought.
"You couldn't see their faces, so how did you know?"
"Their voices... The voices were exactly like that lady from before. And the wounds she got were the same too."
The psychopath woman who'd taken our attacks head-on apparently hadn't recovered yet.
That was extremely useful information.
I turned to Seong Sua, walking alongside me, and spoke up.
"Looks like they don't have a healer among them."
"Which means they probably can't lift status ailments either."
"And the potions we used up earlier were all they had too."
The more twisted a group, the more they dump annoying tasks on their underlings.
On top of that, judging from Moon Ju-a's disposition window, she showed zero sense of responsibility as a leader.
Even if potions were important, she'd be the type too lazy to carry them herself and just leave it to her subordinates.
In other words, now was our chance.
"Hic... Daddy... Mommy..."
"Don't worry."
I turned my head slightly toward the child on my back, speaking in a gentle, soothing voice.
"We'll rescue them for you."
"Sniff... Thank you."
The child hugged my neck tightly and pressed even closer against my back.
I gazed warmly at Chae Su-min like that, carrying her snugly against me.
That's when I noticed it.
Seong Sua was staring right at me with a pouty, piercing expression.
"..."
"Instructor Seong Sua, are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
"No. Aren't you tired, Instructor Seong Su-ho? Want me to carry her?"
"Huh? No, I'm fine..."
"Your arm's injured. I'll carry her. Come here, sweetie."
Seong Sua suddenly reached out to forcibly take Chae Su-min from my back.
I couldn't exactly swat her hand away in my position, so the moment I reluctantly started handing the child over—
"I... I like Oppa better."
"Haha..."
Still, the kid had some tact—calling me "Oppa" made me feel inexplicably pleased.
And at my laugh, two icy voices rang out in unison.
"...Oppa is hurt and tired right now, sweetie. Come here."
[The one with the fox disposition seems like a genius too. I recommend handing her over to Seong Sua, who has a similar temperament.]
I responded to Seong Sua and Armonia's words that hit me at the same time.
"A fox, huh..."
"...Pardon?"
Damn it, they overlapped, and I accidentally replied to Seong Sua.
"I-I'm fine. And you're much better at handling sudden situations than me, Instructor Seong Sua, so this seems better."
"...Yeah. Suit yourself."
Seong Sua suddenly put on a sulky face, huffed, and turned her head away.
'What's her deal this time? Did I say something wrong?'
[If you switch positions, you'll understand immediately.]
'...?'
[Just imagine some boy riding on Viola's back.]
'I'd kill him...'
Who the hell? Who dares climb on Viola's back? Not even I get to...
At least now I understood Seong Sua's feelings.
But that didn't mean I could just swap positions willy-nilly.
I could handle a sudden ambush, but my bow was only effective against one enemy at a time.
Multiple attackers would be tricky for me, whereas Seong Sua could deal with them easily using magic.
The best would be both of us staying alert while walking, but we couldn't make the kid—who'd barely escaped—walk on her own in this situation.
'Gotta keep looking after her until we meet her parents or some Everica staff. Right?'
But my tender care for Chae Su-min couldn't last long.
The moment I saw the scene ahead, I carefully set her down and covered her eyes.
"Eek..."
"Keep your eyes closed."
Numerous corpses littered the area.
And most weren't just stabbed or slashed—they were mangled beyond recognition, in utterly gruesome states.
Seong Sua approached the bodies with a grim expression and began checking them.
"...They're staff."
"Everica employees?"
"Yes... They have ID badges. And... they haven't been dead long."
Seong Sua had plenty of combat experience, so her word was reliable.
Putting together what she said...
"They're not far."
The moment Seong Sua concluded that, a scream echoed from not far away.
"Gaaah!"
"Hang in there!"
I handed the smart watch from my wrist to Chae Su-min right away.
"Su-min, hold this and hide tight right here. Got it?"
"I-I don't wanna be alone..."
"That way's more dangerous. I'll be right back. Got it?"
"Ugh... Okay."
Chae Su-min clutched my smart watch, nodded, and slipped under a desk.
I turned to Seong Sua.
"Let's go!"
"Right!"
Seong Sua and I sprinted toward the screams with all our might.
As the cries grew closer, other sounds mixed in besides the screams.
"Grrraaagh!!"
"Rraaagh!!"
Sounds I'd heard plenty already.
Sounds I couldn't ignore even if I wanted to.
The good news was I already knew how to counter those aberrant lifeforms.
But Seong Sua running beside me didn't know their weakness yet.
Even so, her face showed no anxiety or fear—only iron determination to save people.
I realized once again what an incredible woman she was.
Even if she did occasionally glance at my crotch because of her heat...
'Once Seong Sua lifts the status ailment from a safe range, we're good.'
Since I already knew the aberration's weakness, I charged toward the screams without much worry.
The scene we arrived at was, as expected, pure chaos.
"Do something!"
"I can't! Magic doesn't work!"
"Damn it, their hides are too tough—weapons won't pierce! Graaah! Heal!"
Around ten Everica staff were getting overwhelmed by five aberrations.
The problem wasn't just the aberrations.
"That bitch is cute. Everica must hire by looks."
"She's mine first dibs."
"Bullshit, I saw her first."
The thugs laughed leisurely, using the aberrations to dominate the Everica staff.
No, toy with them was more like it.
The staff's fate was plain as day.
Like those corpses we'd seen...
But that was only without help.
Paang! Shoooo!
"Gaaah!"
"Ambush! From behind!"
The thugs, who'd been fighting casually with aberrations up front, panicked at our attack.
As we encircled them, I could feel the staff's broken morale surging back.
'Fight just enough while she lifts the status...'
That's when I thought we could handle it leisurely.
"You fucking bastard, I'll kill you!"
"!?"
One thug charged me at lightning speed.
Even at that velocity, I identified him from the disposition window floating over his head.
Moon Ju-a
[Martial Arts], [Psychopath], [Anger Management Disorder], [Incarnation of Vengeance]...
'So she was here!'
[That's not important right now! Defend!]
If Cho Seo-hyun or Lena charged at full speed, it'd be about this fast—she was closing in faster than I could react.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Unlike me, who couldn't react in time, Seong Sua instantly unleashed magic, raining blade-like winds on the incoming Moon Ju-a.
But Moon Ju-a dodged almost all of them with flashy moves.
She closed in right to my face and cocked her fist back at me.
"Die!!!"
Kwajik!
"Kuhuk!"
Her fist crashed into the arm I'd barely raised in time, sending my body flying like I'd been hit by a car.
As I flew, feeling my arm shatter, Seong Sua's voice rang clearly in my ears.
"Instructor Seong Su-ho!!"
"You're next, you bitch!"
"Ngh!"
Paang!
Moon Ju-a, who'd attacked me, now kicked Seong Sua, launching her far away.
Fortunately, Seong Sua had defended with magic, but she'd landed right in the midst of the Everica staff battling in the opposite direction from me.
Moon Ju-a bellowed at her comrades while charging me again.
"You guys! Grab that bitch! I'll take out the archer first!"
"Got it!"
All this happened while I was airborne.
Kwadang!
I slammed into a bookshelf packed with books and barely stopped.
'Kuhak!'
[Su-ho! I've initiated recovery on my own!]
'Ngh! Good job!'
I felt my pulverized arm bones fully heal along with Armonia's words.
But healing didn't improve the situation.
Moon Ju-a was charging me again.
"I'll kill you!"
But my eyes went not to her, but to Seong Sua flying off in the distance.
'Save Seong Sua first!'
I was confident I could survive as long as I didn't die.
But not Seong Sua.
She was hurtling into a pack of aberrations that were a bad matchup for her.
'Gotta deal with those things first!'
I thrust out my arm and cast status ailment removal on all the aberrations.
"Grrraa!"
"Rraaagh!!"
"Wh-what the hell's wrong with these things!?"
The thugs panicked at the suddenly collapsing aberrations, forgetting to target Seong Sua.
That side was handled for now.
But it also meant my side was in dire straits.
"I'll kill you! You fucking bastard!"
"Insane!"
She'd taken hits from Seong Sua too, but she roared at me—clearly still pissed from my earlier arrow.
I fired a stage-1 magic circle arrow at the charging Moon Ju-a.
Paang!
The yellow tracer line shot toward her.
But proving her skill in dodging Seong Sua's magic, she predicted the trajectory, twisted her body slightly, and kept her speed.
"Fuck off! You think I'm dumb enough to get hit again when I can see it coming!?"
Dodging is best if you can, rather than blocking.
But...
Shooo! Kwajik!
That's only if you succeed.
"Wh-what!? Graaah!"
My arrow cunningly curved, piercing her shoulder.
Moon Ju-a thought she'd dodged, so she couldn't react when it suddenly turned—taking the hit clean.
'Fuck! Aimed for the throat, but she's too fast!'
Hitting the shoulder was a miracle.
Without aim assist, it'd have missed entirely at that speed.
And this psycho bitch wasn't slowing down even after the shoulder hit.
"I'll kill you! Kill you! Kill you!!"
"Get lost!"
I fired another arrow at Moon Ju-a, who charged with frenzied murderous intent.
But having learned from once, she swung her un-hit arm to swat it away—instead of dodging.
Pajik!
"Ngh! I'll kill you!!"
She felt the pain batting it barehanded but didn't slow.
'She's nuts!'
[Su-ho! Do not let her get close!]
'I know! I know, but!'
My only desperate move here was one.
I pulled a bullet from my pocket and snapped it at Moon Ju-a.
Hoping she'd panic and take it.
Taang!
"You got a shit-ton of annoying tricks!"
But the result was miserable.
A bullet weaker and slower than my arrows had no chance against her.
Kwajik!
She smashed the bullet with her fist, laughing maniacally, and punched at my face.
"Die!!"
"Ngh!"
I crossed both arms to block just as—
Pakaang!!
"...?"
Expecting dizzying agony, but no pain came.
Did I actually die without feeling it?
That's when—
Moon Ju-a's flustered voice rang out.
"Y-you, what the hell are you!?"
The woman's voice that answered was all too familiar.
"You don't need to know who I am."
But the tone wasn't the one I knew.
"You're dying here anyway."
It was Lena de Peron's voice, laced with killing intent.