Chapter 70
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Rumor (3)
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Instructor U Yun-hak, who had long been targeting Instructor Kang Ju-young, felt both relief and irritation at the same time.
The relief came from Kang Ju-young surviving her encounter with the Destroyer.
The irritation stemmed from her body being fully healed by a healer.
U Yun-hak had once chanced upon the Demon of Contracts and, upon learning of its powers, voluntarily joined the Doomsday Cultists.
It was all driven by his desire to turn any women who caught his fancy into his personal slaves, regardless of what happened to the world.
'It would've been perfect if she'd come back just banged up enough to need some recovery time.'
Then he could visit her under the pretense of checking in, building rapport over time.
Once they were close, a little bait, some temptation, exploiting a weakness—whatever it took to get her to sign the contract, and it would all be over.
'A contract, and Kang Ju-young would be mine.'
After that, he'd just contact the demon and give the order for her to become his slave.
Kang Ju-young would be reduced to a obedient puppet, helpless against his every command.
'Still, at least she's even prettier now.'
The eyepatch over one eye and all the minor scars etched across her body had vanished completely.
She'd always looked young for an S-Rank hero, but now it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she appeared to be in her twenties.
'Anyway, it's about time to fill my quota.'
The reason U Yun-hak could request personal favors from the Demon of Contracts was that he'd met his quota.
In simple terms, proving his worth allowed him to make his own slaves, but this quota was cutting it close.
'For some reason, the online gambling racket went dark.'
He'd spread online gambling sites, using money as bait to rack up contracts for his quota.
But the very organization running those sites had abruptly gone silent overnight—a total disaster.
'Doesn't sit well with me, but I'll have to get my hands dirty.'
He planned to target a female cadet and turn her into a slave himself.
Once she was under his control, using her body to lure in male cadets would be child's play.
'If I could make Joo Ha-yeon my slave, I could've hooked dozens.'
Among this year's cadets, no one outshone her looks or her overwhelming fourth-place rank.
As the object of envy among the cadets, U Yun-hak figured dozens would be a breeze.
'And Cheon Seo-yun, who dropped to 300th, hasn't shown up either.'
Currently serving as the cadets' counselor, U Yun-hak also handled their personal consultations.
These "consultations" were perfect for exposing weaknesses, which he exploited ruthlessly.
'Gotta put out the immediate fire first.'
He wasn't ready to touch Cheon Seo-yun or Joo Ha-yeon yet—not even close.
Abandoning those plans, U Yun-hak decided to start with a female cadet he could work on right away.
"Instructor U Yun-hak, did you find the materials I asked for yesterday?"
At that moment, a fellow instructor spoke up, and U Yun-hak nodded with a smile that made him seem like a genuinely good guy.
"Yes, I did. I'll send them over now—take a look."
Monday rolled around, the start of the week's classes, and as usual, I headed out for physical training.
'Hm?'
I'd come out just fine, but excluding me, the other students were buzzing about one particular topic.
"Did you hear? There's talk of a once-in-a-lifetime healer showing up."
"A healer who can even revive the dead? I gotta say, that sounds fake. Even the Geneva Cult can't pull that off."
"Nah, it seems legit. Word is, Hero Association folks are swarming the place outside."
"Why would Hero Association people come looking? Is the healer here?"
"Beats me. But if they are, that'd be huge, right?"
From what I overheard, rumors about this healer had spread even among the cadets.
Lee Seojun must have caught the chatter too, because he looked impressed as he spoke up in my mind.
-Rumors spread fast, huh. What're you gonna do?
"What's your take?"
-Just keep laying low like now.
"It'll die down on its own soon enough?"
-Exactly. No need to sweat it.
I nodded at Lee Seojun's words.
In truth, if they couldn't find the healer, the hype would fizzle out naturally.
'He's right—no point stressing over it.'
Of course, now that I had multiple bodies, I could operate as a healer.
But separately from that, it was a hassle, so I decided to stay quiet for now.
"Morning."
Just then, Cheon Seo-yun approached and greeted me.
"Sleep well?"
"Yeah."
She nodded calmly at first, then started scrutinizing me intently.
Slowly scanning me from head to toe, Cheon Seo-yun tilted her head and asked,
"What'd you do over the weekend?"
"Weekend? Worked out. Practiced some magic too."
"Your mana feels deeper now."
Her mention of mana reminded me of the Bluemoon Flower liquor Joo Tae-ho had given me.
Naturally, even though the healer body drank it, the effect applied across all my bodies via the status window.
"Fruits of training. Plus, I've been studying magic hard."
"Planning to go mage?"
"This body's not built for frontline fighting."
Cheon Seo-yun still looked puzzled.
Maybe she was thinking back to when I'd controlled a single sword with Warlord's Weapon to take down an opponent.
"You're good with swords too."
"No matter how good, I can't match you."
This was the truth.
If my stats matched Cheon Seo-yun's exactly?
No matter how hard I struggled, beating her would be next to impossible.
'Not that her strength or speed would ever surpass mine.'
Purely in terms of swordsmanship, she outclassed me.
Since she'd singled out sword skills, I answered honestly on that front.
'Kinda bitter, though.'
It brought back memories of the countless dimensions and eras I'd survived, honing my blade fiercer than anyone.
The fact that even that fell short of Cheon Seo-yun's skill stung.
"Ah, Lee Seongmin!"
Then a familiar voice called from the side, and Oh Ye-rin came dashing over.
"You hear? The Hero Association tried to capture the Destroyer and failed."
Unlike the other students, the breathless Oh Ye-rin jumped straight to the Destroyer topic.
With healer rumors already circulating, and now this, it was clear the gossip had spread far and wide.
'This widespread? Makes me think someone leaked it on purpose.'
Back then, aside from Kang Ju-young and me, everyone was Hero Association personnel.
So maybe someone from the Association had spilled it.
'Not like it'd benefit them, though.'
As I pondered, Oh Ye-rin continued.
"Check out Mitube later. This 'Hero Observer' guy put up a video breaking down the Destroyer—says its power's top-tier worldwide."
"...Hero Observer?"
"Content creator focusing on heroes, villains, gates. The Destroyer vid hit over 5 million views in a day."
I had no clue who that was, but Lee Seojun did, and his mental voice carried a hint of annoyance.
-Oh, that's Kim Min-seo from the Hero Association. Nothing special as a hero, but pretty famous on Mitube.
Mitube seemed to be some kind of video platform for uploading and watching clips.
"Anyway, they failed to catch it, so future property damage is impossible to estimate."
Oh Ye-rin, chatting about the Destroyer, wore an unconsciously grave expression.
'She got stocks in something?'
Cheon Seo-yun, finding her worry odd, asked directly.
"Why worry?"
"Why? What if the Destroyer attacks here? The whole school could collapse. Do you know how hard I worked to get in?"
Come to think of it, Oh Ye-rin ranked 121st.
Out of the top 300 elites nationwide, landing 121st was no small feat.
'And she's out here for training every day.'
As I mulled over Oh Ye-rin, Cheon Seo-yun glanced at me briefly.
"What?"
"Can't you fight the Destroyer?"
Cheon Seo-yun suddenly suggested I could take on the Destroyer.
Oh Ye-rin, baffled, shot back with a look that screamed nonsense.
"What're you talking about? How could Lee Seongmin fight the Destroyer?"
"Lee Seongmin's sword. Really strong."
She meant my Warlord's Weapon was incredibly powerful.
Feeling that wasn't enough, Cheon Seo-yun added, face furrowed in thought,
"Stronger than the instructor."
The instructor she meant was probably Choi Ji-an, who oversaw both physical training and swordsmanship.
Oh Ye-rin, who trained under Choi Ji-an with her daggers, shook her head in disbelief.
"What? No way Lee Seongmin's stronger than an instructor."
She turned to me.
"Right?"
She was probably recalling how I'd overwhelmingly beaten Cheon Seo-yun on the first day.
"Nah. How could I be stronger than an instructor?"
"..."
Cheon Seo-yun stared at me, clearly displeased.
"Well, still, you're stronger than most heroes, Lee Seongmin. Stronger than a C-Rank, at least?"
As Oh Ye-rin said that, Park So-yul came trudging over from the side.
With her club setup racking up points, Park So-yul had no choice but to join physical training.
"Yawn~ Almost there."
Tired, she let out a long yawn and muttered that she was close.
Starting a club required renting a room like an apartment—minimum 100 points.
'Guess she's nearly at 100.'
I checked my own points.
'Add the 30 I lent Seo Ji-ho, and that's 340.'
It was adding up nicely.
"Anyway, Cheon Seo-yun aside, Park So-yul, you're hanging around Lee Seongmin a lot too."
"Yeah. Gonna keep doing it."
"Why?"
Park So-yul shook her head, as if it was hard to explain.
Free meals were best kept secret from as many people as possible.
"What? Are you ditching me?"
As Oh Ye-rin whined in mock hurt, Instructor Choi Ji-an's voice rang out—she'd arrived moments ago.
"No chit-chat! Save the talking for later and focus on training."
At her shout, me, my friends, and the other students all shut up and began physical training.