The Price of Acceleration
Soon, Namiyang stood in the very center of the evaluation arena. Through the window of the waiting room, Ha Ohu watched her evaluation process with his arms crossed.
"Now, examinee Namiyang. The first evaluation is a measurement of basic physical ability. We will compare the difference in destructive power before and after the use of your ability." The examiner’s dry instructions fell through the speaker.
"Tch, piece of cake." Namiyang loosened up her body and unleashed a flurry of kicks and punches toward the sandbag that had descended in front of her.
Thwack! Pow!
Watching from the waiting room, Ha Ohu and Han Eunbyul tilted their heads, unable to gauge exactly what level the figures appearing on the monitor represented. However, short gasps of surprise erupted from the other heroes and evaluation officials stationed around the arena.
"Oh, that girl. Her raw physical ability is quite something, isn't it?"
"If her base stats are that high before using her ability, that’s a pretty impressive level."
As a cat-beastkin, Namiyang’s basic physical capabilities far exceeded those of an ordinary human, so she achieved quite eye-catching results even in her unpowered state, without wrapping herself in electricity.
"Next is the measurement of maximum output destructive power. Please strike with all your might."
"Haa... This sandbag is too boring to show off my real ability, nyang."
Namiyang pouted, but deciding to show them properly since she was at it, she gathered high-voltage current in both hands like a madwoman.
Crackle! KWA-A-ANG!!
With Namiyang’s strike, the sandbag burst with a bang, and the sand inside poured out. Satisfied with the flashy and destructive power of her electricity, Namiyang put her hands on her hips and flicked her tail.
'Hehe, with this, my physical score is perfect. A-rank might be tough, but B-rank is in the bag, nyang!'
Just as Namiyang was shrugging her shoulders with baseless confidence:
Physical evaluation is complete. Next, we will begin the verification of the past performance and history submitted in advance by examinee Namiyang.
The examiner’s voice echoed throughout the training ground.
"Yes, yes! Read it out!" Namiyang puffed out her chest.
Namiyang. Past alias: 'NyaStringer'.
Major achievements and history: March 202X, at the scene of a turf war between villains in Mapo-gu, she did not intervene in the battle... but instead used a zoom lens from afar to illegally film and distribute footage of the bleeding victims to the dark web.
"...Huh?" The expression on Namiyang’s face, which had been standing proudly, froze in an instant.
July of the same year. She snuck into the wreckage of an S-rank hero's subjugation site, secretly stole expensive equipment left lying around, and sold them as stolen goods on Carrot Market.
"W-wait a minute! No, why are you being so detailed about that...!"
November of the same year. She hung from the window of a Bupyeong back-alley motel and used a hidden camera to voyeuristically film the private lives of a male and female villain, then distributed it on FellaGram...
"AAAAAH!! Stop! Stop it, nyang!!! You crazy bastards!!!"
As her flashy yet pathetic past misdeeds were recited one by one like a thesis through the speakers to every hero and Ha Ohu’s group in the waiting room, Namiyang’s face turned beet red. Through the waiting room window, the sight of other heroes snickering and Ha Ohu holding his forehead in disbelief hit Namiyang’s eyes vividly.
'I-I’m so embarrassed I could die, nyang...! This is a total public execution!'
Namiyang covered her face with both hands and slumped to the floor of the arena. It was absurd that the Association’s policy counted her criminal misdeeds from her villain days as performance, but she had thought she would get a high score since she had risked her life to get involved in major incidents.
However.
That concludes the verification of submitted history. Calculating final grade.
Soon, Namiyang’s final evaluation grade was ruthlessly displayed on the electronic scoreboard at the top of the arena.
COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION: C
"...Nyang."
Namiyang, who had been checking the scoreboard through her fingers while slumped on the floor, felt her tail go limp. It was a natural result. If one analyzed her villain-era actions coldly, she had no record of wiping out enemies in the middle of dangerous battles. She was closer to a petty criminal who risked her life to spy and steal. The illegal distribution of snuff films and theft were morally low-quality, but they were far, far too insufficient to be recognized as practical combat achievements as a hero.
Trudge, trudge.
A moment later, Namiyang returned to the waiting room, opening the door with a listless appearance, her cat ears drooping and her tail dragging on the floor.
"...Namiyang got a C... Master."
Gone was the confidence she had shown until just a moment ago, claiming she would bring back an A-rank. She slumped down next to Ha Ohu with a pitiful expression, looking as if she were about to burst into tears at any moment.
"Yeah. I heard it all. You Carrot Market thief."
Ha Ohu clicked his tongue and stroked Namiyang’s drooping ears. 'Namiyang, who has the most combat experience, is only a C-rank. Then that guy with zero combat ability will obviously be an F-rank.'
Ha Ohu crossed his arms and swallowed hard. 'I don't have any achievements either, except for evacuating people in Bupyeong. If this keeps up, are the three of us going to hit the bottom together, and our crew, instead of being called Unmarked, will be mocked as Triple C?'
Next. Special recruit examinee, Ha Ohu. Please enter the evaluation arena.
"Haa... Fuck, let's go." Ha Ohu cracked his stiff neck from side to side and walked toward the arena door with heavy steps.
As he entered the interior of the second evaluation arena, which he had seen through the bulletproof glass, the cold air that hadn't stopped circulating chilled his skin. A dome-shaped ceiling dozens of meters high. High-speed precision cameras and sensors surrounding the area. And in the very center of the training ground, the sandbag Namiyang had hit earlier hung from a chain, waiting for Ha Ohu.
"..."
Ha Ohu stopped in front of the sandbag and looked up. He could see the glass of the control room high up on one wall of the training ground. Numerous examiners must have been watching him closely from behind it. Ha Ohu cleared his throat and threw a question toward the control room glass.
"Is there a time limit for the evaluation?"
Soon, a calm, guided voice flowed through the training ground speakers.
No. The time and process it takes for a hero to raise their maximum power are also included in the important evaluation criteria. Therefore, you are free to use your time as you wish.
"Thank you." A smile spread across Ha Ohu’s lips. It was a fortunate condition. The Acceleration ability, a legacy from his mother, Shooting Star, had a fatal flaw as significant as its destructive power. It never manifested with a normal heart rate and body temperature, and it consumed an enormous amount of time to warm up. Of course, his most powerful weapon was the Hypnosis App, but he had no intention of pulling that out. Today, here, he intended to show only the limits of his pure physical ability.
First, we will begin the measurement of basic physical strength and destructive power in an unpowered state. Please strike the sandbag in front of you.
"Understood." Ha Ohu did some light jumping jacks to loosen up his body. The hellish muscle-tearing training of Last Moment. The high-density muscles that had been forcibly crammed into him, repeating the process of tearing and attaching every day, twitched all over Ha Ohu’s body. Ha Ohu took a deep breath and threw a heavy right fist toward the sandbag, using the rotational force of his waist.
THWACK-!!
The entire training ground rang out loudly. The special sandbag, designed to absorb everything unless it was an impact on the level of Triple Axel, swayed violently backward.
Pow! KWA-ANG! THWACK!!
Ha Ohu didn't stop, plunging consecutive punches and kicks into the sandbag.
"Hoo..."
After five heavy strikes, the sound of the control room stirring slightly leaked through the speakers.
"Oh, what is that physique? His base stats are no joke."
"If you look at pure physicality alone, it matches the ability-use stats of a decent B-rank physical enhancement hero. His striking form is crude due to lack of experience, but the technique of putting his weight into it and the density of his muscles are not ordinary."
"I heard he passed Last Moment’s training."
"What? That crazy woman’s training?"
The examiners’ positive exclamations flowed out without knowing the microphone was on. Ha Ohu turned his head to look toward the bulletproof glass of the waiting room. He could see Namiyang, who had been watching him through the window, jumping up and down excitedly, giving him two thumbs up with both hands. Han Eunbyul next to her was also wide-eyed, looking astonished.
'Well, thanks to Last Moment, I’ve managed to do my part in terms of basic physique.'
Basic physical ability measurement complete. Next is the measurement of maximum output destructive power while the ability is activated. Please start when you are ready.
At the examiner’s guidance, Ha Ohu stood in front of the sandbag again. 'Alright, then let’s start the warm-up.'
In the Bupyeong station underground mall, he had borrowed the external force of Namiyang’s electric shock to forcibly fry his neural nerves and pull out his ability at once. But here in the training ground, Namiyang was not present. He had to start this acceleration alone. Ha Ohu suddenly turned his body in front of the sandbag and began to sprint around the track inside the arena.
Ta-ta-ta-ta-tak!
"...?"
"Why is that applicant suddenly running?"
The examiners in the control room looked at the monitors, puzzled. Ha Ohu didn't care and ran around the training ground until his breath reached his throat. His muscles generated heat, and his heart rate began to fluctuate, exceeding 150, 160 beats per minute. Sweat poured from his entire body like rain.
'With this, I’ve raised my body temperature and base heart rate to a certain extent.'
Ha Ohu stopped abruptly about ten meters in front of the sandbag. Steam rose from his body, perhaps due to the air conditioning. 'Now, I need the final trigger.'
While preparing for the evaluation, Ha Ohu had researched ways to forcibly raise his ability on his own without Namiyang’s electric shock. He had gotten an inspiration, but he had hesitated at first. It was a technique used by the protagonist of a very famous boy's manga he had read before possessing this body, so it seemed unrealistic. Moreover, he was even skeptical because his physical characteristics were different from the protagonist of that work. However, since what he needed was a way to increase blood flow speed by raising his heart rate, he had experimented with it once.
'I didn't think it would actually work.'
He had succeeded. Ha Ohu recalled the hypnotic command he had already placed on himself.
【 Command: Do not feel pain. 】
His sense of pain was blocked. Ha Ohu clenched his fist. And.
"Hup-!"
KWA-ANG-!!
He struck his left chest, where his heart was located, with all his might, until it felt like his bones would break.
"...!?"
"C-crazy! Did he just hit his own chest?!" A scream erupted from the control room. He had applied physical impact directly to the vicinity of his heart, piercing through his thick chest and forcibly squeezing his heart. Thump-Thump!!! His heart fluctuated convulsively, and blood sprayed through his contracted blood vessels to his entire body.
Creak, creak!
Steam, visible even more clearly than before, began to erupt around his body.
"Kuh-euk...!"
Due to the side effects of the forced pumping, his stomach acid refluxed. A sour taste lingered in his mouth. But there was no pain. The warm-up was over. His mother’s legacy, Acceleration, had been activated, albeit imperfectly.
"I’m going."
Shua-a-a-ang-!
He shot out toward the sandbag. And his right fist, which had crammed in all the energy of acceleration, plunged into the very center of the sandbag.
KWA-A-A-A-A-A-ANG-!!!!
The special sandbag bent backward as if the chain would break. 'You told me to show you maximum power.'
If he struck an enemy in the accelerated state, his own bones would crumble first due to the law of action and reaction. Crackle! Snap! Naturally, the moment he struck the sandbag, Ha Ohu’s hand broke. But because he couldn't feel pain, he didn't stop. His full power was only just beginning.
"Haaaaaa-!!"
Ha Ohu began to pummel the sandbag again with his left fist, and then his right fist again, toward the rebounding sandbag. Kwang! Snap! Thwack! Crack! Behind the sound of the sandbag, the unpleasant sound of human bones being crushed rode the training ground microphone and echoed vividly throughout the control room. Ha Ohu’s hands were already being crushed into unrecognizable bloody messes. Even though red blood dripped to the floor and his bones were exposed, his fist mashed the sandbag again like a madman.
A self-destructive act of self-harm disguised as an evaluation. The examiners in the control room couldn't hold back.
S-stop!! Stop!!! Stop striking immediately!!!
The guided voice that had maintained its composure throughout screamed through the speakers. But Ha Ohu dismissed even the instruction to stop as part of a limit test for the evaluation and didn't stop his punching.
Snap! Pow! Kwang-!!
The thick emergency door on one wall of the training ground was roughly opened and thrown back by a kick. Someone wearing a costume based on a green gown ran in, out of breath.
"Hey! You crazy, ignorant bastard!!"
It was the S-rank hero and KHC-affiliated medic, Medical Sign, who had treated Ha Ohu’s legs and hands at Bupyeong Station Square a few days ago. Medical Sign ran over and mercilessly slapped Ha Ohu’s broad back, who was hitting the sandbag with his bloody hands.
Slap-!
"Are you crazy?! What kind of lunatic grinds his own hands to dust just because he's getting his ability evaluated! Won't you stop immediately?!"
Ha Ohu, who had been slapped on the back, finally stopped punching and turned to look at Medical Sign, breathing heavily. Ha Ohu’s hands were already tattered, with white bones exposed and blood dripping down.