Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Your Hero Academy
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The moment a flash of light surged from Jin Seo-ah's scabbard.
'I've lost my mind! Oh no!!'
Valkyrie cried out in shock as she activated her ability.
Jin Seo-ah wasn't just any cadet. She was the class representative.
She was in the perfect position to be called out first when the instructor entered the class.
That's why Valkyrie had forgotten. About the bloodline she carried.
A family of people who were fine otherwise but went crazy the moment they picked up a sword.
Cursed blood or something? They had great abilities but stubbornly insisted on swords. Madmen.
Even so, Jin Seo-ah had shown remarkable restraint, so Valkyrie thought she'd be fine.
She'd been watching her since the entrance exam and had even clapped, thinking, 'Ah, she's different!'
She thought a calm, lake-like person had finally emerged from that sword family...
"That damn Jin family! Do I have to clean up after you every single time?!"
She just needed to show how she handled her ability moderately!
There were no villains or monsters in front of her. Why did her eyes change like she was going to kill everything?!
A golden glow swirled around Valkyrie's body before exploding outward in a burst of light.
At the same time, her body seemed to lift into the air before shooting forward.
All of this happened in just a few seconds.
She overtook the flash from Jin Seo-ah's sword in an instant.
Valkyrie's glow soon formed into the shape of a shield, blocking the path ahead.
Boom!!
"Ouch!!"
Our old Sword Saint. He trained his granddaughter well! This level of destructive power already?
Her surprise and bewilderment turned into laughter.
She hadn't gone all out, but she had used her ability.
Even so, this power was at least B-rank. Maybe even A-rank.
Sizzle...
Meanwhile, the flash blocked by the shield gradually shrank before vanishing completely.
What couldn't cut through wouldn't pierce forward. The trajectory collapsed just like that.
It all happened in a split second, leaving all the cadets with stunned expressions.
All except one. Jin Seo-ah, who had drawn her sword, wore a look that said, 'I've caused trouble.'
"Jin Seo-ah!!"
"Y-Yes?!"
"I told you to handle your ability, not to swing your sword with full power! Even if you want to use your sword, you have to do it in moderation! You almost hurt someone!"
"S-Sorry!!"
The cadets glanced at Jin Seo-ah in surprise.
At the entrance ceremony, she had been the stiff, icy representative of the new students.
The great Jin family. Granddaughter of the Sword Saint. They had been impressed by her gravitas.
But now... she looked like a mischievous girl who didn't know what to do after messing up.
"Everyone else, take note! Handling and discovering your ability is completely different from using it at full strength! You have to learn control! You're not fighting in an empty field with nothing around!"
"Yes, ma'am!!"
"Sigh. I didn't give any separate warnings this time, so we'll leave it at that."
Valkyrie turned and glanced at the day laborer cleaner who had sat back down in his spot.
Poor guy. He nearly got killed by a cadet's sword energy right after coming to work.
"Hey, are you okay?"
"Ah, yes. I'm fine."
He stood up from his seat, looking like an utterly ordinary person anyone could see anywhere.
The only unusual thing was how strikingly pale his skin was for a cleaner.
And his eyes... they were really narrow. Could he even see with eyes like that?
'Poor guy. With eyes like that, he must get teased a lot for looking like the Smiling Man.'
In fact, people who resembled villains often faced discrimination and bullying.
Sometimes it got so bad it even made the news.
Those who couldn't endure it would get plastic surgery or wear glasses or sunglasses as a quick fix.
It was another kind of harm villains inflicted on people.
"We're really sorry. Our cadet made a mistake. If this causes any issues with your work or health..."
"No, no. I'm really fine. This is nothing. Haha."
The man laughed. But for some reason, his smile felt a bit off.
Was he scared? Or did something make him uncomfortable?
"...Aha!"
That wasn't it. Valkyrie clapped her hands and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen from her pocket.
"This, right?"
"Pardon?"
"You wanted an autograph, didn't you?"
That smile. She'd seen it plenty of times. Especially from men asking for just one autograph.
She'd dealt with this so often she could spot it instantly.
"...Ah, yes. An autograph from S-Rank Hero Valkyrie. I'll treasure it as a family heirloom forever."
"You better not resell it later."
"Maybe in 60 years, I can take it to the pawnshop bald guy!"
"Hahaha! You're such a fun guy! Here, one more for the mood!"
"Too much supply will drop the price, though!"
A bizarre scene unfolded: an S-Rank Hero bantering back and forth with a day laborer cleaner.
It took a few minutes before Valkyrie finally returned to her original spot.
"Alright. We've seen Cadet Jin Seo-ah's ability, so step back for now. Next up... uh, well. Um. Miss?"
"Feel free to call me casually, Instructor Valkyrie."
"Wow. Your Korean is great."
"Korean is a required course for entering the Korean Hero Academy."
There was one cadet who had come all the way from distant England to Korea.
Louise Capels. The youngest daughter of Count Karael, once England's top ability user.
Her family was more famous for 'Magic Bullets' than the Capels name.
The young lady from that family had strongly requested admission to the Korean Hero Academy.
Korea had particularly outstanding heroes among all nations.
Naturally, they were often assigned as instructors to the academy.
Aspiring cadets from various countries wanted to learn from the best heroes.
These factors made the Korean Hero Academy always have a backlog of exchange students.
Louise had prepared diligently for years for this very reason.
Her fluent Korean was proof of that.
"Good. Then, Cadet Louise, let's see how well you understand and control your ability."
"In my case, I can imbue tracking into bullets. I don't have bullets right now, but like this—I can apply my ability to an object."
Louise rummaged in her cadet uniform pocket, pulled out a coin, and tossed it upward.
Normally, the coin would soar up and then fall back down naturally.
But Louise's coin curved through the air and headed straight for Valkyrie.
It was like a living creature. Moving with intent.
"Like this."
"That's why your side calls you 'Magic Bullets'."
"If anyone asks why not Germany, I'll say England is far superior."
She must have been teased a lot about 'Magic Bullets but not from Germany?!'
Valkyrie patted Louise's back, laughing heartily.
"See? You need to know your ability inside and out and control it like Cadet Louise. Especially in tight spaces, with civilians around, or near residential areas—you have to know your limits. Next, who wants to demonstrate their ability control?"
Other cadets stepped forward eagerly.
Valkyrie urged them to go ahead.
But her gaze kept drifting to one person from earlier.
'Kang Yuna, was it?'
The moment Jin Seo-ah's sword energy headed for the day laborer cleaner...
While the other cadets were startled or panicked, Kang Yuna hadn't.
She was a newbie, so her reaction was a bit slow, sure.
But in that instant, she had thrown herself forward to protect the civilian.
If Valkyrie hadn't intervened, Kang Yuna would have definitely rushed out.
At that moment, Kang Yuna had been a true 'hero', ready to leap in for others anytime.
'Skills and experience can be built over time, but mindset can't.'
This incoming class had so many promising juniors.
She was glad she'd taken the instructor role at the branch chief's request.
Valkyrie threw herself even more passionately into guiding the first-year cadets.
Thanks to that proud feeling, she missed one thing.
Something she would never normally overlook. Something an S-Rank Hero wouldn't miss.
Having met skilled juniors and ones with the right mindset...
She overlooked that the day laborer cleaner hadn't shown the slightest fear even as the sword energy flew at him.
Meanwhile, the cleaner who received Valkyrie's autograph headed to his assigned workplace for the day.
Just like any other cleaner. He wiped down a corner of the annex corridor.
He looked every bit the day laborer. Nothing special about him.
But the smile on his lips was definitely not that of an ordinary person.
"Whew. I thought I'd get caught right from the start."
Polite speech was passive, and even his mutterings were polite.
Now half-resigned to it, Yushin glanced around casually.
There was one reason he had volunteered to infiltrate the academy in front of the boss.
If he didn't, someone else would come in.
Wherever he went, having an inside agent was better if it was him.
Above all, this allowed for more efficient growth of the protagonists.
The original story flow. Of course, it was important. Best to stick to it as much as possible.
But as a 'Korean', faster and more effective leveling was paramount.
"Next up... yeah. Now that the new cadets are in, the villains won't leave the academy alone, right?"
The reason he chose to be a cleaner. Perfect for scouting the layout.
Nothing more frustrating than getting lost and being late.
"Hey! Don't just clean there—do the other side too!"
"Oh, sorry! It's my first day here. I'll get right to it!"
Truly sorry! The perfect picture of a cleaner dashing off with a smile.
No one in the academy had any idea that the Smiling Man had infiltrated.