Chapter 19
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Lee Seo-yul (1)
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Less than thirty minutes after leaving, I made it back to the cafe without catching any major flak.
Of course, I still had to endure the customers' stares, like they were wondering why I'd been gone so long.
He'd only shown up here about ten minutes ago, so they probably figured I'd just stepped away for around that long.
It was a slow period at the cafe anyway, with hardly any customers, and the terrorist incident breaking out nearby had everyone in a mood to head home early, which kept the crowd thin.
'Lucky, I suppose...'
If the boss found out I'd abandoned my post for thirty whole minutes on a bathroom break, God knows what he'd say.
I'd jumped into action on pure impulse, feeling like I had no choice, but now that it was done, all sorts of details were starting to sink in.
But...
'No regrets.'
I didn't regret a thing.
From what I'd seen back there, if I hadn't stepped up, Kinesis would've been gravely injured—or worse, dead.
If saving her meant I had no choice but to reveal myself, I'd make the exact same call without a second thought.
The whole reason I'd gone to such lengths to hide my identity was society's scorn for the powerless, plus the fact that I didn't know this world, had no connections, and standing out could've derailed my entire life.
At first, I played it extra safe out of sheer ignorance, but after a few months of living here and digging around online, I got the picture.
Sure, there's no easy way for most folks to spot a powerless person, but at best, they get pitied like some kind of handicap case—and at worst, treated like less than human.
Plenty of companies flat-out refuse to hire them; life as a powerless isn't easy by any stretch.
The government clamps down hard on superpower detection methods for protection, but that alone doesn't fix the problem.
And on top of all that, I've got nothing special to my name.
No money, no network.
Not even a real job—just a rootless college kid scraping by on daily part-time gigs.
So yeah, I'd had no choice but to tread carefully until now.
An individual is helpless against massive organizations, after all.
But ever since landing this body, every time some disaster unfolded, I'd thrown myself in without thinking—over and over.
Maybe it stemmed from that old sense of powerlessness back when I had nothing.
Now that I had power, I just couldn't stand by anymore.
I knew it made me a hypocrite, but at my age, with strength like this, I wanted to do whatever I could.
Facing off against villains one by one, it started to click.
Especially this time—it hit hardest.
I hadn't even gone all out.
And yet I'd zipped around at supersonic speeds, absorbed an A-Rank Hero like Kinesis's telekinesis and flung it back, turning the heart of Seoul into a living hell—then sent that powerhouse villain crashing through a building with one punch, and nearly leveled the damn thing with a second.
All of it without tapping my full strength.
I'd been pulling my punches specifically to keep him alive, and it still packed that much wallop.
'Just how far does this Stat Cheat take me...?'
I'd vaguely figured it capped at whatever max output that game allowed.
In a game, it'd just be some stat-to-damage formula, no big deal.
But make it real, and everything changes.
I couldn't be sure at first, but after flexing it a few times, it started making sense.
Hell, I might've ended up with a physical frame that even S-Rank brawlers—amped by their superpowers—couldn't touch.
Nothing else explains what I pulled off today.
But through the lens of a game system? It adds up.
It's a cheat, turning even superpowers into stats—and mine are jacked to game-max, or some 999,999... infinite nonsense.
Couldn't check the exact numbers before diving in, though.
"Hoo."
Back home, I flopped onto the bed like a ragdoll.
Hard to believe that just minutes ago, I'd been sprinting at insane speeds, saving Kinesis and pounding a villain into oblivion. Now? Pure, blissful calm.
'What comes next.'
No more hiding.
Well... I'd been saying that while leaking bits of my power here and there anyway.
Now I'd gotten a solid read on my limits, and my profile was blowing up.
Time to lean in and get active.
And best of all, zero worries on one front.
'No one close to leverage.'
No roots, no friends.
A solitary college kid living paycheck to paycheck? Kinda makes me untouchable.
No weak points to exploit.
Overwhelming power on top? Just steamroll anything in my way like a bulldozer.
Now I was certain.
I'm not out here doing evil—I'm playing hero straight-up. No need to fret about getting chased out of Korea.
Rack up enough fame, grind hero work for public love, and the government's bound to roll out the red carpet.
Foundation's already set.
'Blasting my identity out the gate would be weird, so keep the mask on for now...'
But crank up the activity from before.
Meaning... get out there more often.
'Something massive is brewing soon...'
No way that drug-fueled superpower surge was ordinary.
A guy aiming to be a hero musing like this—kinda materialistic? A little nagging doubt there, but...
Nail this crisis, and I'll land solidly as a hero in Korean society.
Let's make it happen.
"..."
Sensing her consciousness return, Seo-yul quietly opened her eyes.
The stark white ceiling, the sharp sting of antiseptic in her nose, and the steady beep of machines nearby told her she was in a hospital.
'Am I... alive...?'
Her memories were fuzzy, but she remembered someone stepping in to help.
If they hadn't shown up, she wouldn't be here right now.
"Uh..."
Turning her head, she caught sight of bandages wrapped around her entire body.
Not just the wrappings— she couldn't even twitch a finger.
'I... nearly died...'
Bit by bit, the memories flooded back.
She'd been deployed to stop a villain rampaging for some unknown reason.
She'd been holding her own, pushing back little by little, when a sudden explosion caught her in the blast...
'That was the guy...'
The man from all the rumors lately—he'd come to her rescue.
'Worried I was in danger... came to save me...?'
He'd definitely been working at the cafe.
The image of his back as he made her a parfait overlapped with the one who saved her.
'Does he really want to keep his identity hidden...?'
She couldn't help but smile wryly.
She had no clue why someone with that kind of power bothered getting a license the legit way, skipped official hero work, and lurked in the shadows.
But this incident proved one thing.
He wasn't a bad guy, at least.
Lost in thoughts of the man, she heard the door open as someone stepped in.
"Ah, you're awake?"
It was a nurse.
Wheeling over a medical cart with a squeak, the nurse gave Seo-yul a quick once-over and let out a relieved breath.
"Thank goodness you came to so fast. Honestly, everyone thought you might be out for a while..."
"...How long has it been?"
"Almost a week."
A week.
She'd been out cold that long?
"Uh... I need to get up..."
"No, no! You have to focus on recovering first! Absolutely no moving!"
"Ah..."
She wanted to go give thanks...
A whole week had passed since that day already...
Seo-yul stared blankly out the window at the nurse's words.
Was it too far from the incident site?
She couldn't make it out from here.
'I've faced danger plenty of times as a hero...'
But this was the first she'd been hurt this bad—actually on the brink of death.
Deep down, she'd always known facing villains hell-bent on killing her would bring a crisis someday.
But surviving one up close like this? The fear was starting to set in.
"Haa..."
And she hated how pathetic it made her feel.
So many heroes risked their lives out there, and here she was—an A-Rank—crumbling like this after nearly dying?
It was a worry she couldn't share with anyone, and that only made it weigh heavier on her mind.