Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Activity (2)
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“Hero? Shit, they've chased me all the way here?! You crazy bastards?!”
He seemed to have mistaken me for a hero.
For me, that was actually a good thing.
I planned to knock him out quick, call a hero, and then bolt before they arrived.
“You bastards, always looking down on me, huh? Take this... Once you eat this, you won't be able to ignore me anymore?!”
He pulled some weird pill from his pocket and dumped it straight into his mouth.
What the hell is that?
A drug?
I'd never seen it before.
The way he shoved it in his mouth and screamed that no one would ignore him anymore... it had to be some kind of superpower doping drug, right?
“Heh, heh heh! What is this... it's insane! With this... you damn hero scum! Die, you bastards!”
My guess was spot on. After swallowing the pill, he started raving like a madman on his own.
What kind of power is it?
To figure out his ability, I held off attacking for a moment and just watched. That's when the villain struck first, lunging at me.
With a yell laced with curses, he slammed his hand into the ground. The terrain shook for a second, and then countless sharp stone tentacles erupted from the earth, shooting straight at me.
The villain smirked, convinced I'd die from this, but to me, they moved in slow motion.
I extended both hands and started smashing the closest ones first, one by one.
A light tap was all it took for the thorns to shatter.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“What the...?”
After pulverizing dozens of those stone tentacles, I took a stance facing the flustered man.
Time to cut loose a bit.
This guy was a villain, after all.
He seemed pretty strong, so showing some power shouldn't be a problem.
The moment I felt the omnipotence surging through my body, it accelerated in an instant.
Whoosh!
In the slowed time, I zipped behind him and swung a light punch—but stopped just short of impact.
Bang!
Even so, the shockwave tore through the air, and his body couldn't withstand it. He flew sideways like a cannonball.
Whoosh! Crash!
“Guh...”
I worried I'd misjudged my strength, but luckily, it seemed fine.
I looked down at the man groaning on the ground, struggling to get up with all his might.
“Kuh... urk... shit... this can't be... no way... ugh... bleh...”
“Ah... was that too hard?”
I thought I'd held back, but apparently not.
The villain, collapsed and vomiting nonstop, glared at me with bloodshot eyes.
Whoa...
A little scary.
“Die!!”
Even more tentacles came flying at me.
Of course, I dodged them effortlessly and shattered them in a flash.
Staring blankly at the rock fragments raining down, the man muttered.
“Just... one hit... if I land one hit on you...”
“Oh, yeah?”
One hit would do it?
I pondered for a second, then figured this might demoralize him without beating him to a pulp.
With my current physical specs, these rocks probably can't pierce me.
My body had shrugged off iron blades.
No way mere stone ones could penetrate.
“Go ahead, then. I'll just stand here.”
“What...?”
“Attack all you want, however you like.”
At my declaration of standing still and doing nothing, the villain looked dumbfounded.
“You serious...? You wanna die that bad?”
“Nah. Just wanna show you the difference in our power.”
“Ha... you're insane.”
The villain grinned.
“Fine, have it your way. I'll pierce you everywhere and put your corpse on display for the heroes to see.”
With that, he slammed both hands into the ground.
Hundreds—no, it looked like even more—of sharp stone tentacles launched at me.
“Die!!”
The moment the blades touched my body,
Splat! Crunch!
“...?”
A sound like something dull hitting flesh rang out.
The tentacles trying to stab me had shattered on contact.
“What... you didn't even move...”
“I didn't do anything.”
“Bullshit! How the hell do my tentacles break if you didn't do jack?!”
“Man, you're annoying.”
I shoved my hands in my pockets.
“There. Hands in pockets, standing still. Go for it.”
“Shit, you bastard!!”
The villain launched another barrage of stone tentacles.
Needless to say, none pierced me.
Feels kinda good.
Realizing front attacks weren't working, he went for my back too—but front or back, they crumbled the instant they hit me.
Like getting a massage.
It was subtle, but the massaging sensation felt nice.
I'd never really stretched out before, so it felt even better.
“Ah, there... not there... lower down, give it a good pound?”
“Ugh... uaa... die... just die, damn it...”
“Ooh, that's the spot.”
“Uwaaaah!!”
“Oh? Right!”
These things were made of stone.
Taking them with my body meant fragments would stick to me, obviously.
I hurriedly looked down at my clothes.
They were filthy with debris.
Not just fragments—these had been yanked from underground to attack me, so they were extra dirty.
And while my body was fine, my clothes weren't. Holes everywhere.
Basically rags now, unwearable.
Damn... what a waste.
If I'd known, I'd have ended it quick.
I tried to go easy to avoid hurting him too much, and now I'd ruined a perfectly good outfit.
Considering more activities like this, I'd have to account for dirt and debris on my clothes.
Not that I'm sure I'll do it again, but if I do, I might need a special outfit.
Wearing different clothes each time isn't practical—I don't have that many, and they'd just get ruined anyway.
Something a poor college student like me has to seriously consider.
“Ah... aaah...”
The villain who'd been trying to kill me moments ago now looked up at me in terror.
At least I'd achieved my goal.
Guess that's something.
“Want more? Or you gonna surrender?”
“I-I'll surrender... please let me...!!”
At my question, he bowed his head frantically, begging to be spared now that he'd surrender.
His powers not working at all must've terrified him.
Wow...
Honestly, even I was shocked inside.
I glanced up at the sky for a moment.
Looking back, I'd jumped from what must've been hundreds of meters up, and not a scratch on me.
No strain on my legs either.
Just how far are my limits?
If it's the Stat Cheat, all my stats should be maxed out like in the game...
This might put me on par with the pinnacle of physical superpowers, I cautiously guessed.
Though Korea doesn't have heroes that strong.
That's when I sensed it, mid-thought.
A hero?
Someone was approaching from afar.
I couldn't stick around or I'd get spotted. Time to go.
“Heroes are coming soon, so I'm out. You chased this far, so no escaping now. Just get caught quietly.”
With that, I leaped straight up from where I stood.
As expected, since I figured I could clear buildings, I shot up dozens of meters.
Made escaping a breeze.
“...What an intriguing young man.”
When we'd met by chance, I hadn't thought much of it.
Just figured he was a guy who'd awakened physical enhancement powers and was training hard.
Even that was odd—most head to the Superpower Training Center for that. Climbing a mountain was bizarre.
Really... up until then, no big deal.
I'd come to this mountain because it was one I frequented.
A ridiculous coincidence.
“Never imagined he'd be this impressive...”
A gem shining this brightly.
The courage and boldness to leap from hundreds of meters on a cliff, plus the sturdy body to pull it off unscathed.
Even with physical enhancement powers, that level of performance meant he'd honed his body to the bone.
And he had a kind heart, listening patiently to a disguised old man's ramblings.
The perfect husband material.
“My granddaughter would surely take a liking to him.”
The old man who'd watched the youth face off against the villain turned away with a satisfied chuckle.
Looking forward to their next meeting.