Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Superhuman
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"Pick up your swords. Today's class is beginning."
⚙ WRITER'S NOTE ⚙ Ugh, what a boring teacher. So obnoxious. Why talk like that to the teacher...
Well, it's not wrong that the class is boring.
There are teachers like this, and teachers like that.
But as a writer who chases excitement, Writer-nim doesn't seem to like that teacher one bit.
I mean, she's ditching the heroine because swordsmanship class is boring.
"Alright, alright. Enough about the teacher—let's talk about the student. That one, right?"
I looked at the former heroine candidate student.
A girl with an eye-catching purple ponytail.
The weapon she's holding... a katana?
Fitting for a swordsmanship class student, her well-trained, sturdy physique was quite appealing.
True to a former heroine candidate, she had something that drew the eye more than the other students.
⚙ WRITER'S NOTE ⚙ Hmm, but there's something a little lacking... "What's lacking?"
⚙ WRITER'S NOTE ⚙ Here's the thing. How could she infiltrate the Academy? I've been thinking, but nothing comes to mind. Ooh.
Writer-nim's starting to worry about plausibility.
There's no real need to—she could just say someone hacked in and move on.
But I was glad she was paying attention to these little details.
Someday, maybe she'll figure out solutions on her own without my advice?
Making happy assumptions like that, I decided to give Writer-nim some advice.
"Then how about we add a bit of plausibility? It's not that hard."
⚙ WRITER'S NOTE ⚙ Yeah? How? Do you have a way to breach the world's top security...? "She wasn't a villain when she enrolled. She became one after starting at the Academy."
⚙ WRITER'S NOTE ⚙ ...! "That works as an explanation for how a spy slipped in."
Right—spies don't have to be spies from the moment they infiltrate.
What if it wasn't infiltration in the first place?
She was an ordinary student when she enrolled, then turned villain after.
A student silently repeating practice day after day.
Believing her talent would bloom someday, immersed in training without a single day off.
Her skills refusing to improve no matter how hard she trained, hands bleeding every day.
Yet insisting her way was right, sticking to the path—until it all crumbles in an instant.
The reason... how about this?
This incoming class is the protagonist's generation.
In any Academy story, the protagonist's generation gathers the most talented students.
To keep up with the protagonist's growth, to not drag them down.
The generation the protagonist joins is always the golden generation, overflowing with shining talents.
But where there's light, there's shadow.
There are always those who grow jealous.
"She witnesses the astonishing talents of her fellow enrollees and feels jealousy bubbling up. She happens to make contact with an evil organization, hears lines like 'Do you crave power...?', and converts on the spot. What do you think?"
⚙ WRITER'S NOTE ⚙ Th-that's amazing! Fantastic! "The Academy's security is top-notch, of course, but if one of its members betrays it, gaps always open up. It's classic, but isn't it fun?"
⚙ WRITER'S NOTE ⚙ See? I wasn't wrong! Reader-nim is a god! The god's you.
...Well, it didn't feel bad to be hyped up like that.
⚙ WRITER'S NOTE ⚙ Great, setting locked in! A student riddled with inferiority over her own talent, turning villain out of jealousy for others'! Kyaa, delicious! After hearing Writer-nim's words, when I looked at the student again, I could feel that something had changed.
Her sword swings, once like the others, now carried a frantic urgency, as if driven by fury.
Even I, who knows little about swords, could sense it—so of course the teacher noticed too.
The teacher, who had been watching her even while instructing others, called her to a halt.
"Laira. That's enough. Didn't I tell you last time? Don't rush."
"Huff... huff... B-but! I can do more!"
"No, you can't. Your body isn't strong enough for that yet. You need rest."
Whoa, the disconnect is wild.
The girl who was swinging her weapon normally just moments ago suddenly looked exhausted.
It wasn't the first time I'd seen a setting change like this, but the uncanny feeling wouldn't fade.
...Yeah, not quite human.
Spectacles like this make it hard to think of this world's people as real people.
"That's an order, Laira. Rest."
"Ugh..."
Her momentum deflated at the teacher's words, her head drooping.
She clearly wanted to keep practicing, but it looked like she was grudgingly accepting.
"Don't be hasty. You're growing plenty. No need to worry."
"...Yes."
Laira stared at the teacher's retreating back after the encouragement.
Her face was so cold now, it felt like I could think of her as a completely different person from before the setting change.
Well, technically she is a different person.
Her past had changed, after all.
"Hey, you okay?"
"...Go away. I'm fine."
Pretty cold response.
But I couldn't back off now.
I had to confirm the setting had changed properly.
If Writer-nim had messed up and twisted it into something weird, it'd be a disaster.
"By the way, you're amazing. That tenacity. I'm jealous."
"...What're you getting at?"
"I'm jealous of that incredible talent. They say effort is a talent too. Think we could be friends?"
"...!"
Yikes, scary.
If I hadn't seen that reaction coming, I'd have jumped.
Who knew a pretty face could twist up like that.
Makes sense, though.
One of the things people without talent hate most is hearing "effort is a talent."
Effort is a talent?
Hah—talentless folks would gladly kill the first idiot who said that if they could.
Whether you try or not is your own damn choice. It has nothing to do with talent.
She obviously thinks the same.
...Should I probe a little more?
Pretending not to notice her expression, I decided to dig a bit deeper.
"I'm the type who's a little short on tenacity... Always struggled to stick with things long-term. If you could share some tips, I'd be grateful."
"...Get lost."
"Pardon?"
"I said get lost!"
Her voice boomed out, drawing every student's gaze our way.
The teacher came rushing over too, of course.
"Something wrong, Arte?"
"No, Teacher. Looks like I said something dumb. It's nothing."
"...Alright. I'll be watching, so no fighting."
"Yes. Don't worry."
The teacher's suspicious stare stung a little.
What the hell—even without knowing what happened.
She's the one who yelled, so why am I getting side-eyed?
Luckily, Laira was flustered enough not to do anything else.
Probably didn't expect herself to yell like that.
"Well then, Laira. Catch you later. Hehe—hope whatever's troubling you gets sorted by then."
With the setting confirmed intact, her current worries should resolve nicely.
Fitting for an evil organization, they'll grant you strength.
Side effects? No clue.
I doubt anything an evil org hands out is proper strengthening.
Doesn't work that way anywhere, right?
No such thing as a free lunch in this world.
To gain something, you have to sacrifice something.
Even "free" stuff demands the time it takes to claim it.
And this? Fast power from an evil org?
Bound to have side effects.
New worries cropping up down the line...
Eh.
I'll think about it when it happens.
"Oh yeah, Writer-nim. That evil organization... doesn't it need a name? Got one picked out?"
⚙ WRITER'S NOTE ⚙ Got one! See, all ability users are superhumans, right? So the name I came up with is... Hearing the name Writer-nim came up with, a laugh slipped out.
"Sounds good. Let's go with that."
Writer-nim, you're better at naming than I thought.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "...Found her."
Yoo Siu was certain.
That girl.
The female student Arte had approached directly.
Whatever plot Arte was cooking up had to involve that student.
Arte had never once approached another student herself before.
And now, at this timing, going up to a girl she'd just met?
"Gotta talk to Amelia."
A happy fantasy floated up in Yoo Siu's mind.
Himself crushing Arte's scheme and enjoying a normal Academy life.
"Might actually work," Yoo Siu thought, smiling brightly.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Haa..."
Laira let out a sigh on her way home from the Academy.
Did I overdo it?
...No, I didn't.
If anything, it was good. That girl—mocking me?
The monster attack at the entrance ceremony.
I saw it myself—her getting that commendation from the Academy as the one who solved it.
And then what? Lacking tenacity?
...Struggles to stick with things long-term?
Then what the hell am I?
Me, grabbing my sword every single day no matter the blisters or wounds?
Could I take down a Grade 3 Monster?
Laira had no confidence.
If the girl who'd soloed one was admitting her own tenacity was lacking, just how overflowing with talent was she?
Am I really that talentless?
I wanted to be a hero who saves people. To help someone.
Grip.
Clenching her fist in misery, blood trickled from her hand.
"Yeah, what's there to agonize over? They're giving me power."
She pulled out the pill from her pocket—the one she'd been too suspicious of to take and planned to toss.
Eerily black.
Just like that girl's hair. Rage boiled up in an instant.
She chewed and swallowed the pill, venting her fury.
Right after—
A crushing pressure on her heart.
"Grk... grkk...?!"
S-save me.
I don't want to die.
I just wanted to be someone who could help others.
Flailing wildly in agony, she heard footsteps approaching.
"S-sa...ve..."
"You took it. Looks like you've decided to join us."
Ah.
I remember this voice.
The one who gave me the pill.
The one who approached me offering power.
"Ü... bermensch..."
"Right—we're the Superhumans. Übermensch."
Laira felt the man in the white coat smirking.
"This is the place you'll belong to from now on. Remember it well."