Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: The Thunder God's Fury
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The flapping of blade wasps' wings echoed from all directions.
The sound was so deafening it felt like it was grabbing my ears and slapping them.
“Kyahaha!”
Merdi, fully ignited in hyperdrive mode, just laughed maniacally.
Damn bitch.
Help? As long as she didn't get in the way, that would've been a miracle—but no, she had to drop a massive shitbomb.
“Damn it!”
Still, I had no time or guts to chew her out.
Six blade wasps were already closing in right on top of me.
I relaxed my muscles.
Roze-style lesson number one.
Maintain composure.
And this composure wasn't just mental.
What Roze hammered into me was physical composure.
A state with zero wasted strength.
‘No matter who you're facing, no matter the situation—never tense up.’
Roze had beaten this lesson into my very body.
That's why, even in this desperate spot, I didn't feel panicked at all.
It was all thanks to Roze.
Boom!
My movements were too natural.
So natural it felt like my body was moving on its own, beyond my control.
My surging muscles moved with the momentum of unleashing every ounce of stored power in one explosive burst.
“Huuuuh—!”
In combat with aliens, never inhale outside air.
The close-combat armor pumped high-pressure compressed oxygen straight into my mouth.
Fueled by oxygen, my muscles erupted with power far beyond human limits once more, smashing the blade wasps.
‘I can see it all.’
An unprecedented euphoria washed over me.
Was this how an emperor felt, wielding absolute power?
I'd lived surrounded by monsters and never realized it.
For the first time, I truly felt the inhuman strength of a superhuman cadet.
But that didn't last.
Pushing my body beyond its limits came at a cost—it started crashing fast.
“Guh!”
A blade wasp's spear pierced straight through my palm.
I'd thought I'd dodged, but my reaction was too slow.
It just grazed the tip, punching a finger-sized hole, but the bleeding was a bad sign for sure.
In the end, solid hits kept landing.
By the third wave of their storm-like ‘swarm charge,’ my body was riddled with holes, no patch of skin left intact.
“Well, of course.”
Merdi muttered like it was all so predictable.
Even as the blade wasps clustered tighter for their next assault, she showed not a hint of tension.
“Out of the way. You'll die.”
Merdi flashed a grin.
Electricity crackled across her body like boiling water.
In that instant, I sensed danger.
A threat incomparable to the swarm charging from ahead.
Without thinking, I desperately flung myself aside from her path—pathetic as that looked.
And right after.
My vision went white.
‘!!!!!!!’
An overwhelming explosion.
The blinding flash engulfed the front completely, vaporizing the blade wasp swarm in an instant. It didn't stop there—it incinerated half the hatchery, shattered the building beyond, then shot up into the sky and vanished.
Even the leader specimen, which had sensed the danger and tried to flap away, left no trace.
‘Holy shit...’
A sight of pure awe.
Those who faced this overwhelming power had a name for her, laced with reverence.
‘Thunder God Merdi.’
I felt it deep in my bones.
Who else could bear such a grandiose title?
And this was before her prime had even arrived—making "Thunder God" fit like a glove.
My whole body trembled.
I swallowed the saliva pooling in my mouth.
Having witnessed this power up close, shouldn't I be prostrating myself in worship?
Even that ridiculous thought crossed my mind.
But the moment she turned her head toward me, I snapped to attention, composing my face with eerie calm.
“...Hmm, thought you'd be gaping like an idiot. Guess it wasn't that impressive?”
“I was impressed.”
“Really? I hate lies. Lie to me, and I'll get mad?”
Her face fell, expectations dashed.
She even looked a bit sulky.
Meaning she wasn't pleased.
But I'd schooled my expression precisely because I knew Merdi's personality inside out.
If I'd gawked like she expected?
‘She would've written me off as worthless trash.’
I brushed the dust off my body casually and stood.
Eyes fixed on the remnants ahead, I replied.
“I'd love to gawk... but the fight's not over yet.”
Her face soured.
But with the hatchery gone, the alien swarm went berserk at her—the cause of it all—and she had to turn her attention there.
“You filthy pests!”
Her unrefined ability erupted wildly.
Just raw emission, but the sheer magnitude was absurd, incinerating swept-up blade wasps to ash.
Still, the aliens charging at the flames like mindless moths were impressive in their own way.
‘But if they keep that up...’
I double-checked Merdi's outfit.
No sign of the issued close-combat armor, nor the mandatory breathing aid for engagements.
Dressed to the nines like she was headed to a party.
And with no blade wasps left to hold back, they sprayed explosive venom wildly, blast radius be damned.
Every glob of venom was intercepted by the terrifying lightning storm blanketing everything, detonating mid-air—but the foul poison spreading with each blast rapidly filled the building.
“...Cough! From this crap, cough! Cough!”
Merdi normally wouldn't end up in this mess.
She'd wipe them out from afar before they even tried anything.
But right now, she was a bit excited.
Which made her already sloppy ability control worse, opening a gap.
‘Can't just leave her, even if I hate her guts.’
I sighed and approached Merdi.
No blade wasps remained.
The ones lunging at her were already massacred; the rest had fled through the hole blasted in the outer wall.
“Guh! Cough...! Why the hell...!”
“Stay still. I'll help.”
“Get... cough! Away!”
Pain must've loosened her reins—her ability sparked wildly around her.
Lightning snaking across the floor zapped through me, making me hesitate.
Without the close-combat armor, I wouldn't have gotten this close.
“Blade wasp venom's nasty stuff. But a standard antidote pack should ease the symptoms plenty.”
“Kh... cough!”
Merdi could barely speak now.
The poison filling this place would've killed a normie dozens of times over.
Even for a superhuman, Merdi's ability-heavy build meant weak resistance to crap like this.
Even she could be in real danger if left half a day.
‘Look at those eyes.’
I got right up to her, rolled up one sleeve, and met her gaze.
She had to be in hellish agony, yet her eyes burned fierce.
Proof of her towering pride.
If she weren't groggy like this, she'd probably refuse treatment outright.
“Gonna sting a bit.”
“Ow! Guh!... Guh!”
A bit? More like a lot.
No bedside manner here—this antidote pack's needle, optimized for effect over comfort, looked downright vicious.
I almost felt bad for her.
“Mmgh...!”
The pack injected smoothly.
Blade wasp venom neutralized on contact; symptoms started improving fast.
Merdi, strength returning, glared and tried to speak—then coughed again.
“You... youuu...”
She finally spat something out, but the pack's heavy sedative kicked in, dragging her into sleep.
“Stubborn to the end.”
I hoisted the unconscious Merdi onto my back.
Poison or not, she was just barely 19.
Her slight weight—unbefitting the Miracle Generation—pressed against me.
A tangle of indescribable emotions.
First practical exam, command subject: over.
***
Practical scores posted immediately.
Mine came in way higher than expected.
23rd place.
Out of 1,000 re-enrollees—that's damn good.
‘Why?’
I pondered.
Turns out, teaming with Merdi at the end scored huge bonus points.
Without it, 230th would've been lucky.
“Lemon!”
“Roze. Exam go okay?”
“Yeah. Fun. The soldier uncles weren't as stiff as I thought. And hey... huh?”
Roze scanned me with her eyes.
Hawk vision, for real.
I'd showered and changed, but she spotted it.
“Where're you hurt?”
“Dealt with some blade wasps. Minor stuff.”
“Blade wasps? What's that?”
“Grade-2 threat alien. Flying bees that spear-fight.”
Roze frowned; Barton wandered over and chimed in.
“Oh, top scorer!”
“Close call.”
“First's still first. Tch. Thought I'd snag it this time.”
For reference: Barton took 1st, Roze 3rd.
With 2nd and 3rd scores nearly double apart, an upset was unlikely.
“Anyway, spear-fighting? Why bees, though?”
“Used to be mostly sword types, apparently. Rare now.”
“Hmm... You're still weak, Lemon, but not weak enough to get wrecked like that.”
Roze's dissatisfied glare stabbed me.
Leave it, and it'd escalate to brutal sparring.
“Haha, lemme explain.”
“There it is.”
“...Huh?”
No need.
The wall-mounted screen played our moment like a highlight reel.
Sure enough, top-left text: key scene from this practical.
Great. Face fully exposed now.
“Not bad. My disciple pulls through.”
Roze's eyes widened; she clapped.
But when the clip hit me tiring and taking hits, her face twisted.
“...Praise revoked.”
“Haha, still, this ain't ba—.”
KABOOM!
Mid-excuse, our chatter died.
Merdi's ability burst—even replayed, it silenced us.
Power enough to cow any superhuman.
Hard to imagine just gawking at that.
Except my two companions.
“Heh. Impressive.”
Roze's battle lust flickered.
Just her intent alone drenched the area in bloodlust.
Nearby cadets, peacefully eating, startled and looked around.
Screen cut quick; normalcy returned.
“But Lemon, you were with Merdi?”
“Kinda forced team-up. She chased me down.”
“Managed to survive. Good.”
Yeah. Only Roze would clock that.
Nearly teared up from gratitude.
Then remembered she's the one who beat on me most—and sobered up.
“Nom nom. Menu's extra tasty today. Eat up, Lemon. Gotta heal fast.”
“You too.”
Roze lives for cafeteria food; obvious how much she savored this.
I nodded, shoveling in extra portions.
For the ‘Rapid Cell Division’ trait from the lungworm, wounds needed healing energy.
Payoff was solid.
Near-fatal injuries, plus academy medics? Three days tops for full recovery.
“Eating well, huh.”
“...Guh!”
Sudden voice nearly made me spit food.
I looked up—Merdi stared back.