Chapter 57
Chapter 57
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Jang's Transformation
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I think I saw something flash.
“Cough!”
For some reason, everything’s pitch black.
My chest feels tight, and I can barely feel my lower body.
A little time passed, and as the pain intensified, I realized I was injured.
“Huh...?”
My vision finally came back.
I could see the ceiling.
I was lying sprawled out at the far end of the training room.
When I looked down, there was a deep gash that had exposed my guts.
Ah, I got hit.
The fragmented memory resurfaced.
It was a blindingly fast and powerful strike that nearly knocked me out.
If I’d been even 0.01 seconds slower to dodge, I would’ve been cleaved in two.
‘Roze...?’
The last thing I remembered was Roze’s back.
I glanced around the training room, and there she was, locked in a fierce clash with Jang.
I also noticed that Jang’s body was nearly half again as large as it had been during his initial transformation.
And sprouting from around his hips was a hideous tail that looked like a scorpion’s.
‘Was that it?’
I realized what had attacked me.
It must’ve been laced with poison.
If my resistance hadn’t been up to snuff, my organs would’ve been poisoned first, and I’d already be dead.
Out of curiosity, I scooped up some of the black, sticky venom that had splattered onto me and tasted it.
‘Not that potent.’
It had lethality, but its main purpose seemed to be paralysis and respiratory distress.
Then it hit me how serious my injury actually was.
I needed treatment right away.
So why was I so calm about it?
‘Roze will handle it.’
Jang in his transformed state was showing terrifying combat prowess.
But against Roze?
I couldn’t imagine her losing to a brute like that.
The exchange looked intense, but only Roze was landing effective hits.
So I tuned it out and focused on healing.
‘First, the healing fluid.’
I kept generating healing fluid.
Of course, it wasn’t free.
The nutrients for the healing fluid came from my body’s reserves.
That’s why I rummaged around my waist.
Since I was always looking out for Roze, I carried snacks on me.
If I’d known there’d be a spar, I would’ve had some freshly cooked food, but all I had were dry nutrition bars, so I could only pray she’d come out unscathed after that brutal fight.
“Ah...”
Unfortunately, the impact from the spar had sent a few flying.
Not enough to fully recover.
I looked around to see if any had fallen nearby, but no luck.
‘Can’t be helped.’
I smacked my lips and shoved every last one into my mouth.
My stomach quickly broke down the food and converted it into nutrients without any waste.
The speed was near-instantaneous.
‘As expected of number two.’
This was the “Rubber Band Stomach” trait.
True to its status as the second-most information-dense trait.
I slowly sat up.
The bleeding had already stopped, and the visible wounds were mostly closed.
My insides were still a mess, but as long as I didn’t push it, I could move without issue.
“Uh...”
Blood had pooled in my head too, apparently, dripping down my nose to the floor.
I’d thought I hadn’t blacked out completely, even after nearly getting bisected, but my head must’ve taken a hit too.
‘...At least my horns are intact.’
They’d almost been ripped off skull and all.
Good thing Roze was there—otherwise, this really would’ve been dangerous.
I watched their fight.
Jang in his transformed state had the edge in physical specs.
Recovery and combat endurance too.
Especially as the fight dragged on, his body grew larger, boosting his physical stats accordingly.
‘Terrifying.’
Jang dashing through the training room, pale smoke billowing from his entire body—it was so intimidating that I’d shake my head if he came at me again.
A demon king through and through.
Fortunately, the demon king had a worthy adversary.
A slender woman pushing back against his furious onslaught head-on.
Her flawless, fluid movements unleashing attacks—it was almost beautiful to watch.
This must be what they call another level.
Despite the gap in physical performance, their one-sided beatdown of an exchange soon ended.
“Haa, haa...”
Roze, who’d landed a decisive blow that cracked Jang’s body all over, was panting.
The labored breathing was proof the fight had taken its toll.
Roze stared for a moment as Jang’s collapsed form began to shrink, then clenched her fist and approached.
She was planning to finish him off for good.
I called out her name loudly.
“Roze!”
“...Lemon?”
Her grip loosened.
She turned back to look at me and rushed over, checking me out.
“You okay? Shouldn’t you stay down longer?”
“As long as I don’t move too roughly.”
Even so, she poked and prodded me all over for a while.
Finally satisfied, she let out a long sigh.
“Haa...”
“Man, what a mess. The custodians are gonna have a headache fixing this place.”
“You worried about that right now?”
“Haha. What about Jang?”
Her face went blank at his name, lips pressing tight.
She wasn’t very expressive to begin with, but now it was worse.
Still, I couldn’t just leave him be.
“He’s in no position to try anything else right now. You beat the crap out of him, didn’t you?”
“So?”
“Let’s talk to him. Help me out?”
“...No contact. Maintain safety distance!”
“Got it.”
We approached where Jang lay.
His transformation had worn off, and he was almost back to normal.
But he looked wrecked.
Where was that trademark healing factor? His face and whole body were a disaster.
Luckily, he was conscious and managed to stand on his own.
“...My apologies.”
“What the hell was that? Care to explain?”
Honestly, I’d be justified in chewing him out.
I’d nearly died.
No joke—really.
And without Roze, my head would’ve been chewed off bones and all.
Even a saint might curse after something like this.
“I’m sorry, but please keep what you saw a secret.”
“Why should I? You almost killed me.”
“...”
“Talk first. I’ll decide after.”
Jang had no choice but to give a brief rundown.
Why it had happened, how his reason partially fled in transformed state, and especially so against aliens.
‘Not everything, but enough.’
Even Roze, who knew my ability was tied to aliens, had to understand after his explanation.
Call it an accident.
The issue was recurrence.
Since he’d reacted to the blue demon horns on my head and caused this mess, it could happen again.
“It doesn’t always happen.”
“Then when does it trigger?”
“No reaction to low-threat individuals. From experience, at least Grade 4. For a reaction this intense, Grade 5—no, 6 at minimum.”
Jang glanced toward my head.
Blue demon.
A top-tier Grade 7 humanoid small alien that hadn’t appeared yet.
His tone was still somewhat agitated.
He couldn’t hide the greed boiling inside.
“Can’t you keep your reason if you transform voluntarily?”
“Yes.”
We talked a bit more.
But he didn’t have much else to offer.
“So, no real solution in the end.”
Now that he knew what the horns were, he might flip out just seeing me next time.
How to fix this.
“I’ll leave Cradle of Heroes Academy. Return to the Cross League.”
Jang proposed cutting off contact entirely.
But that wasn’t what I wanted.
The “Miracle Generation 5” were the key I’d pegged as most crucial to surviving this damn world.
I couldn’t lose touch with one of them so pointlessly.
“I’ll make sure not to trouble you, Leonard. This is the best way to...”
“Let me think for a sec.”
I racked my brains.
There’s always a solution.
As the original author, couldn’t I come up with something creative?
‘Ugh...’
By the time Jang appeared in the original, he could control his transformations at will.
That was nearly 20 years from now, and I’d described it as natural mastery through countless battles—not something to expect now.
‘Though not as powerful back then either.’
Still, no easy answers popped up.
Was it really impossible?
I wished it could be simple.
‘Simple? Straightforward?’
Then it hit me.
A ridiculously straightforward method.
“Let’s do this.”
There were a few prerequisites, but one was doable right here.
I offered secrecy plus a few proposals, and Jang accepted.
“I agree.”
“I’m good with that too.”
Honestly, didn’t expect him to go for it.
It was half-insane.
‘Jang must’ve been taking this seriously too.’
The transformed state was undeniably powerful.
But power you couldn’t control was worse than none.
If it rampaged like this again, how to deal with the aftermath?
Thanks to that, Jang and I aligned our interests.
And I set about forming a dream team to resolve the incident.
*
A week flew by.
Roze was still anxious from the ordeal and stuck to my side, which sparked some rumors.
I needed to clear things up fast, if only to quash the misunderstandings.
“You two finally dating?”
“Was wondering when.”
Not even that surprised.
Just a sense that it was bound to happen eventually.
I denied it vehemently, but few bought it.
“Lemon, is the rumor true?”
Yoon Ji-hye, closest to me outside the four, asked wide-eyed.
“No. I’m telling you, no. You know better.”
“Just checking...”
She nodded at my denial but sneaked glances at Roze.
Roze noticed and asked.
“What? Weird if I dated Lemon?”
“N-No! Sorryyy...!”
She floundered, then bolted.
Roze giggled and said in an amused tone.
“Guess it does look weird. What now?”
“Hahaha...”
Exhausting.
Why did everyone care so much about my love life?
But problems lingered.
Merdi’s expression was off—must’ve been pissed about something.
From experience, explosion imminent.
“Today, right?”
“Yeah. Appointment’s soon.”
“Better be worth it.”
She’d asked the same thing five times already.
I glanced at her face to gauge why, and she snapped.
“Why keep staring?”
“...Just checking if the ad shoot went well.”
“You’re involved, right? Ask yourself.”
The ad shoot was done.
Testing would wrap in two months, sales right after.
Of course, ads would start pre-sales, so her face would be everywhere soon.
“Right, Merdi, you did the ad? How was it?”
Roze lit up and latched onto Merdi.
“Obviously perfect. How could it suck with me modeling?”
“Amazing!”
“Product’s solid, it’ll sell. Right, Lemon?”
“Monarch House is confident.”
If the product flopped and tarnished her image, all hell would break loose.
But I wasn’t worried.
‘The product’s flawless.’
I’d gotten a prototype and tested it myself.
Extended testing minimized side effects.
Plus, the thing was borderline revolutionary in performance.
Pricey, sure, but people would splurge for it.