Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Ur's Treatment
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I wasn't particularly surprised.
Even superhumans drop like flies in this world at any moment.
In the original story, she might've gotten swept up in the offensive and died.
Or, judging from her current state, she could've lost her original abilities after replacing the mutated body parts with artificial ones.
'Yeah. That's probably it.'
Whether it's abilities or martial arts, everything stems from the "body."
No matter how much this world lets you swap out organs willy-nilly, there's no way it wouldn't have an impact.
Ur's condition was a textbook case.
Mutations concentrated in her upper body and internal organs.
The pollution source had been removed, so the mutations wouldn't progress further, but excising the mutated cells and replacing most of her body parts with prosthetics would obviously mess with her real skills.
"...I'm not used to a man looking at me like that."
"Ah, that's not it."
I'd apparently stared at her chest too much.
I scratched my head and stepped a bit closer before asking,
"You know I was in the room right next to yours, right?"
"Yes. It was pretty noisy."
"And that I was in worse shape than you?"
"...Was that for real?"
Her voice dropped a tone.
Her face was full of doubt.
"I've got a special ability."
"...Is that even possible? You can cure mutations?"
"It's a bit complicated to get into the details, but yeah, it's possible. I'm living proof."
Ur's expression grew even more serious.
Then she started to speak quickly.
"No way, for me too...?"
"Hear me out first."
I explained in quite some detail.
How it could be dangerous in various ways, how I hadn't tried it on anyone else yet, and so on.
Finally, that she had to keep the treatment a total secret.
Despite all those warnings, Ur nodded immediately.
"You sure you're okay with this?"
"In this state, I'm as good as dead anyway. My dream of becoming a superhuman would go up in smoke."
"What a crappy dream."
"Haha, yeah?"
Dreams and reality are different.
The superhumans in the propaganda always look cool.
The brutality of war doesn't get highlighted.
So the aspiring superhumans who got lured into the academy that way end up realizing they got duped.
"How long does it take?"
"Guess we'll find out once we try."
"Then let's do it quick. Regular check-up's in an hour."
"...Alright then, excuse me. No funny business, so don't misunderstand."
I unwrapped the bandages around Ur's chest.
It was worse than I'd expected.
'5%? No, the internals are nearly 7% mutated.'
Once the mutation rate hits 3% in a part, treatment's off the table.
Only options are prosthetic replacement or cyborg conversion.
In Ur's case, complications were all but guaranteed, so she probably had to decide soon.
'Alright...'
I placed my hand on the most severely mutated area.
Activated my ability and attempted to connect.
It felt like tuning into a radio signal with unstable frequency.
But once I locked onto it, connection was swift.
'It's dark.'
Even here, my actions felt restricted.
I couldn't poke around freely.
Only "Alien"-related parts were accessible.
I checked every bit of info I could grasp.
'Looks doable...?'
The verdict was positive.
Detaching the bound Alien factors was simpler than thought.
The total info to parse was way below even a Grade 1 threat level.
The issue was extracting it all at once.
'Have to do it in stages.'
Treating it all in one go would create massive deficits in her body.
Stripping only the Alien factors from the bound areas meant less loss than the current mutation rate—over half less—but Ur's condition was so dire that even that could trigger shock and kill her.
'Should've made her drink a healing potion first.'
Then I could've extracted gently while healing simultaneously.
For now, I focused on extracting from the mutation sites that'd shock her body the least.
"...Is it done?"
"Yeah, a bit. About 10%?"
"Whoa..."
Ur muttered "so easy like this" in a voice too quiet for normal ears.
I checked the time first.
Only 30 minutes had passed.
First time, so next round I could cut it to 10.
"Th-that's not the max, right?"
"Of course not. Your condition's severe, so we split it up. Need some prep materials too."
"Uh, no, that's not... Um..."
She hemmed and hawed before clamping her mouth shut.
"Ask the medics for a full scan. Gotta confirm if I'm right first, yeah?"
"...Yeah."
"If it looks good, I'll come back tomorrow. So, how'd it feel during? Any special sensations or pain?"
First time successfully using my ability on someone else.
Needed to hear the feedback.
"...A bit of pain. And... like something was caressing my insides? Hard to put into words."
"That's plenty."
That sensation might feel creepy.
But not enough to interfere with treatment, so fine.
I nodded and exchanged contacts.
As I headed out, she called to me.
"...You have to come back."
"Obviously. What if you spill the secret?"
"Yes..."
Her trembling voice was unmistakable.
I emphasized I'd keep my promise and left the room.
'She's really desperate.'
Different from her outward demeanor.
She must've been rotting inside.
I figured the other cadets were in similar straits.
How to fix this?
'Guess I need to see the headmaster.'
Already had business with him anyway—might as well handle it together.
Headed to the dorm first.
Had things to grab before seeing him.
*
-Beep! Welcome back, Master.
"Lemon, I'm here?"
Unexpected guests awaited at the dorm.
R3D3 and my cadet friends.
"...What's this?"
"Lemon's discharge party!"
Roze grabbed my hand and pulled me inside.
For a discharge party, though, they barely paid the guest of honor any mind.
Just greetings if they spotted me?
Makes sense—visits had been nonstop yesterday and today; no room for dramatics.
As I got dragged along, I asked R3D3,
"You just let them in without an owner?"
-Beep! Fellow cadets had the master key, so I couldn't stop them. Shall I exclude them now?
"...Let it slide. Or you'll end up scrapped for real."
I pictured R3D3 trying to boot them out and getting smashed.
Upgraded or not, monsters abound here.
Roze dragged me to the living room and plopped me in the corner of the L-shaped sofa.
"You're here?"
"Sahim?"
Sahim sat right across, exuding his usual calm.
"Heard you discharged, so I timed my tea perfectly. Bit cold now, though."
"Haha, cold's fine."
"What's fine? Gimme."
Merdi snatched it and reheated it with lightning friction.
Godlike control—not a drop spilled.
"...Wow."
Impossible for her before.
Must've improved a ton.
Or leveled up during the aerial assault.
"Not taking it? I heated it, so drink every drop. Dare leave any?"
"...Y-yeah."
Sipped it slow.
Bit ashy, but drinkable.
Halfway through, I set the cup on the table and asked,
"When'd you prep all this?"
"We just kinda gathered. Food's everyone pitching in or from the cafeteria. ...Might be rude to a fresh discharge, though."
"I'm all good now. No worries."
Their care so far was plenty.
Visits kept boredom at bay.
Helped steady my mind too.
"Got it."
I leaned back on the sofa at Sahim's reply.
The slightly noisy music felt soothing.
Then interruptions started from the side.
"Wanna eat this?"
"Finish it, I said. Leftovers?"
"Boss! Let's dance!"
Roze kept fussing over me; Merdi poked jabs.
Giz and the cadets grooved nonstop, hyped for some reason.
Eventually, I joined and matched their vibe for a bit.
"Haha."
Forgot about seeing the headmaster.
Spent the day with friends.
Thus,
I returned to daily life.
*
One week in a coma to wake up.
Three more days to discharge.
Lots happened in that time.
'The Terra Planet Alien Assault.'
Humanity's second hub.
Flames of war on Terra—the true dawn of the space age—were an issue dwarfing the Fourth Defense Line breach.
Estimated casualties: around 10 million.
Residual Aliens not fully purged; contamination spread through city centers.
News flooded daily; dystopia criers rallied nonstop anti-government protests.
Blame games ignited fiercely.
First target: Darmosa, Central Superhuman Unit leader and de facto head of the Human Alliance Forces.
Shortly before the assault, he'd formed relief forces by pulling strength from the defense fleet—Terra's key safeguard.
Fatally damaging.
His near-absolute power teetered.
Without timely defense, it might've toppled.
That's when the shadows stirred—puppet masters and warlords spoke up.
Then the Cross Alliance stepped in.
Sudden entrance.
But it brought shocking backstory.
The Ellohim Church.
The Alliance revealed the Church orchestrated the assault; to counter it, Darmosa, Cradle of Heroes Academy's headmaster, the Monarch Family, and the Alliance formed a united front and mobilized frantically.
Public opinion flipped.
Barrages on Darmosa turned to fury at the Church.
Ten days later, they'd "exterminated" the Church's main base and key figures.
Biggest divergence from the original story.
Cradle of Heroes Academy couldn't stay out of it.
Especially Mohaim Royalty and Monarch Family names soared.
They'd normally face flak for unilateral military ops.
But results rewrite history.
Saving COH Academy—humanity's last bastion—earned them unmatched foresight, humanity-love, and glory for sacrificing as needed.
Glory's no big deal? Wrong.
With Aliens forcing all humanity under the Alliance umbrella.
Alliance projects or Drive Gate favors could quickly offset assault losses.
Public on their side meant no qualms pushing aid.
Future like swimming on land.
Last big news: Crimson's demise.
Named entity terrorizing humanity for decades, racking up countless casualties.
Defeated by mere cadet aspirants? Unbelievable, even seeing it.