Chapter 10
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Blood, Pain, Wounds
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Blood, pain, wounds.
I allocated my stats and hurried down the stairs. The gate was still open. No telling when more monsters might pour out. I had to get out of here fast.
Someone might think, "Just take out a few goblins, what's the big deal?" But it wasn't that simple.
‘Goblins mean it's probably connected to a 1★ dungeon, but I can't let my guard down. Rare variants could show up.’
Variants were stronger than regular monsters. No way to predict which kind.
It could be one with more strength, or speed, or higher defense. One thing was certain: stronger than the baseline.
‘If I had to put a number on it, maybe a 1.5★ monster.’
Since goblins were coming out here, the variant would likely be hobgoblins. Obviously, way beyond what I could handle right now.
Honestly, goblins were the weakest of the 1★ monsters. And I only beat four-to-one thanks to my Illusion skill.
If something like a knoll—human torso on a hyena body—had shown up, I couldn't guarantee a win even one-on-one.
‘Everyone else seems to have evacuated already. No need to risk more fights.’
Decision made, I bolted down the stairs. Luckily, those six goblins were all that had escaped the gate—the whole school was deserted.
Out on the sports field, I saw homeroom teachers taking roll call.
Roll call in a situation like this...? What were they thinking? But instead of arguing, I slipped to the back of the group. My homeroom teacher spotted me and lit up.
"Huh!? In-hyeok, you were here too?"
"Yeah."
"Since when?"
"Since a bit ago."
"Got it. So the missing ones are..."
My usual low presence worked in my favor—teacher bought it without question. A little hurtful, but I was used to it by now. Kinda numb to it, really?
As I sighed, someone thrust a hand out from beside me.
Thinking the delinquents were about to hit me, I flinched and raised my arm to block. The hand's owner sounded baffled.
"What was that about?"
She was a cute girl about my height. Suddenly embarrassed, I pretended to wipe sweat with the back of my hand and lowered my arm.
"Uh, n-nothing. Just sweaty from running... Anyway, what's up?"
"Oh, thanks for saving me earlier, sunbae."
"Huh?"
"You saved me back there. I owe you my life."
She opened her hand. My name tag was there. Pervert alert, but my eyes went straight to her hand instead.
From her shiny nails to her soft, cat-paw-like palm, I examined every detail. Yep, hands as pretty as her face.
"Uh..."
She looked at me like I'd shown her something gross and shoved the name tag into my hand. Then she shuddered and backed away.
Haha. Ouch, that stung a bit? Even if I'm a total creep, that's how you treat your lifesaver?
‘Hmm. Not bad, though?’
Damn, what was wrong with me!
I hated myself for it, but part of me... didn't hate it? Hard to explain. Tension wearing off, maybe—random thoughts kept popping up.
By then, roll call wrapped up, and the teachers huddled together.
"Kim, you done?"
"Nope, a few missing."
"Us too! Kids, anyone know where the absent ones are?"
No sooner had the teacher asked than chaos erupted from the rooftop.
"H-Help! Somebody!"
"Save us!"
Kids were clinging to the chain-link fence, screaming for help. Kim Cheol-min and the delinquents who'd been waiting up there for O Deok-hun.
The delinquents were half out of their minds, Kim Cheol-min especially, bellowing for hunters at the top of his lungs.
"Hunters? Right, hunters! Teacher! When are the hunters getting here?"
"No idea, phones are dead. But the alarm went off, so they should be here soon."
Gates released electromagnetic waves when they opened. Like an EMP blast, frying all nearby electronics.
Computers, phones, comms—everything went dark. No way to call for outside help.
Small mercy: Hunter guilds had detectors for gate openings. They probably knew by now and were racing over.
"How much time's passed?"
"Think those kids are okay?"
"Locking the rooftop door and holding out should be fine, right?"
Everyone stared up at the rooftop, worried. That's when the thought hit me.
‘Should I save them? I could, if I tried.’
I'd already proven I could handle goblins to some extent. Luck played a part, but I could take on up to four at once.
‘Maybe even a hobgoblin?’
Plus, when that girl came to thank me earlier, it felt pretty good. No, great. "You saved my life." Like I was an anime superhero.
‘Hmm. Should I really do it?’
The hero complex from all those shonen manga kept egging me on. Save people. Be a hero.
It even fit my principles. Become people's dreams and hopes. The true hero's path.
‘Wait, that means saving Kim Cheol-min?’
Looking at him screaming his head off up there, my burning resolve went ice cold.
‘Save Kim Cheol-min? Me? Why? Wouldn't society be better off if a guy like that just died?’
I startled myself. What the hell was that thought? Even so, "I hope he dies"... Guilt twisted in my gut, but some dark thrill made my heart race.
Was Kim Cheol-min really gonna die? If I just stood here and watched, would he vanish from the world?
‘Yeah. Why should I risk my neck for the guy who tormented me?’
Deeper down: I kinda hoped he'd just die right now.
An inexplicable rush spread from the back of my left hand, and my grip tightened without thinking.
Squeeze—
"Ah!"
Something pricked my palm. I opened my hand—somehow the name tag pin had dug in. Blood beaded up from the wound.
Blood, pain, wounds.
All pierced by this tiny needle. Staring at it, terror, revenge, flimsy justice—all tangled in my head.
What should I do? The question filled me, no answer in sight.
I'd thought my principles were rock-solid, but when push came to shove, they shook. My beliefs wavered.
‘What the hell should I...’
That's when it happened. A massive *bang!* and the rooftop screams intensified. The rooftop door had opened. No—been smashed.
My tangled thoughts went blank.
Then, the hero's voice rang out.
「You can be a hero.」
All Might...!
‘Right. Heroes don't turn from justice. Neither will I!’
That was my "Quirk."
* * *
"What? What was that noise?"
"From the rooftop..."
Fear spreads like a virus. Proof: rooftop kids screaming, and now the sports field kids were crying too.
The unspoken truth everyone sensed but wouldn't voice. Huh Min-ah whispered it to herself.
‘The rooftop door opened. They're all... gonna die.’
She could've been up there too. If not for that creepy sunbae earlier. She glanced back at him. But...
"Huh?"
He was gone. Only his bloody name tag remained.
"Cha In-hyeok..."
Huh Min-ah picked it up and looked up at the rooftop.
* * *
‘Damn it, how'd it come to this?’
Kim Cheol-min gulped as he stared at the mangled door. Shouldn't have locked it? Should've bolted when the goblin showed?
"Lock the door!"
That's what he'd yelled when the goblin appeared. He'd watched kids flee to the rooftop and locked it anyway. When they begged him to open it:
"Get lost, you punks? If goblins swarm 'cause of you, I'll kill you myself, got it?"
They gave up and left. If he'd gone with them, this wouldn't have happened... Could've used a few as bait and run.
‘Didn't think it'd smash the steel door.’
Kim Cheol-min eyed the monster. Nearly two meters tall, body rippling with muscle.
Unlike regular goblins, its skin was gray—variant markings.
No rusty bronze dagger either; it wielded a machete the size of a forearm.
"Grk! Grrrk!"
Towering height, massive build, superior weapon—a hobgoblin unlike any common goblin—stepped onto the rooftop.
"Uwaaak! Cheol-min, do something!"
"What do you want me to do, you idiots!"
Pandemonium. Kids shoved each other, scrambling back. Some even tried climbing the fence.
‘Crazy bastards. Gonna jump?’
Kim Cheol-min shook his head. School building, fifth floor—but apartment-wise, eighth. No surviving intact. Especially onto asphalt below. High chance of death.
‘Only way's the exit. Question is dodging that thing...’
Safest bet: sacrifice bait. Chased by a bear? Don't need to outrun the bear—just the guy next to you.
‘Worst case, toss one as bait.’
Friends? Screw that when my life's on the line. Besides, never see 'em after graduation anyway.
Decision made, Kim Cheol-min shoved the kid in front hardest.
"Wh-what?"
The kid stumbled into the hobgoblin's path. As its feral eyes locked down, Kim Cheol-min yelled.
"Now! Everyone, run!"
Like-minded, they scattered left and right toward the exit. Kim Cheol-min blended in mid-pack, aiming to slip out.
If the damn hobgoblin hadn't grabbed the bait and chucked it like a tennis ball, he'd have made it.
"Grraaah!"
Whoosh—!
A body flew lightly through the air. Straight at Kim Cheol-min, slamming into him.
His bait had wrecked his own escape.
"Urk! You fucking moron... Move, get off! Hrk!"
Trying to get up, Kim Cheol-min saw his dead friend—tongue lolling, neck snapped mid-throw—and gasped.
While he was pinned, the others fled through the exit one by one.
"Where you punks going! Help me out!"
But his desperate cries echoed into nothing. The delinquents were already gone.
Left behind: the grinning hobgoblin, the chewed-up bait corpse, and Kim Cheol-min under it.
"Fuck, fuck."