Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: I Want a Seat Too
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'What the hell is going on here all of a sudden?'
Airi tried her best to understand the current situation as objectively as possible. She'd been rescued by someone called a wastrel son, and they'd arrived at the auditorium for the entrance ceremony without any major incidents.
Then, out of nowhere, the floor collapsed like something out of a fairy tale, and a monster burst out from below. Everything except the middle sentence was impossible to make sense of in her right mind. Where on earth had things gone wrong for it to spiral like this?
'Right now... I don't see anyone who can help.'
There weren't even any security personnel who should have been stationed at the entrance ceremony. The monster that had appeared in a place without any barriers was a predator in every sense.
"Save me! Somebody save meeeee!"
Mimicking the screams bursting out around her with its twisted features, it toyed with the cadets.
A monster with a mouth where eyes should be, eyes where the nose should be, and a nose where the mouth should be. It was a form she'd never seen before, making it hard to rashly approach and use her power.
On top of that, Airi hadn't been able to properly wield her strength since that incident, which made it even harder. But even so, while all the cadets were fleeing toward the back, Airi stepped forward.
It might be impossible to protect everyone, but maybe she could buy a little more time for one more person to escape. That was Airi's resolve, and she wasn't the only one with such feelings.
"Everyone, fall back! And have someone go call for help!"
"I'll join you."
Those stepping forward to confront it instead of flailing in terror to escape. Rastel and Karan drew their weapons and faced off against the monster.
"Kyaeeeeek, not gonna?"
Whirrr, thwack.
The monster stopped its screaming at their completely different reaction from the terrified masses fleeing in panic. Was it intrigued by the novel response? It tossed aside the cadet it had grabbed to chew and swallow, then slowly approached Rastel and Karan.
"Why aren't you scared? I'm scary, you know? Kyaeeeeek, I heard people usually are?"
"Bullshit. If I was scared of something like you, I wouldn't have come here."
"Not even worth talking to."
Rastel and Karan responded in turn while checking their armament. They hadn't anticipated anything like this, so they only had their basic weapons. Rastel was a magic swordsman who wielded a one-handed sword and magic, while Karan was a warrior type with a two-handed greatsword, so they analyzed the situation with extreme caution.
'Even with Karan joining... what are the odds...'
'Even with Rastel here, we can't avoid close combat. Without armor, this is...'
No matter how much they crunched the numbers, all that came up was loss. They only had what they carried, while the monster hadn't even shown its full hand yet, making the situation even graver. A few more cadets joining wouldn't change a thing.
All they could do was buy time, and even that, they couldn't guarantee how long. Those thoughts turned to emotions and showed plainly on their faces.
"You guys are scared, huh. Kyaeeeeek! Not just screaming, but scared like that."
"What?"
"...Did I hear that wrong?"
The monster sneered at the two slender figures thinking cautiously. Cowards, no different from those screaming in fear. Since things had come to this, it figured it might as well toy with and eat the ones right in front of it.
"Nah, you heard right. You're scared shitless. Totally te...rrified?"
So it taunted them, then suddenly fixed its gaze on one spot.
"You, what the hell are you doing? Stop it, st-stop!"
An expression like it had witnessed something utterly repulsive. Even with its features swapped around, it was filled with irritation. The overwhelming killing intent pouring from it froze most of the cadets in the auditorium stiff. It was a ruthless real combat far beyond training in a safe greenhouse.
Like legs going weak at the sight of a beast, or the guillotine blade slowly descending. But regardless, the monster's attitude remained one of disgust, plainly showing its displeasure.
"Stop copying me! Stop copying me! I said stop copying! Kyaeeeeeeeeek!"
In the end, the monster screamed like when it first appeared and charged toward the direction it was staring at.
Boom!
The spot where the monster smashed through the wall and vanished. No one noticed that, besides the monster, one more person had disappeared as well.
"Why are you copying me! Why are you copying me! Why are you copying me!"
"'Cause you're ugly as hell, makes me wanna mess with you."
"Don't even say that! That's mean! Meaaaaaan!!!!!!!"
My eardrums are gonna burst.
The monster kept spewing rage nonstop as it clung to my body, furiously grinding me into the ground while charging.
Kraka-kaka-kaka-grrr.
Even if my body was protected, keeping my clothes intact while being ground into the dirt was too much. I might end up naked by the time this fight's over.
'Well, at least the plan worked.'
The monster pressed its face right up to mine, spitting fury with flecks of saliva flying.
'So Incomplete Humanoid Monsters have the exact same habits from this point on.'
Monsters that failed to become fully human, so they mimic human habits, eat humans, believing they'll eventually become like them. They had an extreme aversion to humans mimicking them.
They'd spare you if there was something worth learning by imitation, but ignoring that and copying their incomplete selves pissed them off.
Just mimicking its expression had such a surefire effect—nothing beat it for provocation.
"But seriously, having a mouth instead of eyes is gross. Every blink reeks of bad breath."
"Don't say that eitheeeeeer! Kyaak!"
Boom!
Teasing it nonstop, the monster finally couldn't contain its rage and flung me away. Just the swing produced a whoosh of displaced air, and even with proper tumbling, the impact spread through my whole body with brutal force. To anyone unaware, it'd seem utterly invincible.
"Well... now that no one's around, guess it's fine to get serious."
"I'll kill you! Youuuu! I'm really gonna kill you!"
"We agree on that, at least."
The dagger I'd pulled out earlier was fully primed, its blade already dyed black.
Mountain Lords don't use weapons by nature. Born as beasts in the position of the strong, they consider weapons cowardly. Thus, most Mountain Lords embody all their power in their bodies, weaponizing their physiques themselves. But Ferocious Tiger's power isn't like that.
Even born strong, they hunt to avoid starving, using every means for the hunt. To thoroughly crush the weak and win, they don't hesitate to look ugly doing it.
Thus, Ferocious Tiger was a power specialized not in dominating through victory, but in killing.
"Tough when you know the strategy, right?"
The dagger hung heavy like a brush laden with ink, yet swayed lightly. And that was the last sight the monster beheld in life.
"A monster appeared in the auditorium!"
"What?"
"What bullshit is that!"
Spewing denials, their bodies still steadily moved toward the auditorium.
"Of all times, right now!"
It was coincidence. Just a brief moment when instructors and security personnel gathered in one place to divvy up personnel. About 15 minutes' travel time—they hadn't even worried something might happen in that span.
Monsters had never appeared inside the academy before, and if one did, the security system would sound the alarm immediately.
But somehow, the monster had suddenly erupted in the auditorium, and by sheer coincidence, no one was there to guard it.
'Please... please let there be no casualties.'
The instructors ran and ran, desperately praying that the sprouts who must advance toward the future wouldn't be trampled. But not everyone thought the same. While all headed for the auditorium, one person dashed in a completely different direction.
"What in the world..."
Hero Academy Principal Park Kang-deok. Unlike the others, he'd spread his senses wide in preparation for contingencies and scanned once more.
As a result, he detected an odd presence far from the auditorium. The auditorium issue seemed more pressing, so he'd come alone to check briefly, but the real problem was here.
"You're earlier than I expected. I thought you'd be late."
A cadet opening his mouth calmly upon seeing him. Kim Geon-ho, the discarded spawn of the Mountain Lords called a wastrel son, and an Incomplete Humanoid Monster bisected diagonally from the upper body. Even Park Kang-deok, with his vast experience, couldn't easily comprehend the combination.
"Did you take it down?"
But reality doesn't lie, and situations must be witnessed to be believed. Park Kang-deok pieced it all together and reached the most plausible conclusion.
"Yes."
He didn't ask the childish how. The menacing aura from the dagger Kim Geon-ho held. Whatever it was, he'd probably killed the monster with that.
Defeating this monster that still exuded ferocious momentum even in death, and concealing his presence to boot. Park Kang-deok couldn't easily speak, faced with Kim Geon-ho so at odds with public perception.
"...Is there something you want?"
In the end, those were the words he uttered. The tone implied he'd waited for him after slaying the monster. Creating a situation for a private talk. It all pointed to Kim Geon-ho seeking a deal.
"Yes, there is."
"What is it?"
Having soloed the monster, the possible rewards he could demand were quite substantial.
'He'll want something material.'
Such expectations were utterly shattered by Kim Geon-ho's next words.
"I want a seat too, so make a spot for me."
"What?"
"I want to intervene in the class assignments."