Chapter 74
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Caught
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Caught
There were currently two traitors.
One had sneaked into the Academy, while the other had secured a position among the Mountain Lords.
Thanks to the encyclopedia, I'd roughly narrowed down who they were.
But deduction and capture were entirely different beasts.
As I'd mentioned before, suddenly fingering them as traitors and beating them down could put me under suspicion too.
Variables might crop up, twisting the future beyond prediction—or worse, summoning a monster I couldn't handle.
So the ideal way to snag a traitor right now was to make him show himself.
'That's why I came up with this.'
Advertise that I'd lost my power to lure him into dropping his guard.
The Mountain Lords' vice-leader wielded plenty of authority, so reining in the media was child's play.
Meanwhile, I'd sprinkle tantalizing rumors online to hook him fast.
Everything was perfect.
-Vice-leader, Pendam is on the move.
"Yeah? Keep feeding me updates on his location and actions."
-Understood.
Plus, for any wild cards, I'd stuck Hobong on him as a tail.
All that remained was biding my time.
Until then, I had to hole up quietly at home.
The issue was what to do there in the meantime...
"Geon-ho, want a kiss?"
"Somewhere other than the lips, please."
"Naturally."
Marren handled that in short order.
Training happened in the Mental Realm anyway, and the rest of the time called for rest.
My master didn't kick up a fuss about me tumbling with Marren during downtime.
"But you really only told us, right?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah."
The ones in the know about my power-loss act were Hobong, Airi, and Heila.
Kim Jang-seok would figure it out without a word from me, so I skipped him.
"The more people who know about a ploy like this, the worse off you are."
To fool the enemy, fool your own side first, or so they say.
Sorry to everyone else, but this was unavoidable.
"But after announcing it like that, you only called me home? I'm seriously touched."
I didn't say: You showed up on your own without an invite.
Sometimes a fuzzy reality beats cold hard facts.
Airi and Heila stuck to their academy studies without skipping.
Marren ditched hers because she preferred glomming onto me for meals.
Not a contest of deeper affection—just Marren's brand of madness at work.
Anyway, I'd set the trap to perfection, and Pendam was inching right into it.
How many cycles of Mental Realm grinding and Marren romps had passed?
-Vice-leader, we've caught Pendam making contact with someone.
"Yeah? Got it. Good work."
Finally, word that Pendam had bitten the bait hard.
'Time to hit the academy after so long.'
Through him, I could drag the Mountain Lords traitor into the net and clean house.
Plan on track.
"To ensure it sticks this time, why don't you handle it personally?"
"Y-Yes?!"
"What, nervous?"
"N-No, sir."
Me, do it?
Pendam trembled, grasping for a response.
He'd begged for one more shot, swearing he could nab Kim Geon-ho for sure.
But that relied on monster muscle, not him stepping up.
Even weakened, this was the guy who'd soloed a conceptual-grade monster.
Word was his wounds weren't even deep, so at full tilt, he might tangle with actual-grade.
Cripple or not, taking him solo gave Pendam the chills.
'How the hell could I...!'
The man before Pendam—who spotted the hesitation—scoffed.
"Hah! Power-hungry one minute, now balking at the chance?"
"I-It’s not..."
"Obviously, I don’t buy that trash like you can definitely take down Kim Geon-ho."
The man had zero faith in Pendam.
How reliable could a Hero Academy prof be, begging monster power?
The lion-masked man pulled a serum vial from his robes and shoved it at Pendam.
"Wh-What’s this?"
"What you’ve craved from day one. Precious stuff to make you your dream self."
"Ah, aah...! Finally, mine...!"
The man seethed at Pendam’s leering grin over such a trinket, even amid the curses.
'Wish I didn’t have to use this worm.'
His better prospects were still wobbly-minded—too risky to approach yet.
Cheap cannon fodder, then.
The man pressed on.
"Jam it straight into an artery, let it flood your heart for max effect. And crave that dream form hard."
"Th-Then I get that awesome power too?"
"Yeah. You do."
Tremble.
How he'd longed for this moment.
Pendam stared at the serum, thick euphoria swelling.
'Finally... my turn for that exalted power...!'
Even as a Hero Academy professor—a post everyone envied—he'd never been content.
'Filthy mutts! Acting like hot shit!'
Hero Academy: den of geniuses.
Or put another way: even top talent could turn average overnight.
World's elite melting pot.
There, Pendam’s mildly gifted self festered in crushing inferiority.
'Just... dumb luck!'
With my talent, effort would’ve skyrocketed me.
Raw power? I’d climb academy ranks, unstoppable.
'Sneer at me! Contemptuous glares while barking orders!'
Victim complex from toxic envy.
Full-blown paranoia kicking in, Pendam stabbed the serum home.
Pfshk!
"Huh, straight in like that?"
That earlier fidgeting over solo duty? Vanished.
The man pitied Pendam jamming serum into his artery.
"Better hope for good results. The instant you tap that power... no going back."
"Damn right... I’ll shed my old self... become a superhuman beyond humanity."
"Superhuman, huh..."
Nice ring—even after repeats.
With that, the man blinked out like he'd never been.
"...And I'll rule as the pinnacle of superhumans."
Bulge.
Power surged, alien to his norm.
No more cringing for orders, kissing worm ass. Done today.
Time to crush the struts of the high-and-mighty.
"Geon-ho, you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm good."
"I was so worried. Really fine?"
"Still recovering, but way better than at first."
Academy return after ages.
Rumors had spread like wildfire—kids swarmed with concern the second I entered class.
'This sells it to anyone.'
Tatakum especially grilled my condition, convincing everyone it was dire.
His innocent bulk fussing naturally drew eyes.
Felt sleazy exploiting it, but no choice.
'Alright... any second now.'
To snag me mid-fast-recovery, this was prime time.
'Those foaming to kill me must be losing it, second by second.'
How long did I wait?
Barely three minutes post-arrival, Pendam barreled up.
"K-Kim Geon-ho, cadet? I'm Professor Pendam, Hero Academy—newcomer, er, monster researcher. Need a moment to probe this incident. Spare some time?"
Panting from the sprint, his slipshod pitch was comical.
Carelessly mixing taboo terms? Serum injection confirmed.
'That desperate to monster-out?'
Pathetic trash.
Textbook traitor, early-arc villain vibes.
Itched to flatten him for interrogation here, but too many eyes—had to play along.
"Sure, no problem."
"Right... How about we portal straight to my lab? Your thoughts?"
Portal for a ten-minute stroll?
So transparently fishy, I barely stifled a laugh.
Ridiculous I had to bite, but quiet cleanup demanded it. I nodded.
"Yeah, sounds good. Let's do it."
Whummm, whummm.
Portal ripped open pre-interruption.
I stepped in pronto; Pendam darted after before anyone could blink.
"Heh... hehheheHAHAHA...!!!"
That tacky villain triumph cackle.
I wasn't indulging it—cracked his skull from behind.
"Caught."
Sentence passed.