Chapter 75
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Damn, This Is Tough
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Damn, this is tough.
Bam!
"K-Kim Geon-ho, cadet? What the hell is this? Even if I suddenly started laughing..."
The moment he got smacked in the back of the head, Pendam whipped around with a look of utter disbelief.
Was it because he'd been grinning like he owned the world only to take a hit? He seemed to have regained his senses.
'Anyone could tell he was faking it big time.'
No matter how hard he tried to force an angry face, he couldn't hide the twitching corners of his mouth.
Pendam chuckled and patted my shoulder like he totally got it.
"I get it. You must've been flustered or something."
"He's still trying to play human."
"What are you..."
Ferocious Tiger, Second Form: Sever.
The dagger moved without hesitation, slicing straight through the arm perched on his shoulder.
"...Gaaahhh!"
A slash so fast that the pain hit late.
It was enough blood loss to cause instant anemia in any human.
But...
"No way he figured it out...?"
Pendam casually clutched his mangled shoulder and put some distance between us.
His movements suggested pain, but nothing lethal.
Proof he'd taken the serum.
"Traitors who call monsters the 'new humanity' are a dime a dozen."
[The term "new humanity" is what humans who've sided with monsters call themselves.]
The traitors' label.
Calling monsters—designated enemies of humanity—the new humanity was proof enough their minds were gone.
Scum who'd abandoned human strength to inject monster power via serum.
Humans so low even disintegrating their corpses wouldn't suffice.
That was them.
"Still, wasn't expecting you to swing so wildly..."
"No time to waste on chit-chat."
This place had been under his control the moment we stepped through the portal.
No room to give him even a second.
'Gotta keep the momentum going.'
Suuuuck.
I drew in a deep breath, channeling every ounce of power.
I had no idea what serum he'd taken or what he'd turn into.
Best case: kill him before he fully monstrous out.
"A-Are you scared of me?"
"Shut up."
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Ferocious Tiger, Second Form: Sever into Third Form: Smash combo.
Slice, smash, slice, smash—rinse and repeat.
Everything but his mouth was mashed beyond anything human.
'Why won't this guy die?'
I'd burned what I figured was the core and diced him into non-regenerable chunks.
Yet he kept yapping away.
"You talented types can't comprehend my suffering! I'm destined to become the great new humanity speaking for the weak! That's proof I'm alive!"
Why won't he die?
The bullshit-spewing bastard kept flapping his gums like he had endless words.
"I've been chosen! First and foremost! With this serum, I'll become an absolute being!"
But as I kept hacking him apart and listening, something clicked.
'Why didn't I notice this in my first run?'
The serum—the only way humans turned monster.
It shared traits with the Mountain Lords' serum that let regular humans use Tiger Fist.
And right now, traitors weren't just in Hero Academy; they were in the Mountain Lords too.
'Which means...'
This wasn't some loose connection between traitors.
It was a perfect link.
I'd thought this plot kicked off mid-story at earliest, but it was already happening.
The waves of betrayal had been rippling in places I didn't know about.
Lucky part: the grunts like this guy were still in the dark.
In other words, take out the top brass, and I could sever the chain entirely.
Slaaaash!
Even as I turned his endlessly regenerating body parts to ash...
"Puhahaha! You can't kill me like that! Immortality through endless research! That's the privilege of the new humanity!"
Pendam kept blabbing, happier than ever.
Didn't even feel pain anymore?
'No more intel to squeeze. Time to end this and head back to the academy.'
I'd already scored big learning the serum tied him to the Mountain Lords.
And as a grunt, he probably didn't know who the traitor in the Mountain Lords was anyway.
No point wasting more time here.
"...Guess you're in for hours of beauty sleep."
Hated to use it if I could avoid it.
But no way was I playing along with this traitor's nonsense any longer.
"Noose Stitch."
Had to go hunter mode.
++++++++
"What? Cadet Kim Geon-ho?"
"Yes."
Professor Ran froze the moment she heard why Kim Geon-ho was missing.
'...Trouble.'
Was genius talent doomed to stick out like a sore thumb?
Knowing most of that attention was bad, Professor Ran slipped her phone under the desk to signal an emergency.
The only time cadets could use portals inside the academy was with permission.
Otherwise, too much room for abuse—portal use was flat-out banned.
But some low-rank researcher uses one to whisk away the Class 1-1 rep? Absurd.
Could only mean malice.
And with Pendam's chronic inferiority complex on full display, worry spiked.
"For now, until first period ends, self-study. Discuss menu changes for the rest of the time."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Holy crap, free menu tweaks? Chicken mandatory..."
"Shut it! Chicken? That's greasy junk you can't live on!"
"What? Junk? You just called chicken junk?!"
"Tatacum. Whole pig BBQ is non-negotiable."
Professor Ran steered the convo elsewhere to downplay the Kim Geon-ho issue.
The second the cadets dove into food chatter, she bolted to the faculty office.
'Why do I only show incompetence lately?'
What good was being the world's top academy?
Monsters invading the front yard wasn't enough—now low-rankers kidnapping cadets?
Who knew when Hero Academy turned into an empty shell?
'Something's wrong.'
They said this never happened before.
These days, there had to be a reason.
'Time for a purge.'
Feeling the need to raise it with the principal, Professor Ran first called the other profs to find Kim Geon-ho.
"Can't we reopen a portal using the lingering mana where it spawned?"
"...Still experimental, but doable... Huh?"
The profs reached the spot where Kim Geon-ho had portal'd out and tried opening one again.
That instant.
Fwoooosh.
Space ripped open, and out tumbled Kim Geon-ho with a blood-soaked Pendam.
"Hoo... Lucky the portal linked back outside or I'd be dead... Hm?"
No way you're just now getting here?
His face said he'd wrapped everything up, chill as could be.
Not a hint of fatigue as he toed Pendam over to Professor Ran like passing a puck.
"This guy kidnapped me, teamed up with monsters, took the serum. Turned him into one too."
Short and sweet explanation.
All premised on the obvious: I caught him.
"I'm beat from the fight, so heading to the infirmary. Cool if I brief you after treatment?"
A polite thug.
Kim Geon-ho had crushed every prof with sheer presence.
Call it aura.
They had questions, but his menacing vibe shut them up.
At least...
"Got it. We'll investigate and share details with you."
Only Professor Ran calmly met his intensity and kept talking.
"Yes, ma'am."
Businesslike exchange.
The profs felt it wasn't prof-to-cadet at all.
'Like... colleagues? Fellow heroes.'
Felt like overhearing seasoned heroes debrief a monster raid.
They kinda got why Pendam stewed in jealousy.
'He's different.'
Not just overwhelming talent or innate skill—that was another league.
Made you wonder if they were even the same species.
The profs discreetly hauled Pendam to interrogation.
No place for them now that Kim Geon-ho was back.
"...Especially to you, I owe way too many apologies. Don't even know where to start thanking you."
Professor Ran meant it.
Kim Geon-ho was always at the center of incidents—and always resolved them.
"It's fine. I'll head out for real now. Wiped out."
Kim Geon-ho bowed slightly and turned straight for the infirmary.
'Damn, this is tough.'
Better than facing the Wasteland Outlaw—Ferocious Tiger First Form was getting natural.
Otherwise, he'd have collapsed the second he hit the portal exit.
'...Can't pass out here, no matter what.'
New intel from nabbing Pendam.
According to it...
'The academy isn't safe anymore.'