Chapter 8
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Spreading Rumors (1)
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"...Is this really all the information?"
"Yes, that's correct."
Tap, tap, tap.
Park Kang-deok wore a face full of doubt even after reading through every bit of the report on Kim Geon-ho.
'This is different... way too different.'
It wasn't uncommon for photos to differ from the real thing, but this was on another level.
'He's been hiding his power until now? That doesn't make sense either.'
Kim Geon-ho's martial prowess was far too immense to conceal. The sheer force required to bisect a monster he'd never encountered before—it simply wasn't something you could keep under wraps. And yet, he'd lived over ten years as a wastrel son in his clan? In the Mountain Lords, where everything hinged on strength hierarchies? The very notion was absurd. Which left only one possibility.
'He must've acquired his power recently.'
Not just any power, either—a brand-new force unlike anything the Mountain Lords used. Whether by chance or fate, he'd gained strength potent enough to upheave mountains and rivers, to defy the tides of epochs.
But even that felt off. For all its recency, he wielded it with unnerving naturalness. Like an infant breathing instinctively without instruction. When he slew the monster, Kim Geon-ho showed no hint of excitement, calmly dominating the scene.
-You want to intervene in that class?
-Yes, I'd like to join Rastel's class.
-What's your connection to Rastel?
-Who wouldn't want to be in the same class as the top student in our year?
Park Kang-deok recalled his exchange with Kim Geon-ho. The swaggering expression and cocky chin tilt befitting a wastrel's infamy. Hands shoved in pockets, utterly devoid of decorum. He was the epitome of a cur born under the Mountain Lords' shadow to torment the weak.
Yes, anyone who hadn't looked into his eyes would think the same. The problem was those eyes.
Eyes that waited patiently for prey to collapse from exhaustion before striking flawlessly. The gaze of a beast—hardly fitting for an academy cadet. More like a mercenary hardened on battlefields or an assassin who reaped lives.
I'd pegged him as a parachute drop parachuted in for the Mountain Lords' favor. But up close, he was a meteor crashing down.
-Oh, and I'll be keeping this monster corpse. If you want to study it, put in a formal trade request.
-Do you have a place to store the body?
-I can borrow storage space. Just say the principal caught this monster. You'll humor a prospective freshman's cute request, right?
Even then, I'd wondered if I'd misheard. Store the corpse and list it for trade? He'd concealed his emotional turmoil with ruthless rationality—I remembered struggling to do the same.
"Of course. How could a tiger cub raised in a tiger's den not be a tiger itself."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing. Proceed with the class reassignment as discussed."
"Understood."
With that, Park Kang-deok crumpled Kim Geon-ho's personnel file and tossed it in the trash.
It was the act of the first to recognize that Kim Geon-ho could no longer be measured by his past.
Congratulations! You've become the first to hunt an Incomplete Humanoid Monster!
As a reward, your current incomplete low-grade serum has been upgraded to a complete Variant Serum!
"As expected."
This was precisely why he'd held back his full power until the end, intervening only to assist in the monster's defeat. He'd sensed it when he first gained Ferocious Tiger's power—rewards were tied to specific actions.
Whether it was a true system or some separate guide, he couldn't say. But one thing was clear: it was extraordinarily favorable toward him.
'It's fitting together so perfectly it's almost scary.'
Sending Hobong to fetch the serum and holding off on using it beforehand—all for this moment. The Martial Repository had guided him to greater power right after granting strength, so he'd assumed the serum would follow suit.
'This will be the foundation of all my future power.'
The complete Variant Serum.
A serum crafted not from Mountain Lords' power, but to perfectly complement Ferocious Tiger's force. Naturally, it was an item impossible to complete at this point in time. Because he was the one who perfected it in the future.
"It's been a while."
A standard Mountain Lords serum blended red and gold hues. But the Variant Serum—Ferocious Tiger's serum—was pure black. The color born of every shade mingled. A perfect match for the mongrel cur label he'd worn.
Fsssh...
The serum filled a typical lab flask, round and glassy. Unscrew the cap, and black smoke billowed slowly, crawling along the walls like living tendrils.
'First time doing this... makes me tense.'
In his first run, he'd died before injecting the serum post-research. The others were garbage anyway—no noticeable effect even if used. This pinnacle serum was truly a first for this life.
Gulp, gulp.
Unlike standard injections, the Variant Serum was best consumed orally. Not implanted as foreign aid, but digested into blood and flesh—true assimilation. That was the essence of his creation.
'Now comes the crucial part.'
Serums were like mana circles for fantasy wizards or dantians in wuxia tales. Injections usually required assistants to stabilize integration.
Absent that, you'd build gradually from low-grade onward, mastering greater power step-by-step. But the Variant Serum demanded utmost secrecy, so he handled every stage solo.
'Theory's solid. Let's do it—I can handle this.'
Scarce moments after swallowing and blinking—his body reacted. First came rejection.
Grrrrrrumble.
Like spoiled food: retching, esophagus burning backward. From here, no opening his mouth. No matter how overwhelming, even if it filled his throat.
Bang! Bang!
Next, repulsion hit. Natural backlash from forcing undigestible serum inward. The body thrashed against the intrusion.
Explosive booms like detonations were baseline. Localized spasms nearly broke his breathing stance.
Theoretically, this stage was most vital—even before later reactions. Fail here, and twisted qi could kill.
'Mana circuits can break—no big deal, basics suffice anyway.'
But damaging Ferocious Tiger's qi flow spelled future disaster.
Bang! Bang!
Rejection, repulsion, suppression, digestion, assimilation. Still faltering at stage two. Fiercer-than-expected backlash roiled his qi channels, muscles twisting from shock. Muscles wrenched violently; serum exploited the gap for another revolt, now cracking bones.
He'd anticipated this intensity, but enduring it firsthand was different. Yet this pain felt like a blessing.
'Good... so good.'
First run: helpless, used, dead. Second run gifted a new life.
And chances to grow stronger. Absurd fortune, making agony sweet. He'd assimilate fully and rise.
Forcing up lips twisted in torment. No dying here.
Bustling chatter.
The entrance ceremony canceled by the monster didn't void enrollment, so Hero Academy buzzed with freshmen.
A monster appeared, but no deaths, minimal severe injuries, and the principal handled it—already announced. A big incident, but contained, so freshmen's excitement endured.
'Why hasn't he come...'
Marren shared that thrill, innate introversion worsened by her clan's antithetical bent. She knew her partner and kept glancing at the empty seat beside her.
Like Kim Geon-ho manipulating placements, she'd used her influence too. Swift action upon hearing they'd share a class.
Introverted, she craved familiar faces as partners. She'd even deployed aggressive means to bond.
'I even masturbated against the corner of Geon-ho's desk...'
Telling him would thrill her. Twisted relations had warped her affinity; naturally, she was oblivious.