Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Why Are You Doing This to Me?
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Deep in Seoul's alleyway village.
A house made of rusted corrugated metal sheets on the verge of collapse.
A man in a white lab coat was brewing strange chemicals.
"Now's the time."
He grinned wickedly at a map of Seoul.
Arrows were scribbled all over the map in red ink.
"I'll make you all just like me. I'll pay you back for everything."
His face was grotesquely melted and distorted.
It was a wound from half a year ago, inflicted by an Awakener from the nation's largest conglomerate, K Group.
His name was Ma Bo-seong.
A genius chemist who occasionally had flashes of brilliant ideas.
Ma Bo-seong had stumbled upon a way to drastically improve potion production efficiency.
Seeing it as his chance to turn his life around, he started a business with bank loans and private debt.
Things went smoothly at first.
His revolutionary potion cost about half as much as existing ones per unit, and the more he sold, the massive profits rolled in.
Then one day, K Pharma—an affiliate of K Group—released an identical product.
With their massive production scale, his revenue dwindled, supply contracts dried up, and he could no longer even cover loan interest.
He sued K Pharma and, predictably, lost.
He hadn't patented it.
He'd naively thought that without a patent, they could never copy his formula.
The company went bankrupt, and Ma Bo-seong was ruined.
Relentless debt collectors drove his family away.
Ma Bo-seong blamed it all on K Pharma.
The next day, he began a one-man protest in front of their headquarters.
Luck was on his side. His story soon hit the news, and K Pharma arranged a meeting.
K Pharma headquarters conference room.
The president himself led the discussion with Ma Bo-seong.
"Mr. Ma, this is problematic. What exactly did our company do wrong?"
"You stole our technology and sold it!"
"K Pharma was already making the same drug. Don't make baseless assumptions. And if you really didn't want that, you should've patented it."
Ma Bo-seong slammed his fist on the table.
"Lies! Bullshit! You couldn't have made that drug on your own! You stole it! You blocked my loan extensions, sicced loan sharks on me! You ruined my life!"
The K Pharma president felt a chill.
Madness radiated from Ma Bo-seong.
He wasn't right in the head.
"Sigh. Anyway, we're sorry a small business went under because our products overlapped. As a goodwill gesture, we'll give you 2 billion won. That should clear your debts and let you live like before. Just never bring this up again."
2 billion won.
Enough to settle most of his debts.
But to Ma Bo-seong, the offer meant something else.
Confirmation.
'This bastard. Finally admitting it! If you didn't steal my tech, why offer money!'
Ma Bo-seong lost it and grabbed the president's collar.
"You bastard! Die!"
The president was a black belt in martial arts—not someone who took beatings lightly—but Ma Bo-seong's strength overwhelmed him.
He had sparred with ordinary people and even Awakeners. He was certain.
'This guy's an Awakener...!'
"Bodyguards! He's an Awakener. Hurry!"
The ex-Hunter bodyguard struck Ma Bo-seong's back hard and pulled him off.
Ma Bo-seong was a combat-incompatible Awakener.
No match for a Hunter.
The brawl ended quickly in Ma Bo-seong's defeat.
Ma Bo-seong pulled a glass vial from his bag.
The bodyguard initially thought it was a potion and ignored it.
But when Ma Bo-seong reared back as if to throw it at him, he reconsidered.
He braced for the worst.
As feared, the vial flew toward the bodyguard.
He caught it cleanly, thanks to his readiness.
He immediately smashed it back into Ma Bo-seong's face.
Ma Bo-seong lacked the skill to dodge or catch it.
The vial shattered against Ma Bo-seong's face.
The liquid trickled down his skin.
Sizzle.
The acidic solution bubbled, melting his face.
The stench of burning flesh made the president and bodyguard pinch their noses instinctively.
"Crazy bastard."
The bodyguard beat Ma Bo-seong senseless and had him arrested.
Assault on civilians by Awakeners carried harsher penalties.
Ma Bo-seong was detained for assaulting the K Pharma president.
K Pharma spun the story for the press, turning Ma Bo-seong into a terrorist backed by foreign powers.
News reports claimed a criminal had attempted a sulfuric acid and bomb attack on their headquarters.
***
"Once again, we sincerely welcome all you freshmen."
The entrance ceremony ended with the principal's speech.
According to the info packet, I was in Class 1-B.
Only two classes: A and B.
Probably due to the shortage of Awakener teachers.
I checked the assignment chart on the first floor of the main building and found my classroom.
'Let's see, Class 1-B...'
As I wandered the hallway, someone grabbed my shoulder.
"Hey! How could you just go ahead without me!"
It was Park Ha-yeon.
The uniform suited her perfectly.
The academy uniform was a basic skirt and blouse, plus a coat for winter.
She looked stunning even with the coat.
"Huh. You in B too?"
"No, I'm in A."
For reference, she'd chewed me out big time that morning.
I'd come home late after setting out dinner, ignored her messages, and didn't eat together...
Like I was her boyfriend or something.
"Too bad. Would've been nice to be in the same class."
Now Park Ha-yeon had to train nonstop.
It would've been great if I could keep an eye on her.
"R-Really?"
Park Ha-yeon blushed for some reason.
She slipped into Class A.
'What's her deal?'
I entered Class 1-B.
The other students were already seated.
Still awkward with each other, no chatter.
I took the back row and popped some painkillers.
Yesterday's skill penalty was still ongoing.
Someone spoke to me.
"Good morning."
Yang Min-seo.
Granddaughter of the K Group chairman, top of Korea's business world.
Her hairstyle was now twin tails, unlike before.
With her small frame, she looked just like an elementary kid.
"Yeah. Long time no see."
She greeted me and took a front-row seat.
'Model student.'
Come to think of it, it was soon.
The episode where Yang Min-seo dies.
She's brutally murdered by the 'K Pharma Villain.'
The method was so gruesome, I wondered why it wasn't rated 19+ at first.
She was unlikeable, so no backlash, but normally, it'd be flooded with 5700-character complaints from users.
'Might save her...'
Not hard for me now.
Her nagging annoyed me at first, but I'm over it.
Letting someone I could save die leaves a bitter taste.
Soon, a teacher entered.
A decadent-looking guy with prominent dark circles.
He spoke lazily.
"I'm Song Si-yeol, your homeroom teacher. Used to go by 'Fire Punch.'"
"Fire Punch...?"
"The A-rank Hero! Our teacher's A-rank!"
"This is the academy for you!"
The students buzzed excitedly.
He downplayed it, but he was a famous Hero.
A-rank Heroes were rare to begin with.
Teacher Song Si-yeol continued.
"First day, so no real class. We'll form groups and do a simple orientation. Future classes will be in these groups, which change each semester. Take a moment to form them."
Students glanced around awkwardly.
"Sudden, I know, but Heroes often form teams on the spot in the field. Consider it a lesson."
Murmurs rose.
Kids approached people they liked or sat next to.
First party formation.
Early game wasn't tough, so random groups were fine.
It was like a tutorial for party-making in the game.
Across the room, Yang Min-seo was swarmed with requests.
"Min-seo, group with me!"
"Yang Min-seo, let me in too... I'm C-rank with telekinesis."
"Telekinesis is lame! Mine's explosion ability, C-rank. Unlike these commoners, my dad's got a business. We should group with our level..."
The crowd around Yang Min-seo was because of a news article from K Group earlier this year.
[Hero Management to Launch Within 3 Years]
Hero managements handled support and PR for Heroes. 90% of active Heroes had one.
Smart folks had caught that the chairman's granddaughter entering the academy meant she'd be key to K Group's Hero Management.
"Hold on."
Yang Min-seo's words silenced the room.
'Impressive.'
I was a bit awed.
Legs crossed, I pondered group work with no connections.
'Only skill I can show is telekinesis. Dropout ending it is...'
I scanned for fellow loners.
Then Yang Min-seo approached me.
She stood before me and spoke.
"Shin Noda, want to group with me?"
"Excuse me?"