Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: All Fortuitous Encounters Are Mine
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Hero Academy staff meeting room.
Thanks to the glass outer walls, the view outside was clearly visible and quite impressive.
Seated at the head of the table was a middle-aged man with a full head of white hair, Principal Park Jeong-cheol.
He asked the teachers, who were sitting there somewhat awkwardly.
“How about it? Were there any promising ones this time?”
The identities of the proctors who had overseen the recent entrance exam were none other than the teachers themselves.
They reported on the standout examinees from those they had supervised.
“In my opinion, ‘Oh Ha-na’ was the most impressive. She was almost at B-rank level.”
“I think ‘Nam Min-gyu’ should take top spot. I’ve never seen such an aggressive skill before.”
“Among those I oversaw, the standout was an examinee named ‘Shin Noda.’”
At that moment, the principal’s eyebrow twitched.
“Hmm. As I recall, you were also assigned that ‘Hwang Je-seong.’”
“Of course, the Hwang Je-seong examinee was outstanding too, but if I had to pick the absolute best, it’d be Shin Noda.”
“Explain.”
The teacher recounted the events of that day.
How he had crushed a troll into a ball using only E-rank intelligence and telekinesis.
How he had made a B-rank awakener like himself feel intimidated.
And that he possessed a magic engraving.
As the explanation continued, the listeners shook their heads with incredulous chuckles.
Regardless, the teacher thought to himself.
The way he used his power looked a bit unstable, but that was something the academy could teach him.
Shin Noda was the finest raw gem.
The other teachers reacted with disbelief.
“I’m not saying I don’t believe it, but common sense-wise, E-rank intelligence crushing a troll with telekinesis? Does that even make sense? Back when I was a hero, I had a buddy with B-rank intelligence and telekinesis who could barely lift a car.”
“Getting intimidated by an examinee? What kind of embarrassing story is that? Don’t go spreading it around.”
The principal calmed their uproar.
“Don’t get worked up. There are cases where that’s possible. I saw it once myself back in my hunter days….”
Principal Park Jeong-cheol was a former hunter.
Hunters were the awakeners who had fought in dungeons during the early days when gates first appeared on Earth. With no new gates appearing now, it was essentially a defunct profession.
Yet their strength and experience remained undiminished.
They were still highly respected in awakener society.
“Stats don’t reflect a person’s true potential—they show the power overlaid onto it. If their intelligence was already very high before awakening, it’s not impossible.”
“Huh….”
“So you’re saying his intelligence was already B-rank level before awakening….”
At the teachers’ reactions, the principal backpedaled slightly.
“Heh heh. That’s just speculation. He might have hidden his stats, or there could be other variables. Anyway, it’s intriguing to have such a rookie.”
The meeting moved on to other topics.
“Then next is the new semester budget allocation. The magic department requested a 20% increase….”
As always, the tedious budget battle dragged on.
***
At that moment, Park Ha-yeon was shopping at the mart.
It was to express her gratitude to Shin Noda, who had provided for her living expenses and tuition.
‘If I surprise him with dinner, he’ll like that, right…?’
Park Ha-yeon arrived at the officetel she’d heard about in advance.
It was a brand-new officetel that looked expensive at a glance.
She headed straight up to the 17th floor.
Standing in front of the door, Park Ha-yeon pulled out her smartphone messenger.
She had forgotten the password.
[I’ll be a bit late, so go in and rest first. It’s room 1701, password 4474.]
“4474. Got it.”
Park Ha-yeon opened the door and entered.
Shin Noda’s place was tidy.
It looked like someone ready to leave at any moment, with only the bare minimum of belongings.
‘Is Shin Noda from a wealthy family?’
From taking her to an expensive restaurant when they first met, to securing a place like this—the signs of substantial wealth were there.
Park Ha-yeon put the groceries in the fridge and began preparing dinner.
The menu was stir-fried pork.
Not knowing Shin Noda’s tastes, she chose a dish with broad appeal.
Park Ha-yeon imagined Shin Noda’s surprised face at her cooking as she stir-fried the pork.
A faint smile played on her lips.
***
Early evening.
In the city, where the sunset was visible in the distant sky.
A figure in a black robe crouched on the rooftop of a building, gazing down at the street.
He was the villain who had only recently begun making waves in people’s conversations: ‘Dark Knight.’
It was me….
I was out early this evening for an important matter.
Laura complained.
[Didn’t you promise to grow steadily in exchange for my help with the entrance exam? What have you been doing here for three hours?]
I ignored her.
She had no idea what a monumental event was about to unfold here.
“Just trust me. This is growth.”
The crossbody bag beside me was packed with preparations for today.
After waiting about five more minutes,
A black rift suddenly tore open at the intersection I was watching.
A gate.
It was blue light, so unfortunately, many cars got sucked into the black rift.
It had been ten years since new gates stopped appearing.
Gates start reappearing after the protagonist enters the academy.
And this one, right in the heart of Seoul, was the one that kicked it all off.
It led to a C-rank dungeon.
In the original story, the protagonist enters the gate.
To rescue the people sucked inside.
If left alone, Park Ha-yeon would clear it herself, but I couldn’t let that happen.
Because the skill from this dungeon was useful.
It wouldn’t be bad for Park Ha-yeon to have it, but it didn’t suit her well, so she didn’t use it later on.
Better for me to claim it.
I leaped off the rooftop.
Cool air rushed against my body.
After gliding down about 10 meters, I used telekinesis to cushion the fall.
Thanks to my grown intelligence stat, skill usage felt smooth.
The gate emanated a dark aura.
I walked slowly toward it.
“Wha—what? A gate… Mister, you can’t go in there!”
“You have to wait for heroes!”
“Could that be ‘Dark Knight’?”
Ignoring the citizens’ warnings, I entered.
-------------[Dungeon Entry]-------------
[You have entered the ‘Grave of the Nameless One.’]
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A pitch-black cave.
Not a single ray of light, so I couldn’t see an inch ahead.
I pulled an attachable light from my bag and secured it to my body.
A C-rank awakener soloing a C-rank dungeon.
Normally, four people were ideal for a dungeon of equivalent rank.
“Whew. Park Ha-yeon did it in the original story too. I can do this.”
She probably had some ‘Guardian of the Species’ luck.
Anyway, it wasn’t impossible.
Dodge all enemy attacks and land all my hits.
Rustle rustle.
Unpleasant sounds began emanating from the surroundings.
Rustle rustle.
Rustle rustle.
The sound of monsters in this cave.
I knew what they were.
Disgusting bastards.
Long shadows rippled along the cave walls.
‘They’re here.’
Rustle rustle.
Dozens of legs.
That was the source of the noise they made as they moved in unison.
They gradually revealed themselves.
Dung beetles or grima.
The monsters approaching me looked like dung beetles scaled up to the size of large dogs.
I had expected it, but seeing them in person made my body stiffen.
Out of fear?
No.
That wasn’t it.
The sight of dozens of grima crawling along the cave walls was just too horrific.
I calmly retrieved a gas mask and mace from my bag.
The method?
Fire works best against bugs.
But this was inside a cave.
Using fire would suffocate me from lack of oxygen.
All that was left was breakthrough.
I put on the gas mask.
The narrowed field of view was uncomfortable.
But far better than those disgusting bugs’ fluids and debris splattering my face.
I created a transparent barrier straight ahead with telekinesis.
Hundreds of grima tangled and swarmed, filling the forward cave.
It almost looked like a liquid made of bugs.
I opened a hole just big enough for one grima to squeeze through.
Immediately, one tried to shove its head through.
I smashed its head with the mace.
Even as a monster, it was just a D-rank mob.
The heavy blow crumpled it, spraying fluids.
It thrashed with its dozens of legs in its death throes, but repeated head strikes silenced it.
A red gem appeared on its head.
I picked it up, and a message popped up simultaneously.
-------------<Inheritance>-------------
[Strength 008 permanently increased]
[Agility 022 permanently increased]
[Intelligence 004 permanently increased]
[Luck 000 permanently increased]
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Its corpse turned to ash in blue flames.
The ‘Inheritance’ skill restored fatigue.
Normally, I couldn’t sustain telekinesis long, but the fatigue recovery effect from ‘Inheritance’ allowed infinite power to maintain the transparent wall.
Another one poked its head through the narrow gap.
I bashed its skull with the mace.
Just do this a few hundred times.
Then all that’s left is this dungeon’s boss.