Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Hero
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"Wow..."
"It's like art, right?"
Most of the inspection team let out exclamations of admiration while watching a single cadet.
A cadet showcasing her femininely beautiful legs as she unleashed a kick toward the scarecrow. Even as a mere cadet, her leg technique was nothing short of superb.
'Is that her?'
No other cadet seemed quite as outstanding. They'd heard the top cadet was the Boss Monster Killer, so it was probably her.
But unlike the other guild masters, Heineken muttered under his breath so no one around could hear, his expression one of dissatisfaction.
"For a Boss Monster Killer..."
She was exceptional, no doubt. Far superior to the top cadets of other classes.
Yet Heineken looked somehow unsatisfied.
"Still, they said the top cadet is the Boss Monster Killer..."
For now, it was clear she was the top cadet. Maybe she was hiding her abilities, like Salamander, the previous Boss Monster Killer.
Heineken surveyed the other cadets as a whole. The identity of the Boss Monster Killer was already set in stone anyway. His hunger for talent knew no bounds.
"Hm?"
That's when another cadet caught his eye.
Heineken narrowed his eyes sharply and scrutinized the cadet.
"Hmm..."
A puzzled Earthling guild member asked his master what he was looking at.
"What do you see?"
"That guy over there. Who is he?"
"Even if you ask me... Hm?"
He too squinted at the cadet. Then he clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Tch..."
"Why?"
"That bastard's an Earthling."
At those words, Heineken tilted his head and looked at the cadet.
To him, Earthlings and other humans looked no different. The guild member had spotted him at a glance because he was Earth-born himself.
Dismissing it as nothing worth seeing, he waved his hand.
"Ugh... That bastard's not training, just collapsed there staring at the girl's ass up front. Arms crossed, bold as brass..."
"Hmm..."
"Earthlings never lose that freeloading grit from cushy lives. Face like he's never suffered a day."
The guild member tore into him viciously, as if harboring some grudge against the cadet.
Ridiculously, this success story from Earth discriminated against his own kind more than anyone. He figured he knew them best as a fellow Earthling.
But Heineken still seemed hung up on something, stroking his chin as he watched intently.
"Doesn't seem like it..."
To him, it wasn't about ogling the female cadet's rear. Something was off. Like a master critiquing a novice's form...
And that cadet kept poking at his instincts.
Heineken's eye for talent was unmatched. He wasn't called a talent hunter just for greed or royal intel.
That cadet nagged at him. Even more than the Boss Monster Killer. It made no sense.
Heineken wasn't the only one.
"Master, did you see? Incredible! We have to recruit her no matter what. So about this budget..."
Milane chattered nonstop beside him, but Elloa wasn't listening.
Her gaze was fixed on that cadet too.
She was swept up in an indescribable emotion.
'That cadet...'
He looked just like...
His appearance was completely different. Face, build, hair color. Not a single similarity.
But the ever-serious expression devoid of emotion, the blade-sharp eyes, even... his stance.
The overall aura was so achingly reminiscent of that person.
'It's as if...'
He had reincarnated.
"Master?"
"..."
Elloa stared at the man vacantly for a long while.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Class ended, and preparations for the friendly matches began.
The inspection team rested in the central lobby while the arena was set up.
Then, the Heineken Guild's Earthling spotted someone.
'Hm?'
It was that slacking Earthling cadet from the martial arts class earlier.
'That bastard...'
He glared daggers at the cadet again.
The Earthling cadet was wandering the lobby perimeter, looking like he was searching for something.
The guild member didn't like that either. Skipping training earlier was bad enough; now he was brazenly ditching class to gawk at the inspection team.
The guild member approached the cadet.
"Hey."
The cadet, who had been intently searching, turned around. Their eyes met, and the guild member flinched for a moment.
There was no emotion in those eyes. Like the hero from some foreign land he'd met once—eyes that instinctively tensed anyone who met them.
Flustered at cowering before a mere cadet, the guild member's face heated up.
And above all, the biggest trigger was something else.
'This bastard...'
This cadet looked just like that.
Earth schools had guys like him. Quietly doing their own thing, yet inexplicably popular, girls using any excuse to get close.
The girl he'd crushed on had liked a guy just like that.
'Hoo... Calm down.'
He reined in his emotions.
I'm a representative of Billern in the inspection team. The guy in front of me is a low-rank slacker trash.
Me, an Earthling, entering the Cradle as part of the first-ever inspection team, standing before cadets. This is my triumphant return.
With that thought, his shoulders puffed up proudly.
"Ahem!"
He shrugged his shoulders, flashing the guild emblem with a white tiger on it. Then, neck stiff, he rumbled in a deep voice.
"You. Get back to class."
Damn, I sound cool, he thought.
Do-yoon eyed the idiot in front of him with interest.
'An Earthling?'
Definitely one like him. And strong. Far stronger than the instructors.
Fitting for an inspection team member. Probably high up in a major guild. Grown through some system affinity, no doubt.
At this level, he could've been in Enoch's guild back in his past life.
'If I fought him now...'
Win rate... about fifty-fifty. That's how strong he was.
Do-yoon felt satisfied. The system had truly raised the alliance's average strength. It hit home, filling him with reassurance.
Do-yoon set aside his search for now and eyed the man curiously. He casually hooked his arm on the sword hilt at his waist.
"...What?"
The Earthling blinked at the slight friendliness in the other's gaze, but soon chalked it up to admiration for his guild emblem.
"Hm, yeah. Looks like you at least paid attention in theory class. As you can see, this guild emblem means..."
Do-yoon let the pointless chatter flow in one ear and out the other, fiddling with the hilt.
'Might as well test his skill.'
His fingers scraping the cloth wrapping slid smoothly onto the hilt.
"Back in the Cradle, I never imagined slacking off like..."
Palm adhered to the cloth.
"In the end, it's real combat that matters. During self-training, slacking off..."
The moment his grip clenched the hilt.
"...!"
The Earthling stopped mid-sentence.
Color drained from his face, pupils contracting sharply.
His exposed neck from craning his head felt chillingly cold.
A member of Billern's top guild. Even there, trusted by the hero. To reach this position as a mere Earthling, he'd survived countless crises.
What got him here was his extraordinarily sharp 'survival instinct'.
Terror of death rang alarms in his head. Sudden killing intent froze his thoughts. His body reacted first.
He jerked his neck back and leaped away.
As a result.
Crash-!
"Kyaa!"
"W-What?!"
He collided with the resting inspection team behind him, causing a huge commotion.
Dust rose, and those he bumped screamed.
"N-No, that's not it! Huh? W-What? Definitely...!"
"This guy's totally insane!"
And Do-yoon slipped away from the scene leisurely.
'Good instincts.'
Fifty-fifty win rate was for a head-on fight. Caught off-guard like that, Do-yoon could've slit his throat before he noticed.
A Localized Acceleration Control strike from ambush. Even in his past life, few could react to that speed.
Do-yoon nodded contentedly and resumed his search.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The friendly matches began.
Five cadets participated, including Debussy, Sophie, and Do-yoon.
Do-yoon was last, matched against the swordsmanship instructor.
A martial arts cadet against a sword instructor? The inspection team tilted their heads. Generally, unarmed combat had a bad matchup against swords.
Only those in the know from the Cradle exchanged meaningful smiles.
Having seen the first two matches, the team nodded. Especially Debussy—he was quite impressive.
Then they watched Sophie's match and gasped in admiration. As expected of the Boss Monster Killer. A genius far surpassing other classes' tops, enough to make World Tree or Heineken Guild drool.
Though the instructor went easy, Sophie held her own against him throughout. And that was monumental.
Instructors at the Cradle—one of the nation's key institutions—were elite veterans only. Even past Boss Monster Killers had never beaten an instructor as cadets.
Yet Sophie put on a stellar performance. Her talent was enough to stun even picky major guild masters.
The Heineken Guild's Earthling had grabbed a towel and water bottle to approach her, only to be blocked by instructors. Sucking up to the strong was one of his specialties.
And then.
"Next up: Cadet Han Do-yoon versus the swordsmanship instructor."
The real Boss Monster Killer's turn arrived.