I Want to Be Like That
Gasping for breath, Han Min-ha watched as Professor Kyo and Hee-won collapsed the instant they approached the Death Hunger. Her chest heaved violently.
Professor Kyo lay motionless on the floor with a circular saw blade embedded in his chest. Yoo Hee-won had a venomous stinger piercing her shoulder. Neither of them moved at all.
Are… are they dead…? Both of them…?
Han Min-ha frantically scanned her surroundings. But no matter where she looked in the training arena, the facility staff were nowhere to be seen. She instinctively reached into her pocket, only to remember that her phone—the one that should always be there—was missing.
Ah…! I left it at the management office earlier…
She spun toward the door leading to the management office, but it was sealed shut by a heavy iron gate. She ran over and pounded on it desperately, yet no sound or presence came from the other side.
There has to be… some kind of emergency phone around here…!
The Death Hunger that had neutralized the two in front of her rolled its bowling-ball eyes in every direction, its body twisting and turning as it searched for its next target. Click-clack. Click-clack. Click-clack.
Although the training arena was large, it was still a confined space. Soon the mechanical scorpion discovered Han Min-ha frantically groping along the walls in search of an emergency bell.
Its eight legs moved busily as it pivoted its body toward her.
“Ugh…!”
The moment she saw the Death Hunger staring directly at her, Han Min-ha nearly collapsed as her legs gave out.
Creak-creak. Creeeeak. The creature’s eyes spun once in their sockets before locking onto her. A red laser beam shot out from between its eyes and centered on the middle of her chest, locking her in as the target.
Han Min-ha didn’t know exactly what it meant, but she understood instinctively that being aimed at by that laser was a very bad thing. The instant the Death Hunger surged forward, she turned and sprinted away with everything she had.
The Death Hunger was fast. Like any arthropod, it used its eight legs to generate terrifying speed as it chased after her. KWAAAAAAAANG—!!!!
It tore through the dirt floor, kicking up a miniature sandstorm in its wake. Han Min-ha ran for her life to escape it.
Although she couldn’t use aura, she had inherited the blood of heroes. On top of that, Yoo Hee-won’s brutal special training had dramatically increased her stamina compared to when she first entered the academy. Shockingly, she was actually faster than the Death Hunger.
If it hadn’t been for Hee-won’s training, Han Min-ha would have already collapsed from exhaustion and been crushed to death under the creature’s legs.
But the training arena was circular. If she kept running like this, she would simply circle endlessly with nowhere to escape.
And… as she sprinted, Han Min-ha kept glancing back at the two figures collapsed on the far side. They still hadn’t moved a single finger. She couldn’t just leave them like that.
But if she ran toward them recklessly, the Death Hunger might trample them underfoot…
“Haa…! Haa…!”
Breathing raggedly, Han Min-ha’s mind raced. The Death Hunger was incredibly tough. Without aura, there was no way to break through its carapace and strike the internals. She looked around for anything she could use as a weapon, but the arena was depressingly clean—there wasn’t even a single metal pipe in sight.
What should I do…? If I can just buy even a little time…
At that moment, a shadow fell over Han Min-ha’s head.
Sensing the chill, she threw herself sideways. The Death Hunger’s stinger slammed into the exact spot where she had been standing.
Having missed its attack, the creature showed no sign of anger. It simply retracted the stinger and resumed its pursuit.
The instant she saw that, an idea flashed through Han Min-ha’s mind.
She couldn’t use aura, but her current physical abilities far surpassed those of an ordinary high school student. Maybe… if she used that method… it would only need to last a few seconds…
Han Min-ha suddenly stopped running and spun around. Then she charged straight at the Death Hunger as it rushed toward her and leaped onto its back.
Creak-creak. Click-clack-click-clack.
The creature’s eyes rolled frantically, trying to look at the girl now riding its back. Its eight legs moved in perfect coordination as it spun its body in circles.
Han Min-ha clung tightly to its back with all four limbs, glancing sideways at the venomous stinger on its tail. The Death Hunger tried to raise its claws overhead but failed due to the joint angles. In the end, it curled its tail upward with full force.
The moment the stinger bent sharply inward to strike her, Han Min-ha jumped with all her might.
The stinger meant for her instead stabbed deeply into the Death Hunger’s own back.
The creature froze completely, as if its power had been cut off. The desperate trick—using the fact that even though she ranked dead last in the academy in terms of grades, her physical abilities still surpassed those of normal people—had worked perfectly…!
Not missing the brief opening, Han Min-ha sprinted toward Professor Kyo and Yoo Hee-won.
“Professor!”
The professor lay collapsed with a circular saw blade buried in his chest. Fortunately, he wasn’t bleeding. But she was afraid that pulling the blade out might cause blood to gush like uncorking a bottle, so Han Min-ha didn’t dare touch it.
“Hee-won…! Wake up!”
Yoo Hee-won, struck in the shoulder by the stinger, was also unconscious. She had no way of knowing whether the mechanical scorpion’s venom was real, but thankfully Hee-won was still breathing faintly.
After confirming that both of them were alive, even if unconscious, Han Min-ha let out a sigh of relief.
But that relief was short-lived.
The Death Hunger that had been frozen on the other side began moving again with a creaking sound.
She couldn’t possibly move both of them by herself.
“Professor! Hee-won! You have to wake up!”
She shook them desperately, but neither the professor nor Hee-won budged. Just where are the management staff and what are they doing…?!
In the meantime, the Death Hunger swiveled its body, its eyes rolling as it searched for her. Watching it approach with its claws clicking, Han Min-ha bit her lip.
I have to… I have to use aura…
The professor and Hee-won, who had grabbed her by the collar when she tried to drop out and dragged her all the way here… her only friends… To save them… she had to do it…!
But how…? Just how was she supposed to use aura?
I don’t know… I really don’t know… If I could have realized it, I would have done it long ago…!
I’m sorry, Professor… I’m sorry, Hee-won… But I really don’t know…
The Death Hunger was already right in front of her. Its emotionless black bowling-ball eyes. Its body covered in complex mechanical parts. The horrifying claws and the stinger that showed no sign of dulling no matter how many times it attacked.
Aaah… aura…!
If I collapse here, Hee-won and the professor will…!! I also… I want to become like the professor…!
The moment the Death Hunger’s stinger plunged toward the crown of her head, Han Min-ha squeezed her eyes shut and thrust both hands forward.
Somewhere, the sound of applause rang out.
Han Min-ha thought it must be the sound of angels clapping to welcome her to heaven.
Wait… have I really lived a good enough life to go to heaven after dying…?
Probably not. Because the person clapping wasn’t an angel.
“Excellent work.”
She slowly turned her head and opened her eyes. There was Professor Kyo, clapping his hands.
“P-Professor…?”
Although his shirt was torn to shreds around the chest, the professor was smiling with the exact same complexion as always.
“You could’ve done it sooner… You really dragged it out until the last second…”
Beside him, Yoo Hee-won was grumbling as she brushed the dirt off her clothes.
“Hee-won…? What on earth is…”
“Above your head, idiot.”
When she looked up at where Hee-won was pointing, she saw a small rectangular barrier floating in the air, protecting the space above her head.
“Uh… a barrier…? Then… uh…”
“Did you really think an academy professor would get taken out by a pathetic training monster like that?”
“Ah…”
Only then did Han Min-ha finally understand everything.
It had all… been an act…
“You did very well, Miss Min-ha. I’m sorry for not telling you in advance. But I judged that doing so would prevent us from achieving the desired result.”
“Ah… yes…”
“Although it was a training model with its venom removed and significantly weakened, you still performed admirably. Especially the idea of making the Death Hunger attack itself—that was truly inspired.”
“Weakened… model…”
“Well… it would have been quite difficult if you couldn’t use aura… but now I think it’s safe to call it a genuinely weak specimen.”
As he spoke, Professor Kyo pointed over Han Min-ha’s shoulder.
When she turned to look, her mouth fell open and no words came out.
Where the Death Hunger had been standing moments ago, there was now nothing. Instead, countless tiny mechanical parts—presumably what remained of the creature—were crumpled, torn apart, and fanned out in a wide arc centered on Han Min-ha.
“When someone is driven to the edge of a cliff and pushed, an ordinary person falls. But a hero soars.”
The professor walked over and stood beside her.
“You soared, Miss Min-ha. So now, become aware of it yourself.”
He reached out and gently took her wrist.
“You possess more than enough qualification to become a hero, Miss Min-ha.”
In the hand the professor lifted before her eyes, purple aura blazed like living flames.
The sun yesterday and the sun today are the same.
But Professor Kyo Suhyeon’s prediction that yesterday’s Han Min-ha and today’s Han Min-ha would be different proved perfectly accurate.
“Thank… you…”
With those final words, Han Min-ha staggered and began to collapse. The professor caught her with a soft chuckle.
“Let’s go eat.”