Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Whoooosh

The academy’s lawn had been reduced to a wasteland.

Flame Spewer lay there, completely unresponsive.

And right beside him, Kim Chang-sik and Gu Chi-sung, utterly drained, were collapsed as if knocked out.

A woman shrouded entirely in pitch-black darkness appeared without a sound.

It was the kind of perfect stealth that made it feel like she had simply materialized out of thin air.

She was Seol Ye-rin, the same woman who had told Chang-sik the location of the candidate building.

“…Flame Spewer, huh.”

With one hand, she began dragging the lifeless body of Flame Spewer across the ground.

“An unexpected prize, indeed.”

Then her gaze moved to the collapsed Chang-sik. Without hesitation, she abandoned Flame Spewer’s body and slid gracefully in his direction.

“More importantly… Kim Chang-sik.”

Seol Ye-rin crouched down to get a better look at his face.

She cupped his cheeks in her hands and smiled, a hint of anticipation in her expression.

“I’m even more excited about what comes next…”

Her eyes gleamed like a cat’s staring at a fish laid out before it.

* * *

A few days after the Sprout Stomping terror.

In pitch-black darkness, where not even a single ray of light could sleep through, several people sat lined up along a long table. In front of them, a fat man shook uncontrollably, bowing deeply in fear.

Even with so many people gathered, not a sound was made. The reason was the expression of the man seated at the head of the table, Jang Docheol.

He took a drag from his cigarette before speaking.

“Hoo… So?”

“I-I’m sorry!”

The man repeated his apologies frantically. Jang Docheol slowly tapped the table.

Tap

“Not only did you fail the terror…”

Tap

“…and you were taken down by academy instructors? By nothing more than candidate instructors?”

The fat man, still shaking on the floor, cautiously tried to explain.

“Th-that… it wasn’t the Instructors who… attacked us.”

At that, a sharp glint appeared in Jang Docheol’s eyes.

“…What?”

Everyone held their breath, the atmosphere as tense as walking on thin ice.

The silence was broken by someone seated right next to Jang Docheol.

“It appears Flame Spewer was killed while engaged in battle with the candidates.”

“…You’re not joking with me, are you?”

This time, the man bowing, Lee Jong-heon, shook his head desperately, his face crestfallen.

“No!! Ah… it seems among this batch of candidates, there are indeed a few we should be wary of…!”

Before he could even finish, Jang Docheol raised his hand slightly, cutting him off.

With a cigarette in his mouth, he rose from his seat.

Tap… tap

In the silent room, only the heavy sound of Jang Docheol’s footsteps echoed.

Before anyone realized it, he was crouched down beside him, locking eyes with Lee Jong-heon.

“Intelligence Division… Lee Jong-heon.”

“Y-Yes…!! Yes, Chief of Intelligence, Lee Jong-heon!”

Thump!

“Eeek!”

Jang Docheol’s hand landed on the back of his head, leaning close enough for his sharp, chilling voice to whisper in his ear.

“Candidates,’ you say? Candidates? And they aren’t even full-fledged Heroes. And you expect me to believe those rookies are ‘targets to watch out for’? If this isn’t a joke, then what is?”

“I-I’m sorry! Yes, it was due to… unexpected variables!”

“The ‘unexpected variables’ you speak of… you’re not saying it was Gu Chi-sung, that puny rookie, are you?!”

“Th-That is…”

At Jang Docheol’s words, he fell silent, trembling violently where he stood.

The answer came instead from another officer seated at the table.

“According to the confirmed information, there were two candidates who fought Flame Spewer, including Gu Chi-sung.”

“…And the other one?”

Lee Jong-heon panicked, pressing himself flat to the floor.

“Th-that one… entered the academy through the non-awakened category. W-We’re still confirming whether the information is accurate…”

At the mention that the candidate had entered the academy as a non-awakened, Jang Docheol looked utterly incredulous.

“Hah! Ridiculous. So what you’re saying is that one of our organization’s officers got taken down by a non-awakened and that rookie, Gu Chi-sung?”

“I-I’m sorry.”

Hearing the sincerity in Jong-heon’s apology, Jang Docheol let out a heavy sigh and stood up.

Cigarette in hand, he buried his face in his palms.

“Ha… Are you telling me mere academy candidates took down one of our officers? And there’s no trace of the body?”

And then…

Bang!!

The large table shook as if it might shatter.

“Damn it!! Only some puny Candidates!!”

“Eeek!”

His face was flushed bright red, his breaths harsh and explosive. No one in the room dared move or speak.

“An officer of the organization, humiliated like this? Damn it!!”

Bang!!

He exhaled roughly, drew deeply from his cigarette, and threw the butt away.

“We’ll go back to the academy. Next time, we’ll be fully prepared!”

A thunderous reply filled the space.

“Yes, sir!!”

Exhaling slowly, he turned to another officer with a calmer demeanor.

“Ah… and what happened with recruiting that one?”

“Who are you referring to?”

Jang Docheol’s lips curled into a cold, sharp smile.

“Ha Jinseok that monster of a kid.”

* * *

Chang-sik was moved to the academy Hospital.

“…If I want to grow stronger, taking them down is essential.”

Even for the sake of swift revenge, he was prioritizing growth above all else.

From now on, he intended to carry out only the objectives the system required, as safely as possible.

“…Additional Contribution.”

This concept of additional contribution changed Chang-sik’s perspective.

It was not just about clearing the system’s missions, achieving higher results granted him extra contribution.

Chang-sik realized that it was directly linked to even greater rewards.

Ding!

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The upgraded trait Modification from the additional contribution was truly extraordinary.

First, it allowed one more skill to be acquired through the trait.

It also made it possible to delete skills that had been acquired.

“…This is… an utterly ridiculous trait.”

From now on, with the Modification trait, it seemed perfectly fine to acquire numerous skills and then discard those that didn’t suit Chang-sik or proved too weak.

“Watching, learning… I wonder if heroes are really allowed to do things like this.”

Still, by actively using his trait, he could grow rapidly, and it wouldn’t be long before he exacted his revenge on Jang Docheol.

And just then…

Knock, knock

Someone was at the door of the hospital room where Chang-sik was alone.

Creak

“Oh? You’re awake?”

Before him stood a muscular Latin man with bronze-toned skin, someone Chang-sik had never seen.

If it weren’t for the white doctor’s coat draped over him, anyone would have questioned his identity at first glance, he gave off the unmistakable aura of a dangerous rogue.

Noticing Chang-sik staring silently, the man scratched his cheek.

“Ah, I’m Cristiano, the attending doctor for candidate Kim Chang-sik.”

“……”

When Chang-sik gave no reply, the man stumbled over his words, continuing nervously.

“Uh… well, you passed out from mana exhaustion. Your left shoulder was completely dislocated, and your right hand was totally crushed. Of course, you’ve improved a lot now, but you shouldn’t overexert yourself yet.”

“Is there anywhere else that feels uncomfortable, aside from what you just mentioned?”

“Not really.”

The man nodded and stepped closer to Chang-sik.

“Still, just in case, I’ll run a few checks.”

He turned on a small light, examined Chang-sik’s eyes, and moved a stethoscope over every part of his body.

“Doesn’t seem like there’s anything major.”

He then flipped through the chart he had brought and spoke.

“Do you have any pre-existing conditions?”

“No.”

“Then, have you recently taken any medications, or undergone any procedures or surgeries?”

“…I don’t think so.”

Most of his questions were things Chang-sik really didn’t know, but he answered appropriately.

As he checked the chart back and forth, the man suddenly began scrutinizing Chang-sik more closely.

“Hmm…”

“……”

“You entered the academy this year through the non-awakened category, right?”

Chang-sik remembered that others had mentioned the same thing.

“That’s right.”

“So you managed to take down an officer of Vaylun alongside Gu Chi-sung without even an exclusive trait?”

Suddenly, his eyes lit up with excitement.

Chang-sik gave him a strange look, and the man waved his hands nervously, flustered.

“Ah, my apologies. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable… I just found it fascinating to hear that news from an awakened candidate.”

He scratched the back of his head again, embarrassed.

“Did I… offend you?”

His timid personality didn’t match his rough appearance.

Chang-sik exhaled deeply and said,

“No, it’s fine. And yes, it’s true that I took down Flame Spewer with Gu Chi-sung.”

“Wow, so it's really true?!”

“……”

“That’s amazing! Lately, everyone at the academy has been going crazy over the news!!”

Chang-sik didn’t respond, but the man kept chattering excitedly.

“Gu Chi-sung got through the worst of it, but he still hasn't regained consciousness, so nobody really knows what actually happened!”

“……”

The man glanced at Chang-sik before continuing.

“Honestly, most people believed Gu Chi-sung faced Vaylun alone. Since you were known as a non-awakened…”

“I see.”

“But it's incredible! Did you perhaps awaken but hide your power? Like a protagonist straight out of a novel!!”

From then on, he asked questions so personal that it was hard to tell whether he was a doctor or just a fan of Chang-sik.

Though the strange man was distracting, Chang-sik thought it would be fine to experiment with his newly upgraded trait.

Modification.

Ding!

“Huh? Was it like this before?”

The limitations were stricter than Chang-sik expected.

Still, since he could copy individual traits, he decided it was a fair trade-off and spoke.

“Um… my head feels a little dizzy…”

The man, who had been talking excitedly, looked at him.

“Pardon?”

“I said my head hurts a little.”

“Oh, just a moment.”

Thud

The man’s thick hand pressed against Chang-sik’s forehead.

“Hmm… no fever, though…”

Chang-sik activated the trait again.

However…

Ding!

‘Quite picky,’ Chang-sik muttered.

He let out a heavy sigh and grabbed the man’s thick hand resting on his forehead.

Thud…

“Huh?”

Ignoring the man’s startled reaction, Chang-sik activated the trait.

Ding!

Another failure.

Chang-sik thought it was simply because the man’s traits and stats were far below his own.

He exhaled in disappointment, about to withdraw his hand.

But then…

“??”

No matter how hard he tried, Chang-sik’s hand wouldn’t budge.

Feeling an intense, burning gaze, he lifted his head and saw Cristiano, his face flushed red, holding Chang-sik’s hand tightly.

“Uh…”

“Let go, you idiot.”

Silence hung in the air.

The Heroic Life of the Greatest Villain.