I Became an Academy Villain with a Growth Cheat - Chapter 17

An unidentifiable sound.

It was already too late for the female student, but I had to keep him from getting dragged in too. If I stayed still, the number of victims would only grow.

I waved my hands to signal danger.

"Stop! He's not someone you can handle at your level!"

A voice barely forced out.

He took a shocking course of action that rendered my warning meaningless.

Sin Noda's spear pierced the bear's throat.

"Kuaaaa!"

The black bear let go of the female student and cried out mournfully.

The male student pulled out the spear and this time drove it into the bear's head.

'No way.'

It was obvious without even stabbing it that the bastard's skull would be incredibly hard.

Yet he had pierced through the skull in a single blow.

Sin Noda stirred the spear around, turning the bear's brain to mush.

Thud.

The giant lump of fur collapsed.

He had killed the bear in less than a minute since arriving.

'That's a D-Rank…?'

I felt an insurmountable wall.

***

Hero Office.

The exclusive waiting room provided by MX Management was equipped with various amenities, including a gym.

'Office Lady' sat in front of the computer, moving the mouse.

At a glance, she looked like a proper office worker rather than a hero.

She was searching about 'Dark Night' on a community site.

'Metal Man,' a hero from the same management agency, sneered as he looked at her.

"Dark Night again. All day long, Dark Night. Do you have a crush on Dark Night or something? You look him up every chance you get. Kek, kek."

"Can you be quiet? That's why you're not popular with girls. Even at the fan signing event, your line was all guys, wasn't it?"

"Ahem. Those are brothers who fell for my manliness. I don't particularly need women—I'm fine, I mean."

"I'm sure you're doing just fine. As far as I know, you got scolded by the CEO for hitting on 'Magical Girl,' didn't you?"

"Urk."

'Metal Man' had needlessly poked the hornet's nest and slunk off to the gym, utterly defeated.

A certain post was reflected on the monitor.

'Office Lady' gave a bitter smile.

On broadcast, she had spoken negatively about 'Dark Night,' but she too knew that there were irredeemable villains.

At times, she even envied 'Dark Night's' unrestrained strides.

'Dark Night must be someone who lost a lot to villains... I wonder. How much pain must he have gone through for a person to become like that?'

She recalled that day.

'Dark Night's' voice.

[Can you say those words in front of the victims too?]

That terrible voice, like scraping rusted iron, seemed to reveal his inner agony.

'Office Lady' had seen many times how much the bereaved families of villain victims suffered.

Perhaps 'Dark Night' was one of them.

Another monster created by a villain.

[Are you afraid?]

That might be 'Dark Night's' true identity.

She thought.

Just then, the emergency bell rang.

It was a dispatch signal.

The location was Suwon City, K Electronics headquarters.

The opponent was the Necromancer 'K-Pharma Villain,' who had boldly committed terrorism against a government institution head-on.

'Office Lady' gathered her things and left the office.

K Electronics was under attack by 'K-Pharma Villain.'

Security guards formerly from Hunter backgrounds were holding the building entrance, but they were outnumbered.

Zombies, zombie dogs, and 'K-Pharma Villain' himself.

He had brought thousands of zombies.

Ma Boseong, wearing a pug mask, shouted in great excitement.

"Your deaths are brought to you by K-Pharma!"

"All of this is being done on the orders of the K Group chairman."

Incoherent babble.

Ma Boseong spewed words that didn't make sense.

Along with that distinctive recorded jingle.

[We are K Group, Korea's representative enterprise endlessly pursuing progress.]

♫♪♫.

He had recently gained an anonymous sponsor and was riding high.

A book sent by someone claiming to be interested in his activities—the 'Necronomicon.'

It was the perfect exclusive item for Ma Boseong, who possessed necromancy skills.

Thanks to it, the heroes who came to stop him weren't much of a threat either.

With zombies leading the charge and curses cast through the 'Necronomicon,' no one could lay a single fingertip on Ma Boseong.

Ma Boseong laughed loudly.

"I am invincible now!"

Necromancy enabled rapid growth the more one drove the living toward death.

He was growing stronger by the day.

However, there was a reason necromancy was classified as a combat-unsuitable Awakened ability.

Awakened who grew stronger through necromancy gradually experienced mental collapse.

Ma Boseong, whose mental state had already been somewhat questionable, had now completely lost his mind.

I approached the collapsed Bak Hayeon.

A serious wound.

Her belly skin was torn wide, to the point where her internal organs were visible.

This was bad.

If something happened to Bak Hayeon, who would stop the Demon King?

I urgently took out a potion and poured it on her.

New flesh grew, stitching up the torn belly skin.

"Get a grip. Bak Hayeon!"

I kept shaking her so she wouldn't lose consciousness.

'Why did this happen?'

A C-Rank monster 'Luna Bear' raid event.

Even for users playing 'Hero Name: ZEUS' for the first time, it was an easy rescue mission that could be cleared in one run.

Come to think of it, there was one thing that stuck out.

The protagonist at this point in the original story possessed the 'Shadowless Phantom Dance' skill.

But since I took it, the only skills I had were 'Guardian of the Species' and 'Electrokinesis,' which manipulates electricity.

'Is it because of me?'

I could catch a 'Luna Bear' through my control even without Shadowless Phantom Dance, but I thought it might be difficult for a typical user.

At this point, I was certain.

'It's because of me.'

I suddenly felt very sorry.

I would have to bring Bak Hayeon a good opportunity soon.

As a veteran of 'Hero Name: ZEUS,' I knew the locations of hidden skills scattered throughout the Academy.

Bak Hayeon gently opened her eyes.

She looked at me and smiled faintly.

"You came to save me......."

"Don't jump into such dangerous places. I'd worry if you got hurt."

The teachers arrived belatedly.

Teachers who had come in full gear.

They held their heads at this horrific sight.

"Is everyone okay!"

I shrugged.

"Our team and Bak Hayeon are fine, but the group that was attacked first...."

A student whose spine was bent in a direction it shouldn't bend, as if from slamming hard into a tree.

A student whose face had been torn off.

A student turned into a bloody mess from being slashed by claws.

Except for one, they had been annihilated.

I knew they died in the story.

Yet seeing this horrific scene, something hot welled up inside my chest.

I couldn't let it go without confronting the teacher.

"Why is a 'Luna Bear' appearing? Didn't you say only horned rabbits or slimes would come out?!"

The teachers all turned their heads away as if they had conspired with one another.

Avoiding responsibility.

Only the Class A homeroom teacher spoke with his head bowed.

He was a young handsome man wearing horn-rimmed glasses.

"I'm sorry. This isn't originally 'Luna Bear's' habitat, but it seems something unusual occurred."

"How could......"

'There's a limit to safety negligence!'

I was outraged, but there was nothing I could do about it.

The apologizing teacher recognized Yang Minseo standing next to me.

"Ah. Yang Minseo. I see your team took down the Luna Bear?"

Even the Class A homeroom teacher knew her; as expected, Yang Minseo was a celebrity.

Yang Minseo seemed hesitant to simply confirm, perhaps feeling guilty, and glanced at me.

I nodded slightly.

She spoke confidently.

"Yes. We heard screams and rushed over to help. Student Sin Noda's exploits were significant here."

"Aha. This student? Thank you."

We recovered the bodies and returned to base camp.

The atmosphere was gloomy.

It was understandable since there were casualties from the first day of enrollment.

From the teachers' perspective, the burden of responsibility seemed immense.

The teachers gathered us in an open area and relayed the situation.

Bak Hayeon, Yang Minseo's group, and I stood at the very front with the teachers.

An older teacher stepped forward to speak.

He had a stern impression.

"Unfortunately, casualties occurred during the hunt, so all schedules for today are ending early. A powerful monster that does not normally appear in this area has emerged. The cause is unknown, and an investigation team will be dispatched soon to determine the truth."

Murmurs.

Everyone's expression grew serious at the news of casualties.

"The Academy has decided to close the Gigantic Forest dungeon until the investigation is complete. Students who wish to train should use the temporary training facility that will be set up in the basement second floor of the main building."

The teacher added, pointing at us.

"Ah, and these students noticed another group's danger and went to help. This is the attitude a hero must have. Everyone should learn from them. Yang Minseo's group. And Bak Hayeon... which group are you from?"

"Ah, I'm from Gim Sinhu's group."

"But where are the other group members?"

"That is...."

Bak Hayeon mumbled, unable to answer properly.

The teacher pressed her.

"The other group members didn't agree, did they. You acted alone, didn't you. Is that right? Gim Sinhu's group, raise your hands."

Three students among those listening raised their hands.

The teacher looked at a male student's name tag and asked.

"Are you the group leader?"

"Yes. I'm Gim Sinhu."

"Did Bak Hayeon act alone?"

"Yes, that's correct."

Bak Hayeon's expression darkened.

In contrast, Gim Sinhu was confident.

"Why didn't you go to rescue them?"

Gim Sinhu's face turned pale.

He answered in a smaller voice than before.

"Because we judged it to be dangerous. Since it was inside a dungeon, after all...."

"If you become a hero and a villain stronger than you appears, will you pretend not to see as you did today? Will you leave citizens to die?"

"Uh... th-that...."

He hung his head low and couldn't answer properly.

The teacher clicked his tongue and gave him a scolding.

"Well, your answer isn't wrong. Just consider that this is the kind of situation where you'll be scolded. Such unreasonable situations are rampant in real combat. That was the lesson."

"Yes, I understand."

It seemed to end on a warm note, but the teacher added one more thing.

"Ah. That's that, but your group gets a penalty deduction for teamwork."

"Yes...."

The male student pressed his lips tight and glared at Bak Hayeon.

And so we escaped the dungeon.

Field-type dungeons allowed movement in and out even without clearing them.

Yang Minseo, who passed through the gate late, came scurrying over with her hands full of something.

She looked up at me and opened both hands.

Shimmering orbs were revealed.

"What are these?"

"They're Growth Orbs. The teacher gave them to me, saying they came from the Luna Bear. He told me to distribute them as the group leader, but I think your contribution was the highest, Sin Noda, so I'll give them all to you."

Growth Orbs.

Just as typical games have 'leveling up,' this game had 'Growth Orbs.'

I briefly wondered if I should yield a few of them.

'No. No.'

As expected, no.

Yang Minseo, Ji Soyeon, O Haena.

Sorry, but they have low growth potential.

It's better for the world if I take them all.

"Thanks. I'll put them to good use."

I received the orbs and consumed them right there.

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