Conquering the Broken Heroine?

Michaela’s mornings are early.
Synchronized with the chirping of morning birds, she regularly opens her eyes.
She washes herself.
Then she takes out her uniform, puts it on neatly, and steps out of the dormitory door.
She visits the student cafeteria and finishes a light meal.

She heads to the classroom no later than 30 minutes before class starts.
That was her daily routine.

Given the academy’s characteristic of dividing dormitories by grade and Awakener rank, only two second-year students can reside in the S-class Awakener dormitory through normal means.

Michaela has never had a roommate.
The student council president has a separate exclusive dormitory.
So her mornings had to be early.

There’s no one to eat breakfast with.
No time for conversation.
Therefore, there were no elements that could cause tardiness.

“Good morning.”

Except for this moment today.

“Senior.”

Though there should be a separate bed.
Why is the black-haired, red-eyed girl lying so casually on her bed?

And naked at that.
Naked all by herself.

“…”

Michaela raised her hand.
She gathered strength in her middle finger and thumb.

─Clang!

At the commotion early in the morning, the birds beyond the window bars forgot to chirp and fluttered about noisily.

“…It hurts.”

Her head is throbbing.
Han Seoyeon was going to school with a band-aid stuck on her forehead, carefully caressing that area.

“What’s wrong, did you hit your head while sleeping?”

Han Suho, who was beside her, asked curiously.

“No, it’s just…”

When she heard that it would be better to be physically closer to get to know each other, she thought it might be “the angle” and so…

“…That’s how it happened.”
“…”

Han Suho’s face, after hearing the whole story, twisted like garbage.

“Sis. That’s a bit disgusting.”
“B-But!”

She brought up living together first and approached actively.
Isn’t that something that could be considered a green light by common sense?

Even Han Suho, the harem protagonist, should have some part that agrees with this.

“…Wow.”

There were no words.
Just a gaze of contempt continued.

“Sis, you’d be in big trouble if you dated.”
“But it seems I can date at least?”

It was an unexpectedly high evaluation.
Naturally, all sisters in the world are programmed with genes that make them want to kill each other.

Han Seoyeon considered that level of evaluation quite substantial.
After all, it was a dirty world where even dating wasn’t easy for those with black hair.

“Well, you know─”

Han Suho glanced at his older sister.
Certainly, black hair was a negative factor.
But that was all.

Han Suho is objectively considered beautiful.
Her twin sister, Han Seoyeon, was also beautiful no matter what anyone said.
Even though there were differences in appearance due to their different upbringings.

Her skin was fair.
Unimaginably so for someone who grew up in the slums.

Her eyes were like jewels.
They were a deep, bright red color like rubies, passionate.

But if Han Seoyeon were to date, the part that her lover would fall for wouldn’t be her appearance.

That bright and beautiful personality.
Han Suho believed without a doubt that her true charm was a jewel that only those who knew her value could see.

“If you just keep your mouth shut, you’re quite pretty.”

Of course, this was irrelevant to Han Suho as her younger sister.

“…By the way, should I go visit Senior Wittelsbach later?”

An apology for causing unreasonable trouble, and a request to take good care of her friend.
It wasn’t trustworthy to leave this to her sister.

Han Suho hoped that her sister’s first human relationship wouldn’t easily fall apart.

“No way.”

Han Seoyeon flatly refused.

“Where does a blonde delinquent think she’s barging in…!”
“What nonsense are you spouting again.”

Han Suho speaks, pretending to be innocent.
Han Seoyeon wasn’t fooled.
The words of Han Suho, who had completely escaped from being ruined and became a munchkin genius.

She had witnessed it.
Baek Da-eun.
Baek Da-eun, who had been so problematic when he was binge-reading [The Falling Star Swordsman of the Academy] earlier.

Han Seoyeon had destroyed the original work.
Diligently, in unseen places.
The possibility of her brother connecting with heroines who made her want to throw up should have decreased while destroying the original work.

This was a misconception.
Han Suho had already completed the conquest of the prideful Baek Da-eun 10 years before the main story even began.

Charitably speaking, a harem master.
Uncharitably speaking, a blonde delinquent.
She couldn’t believe that such a devilish woman would approach her pure senior, it was too suspicious.

“Anyway, no. Just no!”

Save the world.
As a bonus, bloom her own yuri.
The intrusion of a blonde delinquent was not welcome.

The space called the academy is, first and foremost, a school.

This might sound like crazy talk, but it also best represents Han Seoyeon’s current feelings.

The academy that trains hunters to face gates and monsters naturally had a different curriculum from ordinary high schools.

There’s a setting that says 17 to 19 years old is when the physical sense for handling abilities develops best.
Students repeat days of training their abilities to defeat monsters.

However, that doesn’t mean the academy doesn’t teach basic high school education as well.

The academy is still a school.
At least nominally.
Of course, given the nature of academy stories, this was just a decorative setting.

As time passes, the main story and protagonist gradually lose connection with the word “school.”
Descriptions of the protagonist attending school like an ordinary student, attending classes, and eating school lunches disappear.

The school remains only as a setting.

“Today, we’ll learn about the history of gates, monsters, and hunters!”

The problem was that this setting was reality for Han Seoyeon living today.

“Some students might wonder why they have to receive outdated history education instead of practical training. The reason is simple!”

A seemingly skilled and passionate professor said.
It was the start of the history lesson.

“Because those who forget the past have no future! Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will be invincible. If you know your opponent and yourself, you won’t lose!”

That professor she saw when first enrolling.
He was a character that appeared in the original work too.

“Only by knowing history can you gain the minimum qualification to be called hunters!”

He seemed to be an important character, but due to his small role, she couldn’t remember his name.

“It was August 17, 2021, when one day, strange doors opened all around the world. Gates. Doors of another world, not of this one.”

Suddenly one day.
Without warning or precursor.
A common setting in hunter stories.

“And what came out from there, as you know, were monsters.”

The passionate professor’s voice was solemn.
It was such a heavy historical story.
The history of modern hunters.

“Monsters. Beasts with no room for dialogue. Creatures with only killing instincts attacked humanity.”

Otherworldly monsters attack people.
Like in cartoons or novels.

“At that time, humanity was far ahead of now in terms of simple military power.”

The 21st century when the new Cold War was intensifying.
Russia, China, and the United States, the superpowers of the time, all had powerful military forces capable of destroying the entire world.

“But humanity suffered consecutive defeats helplessly.”

But they were defeated.

“Why was that?”

It was an easy question.
This too is a setting commonly used in hunter stories.

“Because there were no hunters awakened to mana.”
“That’s right!”

Baek Da-eun answered.

“Mana is a mysterious substance that flowed in from beyond the gates.”

Mana.
An unknown substance that came from beyond the gates.

“Its characteristic is that nothing but other mana can have any effect on it.”

The cliché that modern weapons don’t work.
[The Falling Star Swordsman of the Academy] also adopted such a cliché.

“At that time, humanity knew nothing about mana. Naturally, existing military power was ineffective.”

Thus, the might of the world-dominating superpowers disappeared into history.

“Before long, the entire world was on the brink of destruction.”

South Korea, once a country with conscription, also fell like that.

“But, there’s a saying that heaven helps those who help themselves. Still, someone didn’t give up!”

And was reborn.

“Finally, results were achieved.”

From then on, not the history of the old humanity, but the history of the new humanity began.

“The vast mana that flowed in from beyond the gates. At some point, it began to affect human bodies as well.”

The emergence of Awakeners.

“They awakened to abilities. People opened their eyes to the power of mana. They each exhibited mysterious powers. That was the beginning of the counterattack.”

Research and popularization of abilities.

“It started with Director Lee Yeon! Starting with South Korea, people with the power to hunt monsters appeared!”

The emergence of heroes.

“It was the appearance of hunters, the hunters who hunt monsters.”

The beginning of the hunt.
The rise of those who hunt monsters.

“With the appearance of hunters, monsters gradually disappeared.”

Regained peace.

“The heart of dead monsters, magic stones, were soon revealed to be an all-purpose resource containing vast mana! Using that power, humanity succeeded in reconstruction!”

Magic stones.
Humanity’s reconstruction using an all-purpose resource that could replace oil or anything else.

“Most monsters were exterminated, and gates fell under human management.”

After numerous sacrifices, humanity emerged victorious.

“Today, monsters are no longer a grave threat to humanity.”

Gates, monsters, magic stones.
Humanity conquered all of these.

“The reason why gates occur, where monsters come from, and why they attack humans are still unknown!”

Even though the fundamental causes are still not known.

“…To remember the infinite sacrifice and dedication of our senior comrades who endured difficult times to achieve today’s glory. That’s all!”

The bell rang.
Han Seoyeon stood up from her seat and stretched.
From the perspective of someone who had read most of the original work, there were more than a few things she wanted to spoil.

Her mouth itched.
She tried hard to hold back as she left school.

“Senior.”

Classes were over.

“Want to go hunting together?”

It was time for a hunter story.

Gates.
These special phenomena, once a disaster for humanity but now reduced to resource warehouses, are largely divided into two types.

Short-term ones that occur briefly and disappear.
Permanent ones that occur and do not disappear.

Gates under human management were definitely the permanent type.
The surrounding area is isolated to prevent harm to ordinary citizens.

The area where monsters continuously flow out was a hunting ground.
Resources are duplicated.
And that too, without limit.

“Student Han Seoyeon and one other, total of 2 people. Confirmed.”

Any hunter certified by the Hunter Management Bureau can enter the hunting ground.
As an exception, academy students, who are treated as quasi-hunters, could also access the hunting grounds.

“We hope you have a productive time.”
“Yes!”

Hunting ground.
It’s been 17 years since she fell into the world of [The Falling Star Swordsman of the Academy].
Han Seoyeon was able to enter here through legal procedures for the first time.

“A hunting ground…”

Monsters that once made the world tremble.
Such monsters were being bred.

The world where demon kings and heroes confronted each other.
The heroes were the victors.
Was her world like this too?

These are monsters that attack humans.
There was not even a shred of sympathy.
Michaela just felt a strange feeling.

“Do you often go to hunting grounds, Senior?”
“No.”

While she might consider helping people, deliberately engaging in pointless slaughter against monsters didn’t become her hobby.

She receives almost excessive financial support from her home country.
Michaela had no reason to squeeze time to visit hunting grounds.

“Then I’ll be the senior for now.”
“…Why is that?”
“Well, I’ve been in and out of hunting grounds a lot since long ago.”

Strictly speaking, it was more like the middle of the wilderness rather than a hunting ground.

“Aren’t ordinary people prohibited from entering hunting grounds?”
“There are some abandoned gates in the slums.”

K-web novels were unnecessarily devoid of dreams and hope only in these aspects.
Gates determined to have low return on investment.
The slum environment.

Where these two factors overlapped, there were constant unreported casualties near the slums.

Because of that, Han Seoyeon was able to level up tremendously before the main story began.

“…”

She’s just a 17-year-old girl.
This girl was proudly saying that she had been killing monsters since she was even younger.
Michaela had nothing particular to say in response.