NOVEL NEXT chapter 22
22 – Making a Hero (2)
When the freshman announcement was made.
At the alarm that the classes were revealed, a single girl ran faster to the notice board than anyone else.
“Pant…pant…”
She was breathless from running so fast, and her pushed-down hat felt stuffy, but she skimmed through the list.
[ Class A ]
She had to get into the higher class no matter what.
That’s what her family wanted,
and what she thought was a given.
She had boasted about it to everyone for some time.
-“If you can’t get into Orbis, isn’t it better to just give up on being a gifted?”
-“Well. I can easily get into the advanced classes at Orbis. My future is already set.”
-“Stop worrying so much. I’ll take good care of you guys.”
Everyone had hated it, but despite that, they congratulated her.
Because Orbis was renowned to that extent. Because it was a path that guaranteed a successful life.
She had confidence in being in the top class.
This was because she had never missed first place until now.
“Why… why…”
The girl swallowed, skimming through the next list.
B-1, B-2…
None of those were there.
Cold sweat trickled down her spine.
C, D, E
In the remaining classes, regardless of glancing through all the sections one by one, the girl couldn’t find her name.
It made no sense.
Surely she must have seen it wrong.
Somewhere she must have missed her name.
Excluding the F class, the girl who went once again through all the lists, verified the remaining list with trembling eyes.
[F class]
“Ah…”
Her name was there.
The girl clenched her fist tightly.
Blood flowed from the skin pierced by her own nails.
‘…What to do?’
It was certain that everyone would jeer.
F… being class F.
“No…”
Self-rationalization began to operate.
This is not her fault.
It is the fault of Orbis, who did not properly assess her value.
Why is she being evaluated for something like a Golem appearing out of nowhere?
She was frustrated.
Anger surged to the end of her head.
The girl grit her teeth.
She wanted to vent this anger right away.
She wanted to pour on this damned place how strong she was.
The moment she thought so.
– Crackle
Along with an anomalous breaking sound, the space in front of the girl tore apart.
From beyond the gap, a light that did not seem to be of this world was seeping. A dark purple color that seemed to hold the endless void.
Without knowing it, the girl stepped backward.
“… A Rift?”
She had heard of it before.
All sorts of grotesque monsters jump from the portal, or what is called a ‘rift’.
But the rift that appeared before the girl was quite small.
Just big enough for a single finger.
A voice was heard from it.
[ Do you want to become stronger? ]
“What… What.”
She never heard anything like this before.
A voice from the rift filled with all sorts of grotesque monsters, and it was a voice she could understand.
Her curiosity was piqued.
It was even giving her what she wanted most at the moment.
“Who… Who are you?”
[ It shouldn’t matter who I am. Just answer the question. ]
“……”
[ Do you want to become stronger? ]
She nodded.
The girl nodded.
[ Open the circuit. ]
She followed the instruction.
The world was dyed black.
* * *
Suddenly after an explosion due to the girl turning dark.
After Ryuseora unexpectedly threw herself at me, I was being tested for patience.
By the way, a top-tier villain is a gentleman.
So, I tried my best not to look at Ryuseora’s shirt filling my vision, specifically the bare skin beyond the button…
I couldn’t help it.
I couldn’t just close my eyes to this scene.
In this situation, I half-gave up and surrendered myself to silence.
The real matter of importance isn’t Ryuseora’s marshmallow-soft fat.
‘I wonder why the guy who usually annoys me, is protecting me right now.’
But even this question is not important right now.
[ Darkening ]
This is the issue.
The ultimate enemy in the worldview of the novel I chose is the ‘demon realm’.
They create rifts, usually called gates in dimensions, and try to engulf this world. Although it’s a lull for a while and these rifts aren’t frequent, the wave will soon begin again.
Back to the main topic.
Darkening is the initiation phase of Earth’s creatures becoming ‘demonized’.
[Darkening], [Rampage], [Mutation].
Darkening is the process of getting dyed in the demon realm.
Rampage is the phase where the stained spirit explodes, oxidizing.
Changes have become adapted to the energy of the underworld.
At this point in the current scenario, it is known that such underworld adaptations are only possible for animals, not humans. Rats, cats, dogs, cows, and the like.
In such a situation, an unknown girl is the first to be in a state of ‘darkening’.
– ROOOAR
A loud sound rang out continuously.
The class bulletin board, as fragile as paper, was torn to shreds and scattered everywhere.
“How about you stop now?”
“This should pay off the debt… No, isn’t this enough already?”
Ryu Seo-ah, who was muttering something incomprehensible, suddenly got up from her seat.
“Debt?”
“Let’s talk about the rest after we clean up this mess.”
“… it would be better not to fight that thing.”
“You have no say in what I should or should not do.”
Frowning, Ryu Seo-ah flew towards the girl.
This is the Orbis Academy, where most of the students possess abilities.
There were students opposing the girl who had already darkened.
– ROOOAR!
Something flew from the direction of the darkened girl and hit the wall.
“Arrgh…”
With a moan, a person who seemed like a user died.
I closed the bulging eyes of the deceased.
…Yes.
The novel I know is originally set in a world like this.
In a world where a person’s life can sometimes be cut off too easily.
People with abilities emerged to contend with the despair brought about by the sudden disaster called the underworld. Among them, villains who exploit their abilities for their own personal gain appeared, and heroes who block these villains also emerged in the world.
– ROOOAR!
Ryu Seo-ah’s fire magic was cast out.
Her red hair flickered violently due to the aftermath.
Ryu Seo-ah is a ‘hero’ in this desperate world.
To be precise,
I hope she can become a hero.
‘Because she’s the strongest kid I know.’
Because she is so overwhelming that she can’t handle her own strength and could be swallowed up by her own magic.
Yeah, I admit it.
It’s a very selfish thought.
Wishing for someone to become a hero for my own convenience.
Why?
Because being a hero is just as hard as being a villain.
In fact, it may be even harder.
Because it’s the kind of work where if you do well, you hear ‘You did your job.’ and if you don’t, you hear ‘Is that even considered a hero?’.
It’s going to be quite tough.
But having read the original, I know this.
That Ryu Seo-a, if she hadn’t been devoured by her own power and narrowly avoided self-destruction, would have become a splendid ‘hero.’
…With this rationalization, I wracked my brains to turn Ryu Seo-a into a hero.
‘I must make her realize.’
In Ryu Seo-a’s mind, which is focused only on revenge, how pleasant it is to have people rely on her.
That’s good.
Today’s goal is set.
‘Make Ryu Seo-a a hero.’
Although it would have been her destiny in the original, it is a moment to challenge her a bit more quickly.
So what should I do?
“Just need a villain to appear.”
A hero is born when there is a villain.
* * *
– Boom, boom!
In a fiery chaos filled with explosion and warning sounds.
I spun around to survey the situation.
Flames leaping from Ryu Seo-a hit a blackened girl head-on.
The girl squinted for a moment.
“How dare you!”
She unleashes an incredible surge of magical energy, beyond what one would expect from her.
“Ugh!”
Ryu Seo-a and a few disciples barely fend it off.
The fight is tenser than expected.
It’s a good sign for me.
The blackened life form is continually polluting its surroundings.
The atmosphere of the demon realm that emanates from it is polluting the surroundings, making the environment like the demon realm.
It needs to be dealt with as quickly as possible.
‘The justification is sufficient.’
Since the staging could be quite brutal, justification is important. We can’t afford to get kicked out of Orbis just for trying to make Ryu Seo-a a hero.
‘The remaining malice is sufficient too.’
Preparations to play the villain are done.
Shall we try making a hero once?
* * *
“Ugh, I’m so tired…”
Roused by the sudden alarm, Seon-a Yeon sluggishly rubs her eyes and gets up.
She had exhausted all her energy supplying divine power to the saint the previous day.
‘I want some ice cream…’
Half-asleep and unsuspecting of her reversed outfit, the moment she was heading stumble-footedly to the bulletin board…
“!”
She felt the tremendous explosion of magic.
As a priestess, she instinctively knew.
This was no ordinary magic.
She had never felt such a potent energy before.
– Thump thump!
Sun A-Yeon’s footsteps quickly quickened.
Running for her life, she barely reached the place where explosions were raining down.
Shattered boards. Half-collapsed buildings. Moaning people.
In the middle of all this.
– Kwa-ga-ga-ga-ga!
A tremendous amount of magic was pouring out from a certain girl. Some students were struggling to contain it, but it seemed to be insufficient.
“No!”
Sun A-Yeon was about to run to try and do something when…
– Thud.
From a bit far off.
A man appeared in her sight.
Neatly swept hair.
Squinted eyes.
A wooden sword in one hand.
According to “Saint,” he’s a notorious villain.
Lee Han.
“!”
He rushed towards the students.