LIGHTNOVELONLINE Ch 07 - Life of a Hero Among Villains
Chapter 7: Life of a Hero Among Villains
**Whoooo—**
The once pristine academy lawn now lay in ruins.
The Flame Stalker’s lifeless body showed no signs of movement.
Next to it, Kim Chang-Sik and Goo Chi-Seong were sprawled on the ground, passed out from sheer exhaustion.
Suddenly, a figure shrouded in pitch-black appeared silently, without so much as a sound.
It was as if she had materialized out of thin air—her stealth was flawless.
This was none other than Seol Ye-Rin, the woman who had earlier guided Chang-Sik to the cadet dormitory.
“…Flame Stalker, huh.”
She grabbed the lifeless body of the Flame Stalker with one hand and began dragging it.
“Quite an unexpected harvest.”
As she moved, her gaze landed on Chang-Sik’s unconscious form.
Letting go of the Flame Stalker’s corpse, she glided toward him like a shadow.
“Kim Chang-Sik…”
Squatting down to take a closer look at his face, Seol Ye-Rin cupped his cheeks with both hands, a curious smile spreading across her lips.
“This is going to get interesting.”
Her eyes gleamed like those of a cat staring at a fresh fish.
—
A few days after the “Academy Lawn Stomping Incident”…
In a pitch-black room where not even a single ray of light seeped in,
a long table stretched out, lined with several figures seated in silence.
Before them knelt a trembling, overweight man, bowing so low his forehead nearly touched the floor.
Despite the number of people present, not a single sound could be heard.
The oppressive silence was due to one man seated at the head of the table—**Jang Do-Cheol.**
Taking a drag from his cigarette, Jang Do-Cheol exhaled a plume of smoke before speaking.
“Phew… so?”
“S-sorry! I’m so sorry!”
The fat man kept repeating apologies, his voice shaky and desperate.
Jang Do-Cheol began tapping his fingers on the table, his voice calm but chilling.
**Tap—**
“So, not only did the terror attack fail…”
**Tap—**
“You’re telling me you got your ass handed to you by academy professors? Professors, of all people? And not even high-ranking ones—just some cadet instructors?”
The trembling man dared to speak cautiously.
“N-no, sir. It wasn’t the professors who stopped us.”
At those words, Jang Do-Cheol’s eyes narrowed, gleaming with a dangerous light.
“…What did you just say?”
The already icy atmosphere froze solid. No one dared to breathe.
The silence was broken by one of the people seated beside Jang Do-Cheol.
“The Flame Stalker was apparently killed in battle against cadets.”
“…You’re joking, right? You’re not seriously trying to mess with me, are you?”
The bowing man, **Lee Jong-Hyun,** frantically shook his head, looking on the verge of tears.
“No, sir! I-it seems some of this year’s cadets are worth keeping an eye on…!”
Before he could finish, Jang Do-Cheol raised a hand, silencing him.
Still holding his cigarette, Jang Do-Cheol rose from his seat.
**Step, step—**
The heavy sound of his footsteps echoed through the room.
He slowly made his way to the bowing man, crouched down in front of him, and locked eyes with him.
“Intelligence Division. Lee Jong-Hyun.”
“Y-yes? Yes, sir! Lee Jong-Hyun, head of the Intelligence Division!”
**Thump!**
“Eek!”
Placing a hand firmly on the back of Jong-Hyun’s head, Jang Do-Cheol leaned in close, his voice dripping with menace.
“Cadets? You’re telling me *cadets* did this? They’re not even full-fledged trainees yet. And you want me to believe some green kids are worth worrying about? If this isn’t a joke, then what the hell is it?”
“I-I’m sorry! It was an unforeseen variable, sir!”
“Oh, so this ‘unforeseen variable’… it wouldn’t happen to be Goo Chi-Seong, that rookie piece of trash, would it?”
“T-that’s…!”
Jong-Hyun stammered, unable to say anything coherent, trembling on the spot.
Someone else at the table stepped in to answer.
“According to the reports, there were two cadets involved in the battle with the Flame Stalker, including Goo Chi-Seong.”
“…Who’s the other one?”
Jong-Hyun, still trembling, responded nervously.
“T-that cadet was admitted through the non-awakened track. W-we’re still verifying if there was some kind of mistake in the records…”
Jang Do-Cheol’s face twisted in disbelief.
“Hah! You’re telling me one of our organization’s top lieutenants got taken down by some rookie and a non-awakened cadet?”
“S-sorry, sir!”
Jong-Hyun’s desperate apology seemed sincere enough, prompting Jang Do-Cheol to let out a long sigh and stand up.
Rubbing his face with his hands, cigarette still in his fingers, Jang Do-Cheol muttered:
“Damn it… so some random academy rookies actually took out one of our lieutenants? And we can’t even recover the body?”
Then—
**BANG!**
The heavy table shook violently as he slammed it with his fist.
“Fuck!! Beaten by a bunch of damn cadets!”
“Eek!”
Jang Do-Cheol’s face turned red with rage as he took deep, furious breaths. No one in the room dared to move or speak.
“Our lieutenant got humiliated like this? Goddamn it!!”
**BANG!**
After venting his rage, he took a deep drag from his cigarette, then tossed the butt to the floor.
“We’re going back to that academy. And this time, we’ll be prepared.”
The room echoed with a resounding response.
“Yes, sir!!”
Taking a slow, measured breath, Jang Do-Cheol turned to another officer seated calmly at the table.
“Oh, by the way, how’s the recruitment of that guy going?”
“Who do you mean, sir?”
Jang Do-Cheol smirked.
“Hajin-Seok. That monster bastard.”
—
Meanwhile, Chang-Sik had been moved to the academy infirmary.
“…If I want revenge, I’ll need to grow stronger first.”
He resolved to prioritize growth above all else to ensure his revenge could proceed smoothly.
Initially, he planned to play it safe and only complete the system’s missions to the minimum required standard.
But then—
—
《True Hero’s Path: Stage 3 – Complete》
– **Clear Reward: 2 Bonus Stats obtained.**
-Additional Contribution
– Eliminated Flame Stalker, a lieutenant of the Villain organization.
– (Contribution Rank: S)
**[S-Rank Achievement Reward: Trait ‘Modification’ has been upgraded by one level.]**
—
“Additional contribution, huh.”
The idea of additional contribution changed Chang-Sik’s perspective.
Performing better than the minimum required by the system’s missions seemed to lead to better rewards.
—
**Name: Kim Chang-Sik**
(Hero-in-Training)
———————————
§ Strength: D
§ Agility: D
§ Endurance: E
§ Mana: B
———————————
**Bonus Stats: 3**
**[Unique Traits]**
1. Hero Detection (Irregular)
2. Modification – (Irregular) +1
– **(NEW!) You can now delete acquired skills.**
– **(NEW!) You can now hold up to 4 skills.**
** Active Skills (2/4):**
1. Rock Arm [ROCK ARM]
2. Full Burst [FULL BURST]
—
The upgraded **Modification** trait was amazing.
He could now hold one more skill and even delete skills he didn’t find useful.
“This is insane… what a crazy trait.”
Chang-Sik thought he could now experiment with skills, keeping the ones that suited him and discarding the weak ones.
“Steal and learn… is it okay for a hero to act like this?”
Still, he couldn’t deny that using this trait to grow quickly would bring him closer to avenging Jang Do-Cheol.
Just then—
**Knock knock.**
Someone knocked on the infirmary door.
**Creak—**
“Oh? You’re awake?”
The man who entered was someone Chang-Sik had never seen before—a tan, muscular man who looked more like a thug than a doctor, despite wearing a white lab coat.
Seeing Chang-Sik staring at him, the man scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“Ah, I’m Cristiano, your assigned doctor.”
“…”
When Chang-Sik didn’t respond, the man stammered on.
“Uh… anyway, you passed out due to mana exhaustion. Your left shoulder was completely dislocated, and your right hand was crushed. You’ve healed a lot, but don’t overdo it.”
“…”
“Anything else bothering you?”
“Not really.”
The doctor nodded and stepped closer.
“Still, I’ll do a quick check-up, just in case.”
Using a flashlight, Cristiano checked Chang-Sik’s eyes, then placed a stethoscope on his chest.
“Everything seems fine.”
Flipping through his clipboard, he asked, “Any chronic illnesses?”
“No.”
“Any recent medications or surgeries?”
“…Not that I know of.”
Cristiano’s seemingly endless questions were tiresome, but Chang-Sik answered them as best he could.
After some time, the doctor hesitated, suddenly stealing a glance at Chang-Sik.
“Uh…”
“…”
“…You entered the academy through the non-awakened track, right?”
Chang-Sik remembered hearing others mention that before.
“Yeah.”
“So, you fought a Villain lieutenant alongside Goo Chi-Seong… without an awakening?”
Cristiano’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.
Seeing this, Chang-Sik frowned slightly.
“Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It’s just… as an awakened individual, that’s a really fascinating story.”
Cristiano scratched the back of his head sheepishly, looking embarrassed.
“Did I offend you?”
Despite his rough appearance, the man seemed oddly timid.
Chang-Sik let out a deep sigh.
“No, it’s fine. And yeah, I helped Goo Chi-Seong take down the Flame Stalker.”
“Wow! So it’s true?!”
“…”
“That’s incredible! The academy’s been buzzing about it!”
Cristiano, clearly excited, went on rambling, even though Chang-Sik wasn’t responding.
“Goo Chi-Seong hasn’t woken up yet, so no one knows the full story. Most people think he fought the Villain alone since you’re known as a non-awakened cadet.”
“I see.”
“But this is amazing! Were you actually awakened all along and just hiding your powers, like the protagonist of a novel?”
Cristiano kept asking personal questions like some overexcited fan.
Chang-Sik, distracted by the odd doctor, suddenly thought it might be a good time to test his upgraded trait.
**‘Modification.’**
**Ding!**
[Physical contact is required.]
**‘Huh? Was it always like this?’**
Apparently, the trait came with more restrictions than he’d expected.
Still, the ability to copy someone else’s traits made the inconvenience worth it.
Chang-Sik opened his mouth.
“My head feels kind of foggy…”
“Huh?”
“I said my head hurts.”
“Oh, hold on.”
**Thump.**
Cristiano placed a large hand on Chang-Sik’s forehead.
“Hmm, no fever…”
Chang-Sik reactivated his trait.
But then—
**Ding!**
[The physical contact must be initiated by you.]
**‘This is a real pain.’**
Sighing, Chang-Sik grabbed the doctor’s hand on his forehead.
**Thump.**
“Uh?”
Ignoring Cristiano’s startled reaction, Chang-Sik triggered the trait again.
**Ding!**
[The difference in rank is too significant. Trait copying failed. However, influencing or being influenced by the target may increase the success rate.]
Another failure.
He realized the issue wasn’t with Cristiano’s strength—it was that his abilities were simply too far below Chang-Sik’s.
Chang-Sik sighed again and tried to let go of the doctor’s hand.
But—
“…??”
His hand wouldn’t budge.
Looking up, he saw Cristiano holding his hand firmly, his face flushed red.
“Uh… hey.”
“Let go, you bastard.”
The room fell into an awkward silence.