Ch.1Episode 1. I Became an Academy Instructor. (1)

“Ah~ Easy, so easy.”

Inside an abandoned factory on the outskirts of Seoul.

A man standing at least two meters tall snickered as he looked down at two defenseless women collapsed before him. The women’s eyes were open, but their gazes wandered aimlessly as if they were hallucinating.

He stuck out his tongue, openly displaying his obscene desires, and began to remove his pants.

Watching this, I leisurely made my way into the abandoned factory.

“Electric Release.”

Crackle.

Sparks flew from my arm.

“Hey, Gongsang!”

“…What fucking bastard calls me Gongsang?!”

“I do, you idiot.”

Still throwing a fit even when called by his name.

The muscular man turned around, his face flushing red. I smirked at him, unable to hide his excitement.

“What else should I call Gongsang but Gongsang?”

“It’s Gongsangjun, you bastard! I legally changed my name!”

“But on the official villain registry, it still says ‘Gongsang,’ doesn’t it?”

“It just hasn’t been updated yet!”

“Come on. Gongsang sounds better. Why update it? Just keep it as is.”

“You bastard, I’ll…!”

Killing intent began to leak from him as he turned to face me.

“But seriously, why bring women to a place like this? If you’re going to take them somewhere, at least go to a hotel. You have no sense of mood whatsoever.”

BOOM!

The ground cracked where he stepped. Small craters formed with each of his steps.

So this is what an S-class villain can do? Well, I should maintain my dignity too.

CRACK!

As I put strength into my legs, sparks flew and the ground sank. The cracks in the ground extended all the way to where he stood.

“Ha. Seems like you’re confident in your abilities!”

Crackle!

My unique skill, “Electric Release,” consistently generated sparks around my body.

Seeing this, Gongsang flinched and actually took a step back.

“Y-you…!”

“…?”

“Black mask and hoodie, regularly occurring sparks! Could it be! The ‘Thunder God’!”

“Don’t call me that.”

Ah, please stop with the cringeworthy introductions. Why do villains always react like this when they recognize me?

“I heard Akcheon was trying to recruit you! Why are you attacking us?”

“They made an offer, but I declined.”

“…Even so, you and I have no reason to fight. I’ll even let it slide that you called me Gongsang.”

Gongsang says, suppressing his killing intent. Is he afraid of getting beaten up?

Hmm. There’s something that really triggers hot-tempered guys like him.

I grinned. He probably couldn’t see my expression behind my black mask.

“You scared?”

Several seconds of silence fell over the abandoned factory after my comment.

Eventually, vast dark energy began to pour out from his body.

Known to the public as “Nightmare,” he used that smoke to plunge people into oblivion, and after he was done with them, he would mercilessly dismember and kill them.

At least three A-class heroes had fallen victim to him. No wonder he’s a current executive of Akcheon.

“I am Nightmare, the one who brings death while you flounder in sweet dreams! Even if you are the Thunder God, you cannot defeat—”

“Ah, it’s getting cringy, so stop. Don’t introduce yourself.”

Blood vessels popped on his exposed forehead as I waved my hand dismissively like I was shooing away a fly.

“Come on, stop flapping your gums and come at me. Don’t you have business to attend to?”

Unable to contain his anger any longer, he dashed toward me. Kicking off the ground, Gongsang closed the distance in an instant and threw a punch.

“You’ll regret challenging me! Die in oblivion!”

“I wonder. Who’s the one falling into oblivion here?”

“Nullify.”

THUD!

As I calmly blocked his thrown punch, Gongsang’s eyes widened.

“Okay. From now on, it’s self-defense, right?”

“How did you block my unique skill, Oblivion—!”

Taking advantage of his dumbfounded state, I drove my fist straight into his stomach.

WHAM!

Hit in the abdomen, Gongsang crashed into the corner of the factory, stirring up a cloud of dust. Pushing away the dust that crept toward me, I said:

“You still alive, Gongsang? I didn’t even hit you with full force.”

I had to control my strength because hitting with full power might kill him. Is his S-class rating just inflated?

“Cough! Cough!”

He emerges from the dust, coughing. As expected of an S-class, I suppose.

“Thunder God, you son of a bitch!!”

“Do you think shouting will suddenly make you stronger? That’s a hero’s position, not a villain’s.”

Acceleration with almost no preparation.

Injured by my electric speed, Gongsang couldn’t react in time.

“Die!!”

I dodged his wildly thrown punch and jumped. From above, I swung my fist down like a hammer.

“Just stay unconscious, Gongsang.”

CRASH!

The abandoned factory shook with the intense impact, and dust clouded my vision.

“What’s this? Is he really S-class?”

I don’t understand how the Association rates villain rankings.

I dusted off my hands and looked down at Gongsang, who was embedded in the floor. Half his face was crushed, and his teeth had scattered. Despite controlling my output, his condition was serious. If he had been an ordinary person, his head would have exploded.

“I have some questions for this guy, so I’ll interrogate him and then take him to the police station… As for those women… I’ll have to leave them be.”

In this country called South Korea, the laws on self-defense are terrible. If you kill a villain without a hero license, you’ll be punished. Even if you don’t kill them, you could be counter-sued just for attacking a villain.

For that reason, I usually beat up villains moderately and then dump them in front of the Association or police station. It’s too much trouble to get caught up in legal issues.

Anyway, now that Gongsang is like this, his Oblivion effect should wear off soon, and someone might have noticed the commotion from earlier.

I’m not a hero, so I have no obligation to protect those women. My target was Gongsang.

Having made my decision, I grabbed the unconscious man by the collar and dragged him away.

By the way, which executive should I catch next?

Knowing that taking down underlings was meaningless, I intended to target executives first. But there weren’t many executives who committed crimes openly like Gongsang, so catching the others would be tricky.

Nevertheless, I needed to uproot Akcheon as soon as possible. In a few years, there would be a generational change among the executives, and “those guys” would become villains.

If that happens, South Korea will be doomed. To prevent that, I either need to stop them from becoming villains or kill them.

I had no choice but to use one of these two methods.

Thud, thud.

Suddenly hearing footsteps, I dropped Gongsang and became alert. I saw a figure entering the abandoned factory.

“…So you were here after all.”

So…?

Does this person know me? Or did they expect me to kill Gongsang? Could they be… an Akcheon executive?

“Who are you?”

I activated Electric Release and remained vigilant.

“Those sparks. So you really are the Thunder God.”

“Do you know me?”

“Ah, it must be too dark for you to see clearly. There’s no need to be so cautious.”

He took out his phone and illuminated his face as he spoke.

It was the face of a gentle middle-aged man, but his sharply slanted eyes were enough to exert considerable pressure on anyone who met his gaze.

He was someone so well-known that there wasn’t a person in this world’s South Korea who wouldn’t recognize him.

“The Association President?”

“Pleased to meet you. Allow me to introduce myself formally. I am Sung In-hyuk, currently serving as the President of the Aegis Hero Association.”

He bowed as he spoke.

“What brings the Association President here? And without an escort?”

I said that, but I could sense presences throughout the building. Were they ready to capture me if necessary?

“I wanted to talk with you, someone who has been persistently targeting the villain group Akcheon.”

He turned off his phone light as he spoke.

“What do you want to talk to me about?”

“Is that S-class villain Nightmare at your feet?”

“Yes.”

I nodded, looking at the sprawled figure.

“What do you plan to do with him? Will you dump him in front of a police station or the Association as you’ve always done?”

“Probably. If I get the answers I want. If he doesn’t confess everything, I might beat him to death.”

“You’re aware that without a hero license, if you injure or kill a villain, you could be counter-sued or punished, right?”

“So you’re saying I should just watch as those women get raped and murdered because I’m a law-abiding citizen? The law is really fucked up.”

I pointed to the two women lying behind me, criticizing him.

“I agree. With people developing powers, there’s been an unprecedented increase in unusual crimes. But the laws haven’t changed.”

“Can’t you, as the Association President, change them?”

“We’re working on it. It’s just slow.”

“So what’s the main point of wanting to talk to me?”

I felt like he was deliberately stalling in response to my question. What did he come all the way here to say?

“…You can’t keep hiding and acting as a hero forever.”

“I’m not a hero. I’m just moving for my own purposes.”

“I don’t know what your purpose is, but you’re at least a great help in checking South Korea’s worst criminal organization, Akcheon.”

“And?”

“So, using my authority, I’d like to issue you a hero license.”

Issue me a hero license?

It was an unexpected offer. With a hero license, I would have the official right to subdue villains.

But on the other hand, I was skeptical.

How could the Association President know whether I was a hero with a sense of justice or a villain just pretending to have one?

He doesn’t even know my face because of my mask, and he knows nothing about my personal information.

“How do you know I’m not a villain when you’re trying to scout me?”

“At the very least, you’re better than Akcheon, aren’t you?”

“…What benefit does the Association President get from this?”

“Before I step down as Association President, I want to annihilate Akcheon.”

I see. I had forgotten, but this man also harbors considerable resentment against Akcheon.

“I understand your reason, but is it possible to give me a license without any procedures?”

“I intend to go through minimal procedures. At the very least, I need to know your personal information. As for your abilities, your track record speaks for itself.”

Personal disclosure?

It wasn’t a good choice. There were things I had done during the past month of active operations, and if I were charged for those crimes, it would be problematic.

Moreover, I didn’t know exactly what wrongs the original owner of this body had committed before I possessed it.

However, with a hero license, I could become much freer than now and gain considerable authority.

Furthermore, what if I could become a teacher at the Academy?

Among those guys who would become the worst villains, some have already enrolled in the Academy, and others will enroll this year. Wouldn’t I be able to monitor them up close? If necessary, I could even kill them.

“…With a hero license, what can I do?”

“What can you do… That’s a very broad question.”

“For example, can I become an Academy teacher?”

My question seemed unexpected, as he responded with a curious “Oh?”

“I didn’t know the Thunder God, who hunts villains, would be interested in teaching at the Academy.”

“So is it possible or not?”

“It’s possible, but to be a teacher, you need a teaching qualification in addition to a hero license.”

“So it’s not impossible, right?”

“…That’s correct.”

“Alright. I’ll consider your offer positively. I’ll give you my answer later.”

“When?”

“Well…”

I grabbed the whimpering Gongsang’s clothes and threw him in front of the Association President. A thud echoed through the space.

“Interrogate him. When I come to hear the information you got from him, I’ll give you my answer too.”

“Very well.”

“I’ll see you then.”

With those final words, I left the abandoned factory.

As I quickly headed home, I thought about the Association President’s unexpected offer.

Although I felt reluctant due to the risks involved, this was clearly an opportunity. There was no harm in seizing it.

As much as he was trying to use me, I could use him just the same.