Ch.57Episode 11. Midterm Exams (1)

“What do you plan to do?”

Moonlight, who had been gazing at the edge of the sea, was addressed by Blade.

“…Is there anything to plan? I already knew Yujin’s abilities were S-class.”

Moonlight recalled the sparring scene between Yujin and Yeonhwaryong circulating on the internet and realized once again: no one could defeat him one-on-one.

“Then what will you do?”

“Well…”

“How about exposing his past? Isn’t it illegal that he captured villains without a hero license?”

“Rejected. Even if he captured villains without a license, he’d only face mild criticism. After all, the ones he caught were our organization members that even heroes were reluctant to face.”

‘Even if I brought up the Horizon incident… I don’t think public opinion would side with us.’

“Soon enough, public opinion will favor Brain God. And consequently, Brain God’s reputation will rise.”

“I see…”

Moonlight pressed his throbbing temple and sighed as he faced the sea breeze head-on.

“It’s starting to get hot.”

“Moonlight sir.”

“What is it?”

“Why not prioritize killing Yujin? If we’re going to neutralize the Hero Association and rule South Korea, defeating Brain God is essential. If Brain God were to cooperate with an S-class, the pressure on our side would be considerable.”

Blade spoke, prepared to be scolded by Moonlight.

Though he understood why Moonlight was being cautious after seeing the sparring video between Yujin and Yeonhwaryong, he didn’t want to continue with this frustrating approach.

“Wouldn’t it be better to deal with Brain God even if it means taking losses?”

It was an appeal for a decisive action.

“You’re right, but… if we do that, we’ll become prey for the other executives.”

Blade’s opinion followed a logical progression, but it wasn’t an “answer” that considered all possible scenarios.

Honestly, Moonlight wasn’t happy with the situation either, but he had to be cautious with every choice since he needed to consider not only heroes but also internal executives.

“If you’re hesitant, should I eliminate the other executives?”

“Stop that. That would be the end of Akcheon. The executives share a lot of information. Even now, other executives know our location that Brain God is looking for.”

If their location was exposed, it would only be a matter of time before Brain God caught them.

“Then what should we do?”

“There is a way. Someone made a good suggestion during the executive meeting.”

“…Who?”

“Paris.”

He was the only high school student present at the executive meeting.

Unlike the other executives who were only looking out for their own interests, Paris said he wasn’t interested in territorial disputes. Paris only wanted to spread the drug he developed to the masses.

“He told me that the eX potion he’s been developing is almost complete.”

“eX potion?”

“It’s a potion that significantly increases abilities. Drinking it allows one to become stronger in a short time.”

“Are there side effects?”

“Yes.”

If there was a potion that could greatly enhance abilities just by drinking it, everyone would spend tens, hundreds, thousands to get it.

But the reason such a potion hadn’t appeared until now was because they couldn’t overcome the “side effects.”

“In the past, the government secretly deployed many alchemists to create this eX potion. But do you know what the result was after investing hundreds of billions in them?”

“What was it?”

“It damaged the brain and rotted the body. I heard that some components of the potion didn’t absorb into the human body and accumulated, causing cancer throughout the body.”

Because of this, the research was halted under national sanctions, as it was clear that if this drug were released, it would cause a massive impact.

It was too obvious what repercussions would follow if researchers on the hero’s side released such a thing to the public.

“Even excluding its addiction, which is worse than drugs, it was a very harmful substance.”

“I see.”

“Anyway, it seems Paris modified the research data he stole. He hasn’t completely eliminated the side effects, but he’s minimized them significantly. Moreover, he said he could use the accumulated components to spread cancer and kill at any time.”

“That’s groundbreaking. Not only can he efficiently strengthen people he wants to use, but he can also control their lives.”

“Yes. After hearing this, I thought of feeding the potion to civilians. It’s a good way to mess with the heroes without reducing our numbers.”

“If we spread it indiscriminately, we could be traced.”

“I know. That’s why we’re targeting religious groups, especially cults.”

Cults, with their inherently closed nature, were perfect for spreading such drugs.

“Fortunately, Akcheon has many cult members under its control, so gathering manpower won’t be a problem. Plus, many religious people have good abilities, so if we feed them the eX potion and amplify their abilities well, they’ll be useful.”

Paris had provided Moonlight with an opportunity to strike a solid blow against the heroes.

“…But Paris asked me for one thing. He said he needed one more person to perfect this.”

With those words, Moonlight pulled out Bin Yoon’s ID photo.

“Bin Yoon. He said he needs her. He asked me to bring Bin Yoon to him as a condition for cooperation. I’ve been keeping an eye on her too. She’s been showing exceptional alchemy skills since high school.”

“Are we kidnapping her?”

“…Yes.”

Originally, he had planned to scout her properly into Akcheon, not kidnap her. But with Yujin openly protecting her, Moonlight had no choice.

“But kidnapping Bin Yoon from the academy would require significant sacrifice. It’s not even clear if we’d succeed. So first, we need to lure Bin Yoon out of the academy.”

From his pocket, he produced another photo and a white powder.

“This is Bin Yoon’s mother. Name, Kim Soyang. Age 49. Her pink hair is her main characteristic. I heard she’s recently in debt and struggling to make ends meet. Have Yaeng approach her and provide pleasure. Money, drugs, sex. Make her unable to think rationally.”

“Understood.”

Blade carefully received the photo and the zippered bag of drugs. The address and contact information were written on the back of the photo.

“I’ll follow the plan.”

“Akwol is to standby until further orders.”

“Yes.”

Blade left immediately after receiving Moonlight’s instructions, and Moonlight, who had been standing alone on the beach looking at the sea, turned around.

‘This time, I’ll really get you. Brain God.’

* * *

“Starting tomorrow, it’s midterms. You know that, right?”

“Yes.”

Only Jung Iyeon answered my question today.

The others either subtly turned their heads away or buried their faces on their desks when I looked at them.

These troublemakers…

“You know that unlike high school, if you have problems with your grades at the academy, you can’t graduate? If you get an F, you repeat the year?”

For reference, Yeonmuhee and Yu Ari were good students in the first semester of their freshman year. They were in the upper ranks.

The problem was that from the second semester, whether it was their turbulent period or not, their grades dropped dramatically.

Fortunately, they didn’t get F grades, but considering they got D grades, it was just as bad.

“By the way, I’m not good at studying, so I can’t help you.”

Unless what they learn at the academy is a major subject like Korean, English, or math from high school, I couldn’t pass on knowledge to them.

How could I, a possessed person, know about the academy’s liberal arts or majors?

Even if there had been such mentions in the novel, I could have predicted the exam questions and given them the answers, but there was nothing like that.

If the novel had covered such things, everyone would have fled out of boredom.

Anyway, there was no way to help them this time.

That’s when Bin Yoon suddenly raised her hand.

“If the instructor can’t do it, I think you should acknowledge that we can’t do it either!”

“You can say that if you’re stronger than me.”

“Wow, you’re going there? That’s unfair! Boo boo boo~!”

She pouts her lips and repeatedly gives thumbs down.

“Bin Yoon. Go stand in the back.”

“What?”

“Do you want to get penalty points or get hit once before going?”

“That’s an abuse of teacher authority…”

She grumbles but obediently follows my instruction.

“Instructor! We have a way to get good grades!”

This time, Gu Yeonhwa raised her hand. However, I hesitated to call on her despite seeing her raised arm.

She always says weird things whenever she speaks…

“…What is it?”

With a scraping sound, Gu Yeonhwa stood up from her seat, clenched her fist, and shouted.

“As an instructor affiliated with the institution, you must have trust! Using that trust, you can secretly peek at the exam papers in the faculty office and tell us the questions! In other words, become our spy—”

“Gu Yeonhwa.”

“Yes! Isn’t it an innovative method—!”

“Go stand in the back with your hands up.”

“…What?”

“Go quickly. Before I give you penalty points.”

“Wow, that’s an abuse of authority! So harsh!”

Why do I feel strangely reassured seeing Gu Yeonhwa making her usual nonsensical remarks?

But like Bin Yoon, Gu Yeonhwa was mercilessly demoted to stand in front of the cabinet.

She puffs her cheeks, showing her sulkiness.

“The exam scope isn’t that wide. If you review once before bed tonight, you might not get an F.”

Since the evaluation is on a curve, if they can just outperform a few people, they can get a D. It wasn’t an impossible story.

“If you get an F, it’s supplementary classes during vacation. Or you repeat the year. If you want a comfortable and happy vacation, work hard.”

They probably know well that even though there’s a chance during the final exams, if they completely mess up the midterms, they won’t even get that chance.

“Oh, for major subjects like ‘Basic Ability 1’ and ‘Advanced Ability 1’, the instructor in charge will evaluate. I plan to give generous scores. But in exchange, you’ll have to push your abilities to the limit.”

As I said this with a smile, their expressions already looked pained.

Even Yeonmuhee, whose face usually doesn’t show much change, frowned.

“So, pay attention in class today, okay?”

To that, I could only smile mischievously.