Ch.93The Strange Level of an Exam Student (1)

# Monster of the Deep Sea

Even in the original work, it was a nightmare born in the darkness of the ocean depths, a being that had risen to near-special-grade threat level at the cost of losing its sanity.

Why would such a creature appear in the middle of the hero examination site?

It made no sense.

The Hero Association’s security is never lax. No matter how perfect her human form might be, it should have been nearly impossible for a monster to infiltrate disguised as an examinee.

Yet now, seeing the Deep Sea Monster standing calmly before me, my mind was in turmoil.

“Did you… make a contract with someone?”

“Me? Well… I’ve been wandering the human world, and there were some decent vessels. But unfortunately, all the humans I liked turned out to be cruel murderers who eat seafood~.”

She’s certainly living up to her name.

True to her “Deep Sea” title, her extreme murderous intent toward humans who eat seafood remained unchanged.

It was clear that she had indeed come to this examination site alone, without contracting with anyone.

“Then how did you even get in here?”

“Huh?”

“Are you seriously here as an actual examinee? A monster, not a human… taking the hero exam?”

“Hehe, why so surprised? You’re a monster too, if we’re being technical. Why such a reaction between fellow monsters?”

“I’m human!”

Well, to be precise, I was a human who could transform into a monster, a half-human, but at least my mind wasn’t that of a monster.

One moment she was attacking aquariums, claiming she’d kill all humans who eat seafood, and now suddenly she wants to become a hero.

This development never appeared in the original work.

Just as I adjusted my mask and prepared to take a combat stance, the Deep Sea Monster suddenly spoke with a bright expression.

“Hey, Horn Mask. By the way, how about we form an ‘alliance’?”

“…What?”

Did this monster forget that she fought with me before?

Marna was ultimately human, a young girl, so reconciliation and forgiveness were somewhat possible.

But an alliance with this creature was complete nonsense.

“Weren’t you attacking me with piranhas just moments ago?”

“Oh come on~ That level of skinship is common between us, isn’t it?”

“It’s not common at all!”

What kind of skinship involves waves mixed with piranhas? Monster common sense is truly hard to follow.

Just as I was about to refuse, the Deep Sea Monster slowly curled up the corners of her mouth and continued.

“In exchange, I’ll tell you why I joined this exam.”

“…I’m not particularly interested in your circumstances.”

“No, if you’re a ‘monster,’ you should know this.”

“…What did you say?”

Her voice suddenly turned serious.

Something felt ominous. A meaningful nuance was dissolved in that short sentence.

It was an uncomfortably attractive proposal.

***

“Hello everyone~. I’m Kim Simhae, Janghun’s ex-girlfriend~.”

“…Eh?”

In that moment, the air on the rooftop froze.

“…”

It was like a bolt from the blue.

Marna, who had just returned from the bathroom, stood with her eyes wide open and mouth agape, while Zero, who had been sitting in meditation, frowned beneath his expressionless face.

And Siljongi, who was peeking just his head out from my shadow, sparkled with interest at what he’d just heard and grinned.

“Ohhh! Master Janghun, so you even had an ex-girlfriend? Well, for a man like Master Janghun, that’s only natural!”

Receiving the stares of these three people all at once, I turned to Simhae in embarrassment, but she just smiled even more sweetly and waved her hand with shameless confidence.

“N-No! That’s not true at all, don’t misunderstand, Zero!”

“But even if you say that… I finally understand why Miss Hoshino and Miss Carmilla monitor you so closely, Master Janghun.”

Zero simply nodded to himself as if he hadn’t heard what I just said.

Words of explanation swirled in my mouth, but before I could speak, Simhae’s voice burst out first.

“Oh come on~ Why is everyone reacting like this? As if you’ve caught a man secretly meeting another woman when he’s already surrounded by plenty of good women. I was just in a ‘very~ intimate’ relationship with Janghun. Right, Janghun?”

“No, you crazy…! Hey! When did I ever do anything with you!”

I reflexively turned my head and strongly denied it.

Yet Simhae laughed shamelessly and naturally grabbed my arm, leaning against me like we were truly long-time lovers.

“Oh right. You used to get embarrassed by this kind of skinship in front of people. You’re still so cute~.”

“I said that’s not true!!”

But no one paid attention to my desperate denials.

“You don’t need to pretend it’s not true, Master Janghun! They say that heroes like you naturally have such womanizing tendencies as a passive skill!”

Siljongi, beside me, crossed his arms and spoke with the proudest expression in the world.

“Would you please just be quiet!”

“Mom told me to be careful of men who are too flirtatious….”

Meanwhile, Marna took half a step back from me and eyed me warily, as if she had received an even greater shock.

I inwardly screamed in desperation.

‘Oppa is still a virgin! I’ve never even been “flirtatious” in the first place!’

“…Mr. Chanwoo, I understand.”

Suddenly, even Zero nodded with a meaningful expression.

“Well, a healthy man of your age would naturally desire to meet various partners. Just… be careful of things like STDs from spending nights with too many partners.”

“Zero! What are you saying?!”

Now I was completely losing my mind, protesting with a reddened face.

At that moment, Simhae leaned close to my ear and whispered with a meaningful smile.

“Don’t freeze up like that~. You lost your virginity to me anyway~.”

“When did I ever!”

“My, pretending it didn’t happen~.”

This woman, seriously!

No, if I had actually lost my virginity to you, I wouldn’t feel this wronged!

At this point, I thought I had no choice but to urgently change the subject.

“A-Anyway, Zero! Did anything happen while we were in the bathroom?”

Zero briefly set aside his cold gaze and soon answered in a serious voice.

“Ah, regarding that, the battle that was taking place on the ground has now entered a lull.”

“What?”

It was an unexpected report.

I had assumed the battle would still be ongoing.

That’s when Simhae spoke up again from beside me.

“Of course. Only the real deals are left now.”

“The real deals?”

At Simhae’s words, Zero also nodded quickly as if understanding.

“I see. You mean only examinees who respect each other’s abilities remain. Since there’s nothing to gain from picking fights carelessly, they’re all watching each other now.”

“Correct, miss who looks like a human~.”

Simhae slowly looked Zero up and down with a grin. Her smile was sweet, but contained some sharp insight.

“By the way, you’re really amazing~. Your skin is so perfect, and your movements are flawless… almost like an intricately crafted doll rather than a person?”

Zero’s expression stiffened ever so slightly.

“…I don’t understand what you’re implying.”

“Oh my, I just meant you’re too beautiful and perfect. I’m sorry if I offended you~.”

Simhae shrugged lightly and cast a meaningful glance at me.

It was as if she had said something only I could understand.

“So what I’m saying is there’s no safe place anymore. This rooftop probably won’t last long either.”

“What do you mean by that…?”

Before I could fully understand her words.

Whooooosh!

Suddenly, a fierce wind swept over our heads.

In an instant, a thick, massive shadow from the sky descended upon the entire city as if to swallow it whole.

“What is that?!”

KWAAAAA!!

With a thunderous roar, enormous wings cut through the air, sweeping across the sky.

A heavy darkness filled the sky, dominating above us with an absolute presence that instantly overwhelmed all the noise in the city.

The shadow was a massive dragon.

From the dark blue scales to the eerily flashing eyes, and the hot breath spewing from its mouth.

Now this rooftop was truly no longer safe.

“A dragon… Could a mere examinee summon a monster of that form?”

“A-A real dragon…!”

Marna’s voice trembled with fear.

The being looking down at us from above was none other than a creature from legend.

It really looked like a familiar RPG boss monster, down to its bones.

“Looks like the waiting game is finally over.”

Simhae said with a grin, but I couldn’t smile.

Its imposing size and overwhelming threat.

The creature began creating a massive fireball in the air, and we stared up at it blankly.

“Zero… Do you have any long-range attacks or something?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t have any techniques to attack a target that high. What about you, Mr. Chanwoo?”

“I don’t either.”

“I’d become anemic if I tried to shoot my blood that far…”

Marna was in the same situation.

Even Simhae shrugged as if troubled.

“Sadly, I specialize in underwater combat, so aerial battles are outside my scope.”

Silence fell briefly.

And finally, as the dragon had almost finished gathering its fireball, I hurriedly made a decision.

“Let’s jump!”

“I agree!”

We all had the same thought, and the four people standing on the rooftop simultaneously joined hands.

KWAAAAAAANG!!!

Just before the massive flames engulfed the rooftop, we daringly leaped down into the battlefield below the building.

And so, a new battle began.