Chapter 50 :Thinning Out (2)

A lot of incidents and accidents occur at Daecheon Academy, the main setting for the early and mid-parts of Reverse Hero Tale.

Things like demons opening rifts and charging in during the entrance exam, the sudden mass appearance of demonic beasts, or even students or professors harboring malice committing acts of terrorism.

Among them, from the player’s perspective, the most difficult to deal with were the human-caused disasters.

For demons to open rifts or demonic beasts to appear in large numbers, a solid narrative justification was necessary.

Just like during the entrance exam, events like demonic invasions and beast outbreaks only occurred under a concrete plan and strong intent.

That’s why, even if demon-related events were massive in scale, enough time was always given to prepare.

As a veteran of Reverse Hero Tale, demon and beast events were never a real problem for me.

But incidents and accidents caused by humans were impossible to respond to quickly, no matter how experienced I was.

Because the acts of terrorism they committed always had enough justification to make them plausible, no matter the time or situation.

It felt like time bombs were planted all over Daecheon, waiting to explode at any moment.

And the worst part?

These time bombs had their own will, could move freely, and could go off whenever they damn well pleased—no wonder any gamer would be swearing nonstop.

“In that sense, this ‘Selection’ is actually a great opportunity to defuse a few of those time bombs in advance.”

Most of the superhumans who carried out terrorist attacks were students like me.

Superhuman weapons raised by their countries since childhood, secretly infiltrating Daecheon under orders to weaken its influence.

There were a few annoying ones in every grade, but five of them had entered this Selection.

They were all bosses of their own respective episodes—even minor ones—so their minimum threat level was marked by blue cards, and the strongest among them held a navy card.

That means each one was ranked within the top 50 of the Jincheon Class.

“Taking down five superhumans raised as weapons from childhood in just one week, huh…”

Summarized like that, it sounded like an incredibly difficult task, but to me, it didn’t matter at all.

Because I was one of the most experienced veterans of Reverse Hero Tale in the entire world.

“There’s really only one I need to be cautious of… the rest are manageable.”

Recalling the intel on the five terrorists in my head, I began moving to start the “Selection of Variables.”

***

“Hah… I knew Daecheon had changed a lot since Go Yeoryeong became principal, but I didn’t think they’d go this far…”

Ranked 48th among the first years, Chao Mingming, the holder of a blue Jincheon card, sat atop a rock in the forest and shook her head at this sudden test called the “Selection.”

It had all seemed fine when she entered Daecheon under orders from her homeland, but she hadn’t expected Go Yeoryeong’s Jincheon Class to be this unpredictable.

Still, she was a superhuman weapon forged through countless training from a young age, and she knew how to stay calm in unexpected situations and turn them to her advantage.

“Still, this Selection… might actually be an opportunity.”

Chao Mingming quickly realized that this Selection was a chance to quietly eliminate talented students who might raise Daecheon’s reputation in the future.

It meant moving a bit earlier than originally planned, but even so, this Selection was a golden opportunity.

After all, it was a battleground prepared by the Academy itself for students to turn on each other.

“If I don’t take advantage of this chance, I’d be an idiot. Time to go.”

Even if she danced with her blade and took down other students, no one would be able to blame her—it was an event orchestrated by Daecheon.

With that, she stood up, having already selected her targets.

Rustle.

Just then, a sound came from the bushes behind her—something was approaching through the undergrowth.

“Huh?!”

It was a presence so blatant that anyone could sense it even without focusing—clearly someone who had no intention of hiding themselves.

But even so, Chao Mingming couldn’t help but be startled.

“Wh-Who are you-de?”

That was because she had been maintaining a stereotypical “Chinese character” concept often seen in subculture media. She added “-de” at the end of her sentences, carried a slightly ditzy vibe, and always acted with a bold demeanor.

So when someone heard her normal speech, she feared they might realize it was all an act, which is why she reacted with such exaggerated surprise.

“Ah? Are you Yang Woobin-de? …Are you alone-de?”

But upon realizing that the lone man who appeared was none other than the infamous Yang Woobin—the guy who barely scraped into the Jincheon Class by narrowly defeating 100th-ranked Choi Ingyu—her surprise quickly faded.

She wasn’t so inexperienced as to be shocked by the appearance of a weakling whose lack of ability had been thoroughly exposed.

“Yeah, I came alone.”

“Heh… Do you not understand what this ‘Cull’ is all about-de?”

Chao Mingming gave off an intimidating vibe, keeping her usual character tone even as she questioned him.

Since she’d already decided to start hunting, taking down one weak man standing before her meant nothing to her.

“I know. Students with gray Jincheon Cards get demoted. So before the Cull ends, I need to get a higher-ranking card, right?”

“And even knowing that, you still came to me-de? To take my card? Hmph… Well, I guess I do give off a bit of a ditzy vibe-de. And I’m not from a prestigious family, so I understand why someone like you, from such a background, might make that kind of judgment-de.”

Chao Mingming was a trained superhuman weapon, with the ability to analyze situations calmly and rationally.

That’s why she quickly deduced Yang Woobin’s reasoning for approaching her from an objective perspective.

“Of course, that was a very arrogant assumption-de. It’s true I give off a clumsy impression, and it’s true I’m not from a noble family. But still, I’m not weak enough to lose to someone like you-de.”

Even so, Yang Woobin was currently the lowest-ranked member of the Jincheon Class, while Chao Mingming was 48th—a solid mid-tier rank.

“If you really wanted to catch me, you should’ve come with that girl from the Fuyuno family who’s always hanging around you-de.”

With that thought, Chao Mingming decided to begin her hunt by rendering Yang Woobin incapacitated.

She drew the longsword at her waist.

Shhhk—!

“A clueless little pup who doesn’t know to fear women deserves to be bitten to death. That’s just how nature works-de!”

Fwsh—!

Thanks to grueling training from a young age, Chao Mingming’s legs held enough strength to instantly close the distance and appear right in front of Yang Woobin with a single powerful step.

Fall without even realizing you’ve been cut. You arrogant bastard!

Breaking from her usual character voice in her head, Chao Mingming funneled all the power from her waist, to her shoulder, elbow, and arm—channeling it finally into the tip of her sword and swinging it down.

A sword strike sharpened to the extreme, specialized for lethality.

Faced with the diagonal slash aimed at him, Yang Woobin casually swung his right-hand blade chop horizontally.

BOOM!

“Wha—?!”

The moment Yang Woobin’s lightly swung hand met the descending blade, an explosion erupted from his palm.

The blast’s force made Chao Mingming drop her sword on the spot.

“H-Huh?”

She had never imagined the same Yang Woobin who had struggled just to defeat Choi Ingyu would react to her movement.

Even less did she expect a detonation from his hand powerful enough to knock the sword from her grip.

No matter how well-trained a warrior, when something vastly exceeds their expectations right before their eyes, their brain goes blank for at least a split second.

“Over.”

And in that split second, Yang Woobin had more than enough time to slam his fist into Chao Mingming’s face—the one he had already marked as prey.

CRACK—BOOM!!

Yang Woobin’s left straight punch was far faster than Chao Mingming’s charge.

She didn’t even have time to react before taking a direct hit to the face.

The explosion that followed sent her flying, smashing her head into a rock behind her.

Thud. Slam.

And just like that, without even realizing what hit her, Chao Mingming collapsed, her face caved in, becoming one with the ground.

“Okay, Chao Mingming down. Tch… just thinking about how much hell she gave me in the game pisses me off… Anyway, now we won’t have any casualties in this Cull.”

Yang Woobin dusted off his smoke-covered hands and took her blue Jincheon Card.

“Hm, I guess I should break one of her legs, just in case. Don’t want her pulling anything stupid.”

And with that, he broke her right leg to make sure she wouldn’t try anything, then headed off toward his next target.