I Became the Academy’s Heroine Stalker – Chapter 18

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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‘My long-cherished desire is finally at an end.’

At the center of the academy’s athletic field, a man placed a small capsule in a shallow hole he’d dug. It was the capsule that would become his masterpiece, the culmination of seven years of alchemical research. It was also a symbol of his rage towards veteran alchemy professor, Lee Seok-ho.

‘When all eyes are on Behemoth, I’ll take that goddamn bastard Lee Seok-ho’s head.’

Behemoth was a warning, an act of revenge, and a lure, all rolled into one, against the Alchemy Department, which was rife with abuse, verbal attacks, and crimes—including Lee Seok-ho’s plagiarism, exploitation, theft of achievements, and suppression of freedom.

Behemoth was an A1-rank colossal monster. A powerful monster that amateurs couldn’t even scratch. All the combat-capable professors and hunters would surely be mobilized.

He would use that opportunity. Veteran Professor Lee Seok-ho would be sitting like a fool in his wheelchair.

‘Not content with stealing my thesis, you even tried to take away my freedom too? You bastard, I’ll make you cry tears of blood today.’

For seven years, he had groveled and acted like a dog under him. But all he received in return was criticism, contempt, a disfigured appearance from extreme stress, and even hair loss. He was losing his mind as his hair thinned day by day, his health deteriorated from increasing alcohol and cigarette consumption, and finally, even his girlfriend left him.

His promising life had fallen into ruin. With no will or future left, all that remained was his thirst for revenge and his ‘dark alchemy,’ superior to the veteran professor’s.

He’d spent a year researching and mastering it in secret. And finally, he’d completed the colossal monster summoning capsule. The liberation from his years of nightmares was at hand.

It was a joyous occasion, but he couldn’t bring himself to smile. Instead, rage consumed him, turning his vision black.

He hadn’t just created Behemoth with dark alchemy. The root of dark alchemy was dark magic. Behemoth was a masterpiece created by fusing the two, and he’d transferred a portion of its power into his own body.

The dark magic power within him intensified. At the same time, his reason was gradually being consumed by instinct. The time had come to end everything. What he needed for this finale wasn’t reason, but pure, unadulterated instinct.

‘It’s all over now…’

—*Rumble!*

The appointed time arrived, and a deafening roar echoed, as if heaven itself was punishing the world. The small capsule, pulsating with dark magic power, exploded.

And Behemoth descended upon the athletic field.

‘Destroy everything, Behemoth.’

As programmed, Behemoth, with its 22 legs, tore through the athletic field, heading towards the gymnasium where the first-year students were.

The man watching turned and walked away. He could already hear the hunters unleashing their skills, but it would take the academy professors quite some time to bring down his creation.

Using his darkness-filled vision as a guide, he headed towards the professor’s office where Lee Seok-ho would be. He was a veteran professor exempt from faculty meetings. That made his path to revenge a little smoother.

He arrived at the main building. As expected, it was deserted thanks to Behemoth. Reaching the third floor, where the Alchemy Department was located, he drew a dagger from his pocket and imbued the blade with dark magic.

He would inflict the most excruciating pain imaginable. Seven years of suffering couldn’t be repaid in a few seconds.

‘Burning pain,’ one of the most intense pains a human could experience. He would ignite it simultaneously from skin to internal organs, making him feel the terror of slowly burning alive.

With that resolve, he knocked on the office door and entered at the command to ‘come in.’

Lee Seok-ho sat in his wheelchair by the window, watching Behemoth.

“Kekeke, what do you think? My masterpiece.”

“What? What…? D-did you use dark magic?”

The man strode forward, tightening his grip on the dagger. He seized Lee Seok-ho’s hand and slashed his palm.

“Agh! You… you bastard!! What are you doing?!”

The man smirked at the sight of the frail Lee Seok-ho finally showing some spirit.

“It’s just a scratch compared to the pain I’ve endured for seven years, but please, enjoy it.”

“Ugggh…!”

The dark magic infiltrated the wound like a virus. Thick veins bulged on Lee Seok-ho’s age-spotted skin, gradually turning black.

“Aghhh! Ugh! Why… why…!!”

The man perched on Lee Seok-ho’s desk, watching him writhe in agony.

“If you try to rip out someone’s heart, you should be prepared to have yours ripped out too.”

“P-please! Please spare me! Aghhh?!”

—*Convulse! Convulse! Convulse!*

Lee Seok-ho convulsed, his eyes rolling back as burning pain consumed him—brain, esophagus, blood vessels, skin, everything.

But the man merely smirked, savoring every moment of this fleeting spectacle.

“Gah! Ugh?! Aaargh!!”

He swayed with delight as Lee Seok-ho convulsed like he was frying in oil. Then, he burst into villainous laughter.

Someone once said, what’s the point of revenge? In the end, only regret remains.

“Hahaha! Ahahaha!! Serves you right. Hey, Professor Lee Seok-ho, do you know how pathetic you look right now?”

Regret? Remorse? Bullshit. That was just self-justification from weak, cowardly people who couldn’t bring themselves to seek revenge.

How enjoyable, how exhilarating this was.

The man reveled in the sight of blood pouring from every orifice of Lee Seok-ho’s body until he finally breathed his last.

“Ugh! Gah! …! …!”

Lee Seok-ho, unable to even scream, finally slumped over, dead.

His revenge was complete. Seven years of hell had ended with the taste of heaven. Regret? Depression? No, the only regret he had is that this moment was so short.

“Ha… that was truly the best.”

His consciousness, strained from witnessing Lee Seok-ho’s demise, began to fade into darkness.

“…Is it over? Choi Tae-won?”

But a voice pierced through his fading awareness. He snapped back to reality.

Someone stood in the corner of the office, a golden magic arrow aimed at him.

“Wh-who…!?”

“Doesn’t matter. Don’t resent me too much. I waited patiently for your revenge to be over.”

While Choi Tae-won had been lost in his vengeful ecstasy, Han Tae-jin had been drawing his bowstring.

Supporting revenge. Preemptive strike.

That was Han Tae-jin’s approach to this hidden piece.

—*Whoosh!*

The magic arrow, piercing through the air like a wave through the ocean, struck Choi Tae-won’s heart.

—*Thud!*

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The activation condition for this hidden piece was quite gruesome: his corpse. But I wouldn’t hesitate. Even if it was a corpse I’d created myself, nothing would stand in the way of my hidden piece monopoly.

‘Still, watching him die was nauseating.’

I was hidden, using the [Invisibility Cloak] and the [Stealth] trait. I waited by the office door and entered the moment Choi Tae-won opened it. Since then, I just stood there and watched Lee Seok-ho die.

‘Choi Tae-won, you poor soul.’

I knew his story. He was a slave exploited for seven years. It had been in the original story: he killed Professor Lee Seok-ho while the protagonist and heroines were defeating Behemoth. Afterward, while escaping, Ella discovered him, and he met his end. That was the fate of Choi Tae-won, the hidden piece generator.

The incident was summarized in a single paragraph, but countless comments expressed sympathy for him. The rebellion of a slave exploited by those in power was a bitter-sweet victory.

‘Moreover, the following investigation revealed all of Lee Seok-ho’s crimes to be true.’

So I waited for his revenge to be complete. Human dignity and life are precious, but that logic applies only to ‘humans.’ For ‘animals,’ dignity is a luxury, and their lives exist only to appease the resentment of their victims.

If revenge could quell that resentment, I wouldn’t invoke human rights and stop the victim. I wasn’t righteous enough to protect an animal.

So I waited. And when his revenge was over, I struck.

—*Whoosh!*

The powerful spinning arrow pierced Choi Tae-won’s heart, leaving a gaping hole in his chest. In the original story, true to his tragic tale, he’d lost his mind to dark magic. He’d attacked students while escaping, and Ella had stopped him.

In other words, there was no reason to keep him alive, even if he wasn’t a hidden piece. I simply hoped he’d find peace, having at least completed his revenge.

“Ugh!”

Choi Tae-won groaned and fell to his knees.

…That was easier than I thought? Was aiming for the heart a stroke of genius?

—*Thud.*

A moment later, he collapsed. He’d also fallen to a single spell from Ella in the original story… but he’d managed to speak a few lines after a direct hit from an A-rank hunter, so I assumed he was durable. The anticlimactic end was a letdown.

I poked him with my bow. He didn’t move, just twitched like a beached fish.

“…Okay.”

He was pitiful, but what could I do? Like a golden goblin, he’d left behind a hidden piece, a colossal monster and his own life. The analogy to a graduate student laying golden eggs felt a bit depressing, but I mercilessly activated the hidden piece.

There was no time to waste. I had to finish before someone arrived.

With the spell, a light emanated from his corpse, and a hologram window appeared.

“Woohoo.”

My sympathy for Choi Tae-won vanished instantly. This was the Unique Skill Book I’d been waiting for, a ‘Main Skill Book,’ crucial for growth. I only had two main skills, so I desperately needed this.

I was about to open it when another hologram window appeared.

‘Is there something else?’

An additional hidden piece? Ah, right. My hazy memory could recall something like the red text in the setting book… so *that* was the additional hidden piece.

‘Holy… shit.’

…Life really did favor the lucky, didn’t it?

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Meanwhile…

“Waaah! Excuse me! Have you seen my master?! Black hair, red eyes, incredibly handsome!!”

“What?! Is that important now?! Go find your own master! I need to get to class!”

—*Dash!*

“Waaah! Master! Master! Has my master come here?! Pale skin, pretty boy!!”

“How would I know?! Can’t you see I’m busy?!”

—*Dash!*

“Oh no! Master—!! Han! Tae! Jin! Mas! Ter—!!”

A woman burst into the academy, desperately searching for her master with a panicked expression, on the verge of tears. Like a mother frantically searching for her lost child in a crowded market.

‘Where did he gooo—!! Waaah!!’

It seemed she was about to cry.

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