The Hero Life of the Greatest Villain

Chapter 8: A Hero’s Journey Amidst Chaos

A hand tightly gripping his own.

Chang sik found the current situation utterly ridiculous.

“You bastard!! Let go of me, will you?!”

But the guy, face flushed, just kept clinging to Chang sik’s hand.

“Ki… Kim Chang sik. You *did* recognize me after all…”

“What the hell are you saying?!”

Realizing that this person wasn’t going to make any sense no matter what, Chang sik tried to yank his hand free with force.

But—

‘What the hell is this guy…?’

No matter how much strength Chang sik used, the man didn’t budge an inch.

There was no way someone who had just awakened as a healer would have this kind of physical strength.

On the contrary, the man seemed to notice Chang sik’s struggle and started leaning in closer.

*Step—*

Seeing this, Chang sik quickly activated Full Burst to prepare for an attack.

“Back off, you freak!”

Just as things were looking dire—

*Creak—*

The door to the hospital room opened, and a new person walked in.

“Yo! Mister Kim!”

The man in the white coat entered in an oddly rhythmic way, nodding his head to some invisible beat.

“My name is… DR. Chris?”

The problem was—

“What the hell is this now?”

“…What the…”

The newcomer had the same muscular build, bronze skin, and rugged face as the man blushing in front of Chang sik

Before Chang sik could even process the situation, the second man, now dubbed Cristiano #2, stammered as he approached the room.

“W-who… who are you?”

When the two of them faced each other, it was like an invisible mirror had appeared between them.

Cristiano #1 glanced at Chang sik, clicked his tongue in annoyance as if disappointed, and then—

*Tsk.*

Taking advantage of the chaos, he spun around and charged straight toward the window.

*Crash!*

A nimble movement that didn’t match his bulky frame in the slightest.

In an instant, the man shattered the window and leapt out of the building.

*Smash!!*

Both Chang sik and Cristiano #2 were left standing there, completely dumbfounded.

“What the fuck? What the hell just happened?”

“…”

“That guy… didn’t he look just like me?”

Saying “looked like me” didn’t even cut it.

The two were *identical* down to their facial features.

“Oh shit!!”

The only difference was that the new guy had a clumsier way of speaking.

As for the one who jumped out of the window, his suspicious behavior made it clear he had fled on purpose.

‘Damn it, I should’ve used Hero Detection to figure out who he was.’

Frowning, Chang sik walked toward the shattered window.

*Whoosh—*

Cool air rushed in through the broken frame.

“…”

Changshik stuck his head out the window and looked down.

Far below, he could see people gathered around, murmuring and pointing at the broken window.

“Already gone, huh?”

He exhaled slowly and turned back around.

*Flinch—*

Standing there was Cristiano #2, with his muscular build and bronze skin.

For a brief moment, Chang sik felt like he was staring at the guy from earlier.

“Ugh…”

Feeling uneasy, he activated Hero Detection just to be sure—and finally confirmed that this man was indeed a genuine healer.

Even so, the fact that he looked identical to the guy from earlier made Chang sik instinctively keep his guard up.

“…What are you staring at?”

“What?”

—

Some time passed, and the tension between them eased as they started talking.

“So you’re saying someone who looks exactly like me was impersonating me?”

“That’s right.”

“Holy shit! Jesus! Cristiano!”

The man repeated the same exclamation several times, clearly struggling to believe it.

Chang sik massaged his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

‘Damn it, I’ve gotten myself tangled up in some ridiculous mess. Who the hell was that guy?’

Deciding there was no point staying in the hospital any longer, Chang sik asked about the discharge process.

“Hey, can I get discharged right now? If it’s possible, I’d like to leave as soon as I can.”

“…What? Is something wrong?”

“Not really, but I’m not hurt or anything, and after what just happened, I’d rather not stick around.”

After a brief moment of thought, the man nodded.

“Aha, wait a minute! I need to do a quick check-up first since I’m your attending physician.”

He then quickly approached Chang sik and gently grabbed his hand.

“You bastard!! What the hell are you doing?!”

Startled, Chang sik yanked his wrist away, glaring.

The man, equally startled, frantically waved his hands in denial.

“Hey, calm down, student!! I’m a Korean medicine doctor! My specialty is traditional Korean medicine—I was just trying to check your pulse!”

“…”

—

Meanwhile, the bulky man who had jumped out the window swiftly made his way out of the Academy’s hospital branch.

He only stopped running once he reached a deserted alleyway, glancing around cautiously before exhaling a sigh of relief.

“Phew… Of all times, the *real* doctor had to show up just then.”

At the same time, his face and body began to shift and change rapidly.

The towering figure with shoulders like mountains shrank dramatically, revealing a sleek and curvaceous female figure.

The rough, gangster-like face transformed into the smooth, clean features of a woman.

The person who had pretended to be Changshik’s attending physician was none other than Seol Yerin, the one who had stolen the body of the Flame Stalker.

“That aside…”

She stared at her own palm, the same one that had briefly touched Chang sik’s hand.

“He held my hand first.”

Her face turned as red as a beet as she buried it in her hands.

“…He definitely recognized me. Kim Chang sik, I can’t wait for you to finish your cadet training so we can meet properly.”

—

A few days later, having completed his discharge paperwork, Chang sik was on his way to Class A for candidates.

“Whoever they are, it’s clear they had the Doppelgänger’s Cloak…”

The Doppelgänger’s Cloak was a unique-grade artifact that could change both appearance and voice.

And currently, the cloak was stored in—

‘The Academy’s top-level artifact vault.’

This meant the person who had disguised themselves to approach Chang sik was likely someone with high-level access to the Academy.

‘Judging by their movements, their agility must be at least A-rank or higher… Who the hell are they?’

The one thing that was certain was this: someone at the Academy was interested enough in Chang Sik to approach him while hiding their identity.

Of course, it was also possible that this person was still observing him even now.

As that thought crossed his mind, Chang Sik smirked coldly.

‘A worthless bug dares to mess with me….’

The idea of being spied on by some unknown individual disgusted him to no end.

Determined to grow stronger as quickly as possible—not only to take revenge on Jang Do-chul but also to capture the one currently monitoring him—Chang Sik resolved himself.

‘Hmm, maybe I should start by looking for *that sword* Kim Chang Sik used?’

As the thought of a way to quickly accelerate his growth crossed his mind, a grin spread across Chang Sik’s face.

—

As soon as he entered the lecture hall, a giant bear instantly stole his attention.

‘What the hell is that now?’

It was a massive creature, at least two to three times the size of a normal human.

Its body was covered in fur so sleek and well-maintained that it practically glistened.

And this giant creature was casually sitting in the back, radiating an overwhelming presence.

What made it even more ridiculous was the fact that it wore a pair of neat, polished glasses perched delicately on its snout.

‘Was there ever someone like that here?’

At that moment, someone else caught his attention.

A figure covered in bandages from head to toe was waving at him energetically.

“Chang Sik!”

The red hair poking out from between the bandages gave away their identity.

Chang Sik recognized him—Gu Chi-seong, someone he had worked with a few days ago.

“Oh, it’s you.”

“Chang Sik, are you feeling okay?”

Coming from someone whose head was wrapped in bandages, it was an ironic question.

“I think you’re the last person who should be asking that.”

“Bwahaha! Hey, at least we didn’t die, right?”

Chi-seong had a point. The fact that two rookie cadets had managed to take down an executive of the Villains was nothing short of miraculous.

So much so that many people who heard the news refused to believe it.

After all, there were no witnesses to the final moments of the fight, and the Flame Stalker’s body had mysteriously disappeared.

Chang Sik assumed that the villains had retrieved the corpse. As that thought crossed his mind, his gaze briefly shifted to the massive bear in the back of the room.

“…By the way, it looks like there are some new faces here.”

“Huh? Didn’t you hear? After the recent terror incident, a lot of the new cadets quit for safety reasons.”

Chang Sik tilted his head.

“Really? Then shouldn’t there be fewer people in the class?”

“Oh, they combined three of the cadet classes into one. That’s probably why you’re seeing people you don’t recognize.”

“…I see.”

Chang Sik hadn’t paid much attention to the smaller details.

But one thing was certain—compared to the “Sprout Crushing” incident in his previous life, the casualties this time were much lower.

‘And most importantly, this guy.’

Gu Chi-seong, a promising hero, had survived.

Chang Sik was convinced that Chi-seong’s survival would drastically alter the future.

‘…No, it *should* change. For the better.’

Just then, the PA system blared loudly.

[Attention, Cadet Kim Chang Sik. Cadet Kim Chang Sik, please report to the Vice Principal’s office immediately.]

—

*Click!*

With Chi-seong’s help, Chang Sik found his way to the Vice Principal’s office.

The moment he entered, his eyes landed on Professor Eom Mi-hwa, who was in charge of Class A, and a middle-aged man sitting at the head of the table.

The man had severe bald spots and a bloated belly, giving him a rather unimpressive appearance.

This man was none other than the Vice Principal of the Academy.

The Vice Principal, seated at the head of the table, looked at Chang Sik and smiled slyly.

“Take a seat, Cadet Kim Chang Sik.”

“Hmm…”

Without a word, Chang Sik sat down across from him.

The Vice Principal observed him with interest.

“Nice to meet you. You might remember me from the entrance ceremony—I’m Kim Ban-mun, the Vice Principal of the Academy.”

Although Chang Sik didn’t recall the man, he nodded slightly, pretending to recognize him.

“…Kim Chang Sik.”

Professor Eom Mi-hwa, who had been standing quietly, frowned deeply at his attitude.

“Cadet! How can you be so—”

The Vice Principal raised a hand to stop her.

“Oh, it’s fine. More importantly, I heard you were badly injured during the recent terror incident. Are you feeling better now?”

Chang Sik nodded wordlessly, and the Vice Principal suddenly bowed his head.

“Forgive me for saying this, but you’ve been through so much. It’s truly unfortunate that I wasn’t here when it happened….”

He grimaced, as if deeply regretful.

But Chang Sik looked at him with a peculiar expression.

‘What a load of crap.’

A significant scandal would later be caused when Professor Eom Mi-hwa was seen leaving the cadets and running away alone in security footage from the Academy’s internal CCTV.

Although the Vice Principal didn’t appear in the footage, he had clearly been aware of it.

The fact that the Academy tried to suppress the evidence suggested that he knew full well that Professor Eom had left the cadets to fend for themselves.

And yet, here he was, pretending to know nothing.

‘Well, I’m sure they’ve got some kind of deal going on.’

Chang Sik sighed.

Noticing this, the Vice Principal tilted his head and spoke.

“Ahem. Anyway, do you know why we called you here, Cadet Kim Chang Sik?”

Chang Sik had no idea, so he shook his head.

“…No clue.”

The Vice Principal stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“Well… I’m not sure how to say this, but we called you here to inform you about something important.”

“…And what’s that?”

The Vice Principal’s eyes glinted as he delivered his answer.

“Specifically, we’re here to discuss your expulsion from the Academy.”