I Became an Academy Overpowered Growth Genius

I Became an Academy Overpowered Growth Genius – 88

EP.88 New Heart, New Start (9)

Just 3 minutes.

That was the time it took for Kang Seo-jun to annihilate Selev, a high-ranking member of the Red Cross Society, and thirty-six demons.

“Stats really are everything.”

Kang Seo-jun wiped his bloodied hands on the dirt ground, surveying the aftermath of the battle.

In truth, it was more of a one-sided massacre than a battle.

The area around the art gallery was drenched in the black blood and remains of the demons.

“Even with just an A+ rank, this much is possible.”

In the original [Grand Hunter Academy], he had experienced many battles of this caliber, but doing it with his own body was a completely different experience.

Especially since this time, he didn’t even use ‘Counterattack Time’ and relied purely on his own movements.

‘My hands are still trembling….’

The sensation of flesh tearing through the axe-spear was still vivid.

Of course, it wasn’t guilt or fear that made him tremble.

Quite the opposite.

‘What is this exhilaration….’

The thrill of action, like in Dungeon & Fighter.

Was this how the Joker felt dancing in the bathroom?

Did Hanma Yujiro live his entire life savoring this feeling?

‘I really want to get stronger quickly. Eventually, I’ll be able to wield even greater power without potion doping.’

The approximately 3-minute [A++] rank experience filled Kang Seo-jun with immense anticipation and intense desire.

[《Potion of Power Concentration》 effect remaining time: 00 minutes 00 seconds.]

[The effect of the item 《Potion of Power Concentration》 has worn off!]

“Ughhhhh!!!”

While Kang Seo-jun was lost in thought, the remaining 2 minutes passed, and the doping effect disappeared.

– Swoosh! –

He felt the strength drain from his body, and the surging magic power scattered away.

– Crack! Crackle! –

His flesh swelled and his skeleton expanded grotesquely.

The body that had resembled an Olympian god began to revert to its monstrous form.

[You have acquired the status ailment 《Cost of Borrowed Power – Potion of Power Concentration》.]

[All abilities are halved for 12 hours. Resting will help recover abilities faster.]

[Status ailment 《Cost of Borrowed Power – Potion of Power Concentration》 remaining time: 11 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds.]

“Ugh….”

Moreover, the cost of doping had halved all his abilities, making the sense of regression even more severe.

‘…Let’s clean up.’

Thanks to that, his excitement quickly subsided.

It was time to stop enjoying and take care of the remaining tasks.

Kang Seo-jun first checked the condition of the unconscious Selev.

▶Selev

[Species: Demon]

[Current Status: …Occipital trauma, unconscious, Curse of Limited Time, Shackle of Surveillance (temporarily halted – cause: unconsciousness)]

[Time until consciousness recovery: 3 hours 26 minutes….]

‘Three hours until she wakes up. That’s plenty of time.’

It would be much easier to just kill her, but there was a reason to keep her alive.

Using her as a power source for the 《Life Support Device of Galactic Emperor》 was more efficient with a living body than a corpse.

‘Still, I should take precautions just in case.’

The three hours until she wakes up was only if she wasn’t disturbed.

In other words, if Kang Seo-jun moved or tossed Selev around, she might wake up sooner than expected.

Given that Kang Seo-jun’s specs had regressed to almost two weeks ago, if Selev woke up, he would be in serious trouble.

Therefore, additional measures were essential.

Kang Seo-jun purchased the 《Peripheral Space Monster Tranquilizer》 from the dimensional shop and injected it into Selev’s vein.

– Pook! –

If an ordinary person were injected, they would die instantly, but Selev was a demon with specs reaching [A] rank, so she could withstand it.

▶Selev

[Time until consciousness recovery: 25 hours 12 minutes….]

‘Okay.’

This would prevent Selev from causing any trouble.

The ‘Shackle of Surveillance’ only worked when Selev was conscious, so there was no need to worry about that anymore.

‘Next, her subordinates.’

Those guys were at most [B] rank, and most were below [C] rank, so using them as power sources would be inefficient.

It would be much better to dispose of them through the dimensional shop and convert them into dimensional currency.

Kang Seo-jun quickly cleaned up the corpses, then sprayed 《Downtown Cleanliness Spray》 over the remaining debris and bloodstains to erase any traces of the battle.

He also used 《Earth Spirit Magic》 to restore broken tiles and collapsed walls as much as possible.

After about 10 minutes of bustling around, the art gallery looked as if no battle had ever taken place.

‘Even I can’t tell the difference.’

Even with the 《Eye of Providence》, it looked flawless, so no one would be able to guess what had happened here.

With Selev taken care of and the scene cleaned up, the only thing left was….

“Ah.”

Kang Seo-jun had buried Park Shin-hye underground and forgotten about her.

‘I need to dig her up quickly.’

Although he had made a breathing hole in the stone coffin, he had left her there for too long.

She might have already suffocated due to oxygen deprivation.

Kang Seo-jun quickly ran to the alley behind the art gallery, placed his hand on the ground, and activated his spirit magic.

“Huff…!!!”

Due to the penalty of the Potion of Power Concentration, his mana ability had decreased to ‘8’, making it difficult to pull Park Shin-hye out.

If he had known this, he would have only buried her halfway.

– Ku ku ku ku ku…. –

“Huff…! Huff…!”

However, by occasionally using the 《Dimensional Shop Mana Potion》, he managed to muster up the strength to pull her out.

– Ggug gug gug! –

Kang Seo-jun quickly opened the stone coffin and checked Park Shin-hye’s condition.

“U, uuu…!”

“Hey, hey…!!”

Park Shin-hye was lying in the corner of the stone coffin, her face pale gray.

Even without using the 《Eye of Providence》, it was clear that her condition was severe.

“Don’t die!!! Come to your senses!!!”

Kang Seo-jun grabbed Park Shin-hye’s hair and pulled her out of the stone coffin like a fish.

Then, he laid her down on the ground and activated the 《Eye of Providence》 to begin emergency treatment.

▶Park Shin-hye

[Current Status: Oxygen deprivation, comatose]

‘Emergency treatment is necessary. Show me the method.’

– Woong! –

As Kang Seo-jun focused his will through the 《Eye of Providence》, a red light like a star appeared above Park Shin-hye’s blood vessels.

[Please place your hand on the blood vessels and inject magic power.]

But the location was…?

“…….”

One on the left breast, and one deep inside the thigh…?

What…?

Constellations, why are you testing me?

Is this the first time I’m touching a woman’s breast and thigh in this world…?

Do I have to sacrifice the purity of my hands for this…?

“K, kuaaaak!!!”

The despair was on the level of being kidnapped by a pervert.

However, for the sake of the future, it was something he had to do.

To seize the Taesan Group and achieve a happy life in this other world, it was an unavoidable sacrifice.

With tears in his eyes, Kang Seo-jun placed his hands on Park Shin-hye’s chest and groin.

– Woong…!! –

“K, kuuuuh….”

I’m sorry, Se-rin…. I’m sorry, Eun-ha…. I’m sorry, Ju-hee noona….

For the future…. I sold the purity of my hands….

“Kuaaaak!!!”

The sensation transmitted through his hands was soft and tender, making him feel even more disgusted.

However, as expected from the method suggested by the 《Eye of Providence》, the effect was outstanding.

In less than 10 seconds, color began to return to Park Shin-hye’s face.

“U, uuu….”

As soon as Kang Seo-jun saw signs of Park Shin-hye regaining consciousness, he quickly removed his hands from her body.

“Huh, huaaaak!!!”

Then, as if he had touched a cockroach, he grimaced and sprayed 《Downtown Cleanliness Spray》 on his hands, scrubbing them vigorously.

This was the same Kang Seo-jun who had casually wiped demon blood on the dirt ground.

“Ugh…. Ugh….”

Park Shin-hye grimaced and struggled to open her eyes.

“Huh, huh?! Huaaak!!!”

The first thing she saw was Kang Seo-jun’s face, and she was horrified.

He looked as if he had aged nearly 30 years.

If it weren’t for his skin and the missing eye, she wouldn’t have recognized him; his appearance was completely ruined.

“You, you…!?”

Park Shin-hye stammered with a serious expression as she looked at Kang Seo-jun.

Although his current appearance was merely a penalty from the 《Potion of Power Concentration》, Park Shin-hye interpreted it entirely differently.

“What, what happened!?”

In just a few minutes, he had aged dramatically.

Unexpectedly, Park Shin-hye had seen such a phenomenon before.

“How did you use your mana!?!?”

Every living person possesses the vital essence of life.

If one forcibly draws out mana and uses that essence, a person ages rapidly.

Park Shin-hye knew no other explanation.

She mistakenly believed that Kang Seo-jun had used his ‘innate essence,’ the fundamental energy of life.

“What did you do…!!!”

“Huh, huuuuh, huuh…!”

Park Shin-hye shouted loudly, but Kang Seo-jun just grimaced and sobbed silently.

He was too devastated by the loss of the purity of his hands to Park Shin-hye.

However, this only served to confirm Park Shin-hye’s misunderstanding.

“You, you idiot!!!”

Park Shin-hye grabbed Kang Seo-jun by the collar and shook him.

“Are you out of your mind?! Why, why did you do that!? Why did you…!?”

– Shake shake shake! –

“Ugh! This, this bastard…! I saved you, and you…! You’re killing me!”

With all his abilities reduced to [D] rank, he couldn’t resist Park Shin-hye’s [C] rank strength.

“Stop, stop! Let go! Let go of me!”

Kang Seo-jun roughly pushed away Park Shin-hye’s hands.

“Explain first!! Why did you do that!? Are you crazy?!”

But Park Shin-hye didn’t let go of his collar.

Instead, she shook him harder, her face twisted with anger as she demanded answers.

“Sigh…. Seriously….”

Kang Seo-jun misunderstood her question, thinking it was about why he had locked her in the stone coffin.

“I had no other choice! You weren’t in any condition to fight in the first place.”

“What? But still, you…!”

Using innate essence?

“Are you out of your mind!? Are you an idiot!? Are you crazy? I can’t understand…!”

“Sigh!?”

Why did he have to hear this after saving her?

Talking to a narcissist was indeed exhausting.

“Ah! Enough! Stop talking! Everything turned out fine, didn’t it?”

“Turned out fine!? You…!!”

“Enough!”

Continuing the conversation would only lead to more fighting.

“Ugh….”

Fortunately, when Kang Seo-jun spoke firmly, Park Shin-hye hesitated and stepped back, mumbling.

“Sigh….”

How was he supposed to get along with this troublesome person in the future?

He would have to continue training her, which meant they would be spending a lot of time together….

It was a moment filled with worries.

And….

“What do you mean everything turned out fine…. I can’t understand this guy at all….”

It was also a moment filled with thoughts for Park Shin-hye.