The Academy's Terminally Ill Side Character

"Damn it all! I told you this guy's crazy! We shouldn't have followed him!"

Trent's voice echoed off the dungeon walls, raw with frustration and panic.

"Trent, shut up!" Leo snapped.

But Trent wasn't letting it go.

"No! Leo, what I'm saying is true! We're all gonna die here—because of him!"

He jabbed a finger toward me like I'd stolen his lunch money. Or maybe his girlfriend. Hard to tell with that look on his face.

...But the worst part?

He kind of had a point.

And honestly?

Yeah. I get it.

Because to explain how we got into this disaster of a situation in the first place, I need to rewind a bit. Just a short flashback. A couple hours ago, maybe.

Back when this all still seemed like a good idea.

…After hours of fighting those damn humanoid tree monsters, we finally reached the boss room.

A massive door stood before us, half-covered in vines, ancient and imposing.

"Hm. Having such a large, obvious door makes me suspicious," Leo muttered, eyeing it carefully.

"Yeah, I get that," I replied, brushing some dirt off my sleeve. "But according to the map, this is the boss room."

He looked at me sideways. "Anything we should be worried about?"

"The boss is supposed to be a troublesome tree-type monster. But I've prepared something for that. Shouldn't be too hard."

Leo gave me a skeptical glance. "Really? Alright then—Trent, you're first in. Mira covers the rear. We open the door slowly and go in, no sudden movements."

I didn't lie.

Not exactly.

But the moment we opened the door, whatever confidence the others had instantly vanished. Their faces paled like someone had pulled the blood right out of them.

"…What the hell," someone whispered.

Only Leo managed to keep his composure. Even then, his jaw tightened ever so slightly. He was trying not to show it, but he wasn't completely calm.

And then—

"Damn it all!" Trent shouted. "I told you this guy's insane! We never should've followed him!"

"Trent, shut up!" Leo barked.

"No! Leo, I'm serious! We're gonna die here—all because of him!"

…And with that, the flashback ends.

We're back in the present.

I stepped forward. "We don't have time to argue. Everyone get into position!"

Trent kept glaring at me, but finally backed off with a frustrated grunt.

Yeah, he should shut the hell up, or the boss will—

"...?"

Too late.

The monster stirred.

I knew it.

Its head—or what passed for one—twitched slightly. Its antennae shifted, sensing the noise.

At the same time, Violet whispered, eyes wide, "You want to fight that thing?"

She turned to Leo, voice trembling.

"Leo… we have to run. We can't win this one."

Even Violet, who usually followed Leo without question, sounded like she was on the verge of breaking. And she wasn't the only one. The others nodded in agreement, eyes locked on the horror in front of us.

Trent stepped back, shaking his head. "This is suicide."

And honestly? They weren't wrong to feel that way.

A typical academy squad would never stand a chance against something like this.

But Leo and his party weren't ordinary cadets.

…Still, fear had a way of eating into even the strongest minds.

As for the boss monster?

It wasn't the tree creature we expected.

That thing was dead—its twisted trunk pierced straight through, lifeless at the edge of the chamber.

Something else had killed it.

And now that something else turned toward us.

A massive beetle.

Its carapace gleamed like polished obsidian, with green veins of mana pulsing underneath. Jagged horns jutted from its head, sharp enough to split steel. It towered over us, the forest's true king.

An upper-class monster.

Not just strong—catastrophic.

A single one of these could level a city.

Killing it would guarantee A-rank hero status.

But of course… that was easier said than done.

That's why everyone, except Leo and me, was frozen in fear.

Leo took a step forward and raised his voice, firm and clear.

"Everyone! Get into formation!"

Leo's voice cut through the panic like a whip.

The others turned to him, startled.

"Beetles are slow for how hard they hit," he said, steady and loud. "Among upper-class monsters, they're actually one of the easier ones to deal with. If we keep our heads, stay coordinated, and avoid getting hit—we can bring it down."

There was a moment of silence.

And he wasn't wrong.

Honestly, if Leo's party could stay calm and work together, they weren't entirely incapable of taking down a single upper-class beetle.

But like I said earlier—they were completely consumed by fear.

GRAAAAAAARGHH!!

The monster let out a deafening roar that shook the chamber.

The moment it echoed, the big guy dropped his weapon and collapsed to his knees. The healer followed, clutching her staff with trembling hands.

"…Ugh…!"

"This is all your fault!" Trent shrieked at me, voice cracking. "We're all gonna die because of you!"

And what was I doing, the so-called cause of all this chaos?

Calmly fiddling with a device.

"Man, you guys are so noisy."

Their gazes snapped to me. You'd think I'd grown horns with how they stared—like I'd lost my mind.

But I wasn't panicking. I had a plan.

In my hands was a magic bomb—the good kind. Pricey, flashy, and definitely not something a student should be casually carrying.

A soft click sounded as I activated it. The runes on its surface began to glow faintly.

"What the hell are you gonna do with that?" Trent shouted, panicked. "That thing won't even scratch a monster like this!"

He wasn't wrong.

It was expensive… but not strong enough to kill an upper-class monster outright.

Leo, however, immediately caught on. His eyes widened just slightly as realization hit.

"Close the door the moment he throws it!" he shouted.

The Beetle began lumbering toward us, each step shaking the ground.

"Yes… That's it," I muttered.

A soft, golden shimmer surrounded the bomb.

My ability—enhancement. Not flashy, but versatile. You give me something average, and I make it dangerous.

Everyone's eyes were glued to me now.

The others, who had been frozen in fear just moments ago, now stared as if hypnotized.

That glowing bomb, bathed in an otherworldly light, promised something bigger than it was.