Chapter 29
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MJK
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Moonwave Dungeon (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
5. Moonwave Dungeon (2)
The psychic waves cut off before surging back up, repeating the pattern over and over.
One of the teachers in the lounge muttered under his breath.
"With waves like that, Hae-sol might be in a bit of danger..."
They still had no idea that place had manifested as S-rank.
So all they could do was express their concern.
I clenched my fist.
I prayed once more that the potions I'd given him would suit him even better than usual.
Really, those three bottles just might change everything today.
A moment later, the entire student team vanished completely into the Moonwave.
Only fog remained on the screen.
Before I knew it, I was sitting on the sofa.
My hands, clasped tightly over my knees, were trembling.
I prayed—not just for the original characters, but for the side ones too—that everyone would make it out safe.
That was all I wanted today.
As time passed, the graph tracking the dungeon's waves began to climb.
The readings were higher than expected, and still rising. The lounge air grew suffocatingly still.
Someone gripped the remote tightly. The subtitles at the bottom of the screen seemed to freeze mid-scroll, making everything feel even more unnerving.
I perched on the edge of the sofa, knees pressed together.
I squeezed until my fingertips went numb.
The internal Moonwave wave graph fluctuated again.
The red and blue lines crossed and spiked.
Someone whispered softly.
"That team that just went in... think they're okay?"
It echoed my exact thoughts, so I could only hold my breath carefully instead of answering.
Suddenly, the screen switched to an external camera angle.
The ground far from the Moonwave entrance trembled.
Fine cracks spiderwebbed across the surface like debris kicking up.
Two teachers shot to their feet almost simultaneously at the sight.
"That's... a wave linked to internal impact."
"It was a psychic attack—why's the space shaking? What the hell!"
Their low voices weighed down the center of the lounge like lead.
I couldn't keep my hands still anymore and started rubbing my wrists.
In truth, I figured the barrier potion could block the dungeon's psychic attacks too, but I had no idea how effective it'd actually be.
Even if it worked in tests, psychic effects vary slightly from person to person.
The screen switched to silhouette outlines based on internal sensors.
The shapes were just contours, but we could tell who was who.
Yoo Han-seong was at the front, leading the way.
His silhouette gripped a teetering teammate firmly, steadying them before they could collapse.
At the rear, Lee Hae-sol's silhouette dipped low for a moment, as if buckling.
I nearly forgot to breathe.
"Sol..."
It wouldn't reach anyone, but still.
The silhouette on screen stood back up.
A little unsteady, but definitely upright.
One teacher said,
"Shaking off a curse that fast... Wait, is that a potion?"
Another jumped in.
"Did any of the students have a barrier potion?"
I quietly bowed my head.
I couldn't tell them it was mine.
No one but Yoo Han-seong's family should know about S-rank potions.
They'd only be made to stop Cataclysm Dungeons. After that, the people in this academy.
But if it got out, I'd probably have to leave the academy.
Anyway, the fact that Hae-sol had held out felt amazing.
No one getting hurt was the best outcome.
I kept repeating that to myself.
A moment later, the internal wave graph eased off.
The psychic attack phase had passed.
A collective sigh rippled through the lounge like faint breaths.
I unconsciously pressed a hand to my chest.
Normally, at least three teammates would have gone down here.
Today, no one did.
I didn't know if it was thanks to the potion, but it was a good thing.
In the next scene, the silhouettes moved along the wave-like terrain deeper into the Moonwave.
Inside, light and shadow tangled chaotically, so shapes broke down quickly.
The sensors couldn't hold a clear image, flickering out now and then.
Then a shadow like a black hand popped out from between them.
A C-rank Black Cat monster.
"A C-rank already?"
"Why's a C-rank out this early?"
A few students in the lounge gasped in unison.
Yoo Han-seong moved first.
One silhouette charged, slashing through the shadow like a blade.
His speed came through even on the broadcast feed.
One slash, one shove, and he pulled his teammates forward.
Even then, he kept checking behind him.
Hae-sol's shadow followed a beat late from the rear.
But it didn't collapse.
That was it.
They didn't collapse.
That alone was a massive change.
Initial sector cleared: 40%
Time inside the Moonwave sometimes froze like a stalled river.
A few minutes there could shrink to seconds, or seconds stretch out agonizingly slow.
So even if the broadcast felt sluggish, info flew by in real time.
The silhouettes regrouped and started moving again.
At that instant, the entire interior shook.
The kids in the lounge jolted in their chairs.
The front camera caught the outside— the ground vibrating faintly.
"Did the deep part of the Moonwave just open?"
One teacher murmured gravely after a long silence.
They'd probably soon realize it had mutated to S-rank and call for backup from above.
I stared at the screen, gripping it with my eyes.
Normally, shakes like this meant someone buckled.
That was the start of the original route.
But this time...
The silhouettes held firm.
They shook, but didn't fall.
'All twelve of them!'
I smiled, just a tiny bit.
The lounge TV scene shifted again.
Text appeared: the team heading to the Moonwave core.
This was the real turning point.
I clasped my hands tight and watched the screen.
Praying it wouldn't shake harder, no one would get hurt more.
Just that they'd all come back safe.
The core was about to open.
Then... the changes would show.
I drew in a quiet breath.
Moonwave core entry alert
The lounge air sank colder.
The teachers had already judged it S-rank, freaked out, and bolted.
But they'd just learn entry was impossible.
They hadn't told us huddled in the broadcast room, but everyone seemed to sense it.
This wasn't a normal Moonwave Dungeon.
A heavy silence spread, like everyone holding their breath.
I leaned forward, pulling the screen closer with my body.
The broadcast camera began rendering the Moonwave's terrain changes as silhouette graphs.
Wavy curves tangled and twisted.
Inside, Yoo Han-seong and Lee Hae-sol's outlines flickered nonstop.
The core was always hard to detect.
The feed blurred often, with warning tones.
Psychic shockwave detected.
The two lounge teachers who'd stayed to guide the students—pale-faced—leaned forward in unison.
Screaming.
"Hae-sol...!"
Before the words finished, the graph spiked wildly.
The blood drained from my hands.
Psychic shockwaves weren't always fully blocked by barrier potions.
If Hae-sol buckled even once, it could trigger a butterfly effect, shaking the whole team.
Still, I clung to the thought that it'd be okay—he'd already endured once, right?—repeating it to steady myself.
Suddenly, one silhouette inside lurched hard.
Lee Hae-sol.
My chest clenched tight.
His silhouette looked like he was clutching his temple, sinking down.
It couldn't end there.
In the original, this was when they fell deep.
Minds dragged away.
I stared at the screen, gripping it with my gaze.
That instant, Yoo Han-seong moved.
His silhouette swiftly blocked Hae-sol's front.
He grabbed Hae-sol's face, lifting it, and poured mana through the air.
I didn't know the exact method, but the broadcast sensors caught the mana flow strongly.
The blue line flared wide for a moment.
The graph shook, and Hae-sol's silhouette slowly raised its head.
I watched the screen without properly exhaling.
A teacher murmured lowly.
"That... Can you really pull someone back from a psychic wave with that kind of focus?"
Another replied.
"Yoo Han-seong doesn't have an ability like that."
Looks like he just dumped my potion and covered it with extra mana.
Right?
If so, I owed him thanks.
"Does that mean Hae-sol's resistance is that high?"
"No, the barrier... Hold on."
I swallowed a small tremor.
Hae-sol holding out was true.
But I couldn't chalk it up to just the potion.
It might be the potion, or maybe Yoo Han-seong's focus was sharper than in the original.
Or both.
Either way, I couldn't say a word.
I just watched as the screen stabilized again.
Lee Hae-sol's silhouette stood fully upright.