Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Dungeon Circumstances (1)
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[Carrot, thick thighs.]
"Cool. Let's talk details when we meet tomorrow."
-Click.
After getting Se-young's firm yes, Star propped her left foot up on the back of her chair and struck a victory pose right there.
"Yahoooo!!!"
-That chick off her rocker again?
Her FPS teammate A-yeon said with a grimace.
But Star just scolded her back in an even more hyped-up voice.
"Hey! You insolent fool! Celibate spinster with cobwebs in your cobbler! I've got to get ready to meet my future hubby, so you losers can just rub one out and keep gaming!"
-She's lost it.
"Wait for me, my darling hubby~!"
-Fuck, this crazy bitch for real.
It had been a solid four years since she'd been conscripted as vice guild leader and forced into unpaid labor.
Finally, the spring of romance was blooming for her.
Star clutched her pillow like it might burst and rolled around on the bed, yelling at the top of her lungs.
"I'm gonna get married!!!"
The grinning bright yellow purebred pup seemed to be watching over her from up in the sky.
*****
Savior: Hey. Me: Yes. Savior: Blind date next Sunday. Me: ???? Suddenly? Savior: Get her tipsy enough, tuck her in, motel drop-off. OK? What the hell is this person?
I couldn't help but be genuinely shocked by Lee Se-young's terrifying decisiveness and follow-through.
Is this really okay? Well, speak for myself, thanks—but will it actually work?
I tapped out a reply with my trembling fingers. The sudden blind date vibe had me flustered, making every keystroke feel slower than usual.
Me: OK (shivering bear sticker) Savior: Yeah (wood person waving bye with back turned sticker) Shows up out of nowhere, sets up the date, and bounces.
'Why is she so damn cool?'
I fired off ten grateful bowing bear stickers before pocketing my phone.
Se-young didn't even read my stickers. But somehow, that just made her cooler.
"This is what they call a hero riding a hobby horse."
"Huh? What?"
Bead tilted her head at my muttering.
I shrugged it off with a "nothing," and she giggled before refocusing on class. Then, like something just hit her, she leaned her whole body my way.
"Hey, hey. Si-heon."
"Yeah, what's up?"
"What tree are you planning to raise?"
"Out of nowhere?"
"Next Sunday's Arbor Day."
I'd never even considered the date, so I just sat there with my mouth shut.
'Fair point. With a companion plant already, Arbor Day's bound to have something going on.'
"What do people usually do on Arbor Day?"
"Hmm, plant trees or hold festivals celebrating the World Trees' prosperity? They do little festivals outside the academy too. And, y'know, some sneaky naughty stuff? Hehehe."
It felt like this world's Christmas.
Christmas was supposedly the day with the most sex worldwide. Wild.
"So, decided on a tree yet?"
"Eh, not really. Never raised one before."
"What? For real? Not even once?"
There had been exactly once.
Back in childhood, I'd snagged a sapling on the verge of disposal and raised it in the front yard.
I'd dragged fertilizer bags around with my tiny hands, pouring my heart into it.
"Wanna try this time around?"
"Nah, I'm good."
I knew better now. Raising trees was a hassle.
I brushed off her nudge with a smile.
No time for it anyway—and I was already raising something else.
My dorm room alone had Shiba, who'd cried herself out from not wanting to be apart and crashed.
Bead gave a reluctant "fine then~" before smoothly changing topics like a pro.
"What about the training camp, then?"
Ah, right—that too.
A quick scan of the schedule that morning showed a ton of events after midterms.
The big one, the training camp, pitted red team against blue in all sorts of games.
And the duel between cadets netted the most points.
"Training camp sounds good. Planning to hit up everything I can."
"Red team? We'd just crush you."
"Crossed a line."
"Hehehe."
Bead's cheeky grin.
Post-midterms had more than just the camp: club retreats, parades to show off magic. Post-finals brought the real prize—school trip.
Mashing high school and college vibes meant a bunch of quirky events.
'Wonder if I've got time for all that.'
Could skip with a decent excuse, so fun ones in, annoying ones out.
"Hey."
"Yeah?"
I closed my finished notebook and jabbed Bead's with my mechanical pencil tip.
"Gotta pass the exam first, right?"
"Ugh..."
Bead slapped a hand over her mouth in despair, staring at her notebook.
It was covered in bizarre tree doodles slashed with X's.
Math class on formulas and proofs, and not a single note?
Her voice trembled as she called out.
"S-Si-heon."
"What."
"Lend me... your notebook?"
As if.
"No way."
"Argh! Pleeease!"
I shoved away her clinging cheek and stuffed my notebook in my bag. Bead dramatically wiped fake tears.
Still not lending. I only share with friends.
*****
Dungeon class.
The trial all future hunters and heroes would face someday.
From bone-protruding wolves to green-skinned beasts, dungeons crawled with monsters.
But their origins remained a mystery.
The leading theory? "Old Tree Origin"—energy from dead ancient trees forming dungeons.
It matched World Tree mana with dungeon mana, but it fell flat on explaining the monsters.
Still, the mana match enabled one thing: artificial dungeons.
Squeezed from World Tree mana.
Monsters from them had no material value but excelled for cadet training, so academies embraced them.
El Academy was no exception.
-Drip, drip.
Lime-mixed water fell from stalactites, the wall lanterns barely lighting the cave.
Dungeon classes started in open terrain, closing in as the semester progressed.
Field to forest,
forest to swamp,
swamp to cave.
Handful of intel from El Academy's every-time updates let me prep ahead.
-Hum...
A pure white light orb floated over my hand, illuminating the cave.
Light. One of the spells I'd swiped ages ago.
"Whoa, you can do magic too?"
"Yup."
"Damn, you're a total all-rounder!"
Kim Soo-young clapped in awe, glued to my back.
Azalea eyed her with clear displeasure.
"...Soo-young, stay alert."
"Ah, right."
-Dungeon Assault C-Group: Kim Soo-young, Lee Si-heon, Azalea.
Balanced teams by entrance rankings, high to low.
The assault itself went smooth.
Azalea was a skilled spirit user, and Soo-young a solid archer.
Five spirits floated around us now, scanning every direction.
Wind spirits, fire spirits, and more—their tiny forms were kinda cute.
"Si-heon, hold up."
We froze at Azalea's whisper.
"Cave bats ahead... six—no, seven. What now?"
I raised my right hand in a "hold position" gesture.
Rushing in blind was an option, but mindless charges earned zero extra points.
"Plan?"
"Take 'em out here."
"Eh? From that far?"
Soo-young blinked her owl-like pupils into the dark.
"...You sure?"
"Trust me. I'm decent with magic."
"...Okay."
Even ever-trusting Azalea eyed me skeptically.
I dropped to one knee, pressing a hand to the damp stone floor.
Spread mana like casting a net—about 30 meters out, pairs of winged bats fluttered into view.
Gotcha.
Mana spread evenly through my body, black haze rising from my shoulders.
It converged to a point, warping into异形.
Seven Wind Cutters.
Simple magic, but that's why it shone in versatility.
Not your average ones, though.
These were half-moons infused with raw black mana.
A grin tugged my lips.
-Shrieeeek!
The waves surged forward.
Unfinished black crescents tore through the dark, devouring the bats' tiny bodies.
-Crunch!
Skin and flesh shredded like wood under a chainsaw.
[Screeeeech!]
The bats' death shrieks echoed brutally through the cave.
I stood, brushing off my knees.
"What're you waiting for? Let's move."
"...You're something else."
Soo-young's praise on my back, Azalea's stunned gaze the cherry on top.
A bit farther, the mangled bat corpses appeared.
Necks and bellies ripped open, spilling blood and guts.
We ignored them and pressed on—until something rolled into my shoe.
-Roll roll.
A blue-glowing polygonal gem.
Azalea voiced it first.
"...Why's a magic stone here?"
"Beats me."
Definitely unnatural.
Bloody, like it'd been inside a monster—but artificial dungeon mobs didn't drop them.
"Keep going for now. Time's tight."
"Got it."
Doubts lingered, but we shelved them.
Dungeon assault resumed.
Light secured, monsters sniped from afar with arrows and spells—no need for fists. Cleared in a breeze.
-Clunk.
Door opened to fresh air rushing in.
"C-Group, good work."
The instructor clapped us in. We grabbed his offered towels and rested our ways.
"Si-heon, water?"
"Sure."
Sipped Azalea's bottle, wiped sweat.
Constant Light had worn me out a bit.
'But it's been ages since a real class. Counting mentor sessions, first in weeks?'
Always life-or-death before—this relaxed training felt like a win.
Learned magic tricks too. And Se-young's acorn talent? Beyond expectations.
Wind magic already pro-tier.
Training path clear ahead. Should be smooth.
Capped the bottle, handed it back, stretched.
'Oh yeah.'
Then it hit me.
'So what the hell was that magic stone?'
Bad vibes all around.