The Copy Skill
The dungeon run sped up dramatically after that. All the traps scattered throughout the dungeon began disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Becaria looked furious, but he had no choice but to follow Nam Doyun’s instructions.
“Step on that and you’ll drop straight into the basement. Don’t step there.”
“Get rid of that triangular mark right in front of you. Hurry.”
Crunch—
In the end, Becaria had to admit it. He didn’t know how, but that guy knew the exact location of every single trap in the dungeon.
How the hell does he know?
Even when Becaria poured mana into his eyes to enhance his vision, he couldn’t spot anything that looked like a trap. So how was Nam Doyun doing it?
Soon enough, every trap had been neutralized.
“We can go now.”
“U-uh… yeah.”
Becaria moved forward with a dazed expression.
“Hmm.”
Jeong Hayeon watched Nam Doyun with a strange look on her face.
Before long, an enormous iron gate appeared ahead of them. Passing through it would mean facing the boss.
“Should we take a short break before going in?” Jeong Hayeon asked, glancing back at the others.
“Sounds good. Let’s rest for five minutes,” Becaria replied.
“Hehe~” Jeong Hayeon hummed cheerfully.
They had reached the boss room far faster than expected. She had assumed it would take about two and a half hours to get this far. Instead, they had arrived in just two hours.
Jeong Hayeon plopped down against the wall. Beside her, Nam Doyun was blankly staring into empty space.
She slowly scooted closer to him.
“Doyun.”
“?”
Nam Doyun turned to look at her.
“How did you know where all the traps were?”
“.....”
Nam Doyun couldn’t tell her the truth. How was he supposed to say he had memorized every trap location because he’d cleared this dungeon to death in the game?
He kept his mouth shut.
“What? You’re not going to tell me?”
“.......”
“And how did you know there would be traps beyond the portal before we even went through it?”
Jeong Hayeon kept trying to dig for information, but Nam Doyun remained silent.
She frowned. How annoying.
But her expression quickly bounced back to its usual bright and lively state.
“Looks like you don’t want to talk about it right now. Just tell me later when you feel like it.”
Jeong Hayeon brushed off her pants and stood up.
“Shall we head in now?”
Kim Minho and Becaria both nodded.
Jeong Hayeon placed her hand on the iron gate. Mana flowed from her palm into the metal.
Creeeeak—
The massive gate swung open instantly.
“Let’s go.”
Inside was an incredibly vast cavern. Torches lined the walls.
Grrrr—
In the center stood a Goblin King roughly two meters tall. The axe in its hand was coated in bright red blood.
“Just like we planned,” Jeong Hayeon said.
In a flash, Becaria charged forward and thrust his shield out. Kim Minho stuck close to Jeong Hayeon’s side to protect her.
“The moment that monster gets hit, it’ll aggro onto us. Ready?”
Becaria nodded.
“Then let’s start.”
Whoosh—
Jeong Hayeon fired an arrow at the Goblin King.
Kieeeek—
The arrow pierced straight through its leg. The Goblin King glared at her with bloodshot red eyes.
Boom— Boom—
It began charging toward her with terrifying force.
“Becaria!”
Becaria sprinted over and planted his shield in front of Jeong Hayeon.
Screeeech—
The Goblin King’s axe slammed into Becaria’s shield.
“Ughhh—”
Becaria was steadily pushed backward, struggling under the pressure.
“I can’t hold it long! Hurry!”
Snap—
Jeong Hayeon drew her bowstring. She began gathering every last drop of mana in her body.
“I’m ending this in one shot. Just hold on until then.”
Hummmmm—
All her mana flowed into the arrow. When it was complete, the arrow glowed with a golden light.
The Goblin King stared at it with its crimson eyes.
Kieeeeeek—
It roared, its arm muscles suddenly bulging as it shoved Becaria aside.
“Ah… crap!”
Bang—
The Goblin King kicked off the ground and exploded toward Jeong Hayeon in a massive leap.
“!!!!”
The sheer speed left Jeong Hayeon frozen in place. Kim Minho desperately rushed toward her.
She stared straight ahead. There was no dodging this. It was a race—would the monster’s attack land first, or her arrow?
Snap—
She pulled the bowstring even tighter. This shot had to end it.
Right before the Goblin King swung its axe, she released the arrow.
“!!!”
But no matter how she looked at it, the Goblin King’s strike seemed faster.
Jeong Hayeon’s eyes widened. Please.
Just as the axe was about to reach her—
Kieek—
A powerful blow struck the Goblin King’s abdomen. Becaria had swung his shield into its gut.
Crack—
The armor on its stomach shattered from the impact. The Goblin King was sent flying backward.
Whoosh—
Jeong Hayeon’s arrow pierced straight through its forehead as it flew toward the far wall.
“Huh?”
Kim Minho stared at Becaria with wide eyes.
“What?”
Becaria himself looked confused. He hadn’t realized his strength was that great.
“Hahaha! See that, Hayeon? That’s how strong I am!”
But Jeong Hayeon’s gaze was fixed solely on Nam Doyun.
“Hey, why are you looking at him? I did all the work.”
He puffed up again with pride.
“Hey, did you see that weakling? This is me.”
He flexed his shoulders while looking at Nam Doyun.
“You see these muscles? This is the source of explosive power… Are you even listening?”
Nam Doyun was blankly staring into space.
Copy — Allows replication of any skill seen once. (Cooldown: 1 day) LV1. Can only exert 5% of the original skill's power.
Target: Urbashi
Use this skill? Y/N
A trace of him pressing Y remained on the blue window.
*****
“Is everyone here?”
All the students’ exams had ended. Their clothes were covered in monster blood.
“Ugh… this is gross. I need to wash everything.”
“I just want to shower already. I feel so gross.”
“Good work, everyone. But we still need to announce the results.”
All eyes instantly focused on the instructor.
1st Place: Radeon, Kim Jiyun, Kim Minho, Lee Minhyung’s Team.
“Ah.”
The rankings continued to be announced one after another.
Cha Jiyun’s team placed 3rd, while Jeong Hayeon and my team placed 6th.
Radeon’s team, in first, finished in 1 hour and 20 minutes. Cha Jiyun’s team in third took 1 hour and 28 minutes. Our team in sixth took 1 hour and 36 minutes.
Though the differences were only a few minutes, that was how rankings separated in the upper tiers.
“Everyone worked hard. Return to school quickly, shower, and prepare for class.”
“Yes, sir.”
The students gathered in small groups and began walking back toward the school.
Jeong Hayeon watched Cha Jiyun walking in the distance. She grit her teeth.
I lost again.
She had really wanted to win this time…
Swallowing the frustration rising in her chest, Jeong Hayeon slowly approached Cha Jiyun.
“Boo!”
She placed her hand on Cha Jiyun’s shoulder.
Cha Jiyun jumped in surprise and turned around.
“........You.”
“Hehe, did I scare you again?”
“..You really seem to enjoy this.”
Cha Jiyun shook her head.
“Yep. I’m totally into it now, hehe.”
“.......Sigh. I see.”
“By the way, you didn’t seem that surprised?”
“..What do you mean?”
“Our team had the dead last student in the entire school. Isn’t it surprising we still got 6th with someone like that?”
At those words, Cha Jiyun silently looked at Nam Doyun.
“....Hayeon, didn’t you feel something strange about that boy?”
“Huh?”
It was true. There was something odd about him. He hadn’t participated in combat at all. At first glance, one might think that had slowed down their clear time.
But that wasn’t the case at all. In fact, they had only managed to place 6th because Nam Doyun was there.
He had known the exact locations of every trap in the dungeon. Thanks to him, they had shaved nearly thirty minutes off the expected time.
How was that even possible?
When Jeong Hayeon didn’t answer, Cha Jiyun spoke again.
“...Never mind. Let’s go.”
“Yeah. I really want to wash up. And…”
“...And?”
“It’s been a while since I got to admire Jiyun’s figure. Hehe, this is gonna be fun.”
“.....Shower separately.”
Cha Jiyun began walking briskly ahead.
“No way? I’m showering with you. Jiyun! Let’s shower together!”
****
“What a long day.”
After finishing her daily routine, Jeong Hayeon flopped onto her dorm bed. Her entire body ached with exhaustion.
She wanted to sleep immediately, but she forced herself to sit up.
Ding—
She turned on the dorm computer and checked her mailbox.
The ‘Elphon’ Academy had sent the dungeon’s CCTV footage so students could review their actions and find areas for improvement.
“Let’s see… Team 6 is here.”
Jeong Hayeon played her team’s video.
“Skip this. Skip that too.”
She fast-forwarded straight to the moment they entered the boss room.
She began watching the scene where the Goblin King swung its axe at her.
“Ah. The Goblin King’s axe would’ve definitely hit me first.”
Watching the footage confirmed it. If the Goblin King’s armor hadn’t suddenly shattered and sent it flying backward, the exam would have ended in failure.
But who had done it?
On the surface, it looked like Becaria had knocked the Goblin King away. But she knew better. He didn’t have that kind of power.
What on earth happened?
She bit her nails while staring at the screen.
“Huh… what is he doing?”
Jeong Hayeon’s eyes locked onto Nam Doyun.
Right before the Goblin King swung its axe at her, he had reached his hand toward it.
At that exact moment, the Goblin King’s armor shattered and it was blasted backward. A distortion in the air appeared in front of him.
No way…?
Jeong Hayeon’s gaze never once shifted to Becaria, who was laughing stupidly while showing off his muscles.
It remained fixed only on Nam Doyun.
She spent the entire night rewatching that footage on repeat.