Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Hidden World - Interlude (1)
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Instructor, Kang Cheol-su.
He gloriously burned up alongside the main core.
...Or so it didn't happen.
The main core vanished without a trace in the enormous shockwave.
But Kang Cheol-su, swept up in it right alongside, emerged without a single scratch, perfectly fine.
"Oh..., my shoulders were just feeling stiff."
Rather, he claimed the workout had loosened his knotted muscles, leaving him refreshed.
As expected of a former top-tier hero's resilience.
Even now, with the 'Fragment of Plague' embedded in his body limiting him to upper-tier power and preventing proper ability control.
His top-tier physical durability remained intact, making this level of explosion nothing more than a muscle massage to him.
But the reason I was flustered was the main quest's 'Performance Bonus'.
As you know, the performance bonus offers 'additional rewards based on your performance'.
That's why I'd dumped every explosive I had to destroy the main core myself...
Now it was impossible to tell if the main core's destruction came from my explosives or Kang Cheol-su's hero landing.
I wanted to check the results right away, but we still hadn't escaped the hidden world.
"Instructor, is rift activation usually this slow?"
"No, only rifts tampered with by the Fallen act like this. Normal rifts activate the moment you smash the core."
To reiterate, the Fallen are vicious and cunning.
As Kang Cheol-su said, in standard rifts untouched by the Fallen, destroying the single core makes the rift appear and activate simultaneously.
Fallen-tampered rifts, however, require smashing the main core and all sub-cores for the rift to even show up—and even then, it's deactivated.
And the pulse that ripples out when the rift activates...
- Screeeeech!
- Don't go! Don't go! Don't go!
- Become... one with us...
...draws every monster in the hidden world straight to you.
In other words, you have to survive the swarming monsters until the rift fully activates.
But given the strength of everyone here, that wasn't much cause for concern.
And most importantly, our instructor, Kang Cheol-su, was right here.
"What are these pathetic monsters?"
Kang Cheol-su lifted one foot with a bored expression.
Then he slammed it down toward the oncoming horde.
Krunchhhh...!!
Every monster was pulverized in an instant.
"""..."""
Everyone gaped at Kang Cheol-su in stunned silence.
The monsters here were weak, sure, but their numbers had been beyond counting.
Yet a single foot stomp from him had reduced them all to dust.
How could anyone not be shocked?
"Why?"
Kang Cheol-su asked flatly, as if wondering what the problem was, with all eyes on him.
The others shook their heads, mumbling that it was nothing.
"To think someone like that is our instructor..."
Someone murmured in awe.
They were feeling that reverence anew, it seemed.
"...What the hell's with these kids all of a sudden?"
Kang Cheol-su walked over to me, looking puzzled.
Everyone else was still dazed, but I'd stayed calm, so he was asking me why.
I just smirked and answered.
"It's because you're too cool, Instructor."
"...Oh? Is that right?"
He rubbed his chin at my response.
That was his go-to move when he was embarrassed.
"Um, Instructor? Mind if I ask something I'm curious about?"
"Curious, huh? Shoot."
The rift hadn't fully activated yet.
And with all the monsters gone, this was my chance to clear up a nagging question.
"You told us to hit the emergency rescue button on our smart watches if things got dangerous, right? What exactly does that do?"
"Ah, that."
Kang Cheol-su showed me the smart watch on his wrist.
It was beeping steadily—beep, beep—with a blue dot blinking in real time.
The moment I saw it, a hunch hit me, and I asked right away.
"...Don't tell me it's location tracking?"
He nodded at my question.
"The smart watches we handed out to students are linked to the academy's own network. Hit that emergency button, and it pings all the instructors' watches with the student's real-time position."
"...Hmm."
Just press the button, and instructors come rushing to save you.
Sounds convenient... but also not great.
If I were a Fallen, I'd steal a student's or instructor's smart watch to mislead them or set up an ambush kill.
Way too risky a system.
Kang Cheol-su smirked as if reading my mind.
"I can guess what you're thinking. You figure the system's too vulnerable, right?"
I nodded in agreement.
His next words instantly eased my worries.
"Don't sweat it. The Principal and Vice Principal built this system themselves. Even if a Fallen snags a student's or instructor's watch, they won't be able to use it—they'll just get tracked right back."
"Ah, got it."
A Transcendent, an Archmage, and a top-tier crafting hero for the Vice Principal?
Absolutely foolproof.
Those two would turn even a seemingly sloppy system airtight.
Reassured, I fired off my final question.
"But... why were you so late?"
Not accusing—just genuine curiosity.
I knew there was Instructor Lee Yeon-ji, the spatial transfer mage, among the instructors.
With location tracking, she could've brought him here in a flash.
So why show up only after the main core was already toast?
'Why's he late only in this story?'
In the game, there'd been no 'Why so late?' dialogue option, so I'd just glossed over it.
But this was reality now.
I could actually get answers.
"Ah, that..."
He scratched the scar on his forehead at my innocent question.
Then he explained.
"Sorry for being late, but the moment I sensed something off with the rift, I jumped in with Instructor Lee Yeon-ji."
...He'd entered the rift with her?
She could've gotten them here instantly.
But before the thought could fully form, he clarified.
"Problem was, we didn't end up in the cave... or here."
"...Neither one?"
"Nope, neither."
So they'd ignored the Fallen protocols, smashed the main core anyway, then used Instructor Lee Yeon-ji's ability to...
Kang Cheol-su kept talking, but I was reeling from this unrevealed game backstory.
'...A double rift? From this point on?'
Overlaying a hidden world was one thing—but linking to another hidden world?
That was a double rift.
Double rifts started popping up mid-story, alongside mid-to-high-tier Fallen.
And only Named Fallen could create them.
Which meant a Named had been messing with the academy from the very start.
'...Why didn't I consider this?'
In other storylines, Kang Cheol-su or the other instructors showed up right on the brink of battle.
Ready to fight side-by-side.
But here? Only in this one was he late.
Should've been suspicious, but vets like me had chalked it up to academy cliché.
Who knew there was actual behind-the-scenes scheming...
'Which Named?'
I started racking my brain for which Named had been pulling strings on the academy from the jump.
Figure it out now, and I could mitigate future risks.
'Plague? Nah, not him... He's too mood-swingy for plots like this.'
At this point, he'd be off on the Continent of Death recovering from the damage Kang Cheol-su dealt him.
'Seduction, then?'
"...First."
'Yeah, Seduction's a solid maybe. Shows up late-game, but a master schemer.'
"...First place!"
"...Ah."
Sounds snapped back into focus.
I realized I'd sunk too deep into my thoughts.
"First place, you good? You've had that grim look forever now. Something wrong?"
I touched my face at Kang Cheol-su's words.
...It felt rigid.
Hadn't realized I'd been pulling such a serious expression.
"...Yoo-jin, you okay?"
Lee Seo-yeon had snuck up on me. I gave her an awkward smile and nodded.
She pressed if I was really fine, but I just said yes again.
Couldn't spill the truth—my intel was too dangerous.
Hell, it wasn't even confirmed yet.
'...I'll look into it once we're out.'
No need to overthink—just investigate.
The academy had Fallen devotees, after all.
"Alright, everyone. Rift's active. Time to head out."
At Kang Cheol-su's words, we all turned to the rift.
It glowed with pure blue light, no trace of red.
Fully activated, linked to the academy's simulated hidden world rift.
Including me, everyone stepped through.
Just like that, we returned to the academy.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Back at the academy, the sixteen of us—including me—were first dragged to the treatment room.
After full checkups confirming no anomalies, we were finally released.
Kang Cheol-su even said we'd worked hard experiencing real combat, so he'd count the next two days' classes as perfect attendance even if we skipped—go rest up.
Post-sim hidden world training, those two days were just theory lectures on hidden worlds anyway, and we'd gotten hands-on experience, so no need.
I headed straight to the dorms.
Showered clean.
"Ughhh..., heaven."
Now sprawled on the bed, basking in pure bliss.
This was it.
This pillowy softness, this cozy embrace after all that grind!
Indescribable.
Drifting off to sleep any second now.
But with two full days of total freedom, why not just crash?
Right as I surrendered to the wave of drowsiness...
"Ah, right!"
I remembered the quest rewards.
Bolted upright, leaning against the headboard.
"...Huh, déjà vu?"
Didn't I do this last time too?
"Kinda feels like it..."
...Wasn't it only day one?
Why did returning to the dorm feel so nostalgic, like ages ago?
A vague unease flickered through me.
But it faded fast.
The quest window blinking insistently in the corner of my vision shoved it aside, anticipation bubbling up.
"Alright, let's see what rewards we've got."
I pulled the pinned quest window front and center.
Main quest signature—radiant golden glow sparkling away.
My heart thumped wildly at the sight.
What goodies awaited?
I swallowed hard and reached out.
Pressed down firm.
🔔 Ding!