The Cruel First Dungeon

I should have done this from the beginning. After abandoning any attempt to minimize variables, I should have raised everyone evenly, growing together to reach the true ending. The absurd happiness circuit I had been running suddenly felt all too real. The leisurely academy life, the happy fantasy of getting close to my classmates—it was only now that I truly understood how complacent that dream had been.

"Healers! No, anyone who can use healing spells, get over here right now!"

"Anyone trained in first aid? If you can actually do it, come immediately! No beginners—we need people with real experience!"

"Anyone with strength, help sort the seriously injured and move them to the treatment room as fast as possible!"

Final Destiny was perfectly fair in generating hellish patterns in every dungeon. The result was devastating. The groups that had sensed the omen and used escape scrolls in advance were relatively unscathed, but those who couldn't tear their scrolls faced utter catastrophe. The students who knew nothing about how much stronger Perthonba was than ordinary golems, nor what patterns it used, were thrown straight into hell.

Whether it was a miracle or something intentional, no one died. 'It must have been intentional.' It was clearly Final Destiny's own consideration for the first appearance of such a brutal pattern. Everyone was badly hurt, but none were in life-threatening condition. With a few days of rest, they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would recover without any lasting effects.

"Students who aren't injured, come help right away!"

At Lee Hwaryeong's shout, the students who had just emerged from the dungeon moved before they could even grasp the situation. Even if they couldn't do much, they could at least fetch medicine or disinfect wounds.

The joy of clearing the dungeon was buried beneath screams of pain, and the agonizing time dragged on.

"When using heal, don't spread it across the whole body. Target the wound directly—that's how you get better results."

"Don't carry them like that. Throwing someone over your shoulder isn't always the best way."

"The treatment room is on the third floor of S Building. Use the landmark right after you go up and head to the far right end. You can get bandages there."

The only thing I could do was fulfill my role as class president while diligently changing bandages. 'The only uninjured groups are Group 1 and Group 5—my group.'

Woo Dohyun's Group 1 had let him tank every attack from start to finish. Not a single one of them had a scratch. Even their leader, Woo Dohyun, only had a few specks of dust on his clothes that barely counted as wounds. I could roughly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠picture what had happened. They had been casually clearing the dungeon as a team when Perthonba appeared, at which point he had finally swung his sword in earnest. The budding Sword Saint, said to be capable of cutting even gods, was already showing his brilliance.

'Sohyun probably tore her escape scroll right away thanks to my advice.'

Yu Sohyun's Group 5 had ripped their escape scroll the moment they saw Perthonba and were now treating the injured faster than anyone else.

"Seokhyun, are you hurt?"

"Uh, yeah. Thanks for worrying."

"I want to talk more, but I'm busy. I'll go now."

"Got it."

Meiri, her arm wrapped in bandages, exchanged a few words before disappearing to help the wounded. 'Mi Juran and Velos took quite a beating.'

Mi Juran specialized in close combat, so she was at a natural disadvantage against golems. Velos was a magic-engineering type, but his lack of tanking experience had caused aggro to shift onto him, resulting in his injuries.

An event severe enough to wound the main characters. The problem was that this wasn't the end.

"There are injured students in other classes too. Anyone who can still provide treatment, follow me!"

Fairness could sometimes be cruel. Giving everyone a chance to grow meant exposing them to equivalent danger. 'It wasn't just S-Class.'

Since each class had entered a dungeon suited to their level, Perthonba-level monsters hadn't appeared. But Named Demons strong enough for their current level had definitely shown up. And unlike the S-Class students, they weren't capable enough to handle it, leading to far worse outcomes.

"...I heard there was a death in C-Class."

"I'll head over there."

"..."

The professors' words were chaotic, but that single sentence lodged itself in my ears. The fun of clearing dungeons and growing was swallowed by brutal reality. Our first dungeon had become an indelible scar in our memories.

The first thing I could do was check the dungeon clear rewards. The miscellaneous byproducts were just cheap mana stones, so I didn't bother looking at them. 'The important thing is the core.'

The mana aggregate that allowed Named Golems to move—Perthonba's Core. With this, a solid piece of steel, and three Forenta saplings, I could complete that. It wouldn't be perfect, of course—just a prototype that covered the gauntlet section at best. But for now, it was the best option available.

Golem's Sense was decent for the moment, but it couldn't grow and would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠become useless once I obtained Infinite Orbit. Still, since my sub-skill slots weren't full yet, I learned it immediately. The Will stat was always helpful in many ways, so that was welcome too.

"The problem is that something I don't even know about increased."

When playing games, there were often items that seemed useless early on but shone brightly in the late game. A broken mirror that was actually a portal to a hidden dungeon, or a handkerchief you picked up by chance that turned out to be something an empire's princess had been searching for. Most of the time, you didn't need them or didn't even know what they were—until suddenly you did. This was the first time it had happened to me.

'There's a stat I don't know about?'

I had checked the rewards for defeating two Perthonbas in the Golem's Temple countless times. But this was the first time a reward had been given in unreadable special characters. 'Maybe it's because ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'm actually inside the game now.'

New situations naturally brought new events. Since worrying about it right now wouldn't solve anything, I finished checking the rewards and immediately left the dormitory.

"I never thought I'd end up going there myself."

The place I had escaped from by selling out Kim Seokcheol. The location I had planned to visit leisurely rather than right away. The only place capable of making that, and simultaneously the worst space that every student dreaded visiting the most.

'Gi Juseon's research lab.'

I had no choice but to go there myself.

++++++++++++++++++++

"Hmm...? I can feel it... I can feel it..."

"What is it, Professor?"

Gi Juseon's research lab was different from usual. Sweet music and bright sunlight created a pleasant atmosphere. It wasn't just because they hadn't heard about the student's death yet—the biggest reason was that the research assistants had finally gotten enough sleep. After sleeping only five hours a week, suddenly getting six and a half hours in a single day had done wonders for their condition. Gi Juseon himself had regained his sharp senses after a long time thanks to proper rest.

"I can feel the talent I've been looking for... walking right up to me on its own two feet."

Wuahahahahahaha.

Gi Juseon's wicked laughter slowly filled the research lab.