Dungeon Practice - 1

"Focus."

"Ah. Got it."

I turned toward the target that Jin Siyeon had been aiming at, and Ryu Sena explained calmly, yet with utmost seriousness.

"First observe the terrain, then check the wind.Sen-gwan ji-hyeong hu-chal pung-se."

Her beautiful voice and the subtle power emanating from her made my hand relax on the bow.

"Not T, not H. Chest open, abdomen firm.Bi-jeong bi-pal hyung-heo bok-sil."

Instead of resisting the force, I followed it. At the same time, my body naturally readjusted its stance and nocked an arrow on the bowstring.

"Push forward like Mount Tai, release like a tiger's tail.Jeon-chu tae-san bal-yeo ho-mi. Put strength into the back of your drawing hand like pushing Mount Tai. Pull the grip hand back like a tiger evading its prey's tail."

Her steady voice guided my posture, and red text floated up again.

Alright then—shoot!

"...It missed?"

A hint of bewilderment hid in her emotionless voice. I whipped my head around. The beauty, fiddling with a lock of hair that had fallen over her shoulder, fell silent for a moment before slyly avoiding my gaze.

"If you miss, seek the fault within yourself.Bal-i bu-jung ban-gu jeo-gi."

In other words, it was my fault, so don't blame her. She'd spoken in such an authoritative tone that I thought I'd hit this time.

"This is the archery method based on the Jipgung Principles. Practice it diligently with that in mind."

"...Ah. Yes. Thank you."

"By the way... you're Kim Yohan, right?"

She knows me. I thought her character was supposed to ignore anyone not relevant, but she remembered me.

"Yes, that's me. But President, what brings you here...?"

"Isn't it stranger for someone not in the student council to be here?"

"Fair point."

But I had a visitor's pass. When I showed her the one from Jin Siyeon, Ryu Sena checked it and nodded.

"As long as you follow the rules. Still... you accepted my guidance and flow, yet missed? It's not just your healing output that's lacking."

Pfft. Come on, it's not that big a deal.

"Anyway, I won't stop you from training as a visitor."

"Then I'll gratefully keep at it."

"Fine."

She even sat down, arms crossed, watching me shoot. Anyway, the Jipgung Principles... I'd heard of them before. They were from the national archery training method, I think.

"Oh!"

After shooting a few more times just as Ryu Sena taught, an arrow finally hit the target dead center for the first time. If I kept at it a bit longer, I'd get the feel...

"You're pulling the string with too much force."

But it wasn't clicking? I kept grabbing the bow and firing away, and only after a while could I consistently hit the target.

Bonus: my stats went up in the process.

"Even if you start hitting the target with your arrows, don't get complacent."

As I trained in focus, her voice rang out. When I lowered the bow, she shrugged lightly. Her expression... still as stoic as ever.

"Keep up the steady practice?"

"Yes. If you don't use it, it rusts—whether it's a person, a weapon, or a skill."

Ryu Sena lightly drew and released the practice bow she'd brought. It was a light, free posture that didn't follow the Jipgung Principles, but every arrow she shot hit the target.

"Once you reach a certain level, you can do this too."

She warmed up casually, then fired arrows while moving swiftly—not in a static stance. Every single one hit.

"In combat, you'll often need to shoot while moving. Get used to mobile shooting for that."

"Whoa... impressive."

"You seem to know a fair bit about archery, so ask if you have questions."

"For real?"

She looked kinda pleased. No way—is this her flexing on a noob like some veteran? Am I getting rolled here?

"If you'd dropped out, maybe not. But you're an aspiring hero cadet. It's not wrong to learn from a senior."

She pulled out a notebook and told me available dates. Fridays. Just one day a week, but... learning from a master is a huge win.

"Thank you."

"Refine yourself, and refine again."

Who'd have thought I'd score lessons from a pro. Sweet. Anyway, Jin Siyeon's session wouldn't wrap up for a while, so I kept practicing.

"Huuu... I'm beat."

"Done? Let's go."

Ryu Sena, who'd been giving me blunt advice, critiques, and scoldings in her deadpan tone for a while, left when time was up. As I shook out my sore arms, Jin Siyeon finally emerged from her ongoing training.

The buffs had long expired. The reason she'd stuck around the training ground despite that? Probably comparing her powered-up strength from the buffs to her current power, hunting for growth opportunities. The girl's prickly, but her drive for self-improvement is top-notch.

Hmm. This country's future is bright!

"You done?"

"Yeah."

"Wait a sec. I'll tidy up and be right out."

"Ah, I'll help."

By the time Jin Siyeon and I finished cleaning the training ground, the sun was setting. No issues in sight, so we strolled out leisurely—until a familiar voice caught my ear.

"Is the president still in closed training?"

Definitely Execution Committee ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠folks. I stopped, pulling Jin Siyeon to hide nearby.

For sure. Seniors I'd trained with before my past-life memories kicked in. Two who really disliked me.

"No special moves needed. Tsk. Anyway, keep a close eye ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on the president's movements. Make sure she doesn't get her hands on any dragon blood."

"Got it. That's how the vice president becomes the new president."

Surveillance on the president, huh. We waited until they passed, then stepped out. The ever-arrogant Jin Siyeon looked pretty miffed.

"Ugh. I didn't see this coming. I heard the Execution Committee was stirring, but skipping training to spy on the main building and stalk the president this blatantly... Well, we achieved our goal, so it's fine, right?"

"Doesn't matter."

No harm if we weren't caught. Even if we were, it'd just be a scolding.

"Nngh... It's not my fault, but the outcome was nearly risky."

"Whatever."

"No. As the eldest daughter of the Jin family, I take responsibility for my words. I said no other seniors would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be around, and this happened... I'll make it up to you later. Anyway, we're done here. I'm off."

"Cool. See ya. Oh, thanks for the elixir."

"Whatever."

She waved dismissively with her usual stoic face and walked off. As I headed out, I mulled it over.

The student council splits mainly into Operations and Execution. Operations backs the current president; Execution wants her out. Their power struggle is the core of Chapter 3's main story.

Will the current president get reelected, or will the Execution head take over? It doesn't tie into the true ending, so whoever wins, no biggie.

The protagonist Yoo Choa gets involved in the main story, and depending on whose side she picks, the president changes... Still, blood's thicker than water—I'd prefer Ryu Sena, who helped me, stays president.

But I can't judge yet. With Chapter 1 still unfolding and me tweaking for the true ending route, how could I predict the future?

Man, what's gonna happen for real.

"Oh my? Yohan? Fancy meeting you here! I was just about to look for you!!"

What's gonna happen to me. Running into Elizabeth here of all places.

"Hehe. Fate! Come on, let's train hard again today!!"

"Uh... can we go easy?"

"How will you get stronger like that?! Come on! After training, I'll give you the Taylor family's special protein shake!! Strength comes from training and diet! No more salt-sugar water for dinner—train with me and have protein tonight!"

"Ah. Sure."

Grabbed by Elizabeth, I was dragged to the training ground. Exhausted, but stats up is a win... My body's wrecked, but if she's happy, good enough. Dinner sorted too. That special protein was tasty.

A few days passed since acquiring my third skill. Training daily with Elizabeth was... getting routine? Nah, still not used to it. Why can't she count reps right?

Anyway, while grinding stats bit by bit, I'd picked up three skills. Meaning three skills to grind proficiency on.

Most with other aptitudes needed the training grounds to practice skills, but mine just needed a target—class time worked fine.

"Kim Yohan. Explain green dungeons."

"Green dungeons are the easiest to find, commonly called low-grade dungeons. The monsters that appear are mostly D-rank or below."

"Among D-rank or lower monsters, what should you watch for?"

"Several, but ghouls. Undead monsters that spew poison and corpse stench to disrupt combat. Ghouls often come with jiangshi, so prepare for those too."

"What antidotes to bring?"

"Corpse-stench blocker spray. Anti-venom for preliminary poison. Treatment for bites. Bandages, etc."

"Good."

Instructor Kim Yeonha nodded lightly and stared at me.

"You seemed unfocused..."

Pfft. This level of multitasking? I behaved anyway, and as Kim Yeonha continued explaining, she stopped at time's end and tapped the podium.

"Dungeon practice starts tomorrow."

Finally! Finally!! A chance to make money in the dungeon!