Hello
"Hello."
Youngje couldn't help but cheer inwardly at the sight of Choi Yeon smiling at him, looking genuinely pleased to see him.
It was an unstable lineup with only mages right now. But one of the academy's top swordsmen—someone you could count on one hand—had just appeared before them.
"...Uh. Hello."
But in a situation like this, showing his joy outright might make him look suspicious, so Youngje swallowed his excitement. At least until the others arrived.
"Seriously...! Why...! Did you leave...! Me all...! Alone...! Wahhhh?! Ch-Choi Yeon?!"
Sea-a, who had chased after Youngje while panting heavily, let out a shrill scream upon spotting Choi Yeon.
"Huh? You're... kinda familiar..."
"Ahh! You already forgot? You asked me to deliver a challenge letter to Eugene!"
"...Oh. Right, you're that kid. Hello."
Choi Yeon gave an awkward smile and wiggled her fingers in a wave. Sea-a immediately rushed forward and hugged her tightly.
"...Huh?"
"We're saved! I was so worried with just us mages! Meeting you like this is a huge relief!"
Sea-a shouted it out loud and clear, as if voicing Youngje's exact thoughts. But Choi Yeon just tilted her head in confusion.
Youngje watched the scene, pressed his forehead, and shook his head, getting the gist of it.
"Choi Yeon. Do you even know what kind of situation we're in right now?"
"Right now? Hmm, no clue. I was definitely sleeping before morning roll call, and when I came to, I was here. Those two over there suddenly came at me with swords, so I dealt with them."
Youngje glanced at the two sprawled on the ground. No matter how you looked at it, "dealt with" was too mild—they looked like they'd been toyed with.
"So, what's the deal? Why's everything such a mess?"
Choi Yeon blinked and asked first. Sea-a, as if she'd been waiting, explained confidently, like she knew everything.
"Villain Union terrorists attacked the academy. And we're right in the middle of it."
"...Terrorists? We're here because of a terrorist attack?"
"Yeah. Youngje said so, so it's probably legit."
As they chatted, the two stared blankly at Youngje, who finally sighed and gave a simple rundown of the current crisis.
The song from the speakers that morning, the shift to the dungeon, and the villain ambush.
"Ah, so those two who just jumped me were villains, huh."
"...Choi Yeon. You took them out without even knowing they were villains?"
"The family taught me never to hold back against anyone who draws a sword and charges."
It made perfect sense by her clan's teachings, but something about it sent a chill down his spine.
"Anyway, do you two have a plan?"
Sea-a froze at Choi Yeon's follow-up. She stiffly turned to Youngje.
"You're the brains here, Youngje. You got this...!"
Youngje shook his head in disbelief at Sea-a openly admitting she wasn't the brains.
"...First things first, we should link up with as many people as possible. Even villains won't mess with a big group of Awakeners lightly. Plus... the instructors might be caught up in this too, so finding them would make us safe by default."
Choi Yeon tilted her head, not getting it.
"Going to the instructors means we can't fight villains. And you're still looking for them?"
To Choi Yeon, whose head was filled with thoughts of sparring strong opponents, this event was like a special stage just for her. Opting for safety over combat in the middle of it? No wonder it rubbed her the wrong way.
"You're right—no fighting villains that way. And we'd be safer. That's why I have a second plan."
"...Second plan?"
"Second plan?"
The two perked up with curiosity at Youngje's mention of a "second plan." He held up his index and middle fingers with a grin.
"Find the boss."
"Eugene?"
"Eugene...?"
Youngje nodded at their questions.
"Yeah. With the boss and Jinwoo's personalities... they'll definitely hunt down the terrorist leader first. And... the boss probably has some other plan, right?"
Sea-a nodded at Youngje's words.
"Sounds good! We might run into people getting attacked by villains along the way, like just now. Helping them could be a big boost for Famiglia later."
She knew it might lead to fights with villains, but Sea-a trusted what she'd learned so far, the advice from others, and the two reliable people in front of her. She nodded firmly.
And Choi Yeon, who had been listening quietly...
"We might run into more villains?"
Her eyes sparkled at the prospect of more opportunities.
"...Looks like we're all in agreement. Let's move."
The three set off again. As Sea-a scanned for life signs with her radar, three more lights popped up.
"Got 'em! Straight ahead from here?"
Seeing space magic detection for the first time, Choi Yeon poked at the shimmering purple mana in the air. But like poking smoke, it just dispersed briefly before reforming.
"...Handy. Won't get lost like this."
Sea-a smiled cutely at Choi Yeon poking the lights again.
"You get lost a lot, huh, Choi Yeon?"
"...Yeah. Family always has to guide me. I was late on the first day of school 'cause I got lost."
"That's rough... Hey, Youngje. Why the frown?"
Sea-a, chatting with Choi Yeon, noticed Youngje's expression and asked. He was leading the group, deep in thought.
"Huh? Oh, we're in a dungeon, but no monsters anywhere. Weird."
"Huh? Yeah, now that you mention it. We haven't seen any. You, Choi Yeon?"
"Haven't seen any."
"Right?"
Youngje stopped, piecing it together after Choi Yeon's confirmation.
No monsters in a dungeon? That defied logic. Like saying red bean bread with no red beans.
A dungeon without monsters meant...
"No way..."
Youngje recalled a story from hunting bugs in a dungeon with Eugene.
'Boss, this is floor 1, right? How many floors total?'
'This one? I think it's 10... but basically 8 floors.'
'8 floors?'
'Floor 9 is prep before the floor 10 boss. Floor 10's just the boss. So monsters up to 8.'
Eugene said no monsters on floor 9. If Sea-a's coordinates matched the club room dungeon...
And if this was similar...
"We're on floor 9?"
It all fit.
"...If this is really floor 9, no point expecting backup."
The dungeon layers overlapped, scattering people everywhere. Some from floor 8 might come up, but as Eugene said, higher floors meant higher difficulty—they wouldn't arrive soon.
'So we have to take down the floor 10 boss ourselves?'
Escape options: normal exit or clear the boss to collapse it and open a path for everyone.
But without knowing where anyone was, the only safe way out was conquering it.
Youngje's mood grew heavy.
"Got something to say."
He stopped and shared his thoughts: no backup likely, but clearing the dungeon could let everyone escape.
The two looked stunned at first, then nodded in understanding.
"No choice. That's the only way out anyway, right?"
"Floor 10 boss is strong? Sounds fun."
With opinions aligned, they headed toward the three detected signals.
Academy students? Great to team up. Villains? Probably blocking the door to floor 10 to stop the clear—that was Youngje's guess.
Following the path, they neared the target.
"What now? If they're villains, ambush?"
"Want me to go first?"
The two planned for enemies. Youngje said he'd scout with magic and cast it.
"Saltato."
A pitch-black rabbit hopped out from his swung fountain pen.
"If the people there aren't wearing our uniforms, twitch your ears. Got it?"
Crouching, Youngje commanded his familiar. The rabbit nodded and bounced toward the presumed spot.
"Youngje, that familiar doesn't suit you at all."
"...What would suit me?"
"Hmm... glasses monkey?"
"We only overlap on glasses. ...Just watch the rabbit ears."
The rabbit neared its target. Just around the corner, they'd see the three.
As it turned to signal the scene—
Thwack!
An ice spike flew from the corner, piercing the rabbit and turning it to ink.
"...Enemies."
"...Enemies."
"...They killed the rabbit."
The two bristled with hostility; Choi Yeon raged at the rabbit's death.
"They probably noticed us now?"
"Yeah. Obvious familiar. Didn't expect them to spot it so fast."
With villains confirmed, no need to hide. To conquer, they had to push through.
Armed with their signature weapons, the three advanced tensely toward the corner.
"You paid attention in mentor class, right?"
"You know Instructor Ji Suhyun? I could take you barehanded now."
"...Think I slacked in mentor class?"
"...Rabbit."
Turning the corner revealed a vast cavern. Massive stairs to the next floor. And in front, a huge snowman—with someone riding it.
"...Why do villains always gotta flex their personality so hard?"
"Right? Wait, that's a snowman? Among escaped villains who control snowmen... only Snowgirl Pa."
"...Villain."
At the blatant villain vibe, Youngje gripped his fountain pen and slashed the air.
"Let's start. Marciale!"
A marching tune echoed through the cavern, signaling the battle's beginning.