Dungeon Training (1)
To cut straight to the conclusion, the spar didn't last long.
Yoo Jinwoo had dominated from start to finish, after all.
He was incredible.
Lee Seah replayed the bout that had just ended. His sword had been the same as when she'd last seen it — like a mirage. It moved without obstruction, smooth and free, yet the way its trajectory shifted so naturally was almost startling. Naturally, opportunities for a counterattack had been nearly nonexistent. All she could do against the storm of Jinwoo's approaching blade was block.
And so she had kept blocking, until at the end she tried to force a decisive exchange.
One of the few skills she possessed: Black Flames.
The fire was still weak. Flames so mild they wouldn't even leave a burn. According to her Constellation, they would one day become an unquenchable blaze hotter than the sulfur fires of hell — but not yet. So she had used them to obscure his vision, then swung her sword through the smoke…
He dodged it.
By a hair's breadth, but he had dodged it all the same. Thinking back on it now, the reflexes and speed had been truly astonishing.
The Constellation, 'Guardian of Black Flames', says there is still a long way to go.
She had been reviewing the spar when the message arrived from her Constellation. Normally, this Constellation rarely sent anything — yet lately the messages had been coming fairly often.
"Yeah. I know."
The Constellation, 'Guardian of Black Flames', encourages their contractor.
Come to think of it, her Constellation was practically the person she talked to most. Given that they were always together, it was only natural in a way.
As Lee Seah read the message and sheathed her sword, another window rose quietly somewhere she couldn't see.
The Constellation, 'Guardian of Black Flames', feels a sense of déjà vu from 'Yoo Jinwoo'.
A window no one saw.
I almost died for real.
It had been brutal. As expected of the original protagonist's twin. How had she blocked all of that? Even when he'd genuinely attacked the small openings that appeared, she had stopped nearly every one of them — drawing that massive greatsword in close and shifting it only the barest amounts, with ruthless efficiency. A defense like an impregnable fortress. And the fact that her expression never once changed made it downright unnerving.
Then there were the Black Flames that erupted at the end. With his vision blocked by them, if his body hadn't moved on pure reflex, it would have been a disaster.
The Constellation, 'Celestial Maiden of the Nine Heavens', is satisfied with your exceptional reflexes.
"Anyone would react like that when they feel their life is in danger."
Of course, she probably hadn't actually intended to cut him with it… but his body, at least, had registered it that way. Those reflexes had likely been influenced by his Speed stat.
After a brief review of the spar, he wiped the sweat away with a towel and asked Lee Seah,
"You heading in right away?"
"Yeah. Training's over."
"I'm going to stick around a bit longer, so you go on ahead."
He still hadn't practiced Gucheon Hyeongeom, so he couldn't head back just yet. He had used it during the spar earlier, but that was a separate matter. The most efficient way was to run through the proper forms without any interference.
"That was amazing!"
Just as he was lifting his sword again to practice, a familiar voice called from his direction. The owner of that voice was none other than Seong Harim. She approached with her usual bright smile — and beside her, another girl was walking this way as well.
Ash-gray hair that looked almost drained of color, and faintly luminous golden eyes. Her face carried a somewhat prim impression.
She, too, was a face he had seen somewhere — quite a few times, in fact.
"That spar earlier was incredible! Are you sure you're really in Class C? I'd believe it if someone said you were Class A."
"It's just the speed. There's no real substance behind it."
"Still, that doesn't seem like Class C…!"
"More importantly — who's this?"
The silver-haired girl walking with Seong Harim. That alone was enough to guess her identity, but he wanted to hear it confirmed. So he asked without letting on that he knew, and the answer that came back was exactly as expected.
"This is my childhood friend, Jin Juha. Does the successor of the Thunder Nebula ring a bell?"
Like the Divine Shield Nebula, the Thunder Nebula was one of the four great Nebulae of the country — centered on a Nebula leader contracted to Indra, the Trust of the East, and gathering contractors tied to lightning. A thoroughly meritocratic organization, and the one widely regarded as its most promising successor was none other than—
Jin Juha. One of the original novel's main heroines, too.
Like Seong Harim, she was a lead character from the original — the contractor of Zeus, the Heavenly Thunder Emperor. This was already the second main heroine he was meeting, and the feeling was rather strange.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Jin Juha."
"Yoo Jinwoo. I'll introduce myself as Harim's… friend."
He'd briefly wondered how to introduce himself, but that seemed best. Seong Harim and Jin Juha had been childhood friends since they were very young, and they cared deeply for each other. He hadn't known it, but apparently she had even visited his current apartment a few times. Framing the introduction through his connection to Seong Harim would land best with her.
"You — how long have you known Harim?"
How long had he known Seong Harim? The suddenness of the question caught him off guard, but there was no reason he couldn't answer.
"About a month, give or take."
It was a little vague, but counting by days, it was roughly that long. Though it felt shorter than he'd expected. Things were so comfortable now that it felt like they'd known each other for months. Maybe it was because he hadn't had a friend this close even in his previous life.
"A month…!?"
At the word "month," Jin Juha's face went blank with shock, and she whipped her head toward Seong Harim. Was it really that surprising?
"Harim."
"Hm?"
"…Didn't you say you'd brought him home five times?"
"Yeah! Six times, actually!"
"…And it's been a month?"
"Why? What's wrong with that?"
Seong Harim looked at Jin Juha with a pure, genuinely puzzled expression.
…Hearing it put like that, it does sound a little weird.
He'd only known her for about a month. And a guy had been over to a girl living alone — six times?
What the hell.
He hadn't thought anything of it until now, but hearing it out loud made it sound strange. Of course, he had never once had any ulterior motives — not even a shred. To him, Seong Harim was more like… a celebrity he'd met in real life. An object of admiration rather than romantic interest, so no weird thoughts had ever crossed his mind.
"You! You don't have some ulterior motive toward our Harim, do you?"
"None whatsoever. Not even a little. Don't worry."
He raised both hands and shook his head, and Jin Juha scrunched up her face in clear dissatisfaction before wrapping her arms around Seong Harim from behind. She looked like she'd wanted to say more, but his clean denial had left her with nothing to push. True to form — she seemed reckless on the surface, but she still kept to certain lines.
"Harim. All men are beasts. Be careful of that guy too!"
"Jinwoo's fine! He's kind, and he has a good personality."
"Whether that's an act… I don't know, but be careful anyway!"
"…Mm, if Juha says so, I will."
Seong Harim answered reluctantly — but that alone wasn't enough for Jin Juha, who opened her mouth again.
"When you invite that guy over, call me too."
"Lately I've been going to Jinwoo's place, though?"
"Wh— what!!"
This time she looked genuinely stunned, pulling away from Seong Harim in a fluster. At first she'd given off a prim impression, but that image was peeling away by the second. She'd been like this in the original too, but the first impression in person was quite different.
"Harim. You're getting a lesson from me today."
"What kind of lesson?"
"A common-sense lesson."
While the two of them were talking, Lee Seah — who had been standing quietly to the side listening — opened her mouth.
"That gathering. I'm joining too."
Silence fell.
Several days passed after that incident.
Around the time most first-years were finally settling into Academy life, the Academy held its first real "event."
"We will now begin the dungeon training."
Dungeons. Abnormal zones that had appeared in this world. Their entrances looked no different from ordinary nature — but inside, the scale was different, the ecosystem was different. From the Epic grade upward, they even recreated regions from myth.
The Academy's first event was to enter one of those dungeons for practical training. An exercise meant to spend about two days inside and learn what a dungeon's environment was like.
Though it's only Fairy Tale grade, at the end of the day.
Naturally, since they were students, the dungeon for training was the lowest tier — Fairy Tale grade. A dungeon where basic caution was enough, and danger was almost nonexistent under ordinary circumstances.
The first dungeon they headed for was a Fairy Tale-grade dungeon called the Jujube Tree Forest. Being Fairy Tale grade, it was a pure forest with no connection to myth whatsoever.
"I will now call the teams."
This dungeon training was a massive event involving the entire first-year class. The professor in charge was Choi Hyunwoo, the instructor for the Swordsmanship course — contractor of Roland, the Knight of Charlemagne.
"…"
Jacheongbi was visible beside him as well. Of course, she hated anything bothersome, so she showed no interest in stepping forward.
"Team 1: Jo Myeonghyeon, Shin Urim, Kim Daejin…"
Teams were five members each. Rank didn't matter. The groups had simply been assigned randomly by position — supposedly so they could handle any situation. Not wrong, really.
I wonder who I'll end up with.
Someone he knew would be nice, at least. If he got stuck with complete strangers—
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Choi Hyunwoo called his name.
"Team 12! Yoo Jinwoo, Lee Seah, Seong Harim, Jin Juha, Lee Shinwoo."
And the teammates were rather shocking.
What the hell.
Why is everyone bunched together?