The First Joint Mock Battle Simulation (6)

We finished our final preparations in the armory and now stood in the Group 10 waiting area, staring at the massive iron doors sealed shut before us. Every time I moved, the weapons hanging all over my body clinked with a satisfying metallic ring, but the heavy atmosphere crushing the room showed no sign of lifting. That was no surprise—the electronic board for Group 9, who had gone in before us, was once again dyed a deep blood-red.

In just fourteen minutes. They had lasted only a minute or two longer than the teams before them, but the condition of the students crawling out after the doors opened was utterly miserable. The pain of being torn apart inside the virtual reality seemed to linger in their minds; the members of Group 9 were sprawled on the floor, drooling, or dry-heaving with unfocused eyes.

"Final team, Group 10. Parties 37 through 40, proceed to your entry positions."

The instructor's dry voice rang out. I, Jung-woo, A-rin, Ki-tae, and our leader Seol-ah walked with heavy steps to the entrance of Simulation Room 38. In front of the iron doors stood medical staff holding first-aid kits and one instructor with a rigid expression.

The instructor pulled out five silver metal bracelets and five coin-shaped metal devices, handing them to us.

"Everyone, fasten these securely on your left wrists. Stick the round devices next to your eyebrows, on your temples."

I clicked the bracelet shut around my wrist with a firm snap and pressed the round device against my temple. The cool touch of the metal against my skin sent an oddly unsettling shiver through my nerves.

Once everyone had equipped the devices, the instructor manipulated his tablet and began the final briefing in the same monotone.

"The bracelets you are wearing are neural connectors that synchronize with the simulation system and your brainwaves. They also serve as terminals that collect all biometric data and impact values generated during combat. If, for any reason, you remove these bracelets during the simulation, it will be treated as system interference and your evaluation score will immediately be set to zero."

The instructor's gaze swept across each of our faces.

"One thing you must keep in mind. The physical time limit outside is twenty minutes, but the moment you cross that threshold and synchronize with the simulation environment, your perceived time will be completely different."

"...Perceived time is different?" Jung-woo asked, swallowing hard. The instructor nodded gravely.

"That's right. It's a system that links and reads your brainwaves with the simulation. Twenty minutes outside will feel like an hour inside. It's a method Gaon developed for efficient simulation training. However, both pain and fatigue will be perceived by your brain as completely real. So remember this: if you don't keep a firm grip on your mentality, your mind ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠will collapse long before your body takes a single scratch."

It was a chilling warning. I finally understood why every one of those ace teams that had been ejected after nine or fourteen minutes had come out looking like death-row inmates, their souls completely drained. In that short span of outside time, they had endured dozens of minutes of horrific, life-or-death struggle inside.

"Briefing complete. All parties, enter."

At the instructor's command, the massive steel doors slowly slid open to both sides. Before stepping into the room where only pitch-black darkness waited, I quickly scanned my party members' faces. Jung-woo, taking deep breaths while hiding behind his enormous shield. A-rin, clutching her staff with both hands and trembling like a leaf. Ki-tae, who, the moment weapon restrictions were lifted, was breathing heavily through his nose and stroking every bomb on his body with manic glee. And finally...

"Let's go in."

Han Seol-ah, who had casually wiped the chocolate smudge from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, stared straight ahead with her signature cold, unshakable gaze.

A truly bizarre and unstable combination. Yet for that very reason, it filled me with anticipation.

Let's do this.

Gripping the handles of my chain scythe and blunt weapon tightly in both hands, I stepped into the darkness.

The moment all five of us were inside, the iron doors slammed shut behind us with a deafening BOOM! Complete blackout. Then, the metal bracelet on my wrist emitted a mechanical vibration, followed by an intense flash of light that struck my retinas.

Woooong—FLASH!

"Ugh...!"

A momentary dizziness washed over me as everything turned white. But it took less than a second for my senses to return. The first thing I felt was not the cool air-conditioned breeze from before, but the acrid stench of dirt and gunpowder that stabbed straight into my lungs.

"H-here..." someone groaned, opening their eyes. I quickly secured my vision and looked around. The academy's clean simulation room was gone without a trace. We stood in the middle of a ruined city where gray dust swirled through the air. Shattered pieces of asphalt littered the ground, and the burned-out skeletons of vehicles made it painfully clear this had once been a horrific battlefield.

And directly ahead, where our eyes naturally fell, loomed the gaping entrance of a massive 'city hall building' with concrete pillars collapsed all around it—like a monster opening its maw to stare down at us.

The moment we stared intently at the eerily silent entrance of the city hall—

The vivid scene of the simulation unfolding before our eyes left the party members momentarily frozen in place. The acrid smell of gunpowder and the grotesque howls of beasts echoing from somewhere made them hesitate, clearly unsure what to do.

Among the wavering party members, the first to break the silence was our leader, Han Seol-ah. She sharply ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠scanned the dark entrance of the city hall, her mind working quickly, then spoke in a decisive tone.

"We don't know what's inside the building, so maintain maximum vigilance as we advance."

Seol-ah lightly adjusted her grip on her longsword and began issuing orders.

"Yoon Jung-woo, take point and open the path with your shield. Song A-rin, stay in the middle of the formation and prepare buffs and healing. The two of you (me and Ki-tae) will cover the rear. I'll stay right beside Jung-woo to handle any monsters that jump out. Everyone, match your steps to mine."

It was a concise and crystal-clear set of orders. Overwhelmed by the charisma befitting the top student, the party members nodded without complaint and quickly fell into the formation she had laid out.

We entered the building with extreme caution, yet we cleared the first-floor lobby far more smoothly than expected.

"Kiiiik—!"

Two-meter-tall, grotesque humanoid mutated monsters suddenly lunged from the darkness, but in front of Han Seol-ah's blade, they were nothing more than lumps of meat.

Slash—!Clang!

The freezing mana bursting from her longsword cleaved through the air. The monsters froze solid ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with a crackling sound before they could even scream, then split cleanly in two.

Jung-woo secured the front line reliably while Seol-ah mercilessly carved through everything beside him. It was perfect division of labor.

Moreover, every time we encountered a new door or blocked room during our search, our 'breaching strategy' proved incredibly efficient.

"Jung-woo, open the door and just push your shield through the gap. Ki-tae, toss a grenade over the shield."

At my suggestion, Seol-ah initially tilted her head with a suspicious look that seemed to say, Do we really need to make such a noisy explosion? But the moment the tightly sealed door opened and a swarm of monsters tried to pour out, only to be turned into chunks of meat by a single bomb from Ki-tae, her attitude did a complete 180.

I clearly saw a strangely satisfied smile spread across her lips at this absurdly easy method of clearing an entire room without spilling a single drop of blood.

While the front was being cleaned up so neatly, the rear was also being managed peacefully... well, relatively.

"Kyaaaak!"

Smaller mutated creatures kept pouring out endlessly from destroyed vents in the narrow corridors or blind spots behind us, but I didn't even need to pull out the heavy hammer or spear on my back. In tight spaces, short throwing weapons were king.

I gripped two daggers—originally brought for throwing—in reverse in both hands and casually sliced through the neck arteries and foreheads of the beast-like monsters that charged at me. Minimal mana, minimal movement. Without the party members even needing to look back, I sliced through the swarming trash mobs like a shadow, increasing our advance speed.

The moment we finished clearing the first floor and reached the second, a wide, long central corridor stretching at least dozens of meters appeared before us.

"...You've got to be kidding me."

Ki-tae sucked in a sharp breath. The corridor was packed wall-to-wall with mutated monsters of all sizes, like a packed subway at rush hour. Trying to blast through that many with Ki-tae's bombs would waste too much time, and there was a real risk the entire building could collapse.

At that moment, Seol-ah lowered her sword with a light flick and took a step forward.

"Yoon Jung-woo. Lower your shield and step aside for a moment."

After ordering Jung-woo to stand by, Seol-ah gave a slight nod toward A-rin behind her. A-rin immediately understood, raising her staff and shouting.

"Holy Weapon! Haste!"

The buff magic flowing from the tip of A-rin's staff enveloped Seol-ah's body. Instantly, Seol-ah's eyes gleamed coldly as fierce cold energy began swirling and condensing violently over her longsword.

An overwhelming mana charge that seemed to freeze the very air in the corridor solid. Then she swung her longsword in a wide horizontal arc toward the front of the corridor.

KWAAAAAAAAAA—!!

The massive 'area-of-effect freezing sword strike' fired from the tip of her blade swept through the corridor like a ferocious storm. The dozens of monsters blocking the way were turned into ice shards and shattered without even having time to scream. The corridor was literally swept clean in a single stroke, transforming into a completely empty, pure-white frozen path.

"Whoa..."

"That's insane, seriously..."

Jung-woo and A-rin stood with their mouths agape in awe. It was truly on another level—the overwhelming destructive power one would expect from the top student in swordsmanship, the one the media had been watching even before admission.

But right after unleashing the area attack, there was a brief moment where Seol-ah's shoulders trembled slightly as she recovered her sword. In that dizzying opening, a single grotesque worm the size of a human head that had stubbornly survived, hiding in a crack in the ceiling, bared its sharp teeth and shot down toward the crown of Seol-ah's head like lightning.

Danger!

Seol-ah's eyes widened as she sensed the threat, but her frozen posture made her a half-beat too slow to react. That was when it happened.

RATATATAT—!!

The ear-splitting roar of magic bullets tore through the air. The worm's head that had been about to engulf Seol-ah exploded like a watermelon in midair, spraying green bodily fluids everywhere.

"...!"

The startled Seol-ah whipped her head around. There I was, white smoke still curling from the barrel of the 'Magic Engineering Automatic Rifle' slung across my chest.

"Hoo..."

Seol-ah let out a small sigh as she pressed a hand to her startled chest. I grinned and aimed the muzzle forward again.

"It's too early to be surprised. They're coming again."

Just as I said, beyond the frozen corridor, closed doors were shattering as another monster wave poured out like mad.

Seol-ah's eyes sharpened fiercely as she began charging mana into her sword once more. Meanwhile, worms began dropping from various spots on the ceiling again, all targeting her.

"Just focus on cutting everything in front of you."

I shouted while pulling the trigger of the automatic rifle.

Bang! Bang! Ratatatat—!!

"I'll cover you!"

Thanks to my perfect rear firepower support and ceiling suppression, Seol-ah was able to pour every ounce of her power into the front without any interference. We tore through the corridor at a frantic pace and finally arrived at the end of the second-floor hallway, in front of the tightly closed double doors of the 'mayor's office.' Through the gap, we could see the red flag that was our mission objective flickering.

At the same time, in the monitoring room.

Professors watching the overwhelming Phase 1 breakthrough footage of Party 38 filling the large central screen burst into exclamations and praise.

"As expected of Han Seol-ah. To already be capable of releasing mana like that at her age and wielding area-of-effect freezing sword strikes—truly beyond expectations."

"The party's synergy is excellent. Their Phase 1 clear speed is overwhelmingly faster than any team we've seen so far."

An efficient breakthrough using a shield for vision and bombs for penetration, combined with the top student's fierce performance. As the professors smiled with satisfaction, Professor Park Tae-soo from the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Tactics Department fixed his sharp gaze on one corner of the screen.

"That peddler-looking friend over there."

Professor Park pointed at Do-woon, who was firing the automatic rifle.

"Earlier in the narrow passage, he blocked the rear with daggers. And just now, he provided immediate cover with the automatic rifle."

Professor Park stroked his chin with interest.

"His reaction speed is impressive."

The associate professor from the Combat Magic Department continued.

"Not just reaction speed—whether by luck or quick thinking, his situational awareness in combat is remarkably fast."

As the compliments continued, the atmosphere in the monitoring room grew quite warm. But, as always, it was Professor Ma Jin-tae who poured cold water on the mood.

"Using shallow tricks against the trash mob horde of Phase 1 is certainly praiseworthy."

Professor Ma looked at the image of Do-woon's party reaching for the mayor's office door handle with ice-cold eyes, the corner of his mouth twisting.

"But the real test of this simulation is Phase 2."

With Professor Ma's chilling words, the members of Party 38 on the monitor finally kicked open the mayor's office door and approached the flag.

The massive double doors of the mayor's office shattered, and one by one, we entered the room amid a cloud of white dust.

"......"

"......"

Unlike the hellish chaos outside, the interior of the spacious mayor's office was eerily quiet. Amid overturned luxury sofas and desks scattered with documents, only the red flag—our mission objective—stood alone in the center.

"It could be a trap. Jung-woo, raise your shield. A-rin, prepare your casting."

At my words, Jung-woo nodded and stepped forward, completely blocking the front with his massive shield. While everyone held their breath and stayed on guard, our leader Han Seol-ah strode straight toward the desk. She scanned the surroundings once more with sharp eyes, then reached out without hesitation and yanked the flag free.

"Hoo...! We made it!"

"Thank goodness, seriously..."

Jung-woo let out the breath he'd been holding and slightly lowered his shield. A-rin looked like her legs might give out as she nearly collapsed. Ki-tae shrugged, saying, "It went surprisingly smoothly even without my artistic explosions."

But we weren't given even a single second to savor the joy of breaking through Phase 1.

A sharp mechanical sound pierced our ears once again.

BEEP—!

"...What?"

The moment the party members read the message, their faces hardened like stone. Then—

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE—!!

The ground beneath our feet twisted violently, and the entire city hall building began shaking as if it would collapse at any moment. The chandelier on the ceiling crashed to the floor and shattered into pieces. Every window shattered at once.

"Uwaaaaah! E-earthquake?!"

Jung-woo staggered as he wrapped A-rin in his shield. Once the dust settled and the shaking stopped, the party members cautiously approached the completely shattered front windows as if by agreement.

And the moment we looked down at the wide plaza in front of the city hall below...

Every single member of our party instinctively held their breath and fell silent.

THUD—!Hssssss—.

In the middle of the thick cloud of rising dust, a horrifically massive silhouette easily the height of a three-story building was exhaling labored breaths.

"T-that... is the Behemoth...?"

Even Ki-tae lost his usual mania and muttered in a dazed voice. As the view cleared, the boss's majesty was revealed—quite literally a 'monster' stitched together in defiance of natural ecology.

It supported its body with two abnormally developed, thick arms planted on the ground like a gorilla. But the head attached to that horrific torso belonged to a massive rhinoceros. A heavy, vicious horn capable of piercing anything protruded from its forehead.

The most spine-chilling part was the 'outer shell' covering its entire body. It gleamed with a cold, metallic luster as if coated thickly with titanium alloy, yet every time the creature flexed its muscles and breathed, that steel shell stretched and contracted flexibly like living hide.

So that's why those ace teams failed.

Crushed by the boss's overwhelming presence, we swallowed dryly as we stared at a single point.