Chapter 14
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Artificial Dungeon Practical (4)
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“Now's the time!! Push them!!”
At my command, the members of Team 4 charged all at once toward the remaining enemies.
But it seemed they had no intention of going down easily.
“Where do you think you're going!!”
Lee Soo-hyuk instantly widened the distance from Kang Hyun-sol in the blink of an eye, then swung his spear in a wide arc, unleashing aura toward the students of Team 4.
That single strike sent two team members flying back, enveloped in protective barriers and teleported out of the dungeon.
“Wha... what the hell is that guy?”
“Damn, is that really a freshman?”
“How is that a freshman? Fuck, he could be an active hunter right now!!”
The momentum shifted dramatically.
The close-range students from Team 11 seized the opening created by Team 4's panic and counterattacked, and our team members began to fall back one by one.
'Damn it!! Missing just once leads to this disaster.'
I gripped my sword tightly with sweat-slicked hands and charged once more at Lee Soo-hyuk, who was about to swing his spear again.
Bang—!
“Urk...”
“You're really impressive. How did someone with your level of skill end up ranked 998th at the academy?”
Lee Soo-hyuk easily blocked my sword and spoke with eyes full of curiosity.
“And I think I get why Wol Ha-yeon is interested in you. So, why don't you show me a bit more?”
“I don't know, man! I don't know why my rank is what it is! Hell, I don't know anything!!”
I gritted my teeth and swung my sword again.
Bang—!
But Lee Soo-hyuk effortlessly deflected my strike and thrust his spear straight at me.
“Kuh...!”
Fortunately, I twisted my body just before it pierced my abdomen, ending with only a graze.
“You're holding up better than expected. But just enduring won't win you the fight.”
Amused by my struggling, Lee Soo-hyuk smiled enjoyably as he swung the spear blade again.
I succeeded in dodging his attack once more by ducking low, but...
The shockwave from the spear threw off my balance, nearly forcing me to my knees.
“Damn, this is so frustrating, you monster...”
The battle raged fiercely in the back as well.
Sophia was shaking the ranks of the remaining Team 11 students by unleashing spells continuously.
Our team members fought desperately in response, but with the tanks still intact, it had little effect.
And the biggest problem was that Lee Soo-hyuk was pressing me even harder.
“Duck!!”
Just as I was wondering how to turn this situation around, Yoon Seo-rin's short shout came from behind.
At the same time, Yoon Seo-rin pulled the trigger, and a mana bullet of a new form burst from the muzzle.
Bang—!
A gunshot incomparably louder than before, enough to burst eardrums, and the deadly energy felt on the back of my head made me instinctively crouch low.
“What the hell is that...?”
“She can compress mana that much?”
The students who saw Yoon Seo-rin's mana bullet muttered as if they couldn't believe their eyes.
But Lee Soo-hyuk calmly analyzed the bullet's trajectory and power in that brief moment.
“A skill? But aiming for an opening like that won't—”
A blue aura on a completely different level from before began emanating from the tip of his spear.
He confidently intended to block the mana bullet flying at him with lethal intent.
Bang—!!
However, the result was the complete opposite of Lee Soo-hyuk's expectations.
The compressed mana exploded like fireworks just before touching his spear, and the shockwave pushed his spear aside.
His body, momentarily unbalanced, was forced back half a step.
“What the...?”
“Nice one, Yoon Seo-rin!!”
Judging this to be the one and only chance, I squeezed out every last bit of strength from my body and swung my sword.
Bang—!
My sword strike forcibly twisted Lee Soo-hyuk's spear, and at the same time, Yoon Seo-rin pulled the trigger for the second shot.
Bang—!
This time, the mana projectile hit his chest dead-on.
A blue protective barrier immediately flickered, enveloping Lee Soo-hyuk's body.
“Hoo... using a skill as a feint, huh.”
Surprise and anger flashed briefly in Lee Soo-hyuk's eyes, but he soon murmured with a bitter smile.
“As expected... S-Rank Awakeners are on another level...”
And with that, his body was swept away in blue light and teleported out of the dungeon.
“...We did it.”
I panted heavily as I wiped the sweat from my brow.
“No way... the team leader is out?”
“This is bad...”
The morale of the remaining Team 11 students visibly plummeted.
The shield bearers flinched and retreated, and the lone remaining mage simply collapsed to the ground.
“Now's our chance! Push them!”
Sophia shouted loudly and cast another spell, soon engulfing the remaining students in flickering red flames.
Thus, the rest of Team 11's students were one by one wrapped in protective barriers and forcibly teleported out of the dungeon.
“It's over...”
I dropped my sword to the ground with a clunk and looked at Yoon Seo-rin.
“That mana bullet you just fired... it was insane. A skill?”
Yoon Seo-rin shook off the lingering mana from the muzzle and nodded.
“Yeah. I intentionally incompletely compressed the mana that time... If I compress it properly and fire, the penetration can reach up to five times that of a regular mana bullet.”
“You really saved my life. I thought my palms were gonna burst.”
As I spoke sincerely, she slightly bowed her head and replied softly.
“...You bought me the time to prepare. It wouldn't have been possible otherwise.”
“Uh... yeah.”
'...Was she always this kind of personality?'
The Yoon Seo-rin I was seeing now seemed embarrassed yet pleased by the praise, not knowing what to do.
Yet in all my time playing the game, I'd never seen her act like that even once.
'...Probably just my imagination?'
Something felt off, but I chalked it up to me being oversensitive and decided to rest first.
At that moment, Evaluation Professor Lee Tae-hoon, who had been watching the students' battles and dungeon clears via drones to conduct the assessment,
turned to the guild masters behind him with a proud expression as they watched the footage together.
“What do you think? This year's freshmen are overflowing with historic levels of talent.”
Pride laced Professor Lee Tae-hoon's voice.
In the spacious evaluation room like an auditorium, a massive screen on one wall was replaying the battle between Team 4 and Team 11 in full swing.
Students vanishing amid Sophia Litwell's flame magic.
The mana bullet piercing through and exploding in blue light, taking down Lee Soo-hyuk.
“Hmm...”
A middle-aged man stared piercingly at the screen, arms crossed.
“As expected of the Association Chairman's granddaughter... To have such precise control and trait utilization at that age. The old man's got a precious gem in his twilight years.”
His eyes held blatant greed.
“Looks like that last shot was a new skill from student Yoon Seo-rin. Even incomplete, it pushed back student Lee Soo-hyuk. Once perfected... even average A-Rank Hunters would go down in one hit.”
“Exactly.”
Choi Soo-yeon, guild master of the Crimson Flame Alliance, sitting beside him, spoke with a bewitching smile.
“And her looks are top-notch, backed by the top-tier Association. That girl is undoubtedly Korea's most precious gem. The Association will try to hold onto her, but for talent like that, we have to pull out all the stops to bring her to our side.”
“Heh, you think we're the only ones thinking that? Guilds worldwide will have their eyes on her.”
As the guild masters' evaluations of Yoon Seo-rin buzzed about, one man who seemed lost in thought slowly voiced a question.
“But... what about that freshman?”
The guild master of Sky Spear Guild, with his deep voice, pointed at a student on the screen.
A boy gripping his sword with bloodied hands, enduring Lee Soo-hyuk's spear head-on.
The student he questioned was none other than 998th-ranked Kang Hyun-sol.
“Name's... Kang Hyun-sol. Entrance score at the bottom, unique trait unmeasurable...”
The guild master narrowed his eyes as he continued.
“And his movements are at that level? That doesn't seem like just training. Hell, can he even hold out that long against De Nol's grandson to begin with?”
“Haha! That's some intriguing info. 998th? Maybe there was an error in the entrance process?”
“Or he hid it on purpose. Kids like that usually have some backstory. Worst case, we can't rule out the possibility of him being a mana addict.”
As the guild masters' gazes turned to Kang Hyun-sol on the screen, Professor Lee Tae-hoon added with a slight smile.
“I agree, that student isn't just some bottom-ranker. And guild masters, you may have heard the rumors... but he's currently receiving a ton of attention from student Wol Ha-yeon.”
At Lee Tae-hoon's words, the surrounding guild masters widened their eyes and fell silent for a moment.
On the massive screen, footage of other students' battles began playing.
“...What exactly do you mean by 'attention'? You don't mean romantic interest between man and woman, do you?”
Choi Soo-yeon, deep in thought, asked quizzically, and Lee Tae-hoon shrugged.
“Honestly, I don't know the details. I confirmed rumors of some connection between the two students while browsing the student community, and there have been sightings of them coming out of the training grounds together every morning, so I just assumed.”
“But if there's really something between those two students, it could be an opportunity for all of you.”
“...”
“...”
A heavy silence once again filled the evaluation room.
The guild masters were now eyeing not just Yoon Seo-rin, but Kang Hyun-sol with piercing intensity.
“Intriguing.”
The Sky Spear Guild master murmured lowly.
“I don't know how much is true, but one thing's clear: student Kang Hyun-sol might be more than just a hidden gem. He's only 998th now, but we can't ignore his potential.”
“He's just a first-year anyway, and it's early in the semester. We'll see as we watch.”
Choi Soo-yeon of Crimson Flame Alliance tilted her wine glass without losing her smile.
“But I have a feeling. Very soon... guilds will clash over that kid.”
Professor Lee Tae-hoon crossed his arms with a subtle smile and dropped his final remark.
“If the guild masters think that highly of them... things are going to get even more exciting from here. I'll have to watch closely with both eyes wide open to see how far these kids grow.”
“Hoo...”
After some rest, I shook off the sweat from my drenched palms and took a deep breath.
“You okay? Your hands looked pretty messed up earlier.”
Sophia looked at my palms with worried eyes.
I grinned nonchalantly and sheathed my sword.
“It's nothing. Just a little scrape.”
Yoon Seo-rin glanced at me and turned her head away.
“...You don't have to act tough. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have had time to prepare.”
“...Yeah.”
'Why does she keep indirectly expressing gratitude like this...?'
No matter how I looked at it, there was a subtle difference from Yoon Seo-rin's usual demeanor in the game.
Something felt off, but right now, I had to prioritize something else.
That was dealing with the boss goblin.
Competition between students was important, but to end the dungeon conquest evaluation, we had to take down the dungeon's master.
“Alright, everyone rested up? Let's move. The scoreboard shows about half the teams are out, so the remaining ones are probably all heading toward the boss goblin now.”
As I stood first and shouted, the team members began preparing to move one by one.
About ten minutes after proceeding deeper along the forest path.
The surrounding air gradually grew heavy.
Thump... thump...
A massive heartbeat-like sound echoed from somewhere.
“This... sounds like monster footsteps, right?”
One team member muttered, face paling.
“Who knows? Probably.”
I couldn't be certain.
No matter how much of a veteran I was, I couldn't remember every monster's footstep sounds.
Regular goblins wouldn't make such loud noises, so it was likely the boss.
“Let's check it out...”
That's when it happened.
“...!”
Pushing through the underbrush, a crowd of numerous students came into view ahead.
“Whoa, that's...”
“Oh man... we're screwed. Of all people...”
And seeing something among that crowd of students, our team members began muttering in shock.
On one side, Kim Do-yoon and about 40 students were facing off against someone, and opposite them stood Wol Ha-yeon, expressionless, emanating a faint moonlight aura.
“...”
The forest air froze in an instant.
Team 4's members, Yoon Seo-rin, and Sophia tensed up, sensing the fight was about to truly begin.
But I froze solid for a completely different reason, utterly speechless.
'Whoa... is today really out to screw me over? Why the hell is Wol Ha-yeon here? She's not supposed to join the main story events, right...'
It seemed the world still had plenty of ways left to mess with me.