Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: The Demonic Hand of the Mist Forest (2)
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After momentarily freezing up, I swallowed dryly and barely managed to tear my feet off the ground to follow behind Yoon Seo-rin and Amelia.
The students gathering at the dungeon entrance along the central corridor of the training hall began entering the massive gate one by one into the F-Rank artificial dungeon: Mist Forest.
"Next examinee... Kang Hyun-sol, right?"
The TA, who had been scribbling something on a piece of paper, looked up to confirm my face.
"Yes, that's me."
"Good. As you experienced last time, it might make you a bit dizzy right after entering. Never take off the bracelet engraved with protective magic and the teleportation magic circle."
"Got it."
After hearing the TA's brief instructions, I slowly stepped into the dungeon entrance.
My vision flashed, and soon the hard concrete under my feet turned into damp soil.
At the same time, the main story window popped up.
[Main Story Chapter 3: The Demonic Hand of the Mist Forest begins.]
[Subjugate the two soldier-class demons prowling the Mist Forest and claim the highest possible rank in the dungeon evaluation.]
Rewards: 1000 SP, additional SP based on final ranking, 2 F~A-Rank Item Draw Tickets.
"Quest details and rewards haven't changed."
Just like last time, the damp, chilly air hit me the moment I entered the dungeon interior, giving the illusion that this was a real dungeon.
"Hm... Still better than the Tomb of the Dead."
Thinking that an artificially made dirt smell was better than the utterly revolting stench of rotting corpses in midwinter, I slowly looked around.
The scenery before me was exactly as the name suggested—a forest thick with dense fog, packed with tall trees that completely blocked the view.
On top of that, sunlight was obscured by the thick fog and branches, barely filtering through as faint rays of light.
I yawned and stretched again.
"Yaaawn... Man, I'm seriously so sleepy."
No matter how stuffy it was, I should've forced myself to sleep somehow. The thought of fighting real demons for the first time had me tense.
Above all, nagging thoughts about why Chae Yeon-hwa had warned me to be careful wouldn't leave my mind, keeping me from sleeping.
The one silver lining—if you could call it that—was that while my body still felt heavy from last night's fatigue, the tension had sharpened my mind at least a bit.
Plus, since the quest hadn't changed, some of that tension eased.
I checked the rankings and times of the other students via the cool bracelet on my wrist.
"Everyone's fast."
Amelia and Yoon Seo-rin, who had entered about a minute—or maybe 30 seconds—ahead of me, already had double-digit monster kills.
Well, Yoon Seo-rin made sense; she could use the unique weapon called Mana Bullets and had probably cleared countless artificial dungeons before.
But Amelia... the more I saw of her, the more I wondered what kind of character she was.
"If she's gonna be like that, they should've just made her a holy knight or something instead of a saintess... What's with a saintess swinging her fists?"
I muttered to the empty air like I was arguing with someone, then started moving.
I headed deeper into the forest, killing my footsteps as much as possible.
About three minutes of quiet movement later.
A faint rustling came from the fog ahead.
Snap! Rustle rustle!
Something stepping on branches and grass.
Judging by the sound, two or maybe three.
Given the sluggish, irregular movements, it was likely Green Slimes or Mist Wolves, common in the F-Rank Mist Forest.
"Hoo..."
I took a deep breath, hid behind a nearby tree, concentrated my mind, and generated a Mana Bullet.
I wouldn't use Star Mana.
No need to waste that much mana on trash mobs.
Besides, I had to save my magic power for the demons later.
The sounds grew closer.
Soon, three gray wolves resembling shadows emerged from the thick fog.
Mist Wolves, as expected.
Common monsters in F-Rank dungeons, but their swift, stealthy movements meant you couldn't let your guard down.
The three Mist Wolves advanced slowly, cautiously scanning their surroundings.
They weren't usually that careful—seemed like they sensed something too.
But.
"Too late for that."
I fired the Mana Bullet without hesitation.
Thud!
Faster than sound, the Mana Bullet struck the Mist Wolf's forehead dead-on.
Kyaaang!
With short cries of agony, two wolves slumped onto the grass.
The last one, leading the pack, finally grasped the situation at its comrade's sudden death. It let out a sharp howl and spun around.
"You can help me warm up. I'll take you on with the sword."
I burst from behind the tree, swiftly drawing the sword Wol Ha-yeon had given me from my waist.
In an instant, I closed the distance and swung at its neck.
Slash—!
A short, clean cut.
The wolf's body convulsed briefly after its head was severed, then went completely still.
"...Wow, what the hell? How does it cut this cleanly? Is this the power of a dedicated weapon?"
I alternated glances between the sword in my hand and the corpse, then sheathed it and headed deeper in.
-Kekeheng!
-Kyung!
After taking down two more Mist Wolves ahead, I looked at the student aiming his bow at me from the side and spoke.
"You shouldn't shoot that. I just saved you from an ambush, and shooting me would make you way too heartless."
"I... I don't know! Who asked you to save me!? And this is an evaluation—it's a competition!"
The male student shouted and released the taut bowstring.
"Tch."
Of course, I hadn't expected him to act decent even for a second, so I immediately deployed a protective barrier to block the arrow.
Then I slammed a Mana Bullet into his chest.
Boom—!
"Gah... When did you... Mana Bullet...?"
"When? From the moment I spotted you. Don't blame me—this is me saving you."
"You're already killing me, what do you... "
The male student couldn't even finish his sentence before he was teleported out of the dungeon.
"Better to take a minor point deduction and get ejected early for some safe rest than run into demons and die a dog's death."
I watched the spot where he'd collapsed, muttering softly, then moved on.
Exactly three minutes later.
-Kyuuung! Kyuung!
"Ugh, come on, talk about bad luck... Why are there so many slimes?"
As I cautiously entered a patch of thicker fog, dozens of slimes inside revealed themselves.
Spotting me too, they glowed with their eyes, kyuuung-ing as they charged.
I leaped back to create distance and simultaneously cast several 1-Circle spells.
"Ice Spear, Wind Arrow, Fire Arrow."
Dozens of spells shimmered menacingly in the air.
"Fire."
The spells flashed in unison, and in an instant, blinding light and explosions engulfed the forest.
Kaboom kaboom kaboom—!!
Ice spears burst with chill, fire arrows melted slime bodies, wind arrows sliced through sticky mucus.
But the slimes' infamous regeneration shrugged it off.
Destroy one, it split into two; burn three, they became four.
"What a pain."
I dusted my fingertips, caught my breath, and formed a new Mana Bullet in the air.
More precisely, not a normal one—a bomb shaped like a bullet packed with Star Mana.
"Take this bomb!!"
Yelling a line from some game character, I hurled the wildly surging Star Mana bullet straight into the slime horde's center.
It hit the ground and sprayed shards, instantly obliterating the slimes.
I diced up the last one or two with my sword to finish, and the Mist Forest returned to silence.
But soon, voices came from nearby.
"Quiet! If they catch us, we're done."
"Relax. I heard they cut back on drones this time for fairness. As long as we don't stand out, we won't get caught!"
"Fine, just shut up and follow!"
"...?"
I immediately crouched and peeked from behind a tree.
Through the fog, I saw three students gesturing and talking.
"...Forming an alliance? In this exam? Look at these shameless jerks."
Alliances were a blatant rules violation.
This evaluation measured individual ability only.
Artificial dungeons were designed around participant competition, so alliances meant deductions or disqualification.
Yet they knew that and still ignored the rules just because there were fewer drones...?
'They need some education.'
I carefully opened my palm and generated slightly smaller-than-usual Mana Bullets.
Then I focused even harder, spinning them faster than normal.
Kagagak...!
The bullets' cores glowed red, emitting a sharp, air-piercing whine.
"My pretty Mana Bullets... Teach those rule-breaking bad guys a lesson!"
Aiming at their heads with my fingertips, I fired the completed bullets.
Kwajik—!
Near-straight trajectories: the first shattered the archer's bow, pierced his heart; the second embedded in the mage's arm behind him.
The third finished the collapsing mage.
The last one nailed the dagger-wielding guy's head, teleporting him out instantly.
"Gah!! What the—! Where'd that come from...?"
"Aaaah!! No! I barely got any monsters yet..."
Thus, the three rule-breakers met their early exit.
"Even if you're desperate to ace the eval and impress the profs, play fair, folks. Gotta act in ways you can be proud of. Tsk."
I sighed briefly at the spot they'd vanished from, then headed deeper into the dungeon.
About ten minutes later, through the thick fog came a chilling yet somehow familiar metallic clang.
Clang—!!
-Kieeeek!!
Slash! Slash—!
The sound of something long swinging mercilessly.
And monster bodies bursting.
"...?"
Sensing a fight, I turned to leave.
But.
"...Who's there? Come out."
"...Damn it."
He'd already sensed my presence. An unidentified male student shouted toward me.
Judging I couldn't escape, I cautiously parted the bushes and checked the cocky guy who'd called me out.
There he was: Lee Soo-hyuk, leaning on his spear amid a mountain of over fifty wolf, slime, and bush snake corpses.
"Argh, total crapshoot... Do we have some bad karma? Feels like we ran into each other right at the start last time too."
"..."
Lee Soo-hyuk, future ally of the protagonist and second only to Wol Ha-yeon in raw power.
He looked at me, spun his spear briefly, and slung it over his shoulder.
His lips slowly curled up.
"Kang Hyun-sol. I wanted a rematch with you anyway. Perfect timing."
Blood dripped menacingly from his spear tip.
"...I wasn't particularly itching for a rematch with you. But whatever, no choice now."