Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Aftermath
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Kaboom!
A female cadet was directing the rescue team from the front lines.
Every time her hands swept left and right, massive boulders flew aside one by one.
"Student Council President. That's enough. Go back. You can leave the rest to us."
"No. There's still...! Plenty of people left inside."
Moon Soo-rin was channeling her mana while beads of sweat dotted her forehead.
Telekinesis.
It was her unique power.
An innate magical affinity she'd been born with.
Moon Soo-rin possessed tremendous talent in manipulating, shaping, and materializing mana.
A magic that could do anything... yet nothing at all.
But her talent shattered that notion.
Whoosh—
Earth parted in the wake of her hands, carving out a path.
According to the experts' analysis, no one could possibly rescue others by following this path.
Each passage was isolated, unconnected to the others.
Which meant they had to punch through the dungeon walls.
"She's insane. Is that really a cadet?"
"Right? But isn't she pushing too hard? She's been digging alone without a break."
"Maybe her boyfriend's trapped inside."
The hunters who'd come along with her had nothing to do. They were combat specialists, but Moon Soo-rin was faster at breaching walls.
She'd been tunneling solo for hours.
She'd already saved dozens of cadets, but she didn't stop.
"Wait just a moment. There's one... no, two more behind here."
An expert following behind her with a mana detector spoke up.
"You sure about this spot?"
"Yes. I can sense mana. One of them is extremely faint. Their life might be in danger! We need to break through now."
Moon Soo-rin gritted her teeth, surging more mana to hurl the dirt backward.
Any obstructing rocks or boulders were cleared in an instant.
"Almost through!"
"Mana reactions spiking! Are they in combat?!"
Drip. Drop.
As the wall crumbled, light began leaking from the other side.
Moon Soo-rin summoned more mana and clawed at the wall.
This was already her eleventh rescue. Lee Ho-yeon still wasn't among them.
'Where the hell are you...!'
She'd saved cadets and healer teams who thanked her profusely.
But passing charred corpses and mangled body parts she couldn't even identify was building her anxiety.
As Student Council President, she had mountains of work to oversee. As the Chairman's granddaughter, she managed the academy too. Third-year top cadet, she faced sky-high expectations and constant scrutiny. Even her personal time was hounded by paparazzi.
Moon Soo-rin stood tall in the middle of a desert with nowhere to lean.
In that grueling life, she'd finally found her heart's oasis. She absolutely couldn't give up.
Boom!
Moon Soo-rin gathered her mana and blasted through the wall in one go.
If this was another dead end, she'd move straight to the next.
She swept aside fallen rock fragments and cleared dust with mana as she advanced.
"Huh? Soo-rin noona?"
And then, a voice that soothed her just by hearing it reached Moon Soo-rin's ears.
"Ho, Ho-yeon! Are you okay?!"
She threw herself at him—
"S-Soo-rin noona? What's wrong? Wait, why are you even here?"
"Ho-yeon... Thank goodness. I'm so glad you're alive."
Moon Soo-rin's tension melted away in an instant.
This warmth. This comfort. She'd missed it so much.
The sanctuary of her heart. The one person whose face alone eased her soul.
'This man... I can never let him go.'
Lee Ho-yeon's presence swelled larger in Moon Soo-rin's heart.
"Student Council President! Something's off here!"
"N-No way! Could this be?!"
The rescue team trailing her erupted in shouts.
'Damn, still not enough.'
But Moon Soo-rin lifted her head, scanning for potential threats.
The rescuers' eyes were fixed on one spot.
There... lay two ogres.
Ogres were monsters that took at least two or three B-rank hunters to raid.
Among mindless beasts, they were the strongest.
Yet there they were: one with a hole punched through its gut, the other with half its head blown off, slumped side by side.
Moon Soo-rin quickly surveyed the surroundings.
Baek A-young and Lee Ho-yeon. Just the two visible. Baek A-young was an incredible healer, but known to have zero combat ability.
The only fighter was Lee Ho-yeon.
His torn, disheveled clothes were soaked in blood.
He must've taken a serious wound mid-battle.
"Ho, Ho-yeon, you...!"
Lee Ho-yeon turned to check on Baek A-young's condition.
Seeing other female hunters tending to her, he seemed relieved.
'His personality's flawless too.'
But personality aside, there was something she had to ask right now.
"Did you... take down those two ogres by yourself?"
*
"Uh...."
Another awkward mess.
Should've done it somewhere else, damn it.
"Miss A-young, aside from Cadet Ho-yeon, were there any other party members?"
Over there, they were draping a jacket over Baek A-young and looking after her.
"Y-Yes. It was just the two of us. Oh, if you go down that passage a bit, there's a body. By the time we found it, an ogre was already eating it... Couldn't ID it."
"Th-Then that means there was one more ogre?"
"Uh... Yeah?"
"So you're saying Cadet Lee Ho-yeon took down three ogres alone?"
"Huh? W-Well, yeah?"
Baek A-young's expression grew more puzzled as the conversation dragged on.
Like, 'Huh? That's not it?'
"No way! A cadet—a first-year at that—soloed three ogres?!"
"This is front-page material. Historic prodigy...!"
"W-Wait... It is what happened, but uh...."
I'd definitely asked her to keep my strength hidden, but she'd spilled it all.
Turning away from Moon Soo-rin, I shot Baek A-young a frustrated look. She met my eyes, then grinned sheepishly, scratching her head.
- Won't. Do. It.
She mouthed an apology to me.
"Anyway, I'll head out now with the Saintess and Ho-yeon. Mana's running low—perfect timing to pull back."
"Yes, understood. We'll handle the rest."
Moon Soo-rin must want to leave with us too.
But seriously, why'd she join the rescue? As Student Council President, she'd have tons to handle right now.
★ Heroine Status Window ★ [Moon Soo-rin] Favorability: 60 Lust: 30 Appetite: 30 Fatigue: 59 Current State: Now what to do about cleanup... Ah, whatever. As long as I rescued Ho-yeon. I hadn't even started Moon Soo-rin's route yet. Why does she like me so much?
No way to know without her telling me.
We followed Moon Soo-rin through the dungeon walls.
Not just one—over a dozen had holes punched through.
No wonder they couldn't find us. How many walls did she cross?
"Did the Student Council President do all this?"
"Just one of my minor talents. Saintess."
"No need to call me that so formally...."
Baek A-young and Moon Soo-rin chatted amiably.
Honestly, I was exhausted and just wanted to crash in the dorm.
A portal out soon came into view.
'Finally escaping this nauseating dungeon.'
We stepped into the portal naturally.
After a bout of dizziness, I opened my eyes to chaos in the waiting room.
Cadets receiving emergency treatment, others covered head to toe in sheets, loved ones sobbing beside them...
A bitter sight.
"I-I have to go save them right now. I need to help."
"No, Miss A-young, you're not in any shape for that. You need treatment yourself—what are you even saying?"
"B-But...."
Baek A-young was a perv, but when it came to rescues, she was always dead serious.
Thud. Thud.
Then, a familiar professor approached us.
"Yes, six more still missing. Rescue ops underway...
It was our homeroom professor, Kim Jin-hyuk. He was on a smartwatch call, spotted us, and paused.
"Update: two more rescued. Four left. Yes. I'll take command."
He ended the call and came over.
"Saintess, Cadet Lee Ho-yeon. Glad you're safe. Saintess, head to the treatment center. Ho-yeon, follow me."
With that, Kim Jin-hyuk turned and walked off.
*
I followed Kim Jin-hyuk back to A-Class.
A few cadets and medics were waiting.
Probably for medical checks here.
"Oh, Cadet Lee Ho-yeon. Not a scratch on you. Clothes are torn, but... Ah, you were with the Saintess—she already healed you~."
The nurse muttered to herself with an 'aha~', then asked for my contact for follow-up checks.
I was about to give it when I noticed her cheeks flush. Told her to contact Professor Kim Jin-hyuk instead, and she clicked her tongue in annoyance.
Even our academy's med staff are rotten. Trying to snag cadet numbers.
Checks done, I was free to head to the dorm.
These cadets were waiting for the rest.
"By chance, were Lumi and Nam Da-eun rescued? They were in my group."
"Yes, Lumi and Nam Da-eun were among the first out. Nam Da-eun left right away; Lumi waited here then went back to the dorms with Lucy."
"Aha, thanks!"
Good.
Worried Nam Da-eun might've ditched Lumi, but nah—unfounded.
Elise joined training too, but she's strong enough to hold out till rescue.
"Alright, I'll head out. Thanks for your work."
"Sure."
I gave a quick goodbye and left A-Class.
Exhausted. Dying to rest in the dorm.
On the way, I messaged Moon Soo-rin a thank-you.
Was gonna text Lucy and Lumi too, but they’d already sent 'You okay?'
Smartwatches banned during training, so checking now.
Warmed by their concern, I replied thoughtfully and entered the dorm.
Lilliana was streaming in her room. I stripped off my cadet uniform and flopped onto my bed in the living room.
"Ugh, fucking wiped...."
Hours of dungeon crawling was a real strain, even for me.
As I debated just passing out, a message window popped up.
⚙ Special Quest Complete! ⚙ 『Do you wish to meet the God of Wagers? YES / NO』 "Oh, right. This."
I wanted to. Of course I did... but not now.
Too beat. God chats usually eat hours but time barely passes—that's the trope. Still, better safe.
Body needs rest, classes tomorrow. Weekend's better...
"Could we postpone a few days? Saturday work?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ 『Understood!』 Luckily, the God of Wagers is a decent sort. Figured it'd flop, but it worked.
"Ah, but now I'm wide awake."
Perfect timing wasted.
Fine, shower it is.
Grabbed my discarded cadet uniform and headed to the bathroom.
Stripped down fully, neatly stacked uniform and underwear, then entered the shower.
Uniform and undies had bloodstains, but laundry machine plus magic hanger cleans 'em spotless.
Victoria Academy tech is world-class!
Clean spell got the grime off, but I still felt gross.
Not actual dirt—mental thing.
Nothing beats a real rinse.
Post-shower, grabbed the uniform for the wash...
"Hold up. It's really gone. Not imagining this?"
Ghost? Checked twice this time. My underwear vanished again. This dorm's haunted!
Bullshit.
I stomped over and pounded on Lilliana's door.
This perv succubus developed klepto now.
Bang! Bang!
Hammered like I was breaking it down.
"Hey! Lilliana! Open the damn door!"
"Wh-Why?! What's wrong?!"
Crash! Bang! from inside. I didn't wait.
"Open. The. Door."
Click.
Lilliana couldn't resist my mana-laced voice and opened up.
"D-Don't come in! Wait a sec!"
"Move."
I shoved past her desperate block and stormed in.
On the bed sat two pairs of my underwear. One was balled up, soaked through from... whatever.
The other pristine—freshly swiped from me.
"Haa...."
I sighed, glaring at Lilliana.
"S-Sorry...."
Face beet red, she hung her head.
Droplets fell from between the legs of this virgin succubus perv.