Chapter 72: A Talent That Cannot Be Hidden (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 72: A Talent That Cannot Be Hidden (6)
The momentary silence gave way to an even louder clamor.
“We’re facing a special individual…?”
“Isn’t that too dangerous?”
“A lot of people are going to be carried out of here today.”
The trickiest part about facing a special individual was that you never knew how much stronger it was than a common one until you fought it.
Was it stronger than me, or weaker?
That uncertainty alone was enough to make anyone hesitate.
After all, if the creature was stronger than you, your chances of dying skyrocketed.
“Everyone, quiet down.”
When Professor Im Cheol-woong spoke, his voice laced with mana, everyone fell silent.
“We will all proceed to the mock dungeon.”
The students, their faces etched with worry, headed out of the classroom.
Among them, I spotted a familiar face.
Son Seo-yeon…
What was a second-year transfer student doing mixed in with the first-years?
Ah, I see.
The Magic Tower was a place dedicated solely to the study of magic.
That meant you wouldn't learn anything about monsters unless you went out of your way to study them.
So, she had no choice but to learn the basics alongside the first-years.
“Hey, what are you doing just sitting there?”
While I was lost in thought, Shin Yu-jeong shook my shoulder to snap me out of it.
I looked around and saw that all the other students had left. We were the only ones left.
“I was just thinking about something.”
“What, are you scared now that you heard we’re facing a special individual?” Shin Yu-jeong asked with a bright smile.
“Of course not.”
“Then again… with magic like you showed me last time, you could probably finish off most special individuals in one shot.”
The magic she was talking about must have been the combination of Fireball and Air Ball I’d shown her once.
She was right. With that, I could take out most monsters in a single hit.
The synergy between two compatible beginner-level spells could produce destructive power on par with an intermediate-level spell.
“Magic? What magic?”
Im Na-eun, who had been listening quietly, chimed in.
“I went to a dungeon with Yu-jeong once, and I used a Fireball then.”
“Wow… Do-jin, you’ve already been in a dungeon?” Im Na-eun said, her expression full of admiration.
“It was just a place with goblins.”
“Still, that’s something! You’ve already experienced a real battle.”
Her constant chattering about how amazing it was made my shoulders puff up with pride.
She really had a talent for making people feel good.
“Are you not coming?”
Shin Yu-jeong, who had been left out of the conversation, grumbled in a displeased tone.
It seemed she wasn't too happy about being ignored while the two of us chatted away.
“We’re going.”
“Yeah, let’s go!”
We walked a little faster and joined the end of the group ahead of us.
Second floor, first floor.
We descended the seemingly endless flight of stairs.
Basement one, two, three…
We finally arrived at the fifth basement floor.
At the end of a wide corridor, spacious enough for ten people to walk side-by-side, stood a massive door.
Professor Im Cheol-woong, standing before it, pointed to the small doors on either side of the wall and spoke.
“First, go to the changing rooms and put on your protective gear. You have five minutes. Anyone who is late will receive demerits.”
At the mere mention of demerits, the students split into male and female groups and passed through the small doors.
Inside the locker room, sets of leather armor for each body part and a black, skintight suit to be worn underneath were laid out neatly.
I took off my clothes and put them in a locker, and I could feel eyes on me from all directions.
Looking around, I saw several students staring at me and whispering amongst themselves.
“Whoa… look at his body.”
“Wasn’t he a mage?”
“Just looking at your bodies, you’d think you were the mage and he was the warrior.”
Yeah, this is why I work out.
I had a hard time forcing the corners of my mouth from curling up.
After putting on the leather top and bottoms, arm guards, and even a helmet, I glanced at myself in the mirror.
Ah, this brings back memories.
Back when I was D-rank and C-rank, I used to run around dungeons wrapped up in leather armor just like this.
As I was briefly lost in nostalgia, Professor Im Cheol-woong opened the door and came in.
“One minute left.”
Right, this wasn't the time for that.
I immediately walked past Professor Im Cheol-woong and out of the changing room.
One by one, students began to emerge from the women’s changing room as well.
Shin Yu-jeong, clad head to toe in leather armor, tapped my shoulder with a rather satisfied look on her face.
“Is it because you have a good body? You don’t look half bad in that.”
To be honest, being wrapped up in standard-issue leather armor was hardly a stylish look.
The fact that she said that probably meant she was seeing me through rose-colored glasses.
Anyway, time was running out.
“Where’s Na-eun?” I asked her.
She whipped her head away.
“I don’t know. Why are you asking me?”
Why was I asking her…? You were in the same changing room, you brat.
As a mage, she probably wasn't used to wearing this kind of armor.
“You could have helped her out before you came.”
When I gave her a slight reprimand, she glared at me with a terrifying look in her eyes.
“Are you scolding me now for not helping some other girl?”
My old body would have whimpered at that glare, but now, it took it in stride.
It just goes to show, one night of sex is better than a hundred dates.
“No, it’s just… it’s not like it’s hard to help someone you’re acquainted with, even if you’re not exactly friends.”
“It is for me.”
“Ah, okay.”
If she was going to put it like that, there was nothing more to say.
Her jealousy was cute, but it was also starting to worry me.
What if she gets into a knife fight with another woman over me someday?
I’ll have to train her properly before that happens, hmm.
Professor Im Cheol-woong glanced at the watch on his wrist.
It seemed time was almost up.
Just as I thought she was going to get a demerit, Im Na-eun came rushing out.
“Haa, haa… I’m not late, am I?”
“That was a close call.”
“Phew… that’s a relief.”
Im Na-eun let out a sigh of relief.
At the same moment, Im Cheol-woong stopped looking at his watch.
“Time’s up. Fortunately, no one will be receiving demerits.”
Though his expression seemed indifferent at first glance, a faint hint of satisfaction was visible.
“Then let’s move on to the next step.”
With that, Professor Im Cheol-woong held the card hanging from his neck to a sensor in the center of the massive door.
[Identity verification complete.]
With a cold, mechanical voice, the surroundings rumbled. The massive door split open vertically, like a beast opening its maw.
A wide space, chairs, desks, a large screen.
“This place is a sort of classroom and waiting area.”
I see.
So while other groups are doing the practical exercise, we’re supposed to wait and watch from here.
“For now, everyone take a seat.”
The empty chairs quickly filled up.
“The exercise will be conducted in teams of five.”
There were exactly 50 people gathered here.
As expected, the ratio of classes was a complete mess.
“This is what I believe.”
Professor Im Cheol-woong tossed out a meaningful statement.
The words that followed were the starting pistol.
“Forming a party with people you get along with is, in itself, a skill.”
Scrape!
Screech!
The first to react to his words were the warriors, who made up the largest portion of the class.
Among them, it was mostly the ones with mediocre grades.
“Yun-sik, do you have any open spots in the party you’re planning…?”
“If you do, let me join!”
“No, I’m better than him!”
A human wall formed around the single mage.
“Sigh.”
…As a former melee dealer, this hurts my heart.
But it couldn’t be helped.
The kids gathered here were aspiring Hunters who had just started learning.
Among the various classes that make up a party, which one has to go through the most trial and error?
The answer is the melee dealer.
Why?
Because they have to fight disgusting monsters face-to-face.
On top of that, they have to use their own hands to deliver the finishing blow, and that’s the biggest problem.
These fledglings who are just starting to dream of becoming Hunters aren’t all psychopaths; there’s no way they’d be accustomed to killing.
They hesitate, wondering where to stab. They feel pity looking at the sorrowful expression of a dying monster.
This hesitation for various reasons prevents them from landing the final blow in time, putting their own lives at risk.
That’s why those guys were surrounding the ranged dealers.
They wanted someone to deliver the decisive blow on their behalf, in case they hesitated.
As the former strongest melee dealer in South Korea, I didn’t like seeing this, but what could you do?
It was the path they chose, so they had to grit their teeth and endure it.
Good luck, you fledglings…!
The father of melee dealers, Son Si-woo… now Kim Do-jin, is cheering for you!
As I was cheering them on in my head with a heavy heart, an arm snaked around my shoulder.
I turned my head to see Shin Yu-jeong grinning as she put her arms around not only me but Im Na-eun as well.
“My pretties, you’re not going anywhere, got it?”
My, my, aren’t you greedy.
As if I wasn't enough, she wanted Im Na-eun too.
And this was the same person who, just a moment ago, said it was too much trouble to even help her put on her armor.
“I’m fine with it.”
Im Na-eun, is she an angel…!
If it were me, I would have coldly ditched someone who wouldn't even help me with my armor in the changing room.
“Who should we get for the other two?”
“Hmm… with you two in the rear, we should be fine.”
Her gaze lingered on me.
“The other two don’t matter, then. Yep.”
Her expression said that I alone was more than enough.
As long as they weren't idiots who would do something crazy up front, anyone would do.
“Anyone we see…”
As she was saying that.
Some guy suddenly popped up from behind Shin Yu-jeong.
“Yudaeng, you haven’t found a party yet, right? Join me.”
Suddenly, my mood soured.
Who the hell is this bastard?