Chapter 83: The Approaching Ones (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 83: The Approaching Ones (6)
Ask ten out of ten, or a hundred out of a hundred.
If you ask any university student, they’ll all tell you they despise group projects.
At Korea University, however, such projects are mandatory.
And they’re a part of many courses.
The reason is that modern dungeon raids are conducted not by individuals, but by teams.
The higher the rank of the dungeon, the more treacherous the terrain, and the greater the corresponding risks.
From various traps and attacks by intelligent monsters to harsh natural environments rarely experienced in the real world.
To flexibly handle the countless incidents and accidents that can occur without warning, Hunters from diverse classes must band together as a cohesive unit.
That’s why Korea University forms teams every semester.
Each team consists of five members.
All you have to do is find four other like-minded people and submit a roster within the given period.
Wouldn’t that create a huge power disparity between teams?
Yes.
It does.
But that isn’t necessarily an advantage.
The faculty at Korea University objectively quantifies each team’s overall strength.
Then, they assign different practical assignments and exam tasks to each team based on that assessment.
As a result, even the so-called aces—the top students in each position—tend not to team up with each other.
If they did and got stuck with a truly hardcore dungeon, one screw-up could send them all down the drain.
“The team formation period is one week, so don’t forget to gather five members and submit your roster by then.”
“Yessir.”
The announcement came from the third-year class representative, whom I hadn’t seen in a while.
The moment he finished speaking, Shin Yu-jeong slung her arm around my shoulder.
“Hey, it’s you, me, and Im Na-eun, so that’s three. Who should we get for the other two?”
She was just naturally assuming that Im Na-eun and I would be on her team.
A sudden playful urge took over. I pushed her arm off my shoulder and feigned a blunt tone.
“What makes you so sure I’ll team up with you?”
“What?”
A wave of shock washed over her face.
She stared at me, dumbfounded, as if she never imagined I would say such a thing.
I guess she just assumed we would, since we’re close.
“You didn’t have some naive thought like, ‘Of course we’ll team up, we’re friends,’ did you?”
It might sound cold, but a Hunter has to be cold to survive long in this profession.
What a Hunter needs for their team isn’t a close friend, but a Hunter with the skills they require.
We’re not going on a picnic. What do you think happens when you choose a companion for a journey into a potential death trap just because you’re friends?
You all just happily hold hands and dive straight into hell together.
She knew that, too.
That’s why she was scowling at me, unable to say a word.
“So… do you have anyone else you want to team up with?”
“……”
For the past few days, she’s been constantly pulling the ‘You don’t have any friends’ card.
But what can I say?
When I came back from meeting Yoon Ji-an, I was at a loss for words because I really didn’t have any personal friends. But that’s not the case anymore.
“I’m sure there are a lot of people who want to team up with me.”
I let my gaze wander around us, and her eyes followed suit.
Countless pairs of eyes were watching us.
She had to know they weren’t looking at her, but at me.
Shin Yu-jeong bit her lower lip hard.
I was curious.
Alright, I have this many options. How are you going to win me over?
After glaring at me with a complicated expression, she lowered her head and let out a deep breath.
“Okay, I’ll admit it. I don’t know about anything else, but I’ll acknowledge that you’re a hot commodity as a team member.”
She lifted her head again.
Unlike a moment ago, the chaotic emotions in her eyes were now neatly arranged.
It meant her complex feelings had been sorted out.
The saying ‘the eyes are the window to the soul’ isn’t just for show.
“But no matter how outstanding a mage you are, you know every team absolutely needs a tanker, right?”
“Hmm… true.”
Honestly, if I could go all out, I probably wouldn’t need a tanker, but I can’t.
“There are quite a few tankers among those kids drooling over you right now. But!”
She jabbed a thumb at her own chest and continued.
“I’m the best choice among them.”
Well, well, look at her.
“Why?”
“Because my grades are better than theirs.”
I thought she was just a hothead who charged in based on her temper, but she knows how to make a logical argument.
I’m seeing her in a new light.
But that’s still not enough.
“I admit you’re the most skilled. But just because a team is made up of people with good grades doesn’t automatically make it a good thing, right?”
“That’s… true.”
The higher a team’s overall strength, the higher the difficulty of their assignments.
So, simply having high grades isn’t a persuasive enough reason.
She needed one more thing.
A clear reason why I should choose her over the others who were slowly inching closer from a distance.
I wondered if she knew what it was.
She chewed on her lip anxiously before her eyes lit up, as if she’d thought of something.
“Because we’re friends!”
Wow, she got it.
You can’t just pick a teammate for a dungeon because you’re friends.
“Them or me, it’s six of one, half a dozen of the other. So you should pick the one you’re friends with.”
But what if you have to choose from a group of people who all have the skills you need, and one of them happens to be your friend?
Then you pick them.
Being friends means it’s easier to coordinate and work together than with a stranger.
As long as they have the skills, there’s no reason to push a friend away.
I was about to praise her for finding the excellent answer.
“Happy now, you bastard?!”
What a shitty way to end it.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
University life is quite enjoyable.
Maybe it’s because it’s my first time, but I feel like time is flying by.
So why do I feel so relieved when all my classes for the day are over?
“Maybe I’ll have a nice, quiet dinner with Ajumma for a change.”
Shin Yu-jeong, who was supposed to walk home with me, had split off.
She was still sulking because I teased her earlier and said she was going to go drinking with a friend.
Then, as if she didn’t want me to get the wrong idea, she emphasized it was a ‘female friend.’
She talks as if she knows everything about relationships between men and women, but if you look closely, she’s a complete innocent.
Plus, she’s fun to tease.
[The next stop is….]
I got off the bus and started walking slowly toward home.
As I walked, the surrounding scenery gradually changed.
The number of people dwindled, and the buildings became shorter and shabbier.
I was taking in the now-familiar sight when my surroundings suddenly began to waver.
Like ripples spreading across a calm lake.
At the same time, the mana in the area started to churn violently.
Blue mana erupted from all around, forming a hemispherical barrier about ten meters in diameter around me.
“…This is a Barrier.”
A Barrier.
It’s a type of wall created by pouring in a massive amount of mana.
They’re usually installed to minimize casualties and property damage when signs of a dungeon forming are detected in a busy urban area. Why would one suddenly appear here…
“Is a dungeon appearing here or something…?”
That couldn’t be right.
One of the clearest signs of a dungeon’s formation is a rise in the surrounding mana levels. There’s no way I, who can see mana with my own eyes, would have missed that.
Besides, this was the outskirts of Seoul.
As far as I knew, the Barrier system was only installed in the city center.
“Ah, for fuck’s sake.”
Frustrated, I ran my hands through my hair.
I was completely trapped.
There were only two ways to deactivate a Barrier.
Enter the deactivation code, or break it.
Neither was easy.
A Barrier is a magical shield with its internal defenses pushed to the absolute limit.
It’s strong enough to withstand several attacks from an S-rank Hunter.
So, breaking it with this body was impossible, which left the deactivation code…
“How the hell would I know that?”
The deactivation codes are managed exclusively by the government.
In other words, to get this thing down, a Hunter Association employee would have to receive the code and deactivate it.
If this Barrier had been triggered by signs of a dungeon, an Association employee would naturally be dispatched. But this one had been activated under very strange circumstances.
“Why all of a sudden…”
I’d heard the probability of a Barrier malfunctioning was practically zero.
And it wasn’t a cheap piece of equipment that would be installed in an outlying area like this.
If that’s the case…
“Someone installed it here on purpose…”
And they chose the exact moment I was passing through.
“Does that even make sense?”
I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it.
As far as I knew, Barrier technology could only be used with government approval.
“Hmm.”
I walked to the edge and placed my hand on the magical wall.
I could feel the internal structure, a dense weave of extremely thin, hard threads of mana.
“Huh?”
My mana flowed into the Barrier, spreading thinly and mapping out the entire structure of the hemisphere in my mind.
What is this?
“It’s a bit shoddy…?”
There were parts, not all of it, but here and there, that were less densely woven.
A real Barrier would never be this flimsy.
Could this be a knockoff made to imitate a real Barrier?
“If so, I might be able to break through.”
All defensive shields, not just Barriers, become strong only when one condition is met.
They must be consistent, with no weak spots anywhere.
Otherwise, cracks will start to form from the flimsy parts.
This was no different.
If I used my mana to pierce through the noticeably weak spots, the surrounding area would naturally crumble.
I should give it a try…
“A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kim Do-jin. It seems I’m a little late.”
A voice suddenly came from behind me.
I stopped what I was doing and turned to see a man wearing a white mask.
“My name is K, a member of ‘Zodiac.’”
“Zodiac?”
I’d never heard that name before.
“A villain?”
“Mmm… I wonder. Our classification is a matter of much debate even within our organization, so it’s difficult for me to give you a clear answer.”
…Sounds like a ragtag bunch of nobodies who can’t even define themselves.
Did I misunderstand something?
“How did you install the Barrier? The government is supposed to be managing this technology strictly.”
“Our organization is capable of breaching the Republic of Korea’s government security.”
In short, they stole it.
But it seems they couldn’t breach that security completely.
If they had, the result wouldn’t have been so shoddy.
“Seeing as you activated it just as I arrived, you must have business with me… so what is it?”
“Why, to extend an offer of recruitment, of course.”
Ah, so he was a scout?
He was blond, and though his Korean was fluent, his accent wavered slightly, suggesting he was a foreigner…
I felt bad for the man who had come all this way.
No matter how much I’d resolved to live as I pleased…
“I’m not really interested in joining a rootless organization. I’m sorry.”
One must be polite to a scout who has traveled so far.
I bowed deeply before turning my back on him.
He called out from behind me.
“Well, I didn’t expect my sincerity to get through on the first try. This Barrier will last for a maximum of three days. Until then, you and I can have a nice, long talk…”
Yeah, no thanks.
Spend three days in this cramped space with some dude? Not a chance in hell.
I immediately shaped my mana into sharp claws, grabbed a weak spot on the fake Barrier, and ripped it.
Crack!
A small fissure appeared.
Inconsistent barriers are this easy to break.
Especially for someone like me, who can see them.
CRASH!
With the sound of shattering glass, the hemispherical mana barrier surrounding me broke into pieces.
“……!”
Even with the mask on, I could tell he was thinking, ‘I am extremely surprised right now.’
“Sorry, but I don’t have time for this. Have a safe trip back.”
Time to have a nice dinner with Ajumma.