Chapter 149
Chapter 149
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 149
Chapter Title: Suspicious Intruder
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Baek Young flashed another smile as he approached her again. At that moment, Yoo A-ra manifested a fireball and unleashed it right in front of his feet.
Kwaaang-!
"Uwah! Hey! What the hell are you doing, pulling something so dangerous?!"
"You're the one doing something dangerous here."
"What?"
"How can you come closer when you don't even know if you're the demon or I am?"
"What are you talking about? Didn't you hear the announcement? Kim Hye-chan's the demon. Not me."
Baek Young forced another smile as he continued.
"Oh, you don't know what Kim Hye-chan looks like? That makes sense...
Right then, flames erupted beneath Baek Young's feet once more.
Kwaaang-!
"Hey! You serious?!"
Baek Young bellowed again. Yoo A-ra stared back at him with an unchanging blank expression.
"Are you an idiot? There's no way only one demon infiltrated. Didn't you see what happened during the midterm terror attempt last semester?"
Her constant jabs calling him stupid and such got under Baek Young's skin a bit.
"Fine, I get it. Just stop firing magic at me."
At those words, Yoo A-ra summoned another fireball.
"You stay back. You look suspicious."
What now?
Yoo A-ra's wariness ran deeper than expected, making it impossible to get close easily.
He couldn't just charge in and attack her outright.
Against any other student, he might have ignored the fireball hovering over her hand and rushed forward, but the mana packed into Yoo A-ra's spell was far too potent to brush off.
Plus, the corridor was narrow—if she attacked in earnest, it could really turn dangerous.
"Tch."
She wasn't letting her guard down anytime soon. Should he strike first?
Baek Young made up his mind. He'd attack first.
The moment he began channeling mana to reinforce his body—
A powerful surge of mana rippled from somewhere.
Baek Young whipped his head toward the source in alarm. Something dazzling flashed, shooting straight for his head.
And then.
Kwaaang-!
A massive explosion rocked the air as Baek Young's head burst apart.
"...Huh?"
Yoo A-ra blinked in confusion at the sudden turn of events.
She spun around to see a familiar face approaching.
"...Kim Seon-woo?"
"Hey. Hi."
"W-What the hell? Are you crazy? What if he'd been human and not a demon?!"
Yoo A-ra shouted in a panic. Kim Seon-woo shrugged nonchalantly with a calm expression and pointed at Baek Young's body with his finger.
"Take a good look."
Yoo A-ra followed his finger to the corpse. Black blood pooled thickly on the floor.
"...A demon?"
She murmured in shock.
Then she whipped her gaze back to Kim Seon-woo.
"How'd you know he was a demon?"
"How? He looked suspicious as hell."
His casual explanation left Yoo A-ra dumbfounded. He'd just killed the guy on a hunch?
"...Well, one's down, at least."
Kim Seon-woo muttered quietly to himself.
Yoo A-ra stared at him blankly. She couldn't make sense of what had just happened.
Kim Seon-woo glanced at her eyes for a moment before turning away.
"Anyway, I'm heading out. Don't wander around—stay put. It's dangerous here."
"What?"
Kim Seon-woo walked off somewhere.
Yoo A-ra watched his retreating back and yelled after him.
"Hey! Where are you going?!"
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 152
Chapter Title: Demons in the Dungeon
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Two hours after the exam began.
Lee Seo-jun linked up with Lee Hyun-joo. No announcements had come since the one about demons infiltrating the dungeon.
No corrections either—which meant demons had truly breached the dungeon.
Lee Seo-jun suddenly recalled the demon incident from his past life during the mercenary field trip.
Back then, the demons had been hunting for the one with 'Demon-Slaying Power' who dismantled the barrier during the midterms.
And Lee Seo-jun knew who that was.
Kim Seon-woo.
'No way they're targeting Kim Seon-woo again this time...
Lee Seo-jun's expression darkened. Lee Hyun-joo noticed and asked.
"Why the sudden long face?"
"Nothing. There was something similar last semester, right?"
"Oh, the demon terror attack?"
"Yeah. I wonder if this is connected."
"Maybe. Not sure what their exact goal is, though."
Just as he thought. The demons were probably after Kim Seon-woo.
"Let's move."
With that, the two pressed forward, clearing stages steadily.
One might think the demons were hiding in fear, but Lee Seo-jun saw it differently.
Times like these called for gathering people to build strength and deter easy attacks.
After navigating the labyrinthine dungeon, they reached the first rendezvous point.
"Aaaah!"
A terrified scream echoed from somewhere.
Lee Seo-jun and Lee Hyun-joo exchanged glances and sprinted toward the sound.
At the source, they found a student crawling on the ground in terror—and someone slowly approaching from behind, sword dripping blood.
The man turned, locking eyes with Lee Seo-jun.
"You. You're Lee Seo-jun, right?"
He seemed to recognize him.
Lee Seo-jun glared warily and drew the sword from his waist.
"I've always wanted to cross swords with a fellow swordsman. Perfect."
Without warning, the man charged.
His movement was like a flash of light.
Lee Seo-jun swung his mana-infused blade to counter.
Kaang!
The clash of steel rang through the dungeon.
Their swords trembled as a contest of strength began.
The man shoved Lee Seo-jun back once, then swung again.
Whooosh!
Lee Seo-jun parried the next attack, but a tricky follow-up sliced a long gash across his shoulder.
"Kuk!"
"Haat!"
The man swung once more. Lee Seo-jun gritted his teeth and blocked.
Blade met blade in a flurry of strikes.
Lee Hyun-joo, watching the fight, summoned a water golem to help, but their furious pace made intervention impossible.
"Haaat!"
With Lee Seo-jun's shout, his sword blazed with brilliant light.
The light-attribute sword aura deadly to demons—'Synergy'—had activated.
The man recoiled in panic. Light was catastrophically effective against demons, even a graze could be fatal.
Then Lee Seo-jun's speed exploded.
He cornered the man with movements blending into the light itself.
"Kuh!"
The man barely blocked, eyes wide in shock.
Student-level skill? He was an A-rank demon—no way a green kid should push him like this.
"Kuk!"
Lee Seo-jun's blade grazed the man's forearm. Black blood flowed, the wound searing from the light.
"Kraaak!"
Once breached, the man's movements slowed further.
Lee Seo-jun wasn't dumb enough to miss the opening.
He spun with full power, slashing across the man's midsection.
Whiiing—!
"...Guhk!"
A long line carved into the man's gut.
Lee Seo-jun's sword had cleanly bisected him.
The fight was over. The man collapsed, spilling black blood.
"...Hoo."
Lee Seo-jun exhaled in relief. His pre-vacation self wouldn't have won.
Recent intensified training had paid off.
"You okay?"
Lee Hyun-joo approached, face worried.
Lee Seo-jun nodded.
"Yeah. I'm good."
Then he glanced at the demon's corpse and muttered.
"Demons really did infiltrate."
"Yeah. And that one was pretty strong."
Kim Seon-woo crossed Lee Seo-jun's mind.
"...Right. Kim Seon-woo."
"Huh?"
"We need to find Kim Seon-woo."
"What? Why him?"
"Follow me!"
Lee Seo-jun dashed ahead urgently.
Their target was Kim Seon-woo.
He had to save him.
Two hours into the exam.
In front of the second rendezvous point.
I was clearing stages rapidly, heading to the next one. After running nonstop, I arrived at the second rendezvous.
A demon had been in an unreachable spot at the first point, forcing me here.
Upon arrival, I repurchased the 'Demon Detection Compass.'
Its one-hour duration had ended—no choice.
"Points hurt so bad."
10,000 points per compass. Second buy today—20,000 gone.
Tears nearly welled up.
"Sigh."
I sighed deeply and checked the compass.
The needle pointed west.
"Over there, huh."
The demon I took down earlier was B-rank, so the rest were A or S.
My fingertips trembled with tension.
Who was the western demon? If Won Hyeok, confirm and flee—but could I even escape?
Then.
"...Huh?"
Flick, flick.
The needle, pointing west, suddenly veered.
The demon's position had changed.
A shift meant one of two things:
Either another demon drew closer, or the targeted one died.
Dungeon layout made the first unlikely.
So, one demon was dead.
"Lee Seo-jun, probably."
In the original, he'd soloed an A-rank demon.
No reason he couldn't now.
That left just Won Hyeok in the dungeon.
Fear bubbled deep in my chest. Could I really kill him?
In the original, Yoon Ha-young awakened 'Demon-Slaying Power' here.
She miraculously slew Won Hyeok with it.
Many students died or got hurt in the process.
But no reason she couldn't now. Yoon Ha-young was far stronger than her original self.
I checked the dungeon map, calculating distance to the compass needle.
Won Hyeok's position roughly estimated.
Still time.
"Alright, let's go."
Off to meet Yoon Ha-young, who would become the blade to kill Won Hyeok.
About 30 minutes later, I found her.
Thankfully, she was waiting at the rendezvous as planned.
"Seon-woo."
Knowing the dungeon incident, her face was grim.
During last semester's midterms, she'd nearly died to a demon. The trauma was probably resurfacing.
To reassure her, I gave a slight smile.
"Wait long?"
"No, I struggled with stages myself—got here just a bit ago."
"Good thing we're on time. You know what's happening, right?"
"Yeah. Demons infiltrated to terrorize the school again, like last semester."
She added softly.
"...To kill me."
Her expression darkened again. I looked at her with pity.
She was probably drowning in guilt.
People in peril because of demons after her.
Maybe even blaming herself.
"It's not your fault. No need for guilt."
She looked up at me, eyes changing.
"Got it."
Then she said.
"Seon-woo. You said my power is the demons' natural enemy, right?"
I nodded.
"Yeah."
"Then let's take down the demons who infiltrated. Together."