Chapter 185
Chapter 185
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 186
Chapter Title: Gargoyle Guardian
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A massive serpent appeared outside the base, boasting a size comparable to that of a disaster-class magical beast.
Every time the serpent's body moved, the ground shook with a deafening roar.
Each team's assault squad immediately shifted into combat readiness.
Of course, focusing solely on the serpent left them vulnerable to attacks from other teams, so the guard and support squads covered the rear of the assault squads.
—Hiss!
The battle against the colossal magical beast raged on.
Countless spells struck the serpent's body with precision, but none could pierce its tough hide.
This was proof that the serpent possessed the durability of a field boss.
Meanwhile, Shin Young-jun kept sensing something off while attacking the serpent to rack up points.
Just what gave Team B the confidence to send only Kim Sun-woo into the base?
No matter how exceptional Kim Sun-woo was at攻略 exams, pitting him against two aces from other teams was a gamble.
It would've been far more advantageous if they'd gone in with Lee Seo-jun, or even Jang Soo-yeon.
Those two would undoubtedly outmatch any other team's ace duo.
And then there was that last thing Lee Seo-jun had said, which nagged at him.
—Kim Sun-woo told me to make sure I snag plenty of event points here.
That meant Team B's inexplicable moves were all part of Kim Sun-woo's strategy.
What kind of strategy could it be...
"Ah."
In that moment, Shin Young-jun realized what Kim Sun-woo's plan was.
Nothing else could explain Team B's actions.
He immediately turned his gaze to Lee Seo-jun.
"Lee Seo-jun."
At Shin Young-jun's call, Lee Seo-jun paused his assault on the serpent and looked over.
"What's up?"
"You're abandoning the base攻略 and going all-in on the event?"
"What?"
"You figure even if you take the base, you can't hold it, so you're monopolizing the external event instead. Right?"
Team B had far fewer wide-area specialists than the other teams.
In other words, even if they claimed the base, defending it would be extremely difficult.
If they did take it, they'd have to face two teams at once—and Team B simply couldn't handle that.
It was perhaps the obvious choice.
The only lingering question was why Kim Sun-woo had bothered entering the base at all if they were giving it up.
Probably just a precaution against any unknown variables inside.
Lee Seo-jun fell silent for a moment at Shin Young-jun's words.
He understood exactly what the guy was getting at.
Sure, without strong wide-area magic, defending the base was a disadvantage for Team B, so this strategy suited them better.
But judging from the nuance of what Kim Sun-woo had said last night, it didn't seem like he planned to abandon the base.
And if he'd intended to give it up entirely, Kim Sun-woo would've stayed out here with them instead of going in.
Now Lee Seo-jun found himself wondering too.
What was Kim Sun-woo thinking?
He shook off the thought and turned back to Shin Young-jun.
"Think whatever you want."
［You have entered the base.］
［Real-time Positions］
［1st Floor: Kim Chang-hyun, Jeon Min-gi, Kim Sun-woo, Choi Seo-yoon, Yoo Ah-ra］
Upon entering the base, an electronic display overhead lit up the dark corridor, catching my eye.
It was a real-time status board roughly indicating the current positions of everyone inside the base.
From Team A: Kim Chang-hyun and Jeon Min-gi.
From Team C: Choi Seo-yoon and Yoo Ah-ra.
The leaders and aces from each team.
"Just as expected."
The losses from failing to claim the base far outweighed the gains from taking it, so it was only natural.
I glanced at the display, then at the end of the corridor.
Pitch darkness, with nothing visible.
It felt eerie, like some monster or ghost might leap out at any second.
"...Kinda scary going alone."
Should've insisted on bringing a companion if I'd known it'd be like this.
[Your eyes adapt to the darkness!]
At that moment, my Evolution and Adaptation traits activated, and the darkness ahead sharpened into perfect clarity.
Fortunately, no monsters or ghosts in sight.
Still, no room for carelessness.
In this world, monsters could pop out anytime—ghosts, maybe not so much.
I started down the corridor.
"Right."
I'd just remembered the secret hidden on the base's 1st floor.
An illusion spell that trapped you in an endless loop of the same path.
I immediately activated Silver Moon Reversal.
[Activating effect: 'Illusion Sever'.]
Whoosh!
My field of vision shifted at once.
A hidden secret passage appeared beside the single path.
"Heh. Easy."
With a light chuckle, I stepped into the secret passage. It was another long, dark corridor stretching on.
To攻略 the base, you had to seize the 'Base Control Room' at the top of the 5th floor.
Naturally, reaching the 5th floor meant finding stairs.
Think of it like tower climbing.
As I proceeded down the corridor, something squirming in the distant darkness caught my eye.
Thanks to Evolution and Adaptation, 'it' hiding in the shadows came into sharp focus.
A beastly face.
Large wings of hardened leather sprouting from its back.
A height of about 220 cm.
A moss-green guardian gargoyle.
—Grr... O《＞ O.
Probably because I'd used the 'Stealthy Footsteps' trait to muffle my sounds and presence.
The gargoyle hadn't noticed my approach.
I'd prepared for situations like this with Stealthy Footsteps—a smart call.
I extended my hand toward it without hesitation.
A gargoyle's defining trait: movement speed rivaling an A-Rank reinforcement wizard.
In a 1v1, it'd get annoying fast, so I had to take it out quick before it spotted me.
Its one weakness was low defense, so even short-range bursts could land critical hits.
Whooo...
I gathered mana.
Mana points converged at my fingertips, forming spheres.
The moment the spheres fully formed...
I rapid-fired them.
Bang!
The magic spheres lit up the dark corridor as they shot forward.
As expected, the gargoyle sensed the mana and twisted away in evasion.
But I wasn't letting it dodge.
I immediately used Hand of Great Nature to clamp its legs tight.
The grip wasn't overwhelmingly strong, but enough to throw it off-balance.
—Kiek?
Boom!
[Guardian Gargoyle of the base defeated.]
[Acquired 50 personal points.]
[Achieved 'Stealthy Monster Assassin'.]
[Reward: 2,000 points acquired.]
"Phew."
Easier than expected.
Approaching the corpse, the gargoyle's body crumbled to dust, leaving behind a small key.
［Mystically Crafted 2nd Floor Key］
Description: Infuse with mana to open the base's 2nd floor door.
"Finally, the 2nd floor."
A bit anticlimactic.
I gripped the key and infused it with mana.
A brilliant light burst from it, opening a dimensional door in empty space and revealing a staircase.
"Let's go."
I climbed the stairs.
Meanwhile, Choi Seo-yoon and Yoo Ah-ra were still wandering the 1st floor.
They hadn't realized the illusion spell yet.
After about 15 minutes...
Choi Seo-yoon noticed something was wrong.
"Doesn't it feel like we've been looping the same spot over and over?"
Yoo Ah-ra nodded at Choi Seo-yoon's words.
"Yeah, I've felt it too."
"Isn't this an illusion spell? Something's off."
The sensation of repeating the same area pointed to an illusion spell on the 1st floor.
If so, they needed to dispel the illusion barrier quickly.
But Yoo Ah-ra's talents lay outside manifestation magic.
She'd scored high on illusion-related tests, but using her own unique method rather than traditional ones.
Yoo Ah-ra turned to Choi Seo-yoon.
"Can you dispel illusions?"
"No. I can handle support magic to some extent, but I haven't learned illusions yet."
As expected.
Even as 1st place freshman, Choi Seo-yoon was still just a 1st-year.
At that age, they were still mastering basics—illusions were beyond her.
"...Guess it's that method then."
"That method?"
Choi Seo-yoon gave her a puzzled look.
"Step back. As far as you can."
Choi Seo-yoon retreated as instructed.
Yoo Ah-ra glanced at her, then spread her arms wide.
Intense mana surged from her body.
Roar!
Flame spheres rose above her head.
Choi Seo-yoon gaped at the sight.
"S-Sunbae? What are you—"
"If I can't dispel the illusion, I'll just smash it!"
With Yoo Ah-ra's reply, the manifested flame spheres scattered in all directions down the corridor.
Boom! Bang! BOOM!
Explosions rang out nonstop.
A brute-force approach, but one only Yoo Ah-ra—specialist in wide-area attacks—could pull off.
Blasting everywhere would eventually hit and destroy the hidden illusion device.
And it worked.
The relentless area barrage affected the device, and the scenery ahead began to shift.
"Got it."
Yoo Ah-ra flashed a satisfied smile.
She worried a bit about looking crude in front of her junior, but good results made it fine.
Pointing to the hidden corridor, she said,
"That's the way."
Choi Seo-yoon stared at Yoo Ah-ra in shock.
She'd known about Yoo Ah-ra's magic style and near-limitless mana, but seeing it up close was far more destructive and intense.
'...She just smashes the illusion magic?'
The common view was that Yoo Ah-ra had 'genius-level talent that'd be called historic without Lee Seo-jun.'
This 2nd-year class was dubbed the 'greatest generation ever' not just because of Lee Seo-jun, but thanks to Yoo Ah-ra as the top No. 2.
Yet Choi Seo-yoon, 1st-year No. 1, couldn't accept that.
She'd taken pride in her own generation, believing they could rival the 2nd-years.
But after seeing Yoo Ah-ra's magic, her mind changed.
This 2nd-year class really was full of monsters.
Not just Lee Seo-jun and Yoo Ah-ra—international geniuses like Luke and Lily Rose were thriving too.
"Lost in thought?"
Yoo Ah-ra's voice snapped Choi Seo-yoon back.
"Ah, no. Nothing. Let's hurry."
"Sure? Then let's go."
"Yes!"
Choi Seo-yoon replied energetically.
And so Yoo Ah-ra and Choi Seo-yoon headed toward the hidden room.
On the way, Yoo Ah-ra suddenly grew curious about the base's current status.
Opening her smart student handbook, the linked real-time status board appeared.
［Real-time Positions］
［1st Floor: Kim Chang-hyun, Jeon Min-gi, Choi Seo-yoon, Yoo Ah-ra］
［2nd Floor: Kim Sun-woo］
The expected result stared back at her.
"...Kim Sun-woo, as always?"
Yoo Ah-ra murmured quietly.
Competitive as she was, her expression showed more emptiness than frustration.
Seeing that, Choi Seo-yoon felt a surge of curiosity.
"Um, sunbae."
Yoo Ah-ra turned at Choi Seo-yoon's call.
"But why'd only Kim Sun-woo sunbae go into the base?"
"Because he's unparalleled in攻略 exams like this."
Choi Seo-yoon nodded at Yoo Ah-ra's words.
It was already famous that Kim Sun-woo dominated攻略 tests.
"Hmm. But even if Team B takes the base, holding it won't be easy."
"True. No wide-area specialists."
Muttering that, Yoo Ah-ra continued.
"Still, don't let your guard down. With Kim Sun-woo involved, who knows what variables might pop up."
Her words sparked fresh curiosity in Choi Seo-yoon.
"Sunbae, where do you think Kim Sun-woo sunbae ranks among 2nd-years worldwide?"
A question she'd long wondered.
How would Kim Sun-woo's skill stack up globally?
Yoo Ah-ra, who'd watched his magic up close for so long, might know.
"From that captain battle video, he seemed just a hair behind Lee Seo-jun sunbae."
The Lee Seo-jun vs. Kim Sun-woo fight from the 1st midterm captain battle was one of the highlights.
Yoo Ah-ra had been too focused on her own fight to watch live.
But with all the buzz, she'd reviewed the footage afterward.
Kim Sun-woo had gradually fallen behind.
He showed odd moves now and then, even casually kicking Lee Seo-jun's legs out from under him(?). But only briefly.
Lee Seo-jun went berserk like he'd awakened, overwhelming Kim Sun-woo with insane speed.
Without team intervention, Kim Sun-woo likely would've lost.
That was the vibe from the video alone.
Most viewers agreed: Kim Sun-woo was surprisingly strong, but not quite Lee Seo-jun level.
However.
Yoo Ah-ra knew a backstory the public didn't.
"...That captain battle. Lee Seo-jun said Kim Sun-woo went easy on him."
Choi Seo-yoon's eyes widened at Yoo Ah-ra's quiet mutter.
"Pardon? Kim Sun-woo sunbae held back against Lee Seo-jun sunbae?"
"Yeah. Lee Seo-jun said it himself."
Choi Seo-yoon reeled from the shock.
She'd known Kim Sun-woo was better than his rep suggested.
But she still figured he fell short of Lee Seo-jun's world-acclaimed genius.
Yet he'd had the luxury to hold back against him?
That meant...
"Kim Sun-woo sunbae is above Lee Seo-jun sunbae?"
Yoo Ah-ra shook her head, replying seriously.
"No clue. But I think Kim Sun-woo absolutely doesn't fall behind Lee Seo-jun."