Chapter 366
Chapter 366
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 367
Chapter Title: The Teams for the 'Ocean Monster Hunt' Exam Are All Formed
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The teams for the 'Ocean Monster Hunt' exam were all assembled.
To explain the top-ranking students' teams: Shin Young-jun joined Lee Seo-jun's team, and Lee Hyun-joo went to Yoo Ah-ra's team.
A pairing of 1st and 4th place. And 2nd and 5th place.
The team worth watching is definitely Yoo Ah-ra and Lee Hyun-joo's.
Since Yoo Ah-ra handles fire attributes, she has an advantage against ocean monsters. And Lee Hyun-joo can control flying summons, giving them freedom on the sea.
And Park In-hwan, who ranks around 6th in skill, I brought to our team.
His personality sucks, so I didn't want to team up with him, but I didn't want to give him to another team either.
"......Hmm. The team isn't bad."
Park In-hwan glanced at me cautiously before muttering quietly.
He seemed a bit deflated because of me, but he appeared satisfied with the team overall.
I said to him,
"Hey. Don't pull any weird shit this time and just listen to me."
"......Why should I listen to your orders?"
"What?"
As I narrowed my eyes, Park In-hwan flinched and clamped his mouth shut. Then he scratched his head awkwardly.
"No, I was just curious and asked. Can't I even ask questions......"
Still, compared to last year, he's mellowed a lot. Probably because he's gotten beaten down by me so many times.
Guess a stick is the best medicine for crazy bastards.
That's when the exam proctor teacher's voice rang out.
"All teams are formed. Now, we'll supplement the rules explanation. Ocean monsters are classified as large, medium, and small."
The proctor teacher's supplementary explanation began.
"And as mentioned earlier, points differ by class. Large gives 1,000, medium 200, small 30, with up to triple additional points based on individual contribution."
Like land monsters, ocean monsters are classified by size.
Large ones give lots of points but are powerful, with a high chance of sinking the ship, so they require solid strategy.
"Also, ocean monsters have a mana stone called 'Blue Stone' in their hearts that absorbs sea mana. You must extract this Blue Stone for points to count, so don't forget to collect it."
In fact, that's why wizards hunt ocean monsters: the Blue Stone.
Blue Stones are used for weapons, magic imbue, energy resources, and more, boasting higher efficiency than land-based 'mana cores.'
Think of it as a minor version of the holy relic 'Poseidon' for easy understanding.
"And finally, the hidden rule."
At the words "hidden rule," everyone's eyes turned to the teacher.
"This 'Ocean Monster Hunt' exam hides a 'colossal' monster."
"......Colossal?"
Whispers erupted among the students simultaneously.
Colossal monster.
Their size is incomparably massive compared to land monsters.
The reason is simple.
Thanks to the 'Blue Stone' absorbing sea mana, they can grow more efficiently than on land.
"The chance of randomly encountering a colossal monster in this exam is extremely low. But if you want to target one, there's a method. Maps have been distributed to each captain, so check those."
I immediately checked the virtual world map on my smart student handbook.
The teacher continued, looking around at everyone.
"If you succeed in defeating a colossal monster, you get 10,000 points. But failure carries huge risks, so choose carefully."
Students showed shocked expressions at those words.
"Hey. 10,000 points basically guarantees 1st place, right?"
"Not 1st place guaranteed. More like last place. The ship'll sink before you catch it."
"Quiet down!"
As commotion arose, the teacher shouted loudly to settle things.
"That's all for additional explanations. Time limit is 14 hours. Exam starts now!"
At the same time, light began emanating from the portal to enter the virtual training ground.
[Entered the virtual world.]
['Blessing of the Unreal' activates.]
[All stats increase by 30%.]
As soon as we entered the virtual world, the intense sun dazzled my eyes.
A cool breeze blew, and waves crashed somewhere.
Slowly lowering my hand to shield the sun, the first thing I saw was the vast ocean.
"We start right on the ship."
Yoon Ha-young, noticing we were on deck, muttered to herself. Then she spotted me and walked over.
"Sun-woo. What now?"
"What?"
"You're the captain. Decide how we'll tackle the exam and set the direction."
Direction......
I've already decided on that.
Thanks to the exam being in the virtual world, 'Blessing of the Unreal' is active.
Condition's better than usual, so naturally, I'll aim for colossal to get high score.
Plus, I'll face colossal monsters more in the future, so good to get experience now.
Catching a colossal isn't impossible to begin with.
Even Lee Seo-jun in the original story did.
And Yoo Ah-ra too, if she aimed for it. The media went wild calling it a bold choice by the next leaders of the magic world.
"We're going for the colossal monster."
At my words, everyone's eyes turned to me.
The lower-rank students looked anxious, but surprisingly, the others seemed calm.
"......For real?"
"Isn't colossal a bit dangerous?"
"......Well, it's Kim Sun-woo, so he has a plan."
"Yeah. It's Kim Sun-woo. Don't doubt him."
Listening to the voices among the students, it seems they blindly trust me.
Makes captaining easier, but...... I'm worried they're relying on me too much.
Well, relying on me raises their individual contribution score chances, so it's all good for me.
"Alright, gather by class type. Support class and ice attribute casters to the left, those who can deploy large barriers to the right."
The ship moved straight along the coordinates I'd set from the map.
It has an auto-navigation system once coordinates are input, so no manual control needed.
We arrived at a spot shrouded in dark thunderclouds.
Eerily ominous at a glance.
Calm waves. No signs of life in the waters below.
Plus, the sea faintly glowed black, amplifying the dread.
"......Super creepy vibe. No life signs at all. This really the virtual world?"
"It's virtual, so places like this exist, idiot."
As I scanned the surroundings and they chattered, I told them,
"Real world has places like this too."
"......Oh, yeah?"
"Black Ocean. We learned about it in class."
The 'Black Ocean,' infamous as habitat for disaster-class beasts or colossal monsters.
The sea's black tint comes from black demonic energy emitted by monsters.
Another feature of the Black Ocean: colossal monsters devour all nearby life, leaving no traces.
"Looks like we arrived properly."
I pressed the ship's smart control panel to stop it.
Now that we're at the destination, time to hunt.
"Deploy bait first."
To lure ocean monsters, bait is needed. Students threw their issued 'bait orbs' into the sea.
Packed with monster-attracting ingredients, one should appear soon.
About three minutes passed.
Woooooong—!
With a chilling aura from somewhere, a massive black shadow began rising from below the sea.
I shouted immediately.
"Barrier team, prepare!"
At my words, the 15 elite barrier members I'd assembled beforehand drew up mana.
Simultaneously, a circular barrier enveloped the entire ship.
Splash!
A massive wave surged.
As the ship nearly capsized, students at each end blasted magic toward the sea to maintain balance.
Splash!
Then, something enormous erupted from the sea like a volcano exploding.
A giant wave crashed toward us simultaneously.
I shouted again.
"Ice attributes, go!"
At my command, Yoon Ha-young and the ice-attribute wizards drew up mana.
They froze the wave and surrounding area solid, preventing it from reaching the ship.
Yoon Ha-young, who'd recently researched ice field magic with Choi Seo-yoon, blocked it effortlessly.
This solved the biggest issue against colossal monsters: ship capsizing.
"Now, attack squad, prepare!"
All that's left is fighting the main body.
Soon, as expected, it revealed itself.
"......Giant whale."
A giant whale emitting pure white light leaped high above the waves, showing its face.
It charged us, mana radiating from its body.
I manifested magic right away.
Electric attributes would be ideal here, but can't show others, so neutral attribute it is.
Better to compress mana for one powerful hit than scattered small attacks.
[Activating user effect 'Heart of Great Nature.']
[Activating user effect 'Fighting Spirit.']
"Stall it a bit!"
"Got it!"
Students unleashed magic toward the giant whale.
Scorching flames, crackling electricity spreading ominously. Countless spells shot at the whale.
Boom! Boom! KABOOM!
But due to size difference, only minor wounds accumulated—not very effective.
Then the whale thrust its head toward the ship.
Thud!
The barrier from 15 students shook violently.
The impact rocked the ship, students losing balance.
"Ugh! Hey! This won't hold much longer!"
I watched the situation, then looked at the magic hovering over my hand.
Golden magic.
The golden magic that worked even on the disaster-class 'Plague Beast' was manifested.
I glared at it.
Simultaneously, Outsider's Benefit activated, revealing its weak point.
Right in the center of its forehead.
One precise shot to the weak point for victory.
I shouted loudly again.
"Supports!"
At my call, support wizards drew up mana.
Maybe because graduation's near, they moved like pros without panic, casting spells.
Magic circles appeared before the support students, flying toward the whale's body.
Beams of light, chains, whips...... various restraint magics began binding the whale.
Its size limited effectiveness, but slowing it even slightly was enough.
Next, I activated the following effect.
[Using user effect 'Heavy Burden.']
Simultaneously, the thrashing monster's weak point slowed like slow motion.
I spread my hand, aiming the golden magic at its weak point.
Inhaled, then fired.
Fwooooosh—
Golden mana shot out at high speed.
Boosted by Blessing of the Unreal, it packed more power than expected.
The laser-like golden orb pierced straight through its weak point, leaving an afterimage.
—KRAAAAAAAARGH!
The giant whale's scream echoed like vibrations. A huge hole gaped in its head, and trembling voices came from beside me.
"......Whoa, insane."
"D-did we just see golden mana?"
"......Yeah. We did."
"Whoa, that's crazy."
I ignored the stunned students' voices and lightly activated the next 'skill.'
Right now, while it's writhing in pain.
Because I need to pour everything into it.
A magic circle manifested in my palm.
With Heavy Burden's 5-second duration ending, no better spell for effectively striking something this massive.
First time using it on a single large target instead of groups.
I set the coordinates.
Its body so huge, no need for precise ones.
A magic circle emitting pure white light manifested amid the thunderclouds, firing a white orb at the whale's head.
KABOOM!
—Grooooan!
Soon, magic circles proliferated across the sky.
The darkened sky, veiled by light-blocking clouds, brightened brilliantly with glowing circles.
Mana rain poured from the circles onto the whale.