Dungeon Exploration and the Awkward New Position
The dungeon was a transcendent structure without physical form, and only psychics could damage its Core. Whenever one appeared, the government would summon hunters or commission the Hunter Association to clear it as quickly as possible. The problem was that Cores were appearing at an increasingly rapid rate, so the government implemented a danger ranking system. Weak Cores that didn't require experienced hunters were assigned to students—even rookies—to destroy. Dangerous dungeons, on the other hand, were left to hunters with the appropriate capabilities.
Well… a 9th-grade one is basically like hunting goblins in a game.
Seong-il lay on his bed, deep in thought for a long time.
Hmm… I’ve got about ten potions left, which should be enough to handle any crisis. And since Heaven and Earth Yin-Yang Dual Cultivation Divine Art has reached 4-Stars, the penalty has been greatly reduced. From now on, I just need to mix bodies with a woman once every two weeks and I’ll be fine…
The only downside is that I’m not truly strong yet, and the portal ring I use in emergencies is still on cooldown… Ugh…
Feeling his head grow heavy with complications, Seong-il clutched his skull and agonized for a while before finally making up his mind.
Let’s go! I’m curious what a dungeon is actually like anyway. If I suddenly get way too strong out of nowhere later, it’ll raise suspicions and that’ll be a pain. Better to get a rough understanding of dungeons and tactics in advance. Then I can grow through the Game Master and just pick low-level dungeons to hide my real power while I live my life.
Having made his decision, Seong-il felt a weight lift from his chest. He prepared for class, then went to sleep.
The next day.
“Ugh… today’s gonna be exhausting…”
Seong-il, whose non-combat psychic abilities had been reclassified as combat-capable after his duel-induced second awakening, received notice that he needed another ability verification test. He sighed and obediently headed to the ability testing center.
I just hope this goes smoothly…
Seong-il had kept the existence of Game Master strictly hidden from the examiners. Standing before them and the other psychics, he dramatically amplified his internal energy and began acting like a physical reinforcement type.
Take the bait…! Please take the bait…!
For a long time he pretended to strike at targets and underwent tests against other sensory-type psychics. Finally, the examiner nodded.
“Hmm… it’s a rather unusual case, but it does appear he has awakened as a physical reinforcement type.”
The supervisor looked puzzled. “Unusual case?”
“Well… most physical reinforcement types show bodily mutation when they use their powers. But Seong-il seems to have some kind of special internal energy that activates to strengthen his body. It’s truly unique.”
“Oh…!”
Watching them, Seong-il swallowed dryly.
Fuck… they analyzed it way too accurately. Still, they didn’t catch Game Master, right…?
After passing every experiment and persistent line of questioning, Seong-il was officially rated as a “Special Case” second-awakened psychic and barely managed to return to school.
Whew… thank god. Looks like Game Master stayed hidden. Being evaluated as just a slightly unusual physical reinforcement type is… manageable.
Still, they say training inside dungeons gives a growth bonus. Is that actually true…?
The dungeons—alien terrorist weapons used to invade Earth—were certainly a serious threat to humanity, but they were also mysterious spaces that brought enormous benefits. While they were undeniably malicious structures that endangered human civilization, the Cores obtained inside them and the byproducts they produced allowed humanity to develop revolutionary new technologies and acquire high-performance resources. Moreover, psychics who regularly completed missions inside dungeons showed the strange phenomenon of their abilities growing stronger the more they were exposed to them.
Because of this, some people had once jokingly called dungeons “flu shots meant to make humanity stronger.” Of course, anyone who said that was met with fierce criticism and socially buried. The damage humanity suffered far outweighed any benefits the dungeons provided.
Thirty years ago, before the alien civilization suddenly halted its offensive, human civilization had been on the brink of collapse—and one of the greatest threats had been the dungeons. Only because the aliens had stopped their attacks for unknown reasons and sealed themselves inside massive domes in places like the Sahara, Antarctica, and the Arctic had humanity been able to destroy the dungeons. If the aliens had never stopped, the dungeons would have been an extremely dangerous facility capable of strangling humanity’s lifeline.
Well… a 9th-grade dungeon can be cleared by a few heavily armed civilians plus one or two hunters, so I should be fine going in alone. Aside from those idiot accidents, there have hardly been any fatalities.
With his mind at ease, Seong-il headed to the lecture hall for class.
The moment he entered, every eye in the room locked onto him.
What the… fuck, why is everyone staring at me? It’s creepy…
Seong-il quickly hurried over to his usual group and sat beside his friend Jun-il, whispering urgently.
“Hey… Jun-il. Why the hell is everyone glaring at me?”
Jun-il shrugged as if it were obvious and whispered back.
“…Why do you think? You’re the first dual-awakened psychic to appear since Lee Ah-hyun and Choi Hyun-woo. That’s why.”
“Ah… is that… it?”
“Yeah. It’s obvious. Though…”
“Though?”
“Your ability combination is kind of half-assed, so they’re probably just looking and not actually talking to you…?”
“…Half-assed?”
“Yeah. Dual awakening is impressive and all, but sensory perception plus physical reinforcement? That’s insanely awkward.”
“….Why?”
“Neither is bad on its own, but it’s a pretty ambiguous combination if you want to become a 1st-grade hunter, you know?”
“…..”
“So everyone’s probably debating whether they should act friendly and try to get close to you or not.”
“Crazy…”
Seong-il was stunned by the ridiculous reason. He quietly closed his mouth and began thinking.
Yeah… actually, being in this awkward position is better. If I got too much spotlight and got dragged into every incident, Game Master might get exposed and that would be a disaster. Living as this half-baked loner is actually perfect for me.
Though he hadn’t planned it, the atmosphere had somehow turned out exactly as he wanted. Satisfied, Seong-il shut his mouth and prepared for class.
Not long after, the professor entered and began the lecture.
This is so damn boring… I want to go back to the game world already.
Seong-il killed time enduring the lecture. When class finally ended, a male classmate he had never interacted with before approached him.
“Hey. Seong-il.”
“…Yeah?”
Seong-il felt suspicious when someone he had zero connection with suddenly spoke to him. The classmate continued.
“So it’s true you awakened as a physical-type combat psychic this time?”
“Uh? Yeah, that’s right…”
“What’s your rank…?”
“Nothing’s been decided yet. They just said I’m a special case.”
“I see… Then you’ll be doing dungeon exploration too, right…?”
“Yeah. The devil told me to get ready.”
“Oh… Do you have a team yet…?”
“Team…?”
Having never paid much attention to dungeon exploration while he was still a non-combat psychic, Seong-il was caught off guard by the unfamiliar term and reflexively repeated it like he was talking to himself. The classmate smiled kindly and began explaining.
“Ah… You’ve been a non-combat psychic until now, so you might not know.”
“Yeah… I guess I don’t.”
“Dungeon exploration classes are done in teams of five. That’s the standard for clearing them.”
“Oh, so that’s how it works…”
“But did you know that forming teams outside of class is primarily left up to the students?”
“Ah… really? The school doesn’t assign them…?”
“Well… they do randomly assign teams for students who can’t find one. But normally, students form their own preferred groups and clear dungeons that way. That’s the standard procedure.”
“I see…”
“In that spirit, would you like to join our team? Our team has pretty good balance.”
“Oh… really? What’s your team composition like…?”
The classmate’s face brightened at Seong-il’s interest and he began explaining in detail.
“Yeah. We have two rear-line telekinetics, one elemental-type dealer, and I’m an amplification-type psychic. Our front-line physical reinforcement position opened up recently when the guy who had it left the party. So it would be great if you could fill that spot!!”
“Oh… I see… But can I ask you something I’m personally curious about?”
“Of course!”
Seong-il’s expression hardened slightly as he began his questions.
“As you know, I was just a normal sensory-type psychic until my second awakening, and I’ve only just become a physical reinforcement type. I have almost no experience. So why would you want to bring someone like me into your team? There must be other physical types available.”
The classmate smiled bitterly and answered.
“Of course you’d think that. But you’re a dual-awakened psychic. And the fact that one of those abilities is Induction is what matters.”
“….Induction?”
“Yeah. A lot of people look down on Induction… but if a sensory agent has decent combat ability, there’s basically no better supporter than an Induction psychic…”
“….Really?”
“Of course!! Just being able to identify the cause of a crisis with Induction and quickly inform the team can dramatically increase everyone’s survival rate! And that’s not all! You can appraise items on the spot, grab the valuable ones, destroy the core, and escape with only the highest-value loot before the dungeon collapses. Teams without an Induction user can’t get nearly as much profit…!”
“Ahh…”
“That’s why the government snaps up every Induction psychic the moment they graduate. That said…”
“That said…?”
“As you know, Induction users are basically a minus in combat… Normally, since only five people can enter a dungeon at once, bringing a non-combat Induction user is basically suicide! But you’re different. You’re both an Induction user and a physical reinforcement type! That’s an incredible advantage, Seong-il!”
“Ah… so that’s why… But I have one more question…”
“Go ahead!!”
After his long speech, the classmate took a sip of the drink he’d brought to wet his throat before continuing. Seong-il kept pressing.
“Okay, I get that an Induction user with combat ability is very attractive. But I’m a complete beginner. There’s nothing more dangerous than taking a rookie into a dungeon, right? So why are you contacting me???”
The classmate flinched. He took a breath and answered.
“Because it’s worth it!! You might not meet our expectations right away, but someone with your combination of abilities will definitely become a huge asset to the team once you gain experience…! Plus, once a team is formed, you can’t switch for the entire semester. So if we help you gain experience for a month or two, we’ll have a stable, high-quality front-line supporter for the whole semester. From a long-term perspective, it’s pure profit for us. And most importantly…”
“…Most importantly?”
“You… knocked out Go Yeong-tae in one hit. Even if he let his guard down, putting him down in a single blow is really hard. His personality is trash, but his ability is real. I was on a team with him last semester, so I know how strong he actually is. That means there’s no doubt about your combat ability either.”
“Ahh…”
Just as Seong-il was starting to feel tempted by the offer, someone cut into their conversation.
“I’d like to make that offer too.”