Chapter 33
Fluid Gates are never meant to be tackled by cadets alone. Heroes with substantial experience always accompany them, and naturally, the party leader ends up being one of those heroes. That's just common sense.
And common sense, by definition, means exceptions are bound to happen.
"From the flow of qi, it looks like this gate isn't a wave type but a dungeon type. We should switch from a defensive formation to a scouting one."
"Got it."
"Judging by the nature of the qi, Gather Qi will be smooth here, but Emit Qi might face some restrictions. Sorcerers who rely mainly on Emit Qi, keep that in mind."
"Got it."
"Fluid Gates haven't yet reached the point of devouring the material world, but once we dive in, they carry risks comparable to—or even exceeding—ordinary gates. Stay alert and never let your guard down."
"Got it."
Strategy briefing, precautions, keeping morale tight—she was handling everything.
The hero who'd come purely to lead the group might as well have been a "Got it" bot.
Is this for real?
"You act like that yourself, so why pick on me?"
It was just a light grumble, but Liz latched onto it immediately.
"Don't talk nonsense. Amber's case is different from yours. She's proven herself throughout her time at the academy. It's only natural everyone trusts her. Do you have any idea how much she's contributed to the academy and the world? She's nothing like a reckless kid like you."
Aha. Yeah, sure.
Even filtering out the parts where she dragged me into it, Amber was undeniably a character trusted by cadets and instructors alike, regardless of rank.
That's precisely why she'd claimed the student council president's seat.
As a senior on the verge of graduating to full hero status, it made sense they'd pile leadership experience on a promising talent who'd undoubtedly shine as an ace.
Something they'd never allow for an average senior. But the president was a star prospect.
Just like how I'm here as a freshman.
And the president lived up to those expectations with flying colors.
"Magical beasts are showing signs of appearing 200 meters north-northwest. Prepare qi cannon barrage."
Using exquisitely sensitive Sense Qi, she predicted and preemptively struck beasts that hadn't even spawned yet.
"Reinforcing the front barrier. Rear members, release your qi to boost the vanguard's reinforcement efficiency."
Even unforeseen attacks didn't faze her; she demonstrated impeccable crisis management right on cue.
"I'll handle this personally. Everyone, drop low and brace for impact."
But she didn't just command from afar.
Her precise orders alone covered the workload of three to five people effortlessly, yet she went further, unleashing devastating Emit Qi for tactical strikes when needed.
When she thrust her hand toward the sky, lightning evoking a war god from myth erupted forth.
A sign her Unique Ability was manifesting perfectly.
In the original story, Yujin used that to electro-torture the heroines.
Yujin... or should I say me? After all, I was Hwa Yujin, the player, not long ago.
The idea of zapping a human body with electricity felt uniquely thrilling, so it was one of my go-to plays.
...It won't come back to bite me as karma, right?
No way Yujin would just shock my pussy or anything...
Hiss. Wonder how much it'd hurt? A normal person's body might not handle it, but considering technicians' physical resilience, I could probably take it.
If the efficiency boost was good enough...
"No, what the hell am I even thinking?"
Once you cross that line once, your mind slides right back there.
No matter that it was all for survival, the wave of self-doubt crashing in was impossible to ignore.
"Something wrong? You okay?"
"It's nothing, just zoned out a bit."
"Jeez, even so, daydreaming inside a gate is no good! ...Though I get it—when there's breathing room, the random thoughts do pile up."
Wilhelmine nodded in understanding.
Fluid Gates fall into two main patterns.
The wave type, which immediately churns out beasts nonstop upon detecting intruders to wipe them out.
Or the dungeon type, which holds back aggressively intercepting invaders to conserve power but ramps up with beasts and gate-specific phenomena as you near the core.
Neither's inherently worse.
Both torment humans in their own ways.
The wave type's relentlessly brutal from start to finish, but survive the onslaught and you seize control.
The dungeon type gives you early leeway for analysis and prep, but difficulty escalates toward the core.
This gate was dungeon type, yet still felt surprisingly manageable.
Not because the beasts were weak. The president's command was just that stellar.
Her orders, rooted in eerily prescient predictions, were followed without question by the cadets.
She even factored in everyone's fatigue and capabilities, minimizing unnecessary strain.
Good stuff.
...Good, sure. But where's my spotlight?
I came to rack up combat experience and test my abilities!
No crises at all, and I can't achieve that!
Of course, I wasn't just freeloading the whole time.
Excluding the president and hero—whose strengths were unclear—I was unequivocally the strongest, so my share of beast-slaying was substantial.
But that was just as one cog among many cadets.
A damn well-oiled cog, sure, but still a cog.
Tch. It'll ramp up toward the core, so more chances to shine then.
My nearby cadets might suffer a bit, though.
I'd slipped into immature thoughts again without realizing.
Guess one brush with death isn't enough to wise up.
But there was no need to worry.
A top-tier instructor, pitying my childishness and ready to hammer some maturity into me, was waiting in the dungeon.
I had no idea at the time, though.
Fuck.
You can't keep up forced marches with constant combat forever.
Technicians wield superhuman prowess, but the threats barreling down are far from ordinary.
Sensing a tougher fight ahead in the next zone, the president ordered the cadets (+ hero) to rest.
"We'll reach the dungeon core soon. Take a breather, prepare fully, and maintain your weapons."
A luxury afforded because it was dungeon type, not wave.
Of course, that meant facing massive beasts wave types never spawn, so pros and cons.