Chapter 34
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Growing Misunderstanding
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Academy Dungeon Trends Analysis Room.
It was currently in an extremely hectic state due to the first-year cadets' dungeon conquests.
They were checking if any cadets had been injured, if sudden variables might put them in danger, and so on.
Right before the eyes of those doing their utmost for the cadets' safety, the worst situation unfolded.
"Dungeon mutation signs detected! Location analysis: Airi's team!"
"Deploy immediately!"
There wasn't even time for reactions like "What?" or "No way!"
The moment the signs were detected, the professors on standby in the analysis room grabbed their gear.
"Activate the portal!"
From detecting the mutation signs to gearing up and porting to Airi's team location—it took just over a minute.
They could see that the portal, which should have borne the color of the lowest-grade dungeon, was dyed red.
"Forcibly open the dungeon entrance! How long?"
"Judged as artificial mutation, not natural. Minimum thirty minutes required."
"..."
They could save the cadets just by crossing this portal, yet the helplessness of being able to do nothing gnawed at them.
The professors anxiously chewed their nails or gathered their energy, desperately praying no one would get hurt.
In that time, the rescue team followed the first-arriving professors, along with a medical support team equipped for immediate surgery on critical injuries.
And among that support group lurked unwanted guests.
"...Why the hell are reporters here?"
"They know civilians are barred, so they only brought reporters with dungeon conquest certifications. No grounds to kick them out."
"Fucking bastards."
Fortunately, they were perceptive enough not to take photos—they just stared intently from the sidelines.
Professor Ran tamped down her rage, ready to smash cameras, laptops, eyeballs, whatever if they pulled any nonsense.
'Please... please...'
10 minutes.
20 minutes.
Time crawled by, anxiety and unease amplifying to the point where it felt like they had to do something.
Around 30 minutes in, the portal's door swung open, and cadets poured out. It opened before they could even try, leaving the professors flustered—but that wasn't what mattered now.
"Medical team! Rescue team! Hurry!"
The portal spat out the cadets and slammed shut again, firm as ever. Now it added black to the red, radiating an even more menacing aura.
That meant one thing.
'Secondary mutation occurring inside the dungeon itself.'
Would dungeon collapse follow soon? As Professor Ran scanned the kids with that thought, she immediately spotted one missing.
"Ki-Kim Geon-ho's inside! We have to save him! He stayed for us! Said he won't let the dungeon collapse! Said he'd buy time!"
Tatakum set down the fainted Airi and Marren and rushed to Professor Ran to convey the crisis's severity.
'...Kim Geon-ho alone in a secondary mutation dungeon?'
And he'd deliberately chased the kids out first, then sacrificed himself to delay the collapse as much as possible.
"With our current forces, it's impossible. Request support—summon every professor left in the academy."
"Understood!"
It was nothing short of foolish. Even if Kim Geon-ho was hiding his power, soloing a secondary mutation dungeon was insane.
'...And something no one else could pull off.'
If it collapsed without a support request, the damage would be catastrophic.
Right now, Kim Geon-ho had staked his life to buy as much time as possible, resolved to stay inside on his own.
Courage? Devotion? Sacrifice? This wasn't some act to gloss over with light words.
'Hero.'
Kim Geon-ho had become a hero, betting his life to protect everyone.
"A giant... Kim Geon-ho's fighting the giant right now. Please... please..."
Tatakum had no idea what else to do and could only pray over and over.
'Oh Tarami, please... please grant your strength even to one who does not serve you.'
If asked whether he could have acted like Kim Geon-ho, he'd answer "No" without hesitation.
Who could easily tell kids to go first after knocking them out, just to buy time against an unstoppable foe?
Yet Kim Geon-ho had done it all too naturally, without a second thought.
As if it were his role all along.
"Geon-ho...? Geon-ho's gone...?"
"...What the hell is this...?"
Marren and Airi, waking up late, quickly grasped the situation.
Knocked out by Kim Geon-ho, they'd come to outside the dungeon with everyone except him.
Even an idiot could figure it out—and these two were top of the class.
"Get a formal checkup first, then we'll talk everything over. Situation's too dire right now."
"..."
Realizing emotions wouldn't help, the three followed Professor Ran's orders without delay.
Even during the physical exams and injury checks, their eyes never left the portal entrance.
It wasn't just them—everyone outside the dungeon felt the same.
"Secondary mutated dungeons take at least an hour to open."
"..."
One hour.
Would Kim Geon-ho hold out safely through that endlessly long stretch?
'A giant, of all things.'
Giants' physical abilities were known to vastly exceed those of trained martial artists.
Sightings were rare, so info was scarce, but the recent desert incident—where one butchered dozens—spoke volumes of their danger.
A monster whose strength was clear even without knowing its abilities.
'Please... don't get hurt.'
She hated this reality where all they could do was pray for Kim Geon-ho's safety.
Zzzzzzt!
Bang!
The dungeon portal suddenly rocked violently, making all their prayers feel futile.
"...Dungeon collapse precursor—everyone, prepare!"
Bang! Bang!
There was only one reason the portal thrashed like it was about to spew something.
Professor Ran mentioned only the precursor, unwilling to voice a hero's death aloud.
But unspoken truth couldn't be hidden, and everyone sensed Kim Geon-ho's death.
Kwaaaaaang!
The dungeon portal shattered like glass, endlessly vomiting up something massive.
"Kyaaaaack!"
A few weak-stomached reporters screamed the instant they identified it.
Splattersplattersplatter.
The ceaseless torrent of flesh chunks and blood was too vast to pass for human.
"Kim Geon-ho!"
And amid it all.
"Grhh... uh...."
Thud.
Kim Geon-ho dropped.
"Geon-ho! Don't die! You can't die! Geon-ho! Geon-ho!"
"Tatakum, save Kim Geon-ho! Kim Geon-ho! Don't die!"
"Kim Geon-ho cadet located! Critical injuries minimum! Medical team, now! All equipment here!"
Everyone on site moved like they'd rehearsed, throwing themselves into their roles.
But Professor Ran and the three cadets Kim Geon-ho had sent out first moved even faster.
"Why'd you do something so stupid! Why! Why!"
"Geon-hooo... you can't die...!"
Ignoring the gore splattered on their bodies, they gently embraced him and poured out their emotions.
Worry melted away like snow, relief flooding in and churning their feelings.
"...You're an incredible warrior, Kim Geon-ho!"
Witnessing his heroic spirit, Tatakum vowed in his heart to truly serve him.
Someone who not only saved everyone in crisis but resolved the crisis itself—who else but a hero?
Thud.
"Geon-ho...!"
In that moment of relief, overwhelming fatigue claimed Kim Geon-ho, and he slipped into sleep.
"Coma confirmed. Transport to intensive care immediately!"
The medics, deeming it no mere nap, rushed him to intensive care.
If breath lingered, they could save anyone—and now they poured their skills into it.
Snore... snore...
Kim Geon-ho radiated obvious exhaustion, but even the medics misinterpreted it.
"Concussion symptoms too! Surgery too risky now—focus on maximum treatment first..."
As the medics grew grave, faces around darkened in tandem.
And so the misunderstanding—that Kim Geon-ho had suffered critical injuries and was now in intensive care—began to swell beyond control.
Mountain Lord's office.
"...Kim Geon-ho?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Heroic actions..."
Kim Jang-seok felt a spark of interest amid his leisurely paperwork at the sudden urgent report.
"The tiger cub's hurt, yet these fools dare touch a tiger... incomprehensible."
"We'll dispatch the Mountain Lord medical team immediately."
"And send a gift to our eldest son, who raised the clan's prestige."
"We'll prepare it."
The Mountain Lord had no intention of letting this slide lightly—he began thrashing the reporters before they could even write their articles.
Iron fists for those brazen enough to report on his successor.
And at the same time, another moved with similar intent...
"I've got to nurse my future husband, at least."
Heila Radmos, heir to the Radmos family and Kim Geon-ho's fiancée-to-be.