Dungeon Practice (1)
“Right after school?”
“No, not quite. We’ve still got training, remember?”
“Ah.”
Jin Soyoung’s after-school drills never ran all that long, so time itself wouldn’t be a problem.
…It was just that they left you dead on your feet, time or no time.
At the distant look that crossed my face, Han Yeoreum let out a small snicker.
“…What about the others?”
“I asked them already. Everyone said okay. You’re the last one.”
“Baek Woohyun said okay too?”
“That’s what Kang Hyun told me.”
…How on earth did he talk him into it?
“…Fine. Let’s go.”
It would be rough, but what else was I supposed to do?
If I thought about how many people were going to get hurt when the dungeon practice got hit by that terrorist attack, hitting around level 20 and learning intermediate healing beforehand would give me a little breathing room.
I had to farm every scrap of experience I could while I still had the chance.
Having wrung my agreement out of me, Han Yeoreum said she’d see me later and headed off. Not long after, Jin Soyoung strode in and morning assembly began.
“Everyone rest up okay over the weekend?”
Jin Soyoung swept her gaze over the cadets as she asked. I couldn’t quite bring myself to say yes….
The morning classes were mostly theory. Sitting by the window with warm sunlight on my face, sleep crept in soft and easy.
I was nodding off, turning the teachers’ voices into a lullaby, when—
Whack!
“Hyeek!”
A sharp crack went off right next to my ear, and a ridiculous noise tore out of my mouth.
I jerked my head up to find the history teacher standing at the lectern, looking straight at me.
“I know Mondays are rough, but let’s not all fall asleep during class.”
A faint aftertaste of mana lingered right by my ear.
Still dazed, I looked around—and there was Chae Yujeong, smirking at me.
…What the hell was that?
I only pieced it together after watching the history teacher pop tiny bursts of mana beside the ears of several more dozing cadets to wake them up.
“…….”
Of course. This was an academy—even the theory teachers were Awakeners….
Once the cadets were awake, the history teacher went right back to the lesson as if nothing had happened.
The second he turned his back, I fished a sticky note out from under my desk, tore one off, crumpled it into a little ball, and lobbed it at the back of Chae Yujeong’s head.
Who said she could laugh at people.
Tuk—
The paper ball bounced off her light-blue hair and flopped weakly to the floor.
Chae Yujeong whipped around.
She locked eyes with me and mouthed the words without a sound.
—It was you.
…How did she know?
—Was not.
I shaped the denial with my lips, but it didn’t seem to land.
Chae Yujeong glanced toward the teacher, bent down, scooped up the paper ball, and flung it back at me.
Tak—
But I was an Awakener. Catching a paper ball flying at my face was nothing compared to one aimed at the back of my head.
I snagged it out of the air and was about to whip it back at her when—
“Cadet Yu Haneul, please focus on the lesson.”
My eyes met the history teacher’s.
“…Yes, sir.”
Chae Yujeong snickered at the sight, looking thoroughly pleased with herself.
“That goes for you as well, Cadet Chae Yujeong.”
“…Yes.”
At the teacher’s rebuke, she sank just as fast.
While he turned back to the board and resumed the lecture, I twisted around and shot Chae Yujeong the smuggest grin I could manage.
Serves you right.
Dozing, horsing around, dozing again—morning classes slipped by before I knew it.
Before long, it was lunch.
“Yeoreum, what’s for lunch today?”
“Braised dried pollack?”
“Ah.”
I briefly considered hitting the school store, then decided I’d rather just sleep.
“I’m just gonna nap….”
“You’re not eating?”
“I’m too tired. No appetite….”
“It’s not just that you don’t like the menu?”
I chucked the cushion I’d been hugging at the sniping Chae Yujeong and planted my face on the desk.
“Oh, I’m borrowing this.”
She caught the cushion I’d thrown and hugged it straight to her chest.
“…Give it back. You’re going to eat. Why the hell are you suddenly borrowing a cushion?”
“You’re the one who threw it. Why are you yelling at me?”
“Just give it back.”
Chae Yujeong clicked her tongue as I snatched the cushion out of the air and hugged it again.
“We’re heading out, okay?”
“Mm…….”
I pulled the blanket tighter and curled up as the others left me behind.
My mind blacked out in an instant.
When I opened my eyes again, I was alone in the classroom.
“Haaawn….”
I sat up, stretched, and yawned—then something odd caught my eye.
“…?”
A bread roll and a carton of milk sat on the corner of the desk I’d been face-planted on.
Stuff from the school store.
…What was this?
If someone had left them by my head while I was asleep, they were probably meant for me….
But who?
I was a little hungry, so I picked up the bread and hesitated for a second—then just tossed it into my inventory as-is.
…I was hungry, sure, but better safe than sorry.
I ducked into the restroom to fix my flattened, tangled hair. When I got back to the classroom, the others had returned.
Chae Yujeong already had my cushion in her arms again.
“Where’d you go?”
“Just checked the mirror in the bathroom for a second.”
I answered as I pulled the bread and milk back out of my inventory.
“More importantly—did you guys buy me these?”
“…? What’s that? Where’d you get bread?”
I ignored Chae Yujeong’s question and looked around. Han Yeoreum, Lee Hayun, and Yoon Chae-ah all shook their heads when our eyes met.
“Then who left this?”
“How would we know?”
While I glared at Chae Yujeong for the snappy reply, Han Yeoreum spoke up.
“Maybe Yeon Hajin gave it to you?”
“Him?”
That rice-grubber, buying me food?
Absolutely not.
Sure enough, when Yeon Hajin came back to the classroom a little later and I asked, the answer was no.
Kang Hyun and Baek Woohyun, just in case—same thing.
…Then what the hell was it?
I never did find the culprit who’d left the bread and milk, and school ended with nothing but a lingering sense of unease.
“Ugh—”
“Lift your arms higher.”
Of course, once Jin Soyoung started grinding us into the dirt, that unease evaporated pretty quickly.
After special training finally wrapped up, Han Yeoreum, Lee Hayun, and I dragged our exhausted bodies to the meeting spot.
Kang Hyun and Baek Woohyun were waiting by the fountain.
“Ah, you’re here. Shall we head out right away?”
Following Kang Hyun’s lead, we moved out while he gave us a quick rundown.
“It’s a dungeon my uncle won at auction. Difficulty’s E-Class, field type is cave….”
That “uncle” of Kang Hyun’s was almost certainly someone from the Church.
Not that the Church had created the dungeon itself.
They could force gates and dungeons to appear if they wanted to, but doing something like that for a job this small wouldn’t be worth the cost.
Still, from the Church’s perspective, we weren’t allowed to die right now—so they’d probably picked something reasonably safe and convenient.
Under Kang Hyun’s direction we settled the split and a simple strategy, then took a portal. Before long we were standing at the dungeon entrance.
“Hoo….”
We formed up—Lee Hayun, Baek Woohyun, Han Yeoreum, me, Kang Hyun—and stepped inside.
A system window appeared almost at once.
Inside the dim cave, faintly glowing luminous moss. Kang Hyun pulled out a flashlight and swept the beam ahead, and our field of vision opened a little.
We pushed forward step by step. How far had we gone when Kang Hyun’s voice came from the rear?
“Footsteps.”
The party froze. A moment later, we found ourselves face-to-face with two ants the size of a person.
“Ugh.”
…Those were pretty disgusting.
Kiiiik—
The ants spotted us and charged straight in.
Thud!
Lee Hayun, at the front, slammed her shield into their successive rushes and shoved them back. Baek Woohyun slipped into the opening.
Seogeok—
One clean cut, and an ant’s head came clean off.
Whoosh—!
The other went up in Han Yeoreum’s flames, roasted on the spot.
The fight was over before I even got a skill off.
“…….”
…The bus ride was smooth as hell.
Comfortable. Very comfortable.
The fights that followed weren’t much different.
Lee Hayun held the charging ants. Baek Woohyun and Han Yeoreum hit them. Kang Hyun’s arrows filled any gaps.
I wasn’t planning to sit around and do nothing, of course….
But with Kang Hyun here, the only skills I could safely use were healing ones.
And since no one was getting hurt, there was basically nothing for me to do.
…Fine. Honestly, I rode the bus a little.
Even so, in the chamber packed with larvae and eggs I managed to deal damage myself with my gun, so the experience haul was decently satisfying.
It wasn’t the explosive rush of exp I’d gotten with Yeon Hajin at that gate last time, but for what it was, the yield exceeded expectations.
Before I knew it, we’d reached the boss room.
Kieeeeeek—!
Even against the furiously roaring queen—well, queen ant—we didn’t run into any real trouble.
Crunch! Thud—
While Lee Hayun marked the queen ant from the very front,
Whooosh—!
Han Yeoreum burned the queen’s wings and brought her down,
Seogeok—
and Baek Woohyun carved through the legs of the grounded queen joint by joint.
Kieeeek—
Stripped of mobility, the queen ant wailed pitifully and went down for good. A system window bloomed in front of my eyes.
Dungeon cleared!
Rewards are being distributed!
After the usual scatter of magic stones and monster byproducts came the extra payout.
Experience acquired!
Bonus exp from equipped Imperial Legacy (C) — awarded on clear regardless of contribution.
Level-up was right on the doorstep now.
Considering how the whole clear had gone without a real crisis, it had been free money.
“Everyone level up a lot this run?”
Kang Hyun asked the party as we stepped out of the dungeon.
When the others all answered yes, his gaze swung to me.
I hesitated for a second.
The real reason Kang Hyun was hauling us through dungeons was almost certainly to level me up.
Still, rather than lying and claiming I could use Blessing when I couldn’t, it was better to actually use Blessing in front of other people and secure witnesses.
Even if I never quite hit the level for Blessing, just having an official record that we’d all run dungeons together and leveled up would lend a lot of weight to Kang Hyun’s testimony.
From the Church’s point of view, a modest investment with no real downside.
The dungeon he’d chosen already said as much.
A dungeon with zones where even a healer could earn experience? Those weren’t common to begin with.
And bringing a low-rank dungeon that also had larvae and eggs a healer could damage? That was no coincidence.
So….
“I just hit level three! I can use Mana Heal now!”
If I played this right, wouldn’t he keep bringing us more of these golden dungeons?
Stop here?
No. This was a go-all-in moment, whether I could cash it or not.
At my answer, Kang Hyun’s eyes flickered for a beat.
Probably because my level gain hadn’t quite matched his expectations.
The ripple passed quickly, though, and he spoke as if nothing were wrong.
“Want to meet up again tomorrow and hit another dungeon? From what I saw today, a D-Class should be fine.”
He asked.
The smile on my lips deepened.
“Sounds good to me!”
Level 20? Intermediate healing?
Just you wait.
Here comes Yu Haneul—state-power-tier genius healer, the demon of growth.