Internship Program First Outing (4)
And he cursed inwardly.
‘Damn it. Welcome back? What the hell...’
He thought briefly about that damn status window and system.
Five years ago. The reason I, who reincarnated as a second-year student at Eins, could monopolize the plot so thoroughly. Besides the prior information from the original novel, the help from that system was huge.
‘I reincarnated into an extra character. If there was no system...’
The Lee Minsu I reincarnated into. Now perfectly synchronized with him, I am Lee Minsu himself. But Lee Minsu was really a pathetic extra with nothing to his name.
Orphaned in war, no parents or relatives. And the lowest awakened student with only E-rank awakening. It was surprising that he even got into Eins Academy.
But the system provided me, even someone like that, with a shortcut to grow quickly. It kept providing it.
The quests and rewards the system offered, and all sorts of other convenience features.
If I just followed the guidelines, definite growth would follow. The system and the prior information I knew made the best combination. I acquired the plot points very quickly.
So the system was absolute belief to me.
Just like any reincarnator in a creation. The only support I could rely on when suddenly dropped into a completely unfamiliar place.
‘But at the graduation ceremony, the system...’
And the system's benevolence was all a lie.
The Tragedy of Eins. In the final confrontation with the Doubtful Monster, the system took away all the plot points I had accumulated in an instant.
Even though I had already grown enough that I could manage without using many plot points.
The opponent was S-rank villain Doubtful Monster. And the Doubtful Monster was even stronger under the special environment placed in Eins Academy.
As a result. To save me who was losing to the Doubtful Monster, Si-woo and Mina sacrificed their lives.
‘And the only one left was Hongok...’
With that sacrifice and the only remaining item, the S-rank Ancient Gear Hongok, I could defeat the Doubtful Monster through its release.
But calling that result a success was too much of a sacrifice.
And in the middle of that slaughter scene. The system kept popping up notification windows and mocking me.
“Haa... haa...”
Instantly, that system's notification window and the word "welcome back" triggered my trauma. A little cold sweat flowed.
I took a moment to steady my breathing.
‘Calm down, Lee Minsu. When I decided to use mana again, I made that resolution.’
The system is mana-linked, so I expected the notification window to pop up again. But since I have no intention of relying on that system in the future, there was nothing to fear.
And I still had Hongok left with me.
Ancient Gear. A special ancient weapon that tests its owner, evolves by being influenced by the owner's will.
Its sensitive senses sharpened by the dungeon master sharpened the senses, allowing me to look into Hongok inside it as if projecting the mana heart.
‘Hongok... as I thought. It was sealed in five stages.’
The reason I could use mana despite my mana heart being destroyed. Because Hongok replaced my mana heart.
And the reason I shouldn't use that mana.
If all the seals of Hongok, which had evolved to its final form, were released, my body wouldn't hold up against the backlash and I'd die.
So far, I hadn't even released the first stage.
The massive mana of the Ancient Gear. I was only using the mana leaking out a little bit.
‘Well, for now, since I can use the operating equipment, that's enough.’
I decided to focus on the current operating mission. I blew mana from Hongok into the in-ear device.
The in-ear device, a magic tool, resonated with that mana. And it linked with the drones I had already launched.
It displayed clearer screens in my field of vision, tracking the locations of the two people.
‘Good job.’
Still at the entrance of the dungeon, the labyrinth. So with just Donghyuk uncle and Arin's perspectives, I could navigate the dungeon sufficiently.
Arin is Eins Academy's top student. And Donghyuk uncle also had experience as an Eins Academy security guard. Even for a B-rank dungeon, there shouldn't be any problem for now.
‘It's only for now.’
We have to break through this labyrinth with just two people and catch the boss. And these two don't have a main dealer.
But they have an operator, my backup.
I shouted at the ones who had started confronting the monsters and beasts.
***
It had been quite some time since entering the dungeon.
“Donghyuk uncle, Arin. Stop for just 3 seconds right here.”
“Haa... but a self-destructing monster is approaching! I don't know when it will explode...”
“Both of you stay still!! Believe my instructions!”
“Senior!!”
And exactly 3 seconds later, I shouted to the two of them.
“Now! Quickly retreat backward!”
Kwakwakwakwang-
And as I expected, the monster shaped like a round ball exploded. At the same time, the surrounding monsters were engulfed in that explosion.
Of course, Donghyuk uncle and Arin were safe.
“If you know the pattern, it's a boring monster. It's a monster that explodes exactly 10 seconds after detection. If you know that characteristic, you can use it in reverse.”
Donghyuk uncle remained silent. Looking at the battlefield confirmed by the drone, it made sense. Donghyuk uncle didn't swing his sword, but the monsters self-destructed on their own.
Dozens of monsters became paste. Soon Donghyuk uncle was amazed, but there was no time to be leisurely.
“Wait! And stop right there immediately. If it's the layout of this dungeon, there's a trap there!”
As I said, when the two stopped, flames shot up from the floor in front of them. Donghyuk uncle let out a groan.
“B-b bastardly labyrinth!! That's why no matter how high the rank, even if the reward is good, hunters don't enter. Thanks to Min-su, I survived.”
I said calmly through the in-ear.
“Wait. And if you go through the shortcut next to it, there's a secret storage. Since it's B-rank, there are usable items, so let's farm and go.”
And Arin led the way into that shortcut. As expected, usable items came out. There was a mana stone that temporarily buffs attack power.
“That item. Wear it as is, Donghyuk uncle. After coming out of the storage, we'll enter the boss room in 1 minute.”
“Understood!”
“Yes!”
The two answered diligently. They had no choice. Because of my operation, they had come to the doorstep of the boss room without any crisis once.
“Whew. That's why all the guilds that are doing well these days use operators. It feels like entering a dungeon with a shaman. Future prediction level.”
“It's not all operators. It's because Senior Min-su is amazing.”
“Haa... yeah. Sure. Min-su is definitely perfect in operator practical interview. I can believe and rely on him.”
Despite their praise, I maintained composure. Through the in-ear and recording drones. Through augmented reality, I felt like I was in the same place with the two of them.
But I was in a safe place through stealth equipment, and the two of them were at the forefront of the most dangerous labyrinth.
Give peace of mind and trust to the party members. But the operator must never loosen the tension string.
Even dangers that party members can't notice. Vision. The operator must constantly check.
‘Since there's still time. Let's check the two's MCI one more time...’
It had already been several hours since entering the labyrinth. And the two who directly confront monsters naturally have sustained mental contamination.
I checked the in-ear display.
Fortunately both of them were stable. Arin and Donghyuk uncle both had high limit lines. No wonder they had been selected as interns for Flame. There must have been some bonus points for that.
And the roles. If I were to compare it to a game, it would be jobs. The abbreviations in parentheses next to the names indicated their roles.
Arin was a healer, and Donghyuk uncle was a tank, a guard. I was, of course, the operator.
‘My MCI is being displayed appropriately too.’
I unconsciously touched the necklace hanging around my neck. The low-purity mana stone gifted by Yuri. Because of the mana in that mana stone, my originally 0 MCI was being reflected at an appropriate level.
‘No one at the Hunter Association would think it strange.’
When I saw that moon-shaped necklace, I thought it was Yuri's gift at the time, but I figured that the cold Yuri had simply gifted the item most needed by guild members.
‘Well, it doesn't matter.’
My feelings toward Yuri. I had already decided to discard them when I regained consciousness. The important thing was revenge. Or, for now, dungeon clearing.
‘Donghyuk uncle is a guard but can deal damage too, a deal tank. And Arin is a healer but since she's from the White Cross Society, she knows how to use combat spells.’
One minute passed. I gave instructions to the two of them.
“The boss that gets stronger the more time you give it. Turn off all tanking or buffs and healing. Focus only on attacking. I will immediately identify the boss's pattern and weaknesses.”
And the two of them entered the boss room.
***
The interns' first dungeon clear was successful.
And Seo Duho, the team leader following them to supervise, was genuinely surprised in the purest sense.
“Impressive. This isn't just an intern; it's more like a highly skilled raid party.”
Yeon Soso, who had been listening to his words, agreed.
“That's right. Clearing a B-rank dungeon with just two people isn't easy at all. Especially when those two are a healer and a guard.”
No, it wasn't two people. The raid party had Lee Minsu, the operator.
And that half-party without dealers had been turned into a perfect party by Lee Minsu's operation.
‘This is like Lee Minsu playing a game by himself.’
Perfect operation. No unnecessary instructions.
To keep the party members in the field from panicking. Short but clear instructions. And delivering those certain instructions to the party members at the most appropriate timing.
Perfect prior analysis of the dungeon. And performing error correction while self-analyzing and judging the actual internal dungeon.
And that error correction was done simultaneously with giving tactical instructions to the party members.
‘Amazing... How is that possible? At that speed?’
Understanding of the dungeon and on-site perception. And instantaneous tactical choice. It was an operat<|eos|>