Chapter 22: Mock Dungeon (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 22: Mock Dungeon (6)
-Team Jung Hae-in, artifact acquisition successful. Terminating.
The announcement signaling the end filled the ruins.
Only then did I relax my grip and turn my head.
The two members of the opposing main force were already sprawled on the ground, and Sion had her hand on the artifact.
Kim Dae-hyun and Yoon Sang-hyeok stood beside her, and all three of them looked calm.
“It’s over.”
I said to Han Iri, who was in front of me. He didn't seem to have any intention of fighting further. Looking utterly exhausted, he headed past me to pull Joo Han-kang out of the wall he was embedded in.
Even if he was unconscious, he wouldn't be seriously injured. All practical exercises are equipped with safety measures.
A portal appeared where the artifact had been. I started walking toward it to leave.
Just then, Sion rushed over to me.
“Hae-in, are you okay?”
She came closer, scanning my face and my condition.
She must have been worried after seeing me lower my head at the end.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you really okay? Is something wrong?”
“I think it’s because of the elixir I drank last time. Its effects must have been better than I expected.”
“Really…?”
Sion studied me for a moment, then nodded and shifted her gaze to my wrist.
There, the obsidian bracelet was shimmering with a black light.
I had only just noticed it myself.
What’s this?
“Why is it doing this?”
I asked, looking at the shimmering bracelet.
“Hmm, maybe its effect is finally kicking in? It is a ‘Vitality Enhancement’ Bracelet, after all.”
Sion murmured, gently tracing the bracelet with her fingertips.
-Mhm, it seems okay….
I walked toward the portal with her.
Yoon Sang-hyeok and Kim Dae-hyun were already heading out ahead of us.
Just as I was about to follow them, Sion moved right up next to me.
“Want me to support you?”
“No, it’s not that bad…”
“Right.”
Sion didn’t even wait for me to finish before linking her arm with mine.
I tried to pull my arm away slightly, but it wouldn’t budge, so I just gave up and walked alongside her.
As we entered the portal, the scenery before my eyes shifted rapidly, revealing the training ground.
All eyes of the students already seated turned to us.
It seemed we were the last team remaining.
With her arm still linked with mine, Sion waved and greeted the other students.
As if she enjoyed being the center of attention, her face was filled with a confident expression.
What is she doing…
All eyes in the room on us, and a beautiful girl on my arm.
I felt my face flush at the sight, as if I were some triumphant general returning from war.
I whispered to Sion as we quickly headed for our seats.
“Let go.”
She remained completely unfazed by my request, her expression unchanging as she moved only her lips.
“You should probably get used to it.”
“What are you talking about now?”
Sion didn’t answer my last question.
In the end, we returned to our seats just like that.
She was always kind, but she had her willful moments. Lately, though, it feels like those moments have been happening a lot more often.
As I was sitting down, Han Iri walked out of the portal, carrying Joo Han-kang on his back.
“That guy’s awake.”
“Who?”
“The one on his back, Joo Han-kang.”
Yoon Sang-hyeok, who was next to me, commented nonchalantly.
They must have been embarrassed, as the two of them seemed to head straight for the infirmary.
“That concludes today’s first mock dungeon class. You all worked hard.”
The instructor in charge stepped onto the platform and began to speak.
“Please give a round of applause for the eight teams who acted as the vanguard, providing valuable knowledge for all of you.”
A brief round of applause followed. After a few announcements about the next class, the instructor closed the portal and declared the session over.
Students began to leave the training ground one by one.
Just then, a few students spoke to me as they passed by.
“You’re Jung Hae-in, right? You were good.”
"Looks like you would've gotten in even without the special admission, huh?"
"Hae-in, could I maybe get your number…."
I was about to leave too, but I stopped to listen to their brief comments.
It was a very Gaon-like scene—if you had the skills, you earned recognition.
I returned my spear to the weapon return box by the door and stepped out into the hallway. Sion was with me the whole time.
Since we were in the same class, she suggested we have dinner together as well.
I had originally planned to just go back to the dorm and rest.
‘No, we’re not in the same class, so we can’t see each other or eat together. If not now, then when…’
…I just agreed.
When we got outside, I could see the sky through a window, the sun just about to set. A lot of time must have passed.
On our way to the campus cafeteria, some colorful posters on a wall caught my eye.
We stopped to look at them.
Clubs…
They were posters advertising school clubs.
Gaon encourages students to join at least one club.
In reality, it’s less of an “encouragement” and more of a requirement, considering the mileage points you earn from club activities.
“I do need to join one…”
In the original story, the main characters’ club choices changed with each playthrough, so I planned to skip the initial sign-up period and apply during the add/drop or late registration period after seeing who joined what.
The other main characters have probably already signed up.
I should start looking into it tomorrow and sign up too….
“Hae-in, you haven’t signed up yet? Me neither.”
I turned my head to look at her.
“Yeah, not yet. I’ve been too busy to get to it.”
“Then, want to do this one together?”
She said, gesturing toward one of the posters.
“Let’s sign up for this one, just the two of us. Doesn’t it look fun?”
Which one?
Curious about what kind of club it was, I read the poster she was pointing at.
[Heal the fatigue from your studies with travel.]
The club she had pointed out was a travel club.
But wait a minute….
In the bottom right corner, I noticed a line of small text next to an arrow: “Must see reverse side.”
Feeling a little uneasy, I lifted the poster to look at the back.
[Applications only accepted from couples. With your loving partner…]
The phrase, written alongside a provocative heart symbol, certainly sparked the imagination.
“…What?”
In that moment, a memory from the game that I had buried in my mind resurfaced.
Ah, this one.
‘The Sex Club.’
This club was one of the Easter eggs.
It wasn't that it looked fine on the surface; the front was already pretty suspicious.
It was a club that fit perfectly with Gaon's culture of encouraging both romance and club activities.
It was also an episode where an embarrassing situation would unfold if the protagonist signed up with a specific heroine.
Besides, all incoming students were over nineteen years of age, so there wasn't really an issue.
It seemed Sion had suggested it without knowing, either.
I flipped the poster completely over and showed her what was on the back.
After that, Sion was silent for about ten seconds.
Then her face turned bright red as she hurriedly covered the poster back up.
“…I didn’t know.”
I had a feeling, but it seemed she really hadn’t known.
We’ve known each other for ten years.
"Yeah, I know."
We were like family, so there was no way she would have suggested it if she’d known.
Absolutely not.
*
After soaking my body in hot water, I came out into the living room.
“Agh, I’m exhausted.”
It had been a long day.
I know my own body best.
Over the past ten years of relentless training, I've come to understand certain things about it.
My instantaneous power output and performance are quite decent. Even the Old Man acknowledged that.
But the problem is…
“My fuel efficiency sucks.”
It’s not bad, but it’s not exactly great either.
I have a weakness: I get exhausted if I exert my power continuously.
In the end, my weakness was prolonged battles.
I sat in the center of my dorm room and began to observe the state of my body.
At the hospital last time, I’d performed a simple self-diagnosis, but it seems I hadn’t grasped the full picture.
Let’s take a proper look.
As I closed my eyes and deeply circulated my mana, an explosive amount of it began to swirl and race wildly through my body.
Like a rampaging beast.
The elixir I drank before had certainly increased the absolute total of my mana.
But at the same time, it had also excessively amplified the flow, making it difficult to control inside my body.
So this was the problem.
It was in that moment, as I was racking my brain for a solution…
The obsidian bracelet on my wrist began to emit a soft glow.
The unique luster of the obsidian pulsed with a steady rhythm, like a heartbeat, and the mana inside my body seemed to respond to the light, ceasing its movement.
The obsidian bracelet began to firmly grasp and organize the flow of mana that had been rampaging through my body.
“Huh?”
I muttered, looking down at my wrist with surprised eyes.
The rampaging mana began to follow the new current created by the bracelet, gradually finding stability.
Like a rough wave turning into a gentle ripple, the mana that had been churning violently within me began to flow calmly.
It was as if a dam holding back a powerful torrent was now controlling the current with finely tuned floodgates.
As a test, I opened my hand and coated it with a bit of aura, checking the sensation.
The stability, the strength, and even the clarity I felt from the aura.
Everything was completely different from before.
“Heh.”
A short, incredulous laugh escaped me.
I know my own body best.
I murmured, slowly stroking the bracelet.
“Old Man… absolutely perfect.”
It was the moment my weakness vanished.