Chapter 77: Exchange Match (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 77: Exchange Match (2)
The auditorium lights were off.
Only the screen on the ceiling cast a blue glow, dimly illuminating the space.
“You told me to have faith, didn’t you?”
“…Hmph.”
Kang A-rin and Cheon Yeo-wool sat side by side, arms propped on the desk, staring silently at the screen.
The results of the team selection for the Exchange Match’s team battle were displayed.
Since neither of them had participated in the Mentor-Mentee Program, their only chance of being on Jung Hae-in’s team was to be randomly assigned to one of the four remaining slots.
They had hoped Kang A-rin’s influence might work its magic again, just like with the class assignments in the past, but…
[Jung Hae-in / Yoon Chae-ha / Yu Hana / Jo Yu-ri / Kim Dae-hyun / Yoon Sang-hyeok / Han Iri / Go Minjun]
It had failed spectacularly.
Kang A-rin scowled and let out a short breath.
“…Ha.”
Cheon Yeo-wool had her head planted on the desk.
Her fingertips tapped slowly on the surface.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
A listless rhythm, devoid of emotion or pattern.
“The method was random, but I heard they prioritized students who had fought on the same team at least once before,” Kang A-rin muttered. Cheon Yeo-wool remained silent, not moving an inch.
“And the instructor in charge of the drawing is new, so he has no connection to Glory.”
Instead of answering, Cheon Yeo-wool pressed her head deeper into the desk.
“…Maybe I should have just done the mentor-mentee thing.”
Just as Kang A-rin mumbled this to herself, Cheon Yeo-wool answered without lifting her head.
“How? Yu Hana snatched up the few female students like a ghost. The other students refused. So that just leaves the male students…”
She slowly raised her head.
There wasn't a trace of a smile in her eyes.
“You want me to be a mentor-mentee with another guy? Are you trying to get me killed?”
“I agree.”
Kang A-rin nodded.
The two turned their gazes back to the screen.
The blue light washed over their faces.
A moment later, another team composition appeared on the screen.
“But where’s Ha Sion? Don’t tell me that girl is in her dorm again…”
Just as Cheon Yeo-wool started to get up, Kang A-rin pointed to the bottom of the screen.
“She’s right there.”
Looking closely, they saw a small line of text.
Mock Exchange Battle Hostile Team Leader [Ha Sion]
Cheon Yeo-wool froze.
Her gaze was fixed on the bottom of the screen.
The screen slowly changed, displaying the roster of the opposing team Gaon had assembled.
Ha Sion had been assigned to that side.
Gaon had pulled some of its students to form a hostile team for the mock battle.
Cheon Yeo-wool’s eyes narrowed.
Right next to Sion’s team, Jung Hae-in’s name was clearly displayed.
“…They’re up against Hae-in’s team?”
“Looks like it.”
The screen went dark, signaling the imminent start of the mock battle.
A countdown appeared, and the matchup between the two teams was clearly shown.
*
It was chaotic.
The schedule must have gotten messed up because of the physical fitness test, because Gaon decided to hold the team selection and the mock battle on the same day.
Thanks to that, we had to grab our gear before we could even learn each other's names.
The one silver lining was that, aside from one person, they were all familiar faces.
It seemed that because of the delayed schedule, they had tried to team up people who had trained together before as much as possible.
“We’re on the same team again.”
I said, looking at Kim Dae-hyun and Yoon Sang-hyeok in front of me.
Yoon Sang-hyeok grinned and gave me a thumbs-up.
“Works for me.”
There was a reason he was so excited.
Simply being included in the Exchange Match meant getting media exposure.
They were all next-generation heroes, and they needed to attract public attention more than anyone.
Furthermore, Gaon had gone out of its way to create a ‘Hostile Team’ to give students who weren't selected an indirect chance to participate.
It was a way of providing them with experience and a chance to gain public interest.
And if you weren't picked for the hostile team either, well…
Can’t be helped.
That was just a matter of luck.
There wasn't much time for introductions.
In ten minutes, the teleporters would activate, sending each of us to our assigned zones.
Just then, an unfamiliar face that had been standing around awkwardly approached.
It was Han Iri.
“Um… hi…”
He was a student from the opposing team during the mock dungeon practice.
The team that had set the traps.
He looked like he still felt guilty about what happened back then.
“I’m… sorry about last time,” Han Iri managed to say.
“It’s fine.”
I replied curtly. I hadn't really cared that much.
I knew he’d been on the receiving end of some nasty looks for a while because of it.
Yoon Sang-hyeok and Kim Dae-hyun also seemed to accept his apology with silent nods.
A moment later, another person came over.
Go Minjun. I’d never seen him before, but he had a friendly demeanor.
“Haha, I’m not sure why I’m here, but… anyway, let’s do our best.”
He scratched the back of his head and smiled, offering a handshake to each of us.
He seemed to have a decent personality.
Ting!
At that moment, the scoreboard in front of us lit up, displaying the roster of the opposing team.
We all turned to look, and a brief silence fell.
“Oh, boy,” I muttered.
I thought we could take it easy since it was just a mock exchange battle.
“This is going to be tiring.”
Sion’s name was on the enemy team.
Sion and I had grown up under the Old Man, sharing every step of our development.
We had trained together to the point where we'd memorized each other's methods and could read one another's condition just by the sound of their breathing.
Therefore, she knew everything about me. And well… the same was true for me.
This meant I couldn't be the team leader.
She'd read me like a book.
The premise for this mock battle was simple.
‘Dungeon Break site. Rescue the civilians.’
We were the hero side, and the other team was the Mine side.
Dungeon Breaks sometimes occurred naturally due to an internal mana backflow, but they could also be triggered by the intervention of Mines or Villains.
In such cases, the heroes’ objective is to protect or evacuate civilians, while the Mines focus on taking them hostage or creating greater chaos.
Ultimately, what mattered was this:
Who could reach the civilians first?
“Who should be our leader?” Yoon Sang-hyeok asked cautiously.
For a moment, all eyes turned to me.
“Hae-in…”
“Hae-in…”
Yu Hana and Yoon Chae-ha spoke at the same time.
But I cut them off, quickly pointing a finger at Yu Hana.
“How about you do it, Yu Hana? You have the highest rank among us.”
Yu Hana’s eyes widened slightly before she nodded.
“…Alright. I’ll give it a try.”
Yu Hana looked around, took a short breath, and immediately began the briefing.
As expected of Gaon, the roles within the team were well-balanced.
“First, the main force will be Kim Dae-hyun, Yoon Chae-ha, Jo Yu-ri, Yoon Sang-hyeok, Go Minjun, and Hae-in.”
I’d made the right choice in asking her.
Her ability to organize and the flow of her explanation were both seamless.
“Hae-in and Kim Dae-hyun will be the vanguard. Yoon Sang-hyeok and Go Minjun will stick to the center and protect the mages. I’ll take the left side. Han Iri can take the right side.”
It was a standard formation that played to everyone’s strengths.
The moment eight people form a single unit, you get members on the side who are separated from the main force.
It was a basic modern hero tactic designed to avoid inefficient clumping.
Sticking together increases focus but reduces spatial control, so side operations are entrusted to members with excellent mobility and judgment.
Yu Hana was following that standard to the letter.
Everyone nodded quietly. Nothing more needed to be said.
“Teleporters activating shortly. All personnel, prepare!”
The teaching assistant’s voice echoed.
The mana panels on the walls of the mock training room instantly began to glow.
A thin, pale blue wave enveloped the area, and the teleportation circle beneath our feet slowly started to rotate.
Wooooooooong.
I felt the sensation of space warping. My ears went numb, and a heavy pressure bore down on my body.
“Huh?”
Someone let out a cry of surprise.
After a brief moment of dizziness…
The scene that unfolded before my eyes was a city overgrown with vegetation.
Moss climbed the walls of buildings.
Vines grew through shattered windowpanes.
Wild grass and bushes pushed up through the cracked roads.
A Dungeon Break.
The moment the boundary between inside and outside collapses, the dungeon’s unique characteristics begin to spread, infesting the outside world.
“The rendering is well done.”
Gaon’s simulation dungeons perfectly replicated even these details.
Our mission was simple.
Secure the civilians.
“Form up. Let’s move out.”
There was no time to hesitate.
Yu Hana, who seemed to have already checked the map, quickly gave orders for the formation.
At that moment, I turned my head toward her.
“Yu Hana.”
“Yeah?”
“I’ll take the side.”
I had assessed the field.
Next to the vine-covered buildings stood massive trees.
For her, with her longsword, this field would be severely restrictive, both vertically and horizontally.
On top of that, she’d have to climb trees, which would be a burden for her.
It was common to adjust the formation after assessing the situation on the ground.
Yu Hana seemed to understand my intention and nodded.
She was accepting a team member’s input as the leader.
“Got it. I’m counting on you for the left side.”
She was quick to agree.
I had left Catastrophe back in the dormitory.
The use of personal equipment was restricted in the Exchange Match, so what I held in my hand now was a standard-issue spear provided by Gaon.
On the surface, a sword and a spear are both long weapons, but their practical application in combat is completely different.
A sword needs room to be swung.
You have to consider straight lines, arcs, and even consecutive movements.
But a spear only needs to pierce in one direction.
A straight thrust. That alone was efficient enough.
And I was good at climbing trees.
BOOM!
A loud explosion echoed from the distance.
Smoke rose from the ground, signaling the official start of the break.
With Yu Hana at the center, the main force moved forward, maintaining their formation.
I split off into the woods on the left, while Han Iri took the opposite side.
Rustle.
The sound of stepping on undergrowth. Dry leaves crunched softly.
I was moving between the trees and buildings.
The first role of a side is simple.
Secure a basic line of sight, widen the angle from a position away from the main force to create an encirclement, and neutralize potential threats early.
I kept my eyes fixed on the main force as I moved.
Just then, something burst out in front of them.
A Green Giant.
It was a massive golem covered in stone and moss.
A typical spirit-type monster.
It must have emerged along with the Dungeon Break.
At that level…
The main force could handle it on their own. I didn't need to provide support.
All I had to do was clean up any minor monsters approaching the battle from the periphery.
BANG!
Yoon Chae-ha’s Fireball struck the Green Giant square in the abdomen.
The heavy, stone body staggered.
Things were flowing well.
At this rate, I could advance a little further and…
Then.
“!”
SWOOOOSH!
[All-Encompassing Perception has been activated!]
Regardless of where I was looking, I felt the killing intent flying toward me.
An arrow.
On a direct trajectory for the main force.
Without a second thought, I drew my spear and threw it.
CLANG!
The spearhead and the arrowhead collided in mid-air.
Its trajectory broken, the deflected arrow embedded itself deep into a nearby tree trunk.
I leaped forward, snatching the spear out of the air.
I spun around, shifting my gaze.
And I spoke.
To the one who was watching me from somewhere…
To you.
“So you came.”
The second role of a side.
When you encounter the enemy’s side, you must win.
Normally, a side’s role is to protect the main force, but they can also launch a preemptive strike on the enemy’s flank.
However, that was a tactic usually employed when you had a numerical advantage.
For her to have penetrated this far already, despite our forces being equal in number… this couldn't be considered a standard tactic.
“Sion.”
She had disregarded everything else and rushed straight for me.
To meet me, on the left side.
She read me.
Once again, Sion had read me.
As I thought, there was no fooling her.
I pushed off a tree trunk and leaped.
My senses led me to where I knew she would be.
A few bushes parted, and I saw her, bow aimed at the main force.
Sharp eyes, black pupils visible between her braided hair.
Her lips moved.
“It’s been a while since we’ve been opponents, hasn’t it?”
“It has.”
SWOOOOSH!
CLANG!
A second arrow was fired.
Again, I reflexively threw my spear.
And again, the spear struck its trajectory perfectly, sending the arrow off course.
“How about we have some fun, just the two of us?” I said as I retrieved my spear.
Sion didn't lower her aim.
Even so, she slowly tilted her head and spoke.
“Me…?”
The tip of her bow aimed squarely at me.
The corners of her mouth slowly curled upward.
It was a dangerously relaxed, yet somehow seductive smile.
“I always like it.”
The moment she finished speaking.
SWOOOOSH!
The third arrow tore through the air.