The 12th Chapter of Training Team 2 (Part 2)
As he did whatever Team Leader 2 told him to do, time flew by in an instant, and it was already 6 PM. Kang-jun quickly ate something to fill his stomach and set up his tent. Then he hung his name tag on the hook at the top.
Night watch duty was divided into five two-hour shifts from 8 PM to 6 AM. The selection method was drawing straws, so it was purely luck. Kang-jun drew the stick marked with 3. His partner for the shift was C-rank Laura. In the chat window, the horny gods were already making a fuss, promising 10 coupons if they got to fuck during the shift. …If it were 100 coupons, he might have seriously considered it.
Before going to sleep, Lexie came to find Kang-jun and kept striking up conversations, asking if he'd ever watched Heroes Challenge or if he knew her.
"No, I don't. Not at all."
"Really? You've never even watched it once?"
"Yep."
And so her bragging began. …She didn't seem to be acting. If she really was acting, he felt like genuinely recommending she consider becoming an actress instead of a hero. Suspecting she might have some hidden agenda, he checked her information using 2 coupons.
At least the atmosphere was warming up naturally. Good, it's a relief she's actually stupid.
"I'm called the Second Erika."
"Wow, that's impressive."
After Lexie's bragging session ended, Kang-jun expressed his admiration. It was the moment his hypothesis that all magical girl concepts had slightly loose screws was proven somewhat true.
"Want an autograph?"
"…Later."
Playing along with her foolishness made him tired quickly. That girl's head didn't do much calculating, but why did his own calculations increase? It was an incomprehensible phenomenon.
"I'm going to sleep now."
"Okay? Got it. Sleep well."
Lexie left with a somewhat disappointed expression, skipping away. Kang-jun went into his tent and lay down.
…Sleep suddenly crashed over him.
· · ·
The first night, met with slight tension, fortunately passed without incident.
After standing night watch for a day, Lexie's face was quite puffy. She kept panicking while looking in her hand mirror.
Education Team 2 packed up the campsite and resumed moving at 7 AM. They took the long corridor leading to Area 7.
Team Leader 2 explained that the investigation team was supposed to assess the approximate levels of monsters in each area and record them in a report. They needed to investigate the possibility of mana fluctuations especially carefully. Since a mana fluctuation incident had already occurred in the adjacent Area 48, the Area 47 labyrinth was under special surveillance as a high-priority location. Branch 45 had a monthly mission to thoroughly investigate the Area 47 labyrinth and report to headquarters. This training exercise also served partly as that investigation.
"Actually, the possibility of a mana fluctuation erupting here isn't low."
If the intention was to scare them, it certainly succeeded. The D-rank members' faces stiffened at the sudden tension.
Anyway, Team Leader 2 carefully examined both the area and the corridors. So their pace wasn't very fast. Around 11 AM, they finally arrived at Area 7. Team Leader 2 also spoke with the leader of a civilian team coming out of the exploration.
Training continued. The team leader roughly explained how investigations were conducted. More details weren't needed yet. Telling D-rank members what team leaders should do was pointless. In reality, less than 10% of D-ranks advanced to C-rank. Just making sure they understood the investigation team's mission was sufficient.
After arriving at Area 7, Kang-jun periodically spread mana to check monster positions. There were two or three here. Judging by the mana levels, they were around level 160.
Team Leader 2 also seemed to notice their presence. Judging by his direction of movement, he was slightly hesitating whether to deal with them or not. The investigation team didn't necessarily need to kill them, but experience was still needed…
Eventually, the team leader headed toward the monsters. He subtly signaled his two assistants. The perceptive D-ranks caught on to the situation.
The monsters also began approaching them. Team Leader 2 raised his fist. The moving feet stopped abruptly. The flickering lamp light swayed left and right.
"Combat ready."
The team members quickly moved into their pre-assigned formation. First, the guard Team Leader 2 stood at the front, with one D-rank guard beside him. Behind them, six dealers took position, and two healers at the very back prepared to cast heals.
A moment of silence fell. Lexie, standing close beside Kang-jun, swallowed hard. Her expression overflowed with tension.
"Relax. I'm here."
Kang-jun whispered those words. She seemed deeply moved by them. Points gained in situations like this were higher.
Team Leader 2 raised his hand holding the iron mace again. And soon, a monster emerged from the darkness. It was an arthropod-type monster. It looked exactly like a giant cockroach. Lexie gasped loudly, clearly disgusted by that kind.
"Don't take your eyes off it until the end! If you let your guard down, you'll die!"
The team leader gave that final warning before starting to draw aggro. C-rank Laura, a fire mage, began creating fireballs in the air, slowly enlarging them.
The monster, which had been crawling nervously behind a rock pillar, suddenly leaped. Team Leader 2 stepped in with his shield. Healer Yoshilo poured heals on him.
"Gyaaak!"
Ken, the esper who wanted to show off, fired his magic power the moment he heard the attack order. Similarly, Lexie, also an esper, joined in. The physical types waited until the magic types landed their first hit.
"Yai…, what the fuck!"
Clumsy Lexie accidentally hit the team leader's side with her magic power. The power was weak, so there was almost no damage, but it nearly threw off his stance.
Anyway, aside from that accident, the magic attacks hit the monster well. The monster, which had taken a heavy hit, retreated slightly to create distance. The flustered Lexie couldn't sit still.
The monster spotted a brief opening and leaped again. But it wasn't enough to bypass the B-rank guard. Team Leader 2 blocked its path once more.
While the mages and espers prepared their next attacks, the physical types charged at the monster. Kang-jun cleanly cut off one of its shaggy legs. Other team members struck the monster's body with their weapons. Already weakened by the magic and esper attacks, its shell was quite fragile. When solid weapons struck it, it couldn't hold and shattered.
One unlucky D-rank got their lower abdomen pierced by a sharp thorn on its leg, but recovered after healing. Still, they withdrew in a combat-incapable state.
After hammering the monster's body a few times with weapons, it couldn't last long and died. With a good guard, dealing damage was very easy. …Kang-jun suddenly felt like making Ogre Nam suffer harshly.
After dealing with the monster, the team leader looked for the one responsible for the earlier accident. Lexie stepped forward with a pale face.
"This time, I'll let it go as a mistake from panic. But if you do this again, you'd better be prepared."
The team leader let it slide once since she was still a trainee. However, Lexie's expression, with her pride already greatly diminished, was awful. Ken patted her to encourage her.
"Mistakes happen. Just don't do it next time."
"…Yeah."
Kang-jun thought Team Leader 2 was impressive. If it were him, he would have started with slaps immediately.
This was why skill in handling magic or esper abilities was important. If you misaimed and hit a guard's back, in the worst case, the entire team could be wiped out. In that regard, Tzusshi's fire magic skills were amazing. True to her perfectionist nature, she never made such mistakes.
Education Team 2 rested for about 20 minutes before departing again. Kang-jun glanced sideways at Lexie, who was walking dejectedly. He could have offered some encouragement, but the mistake she'd just made was so bad she deserved to be cursed at, so he couldn't bring himself to speak. Given his strict nature during labyrinth exploration, his body instinctively clamped his mouth shut, knowing curses would definitely come out if he opened it.
Team Leader 2 walked a bit further before ordering a major break. Everyone plopped their butts onto the mats. Some wrapped thin blankets around themselves. The temperature had dropped sharply as they went deeper.
Team members quickly finished lunch and rested freely. Most lay on their mats for a short nap. Kang-jun also lay down like them to sleep.
After the major break ended, Education Team 2 went deeper into the labyrinth. The killing intent pressing on their bodies grew stronger the further in they went.
Once they passed the day-trip distance, the number of monsters increased somewhat. Positionally, they couldn't avoid all of them, and had to face some. So the team leader needed to choose the optimal route carefully.
If it were just training, they could face one or two more monsters and retreat, but this mission also required investigation, so they had to go a bit deeper.
Team Leader 2 hesitated for a moment before choosing the best-looking path. Education Team 2 resumed moving after resting. The team leader carefully lured monsters to face them one at a time. As an experienced B-rank, his situational judgment was good.
After facing two more monsters, they passed through Area 7. Team Leader 2 chose Area 10 and took that corridor. However, time was running short, so they ended up setting up camp without finishing the corridor.
"We'll need to move busily tomorrow. We have to reach Area 10 and finish the investigation."
After setting up tents, Kang-jun drew straws again. This time it was number 2. Someone said it was that popular guy Ken. He also confirmed Kang-jun as his partner and his expression stiffened slightly.
"Ah, too bad. I wanted to work with Kang-jun."
Lexie, who had recovered her usual energy, announced she'd drawn 3 and looked quite disappointed. Kang-jun smiled once, thinking there'd be another chance next time.
Team members disappeared into their tents one by one. Kang-jun also went into his tent and lay down. Hoo. White smoke puffed out of his mouth. 7:41 PM. He figured he could sleep for about 2 hours if he went to bed now. …But strangely, sleep wouldn't come when he calculated how much time he could sleep and closed his eyes.
After tossing and turning for a while, he closed his eyes, and there was already a presence waking him for shift time. He turned on his phone and it was 9:55 PM. …Damn it. Suddenly, the military vibe hit hard.
Kang-jun came out of his tent and put on the shoes he'd taken off. His soles froze on the cold, frozen shoes. The relieving guard thanked him and cheerfully went into their tent.
Kang-jun sat far away from popular guy Ken. There was nothing to talk about anyway. He wrapped a blanket around his shoulders and stared intently at a stone floor. Occasionally, he spread mana to check monster positions.
"What do you think of Lexie?"
Ken suddenly asked that out of nowhere. Kang-jun just raised his eyes slightly to look at Ken sitting across from him.
"…What?"
"What do you think of Lexie."
Asked suddenly like that, he was at a loss for words. Bored from sitting quietly, he'd left the chat window open, and all sorts of sounds came out.
Even if Kang-jun wasn't in his right mind, surely he wouldn't say something like that outright.
"…Cum container."
Ken thought he'd misheard.
"…What?"
Kang-jun smiled and confirmed with a killing blow.
"Cum container, I said."
50 coupons awarded!