Week 8 Mentoring, Raid Conquest (1)

Raid Conquest class.

Teacher Seo Cheong-yong wrote a single word on the blackboard.

"Alright, let's have a quick review. What did we say a Guardian's role in a dungeon was?"

A model student in the front row raised her hand.

"To protect something."

"Protect what, exactly?"

"That... varies from dungeon to dungeon."

"Correct. In the last raid, we became Guardians ourselves and defended the goddess statue. So, shall we go over what you all took away from that defense, one at a time?"

Several students raised their hands, and Seo Cheong-yong called on them one by one.

The first student he picked began to speak.

"When you defend near the goddess statue, no matter how well you block, a little damage always gets through—so it worked out better to just keep the monsters from entering the temple in the first place."

"Exactly. The final objective is the goddess statue, but allowing the enemy inside the temple at all is already a point lost. It was effectively a temple defense. Next?"

Seo Cheong-yong pointed briskly at a second student.

"Defense felt a lot harder once the side wall was breached."

"And why did it feel harder?"

When Seo Cheong-yong pressed, the second student mulled over the memory for a moment before answering.

"...I think it was because I couldn't decide where to prioritize—which side to block first."

"You saw it clearly. The more points you have to defend, the more the defender needs to make choices and distribute forces. And since there's no guarantee your split forces will line up exactly against the enemy's, it becomes far harder than holding a single point. Next?"

The third student called on spoke up.

"For me, it was hardest when the Beheader Goblin showed up."

"Really? Why was that the hardest?"

"Blocking that thing took everything we had. There was nothing left to spare anywhere else. So spots that had never been breached started caving in."

"And that's exactly it."

Seo Cheong-yong looked thoroughly pleased—perhaps because the answers he wanted were coming one after another.

"Let's put it all together. To destroy the final objective—the goddess statue—the enemy first had to infiltrate the temple. When the front gate wouldn't give, they opened a new attack route by breaching the side wall and forced the defense to spread thin. Finally, with their trump card, the Beheader, they pinned the defenders' full strength to a single point and left everything else exposed. Everyone with me so far?"

Heads nodded all around, or quiet yeses were murmured.

Seo Cheong-yong smiled warmly.

"Then hold on to everything we just discussed—because this week, we'll be the ones doing the attacking."

The blackboard ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wiped clean, and the rules and environment rose into view.

"You've all got the hang of the Crystal rule by now, yes?"

At the Crystal rule appearing two weeks running, half the faces in the room crumpled and the other half lit up.

Naturally, the dividing line was whether last week's new rule had cost them or paid them.

Under the Deathmatch, the old PvP format, victory was always decided in a head-on clash; under the Crystal rule, high combat power guaranteed nothing.

Even with somewhat weaker fighting ability, you had a real chance as long as you charged your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crystal well.

Jo Byeok, for one, was short on movement and pursuit skills, and ended up handing me the match without ever getting to show what he could really do.

And word had it that born runners like Shin Byung-cheol—guys whose true calling was fleeing—had used the format to claw back a fair chunk of points.

Even now he looked as giddy as a fish returned to water; no doubt he figured the raid would be another high-scoring romp as long as he kept running.

He's celebrating awfully early.

It wasn't going to go down as easily as he imagined.

One major difference stood out: the Crystal PvP had been one-on-one, while this week's raid was two-person.

Right on cue, Seo Cheong-yong lifted two crystals into the air.

One drank in a red glow, the other a blue one.

"Now—one Sanctuary, two people, two crystals. And charging can only happen one at a time. What does that tell us?"

"...?"

"...!!"

Most of the class tilted their heads, but the quick-witted ones caught his point at once.

"While one person charges, the other supports?"

"Correct. Now apply what we just reviewed. What should we be doing?"

Infiltrate the enemy lines to reach the objective. Disperse their forces—or bait them into concentrating.

Song Cheon-hye raised her hand and spoke in a calm, level voice.

"The supporting side should apply heavy pressure to draw the aggro."

"That's it! Good answers today, everyone."

Seo Cheong-yong was generous with his praise, saying that teaching felt rewarding today.

Just then, a student in the corner raised a hand.

"Um, Teacher, but..."

"Yes, go ahead."

"What... what's the Formidable Foe going to be?"

Everyone had hoped the Beheader Goblin would grace us with a return appearance, but things were never going to be that easy.

A glance at precedent told the whole story: this school built its curriculum around the pleasure of screwing its students over.

And ominous premonitions never miss.

Seo Cheong-yong let a meaningful smile curl across his face.

"You all stayed awake through Teacher Jo Oksoon's class, didn't you? The answer lies there."

"...!"

Every face in the room went rigid at once.

Madam Jo Oksoon's Monster Ecology.

Because they remembered exactly which monster the recent lessons had covered.

The Ogre.

The Ogre.

A monster straddling the line between mid-boss and boss class—a walking tank.

Its hide was so tough that ordinary physical attacks did little more than rough up the skin, and its magic resistance was every bit as high.

It was also the first monster I'd met after entering this game world; a few swings were all it took for me to conclude that I couldn't take it down.

Worse, despite a bulk that towered well past human height, it moved with agility to rival the superhuman, and it carried the [Monstrous Strength] trait—every single blow it landed carried staggering destructive force.

Even melee classes had to tread carefully around it, and for frail ranged classes, one hit meant near-certain death.

Of course they won't bring it in at full base specs.

They'd shave it down a step or two, but with the base specs themselves sitting between C and D rank, even a rank or two lower would make the thing monstrously strong.

Small wonder the wailing started before the raid had even begun.

While the whole room sat in a funeral parlor's gloom, Go Hyeon-woo, that avatar of positivity, was radiating his usual sunny energy today as well.

"The Ogre, eh? An opponent I've long wished to cross blades with. The time has come at last. Are you not eager, Brother Kim?"

"I could take it or leave it."

"Hmm. I suppose it may prove a touch bland, given your abilities, Brother Kim."

Go Hyeon-woo nodded along, thoroughly convinced by his own reasoning.

Just how strong did this guy think I was?

Anyway, I had separate business with him, so I handed over the bundle of papers I'd prepared.

"Here, take it."

"What's this, then?"

Go Hyeon-woo accepted the bundle and flipped through a few pages—and his eyes sharpened at once.

Because it was a dungeon strategy guide.

"...We're going down?"

"Yeah. Tonight."

"There are two volumes here..."

"For now, just memorize Part One."

"Understood. I shall commit it to memory well in advance."

This week's goals came down to two, broadly speaking.

The first was dealing with the Swordsmanship Club.

They'll be heading into the Black Snake Chamber any time now.

Going by what Dang Gyu-young had passed along, the Black Snake Chamber raid would be finished within this week at the latest.

And the moment they set foot inside, they'd realize someone had gotten there first.

I'd played a spirited game of tag with the Black Snake Chamber Master, and I'd swung Inferno Fist around with abandon—traces of my passage were everywhere.

If they failed to notice, that would be the stranger outcome.

From the Swordsmanship ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Club's standpoint, someone barging in ahead of them and turning the place over was infuriating enough—and the Black Snake Chamber was a dungeon under priority bidding, on top of everything else.

They'd spent a Priority Bidding Right to assert the club's authority, and someone had ignored it and walked straight in.

They absolutely could not let that slide.

The stolen loot was one thing, but if they took the insult to their bidding right lying down like easy marks, a second and third attempt to encroach on the Swordsmanship Club's stronghold was bound to follow.

So they'd move heaven and earth to find me and make an example of me.

Honestly, I was in the wrong.

I admitted it readily enough.

At my level back then, the Black Snake Chamber had been the best source for metal of Cold Iron grade or better, which was why I'd pushed through—but I knew full well it was a wrongdoing, and that I'd have to make amends sooner or later.

And beyond the ethical question, making an enemy of a powerhouse like the Swordsmanship Club was something anyone would dread.

I was no exception.

There are a few deals I'll want to make with them down the line.

If relations soured, proper transactions would be off the table—and when I thought of all the profits I'd forfeit, I couldn't help but feel the dread.

For all these reasons, it paid to keep on friendly terms with the clubs, one way or another.

But with the Swordsmanship Club, the first button had already been fastened wrong.

To set it right, I'd have to spit back up everything I'd swallowed—the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron included—or prepare compensation of equivalent worth.

And if I added a 'small token of sincerity' on top of that, I could probably smother most of their fury.

Which is exactly why I have to go down.

To fetch something the Swordsmanship Club would be delighted to receive.

And claim my own share while I was at it.

The second goal, as ever, was spec-up through the mentoring event and subquests.

This week, though, was a touch more special than usual.

First, pulling up last week's PvP subquest:

I'd cleared it at maximum reward, winning both matches against Cha Hyun-ju and the one against Jo Byeok.

Which meant:

Thanks to the Bonus Enhancement (Large), rank-grinding efficiency had been excellent over the past three weeks, and the subquest had stacked even more efficiency on top.

It was the system's way of saying: it's the final week of mentoring, so run hard.

But before the running ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠came—

Finishing this one first takes priority.

I had to get into the field as fast as possible, bank points, and clear the quest.

Because the reward was a skill book.

The plan was to grind whatever skill I learned from it as high as I could within this single week.

And the skill book that would come to me for clearing the subquest at maximum achievement was—

The second piece of [Spiral Explosion], following on from [Twister].