The Week 17 Raid Class (1)

Sunday evening.

Tang Gyu-young called me out for a brief chat. She was sitting with her legs stretched out comfortably on a wooden bench situated near the outer edge of the campus walking trail. Sensing my approach, she turned around and playfully fluttered her fingers in a little wave.

“Come, my young Monarch. Approach.”

“Cawww.”

Playing along with a dull, bird-like croak, I pulled two canned drinks from a nearby vending machine. Handing one over to her, I took a seat on the opposite end of the bench. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠She naturally shifted back, leaning her spine against my arm.

“Ah, so comfy~”

“That doesn’t look comfortable at all.”

“Is too. It’s crazy comfortable.”

Tang Gyu-young gently bumped the top of her head against my shoulder as if telling me not to talk back. For a while, we sat in comfortable quiet, sipping our drinks and trading light conversation about how our week had gone.

Eventually, she looked down at her legs and spoke up.

“…You know, I worked really, really hard this past week.”

“I know. I saw how much effort you put in.”

The whole reason she had summoned me out here was that she had cleared the Stage 1 Penance quest. My original estimate had been about a week and a half, but she had wrapped it up several days ahead of schedule. That alone proved just how fiercely she had driven herself.

Her lips curved into a smug, girlish smile.

“Don’t I get some praise?”

“You did great.”

“Hmph. That’s it? Nothing else?”

“Of course there is. Stage 2.”

Tang Gyu-young bumped her head into my shoulder once more.

“Ugh, you have zero sense of romance. Not an ounce of it. Hey, just cast it.”

“Right away, ma’am~”

Tang Gyu-young stared blankly into empty air for a few seconds, seemingly skimming through the quest details. Then, her expression instantly crumpled in sheer horror.

“…Two of them?! Forget it. I quit.”

“Did you get the one with the spheres of light?”

“Yeah. How did you know?”

“Because it’s going to scale up to four eventually.”

“…I’m out! I’m seriously not doing this! I’m going home.”

A single sphere of light had already caused her unending torment; hearing that the number would multiply all the way to four completely drained whatever fighting spirit she had left. Tang Gyu-young stood up, brushing off her clothes.

I reached out and loosely took hold of her wrist.

“Where are you going? You just got here, stay a while longer.”

“……”

She paused, her eyes dropping down to where my hand held her wrist. Slowly, the corner of her lips curled upward into a coy smirk, and she put on an airy, feigned indifference.

“Let go. I’m really leaving.”

Yet she made no effort to shake off my grip, nor did she make a single move to walk away. All she did was lightly sway her captured wrist back and forth in my hand. Her intention to drag me into a little melodramatic roleplay was obvious, so I gladly indulged her.

Tightening my fingers just a fraction, I dropped my voice into a low, commanding register.

“Ggyu. You aren’t going anywhere tonight.”

“I am so—*snort*—hahaha!”

Tang Gyu-young burst into giddy, helpless laughter, playfully smacking my shoulder over and over. Once her giggles finally subsided, I addressed her in a calmer, more serious tone.

“It’s infuriating, isn’t it? Having your skills constantly interrupted and canceled out.”

“Mhm, mhm. You have no idea.”

“Still, it’s an indispensable step. You noticed your skills sharpening after clearing Stage 1, didn’t you?”

“…Well, yeah. A little.”

Beneath the warm glow of the streetlamp, Tang Gyu-young’s shadow swayed across the pavement. Most people would have glanced over it and thought nothing of it, but to my eyes, the change was unmistakable: her shadow was visibly denser and darker than before. She had likely noticed it herself.

“As the stages progress, it’ll become denser still. And then you’ll unlock it.”

“…Unlock what?”

“The Shadow Mark.”

It was a trait that granted the ability to manifest shadows even in the presence of blazing light. From the moment a shadow practitioner mastered it, they were freed from the constraints of elemental affinities and environmental hazards. More importantly, it was the foundational prerequisite for reaching the next tier.

“Who knows? You might even be able to land a clean blow on the Prefect Leader.”

“On Oh Se-hoon? Ooh, now that sounds tempting.”

“Let’s aim to clear Stage 2 before summer vacation.”

That way, the moment the cooldown reset, I would be able to bestow the next stage immediately. Tang Gyu-young met my gaze and gave a firm nod.

“All right. I’ll give it everything I’ve got.”

Monday arrived, bringing with it the weekly Raid class.

Seo Cheong-yong stood before the lecture hall, wearing his trademark gentle smile as he opened the session.

“Final exams are right around the corner, everyone! Next week, to be exact. It’s about time you started preparing yourselves mentally, wouldn’t you agree?”

“……!”

“Last week, you experienced mock PvP combat within the Trap Maze. Why don’t a few of you share what you took away from that exercise?”

Several students raised their hands, and as Seo Cheong-yong pointed them out, they voiced their experiences one by one.

“Just navigating the labyrinth was exhausting enough on its own.”

“Having to look out for traps while fighting made it way harder than any regular PvP battle.”

“Our team got wiped out by traps before we even got the chance to fight anyone.”

“We ran into another squad, but both sides were already so beaten up that we could barely stand.”

Listening to their answers, Seo Cheong-yong nodded steadily in agreement.

“Exactly right. Labyrinths and traps are the single most efficient way to wear down intruders. Your enemies understand this all too well, meaning the frequency of such hazards will only increase going forward, never decrease.”

His expression tightened into solemn gravity as he continued.

“Even in such disadvantageous and absurd conditions, you must find a path to victory. Remember the weight of the expectations resting upon your shoulders.”

“……”

“……”

The students’ expressions hardened in kind, their resolve stiffening under his words. Having effectively set the mood, Seo Cheong-yong smiled warmly once more and resumed his lecture.

“Therefore, this week’s raid class—as well as the upcoming final exam—will take place inside trap-type dungeons. To offer a small hint, the two are very closely linked. Let’s look at the map first.”

With a light flick of Seo Cheong-yong’s hand, a holographic layout illuminated the chalkboard. Its outline bore an uncanny resemblance to a mousetrap, inside of which lay a dizzying, intricate maze.

“A C-rank dungeon: the Cheese Trap.”

“……!”

“—or rather, a Replica Dungeon of it.”

A collective gasp ripped through the classroom, followed immediately by heavy sighs of relief. Tossing first-year cadets into an actual C-rank dungeon for an ordinary weekly practical would have been madness. A Replica Dungeon was an artificial recreation of an existing dungeon, functioning as a simulated copy. While clearing one yielded no standard drop rewards, the faculty could calibrate the parameters to suit their instructional needs, making it an exceptional training tool.

They had likely preserved the structural layout while significantly dialing down the lethal damage of the traps. Of course, even calibrated for first-years, getting nailed by one would still hurt like hell.

Just then, a student in the front row raised a hand to ask a question.

“Instructor, does that mean we aren’t heading down to the Underground Floors this week?”

“Good question. I was just about to get to that. This week’s raid will be held entirely above ground.”

Given its direct bearing on the upcoming final exam, familiarizing ourselves with the Cheese Trap took priority over exploring other trap dungeons. Seo Cheong-yong pointed toward the projected map as he carried on.

“Now, what are you supposed to do here? If you venture into a dungeon, you ought to walk away with some spoils, right?”

Without an objective, there would be no reason to risk life and limb delving into a dungeon in the first place. The chamber resting dead center on the map began to flash in a radiant golden light.

“To put it simply, this is the ‘Cheese Room.’ Securing the reward stored here is your primary objective.”

Before anyone realized it, Seo Cheong-yong was holding ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a comical, wedge-shaped cheese box in his hands. It was merely a hollow prop, but possessing one was the prerequisite for earning raid evaluation marks. His lips then curled into an ominous, knowing grin.

“Naturally, if that was all there was to it, it wouldn’t be called the Cheese *Trap*, would it?”

A mousetrap is laid to catch mice. The prize housed within the Cheese Room was nothing more than bait designed to lure unsuspecting challengers deep inside. Moments later, the golden glow at the center blinked out, and ominous red markers flared across the entire labyrinth.

“The moment you pick up the cheese, the density of traps will spike dramatically. The monsters will also become vastly more aggressive. You will need to carve a path through that gauntlet to clear the dungeon. So, where do you escape?”

This time, four green door icons blinked at the outer corners of the map.

“They look like exits, don’t they? Escape through any of these points with the cheese in hand, and you’re done. You’re free to pick whichever of the four you prefer. And finally, one last detail.”

Four specific chambers along the outer ring lit up in striking crimson.

“The Control Rooms. Destroying one will disable the traps in the surrounding sectors. It won’t be an easy task, of course, but any student who pulls it off will be awarded substantial bonus points.”

In summary, this week’s raid class boiled down to a clear sequence:

Push through a labyrinth crawling with traps and monsters to reach the central Cheese Room. Once the cheese was secured, additional traps would arm and monster spawns would surge; fighting through that reinforced gauntlet to reach an extraction point completed the trial. Destroying a Control Room along the way would neutralize the hazards, but if memory served me right, formidable monsters guarded those hubs, making it no simple detour.

Of course, from my perspective, there was no choice to make.

To claim the rewards at the highest possible grade, taking down a Control Room was an absolute necessity. While I was reviewing the quest parameters, Seo Cheong-yong’s instructions drew to a close. On the board behind him, the map faded, replaced by the operational terms.

“There are no time limits or stamina penalties. As long as you clear the dungeon, you’ll earn your grade and raid points, so take your time and study it thoroughly. As I’ve said repeatedly, this directly correlates to your final exam. That will be all for today’s lecture!”

The moment Seo Cheong-yong stepped out of the classroom, the cadets gathered into buzzing circles to organize their parties. While two-person pairs were generally set in stone by this point in the term, today required a three-man squad. With every team needing to recruit an extra hand, several duos were inevitably forced to break apart.

Naturally, this posed little trouble for me. Ko Hyun-woo and Seo Ye-in had already closed in on either side of my desk.

“Brother Kim.”

“Butler.”

I gave each of them a deadpan retort.

“Aren’t you teaming up with Han Somi? And I’m not your butler.”

“Lady Han and I only joined forces on an impulse last week,” Ko Hyun-woo answered earnestly. “She mentioned she had something she wished to test.”

“What was she testing?”

“I could not say. She refused to speak a single word of it.”

Right on cue, feeling an intense gaze boring into us, I glanced toward the far side of the room. Han Somi was puffing out her cheeks in a furious pout, glaring daggers straight at Ko Hyun-woo. What on earth could he have done to make the perpetually cheerful Han Somi sulk like that?

Ko Hyun-woo offered a slightly helpless, wry smile.

“Moreover, I find myself far more at ease by the side of Brother Kim and Lady Seo.”

“Fair enough.”

Alongside Tang Gyu-young, Ko Hyun-woo had been the primary MVP of our dungeon expeditions. As long as he was eager to join, he was always welcome. It did mean shelving Plan B, which was recruiting Hong Yeon-hwa or Shin Byungchul, but that couldn’t be helped. Hong Yeon-hwa had just messaged me asking if our roster had an open spot, so I quickly tapped out a reply.

Ko Hyun-woo grinned faintly, seemingly guessing whom I was texting back and forth with.

“Brother Kim appears as busy as ever.”

“If your intuition is that sharp, why on earth are you so dense when it comes to Han Somi?”

Closing the messenger window, I tossed the barb back at him, prompting Ko Hyun-woo to scratch his cheek with an embarrassed chuckle.

“Haha, does the ancient proverb not say that a monk cannot shave his own head?”

“Right, of course. Let’s just move.”

Leaving the classroom behind, the three of us ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠directed our steps toward the Dungeon Building.