Chapter 11
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: First Tournament (4)
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18 hours into the tournament.
At that moment, atop the dungeon's highest floor.
The Hong Family wielded the Red Blade.
Flames always lingered at the end of their sword strikes.
Those flames hung in the air for a while, swirling like rose petals scattering in the wind.
That was why their technique was called the Hong Family's First Sequence Blade.
Roar...
Even the youngest daughter of the Hong Family was no exception.
Charred goblin corpses littered the area.
The space she had "hunted" breathed with flames dancing through the air.
Hong Ga-yeon sheathed her sword.
The flames naturally faded away.
"..."
She had hunted a total of 312 goblins alone.
The woman displaying the greatest talent among this year's recruits.
Now, she searched for the boss from the highest point.
"Ah~ I'm seriously going crazy here."
By her side was always Smith, her ever-present aide.
He was a short, short-haired man from a family that had served the Hongs for generations.
Smith approached Ga-yeon and fussed over her.
"Miss, aren't you hungry? It's been 18 hours already—no sleep, no food..."
"..."
Hong Ga-yeon ignored Smith and scanned their surroundings.
She was on guard for any surviving goblins that might attack.
"No one's gonna catch up at this point anyway. We can just take it easy."
"If you're hungry, eat that."
"Pardon? Eat what?"
Hong Ga-yeon pointed at a charred goblin corpse.
Smith grimaced at the sight.
"I'd sooner starve to death than eat that."
"..."
Ga-yeon approached the soot-covered wall.
The boss had to be on the top floor, no doubt.
Her goal was singular.
Capture the boss and win the tournament.
But even after scouring the fifth floor, no Goblin King appeared.
It was strange.
Most bosses lurked on the top floor.
For some reason, the goblins on this fifth floor were even weaker than those below.
"No helping it... Guess I'll sneak a bite of that chocolate bar I smuggled in... H-huh?!"
The moment Smith pulled a chocolate bar from his inner pocket, he spotted something and fell back in shock.
"A-ah! Miss!"
"?"
There, where Smith pointed, stood a Goblin Champion wielding a massive butcher's knife.
"Kraaaah!!!"
The master of this fifth floor.
"M-Miss, that thing looks like the boss, doesn't it?"
"...It's not the boss."
Not the boss.
The boss was the Goblin King.
But now that it had entered Hong Ga-yeon's sight, no Goblin Champion could escape alive.
Ga-yeon drew her sword.
Pushing aside the vines, an unexpected figure awaited me inside.
"...Hah... hah..."
It was barely breathing, slumped motionless on its throne.
Spear-wielding guards charged at me.
I cut them down without a glance.
"This... has to be it... right?"
White eyebrows, wrinkled green skin.
A golden crown atop its head.
Anyone could see—this was the dungeon's final boss, the Goblin King.
I knew it.
This made everything fit perfectly.
The reason this dungeon had gone uncleared for years.
The boss had been hidden away tight.
Who would ever think to look for it on the third floor?
Of course, a year from now, a boy dubbed "God's Talent" would defeat it.
I'd just found it first.
...It's not moving.
The thing just sat there, breathing slowly, unmoving.
The Goblin King's role was solely summoning.
No other combat abilities in sight.
I could rush in, sever its neck, and become the record holder for fastest dungeon clear ever.
But.
"...Sigh..."
The C-Class kids left on the first floor? All expelled as a group.
I'd boldly told Lee Jae-yeol to trust only me, so I had to keep my promise.
This gift had fallen into my lap, but like I said before, I don't take the easy path on purpose.
"Get defeated next year as scheduled."
Step. Step.
I walked forward.
The goblin portal shimmered blatantly right before the Goblin King.
A blue glow poured from it.
Just then, a goblin poked its hand out.
I grabbed it and yanked.
"Hey."
"Kiek...! Human?!!?"
Chomp!
I dragged it out and bound it with vines.
The goblin thrashed, but couldn't escape my grip.
"What do you think you're doing, human!!"
"Quiet."
Thwack!
A strike to its temple finally shut it up.
Now for the real issue.
My plan was simple yet complex.
If I could take this portal down to the first floor, I could reach my C-Class comrades held back there.
But the portal vanishes if it gets too far from the caster.
So, move the Goblin King?
I approached it.
The Goblin King didn't budge, holding its position.
I cautiously reached out.
Crackle!
"Ow!"
A spark jolted my finger with electricity.
A barrier...?
A barrier impervious to physical attacks.
Hitting it all day wouldn't do a thing.
Now I understood why it stayed put here.
No need to move.
Another goblin crawled out of the portal right then.
"Kik! Kiik?!! Human?!"
"Yeah. Now kneel over there with your hands up."
"Kiek!! Human!! Don't underestimate me! Die!!"
The goblin charged, but I subdued it with one hand.
These small fry were no issue, no matter how many.
The portal was the problem.
Sure enough... only reverse summoning...?
I sliced open the gut of the downed goblin.
Then coated my mana dagger in its blood.
"...Urgh..."
"You okay? Better not move."
"I can't just sit still...!"
Lee Jae-yeol dragged his injured leg and stood.
Yoon Ah-young followed worriedly.
But he collapsed again soon after.
Ah-young rushed over in alarm.
She rolled up Jae-yeol's pant leg.
The wound was grossly swollen.
From the goblin ambush.
"...Jae-yeol. Don't move anymore. This is for your own good."
"So... we just give up like this??"
"Kyaa!"
Jae-yeol shoved Ah-young away.
His eyes welled with tears.
"You wouldn't get it, coming from some famous family kid!! I need this tournament. I have... I have little siblings depending on me... They're all counting on me... Urgh!"
"...Tae-hyun said to wait. So... let's wait..."
"...Hey. This is a dog-eat-dog world. Who sacrifices for strangers? For a classmate we met barely a month ago?"
Jae-yeol started crawling again.
To him, Kang Tae-hyun was still an object of distrust.
Ah-young and the other C-Class students could only watch blankly.
They were trembling with anxiety one by one.
No one here wanted expulsion.
It didn't matter who was more desperate.
The "tournament" was a sieve.
It filtered out the weak without mercy.
That was the academy's rule.
"Ugh... ugh... huh?"
Jae-yeol stopped, blocked by something as he crawled.
He looked up at it.
"Oh dear, Jae-yeol. Need a hand?"
There stood Mitsuda, grinning slyly.
"Kiek! Go! Go!"
"Go, go!"
Two goblins crossed the portal.
Monsters summoned to the present to protect their king.
With a flash, the dungeon came into view.
"Oh, you're here? Go over there, hands up, kneel."
"Kiek?"
"And tie yourselves together one by one, stick to the wall."
Tae-hyun directed the goblins with practiced ease now.
Beside him, a line of goblins awaiting punishment.
"Kiek?"
"...If you don't wanna get hit, better do as I say."
"...Kiiek...?"
To summon goblins, you'd need at least the staff the Goblin King held.
But the barrier prevented even that.
And I couldn't cast dark magic to summon them myself.
Can't bring them down here either.
No key, and too many injured.
It'd be impossible.
Dungeon goblin numbers were fixed.
Plus, the first floor had already been swept once, so they'd be severely depleted.
Bringing the leftover C-Class kids to floors 2 or 3? No way.
Only option: move the summoning circle itself to the first floor.
Hence, the spell circle I'd devised.
The reverse summoning circle.
Reverse summon the entire room, relocating the circle to floor one.
I had all the world's spell circle formulas memorized.
This was another power I'd amassed over 20 years.
No chance of error.
Scribble...
At last, the reverse summoning circle was complete.
Now, just infuse mana to shift this portal to the first floor.
I steadily poured mana into the reverse summoning circle.
The blood-drawn lines began emitting a soft blue glow.
Reverse summoning circle... success.
"What the hell...?"
"In short, make me class president."
Mitsuda closed in on Ah-young.
He placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You all know. After this 'tournament,' we pick class president and vice president for each class."
Ah-young slapped his hand away.
He kept grinning like he owned the place.
"I'll be class president. Vice can be anyone."
In this officer academy, class president wasn't like a regular high school rep.
The "class president" truly led the class, gaining command over all training and operations.
Basically, electing their leader.
Criteria: first, vote. Second, duel.
If no vote winner, the school arranged a duel.
Victor became class president.
"So! What'll it be? Vote me in, and I'll heal wounds, hunt goblins for you. Oh! You must be starving. Hey, any mushroom stew left?"
"Tons left."
Stew boiled from mushrooms sprouting in every corner.
Its savory aroma teased the recruits.
Over 20 hours without food.
"Simple. Just vote me class president."
Mitsuda barely suppressed his bursting laughter.
Once I'm class president, getting rid of Kang Tae-hyun will be easy... Heh heh!
As he planned, class president came with real power.
Mitsuda had meticulously prepared to seize it.
First, split from C-Class and hunt surrounding goblins.
Reduce their numbers, send only tough ones their way—they'd be wiped out, failing the test.
Kuhahaha! I'm a freaking genius.
Jae-yeol, who had been hiding, lifted his head.
"Really... you'll hunt goblins for us?"
"Of course! Jae-yeol, just promise to vote for me."
"Then..."
Ah-young shouted then.
"No!!"
All eyes turned to her.
Ah-young knew better than anyone.
Mitsuda could not become class president.
Or he'd lord over C-Class like a king for two years.
Better expulsion than that.
No.
"...Class president should be a righteous, strong classmate..."
"...Righteous and strong? Sounds just like me! Right?"
Laughter rippled through the group.
Ah-young retorted.
"To me, you're weak and a coward."
"What?"
Mitsuda's brow furrowed.
He ground his teeth, unable to contain his rage.
Then slowly approached Ah-young.
To him, lost in fury, she was nothing.
Mitsuda had one word he despised most.
Coward.
"...Say that again."
Ah-young flinched but held her ground.
She clenched her fists tight.
"You're a coward."
Mitsuda raised his fist skyward.
Enough force to kill.
His allies rushed to intervene, knowing it.
Too late.
Mitsuda's fist was about to strike Ah-young.
Rumble...!
A single tremor.
Echoing through the entire dungeon.
Mitsuda froze his punch, scanning around.
Rumble rumble...!
Another, closer this time.
Then, an unbelievable sight unfolded.
Blue light poured from the spell circle across the way.
And... a massive horde of bound goblins began spilling out.
"Kieeeek!!! Mercy for this goblin!!"
"Kiek!!!"
Bound goblins kept tumbling out.
Last through the portal: none other than Kang Tae-hyun.
"...Finally, success."
He wiped cold sweat from his brow and said.
(Continued in the next chapter)