Shiki P.o.v
Cube had a variety of artificial terrain created to allow for more efficient training: mountains, hills, limestone caves, volcanic caves, etc. Each environment had its unique puppet monsters, and naturally, there were also artificial Dungeons created with cutting-edge magic technology.
We were gathered outside an eerie cave. The black tunnel-like entrance seemed to ooze ominous energy. There were more cadets than usual; half of them I did not recognise.
'Seems like we will train with another class today.'
Kim Soohyuk spoke out, confirming my speculation.
"Today's combat training is a bit special."
"Today, you'll be entering this cave with another class. As a joint training exercise, a team from each class will join together to form a single team."
The name of this training was Mock Dungeon Trial. Cadets would form a team of eight and experience an artificial Dungeon.
Two hundred cadets would be inside this massive grade artificial Dungeon, so one could only imagine just how large it was.
"Now, get in your usual teams."
Other cadets found their teams, and 200 cadets quickly formed into 50 groups.
Meanwhile, I stand alone in the sea of people.
"Next, we'll announce your team pair. For the record, the cadet with the highest grade was chosen to be the team leader."
Kim Soohyuk pressed his smartwatch, projecting a hologram of the team list.
===
[Team 1]
Veritas class – Team Kim Suho
World class – Team Jo Yoon-Ah
===
'So we won't be able to form a team pair in our class. I was hoping to be with a team that I know.'
'But first, I should identify the sources of this foul smell.'
Two presences caught my attention right when Soohuyk rounded up the cadets. They reeked of demonic mana, which anyone could detect with enough exposure and mana sensitivity.
I turned toward the furthest wicked signal. It was in one of the few groups that had a member I'd talked to at least once.
Team 3, Nayun's team and team Sven.
The presence couldn't belong to our class since I would notice it even sooner; so naturally, it belongs to the others.
'Hajin might know who it is. I will ask him later.'
'I will keep an eye out for whoever that is once I discover his identity.'
Other teams were being announced in the meantime, but my attention was directed to team 3. I wanted to advise Chae Nayun to be careful, but it will make me look suspicious.
"Team 8. Veritas class, Team Yoo Yeonha and Shiki. World class, Team Jayden."
At that moment, Team 8 was announced.
Naturally, I was placed as an extra in another pair. It wouldn't make sense if I kept going alone in these trainings.
"You must be Yoo Yeonha! It's great meeting you. I've heard a lot about you!"
"Ah, yes, nice to meet you."
Jayden held out his hand as Yoo Yeonha readily shook it.
"Next to me in order are Kim Jingyu, Oh Soojung, and Lee Shaung."
"This is Jin Hoseung, Hazuki, and Yi Hajin."
Yi Hajin... Pfft...
Hajin glared at me. I shrugged at him, grinning.
"Oh, and this is Tatsuya Shiki." Yoo Yoenha introduced me.
"Nice to meet you Jayen." I greeted him.
"Nice to meet you as well. Mind if I ask where your team is?" He asked.
"You are looking at him right now."
"Really? You can do that?"
"It's a technical issue, don't mind it."
"I will do that, then."
In any case, Yoo Yeonha talked to Jayden affectionately while his teammates also listened in. Watching Yoo Yeonha managing her image seems tiring. Keeping one's reputation always comes with inconvenience.
"I'm a sharpshooter. My main weapon is a bow."
"Mine's my fist."
"Mine is a shield."
Jayden's teammates introduced their roles. Then it was our turn.
"Swordsman. Typical, right?"
"I use an axe."
"...I use this."
Hajin held up the training handgun.
"Ah, you're that guy. The guy who chose a gun. I heard about you."
"It feels strange seeing you in person."
"At least I picked a weapon. There's a guy barehanded here." Hajin bounced back, pointed at me.
The three people's eyes kindled with interest. Their gaze shifted to me, their eyes seemed to say, "Why are you here if you don't have a weapon, even alone?"
"Are you two wasting your Gift? Or are your Gifts not good enough?"
Jayden was smiling slyly, asked politely while trying not to insult Hajin and me.
I would have been touched by his kindness. Only if he wasn't radiating such an evil aura. I could feel it creeping along my skin. It was demonic, sinful and.... Divine?
What incarnation could have exuded divinity?
It's not that demons can't have divinity, quite a lot in fact. But the question is which one?
Most of....All of them are bad. But there are different kinds of bad. One misstep and I might get a big problem in the future.
'Tangling with divinities rarely ends well. I should avoid making as much contact as possible.' It was already too late, not that I had realised at the moment.
"Everyone, get ready."
Team assignment had ended before I noticed, and cadets quickly began to move at Kim Soohyuk's words.
"Go in one by one starting from Team 1."
"Let's go!"
Kim Suho shouted valiantly and took the lead. Jo Yoon-Ah followed after him with an annoyed face.
"Yoo Yeonha-ssi, I heard you were number one among this year's supporters."
"Haha, really? I heard a lot about Jayden-ssi. I think the instructors balanced the teams wrong. We're too much at an advantage."
"No, that's just how teams are. When there's one exceptional person... I'm sure you know the rest. It's easy to see that Yoo Yeonha-ssi has baggage to carry."
Meanwhile, Yoo Yeonha and Jayden chatted.
"Team 8, enter."
Kim Soohyuk signaled our team's turn.
.
.
.
The nine of us walked through the cave. Three warriors led at the front, supporters followed in the second row, sharpshooters were in the third, and a single warrior brought up the rear. Meanwhile, I moved between the second and third rows. Yoo Yeonha said nothing about my position, and Jayden stayed silent as well. However, there was a faint hostile glare from the guy.
After walking for a while, we reached a fork in the path. There were eight routes to choose from.
"Which path should we take?"
Yoo Yeonha asked Hajin for his opinion.
"Jingyu, what do you think?"
Jayden also asked his sharpshooter. As usual, sharpshooters often acted as pathfinders.
"I don't know."
"Take the sixth path."
Kim Hajin stepped forward and stopped in front of the sixth path. His vision allowed him to spot traps and ambushes.
"Let's take the sixth path," he said clearly.
But not everyone agreed.
"Huh? Who are you to tell us where to—"
"Just do as he says," Yoo Yeonha interrupted Jayden. It seemed she was beginning to trust Hajin more.
"He may look like that, but his eyes are exceptional."
"Looks like what? Do you have to put it that way?"
"...I'm praising you."
In any case, our team decided to take the sixth path.
The trail was completely silent, with only the dry wind from the entrance brushing against us. After ten minutes of walking in tense silence...
We finally spotted a target.
"Ahead, there's a monster," Hajin said, stopping everyone.
Standing before us was a red, reptile-like creature—a Salamander. It's about the size of a human and acts as a living flamethrower, wielding fire-element power. Judging by its size, the lizard is a low-intermediate monster at most.
"You can see it?" Yoo Yeonha asked.
"It's a Salamander. That should be the switch."
"...You can really see it? I don't believe you."
Jayden muttered skeptically.
"I'm telling you I can see it. Just listen to me, jackass."
Jayden just kept questioning Hajin. He was starting to get on my nerves. My student's weapon choice doesn't justify you picking on him.
"You said what?" he growled.
"...Tsk. Quiet, both of you. Get ready for battle," Yoo Yeonha sighed loudly as she raised her whip.
"Salamander? Does anyone here have the water attribute?"
Jayden asked as he stretched, but to no avail. While I did have water-based magic, I didn't see any reason to comply with Jayden. Helping him might paint a target on my back.
It seemed Jayden didn't expect much, as he held up his sword without being disappointed.
"Well, I'm sure it'll be easy."
With nine people, the Salamander wouldn't have a chance to fight back.
The team members walked forward with their senses heightened.
"Oh, there it is."
Jayden pointed at the Salamander loafing around on the ground.
"...So you were right. I guess it's true you can find dog turd if you want to use it for medicine."
"It's the other way, retard."
Jayden glared at me but quietly asked Kim Jingyu.
"Wasn't I right?"
"About what?"
"The Proverb. That you can find dog turd if you want to use it for medicine."
"It's the opposite, you can't find dog turd even if you want to use it for medicine."
"...Oh."
"Enough of this." I said.
I got tired of Jayden. I walked up to Yoo Yoenha, gave her a tap on the shoulder and moved forward.
Yoo Yeonha who was uninterested in our conversation, imbued her magic power into her whip and prepared for battle.
"Get ready. Though, if it's a switch, it should be a piece of cake. Huup!"
Yoo Yeonha swung her whip, which shot towards the Salamander's tail like a snake.
"Kueee..... !!!"
With its mouth tied up by Yoo Yeonha's whip, the Salamander couldn't use its most powerful attack, firebreath.
Seizing the opportunity, I clenched my fist, swung it upward bringing the lizard airborne. Kim Jingyu shot its belly and the warrior made cutlets out of it. The Salamander died quickly.
"Easy as pie. That was amazing, Yoo Yeonha-ssi. How did you instantly grab its mouth like that?"
Jayden flattered Yoo Yeonha, to which she returned a smile.
At that moment...
Thwick. Hajin tripped on a rock. He fell forward silently and instinctively grabbed onto what was in front of him. Most likely, it was Yoo Yeonha's head.
"Kyak—"
A high-pitched scream rang out.
At the same time, a sharp and unnatural object brushed past Kim Hajin's hand and Yoo Yeonha's hair.
Thud.
Yoo Yeonha fell.
"W-What? Is it an ambush!?"
Jayden made a fuss as he pointed his weapon in all directions. Soon, his eyes landed on Hajin. He was kneeling with his hand ramming Yoo Yeonha's head to the ground.
"..."
"..."
Jayden and the rest of the cadets stared blankly at a loss for words.
An ominous and dreary silence descended.
"...Let go."
Yoo Yeonha said coldly. Hajin immediately took his hands off and pretended that nothing had happened.
"You..."
Yoo Yeonha staggered up and gave Hajin a deathly glare without caring for hemessed-upup hair.
"Huh? What's that?"
"What's what?"
At that moment, Hazuki pointed in a direction. Everyone looked in the direction Hazuki was pointing, and they saw someone.
Me, with an arrow inches before my head.
The sound of something cutting through the air and that strange brushing sensation... It wasn't hard to figure out what just occurred.
"..."
Yoo Yeonha's head turned with a creak to the arrow. When she discovered the arrow in my hand, her eyes widened.
Hajin let out a dry cough and said "There's no need to say thanks, Yoo Yeonha-ssi. We're teammates after all."
"Wow. How did you know? I didn't feel it at all!"
Hazuki asked in genuine awe.
"...Sharpshooters have good perception."
"That was close. Are you unhurt, Shiki, Yoo Yeonha-ssi?"
"Huu..."
"I'm fine. Quick thinking, Hajin." I said.
"Thanks, I'll take this."
Hajin took the arrow from me before putting it in his bag along with his laptop.
"...Let's go."
Yoo Yeonha spoke. Yoo Yeonha had tidied herself up and was now staring at Hajin while biting her lips.
Jayden asked as he glanced at Yoo Yeonha's face to see her expression.
"Yeonha-ssi, are you okay?"
"Don't chitchat."
"Yes, got it."
After that, we walked without much talking.
.
.
.
"Did the advance team hunt everything? There's nothing here."
After walking for about 20 minutes, Jayden yawned, seemingly bored.
"No, each team had different entrances. If we started from the east, the other team should have started from the west. Also, I can see a group of monsters up ahead."
"Oh?"
On the tiny craters up ahead, there were four Salamanders and 11 Peanut Flames.
"15 in total, Salamanders and Peanut Flames. Looks like it'll be tough."
"That many?"
Hazuki's eyes widened.
"Yep."
Hajin held up his gun, at which Jayden gave a condescending sneer.
"Pft, what can you do with a gun? You won't even be able to kill a Peanut Flame... retard."
Jayden whispered the last bit so that Yoo Yeonha couldn't hear it.
'I had to admit, with this training handgun, I couldn't pierce through the Salamander's skin. Peanut Flames were also monsters capable of wielding magic power, and the flame barrier didn't make it any easier.'
'However, a handgun loaded with combustion runes 'ᚨ' (Ansuz) bullets can make a difference. These bullets can change themself into anything I imagine from element bullets to healing shots. Its power depends on how much mana I pass through the runes.'
"You'll see."
"Hmph."
Jayden twisted his lips as he released his sword qi.
"If you're so confident, do you want to make a bet?"
"..."
*Whish!*
A whip flew in like lightning, striking the ground between Jayden and Hajin.
"Whoa!"
"...!"
Yoo Yeonha spoke two words with a dead-cold face.
"Please. Focus."
Both of he boy stayed silent. After a minute of calm, Jayden broke the ice.
"I'm sure everyone knows what kind of monster Peanut Flames are."
"We'll have to kill the Peanut Flames first."
"But who's going to draw the Salamanders' attention in the meanwhile?"
"I can do it."
Hazuki raised her hand at Jayden's words.
"I'm pretty quick on my feet. I got 5th place in speed."
"I'll come along just in case." I said.
"Perfect."
Jayden used English for the first time since we met. Yoo Yeonha spoke with a soft smile.
"You only have to draw their attention. Knowing his strength, he can handle the Salamanders."
Yoo Yeonha looked at me briefly. Hazuki, knowing what she meant, nodded
"Yes, then I'll leave you to cover me."
"Yeah, leave it to me." I said.
Hazuki stretched before shouting "I'm going—!" and rushing forward. After approaching the cluster of monsters in the blink of an eye, she twirls her sword and lets out a spirited shout.
The angered Salamanders then began to waddle towards Hazuki. Seizing the chance, I followed her and intercepted the Salamanders.
As we headed off, Jayden rushed into the enemy line.
"Huap!"
The sword he swung with a rugged breath clashed with a Peanut Flame's barrier. A flash of light erupted from the collision of flame and magic power. Jayden's single attack drew a clear crack on the Peanut Flame's barrier, and a magic power arrow flew in, striking the crack. Jayden and Kim Jingyu's joint attack easily shattered the Peanut Flame's barrier, and Jayden cut down the exposed lizard without hesitation.
It was a perfect display of teamwork, but many enemies remained.
Jayden turned to a different direction. In that instant, a terrifying whip shot past his shoulder, grabbing three Peanut Flames together and marking them to be Jayden's next prey. Jayden immediately charged towards the restrained Peanut Flames.
In the meantime, Hajin also made his move. After finding a Peanut Flame, he pulled the trigger immediately. The gun's barrel exploded, letting out a streak of lightning, and pierced the little lizard.
The flame barrier couldn't defend against the lightning's penetration power. The bullet punctured it like a balloon before turning the small wisp into a doughnut.
"...What?"
Next to Hajin, a dazed interjection rang out. It was Kim Jingyu, who was also a sharpshooter.
Admittedly, what Hajin did must have looked shocking for him.
"Guns are lacking in destructive power, but bullets can be enhanced with mana."
Hajin boasted as he turned to find another target. After two more blinding shots, He killed two more Flame Peanuts.
On my side, as Hazuki danced around the Salamander, I picked them off one by one. The monsters couldn't retaliate as stopping mid-way to turn back meant getting hit with a 'Reinforced' punch.
Soon the lizards were wiped out. Hazuki stopped running and sheathed her sword.
"Good work, Shiki-san is really strong, you know."
"Good work to you as well, you did your jobs perfectly."
"Thank you, Shiki-san."
"Looks like they're done. Let's go back, shall we?"
"Uhm... Let's go back."
We regrouped and head-counted the monsters before venturing on.
However, before we could even take a breath, a light flashed far behind.
A firebreath the size of a pillar was hurled towards us while melting the surface of the ground. Another Salamander was hiding all this time.
I raised my hand, chanting a water spell, but then stopped. Someone else had already taken action, Hajin.
His right hand, brimming with mana, had drawn four ᛉ (Elhaz) symbols. The symbols spun into the air turning into a wall of light. Another symbol, ᚨ (Ansuz), followed behind changing the light wall into water.
The firebreath came in contact with a wall of water evaporating, blowing steam vigorously.
Catching the opening, I changed the Aria, condensing the steam down to the size of a button and sending it under the lizard. It was the same move I used on the Spriggan, only this time, the Salamander was the pyke.
The steam ball exploded, shaking the ground slightly before covering the area with steam once again.
The air cleared away, leaving a dead Salamander in front the shocked cadets.
A momentary silence descended before being broken by a deep voice that reflected everyone's thoughts.
"...T-That was no joke."
It was Jayden. A thick terror could be seen on his face. He seemed to be on the verge of having a panic attack.
"That last attack, weren't we dead if it hit us?"
"...Wait, is that blood?"
Jayden murmured in a daze, as the water puddle around the Salamander started turning red.
"A mana puppet with blood? That's impossible."
"Then what the fuck is this? It's sticky as hell. And what was that last attack? That was a real firebreath. I didn't even touch it and my skin's a little burned."
"Calm down."
"You think I can just calm... Yes, you're right."
Jayden, who was about to erupt with anger, calmed down when faced with Yoo Yeonha.
"They didn't tell us that something like this wouldn't happen. It was a Salamander. It's entirely possible that a normal salamander naturally evolved into a monster. After all, we're in a Dungeon, even if it's artificial."
"..."
At Yoo Yeonha's calm input, Jayden remained silent. He collected his breath and calmed himself down. Yoo Yeonha was always like this, but Jayden was also fairly composed for a high schooler.
Meanwhile, the steam covering up the surroundings began to dissipate.
Everyone was wet from the steam and water.
"Are you okay?" Yoo Yeonha asked.
I'm fine." Hajin replied.
"...Oh right. What the fuck was that?"
But then, Jayden approached Hajin, making a fuss.
"What?"
"I said in the beginning that anyone with the water attribute should come out."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, please. How did you block that firebreath then? That fucking steam was created because it clashed with water, didn't it?
And the explosion, that's is also a water attribute attack, right?"
"Sharpshooters normally carry a shield or two to protect themselves."
"...What?"
"This son of a bitch..."
"Also, I'm not the one who made that attack."
"You bastard. Now you're playing game?"
"Quiet. Let's get out of here for now. What happened just now... I'm sure we'll be compensated with additional points."
Yoo Yeonha spoke as she stared at the Salamander's corpse.
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.
.
<3rd P.o.v>
While walking forward, Yoo Yeonha stole a glance behind her.
A stupid-looking man was pulling his hair up. Sweat dripped from his hair. It would have looked cool if he was Shin Jonghak, but it was a bit dirty when that man did it.
In any case, Yoo Yeonha couldn't hide the strange feeling she got.
What blocked the Salamander's firebreath was undoubtedly a water attribute magic power. But a cadet who wasn't Shin Jonghak or Kim Suho was capable of imbuing his magic power with an attribute?
Yoo Yeonha couldn't help but recall Chae Nayun's words. That Kim Hajin was hiding his true strength.
Kim Hajin explained what happened by saying that he had a magic armament.
There were indeed armaments like that. They were one of many types of defensive equipment that sharpshooters used.
In that case, there were only two answers left.
Either what Chae Nayun said was true, or Kim Hajin, being scared for his life, had really prepared a Cloth Armor beforehand.
Yoo Yeonha found the former to be more likely. In that case, how Kim Hajin knew the Mountain Tyrant's vital point also made sense.
The question was why he was hiding his power.
That was what she couldn't understand.
Just why...
Wait...
'He didn't made that attack? Then who? Who could cause such a powerfull steam explosion in this team?'
'No! That's is not the question I should asked. The attack is very familiar, I have seen this before. The question is when?
Only one anwser came to her mind.
The first pratical training, in other word, the first time she saw Shiki's 'pile bunker'.
Yoo Yeonha mind was then filled with countless thought about the twin-tail haired man. How? Why? Who?... It all boiled down to one conclusion.
Both Kim Hajin and Tatsuya Shiki have something to hide.
That was what she couldn't understand.
Just why...
"We're here."
At that moment, Kim Hajin spoke up. Yoo Yeonha flinched from a guilty conscious.
"W-What's here? There's nothing here."
"We're almost there. The dungeon's boss is up ahead along with another team."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah, let's hurry. It looks like they're in trouble."
Kim Hajin took the lead and quickened his pace.
Yoo Yeonha followed suit, still harboring suspicion.
.
.
.
"What's this?"
We stood in front of a giant wall.
A wall made of volcanic rocks that was at least 10 meters tall. This wall, which was blocking the path to the boss area, wasn't here just a moment ago. But figuring out who put it here wasn't the biggest problem.
"Hey, sharpshooter, didn't you say the boss was up ahead? It's a dead end."
"It should be past this wall. Break it."
"...Acting like the leader, huh."
Even as he complained, Jayden took out his sword. A blade covered in magic power drew a diagonal line.
Pang!
However, not even a scratch appeared on the wall. Only Jayden's hand trembled.
"Aaak! Yeah, genius idea!"
It must have hurt quite a bit, as Jayden ran around in pain. Standing still, I fell into thought. If Jayden's sword qi couldn't break the wall, it had to be made of magic power. In that case, Yoo Yeonha wouldn't be able to break through it either.
"Is this really the right path? There was a fork in the road on our way here."
Yoo Yeonha asked in doubt as she touched the wall here and there.
"This is the right place."
In Hajin's mind, time was ticking, and he had to do something or else Chae Nayun would be in danger.
Hajin then turned to the only person capable of breaking the wall. In a hurry, he asked.
"Teacher, can you..."
' 'Teacher?' '
At that moment, all eyes pointed toward a tall boy in confusion. Yoo Yeonha was shocked to hear how Kim Hajin addressed the man.
"I know. I'll do something, step back."
At his command, everyone fell back, allowing him to approach the wall. He waved his hand in the air with his fingers pinched like it was holding a pen.
"What is he..."
But before someone could finish the question, a bright line appeared where his hand was. It was a strange writing, one none had seen before except for two people.
"Gandr (ᚴᛅᚾᛏᚱ)..." Hajin muttered lowly not to let anyone hear.
A long time spent reading the grimoire has allowed Hajin to understand what his teacher had written.
The writing spun around rapidly, turning into a dark red sphere the size of a football. Shiki aimed the ball toward the wall and...
*Boom*
The sphere flew off, ran through the wall like a boat crashing through waves. It created a passageway through the rock.
"C'mon, let's go." The boy came through the passage, promting everyone to follow.
A deep ringing sound capable of instilling terror rang out beyond the wall.
"W-What! What was that!?"
"You guys come too. I'm going first!"
Hajin ran off to the source of the noise.
Behind the wall, Hajin caught a glimpse of Chae Nayun and her team being chased by a Magma Golem.
Just by looking at it, one could see that it wasn't a puppet. The entire Field was melting with its every movement, so how could it be a puppet?
Hajin quickly ran towards them and opened the extradimensional space in his Stigma. The tattoo on Hajin's upper arm glowed, and a corporeal magic power gathered in his hand. In an instant, it condensed into a gun and several bullets.
Hajin loaded a few bullets prepared beforehand. It was water attribute magic bullets, using Stigma-powered Runes to grant it the water attribute after countless failures. It would show great destructive power.
"Whew."
After running in range to shoot, Hajin stopped. He panted from being out of breath, but didn't have time to rest. Chae Nayun was surrounded by the Magma Golem. He immediately aimed at the back of Magma Golem's head and fired.
Tang!
The bullet struck the Magma Golem's head squarely, and the Magma Golem's head bent forward. Immediately afterwards, the water attribute bullet reacted to its lava body and petrified its upper body. It was the so-called paralysis state.
He looked past the Magma Golem.
Sven was on Chae Nayun's back. Chae Nayun seemed to be in a momentary shock, while Sven looked like he had already fallen to a Djinn.
Hajin shouted at Chae Nayun.
"Hey! Snap out of it!"
"...Huh?"
Thankfully, Chae Nayun responded quickly.
"First, put that guy on your back on the ground."
"What, where are the others? Why are you the only one..."
"Put him down!"
Chae Nayun put Sven down as he said.
"Happy?"
"...Yeah."
At the same time, the Magma Golem's body trembled. It seemed it wanted to eject the bullet from its body. In other words, it would move again soon.
I signalled Chae Nayun.
"Hurry up and..."
Save me.
"Battle position!"
Before I could finish my sentence, Chae Nayun shouted. Immediately afterwards, a spear flew in and pierced the Magma Golem's neck. Her teammates followed suit. I quickly turned around and ran behind Chae Nayun's team.
"Buy time for me!"
At Chae Nayun's words, Hajin quickly shot another round, keeping the golem petrified. Every time there was a sign of movement, another bullet would come and keep the golem in stasis.
Nayun's teammates watched in awe, then snapped back and surrounded the golem cutting its path. Soon, backup arrived.
"We're here." Jayden said.
With two teams ganging up on a paralysed golem, the opening was created for Nayun to shoot.
*Thwoosh*
With a brilliant light, Chae Nayun's giant arrow pierced through the Magma Golem's heart.
"Haa... Haa..." exhausting her stamina, Nayun had to rest before she could even move.
—Guooo...
Even after taking such an enormous magic power attack, the Magma Golem didn't die. Chae Nayun softly bit her lips.
"I'll take care of the rest."
But before the Magma Golem could recover and attack, Sven sliced off its head. With that, the Magma Golem's body turned into hard volcanic rock before disappearing.
Silence descended on the battlefield.
Sven put away his sword, walked up to Hajin, and gave a slight nod.
"Thank you for helping us."
"Sure took your sweet time, bastard."
Chae Nayun muttered while bent down on the ground. She seemed to have a lot to say, but she must have been out of strength as she closed her mouth.
The cadets all either sat or lied down on the ground, resting.
"By the way..."
Chae Nayun's voice cut off Hajin's thought. She was smacking her lips as though she had something more to say, but no words left her mouth.
"What?"
He urged her in frustration
Chae Nayun added just one sentence with her eyes still on the ceiling.
"...Why aren't you fighting back?"
"Hm? What do you... Oh."
"Because I can't win even if I fight back."
"What are you talking about, I saw the power of your gun with my own eyes."
"Oh, that?"
"It took prior preparations. Also, personal weapon. Does that explain it?"
"You know you're going to get expelled if you're found out, right?"
"That's why I'm using it only when I need to."
Chae Nayun closed her mouth. Then, she rubbed her chin as though she was pondering something.
After about 3 minutes, Chae Nayun finally voiced her thoughts.
"Things still don't add up completely... Ah, wait, your Gift! You have a Gift that strengthens guns!"
"You can think what you want."
Hajin hit her off with a shrug. It was a misunderstanding he didn't need to correct.
Chae Nayun seemed to have concluded her guess as the truth, as she nodded with a proud face.
"Huhu, I knew it. Oh, I'll let you off the hook for using your personal weapon. Just don't use it again."
Chae Nayun got up and dusted her butt.
Before walking away, she stopped and turned her head towards Hajin.
"...By the way."
"What?"
"...Don't you have anything to say to me?"
"..."
"I..." Before Hajin could finish the sentence, someone tapped my shoulder. He turned around.
It was his teacher. But his expression was serious. He who is always has a blank face or a soft smile for the first time showed a frown. He shook his head and left.
'He knew what I was about to say?' Hajin thought.
'Did he know what would happen if I said that?'
"Well... You what?" Chae Nayun's words freed him from his daze.
"Well...I..." Hajin contemplated for a moment.
"I do..."
The two of them wandered off for a private talk.
At that moment, Shiki's gaze had been locked on a certain German cadet.
"So you're the second one. Just like the other, you also have a demonic mana."
—Emergency alert. All cadets are to leave the Dungeon immediately. Once again, all cadets are to leave the Dungeon immediately.
A sound rang out from the ceiling. With that, the mock Dungeon trial had come to an end.
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