Chapter 57. Dungeon Training Practice

Chapter 57. Dungeon Training Practice

The first class on Thursday is the long-awaited dungeon training.

Victoria Academy’s motto has always been training as close to real combat as possible.

If one only trains in safe environments, they won’t be able to perform the same way in real combat.

Therefore, many training sessions were conducted in actual locations rather than simulations, and dungeon training practice was one of them.

The previous practice was just an introduction, so from this session onward, it could be considered true dungeon training.

This time, the dungeon was also a cave-type.

Of course, the difficulty level was entirely different from the last time.

The passages were narrower and more winding, the paths were more complicated, and there were more monsters, each more troublesome to deal with.

Because of this, all teams were strategizing and boosting morale.

Except for our team.

“...”

“...”

“...”

‘Shit.’

This familiar silence.

Lee Byunghoon, the only other male in our team. Seeing this bastard again after a while still didn’t feel pleasant.

Nam Daeun was quietly looking at her smartwatch, while Lumi was staring at me.

Lumi and I made eye contact and started conversing with our eyes.

‘What should we do now?’

‘Just wait. We probably won’t be able to strategize anyway.’

‘Understood.’

Having strategized with Lumi using only our eyes, I closed mine and began meditating.

We were waiting at the gathering area.

Eventually, the professor would arrive and talk endlessly about the dangers of dungeon training while the cadets would pretend to pay attention.

Since a real accident would happen today, I needed to listen carefully.

Swish.

Suddenly, Nam Daeun quietly stood up and left the waiting area.

“I’ll be back from the restroom.”

“Okay.”

Using the restroom as an excuse, I subtly followed behind her.

Nam Daeun headed to the same secluded spot where she had taken a call last time.

She must be calling her younger sibling again.

Her love for her sibling was truly remarkable.

Last time, I had been lucky enough to overhear parts of the conversation, but unlike before, she hadn’t started the call yet. According to neural theory, since she wasn’t yet focused on the call, if I got closer now, I might get caught.

I decided not to follow any further and returned to my original spot.

*

In a secluded corner of the academy, a girl was video calling.

- Sis! What’s happening today?!

“I’m going into a dungeon today. They say this one is more dangerous than the last.”

- Gasp! You’ll be okay, right???

“Of course. You know I’m super strong.”

Nam Daeun smiled and struck a muscle-flexing pose.

- Yeah! Uncle Mingyu also said you’re the strongest in the academy! You’re amazing!

Uncle Mingyu.

Hearing that name, Nam Daeun’s heart sank.

Uncle Mingyu, the head of the Buyer Guild, had taken care of her and her sibling since childhood.

Nam Daeun had lived incredibly happy days—kind guild members, fun school life, and a sick but resilient younger sibling.

A student couldn’t possibly afford her sibling’s medical bills, but Uncle Mingyu and the guild members had generously covered them, making her always feel grateful.

She had always thought of repaying their kindness... but even such a noble-hearted Nam Daeun never expected to be handed a slave contract the moment she became a high schooler.

The costs of raising both her and her sibling, combined with the medical bills, totaled around 2 billion won. Over 20 years, unknown to her, interest had compounded, inflating the total debt to 50 billion won.

She had, of course, protested against the unjust contract, but it was too late.

Her sibling was hospitalized in a guild-owned hospital, and she had no way of knowing what they might do to them.

She couldn’t take the necessary steps to transfer her sibling out, nor could she report it to the police—her sibling was always the problem.

These scumbags had always intended for Nam Daeun herself to be their real target.

The mastermind behind it was none other than the trusted Uncle Mingyu.

Since he had always looked after her and her sibling, the betrayal hit even harder.

But in a stroke of luck, instead of being forced into servitude, Nam Daeun was identified as a talented individual during her aptitude test.

Those with special abilities discovered upon high school entry were legally required to undergo ability training.

The Buyer Guild had assumed it was just a temporary delay before enforcing the contract, but Nam Daeun’s talent was far beyond their expectations.

She stood out from the start, ranking first in training camp and earning a recommendation to Victoria Academy.

Her beauty and skill made her famous.

With things getting out of control, the Buyer Guild changed tactics.

They took her younger sibling hostage, the future S-rank Hunter’s weakness.

The guild demanded two things.

First, that Nam Daeun, a promising talent contracted to the Buyer Guild, must place first in all practical exams, raising the guild’s prestige.

Second, that she sign a lifetime contract with the guild upon graduation.

This was their condition for debt repayment.

Despite her talent, Nam Daeun had no connections and feared that seeking help might lead to her sibling getting hurt. She had no choice but to comply.

Acting as rudely as possible to tarnish her own reputation was the only act of rebellion she could muster.

- Sis?

“Ah, Uncle Mingyu, right? Yeah. Don’t worry. I’m incredibly strong.”

- Mhm! I love you, Sis! When can I see you next? Uncle Mingyu said you’re too busy with academy classes to visit.

“... I’ll come in a month. Sorry. I have a lot of classes...”

This was another attempt to limit their contact.

But she couldn’t let it show.

She didn’t want any sadness to touch her innocent sibling’s face.

“I have to go now. I’ll call again later.”

- Aww. Okay. Call me tomorrow, okay? It’s so boring here with nothing to do.

“... Yeah. I promise.”

Even the amount of time she could talk to her sibling was strictly regulated.

Clenching her teeth, Nam Daeun ended the holographic call.

“Haa...”

Bang!

Her fist slammed into the corridor wall.

“I’ll save you. I swear I will...”

She whispered those words, but no one was there to hear them.

*

When I returned, the professor was standing at the center of the waiting area.

“Alright, everyone, gather up.”

I quickly rejoined my team.

“Unlike the previous training, all participants will enter at once. The primary objective is to escape, but extra points will be awarded to the team that defeats the most monsters or discovers the most artifacts.”

Because of this incentive, many teams had acted independently in the past, leading to cadets getting harmed in terrorist attacks.

This time, splitting up was not an option.

“The dungeon you’re entering today contains quite strong monsters. Never let your guard down, not even for a second. However, since this is a training session, healer teams will back you up. Your lives won’t be in danger, but receiving too much healing will result in deductions.”

As the professor continued, Nam Daeun returned to our team.

“Now, prepare to enter. Teams will go in reverse order, starting from Team 20.”

We were Team 13, so it was almost our turn.

“Guys, let’s get ready.”

As the team leader, I expected everyone to start preparing...

But aside from me, they were already ready.

Well, there wasn’t much to prepare anyway.

“Next! Team 13, enter!”

“Yes!”

As the honorary leader, I led the team from the front.

As we stepped through the portal, we could see several teams that had already entered.

Since this dungeon had everyone entering at once, they were all waiting.

“Hoyeon, are you going to follow Nam Daeun again this time...?”

“Hmm, not sure.”

To be honest, I needed to stick with Baek A-Young, so I wasn’t interested in how the dungeon was cleared.

Still, I had to ensure that Lumi stayed close to Nam Daeun.

That way, she’d be safer when the dungeon went berserk.

Nam Daeun wasn’t inherently a bad person, so if she ended up isolated with Lumi in the dungeon, she wouldn’t abandon her.

“For now, stay as close to Nam Daeun as possible. This time, it’s more important to collect treasures and defeat monsters than to escape quickly, so she won’t be rushing ahead like before.”

“Yes! Understood!”

Seeing Lumi’s bright smile as she responded made me feel a slight pang of guilt.

‘Sorry. But it can’t be helped.’

I mean, considering how many girls I still needed to win over, it’d be ridiculous to feel guilty over something like this, right?

I approached the healer team that had entered the dungeon ahead of us.

“Excuse me, is the Saintess here?”

“Oh my, what a cute boy. Sorry, but the Saintess isn’t someone you can just meet on request. Come back another time.”

I had asked the ditziest-looking healer nearby about Baek A-Young, but she immediately turned me away.

“Wait a second, I know him.”

“Oh, senior? Is that so?”

Fortunately, Baek A-Young, who had been talking to someone else, overheard my voice and approached.

“Hello, A-Young.”

“Oh, nice to see you. It’s always fascinating how different you feel here compared to when I saw you at the orphanage.”

“A-Young, you’re also really cool when you’re working professionally.”

“Thanks, hehe.”

“By the way, which passage are you in charge of, A-Young?”

As she chuckled at my compliment, I slipped in the question I really wanted to ask.

“Hmm? I’ll be in charge of the widest passage. Since multiple teams might enter that one, it needs extra attention.”

“Ah, I see. Got it. Take care!”

“Mm-hmm, you too! Good luck with your training!”

Waving to Baek A-Young, I returned to my team.

“As of now, all teams have entered! Begin your exploration! If there’s any conflict between cadets, you will be immediately disqualified, regardless of the reason, so be careful!”

Looks like everyone had entered just in time.

It was finally starting.

The dungeon berserk event would occur approximately 30 minutes after training began.

The dungeon structure was the same as last time—a cave-type. Thankfully, since I had proven my ability to navigate last time, I expected my team to follow my directions.

“Hey, let’s check out that narrow path over there. Those kinds of places usually hide treasure.”

“Should we decide where to go first before moving out?”

Other teams were discussing their best route.

“Guys, rushing to exit won’t get us first place this time. We need to find as many treasures and defeat as many monsters as possible. Let’s head to the widest passage first.”

Without hesitation, I guided my team toward the widest passage.

Obviously, because that was the passage Baek A-Young was overseeing.

‘Clairvoyance.’

To avoid suspicion, I activated my Clairvoyance skill and led the way while scouting ahead.

Grrrr-

Before long, we encountered monsters.

Humanoid creatures with green bodies—the archenemies of elves. Orcs.

“Wait, since when do orcs growl like ‘grrrr’?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Orcs are supposed to go ‘chiiik’!”

“...Huh?”

Lumi was deep in thought, trying to decipher my nonsense.

She could’ve just ignored it, but since it was something I said, she was probably trying to take it seriously.

Grrrr-

The two orcs didn’t care about my musings and slowly approached.

Our team was already used to letting Nam Daeun handle combat.

The three of us just stood there, staring at Nam Daeun, but for some reason, she didn’t draw her sword.

Eventually, one of the orcs reached three meters in front of me.

“Nam Daeun? Hey, what are you doing?”

“H-Hoyeon! Just kill them yourself!”

“Huh? Oh, right. I guess I can do that, huh?”

Lumi snapped me out of my Nam Daeun-trained hunting instincts. Smart girl.

Grrr-

Drool dripped from between the orc’s sharp fangs.

I quickly activated a magic circle and set the filthy orc on fire.

Fwoosh!

Chiiiiik-!

Finally, the orc let out the proper scream!

“Whether it’s home appliances or orcs, they only make the right sound after getting beaten.”

“...Huh?”

“Nothing.”

Chiiik! Chiiik!

The burning orc flailed wildly, looking to its companion for help.

Grrr!

The second orc let out a strange sound and charged. I threw a fireball right into its open mouth.

Chiiik! Chiiik!

The two burning orcs made their last attempt to charge at me, but with a roar, a pillar of fire erupted from the ground and reduced them to ashes.

“Well, at least I learned something. Orcs only scream properly when they get hit.”

“Oh, you’re right!”

Lumi finally gave up and just started rolling with my nonsense.

Gurgle—

Rumble—

“W-What’s happening?!”

Suddenly, the dungeon floor trembled, and Lee Byunghoon, who had been observing silently, shouted in panic.

‘It’s here.’

The sign of the dungeon berserk event.

Within a minute of the tremors beginning, the dungeon would go berserk. The rapidly increasing mana levels would forcibly teleport people away, scattering them.

If people were physically connected at that moment, they could be teleported together.

“Lumi! Grab Nam Daeun’s left arm and stay put! I’ll report to the Hunters!”

“O-Okay! We’ll wait!”

“Hey, hey! Take me with you!”

Lee Byunghoon shouted in panic. Do whatever you want, man.

Thankfully, Nam Daeun didn’t resist when Lumi grabbed her left arm. Confirming that, I sprinted toward Baek A-Young, who had been watching us from a distance.

“A-Young! The dungeon is acting strange!”

“Yeah, I know. This might be a prelude to a dungeon berserk. We should evacuate first and come up with a—”

Rumble! Rumble!

The dungeon shook violently, and the mana density in the air began to spike.

No time left. I had wanted to grab her hand naturally, but there was no time for hesitation.

I quickly grabbed Baek A-Young’s hand.

“H-Hoyeon?!”

She tried to pull away in surprise, but fortunately, the teleportation triggered at just the right moment.

My vision went black.

*************************************************

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