On Monday.
I had breakfast with Seo Ye-in and was on my way to class when I felt a stinging sensation on the back of my head.
Glancing back, I noticed that so people were following .
One male student and one female student.
They werent discreetly following but rather blatantly made it obvious that I was their target.
There was no way I beca popular overnight, so they must be coming after because of the [Cube of Life].
They must have caught on to the bait I threw to Park Nari.
Even so, their blatant attitude was surprising.
Soone in the Erald Magic Tower or the Mother Nature Club must be very impatient
People shouldnt handle things in such a way.
Even if I continued to go to classes, they couldnt do anything from their end.
However, this only ant that whatever was going to occur would simply be delayed until after classes.
I always found it better to resolve things imdiately.
It was also less botherso that way.
Seo Ye-in, you go ahead.
..?
Sothing suddenly ca up.
Seo Ye-in tilted her head slightly and then glanced behind .
She spotted a man and a woman and looked back at .
Are they the reason? She seed to be asking this question.
Its nothing serious. Ill just deal with it quickly and co back.
. Mhm.
Seo Ye-in headed back to the classroom first and I made my way to a deserted alley.
By then, one of the two presences I had sensed had vanished; they have probably gone ahead.
The other one kept a certain distance and continued to follow .
Just as I was about to erge from the other end of the alley, a male student blocked my path.
The female student appeared behind , cutting off my retreat path.
I was surrounded from both the front and back.
To think you would co to such a place on your own; youve saved us the trouble.
The male student struck a confident pose as he introduced himself.
On the other hand, the female student briefly stated her na.
I am Kwak Ji-cheol of the Erald Magic Tower.
Jeong Soo-ji.
Ah, yes. So, what brings you to such a rundown place?
Kwak Ji-cheol replied to my question in an arrogant tone.
Our club president wants to see you. Follow us to the club room.
What if I dont want to?
?
Kwak Ji-cheol blinked his eyes in surprise as if he didnt expect such a response from .
What?
Do I have to go just because your club president says so?
Dont you understand? We are from the Erald Magic Tower.
And I am not from the Erald Magic Tower. Dont order around. Or I will beat you up.
!
Kwak Ji-cheols mouth slowly opened as if he had heard so outrageous insult.
Soon, his expression turned into one of pure anger.
Jeong Soo-ji who was standing behind sighed deeply and tried to persuade .
Just follow us this once. Nothing bad will happen to you.
Forget it, Jeong Soo-ji.
Kwak Ji-cheol seed to have already decided to use force.
The large erald embedded in his staff began to emit a greenish glow.
You should have listened when I was speaking nicely. Theres always soone who only learns the hard way.
Exactly. But can I ask you sothing?
What is it?
Your na Kwak just reminded of sothing. Do you perhaps have a brother in the disciplinary committee?
Kwak Seung-jae. Hes my respected and proud older brother.
I had a hunch because they both share the Kwak surna and even look alike. So I asked him, and indeed, the two were siblings.
But you know what?
Your respected brother went straight down to the ground with a single inferno fist, dude.
Unaware of the hidden intentions behind my question, Kwak Ji-cheol beca even more agitated at the re ntion of his older brother.
This is your last chance. If you follow along quietly now, you wont suffer any harm.
This is your last chance too.
.?
If you turn around and leave right now, Ill let you off with just one punch.
Youre still talking nonsense until the very end!
Kwaahh!
The ground in front of Kwak Ji-cheol surged and about a dozen earthen hands reached out towards .
They tried to grab my limbs, but I skillfully maneuvered through the gaps between the grasping hands with the help of the [Thiefs Step].
At the sa ti, I gracefully avoided the dirt projectiles coming from behind leaving Jung Sooji in astonishnt.
How is this!
I slid toward Kwak Ji-cheol like a shadow and swiftly kicked him right in the face.
He tried to block with his staff but his defense was far from perfect and he received a solid blow.
His brother used to block this so easily though.
Ugh!
Kururur
As I kept pursuing him, all of Kwak Ji-cheols earthen hands retracted and transford into a large earthen fist.
He swung the earthen fist at , but I quickly stepped back and dodged it before gracefully sidestepping the incoming dirt projectiles from behind.
A hummingbird flew from my hand.
As it darted toward Kwak Ji-cheols side, he transford the earthen fist into a wide dirt shield and swung it at the hummingbird.
What a cheap trick!
Where are you looking?
Thud!
My foot struck deeply into his abdon.
His focus had been solely on blocking the hummingbird, so he neglected defense in other areas.
Coough!
He bent over and stumbled backward, then swung the earthen fist to keep at bay.
I effortlessly dodged and grabbed Kwak Ji-cheols head before forcefully slamming it into the alley wall.
Bang!
His body clung to the wall and then slumped down.
He seed to have lost consciousness as only the whites of his eyes were visible.
But since he had the school uniforms protective magic, he probably didnt suffer any major injuries.
So light trauma might remain though.
!!
Jeong Soo-jii who had been diligently supporting Kwak Ji-cheol suddenly found herself alone.
When our eyes t, she grew startled and quickly cast [Earth Gatling].
But those were the sa spells I had effortlessly dodged without even looking just monts ago, so I didnt have any issues with dodging them head-on.
I closed the gap between us in an instant and snatched Jeong Soo-jiis staff with a swift pull, easily disarming her.
They are completely unprepared for close combat.
For a mont, Jeong Soo-ji wore a look of dismay and then attempted to chant a spell with her bare hands.
Bang!
The staff crashed down on her head.
I spoke to Jeong Soo-ji who was tenderly rubbing her sore head.
Go tell your president. If they need sothing, they should co in person instead of sending soone else.
Okay. Sorry.
As Jeong Soo-ji began to stealthily retread, I called her back.
Hey.
Wh-what?
Are you going alone? What about that?
That referred to Kwak Ji-cheol who had beco one with the alley wall.
Shouldnt she have so loyalty as his fellow club mber?
Jeong Soo-ji did as I told her and whined while carrying Kwak Ji-cheol, but despite exerting all her mana, she could barely move from her spot due to her abysmal physical strength.
It was clear that she urgently needed close combat training.
There shouldnt be any injuries, so he should be able to go to class when he wakes up. Im leaving first.
Uh, Mhmm
***
Hey, wake up quickly. Well be late if we dont go now.
Ugh
Kwak Jicheol regained consciousness not long after Kim Ho had left.
His head throbbed in pain and he clutched it with both hands while groaning
Once he had gathered his wits a bit, he couldnt contain his rage and began to tremble.
I cant believe I fell for such a dirty trick
He fights well though; maybe it was just a difference in skill?
What difference in skill! It was all trickery and a lucky punch that did it!
Kwak Jicheol exploded in anger.
He simply couldnt accept the fact that he had been outmatched by a coward in terms of skill.
Rationalizing it this way seed to ease his mind a little.
Kwak Ji-cheol gritted his teeth before vowing revenge for next ti.
Next ti, for sure!
Bang!
Right at this ti, a magic bullet, seemingly coming from nowhere, struck him right on the temple.
The whites of his eyes beca visible again as he fell backward.
A sniper?!
Jeong Soo-ji frantically scanned her surroundings.
But the alley remained desolately empty, with nothing in sight.
Bang!
The next mont, a magic bullet hit Jeong Soo-jis forehead as well.
As her consciousness faded away, Jeong Soo-ji thought to herself.
Why too?
And then she lay down comfortably next to Kwak Ji-cheol.
Both of them ended up being late for class.
***
How co you went to class before and arrived even later?
.
Are you sleeping?
.
How can soone fall asleep so quickly?
***
The ti when Teacher Seo Cheong-yong started to make a na for himself as a dungeon strategy expert was relatively recent.
He appeared out of nowhere and consecutively conquered dungeons deed impossible, gaining fa. He was then invited to be a strategy lecture teacher at Dragon Slayer Academy.
His amiable appearance and easygoing personality made the students feel comfortable with him. His strategy lectures were conducted in a much more relaxed atmosphere compared to other subjects.
Lets think about why dungeons were created.
A map of an unknown dungeon appeared on the blackboard.
An adventurer party entered through the dungeons entrance.
As they navigated through the intricate dungeon to reach the center, a boss monster was found clutching a treasure chest.
Why doesnt the boss room appear right away? Why must dungeons be as complex as a maze? Anyone want to answer?
A girl in the front row raised her hand.
She opened her mouth after being pointed out by Seo Cheong-yong.
Because it makes intruders struggle.
Thats correct.
The dungeon map was dotted with monsters and traps.
With obstacles added to the already maze-like environnt, strategizing beca even more challenging.
The complexity of the dungeon is designed to exhaust you before you reach the core. Your resources, like equipnt or items such as potions, magical power and physical energy, or even your party mbers, might be exhausted. And if all resources run out before reaching the destination
The adventurer party on the blackboard was overwheld by monsters and collapsed.
Your strategy fails. Youd have to retreat, or in the worst case, face the annihilation of your party.
.!
The key to conquering a dungeon is how efficiently you use the resources you have and how much you save. So! The resource youll focus on conserving this week is,
MAP: [Goblin Swamp]
RULE: [Ti Attack][5 Minute Limit]
[Single/Double Dungeon][Strong Enemy]
Ti. The ti left after clearing the dungeon sharply reflects how efficient your actions were.
The map on the blackboard was erased, and in its place appeared a crudely carved goblin statue made of logs.
This represented a Goblin Totem.
To clear the dungeon, you need to reach the destination within five minutes and destroy the totem. Of course, the journey there wont be smooth sailing. Be careful; taking a wrong turn into a swamp or getting delayed by monsters will extend your clearing ti.
A question, please.
A student raised their hand.
Seo Cheong-yong nodded his head with a smile, prompting the student to speak.
What does the [Strong Enemy] rule an?
There was a hint about that in Teacher Jo Ok-soons lesson. I hope youve done your howork.
I have yes
Their hand sheepishly lowered.
They must have dozed off during class.
With a slight smile, Seo Cheong-yong continued his explanation.
Now, this is important. The ground-level dungeons can be attempted multiple tis in practice mode.
Because they were all artificial dungeons, entering, exiting and retrying were completely unrestricted.
However, you only get one chance to score. So, its best to find the most efficient route, practice it several tis until youre familiar with it, and then enter the real dungeon. Thats all for todays lesson! Enjoy your lunch, everyone!
As soon as Seo Cheong-yong left the classroom, Shin Byeong-chul hurried over to Go Hyeon-woo.
Hey, hey, hey! Go Hyeon-woo! Lets do a double-person dungeon together!
This strategy battle was divided into single and double dungeons and each one of them was scored separately.
To score high in a double-person dungeon, choosing the right partner was important.
Thats why Shin Byeong-chul quickly attached himself to Go Hyeon-woo who ranked first in the strategy battle session back in the placent test.
Hmm
Go Hyeon-woo sneaked a glance in my direction while humming.
It looked like he was seeking permission.
As soon as I gestured that it was okay, he nodded in agreent.
If they were heading to the [Goblin Swamp], the combination of these two should work quite well.
Alright. Lets team up with Shin-hyung this ti.
Shall we go right after lunch?
That sounds like a good plan.
Even if they werent scoring imdiately, the more practice mode they did, the better.
And my partner was
It was Seo Ye-in, who was subtly tugging at my sleeve.
Co with .
Lets do that.
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