Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Grinning Dungeon Practicum (3)

Fifteen minutes into the practicum.

As expected, the students were struggling.

But there were those putting up a good fight.

─We're going into the swamp.

An Seri.

She deduced the answer faster than anyone and led her team.

A different caliber from the rest, as expected.

Lee Yeeun beside me was impressed too.

"An Seri's a born party leader. Smart kids usually play it safe without hard evidence, but she's got a bold streak too."

"If you're aiming to be Geumok's heir, that's the bare minimum."

I said that, but having my disciple praised felt oddly gratifying.

The other groups were still floundering.

Oh Jaehak's group hadn't even found their bearings.

Baek Seolhwa charged up the mana swamp by herself. Watching her slash falling boulders and maintain balance through the shaking─her superhuman physical ability was nothing short of extraordinary.

But unfortunately, it was a wasted effort.

Ultimately, for every team member to exit the Barrier, they had to defeat the golems. If Baek Seolhwa went up alone, the rest would keep trying to follow─a waste of time.

What about Song Seokhwan, then?

─This is fun.

He placed both palms on the swamp's surface and extended thin threads of mana inside.

Search magic.

Quite useful in the field.

Before long, the threads touched the golems at the very back. Song Seokhwan smirked.

─Found them. About twenty training dummies inside. They're the ones stirring up the mana swamp.

Faster than An Seri.

No wonder the game had given Song Seokhwan the nickname "early-game bully."

"Wow, I've never seen a freshman handle search magic that precisely."

"What do you think, TA Lee?"

"Huh?"

"Do you think any group will make it to the end?"

"Hmm, that seems unlikely."

Right, because the thing I'd placed in there was the notorious Fermet Golem.

It grew stronger the higher the mana concentration around it.

The swamp's interior was the perfect environment for Fermet Golems to rampage, and an unfamiliar space where the students couldn't easily operate─doubly difficult.

"Here we go."

Group A huddled tightly together.

The other four members formed a protective shell around Song Seokhwan.

Good approach.

Against fast-moving enemies, widening the gap only invited being picked apart.

─Wind Cutter!

Song Seokhwan chanted, and a sharp gust sliced into the Fermet Golem.

Another good choice.

Wind was the fastest of the four elemental attributes.

Wind magic could keep up with the Fermet Golems even inside the swamp.

─Don't let the flanks break! We're punching straight through!

Under Song Seokhwan's command, the party moved in perfect unison.

The Fermet Golems attacked from all sides, but couldn't easily breach Group A's defense.

Certain of victory, Song Seokhwan's lips twitched upward.

"Things are about to get interesting."

Satisfied with just this much? How disappointing.

Not even close.

The Fermet Golems began glowing red, and a change occurred.

They started clustering together, one by one, eventually merging into a massive lump.

─What the─?

─Hit it now while it's merging!

Come on, kid. Not attacking during a transformation is basic etiquette.

After taking a few hits, Fermet Golem's Phase 2 successfully activated.

The lump sprouted arms and legs, taking a proper golem shape.

─Oohoorookookooroohooh!

......That sound was bizarre no matter how many times I heard it.

I'd tried to remove that sound effect during the building process, but it wasn't easy, so I'd left it.

─Bigger target just means easier to hit. Air Storm!

The four elements existed in a cycle of dominance.

Water beats fire, fire beats wind, wind beats earth, earth beats water.

It wasn't the most scientifically sound theory, but magic didn't generate natural materials to begin with. So elemental dominance had nothing to do with natural law.

The common assumption was that golems were earth-attribute.

So the intent to counter with wind magic was sound.

But Fermet Golem wasn't earth-attribute. It was fire-attribute.

"Idiot─I taught you that mages especially need to identify the enemy's attribute."

─Rookookooroo!

Despite unleashing a strong attack, the golem took almost no damage. Everyone panicked.

Having used a big attack, it was now the Fermet Golem's turn to counter.

─Kooo!

Fire magic poured from the golem's mouth.

Only then did Song Seokhwan realize it was fire-attribute.

─......Damn it.

A single mistake collapsed Group A's positioning, and the Fermet Golem split apart again, easily picking them off one by one.

In the end, Song Seokhwan gritted his teeth and ordered a retreat.

I shook my head slightly.

Group A had taken significant damage. Recovering and trying again would be tough. One more attempt at most. Beyond that─impossible.

Lee Yeeun seemed to share my assessment and turned her attention to the other groups.

Group D had just encountered the Fermet Golem, and Baek Seolhwa's Group B was still lost.

Naturally, my eyes drifted to Group C.

─Think back to what we learned today. The answer is in there.

"Ohh."

Good attitude.

The practicum was an extension of the lecture. I'd already left every hint during class.

An Seri calmly gathered her team's attention and began.

─First, when you're on the defensive, use AoE attacks. But with how fast those things move, magic won't cut it.

─Then...... take out the leader!

Exactly.

The Fermet Golem looked like dozens of autonomous units, but in reality, two core units controlled the rest.

Neutralize the leaders, and the rest would naturally shut down.

Group C formed their plan and plunged back into the swamp.

***

Damp, sticky mana.

The unpleasant sensation, now encountered for the second time, crawled over the team's skin.

Nam Hyeju shouted furiously.

"Let's end this quick!"

"Brother, sister. Come close."

Abraham placed his hands on Nam Hyeju's and Gam Miseong's backs.

He chanted a prayer, and holy power surged.

Sacred light blazed, and strength welled up in the two.

"Pretty decent buff."

"Hey! Gold Sun, don't drag me down."

"Look who's talking. And stop calling me that."

─Ooroohookoo!

A brief bout of bickering, cut short when the golems began to move.

Now was the time to combine forces.

"Alright, let's go."

The two charged ahead, leaving the rest behind.

Both front-liners had abandoned the rear. This meant the back line was fully exposed to the golems.

But it didn't matter.

If this was a Barrier replicating a dungeon, the golems should share the same nature as dungeon monsters.

Dungeon monsters don't initiate attacks.

They only counterattack when attacked first.

The golems ignored Group C's rear line.

Which meant Nam Hyeju and Gam Miseong had to shoulder that many more units.

The two stood back-to-back and fought.

CRASH─! CRASH─!

"Bring it, you small fry!"

"Don't let your guard down and get wrecked like last time."

"Tch, shut up!"

Spheres flew in from dozens of directions.

Deflect one, another came from a different angle. Deflect that, yet another. The onslaught was relentless.

Nam Hyeju's sword and Gam Miseong's spear took turns batting them away, but it wasn't easy. The golems were incredibly fast, and the unceasing barrage drained them rapidly.

"Damn it."

Nam Hyeju brought her sword down hard, but it only produced a clang and a slight dent.

The things were too tough to cut clean through.

Nam Hyeju grumbled in irritation.

"Stupidly tough. I want to just smash them."

"Relax. Don't get cocky and hurt yourself."

"What? Are you calling me a scrub? Gold Sun, let's bet. Who breaks one first."

"A bet? Sure. I'll obviously win. Spear arts never lose to sword."

That remark made Nam Hyeju laugh derisively.

"Are you stupid? Obviously the sword wins. Your oversized toothpick doesn't stand a─"

"You're the one talking nonsense. Spear is clearly superior."

"......Loser gets on their knees and apologizes. Got it?"

"Knees? No, a full bow. Forehead to the ground."

"Deal."

Nam Hyeju and Gam Miseong's eyes blazed.

Though they stood back-to-back and couldn't see each other's faces, they knew they were thinking the same thing.

Gam Miseong thrust his spear first with all his might.

Solid impact. He thought he had it, but the golem twisted mid-air and it ended as a graze.

Gam Miseong clicked his tongue.

"Tch!"

"Watch and learn, you scrub!"

This time Nam Hyeju swung her sword down.

The thing changed direction sharply mid-flight. Fine─she'd match it.

She redirected mid-swing.

This was a direct hit.

CLANG─!

"Yes!"

But she didn't quite destroy it. The direction change had dispersed her force, and she couldn't follow through properly.

Gam Miseong snickered, and Nam Hyeju's face went red.

"Die!"

"You fucking bastard!"

"The sword is a trash weapon!"

"Bullshit! Ever heard of 'king of all weapons?'"

"More bullshit!"

Despite all the trash talk, neither could clinch it.

They took turns batting golems away, but landed zero killing blows.

And beneath the bravado, exhaustion was piling up.

"Hah, huff."

Gam Miseong decided it was time to end things.

If they'd held out this long, An Seri could handle the rest.

"Haah!"

He gathered his energy, and power concentrated at the spear tip.

Blue light swirled around the blade, which gleamed.

Aura.

His skill was raw and it would fade quickly, but there was enough time for one thrust.

"That's cheating, you bastard!"

Nam Hyeju pulled mana from her own body too.

Red mana─matching her hair─began flickering along the sword.

Both attacked the nearest golem simultaneously.

CRASH─!

The golem shattered to pieces, and both shouted:

"I won!"

Nam Hyeju and Gam Miseong stared at each other.

Their faces said "what bullshit are you spouting?"

Then they started bickering over who'd actually won.

An Seri muttered quietly from behind.

"What the hell are those two idiots doing?"

Enough data gathered. That was all she needed.

Found them.

The spheres that had seemed to move randomly were actually following a fixed pattern.

The key was those two specific spheres.

Every other sphere's movement pivoted around them.

"Dayun, see the one between the red and the green?"

"You mean the yellow one?"

"Yes. When I give the signal, attack!"

Attacking them one at a time was too risky.

The surviving one would likely retreat behind the others, and they'd become targets.

Taking both out simultaneously while aggro wasn't drawn was the surest play.

An Seri nocked an arrow and spoke.

"Three, two, one. Now!"

"Magic Missile!"

CRASH─!

Done.

The two strikes destroyed the command spheres, and every golem froze at once.

After hovering momentarily, they fell lifelessly to the ground.

"We did it!"

Without thinking, An Seri and Seo Dayun clasped hands and cheered.

Nam Hyeju and Gam Miseong argued over who'd won, and Abraham was fervently praying. The first victory was sweet.

The team escaped the swamp and hurried up the slope.

All that remained was a straight corridor.

They braced for more surprises, but thankfully, the corridor was trap-free.

At last, they spotted a green stone that appeared to be the Barrier Stone.

"We break this and we're out, right?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

An Seri placed her hand on the Barrier Stone and injected a trickle of mana. Cracks formed.

Soon the stone crumbled into sand-like particles.

A bright flash─just like when they'd entered. Everyone reflexively shielded their eyes.

When they opened them, they were back in the lecture hall.

Cha Eunwoo welcomed Group C's return.

"Well done. You're the first to arrive."

"Really?"

"Obviously our team's the best!"

"Nice!"

They shared their joy for a moment, until Seo Dayun noticed something and froze.

"Professor...... what's that?"

"Hm? What do you...... oh?"

What Seo Dayun pointed at was the chalkboard at the front of the lecture hall.

The writing was clearly in Korean.

But she couldn't understand what it meant.

No.

Her brain was refusing to comprehend.

─Next Week Exam Notice

─Location: Pale Monkey Forest

─Grading: Clear under 20 min = A+. Deduction for every 3 min after.

"An...... exam?"

"Once every three weeks. Five in total."

Before they could even celebrate, a massive bomb had dropped.